Episode Report Card Demian: C+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Head Games
By Demian | Season 4 | Episode 7 | Aired on 11.07.2001
White flare to The Chamber Of The Smoked Bint. Piper's levitating head drops to one side, a trickle of blood dripping from the right corner of her mouth. Continuity? We don't need no stinking continuity. Also, anyone care to explain to me how an injury received in what is essentially a dream could manifest itself in reality? Didn't think so. The Spource lowers her body to the slab and oozes, "I think she's just learned her lesson." The dam breaks in the Bint's scanties as we cut to commercial.
Manor attic. Phoebe and Raige recite the summoning spell used so many times already this season. Nothing happens. Raige comes across a cunning plan. The relinquishing spell is in Piper's mind, right? And The Source enjoys mind games, yes? After all, he almost convinced Raige to orb Jake The Purported Abuser's heart right out of his chest, no? So, wouldn't The Source be ransacking Piper's mind in an attempt to reach the relinquishing spell? Phoebe appreciates Raige's logic, and flips through the Book to find a method of entry into Piper's thoughts. The camera tracks into her before the White Flare cuts short the scene.
Nuthouse, Dormitory Division. The Spource waves smelling salts beneath Piper's nose, and she jerks violently awake. Whatever. Like she wouldn't be a quadriplegic right about now after her close encounter with the convertible. More likely, she'd be dead. At the very least, she'd be in an emergency room, not the "sanitarium." Why Piper doesn't realize any of this herself is beyond me. The Spource continues with the smooth talk. Piper, it's clear, is beginning to doubt her own sanity. Again, whatever. See above. The Spource links her illness to the death of her grandmother. Her "episodes" first appeared shortly thereafter, leading to her stay at the home. The Spource, citing one of their prior therapy sessions, suggests that Piper recite the relinquishing "poem" she mentioned in order to free herself of her delusions. She refuses, and orders him out of her room. He stands to leave, but hits her where it hurts with, "You have the power to give yourself the life you've always wanted. All you have to do is stop putting the illusion of being a witch in front of it." Piper robustly flings a plastic water pitcher at him as he shuts the door. Oh, cram it. Piper should be in traction, and what's more, she should know that. Rrrgh. Piper rolls to her side on the bed, calling for the Dolt.
The White Flare escorts us next to Hell. The Dolt is pinching out Piper's location again, and this time he's successful. To an extent. He crosses to Cole to notify him that Piper's injured, but he can't quite get a read on her whereabouts. Cole pokes his head around a corner to toss an FBOD at a demonic bounty hunter. The DBH hides behind a stalagmite, then fires off a round in Cole's direction. The Dolt supposes The Spource is blocking his "signal," thereby shielding Piper from his supernatural view. Cole chooses to expose himself to the DBH, knowing that the DBH will merely stun him in order to deliver Cole to The Spource to collect on the promised reward. Upon spotting Cole out in the open, the DBH reacts as Cole predicted, knocking him out with a zapping bolt of blue electricity. The Dolt retreats behind a wall as the DBH and his companion drag Cole Spourceward.
The White Flare body-slams us back into the nuthouse. Dolt Ratched sits at Piper's side to pump her full of morphine. Piper, of course, pants that he should be using his powers instead, like, wake the hell up and smell the mind fuck already, you dingbat. As the morphine kicks in, Piper hallucinates white lights around Dolt Ratched's head. Ooof. This is the best The Spource can do? No wonder Glamorous Ladies keep kicking his ass. Except for, you know, The Late Lamented. But we all know that was really Alyssa's fault, so let's just move this along, shall we? It seems Dolt Ratched has been quite the naughty psychiatrist. He addresses Piper as "honey," and tells her if she does as The Spource instructs, they can stop sneaking behind the staff's backs, realize their shared dream of getting married, and produce a passel of brats together. Fornicating with a patient, Dolt? You are so fired. With an assist from the morphine, Piper's thought processes are even more easily tampered with. She flails about weakly on the bed, torn between accepting Dolt Ratched's explanations and defending what she knows to be true. Dolt Ratched scoops her up in his arms to carry her from the room, despite the fact that her spinal cord should have been severed five scenes ago. He promises to show her something special as the White Flare devours them.