#i think phoebe would be more like. like advice driven for paige like it used to be paige is a big girl she can figure it out on her own | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

whitewolfofwinterfell · 4 years

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if prue had met paige how would they get along and what do you think would happen? and do you think they have any similarities? I would love your full meta on this

Honestly, anon, I’ve thought about this a lot over the years and I still struggle to imagine what would’ve happened if Prue and Paige had met and what their relationship would’ve been like. There are so many possibilities and factors to take into consideration. If you ask me on another day, you might even get a different response, but here are my thoughts on this topic.

If Piper had died instead of Prue in All Hell Breaks Loose and season 4 started in the exact same way, I think Prue would’ve reacted to Paige the same way as Piper did. Recently, I’ve become more and more aware of the ways that Piper was turned into Prue 2.0 from season 4 onwards and this is what demonstrates it most for me. Piper’s reaction to losing Prue and finding Paige is exactly how I’d imagine Prue’s would be. The only difference is that Prue would’ve been worse. As the eldest sister, Prue felt it was her solemn duty to protect her sisters. She shouldered the burden of responsibility and was devoted to keeping them safe. If either one of them had died on her watch, the damage it would’ve done to her would’ve been irreparable. Prue would not have been grief stricken, she’d feel like she’d failed, that it was her fault and she would’ve been adamant that she was going to do something to bring Piper back, no matter the cost. If that failed, she’d turn her attention to revenge. All of this would’ve made it very difficult, if not impossible, for Prue to accept Paige or even remotely open herself up to the possibility of having another sister. Prue would be enraged - at the injustice of Piper’s death, at herself for failing Piper, at Leo for not being able to heal Piper, at the Elders for not doing more and at Penny and Patty for lying to her about Paige her entire life. Her emotions would be overwhelming and because of her stubbornness, it would most likely take her longer to push past that than it did for Piper. The one thing that would bring Prue around to Paige would be her being in danger. Knowing that The Source/Shax was after Paige would make Prue determined to stop him. That’d most likely result in a transference, whereby her anger and grief became an unhealthy obsession with hunting Shax down and killing him for revenge. I could really see Prue going completely rogue like Leo in season 6 with Gideon. She would stop at nothing to avenge Piper’s death.

Prue’s resistance to Paige wouldn’t be because of Paige, it would be because of herself - because of her grief and identity crisis as the eldest sister. But I think once she started to accept Piper’s death, she would’ve gone in the complete opposite direction and embraced Paige fiercely to overcompensate for the loss of Piper. This would involve her taking Paige under her wing, being overly protective, teaching her about the craft and acknowledging that Paige was an innocent. Paige would be Prue’s second chance in a sense - a chance to be the eldest sister again and to forge an eldest-youngest sibling relationship more positive than the one she had with Phoebe. Prue’s growth and foresight from her experiences with Phoebe would allow her to be more patient and understanding regarding Paige’s recklessness and impulsivity. It would also improve her relationship with Phoebe because she’d turn to Phoebe for advice and guidance, and to keep her grounded. Phoebe would fulfil that middle sister role perfectly. I think Paige’s inferiority complex with Prue in canon would’ve transformed into her viewing Prue as a role model if Prue had survived. Prue’s natural flair and dedication to witchcraft would’ve inspired Paige and allowed her to develop her skills and powers at an even faster and greater extent than she did in canon. There’d definitely be a power struggle between them, particularly in the early days, because both of them are stubborn and independent. In the original dynamic, Prue was used to having control and making decisions for the group, but Paige wasn’t the sort of person to sit back and take orders. Overall, I think the two of them would’ve butted heads a lot and had a very rocky start, but eventually it would evolve into a beautiful dynamic. Prue would’ve taken more time to guide Paige, not just as a witch but as a person. In season 4, Paige was a lost soul. She was an orphan without a family, she was working a job that she believed in but wasn’t satisfied with and she had a lot of ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes’ going on. Prue would’ve helped her with this. Furthermore, their similar personalities and approaches would instil them with a mutual respect and understanding, whilst their strength and dedication to witchcraft would lead them to be a powerhouse duo.

Regarding their similarities, Prue and Paige’s main similarity was their perspective on magic. They saw their duties as witches as important and they were devoted to saving innocents. Prue and Paige considered being a witch a proper job as much as any other traditional job. They always went that step further in practising or perfecting their craft, and never wished away their powers or perceived magic as a burden. They were also both incredibly strong willed and operated on their gut instincts, which were nearly always right. They had a creative streak - Paige with painting and Prue with photography - and this is something that would bond them. Prue and Paige were also the two sisters out of the four that felt the least traditional. By which I mean they never seemed as concerned with motherhood or marriage as Piper and Phoebe did. They were more driven by their careers and being a witch (and/or whitelighter in Paige’s case). I’d also say that Prue and Paige were natural leaders. Their drive, determination and skill when it came to witchcraft meant they were full of ideas and actively thrived on their work as witches. Both also had the confidence, intelligence, power and empathy to take the lead. Obviously, this is the one similarity that would’ve caused tension between them as they grappled to be the leader. However, I think it would’ve led to growth for both of them. Prue would’ve learned to let go a little more and to trust Paige to take over, and Paige would’ve learned to respect that although she had ideas and drive, Prue was the more experienced and wiser sister.

