When the Perfecti target one of the Charmed Ones, it’s up to the other two and Harry to find a way to defeat their powerful new foes before it’s too late.

With the Perfecti apparently vanquished, the gang can’t help but still feel a little on edge, continuing to take measures to keep them away as they search through the old record sin search of anything which might help them make absolutely sure they’re gone. Harry meanwhile goes off to see Celeste and continue his path towards mortality, which will go on to cause its own complications.

In the course of their search, the Charmed Ones run across an ingredient they’ll need which is at the Command Centre, and so Mel dutifully pops off there to grab it, only to find herself confronted by the Perfecti who deliver an ultimatum for her and her sisters – surrender or else, and leave her with linger effects which sideline her while the others try to figure out the best solution.

What they come up with is – sing it with me if you know the chorus by now – a powerful magical construct the likes of which has never been seen before and which could destroy all of them. Oh, and something which requires – conveniently – the co-operation of witches and demons, although that latter part isn’t quite dealt with the way you might expect.

With Celeste’s help, they gather the requisite ingredients and then it’s down to Maggie to recover the sole remaining part which proves slightly trickier. Not only that, but Harry’s newly impending mortality carries side effects – specifically a heightened sense of anxiety and fear of… well, in this case pretty much everything. As their Whitelighter flails around being more of an obvious hindrance than a help, the girls do their best to get their task completed, though it may yet have a sting in its tail.

And this is where the show gets clever. Instead of going with a straightforward tale of ‘Make the thing, vanquish the baddies’ it adds its own little twist to the formula, as what appears to be a frailty becomes an asset, and what appears to be an unvanquishable foe becomes vulnerable by dint of pure hubris.

But as the episode draws to a close, it throws a curveball that I genuinely never expected. When Mel is confronted by someone we didn’t expect as she lies in her comatose state, they task her with something vital and whereas you may think you have an idea where it’s going, as the final reveal comes I promise you that you’re wrong. What the writers are intending for this particular bombshell development isn’t really clear, though I can see on reflection where it’s come from in a practical sense. Time will tell, I guess.

Verdict: Pleasingly surprising just as it looks like it won’t be. 8/10

Greg D. Smith