Belthazor's boudoir. Cole and Phoebe, naked and necking in bed. Phoebe stops, and Cole asks her what's wrong. She explains that every time she tries to connect with him, she can sense him pulling away. She asks him what he's keeping from her, and he rolls on his side away from her, telling her to stop. Phoebe insists she deserves to know what's going on in his head, and he sits up, telling her she "[doesn't] know what [she's] asking." Phoebe tells Cole he "can't keep hiding from the truth." Cole morphs into Belthazor and lunges back at her, roaring. As she screams in terror, we cut to Cole, bolting upright in his bed, alone. It was all a Triad-sent nightmare, and one of the three bad boys is right there in the apartment to greet Cole. Since they haven't been assigned names, I'll call this one "Patty."
"That wasn't so difficult, was it?" Patty asks Cole, in an accent that I guess is supposed to come across as generically Eastern European, but sounds more like the actor is gargling cotton swabs. Cole demands to know why Patty's broken into his apartment. Patty replies that he's come to remind Cole of his true nature, chastising him for sleeping with the enemy when he should have been killing all three of the Halliwell sisters. Cole tries to brush his tryst with Phoebe off as a "mistake," but Patty's having none of it. Patty gestures with his hand, and a dagger materializes in Cole's outstretched palm. Patty threatens him, telling Cole to hire some additional demonic help if he must to kill Prue, Piper, and Phoebe, but kill them he must, or the Triad will kill him instead. Patty then squiggles himself back down to rejoin Maxene and LaVerne in Hell, leaving Cole to mull over the assignment he's been given.
That was the shortest pre-credits sequence ever. Oh, and no Darryl this week, so you Dorian Gregory fans will have to settle for shirtless Julian McMahon.
P3 After Dark. The sisters are arrayed on a sofa as Prue speed-talks her way through this episode's exposition. She tells Piper and Phoebe they must practice their counterattack strategy together regularly, so they will be prepared for Belthazor's appearance. They need to obtain a piece of demon flesh to brew up some sort of vanquishing potion, and Piper cracks a "white meat or dark meat" joke. Phoebe's distracted from the conversation, scanning the crowd for Cole, and Piper wants to end the discussion quickly because she has to prepare for this week's product-placed band. Henceforth, I will be referring to all product-placed bands on this show as "The Whitss," as my own special little tribute to Djb and his Roswell recaps, which are the only reason I keep watching that show. Well, the recaps and the pecs. Just so you know. Phoebe snits that Cole's forty-five minutes late for their date, which she finds unacceptable given that she put out for him last week. Just then, Cole appears off-screen, and Phoebe leaps to her feet, shouting his name.
Cole somewhat hesitantly strides over, muttering to himself an off-hand "I'm sorry, but I have to stop seeing you. Why? Because I gotta kill you, that's why." Snerk. He apologizes to Phoebe, who forgives him, as Prue tells the other Ps that they will be "practicing the 'earthquake drill'" at three the afternoon. Piper complains that she has a doctor's appointment, Phoebe complains that she will have to borrow Prue's car as she has class immediately afterwards, and Prue complains that Phoebe had better return the SUV -- with the tank full -- by five, as she has a photo shoot at the club that evening. Cole initially looks like he'd rather be anywhere but there at the moment, but then starts formulating some sinister plan. More sniping, as Piper says that the photo shoot plans are news to her, and that they have a homeowners' meeting the evening anyway. Phoebe refuses to attend, whining that at the last meeting, they "took hours to figure out where to put the garden gnomes." Prue asks her how badly she wants the car. "I hate you," Phoebe grits out through clenched teeth, and Prue singsongs, "No you don't. You love me." Prue and Piper rise from the sofa, leaving Phoebe and Cole alone.
Phoebe apologizes to Cole for the "sister stuff" he just had to endure, noting that "there's a fine line between love and hate." Crafty Cole tells her he showed up at the club just to tell her he can't see her that evening, as he just had an "epiphany" on how to win a case he's working on. He kisses her quickly and darts off into the alley behind the club. Once outside, Shadow Cole turns to face Fleshy Cole. Fleshy Cole orders his shadow to tell the Triad he's figured out a way to destroy the sisters, and Shadow Cole slides down into the sewer. Cole smiles.
