Charmed (TV Series) Black as Cole (2001) User Reviews

Demon and Lawyer

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 8 May 2007]

Paige brings a baby-robot and gives it to Piper and Cole to see if they can conciliate having a baby of their own and vanquishing demons. Meanwhile, the Halliwell sisters are chasing a demon that kills witches from the same coven with his Athame, a weapon used also by Belthazor. When they face the powerful demon, disguised as the District Attorney Sykes, Cole needs to leave his human nature and unleash his true demonic nature at all to vanquish his replica, paying a price for his action.

In "Dark as Cole", Cole unsuccessfully proposes Phoebe and is haunted by his evil past, ending the episode stripped of his demoniac nature. Pipe and Leo conclude that it is early to have a baby based on what happens to the expensive baby-robot. There is a great joke, when Paige questions Cole about being a demon and a lawyer in this great episode of this Fourth Season. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Sombrio Como Cole" ("Dark as Cole")

Facing his inner demon

[owlaurence · 9/10 · 3 August 2008]

This episode has everything I like in Charmed : a lot of coherent character interaction, some totally crazy moments and very peppy, humorous lines, all of which blend together almost seamlessly. Paige's idea, giving Piper and Leo a fake baby as a parenting test, is both logical and totally absurd. It provides some really surrealistic scenes, and its end result is sadly predictable. As always, I also like the little details that the episode doesn't dwell on but which make the Charmed world richer : the Scavenger demons, the other covens with their distinctive signs, the Charmed Ones being universally famous by now.

So, as the title indicates, the episode is mostly about Cole and his mixed identity. The opening scenes do a nice job of reminding us how much he's changed since last year. His marriage proposal is one of my favourite moments ever on Charmed ; it comes so far out of the blue, and it is so unexpectedly romantic, that when I first saw it I just whooped in front of my TV set !... although I sincerely didn't believe that there could be another wedding so soon. Then the plot kicks in. At first, it seems that someone is trying to frame Cole once again, but a very unexpected twist adds another dimension to the plot when he finally has to answer for some of the crimes he committed as a fireball-for-hire. Now, e know that Cole isn't evil anymore, but can he, as a half-demon, be truly good ? One of the best things about Cole is that he takes the show out of its initial black & white definition of the world, and forces everybody to take sides. And the characters remain coherent with the stands they adopt now. Phoebe has absolute faith in her lover, and she doesn't even once doubt his innocence, or blame him for his past. Piper is willing to believe in Cole for Phoebe's sake (as is Leo, oddly enough), but she also considers the other explanations. On the other hand, Paige deeply, definitely distrusts him, which right now puts her in the wrong.

For now, the case is settled when, thanks to another twist of the plot, Cole is made wholly human. But the very last scene, in which he appears touchingly vulnerable and lost, shows that his story is not over yet, as he must now decide where to go from here.

Us against the world

[Realrockerhalloween · 12 September 2016]

Black as Cole deals with Cole and Phoebe on the hunt for a demon killing witches of the triple crescent coven who has the same style and look as Belthazar. What it does great is for a while your not sure of Cole has turned evil again, possessed or a copy cat has taken up roots until the big reveal. Leo and Piper get to take care of a robot baby to prove they can be great parents one day which leads to humorous situations involving it being harmed or blown up. I can see the disappointment when it ends predictably, but found it inspiring how much more determined they become afterwards to prove this test wrong and selfish to bring a child into a dangerous world.

Paige finally gets to see Cole's dark past becoming suspicious of his nature even though he hasn't done anything recently to deserve it and it bothered me since he saved her life many times already. I wanted more build up to it earning the mistrust or witnessing an event that makes her question his loyalties and that's why I think Emma's surprise appearance should've appeared sooner. Emma could've used a little fleshing out instead of repeating her story a million times about her fiancé maybe explain how she survived Belthazar's attack or can face demons without powers.

It features a marriage proposal which not only sets up a surreal romantic love scene, but raises awareness on how to make it work since the elders and underworld will do anything to separate them. When Cole turns human it does seem like a convenient plot device to steam roll over the issues instead of working them out and feels like a cheat. Still the lover in me is happy for them to finally be together and enter the honeymoon stage of their relationship now that he's all man.

The One With Another Balthazar-Looking Demon...

[taylorkingston · 10/10 · 28 March 2015]

I really like this episode. It's really funny and exciting.

In this episode, a demon who looks like Balthazar is killing witches, all from the same coven. The sisters are about to vanquish him, when a human gets in their way. She's been hunting the demon for years, ever since he killed her fiancé. She works with the sisters to get rid of him, but when Cole has to turn into Balthazar to face him, she realizes that she's been after the wrong demon. Cole, well technically, Balthazar, is the one who killed her fiancé. The woman is furious and so is Paige. Cole must face who he really is, which is quite intense. In the end, Sykes, the similar looking demon, is vanquished, and Phoebe uses the power stripping potion on Cole, so he's fully human, which makes the woman back off. Oh, and Leo wants to prove to Piper that they can have a baby, and keep it safe, so he rents a mechanical baby. It's so funny.

Overall, I give this episode a 10 out of 10.