Overall, Prue and Paige are a complex dynamic to analyse because it’s all based on guess work. The fact that I feel like I know both characters quite well does help to some extent, but not enough. However, I think if you look to Piper and Paige’s relationship you’ll see almost a carbon copy of what Prue and Paige’s relationship would’ve looked like. That’s really because the sister dynamics on Charmed aren’t shaped by the characters personalities as much as they are by the sister hierarchy. Allow me to explain.

There are two main sister groupings:

1. Prue, Piper and Phoebe 2. Piper, Phoebe and Paige

Within these two groupings there are always 3 sister pairings: eldest-middle, eldest-youngest, middle-youngest. Now let’s look at the pairings that fall under these headings and compare.

Eldest-middle

Prue and Piper

Piper and Phoebe

Both dynamics are characterised by mutual love and understanding. These two pairings get on very well - their relationships are loving, affectionate and are best friends as well as sisters. The eldest has a level of responsibility and burden that comes from being the eldest, that only the middle sister can fully appreciate and understand. The middle sister is fully allied with the eldest and supportive of what they do and how they do it. This leads the eldest sister to lean on the middle sister to be in her corner and to keep her grounded. For the eldest sister, the middle sister represents consistency - somebody who will always be there. The eldest sister feels protective about the middle sister whom they feel a deep bond to and at various points the eldest sister feels she has let down the middle sister in her duty to protect her (1. Prue lets Piper down in Coyote Piper and 2. Piper lets Phoebe down in Queen of the Underworld). Overall, the eldest-middle dynamic is a plain sailing dynamic of two best friends who are extremely close and rely upon each other.

Eldest-youngest

Prue and Phoebe

Piper and Paige

Both dynamics are characterised by an initial clash of personalities and power struggle. The eldest struggles with the youngest’s recklessness and lack of responsibility. The youngest finds the eldest judgemental, mean and too serious. As a result, the eldest sister chastises the youngest sister, pushing the youngest sister further away, making her want to rebel and go off on her own. Nonetheless, despite surface level disdain, the eldest sister is fiercely protective of the youngest and the youngest seeks the eldest’s approval and respects them immensely. Tensions prevail between the two; they disagree on how to approach situations and struggle to work together without clashing. However, over time, the eldest and youngest are able to push their differences aside, empathise, develop patience and appreciate the other sister for how she is different to herself.

Middle-youngest

Piper and Phoebe

Phoebe and Paige

Similar to the eldest-middle, this relationship is one between friends. However, it operates on the basis that the middle sister understands the youngest sister where the eldest one fails. The middle sister probably finds the youngest sister’s naivety irritating at times, but mostly they find it endearing and accept them for who they are. The middle sister strives to bridge the gap between the eldest and youngest, as a result the youngest relies on the middle sister as her greatest ally. If the youngest sister is in a tight spot, she will turn to the middle sister for non-judgemental support and advice.

So you see, the sister dynamics follow this same formula no matter who happens to be in the duo. The nuances of these sister relationships do differ, but the foundation of them is rooted in these outlines which were established by Constance M. Burge when she first created the show. Therefore, Prue and Paige would fall into the eldest-youngest and have a similar dynamic to Piper and Paige or Prue and Phoebe. Although I personally believe Piper and Paige is more reflective of the relationship Prue and Paige would’ve had, particularly in the beginning.

#answered #anonymous #charmed #prue x paige #my meta #charmed meta

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shannen-writes · 4 years

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Ranking the Halliwell sisters from least to most favourite

Charmed is one of my all time favourite shows and the sisters 4 of my favourite characters. Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Paige are so complex and dynamic. They’re written as real women that are flawed and relatable and that’s why the show continues to have so many loyal fans to this day. Since I’ve grown up watching the show, my ranking of the sisters has changed a lot over the years. As I’ve gone through various stages of my life I’ve related to different aspects of the sisters’ lives and personalities, and even today I’m constantly finding a new appreciation and admiration for the sisters. However, my ranking has stayed pretty much the same now for the last few years, so I wanted to share it with you all. So without further ado here is my ranking of the Halliwell sisters starting with my least favourite and ending with my most favourite.

Warning: There’s no hate featured in this post towards any of the sisters, but it is a critical analysis, so be warned that you may dislike some parts, particularly if you’re deeply attached to any of the characters.

4. Piper

I love Piper’s strength and compassion. Her transformation into the Goddness of Earth in Oh My Goddess perfectly embodied Piper’s character for me; how down to earth she was and how her power came from her motherhood and care-giving spirit. In the early seasons, Piper was driven by a desire to please others and was conflict adverse. I deeply related to Piper as someone that struggled to be heard and to strike a balance between her desire to avoid conflict and being assertive, which we saw in Coyote Piper. Piper knew what she wanted but didn’t always know how to get it. Piper’s place as the middle sister in seasons 1-3 was a defining aspect of her character and shaped her passive nature in the early seasons. She was the mediator between Prue and Phoebe, and this meant that she was often more open-minded and less stubborn than her sisters. She was able to see both sides of a story and approach situations with empathy and understanding. Piper felt stifled by the big, bold personalities of her sisters and compared herself to them. She felt that she wasn’t as brave, pretty, charismatic, smart, powerful or talented as Prue and Phoebe; that she was ordinary. This lack of confidence she had in herself and her abilities led her to subconsciously become passive in a lot of situations and to also resent her powers throughout the series. Her ordinary-ness made her feel like she belonged in an ordinary world and therefore, she struggled to accept her magic and the extraordinary-ness that went with it.

