'Charmed' Season 2 premiere: Fans love the hard reset but it may not be enough to entice OG fans to the reboot
The second season of the 'Charmed' reboot premiered on Friday, October 11th and the new showrunners, Craig Shapiro and Liz Kruger pressed a hard reset on the witches, essentially creating an entirely new show. The duo also wrote the first episode which saw a major shift in the powers the sisters have and how the magical world now operates, as well as where the show is set.
When a cloaked demon attacks the sisters at their manor, the Book of Shadows is destroyed which opens up an Emergency Portal to the Elders' command center and stripped them off their power. Harry was killed, but came back to life, no longer being linked to the Elders who are all gone and the sisters have to start their lives over in Seattle -- and thankfully, their manor, bound to them, has made its way to Seattle as well, meaning we won't be getting a house-hunting episode. Macy -- who has her demon powers -- and Harry -- the last and weakened Whitelighter -- are the only ones who still have access to their magical abilities. We also found out that the mystery demon has Harry's face -- it could be a shapeshifting demon or as some fans speculate, a "Darklighter".
The season premiere was a hit with fans who already watch the 'Charmed' reboot and have defended it despite the complaints from fans of the OG show. Most fans loved the hard reset and guessed this was done due to the criticism that everything went too quickly in the first season -- the sisters getting their powers, mastering them, and the many plotlines that were dealt with. One viewer tweeted, "This time they also won't be able to solve things as quickly which will provide a nice way of mystery as to how they will figure stuff out. It's a really good way of getting them to full grow into their powers from scratch. #Charmed [sic]." Another wrote on Reddit, "I love the reset. I have so many questions and that's exactly how I want to feel in a season premiere. They set up some great mysteries for everyone. I'm intrigued by Macy and Harry/Dark! Harry's dynamics. All it took was two scenes with the two versions of Harry and I'm hooked. Bring it on!"
When Macy is pierced by dark Harry's dart, she begins to see visions of him beckoning her home and the chemistry between the two was palpable. A fan commented, "This is a completely different season but it is definitely adrenaline-inducing. The opening episode had me on the edge of my seat more than the final face-off in season 1. The Macy and Harry pairing went from subtext to plain text. Like a big flashing neon sign. I’m here for it."
Fans are, however, concerned about the new setting and the stripping of the sisters' powers. One fan said, "So the sisters are now in a different city? It's a complete reset from everything that happened in season 1? No more elders, no more book of shadows, and now no more Whitelighters? No more Maggie at university with Lucy? Macy is not going to her job? Whatever happened to Nico, Lucy, and Parker? I like the way it's going but the transition feels off. Nothing from the season 1 finale lead to this." Another viewer had the concern that the writers were making two of the sisters weak, writing, "But you’re making Mel and Maggie incredibly weak now and reliant on Macy much like phoebe and piper were incredibly reliant on Prue early on."
With the new season being only one episode in, the showrunners have made it clear there is no going back. However, like the fans, we hope to see Nico and Lucy from season 1 -- their relationships with the main witches were refreshing. It was one thing the reboot clearly did better than the original -- including multifaceted supporting characters. There are 21 episodes to go and with the plans in the new showrunners' minds, we will have to keep guessing in what direction the Charmed Ones and their Whitelighter is headed in.
'Charmed' airs on The CW on Friday nights.