I'd like to start by saying that I think this might be the best episode Charmed has ever produced. I'd like to continue by saying that it's also quite good, which would, with many shows, follow logically from my first statement. This one? Not so much. But really, I have very little to say against this ep -- it's tight, both on the story and editing fronts, the pacing is excellent, it's dramatically satisfying, and did I mention there's no Dolt? I think the only episode I've seen that's on a par with this one is "All Hell Breaks Loose", but given that the story for that ep is sorta kinda completely ripped off from this one...hey, I've got myself a poll question! Anyway, let's get to it.
Streetcar. Oh, look, I lied. WE KNOW WHAT CITY THEY'RE IN. Establishing shot of a building wherein the now-exposed-as-a-demon-like-there-was-ever-any-doubt Inspector Rodriguez is poring over...pictures of the Charmed ones. There's no time to be bored, however, as the fireplace in the middle of the room flares up and a hooded figure materializes from it. Rodriguez gets on his knees, and if you think of it in terms of relative acting ability, the action's entirely appropriate. Anyway, it turns out the hooded figure is not the Source, which you might think at first if you came to the show late, but "Tempus," mentioned in later episodes, but here revealed to be David Carradine. Rather pretty coup for the show in retrospect, or rather embarrassing IMDb entry for Dave? You decide. Rodriguez is shocked that Tempus is there, and the meta-commentary is obvious, but he explains that Rodriguez wasn't worthy until now, and impatiently and amusingly beckons him to his feet. He goes on that he's been sent to Rodriguez "as a gift," and no offense, but I wouldn't want to read any fan fiction spawned by that line. Tempus punctuates that by grandly tossing off his cape, but the gesture is somewhat diminished by what he's wearing underneath, which makes him look like a Romulan on Star Trek: TNG who just decided that red and black was working a lot better for him than grey that day. Rodriguez asks who sent him, and Tempus answers, "I think you know who." Jennie Garth? Well, it seemed like a good guess at the time. Anyway, Rodriguez gets all shirty with Tempus, saying he can defeat the Charmed ones on his own. Tempus manages to convey "Prue would eat your eyeballs for breakfast and wear your guts for garters to boot" with a single smirk. I told you he was good. Tempus asks for a little backstory for those members of the audience who think the show is set in Las Vegas. (Never. Again.) Rodriguez supplies it, and then smirks that Tempus must already know it all, as the story is what makes him so worthy. Carradine's not much for second-rate smirking, however, as he sharply smacks Rodriquez down for his insolence. Looking at his pocket watch, Tempus exposits that the day is Wednesday, and he wants Rodriguez to get all the sisters together in one place before midnight, and to give them his best shot. He goes on that should Rodriguez fail, he'll be there to help him learn from his failures. Hee. He clearly thinks Rodriguez is a bumbling fool, but he's under orders to help him. He asks Rodriguez how he plans to get them together, and the other smirks, "Trudeau." Stop with the smirking, ass.
