All Hell Breaks Loose (Charmed)

"All Hell Breaks Loose" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the third season of the American fantasy drama television series ''Charmed''. Written by Brad Kern and directed by Shannen Doherty—the third and final episode of ''Charmed'' she directed—"All Hell Breaks Loose" was originally broadcast on The WB on May 17, 2001.

''Charmed'' focuses on the three Halliwell sisters, Prue (Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), who are known as the Charmed Ones, the most powerful good witches who use their combined "Power of Three" to protect innocent lives from evil beings such as demons and warlocks in San Francisco, while trying to lead normal lives. "All Hell Breaks Loose" focuses on their secret as witches getting exposed to the public after Prue and Piper are caught on tape battling the demon Shax ( Michael Bailey Smith), which proves to have deadly consequences.

Shortly before the episode aired, Doherty was fired from the series. In 2023, the reason for Doherty's departure was confirmed to have been due to an ongoing conflict with Milano, who had provided an ultimatum to the show's producers that one of them had to be let go, also threatening to sue them. Following Doherty's departure, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Tiffani Thiessen were offered the role of Prue but turned it down, at which point it was decided to kill the character off; this resulted in the episode's ending being recut. In a 2016 interview, Kern would clarify that he intentionally wrote the episode to end on a cliffhanger with all three sisters' lives being in jeopardy to accommodate any potential cast changes.

"All Hell Breaks Loose" was watched by 5.26 million viewers and received positive reviews, often being cited as one of the show's best episodes. Critics discussed the episode marking Doherty's final appearance on ''Charmed'' and Prue's death. The episode's focus on magic getting exposed to the mortal world and the ramifications this has for the Charmed Ones was also praised, being noted for its thematic connection to prior works.

Plot

Prue, Piper, and Phoebe enter the manor with Dr. Griffiths (Matt Malloy), who is hunted by the demon Shax. Shortly after arriving, Shax attacks them, mortally wounding Prue and Piper. Before he can kill Dr. Griffiths, Phoebe performs a vanquishing spell that wounds Shax. She calls for Leo ( Brian Krause), who orbs in and heals Prue and Piper. They go into the streets in search of Shax who attacks them, before Piper uses her power to blow him up. Believing him dead, they go back to the manor, unaware a news crew filmed them. Upon their arrival, Phoebe confesses she is going to the Underworld to save her boyfriend Cole (Julian McMahon).

At the news station, Elana (Mercedes Colón) shows her crew the footage of Prue and Piper vanquishing Shax, convincing them to air it. Darryl (Dorian Gregory) sees the news feed and informs Prue and Piper they have been exposed. In the Underworld, Phoebe finds Cole and asks him to return to the manor; he refuses, as demons would follow him. Worried about Shax, Prue and Piper arrive at the hospital to take Dr. Griffiths back to the manor. Shax appears, forcing them to perform the vanquishing spell, which kills him, unaware the news crew followed them and filmed them again.

The manor is swarmed by police officers, news reporters, and protesters. Leo arrives and informs Prue and Piper they need the demon Tempus to reverse time. Alice (Marianna Elliott), a Wiccan fanatic, breaks into the manor, wanting to join their coven, but Prue throws her out. Leo goes to the Underworld, informing Phoebe and Cole about magic's exposure, and asks Cole's help getting Tempus to reverse time. Cole asks the Source of All Evil (Michael Bailey Smith) for help, as the existence of demons has also been exposed. The Source agrees to help, but only if Phoebe joins the dark side, prophetically stating it will be the only way to save one of her sisters from dying.

At the manor, Piper is shot by a rifle-wielding Alice. As Leo cannot hear them in the Underworld, Prue rushes Piper to the hospital, where Dr. Griffiths is unable to save her life. A SWAT team arrives, and Prue uses her powers against them, locking herself in the room. Leo orbs in to see Piper has died, and immediately goes back to the Underworld. Phoebe agrees to stay in the Underworld to save Piper's life. Cole informs the Source, who tells his hitman to kill Phoebe and detain Cole. As the SWAT team shoots at Prue, time is reversed to the sisters' first encounter with Shax. With Phoebe trapped in the Underworld, Shax kills Dr. Griffiths and leaves Prue and Piper for dead.

