BLIND SIDED

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THE PLOT

Prue, Piper and Phoebe are helping out at an outdoor party for Dee's son, David.  Prue is called away by Claire.  She sees David grabbed by a white demon with red eyes, and she manages to levitate the pair.  However, surprised that she can now direct her powers through her hands, she is helpless when the demon grabs David, eventually opening up a hole in the ground which he jumps through.  Unknown to Prue, her actions have been seen by a reporter, Eric Lohman.

Phoebe tells Prue that another boy disappeared the day before, and that the same thing also happened 20 years ago.  One boy was never seen ago while the other, Brent Miller had gone blind when he was found.  He claimed a pair of storm drain monsters took his sight.  Underground, the demons take David's sight.

Lohman shows up at Bucklands.  Prue denies knowledge, so he knocks a bowl off her desk to test her powers.  She manages to resist, but he tells her he's going to break the story anyway.

Phoebe visits Brent.  He doesn't want to talk about what happened but she refuses to go, saying that she believes his story.  He tells her that the monsters said something about "auras".

The demons see a guy on a busy street with a golden aura, and strangle him to death just by looking at him.

Piper discovers that the demons are called Grimlocks, whose ability to kill powerful forces of good comes from stealing the sight of innocent children.

Prue tells her sisters about Lohman's threat to reveal their secret.  Piper is philosophical but Prue and Phoebe are concerned about becoming a target for cranks and the media.

Morris and Trudeau are discussing the strangulation case when Lohman shows up and speaks to Andy.  He mentions Prue's name, tells him that he saw her levitate David and clams that he'll print a story telling of a police cover-up.

Piper goes to see Josh for a map of the storm drains.  He wants to talk, she thinks he's referring to the fact they've had three dates but haven't had sex, but he was referring to a job he's been offered, although he won't go if she doesn't want him to.

Phoebe tries to get Brent to remember exactly where the Grimlocks took him.  She has a premonition, and he remembers there being cable cars and a generator, and finds a possible location on a map.  Phoebe checks it out and it's the right place.

Andy overhears Prue mentioning Brent's name on the phone.  He brings up Lohman's name and tells her that he has his suspicions about her.  She not sure that she can level with him.

Prue and Piper are stood outside the Manor when a pram rolls across the road in front of a truck.  Piper freezes the scene, but they find they've been set-up by Lohman.  They return to their places before everything unfreezes, but Lohman's tape reveals Piper's purse mysteriously swapping shoulders.

Lohman confronts the sisters with the theory that one of them can freeze time, but Prue throws him out.  However, they can't look for David when he's watching, so Prue talks to him while Piper and Phoebe sneak out.  He's just about to drive after them when Prue punctures his tyre.

Piper and Phoebe are checking out the drains when Piper sees a rat, drops the torch and falls down a shaft.  Phoebe leaves her behind to call Prue for help.

Andy visits Brent Miller and asks if Prue has visited him.  She hasn't, but Phoebe has and he knows where she's gone.

Prue finishes the potion to destroy the Grimlocks but finds that Lohman has sabotaged her car.  She tells him that Piper is hurt and two boys lives are at stake but he's unmoved.  She has to admit that she's "a witch with magical powers" but forces him to stay outside while she and Phoebe rescue Piper.  He follows anyway, and is talking into his camcorder when he's attacked by a Grimlock.

A Grimlock finds Piper, but Prue flings a pipe at it, and he raises the weakened Piper out of the shaft.  Andy fires at the Grimlock, which Prue throws against the wall, revealing her secret.  She asks him to take Piper back above ground.

Prue and Phoebe are surprised by a Grimlock and Phoebe throws the potion at it, destroying it.  They find the boys but the other Grimlock causes Prue to drop the potion before it starts strangle her.  Phoebe distract it but bashing it with the torch, but it starts to strangle her instead before Prue throws the dropped potion at it.  It is also destroyed, and David's sight returns.

Andy tells Morris that an anonymous tip-off lead him to the storm drain, and that the two boys had followed a kitten down there.  Piper plans to tell Josh to take the job - when she was injured she kept thinking about Leo and if she's thinking about him she's not thinking about Josh.  Brent also arrives at the station - his sight has returned, and he offers to talk to the two boys.  Andy and Prue have to deal with him knowing Prue's secret.

NOTES

Raphael Sbarge had recurring roles in season 4 of Profiler (as Danny Burke) and season 2 of Star Trek: Voyager (as Michael Jonas).

According to the Book of Shadows:

Auras - the soul energy that every human possesses.  Its strength is determined by the amount of goodness a person creates.

Grimlocks - are white demons with whirling red eyes.  Underground demons who roam from city to city killing powerful forces of good by seeing the unique auras that surround them, which they are able to do by stealing the sight of innocent children.  The stolen eyesight will last twenty four hours, but only if the children are alive.  After the children's use has waned, the Grimlocks consume them.

Prue can now channel her powers through her hands.

THE POWER OF THREE

Prue is surprised that she levitates the Grimlock and David through her hands, punctures Lohman's tyre, levitates Piper, flings a pipe at a Grimlock, throws one against a wall and flings the dropped potion in order to destroy the remaining one.

Piper freezes Josh and then talks the situation over with herself.  She also freezes the street when Lohman rolls a pram across the road.

Phoebe has a premonition of Brent in the storm drain.

COMMENTS

The Book of Shadows provides the solution, but at least it's more of a handy research tool rather than allowing the girls to escape to the attic, flick through the Book and find the spell to vanquish this week's demon.

The Grimlocks aren't the scariest monsters in the world, but Charmed has had worse ones in the past.  It's still a shame they're not more frightening, and we know from previous episodes that they're not going to make it to the final credits and that the boys will be rescued.  Having the girls win every week does make the series a little predictable.

Not for the first time, Phoebe gets to do her detective act, but Piper doesn't get much to do apart from following her around, come to a decision about Josh (who's probably had a total of about ten minutes of screen time so it's hardly been an entralling arc) and fall over. 

Prue's secret was bound to come out eventually and this and the Piper/Leo thing are obviously setting things up for the rest of the season.

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