Morality Bites

Morality Bites is the 24th episode of Charmed.

Summary
When Phoebe has a vision of herself being burnt to death, the sisters travel ten years into the future to learn what happened. Only to discover that she used her powers to kill Cal Greene, causing a local D.A. named Nathaniel Pratt to begin modern day witch trials as a platform for political office. Meanwhile, Prue and Piper try to save Phoebe, but they both are surprised and somewhat disappointed to learn how their lives turned out.

Plot
Prue and Phoebe are in the kitchen when Piper hobbles in on one shoe. A man has repeatedly allowed his dog to do its business all over the front of the manor, and Piper stepped in it on the way in. The sisters have left notes on his door, to no avail. They hear a dog bark, and run to the window. To their anger, they see the man allowing his dog to do his business at the front of their driveway. Phoebe suggests that they should use their magic to teach him his lesson; Prue and Piper are skeptical at first but go along. Phoebe opens a window, Piper freezes him and Prue flicks the dog droppings onto his shoe. After wondering lightly if he saw them, Prue and Piper go to the kitchen to make coffee and Phoebe to watch TV. When Phoebe pauses on the news channel giving a headline about baseball player Cal Greene she has a premonition of her future self being burned at the stake while Prue and Piper watch. She screams and Piper and Prue come running to help.

Piper and Prue are trying to calm Phoebe down while figuring out what triggered the premonition when the doorbell rings. Piper answers it--it's Leo. He has the day off since the Elders are making him work that evening and he wants to spend it with her. She declines because of Phoebe’s situation, and he suddenly gets a call from the Elders and kisses her as he orbs out. In the attic Leo is flipping the pages of the Book of Shadows by himself and he orbs out just before the girls enter. The book is open to a spell to go forward in time and they determine that is what they must do to save Phoebe. They do the ritual and disappear. Piper wakes up in the manor in her future body and a girl is entering the room calling her “Mommy.” This confuses Piper, but she has little time to think as the girl hears a horn honk and runs to get her backpack for school. The girl calls to Piper, and at the door another mom is picking up Piper’s daughter and she verifies that she should take the girl to Piper’s ex-husband's house after school. Piper decides that is the best course of action and just as the girl is ready to leave she whispers a promise to her mother that she will never use her powers again.

A limo pulls up as soon as the girl disappears. A blonde Prue steps out of it followed by an entourage. Prue shoos them away so she can talk to Piper. Prue now owns Buckland's and is excited to hear about how Piper’s future self has turned out. They discuss why they are in their future bodies and not just observing them, like when they traveled to the past. Apparently traveling to the future is different than going to the past. They realize this means Phoebe’s life really is in jeopardy. On the TV, local DA Nathaniel Pratt vows that he will hunt down every witch in the city. His arrest of Phoebe has made him a favorite for the governorship in 2010.

Piper and Prue enter the attic and are surprised that the book is no longer on its pedestal. Prue begins gesturing emphatically and suddenly an entire side of the attic is nearly destroyed; obviously, her power has grown. Piper sees that the pedestal has overturned and at the bottom is a key to Prue’s safe at Buckland's. They decide that their next course of action should be to head to Buckland's.

In a prison cell with a glass front, similar to Hannibal Lecter’s in Silence of the Lambs, Phoebe is calling out for someone to answer her questions; she touches the glass and is shocked. Prue and Piper are outside Buckland's when Piper sees a man almost spill his coffee; out of habit she freezes him. The entire area is frozen, an example of how Piper’s powers have also greatly expanded. Leo storms towards them absolutely infuriated that Piper has used her powers. He apparently doesn’t know they are from the past, and says that they agreed not to use magic for the sake of their daughter Melinda. A woman enters the scene and cries “witch!” when she sees everything is frozen. Everything unfreezes and Leo ushers them away before the witch hunters find them. In prison, Nathaniel Pratt visits Phoebe. He reveals to her that she is being burned for murder, and that he is on a mission to wipe out all witches.

