Enter the Demon

Enter the Demon is the seventieth episode of Charmed.

Summary
Jealous of Phoebe's mastery of martial arts and angry that Piper makes her study continuously, Paige inadvertently mixes potion ingredients that causes her to switch bodies with Phoebe (although their powers remained in their respective bodies). But Phoebe and Paige are not the only ones with magical troubles. On a trip to Chinatown to purchase more ingredients, Piper encounters a Zen Master's daughter in a shop who steals a fabled Dragon Blade when the clerk, who does not read - and for all we know, speak - Chinese, refuses to give it to her. Piper tries to freeze the woman, after freezing the clerk, but instead causes the shop window to explode, giving an easy escape. Piper follows the woman, later revealed to be called An Ling, out into the street to see the father, the Zen master, to appear from the shadows. Unfortunately, An Ling's rival, Yen Lo, appears from Limbo using a puddle of water as a portal. Yen Lo, who An Ling had previously stabbed, returned to Limbo with the Zen Master, causing An Ling to seek the Charmed Ones' help. Yen Lo attacked in the manor, where he stole the Dragon Blade and proceeded back into Limbo, where his fatal wound would not advance and where, according to Leo, he could "cheat death forever." After Phoebe and Paige switched back into their own bodies, Piper switched bodies with the Zen Master, so that he, in Piper's body, could transport the other two sisters and An Ling down to Limbo. When Yen Lo realised that the Zen Master was really "one of the witches," he sucked Piper's soul into the Dragon Blade. Once in Limbo, Phoebe and Paige were glad to be in their own bodies, and cooperatively they restored Piper's soul and absorbed Yen Lo's own into the Blade. The Zen Master made An Ling understand that he, and Yen Lo, had to be reborn. After walking through the reincarnation portal, An Ling then knew how to leave and levitated to the water in the clouds with the Charmed Ones following. In the end, Paige studied harder because she wanted to be able to get stronger. Cole appears and tells Phoebe that he would not push her as hard in training, and they shimmer out to have a picnic in southern France.

Plot
Cole and Phoebe spar in the basement of the manor. Piper has been drawing up quizzes for Paige to answer, and Paige is bored. Phoebe says that Paige needs to get up to speed in a hurry. Cole warns Phoebe that the Source is facing threats from factions in the underworld. The two then switch to swordfighting; Cole thinks it'll help Phoebe learn to "fight like a demon."

Meanwhile, a Zen Master meditates in a garden. Behind him, Yen Lo draws his sword and stalks him; but An Ling jumps from a tree, sword in hand, and the two fight. An Ling turns out to be the Zen Master's daughter. Yen Lo had expected to succeed the Zen Master, and is angry that An Ling will instead. Yen Lo had turned to evil, and the master rejected him. They continue to fight, and An Ling wounds Yen Lo. Yen Lo jumps into a nearby pool and disappears.

Piper quizzes Paige on making potions. Paige is distracted, and jealous that she's taking a boring quiz while Phoebe spars with Cole. Paige didn't study last night, because she was with a young man, and she wants to go out with the boss's son tonight. Piper isn't pleased; she thinks Paige isn't taking her craft seriously. Meanwhile, in the basement, Phoebe thinks she's being pushed too hard.

The Zen master sends An Ling to another master fetch the Dragon Blade. Yen Lo is in Limbo, where his wound will not advance.

Paige cooks a potion, which blows up and it switches her body with Phoebe. Cole is puzzled and Paige now runs out of the basement. She finds Phoebe in the kitchen and explains what happened. Cole comes up, still unaware of the switch.

An Ling enters a shop and asks after the Dragon Blade. The man behind the counter refuses to give it up. Piper enters the same shop looking for wormwood. An Ling jumps up and steals the Dragon Blade. Piper runs after An Ling. The master appears from the shadows, but before An Ling can give him the Dragon Blade, Yen Lo jumps from a puddle, stabs him, and carries him off to Limbo.

At the manor, An Ling explains to Piper and Leo that Yen Lo can cross to Limbo and back using water. An Ling can't do this, so Piper goes to the Book of Shadows to find another way.

Phoebe-as-Paige meets the boss's son, Mason, and they leave together; they go to the shop where Phoebe is looking for powdered toadstool. Paige-as-Phoebe bumps into Piper, who is still unaware of the switch. Each of Phoebe and Paige talks of herself, getting Piper's real thoughts on Paige. Training in the basement, Paige-as-Phoebe and Cole have a slight spat. Paige inadvertently speaks of Phoebe in the third person and Cole begins to catch on.



The Book of Shadows has no information on reaching Limbo, so Leo checks with the Elders.

Yen Lo enters the manor through some spilled water. As Phoebe-as-Paige returns, Yen Lo hides. Cole now realizes that Phoebe and Paige have switched bodies. Yen Lo attacks An Ling; she fights back with the Dragon Blade, but Yen Lo wounds her. She drops the Dragon Blade. The sisters fight him off and he disappears into the sink with the Dragon Blade.

