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SECRETS AND GUYS |
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Two kidnappers abduct a young boy who appears to have some sort of magical powers, telling his father that they only need him for one day, after which he'll be safely returned. Spring-cleaning the attic, the spirit board spells out "HELP MAX" to Prue. Phoebe is convinced that this means that Max is either a ghost or that he also has powers. Prue tells Andy that someone called Max is in trouble, claiming that she dreamt it, but a computer searches draws a blank. Phoebe see Leo repairing the chandelier without using a ladder. She thinks he's a warlock but he swears her to secrecy, telling her that he's a Whitelighter, a "guardian angel for good witches". He's here to help a boy called Max, who is a young witch, and he was the one who helped Prue get the message. The kidnappers get Max to use his powers to turn off the alarm at a microchip plant and one of them breaks in undetected, but he shoots a security guard outside. Andy tells Prue that he's got information about a boy named Max, telling her of the break-in. The security cameras picked up a car and the boy, Max Franklin, was inside, but his father claimed that the boy was out of state. Prue transcribes the spirit board's latest message as "KIDNAPPED AUTOSHOP". She visits Mr Franklin, and assures him that Max is okay. He tells her that his wife was a witch who died three months ago, when Max received his powers. She asks about the autoshop message, and he tells her that he might have an idea where it is. Prue uses her powers against the kidnappers, but one of them blindsides her, knocking her out. When she comes to, Max has had plastic explosives wired to him so that the pair of them will both obey the kidnappers' orders. Morris and Trudeau run through the security camera footage, spotting Mickey Jackson, one of the kidnappers. Morris suggests that it's a dry run for something bigger. Max tells Prue his power is psycho kinesis - he can move things he cannot see. His father shows up at the autoshop, and Mickey shoots him before they drive off, leaving him bleeding to death. Max is forced to deactivate the bank's alarm. Outside the vault, he deactivates the explosives and Prue uses her powers against the kidnappers. Leo orbs into the autoshop, and heals Max's dad, telling him that it's not time for him to join his wife yet. Back at the Manor Phoebe, gives into to her sisters' almost non-existent persuasion and confesses about Leo. Prue and Piper don't believe her, Prue suggesting that with her imagination Phoebe should be writing children's books. Witchcraft isn't just passed down the female line, as demonstrated by Max. Prue claims that she doesn't want kids at the start of the episode, but she's changed her mind by the end. A Whitelighter is a "messenger, guide [and] guardian angel for good witches." Leo was sent by a group of elder Whitelighters, called the Founders. Whitelighters and witches aren't supposed to fall in love, a rule that Leo has broken. Prue seems to be setting some sort of record in this episode. She uses her power to spring clean the attic instead of the girls having to do it themselves. She causes a photo to jump into Mr Franklin's hands to demonstrate that she's a witch. At the autoshop she uses her power on both kidnappers before getting knocked out. During the attempted robbery, she opens Max's coat to show him the explosives, moves the guards out of the way so that they don't get shot, whips the detonator thing out of Mickey's hand and throws the two kidnappers into the vault. Piper freezes new chef Harry in Quake's kitchen. The Max storyline isn't the most riveting in the world, and why didn't it occur to him to defuse the explosives earlier, especially once Prue had shown up so she could use her powers against the kidnappers? The Leo mystery from Wicca Envy is finally solved, although he struggles to break things off with Piper, who gets virtually nothing to do this week apart from a run-in with the new chef at Quake. Some good moments, such as Phoebe dismissing all of Leo's attempts to break up with Piper, but overall it's a pretty average episode. |
Teleplay by CONSTANCE M. BURGE & SHERYL J. ANDERSON Story by BRAD KERN and CONSTANCE M. BURGE Directed by JAMES A. CONTNER REGULAR CAST SHANNEN DOHERTY Prue Halliwell HOLLY MARIE COMBS Piper Halliwell and ALYSSA MILANO Phoebe Halliwell T.W. KING Andy Trudeau DORIAN GREGORY Daryl Morris GUEST STARRING ROBERT GOSSETT Mr. Franklin BRAD TATUM Mickey Jackson BRIAN KRAUSE Leo Wyatt DAVID NETTER Max Franklin WILL STEWART Harry RICHARD CODY Danny CO-STARRING MICHAEL BRUNIN Security Guard US/UK TRANSMISSION DETAILS The WB: 17 February 1999 Living: 23 August 1999 Channel 5: 8 July 2000 EPISODE RATING: 6/10 |
