Charmed Premiere Changes Everything (For Better or Worse? That's Your Call)

Last fall, The CW rebooted Charmed. Tonight, it did that all over again.

During a recent chat with TVLine, new showrunners Liz Kruger and Craig Shapiro revealed that Charmed‘s second season would be “creepier, moodier and sexier” than the first, complete with a “new look, visually and tonally.” But now that we’ve all seen the premiere, I think it’s safe to call that an understatement.

Picking up where the first season finale left off, Friday’s premiere found the Charmed Ones adjusting to their new roles as the leaders of the magical community. That is, until they were attacked by a supernatural assassin who destroyed the Book of Shadows. (That’s right, friends, the Book of Freaking Shadows — which is its full name, I believe — is no more. Poof! Disintegrated!)

The book’s destruction opened an emergency portal, which transported the girls to the Elders’ secret command center, located in the basement of a Seattle-based communal work space called, what else, Safe Space. The Elders’ now-abandoned headquarters even came equipped with an enchanted map of the world; every light on the map represents a witch, and when a light blinks, it means that particular witch is in trouble. And even though the girls are currently without their active powers — save for Macy, who retained her demonic abilities — they’re able to travel around the world using the Elders’ magical technology.

Their first mission sent them to Vermont, where two blinking lights indicated a pair of witches in distress. And while the Charmed Ones weren’t quick enough to save them, they did manage to vanquish a rat demon before being attacked by another baddie with an ominous warning: “Haven’t you heard there’s a war going on? They’re coming for you.” (Thanks for the heads-up, guy!)

With their first (failed) mission completed, the girls were exhausted — so it’s a good/convenient thing that the manor also magically relocated from Hilltowne to Seattle. Whether anyone from their old neighborhood will report that an entire house is missing from the street is a question for another day.

Also worth discussing…

* There’s something about Harry. Several somethings, actually. Per his recollection, he was murdered by the supernatural assassin when the girls escaped through the Elders’ portal, which sent his body back to the grave. This is apparently standard procedure for Whitelighters in the new Charmed universe. But why then, he wondered, did he come back to life? And why did the assassin have his face?! (There’s also the question of why Macy was having sexy dreams about Harry, but since the fans have been waiting for that to happen, I’m not about to complain.)

* Safe Space is home to a number of shops and companies, including a kickboxing studio, where Maggie got off on the wrong foot with Jordan (played by new series regular Jordan Donica). Is he her new Parker?

* While this episode undid several of the connections to the original series — most notably destroying the Book of Shadows — it also contained several callbacks to the OG Charmed. Not only was the rat demon a familiar sight, but Macy even dropped the phrase “witch-ness protection,” which was the title of a Season 7 episode in 2004.

OK, time to discuss Charmed 2.0. (Or is it 3.0?) Grade the season premiere below, then drop a comment with your thoughts on the huge changes afoot.

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