Recap / Charmed S1E9 The Witch Is Back

The Witch Is Back

Prue accidentally releases a warlock from the past, who sets out to steal the Power of Three. To stop him, the Charmed Ones summon the original witch in their lineage, Melinda Warren. Andy starts growing suspicious of Prue. Piper tries to ask Leo out.

In Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, Melinda Warren awaits burning at the stake for witchcraft. (In the real Salem witch trials, no one was burned; all convicted "witches" were hanged.) Matthew Tate, her former lover, visits her in her cell. He seduced her, copied her powers and then outed her as a witch to keep from being exposed as a warlock. Melinda pulls off the Pewter Heart Matthew gave her as a gift and gives it back to him. Matthew says he plans to copy other witches' powers as well. He opens the locket and pulls out a flower petal. Suddenly, the petal bursts into flames. Before Matthew can figure out what is happening, Melinda recites a curse, and Matthew disappears into the locket.

Leo is repairing the kitchen sink. Phoebe urges Piper to ask him out, but she is reluctant. In the present, at Buckland Auction House, Rex Buckland presents the locket to Prue, telling her it's part of a large estate from the east. She opens it and Matthew appears. Realizing that Prue couldn't have opened it unless she was a descendant of Melinda, Matthew tries to attack her, but Prue sends him flying across the room. Matthew thanks Prue, because he now has her power of telekinesis. He pins her against the wall with a chair, then disappears and reappears behind her to finish her off. Believing that Prue inherited all of Melinda's powers, he grabs her again and tries to goad her into freezing him. Prue tells him she doesn't have that ability. Matthew releases her, blows out a window, and jumps, landing safely on his own two feet. The cops arrive, including Darryl and Andy; Andy knows that the blown-out window is Prue's.

It turns out that Rex and Hannah provided Prue with the locket. The warlock-couple is after the Charmed Ones' powers, and plan to use Matthew to get them.

Prue goes to Phoebe and Piper and tells them of Matthew Tate. Phoebe takes the locket and has a vision of Melinda putting Matthew in the locket.

The sisters consult the Book of Shadows and find Matthew. They find out that he was never supposed to be let out of the locket, since he would likely be hellbent on destroying the Warren line. A lawyer named Arnold Halliwell is on the phone when the door to his office suddenly swings open. Before Arnold Halliwell can figure out what is happening, Matthew blinks in and telekinetically pins him up against the wall and demands to know where Arnold's "sisters" are — but Arnold Halliwell shares only a name with the Charmed Ones. Matthew telekinetically breaks Arnold Halliwell's neck and walks away.

Andy appears at the manor to question Prue. Phoebe answers the door and won't let him in. He tells her of the murdered lawyer and wants to know where Prue is. She demands a warrant and he leaves. The sisters are at a loss as to how to handle Matthew. Phoebe tells them that she found a spell to summon Melinda so they can ask her for help. They cast the spell, and Melinda appears in her 17th century dress. They redress her so she can blend in. Leo shows up and the sisters introduce Melinda as their cousin.

Matthew runs into Rex and Hannah at a "Halliwell Hardware and Appliance", where Matthew has murdered the proprietor. Rex and Hannah offer to find the Charmed Ones for him.

Melinda tells the sisters of her arrest and burning. She had not used her powers to escape so that her daughter, Prudence, would not be found out as a witch as well. She tells them of Matthew's ability to copy a good witch's power and become immune to it. When Prue asks her about Matthew's "wild power," Melinda tells him that it's called blinking—the ability to think of a location and literally be there "in the blink of an eye." She mentions that Matthew copied that power from another witch. Melinda proposes to curse Matthew back into the locket.

Matthew changes into more modern clothes to blend in, and is amazed at how "closed" things are in the 20th century. He appears to be making a pass at Hannah when Rex comes in and snaps them all back to task. He tells Hannah that Matthew goes back in the locket as soon as the sisters are dead.

The four witches consult the Book of Shadows and find the curse. Melinda is amazed at how big the Book has gotten since she started it. Phoebe finds it hard to believe that they'll be able to add to it eventually. Piper thinks she can get most of the ingredients at Quake. However, one ingredient they can't get is a spotted owl feather; Prue offers to get it.

Rex shows Matthew pictures of the sisters and the address of Quake, and has Hannah take him to Quake.

