Primrose Empath is the 6th episode of the third season and the 50th overall episode of Charmed.
Summary
| For a complete plot of Primrose Empath, go here. |
Cole uses magic to lead Prue to what appears to be a man suffering because he is capable of feeling the emotions of others around him and cannot control his empathic power. Prue casts a spell to remove this power, but unknowingly helps this cursed demon, Vinceres, to gain his ability to harm innocents again, while gaining the empathic ability herself. As Prue struggles to control her newly gained power, Vinceres seeks to kill the one that cursed him. Piper expresses concern that her relationship with Leo isn't normal enough, while Phoebe and Cole can't help falling in love with each other.
Characters
Characters in bold appear for the first time in the series.
Beings
Magical Beings
- Vinceres - a demonic assassin vanquished by Prue who astral-projects inside him and uses her empathy to make him feel all the human pain of the world which he can't handle.
- Father Thomas - an immortal Empath and an active Priest.
Mortals
- Deputy - murdered by Vinceres with the Touch of Death.
- Church Lady - murdered by Vinceres with the Touch of Death.
Magical Notes
Book of Shadows
Vinceres
- For centuries this immortal hitman has terrorized supernatural
- beings and innocents alike. His innate defenses, combined with
- his ability to burn his victims to death, have allowed him to
- successfully eliminate numerous forces of good. Staying out of
- his line of attack is the wisest course of action.
Spells
Prue casts the Empath Release spell on Vinceres in his Loft. Because Vinceres made physical contact with Prue, the result gives Prue the powers of an Empath.
To Relinquish an Empath's Power
- Free the Empath
- Release his Gift,
- Let his Pain
- Be cast Adrift.
Powers
- Astral Projection : Used by Prue in the kitchen to practice her powers, to jump into Vinceres and to channel all the emotions to vanquish Vinceres. Prue can also briefly aware of the surroundings both in her real and astral body.
- Telekinesis : Used by Prue several times to move a fork in her astral form (failed). Prue used telekinesis twice to unlock the chain in Vinceres' loft and to hold the door of Vinceres' loft as a way to prevent the Deputy from entering. Vinceres used telekinesis to open the door of Halliwell Manor.
- Empathy : Used by Vinceres and Prue to feel the emotions. Prue used empathy to channel her telekinetic power to a greater level.
- Shimmering : Type of teleportation used by Cole.
- Touch of Death : Used by Vinceres to kill the Deputy, the Church Lady and to kill Father Thomas in Phoebe's premonition.
- Premonition : Phoebe received a premonition of Vinceres killing the Deputy, the Church Lady and Father Thomas.
- Advanced Telekinesis : Used by Prue to accidentally blow up a television in the kitchen and the basement's ceiling, to shake the psychiatric building, to levitate several objects in the building, to fling Vinceres and to channel her telekinetic power into hand-to-hand combat.
- Molecular Immobilization : Used by Piper to freeze Vinceres twice.
- Adjusting : Used by Vinceres to adjust Piper's molecular immobilization.
- Power Granting : Used by Father Thomas to curse Vinceres (mentioned).
- Shadow Manipulation : Used by Cole to order his 'shadow'.
- Super Strength : Used by Vinceres to throw Piper and Phoebe to a wall and used by Vinceres to fight Prue.
- Rising : Used by Vinceres to stand up after being knocked down by Prue.
- Cole may had used Technopathy to change the lights of the signal, although he didn't possess this power at that time.
- Prue channels her telekinesis through the whole fight scene between her and Vinceres.
- This is the first time that Phoebe has a premonition without touching something or someone with her hands. In Morality Bites, her hands were off screen so we don't know for sure if she was still holding the remote control or not. But her premonition still came from what she saw on TV.
- This is the first time that Phoebe sees multiple events, at multiple times during one premonition. Also, the first time she sees both past and future events at the same time.
- Prue wasn't able to see the chain when she closed the door.
Behind the Scenes
Notes and Trivia
- This is the 50th episode of Charmed. In contrary to the 100th and 150th episode, this isn't mentioned on the WB's promo poster.
- The title is a reference to the movie The Primrose Path" (1925) and/or on the line from Shakespeare, "Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads.", which means a path of pleasure which leads up to destruction.
WB's promo
- Darryl does not appear in this episode.
- Phoebe doesn't use her Levitation power in this episode.
- Harry Groener (Father Thomas) was in Star Trek: The Next Generation's episode as Tin Man in which he played an empath/telepath, who was overburdened by the thoughts and emotions of the humans around him.
- This is the first episode to feature the power Empathy. In "Valhalley of the Dolls, Part 1", Phoebe receives this power.
- In this episode, Prue feels Cole and Phoebe's love for each other as she meets the two at the Manor's front door and convinces Phoebe to pursue Cole. Strangely enough, she doesn't seem to remember this when she learns he is Belthazor, as she is convinced he can't possibly love her and cannot seem to fully trust him throughout the entire rest of the season. Making this even more ironic is that thanks to Prue's empathy and persuasion, Phoebe sleeps with Cole for the first time in this episode.