Manor street. A paper boy chucks the morning edition at the Manor, not particularly close to the door, the steps, or any other convenient place. Sorry, but if I have to send out a search party to find the paper, the delivery guy's not getting much of a Christmas tip. Inside, we get a shot of the small TV in the kitchen, telling us it's going to be a beautiful day. The bearer of this news is actually Nancy O'Dell, once of Access Hollywood, for anyone who cares, which would not include me. Phoebe's on the phone with Piper, asking what she's doing at [72virg=ins] at 8 AM. See, Phoebe, to earn money, there are these things called "jobs," and sometimes you have to go to them at inconvenient times, and why am I bothering? It's well-established that Piper works lunch, and with her martyr complex I can't imagine she hasn't gone in early some time in the past, so stow it, mooch. Anyway, Piper's doing a spot for the Food Network and she spilled something on her outfit, so Phoebe's going to take her a change of clothes. Oh, and Kit knocks over a pepper shaker, which I would ignore, but will actually be relevant. Phoebe makes a joke, but Prue's attention is absorbed first by the front page, and second by the sounds of skidding and a crash outside. Prue fixes Phoebe with an accusing glare and asks her where she parked her car the night before. Phoebe, seeing her life flash before her eyes, says she thinks it was in the driveway. The Ps rush to the window to discover it was a false alarm, and Phoebe's immensely relieved. Don't worry, Phoebe's going to get hers, twice. And just because of that, those of you who didn't vote for this episode in the poll should feel a little ashamed of yourselves. Prue tells us that the accident was "just a little fender-bender" (remember that! PAY ATTENTION!) and then exposits that Andy is in trouble. She holds up the front page of the San Francisco Ledger (not a real paper, as far as I can tell), which reads "INSPECTOR SUSPECTED IN I.A. MURDER," with a picture of our favorite lipless eye-candy. Phoebe can't believe that he's suspected in the murder of Rodriguez's partner (at the end of "Love Hurts"). I can't believe it either, considering Andy was with Darryl at the time, but whatever. Prue's on the right track when she opines that it could be a setup to force Andy to reveal the Charmed Ones' secret. Phoebe takes the paper and is flung into a premonition. She and Piper are kneeling over Andy's lifeless body. She reaches down to close his eyes, and the vision ends. Noooo! Can we at least get a shirtless scene before Ted King goes on to bigger and better things? No? Sigh. (And since "bigger and better things" means "General Hospital," I feel especially robbed.) Phoebe stammers that she saw Andy. "He was dead." Prue looks all, "Whew! I'm safe!" Credits.
Dolores O'Riordan accompanies us on the foggy opening travelogue, in which we learn that Connie Burge co-wrote this episode with Brad Kern. Well, that explains a lot. Prue's going over the details of the premonition, which are that Andy was lying dead in the room they're in now, but there was no demon or warlock present. Prue wants to be sure Phoebe's got it right, as this isn't just "inny-body" they're talking about. Oh, Shannen, we love you. Don't let innybody send you to a dialogue coach. Prue directs Phoebe to catch Piper up to speed, as she's going to talk to Andy. Phoebe points out that Prue herself said that was too risky, but Prue isn't having it.
Andy's House Of Beef, formerly The Loneliest Precinct House In The World, very soon to be Trudeau Memorial. Darryl advances the theory that Rodriguez killed his partner. Not shown: A scene from the day before wherein Darryl took his first Gingko Biloba. Andy, in plain clothes, resignedly says that the I.A. already cleared Rodriguez, and the two of them make "I.A., tchaa" noises that they probably got from N.Y.P.D. Blue. (And do that show's producers have a bet going with those of The Simpsons or something?) Anyway, Rodriguez enters and calmly dismisses Darryl. Andy says he's not saying anything without a lawyer, but Rodriguez says he doesn't need one if he's willing to help him. This draws a lipless grin from Andy. Aw, lips! I think I'd miss you most of all -- had you existed in the first place. Rodriguez tells Andy that he doesn't think he was involved in the murder, but what he does think "is completely off the record." He shows Andy a picture of his partner post-flambé, which we don't see, so far all we know it could be a picture of Phoebe. Hey, it might have provoked the same nauseated reaction. Rodriguez goes on that he thinks something supernatural killed his partner, and with all Andy's X-Files-esque cases, he thinks he can help him figure out "who or what it is." Andy asks what he means, and Rodriguez comes out with it: "Prue Halliwell is a witch." Andy does a good job of not giving anything away, and he jokes that he'll go warn the Wizard of Oz. Less good of a job on the joke, but that's not what he gets paid for. Rodriguez stops him, saying that if he arranges a meeting between Rodriguez and Prue that night, and if she can help him figure out who the killer is, he'll drop all charges, and won't tell anyone about her. He opens the door to leave and finds Darryl, and the two of them do that little "oh, I am so sure" swagger by each other. Winner: No one. When Rodriguez is gone, Andy allows himself to look a little shaken, and says he has to go see Prue. Darryl informs him that she just called seeking a meeting with him. Andy leaves.
