Once Upon a Time
From Charmed
Once Upon A Time is the 47th episode of Charmed.
Contents |
[edit] Episode Information
- Season 3
- Episode No. 03
- Written By Krista Vernoff
- Directed By Joel J. Feigenbaum
- Production No. 4300047
- Original Airdate October 19, 2000
[edit] Summary
Phoebe comes across a young girl, Kate, that is being terrorized by trolls because she is protecting a fairy they seek to harm. Although Prue and Phoebe believe the young girl needs the help of The Charmed Ones, Piper goes on strike from helping innocents until The Powers That Be allow her and Leo to be together again. While Prue and Phoebe try to save Kate and the fairy from the trolls, Cole attempts to gain access to the Halliwell Manor to get The Book of Shadows.
[edit] Plot
Leo pulls Piper aside at P3. They kiss for the first time in a week and Leo says he has come to say goodbye. Leo's voice begins to echo, and then Piper's. He urges her to forget about him. He orbs away. Prue appears and urges Piper to wake up. Prue calls Phoebe, who is driving Prue's car, and tells her about Piper's dream. Phoebe, distracted, almost hits a little girl in the street. The girl, Kate, is holding a small box, protecting it from unseen creatures. Phoebe comforts Kate and finds three claw marks on her arm.
The sisters prepare some soup and cookies for the girl. Phoebe tries to get Kate's coat from the car but finds all the keys missing. Kate suggests that the fairies hid them. Her mother and stepfather come to the door and take Kate home; she urges them to stay out of the door, because it's an "in-between place". Kate sees a troll, a small, grotesque creature, but none of the others do. The mother and stepfather say that Kate has been troubled since her parents' divorce.
The mother and stepfather put Kate to bed, and after they leave, unseen figures begin to disturb her room.
The three sisters had all had the same imaginary friend, a fairy named Lilly; they find some old watercolors in the attic. Phoebe finds information on fairies and trolls in a children's book; the Book of Shadows is silent, as it was written by adults. They are visible in in-between places such as doorways -- and midnight.
Cole calls Phoebe and chats her up, and after a while says he sounds like Billy Appleby. Phoebe recognizes the name, the protagonist from Kill It Before It Dies ("Chick Flick"). He wants to meet at the manor, but Phoebe waves him off and asks to meet him at the club. Piper no longer wants to work for "them" and goes off to P3.
Kate is drawing detailed pictures of trolls when Prue and Phoebe visit. They ask Kate what she knows of fairies. She is protecting Thistle, a fairy princess, from the trolls, who want to rule the enchanted kingdom. Prue and Phoebe ask to see Thistle, and Kate opens the box. The sisters can't see Thistle until Kate sprinkles them with fairy dust. Phoebe and Prue give a silly giggle and now they see Thistle. Kate gives Prue the key to Thistle's box.
The fairy dust doesn't wear off quickly, though, and Phoebe and Prue are up on stage at P3 singing "If You're Happy and You Know It" as the patrons leave in droves. Piper freezes the room and wants to know what they're doing. Phoebe and Prue try to dust Piper but the dust has no effect. Piper orders Prue and Phoebe into the parking lot to wait for a cab and they see trolls as they pass through the door.
Prue and Phoebe find the manor an intimidating place with its many doorways. The doorbell rings and Cole is at the door. Puzzled at their behavior, he asks to use the bathroom. They send him to one and he shimmers to the attic. Prue talks to Kate over a walkie-talkie and tell her that the dust didn't work on Piper. Kate says that Piper must not believe in fairies. Cole tries to take the Book of Shadows and it flees from him. He turns into a grotesque form and Prue and Phoebe think they hear a troll. They enter the attic and see Cole in demon form, who shimmers back to the bathroom. The trolls attack, steal the key from Phoebe, and trip her and Prue down the stairs. The fairy dust has now worn off. The sisters rush Cole out the door.
Prue checks the Book of Shadows to put together a spell while Phoebe tries to reason with Piper. P3 is beset by glasses breaking, disappearing keys, people tripping. Phoebe tells Piper about the trolls and Piper thinks that they may be causing the trouble at P3. One slams the cash register drawer on Piper's finger and she asks a coworker to close up for her. Piper steps outside and trolls trip her up. She rants at "them" and in time becomes as immature as Phoebe and Prue had been under the fairy dust.