However, Piper developed over the series and changed a lot. Her love life was a significant aspect of her development. In seasons 1 and 2, Leo and Dan choosing Piper over her sisters boosted Piper’s confidence and made her realise that she wasn’t inferior to her sisters. Whilst she was generally passive in seasons 1 and 2, when she finally made the choice to be with Leo, it was the first step of her finding her true voice and not being afraid to use it. Despite it being a forbidden love, she loved Leo so much that she believed he was worth fighting for. Losing him at the start of season 3, altered her passive nature signficantly. She became angry and bitter and was determined to fight for the man she loved. Piper reacted to this loss in a much different way than she would’ve in season 1, and even after getting Leo back, she was forever changed by it. It was a turning point for her through which she learned that being a nice, good little girl and playing by the rules didn’t always bring rewards. Generally, Piper’s relationship with Leo also helped Piper to become more determined and confident. Leo had a deep understanding of Piper and knew how to support and nurture her so that she continued to grow in confidence and see her strengths.

After season 3, Piper went through a string of life-changing events which took her character down an entirely new path. She lost Prue, became the eldest sister, lost Phoebe to evil, became a mother and lost Leo (again!). These 5 events impacted Piper’s character significantly transforming her from the Piper of seasons 1-3 into a very different Piper. Whilst the core of Piper’s character remained, the trauma associated with these events and the huge changes she underwent led her to become more hardened, cynical, untrusting, callous and bitter. Her perception of the world and of right and wrong became much more black and white, she became more stubborn, less sensitive and more determined. Her passiveness with traded for assertiveness, her aversion to conflict for combativeness, her lack of confidence for arrogance, her open-mindedness for closed-mindedness and her apparent lack of power to ultimate power.

Piper is a brilliant character with organic and authentic development. The trauma she endured was marked by the signifiant changes in her character and personality in the later seasons, but the core of her character was maintained no matter how much she changed. The reason Piper is at the bottom of this ranking is because I have a few small issues with her character. Firstly, I feel like she was sometimes pushed too much into Prue territory. As the eldest sister, the writers forced Piper to adopt similar characteristics to Prue and it didn’t always fit. It was to be expected that she’d change, and that her insecurity about her ability to take on the role as the eldest sister would lead her to behave more like Prue. But ultimately, Piper was her own person and there was a way for her to become the eldest sister without becoming Prue 2.0. Secondly, Piper’s character was over-shadowed by Leo, Wyatt and Chris. Whilst I liked her relationship with Leo and appreciated the exploration of motherhood that we got in seasons 4-8, it sometimes stifled Piper’s character and the focus on Leo, Wyatt and Chris forced Piper to be a supporting character in her own story. Thirdly, her arc in the later seasons became repetitive with the same issues with parenting, Leo and her desire to “be normal” arising time and time again, despite them having already been resolved in previous episodes and seasons. Finally, certain traits were amplified at her detriment. I’m as much a fan of Piper’s sarcasm and wit as anybody, but after a while it became spiteful and mean. Repeatedly blowing up Leo, telling Billie she’d vanquish her and straight up disrespecting the Elders because she wasn’t “not a fan” of their rules are just few examples that come to mind.

Overall, I love Piper and appreciate how much she developed across the series, but I love the other sisters so much, that these few issues that I have with her character are enough to place her at the bottom of my ranking. I think that serves as a testament to how much love I have for the Halliwell sisters!

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3. Phoebe

I absolutely adore Phoebe and the amount of hate that she seems to get from the fandom feels like such a huge injustice to the incredible woman that she is. I love Phoebe’s passionate, free-spirit; the way she wore her heart on her sleeve, was always true to herself, fiercely loyal, devoted and passionate. She had a wild side, but was also deeply grounded and I believe, was the heart of the show (despite Piper being commonly regarded as such). Of all the sisters she undoubtedly underwent the most growth and Phoebe’s story was by far the most inspiring to me. She faced a lot of judgement and doubt in the early seasons (particularly from Prue), but she never let that dampen her spirit. She found the courage and strength to go back to college and find her path in life, she lost herself to one of the darkest loves that existed and found a way back from it and generally endured a lot of trauma, but somehow always found the strength to go on. What’s even more incredible about that, is that she always maintained her core self. Even when she was at her lowest, she had a strong sense of who she was and was true to herself. That’s not to say that she didn’t change because she did, but considering how dark a path she trod at certain points in the series, the fact that she remained the optimistic, big-hearted and compassionate soul that she’d always been was a huge testament to her character.

It’d be impossible to talk about Phoebe without touching upon her relationship with Cole and her arc in seasons 3-5. Falling in love with Cole was a huge turning point for Phoebe’s character, and over the years I’ve repeatedly seen her get slammed for it by fans. However, Phoebe’s relationship with Cole encompassed everything that Phoebe was and made sense for her character. It showed her recklessness, impulsivity and naivety when it came to love, but also allowed her to develop a maturity and fresh perspective that she perhaps wouldn’t have if she hadn’t met Cole. She threw herself unreservedly into her relationship with Cole because Phoebe was a romantic and she believed wholeheartedly in love. The relationship was far from perfect; Phoebe developed blinkers and was often too wrapped in Cole at the detriment of other aspects of her life, but the relationship was pivotal for Phoebe. As the youngest sister, she started the series as much more naive and immature than her sisters, but her relationship with Cole and the life experience it gave her set her on a new path. She learned to guard her heart and be more cautious when it came to love, she also took the time after her break-up with Cole to focus on herself and her career and to find new loves that weren’t necessarily romantic. Her job as an advice columnist allowed her to find an outlet and expression for her love of love by helping others to find love. And despite the hurt she endured at Cole’s hands, she never truly gave up on finding love herself and her pursuit of love remained at the center of Phoebe’s arc throughout the series. This is why Coop being Phoebe’s final love interest made so much sense - they were both driven by finding love, whether for themselves or others.