A cuckoo clock goes off, which could also be meta-commentary, considering that Rodriguez is approaching. Before he does, though, we see Tempus standing in front of the shop, peering over a newspaper. Tempus, you know I like you, but there's no need to appear inconspicuous -- you're in San Francisco. Even your Trek-convention attire isn't going to turn heads. Rodriguez grabs a flower off a nearby stand, and, immensely pleased with himself, says that he made Andy suspicious, so Prue will be forced to meet him to find out his deal. Tempus reminds him that he needs to get all the sisters together, but Rodriguez counters that Andy won't let her meet him without the Power of Three. Tempus wonders if he really thinks he can defeat all of them, and Rodriguez, ten minutes behind everyone else, cottons on to the idea that Tempus thinks he's going to fail. Tempus counters with a delicious, "Time will tell." Hee. Back on your knees, Rodriguez. Oh, ew. Sorry.
[72virg=ins]. Phoebe bustles in with a new outfit for Piper, who calls her over, babbling that the "segment producer" will be there at any moment. She reveals a stain on the sweater of her matching outfit, but really, since the outfit's not that dressy to begin with, she could have just ditched the jacket and done the segment in a sleeveless top. I mean, she's cooking, here. Anyway, Phoebe thankfully interrupts her with the rather urgent news about Andy. Piper's freaked, but there's little time to process, as a woman smarms Piper's name from across the restaurant. Piper amusingly pulls Phoebe close to her to block the woman's view of the stain. Hee. Phoebe may not be a wage-earner, but she can be used as a human shield. Actually, that would be a really good job for her. Anyway, the woman, who's got red hair in an updo and is wearing a powder-blue-with-ugly-stripes suit that's supposed to be expensive but looks horribly tacky (not that those are mutually exclusive), says that Piper hasn't changed a bit. Piper's dumbfounded look clues her in that Piper doesn't recognize her, so she helps out with a "Joanne Hertz, Baker High, Class Of '92!" Now, I don't want to say she's had work done, but I just paused the picture on Joanne to write a few sentences, and I got a nice little flashback to the first time I saw a Picasso painting, so take from that what you will. Anyway, the kicker is that Joanne is the segment producer. She moved to New York and was trashy enough in bed to marry a rich guy who gave her a cable show in order to get her out of his hair, and voila -- Food Network's most popular show! Well, that's not quite the story she tells, but y'all are old enough to know the real deal. Oh, and the last word on Joanne? If she's seven years out of high school, then so am I. Anyway, she bitchily asks what Piper's been doing, like she doesn't already know if she's the segment producer. Piper freezes her, because she needs a pep talk from Phoebe, who comes through surprisingly well. She wraps up with, "Unfreeze that bitch in heels. We've got a demon to fight." Hee.
Park. Andy asks Prue if Phoebe's ever been wrong about her premonitions, and Prue says no, but they've always been able to change the outcome. Actually, that brings up an interesting point. Would Phoebe have gotten the premonition about Andy dying, considering that Tempus had to reset time twice in order for it to happen? In other words, would she get a premonition that wasn't part of her original future? Since her premonitions, as Prue just basically pointed out, don't typically show what's meant to happen, I would think not. Not that that's going to affect my enjoyment of the episode, as it's paced so well that I'm only catching that on my umpteenth viewing. They're talking by a hanging bench, which may or may not be important later. She admonishes him to be extra careful until they find out the identity of the demon. Andy, lost in thought, wonders if it could be Rodriguez, and tells Prue about the meeting he requested with her, and the fact that he knows she's a witch. Realizing that Andy must be right, Prue tells Andy to have Rodriguez meet her at the Manor at six that evening. Andy objects, but Prue, just as Rodriguez predicted, says she'll have her sisters there to back her up. Andy wants to be there as well, but Prue hesitatingly tells him that he can't, as that's where he was in Phoebe's premonition. She tells him to stay away, and warns, "Don't make me use my magic on you." That line should, by rights, be horrendously cheesy, but both actors give endearing "I can't believe you/I just said that" smiles, and somehow, that sells it. Told you this episode was a keeper. Prue tells him how much she still cares for him, and he promises to stay away.
And just like that, Rodriguez is pulling up to the Manor. Andy, sticking to the letter of the promise if not the spirit, is staking the place out from across the street. As Rodriguez walks up to the steps, Kit, who's been getting a lot of screen time this episode, meows rather aggressively at him. He gives Kit an appraising "Should I waste a lightning bolt on you?" look.
