Brain Drain

Brain Drain is the 7th episode of the fourth season and the 73rd overall episode of Charmed.

Summary
The Source sends Piper into a deep coma, where she perceives an alternate reality. Phoebe and Paige must find a way to return her to reality and save her from giving up her powers while she is delusional.

Characters
Characters in bold appear for the first time in the series.

Plot
Piper plans a baby shower for her friend Wendy. Phoebe tries to encourage Piper to have children of her own. Piper isn't willing to have children in the face of constant demon attacks.

Speaking of demons dropping in, Cole shimmers in and warns that a Chameleon Demon has gotten into the house. Chameleon demons are spies for the Source. Piper freezes the room and then unfreezes Cole. She spots a big red chair in the kitchen and blows it up, even though she knows it belongs to Paige, but using the demon as an excuse. They spot a lamp of unknown origin, which turns into the Chameleon. He telekinetically flings Piper and Phoebe over the couch. Cole blows his arm off with an energy ball, but the Chameleon grows a new one while the remains of the old one spill over the baby baskets. Piper tries to blast the Chameleon, but blows up the grandfather clock instead when the demon ducks out of the way. Cole throws another energy ball at the Chameleon, but he ducks and the energy ball nearly hits Paige. The Chameleon disappears.

Phoebe thinks the "lamp" may have been there for three days. Paige isn't happy about her damaged chair. Cole wants to catch the Chameleon and learn of the Source's plans. Just then, Piper's friend Becca comes to pick up Piper for the shower. Piper and Phoebe awkwardly shoo her away. Phoebe doesn't want Piper to go, but Piper thinks she has to be a normal woman first if she wants to ever be a mother.

In the Underworld, the Source scolds the Chameleon, Alastair. The Source wants to capture one of the sisters and trick her into giving up all of their powers. Alastair convinces the Source to accelerate his plans. Suddenly, the Source shapeshifts into Alistair and sends Alistair up in flames. The Source then summons the Oracle, who suggests going after Piper; more than her other sisters, she's always wanted as normal a life as possible.

Piper hosts the baby shower at P3. Her friends note that she had mostly disappeared for the last three years. Her cell phone rings; Piper is disappointed to see the call's from home. She ignores it and then Leo orbs in to tell her Phoebe and Paige think they have found Alastair.

Back at the manor, Paige wonders why they're not going to vanquish Alistair when they have the spell for it. Leo explains that they want to find out what the Source is planning and only vanquish the Chameleon if they have to. Piper has serious doubts about being a witch.

The sisters go to where they thought the Chameleon was, but do not find him. They split up to search again. Suddenly, the Source appears, still in Alistair's form. Piper whirls around and tries to freeze him, but it only slows him down. Piper calls for her sisters, but the Source throws an energy ball at Piper, knocking her against the wall. Phoebe and Paige run into the alley, just as the Source flames away with Piper. {C}Piper finds herself in a dream, in which the manor is a mental hospital. Leo, one of the psychiatrists, is bending over her. Leo says that she had an "episode" and slammed herself against a wall. Another psychiatrist walks in--it's Alistair. Piper tries to vanquish Alastair, in vain. Alistair tells her that demons are just a figment of her imagination. Two other doctors grab Paige and carry her upstairs.

In the Underworld, Piper's real location is revealed: the Source is projecting this fantasy into her mind. The Source is getting exhausted, but feels it'll be worth it if he can get Piper to give up her powers and those of her sisters.

At the manor, Leo can't sense Piper, but says that she's definitely still alive. Cole shimmers in and tells Phoebe, Paige and Leo that the Source has taken Piper to the Underworld. Phoebe picks up the Book of Shadows, and gets a premonition--the Source orbs into the manor, takes the Book and blows up Phoebe and Paige. Cole thinks that the Source is trying to make Piper give up their powers. Phoebe doesn't think it's possible, but Leo points out that she can if she speaks the Relinquishment Spell. Phoebe doesn't think that's possible--they ripped out the page and burned it three years ago ("Wicca Envy"). However, Leo says the spell still exists in Piper's mind. He and Cole head down to the Underworld to find Piper.

At the hospital, Piper and Paige are strapped to their beds. Paige doesn't want to have anything to do with Piper. "Alastair" tries to convince Piper that she isn't a witch and has no sisters. He also adds that Prue also thought she was a witch, but was cured and released three months earlier. Phoebe skips in and unties Piper and Paige. Piper thinks that the Book may still be in the attic, since evil can't touch it.

In the attic, the sisters find Cole under electroshock therapy. Piper knocks the doctor out with a broom. The "Book of Shadows" turns out to be but a collection of crayon drawings. They escape down the trellis and into the street. Piper sees a purse snatcher run into traffic and tries to overtake him, but is hit by a car which she tried in vain to freeze.

