The Wedding from Hell

The Wedding From Hell is the sixth episode of Charmed.

Summary
A mother made a promise to give her son in marriage to Hecate if Hecate would grant her money and power. Now Hecate is back to claim her husband, because only in a sanctified marriage can she conceive and give birth to a full demon child. The son is being forced into the marriage under a spell, and his beloved original fiancée has been banished. Piper is catering the wedding with help from Phoebe. A priest, named Father Trask, tries to vanquish the demon, but fails. When he falls out a second story window, Andy takes the sword he was carrying to Prue to find out where it's from. Phoebe thinks Piper might be pregnant with a demon child because of a premonition. Finally the three sisters compare notes, realize what is going on, and stop the wedding just in time.

Plot
Elliot Spencer and Allison Michaels discuss their upcoming wedding. Elliot's mother, Grace Spencer, joins them and asks if they've gotten a marriage license yet. Just then a mysterious blonde appears in the driveway. The woman, Jade, reminds Mrs. Spencer that 20 years earlier, they made a pact in which Mrs. Spencer would receive great wealth and power in return for her eldest son's hand in marriage--and Jade is now here to collect. Jade gestures and Elliot collapses.

Piper takes a pregnancy test. She fears she may be carrying the child of Jeremy Burns ("Something Wicca This Way Comes"), her ex-boyfriend who proved to be a warlock. Phoebe finds the box in the trash and has a vision of a demon child being born.

Piper prepares to cater the Spencer wedding. She is stretched thin, especially since Chef Moore, who was originally supposed to cater the wedding, is in Europe. Piper asks Phoebe for help. As Piper enters the Spencer estate, a priest, Father Trask, appears. He tries to warn Piper of Hecate as security guards throw him out.

Prue is in the midst of cataloging a fertility goddess. Its mere presence is supposed to ensure a woman conceives. Rex walks in and says the goddess is no longer available, and reminds Hannah that it was acquired for someone else. Phoebe drops into Prue's office, and tells Prue about her premonition.

Allison demands an explanation for why Elliot is suddenly due to marry Jade, but Grace only says that Jade is an old family friend and gives Allison the brushoff.

Phoebe and Piper learn of the change of bride. They go to meet her and Grace. The two are alarmed that Chef Moore won't be handling the wedding, but Piper and Phoebe reassure them. A seamstress is altering Jade's dress and sticks her with a pin, but Jade doesn't even flinch.

Allison manages to sneak into Elliot's room. Just as they start to talk, Grace, Jade and Kirsten, one of the bridesmaids, walk in and hustle her back out. Elliot begs Kirsten not to harm Allison, and a visibly angry Jade pulls him back into the room.

Father Trask sneaks back into the estate in a delivery truck. He puts on a deliveryman's uniform and takes a large dagger with him. He finds Jade and raises the dagger, calling her Hecate. However, Jade doesn't seem to be at all alarmed. Kirsten fades in behind Father Trask. She morphs into a demon and breaks his neck. Jade has him thrown from her window.

Piper and Phoebe run into Allison, who tells them of her plight. Piper wants to help; she thinks this is something they're supposed to do as good witches.

Jade tells Andy and Darryl that Trask had lunged at her with the knife. The two cops are skeptical, as Trask had landed too far from the window.

Prue wants to know if the fertility icon's male counterpart can still be catalogued, and Rex approves. He mentions the female icon was a gift for Elliot's bride. Prue says that Piper is catering that wedding, but she won't be going. Rex runs into Hannah, and confirms that Prue won't be there. However, he thinks it's too risky for them to go.

Prue is pulling an inventory tag off the male icon's "artifact" when Andy walks in with the dagger. She reads an inscription on its blade: "Nec prius absistit quoad protero prodigium", which she translates as "I shall not rest until the demon is vanquished." Although a more adequate translation would be: "The demon will not rest until I have vanquished him." She searches the Web on her laptop, and finds out about Hecate.

Piper notes that the napkins and the catering contract both mention Allison, not Jade. Phoebe tells Piper of her vision, and Piper assures her that she's not pregnant. Phoebe realizes that she had not in fact seen Piper in her vision. Prue tells what she has found out about Hecate -- and that based on her research, Jade is really Hecate in human form. Hecate comes to Earth every 200 years so she can marry the first-born son of a prominent family and use him to have a child. The child may look human, but will be pure demon.

The sisters spy on Jade's bachelorette party. A "pizza deliveryman" comes in, and starts taking off his clothes. Jade and the bridesmaids approach -- and then Jade sinks her claws into the stripper, killing him.

The next day, the sisters make plans to crash the wedding. Allison can break Hecate's spell with a declaration of true love, sealed with a kiss. Prue calls Allison to the manor and convinces her to crash the wedding. Phoebe and Piper talk to Mrs. Spencer, who seems to agree to stop the wedding. She tells Piper and Phoebe to meet her in the wine cellar. Piper and Phoebe slip into the cellar, but two of the bridesmaids follow them. Piper tries unsuccessfully to freeze the bridesmaids, but she's too far away. Piper and Phoebe run and hide.

