Centennial Charmed

Centennial Charmed is the 100th episode of Charmed.

Episode Guide
Paige thinks she's found a way to get past Cole's protective shield--using an invisibility potion to sneak into his apartment, jump in his body and blow him up from the inside. Leo doesn't like this idea, thinking it'll take the Power of Three to vanquish Cole for good. Paige succeeds in getting inside the apartment and blowing him up, but he reassembles and blows her out the window. She lands in the bay.

Piper is practicing for her pregnancy on a birthing ball with the help of her sisters, Leo and Ava, even though she's adamant about having her baby in a hospital. Paige comes downstairs; she overslept. Suddenly, she sneezes and briefly orbs out before orbing back in--apparently she caught a cold from landing in the bay the night before. She says she only did it to give Phoebe some peace, but Phoebe says she's completely over Cole. Piper isn't happy either; they agreed to go on a hiatus from fighting demons during her last trimester.

Cole has decided to accept the Avatars' offer to join them--but needs to take care of something first.

Michelle Branch is playing P3, while the sisters, Leo, Darryl and Sheila are celebrating Darryl's promotion to lieutenant. The others think Paige is too sick to make it, but to everyone's surprise, Paige shows up. She tells Piper and Phoebe that she's thinking of getting her own place again; after being an only child for 25 years, she's used to doing things on her own.

Cole becomes an Avatar--but first, wants to use his new powers to get Phoebe back. Believing that Paige is responsible for turning Phoebe against him, he wants to alter reality so that Piper and Phoebe never met her. The Avatar claims changing one minor detail could have catastrophic results, but Cole won't hear of it. He starts chanting a spell.

Paige feels a sneeze coming on, and Piper and Phoebe hustle her to the office. Paige sneezes and orbs out at the exact moment Cole finishes casting his spell. She finds P3 an abandoned shambles. A vagrant is sleeping there and pulls a knife on her. Paige tries to orb the knife out of his hand--but nothing happens. She calls for Leo, who orbs in but initially doesn't recognize her--until Paige tells him she's his charge. Leo tells her that P3 has been shuttered for over a year, and is surprised that Paige knows about magic. Paige asks Leo to orb her to Piper in hopes she can help sort it out.

Leo orbs Paige to the junkyard where a Lazarus Demon is skulking about. Suddenly, Piper shows up, wearing a provocative leather outfit. She freezes the Lazarus, then jumps down and unfreezes his head. Piper starts grilling the Lazarus about Shax. The Lazarus stonewalls, even when Piper blows off both of his arms. Paige is surprised--until Leo tells her that Shax was never vanquished in this reality. Piper blows up the Lazarus. Paige and Leo go to Piper, who doesn't recognize Paige either. Piper has been so obsessed with hunting down Shax and avenging Prue's death that she's walked away from everything else--including P3, her Charmed life and her marriage to Leo. Paige tells her that she hasn't really vanquished the Lazarus--she knows the only way to keep them from resurrecting is to bury their remains in a cemetery. Just then, the Lazarus resurrects and throws a pipe at Piper, but Piper ducks away and blows him up again. Piper is surprised, but Paige tells her that she knows about them because they fought one together with Phoebe ("Marry-Go-Round") She wants Leo to orb her to Phoebe, but Leo tells her that Phoebe is still in the manor and he isn't allowed there. Paige heads there herself.

Cole is standing outside the manor when the other Avatar arrives. He begs Cole to undo the spell. He informs Cole that he is not an Avatar here, and he doesn't have any of the powers he acquired from the Demonic Wasteland either, including his invincibility. Instead, he is Belthazor. Cole doesn't seem to mind; he tells the Avatar that he and Phoebe were at their best when he was still half-demon.

Cole is the Source's personal representative in this reality. He is married to Phoebe, and they rule the underworld from the manor. A crowd of demons have thrown him a surprise birthday party. One makes a remark about Cole's age and the Seer blasts him with a fireball. Phoebe comes downstairs in a slinky red dress and Cole compliments her -- raising Phoebe's suspicions. Cole tries to kiss her, but Phoebe pushes him away--and lets another demon kiss her hand right in front of Cole. The Seer assures Cole that all is well--and implies that she intends to have Phoebe killed once their child is conceived.

