A Knight to Remember
Paige is with Glen at her apartment, telling a fairy tale with a dark twist: the Evil Enchantress got the Prince, but killed him and took over his kingdom after delivering his heir. She has forgotten the ending of the spell that the Enchantress had used to summon the Prince.
In the past, an Enchantress summons Lady Julia, the Prince's fiancé, to her castle and tells her that she intends to marry the Prince, since the stars have aligned in her favour. Lady Julia objects, but the Enchantress sends her flying into a wall with a powerful gust of wind and imprisons her in a cell. The Enchantress bears a striking resemblance to Paige.
Piper is still haunted by memories of Prue. She visits Prue's bedroom, which is essentially, as Prue left it when Shax killed her. Piper mulls that Paige could come to live to the Manor too, as to help out in fighting demons. Particularly, a Shocker demon is stalking the manor, forcing Phoebe and Piper to avoid using electrical devices. However, they need the Power of Three to vanquish it. Phoebe picks up a cordless phone to call Paige, releasing the Shocker demon. He blasts Piper and Phoebe, but Piper recovers and blasts him. The Shocker demon retreats into an outlet. Piper suggests to Phoebe that they let Paige move in. Not only will it make it easier to fend off demonic attacks at the manor, but it won't force Leo to keep constant watch on her. Phoebe isn't sure if they're ready as sisters to have Paige living with them, only because she didn't grow up with them. However, Piper thinks they have to try.
Paige is running late, as usual. Glen suggests she come to Australia with him, as he is leaving town tomorrow. Paige demurs, saying she has 'responsibilities' that will likely keep her in the States.
Piper and Phoebe then meet Leo outside Paige's apartment; Piper hasn't seen Leo in several days. They barge into Paige's apartment, much to Paige and Glen's disgust. They tell her that they need her to vanquish the Shocker demon, but Paige angrily shoos them out.
In the past, the Prince confronts the Enchantress and draws his sword on her. She casts a spell, making him love her instead of Lady Julia.
Paige comes to the manor, to consult the Book of Shadows. Piper suggests that she move in. However, Paige is irritated at the sisters' coming into her apartment without knocking, and thinks they'll make a habit of barging into her room if she moves in. She also wants a life outside of magic. She is looking for the spell from her fairy tale and excitedly reads it when she finds it. The Prince is summoned into the present. The Prince pursues Paige through the manor. Piper freezes the Prince and Paige stalks out of the house.
Piper and Phoebe notice the VCR and TV have turned themselves on. Suddenly, the tape ejects and the Shocker demon blasts out. Piper tries to blast him, but instead blows up the TV. The Shocker demon blasts Piper over the couch. Phoebe levitates to kick him, but instead, the Shocker demon grabs her leg and starts to electrocute her. Piper knocks the demon out of the way, then blasts it back into an outlet.
Meanwhile, the Prince has escaped, and is again after Paige. He hijacks a garbage truck at sword point and demands to be taken to Paige.
The Enchantress plans to go after the Prince. Her spell has appropriated the Prince's love for Lady Julia, and she can't kill Lady Julia without breaking the spell. She takes a lock of Lady Julia's hair to make another potion.
Leo again tries to convince Paige to move to the manor. She is frustrated with being a witch, and thinks Piper and Phoebe are trying to make her live up to Prue's example. She's seriously thinking about moving to Australia with Glen. Meanwhile, Piper is on the phone with Darryl, who is telling her of the truck hijacking. Phoebe is scrying for the Prince, but can't find him. Leo returns without Paige, and tells them that they would need a good sisterly argument to actually convince her to move in.
Meanwhile, the Prince tracks Paige to her workplace. The Shocker demon attacks through the copier and the Prince attacks it with his sword, causing it to retreat. Mr. Cowan demands to know what's going on, but Paige passes the Prince off as a performer in the Renaissance fair. The two hustle out.
Phoebe reads the Book of Shadows entry on the Enchantress and is stunned by how similarly her personality and history are described to Paige's. She's convinced that the Enchantress was Paige's past life, and Paige's "fairy tale" is really a memory. Piper is sceptical, but Phoebe thinks it's similar to how her past life came back to haunt her. Piper is still unconvinced, since the Enchantress had the power to conjure all of the elements, and Paige doesn't have that power. A portal opens in the attic and the Enchantress steps through and blows Piper and Phoebe off their feet. Piper is stunned by how much the Enchantress looks like Paige. The Enchantress demands to know where the Prince is. When Piper and Phoebe don't talk, the Enchantress shoots lightning at them. She chases Piper and Phoebe through the house before escaping.