Halliwell manor, the afternoon. Piper slices open a bagel on the sun porch as Prue barks a couple of orders into her cordless. Speaking of less, Prue's evidently braless again, her boobs packed into a black one-shouldered tube. Phoebe enters, asking if Cole has called for her, which he has not. She plants herself in a chair and asks if Piper and Prue think Cole's pulling the old "blow a girl off after you have sex with her" trick. Piper doesn't think so, given Prue's reading of Cole's emotions through last week's empath power. Phoebe bitches some more about Cole's aloofness and pops some food into her mouth. Just as Prue starts in on the issue of Cole's secrets, Belthazor kicks in the door to the porch. I paused the tape on the reaction shot to Belthazor's entrance. Holly Marie Combs is warily rising to her feet, Shannen Doherty looks utterly unconcerned, leaning back on one leg as if she's modeling activewear in the Sears catalogue, and Alyssa Milano has an exaggerated pop-eyed look of terror on her face, the food in her gaping mouth threatening to dribble down her chin. It's really quite funny.
Anyway, as Belthazor strides towards the three, Phoebe rises into the air to kick him backwards into the dining room, and I note that if the camera adds ten pounds, the poorly-concealed harness adds about another fifteen. Phoebe's hips look huge. Belthazor flings a blue energy ball from the dining room, which Piper freezes. Prue astral-projects behind the demon and kicks him into the sun porch. Upon Prue's command, Piper grabs a knife from the table and slashes at Belthazor's neck. "Ow," he whines, and orbs into Leo. "You got skin," Leo mopes, and Phoebe asks him if he can make himself look like Brad Pitt the time. Prue offers a critique of the drill, and suggests they rehearse again. Piper declines, stating she'd like to keep her boyfriend in one piece. Phoebe asks for the keys to the SUV, and Prue reminds her to pick up some food for the homeowners' meeting. Phoebe can't get the car back by five and pick up food at the same time. Prue has to prep for her shoot. They turn to Piper. The Plinking Piano Of Unreasonable Demand sounds as Piper caves in, announcing she'll reschedule her appointment -- again -- to run out for some food.
Chez Belthazor. Cole places the dagger Patty gave him into his hidden cupboard of demonic accessories as he asks someone off-screen if he's ever taken on sisters. "Sisters?" comes the sharp, British-accented response, so we know Cole's talking to an evil demon, because all evil demons are British. "I pit nations against each other," the voice continues. "I start wars. Riots." This week's guest demon looks like one of those random quahog-grubbing New Englanders that litter movie adaptations of Stephen King's finer works. With unfortunate facial hair. "Andras," Cole notes, focuses on the anger of his victims, amping it up into a rage until the victim commits an act of violence. Cole wonders if Andras can use this power to destroy the Charmed Ones. Andras doesn't like the idea of going after witches, but Cole explains that he believes the Halliwells' sibling bond could be their undoing. If Andras can manage to destroy their bond as sisters, Cole guesses, their powers will cease to exist. Convinced by this logic, Andras asks which sister they will attack first, and Cole replies their first target will be the most vulnerable of the three: Phoebe.