Paige runs into Phoebe in the kitchen and tells her of the changed reality. Phoebe calls for her bodyguard -- Darryl. Paige knocks Darryl out. Phoebe points a knife at Paige, but Paige tells Phoebe that in her reality, she's free of Cole. Darryl comes to and chases Phoebe out of the manor. She calls for Leo, who arrives just as Darryl opens fire on her again. Leo orbs Paige to the cemetery. Paige tells Leo that she recognized several demons that she and her sisters vanquished in their reality--meaning that many of the innocents they protected are dead too. Leo shows Paige a headstone with her name on it. He'd learned from the Elders that there was indeed supposed to be a fourth Halliwell sister--but they didn't find out about her until the Source had her killed shortly after Prue's death. Piper joins them after burying the Lazarus; she's now convinced Paige was telling the truth.

Cole remembers his experience in the original reality, much of it different from the altered reality. For instance, he's surprised that Darryl works for him. The Seer is puzzled by Cole's behavior, and reminds him that he originally wanted Darryl killed before Phoebe cast a spell on him and made him her bodyguard. Cole sees Phoebe heading upstairs with another demon. He blazes up in anger and is about to kill the demon, but the Seer stops him, telling him he and Phoebe have an open marriage and cheat on each other left and right. The Seer shows Cole one of his girlfriends in this reality, a blonde demon named Darla. Cole shoves Darla aside and storms upstairs.

At the ruins of P3, Paige tells Piper and Leo about her reality. She mentions that Cole has become invincible. However, Leo points out that if Paige has assumed the life this reality's Paige would have led, Cole has assumed the life of this reality's Cole--meaning that he is Belthazor here. Paige realizes this means he isn't invincible in this reality, and they can vanquish him once and for all. She remembers the vanquishing potion required some of Belthazor's flesh, owing to his status as an upper-level demon. They head for the manor.

At the manor, Cole bursts into the bedroom and finds Phoebe in bed with the demon. He vanquishes the demon with an energy ball and argues with Phoebe. Cole can't believe that Phoebe doesn't love him in this reality either, and is upset that he gave up so much to end up in a loveless marriage. Phoebe retorts that she gave up a lot as well--including her Charmed heritage--to be with Cole. She also tells him that she's still with him only to protect Piper. Phoebe leaves the room. Cole follows and runs into Piper, who blasts him into a wall. Leo and Paige orb in. While Cole is still shaken up from Piper's blast, Paige uses Piper's knife to cut a piece of Cole's flesh from his hand. Cole tries to hurl an energy ball but Phoebe stops him. Leo orbs Paige and Piper away. Cole hits Phoebe and knocks her down. He orders his men to hunt down Piper, Paige and Leo. Phoebe realizes that Paige was telling the truth. Cole quickly realizes why Paige was after part of his flesh, and vows that if he dies, Phoebe will die with him.

At the ruins of P3, Paige is making the vanquishing potion in a makeshift cauldron. Piper is impressed at Paige's abilities. Paige tells her that in her reality, Piper taught her all she knew about potion making.

Piper, Paige and Leo slip into the manor and Phoebe warns them to leave. Cole shows up and blasts Piper, Paige and Leo with an energy ball. He then telekinetically draws the potion bottle towards him. Phoebe, at Paige's urging, grabs an unconscious Piper's hand as Paige takes her other hand. The chandelier shimmers and bathes the sisters in its light. Cole throws another energy ball, but it bounces off the light. The Power of Three is restored, and so are Paige's powers. Paige orbs the potion to her hand. Just when Paige is about to throw it, Phoebe takes it out of her hand. Cole begs Phoebe not to kill him, but Phoebe throws the potion at Cole, vanquishing him.

The rightful timeline is restored. Paige, however, is still orbing when she sneezes. She decides to stay in the manor for now.

The sisters go to Cole's apartment and find it abandoned. Paige tells them what Cole has done, and that he's gone for good. Phoebe stares at a picture of her and Cole from a happier time, and thinks that their relationship simply wasn't meant to happen. The sisters head back into the elevator.

Evils

 * 1) Lazarus Demon
 * 2) Cole

Vanquishes

 * 1) Piper blows up the Lazarus Demon and buries him in a cemetary.
 * 2) After Paige retrieves the Belthazor Vanquishing Potion, Alternate Phoebe uses it to finally vanquish Cole.

