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"You have no idea…what you've done."
—Gideon's last words.[src]

Gideon was one of the most powerful and well-respected members of the Council of Elders, as well as the mentor of Leo Wyatt. He was also the headmaster of Magic School, possibly since its creation. While initially a friend to the Charmed Ones, he was later revealed to be the one trying to kill Wyatt. Gideon was convinced that the boy was too powerful, and tried to kill him for the Greater Good.

History[]

Early life[]

At an unspecified time, Gideon became the Headmaster of Magic School. It is possible he had been Headmaster since the school's creation after the destruction of Atlantis, as it was mentioned by the Elders that Gideon was the only one who could protect the school.

Gideon mentioned having first met the Charmed Ones when they were very young. After the Elders believed Leo killed Rennek, a powerful Darklighter, he was the one who told Leo about him becoming the Whitelighter of the Charmed Ones in front of the Halliwell Manor.

He was also a supporter of the union of Leo and Piper in contrast to the rest of the Elders. He even went as far as to convince his fellow Elders to let them wed. However, after Wyatt was born, Gideon grew concerned that the child was too powerful and became convinced that Wyatt needed to die to protect the Greater Good.

The Headless Horseman[]

6x14-Gideon held hostage by Zachary

Zachary threatening Gideon.

In 2004, Gideon required the sisters' services when one of the students at Magic School conjured up the Headless Horseman, who started beheading teachers. However, they were lucky as the magic at the school kept them alive. Gideon sent his aid Sigmund to contact the sisters, only for him to be beheaded as he entered the manor. After the horseman escaped into the mortal world, Gideon panicked when a mortal innocent was killed by the horseman, realizing that he may have to shut down the school. After the horseman beheaded the sisters, the student responsible, Zachary, morphed into Paige to move the students away from Gideon. Zachary then confronted Gideon about keeping him trapped at Magic School while he wanted to leave. After the sisters returned to normal by vanquishing the horseman, they convinced Zachary to let Gideon go.

True Intentions Revealed[]

Some time later, Gideon hired a group of Darklighters to target Leo. One of the Darklighters, Damien, ended up being sucked into the Ghostly Plane with Piper and Leo and continued to hunt them. While in the plane, Piper and Leo reunited as a couple and conceived Chris Halliwell. Damien then impaled Leo with an arrow. Meanwhile, Gideon pretended to help Phoebe and Paige in trying to save Piper and Leo and when they managed to escape, he healed Leo's injuries.

After the ordeal, Leo met with Gideon on the Golden Gate Bridge and informed him that he could not justify staying on earth any more and returned to the Heavens. Gideon then went to the Underworld to meet with the Darklighter leader and revealed his true plan, to keep Leo away and distract the Charmed Ones while he kills Wyatt.

The Spider Demon[]

When Piper and her unborn baby were cocooned by the Spider Demon, the sisters called Leo back from the Heavens for help. He went to Magic School for information on a wizard kidnapped by the demon, which Gideon provided before lecturing Leo about abandoning his Elder duties again. After the demon was vanquished, Piper agreed to stay at Magic School with Gideon for her safety, oblivious to his true intentions.

The Tribunal and Barbas[]

6x19-21

Gideon speaking to the Tribunal.

When Darryl Morris was framed for murder by The Cleaners to prevent the exposure of magic, the sisters went to Gideon for help to stop his execution. Gideon gave them information about the Tribunal and agreed to act as their lawyer in the trial, while the Tribunal summoned Barbas. During the trial, Barbas tried to convince the Tribunal to relinquish the sisters' powers for personal gain and risking exposure. However, once it was revealed that Barbas set everything in motion by having the robber and Inspector Sheridan possessed by phantasms, Darryl is spared. However, due to misusing her magic, Phoebe lost her active powers. Once the sisters left, Barbas taunted Gideon by reading his greatest fear—that the sisters will discover his plan to kill Wyatt.

Witch Wars[]

In order to warn the sisters, Leo, and Chris of Gideon's plan to kill Wyatt, he conspires with a demonic couple Corr and Clea to kill the sisters off in a demonic reality TV series. He does this by betraying a good witch, Tali, to her death by getting the sisters to protect her from the demonic contestants. Although one of his conditions was that no innocents were harmed, the demons, being evil, have other plans with a Darklighter killing Tali and a shapeshifter stealing the appearance of the crime reporter Kyle to get to the sisters themselves. Gideon pretends to save the day by forging a page on magical projector crystals he bugged the manor with. He then grabs a crystal to show a promotion for the series and claims that they're the ones after Wyatt. After the couple are vanquished, the sisters celebrate their success, with Gideon relieved that the sisters, Leo and Chris don't suspect him any more. Sigmund, who knows of the plan all along, worries that their attempts to kill Wyatt would be the reason why Wyatt turns evil, but Gideon ends up vanquishing him before he confesses to the sisters.