Dammit. Short pre-credits sequences apparently translate into never-ending first acts. I need an ad for Levi's corduroy pants. Now. ["Vvt, vvt, vvt." -- Sars]
Cut to Phoebe, hustling out of the campus library while babbling into a cell phone. She's talking to Prue, apparently, assuring her she'll have the car back in time. She storms over to the SUV to find Cole leaning against it, and abruptly cuts off the call. Cole proceeds to play Phoebe for the demon-loving fool she is. He tells her he made early dinner reservations for them, hoping to get her alone so they can discuss where they stand in light of their recent foray into fornication. She protests weakly that she promised she'd attend the homeowners' meeting, and apologizes for not being able to join Cole at the restaurant. He blithely reassures her it's okay, that he understands her obligation to Prue and Piper, then leans in for the kill. He kisses her, tells her he'll talk to her later, and walks over to his own car. In an instant, Phoebe decides to bail on the meeting, and tells Cole she's certain she can get Piper to cover for her. "Won't that make her mad?" he asks. "She'll be furious," Phoebe allows, "but she'll just sublimate it and take it out on me later." Not bloody likely this time around, Phoebe. He arranges to pick her up at the manor in an hour, and she hops into the SUV. Cole wiggles his fingers a bit, causing the SUV's fuel line to buckle. Gasoline starts dripping out of the line as Phoebe speeds off, and Cole smirks to himself.
Manor parlor. The homeowners' meeting is in progress, and a foursome composed of Sassy Black Woman, Angry Fat White Guy, Obstreperous Old Lady, and Battleaxe Lesbian are at each other's throats over some pissy little property dispute or other, threatening each other with lawsuits. Leo escapes to the kitchen, where Piper trips over one of Prue's collapsed tripods, nearly tossing a tray of tarts all over the floor. Piper bitches, and Leo asks her how she got roped into heading the refreshment committee. Leo, you jackass, you were there when Prue and Phoebe saddled Piper with the job. No wonder these women are always getting into trouble if this scatterbrained dork is the one they rely upon for aid. Leo asks Piper if it wouldn't be easier for her to just toss together some chips and dip. Piper snottily replies that she used to be a chef, and doesn't know how to do chips and dip. Whatever. Leo tells Piper she needs start saying "no" when Prue and Phoebe impose on her, and she snarks back that Leo obviously never had any sisters. "One minute you're arguing about something," she cracks, "and then suddenly you're arguing about who stole whose Malibu Barbie in 1979." Hee. Been there, Piper. Not with Malibu Barbies, mind you, but I know exactly what you're talking about. Prue enters at this point, toting some camera equipment, and asks for Phoebe's whereabouts. Piper, quickly reaching the end of a very short fuse, rather loudly states that she hasn't seen Phoebe, then wonders why they're out of mineral water. Prue tells her there's more in the basement, and Leo takes this opportunity to get the hell away from them, ducking down into the cellar.
Piper, carrying snacks, sweeps past Prue into the parlor, where Angry Fat White Guy tells Battleaxe Lesbian that he and Sassy Black Woman are putting up a fence whether BL likes it or not. Piper speaks above the argument, letting them know which treats are vegetarian and which contain peanut sauce for those who may be allergic. Jesus, Piper. It's a homeowners' meeting. Just toss a few of bowls of pretzels and M&Ms on the sideboard with a couple of six-packs and be done with it. At this point, Piper catches Phoebe attempting to sneak upstairs unnoticed, and she and the angry foursome pause to glare. Phoebe tells Piper she needs a "huge favor," and asks if they can talk about it upstairs. Piper sees where this is going, wheels around to freeze her neighbors in mid-argument, and turns back to Phoebe to shut her down. Phoebe pleads her case, telling Piper Cole wants to have "The Talk" about the status of their relationship, and Piper, irritated, relents. Phoebe thanks her and dashes off upstairs. As Piper is about to insist Leo help her with the meeting, The Powers That Be ring his bell, and he orbs out. Piper exhales in frustration through her clenched teeth.
Outside, Cole pulls up to the curb in his car and calls for Andras, who flashes into the passenger seat. Cole tells Andras that Piper should just about be ready by now for his demonic intervention. Andras's overacting is giving me a migraine. It's not the scenery chewing, really, it's that he's overemphasizing and overenunciating every damn syllable of his dialogue as if he's milking each of his on-screen seconds for the sole purpose of irritating the hell out of me. Anyway, Cole explains the plan. Phoebe pisses off both Piper and Prue. Check. Andras will then amp up their anger into a rage, so that by the time he returns Phoebe from their date, Piper and Prue will be ready to rip her throat out. Andras states that this plan proves why Cole is so legendary in demon circles, leading me to believe that demons must be babbling idiots for a plan this simple to impress them so much. Andras: "Yew knoooow, fo-ah sssomeone about to sssco-ah one of the biggessst victreeeez in centchreeeez, yew don't ssseem virry happy about it." Someone dust this guy's ass now. He bugs me. Cole tells Andras to "just do [his] job," and Andras jumps out of the car.