Inside, Prue says they should go over the plan again, and Phoebe agrees, since "I want to know why I'm the one answering the door." So the viewing audience can be twice-blessed with the image of you shuffling off this mortal coil, Feebs. Prue says it's because she knows martial arts, and I have to admit that if Feebs thinks that's a poor substitute for the power to freeze or telekinesis, she's got a point, but it serves her right for complaining about her passive power anyway. The doorbell rings insistently, and Piper says that's not a good sign. Phoebe: "Which means if he doesn't want to kill Prue, he wants to date her." Ha! Everyone should get a bon mot before they die. And with that, I am signing the death warrant of the entire TWoP staff. See you in hell, friends. Anyway, Piper goes into the living room and Prue up the stairs, as planned, and Phoebe answers the door. Rodriguez goes through the motions of showing his badge, but as soon as he closes the door, his eyes go red. When Phoebe turns around, she goggles in terror, but she doesn't do so for long, as Rodriguez pummels her with a lightning bolt. She goes flying over the balcony, crashes into the wall and demolishes a couple pictures, and falls to the ground. Yessss! (If this were a later season, that would have been "YEEEESSSSSSS!") Piper calls her name, but when Rodriguez fires a bolt at her, she freezes it and him. Prue, on her way down the stairs, TKs the bolt back into Rodriguez, who vanishes with a howl. The elder Ps rush to Phoebe's side, to no avail. She's dead.
Tempus checks his watch to find that it's a couple minutes before midnight, and then turns over a large hourglass. He pours some of the sand from it into a crackling pan. It sparks, and time starts to rewind. When it's daylight outside, Rodriguez materializes in a cloud of smoke, yelling his poncey little head off. Tempus intones that it hurts to die, "especially at the hands of a witch." Hee. I think Tempus is hoping this takes about a million tries for old Rodriguez to get right. Rodriguez, possibly from the whole death thing but quite possibly not, is all, "Uh duh?" so Tempus has to explain that he's reset time, and it's Wednesday morning again. He goes on that only Rodriguez will retain the memories of what happens in each repeated day, so he'll learn more and more, until he's finally able to kill all three Charmed Ones. He smiles, neglecting to add, "Or this is the last job I'll ever have to work."
Paper boy. Same footage until Phoebe pauses on her line to Piper about it being 8 AM, which could be her indicating déjà vu, but is probably just the original take of this scene. Anyway, everything's playing out the same as before, except Phoebe's aware that something's going on, which is pretty momentous in and of itself. She tries to convince Prue that what she's experiencing is more than just déjà vu, and it's a nice touch that she's now fully convinced that she parked Prue's car in the driveway, Phoebe goes on that she's not nuts. "Okay, maybe just a little, but that's irrelevant here." Hee. Must be time to die again. Prue shows Phoebe the paper, and Phoebe gets flung into the same premonition, which she's aware she's had before. This time she explains it as "Andy, here, being killed by a demon."
Rodriguez busts in and gives Darryl some shit. Evidently, being killed has dampened his equanimity. It's also raised his scenery-chewing in direct proportion. File cabinet in the corner? You might want to duck and cover after the time he dies. Darryl leaves with another macho swagger, like, not, and then Rodriguez and Andy play out the scene from earlier, except Rodriguez skips all the niceties, and Andy substitutes "Batman" for the Wizard Of Oz. Eh. Keep trying, Trudeau, but you've only got one more shot. Oh, and this time, Darryl fails to tell Andy about Prue's phone call. I guess they don't give you much to do around here for a reason, Darryl.
Cuckoo clock, cuckoo demon. Rodriguez angrily grabs the flower and storms over to Tempus. I didn't notice before, but the store Tempus is standing in front of is called "Symphony of Time." Which is a bit much, perhaps. Rodriguez (angrily) demands to know how he can avoid "the pain of getting vanquished." Tempus calmly asks him what he remembers, and upon hearing the description of events, suggests he anticipate where Piper's coming from so as not to get frozen. "Then kill Prue." Dave, I told you you're not the boss around here. Alyssa is. (Last time, I promise.)