In the real world, Phoebe and Paige try spells to call Piper back, but none of them work. Paige remembers Leo's mention of the power-relinquishing spell. Phoebe doesn't think Piper would ever say it. However, Paige thinks the Source is trying to get inside Piper's mind and trick her into saying it. In the dream, Piper wakes up in a hospital bed. "Alastair" tells her that her magical "delusions" are a coping mechanism to help her deal with Grams' death. He tries to convince Piper to say the spell.

In the Underworld, Leo hears Piper calling him. The Source is jamming Piper's signal and keeping Leo from finding her, but Leo knows she's hurt. Cole lets a bounty hunter blast him on purpose so they can find the Source. Another bounty hunter appears, and they drag Cole away. Leo follows them in secret.

In the dream, Leo tends Piper's injuries. It turns out that Leo and Piper are lovers in the dream as well, though not yet married.

In the Underworld, the two bounty hunters contact the Oracle, and announce they have captured Belthazor. The Oracle tells them to wait for their bounty.

In the dream, Piper is taken to the garden by the manor and her friends from the baby shower visit. Becca lets Piper hold her baby for a moment, and Piper begins to cry. "Alastair" then tells the friends that they have to leave. "Leo" presents Piper with a notepad and tells her to remember the spell. In the real world, Paige and Phoebe cast a spell and find themselves in Piper's dream. However, Piper's spirit is almost completely broken; she insists that she is not a witch and has no sisters. Alastair has Paige and Phoebe restrained and Piper begins to say the spell.

In the Underworld, Leo finds Cole, and with him, the Source and Piper. Leo orbs about and attacks the demons guarding him, managing to vanquish one through a trick, giving him time to wake up Cole. Cole regains consciousness and vanquishes the other demon. Leo tries to attack the Source, but is repelled. Cole bombards the Source with energy balls, injuring him. The Oracle tells him to break the connection with Piper if he wants to survive. He does, and back in the garden, Alistair, Leo and all the doctors disappear. In the Underworld, Cole throws a giant energy ball at the Source, but the Oracle jumps in front of it, sacrificing herself. The Source flames away.

Just as Piper is about to finish the spell, Leo enters her dream, and at last, convinces her not to give up her powers.

At the manor, Piper offers to replace Paige's chair. Paige and Phoebe admit that they too struggle with being witches. Phoebe comes on to Cole, and they head upstairs. Paige heads for the store. Leo and Piper orb upstairs.

Book of Shadows
The Mind Link spell page exists out of two pages; Mind Link spell and To Break A Mind Link.

Spells

 * Piper casts the Chameleon Demon Vanquishing Spell. (failed)
 * Phoebe and Paige cast the To Find a Lost Witch spell for Piper. (failed)
 * Piper casts the Relinquish Our Powers spell but ends before finishing it.
 * Phoebe and Paige cast the Mind Link spell.

To Vanquish a Chameleon Demon

 * Evil hiding in plain sight,
 * I use this spell with all my might,
 * to stop you changing form and shape,
 * this vanquish seals your fate.

Mind Link

 * Harness your mental energy
 * by reciting this spell whithin
 * a circle of candles
 * Life to Life
 * And Mind to Mind
 * Our Spirits now
 * will intertwine.
 * We meld our Souls
 * and journey to
 * the one whose thoughts
 * we wish we knew.

To Break a Mind Link

 * Recite this spell
 * Life from Life
 * and Mind from Mind
 * Our spirits now
 * will disentwine.
 * We part our souls
 * and journey home
 * to let our thoughts
 * be on their own.

Powers

 * Shimmering: Type of Teleportation used by Cole.
 * Molecular Immobilization: Used by Piper to freeze the Living Room.
 * Molecular Combustion: Used by Piper to blow up Paige's chair and the Grandfather Clock. In Phoebe's premonition, the Source used it to blow up Phoebe and Paige.
 * Transmogrification: Used by Alastair to turn into a lamp.
 * Telekinesis: Used by Alastair to fling Phoebe and Piper.
 * Energy Balls: Used by Cole to attack Alastair, a Bounty Hunter and the Source to attack Piper.
 * Regeneration: Used by Alastair to heal himself after Cole's Energy Ball hit him.
 * Flaming: Type of Teleportation used by the Source.
 * Shapeshifting: Used by the Source to shapeshift into Alastair.
 * Divination: Used by the Oracle to show the Source which one of the sisters was the most vulnerable.
 * Mind Manipulation: Used by the Source to create an alternate world in Piper's mind.
 * Premonition: Phoebe got a premonition in which she saw Paige and herself getting killed by the Source.
 * Telekinetic Orbing (premonition): In Phoebe's premonition, the Source used this power to orb the Book of Shadows to him.
 * Orbing: Type of Teleportation used by Leo.
 * Electrokinesis: Used by Bounty Hunters to attack Cole.
 * Healing: Used by Leo to heal Piper and Phoebe.