In some sort of underground hideout for many accused witches, Piper is trying to convince Leo that she and Prue are from the past. Leo begins to berate her when she interrupts him with a passionate kiss. Leo realizes Piper and Prue really don’t know what’s going on; he says Piper hasn't kissed him like that in 10 years. Leo explains that everyone in the hideout has been accused of witchcraft, although most of them are not really witches. Pratt apparently does not suspect Piper or Prue of being witches. Leo tells them that Cal Greene killed a close friend of hers, but got out of prison on a technicality (This friend is later found out in Morality Bites Back in be Phoebe's boss at The Bay Mirror, Elise Rothman, but with the future changed, she ended up surviving the attack). Enraged, Phoebe killed him; she crossed the line from protecting the innocent to punishing the guilty. They want to go and explain to Phoebe, but Leo says he’ll go for them so that they don’t have to use their powers. Piper agrees and she and Prue plan to head for Bucklands.

Piper and Prue walk out of the Buckland's elevator and people immediately bombard Prue to get her attention. Prue’s personal assistant, Anne, steps in and clears the crowd and helps Prue escape to her office, leaving Piper alone. Piper enters and it is revealed that even Anne doesn’t know who Piper is. Prue discovers from Anne that she never married, and that work has become her whole life. She has also become a very ruthless businesswoman; in a recent acquisition she made some disdainful comments about "little people" due to be laid off. Moments later, they dismiss her assistant and pull the Book from the safe once they are certain they are alone. They search for the spell to return in time, but it’s gone.



Leo orbs into the prison cell with Phoebe and tells her that she must pay for her crime to stop Pratt's crusade. Phoebe is devastated; she says she could never even think of killing someone. Leo tells her that she might not have, but her future self did--and in the process, crossed the line from protecting the innocent to punishing the guilty. Phoebe doesn’t understand, but then Leo hands her a newspaper clipping. She receives a premonition of her lying in wait for Greene, then blasting him in the head with electricity. Phoebe recoils in horror. Leo orbs out.

At the manor Prue is flipping through the Book and sees that several pages have the corners turned down. Apparently their future selves have devised a plan to save Phoebe, even though many of the spells cross the line into personal gain. Leo enters, and Prue and Piper are upset to find that he didn’t bring Phoebe with him. He tells them that Phoebe has to die for the greater good. Piper is irritated by this and freezes him; while Leo is frozen Piper and Prue take the spells and leave.

Outside Leo’s house, Piper and Prue are sitting in the car debating whether Piper should bind her daughter’s powers. Finally, Piper leaves the car and walks to the porch; Piper looks through the window and sees Melinda playing with a dollhouse. Piper glances down at the Binding Spell in her hands when Leo orbs in behind her. He tells her that binding Melinda’s powers aren’t necessary, and that he will take care of her. Piper questions their relationship, and Leo says that they couldn’t make it work because of their powers but they were very happy for a while. Piper goes back to the car and Prue is upset because she has made her whole life about work, and vows to change. Outside of prison, Prue and Piper look at a big cement wall and glance down at their blue print of the prison. They make a door in a wall and slip inside. The two enter the prison and Piper freezes a guard that tries to stop them. When they reach Phoebe’s cell it is empty; the guards had come for her minutes earlier.

Phoebe is tied to a stake and Nathaniel is taunting her. Nathaniel turns to the people watching, mainly news media, and reminds them all that this is a lesson for witches and that he will destroy them all. He gives the signal, but Piper and Prue break in just before the fire starts. Piper freezes the room just as Pratt is gesturing triumphantly at Phoebe. They try to break Phoebe out, but she refuses. She says that she realized the line she crossed, and she must die to stop Pratt. Prue and Piper try to use the logic that Cal Greene deserved what he got, but Phoebe says that she was still wrong to kill him--as she puts it, "the wrong thing done for the right reason, still the wrong thing." Prue offers to kill Pratt and free her so they can protect the other good witches, but Phoebe begs her not to become a murderer as well. Piper and Prue concede and step back, and unfreeze the room allowing Phoebe to burn.thumb|right|300px|The scene when Phoebe is burning Prue and Piper sob into each others' arms. Suddenly, they return to the present. Prue and Piper frantically search the manor to make sure that Phoebe didn’t really die. Phoebe walks into the room, and the three embrace. Phoebe says that she felt the flames chewing into her flesh. They don’t know exactly when they are, but Phoebe turns on the TV and sees the news report that triggered her premonition, telling her that they are back where they started. They now fully understand why they were sent to the future and allowed to come back to their own time--to understand that they must use their powers to protect, not to punish.

