Line #5 Recap/CharmedS3E5SightUnseen


1	!Sight Unseen
2	->'''An invisible demon is sent by the Triad to destroy the sisters as Prue obsesses over a human stalker who seeks to kill her.'''
3
4	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/prueabbeystare1.jpg]]
5
6	Phoebe is at P3 with Piper. Prue's date, Sean, waits forlornly at the bar. Ever since the sisters' latest trip to the past, Prue has been obsessed about finding out who the Triad sent after them. Piper complains that she can't get close to Leo because she feels that "they" are watching; they've tried to have sex two nights in a row, only to have him abruptly orb out. Phoebe has her own guy troubles; she's getting impatient with how it seems Cole is only flirting with her. Piper calls Prue, who is on the other side of town. Prue wants to tell them what she found out about the village in colonial Virginia where Melinda Warren was born, but Piper is more interested in whether she'll make it to P3 with Sean. Prue, however, wants to do some more digging at home, and tells Piper to tell Sean that she's hung up at work. Piper sends Sean on his way.
7
8	Prue goes to the manor and finds the front door open and every mirror broken. An unseen figure jumps on her and knocks Prue over the couch. Prue flings it through a window. After the others arrive, Darryl checks the house and finds nothing missing. He dusts some fingerprints and asks the sisters for lists of any enemies they might have. Prue is way ahead of him, but the list she gives Darryl has a bunch of demons the sisters previously faced. Prue heads up to the attic, and finds the door unlocked. Darryl is worried that the sisters are too cavalier about their security, but Prue points out that they have their powers to protect them. Piper and Phoebe don't want to rule out a human culprit, but Prue instead calls for Leo and asks him to find out all he can about the Triad. She's convinced it's the same demon who tried to take the Book of Shadows two weeks earlier. Piper and Leo exchange playful glances.
9
10	The Triad summons Cole and tells him of their impatience. They have sent another demon, Troxa, after the Charmed Ones as "assistance", rather than to replace Cole. Back at the manor, Troxa turns invisible on the porch and peeks in on Piper and Leo making out. They talk about Piper's fear that they are being watched at all times and Leo agrees to give the intimacy a break while he gets information for Prue. Just as Piper and Leo kiss goodbye, Leo orbs out to check on the Triad, much to Piper's frustration. Troxa finds Prue asleep in the attic, with a chart she's made of possible culprits. Troxa tries to smother her with a pillow, but Prue wakes up and swats him across the room. Cole checks up on the sisters and offers to have a patrol car watch the house. Prue tells them about the latest attack; she's now certain it was a demon. Outside the front door, Troxa runs into Cole and starts to choke him, accusing him of saving the sisters rather than killing them. Troxa plans to strike again tomorrow night and does not want Cole there.
11
12	Prue notices her favourite shirt and Grams' necklace missing. Leo orbs in and reports that "they" know little about the Triad, except that they are at the highest level on the hierarchy of evil. Prue gives Piper and Phoebe pairs of sneakers so they'll be better prepared in case of another demon attack. Darryl reports that the fingerprints have no match in the FBI database. On hearing about the necklace and the shirt, Darryl suspects a stalker and thinks Sean is the prime suspect. Prue is sceptical, but Darryl points out little things like being stood up can set a stalker off.
13
14	Troxa goes invisible and sneaks into Cole's office. He picks up a letter opener and is about to stab Cole, but Cole picks up a fire extinguisher and sprays Troxa with it. Cole's done some research; cold makes him visible and he won't even know he's visible since demons can't feel. Troxa vows to come after Cole next after he kills the sisters.
15
16	Prue does a photo session with a wildlife expert clearly based on Steve Irwin. Unseen to her, someone is taking pictures of Prue.
