Melinda Warren was the only child of two mortals, Charlotte Warren and Lawrence Cutler. Born on October 31st, 1670, she was an exceptionally powerful witch who possessed the powers of telekinesis, molecular immobilization, and premonition. She started the line of Warren witches which, as prophesied by Melinda herself, culminated in the arrival of the three (actually four) most powerful witches of all time; the Charmed Ones.
History
To The Warren Born
Early in her pregnancy, a mortal woman named Charlotte Warren sought the help of a witch for abortion. The witch, then called Isabel, was actually the very first original witch. Isabel told her that her child was magical since she gave her a mother a premonition that informed her that her lover, Lawrence, was never coming back. She also confessed that she knew more than what she could share, which was why she could not help in the way Charlotte desired. However, she did intend to help through a different solution: she gave Charlotte a talisman in the shape of the triquetra, which would lead her to Eva, a good witch who would help her see her child safely into the world, and convinced her to do so not only for the sake of her child, but also for the future of "us all".
Birth
Melinda shortly after her birth.
Two years after the Halliwell sisters became the Charmed Ones, they were sent through a portal to the year 1670, to help Eva and her coven save a woman pregnant with a coveted magical child from an evil witch named Ruth Cobb. Ruth captured Charlotte when she went into labor, wanting to raise the child to be evil. The Charmed Ones, with the help of Eva and her coven, rescued Charlotte. With their recently acquired knowledge of natural magic, the Charmed Ones created a protective shield of good magic that Charlotte gave birth to her child in. Later, Charlotte revealed that her newborn child's name was going to be Melinda Warren, whom the Charmed Ones knew to be the founder their magical family line.[1]
A painting of Melinda
Most of Melinda's story after her birth is unknown besides the fact that she moved from Colonial Virginia to Salem, Massachusetts during the Witch Trials. Sometime during her life, Melinda gave birth to a daughter whom she named Prudence, and also created the Warren Book of Shadows, who would eventually become the most powerful and coveted tome of witchcraft in the world.
Affair with Matthew Tate
Melinda cursing Matthew before her death
During her time in Salem, Melinda had a lover named Matthew Tate who turned out to be a warlock. He used their "love" as a way to gain her trust and copy her active powers. He outed her as a witch, thus betraying her and making her realize his deceit. After finding out about Matthew's betrayal, Melinda concocted a plan of revenge. When Matthew came to her before her death to gloat, she tricked him into opening her Pewter Heart locket. Cursing the locket with a potion and a spell, Melinda locked Matthew into it, never to be released unless one of her descendants was to open it.
Death and Prophecy
- "You may kill me, but you cannot kill my kind. With each generation, the Warren line will grow stronger and stronger - culminating in the arrival of three sisters. Together, these three sisters will be the most powerful witches the world has ever known. They will be good witches and vanquish all kinds of evil. They will be known as the Charmed Ones."
- —Melinda Warren
After Matthew Tate outed Melinda as a witch, she was trapped and condemned to be burned at the stake. Melinda did not use her powers to escape, as it would have confirmed her as a witch and put her daughter's life in jeopardy. The day Melinda was burned at the stake, she prophesied the arrival of three sister witches, the Charmed Ones, who would be the most powerful witches ever.
Meeting the Charmed Ones
Melinda appears before the Charmed Ones
Nearly three hundred years later, not long after Melinda's latest descendants Prue, Piper, and Phoebe Halliwell became the Charmed Ones, Melinda's locket ended up at Buckland Auction House. The warlocks Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster wanted to prove that Prue was a descendent of Melinda Warren, thus confirming that she and her sisters are indeed the Charmed Ones. Rex acquired the locket and set things in motion for Prue to open it, which set the warlock Matthew Tate free.