- In this episode, Prue was trying to use telekinesis in astral mode, but fails. It should be noted that each time she attempted to use telekinesis, it was accompanied with a sound effect. When Prue previously tried to do this in Heartbreak City, there was no such accompaniment, possibly meaning Prue was advancing to the point of being able to use telekinesis in astral mode.
- At the beginning of this episode, Prue is reading a book " The Power of Telekinesis" by "Chele Knapp Robinette." Robinette is the production assistant to producer Les Sheldon.
- Prue's telekinesis power doesn't work in astral form. She can, however, use other powers such as empathy in astral mode. However, due to her temporary power surge, it's possible that she could have but just never displayed it.
- In this episode, for a moment, Prue was aware as both herself and her astral projection after she vanquished Vinceres, the only time she displayed that.
- In this episode, Prue is able to make her astral-projection incorporeal and jumped inside someone. This is the only episode she displays this ability. Some of this may be from her empathy power enhancing her telekinesis and astral-projection as she clearly channeled empathy even in astral mode, but the incorporialization may be her own doing, due to practice as her astral self seems to be incorporeal at times like when Abbey shot at her in Sight Unseen.
- This is the first and only episode where Prue vanquishes a demon while using astral-projection without casting a spell.
- Prue defeated Vinceres by channeling the pain that had paralyzed her for most of the day into her telekinesis. The fight scene between Prue and Vinceres in the Manor is essentially a copy of the scene in The Matrix (1999) when Neo fights Agent Smith in the subway station and after Neo was shot. Even the vanquish was similar: Prue astral-projects inside of Vinceres and destroys him from the inside like Neo destroys Smith. She even fights with one hand behind her back like Neo at one point.
- Prue was able to use Psychokinesis to unlock the door to Vince's room without seeing the chain which was holding the door. This is the third time she used this power, first being the very first episode of Charmed and the second being Reckless Abandon.
- This episode scored 6.1 million viewers.
Glitches
- When Cole writes his pager number on his card he writes: 415-555-0166, but the number typed right above is 415-555-0167 (which may have been a cell phone or office number).
- At the club, when Prue told her sisters that the dentist left her tongue numb, and Piper responded that she was lucky he saw her, they edited out a risque joke that may have been too much for daytime TV (as the series is now shown during day time as opposed to prime time). In the un-altered closed caption, Piper says "you are lucky he took you" [emphasis], picking up a remark she made earlier that Prue really needed a man badly. The inside joke was likely that she was acting on injury: oral sex "left her tongue numb".
- When Vinceres kills the Deputy, his face is red with burns as he drops dead, but later then Cole shimmers in, his head his completely charred.
- When Piper opens the Vinceres page you see the actual page. But when the camera goes to another shot its the Ordo Malorum page.
- When Vinceres is incinerating the lady at the Chapel, the small bit of her skin by her neck that is shown under her scarf is shown and it is not red like her face is.
- When Prue is trying to explain that she is meant to have the empathic gift she accidentally blows up the small television in the kitchen. When the screen only shows the television the screen blows up and the entire screen is shattered. When the camera goes to Leo, Piper, and the television, there is only a part of the screen shattered. Then the next time the television is shown, more of the screen is gone. This last glass removal may have just been when the screen wasn't on the television and it may have broken more.
Quotes
- (Prue, Piper and Leo walk out of the kitchen.)
- Leo: We'll help you out.
- Prue: No, no, no, I'll hit the book alone. Your guys' couple issues are really starting to hurt my head.
- Piper: Wait, we have couple issues?
- Prue: (to Leo) Resentment, (to Piper) denial. Be nice.
- (Prue goes upstairs.)
- Leo: Piper, you want me in the real world but I'm not of this world.
- Piper: I know, and I'm, I see your point. I'm sorry I didn't understand. (They sit on the couch.) I know this must be very difficult for you.
- Leo: It is.
- Piper: Leo, you have to understand I am very proud to be with you. And so proud that I need to share you with the rest of the world, my world. And you know, the other stuff we'll figure out. (They kiss.)
- Prue: (from upstairs) Not now, I have a headache.
- Prue: I haven't felt anything like that since Andy was alive.
- Phoebe: Like what?
- Prue: Spinning into infinity. You know, falling down the spiral that makes you lose your breath and stops your heart.
International Titles
- French: A fleur de peau (Has Flower of Skin) (Hypersensitivity)
- French (British DVD including BeNeLux): À fleur de peau (To Flower of Skin) (Superficially)
- Polish: W przypływie empatii (In a Fit of Empathy)
- Czech: Prokletá empatie (Cursed Empathy)
- Slovak: Nežiadaný dar (Unwanted Gift)
- Russian: Sila emotsiy (The Power of Emotions)
- Spanish (Spain): El camino de rosas de la empatía (The Primrose Path of Empathy)
- Spanish (Latin America): La empatía heredada (Inherited Empathy)
- Italian: Empatia (Empathy)
- German Die Macht der Gefühle (The Power of Emotions)
- Hugarian: Az érző (The Feeler)
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