17
18	Phoebe enters a back room at P3, looking for Piper, and finds her making out with Leo. This does not help Piper's anxiety about being watched. Back at the bar, the two sisters meet Prue; she has set a demon trap with the Book as bait and is carrying a crystal that will glow when the trap is sprung. Sean comes to P3 and Prue leaves to spend time with him. Meanwhile, Cole enters the manor and, finding nobody home, opens all the windows and turns on the air conditioner. He shimmers to the attic and tries to steal the Book of Shadows. The trap springs, he briefly turns into Belthazor and Prue's crystal glows. The sisters hurry away, leaving Sean slack-jawed.
19
20	The sisters, wearing the sneakers Prue gave them, enter the attic and find Cole in the trap. Prue suspects that Cole is a demon. Cole claims that he thought the house was broken into and leaves angrily. Phoebe finds a box of flowers on the porch and brings them inside. She's very angry at Prue, but Prue remembers that Cole has lately had a habit of being around for magical emergencies. Phoebe scoffs at the notion and thinks Prue has lost it. Piper notices the package. Prue opens it and finds the flowers all dead and worm-infested. Convinced that Sean is the stalker, Phoebe heads off to call Darryl. Prue finds it hard to believe Sean is so unhinged to stalk her, but Piper thinks Prue is getting tunnel vision.
21
22	Cole meets Troxa outside and tells him that he is welcome to go after the sisters. As Troxa goes invisible, Cole tells him the key is getting the Book.
23
24	Leo orbs in just as Piper and Phoebe are closing the windows, holding a giant Hershey's Kiss for Piper. Troxa enters the manor as the sisters and Leo close the windows. In the attic, Prue notices Troxa's reflection in a broken mirror and flings him into the wall. The impact turns Troxa visible, and he leaps at Prue, but Prue shoves him into the trap. Piper, Phoebe and Leo rush in just as Prue is making Troxa talk. He reveals the Triad sent Belthazor after them as well, then suddenly goes up in flames. Phoebe apologizes for doubting Prue earlier. The sisters and Leo find Troxa in the Book, and notice that cold cancels out his invisibility. Prue realizes that if someone hadn't turned on the air conditioning and opened the windows, she might have never seen Troxa. Leo tells the sisters that from what he knows about Belthazor, they'll need all the help they can get. The sisters find Belthazor in the Book, and Phoebe recognizes him as the demon who tried to take the Book two weeks earlier. Leo orbs out to alert "them." Phoebe notices Cole's name written on Prue's chart, and makes Prue promise to call Cole and apologize tomorrow morning.
25
26	Prue is developing pictures in her dark room and notices several pictures of her among them. While Prue wonders where those pictures could have come from, an unseen attacker shoves her face in one of the chemicals and drags her off. The next morning, Phoebe muses that the stalker is still out there even though Troxa is gone; much of what happened the night before doesn't fit a demon's usual MO. She calls Prue's cell phone. The stalker proves to be Abbey, a bartender from P3; she has tied Prue up in the manor basement. Abbey answers the phone and pretends to be Prue on the road. She has become obsessed with Prue, and wants to become her. She even puts on Prue's missing shirt and a dark-brown wig. Abbey pulls a gun, and wonders how she got flung through the window the other night. Prue flings Abbey across the basement with a squint of her eyes. Abbey lands against a shelf, which falls on top of her. Prue then pins her to the ground with a table. Still partly blinded, she flings glass at Abbey's face and stumbles up the stairs.
27
28	Darryl calls Piper at P3 and says he has a match for the fingerprints: Abbey. Piper and Phoebe open Abbey's locker at P3 and find pictures of Prue, Prue's favorite perfume and notes on Prue's movements. Phoebe touches one of the pictures and gets a premonition of Abbey shooting Prue. The two depart for the manor.
29
30	Prue, hiding in a closet, astral-projects behind Abbey. Spooked, Abbey shoots five times at astral-Prue, but astral-Prue reappears on the other side of the room. Abbey shoots another four times. While Abbey is distracted, Prue charges out of the closet and tackles Abbey. Prue tries to escape, but Abbey shoves her into the wall. Prue, still partly blinded, stumbles to the kitchen. Abbey follows her, reloads and fires. Suddenly, the bullet freezes in midair; Piper and Phoebe have come to the rescue. Prue flings a still frozen Abbey into a cupboard.
