I suppose we had this coming. It was nice of the scriptwriters to have kept it for the 100th episode, which gave it an added touch of significance. Now, Julian McMahon was the main reason why I kept watching the show 3, 4 episodes at a time. Great actor, very good looks, and a very interesting character. But in terms of plot and long-term progression, the series needed to move on. At that stage, Cole had successively been a half-demon, a human, the Hollow, the Source, dead, all-powerful, and in this episode, he finally became an Avatar, then Belthazor again. All these changes had kept the show hopping for a while, but they were becoming very repetitive, and it was now clear that Phoebe and him would never be reunited. So it was a good decision to finally say goodbye to him. And to find a way to kill him without resorting to some unexpected Super-Powerful weapon or suchlike. And to have Phoebe herself do it. And to show that their romance just wasn't meant to be. And to bring everybody together for the occasion, including the Seer, who had been a fascinating villain.
What really spoils this episode, though, is the major plot-holes in it. Paige suddenly feels left out for no reason, which seems to occur whenever her actions cannot be explained logically. So once again, we get an episode showing how essential she is to the family. Right. Convincing, even. Piper's transformation is quite plausible considering the state she was in after Prue's death. But the sneeze-thing is very disappointing. It is cleverly brought up, and Paige has always had trouble with her orbing powers, but the fact that her cold disappears right after Cole's spell screams "plot device". Talking about Cole, why on earth or in hell does he blame PAIGE for his divorce ?! Just because she annoyed him the night before ? For that matter why, after trying to kill himself for weeks, does he suddenly take exception ? Besides, if he wanted to save his marriage, he should rather have prevented Phoebe from killing the warlock in We're Off to See the Wizard -actually I can think of 10 better ideas than killing Paige. Anyway, as usual, despite him being the villain, he comes out as very touching. And who wouldn't laugh at his delight when he sees the pool table ?
So bye Cole. This time felt like farewell, no reprieve. The worst thing is that, while I still feel very indignant at the unfairness of his fate, I am actually quite relieved that he died while we could still sympathize with him a bit.
What really spoils this episode, though, is the major plot-holes in it. Paige suddenly feels left out for no reason, which seems to occur whenever her actions cannot be explained logically. So once again, we get an episode showing how essential she is to the family. Right. Convincing, even. Piper's transformation is quite plausible considering the state she was in after Prue's death. But the sneeze-thing is very disappointing. It is cleverly brought up, and Paige has always had trouble with her orbing powers, but the fact that her cold disappears right after Cole's spell screams "plot device". Talking about Cole, why on earth or in hell does he blame PAIGE for his divorce ?! Just because she annoyed him the night before ? For that matter why, after trying to kill himself for weeks, does he suddenly take exception ? Besides, if he wanted to save his marriage, he should rather have prevented Phoebe from killing the warlock in We're Off to See the Wizard -actually I can think of 10 better ideas than killing Paige. Anyway, as usual, despite him being the villain, he comes out as very touching. And who wouldn't laugh at his delight when he sees the pool table ?
So bye Cole. This time felt like farewell, no reprieve. The worst thing is that, while I still feel very indignant at the unfairness of his fate, I am actually quite relieved that he died while we could still sympathize with him a bit.