The Parallel World[]

In his final attempt to kill Wyatt, Gideon was forced to contact his counterpart in the evil parallel world, so that world's Wyatt would be killed as well. To prevent Leo and Chris from intervening in their plan, both Gideons turn invisible and blocks the potion necessary to create a portal, thus injuring their hands. After the Gideons heal each other, they manipulate the portal plan so that the Chrises and Leos would cross over into each other's worlds.

When the plan to return Chris goes horribly wrong for the good sisters, Paige and Phoebe are forced to track down their evil brother-in-law and nephew. However, evil Gideon sent their evil counterparts home, allowing them to move the good sisters through the portal and causing the worlds to turn unbalanced. The Gideons discuss this plan over a game of chess. Good Gideon sends Paige and Phoebe through the portal only to be attacked by the evil Gideon, telling them that they're not supposed to be there. The Pipers then lapse into labor and go to hospital—leaving good Gideon alone with good Wyatt.

His Intentions are Discovered[]

"Because just maybe he did know how wrong it could go."
—Good Barbas responds to Leo's question about Gideon's knowledge of the portal issues

While Paige, Phoebe, Leo and Chris are in the evil world's underworld (which looks more like a flourishing garden) with the good Barbas, evil Phoebe and Paige arrive and attack their counterparts while Chris, Leo and Barbas take cover behind a large rock. When Leo wonders out loud about whether or not Gideon knew about the portal problems, Barbas suggests that Gideon know exactly how it could go wrong. Once the Pipers call the sisters to say that they are in labour, Leo and Chris inform them that they need to save Wyatt as well.

Meanwhile, the Gideons plan their attack on the Wyatts by orbing them out of their bedroom to the attic. They later bless an athame to penetrate his Force Field and kill him. Just then, the Wyatts orb the athame away from themselves and into the Gideon's chest before a power of four vanquishing spell is cast by the sisters. The Gideons orb back to the mirror to heal themselves, knowing that they can breach his shield and with the worlds now unbalanced, they try to use it to their advantage.

Working with Barbas[]

Gideon realised his mistake of causing a significant imbalance, but realised that Wyatt's death would be the "great evil" necessary to restore the balance between the two worlds. However, the sisters, Leo and Chris soon discovered that in Chris' timeline Gideon took Wyatt away for several weeks in his attempt to kill the boy. While Wyatt was able to fend him off, the trauma of having to constantly defend himself as well as being betrayed by someone he thought he could trust was too much for his young psyche to handle, hence causing him to turn evil—thus making Gideon's concerns a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Meanwhile, the Phoebes and Paiges search in the Gideons' office when they notice an echo in the room. The Phoebes open the curtain masking the mirror after they notice a chess piece.

To help him make the necessary great evil, he enlists the help of Barbas, who sets to work scaring a cheerful Piper into bewitching her sisters to make them as unusually happy as her followed by torturing Leo with a hallucination of Wyatt growing up to be evil so that Wyatt's defenders would be distracted - allowing him to kidnap and kill Wyatt.

Killing Chris and Kidnapping Wyatt[]

"In trying to save one son, you have lost both sons. Very, very sad. "
Barbas teasing Leo over the possibly of losing both his sons.[src]

Chris is looking after Wyatt and searching through the book, when he hears footsteps. He then tries to flee with Wyatt, but Gideon knocks him back. Gideon then conjures up his athame, which he then uses to stab and kill Chris, as he runs towards Wyatt's cot. Leo orbs back from the hospital after Barbas finishes taunting him with the possibility of losing two sons instead of just one, only to find out that Gideon has breached the force field, picked Wyatt up and orbed him to the underworld with Barbas, stating that it was for the best.

Once the pair return to the underworld, Gideon and Barbas argue over how to kill Wyatt, with Gideon preferring not to get stabbed this time round. After Gideon notes how apparently Wyatt is cocky by not having his shield up, Barbas grows tired, grabs the athame, and pounces on Wyatt himself—only to fall to the floor as Wyatt orbs away. This results in a chase around the underworld by the pair until Gideon, via voice manipulation, lures Wyatt into a crystal cage using his father's voice.

His Vanquish[]

Gideon: "Your impatience is growing tiresome. I blessed it already. Now it's your turn. Is something wrong? "
"Barbas": "As a matter of fact… there is. "
— Leo posing as Barbas before stabbing Gideon with the athame

While Chris was dying, Leo had to go to Magic School. There he came face to face with his evil counterpart where they discuss how to save their sons. Evil Leo notes that he was full of hope while at the hospital, to which Good Leo responded with fear. Knowing that Barbas was responsible, they realize that in order to find Gideon, they need to find Barbas.