In addition to her pursuit of love, a desire for a family and children was also central to Phoebe’s arc, particularly in the later seasons. On a personal level, I disliked this development because I couldn’t relate to it as someone that doesn’t want to marry or have children. However, appreciate that for Phoebe it made sense. From the start of the series, she was depicted as someone that was good with children and had a maternal instinct, which we saw in episodes such as Reckless Abandon and Awakened. Furthermore, the loss of her child at the end of season 4 undoubtedly left behind a pain that was the catalyst for Phoebe’s fixation on having children in the later seasons. In season 5, we saw her fawn over Wyatt and act as a motherly figure, which was likely a projection of her grief from the loss of her own child. After seeing a premonition of her future child, Phoebe became obsessed with finding the father of her future child to ensure her child would be born. I strongly disliked this arc, but it was understandable given the fact that Phoebe had lost a child previously. Just as Piper went on a journey to becoming a mother in seasons 4 and 5, Phoebe went on her own journey. It wasn’t a well-written or developed journey, but a journey nonetheless, and I appreciated it as part of Phoebe’s story.

The reason Phoebe is only third in this ranking, is because as much as I can objectively appreciate her arc and development, I didn’t like it and I think that it was an injustice to the incredible things that could’ve been done with her character. Many would claim that Cole destroyed Phoebe, and I disagree with that, because it’s much more complex. It’s an oxymoron of sorts; the relationship developed her growth but also hindered it. Whilst the experiences she had provided her with perspective and wisdom, Phoebe’s inability to deal with the aftermath of the events in season 4 hindered her from truly moving forward from Cole or the trauma of becoming Queen of the Underworld and her miscarriage. Phoebe never faced up to what had happened or tried to get closure, choosing instead to runaway, as we saw in A Witch’s Tail. This meant that her relationship with Cole in season 5 became even more dysfunctional and added further to her existing trauma from season 4. Outwardly, during this time Phoebe was building herself back up and developing her career, but ultimately, Cole was always hanging over her head and by the time it was finished with she was exhausted and just wanted to shut it away and pretend it never happened. This is understandable, but as I said at the start of this paragraph, it prevented her from healing. Consequently, every part of Phoebe’s journey post season 5 was still dictated by her history with Cole. In seasons 6-8 everything Phoebe went into became an obsession - whether it was finding love, her romantic relationships, having children or her career - and those obsessions can all be explained by her experiences in season 4 and 5.

Overall, Phoebe’s external development was more significant than her internal development. Externally, her development across the seasons was the most tangible - she started the series as an unemployed “wild child” with only a bicycle and backpack of clothes and ended with a highly successful career, loving partner and the family that she longed for. However, internally, she never truly developed because of the poor way the aftermath of her relationship with Cole was handled in season 5. Despite this, I appreciated that as a modern woman, Phoebe was portrayed as wanting a husband and children whilst still being a powerful, independent woman with a successful career. I also love Phoebe for who she was as a person. I love her vibrancy, charisma, passion and energy. She was a colourful character and anybody that met her couldn’t do anything but adore her.

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2. Paige

What I love most about Paige is that she feels like the most unique of the sisters, which was most likely because she was adopted and wasn’t raised with the other sisters. Paige was so quirky, individual, stylish, independent, witty, intelligent, talented, driven and conscientious. I’ve always felt that out of all the sisters she’s the most underrated and was given less opportunity to shine throughout the series. Paige underwent genuine growth that’s understated but beautiful. Every flaw or issue that Paige had was explored, addressed and resolved. Some examples of her growth include:

Her fear of magic and reluctance to become a witch transformed into a genuine passion and flair for witchcraft which she perceived to be a blessing

Her resistance to her biological family members (e.g. Penny and Sam) because she felt it was a betrayal to her adopted family eventually softened to give way to open-mindedness and acceptance

Her denial of her whitelighter half grew to become her greatest calling and a core part of her identity and heritage which she took pride in

Her struggle to fit into the Halliwell clan ended with her becoming an integral part of the family and the reason that they were able to survive after Prue’s death

Paige consistently confronted her issues head on and grew as a consequence. She embraced every aspect of herself, her life and her past, and saw them as opportunities to grow. This quote from Paige in Sam I Am (which is one of my favourites), really shows this:

“When you gave me up, you made a choice that gave me the most amazing gift. See, I got to have these tremendous parents and we loved each other fiercely. And now I have this whole new life with my sisters. I choose to be a witch. I could’ve walked away but I didn’t. And now I’m a Whitelighter to boot.”