31
32	Marvelous 3 plays at P3 that night. Leo is installing an alarm system. Cole arrives, and Prue admits she still doesn't entirely trust him. Prue finally gets an evening with Sean, while Phoebe and Cole kiss for the first time. Leo and Piper go to bed after finally having sex, and she yells to "them," "I hope you enjoyed the show!"
33	----
34
35	!! Tropes
36	* AccidentalTruth: Phoebe sarcastically blurts out Cole's plan to infiltrate the Charmed Ones. Prue seems to think it's possible, but chooses not to say anything.
37	* BadassBookworm: Cole attributes foiling Troxa's attack at the office to reading up on him.
38	* BatmanGambit: Cole makes it very cold in the manor to set Troxa up to fail.
39	* BigDamnHeroes: Piper's freezing power saves Prue from getting shot.
40	* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Prue, Piper and Phoebe have very different opinions about what the threat of the week is, with Prue convinced it's a demon and Piper and Phoebe convinced it's a stalker. Prue is right that there was a demon out to get them and that her sisters weren't taking it as seriously as they should. Prue also is right to be suspicious of Cole, but that Phoebe doesn't want to consider it. However, Piper and Phoebe are also right that there is a human stalker and that Prue is allowing herself to get obsessed with demon hunting. Which is affecting her judgment in other things, like how she completely blew off her date due to her obsession and that the trap she set had a very good chance of killing a normal person. Prue doesn't even deny that the trap could hurt regular people, she just was that convinced that they weren't dealing with a stalker. Not to mention that Prue regularly leaves the doors unlocked, thus making it easier for a human to break into the house again. Piper, ever the mediator, does try to bridge the two sides after an argument between Prue and Phoebe.
41	--> '''Prue''': Piper my instincts are almost always right, I have to trust them.
42	--> '''Piper''': And I'm not saying you shouldn't. But Prue, there are other evils in the world. And some of them are even human.
43	* ChekhovsGunman:
44	** Abby the bartender, who previously appeared, is actually Prue's stalker.
45	** Subverted with Prue's guy of the week Sean. They suspect him of being the stalker, but he's innocent.
46	* CoitusInterruptus: This episode's subplot is about Piper and Leo trying to get intimate but suspecting that Leo's 'bosses' are watching because he keeps getting orbed away.
47	* ContinuityNod:
48	** Because all the mirrors were smashed, Piper doubts a demon was involved, as the only mirror-related enemy they've had up to now was [[Recap/CharmedS1E7TheFourthSister Kali]]. Prue wonders if Kali is back and out for revenge, noting how the Grimlocks [[Recap/CharmedS3E4AllHalliwellsEve just did the same]] (something Daryl really doesn't want to hear).
49	** Prue's grudge list includes [[Recap/CharmedS2E1WitchTrial Abraxas]], [[Recap/CharmedS1E13FromFearToEternity Bar]][[Recap/CharmedS2E9MsHellfire bas]], and [[Recap/CharmedS1E4DeadManDating Yama]].
50	* DramaticIrony: As Piper frets about the Elders spying on her and Leo, she says she feels like she's being watched. All the while, Troxa's MurdererPOV is observing them, meaning she is actually being watched.
51	* EvilVersusEvil: Cole vs Troxa.
52	* EvilerThanThou: Troxa boasts that Cole never could beat him, due to invisibility giving him a decisive advantage.
53	* {{Expy}}: One of Prue's photography assignments is to take picture of an Australian wildlife expert who's obviously based on Creator/SteveIrwin.
54	* EyeScream: Abby rams Prue's face into a tray of developing solution which does some nasty damage to Prue's eyes.
55	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
56	** Cole hints at a bargain he made with the Triad in exchange for taking down the Charmed Ones. It's revealed towards the end of the season that he'd be given his father's soul.
