Season two opens up with a refresher course for the sisters. A demon has made off with the Book of Shadows and they have to rely on the memories to undo some of the things they've already undone. The second episode starts in with one of the heavy themes of the season, that is, the morality and duty of being a witch. The penalty for neglecting it all seem a bit stiff, however. A new love interest—or a distraction—is introduced for Piper in the person of neighbor Dan.

His roughly12-year-old niece, Jenny, is staying with him temporarily, and seems to be an appeal to the teenybopper crowd. The situation was handled quite poorly, I thought, seemingly forced and saccharine. At one point, Jenny complains to Phoebe that it's “that time of the month” and her uncle bought her “sanitary napkins.” Does anyone under 40 use that term, even in a doctor's office? But I digress.

A couple of episodes involve Faustian bargains: “The Devil's Music” has Dishwalla's manager paying the piper (so to speak) as well as Jenny in peril after she comes to Piper's club despite being explicitly being told she was not allowed to. “How to Make a Quilt out of Americans” has an old coven member of Grams' dealing for health and youth with a demon who wants (surprise) the sisters' powers.

A big no-no happens when Piper imports some fruit for the club without waiting for them to go through quarantine. She comes down with comes fictional arroyo fever, leading to a coma. Prue, Piper and eventually Leo's interventions in turn lead to sad consequences, in this episode and in another, “Astral Monkey,” not all of which can be undone.

In the meantime, Piper is drawn to Dan, but keeps having to blow him off for one reason or another. She's also drawn to Leo, but wants the normal life Dan can offer. Plus there is the forbidden love between whitelighters and witches thing. Phoebe goes back to school—can't figure out on whose dime—though she's not sure what she wants to study yet. Prue eventually quits Buckland's and becomes a freelance photographer. Good lord, who pays for all the new clothes the sisters always show up in?  And really you'd think Prue could find time to shop for a bra once in a while.

There are cute moments and some funny moments, but if there are profound ones, I must have missed them. The episodes that I enjoyed the most are the ones like “Apocalypse Not,” “Chick Flick,” even “The Painted World” that don't take themselves too seriously.


1. Witch Trial
Original airdate: Sept. 30, 1999

On the one year anniversary of the sisters' receiving their powers, a demon named Abraxas steals the Book of Shadows without even leaving the house. As he reads it backward, it erases and the sisters have to re-vanquish some pests from season one.

Also, a mighty fine-looking neighbor and his young niece move in next door. With Prue and Phoebe's help, Piper buys what will become (fittingly) the night club P3.


2. Morality Bites
Original airdate: Oct. 7, 1999

In an effort to keep their driveway free of dog poop, the sister's use their powers unwisely on a rude neighbor. This in turn leads to their eventual outing and in the future—Feb 26, 2009, to be exact--to the barbecue of Phoebe as a witch. As soon as she accepts that it's her job to save the innocent and not punish the guilty, and allows herself to feel the heat, they're returned to the present, but there are lessons for all three sisters. Piper has seen herself with a daughter, divorced from Leo and wonders if there isn't a way to make things work between them. Prue saw herself incredibly successful at work, but with no man is sight. She decides to slow down a bit.

3.The Painted World
Original airdate: Oct. 14, 1999

Prue is magically trapped in a painting she's been asked to appraise at work. Phoebe goes looking for work, hoping to pay for $1200 in damage she inflicted on Prue's car, but is immediately intimidated by the heavy academic qualifications of people at the interview. Later, she casts a smart spell on herself. Piper invites Dan, the hot new neighbor, who also happens to be a contractor, to go over the notice of code violations she received for her club. He agrees to help her in exchange for Piper's helping his niece with a school paper on the reproductive system. Oh, how awkward. Being smart for 24 hours gets Phoebe thinking she should go back to school. But neither now, nor later when she does enroll, is there a discussion as to how that education gets paid for.


4. The Devil's Music
Original airdate: Oct. 21, 1999

The manager of Dishwalla has made a Faustian bargain with a being called a Masel who consumes innocents. In this case, they're mostly teenyboppers who say they'll do almost anything to meet the band. Neighbor Jenny is next up the the plate. Leo shuffled to band to Piper's club hoping for the sisters' help in vanquishing Masel, though what he gets first is a lot of lip from Piper. All ends happily, except for the bad guys, of course. The Dishwalla appearance puts P3 on the map and Darryl Morris gets to arrest a kidnapper


5. She's a Man, Baby, a Man!
Original airdate: Nov. 4, 1999

When men start dying the same way Phoebe has seen them die in dreams, the sisters decide a succubus is in action. Prue casts a spell to draw the succubus to herself, unintentionally making her a man. With a goatee. Her voice is altered, but not completely convincingly. After seeing the strange deaths, Darryl comes to the sisters thinking they make know something about them, and tells them that they're all linked to a dating service, which man-Prue then joins. On a side note, Piper sees a tape Dan has made and realizes that he is interested in her.