Artifacts

 * Scrying Crystal - A magical pendant used for scrying. Phoebe scrys for the Chameleon Demon

Evil Beings

 * 1) Alastair, a Chameleon Demon: Hired by the Source to watch The Charmed Ones and to find Belthazor. Vanquished by the Source because he was discovered by the Charmed Ones.
 * 2) The Source, has black blood and red hands.
 * 3) The Oracle, vanquished by Cole.
 * 4) Bounty Hunter #1, vanquished by Cole.
 * 5) Bounty Hunter #2, vanquished by Bounty Hunter #1

Book of Shadows
When Piper tells the girls they need to check the Book of Shadows, Phoebe leds Piper to the attic where there is a notebook form of the Book.

Grandfather Clock Count

 * 1) Piper Blows Up the Clock

Quotes

 * Paige: What the hell happened?
 * Piper: The freakin' furniture just attacked!


 * Piper: I'm gonna be so happy when I vanquish your sorry ass.


 * Piper: Of course that would mean we should stop going after all of his demons, which would be fine by me. It would stop all the constant attacks.
 * Paige: Am I the only one who think she's bumped her head?


 * Paige: Got milk? Oooh, don't think so.


 * Piper: LEO! LEOO!
 * Paige: Would you stop with the "Leo Leo" you're driving me crazier than I already am.


 * Paige: Hurry up Looney Tunes. Get me outta here!


 * Piper: Where's Phoebe?
 * Paige: Who cares?


 * Phoebe: Sorry. I had to grab my broom.
 * Piper: For what?
 * Phoebe: Well, for flying, silly.

Notes and Trivia
thumb|300px|right


 * The Source's 'dream world' almost mimics the real world, for example:
 * 1) Paige says, "Got milk? Oooh don't think so." Earlier in the episode, Paige forgot to buy milk.
 * 2) When Phoebe comes to help Piper out, she's eating a cookie, and says to Piper "Not your best." Again earlier in the episode, she was making cookies, and they obviously weren't her best.
 * 3) Afterwards, while Piper is yelling at Phoebe to release her from the strapped bed, Phoebe says "stop obsessing." Earlier in the episode, Phoebe tells Piper that she told her to warn her when she began to obsess over something.
 * The Halliwell Hospital is the Manor, devoid of antiques and collectibles, and is painted in aqua and beige, traditional colors for mental institutions. The stain glass windows, the wood stained door frames and moldings, however, have been left the way they were, because it would take too much time for the set crew to restore them back to the original for the next episode.NormalAgain242.jpg
 * Curiously the episode of season 6 of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer", Normal Again has a very similar plot: "After being poisoned by a demon, Buffy comes to believe that she is confined to a mental hospital, her mother is alive, her parents are still together, and that her life as a Slayer has all been an hallucination for the past six years." But in this episode, Piper is told that Prue is still alive and has already been released from the hospital. As stated in an issue of Charmed Magazine, the reason for this is because the episode writer offered similar scripts to both shows, with Charmed using the idea first.
 * The "Smallville" Season 6 episode "Labyrinth" also features a similar plot, when an alien being invades Clark Kent's mind and tries to convince him that he has imagined his life as a superhero in order to steal his powers.
 * In this episode, Cole created the biggest energy ball in the Charmed universe.
 * Piper loses her powers for the eigth time in this episode.
 * This is the last episode of Krista Allen as The Oracle.
 * This is the last episode of Ben Guillory as The Source. He will be replaced by Peter Woodward in Charmed and Dangerous and Desperate Housewitches.
 * In this episode, Cole whistles to get the sisters attention. This is later used in the season 8 episode, Malice in Wonderland, where Piper whistles to get the other two to listen when they keep obsessing.
 * This is the second time Piper has been put into a coma. The first time was in the season 2 episode Awakened.
 * This episode scored 4.8 million viewers and is the third-highest ranked Charmed episode on TV.com after All Hell Breaks Loose and Charmed and Dangerous.

References to other movies, books, mythology, etc..

 * The title is a reference to the " brain drain" -- common phenomenon of talented and educated people from one country leaving to go to another country for better conditions.
 * Paige says, "What do you say we click our heels and get out of this crazy joint?", a reference to the 1939 film, "The Wizard of Oz", where Dorothy, the main character, clicked her heels three times in her ruby red slippers in order to go back to her home in Kansas. Curiously, Piper will use the ruby red slippers to come back home in Happily Ever After.
 * Phoebe shakes the nearly empty milk carton at Piper and says "got milk?", a reference to the punchline from The California Dairy Board's hugely successful advertising campaign. The ad focused on an absence of milk and begged a single question: Got Milk?. Phoebe also made a reference to this slogan in the season 1 episode The Fourth Sister.

International Titles

 * French: Le Point Faible (The Weak Point)
 * Czech: Vymývání mozku
 * Russian: Igry razuma (A Beautiful Mind)
 * Spanish: Lavado de Cerebro (Brain Drain)
 * Italian: Una Vita Normale (A Normal Life)
 * Serbian: Mozdano mrtav
 * German: Hirngespinste (Phantasms)