Charmed is taking a page out of the original predecessor’s playbook that could lead to great things for the Power of Three. The witchy drama saw eldest sister Macy (Madeleine Mantock) dying for the greater good in its season 3 finale while leaving viewers with the tantalizing promise of a fourth Charmed One waiting to be found. While killing off a main character can often feel like a risky venture, Charmed isn’t exactly treading into new territory.
The CW’s Charmed is based on The WB series of the same name that ran from 1998 to 2006. The Charmed Ones in both iterations are a fabled trio of magical sister witches who, when combining their magic into the “Power of Three,” become a virtually unstoppable force against the armies of darkness. Originally starring Shannen Doherty (Prue), Holly Marie Combs (Piper), and Alyssa Milano (Phoebe), Charmed prime killed off Doherty’s eldest sister at the end of its third season, paving the way for previously unknown half-witch-half-white-lighter (angelic healers who guide and protect witches) sister, Paige (Rose McGowan), to reconstitute the Charmed Ones in season 4. This risky move set Charmed's season 4 up to become the classic show's arguably best season.
While details about her character are shrouded in secrecy, The CW has announced the casting of Lucy Barrett as the elusive fourth sister who joins Melonie Diaz’s Mel and Sarah Jeffery’s Maggie as the newest member of the Power of Three in season 4. From one of the Charmed Ones falling in love with their white lighter to another sister dating the leader of the underworld, Charmed hasn’t been shy about repeating storylines from its namesake while admittedly offering fresh takes of its own. Interestingly, after Charmed killed off Prue and introduced Paige in its fourth year, the series presented what would arguably become the best season of its entire eight-year run. If the reboot applies similar tactics, there’s no reason it couldn’t do the same.
What made Season 4 of the first Charmed so compelling was the simple fact that a sister died at all. While the Charmed Ones often find themselves in do-or-die apocalyptic scenarios, it’s always been a safe bet to assume the three sisters would make it out alive. As with Prue, the loss of Macy instantly raises the stakes for every battle left to come, because what once may have been a fanciful drama about magic sisters and witchy powers now comes with real life-or-death consequences. 1998’s Charmed didn’t shy away from that realization and neither should the current series.
Piper spent the next year questioning if the fight was even worth it while Phoebe realized that with the introduction of an unfamiliar younger sister she had to become the glue that kept The Charmed Ones together. The shift in sibling dynamics was a welcome shake-up that forced Piper to learn what it meant to be the eldest leader, and Phoebe to discover how much she had grown when passing on the same lessons to Paige she had begrudgingly learned from Prue. How Barrett’s character shakes up the sisterhood is yet to be learned but leaving Mel and Maggie the same after such a catastrophic price was paid in the name of a war they were basically drafted into by destiny would be a mistake.
What is the history of the latest witch? Having grown up without sisters, Paige was an independent woman who didn’t take easily to following orders or working as a team, much to the chagrin of Piper and Phoebe who had just learned the hard way how fleeting the life of a Charmed One can be. Fortunately, Maggie and Mel have welcomed a new sibling into their family once before, but it seems unlikely the integration of the newest sister will be as seamless as with Macy. One thing is certain, however: the original Charmed went on another five years after passing the baton to a new Charmed One and - with all the ingredients present that made the first series’ sister shake-up so successful - there’s no reason to believe this version of the Power of Three won’t be around even longer.