The relationship of Prue Halliwell and Andy Trudeau was part of the main subject and motivation in the first season of Charmed.
It was also one of the most significant love stories throughout the series, maybe the first one, even though it was short-lived and ended in tragedy. It was also Prue's biggest love life.
History
Early Life
Prue as a kid
Andy as a kid
Prue and Andy lived in the same neighborhood on Prescott Street, and had been good friends and playmates since they were kids. In high school, their feelings grew to be more than friendship, and they dated, even missing their prom together.
Their intimacy was such that Andy actually used to sneak up to Prue's bedroom without Grams noticing, though Phoebe listened in on them through a grate in the kitchen. But as he moved away to Portland, they moved on with their lives and never really talked much from that point in.
Though they stopped contacting each other, Andy regularly checked up on her and her family after joining the police force, as witnessed in the pilot, when Andy mentions he knew Prue was engaged to Roger.
Season 1
Prue and Andy at the hospital
- Andy: "Okay. Friday night, eight o'clock? You're hesitating."
- Prue: "Yeah, but it's not what you think. It's just that my life has gotten a bit complicated."
- — Andy asking Prue out.[src]
In 1998, just the day after the sisters' powers had been re-awakened, Prue ran into Andy at a hospital; they started going out again, but they rushed their relationship and slept together in their first date in years, and so decided to slow things down.
A picture of Prue and Andy.
As Prue and her sisters got more involved with magical activities that ruined her plans with Andy, he began to feel frustrated with her dishonesty, and eventually decided to take a break from their relationship. Prue later cast the Truth Spell to find out if he could accept her as a witch, as the spell will automatically remove his memory after it ended. However, having too little time to think it through, Andy decided against having a witch for a girlfriend. After the spell ended, Prue officially broke off their relationship.
Andy discovering Prue's secret
Though Andy did not remember what happened and why she broke up with him, he still cared dearly for her and tried to persuade her to tell him what she knew about the cases that she was involved in. Much to his dismay, her lips were tightly shut. He did, however, suspect that she might be dabbling in magic; he started a file on her that had articles about magic in it.
Andy finds out the truth.
When a reporter named Eric Lohman witnessed Prue's telekinetic powers, he confronted Andy about it. Andy followed Prue to a storm drain where Prue and her sisters were tracking Grimlocks. He emptied his pistol into a Grimlock that came up on him, but the bullets didn't even scratch him. Just as the Grimlock was about to strangle Andy, Prue flung him away. Andy finally realized that Prue was indeed a witch, and from then on did his best to cover for her and her sisters. His actions drew the attention of Inspector Rodriguez, an internal affairs detective who was also intrigued by the large number of unsolved cases on Andy's file--all of which, as it turned out, involved the Charmed Ones. He pressed Andy for details, but Andy took a suspension rather than identify Prue. Later, he told Prue that she and her sisters were doing the very thing that made him go into police work in the first place.
Prue trying to protect Andy
Rodriguez was really a low-level demon dispatched by the Source to find out why so many of the Bay Area's demons had disappeared in such a short time. Using his enhanced hearing powers, he found out that Prue was Andy's source and decided to attack them at the manor. Rodriguez called Andy in and told him that he knew Prue was a witch. Andy thought the only way Rodriguez could know this was if Rodriguez himself were a demon. He offered to help in case Rodriguez showed up. However, Phoebe had gotten a premonition of Andy dying at the hand of a demon, and Prue didn't want Andy there. Rodriguez made two attempts to kill the Charmed Ones, only to die himself before killing all of them. The Charmed Ones eventually figured out that they'd been thrown into a time loop created by Tempus, who was resetting time every time Rodriguez failed in order to help him learn from his mistake. When Prue told Andy of this, he was even more determined to help them against Rodriguez. When Andy saw Rodriguez' eyes turn fiery red before h
Prue and Andy's last kiss
e headed into the manor, his suspicions were confirmed and he rushed in behind Rodriguez. Andy emptied his pistol into Rodriguez, to no avail. Rodriguez blasted Andy with an Energy Ball, killing him instantly.
While Prue was unconscious, Andy's spirit spoke to her about his sacrifice and urged her to find a way to break the time loop so they may be able to save themselves. Prue wanted to find a way to save him, but he encouraged her to do what was right and promised that he will always be near her.
Piper and Phoebe wanted to roll back time and save Andy, but Prue realized that breaking the time loop was the only way to get rid of Rodriguez and Tempus for good -- and that meant letting Andy stay dead. By casting the spell to accelerate time, Tempus was banished back to the Underworld and Rodriguez died trying to kill the sisters for the third time.
Season 2
Prue blames herself for Andy's death.
Prue is tormented
- "If I’m supposed to be so powerful, how come I couldn’t save him? I mean, my God, don’t you understand? Andy died because of me, it doesn’t matter what he said, it was my fault. How could it be good to be witches if all it does is get the people we love killed?"
- —Prue blaming herself.[src]
Prue grieved over him immensely, to the point that she considered giving up her powers as she thought they had only brought death and sadness to their lives. Fortunately Piper and Phoebe talked her out of it, saying that Andy's death had not been his or her fault. Andy had chosen to be a protector of the innocent just like them, and had made the ultimate sacrifice in order to save Prue and her sisters.
Later, when a Spirit Killer tried to kill Prue, he told her that if she had jumped from the bridge where they are located eight years earlier, Andy might still be alive. However, she overcame her culpability and faced him.
Season 9
Andy reunites with his love.
In The Heavens Can Wait, Prue, whose spirit had taken over a comatose witch's body, mentions that she was reunited with Andy shortly after her death before she went off on her own and reattached herself to the physical plane to make the new Power of Three stronger, since she still had a connection with them. After she died, because she was still bonded to her sisters, Prue was stuck being dead, but was still tethered to the world of the living. Despite the fact that the Angels of Destiny allowed her to enter the afterlife, where she was reunited with her family and Andy, Prue's soul was still unfortunately torn apart, resulting in her lashing out at everyone, including Andy, whom she said suffered the most. But Andy refused to let her go. She was left with no choice but to leave to find a solitary corner in the Astral Plane, before finally being able to return to the Earthly one.
Analysis
It can be said that both were the last long-lived relationship of the other, the love of their lives. After Andy's death, Prue only had some occasional and short-lived flings with other men, but never as important and beloved as Andy, revealing—though not directly, perhaps—that he held an irreplaceable position in her heart. Prue herself later made the ultimate sacrifice to save her sisters: her own life. They were later reunited in the afterlife, but Prue was unable to remain there due to her connection to the Charmed prophecy.
Notes
- The two shared the same destiny as they were both killed by a demon at the manor while protecting someone else.
- This relationship is one of the oldest of the show as it started when they were kids.
- It's also the first important love story of the series.
- Prue and Andy only shared four onscreen kisses during their relationship.
- Almost every time Prue sees Andy, she greets him with the phrase: “Andy, hi.” Prue especially uses this phrase when she is happy to see Andy.
- In the season 3 episode Primrose Empath, Prue accidentally got the power of empathy and while feeling Cole's intense love for Phoebe, she mentions that she hasn't felt that intense love since Andy was alive.