We still haven't hit the goddamn commercial break.
Manor parlor. OOL tells AFWG his fence will block the sunlight from her flowerbed. Piper attempts to mediate, to no avail. SBW tells OOL and BL she and AFWG will see them in court. Andras lurks outside in the bushes, spying on the action through a window. The doorbell rings, and Phoebe dashes down from upstairs, looking really quite pretty in an upscale Carmen sort of way, with red flowers in her wound hair and a knockers-enhancing bodice pushing up her ample bosom. Piper somehow notices that Phoebe has "borrowed" her earrings, and Andras decides that this is the perfect time to toss a little raging voodoo Piper's way. She absorbs the shock of his spell, then tells the screaming foursome to "Shut. UP." She belittles their petty little property arguments, insisting that there are far more important things in the world, like, oh, pregnant chads and missing overseas ballots in Broward County. BL tells her she can't speak to them like that; Piper begs to differ, and then throws them all out of the house after tossing a tray of tarts over their heads. Now, I would consider that the "act of violence" that would break Andras's spell, but then this episode would go no farther than this were I applying my standards of violence, so I guess I'll shut up and watch Andras squiggle our way out to a much-needed commercial break.
Fade up on a nightclub interior, where yuppie couples salsa to the strains (oh, God, the strains) of a poor man's Enrique Iglesias who's shaking his bon-bon on stage. Pull back to reveal Phoebe and Cole snorting their cocktails out of their noses at some story of Phoebe dressing like a penguin to pass out balloons to kids when she was fifteen. She demonstrates the walk, sniggering some more, then sits down and sobers up. They chat about her past, her broken family life, and her dependence on Piper and Prue, for whom she "thank[s] God every day." Cole looks guilty and upset. Phoebe asks about his past, and he brushes her off, saying he doesn't like to discuss his family, as he "lost them a very long time ago." I get the impression that he's being truthful about this bit, and I'm wondering if the speculation that he once was human and hoped to regain his humanity through slaying the Halliwells for the Triad is true. Phoebe again calls him on hiding things from her, and he admits that he has something to confess to her. There's a pause, wherein Cole looks torn, and he then tells her he doesn't know how to dance. She guesses that his lack of agility on the dance floor was not the confession he intended to make, he insists that it was, and she drags him onto the floor to clinch and sway in time to a ballad. She pulls him close, and Cole wears an expression of shame and remorse. Nice little scene, that, and Alyssa Milano looked lovely. Except for the missing slip beneath her skirt.
Manor kitchen. Piper's still fuming up a storm as Prue walks in, nattering apologies for the aborted shoot -- no gas in the SUV's tank, you'll recall -- into her cell phone. She assures the person on the other end of the call that rescheduling the shoot for tomorrow at P3 is not a problem. Piper snatches the phone out of Prue's hand and tells the party on the other end that, actually, shooting at P3 is a problem, and hangs up. Prue asks Piper if she realizes what she just did, and Piper doesn't care. She tells Prue to "get [her] own damn club" and then yells at her for cluttering up the house with photography equipment. Piper picks up an expensive-looking lens and flings it to the floor. Prue is outraged, and Andras picks this moment to squiggle in to toss the raging voodoo Prue's way. Prue stomps around the kitchen, picks up a food processor, and shatters it on the floor in response. Piper and Prue glare at each other.
