Episode Report Card Demian: F | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Enter The Stench
By Demian | Season 4 | Episode 4 | Aired on 10.17.2001
Attic. The windows are leaking from the onslaught of rain, and a puddle is forming in the shadows on the floor. The Book has nothing to say on the matter of Limbo, much to Piper's irritation. Phag sits off to the side, gazing into a small glass bowl of water. Gold-Tooth Charlie, she explains, could see into other worlds by staring into a bowl such as hers. Yeah. After he split a bag of mushrooms with Aaron Sorkin, maybe. "Once," she relates, "he reached in and pulled out a plum for me from the Garden of Eden." Shut up, Phag. The Dolt asks her if she can see anything at the moment. No, for she is not as skilled in The Mystical Ways Of Whatever as Gold-Tooth Charlie. The Dolt orbs out for a consult with The Powers That Be on the topic of portals into Limbo. Piper sits at the table and the two women bond over losing a loved one and filling said loved one's shoes and blah and blee and stages-of-grief-cakes. Thunder crashes. Piper rises, inviting Phag to follow her downstairs. "With all this rain," she notes, "we need to protect the house from [Not Cho]." The camera lingers on them as they exit; then the shot cuts to take in the puddle from the rain. Not Cho leaps up through the puddle into the attic, all slit-eyed stereotype of Mongol-Horde Eeevil. He poses with his sword for a moment, and we cut to commercial.
Rose enters the hall from the storm outside and strips off her rain gear. Not Cho inches silently down the staircase above, ogling her. Cole appears, startling Rose, and starts sliming a ham-fisted come-on. We get a couple of Not Cho POVs through the woodwork of the balustrade as all of this is going on. Once he's determined that Cole and Rose are suitably distracted, he slinks down the remaining stairs to head into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Rose is thoroughly disgusted by Cole's revolting advances. Alyssa jiggles down the stairs just in time to catch Cole mashing his lips against Rose's. "Hey!" she pouts. Shut up, Alyssa. Rose breaks the clinch and flips Cole to his back on the carpet. She accuses him of being a creep. He calls her "Phoebe." The gals figure out he's unraveled their tissue of lies. "You know?" gasps Alyssa. "How do you know?" "For one thing," he replies, "you suck at levitating. For another, you set me straight on the way I've been treating Phoebe as only a sister could." Rose is surprised to hear the latter, but only mildly. Cole paws her ass, telling her he'll be back when the two have sorted out this little mix-up. Rose growls as he squiggles out. The two women chat at each other about toadstool and potions before being interrupted by a shout from the kitchen.