Phoebe has a premonition where an earthquake ruins Dex's art show. Leo gets hit on by a flirtatious neighbor. Paige starts training Billie. Piper applies for a job, but a background check reveals that the appearance she chose matches Maya Holmes, a fugitive wanted for murder. Piper is arrested, and while Paige and Billie look for the real Maya, Piper learns she was framed.
Dex is planning an art show. Phoebe gets a premonition from him, of the two of them at the art show when an earthquake begins.
Piper interviews for a job. The interview seems to go well, but the interviewer sends "Jenny Bennet's" picture for a routine background check. Afterwards, the sisters are eating lunch when police surround them, and arrest Piper for murder; they think she's Maya Holmes, a fugitive. The sisters realize that Piper must have seen her new face somewhere, and Phoebe and Paige decide to check magazines around the house and newspaper archives. Paige finds Maya's picture in a magazine. She scries and finds the real Maya.
Piper meets with the prosecutor, Walter Nance. He turns out to be a former lover of Maya's, and a controlling and obsessive man. She had left him for a photographer, who turned up dead two weeks later.
Paige and Billie orb into a motel room where Maya is staying. Paige orbs a lamp to Maya's head and knock her out. Paige orbs Piper out of jail and orbs Maya into the cell in her place. Piper, however, tells the others that Maya is innocent.
Phoebe meets Dex at his studio. She tries to stash Dex's art, when she feels the first tremors.
On account of "Maya's" defiant attitude, Walter thinks she has proof against him. He bails Maya out of jail and brings her to his high-rise apartment. He demands to know what she has on him. Piper and Paige orb in. Walter pushes Maya off a balcony, but Paige and Piper orb down the apartment just in time, freeze Maya and then orb a mattress under her.
Billie suggests scaring Walter into confession. Taking inspiration from Barbas, they play on Walter's fear of getting older. Billie substitutes for Walter's manicurist and mentions his age, angering him. He sees his hands rapidly wrinkle and then sees "Maya" (really Piper). He sees himself in the mirror aging rapidly. He turns and sees three more Mayas (Phoebe, Paige and Billie). Piper, still looking like Maya, pushes him off the balcony. Paige orbs Piper and she freezes Walter just above the ground and unfreezes his head so he can confess with Piper recording his confession.
Phoebe meets Dex at his art show; he has moved all his sculptures back where they were. A moment later, the earthquake happens. They are embracing when it stops.
Tropes
- Armor-Piercing Question: Nance is feeling pretty smug and confident when talking to "Maya" in jail, but Piper picks up on where this is going and realizes he committed the murder. Nance still maintains a confident face, until this exchange.Nance: You don't have anything on me. You wouldn't have gotten caught, if you did
Piper: Are you sure about that? - Chekhov's Classroom: Billie is repeatedly told to focus on studying instead of chanting spells or anything else pro-active. It's through her reading that she learns about Charlene and Barbas.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Piper's alias had been used in the previous two episodes, played by the same actress.
- Continuity Nod:
- Two in particular to the season 2 episode Ex Libris:
- Billie's idea of dealing with Nance is in part based on how Prue made Gibbs confess with Charlene's help.
- The scene where Piper froze a fight between Dan and Leo, asked the latter to explain, and then made him return into position, is mirrored here with Carl and Leo. Except in this episode, the scene is played purely for comedy, especially with Leo receiving the hit instead of avoiding it.
- Billie also suggests emulating Barbas's method of fear manipulation to unhinge Nance.
- Two in particular to the season 2 episode Ex Libris:
- Cutting the Knot: Billie suggests simply vanquishing Nance to fix this problem. The sisters tell her to get back to studying.
- The Dandy: Nance is obsessed with staying young, and murdered Maya's boyfriend because he was younger than him.
- Deus Exit Machina: Downplayed. Darryl's no longer in town, so the sisters have no Friend on the Force to turn to when this legal mess erupts.
- Didn't Think This Through: Averted. Paige doubts that Nance will simply kill Maya since he bailed her out of jail and thus would be the first to be scrutinized, but Piper is certain he would've thought of that and has something in mind. She's right; Nance intended to push Maya off the balcony and claim it was a suicide.
- "Eureka!" Moment: As Nance rants about how Maya's past rejection of him, Piper realizes he was the one that killed the photographer boyfriend.
- Fanservice: The episode gets Leo into a vest when a toddler spills ice cream on his shirt.
- Frame-Up: Nance wanted Maya for himself, but she chose another man. Nance killed that guy and used his connections to frame Maya for it.
- He Knows Too Much: Nance wants to murder Maya when he thinks she can prove what he's done.
- I Am the Noun: Nance's underling urges him to just keep his distance and let the system take care of Maya, prompting a loud "I AM THE SYSTEM!" from Nance.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Piper does this once again when she asks Leo: "Who writes your stuff?"
- Never My Fault: In his one-on-one with Piper, Nance displays this attitude, insisting Maya rejecting him led to to everything else.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The others successfully detain Maya and pull off the switch to get Piper out of jail. Piper then says she had just learned that Maya is actually innocent. This gets magnified when Nance using his connections to get Maya out of jail because they can switch back.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: After Piper gets arrested, the others work towards finding the real Maya so they can pull off a switch. It never occurred to any of them that Maya was actually innocent, until Nance made a visit to Piper and started ranting about being rejected by the woman.
- Not Good with Rejection: Nance wanted Maya and offered her whatever he could think of to close the deal. She instead chose a younger and poorer photographer. Nance reacted by killing the photographer and framing Maya for it.
- Not Now, Kiddo: Billie's suggestion they simply vanquish Nance prompts this reaction from the sisters. A frustrated Billie likens it to being back home.
- Put on a Bus: Darryl is said to have relocated to the East Coast.
- Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: Nance pulls some dubious strings to frame Maya for the murder. He declares "I am the system!"
- Stock Footage: The background footage used when Maya and later Nance fall down is reused from Dream Sorcerer, but without the red filter.
- The Unfair Sex: Eve's husband Carl angrily comes round to punch Leo out - when Eve was the one who hit on him. Paige is also not willing to give Leo the benefit of the doubt; Piper's even content to let Leo get punched out.
- Wasn't That Fun?: Billie's reaction to accidentally blowing something up in the attic.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Nance's greatest fear is getting older. Billie's plan is to exploit that.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Nance is left troubled by his meeting with "Maya" and how she was completely confident the whole time, despite her circumstances. We know it's because Piper is an experienced witch in disguise, but Nance thinks the woman he framed for murder has hidden away evidence that can prove what really happened and is sitting on it until the trial.
