S8-16 ENGAGED AND CONFUSED

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What should have been an exciting episode culminating in the wedding of Henry and Paige turns out to be a flat, turgid opening round to the ultimate battle, a battle that will prove to be neither ultimate nor convincing. The success of Charmed has always had at its core the relationship among the sisters. Engaged and Confused, however, rips this asunder as the sisters are paired off with others. Henry and Paige are dealing with engagement issues. Phoebe casually bumps into a cupid named Coop who soon will distract Phoebe from anything useful related to the ultimate battle. Piper, on the other hand, is left to play mother as she prepares the engagement party for Paige and Henry. Of course, her focus changes when a TRIAD renegade, Xar, sends two emissaries to warn the Charmed Ones about the TRIAD. Posing as police officers, the two demonic emissaries pay a visit to the manor. Immediately suspicious, Piper senses trouble; but before action can be taken, Christy vanquishes one of the demons with a pyrokinetic ability. Still, the message is partly delivered as Piper is warned that the TRIAD must still be dealt with.

Is this the threat that will constitute the ultimate battle? Piper hopes so if only to get Leo back. Her sisters reconvene and a battle plan is put together. The plan is crude and elementary, and it would not have stood a chance for success if the TRIAD hadn't been equally stupid. In the event, two of the TRIAD are vanquished in Magic School: one is blasted by Piper, the other is unwittingly hit by an energy ball after Piper puts the freeze on two of them and Paige orbs one of the frozen members into a position directly in the path of the energy ball. The third TRIAD member, Kandor, has lamely run after Phoebe and left his comrades exposed and at risk.

Maybe this dismal episode could be saved by the surprise wedding that replaces the engagement party. Revealing the TRIAD as involved in the ultimate battle prompts Paige to confess to Henry that the threat is very real. Henry concludes that there is no time for engagement. Marriage is in order, especially if it's the last thing Paige is able to do.

All is well as Piper is able to turn the engagement party into a wedding party. Fortunately, Henry had not followed Paige's request to cancel the engagement party after she got cold feet. Still, the wedding comes off. Unfortunately, due to budget constraints (from the network), there is no Grams, no Patty and worst of all, no Sam! Clyde is not summoned in order to have Paige's adopted parents attend. What a waste! What could have been a grand wedding limps slowly towards the ultimate battle.

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After proclaiming her love for Henry, defending his honor in the face of British twit, Simon Theodus Reginald Marks, and accepting Henry's marriage proposal, Paige gets cold feet. Meanwhile, renegade demons have gotten wind of the Triad's master plan. In order to have the Charmed Ones attack the Triad, two demons, disguised as police officers, pay the Charmed Ones a visit. After one is vanquished by Christy, the other blurts out to the Charmed Ones that the Triad are back before shimmering to safety. And now, the Charmed Ones, as well as the audience, are perplexed. Didn't Cole vanquish the Triad in Season 3? Well, if Desperate Housewitches is any guide, no demon is ever truly vanquished. If the Source can be conjured anew, well can the Triad be far behind?

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Every time I see this episode I am baffled about the return of the TRIAD. Why? How? are but two of the questions that daringly dance in front of my glazed eyes. Why is the easier question to answer. Purely in terms of plot, Charmed Season 8 needed an evil demon or troop of evil demons to even venture a series ending ultimate battle. Since the Source had been banished for good in Desperate Housewitches that left only the TRIAD, the obscure trio of demonic schemers who hired Cole to destroy the Charmed Ones.

But, the TRIAD allegedly had been vanquished by Cole, though - it must be admitted - the why of that development was never convincingly portrayed. Snapping of the neck does not suggest a vanquish. Of course, the other two actions by Cole - a stabbing and a fireball - do seem more credible by contrast.

Still, where were the TRIAD when demonic remnants freed Zankou? Wouldn't the TRIAD have weighed in on the matter? How did the TRIAD escape the Avatar remaking of the world and the concomitant vanquish of demons everywhere?

It is possible that the TRIAD were prescient enough to lay low when the heat was on and were convinced that their long-hedged plan - to cure a powerful witch in their demonic mold - in order to vanquish the Charmed Ones if every other demonic attempt failed and claim the day for demons everywhere. Yet, why do so many demons familiar with the TRIAD still exist - even after the Avatar abattoir. Were they somehow equally prescient?

In short, bringing back the TRIAD seems like a band-aid, a poorly thought out and inappropriate one, especially when Charmed needed a tourniquet. It is but further evidence that the ultimate battle was neither. Instead, it was a cheap resolution to a fine series!