At that moment, Cole pulls his car up outside to drop Phoebe off from their date. She tells him she had a wonderful time, then guesses he's married. Married, "with three kids, two dogs, and a cat" and that she's his "seven-year itch." Cole jokingly tells her she's "found [him] out." She asks if he regrets their foray into fornication, he tells her he doesn't, and she wonders where their relationship is heading. Cole notes it's a shame that Phoebe "can't see into the future." She smiles at this, and leans in to kiss him. Cole keeps his eyes closed, until he senses Andras lurking in the bushes by the car. He pulls away from the kiss, and Phoebe, smiling sadly, turns to leave. He stops her to say quite pointedly, "Goodbye." "Good night," she coos, and heads up the stairs to the manor. She pauses and turns to smile at him again before entering the house. Cole smiles ruefully back at her, catches sight of Andras in the shrubbery, lets the smile fall from his face, and drives off.
Hallway. Prue and Piper storm through from the kitchen, still bitching at each other about the shoot at the club, and Phoebe, not knowing what she's in for at all, asks what's wrong. Prue and Phoebe tell her to "shut. UP." The only way I could do justice to the verbal sparring that follows is a direct transcription, which I will not bore you with. It boils down to each of the three expressing resentment over the roles they feel they've been forced to assume in the family dynamic. Prue hates having to be the responsible one all the time, Piper hates having to be the mediator, and Phoebe hates having to be the fuck-up. The opening bit of the argument is shot in that camera-swirling style that reminds me of the restaurant scene in Hannah and Her Sisters where, if I remember the movie correctly, they find out Barbara Hershey's been banging Mia Farrow's husband. Or Dianne Wiest's husband. Whatever -- there's fornication involved somehow. At the point where Prue busts Phoebe for "screwing the D.A.," Andras tosses the rage voodoo at the final sister. The argument ramps up from verbal to physical when Piper snatches one of her earrings from Phoebe's ear. Phoebe responds by swinging a kick at Piper, who throws Phoebe at Prue. Prue tosses Phoebe into a chair. Phoebe picks up a camera from the seat and hurls it at Prue, who TKs it right back at her. Phoebe levitates to avoid it, and Piper freezes the camera in mid-air before it can slam into her. Phoebe returns to earth, and the camera unfreezes to crash into a picture before falling to the floor. Overhead shot of the three standing apart from each other in triangle formation on a throw rug, and Phoebe turns to walk out of the house. Piper and Prue seem to realize something demonic is afoot in Halliwell manor as Andras squiggles away.
Attic. Rampaging SpiritCam thunders up to the Book of Shadows. The Triquatra on the cover glows red, the three elements that are joined in the circle spread apart, and the circle disappears. Ruh roh!
I do not like the Sex and the City Midol ad. You know, the one where the racially balanced group of businesswomen start pulling personal pharmacies out of their handbags in the middle of a restaurant. I think it's because, were I sitting near them, the last thing I would want to hear about while I tuck into the steak tartare is their collective struggle with bloating and cramps. Just sayin'.
Manor parlor. Piper and Prue, a bit chastised by what just transpired, help each other clean up after the fight. In Leo orbs, and he stares at them silently. Piper, guilty: "What is it? What's wrong?" Leo tells them that the fight they just had was of such monumental proportions, TPTB felt it, so they sent him back down to find out what the deal is. He also let the two know that, whatever they did, it broke the familial bond that forms the basis of their powers, leading to the "outage" from which this episode takes its name. To prove this, he challenges Piper to freeze a crystal bowl he drops to the floor. She can't, and the bowl shatters. Prue tries to TK the shards, and fails as well. Piper and Prue admit to Leo that they used their powers on each other in the heat of the argument, and Leo guesses that this is why the powers have disappeared. They also discuss the possible source of their heightened anger, deciding that, while Belthazor is probably involved, he doesn't have the power himself to influence the sisters' emotions. Leo announces that the three must mend whatever it was they did to each other, and asks where Phoebe is. Piper and Prue glance uneasily at each other.
