TV Show Review – Charmed: 1×04 “Dead Man Dating”

In episode four of season one, it’s Prue’s birthday and Piper’s dealing with the spirit of a man that needs her help, while Phoebe is working as a hotel psychic so that she can buy Prue a great birthday gift, but Phoebe’s visions cause some drama with the hotel guests.

[Oh, I should mention that if you haven’t seen Charmed, for whatever reason, then you shouldn’t read these articles because there will be so many spoilers for the episode I’m talking about and future plotlines. You’ve been warned.]

Thoughts While Watching the Episode

• I always forget that John Cho plays Mark in this episode.
• Could Piper and Phoebe have been any more obvious that they’re throwing Prue a surprise party?
• Phoebe I get you want to protect this guy, but you are going about it the wrong way.
• Mark: “Wait, he’s got an amulet on the door. I can’t go in.”
  *piper grabs amulet and tosses it*
  Mark: “Never mind.”
  Me:
  
• So, a bike and mug can go through Mark, but he can sit in Piper’s car?
• It always makes me sad that Piper and Mark met after he died. They were cute together.

Final Thoughts

The highlight of this episode is the story between Piper and Mark. The chemistry between John Cho and Holly Marie Combs is great and really does make you wish Mark was alive because him and Piper would have made a great couple. It also showcases how kind and loving Piper is. She has the biggest heart and wants to so badly do everything she can to make sure that Mark gets the burial he deserves so that he’s not taken by Yama.
The interesting thing with this episode is that while the sisters are protecting Mark from Yama, that’s not the only threat. The other threat in this episode is Tony Wong, the man who killed Mark to fake his own death. While Yama poses a threat to Mark, Tony poses a threat to the sisters because Yama just wants Marks soul, while Tony will do whatever he has to to ensure that the sisters don’t reveal the truth about him being alive. What works really well with this episode is the combination of a supernatural threat (Yama), mixed with a real life threat (Tony). It helps to show that while the sisters will deal with supernatural threats a lot, that they can’t forget the real life evil out there in the world that could harm them.
The side story of Phoebe wanting to get a great gift for Prue for her birthday to make up for all the birthday cards she’d given Prue in the past was fun. I was a bit confused about Phoebe’s powers in this episode, though, because Phoebe demonstrates the ability to touch people and tell them their future. The reason this confuses me is because I don’t recall Phoebe using her powers in this way any other time in the show. When it came to her premonitions, she’d just get a flash with a little bit of information, and that was it. The sisters would have to try and interpret her visions to save the day, but in this episode when Phoebe touches someone she’s able to tell them a lot of detail and even what someone is saying.
So, it’s always seemed weird to me that the writers would explore this aspect of Phoebe’s powers only in this episode, but not in any other episodes later on in the series. Also, the way Phoebe goes about trying to save the businessman who she saw getting hit by a car is funny, but over the top. Phoebe could have gone about saving this man in a better way that didn’t make her look crazy to this man and his wife.
Overall, this is a really strong episode with some great character driven stories for Piper and Phoebe, that also explores the evil side of humans.

Hope you guys enjoyed my review “Dead Man Dating” and I hope you check out the next review when it’s posted.