Charmed S01E03 "Sweet Tooth" Recap

Harry has begun his training of the witches, an interesting subversion from the original "Charmed" series. With the opportunity to receive a more formal education on the ways of magic, we gain a greater perspective into the psychological mechanics of each sister.

Maggie is still struggling to balance her new life as a witch while still trying to live up to her sorority commitments. After an awkward encounter with her sorority-sisters she indulges in some magic to help her decorate the house for a Halloween party.

Macy hits it off with a new co-worker named Gavin with whom she has a mutual attraction. It's a charming flirtation and Maggie even takes the initiative to invite him to the Halloween party to try to give Macy's love life a push in the right direction.

Mel continues to clash with Harry the most in regards to this training since he disapproves of what he perceives to be her reckless use of her powers. He forces her to wear a special talisman that will allow him to better track and consequently punish her if and when she misuses her magic. But their clash must be put aside when the group decides to use the party as an opportunity to lure out the Harbinger.

Angela has been completely taken over by the demon and has managed to avoid detection, even when Mel attempted to test her with some sugar cookies Macy designed to try to detect the Harbinger. Angela receives an invite to the party and shows up to continue her binge of human victims.

The sisters learn about three virgins that were killed on campus and drained of their blood. They decide with Harry to seal off the house but as Angela has already entered the house, they don't realise that the threat is already there. Upon learning the truth they work together to overpower Angela but nearly kill Macy in the process due to the force of the spell that they use.

The greatest material of the episode comes from the greatest clash, that of Harry and Macy. Macy reveals that becoming a witch has made her feel smothered and hidden in a way she never had to be, as her mother always accepted her for who she was without ever making her feel compelled to conceal her sexual orientation. This prompts Harry to also open up, and share that he once worked with some other witches and in the process, one of the witches named Fiona ended up killing herself after she was sent to an institution. It seems likely that this Fiona character may come into play at some point in the future, be it through a resurrection or visit from a spirit, or simply through flashback sequences to further develop Harry's history. Character-clashes and consequent breakthroughs facilitate a more dynamic range in material and grant viewers a greater access into the psyche of the starring group. It's only natural that there will be a case-of-the-week feel for some sort of demonic or other supernatural threat. But in order for this "Charmed" reboot to survive and find it's own footing, the character content and the relationships between them need to be well-developed. Hopefully this is just the start for even more interesting character moments.

Charmed airs on Sundays on the CW at 9/8c.