Matthew tricked Prue to use her power on him, and eventually copied it. After Phoebe had a premonition of Melinda cursing Matthew into the locket, the sisters found out who he really was. With no known ways of vanquishing him, the sisters summoned Melinda from the afterlife to help them curse him into the locket again. After helping the Charmed Ones to brew the potion and finally cast the spell to trap Matthew forever, she gave the sisters a last goodbye, and told them that she couldn't stay because it wasn't her time; it was theirs. Before she left, Phoebe placed Melinda's hand on her chest which triggered a premonition of more generations of her beautiful daughters. Melinda was then released back into the afterlife, full of joy to see her dreams come true.[2]
Helping reclaim the Heavens
Melinda greets Paige in the afterlife, preparing for battle
- "Blessed be, Paige. Blessed be."
- — Melinda's first encounter with Paige.
Eight years later when Melinda's ancestor, the first witch, now called Neena, tried to unite the Heavens and the Underworld, Melinda and the other deceased Warren witches left the afterlife and she led the swarm against Neena's army. During this time, Melinda also met Paige, the fourth Charmed One, for the first time. After the battle she returned to the afterlife.
Powers and Abilities
- Basic Powers
- Spell Casting: The ability to cast spells and perform rituals.
- Potion Making: The ability to brew potions.
- Scrying: The ability to locate a person or object by the use of a scrying crystal, a map, and sometimes other tools.
- Mediumship: The ability to see and commune with spirits of the dead.
- Active Powers
- Telekinesis: The ability to move objects using only the power of one's mind.
- Molecular Immobilization: The ability to slow the molecules of an object or a person down to the point that they appear to be frozen in time.
- Premonition: The ability to see future, present, and past events in time.
Legacy
Melinda's blessing cup.
At Piper Halliwell's wedding to Leo Wyatt, the "something old" found by Phoebe was Melinda Warren's Blessing Cup that she drank from at her wedding.[3]
It was revealed to Piper when she and her sisters travel into the future that she would eventually have a daughter who was named Melinda.[4] A few years later when she got pregnant, she planned to name the baby Prudence Melinda after both her ancestor and her late sister, only to surprisingly have a son, instead.[5]
Eventually, Piper did have a daughter, whom she named Melinda.
Notes and Trivia
"Melinda Jackson".
- For Piper's wedding, Phoebe found Melinda's blessing cup that she used at her wedding. Presumably, her husband William Jackson possibly left or died sometime before Melinda's affair with Matthew Tate.
- Prue said that she and her sisters could always summon her, however Melinda wasn't seen again in the series, except for All Halliwell's Eve, when the sisters met her as a newborn baby and in Last Witch Effort and The Charmed Offensive as a spirit.
- The family tree seen in Pardon My Past says that William Warren married Melinda Jackson. This is a mistake, as Melinda was born a Warren.
- According to the family tree, Melinda and William had a son, too. However, his existence is disputed by Penny's statement about Wyatt Halliwell being the first male in generations.
- In the Book of Shadows, the title page says that the book was created in 1693. This wouldn't be possible since Melinda created it, yet died one year before the Book's written date.
- She appears to be the first of The Warren Line to name her child Prudence, which will be quite popular in the family well into the future.
- Paige Matthews finally meets Melinda in Last Witch Effort.
- Melinda's birth can be seen as a precursor to Wyatt Halliwell's birth: both Charlotte and Piper were kidnapped in labor; Melinda and Wyatt were prophesied to be extremely powerful children that could be swayed to good or evil.
- The character is probably named after Mary Warren who took part in the real Salem witch trials. The show's creator and writer, Constance M. Burge, named the character "Melinda" after her niece.
- Piper with the help of Phoebe and Prue, delivered her.
- It is likely that the only reason the Warren line knew the Charmed Ones would one day be in their family is because the Charmed Ones themselves told Charlotte Warren that they were related in the episode All Halliwell's Eve.
Appearances
Melinda Warren appeared in a total of 2 episodes and 2 issues over the course of the series.
- Season 1
- The Witch is Back
- Season 3
- All Halliwell's Eve (as an infant)
- Season 9
- Last Witch Effort
- The Charmed Offensive
Template:InnocentsSeason3
References
- ↑ "All Halliwell's Eve"
- ↑ "The Witch is Back"
- ↑ As seen in "Just Harried".
- ↑ As seen in "Morality Bites".
- ↑ As seen in "Baby's First Demon"