In comparison to the other sisters, I found the nuances of Paige’s character so interesting. When she was introduced in season 4 there was so much to learn about her, and episodes like A Paige from the Past showed how much potential Paige had in those early days. She brought a fresh perspective and dynamic to the show which stemmed from the fact that she was raised in a completely different environment from her sisters. She wasn’t afraid to challenge the sisters pre-conceived notions or to propose new ways of doing things - a Haiku spell is one of many instances that show Paige’s innovative mind and creative flair - and strongly believed in her ideas and judgement. She was self-assured and confident in a way that enabled her to be efficient and which motivated her in everything that she did. Despite her differences from the sisters that stemmed from being raised with the Matthews, she still had incredible instincts as a witch and had an innate Halliwell-ness which solidified her as a Charmed One. This too added to the nuances of Paige’s character because she was always straddling a duality - Halliwell and Matthews, witch and whitelighter. At various points throughout the series she felt like she had to choose between these aspects of her personality and commit to just one - Halliwell or Matthews; witch or whitelighter - but over time, she realised that this duality was part of her and was a blessing rather than a curse.

All of the sisters were dedicated, but Paige stood out to me as always being wholly dedicated to everything she did. She didn’t always know her path but whatever she tried, she threw herself into completely. Her dedication to her witchcraft, in particular, was inspiring. Paige went further than any of the other sisters (except Prue) in perfecting her craft and trying to be the best witch she could possibly be. She studied the craft, wrote new spells, practised perfecting spells that she couldn’t do (e.g. the conjuring spell), devoted herself to innocents and took her role as a witch very serious. Paige was resistant to her magic in the first few episodes of season 4, but fully embraced it later on. She was the only sister that genuinely loved being a witch consistently. Even when things got tough, she never wished away her powers, because she found purpose and joy in them. Perhaps this stemmed from the fact that Paige had a more challenging life than the sisters. Although Prue, Piper and Phoebe weren’t raised by their parents, they had a strong parental figure in Grams into their 20s and always had each other. In comparison, Paige lost her parents when she was still a teenager and seemed to have nobody else to support her. She also blamed herself for her parents death, which means that emotionally she was not only dealing with grief and loneliness when they died but also blame, regret and self-loathing. I believe that this is why Paige viewed her magic as a gift rather than a burden, and why she continued to flourish as a witch throughout the seasons.

Paige’s arc and development, overall, was not necessarily the best of the sisters, but in terms of her development in particular episodes or seasons, it was brilliant. Her centric episodes are some of my favourites from the series - A Knight to Remember, A Paige from the Past, Sam I Am and Centennial Charmed - and each execute fantastic plots and character development for Paige. Her arc in season 5 was incredible. In my opinion, there is no other character arc across the eight seasons that was executed as well as this one. Giving up her job and devoting herself to being a full-time witch was the beginning of a new chapter of her journey. Not only did she grow as a witch in her abilities, skills and instincts, but she solidified herself within the Halliwell fold and showed how integral she was, particularly in Centennial Charmed and Y Tu Mummy Tabien. She supported her sisters - Piper in becoming a mother and Phoebe in her separation from Cole - and various aspects of her character were explored such as her inferiority complex with Prue, her relationship with Sam, her whitelighter half, her difficulty in overcoming her natural independence to work together with her sisters and finding her place in the world. Season 5 did an excellent job at building on what we’d learned about Paige in season 4 whilst also developing her organically. She was the new sister in season 4, but in season 5 it felt like it’d be impossible to imagine Charmed without her.

Despite this great development Paige underwent in seasons 4 and 5, she was unfortunate enough that half of her time on the show was during the weakest seasons, and she suffered for that. After season 5 there was no further exploration of her past which massively disappointed me (I’ll still never get over the fact that in Charmed Again she mentioned that she had a problem with alcoholism that was never explored), and she got trapped in a cycle of the same arcs. Whilst Piper got stuck with “I want a normal life” arc and Phoebe got stuck with the “I want to find love” arc, Paige got stuck with the “I don’t know what to do with my life” arc. In season 6, it made sense that she’d resort to working temp jobs. After having spent season 5 as a full-time witch, she realised that she needed more in her life and temp jobs were a way for her to explore that and get a variety of experiences outside of magic. However, it seemed that Paige didn’t ever break out of that cycle and continued stumbling through life trying to find the right path. She was thrust into Magic School, which wasn’t particularly the best choice for her character and then her whitelighter arc was haphazardly thrown in towards the end of the series. It always frustrated me, because Paige dedicating more of her time to being a whitelighter made perfect sense for her character, but it wasn’t developed properly and felt like a disservice to her. I also felt that Paige had already found a great career in season 4 as a social worker, so it didn’t make sense to me that she never returned to that. Furthermore, I didn’t like how Paige’s journey ended in season 8 with her being married and having children. Paige was great with kids - we saw proof of this with Wyatt and Chris - but having kids was something that Paige never particularly wanted from her life. She was the one sister that didn’t express any desire to have children and didn’t seem particularly maternal. Also on a personal level, it would’ve been nice if at least one of the sisters’ happy ending hadn’t been the usual cliche of being married with kids. That aside, it didn’t necessarily feel true to Paige’s character for her to be a mother. I felt that she would’ve been contented to be married to Henry, dedicated to her duties as a witch and whitelighter and babysitting her nieces and nephews as their cool Aunt Paige.