At [72virg=ins], Phoebe is trying to explain the Groundhog Day-cakes to Piper when Joanne enters. The scene plays out as before until Phoebe correctly identifies Joanne before she can introduce herself. Joanne mugs for the camera, which makes the Mrs. Potato Head aspects of her features even more frightening. Phoebe, meanwhile, covers by saying she remembers Joanne from high school, and then stage-whispers for Piper to freeze her. Piper obliges, and Phoebe rattles off the information about Joanne they learned last time. Piper unfreezes her, confirms that what Phoebe said is true, and then freezes her again. Hee, but I really don't need to see any more still shots of Joanne. I've got a bad cold, and I'm having enough trouble sleeping as it is. Piper demands an explanation, and Phoebe theorizes that a demon has cast a spell, and she's the only one who's aware of it because her power lets her see things that happened in different times, which...isn't completely buyable, perhaps, because we're talking about different time-lines, not times. But given how badly they usually screw up their explanations, this point isn't even minor-league. It isn't even Little League. Is there a T-ball league? Because that's what this is. Anyway, Piper and Phoebe make for the BoS, leaving Joanne to unfreeze on her own.
Andy and Prue, at the point where Prue is saying she'll have Piper and Phoebe to back her up. Prue gets a déjà vu, which on the surface sort of disproves Phoebe's explanation. On the other hand, if they all have some awareness of the timeline disturbance, it would certainly follow that Phoebe would have the greatest by far, so I'm not going to say another word about it. Except that Phoebe was wrong. Ha! Moving on, Prue recovers to play out the scene as before, only this time, she tells Andy how much she still loves him. He gets a little choked up, and they embrace. Might as well ask her for a little romp in the park, Andy -- what have you got to lose?
Whether said romp occurred, we'll never know, because Rodriguez is pulling up to the Manor again, and Andy is across the street, again. Kit hisses, again. I recap the same scene, again. Well, I will in about ten minutes, anyway.
Phoebe has found a spell in the BoS to accelerate time, but she hasn't quite figured out Tempus's grand plan yet. The doorbell rings, and the sisters start to fan out as earlier, but before Phoebe reaches the door, Rodriguez busts in and sends her flying, as before. Yessss! Before Piper can do anything but wail her sister's name, Rodriguez sends a bolt at her. The Hands come up too late, and she goes flying through one of the glass-paned doors into the solarium. Rodriguez directs a final blast at Prue, but the eldest P, no longer focusing her power through her eyes, waves a hand and directs the bolt back into Rodriguez, who blows up as before. Prue examines both her sisters in turn to discover that she's now an only child. (Oh, don't bring Raige into this.) Prue cries us into...
...Tempus's watch. He resets time as before. Incidentally, I don't think David Carradine has this power, or we wouldn't be seeing him in syndication. Rodriguez appears in a right snit. Tempus greets him with a bored, "Failed again, I see." Hee. Rodriguez's subpar acting might bother me if it didn't give Tempus such fodder. Rodriguez snarls that he got two of them, and "third time is the charm." The potted plant in the corner screams for mercy.
Paper boy, Nancy O'Dell. Phoebe, on the phone, is now calling everything that happens in advance, which...bugs, just a little bit, but only because it's her. She tells Piper to get home immediately, and then shows off some more to Prue. Prue demands an explanation, so Phoebe tells her the day is repeating itself, and she thinks that every time it happens, she figures it out faster. She realizes that she's supposed to be having a premonition, and tells Prue to look at the paper. Once she has, Phoebe tells her that she must warn Andy while Phoebe figures out what to do about the time demon. She doesn't actually go through the motions of receiving the premonition this time around, which seems like a pretty glaring oversight on her part. But hey, remember the part where she died? And then that other part, where she died? Good times.
Cuckoo clock. Cuckoo clock being blown apart by cuckoo demon with gun. Tempus chides him, but Rodriguez mouths off, saying he'll kill Prue first, which...sounds like a terrible plan to me, because Piper's got the only power he definitely can't overcome, but whatever. No one said this guy was the sharpest knife in the drawer, and Tempus's expression agrees with me.
