Summary of Blinded by the Whitelighter
Written by Trish
In the opening scenes, Prue and Piper are in the kitchen. Piper is cooking breakfast, and Prue is making a potion of some kind. They are countering each other with "one teaspoon of baking powder", and "one teaspoon of bat guano." Piper ask Prue if the potion couldn't wait until after breakfast, and Prue replies that Phoebe has a meeting with that DA investigator, and that she didn't want her to go there unarmed. Leo walks in and inquires about the smell, and Prue smartly replies that it is Piper's breakfast. Then, she fills a vial with some of the potion. Piper starts to talk to Leo about his absence from dinner the night before, while he reminds her that he apologized for his lateness. Leo says, "It's not like I was out carousing with the boys, I was out being a force of good in the universe." Piper responds, "A true force of good would have called, or at least orbed." Piper is complaining about this when she cuts herself with a knife, and Leo rushes over to heal her. She is says that she has no choice but understanding because of his job. Leo replies that she just has to get used to the fact of his job, like a CIA agent. Phoebe walks in and comments that she didn't know he was a spy during the day...Prue smartly comments "You know ever since she went blonde..." Piper offers Phoebe some breakfast, but Phoebe says that she is too nervous about the meeting with Reese the DA inspector. Prue gives her the potion she has made, and tells her that it should "out any demon". Explaining that if Phoebe puts some in the inspector's coffee, and if he isn't mortal it will choke him up. This will give her a chance to get away. Phoebe states that she never thought that he was evil, and Prue asks her why she is so nervous then? She explains that it is because of her "murdering" Cole. Prue tells her that she will do just fine, and Leo suggests that she practice saying that as far as she knows he is still alive and could be anywhere. All eyes are on Phoebe as she attempts to say this without looking guilty. Prue tells her that she will do fine if she doesn't look as guilty as she just did. Piper reassures her about the investigation, saying that it will be over soon. When Phoebe is silent, Prue inquires about her hiding anything. Phoebe says "Of course not" very unconvincingly, causing everyone to stare after her with confused looks when she leaves.
Next, we see a woman running through what appears to be an alley, which opens to a wider area that looks to be the receiving dock of a warehouse. The man chasing her flings what appears to be a big ball of flame in her direction. She raises her hand and a shield of some transparent blue appears, and deflects the ball. The ball ends up obliterating a crate instead. She tells the man (who apparently is a warlock) that he might as well give it up, as she can "deflect his power". The man replies, "all of them?" At the same moment flinging another ball of the flame stuff, which she deflects right back at him. This burns him up. She starts to relax when he reappears behind her. He slings an arm around her neck and moves the dagger in front of her. He whispers in her ear that the "ability to clone" himself is just "one of the many powers" he's managed to acquire during his years hunting witches. He spins her around, clutching her throat, and adds, "And now, I am about to add one more." He thrusts the dagger into the witch, as she dies she starts to glow. The glowing then moves from her to the warlock through their mouths. As she stops glowing and goes limp, he tosses her to the ground and drops the dagger. At that moment a woman orbs in and kneels next to the corpse. She tries to bring her back to life by waving her hands over the body. He tells her that she is too late, calling her a whitelighter, and tells her that the witch is dead. Adding to this he says that he will see her later. As he says this last, he fades out, and she just stares after him.
We switch to the manor, where Leo is sitting at the dinning room table as Piper serves him breakfast. She is telling him what she has planned for the day: lunch with a reporter for an article on the club, followed by some meeting with "some dot.com guys" who want to set up a web site for her. When she is done, she inquires about his plans for the day. His response is to tell her he can't tell her that. Piper starts to complain about the whitelighter rules that they seem to keep running up against. Leo reminds her that they are still "on probation", and therefore have to watch their behavior. Otherwise, the Guardians will never allow them to marry. They are about to kiss when the whitelighter from earlier orbs in. Leo, startled, refers to her as "Natalie". She is telling them that there is trouble in San Francisco, and shows them the dagger. At the same time Prue is running in, and sees her pull out the dagger. She screams "Antema! Antema!" then jumps up on the table about to attack Natalie. Leo stops her in time and introduces Natalie to them, saying that they "were rookies together." Natalie tells Leo that this isn't a "social call", and fills them in on the death of the witch. She tells them of the warlock that now has the power of deflection. Prue wonders if it means he can deflect their powers. Natalie confirms this, and explains that all of the Whitelighters have been alerted, except Leo, who missed that mornings meeting. He claims that he had to heal Piper's finger, and Natalie says something about assuming that it was a demon who attacked her finger, reminding them that Whitelighters are only supposed to apply healing touches to those situations. They talk some more on the issue, and then go into a talk in clicking language. Prue and the others watch, and Prue says that it must be some sort of "whitelighterese". Prue says that she is going to go look in the Book of Shadows, and allows Natalie to go with her. This causes a comment about the attic housing the Book of Shadows, and Natalie says, "You mean the Altar Room, don't you?" Natalie goes on about the rules and the "sacred and protected spot". Prue and Piper roll their eyes. Instead Leo tells Prue to bring it down to the dining room. Prue makes a comment about it being "right next to the potions lab". Leo goes to eat a strawberry, but Natalie stops him with a click of her tongue, which he translates to "not supposed to eat on the job", very unenthusiastically.
