Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 02/05/2008
Season eight of Charmed brings the story of the Halliwell sisters to a satisfying conclusion, but not without a lot of bumps on the road for the witchy trio. The season begins with Paige (Rose McGowan), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano)--exhausted after years of magical responsibility for protecting the mortal world and fighting off demons--pretending to be dead and hiding behind new appearances. (The characters, when seen in mirrored reflections or through the eyes of others, are played by different actresses.) The gambit works smoothly for awhile, until each of the sisters begins missing aspects of her old life and feeling a sense of responsibility for protecting the innocent. Meanwhile, a gaggle of restless, young demons suspect that the Halliwells aren’t really dead at all, and are out to prove it. While fending off new demonic plots to take over the sisters’ San Francisco home and seize control of a school of magic, Piper and Phoebe’s father, Victor (James Read), takes care of Piper and Leo’s kids at the near cost of his own life. Also, Phoebe falls for a sculptor (Jason Lewis) early in the season and Cupid (Victor Webster) himself later on; Paige considers a career in law enforcement; and a newcomer arrives on the scene: Billie (Kaley Cuoco), a young witch with a flashy, Buffy-like style as demon-slayer. Billie’s story provides a narrative backbone to Charmed: The Final Season. Powerful but untutored, Billie reluctantly becomes a protégé of Paige, learning the ropes of witchcraft just as Paige did a couple of seasons back. The problem is that Billie makes a well-intentioned mess of a number of situations (at one point, she draws the attention of a Homeland Security agent to her powers), and then goes rogue when her long-lost sister shows up and turns Billie against the Halliwells. The latter half of the season slowly draws to a showdown between the two sets of siblings, but as always, there are lot of storylines with plenty of other issues and action to worry about. Longtime Charmed fans will certainly enjoy the series finale, an imaginative, time-travel tale in which some of the main characters meet different versions of themselves, and we all get a peek into what the future holds in store for the Halliwells as individual women. --Tom Keogh
The Power of Three on DVD
Charmed - The Complete First Season
Charmed - The Complete Second Season
Charmed - The Complete Third Season
Charmed - The Complete Fourth Season
Charmed - The Complete Fifth Season
Charmed - The Complete Sixth Season
Charmed - The Complete Seventh Season
Charmed - The Complete Series
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