[72virg=ins]. Joanne's cornered Piper, who tries to back out of the segment, claiming an emergency. She also relates a bunch of information about Joanne that she shouldn't logically know, but whatever. Joanne makes a bitchy comment, prompting Piper to make an "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!" speech, while Joanne hideously simpers away. Piper gets in a decent one about the nose job that "some discount doctor" gave her, and we're done with Joanne. I promise.
Prue's told Andy about the time loop, and Andy completes his Mulderfication by not even questioning it. He does point out that a demon that powerful must be after Prue and not him. Prue, as before, says she's relying on the Power of Three, but Andy, apparently taking his herbs as well these days, argues that the entire reason for the time loop might be to target all three of them. Prue, of course, is not having it. "Andy, I would die if anything happened to you. I love you." And you know what really says "I love you"? Pronouncing "anything" correctly. Awwww. Andy smiles and tells her he loves her too, and they hug. Okay, really: Awwww.
Aaand it's time for the real thing. Kit meows, and Rodriguez glares at him with his red-contact demon eyes. Andy, horrified, sees this, and rushes after him with loaded gun. Inside, Phoebe is reading the BoS entry on Tempus, who's called "the Devil's sorcerer" ("Source" this, assholes!) and says that to vanquish him, they need to "take him out of the time he's in." Speaking of time, there's no way they would have taken this long to find the entry, but again, it's not a big deal. This time, Rodriguez doesn't even bother with the doorbell. I'm going to assume he used his powers to unlock the door, because if not, HELLO! Also, if he planned to kill Prue first, coming in the front door makes no sense, if he remembers that she was upstairs the last two times. He sends a bolt at the sisters, but Piper dives at Prue, shoving her clear, while Phoebe manages to dodge it by swinging her shoulder out of the way. Andy then busts in the front door and takes a couple shots at Rodriguez, to no effect. Rodriguez then sends a bolt at him, and Andy goes flying to vanquish a rather expensive-looking china cabinet. Phoebe's agape, but can't really do anything but goggle until Piper gets to her feet and freezes Rodriguez. The younger Ps take stock: Prue apparently hit her head when Piper tackled her, so she's down for the count. They rush to Andy's side, and Phoebe's premonition plays out. So this is one time they didn't change the outcome. Interesting. The younger Ps look distraught. Hons, I know it's a tough time, but you might want to keep an eye on that freeze. Just a thought.
When we return, Rodriguez is tied to a chair. Piper's crying as Phoebe's playing bad cop, saying the only reason Rodriguez is still alive is so he can help her figure out how to save Andy. Piper points out that the River Styx has a strict no-return policy, but Phoebe thinks they can use the time loop to their advantage. She realizes that killing Rodriguez will likely trigger the time loop, and Rodriguez says that he was told they wouldn't know that, like, NICE FOR BOTH SIDES TO GIVE UP THAT INFORMATION. If Phoebe had kept her mouth shut, they might, based on her growing awareness with each repeated day, have risked resetting time and taking Rodriguez on with their increased knowledge. But now that he knows they know about the time loop, that option is clearly far too risky. As for Rodriguez, when are the bad guys going to learn to keep their mouths shut? Because Phoebe seizes on his statement, saying that it must have been Tempus who told him that. More posturing ensues until Piper pulls Phoebe aside and warns that resetting the day might enable Rodriguez to kill them all. Rodriguez gloats that the day will reset itself anyway, and again, SHUT UP. The younger Ps try to wake up Prue, like, don't mind the concussion or anything, but their voices dissolve into...