We change scenes, and Phoebe is in a booth at a restaurant with the DA inspector Reese. He asks her if she's certain that she doesn't want to order anything to eat. When he is ordering her a bagel, she shakes a bit of the potion into his coffee. He comments on her choice of places, and then takes a sip of his coffee. He gags, but recovers and says that it his allergies. He asks her about being afraid, and she responds with "Of what? Cole?" She says that she has no reason to be afraid of him. Reese tells her that Cole is "a man who only exists on paper." Reese pulls out a couple of photos from his file on Cole. One is a spot of blood on the carpet, and the other one is of his demonic paraphernalia. She says she cannot help him, and as she is leaving Reese warns her that if Cole is still alive he is a threat to her and her sisters.
We change back to the manor, where Prue reads about deflection in the Book of Shadows, "a witch's best shield against the forces of darkness." She wonders how the warlock got close enough to the witch to kill her, give that she was "such a powerful witch." Natalie and Leo guess that the warlock also possesses the power to clone himself. They explain cloning by finishing each other's sentences, which makes Piper jealous. Natalie, oblivious to this, smiles and says that sort of thing happens when colleagues have been together as long as she and Leo have been. Piper grits her teeth, and Leo senses her tension and changes the subject by suggesting Prue look up cloning in the Book of Shadows. She comes up with some information on the warlock. His real name is Eames (pronounced like AIMS), and ten years before he killed a witch in Glasgow to obtain the cloning power. Prue also notes that Eames killed another witch in Kenya in '89 for her transmogrification power. She doesn't know what this power is, and Natalie and Leo tell her in unison that it is a shape changer. She states that based on the evidence he must have a master plan. Piper says that if they figure out what the plan is, they can beat Eames at his own game. Natalie suggests that she and Leo discuss this privately and asks Piper and Prue to leave the room. Piper freezes Natalie because she is fed up, which leads to a fight between her, Prue, and Leo. Prue and Piper chime together "who put lady attitude in charge," and tell Leo that they don't wish to work with someone who obviously doesn't trust them, their abilities, or their instincts. He tells them that he will talk to her about their concerns, asks Piper to unfreeze Natalie. She rises and starts to walk away, and unfreezes Natalie with a flick of the wrist once she is out of the room. Natalie, confused, asks what happened. Prue, grinning, says, "Piper froze ya." Natalie's response was "She what?" Prue, with a wink, says, "A-yup!"
In the kitchen, Leo comes in after Piper and tells her, "Freezing me in bed for your own personal pleasure is fine." (Personally, this was one image I could have done with out...) He continues by saying that freezing Natalie is counterproductive. Piper states that Natalie knows things about him that she doesn't, and Leo wonders if she is jealous of Natalie. She says she isn't jealous of Natalie, she is jealous of the stuff that Natalie gets to share with him. Piper continues with the fact that she feels that the Rules are only serving to exclude her, and that the real problem is the "secrets" he is forced to keep from her. She states, "if there is one thing I've learned as a Halliwell, it's that you don't keep secrets from the ones you love." Just then Phoebe enters from her meeting with Reese. Piper asks how the meeting went, and Phoebe tells them that Reese is not a demon, and then wonders if she can have a moment alone with Leo. Piper tells her to "take a number", and he suggest she go meet Natalie. When Phoebe inquires who that is, Piper starts to say "she's a ..." but Leo jumps in and says "a fellow Whitelighter." Leo turns to Piper and says, "See? I finished your sentence." But, Piper doesn't agree, she says, "That's not what I was thinking."