6. The Old Black Magic
Original airdate: Nov. 11, 1999

A couple of kids looking for an old mine accidentally free a witch gone bad entombed 200 years ago with her pet snake. She immediately sets out looking for her wand with which she can spread evil and despair. It happens to be an object that Prue and one Jack Sheridan were arguing over in an “Antiques Road Show” like segment for Buckland's. In the meantime, Leo is out finding the Chosen One, a teenager with a puzzled look on his face who is the only one who can wield the wand and vanquish the evil witch. Piper tells Dan that it's over between her and Leo. My, my, my.


7. They're Everywhere
Original airdate: Nov. 18, 1999

A young man whose father has been in a vegetative state in the hospital where Phoebe is volunteering thinks he has solved a riddle his father had been working on—decoding the map of the location of the Akashic records, which are a compendium of all history past and present. A couple of warlocks who can drill into the mind with their fingers want this knowledge. At the same time, Piper and Prue are worried that their respective men are warlocks and cast a spell to read minds. While they find interesting things, no warlocks are revealed.


8. P3 H20
Original airdate: Dec. 9, 1999

The viewer finds out how the sisters lost their mother. They also meet her old whitelighter, Sam, mortal with his wings clipped, who has been keeping people away from the demon in the lake these many years. Piper and Leo find old love letters between the two and start to wonder if there isn't another way. Very, very maudlin. And geez, Piper, you just told Dan two weeks ago it was over between you and Leo--now you're tugging at Leo again! But Leo tells her they have to stop working together because he can't stop loving her.


9. Ms. Hellfire
Original airdate: Jan. 13, 2000

The sisters have the distinction of being targeted by a human for a change this Friday the 13th . Turns out she was a contract killer working for one hot Bane Jessup who is in turn working for —you guessed it—Barbas. 1300 years sure is a lot shorter than it used to be. Prue assumes the hit woman's identity with a rather startling relish. She doesn't mind Bane's attention, either. By this episode, Jenny has moved back with her folks and the show's appeal to the teenybopper crowd seems to be over.


10. Heartbreak City
Original airdate: Jan. 20, 2000

Angered that Cupid turned the affection of the woman he wanted away, a demon called hate steals Cupid's ring and sets about breaking up couples he's put together. Cupid also has a lecture for Phoebe on opening her heart up to love. Hate inspires a knock-down drag out between Piper and Dan and Jack and Prue that's made all better in the morning.


11. Reckless Abandon
Original airdate: Jan. 27, 2000

An abandoned baby at the police station gives Phoebe a premonition of man holding the baby and running from a ghost. She somehow talks Darryl into letting her take the baby home with her while she and her sisters find his family, keep him safe from the ghost and learn that babies do a whole lot more that coo and make happy faces. Neighbor Dan shows off his baby handling skills, much to Piper's bemusement. This is something of an old soap opera of episode, complete with piano flourishes on cue.


12. Awakened
Original airdate: Feb. 3, 2000

Piper is bitten by a bug that hopped aboard some fruit she imported illegally for drinks at the club and is stricken with arroyo fever that is about to prove fatal to her. Prue and Phoebe intervene magically, but as a consequence six other people come down with the disease. They have to reverse the spell and let her go. They do this, but there is another party who intervenes. Prue quits Buckland's because they authenticated a painting she knew was not authentic. She also stops seeing Jack.


13. Animal Pragmatism
Original airdate: Feb. 10, 2000

To celebrate Valentine's, a group of dateless college classmates of Phoebe's turn animals into men, wreaking the expected havoc. Leo, wings clipped temporarily as punishment for saving Piper's life, is mortal now and working at her club. He has bought her a simple Valentine's Day card to let her know he's going to keep fighting for her. Dan is not blind to this.


14. Pardon My Past
Original airdate: Feb 17, 2000

Phoebe deals with her past evil life when she and her sisters were cousins. An immortal warlock had turned her then, and is trying to bring her past life forward. It was fun seeing the sisters' home as a speakeasy. Past Piper was married to past Dan. Leo noted that we learn from our mistakes. But other than that, silly plot. Upon hearing that she was a portrait photographer in her past life, now unemployed Prue decided to become a freelance photographer.


15. Give Me a Sign
Original airdate: Feb. 24, 2000

The now incarcerated—but still hot--Bane Jessup escapes from prison following an attempt on his life by some demons dressed as guards. Having glimpsed a bit of Prue's power's the last time he saw her, her now kidnaps her in order to get her help in fending off the demons. Against Piper's wishes, Phoebe casts a spell to help her “find the one she loves,” that is, decided between Dan and Leo. Piper finally decides on Leo. The Source (of all evil, if you have to ask) is first mentioned here. Wasn't it just six weeks ago she told Dan it was over between her and Leo? Another thing that bothered me about this was the recently unemployed Prue going out and spending what had to be thousands of dollars on camera equipment. She also talked about buying a digital camera, but had dozens of rolls of film.