...that of Andy. Prue's sitting on the hanging park bench from before, but the surroundings are bathed in mist. Anyway, the upshot is that Andy's gone to that Great Big House Of Beef In The Sky, but Prue can't hang around. She's not clear on what's going on, so Andy explains that he broke his promise, as he came to the Manor that night, and it turns out they weren't meant to stop Phoebe's premonition. He strokes her hair as he tells her that it's okay, as General Hospital is his destiny, but hers is to continue on for two more seasons. I may have added a detail or two there. Andy goes on that she needs to keep the time loop from resetting, or the three of them will be killed, "and I will have died in vain." Yes, except you'll be alive again, dimwit. Well, sorry, but I always thought one of the advantages of heaven was that there wouldn't be any dumb people. Prue says she'll kill Rodriguez for this, but Andy chides her not to, as she's a good person who does good things. They share a last lip-light kiss, and then Andy fades away in an effect that's more Dolt-reminiscent than he deserves. Prue, tears in her eyes, hears the voices of her sisters calling her.
Prue comes to, and her sisters hoist her to her feet. She sees Andy's corpse and, not completely herself yet, gapes in shock. Piper explains what happened, and says Andy was trying to help them. Prue, looking at Rodriguez, gets nine kinds of steel in her eyes as she says that he'll succeed, and asks for the Book of Shadows, which Phoebe retrieves for her. Prue opens to the spell to accelerate time, causing Rodriguez consternation. Phoebe points out if they break the time loop, they won't be able to save Andy, but Prue says she knows. The three Ps get to their feet, and Prue recites:
Winds of time, gather round
Give me wings to speed my way
Rush me on my journey forward
Let tomorrow be today.
The hands of the grandfather clock starts to race ahead. Tempus, puzzled, looks at his watch, which speeds forward to just past midnight. He screams in frustration, then flares back down to Hell. So that's how he hooked up with Quentin Tarantino. Rimshot!
The grandfather clock has just finished chiming midnight as Prue steps forward. She spares another glance at Andy's corpse, and then tells her sisters just to untie Rodriguez. Understandably, they're not fond of that plan, so Prue does it herself with a wave of her hand. She tells him to leave. He sneers, "You stupid witch," but starts to go. Then he does that macho stop-and-straighten-the-jacket thing, for which he REALLY needs to die. He turns, and his eyes are all red again. He sends a bolt at Prue, but she simply holds up her hand in a money shot, and the bolt reverses course to vanquish him. The scenery breathes a sigh of relief while hoping William Shatner never gets desperate enough to guest star. Phoebe raises her eyebrows at the smoky ruin, and Prue intones, "We may not be murderers, but we're no angels either." This is an example of a special dramatic technique called "wardrobe foreshadowing." Prue walks over to Andy's corpse, and cries as "Calling All Angels" starts up. I'm just wondering how they're going to explain this one to the police.
The music continues as a police motorcade pulls away from a cemetery. The camera pans front to show the younger Ps and Darryl watching as Prue, who looks stunning, places a rose on Andy's coffin. She wipes away a tear, and we get a long shot of the tableau as the song finishes.
Manor. Denouement. It's the following (presumably) Monday, and Piper tells Phoebe she's quitting [72virg=ins]. Piper, don't encourage her. However, in Piper's case, it's not because she's a lazy cow, it's that she'd "forgotten what her dreams were; still are," and she wants to be a chef and own a restaurant, not just manage one. Which is not really what she ends up doing season, but whatever. They head outside...
...to find Prue sitting contemplatively on the steps. Piper asks if she's okay, and she says she is, actually, as Andy's been exonerated, and the police are looking for Rodriguez. Still no explanation of what they told the police about Andy's rotting corpse in their living room, but again, whatever. Phoebe, whose hair mysteriously went from up to down between the kitchen and the steps, asks Prue if she's really all right. Prue responds that she's been thinking about everything they've been through since they became witches, and that she feels good about it. Jeez, Andy's barely cold yet, Prue. They give the dearly departed a bit of lip service. Which is of course appropriate in more ways than one. Prue says they should get ready for work, and Piper and Phoebe exchange a wry look that I at first thought meant, "Phoebe? Work? You slay us!" but instead means "Piper has joined the ranks of the Halliwell unemployed!" I'm not sure Prue's going to be in such a serene mode when she finds out she's got two moochers to support. But for now, the Ps re-enter the house, and Prue, with a smile, waves her finger and TKs the door shut.
And I'm done! Thanks to Sars, Demian, and everyone on the forums who was so nice to me. I "can't" "wait" for Season Seven!