Agent Keyes from Homeland Security reveals the truth about the Charmed Ones to Sheridan. Zankou takes over the Manor with the intention to harness the power of the Nexus. The Charmed Ones decide to do everything they can to distract Zankou from the Nexus long enough to take the Book of Shadows back.
Tropes
- And the Adventure Continues: The intent if this had been the final episode. The sisters say they're free to live their normal lives and train Wyatt and Chris to one day take up the fight.
- Call-Back:
- As in "Charmed & Dangerous", the sisters face an enemy that steals their active powers one by one. This time however, Phoebe is the first one to have her powers stolen (she didn't lose hers in that episode).
- And like "The Power of Three Blondes", in which a spell causes their enemies to take control of their powers, Paige still keeps hers.
- Chekhov's Skill:
- Piper and Phoebe show up in disguises when first visiting Victor, foreshadowing that they can magically hide their identities.
- When baiting Zankou at Magic School, we see that Paige can still use her powers in astral form, foreshadowing that the sisters will be able to use magic from an astral body.
- Continuity Cavalcade: The girls discuss several of their past adventures as they try to come up with a way to defeat Zankou, and in particular has several references to Prue. Members of the magical community such as fairies, trolls, leprechauns and Valkyries arrive to help fight Zankou as well.
- Continuity Snarl: Vampires had previously been said to be immune to witch powers. While one could hand wave Piper as merely exploding the air around them, Paige is able to orb two to crash into each other. Could possibly be justified as them being a different clan and therefore under different rules.
- Cross-Referenced Titles: With the pilot episode, contributing to the whole Series Fauxnale vibe.
- Death by Irony: Inspector Sheridan was first introduced catching magic on video in Season 6. She meets her end trying to get evidence of it on camera.
- Desperation Attack: The sisters destroy the Nexus to prevent Zankou from being able to use its powers. They wait until he's taken it in before saying the spell, allowing for the spell to vanquish him at the same time. The force of this would have killed them if they hadn't been using astral projection.
- Disney Death: Both Leo and Darryl are briefly fooled by the apparent death of the Charmed Sisters, but both of them know better by the time they leave the scene of the battle.
- Enemy Mine: In a last ditch effort to get an advantage against Zankou, the sisters try to ally with a Vampire Queen, being desperate enough to offer her and her coven immunity (the Charmed Ones won't bother them afterward, no matter what they do). Unfortunately, Zankou got to her first, and offered a sweeter deal.
- Faking the Dead: The sisters fake being killed along with Zankou in order to finally get away from demon battling.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Sheridan insisted on going into the Manor personally to try and get the sisters to use their powers on camera, despite Agent Keys being against it and telling her to get out of the house multiple times. Had she not gone into the attic, she wouldn't have been killed by Zankou.
- Killed Off for Real: Zankou and Inspector Sheridan.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The sisters hope Piper had some ideas on how to get the Book of Shadows back because they thought she was the only one among themselves who still has confidence. Piper remarks this is just because she is a good actor.
- Near-Villain Victory: Zankou claims the power of the Nexus. If not for the sisters reclaiming the Book of Shadows and finding the spell, it would've been over.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands: Astral projection - which was one of Prue's active powers - is something the sisters are able to do by casting a spell. It's said that Prue showed Leo how to do it, and therefore it was recorded in the Book of Shadows. Notably Rex had used a form of astral projection in "Wicca Envy" and so had Phoebe in "Witch Way Now?", so there is a precedent for it. Paige is able to use her active powers from her astral and all three sisters can cast a spell, which had not been shown as possible before.
- No MacGuffin, No Winner: The Charmed Ones follow the advice from Elder Sandra to destroy the Nexus.
- Parting-Words Regret: Averted. When giving Victor the boys and all important legal materials, Piper and Phoebe let him know they might not be coming back from this one. Piper also says goodbye to Wyatt and Chris and that she loves them.
- The Power of Friendship: Darryl is ready to head out with Sheila and the kids when Leo arrives asking for his help in keeping the authorities away from the manor while the sisters face Zankou. Darryl feels obligated to help the sisters because of friendship and loyalty.
- Rewatch Bonus: Although the sisters reclaimed the Book of Shadows in the previous scene, it is conspicuously not in the basement when they're preparing to summon the Nexus. As the sisters wouldn't let the book out of their sight, this hints to them being somewhere else and astral projecting into the basement.
- Series Fauxnale: While the final version of the script was made with the knowledge that the series would have a season 8, this episode does provide some closure to the story and features a lot of continuity nods that wouldn't be out of place in a proper series finale. The renewal didn't happen until a week after the episode aired, so it had to be written as open-ended but also serve as a possible conclusion just in case.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Darryl is devastated by the sisters' apparent deaths. Then he sees three women and a man leaving the scene and realizes who they really are.
- Underestimating Badassery:Zankou: [claiming the Nexus] You can't stop me now.
Paige: No?
Piper: Watch us. - Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Played with. Zankou tells his Dragon about his plan to separate a witch from her powers, and he's able to go through with that, and the sisters' plan to humiliate him is discussed and still happens. Meanwhile, their plan to ask the vampires for help isn't discussed, and the queen ends up betraying them. They however don't mention their plan to astral project into the basement when destroying the Nexus, and it goes off without a hitch.
- Victory Is Boring: Discussed. When Zankou is imagining what having the ultimate power would be like, he says "I hope I don't get bored".
