Episode Report Card Demian: B- | 214 USERS: C+ YOU GRADE IT Tim Whoooooo? Inspector Whaaaaaa?
By Demian | Season 7 | Episode 21 | Aired on 2005.05.15
"Phoebe, stop it," Piper sighs, and I'd agree wholeheartedly, were Piper not for some reason enabling her wretched hag of a sister. "It's not like you're cursed or something." "We don't know that!" Phoebe blurts as she rises from the sofa and crosses to another table to flip through a few more reference books. "I might be cursed!" "We don't even know what's going on, here," Piper reminds her. "[Tasty] Tim could have been a witch, or another demon." "Definitely not a demon," Phoebe quietly insists. Piper continues with the boring pep-talk for a lengthy period of time before rising from the couch herself to suggest that Phoebe have Detective Doormat run a background check on the deceased male model. "And maybe," she adds a bit tentatively, "you should go to the morgue to see if you can get a premonition from his body?" "I really don't want to see him," Phoebe protests. "What if it's the only way to find out why he was killed?" Piper softly counters. Phoebe finally drags herself out her funk to snap, "Okay!" "You keep checking the Book," she instructs as she turns to exit the nonexistent room. Piper widens her eyes a bit at Phoebe's peevish tone, but does offer the hag a soothing "sure" in response as she watches Phoebe disappear down the stairs. Piper turns and approaches the Book's stand with outstretched hands, but just as she's about to touch the thing, the Book flares and violently snaps shut of its own accord, in the process sending out a burst of self-protective energy that knocks Piper onto her ass halfway across the room. The hell? Piper gazes at the Book from the floor for a long moment before -- get this -- cocking a brow, smirking, "Impressive," and morphing into Zankou! Woo! They haven't pulled a fake-out that sweet on this show in three years, and even then, they were only able to maintain the ruse for fifteen seconds before the Sole revealed himself. To make it through two whole minutes of airtime without dropping any hint at all that Piper's not quite herself? Unprecedented on this show. Sadly. In any event, Hot Zankou, still on the floor, qualifies, "Most impressive," before adding with a grin, "but you'll learn to like me yet." With that, Zankou blazes out of the nonexistent room as the camera pans over to the Book's triquatra-embossed cover to linger for a moment, before cutting down to...