During the fight, Paige-as-Phoebe tries to levitate, but ends up spinning in a circle. Piper demands to know what happened. Piper realizes the switch and scolds her sisters, but realizes that the potion could get one of them into Limbo. Phoebe and Paige make more of the potion and restore themselves to their bodies. Piper switches bodies with the Zen master, but the others realize too late that Yen Lo has the Dragon Blade. Yen Lo draws Piper's soul into the blade.

The Zen master, An Ling, Phoebe and Paige enter Limbo. Paige finds she can draw the blade to her hand without calling for it. She then orbs Piper's soul back to the master's body. Meanwhile, the master is about to be drawn into a vortex, and Phoebe fights with Yen Lo. Paige orbs the Dragon Blade to Phoebe and she kills Yen Lo.

Limbo turns from a stark landscape into a garden, and the vortex becomes a peaceful sky. The master and Piper are restored to their bodies. The master tells An Ling that it is his time to die, and he enters the portal with the Dragon Blade, so Yen Lo too can be reborn. An Ling now knows how to leave Limbo, and the three sisters and An Ling return to Earth.

Piper and Paige stroll through the Zen master's garden. Paige liked the power boost she had in Limbo, and now studies her craft. They meet Leo and Phoebe, and when Cole shimmers in, he says he won't push her so hard anymore.

Yen Lo
Yen Lo was a mortal who was to become the leader of his mentor's monastery; however, the Zen Master chose his daughter, An Ling, over him because Yen Lo used his abilities for evil. When Yen Lo was wounded by An Ling, he fled to Limbo, the world between dimensions where the metaphysical form of life stands still. Yen Lo was defeated by Phoebe and Paige's combined efforts, and his soul was sent in for reincarnation by the Zen Master.

To Switch Bodies

 * This potion required many ingredients, including powdered toadstool, but most of them were not mentioned in the episode.


 * Say these words
 * I want to be (name of person you want to be).


 * To undo the effects of the potion, all you have to say:
 * I want to be me again.

Power Usage

 * Yen Lo jumps into the pool of water in the Garden.
 * Cole / Shimmers / Himself / Kitchen
 * Piper / Molecular Immobilization / Man / Store
 * Piper / Molecular Combustion / Plants? / Alley
 * Yen Lo jumps into a puddle with the Zen Master in the Alley.
 * Cole / Shimmers / Himself / Basement
 * Cole / Energy Balls / Phoebe(Paige) / Basement
 * Phoebe(Paige) / Levitates / Herself / Kitchen
 * Leo / Orbs / Himself / Kitchen
 * Leo / Heals / An Ling / Kitchen
 * Paige / TK-Orb / Dragon Blade / Limbo
 * Phoebe / Levitates / Herself / Limbo
 * Paige / TK-Orb / Piper's Soul / Limbo
 * Paige / TK-Orb / Dragon Blade-To Phoebe / Limbo
 * Cole / Shimmers / Himself / Park
 * Cole / Shimmers / Himself and Phoebe / Park

Magical Notes

 * After mixing your potions, the best method to preserve unused sea slugs for future use is to freeze dry them.

Glitches

 * Phoebe says that she had Kung-Pow chicken for dinner, however even in Paige's body she would still have been a vegetarian.

Quotes

 * Piper: Okay. After mixing your potions, what's the best method to preserve unused sea slugs for future use? A) Pickle them, B) Sugar them, C) Smoke them, D) Freeze dry them.
 * Paige: Well now, you see, if I had extra sea slugs, I'd let those little suckers go right on back into the ocean.

:Piper: Paige, don't make me the wicked witch of the northwest. I didn't ask for this big sister gig and frankly, it sucks. But since I'm on a roll, you should get rid of that lollipop habit because it's going to rot your teeth.

:Paige: Next up, some powered toadstool. Bam! Let's kick it up one more notch.
 * Leo: Whoa, what are you doing?
 * Paige: You know, just preparing for the Source.
 * Leo: Oh, is he coming over for dinner?

:Mason: He said that if he doesn't hurry up and make you a social worker, you'll probably quit and start your own agency. That or end up in jail. He wasn't sure which.

:Cole: Well, for one thing you suck at levitating.

:Piper: I smell something witchy.

:Paige: My God, what did you have for dinner?
 * Phoebe: Kung Pao Chicken. Sorry.

:Yen Lo: Oh, it's you... black belt Barbie.
 * Phoebe: You're going to sorry you said that. (She levitates and kicks Yen-Lo up to a rocky mountain. He drops his sword.)

:Leo: Well, here comes your personal trainer from hell.
 * Piper: Literally.

:Cole: Wait a minute. Who are you? (Phoebe kisses him.) Oh, I know... Paige.
 * Phoebe: Uh! (She laughs a little.) So what's on our training schedule for today? Light sabers?
 * Cole: Actually, I was thinking maybe we could have a private picnic of our own.