Chez Belthazor. The red-skinned demon is chanting something in front of his little demon shrine, holding the dagger Patty gave him all those many scenes ago. Avon calling, and he could use a little facial scrub. Okay, it's Phoebe, and I suppose I should note she wasn't just wearing a diaphanous skirt in the earlier scenes. She actually has black capri pants on beneath it. She still, improbably, looks pretty damn good. Belthazor turns from his shrine menacingly, and approaches the door. He decides at the last moment to answer as Cole, despite his knowledge of Phoebe's vulnerability at the moment. Cole answers clad in a white beater, to find the emotionally frayed Phoebe begging to be let in. She dissolves into tears, telling him of the fight, and as he comforts her, assuring her she's found safety in his apartment, the demon shrine glows.
Attic. Piper's trying to ascertain Phoebe's whereabouts by dangling a crystal over a map of the city. It's not working, as they lack even "basic powers" in the wake of the fight. Leo draws their attention to Andras's entry in the BoS. They read what we already know about the guy, and determine that they gave Andras the opportunity to amp up their anger, and he took advantage of it. Back at Cole's, Phoebe sniffles on about the fight. Demon shrine audibly glows. Cole sits Phoebe down, telling her he'll get some tissues. He grabs the dagger instead, and tucks it into his belt. Phoebe processes through sibling issues, but it's background noise for the action. As Phoebe pulls Cole into a kiss, he slowly raises the dagger over his head to plunge it into her ample, corseted breast. We know he will not go through with it when he closes his eyes and gives in to the lip nuzzling. "I can't," he says. Phoebe doesn't understand what's going on, and Cole snows her into thinking he's stopped because she's emotionally, not magically, vulnerable. He sends her back to sort things out with her sisters, she lingers at the door to kiss him again, and he then shuts it behind her, looking well aware that he's just signed his own death warrant.
In fizzles Andras. "Ssso the ru-mahsss ahhh treeew. Yeeew've fahhh-len for a witch!" Dude, shut up. There's more in this vein. Much, much more. I can't listen to it again, so I'll give you the short version: Andras threatens to rat out Cole to the Andrews Sisters, Cole threatens to kill Andras, Andras reveals that he can inhabit his victim's bodies in addition to manipulating their emotions, and Andras then proceeds to do just that with Cole, who by now has morphed into Belthazor. Andrahhhzor heads off to slice up some witch, and we head off to more commercials.
Manor parlor. No one knows where Phoebe is, and Piper says she won't be able to live with herself if anything has happened to her. Leo tries to reassure her, telling her that Phoebe will be fine, but Piper reminds him of the misfortunes that befell their mother and grandmother, and frets some more. Phoebe enters at this point with a deathly-stupid line: "Has the tribal council spoken? Am I voted off the island?" Phoebe, sweetie, all the good will you built up with me over the last hour is gone with that line. A Survivor joke? Dawson's Creek got its "voted off the island" line over and done with in the first minutes of the first episode of the season, for Christ's sake. Dawson's Creek. Jesus. Anyway. Piper embraces Phoebe, and she and Prue fill Phoebe in on what's happened. Phoebe wonders if they need to cast a spell to get things back to normal, but Leo tells the three that they must find some way to restore their familial bond, and leaves to give them some privacy. I don't mean to rant, because ultimately, none of this is that important, but familial bonds are not irreparably broken because of one knock-down, drag-out catfight wherein the participants air out the petty grievances that every sibling has for another. In fact, knock-down, drag-out catfights are probably necessary to prevent those petty grievances from festering to act eventually as fuel for larger disputes over things like wills and divisions of property after parents die. Sad to say that money issues are mightier than familial bonds, I know. But I've seen it happen, and such disputes are not pretty. They can make what these three went through with each other look like inconsequential chatter on the merits of one brand of toilet paper over another.
