The Tallyman’s latest terrifying scheme requires Mel and Kaela to find outside help. Maggie attends some very unconventional therapy. Jordan discovers exactly what’s been occupying Harry lately.

So the Tallyman is revealed, his plans are in motion and the magical community has turned against the Charmed Ones thanks to a relentless propaganda campaign. On top of all that, Kaela has to deal with the fact that she isn’t in fact apparently related to Mel and Maggie, Maggie has to deal with her own anger issues and Harry is…well where, exactly? Settle in, this one goes to some places.

After being stuck in the past with Maggie last time out, Kaela finds herself working closely with Mel this week as they try to work out the meaning behind the Tallyman’s latest devious scheme. Deciding that they need some outside help, the girls head to the Blue Camellia to seek out Dev, but when they find him, he isn’t anywhere near as pleased to see them as Kaela might reasonably have expected. Turns out the poison their new nemesis has been spreading has been reaching further than they might have feared.

Maggie meanwhile is off to anger management counselling, which takes a rather unusual turn when she arrives to be confronted with her ‘father’ Ray. What follows is a touching set of scenes in which we learn a lot about what sort of man Ray is as well as exactly what is behind Maggie’s anger at the moment. Needless to say, whereas it might be fairly obvious when explained, it still hits hard, and I don’t mind admitting that I felt pretty emotional watching this all unfold.

The Blue Camellia continues to be a popular destination for the whole gang as Jordan finds himself summoned there by Roxie, as it turns out to heal an injured Harry. This sets up another nice thread to the show which hasn’t really been fully explored yet – the notion of Jordan and Harry as a kind of mutual male support group in all this. After all, the girls have one another and the power of three, whereas Jordan and Harry plough a somewhat lonelier furrow. When Jordan finally gets to the root of what Harry is doing and where he’s been lately, it’s genuinely affecting, and I hope that the writers do more with this relationship going forward as Rupert Evans and Jordan Donica have a really good onscreen chemistry.

As things wind towards the conclusion, the Charmed Ones find themselves in a race against time to stop the Tallyman’s latest planned horror, and find themselves face to face with their enemy. Can they finally overcome him, and will they ever get to the bottom of what exactly he’s up to?

Verdict: Once again, the show delivers an emotional, tense and well-paced episode. I am really liking this colour on it. 9/10

Greg D. Smith