The sisters run to the window when they hear the dog bark and see that the man is allowing his dog to do his business in the same spot. Piper freezes him, and Prue is about to flick the dog's business onto the man's shoe when Phoebe stops her. She realizes this may have been the moment when they began using their powers as punishment. Piper doesn't think that's its really a big deal, but Phoebe sees that one thing would've led to another, and Cal Greene's death would have been the culmination of their vindictiveness. Moreover, looking closely at the frozen man there, they realize that he was Nathaniel Pratt, and that their punishing prank would've exposed magic to him frighteningly, triggering his witch hunt revolution in the first place.

The girls discuss the other things they want to change about the future. Prue doesn’t want to become a workaholic, but Piper still wants to be with Leo and make their relationship work. The doorbell rings and it's Leo. Piper greets him with a kiss, and Leo explains that he didn’t know why the Elders had sent him up to the attic but only knew that they needed to learn a lesson--and they obviously wouldn't have come back from the future if they hadn't. She promises that they did. Piper makes him a promise to work on their relationship always and kisses him as the scene fades out.

Power Usage

 * Prue accidentally creates an advanced telekinetic blast.


 * Piper freezes the entire city block, an example of how her power has grown.


 * Phoebe witnesses her future self use these powers in her premonition.

Mortals

 * 1) Anne was Prue's personal assistant at Buckland's Auction House in the future year 2009. She had a very "sing-songy" voice and was always smiles though very much in charge. She, however, had no idea who Piper was when she came to Prue's office saying "[she] had almost forgotten that Prue had another sister other than [ Phoebe ].
 * 2) The Carpool Neighbor came over to pick up Melinda Wyatt from the manor in 2009. She was kind-hearted however confused when apparently Piper had asked her to take Melinda to her "ex's".
 * 3) The Hallway Guard was seen in one scene and proved to be only a minor inconvenience to Prue and Piper rescuing Phoebe out of jail.
 * 4) Sierra Stone was a reporter for Channel 8 in 2009 reporting the execution of Phoebe Halliwell at the Hobart Penitentiary.

To Move Ahead In Time

 * On a piece of paper, write the date and year on which you would like to arrive, Ignite as you recite ....
 * "Hear these words,
 * hear the rhyme.
 * We send to you
 * this burning sign.
 * Then our future selves
 * We'll find,
 * In another place and time."
 * This spell can only be used once. After which it disappears ....

Return Spell
Take us back from whence we came,

To time and place that are the same,

Let past be present,

That time regain.

A Glamour to Change One's Appearance

 * Believed to be the spell used in Still Charmed &amp; Kicking

Glitches

 * Ironically, though this episode is the one where the sisters deal with the prospect of modern day witch trials, the previous episode was the one entitled Witch Trial, this was a mistake that Brad Kern realized but it was too late.
 * Goof: When future Piper and Prue are examining the book in the Manor, the return spell is clearly visible as Prue flips through it.
 * Goof: Given that it is the beginning of the second season the Book of Shadows has only a select number of spells actually written and painted for the show since its inception (plus, it is a very painstakingly long process for the artist), although the book is meant to have hundreds of spells lasting generations. Shannen had to flip through the same section of spells back and forth for it to appear that there were more spells than there really were. One can clearly see she returns the same pages over and over again however with a purple pouch when there wasn't one the first time she flipped to that particular page.
 * The size of the door Piper has drawn is smaller after Prue has cast the spell "To Create a Door".
 * When Phoebe uses her power of premonition in the future to see herself killing Cal Greene its still black and white despite in future seasons it evolves to her seeing it in full color.
 * When Prue, Piper, and Phoebe return from the future, Prue and Piper hug Phoebe in relief. In the following shot, Piper wraps her arm around Phoebe again.