Midnight approaches and finally Piper comes to the manor. The three read a spell to allow them to see fairies and trolls. They go to Kate's house. Midnight strikes and the trolls attack in Kate's room. The sisters enter and are also beset by trolls; the spell has not worked. The trolls grab Thistle's box, drag Kate under the bed and turn her into a fairy. They open Thistle's box and take Kate and Thistle.
Piper blames herself for the failure of the spell. Phoebe tries to get a vision from the box. Piper talks out her feelings and the spell begins to work; they see a fairy in the window. The fairy leads the sisters into the woods, and then flies away when it sees a cave. The cave is "Troll Central"; Kate and Thistle are in a suspended cage and the trolls light a fire under them. The trolls spot them and attack. Phoebe levitates and asks Prue for some help; she swats Prue toward the cage, rescuing Kate and Thistle. Prue and Piper leap the flames as Piper freezes them, and so they lure the trolls into the flames. Kate at first wants to stay a fairy, but Piper talks her into becoming human again.
At the manor, the doorbell rings. No one is at the door, but the porch is covered with wreaths and garlands.
Piper reflects that marriage to a Whitelighter may be hard, that he may be gone for weeks at a time. She could not have lived with losing Kate, however. Leo orbs in and tells Piper that "they" have reconsidered; they are going to give Leo and Piper a chance.
Phoebe calls Cole, meaning to leave a message, and finds him at his desk at 2 AM. They talk a bit, and then he sends his shadow to report to the Triad.
[edit] Guest Stars
[edit] Co-Stars
- Nancy Everhard as Jana
- Tony Carreiro as Bill
- Michael Bailey Smith as Belthazor
- Jake Dinwiddie as Fairy
- Scout Taylor-Compton as Thistle
[edit] Innocents
- Kate, probably a future witch.
[edit] Evils
- Trolls
[edit] Evils Vanquished
- Prue uses TK to throw a troll into the fire.
- Piper and Prue trick the trolls to run into the fire.
[edit] Powers
- Leo / Orbs / Himself / P3
- Cole dematerializes the book he has on the Halliwells
- Piper / Freezes / P3 / P3
- Piper / Unfreezes / P3 / P3
- Cole / Shimmers / Himself / Manor Bathroom
- Cole / Shimmers / Himself / Manor Attic
- Belthazor / Shimmers / Himself / Manor Attic
- Piper / Freezes / Troll / Cave
- Prue / TK / Troll / Cave
- Phoebe / Levitates / Herself / Cave
- Prue / TK / Phoebe / Cave
- Piper / Freezes / Fire / Cave
- Leo / Orbs / Himself / Manor
- Cole controls his shadow.
[edit] Spells
- The Charmed Ones cast the spell to See Trolls
[edit] To See Trolls
- Prue combined the spell to To See What Can't Be Seen, Cultivate Innocence, and the Power of Three Spell:
- In this tween time
- this darkest hour,
- We call upon this Sacred Power.
- Three together, stand alone
- command the unseen to be shown.
- In innocence we search the skies,
- enchanted are our new found eyes.
- ~Cast by The Charmed Ones
[edit] Notes
- Darryl does not appear in this episode.
- This is the first fantasy episode of the Series.
- This episode reveals that Piper is a Gemini, which is incorrect as she is born in August, and Phoebe is a Scorpio.
- Actress Scout Taylor-Compton, who plays Thistle, later reprises her role in several episodes.
- On the file that Cole has about Phoebe it says one of her love interests is Rex Buckland, indicating a formidable amount of knowledge amassed over time.
- This is the first appearance of Belthazor. Cole's demonic half.
- In this episode it is said that fairies and trolls can't be seen by adults, only by children. Because the Book of Shadows was written by adults, it didn't have any entry on fairies or trolls. But in season 8 an entry on fairies is seen with a beautiful drawing and calligraphy. It could be that Paige made this entry as we learn that Paige is a really good artist in the season 4 episode Muse to My Ears.
- While at P3, Piper finds the Valentine's Day card that Leo gave her in Animal Pragmatism.
- The Elders in this episode are referred to as The Powers That Be, the same name that is used to refer to the higher powers in the Buffyverse series Angel.
[edit] External links
- Charmed DVD Information about the Charmed DVD sets.
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