16. Murphy's Luck
Original airdate: March 30, 2000

On her first freelance assignment, Prue saves a woman attempting suicide who was driven there by self-doubts whispered in her ear by a darklighter. The darklighter then turns his attention to Prue. Because he wants to help the sisters, Leo demands his powers back. Love between witches and whitelighter is forbidden, so Piper and Leo now have to find another way to make it work.


17. How to Make a Quilt Out of Americans
Original airdate: April 6, 2000

Aunt Gail, an old “bridge partner” (i.e., fellow coven member) of Grams', who is now dying, is making a Frankenstein monster for a demon with her current coven in exchange for youth and health. The demon also wants powers and whose better than the Charmed Ones'? Piper finally breaks up with Dan and no one is surprised, least of all Dan.


18. Chick Flick
Original airdate: April 20, 2000

The demon of illusion follows Phoebe home from the revival house showing of an old horror movie called “Kill it Before it Dies.” The demon is able to step from film into reality and back again at will. After accidentally bringing Billy Appleby, an old crush of Phoebe's from “Kill it Before it Dies” into reality, the demon realizes he is also to bring into reality such horror film favorites as “Bloody Mary” and “Ax Murderer Husband.” It is fun watching the sisters scream and run around the house in terror like, well, girls in a horror movie.

At the same time, Piper and Leo go on their first date only to run into Dan and his date. Prue gets a chance to photograph her idol from way back, Finley Beck In keeping with the illusion theme, she no longer has any illusions about him, though still admires his work.


19. Ex Libris
Original airdate: April 27, 2000

A student Phoebe meets at the library at school is working on a thesis proving the existence of demons. After she is beheaded by one, Phoebe helps her deal with being dead and vanquishes the responsible demon, named Libris. The ghost also helps another murdered young woman get justice by haunting her killer until he confesses in public in front of Darryl Morris. Silly plot, but not without its amusing moments. The newly dead ghost complains of a headache.

Dan has some background information on Leo, which he leaves with Piper after she breaks up a very unwhitelighter-like fistfight between them. In it, Piper learns that Leo was married before he died in action in World War II.

Cute pun in the title.


20. Astral Monkey
Original airdate: May 4, 2000

The doctor who treated Piper for the should-have-been-fatal illness has been conducting animal experiments with blood samples taken from the sisters. He manages to unwittingly acquire the sisters' powers and begins harvesting the organs of criminals (Liver Donors Inc., fashion) in an effort to save the lives of innocent people. This hearkens back to “Morality Bites” and the idea that the witches' duty is to protect the innocent and not punish the guilty. It's also a nice play on an urban myth.


21. Apocalypse Not
Original airdate: May 11, 2000

In Darryl Morris' professional opinion, the city is has lost its figging mind. People are just going nuts, fights breaking out for no reason, people getting pummeled without provocation. It even takes the sisters a while to catch on that the end is near. After chasing what they think is an anarchy demon into an alley, they find he's not alone. Three other guys are with him While they are chanting, so are the other guys. Prue and one of the bad guys are standing in the middle of them. A vortex opens up, then they're gone. The plot is hokey, but I have to admit I smiled at Apocalypse Central, where guys in shirts and ties, wearing headphone were running around screaming, “Let me see those numbers people!”


22. Be Careful What You Witch For
Original airdate: May 18, 2000

A genie convinces a dragon demon and some “scary dudes” in yellow robes called “the Council” that he can help them defeat the Charmed Ones once and for all by giving them what they want. The genie is frenetically played which redeems the episode. The pentagrams on the Council's robes are right side up. Evil just has really bad press.


Dramatis personae:

Prue Halliwell: Shannen Doherty
Piper Halliwell: Holly Marie Combs
Phoebe Halliwell: Alyssa Milano
Inspector Darryl Morris: Dorian Gregory
Dan Gordon: Greg Vaughn
Jenny Gordon: Karis Paige Bryant
Leo Wyatt: Brian Krause
Penny “Grams” Halliwell: Jennifer Rhodes
Patty Halliwell: Finola Hughes
Barbas: Billy Drago
Bane Jessup: Antonio Sabato, Jr.
Cupid: Michael Reilly Burke
Sam Wilder: Scott Jaeck
Dr. Curtis Williamson: Mathew Glave
genie: French Stewert


Acts at P3:

Dishwalla
Paula Cole
Janice Robinson
Cranberries
Goo-Goo Dolls

Also reviewed:

Season 1
Season 3

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older