S7-5 STYX FEET UNDER

[Scott]

Smart, snappy dialogue characterizes this highly enjoyable episode. Both Piper and Paige bemoan the unwillingness of Phoebe to confront the issues she has with Leslie, the temporary ghost writer of the Ask Phoebe column. To compensate, Phoebe has gone on a demon bender, but dispatches Piper and Paige to confront them. Phoebe still has no active powers and shies away from confronting demons.

[Xenith]

Yeah I thought that this was finally going to be a good S7 ep. And I was totally loving it up until Paige dies, and Piper is way too dam eager to take her sister to the next plane of existance. Piper saying "You're stalling" to Paige REALLY drove me over the edge, I mean fine I get that Piper is supposed to understand the necessity of death and all, but that is just plain COLD, even by bitchy Piper standards telling her sister to hurry up and move on like that was just way out of character and all kinds of ass. HAAAAATE!

[vandergraafk]

Yeah, I noticed that too. It's like: well, it's been nice knowing ya kid. See ya later! Contrast this with her writhing agony over Phoebe's death in Kill Billie, Volume 2. Then, come again: Piper doesn't waste much time agonizing over Paige's death in Kill Billie, Volume 2, for that matter. Yes, I know she's just a half sister. But, they did sort of manage to live a lifetime in five years!

[elder]

Piper did what she was supposed to do.

Based on the storyline, we are told that death stopped due to the sisters keeping somebody from moving on.
You don't want to make the same mistake twice...especially after what the Angel of Death told Piper in the hospital scene during his great speech.

[vandergraafk]

Actually, the more I think about this the actions of the Angel of Death are very clever. Caught in a conundrum when the Charmed Ones accuse him of aiding the demon, the Angel of Death, who by definition must remain neutral, takes Piper as his assistant. Ostensibly, he needs her to clear up the backlog of dead people due to Paige's protection spell. However, it is equally likely that the Angel of Death found a clever way to undo the apparent sides he had taken when he "helped" the demon. With Piper having access to the list, she and her sisters can take advantage of this information to turn the tide on the demon, an opportunity the sisters take advantage of several times, though not always with the hoped for consequence.

[elder]

I feel sorry for the Angel of Death.
I believe this is the second of three times we see him and on each occasion he must beat it into a Halliwell head that you can't stop death.
He probably goes home and bashes his head off a wall simply in frustration.
I can just hear him say, "They just don't get it! Everybody else gets it..."

[vandergraafk]

Ah yes, but the Charmed Ones ARE a bit ornery, aren't they? Ever since Prue, the Charmed Ones are not likely to respect someone just because he's the Angel of Death. That's why they don't have a coven. Why follow some silly Wiccan tradition like that! On the other hand, you (the Angel of Death) have to admit: the Charmed Ones are nothing if not persistent. Unless they buy into what you are doing, they will try to alter things for the better as the Charmed Ones perceive it. And, why not? They're the most powerful witches of all time. The Cleaners had to learn this lesson. So, too, the Angel of Death. Although the Angel of Death is visibly piqued at the audacity of the Charmed Ones in Styx Feet Under and compels Piper to assist him, he does have to admit that they do have a point. By simply following rules, the Angel of Death has become an unwitting aide of the demonic Underworld. Part of why he chooses Piper to assist him is to right that wrong. Even more, I believe he gains a respect for them. This is why in Vaya Con Leos, the Angel of Death not only gives advance warning to Piper, he also paves the way for her to alter Leo's fate.

[elder]

TCO can be forgiven if they don't take death seriously. They come close to death so many times and get revived, they seem to look at death as a joke that can be changed and reveresed if you don't like it. Perhaps that's why any Angel of Death has a tough time with this family.

(On the humorous side, the demon they fight in this episode could feel right at home if he became athletic and formed "Sirk du Soleil")

[vandergraafk]

Now, imagine Jim Morrison - and NOT Simon Templeman - as the Angel of Death! Then, we'd really have a circus.

[laiste]

Xenith said:

Yeah I thought that this was finally going to be a good S7 ep. And I was totally loving it up until Paige dies, and Piper is way too dam eager to take her sister to the next plane of existance. Piper saying "You're stalling" to Paige REALLY drove me over the edge, I mean fine I get that Piper is supposed to understand the necessity of death and all, but that is just plain COLD, even by bitchy Piper standards telling her sister to hurry up and move on like that was just way out of character and all kinds of ass. HAAAAATE!

To be fair to Piper, she is dead at the time and not actually in her own body. Emotions are directly connected with hormones which are physical experiences. Personality is a spiritual/ intellectualy experience. So, Piper keeps her personality and everything she knows, but she loses the hormones and chemical responses that go along with feelings.

[Scott]

I agree wholeheartedly. It was nice to see a wise-cracking Piper as an assistant Angel of Death. She probably could improve her bedside manner. But then, that wouldn't be Piper, would it?

[cyma]

Feb 23, 2007 10:06:14 GMT -5 laiste said:

Xenith said:

Yeah I thought that this was finally going to be a good S7 ep. And I was totally loving it up until Paige dies, and Piper is way too dam eager to take her sister to the next plane of existance. Piper saying "You're stalling" to Paige REALLY drove me over the edge, I mean fine I get that Piper is supposed to understand the necessity of death and all, but that is just plain COLD, even by bitchy Piper standards telling her sister to hurry up and move on like that was just way out of character and all kinds of ass. HAAAAATE!

To be fair to Piper, she is dead at the time and not actually in her own body. Emotions are directly connected with hormones which are physical experiences. Personality is a spiritual/ intellectualy experience. So, Piper keeps her personality and everything she knows, but she loses the hormones and chemical responses that go along with feelings.

If that was true then she wouldn't have gone on a strike when she saw Phoebe's name appear on the list.