Trivia

 * Even if Paige practiced her vanquishings on Leo, she would never be sure if they would work. Whitelighters can only be killed by a Darklighters arrow and will always reform after exploding.
 * Cole is vanquished on his 118th birthday.
 * Phoebe smokes in this episode, likely as a result of the reality changes.
 * Cole reappears as a guest star in The Seven Year Witch, the only time he appears after his final vanquish, other than in a flashback in and Generation Hex.
 * Paige's headstone says "1975-2001," though she was actually born in 1977. If pointed out, this may represent the erratic nature of Cole's alternate reality.
 * Paige didn't have her active powers in Cole's alternate reality because that reality's Paige never met her half-sisters. However, she still has basic witch powers; otherwise the vanquishing potion wouldn't have worked.  She also presumably has the power to orb over limited distances (as she did before meeting Piper and Phoebe), though she never showed it.
 * In this episode Coolio reprises his role as the Lazarus demon, which we saw before in Marry-Go-Round.
 * This episode is Julian McMahon's final episode appearing as a Series Regular. He would again Guest Star in the 150th Episode, The Seven Year Witch.
 * Debbi Morgan reprises her role as The Seer, despite being vanquished at the end of the fourth season in Womb Raider, this is her final appearance in the series.
 * This is the first time we meet Darryl's wife Sheila.
 * Michelle Branch is the Special Musical Guest and performs "Goodbye To You" at P3.
 * The actress who plays Ava (credited as Eve) is a different actress from Emmanuelle Vaugier, who originally played her in the earlier episode, The Eyes Have It.
 * When Paige meets Leo in P3, Leo says that "All hell is breaking loose out there!". This is a reference to the last episode of Season 3, All Hell Breaks Loose, the episode when Prue died.
 * This is the second episode featuring the Avatars.
 * Avatar Alpha, visited Cole in his alternate reality. He stated that Avatars exist outside of time and space and are imune to reality changes. If that is true, Cole should have been an Avatar, not Belthazor. However, Cole was part of that reality, turning himself back into Belthazor.
 * When Cole was vanquished, he burned up from the inside before blowing up. However, the potion worked differently the last time it was used in The Demon Who Came in From the Cold; in that episode, the demons melted away.
 * Phoebe never saw Cole's final vanquish until Coop took her to see it in Generation Hex.


 * There is a vast range of symbolism and subtle metaphors in this episode:
 * Piper


 * 1) She seeks revenge, she's hunting demons, looking for Shax as he killed Prue. She's consumed by revenge which seems the only thing she thinks about. Her surroundings and apparel as well as her attitude reflect this:
 * 2) Her hair has changed from her usual hairstyle. She has strands of hair hanging to the sides, suggesting a state of disorder within her which is rather obvious to understand considering what she's been true.
 * 3) Piper is dressed in leather, which is another rarity for Piper (notice how she will wear leather again as a Valkyrie, reflecting her confusion and anger for Leo).
 * 4) Her surroundings are bleak and hellish, much like Piper's inner feelings. When the Lazarus Demon tells her to go to hell, she replies with "I'm already there", further reinforcing her feelings. Not only does she live in this hellish dimension, there's a hell within herself all because the loss of Prue and the lack of contact with Phoebe as well as the fact as Shax still being alive which is to much for her to bear. This is why she continues to search for Shax, even though she doesn't have the power to vanquish him on herself, she keeps looking for him regardless of her own safety, perhaps because she feels like she has no one left to care for her.
 * 5) The fire around the lopsided cars and objects again represents the grim determination to seek revenge on Shax and the furie in Piper.
 * 6) Piper wearing leather clothes symbolizes that Piper has hardened herself to the world. It shows she's become tougher because she felt she needed to do so to cope. Making her tough on the outside just shows she's all that much more broken on the inside. She doesn't want demons to feel her weakness within herself so she hides this by dressing her this way.
 * 7) Notice how only around Piper's location is where the seemingly bad incidents are occurring. The manor and all general areas around it are fine, this furthers the idea that Piper suffered the most from Prue's death. She could choose to leave but she stays as if she can't let go of what happened, unable to go until Shax is vanquished even when she knows that will make her partially feel better.


 * Phoebe


 * 1) The huge fences around the manor symbolize how guarded Phoebe is, both literally and figuratively.
 * 2) Though it is questionable, Phoebe doesn't seem to be in love with Cole anymore. She satisfies herself with casual sex with random men and demons. She's guarded herself from love and is not as open as she once was, just like the manor: sealed off.
 * 3) Phoebe is the only one clothed in bright colored clothes. Those around her all wear muted, dark colors. The fact that she wears red suggests a certain amount of promiscuity and passion which relates to her casualness regarding sex. Red dresses are generally associated with fallen and sinful woman. This represents how she feels; sinful or victim of what has happened.
 * 4) Much like Piper, Phoebe is broken inside but acts like she isn't, like she doesn't care.


 * P3


 * 1) The state of P3 is rather interesting to observe. It symbolized the Power of Three, the bond between Prue, Piper and Phoebe. the fact that the club has now fallen apart conveys that the bond between the sisters has also diminished.
 * 2) Not only is Piper's and Phoebe's relationship with Prue represented here, but also their relationship between each other. They still care deeply for each other though they never talk again. Their bond has faded, much like P3 itself.