Episode Report Card Demian: C+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Head Games
By Demian | Season 4 | Episode 7 | Aired on 11.07.2001
Piper storms from room to room, wondering what's become of all her furniture and just who, exactly, all these raving strangers are in "our house." "Halliwell Hospital is hardly 'our' house," notes Dolt Ratched. Piper beats on him with a "you must be kidding," then babbles about Spalding casting a spell to alter the Manor and the Dolt's disposition. I'm not sure about that latter bit, Piper. He seems just as useless as ever. The Spource enters from the altered sun porch as Piper dashes for the stairs, calling for Phoebe. A large orderly grabs her arms. She struggles against him as The Spource crosses to Dolt Ratched. Piper identifies The Spource as the demon who's playing fast and frisky with their minds. "Demons again," sighs The Spource. "Piper, we've been through this thousands of times. There are no demons. They're just figments of your imagination." "Wanna bet?" she spits. Piper recites the Spalding vanquish, which goes a little like this:
Evil hiding in plain sight,
I use this spell with all my might.
To stop your changing form and shape,
This vanquish seals your fate.
There's a significant pause, during which nothing happens. The orderly wrinkles his nose thoughtfully and observes, "Doesn't really rhyme, does it?" Nor does it scan, but thanks for the shout-out nonetheless. Blather about Piper "demonizing every psychiatrist who's ever tried to help her." Piper threatens to blow up The Spource. The Spource calls for a straightjacket as Dolt Ratched kicks it promo-style. "Piper, you don't have powers. You're not a witch, you don't save innocents, you never did." A commotion down the hall attracts everyone's attention. Raige McMurphy, deep within the restraining arms of another orderly, kicks her feet and pouts, "It isn't fair! This is my house too and I can do anything I want!" The Spource instructs the attendants to place both women in "isolation." Flunkies wrap a straightjacket around Piper as The Spource apologizes, promising her he'll rid her of "these delusions." The orderlies drag Piper to the basement as she continues to scream for Phoebe. The Spource calls after her, "This illness has already consumed more than three years of your life!" The screen flares white.
Chamber Of The Smoked Bint. The Spource continues, "Don't let it rob you of any more." He holds his hands on either side of Piper's head, speaking softly as the Bint gazes on with bated breath. The camera pans back to reveal Piper suspended, unconscious, in mid-air above a slab of stone. The Spource eases her back down to the slab, then gasps and presses his hands wearily into the stone. "It's taking more magic than I realized to project into her mind," he tells the Bint. The Bint notes that perhaps The Spource is not up to the task. He shoots her a look that indicates he's not above sending her down to Filene's Hell. She insists that she merely meant to caution him; he's weakening himself in an attempt for a prize he may not win. The Spource remains confident. He knows more about Piper than anyone else. He knows that "deep in her heart she never wanted to be a witch." He claims she carries on only out of a sense of duty. Once she learns the "painful lesson" that her powers don't work in her Spource-sent fantasy world, he will crush her resolve and convince her to relinquish not only her own powers, but those of her sisters as well. The Bint dampens her scanties at the wicked, wicked thought of it all.