Production

The episode was written by Brad Kern and directed by Shannen Doherty. Doherty's role as director was first announced in March 2001, with filming taking place during April. "All Hell Breaks Loose" marked the third and final episode of ''Charmed'' that Doherty directed, having previously acted as director for "Be Careful What You Witch For" and "The Good, The Bad, and The Cursed". By May 1, production on the episode was still underway, with Kern stating he had seen "the rough cut" for the episode.

On May 10, a week before "All Hell Breaks Loose" aired, Doherty exited the series. In contempoary press releases, it was reported that Doherty chose to leave so to "seek other creative opportunities". According to academic Karen A. Romanko, although Doherty had indeed expressed a "disenchantment with the show's storylines", her departure was facilitated by her feud with Milano. While it was often speculated that Doherty left the series of her own volition, in a 2023 interview with Combs, she revealed that she was fired directly because of her feud with Milano. The feud was partly fuelled by Doherty being the highest-paid actress on ''Charmed''. According to Combs, one of the show's producers had revealed to her that Milano provided the producers with an ultimatum, demanding that they had to fire either her or Doherty, and also threatened to sue them for a hostile work environment.

Following Doherty's departure, the producers initially considered replacing her with a different actress while keeping Prue alive. However, after both Jennifer Love Hewitt and Tiffani Thiessen turned down the role, it was decided in June 2001 to kill off Prue and replace her with a new Charmed One. This necessitated the producers "recutting heseason finale to explain the sudden disappearance of Doherty's Prue". Kern revealed in 2016 that "All Hell Breaks Loose" ending on a cliffhanger was intentional. Having the lives of Prue, Piper, and Phoebe be in jeopardy by the end of the episode ensured that regardless of any cast changes facilitated by either the actresses or the network "gave everyone options about what they were or were not going to do". Kern clarified that had Doherty remained on the series, they would have resolved the cliffhanger differently in season 4.

Reception

Ratings

"All Hell Breaks Loose" was first broadcast on The WB on May 17, 2001. The original broadcast was watched by 5.26 million viewers, making it the 82nd most-watched prime-time network television program for the week of May 14 to 20, 2001. "All Hell Breaks Loose" also received a Nielsen rating share of 3.4/5. This means that 3.4 percent of all households with a television viewed the episode, while among those households watching TV during this period, 5 percent of them were actively watching the program.

Critical response

"All Hell Breaks Loose" has often been cited as one of ''Charmed''s best episodes. Writing for ''The Guardian'', Isabelle Oderberg referred to "All Hell Breaks Loose" as the "best episode of the whole show". ''Gay Times'' Sam Damshenas described the episode not only as the best one of ''Charmed'' but also as "one of the best episodes of any fantasy drama ever". Ryan Keefer, in reviewing the season for ''DVD Verdict'', described the ending as a "defining moment for 'Charmed''. In a retrospective review, '' Paste''s Lacy Baugher Milas also described the episode as the show's best, describing Prue's death as a "shocking choice" and lamenting how it led to the show's declining quality, arguing Phoebe should have died instead.

Besides Prue's death, ''Paste''s Baugher Milas praised the episode's plot focusing on magic and the Halliwell sisters getting exposed as witches, arguing that "All Hell Breaks Loose" showcased ''Charmed''s greatest strength being in showing the "more uncomfortable aspects of what being a witch could mean, both from a personal and professional perspective". In his review of the third season, David Hofstede described the Halliwells' status as witches being exposed as the greatest moment from the season. Anthropologist Willem de Blécourt argues that the ''Bewitched'' episode "I Confess" influenced "All Hell Breaks Loose"; alongside the film ''Escape to Witch Mountain'' and the ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' episode "To Tell a Mortal". de Blécourt notes how all four works have the same central theme of "outsiders becoming aware of witches in a world that denies their existence, followed by the consequences of this revelation".

References

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{{Charmed

2001 American television episodes
Charmed (TV series) episodes
Television episodes about murder