While Piper and Phoebe are cleaning up the mess, Leo orbs in and tells them that they can't let the Enchantress find the Prince. If they have a child, dark magic will rule his kingdom forever, and the present could be altered as well. Phoebe fears they might not be able to vanquish the Enchantress without harming Paige, so they decide to bind the Enchantress' powers instead.
The Enchantress follows the Prince to Paige's office. Cowan sees her, and thinks Paige is in the Renaissance Fair as well. The Enchantress picks up a picture of Paige and a co-worker, and realizes Paige is her present incarnation.
The Prince begs Paige to come with him, but Paige isn't willing; she knows it's just the spell talking. Just as he's about to kiss her, Leo orbs in with Piper and Phoebe, and they explain what they've discovered. Paige is horrified; she fears she might really be evil. However, Phoebe assures Paige that she's grown as a person since her past life. Paige insists on going after the Enchantress herself, since she put them in danger. Phoebe doesn't want her going alone, but Piper agrees to let her go.
Paige spots the Enchantress in the parking lot. Before Paige can run her over, the Enchantress blows the car back, popping one of Paige's tires in the process. The Enchantress isn't pleased to discover that Paige is a good witch. Paige throws the potion, but the Enchantress disintegrates it with lightning and blows Paige into her wind-shield. While Leo heals Paige, the Enchantress barges into Paige's apartment, opens a portal, and beckons the Prince to come with her. Piper and Phoebe dive through the portal before it closes, but Leo and Paige are too late.
Paige is distraught; she realizes she should have let Piper and Phoebe help her. Leo tells her she's still a powerful witch in her own right, and suggests she tap into that power. Paige alters the prince-summoning spell to bring her and Leo to him. A portal opens, and they go through it.
In the past, Piper and Phoebe are chained to a wall. Lady Julia wonders who they are, and Piper tells them that they're witches. Paige and Leo arrive just as the Enchantress is about to get in bed with the Prince. Leo doesn't think Paige can hold the Enchantress off, but Paige thinks that she may be able to channel the Enchantress's powers. Leo rushes into the dungeon, but as he's trying to free Piper and Phoebe, a guard attacks him from behind. Paige confronts the Enchantress, who tries to blast her with lightning. Paige replies with lightning of her own. Leo grabs a sword and manages to best the guard. He frees Piper, Phoebe and Lady Julia, and they all go after the Enchantress.
The Prince begs the Enchantress to spare Paige, but she contemptuously blows him out of the way. Piper, Phoebe and Leo rush in. Paige blows the Enchantress into a wall. Before the Enchantress can recover, Piper and Phoebe throw their potions and bind her powers. Lady Julia runs in and kisses the Prince, breaking the spell and they live happily ever after.
With her apartment seriously damaged, Paige at last agrees to move to the manor, taking over Prue's old room. Not long after redecorating her new room, Paige flips a light switch and the Shocker demon comes out. They say a spell and vanquish the Shocker demon. Paige then heads out to spend some time with Glen before he heads to Australia.
Tropes
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Piper confesses she finds Leo's swordfighting with the knights very sexy.
- Almost Kiss: Paige nearly kisses the Prince but is interrupted by the others orbing in and freezing him.
- Ambiguous Time Period / Medieval European Fantasy: The exact time and place that the Prince's kingdom is supposed to exist in is never made clear.
- Black Widow: The Evil Enchantress admits outright that she intends to kill the Prince once they conceive an heir to the kingdom.
- Brought Down to Normal: The sisters bind the Enchantress's powers to stop her from seducing the Prince.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: The Evil Enchantress has to keep Lady Julia alive (but captive) for the time being, since her spell only redirected the Prince's true affections and killing Julia would break it.
- Car Fu: The Enchantress ambushes Paige while she's in her car, blowing out her tyres and smashing her windshield.
- Card-Carrying Villain: The Evil Enchantress cheerfully calls herself “petty, and evil, and vindictive.”
