Conspiracy group The Unseen releases a message threatening not just the Charmed Ones but everyone they care about, forcing them to scramble to save their nearest and dearest.

Things ramp up as The Unseen get personal, releasing a video which openly threatens those closest to the sisters three. For Mel in particular, this will bring a challenge made worse by the fact that other factors endanger someone close to her own heart.

Yes, Ruby is back once again, though this time at least the writers seem prepared to finally nudge Mel in the direction of closure. When a terrible threat from Ruby’s past re-emerges, it’s bad enough. When Mel is able to piece together how exactly it was that threat found her, it’s even worse. Turning to the safest place she can think of, it seems Mel has underestimated the permeation of the anti-Charmed Ones narrative in the clientele of the Blue Carmelia, and suddenly Roxie is forced to take emergency measures leaving just her, Mel and Ruby to face the threat alone.

Kaela finds herself with an unavoidable reason to go and confront her birth parents so that they too may be extended the protection of the Charmed Ones by whatever threat may emerge. Maggie accompanies her and it’s safe to say that the visit causes more confusion than it solves. The purpose, having found the names and birth dates of the parents, is simply to find out what sort of magical creatures they are so that protection can be completed. But the answer is a surprise that asks more questions than it answers.

Harry, having located the sales ledger for Ray’s mysterious bowl , tracks down the last person listed to have bought it using his own special brand of new magic, and the answer is one that leaves him…. somewhat surprised. Yes, it’s another face from the past, which just goes to add to the feeling I got from the previous episode that this really is a season where the writers had an almost Maggie-like premonition that their time was limited and they needed to set a few things in place. (As we’ve learned subsequently, of course, they were warned there was a chance…)

The problem is, it starts to all feel a little disjointed. Random things happen which sometimes then get follow up, almost cursory explanations and sometimes just…don’t. Some things are welcome and make sense – closure for Mel over Ruby, the hint of something happening between her and another and so on. Other stuff just feels outlandish, and it all adds up to make the show start to feel like it’s losing it’s way again.

Verdict: Jumbled and more than a little confused in places. 6/10

Greg D. Smith