Although I don’t like the way Paige’s story ended and feel that her character was let down, I still think she’s an incredible character that underwent immense growth. Despite being the sister that got the least amount of focus throughout the series, she always stood out to me in terms of her characterisation and development. It was so strong in seasons 4 and 5 that it’s almost irrelevant that I dislike the path she went down in seasons 6-8. Her season 5 arc alone is enough to give her the second spot in this ranking. But the reason I love Paige is so much more than that. I relate to her in terms of her independence, search for purpose in her life and desire to help others, and I admire her dedication and motivation in everything she did. Paige is the sort of character that I not only relate to, but also find inspirational.

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1. Prue

Now we come to my favourite sister (and one of my favourite characters of all time period): Prue Halliwell. Anybody that follows my main will know that I’m in love with Prue, so it’s going to be hard to analyse her character properly and not just gush about how much I love her. I think Prue is a phenomenal character with a well-executed arc which comes full circle, despite ending prematurely. I love Prue’s strength, determination, confidence, drive, ambition and courage. Her characterisation was consistent and strong throughout seasons 1-3 and she was lucky enough to have lots of great centric episodes which explored her character in-depth. In the pilot I felt that Prue was established as the most unlikeable sister - the older, domineering, bossy, cold, hardened sister that always took charge and berated her younger sisters for their mistakes. That legacy remains today and I still see fans often discussing how much they dislike Prue or how they were glad she died. But Prue was so. much. more. than. that. Every flaw that Prue had was explored to provide a full understanding of why she was the way she was. She was traumatised by the death of her mother (From Fear to Eternity, P3 H2O and Death Takes a Halliwell), had severe abandonment issues because of her father (Thank You for Not Morphing and We All Scream for Ice Cream) and was forced to adopt a parental role as the eldest sister in the absence of her parents. Her seriousness, critical nature and stiff-upper lip mentality all stemmed from this and was not a natural part of who she was, as we saw in Which Prue is it Anyway? and Just Harried. It was what she had to become to deal with her trauma and fulfil the role that was thrust on her shoulders at such a young age. Prue’s journey was about breaking free from that role that she’d become trapped in and discovering her true self outside of being the eldest sister and protector.

In season 1, the nuances of Prue’s character were immediately explored. In Thank You For Not Morphing, her resentment towards Victor for abandoning her and her sisters was explored, and the armour she wore as a protective shield became clear. Prue was naturally guarded because she felt that was what was necessary to protect herself and her sisters. Later on in the season, Prue’s experience with Barbas in From Fear to Eternity tapped into Prue’s trauma about Patty’s death which caused her to emotionally distance herself from her sisters and prevented here from being able to say “I love you”. Throughout season 1, Prue’s strained relationship with Phoebe addressed the aspects of Prue’s personality that could be regarded as unlikeable. Phoebe acted as the direct voice of many viewers, perceiving Prue to be over-bearing, judgemental, critical and rigid. By repeatedly confronting and challenging Prue on her behaviours, certain barriers were broken down and by The Power of Two, Prue and Phoebe’s relationship finally became one of sisters rather than mother and daughter. Her relationship with Andy was the polar of her relationship with Phoebe and showed her more vulnerable side and capacity to love. Although the relationship wasn’t plain sailing, her vulnerability was clear and showed a new side to Prue. Andy’s death at the end of the season was a huge turning point for her character. Losing the man she loved, particularly when she still carried the trauma of Patty’s death, was significant for Prue and once again shattered the stereotype that Prue was cold and unfeeling.

By the time season 2 rolled around, Prue was still reeling from Andy’s death and struggling to continue her duties as a witch, believing that their magic only brought death to their loved ones. It would’ve been easy for Prue to give up, but she found the courage and strength to continue on. Not only that, but she devoted herself heart and soul to being a witch, despite feeling that it was what had killed Andy. This was the season where the lighter, fun side of Prue began to show more. When she decided to quit her job at Bucklands and pursue a career in photography, an entirely new part of Prue’s journey began. Prue decided it was time to let go of her old life - the life she’d been living when she was forced to be the big sister - and live a life for herself. Despite her desire to live more freely and indulge herself more, the core of Prue’s character remained and she was in constant battle between her head and heart (or id and ego, as Just Harried showed). This innate battle between who she felt she should be and who she truly was, was central to Prue’s character. She wanted to let go of the past and the person she had been forced to become after Patty’s death and Victor’s abandonment, but she didn’t know how. Prue had been defined for so long by her role as the eldest sister that she didn’t know who she was outside of that. Some intrinsic part of her also believed that it was her solemn duty to protect Piper and Phoebe, and that to ensure their safety she had to sacrifice her happiness. Prue was essentially trapped in a self-inflicted prison of sorts as a result of her trauma, and seasons 2 and 3 were about her trying to break free from that prison.

One of the things I love most about Prue was her dedication to being a witch. Prue was by far the most devoted and talented witch out of the sisters. Whilst Paige’s inferiority complex towards her wasn’t necessary, it wasn’t unfounded. It made sense for Paige to feel inferior considering how much Prue was able to accomplish as a witch whilst also holding down a full-time job at Bucklands and later launching a new career in photography. Prue was fiercely hard-working and devoted in everything she did, and being a witch was no different. Like Paige, she never questioned being a witch, the exception being when Andy died. Prue didn’t agonise over the reasons why, she accepted being a witch and embraced it. She took her duty to protect the innocent very seriously and never strayed from that core principle. Prue set the precedence for her sisters when it came to being a witch and was committed to ensuring that they never strayed from the correct path. This is why it was very fitting that she died protecting an innocent. It was the only way for Prue to die, since that was her ultimate calling in life, even above her dream to be a photographer or position as the eldest sister.

