12 Angry Zen is the 14th episode of the eighth season and the 170th overall episode of Charmed.
Summary[]
| For a complete plot of 12 Angry Zen, go here. |
| To read the full script of 12 Angry Zen, go here. |
Piper searches for information about Leo and discovers a message from Lo Pan, a monk and keeper of a sacred Buddhist staff containing the power of influence.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Alyssa Milano as Phoebe Halliwell
- Rose McGowan as Paige Matthews
- Holly Marie Combs as Piper Halliwell
- Kaley Cuoco as Billie Jenkins
Guest Stars[]
- Ivan Sergei as Henry Mitchell
- Julian Ovenden as Novak
- Clyde Kusatsu as Lo Pan
- Tony Lee as Dog
- Mark Adair-Rios as Magnus
Co-Stars[]
- Stephanie Patton as 11 Year Old Christy Jenkins
- John Dennis as Cute Guy
- Daniel Southworth as Rat
- Jason & Kristopher Simmons as Wyatt Halliwell
Magical Notes[]
A Chinese sign appears in the cauldron.
Potions[]
- Divining Potion: Piper used this potion to search for signs that would help her get Leo back.
Powers[]
Zodiacs protecting themselves from Piper with a force field.
Billie using her projection power in combination with Buddha's staff and the Power of Three to vanquish Novak.
- Floating: Buddha's Staff floated a couple of times throughout the episode.
- Force Field: Used by the Chinese Zodiacs to protect themselves.
- Fireballs: Used by Novak and his minions to attack the Zodiacs.
- Shimmering: Type of Teleportation used by Novak and his minions.
- Orbing: Type of Teleportation used by Paige.
- Telekinesis: Used by Billie to fling Buddha's Staff and to fling a boulder back at Paige.
- Molecular Combustion: Used by Piper trying to blow up Novak and trying to attack the Zodiacs. She also wanted to blow up Lo Pan (under the Staff's influence) but he dodged it.
- Phytokinesis (through Projection): Used by Billie to revive a little tree.
- Shredding: Type of Teleportation used by the Chinese Zodiacs. Used by Dog to charge at Piper and later to take to the front porch of the manor.
- Time Travel (through Projection): Used by Billie to travel to the past and back to the present.
- Projection: Used by Billie to turn the sisters back to good and to vanquish Novak and his minions (helped by the Charmed Ones and Buddha's Staff).
- Telekinetic Orbing: Used by Paige to orb a boulder at Billie and to orb the Staff to her.
Artifacts[]
Buddha's Mystical Staff
- Book of Shadows: The Halliwell Family's magical tome. In addition to spells and potion recipes, the Book of Shadows contains information on warlocks, demons, and other supernatural beings. It was created by their ancestor, Melinda Warren, and was passed down every generation.
- Buddha's Mystical Staff: A magical staff which is handed over each year during the Chinese New Year to one of the twelve Zodiacs, next in line, at the end of each eternal cycle, which was set up by the Buddha himself. The Zodiac who holds the staff will spread his will over the world for the full year, which provides a balance to all things.
Notes and Trivia[]
- Despite the title being "12 Angry Zen" and there being 12 Zodiac signs, only 6 Zodiacs (7 if Lo Pan is counted) are present during the episode.
- This is the second time all three sisters are turned temporarily evil. The first time was in "Bride and Gloom", when Dantalian turned the Charmed Ones evil by marrying Prue to a warlock named Zile.
- Piper's Chinese Zodiac Sign is the Ox and Billie's sign is the Tiger. However, Lo Pan refers to Piper as a Buffalo. In the Vietnamese calendar, the Water Buffalo replaces the Ox.
- Phoebe Halliwell's Condo is seen for the first time in this episode.
- Paige mentions Kazi Demons, Creepers, and Grimlocks in her conversation with Henry.
- Just like in "The Wendigo", Piper has a flat tire causing her to meet a demon.
- Billie uses her Projection power four times; making this the episode where Billie uses the power most.
- Piper does not use her Molecular Immobilization power and Phoebe does not use her Premonition power.
Behind the Scenes[]
- Holly Marie Combs revealed in an interview that she kept Buddha's Mystical Staff and still has it in her closet.
Cultural References[]
- When Billie says "Don't bend the spoon, imagine there is no spoon?", she is making a reference to the popular sci-fi movie-series; "The Matrix".
- The title of this episode is a reference to the movie "12 Angry Men".
- Billie's shock elicits the response from Piper, "Forget it, Jenkins. It's Chinatown." which is essentially the last line of the 1974 film Chinatown with Jack Nicholson.
- Piper says she doesn't have time to watch anything except SpongeBob; An abbreviated version of the title "SpongeBob Square Pants", a popular children's animated series.
Continuity Errors[]
- As established, this episode takes place on January 28, the day before Chinese New Year. But in "Payback's a Witch", they celebrated Wyatt's birthday, which is on February 2.
- The year 2006 is supposed to be the Year of the Dog, not Rooster as is shown in the episode.
- The length of Henry's hair changes throughout the episode.
- The symbol on the window is identical to the symbol in the garden, but the window is seen from behind, meaning it was in reverse. When seen in the cauldron, it should have looked up-side-down to us, as the viewers were the other side of it from Piper and Billie.
- In the scene where Piper is walking down the stairs before the Zodiacs arrive, a person can be seen moving near the top of the stairs, but isn't there when the camera changes.
International Titles[]
- French: Le sceptre du Zodiaque (The Zodiac Scepter)
- Czech: 12 rozhněvaných mnichů (12 Angry Monks)
- Slovak: 12 rozhnevaných Zanov (12 Angry Zen)
- Spanish (Spain): Doce/12 zen coléricos (Twelve/12 Angry/Irritable Zen)
- Spanish (Latin America): El Zodíaco chino (The Chinese Zodiac)
- Italian: La schiera cinese (The Chinese Formation)
- German: Büffel, Tiger und Hund (Buffalo, Tiger and Dog)
- Hungarian: A 12 dühös zen (The 12 Angry Zen)
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