Summary
Charmed offers a Christmas-spirited episode in “Jingle Hell”, and despite plot progression, the murky writing still leaves the whole reboot a shambles.
Apologies for the extremely late recap of “Jingle Hell”. However, in true New Year spirit, I thought it would be best to brush down the cobwebs and catch up on the Charmed reboot, which at this stage will be lucky to get renewed. Considering the popularity of the original Charmed, the fanbase is relatively quiet on the new season on social media, making me wonder if the reboot has managed to achieve the power of nostalgia.
Anyway, Episode 9, “Jingle Hell” was predictably surrounded by the Christmas buzz, with the witches continuously trying to live normal lives, despite the fact that everyone they know seems to be a demon.
After the dramatics of the last episode, where Galvin got hit by a car on the way to a date, Macy (Madeleine Mantock) is relieved to find out that his accident only broke some bones, so he is alive. However, she is reluctant to try and make any advancements due to the suspected mark on him that keeps appearing. Before all the drama unfolds in “Jingle Hell”, Macy tries to maneuver out of Galvin’s way from an incoming kiss.
“Jingle Hell” sees the witches attempting to have a lovely Christmas with Harry (Rupert Evans) but the problem is, Parker (Nick Hargrove) has been tasked to drain their power and uses his relationship with Maggie (Sarah Jeffery) to give her a necklace that does that trick. Unfortunately, Parker is under immense pressure by his family but due to his half-human side, he does have feelings for Maggie; his conflicts were clear.
As the witches start to figure out that demons have infiltrated the household, Maggie is heartbroken to learn that Parker is a half-demon, but that does not stop the dramatic ending, where Parker and the witches join together to throw another member of Parker’s demon family down a hell hole. Unfortunately, Harry gets sucked in as well, making the audience wonder what his fate will be.
The interesting side plot is Melanie (Melonie Diaz) who has been assigned by the Elders a dangerous mission to join the apparent terrorist group of witches where Jada resides. “Jingle Hell” makes it more clear that this group of rogue witches is not bad, but I am sure Melanie will figure out her place in this situation in episodes to come.
Episode 9 was okay, yet the writing is still murky. “Jingle Hell” felt more an attempt to get all the demons into one house with the witches for one huge Christmas party. Am I enjoying Charmed yet? No.