Back in the sunroom, Prue is scrying over a map of the city, and Natalie tells her that she is wasting her time because scrying won't work on Eames. Prue tells her that she isn't scrying for him, she is scrying for the deflection power. Phoebe enters and greets Natalie, who offers her hand and a warm smile. At that moment, the crystal drops to the map, and Prue announces that she has found the power in an industrial park. Phoebe notes the entry in the Book of Shadows on Eames, and inquires about what is going on. Prue explains that they will get her up to speed on the way, and calls for Leo and Piper. Natalie voices that she is doesn't agree that they should just go chasing after him unprepared. Phoebe picks up Eames' dagger and is thrown into a vision while Prue is talking to Natalie. Eames tosses a ball of some flame at a bald man, who vanishes into fire. Prue asks her for details, and Phoebe guesses that the bald guy is a male witch. This sets Prue into a plan of attack. Piper and Leo return from the kitchen just as Natalie warns of caution, telling them they should consult "the Elders" before doing anything. Prue agrees and sends her up to discuss, while she gets them to go with her in search of Eames.
In some waterfront warehouse, Eames sits chanting inside. Prue and the others tear into the warehouse with her SUV. Prue jumps out of the SUV and tosses Eames into some pallets. When he rises, Piper attempts to freeze him, but he deflects it and fades out. They wonder where the bald man from the vision is, and he orbs in at that moment. They discover he is a dark lighter not a witch, and Leo orbs out immediately. Phoebe knocks the crossbow out of the dark lighter's hands, and then sends him flying across the warehouse. Piper freezes him, and as they are trying to figure out what just happened, Eames appears saying, "Oh, did I miss all the fun? No, wait, I am the fun." He tosses one of his flame balls at the dark lighter, causing him to go up in smoke. He grabs the crossbow, thanking them for assisting in helping him get it, and fades out. They all just stare after him.
Upon returning to the manor, they are filling in Leo when Natalie orbs back in. She explains that "the Elders" want them to remain in the manor, as the man in the vision could be a "force of evil". They explain that they know because they went after Eames anyway. She chides them for being so reckless, saying it was only luck that prevented them all from being harmed. "The Elders" ring Natalie and Leo's bell, and they both go up, holding hands. This really stirs up Piper. Prue tells her to forget it; they have to focus on figuring out what Eames is really up to. Phoebe volunteers to look through the Book of Shadows, and Prue says that she is going to put together a spreadsheet to help figure out where it is all going. Piper says, "I'll help. Anything to get rid of her." Phoebe asks, "You mean him." Piper replies, "Nah, I mean her." Prue and Piper head off, while Phoebe goes and is lazily flipping through the Book of Shadows, and comes across the entry for Belthazor. She pauses on it and murmurs, "What am I going to do with you?" as she gazes upwards. The scene fades the ceiling into what is supposed to be "heaven", I am supposing.
Up in the clouds, you see Leo standing in the center filled with haze and several figures in robes with hoods on them. You hear clicks of what Prue called earlier "whitelighterese". A robed form emerges from the bright light behind Leo, and it turns out to be Natalie. She notes that everyone up here is in an uproar about Eames, and then asks Leo why he hasn't changed into his robe, as the Rules dictate. Leo replies that he finds his jeans more comfortable. She leads him into a discussion about her concerns in regards to the activities in the manor, noting that the "Charmed Ones" are "sloppy", "unorganized", and "undisciplined". He claims that is what "makes them great". They discuss his relationship with Piper, and the issue of Belthazor getting so close should never have happened. She reveals that the "elders" have asked for her opinion regarding his relationship with Piper. Before he responds they hear Phoebe calling for him, and he states, "a charge's call takes precedent" and orbs out. Natalie walks off.
As Phoebe shouts for Leo once more, he orbs in behind her and startles her when he speaks. She tries to get him to promise that what she is about to say is between them, and she finally tells him that Cole is alive. Leo is shocked as Phoebe fills in the details. Finally, he lays into her about what a threat Cole is to them, and Phoebe tries to bring in Leo's familiarity with "forbidden love". He replies that this is in no way similar to him and Piper. He wonders what she hoped to gain from telling him this information. Her response is to request his support and his guidance. He comments that is what got her into this mess, and that he cannot begin to think of a way to fix the situation. He storms out.
