t the end of season five, the Charmed Ones became Greek goddesses to defeat the Titans, and Leo left Piper and Wyatt to accept his calling as an Elder. Over a month has passed, and the girls are trying to get on with their lives, except for the fact that Chris (Fuller), the Whitelighter from the future, has them vanquishing demons right and left.
Phoebe (Milano) and Paige (McGowan) rein in Chris' enthusiastic demon-hunting because they have concerns about Piper (Combs). Since Leo (Krause) left, Piper has been chipper, happily making play dates with other mommies, baking muffins and turning P3 into a playground for babies. In fact, she's become way too chipper, and her sisters know something must be wrong.
Beyond that, Paige's new career as a temp has her walking dogs, and Phoebe discovers she's gained a power that causes her to feel whatever the people around her are feeling. She's excited about this new power of empathy, but learning to control it is another matter.
What the girls don't know is that Chris has banished Leo to the care of the Valkyries, warrior women who train the souls of dead warriors to fight. Worse than that, Chris will do whatever he has to to keep the Charmed Ones from finding out where Leo is until he's finished with his mysterious plan.
However, when Paige and Phoebe do find out that Leo is missing, Chris is forced to help them to keep his involvement a secret. What they all discover is that rescuing Leo from the tropical island filled with beautiful warrior women will be quite a challenge, especially while trying to get Piper's memory and emotions back intact.
Guest stars galore
Charmed's big two-hour sixth-season premiere, "Valhalley of the Dolls," does what the series does best—tells an entertaining story while never losing the emotional subtext at the core of that story. That ability to balance the fantastical world of magic with realistic characters is what has kept this series on the air into its sixth season, and it's what will keep the show on for another year or two.
"Valhalley of the Dolls" has a tough job in cleaning up the mess left at the end of last season when Leo left Piper to become an Elder. The relationship has been a mainstay for the series, and it's surprising to see this new evolutionary turn for the couple. While there's plenty of humor with Paige's dog-walking story and Phoebe's bubbling over of empathy, the drama that eventually unfolds is as wrenching as it should be for these characters, considering the turn of events that has transpired. In the end, Piper and Leo have changed, and if not for the better it certainly is for the wiser.
The character of Chris remains a mystery. Whether he's good or evil, and what his plan is, will no doubt be the driving arc during the first part of the season. The character nicely plays both sides of the fence, and actor Drew Fuller manages to explore his comic and sinister qualities to good effect. He's a good addition to this excellent cast of fine actors.
A couple of notable moments in "Valhalley of the Dolls" include an opening number by Smash Mouth, a cameo by Joe Millionaire's Evan Marriott in a fitting bit and Piper on a motorcycle looking like a Hell's Angel. It's great to see The WB airing this as a two-hour episode, rather than a two-parter. While it will no doubt get broken up for later broadcast in two parts, getting a two-hour Charmed movie that's been written as if it was meant to be seen in one sitting is a nice little present to the fans.
