All Hell Breaks Loose (Charmed)

"All Hell Breaks Loose"
Charmed episode
The season ends with Prue (Shannen Doherty) and Piper (Holly Marie Combs) being attacked and left for dead by the demon Shax. The cliffhanger ending was conceived by Brad Kern to accommodate any potential cast changes.
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 22
Directed by	Shannen Doherty
Written by	Brad Kern
Production code	62015-03-066
Original air date	May 17, 2001 (2001-05-17)

"All Hell Breaks Loose" is the twenty-second and finale episode of the third season of the American fantasy drama television series Charmed. Written by Brad Kern, the series' showrunner, and directed by Shannen Doherty, one of its leading actresses, "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 of all time. They use their powers to protect innocent lives from evil beings such as demons 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.

Doherty's role as director was announced in March 2001, with filming taking place in April; "All Hell Breaks Loose" was the third episode of Charmed that she directed. During filming, Doherty used a painting by Salvador Dalí as inspiration for the episode's aesthetic and color scheme and helped her co-stars during emotionally charged scenes. Shortly before the episode aired, Doherty was fired from the series. According to contemporary press releases, she left the series of her own volition due to creative differences. However, rumors circulated that her departure was facilitated by an ongoing conflict with Milano. In 2023, Doherty and Combs stated that her exit from Charmed was indeed due to a feud with Milano. Kern intentionally wrote the episode to end on a cliffhanger with all three sisters' lives being in jeopardy to accommodate any potential cast changes. After Doherty's departure, Tiffani Thiessen and Jennifer Love Hewitt were offered the role of Prue; both turned it down, at which point it was decided to kill the character off.

"All Hell Breaks Loose" was watched by 5.26 million viewers and received positive reviews, often being cited as one of Charmed's best episodes, and highlighted for Prue's death. The episode's focus on magic's exposure and the consequences this has for the Charmed Ones was also praised, with "All Hell Breaks Loose" being recognized for its thematic connection to prior works involving similar stories. Some of the show's cast members responded negatively to the episode owing to the circumstance regarding Doherty's firing—particularly Combs—though her directing skills were praised. Doherty considered "All Hell Breaks Loose" her favorite episode out of the ones she directed.

Background

Charmed is an American supernatural drama television series created by Constance M. Burge that aired for eight seasons on The WB network from 1998 to 2006. The series focuses on Prue (Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Phoebe Halliwell (Alyssa Milano), three sisters who discover they are the Charmed Ones, the most powerful witches to ever exist. Throughout the course of the series, the Halliwell sisters seek to balance their lives in San Francisco while also vanquishing evil beings like demons. Initially, each sister has one unique active power; Prue has telekinesis, Piper can slow down molecules and cause objects or people to "freeze" in place, and Phoebe receives premonitions. As the show progresses, Prue gains the power of astral projection, Piper can speed up molecules and cause objects or beings to explode, while Phoebe becomes capable of levitation.

In their fight against evil beings, the Charmed Ones are aided by Leo Wyatt (Brian Krause), who is their Whitelighter—a guardian angel with the power to "orb" (a form of teleportation) and heal their injuries—and eventually starts a relationship with Piper. In season three, Piper and Leo face challenges in their relationship due to interference from the Elders, who are in charge of Whitelighters, until they are finally allowed to get married. The third season also sees the introduction of Cole Turner (Julian McMahon), a human-demon hybrid who is initially sent to kill the Charmed Ones but falls in love with Phoebe and begins a romance with her.

Plot

The Charmed Ones arrive at their manor with Dr. Griffiths (Matt Malloy), who is being hunted by the demon Shax (Michael Bailey Smith); he attacks them, wounding Prue and Piper. Phoebe performs a vanquishing spell that repels Shax and calls for Leo. He orbs in and heals Prue and Piper, who then search the streets for Shax. He attacks them again, only for Piper to blow him up, unaware a news crew has filmed them. Once Prue and Piper return to the manor, Phoebe informs them she will go to the Underworld to find Cole.

At the news station, Elana Dominguez (Mercedes Colón) shows the footage of Shax's vanquishing, convincing them to air it. Darryl Morris (Dorian Gregory), a police officer friend of the Halliwells, sees the news and informs Prue and Piper their secret is exposed. In the Underworld, Phoebe manages to find Cole. Worried about Shax, Prue and Piper reach the hospital to take Dr. Griffiths back to the manor. Shax appears, forcing them to kill him, where they realize Elana filmed them again.

The manor is swarmed by police officers, news reporters, and protesters. Leo informs Prue and Piper they need the demon Tempus to reverse time. He goes to the Underworld, informing Phoebe and Cole about magic's exposure, and asks for his assistance in 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.

At the manor, Piper is shot by a Wiccan fanatic. With Leo unable to hear them in the Underworld, Prue rushes Piper to the hospital, where she dies. A SWAT team arrives, and Prue uses her powers against them. Leo arrives to learn Piper has died and immediately orbs back to the Underworld. Phoebe agrees to stay in the Underworld to save Piper's life. Cole informs the Source, who secretly orders that Phoebe be killed and Cole be detained. As the SWAT team shoots at Prue, time is reversed to the sisters' first encounter with Shax. With Phoebe in the Underworld, Shax attacks Prue, Piper, and Dr. Griffiths, leaving them for dead.

Production

Writing and filming

"All Hell Breaks Loose" was written by Brad Kern, showrunner of Charmed, and directed by Shannen Doherty. The episode features Matt Malloy as Dr. Griffiths, an innocent that the Charmed Ones have to protect from Shax, and Mercedes Colón as Elana Dominguez, a reporter who manages to capture footage of Prue and Piper battling Shax on live television. Concerning "All Hell Breaks Loose"'s plot, Kern stated that while having the sisters' secret as witches being exposed would seem like a "high-concept [...] idea", he viewed it as "central to the DNA of [Charmed]", noting that the Halliwells have always had this secret that they tried to maintain.

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, following "Be Careful What You Witch For" (2000) and "The Good, The Bad, and The Cursed" (2001). In 2023, Doherty stated on her podcast, Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty, that one of the reasons she enjoyed working on Charmed was due to getting the chance to direct, which she described as being "in [her] element". Concerning her directorial style, Doherty stated that she based the aesthetic of her episodes on specific paintings; with "All Hell Breaks Loose", she used a painting by Salvador Dalí as inspiration for its aesthetic, color scheme, and mood. Having some creative control over the characters' appearance in the episodes she directed, Doherty wished for the characters in "All Hell Breaks Loose" to remain within a particular color scheme based on Dalí's painting; his work also influenced the appearance of the Source of All Evil, who makes his debut in this episode.

According to Combs, when it came to filming Piper's death scene at the hospital, Doherty was not satisfied with her performance and believed she could deliver a better one. Combs was initially unsure if that was something that she could physically and emotionally handle, but she acquiesced and the scene was filmed again to Doherty's approval. Concerning the filming of the episode, Krause admitted that he is normally not good at displaying emotion during dramatic scenes and credited Doherty with helping him bring out Leo's emotions. Doherty would go on to praise the performances of her fellow cast members in "All Hell Breaks Loose". By April 27, 2001, production on the episode was still underway, with Kern stating he had seen its rough cut.

Reception