In the hall, Leo suddenly staggers against the wall in pain, and cries out. Phoebe rushes out as he drops to his knees. He is moaning and clutching his stomach in agony. Prue and Piper enter, and he says that he is feeling some witch's pain, but not his own 'charge'. As he cries out in pain again, it mixes with the witch in question, and the scene changes to her in a park somewhere. Eames is twisting a dagger in her stomach. The scene changes back to the hall, where Leo rises and says that he needs to go help her. The scene changes again, and Eames is telling the witch that he doesn't intend to kill her, but is waiting for her whitelighter to show up. She rocks back and forth in pain as the scene changes once again to the manor hall. Piper wonders why the witch's whitelighter isn't going to her aid. As Leo is starting to orb out, Prue stops him, she has figured out Eames plan. She tells them that he intends to kill a whitelighter to obtain their power to orb, using the darklighter's crossbow to do it. Natalie returns at that moment to confirm Prue's information. She states that if Eames gets the power to orb, then he can enter 'heaven' and kill everyone up there, and this would leave all of the forces of good unprotected. She tells them that all whitelighters have been blocked from orbing except her and Leo. They are to help the 'charmed ones' defeat Eames. As they are letting this sink in, the scene changes back to the park, where the witch is on her back slowly dying. Eames wonders out loud about what kind of whitelighter she has that would leave her to die, and she guesses that they are on to his plan, thus no whitelighter will come and save her. He states that he supposes she is right, and comments that he no longer needs her then. We see an overhead shot of Eames raising the dagger, and then we change back to the Halliwell manor as the witch screams. They are all walking down the stairs when Leo staggers, and almost looses his footing as the scream continues. He notes that Eames has killed the witch, and Prue tosses a "What does your rule book say now?" at Natalie, who blinks but looks like she is in a daze.
While Leo and Natalie are talking privately, Prue, Piper, and Phoebe are discussing the situation. Piper isn't happy that Leo is still a target, and they all think that they should be writing a vanquishing spell instead of waiting on Natalie to tell them what to do. They walk into the parlor where Leo and Natalie are, and ask Natalie to leave because they want to talk to Leo in private. Leo reveals at this time that Natalie will be taking over as their whitelighter for the duration, as he feels that Natalie is correct in her assertion that he has been allowing his emotions to cloud his judgment. They try to protest but he insists, and then he kisses Piper goodbye. He then orbs out to join the lockdown. An uneasy silence creeps in as they wait for Natalie to make a move. She tells them that she should now direct their collective attention (and anger) on Eames to be vanquished. Prue asks if they are allowed "a moment to process" what has just happened. Natalie says," You must prepare yourselves for battle, mentally, physically, sartorially." Piper says, "Hah." Phoebe says, "I'm sorry, what?" Piper replies, "She doesn't like our clothes." Natalie responds, "You need outfits that are loose and move. That means no more braless, strapless... fearless attire." Prue looks down and then comments, "Okay, then I have nothing to wear." The scene ends with Natalie looking like a drill sergeant for the marines or something like that.
In some sort of abandoned warehouse at dusk, Natalie leads the girls, in camouflage and sweats, in some exercises while shouting things into their faces like a drill sergeant. Then, she announces that their primary target is to get the crossbow away from Eames, and if they manage to vanquish Eames in the process, that is just a well. She tells them to imagine that she is their target, and Phoebe claps her hands, and Prue says, "Oh, that is way too easy." Natalie tells them to tell her how they plan to separate Eames from the crossbow, and then all of their plans she shoots down. Phoebe starts to complain about not being able to think like this, and using their instincts because of the uncertainty of how it will play out. Natalie says in response, "think with your brains, not with your glands." Then they have a brief training sequence where Prue scales the wall, Phoebe levitates, and Piper does a couple of back flips. Unfortunately Natalie out-maneuvers them every time.
In P3, Natalie is off to one side writing, and the sister's are at the bar trying to write a vanquishing spell. They are writing one for each of his powers, Prue is handling cloning, Piper the transmogrification, and Phoebe the deflection. Phoebe comments that hers came out a little country western, "I am rejectin' your deflection." Piper groans at this, a joke about getting Natalie laid is made, and then Prue comments about Natalie's dedication to her job. Natalie comes over at that moment and reviews the vanquishing spells. Then she tells them that she has come up with a plan of attack. She will use herself as bait, while they are waiting nearby. Once Eames fades in, she will orb out, and the sisters will get the crossbow. Piper advises Natalie that she cannot let her do this and put herself at such a risk. Natalie says thanks for the concern, and Piper comments, "my concern is not for you." But, she tries to modify that by saying, "at least, not only for you". Natalie says that she has gone through every scenario, and can't find a way for the plan to fail.
