Episode Report Card Demian: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Black as the Bitter, Bitter Heart Of Brad Kern
By Demian | Season 4 | Episode 8 | Aired on 11.14.2001
Phoebe eases open the door to her boudoir and allows Cole to enter. He tentatively runs his thumbs up and down the dagger's handle as he murmurs, "Don't tell me you're scared of me." Phoebe's little floral choker seems to have evolved into a sentient being during the trip upstairs. The roses have migrated to the left side of her neck. Cole admits that he believes Emma is right. The dagger is his; he did kill her fiancé, even though he can't remember doing so. "I don't even remember what he looked like," he continues as he sits on her bed. "Didn't matter what they looked like, only that I did as I was told. He was a witch; The Source viewed him as a threat." Cole's starting to babble. Phoebe shushes him as she crosses to his side. She knows what Cole once was, and she doesn't care because he's not the same person anymore. "Aren't I?" he asks. The demon continues to lurk within his fine self. Doesn't that matter at all? Phoebe urges him to consider all the good he's accomplished since then. Cole ponders this, then ruefully reaches a conclusion: "Doesn't balance out. Doesn't even come close." It was at this point that I checked my notes to make sure Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon had nothing to do with this episode. They've slid into a bizarre dialogue on the necessity of forgiveness, the possibility of redemption, and the merits of discarding the life of one who has taken the life of others, regardless of the good that person might accomplish in the future. Is rehabilitation something one guilty of crimes so horrendous can achieve, and how is it determined who is allowed that second chance? Given that potential future good acts can never compensate for past bad ones, should second chances even be considered? Was Karla Faye Tucker a redeemed woman or was she the same sociopath who had multiple orgasms while hacking someone to death with a pickaxe? Don't worry. The writers cock the whole thing up eventually. At least some things are consistent on this show.
Cole stands to lay it on the line for Phoebe. As the Garthalike has been so successful in emulating Belthazor, if the vanquishing potion for whatever reason doesn't work, Cole may have to give himself over to his demonic half completely to defeat the other demon. Once he does so, he's afraid he can't reverse himself again. Phoebe doesn't want to hear any of this, and rises from the bed to fetch a jacket and her bag. She intends to go after Emma to try to reason with her once more. Cole's not of the opinion that this will be helpful in the least. He asks whether she still has "some of that Belthazor vanquishing potion" left over from the last go-round. She reluctantly admits that she does. He orders her to find it. It may be the only way to stop him. He sidles past her to vanish down the hallway. She gazes after him for a moment, then turns to slide open a dresser drawer. She lifts a small bottle of clear pale red liquid, and slips it into her purse. Now, is this the actual vanquishing potion, or the Demon Be Gone? Because the potion was pink and cloudy, and the Demon Be Gone, while clear and red, looked more like a Merlot. Why am I even asking? It's not like I'm going to get an answer.