Prue knows there is a stuffed spotted owl at the Museum of Natural History, where she used to work. She offers to get the feather there. Unknown to Prue, Andy is following her.

Matthew is after Piper, but finds Phoebe instead. He grabs her and she has a vision of him attacking Melinda. Matthew now has her power, and knows the sisters revived Melinda. Phoebe calls the manor trying to find Prue. Only Melinda is there, and she does not know how telephones work. Matthew comes to the manor and confronts Melinda. He tries to goad Melinda into freezing him, but Melinda won't go along. Matthew grabs Melinda by the neck, and has a vision of the four witches cursing him back in the locket.

Rex knows Hannah lost track of Matthew; he magically followed her. He demands to know where Prue is, and Melinda sends him to the zoo. Matthew vows to break Melinda's spirit by killing the sisters, then killing her last. He blinks out.

Piper and Phoebe arrive at the manor to find Melinda badly shaken. Melinda says Prue is taking care of the feather.

Prue is heading out of the museum when Andy nabs her and takes her to his car.

Matthew flings Hannah through the door of Rex's office. Matthew is hellbent on killing Prue. Rex tries to get him to focus on Piper and Phoebe, but Matthew tells him that the sisters summoned Melinda and are trying to curse him back into the locket. Rex suspects they'll have to speak the curse in the manor—and if he goes there, he can copy Piper's freezing power and kill them all. He hands Matthew a pistol.

Andy grills Prue about the feather. Just as he's about to take her to the station, Prue sets off the airbag in his car and escapes. Matthew comes to the manor and confronts Piper, Phoebe and Melinda. He draws Piper toward him and points the pistol at her, trying to goad her into freezing him. Just in time, Prue comes in and flings the pistol from Matthew's hand. She then pins him to the ground with a chair. Prue adds the feather to the potion. Piper freezes Matthew just as he gets up. Melinda speaks the curse and sends Matthew back into the locket.

Matthew has failed to steal the Charmed Ones' powers, but Rex and Hannah now know that they are the Charmed Ones. Hannah says that they should have gone after them directly, and Rex admits they should have.

Andy wants to arrest Prue, but Darryl talks him out of it.

Piper asks Leo out. The sisters speak a spell and send Melinda back to among the dead, but not before Phoebe takes her hand so she can see a vision of the generations of daughters to come after her time. Melinda takes the locket with her— trapping Matthew for eternity.