This doesn’t even cover half of Prue’s development or arcs across the three seasons she was on the show, but to cover it in full would take a lifetime. The overall message here is that Prue’s development was by far the most superior and consistent of all the sisters. Prue had the luxury of having more focus in seasons 1-3 than Piper or Phoebe and this resulted in her being the most fleshed out and complex character, not only in terms of her characterisation and arcs, but also her powers and magical abilities. Although Piper and Phoebe were the longest standing sisters, Prue’s character still out-shines them for the three seasons that she was on the show. Furthermore, whilst I can pick fault with the direction Piper, Phoebe and Paige went in or elements of their story or power development that I disliked, I can’t with Prue. I’m fully onboard with everything that was done with her character and how she was written. She was flawed but every single flaw was justified and understandable, and every aspect of her characterisation was beautifully explored and provided absolute clarity on who Prue was. Even her death, although shocking and sudden, made perfect sense and encompassed the tragedy of Prue’s life, which was that she was always destined to follow in her mother’s footsteps.

“Every single day, I feel like I'm becoming more and more like her and everyday it terrifies me. I mean, don't you guys see it? Look at what happened to her and then look what's happening to me. No successful relationship with guys, being responsible for a family, now because of being this charmed thing, the very real possibility of dying young. It's like history is repeating itself.”

Overall, I love Prue with every fibre of my being. I acknowledge that she was a flawed character, but in regards to her development, I can’t fault it. It was wonderfully written and her characterisation was consistent and authentic. I love Prue because I relate to how she’s emotionally closed and struggles to overcome that, her responsibility as the eldest sister, the abandonment of her father, her struggle to let go and have fun and the way she finds comfort and security in responsibility and sensibleness. Of all the sisters, she’s the one that feels the most real to me. Since I was a little girl, I have been inspired by Prue and have looked up to her. She’s the only sister whose story was never about love - even when she was with Andy - it was always about her journey. I appreciate the ways in which the traumas she endured shaped who she became as an adult, how she struggled to accept that and tried to heal from it to become a better, happier and healthier version of herself. I admire her determination, devotion, courage and absolute fierceness. I also admire how she always strived to protect her family and strived to do better and be better. All in all I love pretty much everything about Prue.

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That concludes my ranking of the Halliwell sisters. I could’ve wrote more about each of the sisters because they’re all such well-written and complex characters, but the purpose of this post was to explore the facets of their characterisation and development that I like and dislike to explain the reasoning for my ranking. In the end, regardless of which sister is ranked first or last, I love each of them and they will forever hold a place in my heart as the first inspirational female role models I saw on TV.

Thank you for reading!

If you enjoyed reading this, I’d love to know how you’d rank the Halliwell sisters and why?

#charmed #prue halliwell #piper halliwell #phoebe halliwell #paige matthews #charmed meta #meta #tv #tv meta #mine #mine: charmed #mine: meta #mine: tv

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phoebehalliwell · 4 years

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so, amnesia trope....which charmed one would you do it with & how would you do it (if you want, i just like this trope)

hmmm that’s a really good question idk why but my gut really says to go with phoebe. she was first to the craft and the one that really pushed prue & piper to move forward in their destiny, so to have that all be wiped would be interesting to say the least. furthermore, with her psychic powers, i feel like that leaves a lot of room for “echos” like feelings of deja vu or the sense that you should be remembering something but you can’t remember what you’re remembering.

i feel like i would put this line after season 4 / beginning of season 5 in an au where cole doesn’t come back but phoebe is still haunted by his memory. i think her emotional stress and ptsd from that relationship would then cause a block in her powers bc as well all know your powers are tied to your emotions so phoebe might start looking into a way to fix that. personally, i feel like it’s never a good move to have the character move forward with these actions to the extent that they end up damaging themselves bc while i think it is a complex journey it very often comes across as unrelatable and leads to people holding grudges against said character bc it looks like they placed their own well being over the well being of their family and those they swore to protect. so what i would do is have phoebe go through multiple processes trying to cure herself: crystals, meditation, essential oils, talk therapy, etc. but she still has this block. shit really becomes an issue when a power of three spell almost doesn’t work. piper, phoebe, paige, & leo all have to sit down and discuss what’s happening bc phoebe’s troubles seem to only be getting worse and it’s now directly impacting the power of three. they need to find something fast bc it’s getting dangerous and phoebe starts crying bc she’s doing everything she can and she doesn’t know how to move forward so everyones looking at leo like okay whitelighter this has to have happened to some witch before phoebe what do we do and leo’s like well idk there’s one thing we could do but it’s incredibly dangerous and we should really only use it as a last resort and piper’s like well i think we’ve hit that last resort stage and leo’s like it’s a spirit journey and again it’s really dangerous and i’m not sure this rewards outweigh the risk and phoebe’s like leo my problems are more than just my problems now they’re stopping us from saving innocents whatever it is i’ll do it i have to do it. so leo’s like okay alright i guess were doing this

so they hole up phoebe in her room and phoebe calls elise saying she's going on a vacation for her mental health (which elise fully supports) bc they asked leo how much time this’ll take and leo has genuinely no idea bc it’s not a common practice and it really depends on phoebe so piper whips up the potion and paige lines phoebe’s room with protection spells and they offer all their love & support and phoebe goes under

