Long Live the Queen



Long Live the Queen is the 86th episode of Charmed.

Episode Information
First Airdate: May 2, 2002 Episode number 86

Episode 4.20 Written by: Krista Vernoff

Directed by: Jon Paré Guest Stars:

Episode Guide
Cole and Phoebe now rule the underworld from Cole's apartment as the Source and Queen of all Evil. Phoebe is attempting to play both sides of good and evil. A meeting of high-level demons is in progress and Phoebe can't sleep with all the noise. Ironically, her reason for moving out of the manor was to find quiet. She wants some attention from Cole, but he's been in meetings almost constantly since his coronation. The Seer comes in with some tonic for Phoebe, it's supposedly intended to strengthen her through the prengancy. Phoebe doesn't understand why Piper, Paige and Leo haven't accepted her decision to be with Cole, but the Seer tells her that it's not good's nature to compromise. Phoebe walks in on the meeting to call Cole to bed. She vanquishes two demons with her new flamethrowing power and the others shimmer away.

Paige is looking through the Book of Shadows for some way to get Phoebe back, but Piper doesn't think there is a magical way out since Phoebe chose to be with Cole. They've made several attempts to sway Phoebe all the way back to good, with no success. Piper thinks Phoebe might attack them, so she's making potions just in case. Leo orbs in; he has word Phoebe is killing demons.

Cole is holding a meeting at his apartment with several high-level demons. They are making plans to kill several innocents. Phoebe walks in, and jokingly waves her hand as if to fry one of them. She kisses Cole and heads out. Cole follows her out. He isn't happy with her habit of vanquishing demons; it's making it harder to accept that their Queen is a (former) Charmed One. Phoebe promises not to vanquish any more demons. However, in the process of apologizing to other demons, she touches one and sees one of the innocents they've targeted, Greg Conroy, killed by that demon. She pours the tonic into a potted plant and heads out. The plant starts to rot away.

After Phoebe hears that the demon, Malick, is indeed after Greg, she flames over to the manor. Piper throws a potion at her, but Phoebe disintegrates it with fire. Piper isn't interested in talking unless Phoebe is ready to leave Cole, but Paige and Leo want to let her talk. Phoebe mentions her premonition. Piper thinks this may be a trap, but Paige and Leo think this may be their only chance to sway Phoebe all the way back to good.

Piper, Paige and Leo orb to an alley Phoebe saw in her premonition; Phoebe flames in behind them. Greg walks around the corner. Malick shimmers in behind him, but Piper freezes the scene. She's about to blast Malick when Phoebe stops him. Phoebe walks up to Malick, who kneels before her. To the dismay of her sisters and Leo, Phoebe merely orders him to leave. Phoebe doesn't want to kill demons anymore, but admits she missed her sisters and Leo. Piper tells Phoebe that her baby is corrupting her, and that they don't want her working with them as long as she's married to Cole. Leo tells her she must choose between good and evil. Phoebe flames away.

Malick tells Cole that the Charmed Ones interfered with his attack on Greg--and Phoebe was with them. Cole, suspecting him of disloyalty, vanquishes him and sends another demon after Greg.

Paige and Leo are keeping an eye on Greg at an AA meeting he's attending with some of the juvenile offenders with whom he works. They're worried about Piper; they still remember how crushed she was after Prue's death. Paige tells Leo to go talk to Piper while she watches Greg.

Phoebe is continuing her advice column in spite of being Queen of the Underworld. However, her evil side creeps into her work; she is now suggesting such things as beating one's cheating husband with an office stapler. Elise is not happy. Phoebe is about to throw fire at her when Cole arrives. He lectures Phoebe over her having saved Greg, and warns her that he may face a coup if it appears they're playing both sides. Phoebe is contrite. Cole understands the struggle Phoebe is going through--but tells her she has to make a choice, even if it means walking away from her sisters. They flame away.

Leo finds Piper at P3 after closing time, drinking a bottle of whiskey. She feels responsible for Phoebe becoming the new Queen of the Underworld, and is kicking herself for not listening to Paige's warnings that Cole had turned evil again. Leo admits he didn't see the signs either and tries to buck Piper up, but Piper freezes him. She takes another sip and passes out.

Paige follows Greg out of the meeting just as another demon shimmers in. He throws an energy ball at Greg, but Paige knocks Greg out of the way. The demon throws another energy ball and hits Greg on the shoulder. The demon is about to finish Greg off with an athame, but Paige orbs it out of his hand and throws it back at him, vanquishing him. Paige orbs to P3 to find Piper passed out and Leo frozen. While Leo heals Greg, Paige revives Piper.

The Seer walks in with more tonic for Phoebe, but Phoebe notices the plant in her room is completely dead. The Seer admits the tonic was not only meant to strengthen the baby, but destroy Phoebe's good side and turn her completely evil.

In the underworld, a council of demons summon Cole. They have heard that Phoebe saved Greg. Cole assures them that the Power of Three no longer functions, that Phoebe is pregnant and subject to hormonal fits. Cole's top lieutenant, Dane, suggests that Cole take out Greg himself, "for morale."Paige is helping Piper recover from her hangover. Paige still thinks Phoebe can be saved, but Piper thinks she loves Cole too much to vanquish him. Just then, Phoebe walks into the manor and offers to help vanquish Cole; she knows that Cole is after Greg personally. She suggests using Greg as bait, with Leo orbing him away at the last moment. When Leo orbs in with Greg, "Phoebe" morphs into Cole and kills him with a fireball.

Cole flames back to his apartment to find Phoebe writing a "Dear John" letter to him. She tells him she's written a goodbye letter to her sisters as well, but doesn't know which one to send. Cole admits that he had the Seer give her the tonic; as Belthazor he had known what it was to have conflicting good and evil natures and wanted to spare her the pain. Phoebe is upset, but still can't bring herself to choose between Cole and her sisters. Cole offers Phoebe a glass of the tonic, and Phoebe drinks. Thinking that Phoebe has chosen to be with him, Cole admits to having killed Greg. Phoebe runs into the bathroom and throws up the tonic.

Leo, Piper and Paige orb into the apartment. Piper blows Cole up, and while his body's molecules try to come back together, Paige starts to set up a crystal cage around him. Cole's body reconstitutes and he throws Paige against the wall, which sends the last crystal in another direction. While Leo heals Paige, Piper blows Cole up again and calls Phoebe for help. In the bathroom, Phoebe quietly begs Cole's forgiveness and comes out of the bathroom just as Cole's body reconstitutes. He has a fireball ready and is about to destroy Piper, Paige, and Leo. Phoebe picks up the crystal. The two kiss, and Phoebe places the last crystal in the circle, activating the cage. Piper starts the vanquishing spell Phoebe wrote, and Phoebe continues through Cole still saying he still loves her and always will. Phoebe helps finish the spell, crying through most of it, and Cole is vanquished. Phoebe breaks down in the middle of the room.

The next day, Phoebe is lying in her room at the manor, still crying over Cole. Piper and Paige come up to comfort her.

Spells

 * 1) Cole chants an unknown, Latin spell to initiate demons.
 * 2) The Charmed Ones cast the To Call Upon Our Ancestors to vanquish Cole/The Source of All Evil.

To Call Upon Our Ancestors

 * Prudence, Penelope,
 * Patricia, Melinda,
 * Astrid, Helena,
 * Laura and Grace.
 * Halliwell Witches
 * stand strong beside us,
 * Vanquish this evil,
 * from time and space.

Music

 * 1) Courage - Sarah Polley
 * Used in the end scene were the sisters lay on the bed.