Prue and Allison reach the Spencer estate; Prue calls Piper's cell phone and Piper tells her where she is. Piper at last freezes the bridesmaids as Prue enters the cellar and flings them into a wall. The sisters and Allison interrupt the wedding. Jade raises a windstorm and grabs Elliot while the guests scatter.

The sisters find Jade and Elliot in an upstairs room just as Jade is morphing into her demon form and about to impregnate Elliot. The bridesmaids, also in demon form, rush in after them. Prue cannot find the dagger -- it's on the floor next to Elliot. Elliot raises the dagger, and Prue draws Jade and the bridesmaids into it. The wedding proceeds with Allison. Andy stops by and Prue gives him the dagger.

To Create a Storm
This spell was cast by the demon Hecate during her wedding to Elliot Spencer. It called upon the individuals Perses and Asteria, possibly gods or demons, and conjured a huge storm. In Greek mythology, Asteria and Perses are the parents of the Goddess Hecate.


 * By Asteria and Perses,
 * Open, sky, and do your worst!

Trivia



 * Alyssa Milano is no longer last in the opening credits, she now is listed third behind Shannen Doherty and Holly Marie Combs. However despite now being billed third in the opening credits, and having being followed by two actors, Alyssa retains the top billing of 'And' in-front of her name.
 * The names of the two young lovers are Allison Michaels and Elliot Spencer. Note the names of the two writers on the episode: Greg Elliot and Michael Perricone.
 * The seamstress accidentally pricks Jade with a needle and she doesn't bleed (or even feel it) since she is a demon. This is mentioned again in Season 2's episode They're Everywhere.
 * This is the first hint that Rex and Hannah are really evil.
 * Despite it being stated in previous episodes that Chef Moore quit Quake, Piper still works for him in this episode. This was due to this episode being filmed earlier and held over to be the sixth episode of the season.
 * This episode scored 6.2 million viewers.
 * The instrumental music at the beginning of the episode sounds familiar to the ending credits.
 * Executive producer Brad Kern stated in a interview for Charmed Magazine that in his opinion, this is by far the worst episode of the series. In addition, from TV.com, it was the lowest ranked episode of Season 1 with a 7.9 rating.

Quotes

 * (Piper throws the pregnancy test box in the bin and opens the door.)
 * Piper: What?
 * Phoebe: Am I in for a cold shower? Yes or no?
 * Piper: At certain times in our life, a cold shower is probably a good thing.
 * Phoebe: Not three mornings in a row, it's not. (Piper leaves and Phoebe walks in the bathroom. She starts brushing her teeth and notices the box in the bin. She picks it up and has a premonition of a demon being born.)

: (Rex walks in.)
 * Rex: Prue, your, um, sister’s here to see you. She’s waiting in your office.
 * Prue: Which sister?
 * Rex: The one who upon seeing your office, said "Damn, I should go back to college."
 * Prue: Phoebe.

: (Prue's squatting on the floor holding the male fertility icon. She's peeling a sticky tag off of its... Andy walks in and sees what she's doing.)
 * Andy: I'll come back when you're alone. (Prue puts the icon in its box.)
 * Prue: Uh, no. (She stands up.) It's, it's okay, I'm finished. Somebody just put a sticky inventory tag on his... uh... on the, uh...
 * Andy: Artifact?

: Piper: Beware Hecate. That’s what the Father Trask said. Then he tried to kill Jade.
 * Prue: She’s a demon. She comes to earth every two hundred years. She has to find an innocent, put him under her spell, and marry him in a sanctified wedding.
 * Phoebe: That doesn't sound any different than most of the single women in this city.

: Prue: Have you ever seen that television show where there’s the woman who’s an angel and she helps strangers every week?
 * Allison: I love that show.
 * Prue: Don’t get too excited, I’m nothing like that. But, uh, my sisters and I, we have special gifts.
 * Allison: Gifts? What kind of gifts?
 * Prue: Ones you can’t return. Let’s just say we come from a very interesting family tree. Look, if you can, if you’ll trust me, we can bring you and Elliot together. (Allison nods.)

: (Outside the Spencer's house. Elliot and Allison are together hugging and kissing. Prue, Piper and Phoebe are near by.)
 * Prue: We did that.
 * Phoebe: And they’ll live happily ever after.
 * Piper: I wonder if we will.
 * Prue: Of course, we will. Why shouldn’t we?
 * Piper: That’s easy for you to say. You’ll never greet your husband at the door with: "Honey, I think I froze the kids."
 * Prue: No, I’ve just accidentally moved them to another zip code.
 * Phoebe: But I will see them, find them, and bring them back safely. If I can ever learn to control my powers.
 * Piper: If any of us can.

: Jade: Why you little witch!
 * Piper: (is offended) Hey!
 * Jade: By Asteria and Perses, open sky and do your worst!