57	** When Prue is on her photoshoot, the stalker is seen taking pictures of her. The shot then fades into a close-up of Abby, who of course is later revealed as the stalker.
58	* {{Gaslighting}}: A mild example. Prue uses her astral projection to make Abby think she's going mad and buy herself time to get away, since Abby doesn't know she has powers.
59	* IdiotBall: Phoebe is so upset at Cole being hurt by Prue's trap that she doesn't even stop to think about why Cole was in the attic or how he got there.
60	* IntimateOpenShirt: Leo is called up by the Elders while he and Piper are about to do it, and he orbs up there with his shirt in this condition.
61	* {{Irony}}: Abby turns out to be Prue's stalker, but Daryl only finds out about her because she was on Piper's grudge list.
62	* IJustWantToBeYou: Abby [[StalkerWithoutACrush stalks]] Prue not because she's attracted to her, but because she wants to ''be'' Prue.
63	* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: After knocking Troxa into the trap, Prue shocks him to try to get information about him and the Triad.
64	* LastSecondWordSwap: Phoebe asks if Prue likes Cole. She replies that she doesn't...really know him that well.
65	* {{Mundanger}}: One of the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monsters of the Week]] is actually a human stalker.
66	* MurdererPOV: Before we see him in the flesh, Troxa prowls around the manor this way and nearly gets Prue with a VorpalPillow.
67	* NippleAndDimed: Part of Phoebe's nipple is visible in P3 when her dress falls to the side.
68	* NoodleIncident: Cole and Troxa's antagonistic history.
69	* OfCorsetsSexy: Phoebe and Cole share their first kiss while Phoebe is decked out in a sexy red corset for the evening.
70	* OhCrap: Prue in the split-second between Abby firing the gun and Piper freezing the bullet.
71	* PowerPerversionPotential: Discussed, as Piper is worrying that the Elders are watching her and Leo fooling around.
72	* PragmaticVillainy:
73	** Cole can't take Troxa in a fight due to the invisibility power, so he opts to out think him and use the Charmed Ones to do the job instead. It's implied he's getting Troxa out of the way not because of their bitter history, but because only by killing the Charmed Ones himself can he collect on the above bargain he made with the Triad.
74	** Early on, Troxa tries to smother Prue with a VorpalPillow. She wakes up at the last minute and reacts with surprise, but he does nothing further. Prue is certain it was an attack, but between her being so alert and her having no proof of his presence, he opts to simply leave for now.
75	* ProperlyParanoid: On her notebook, Prue had mused that Cole was a demon in disguise.
76	* ShirtlessScene: Phoebe walks in on Piper and Leo in the back room, Leo sans shirt.
77	* VillainBall: Abbey has the chance to kill Prue, but she chooses to ask a question first.
78	-->'''Abbey:''' Last night when I was here, when I was running away from you, how the hell did you throw me through that door, huh?\
79	'''Prue:''' Like this! ''[flings her up against the wall]''
80	* WeaksauceWeakness: The cold for Troxa. It doesn't make him physically weaker, but it does hamper his invisibility power considerably. And since he can't feel the cold, he has no idea if it's happening.
81	* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Rick Hearst (who is American) has scenes where he appears to be putting on a British accent as Troxa, but others where he is speaking in a standard American accent.
82	* WorfHadTheFlu: The temporary damage to Prue's vision leaves her at a disadvantage against Abbey.
83	* WrongGenreSavvy: The sisters think the stalker is just another demon out to kill them, but Darryl suggests it's the kind of thing he deals with in his police work. He was right.
84	* YouHaveFailedMe:
85	** Averted with Cole. The Triad is disappointed in his failures and won't make good on their bargain, but he's too valuable to kill on the spot.
86	** Played straight with Troxa. He is captured and begins spilling information, so the Triad abducts him. He isn't seen again.

Context Recap / CharmedS3E5SightUnseen