Whatever. Prue, Piper, and Phoebe process through the issues they fought about in the earlier scene. It's a nicely played scene by the three, I must admit, but the whole discussion is a bit clichéd. Piper and Phoebe appreciate Prue's maturity, Prue and Phoebe appreciate Piper's giving nature, and neither Prue nor Piper really believes Phoebe's a fuck-up. They smile at each other, and Phoebe wonders if they have their powers back. Andrahhhzor kicks in the door at that moment, and they quickly realize the various powers have not been restored, as first Prue, then Piper try and fail to stop the demon. Leo whacks Andrahhhzor from behind with a chair, and Andrahhhzor responds by throwing Leo into the living room. Phoebe pouts at TPTB to no avail, and Prue tells her sisters to scram, as she'll figure out a way to take care of the demon. Do you see where this is going? Good. Phoebe insists the three are "in this together," and she and Piper refuse to budge from Prue's side. As Andrahhhzor advances with the dagger, Phoebe catches sight of the three elements on the cover of the BoS as they flare up and merge back into the Triquatra. Prue quickly TKs the dagger from Andrahhhzor's hand, and Andrahhhzor instead flings a blue energy ball at the Ps. Prue TKs this right back at him, and it hits its mark, knocking Andras out of Belthazor. Prue: "Okay, that's new." Phoebe: "Demon...with demon filling." Okay, you got me. Heh.
Belthazor turns to Andras on the floor, tells Andras he does not appreciate being betrayed, and sends Andras flaming merrily down to Hell. Finally. Thank you, Belthazor. Belthazor retrieves the dagger as the Ps move into their battle positions. Phoebe levitates and kicks him in the head, but this seems to do more damage to her than to him. She's flung against the wall. Belthazor then shoots the dagger at Piper, who freezes it as Prue APs her way behind him. AP Prue kicks Belthazor into a cupboard, Piper grabs hold of the dagger, and Belthazor charges her. Piper slices off a pepperoni-sized piece of demon flesh from Belthazor's side, ruining the carpet in the process. AP Prue reconnects with Special Ed Prue, who then TKs Belthazor backwards through the stained-glass bay window into the yard outside. The sisters help each other up as Belthazor morphs back into Cole on the lawn. Cole makes with the whimpering noises, then squiggles out, presumably to Hell. Piper picks up the slice of Belthazor pepperoni, and Prue cracks wise about "the other white meat." Piper notes they need use the pepperoni slice to brew up a vanquishing potion quickly before Belthazor makes his appearance. So, they all change their clothes and head to the club.
P3AD. You thought I was kidding, right? Wrong. The Whitss sing something along the lines of "You may be from Venus, but I'm definitely not from Mars." "Ocean." "Commotion." "Emotion." I think I'm going to go back to fast-forwarding through all appearances by The Whitss on this show in the future. The Ps arrange themselves on a sofa, and sum up the week's events. Prue's photo shoot went well, but not as well as it might have gone had she used the P3. Piper's doctor's appointment revealed elevated stress levels, but nothing else of concern. Phoebe notes that AFWG and SBW ironed out their differences with OOL, and suggests Piper run all homeowners' meetings from now on. Piper tells her to can it. They agree to be more honest with each other in the future. Whatever. Phoebe scans the crowd fruitlessly for Cole, but he's not there.
Because he's being squiggled down into Hell. Patty, Maxene, and LaVerne stand on the Judgmental Pedestals as Cole, bleeding from the wound inflicted by Piper, materializes in the center. Patty reminds Cole that he warned him about his involvement with Phoebe and what would happen to Cole if he failed. Maxene notes that Cole's done more than fail, he's "betrayed" them, and, by extension, the Source. Bearded LaVerne chimes in, noting that Cole squandered the best opportunity any demon has had thus far against the Charmed Ones. LaVerne then conjures a ball of flame, telling Cole he's allowed to make a statement before they dust his ass. Cole has nothing to say, but he sure as hell has something to do. What is that, you ask? Demon ass-kicking, that's what. Yeah, baby. Cole flings the dagger at LaVerne's chest, and LaVerne gasps and disappears. Patty prepares to fling another ball of flame at Cole, but Cole squiggles on over behind Maxene, twists Maxene's head around to break his neck, then shoots a blue energy ball at Patty, who disappears, screaming, into a wall of fire. Go, Cole. An extended overhead swirling shot of Cole screaming at the heavens, and we fade to black.