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Tropes

• Afraid of Blood: Piper is the most resistant to doing the spell to bring in Melinda, as it requires offering up some blood. She says she hates the sight of blood, considering it far worse than the supernatural horrors she's seen up to now.
• Armor-Piercing Question: After receiving a premonition of the curse in action, Matthew figures he can just kill Melinda right now to prevent this, but this exchange forces a change in plans.
  Melinda: Go ahead. I've already given them the curse.
  Matthew: You're lying.
  Melinda: Am I?
• Armor-Piercing Response: Melinda misdirects Matthew by telling him Prue went to get the feather from the zoo, but he rattles her cage before leaving.
  Matthew: Then that's where I'll kill her and then I'll come back for the other two. That way, you can watch them die, and I can watch you suffer. [gives her a Forceful Kiss] And then you'll be next.
• Artistic License – History: The episode makes the mistake of assuming that people were burned at the stake during the Salem Witch Trials. The victims were in fact hanged, or in one case pressed to death.
• Blood Magic: The key ingredient to the spell to bring in Melinda is a little blood from the present family members ("blood calling blood"). Phoebe is all-in from the start (though she admits the cut really hurts), while Prue is prepared to do it and Piper drags her feet the entire time.
• Blood Oath: In the face of resistance to the Blood Magic, Phoebe recalls how the sisters did this when they were kids. Phoebe says it was a vow that the sisters would be friends forever, but all Piper remembers is how her wound got infected and how she couldn't put her finger in water for three weeks.
• Burn the Witch!: This is how Melinda was executed in her day.
• But Now I Must Go: Melinda really doesn't give a good reason why she can't live out the rest of her life. She only says it isn't her time, which even the girls try to point out isn't much of an issue.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Rex makes it clear to Hannah that Matthew is going back in the locket once the job is done.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: Rex is noticeably displeased over how "helpful" Hannah was in helping Matthew get dressed.
• Defiant to the End: While getting sucked back into the locket, Matthew swears this is not the end.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Matthew Tate is said to have the power of blinking (instantaneous teleportation) from stealing it from a witch. In following seasons, blinking is stated to be an innate power of all warlocks, and inherently evil. For instance, in Season 3's Bride and Gloom, Piper and Phoebe realize they're becoming warlocks when they spontaneously develop this power.
• Eating the Eye Candy:
  • Hannah does so enjoy watching Matthew put his clothes on.
  • Melinda seems to have a hard time keeping her eyes off Leo.
• Everyone Can See It: Piper dreads asking Leo out on a date out of fear of rejection, but Phoebe thinks she's missing his obvious interest. Even Melinda picks up on it within seconds of meeting Leo.
• Evil Lawyer Joke: The lawyer that Matthew kills is shown to be an unpleasant fellow. After finishing him, Matthew remarks that lawyers have not changed one bit since his day.
• Fights Like a Normal: To try to coax Piper into using her power, Matthew threatens to shoot her or Phoebe with a gun provided by Rex.
• Flash Back: This is the first episode in which Phoebe has a vision of the past; previously she would only have visions of future events.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: A downplayed version. Melinda and Matthew both express confusion over modern life but quickly adapt to their new surroundings. It does get Played for Drama when Phoebe tries to call Prue when Prue isn't at the house and Melinda doesn't know how to work the phone.
• Forced to Watch: Matthew admits his preference is to save Melinda for last so that he can kill the sisters in front of her and enjoy her suffering.
• Forceful Kiss: Matthew gives Melinda one in the manor before departing to find and kill Prue.
• Foreshadowing: Rex gets increasingly touchy over Matthew's slow progress in claiming all the powers. It turns out he and Hannah have a higher power to answer to, one not happy with their lack of progress. After Matthew is cursed again, Rex agrees with Hannah that it's time to be pro-active.
• Greater-Scope Villain: While stewing over how things turned out, Rex and Hannah make a reference to the Source. No name is given, but they dread how "he" won't be happy with their failure and how they'll only have a small window of opportunity to prove themselves.
• Mama Bear: Melinda chose not to save herself from execution because doing so would have also condemmed her daughter to the same fate.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Busted by Andy outside the museum, Prue insists she already had the feather in her possession and that she has no idea about anything he's talking about. A frustrated Andy demands she stop playing dumb.
• Oh, Crap!: When Phoebe tries to call the manor to warn her, Melinda looks worried over what that sudden ringing noise is.
• Only Sane Man: Darryl keeps Andy from going to a judge over Prue stealing the feather, due to the late hour, the extremely minor theft, and an inability to explain how Prue even evaded arrest at all. As he says, the only one who'd get in any real trouble here is Andy himself.
• Power Copying: Matthew's power is being able to do this in response to a power being used on him. Prue unknowingly gives him telekinesis during the first encounter. He copies Phoebe's premonitions, after cornering her in Quake's kitchen.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: Matthew was sealed in Melinda's locket, and he was released when Prue opened it. Only a descendant of Melinda could do so, which is why Rex gave Prue the locket in the first place.
• Shout-Out: Matthew is a time traveller who kills anyone with the same name as his actual target, just in case, much like the titular character from The Terminator (although Matthew is from the past and not the future).
• Shout-Out to Shakespeare: After Melinda compliments Leo's ability to work his hands, they quote Corin from As You Like It.
  Leo: I am a true laborer. I earn that I eat, get that I wear—
  Melinda: —owe no man hate, envy no man's happiness.
• Single Tear: Melinda, after Matthew promises to kill each of the sisters and gives her a Forceful Kiss.
• Telepathy: When Hannah returns to the office, Rex uses this ability to learn she lost track of Matthew at Quake. She says she's previously told him to stop using this power on her.
• Underestimating Badassery: Matthew could've avoided his fate had he not stopped by Melinda's cell to gloat.
• Unwitting Pawn: Matthew is being used by Rex and Hannah for their own ends.
• We Meet Again: When Matthew first confronts Melinda at the manor.
  Matthew: We meet again.
  Melinda: Yes, and the sight of you still makes me ill.
• Woman Scorned: Matthew seduced and betrayed Melinda. She gladly makes him suffer for it with her curse.
• You're Insane!: In response to Andy want to wake up a judge in the middle of a night over a stolen feather, Darryl accuses him of being flat-out nuts.