Quotes

 * (Piper walks to the door.)
 * Neighbour: Morning, Piper. You alright?
 * Piper: I guess.
 * Neighbour: Yeah, with your sister, it's rough, I know. So, don't worry about your little one. I'll get her to school like you asked but uh, are you sure you want me to take her to your ex's?
 * Piper: Ex? As in husband? As in mine? Yes, if that is what I told you, then yes.
 * Neighbour: So, you and him are getting along better now?
 * Piper: Maybe. Prue? Prue?
 * Neighbour: Okay, let's hit the road.
 * (The girl whispers to Piper.)
 * Melinda: Don't worry, mummy. I promise I'll do what you ask. I won't use my magic again ever.

:(Piper goes outside and watches them drive off. A limo pulls up. Prue and her assistants get out of the limo. They fuss over her by brushing and touching her.)
 * Prue: Hey, hey. Okay, enough! People stop touching me. Stay, stay, stay.
 * Piper: Prue, what's going on?
 * Prue: I don't know, but I could really get used to this. Check me out. I don't just work at Bucklands, I own it. And three more. Paris, Tokyo and London.
 * Piper: And you're blonde.
 * Prue: Yeah, strange.
 * Piper: Wait, you had time to go to work already?
 * Prue: Well, actually, I woke up there but it was amazing.

:(A guy holding a cup of coffee bumps into someone and Piper freezes him before it spills. They look around and notice everything is frozen.)
 * Prue: Okay, apparently my power isn't the only one that's grown. You just froze ...
 * Piper: Everything. What a difference a decade makes. (Leo shows up.)
 * Leo: What the hell are you doing?
 * Piper: Leo, I'm so glad you're here. I have so many ... (She goes to hug him but he backs away.) Uh ... what's wrong?
 * Leo: You know, I knew you'd do something stupid like this. You used you magic in public. What's the matter with you? Are you insane?
 * Piper: Uh, Leo ...
 * Prue: Remember he thinks we know what's going on.
 * Leo: You wanna end up like your sister? Huh? We had an agreement. No using magic for Melinda's sake.
 * Piper: Melinda?
 * Leo: Our daughter. What's wrong with you?
 * Piper: Our daughter?
 * Prue: Wait a second, you're Piper's ex?

:Leo: Nobody's gonna rescue you.
 * (Phoebe laughs.)
 * Phoebe: If that is some kind of whitelighter humor, let me be the first to tell you, you are not a very funny race of people.
 * Leo: I wish you remembered what you'd done. It'd make this so much easier. Your future self used witchcraft for vengeance, Phoebe. Pratt is using that as a plan for him.
 * Phoebe: Why does everyone think I killed someone? I wouldn't. I mean, I couldn't. What did I do? Premonition the man to death? My power is passive.
 * Leo: Not in the future. It's grown. As have you. Which means unfortunately you have to suffer to consequences.
 * Phoebe: I don't believe it.

:(Piper gets back in the car. Prue looks upset.) What is it? What's wrong?
 * Prue: I have no one to say goodbye to. My life, they didn't even know who you were at the office., my own sister. If we die tonight, my tombstone will read "Here lies Prue, she worked hard".
 * Piper: We're not gonna die. We're gonna find a way back to the present and we'll create a new future.
 * Prue: What if we can't. What if we can never get home. According to Phoebe's premonition we fail.
 * Piper: Our future selves fail. We still got a shot.
 * Prue: You're right, you're right. Let's go get Phoebe.

*Hallway Guard: Freeze!


 * Piper:Good idea! (does the hand gesture and freeze the guard)