Cole's whole plot in Season 5 leaves plenty of room for this. Was Cole a good guy unfairly blamed for being possessed by the Source against his will, who went crazy as a result of magic screwing with his mind? Was he a former villain trying his best to redeem himself in the face of mistrust and rejection, and only embraced evil again out of desperation? Or was he on his best behaviour as a ploy to get Phoebe back, and showed his true colours once it became clear that was not going to happen? Was Phoebe a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing for blaming Cole for things beyond his control and repeatedly trying to kill him well before he did anything villainous, or was she standing her ground in front of a man who—redeemed or not—felt entitled to have her and wouldn’t respect her boundaries?
Fans are also divided on what exactly caused Cole's Sanity Slippage, with the blame being pointed depending on which side of the Cole/Phoebe feud they stand on. Cole's fans blame it on a spell Paige cast to make him feel Phoebe's emotionsnote though when later used on Piper, it had no such side effects. Phoebe's fans blame it on Cole's own obsession for Phoebe regardless of magic, which only exacerbated it by making Cole suicide-proof. Another camp points out that Cole was a human soul when he absorbed the demonic powers in the Wasteland, and mortals have consistently been shown to lose it when infused with magic. All agree that Barbas screwing with his mind did not help.
Did the Charmed Ones become selfish in giving up their lives as protectors, let down all good magical creatures, and only become interested in their own pleasure? Or did they simply retire from a thankless life after putting in years of work, losing a sister, and having to look over their shoulders every second of the day without a moment's peace?
Was Penny Halliwell a loving grandmother who invented the power-stripping potion to give her granddaughters a chance at a normal life, or a Manipulative Bitch who was bumped off by the Elders for attempting to Screw Destiny? It seems far too coincidental that she died just before she could use it... Considering she cursed her wedding ring yet allowed it to remain a family heirloom, has a clear disdain for men and was romantically involved with demons herself... there's a serious argument to be made for her being an Evil Matriarch. Particularly since she later reveals that she regularly mind-wiped them and used magic to stop them from fighting, instead of simply disciplining them.
Phoebe: misunderstood but adventurous younger sister with understandableabandonmentissues, whose family wouldn’t take seriously and allow to be free resulting in insecurities about herself and her relationships? Or reckless, self-absorbed brat who’d always cause trouble and demand that others take responsibilities and make sacrifices she herself wouldn’t? And in there later seasons, did she take a level in jerkass out of the blue and abandoned her destiny, or was she a Broken Bird suffering from the toll magic had taken on her life?
Piper: the greatest witch in history and the heart and soul of the family who, despite longing for a normal life, steps up to be the competent matriarch after Prue's untimely demise and finally earns her happy ending with Leo after much tribulations? Or a whiny, self-obsessed shrew who never really embraced her magical heritage, never experimented with magic unless she was cornered, obsessed over her marriage and children to the point of endangering innocents, and was so entitled to call into question the Great Design and bargains with past foes and Destiny itself just to have her way?
What did the Sisters' Personality Powers really tell about them? Was Piper's freezing power a reflection of her being a Shrinking Violet who needed time to process things, and gained an explosive power when she found confidence in her inner strength? Or was it her being so self-centered she'd stop everything at her whim, only to become more prone to go off at the drop of a hat whenever things did't go her way? Were Phoebe's Premonition and Empathy (as well as her work as an advice columnist) a reflection of a genuine desire to help people, or just a manifestation of her persistent need to insert herself into the lives of other people at every opportunity? Was her levitation because she's a free spirit, or because she considers herself above everyone else?
Leo: a lone voice of reason amongst the group, who reluctantly goes along with morally questionable plans out of his devotion to Piper? Or merely a spineless lapdog, long since brought to heel by his controlling wife and sisters-in-law? Even Brian Krause himself occasionally mocks Leo as being a "pussy" when participating in Charmed convention panels.
Did Kyle Brody really love Paige, or was he just using her to help with his vendetta against the Avatars and she just happened to take the level in dumbass necessary to be duped?
Wyatt. The kid's future alignment seems to switch back and forth so often, it makes more sense that his chaotic upbringing has left him already evil and the Good Future is simply the result of a Heel–Face Turn. Him turning evil because of Gideon's betrayal was perhaps understandable, but because of an (demonic) imaginary friend and a cursed teddy bear is just bizarre? Rather, Evil Wyatt makes more sense as simply the culmination of the increasingly petty and selfish attitudes of the sisters in later seasons, coupled with Leo's increasing spinelessness, leaving him as a Spoiled Brat with too much power and no decent role models.
The Elders. The Big Good of the show who believe The Needs of the Many and are sometimes forced to do morally questionable actions to keep the forces of evil in check, or simply a collection of Jerkass Gods who desire to keep their monopoly on power at all costs? Especially considering they wanted to wipe out the Avatars despite knowing nothing about them or their motives, just because they were threatening their status as the most powerful faction in the series. Tellingly, the comics reveal that all of the Elders seen in the series were essentially fired and replaced for their misbehavior.
The Seer's actions in "Charmed & Dangerous" - a case of Even Evil Has Standards or her using reverse psychology to get the Source to doom himself, thus starting her Batman Gambit.