In the clearing the dead witch is lying on the ground. Prue, Piper, and Phoebe are hiding in the bushes as Natalie orbs in next to the dead witch. She kneels over the witch and passes her hands over the dead witch, and Eames fades in. Natalie calls, "Now!" and orbs out as Eames shots an arrow. Prue throws the crossbow out of his hands, and he glowingly fades out. Phoebe announces that it was his clone, and Piper retrieves the crossbow. They all sense something wrong about the whole situation, as it went down way too easily.
When they return to the manor, Natalie greets them in the front entry, and Piper hands her the crossbow, and they tell her their concerns about what went down. They tell her he didn't resist at all, and that they got the crossbow without seeing him twice. She tells them not to worry, and is about to orb out when something occurs to her and she asks them again about the events. They tell her that he didn't really put up a fight and they got the crossbow after he faded out, and that he didn't come back to put up a fight. Natalie is looking at the crossbow during this and as if on cue, the crossbow disappears into a cloud of black smoke, and appears Eames holding the arrow. He grabs Natalie, and Prue tries to throw him, he deflects it back, and she ends up crushing the coffee table in the parlor. Piper tries to freeze him, but he deflects that as well, causing her to destroy a cabinet in the parlor. Phoebe doesn't do anything, realizing there is nothing that they can do, and he stabs Natalie with the arrow and they fade out.
Piper is complaining that they followed what Natalie told them to do, they followed all the rules, and they still failed. Phoebe comments, "I hate rules." Prue chides herself for not following her own instincts. They call for Leo, and he orbs in telling them that he knows what happened. He comments that they told him not to watch, but he did anyway. He says that he has a plan and "it breaks the rules big time." Immediately, Piper knows what he is talking about and says, "You mean?" Leo replies, "Uh-huh." And she says, "And we?" Leo replies, "Yep." Phoebe and Prue both go "Huh?" And look very confused at this point.
In an alley somewhere, Natalie is laying on her back with the arrow sticking out of her chest. Eames is excited about his upcoming victory over the forces of good. As Natalie dies, her powers glow up from her mouth and into Eames, giving him the power to orb. He picks up the crossbow and orbs up into 'heaven'. Once Eames gets there, he is momentarily dazzled by the light. Then, as his eyes adjust he takes aim at a robed figure in the distance. He shoots and the figure throws it back at him. The figure turns out to be Prue. Piper enters and freezes the arrow in mid-air. Phoebe enters and kicks Eames, this pushes him into the arrow to where the arrow enters his back. He cries out and falls to the ground. He asks, "What the hell are you doing up here?" Phoebe's response is, "kicking your ass." Prue explains that Eames got Natalie's weaknesses along with her power to orb, and the poison is killing him as it did her. Piper says that this is kind of "poetic", and then Phoebe says, "I'm kind of in the rhyming mood." Prue agrees stating that the poison isn't working fast enough. They recite the following vanquishing spells:
(All three) Time for amends and a victim's revenge.
(Prue) Cloning power turned sour.
(Piper) Power to change turned strange.
(Phoebe) I'm rejectin' your deflection.
Eames burns up and is gone. Phoebe states, "Wow, it worked." Prue responds, "Yeah, nothing anticlimactic about that." Leo starts to approach them saying that they needed to get out of there before they get in trouble. Prue comments that she expected a tour. Piper states that they won't remember the trip anyway, but Leo tells her they will.
On the loveseat at P3, Prue joins Phoebe and Piper, telling Phoebe that Reese called the house and would like to talk to her about the case again. They comment about the call, and then Piper changes the topic, wondering when Leo will be back from meeting with the "elders". Piper comments on her worries about the punishments that could be handed down for breaking the rules, and then she gets up and heads to the bar. Prue turns and looks at Phoebe saying, "What's in that head of yours?" Phoebe looks up and responds, "Nothing, you know that." She smiles and then she lies and says that she is also worried about Leo. At that same moment Prue spots Leo, and heads off to get Piper. Leo sits beside Phoebe, and she apologizes for being "such a screw-up" with the Cole thing. He responds by telling her that he should be the one to apologize, he should have been paying more attention than he was to Cole. Prue comes back with Piper, and Leo rises stating that he has some good news. He tells her that the 'elders' have lifted their probation, and that they are now "officially engaged".
Leo and Piper hug as the show ends.
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