the next couple episodes are split between piper & paige fighting their real world battles and phoebe’s adventures through the spirit world. piper & paige get more and more anxious bc phoebe’s been under for like three weeks and piper & paige are talking to leo like is it supposed to take this long can we pull her out what if she never wakes up and leos like i wish i had the answer to these questions but i deadass do not i don’t know what’s going on in there i don’t know how she’s doing meanwhile i feel like phoebe’s walking through memories changing her actions go through ripple effects walking through alternate universe maybe in an alternate universe she never met cole and prue’s still alive in an alternate universe she had telekinesis in an alternate universe she stay evil and killed her sisters and she keeps living out different scenarios and seeing different sides of herself and she’s exhausted and scared and

she wakes up in the middle of the night bolts upright in her bed lightly coated in sweat. she trods outside her her room and is just like confused so she goes down the hallway and knocks on the door and paige opens it like you’re awake!!! and pulls her into a big hug and phoebe starts squirming and yelling (but not judo flipping paige or anything like the pre amnesia phoebe would be able to) and she’s like who the fuck are you what are you doing in piper’s room!!!!! and the yelling alerts piper and leo and come running out of their room like you’re awake!! and phoebe immediate rushes to piper’s side like What Is Going On Who Are These People Where’s Prue? and piper’s like prue??? and phoebe’s like Yes Our Sister Prue Where Is She and piper’s like phoebe... whats the last thing you remember? and phoebe’s like New York... i came back and she looks at piper with like absolute sorrow in her eyes and is like grams... and piper’s lookin at piper and leo like holy fuckin shit the last thing she remembers is the pilot episode and she’s like phoebe sweetie i need you to sit down and just give me a second and phoebe’s like completely shell shocked so she does and piper’s like the last thing she remembers is coming back from new york; she doesn’t know who you are she doesn’t know who you are, she doesn’t know prue’s dead, i don’t even think she knows she’s a witch and paige is like okay what do we do and piper’s like i don’t know and they’re looking at leo like ?? and leo’s like i don’t know either i mean we have to tell her and by we i do mean piper as she’s the only one phoebe recognizes and piper’s like oh yeah sure hi sweetie you don’t remember this but you’re a witch your sister’s dead i’m married paige over there is our half sister mom had an affair while i’m at it dad’s back in our lives oh and also a couple months ago you were queen of hell! is there anything i’m missing?? and leo’s like just,, talk to her slowly,, treat it very gentle and piper’s like yeah Not My Forte but she goes to phoebe and holds her hands like i don’t know how to tell you this but your last memory is from 1998 and phoebe’s like ,,,, what year is it now? and piper’s like 2002 and phoebe’s lower lip starts trembling and she’s like how did this happen and piper’s like i promise i’ll explain everything but right now i think it’s best that you get some rest. i’ll see you in the morning and she kisses phoebe on the forehead and sends her back to bed and piper paige & leo all head up to the attic to try to draft up some game plan on how to get their phoebe back

so over the next couple of weeks they like try to really gently bring phoebe up to speed the first thing they really have to get out of the way is Phoebe You’re A Witch which is a shock y’know magic being real but phoebe rolls with it about as well as she did in the pilot. the next is prue’s gone, which phoebe has sorta pieced together but was still Not Ready to hear. i think this whole era would also be a really great opportunity to build up paige & phoebe’s relationship bc the show really dropped the ball on that one. i think they would both really lean on each other and grow bc a young phoebe was very much like a young paige and phoebe’s still quasi young phoebe but like paige is like this is advice you gave me a phoebe’s like me?? giving out advice??? and paige is like yeah believe it or not you’re actually an advice columnist i also think phoebe would spend a lot of times flipping through photo albums and reading her old columns and trying to understand who she was / is. i also think she would push piper to open her restaurant after seeing p3 bc she’s be like piper this is amazing but this isn’t your dream. you always wanted to be a chef. and piper admittedly had almost forgotten that she had put that dream on hold but phoebe bringing it back up would really stoke that fire again and make her want to open up her own restaurant.

i think phoebe’s first major relapse would be when she was flipping through the book and found her entry on cole’s human form which has pictures of her and this man and it’s all written in her handwriting and she gets this horrible know it her stomach and then a premonition containing the highlights reel of her and cole’s relationship and she breaks down. and piper paige & leo all find her an absolute mess and she’s like were you going to tell me??? were you going to tell me everything i did????? and she goes through this horrible era of feeling responsible for prue’s death and all the evil cole did and piper and paige really have to help pull her out of that at this point i think we also bring in coop who really helps her start to heal her heart and i think the whole journey to get Back To Phoebe wouldn’t be an easy one but the drama driven by this could very easily take up the space occupied by piper & leo’s relationship drama which i personally have never been too keen on. i think this could be the driving plot of s5 and then s6 could be piper’s pregnancy & wyatt s7 could be be chris and the future plotline which i think phoebe would be a lot more attune to as that could have been one of the realities she lived through on her spirit journey and then s8 would be the final season idk i wouldn’t want to use zankou or the avatars or billie & christy but y’know something good and have it stick the landing like it did in the og

#💌#charmed #phoebe halliwell #margaretsminiessays #can i just say love the phrasing of the ask like the implication i could have just said No I Don't Want and had that be the whole answer #lmao could you imagine

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