- Continuity Nod: The sisters say they can't vanquish the Evil Enchantress, or else Paige will die as well - referencing the problem with Phoebe's past life from "Pardon My Past".
- Costume Porn: The Evil Enchantress gets to wear a medieval gown and cloak, with a jewelled headdress. Her nightgown is also quite fancy. Lady Julia's dress is quite fancy as well.
- Defictionalization: In-universe. The story of the Evil Enchantress was a fairy tale, but it was actually the memory of her past life.
- Double Standard Rape: Female on Male / Double Standard: Rape, Sci-Fi: The Love Spell on the Prince is largely Played for Laughs. And after rejecting his advances for much of the episode, Paige even starts to kiss him before her sisters interrupt.
- Downer Beginning: The episode opens with Piper walking around Prue's room and going through her things sadly.
- Elemental Powers: The Evil Enchantress has the power to conjure the elements. We see her use wind and fire. Paige deflects fire with a blue spark, representing water. She may have used earth to control the portcullis.
- Evil Plan: The Enchantress's plan is to use a Love Spell on the Prince, conceive an heir with him, dispose of him, and then rule the kingdom through her child.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Rose McGowan spoke with a noticeably deeper and more menacing voice when portraying the Evil Enchantress in this episode.
- Fairy Tale Motifs: A Damsel in Distress, a Wicked Witch, a Prince Charming, True Love's Kiss etc. Paige thought the story of the Evil Enchantress actually was a fairy tale.
- Five Stages of Grief: Paige is against moving in because Piper and Phoebe have yet to truly accept that Prue is gone, saying they treat her old room like a shrine. Piper and Phoebe later discuss how they still have yet to sort out what to do with Prue's various belongings. Paige being invited in for the right reasons is considered finally achieving this acceptance.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Lady Julia, the Prince's true love, wears a purple dress.
- Green and Mean: The Evil Enchantress wears a green gown and is the villain of the episode.
- Identical Twin ID Tag: We can tell the Evil Enchantress from Paige because the Enchantress has long hair.
- Irony: Paige gets interrupted twice during an intimate moment, to her annoyance. She ends up doing the same to the Enchantress in the episode's climax.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Piper is blunt about it, but they really do need the sisters all under one roof in order to face the Power of Three-level threats seeking to gain the Source's favor.
- Lady of Black Magic: Turns out that Paige was one in her past life.
- Misplaced Accent: The Evil Enchantress, Prince and Lady Julia all come from the Middle Ages but speak with American accents.
- Past-Life Memories: Paige seems to get them whenever the stars align.
- Plot-Irrelevant Villain: The Shocker demon plagues the house for most of the episode, requiring no electrical items be used until he can be dealt with, but he's more of a nuisance compared to the main threat and easily dealt with once all the sisters are living together.
- Prince Charming: Conjured up from Paige's fairy tale. The charming thing is explained slightly by him being under a love spell.
- Psycho Electro: The Shocker demon. Paige even calls him "a psycho demon".
- Series Continuity Error: The sisters' past lives in "Pardon My Past" were only played by the same actresses as their current lives because Phoebe was recognizing their souls, and weren't actually a case of Identical Grandson. Here, Paige and the Evil Enchantress are explicitly lookalikes.
- Shirtless Scene: The Prince spends the climax of the episode shirtless, as the Evil Enchantress is trying to conceive his heir.
- Silk Hiding Steel:
- Male example. Leo shows he knows how to use a sword.
Phoebe: I thought you were a pacifist.- Lady Julia too. Despite being the Damsel in Distress, she remains defiant as the Enchantress holds a dagger to her throat - reminding her that her plans will fail if she kills her.
- Technical Pacifist: Leo is a pacifist, but that doesn't mean he won't use non-lethal moves to protect his family.
- This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: Paige tries to invoke this by going after the Enchantress. It doesn't exactly work out.
- Trash the Set: Paige's loft gets burned up in the fight with the Enchantress, fittingly in its last episode.
- Unnecessary Combat Roll: Leo somersaults out of the way of a sword when simply jumping would have had the same effect.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Paige is annoyed that Piper and Phoebe brazenly invade her privacy and only want her to move into the manor for witch reasons (not sisterly ones). She also wants to have a word with Leo about watching over her while she was in bed with Glen.
