Charmed (Reboot) – Season 3, Episode 12 (Spectral Healing)
This episode was all about family loss.
The episode kicks off with Abigael being fully aware that she is in the Tomb of Chaos, nonetheless she is desperate to escape, picking the locks on the balcony doors and walking out, only to walk back into her apartment again.
We then cut to Macy in the attic performing her 267th experiment on her skin scrapings and scrapings of the symbols in an attempt to cure their allergy. When Macy telekinetically throws books off a nearby bookshelf in frustration, she discovers a wooden box on the shelf and opens it. She finds a bunch of envelopes, with one of them addressed to all of them, saying ‘to all my girls for when it’s too painful to be near each other’ in Marisol’s writing.
Meanwhile, Maggie and Antonio are now working together as part of their research internship with Dr. Lawrence. Antonio asks Maggie out, and when Maggie has a premonition of them dating, she freaks out and leaves, forgetting to take her wallet with her. Meanwhile Mel tells Ruby that the allergy is back, and Ruby tells her that she loves her. Mel then gets Macy’s message about the box.
When the sisters return to the Manor, Macy shows them the letters Marisol wrote, which include a letter for Mel on her wedding day, and Maggie on her graduation day.
Meanwhile, Harry is in the Command Centre talking to Mo about becoming mortal. Mo tells Harry that he has six days to decide whether he wants to become mortal, and if he does, he needs a soul donation from a surviving male family member. Harry decides to go to England to ask Carter for the donation, with Mel going with him (much like when he found Carter in the season 1 episode, You’re Dead to Me). Mo gives him soul softener pills to give to Carter for the donation, and information warning him about the side effects.
After Harry and Mel leave, Macy vents to Maggie about her fears regarding the risks Harry is taking with becoming mortal. When Maggie mentions Jordan has been ghosting her, this gives Macy an idea to perform a séance to summon Marisol. However when they cast the spell, two spirits end up possessing Maggie instead.
Macy eventually finds out that the spirits possessing Maggie are Roger and Daisy, a father and daughter. Roger tells Macy that it was nothing personal, it’s just that Maggie was the first body they saw. Daisy meanwhile feels dismissed by Roger and Macy, using magic to keep her away. Macy discovers that Roger and Daisy were able to possess Maggie as the box that the letters were in, which were used as part of the séance, belonged to Roger and Daisy before it belonged to Marisol.
More troubles for Macy, Maggie and the ghosts arise when Antonio shows up at the Manor to bring Maggie her wallet. When Antonio tries to apologise for spooking Maggie when he asked her out, Daisy tells him that she’ll go out with him, only for Roger to tell her that she can’t date until she’s 18 and magically throws Antonio against a wall, knocking him out.
Daisy later tells Macy that she wanted to go to the prom but Roger wouldn’t let her, so she snuck out, but he found her and took her home before she could dance with her date, they got into a fight on the way home and were killed in a car accident. Roger reveals that he feared losing Daisy after her mother died, when Macy points out that you can’t live your life in fear, Roger apologises to Daisy and she forgives him. Her forgiveness sets Roger free. Macy then comes up with the idea of Antonio giving Daisy the dance she missed out on at prom, which works in releasing Daisy.
Meanwhile, Harry and Mel arrive at Carter’s daughter, Jill’s, house and discover that he has recently died. They meet Jill and see her arguing with a young boy, Georgie. It’s later revealed that Carter had an affair and is Georgie’s father, but Georgie has always known him as “Uncle Carter”, and is Jill’s half-brother. Mel also finds one of the soul softener pills on the floor, which means they’ve somehow fallen out of Harry’s pocket and they need to find them before anyone eats them. However they discover that Georgie mistook them for lollies and ate them all, which has caused his soul to detach from his body.
Harry eventually realises that to re-attach Georgie’s soul, they need to provide him with what he needs, which is family. Harry acknowledges Georgie’s grief and tells him it’s okay to be sad and miss Carter. Jill walks in and Harry tells her that Georgie misses him, Jill invites him out for a walk so they can talk about Carter. Georgie thanks Harry and hugs him.
After Roger and Daisy leave, Macy and Maggie are able to perform the séance again, with Marisol possessing Maggie this time. Marisol tells Macy that her letter actually had nothing to do with the allergy. Macy also ends up confiding in Marisol about Harry’s mortality, and Marisol asks Macy to tell Maggie not to worry so much. Afterwards, Maggie and Macy tell Antonio that he dreamt his dance with Maggie/Daisy due to a concussion. Antonio apologises to Maggie if he spooked her when he asked her out, Maggie tells Antonio that she wants to be with Jordan.
Meanwhile, Abigael is going through a hell loop in the Tomb of Chaos, which consists of her reconciling with her mother, Francesca, only for things to go sour when she doesn’t obey her. It’s revealed that when Abigael wasn’t obedient, Francesca would lock her inside a crate. When Abigael states that she’ll do anything to be let out, the crate opens, and Abigael drinks the glass of scotch on the counter that she refused to drink earlier, showing that she has surrendered to her fate.
Towards the end of the episode, after he returns from England, Harry tells Macy that he wants to become mortal not only to be with her but live a full life with her. Macy tells him that she feels the same way, and Ruby and Mel declare their love for each other.
The episode ends with Maggie going to Safe Space to see Jordan. When she can’t find him, Swan tells her that Jordan hasn’t been to work in days, and mentions seeing him with Abigael. When Maggie goes to Abigael’s apartment, she finds two Tomb of Chaos symbols emblazoned on the floor.
Overall, I felt that this was a solid filler episode. Admittedly it was nice to get a break from the allergy story arc. I enjoyed Sarah Jeffery’s performances as Roger, Daisy and Marisol, not only were they entertaining but her ability to show nuance in each character put her acting talents on full display. I also found it odd that Macy and Maggie would just casually summon Marisol without Mel. I also enjoyed the appearance of Antonio, and how far his character has come from being a one-dimensional, stereotypical millennial frat boy to a kind, considerate man who ultimately went out of his way to apologise to Maggie, fearing he had disrespected her.
I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next, now that Maggie has discovered that Abigael and Jordan are in the Tomb of Chaos.