Charmed (TV Series) The Power of Two (1999) User Reviews

The Evil Ghost of Alcatraz

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 1 February 2007]

Piper has to travel to Honolulu for a job appointment and leaves Prue and Phoebe alone. Phoebe visits Alcatraz with a friend of her and sees a ghost and a demon killing a guard to escape from the island. Sooner they find that the ghost of the serial killer Jackson Ward is seeking revenge against those that condemned him to death, and the spell in the Book of Shadows can only be cast by the spirit of one of the Halliwell sisters. Meanwhile, Andy is facing problems with the Internal Affairs.

"The Power of Two" is another great episode of "Charmed". The conclusion of the investigation of Andy by the Internal Affair agents is disappointing, but the ghost story is excellent. Prue finally confirms that her finding about Andy when she used the Spell of Truth was right. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "O Poder das Duas" ("The Power of Two")

Better Off Dead

[seneuser · 8/10 · 26 October 2023]

This is the only episode of Charmed that Piper is ALMOST not in, as she leaves early on to Hawaii and thus takes no further part in the proceedings other than a couple phone calls and a quick return home scene. Thus the Power of Two title.

Phoebe and Prue are left to their own devices and are fighting as usual. Phoebe doesn't do any of the errands on her to do list because she runs into supernatural problems, of course, which obviously interest her way more than mundane tasks do.

Here we get our first evil ghost, and as we'll find out through the entire series, ghosts are difficult adversaries to deal with. Fortunately, this one is kind of limited to the standard telekinesis and possession abilities that ghosts are often shown to have. Still, the worst thing about all ghosts is that you have to be dead to vanquish them unless you have access to their bones.

The actor playing the ghost plays a great bad guy, and I was also pleased by the soul collector who we don't get to see enough of. She kind of reminded me of the Seer.

Another highlight is that though Piper is gone, Andy is around, and since he now knows their secret, he can help. Prue quickly finds out that having an Inspector on their side is a useful thing. I wish they had told Andy sooner and we could have had more episodes like this, with Andy helping out. I would like to think that this brief time with Andy being aware gave the writers the idea of what they could do with Leo and Cole later on. It would eventually lead to the best era of Charmed.

So, in the end, Prue has to "die" and then read the vanquishing spell. Pretty ballsy plan. Fortunately Andy shows up to revive her since Phoebe was knocked out. Very entertaining episode that maintains the season's momentum until the finale.

The power of two will do

[Realrockerhalloween · 8 September 2016]

When Piper is away for business the eldest and youngest Hallowell are left together. Personalities collide as they must work together to rid the town of a serial killer's ghost.

Jeff Kober (Jackson Ward) was insanely creepy with his look and demeanor. Ranking number six on my villain's list. Also it allows the two to bond, work out problems and brew up some cool potions. Andy has trouble of his own and even plays a vital role once the cats out of the bag. The sets are straight out of a horror movie. The music is haunting. The costumes are authentic.

While the story at first seems hokey, it turned out to be one of the strongest they ever done and gets to the root between the sisters hostility.

The One With The Alcatraz Ghost...

[taylorkingston · 10/10 · 3 October 2015]

I really love this episode. I was disappointed that Piper wasn't involved in the actual vanquish of the ghost, but she was away, so who can blame her.

In this episode, Piper goes to Hawaii for a restaurant convention, leaving Prue, and Phoebe by themselves. Two sisters who have never been alone together. Piper has always been there to be there buffer. Phoebe was meant to run errands, like pick up the dry cleaning, and go to the grocery store, but instead she went with her friend to Alcatraz, something they had already planed. Later on, Prue, and Phoebe get into a big fight because Prue is upset that Phoebe didn't run the errands. But ultimately, Prue is mad that Phoebe doesn't work. Anyway, while at Alcatraz, Phoebe sees a ghost of a man who was executed there, who makes his way off the island, and starts killing people who put in him jail in the first place. The sisters, and Andy have to work together to save his next victims. And Prue actually has to die for a few minutes in order to vanquish the ghost.

Fun Fact: Holly Marie Combs took a week off for an operation, which explains why Piper is on a work trip for this episode.

Fun Fact: Piper wears the same outfit for all three scenes she was in, yet they are based on different days.

Fun Fact: Phoebe says "Where's Buffy when you need her?" The funny thing about this is that the man who plays the ghost in this episode, later appears in four episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Fun Fact: The soul collector demon is one of the only demons to not be vanquished, and who is never seen again.

Fun Fact: There is a huge plot hole in this episode. The ghost was said to be executed on Alcatraz, however no one was ever executed on Alcatraz.

Fun Fact: This is the first episode where Piper doesn't use her freezing power.

Best part of the episode: Phoebe's quote about Buffy.

Worst part of the episode: That Piper wasn't in it.

Demons: The soul collector.

Spells: How To Banish A Ghost.

Overall, I give this episode a 10 out of 10, which in my ratings book is: Freaking Ridonkulous.