Upon trapping Wyatt, Gideon calls for Barbas to administer the killing - who apparently turns up to see him. "Barbas" criticises his lateness, to which Gideon snaps at his impatience. He hands "Barbas" the athame, who grows suspicious. Gideon asks if there is something wrong. "Barbas" states that there is - and proceeds to stab Gideon. "Barbas" transforms into Leo as he flings Gideon across the room. The real Barbas flames in and eavesdrops, while Gideon tries to defend his actions to kill Wyatt - including pulling the Elder card (to which Leo states that he is not one of them anymore) - but Leo refuses to have a bar of it.

After telling Gideon he was the reason why Wyatt turned evil in the first place, Leo orbs Gideon's magical mirror to the Underworld, and notifies Evil Leo on the other side not to kill Gideon. Gideon asks Leo what he was about to do. Leo replies with "A Great Evil," which was needed to restore balance to the parallel worlds. Leo strikes Gideon with lightning. Before Gideon dies, he curses Leo about the potential consequences of his decision before turning to dust. Leo destroys the mirror to prevent any future contact between the worlds, which had since been restored, due to a paragon of good being killed by another.

Personality[]

Gideon was a charismatic middle-aged Elder who possessed a great sense of responsibility and a great respect for the forces of good. He was very capable of using words skillfully, such as when he addressed the Tribunal, acting as a lawyer for the Charmed Ones.

However, Gideon was also consumed by a great fear for those who possess an unnatural number of powers, believing that those with power would inevitably end up turning evil. His fear of the horrors that would follow under such circumstances was so great that he was willing to plot the death of his pupil and great friend, Leo, and even murder Chris and an innocent baby.

Gideon was easily ranked as one of the most manipulative characters in the series, since all his attempts on Wyatt's life were all carefully planned and calculated, planting false evidence here and there, to ensure that he will not be suspected by the boy's caregivers.

Powers and Abilities[]

"Gideon's one of the most powerful Elders. If he wants him dead, he'll find a way."
—Leo stating the great magical power of Gideon
MolecularDispertion-Gideon

Gideon kills Sigmund

GideonAppears

Gideon invisible

Basic Powers
  • Spell Casting: The ability to cast spells and perform rituals. Gideon used this ability to curse an athame.
Active Powers
  • Apportation: The ability to teleport beings or items across different planes or dimensions, Gideon used this to summon a box of Ronyx Crystals and an athame.
  • Conjuration: The ability to draw objects into existence. Gideon used this ability so create a door to Magic School.
  • Divination: The ability to observe others through a Crystal Ball.
  • Electrokinesis: The ability to manipulate electricity and fire bolts of lightning.
  • Healing: The ability to heal the wounds of others, unless that being is already dead. Although most Whitelighters can't heal evil beings, Gideon succeeded to heal his evil doppelganger.
  • Invisibility: The ability to become unseen by the naked eye. His version was referred to as an "invisibility shield".
  • Molecular Dispersion: The ability to utterly destroy objects and beings by tearing them apart on a molecular level.
  • Orbing: The ability to teleport through the use of orbs. Unlike the other Whitelighters and Elders, Gideon's orbs had a unique purple color instead of blue.
  • Portal Creation: The ability to open portals to other places and planes.
  • Sensing: The ability to sense the location of other beings.
  • Telekinesis: The ability to move objects and beings with the mind
  • Telekinetic Orbing: The ability to transport objects with the mind through orbs. Gideon used this to orb Sigmund's head after he was decapitated.
  • Transformation: The ability to change one object into another. Gideon used this ability to change the pages of a book into an entry on Ronyx Crystals.
Other Powers
  • Reconstitution: The ability to reform the body after it has been destroyed.
  • Immortality: The ability to possess an infinite lifespan and an arrested aging process.

Notes and Trivia[]

Small triquetra The Gideon article has a Photo Gallery.
  • Gideon mentioned that he had been watching Prue, Piper and Phoebe since they were born.
  • Gideon and Kevin are the only Elders seen not wearing the traditional Elder robes.
  • According to Barbas, Gideon's greatest fear was that someone would discover that it was him who was after Wyatt. This was likely because his affiliation with demons and Darklighters would bring the end of Magic School, his career as an Elder, and his life.
  • Gideon, though officially considered an evil vanquished by Leo, could be more appropriately considered a tragic hero in which he would be a hero who, through his own actions, makes an error in judgment which leads to his downfall: the error being judging Wyatt as being a great threat to the force of good and his attempts at trying to vanquish him, which if unsuccessful, would have turned him evil.
  • Gideon is the only Whitelighter or Elder in the series whose orbs had a different color (although Paige did have her orbs temporarily turned green during the events of "Lucky Charmed"). His orbs have varied between the regular colors of blue and purple.
  • Gideon is the first main antagonist to die in the finale of a season.
  • In the reboot series, Gideon's counterpart is Charity Callahan. However, there are also two characters named after him: one is an angel from a television show, a clear meta-reference, and the other is a British mortal.

Appearances[]

Gideon appeared in a total of 7 episodes and 1 comic issue throughout the course of the series.

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