Why We Love Paige Matthews 

I really appreciate your pick on why she was suspicious about Cole but unfortunately the real reason (behind the scenes) was somewhat a downer as her early arc throughout the 4th season ,hence her being suspicious of Cole, was what the writers had already written for the arc of Prue (had Shannen stayed of course)

@@QrogaMilo It's only simple if you choose to put that spin on it. Despite if the writers intended for it to be that way or not. The above commenters reasons for Paige being able to smell out Cole is much more logical to Paige's character.

Woooow as an avid Charmed I never explored this possibility and perspective

This is a cool take on it, and I believe it partially applies, but I also think it’s her latent sensing ability from her whitelighter side, that made her more receptive to Cole’s true nature

And also, she was the only one of the sisters the Source had tried to directly manipulate by possessing a boyfriend, so perhaps she also picked up on something familiar about how 'Cole' was acting. She just didn't know Cole well enough to know that he was being possessed.

Prue would like her

SPOILER WARNING for the Charmed comics In the comics they do meet and all of their powers become too much and Prue has to be stripped of hers somehow from what i remember, its said that she fulfilled her destiny and thus has to step back, i think that when they met their powers interacted in a very bad way and it took away from them actually talking about meeting for the first time but i may be wrong, i read the comics a long time ago

Prue and Paige loved each other

@@wikstr18 you are correct, Phoebes begins uncontrollably levitating across the world and I think Piper cant stop freezing, all because Prue and Paige touched

I think it would have been better if when prüfen came back it made Paige the ultimate power and had her struggle to control it or something like that instead of it being Billie and Christie since the charmed ones was supposed to be the most powerful so a forth increase but that’s just my opinion ha

Now I hadn't even put that together after watching it over and over again. Great note!

Pure magic . ❤️💯

Yh. That spell triggered the news paper that appeared at social services but you could also say Patty or Penny summoned it from the heavens. They used to turn the pages of the book of shadows so maybe they can do that too?

​@@LJGrindewald it is implied that it was Prue the one that turned the pages that brought Paige to Piper and Phoebe

@@belencabrera8325 I thought it was Grams or Patty. They were the ones who told them as ghosts they had another sister.

Disagree

The show was already realistic and fresh with Prue.

Totally agree seasons 3 and 4 are the best

No. Charmed was at its best with Prue, Piper and Phoebe. They were truly sisters. Paige was not.

Only cuz of Cole though.

Yesss 💜

I‘m sorry but please do not confuse Paige, being a great element of S4-8 with Prue‘s huge domino effect. She was the one keeping the sisters in check but now that she was gone, they actively tried to avoid saving innocents more and more to the point of sometimes hurting them (cleaners episode and more). I think Shannen Doherty felt this was coming hence why she deconstructed her character in All Hell Breaks Loose.

I mean, Prue didn't keep the others in check so much as they all kept each other in check. It's actually Phoebe in the early seasons who's the most dedicated to helping innocents - she saw the good in Cole and knew she had to protect him from Prue's black and white way of thinking because Prue wouldn't understand how a demon could sometimes be good. Things hit the skids in All Hell Breaks Loose because Phoebe wasn't around to caution Prue's cowboy cop behaviour in chasing after Shax. Phoebe also is the one pushing for Piper to still help Kate when Leo's been taken away The reluctance to keep being witches in the later seasons wasn't so much because Prue wasn't around but because by then they'd suffered way more loss than they had before. Andy was the only friend they'd really lost beforehand, since they'd already grieved for their mother and grandmother before they discovered their powers. Then one by one, they lose their sister in a way that could have been prevented, Phoebe's husband gets possessed and has to be killed, along with her unborn baby, Piper's marriage is nearly destroyed because of magical duty, they learn that their son/nephew is going to be a tyrant in the future who then gets nearly killed by someone they trusted, and another relative (Chris) gets killed trying to protect them, and Paige loses a boyfriend too. It's also an additional four years of other innocents they've lost or weren't able to help. Prue went to pieces for months because of Andy's death. She'd likely be the same way if she lost a sister, a brother-in-law and a nephew, along with 7-8 years worth of innocents Paige is my favourite character but she was more ready to jump back into demon fighting than the other two because she'd lost less to magic. Yeah she lost Prue before she knew her, but she associated magic with gaining two sisters and a brother-in-law. She hated Cole and wasn't sad when he died, and Kyle's death still had him becoming a whitelighter. Paige was also the one who said "looks like we didn't lose him after all" when Chris was born, so she'd coped with his death. Magic affected her life in a mostly positive way, while Piper and Phoebe suffered so much because of it

Her and Prue were the best thing that's ever happened in the show. I just imagined they would also have a great chemistry together.

Prue was unique my fave...but paige fit better more naturally as a sister...prue felt more like a mom..

This was Charmed's greatest achievement and other shows can learn from them. I don't think any other show has introduced a replacement character as well and organically and successfully as Charmed, especially given the premise of the show and the concept of the Charmed Ones' prophecy.

Exactly. Paige was introduced in a way that made her feel like a missing piece that completed the puzzle. It no doubt helped that Prue's death opened Piper up to become the lead witch, meaning they were elevating an already talented performer in Holly Marie Combs

@@razkable , no. Prue felt like a big sister. Paige felt like a stranger. She never fit in.

@@BetterWithBob , Paige was not a missing puzzle. The trio was perfect with Prue, Piper and Phoebe.

Not true. Season 1 was about Prue. Season 2 was about Piper. Then Season 3 was about Phoebe. There was no balance with Paige, because she did not grow up them. She was a stranger and did not have the same father as Phoebe and Piper. It was uneven. With Prue all sisters were equally important and had an equal amount of spotlight. Prue, Piper and Phoebe were sisters. Paige was an outcast. It was not balanced.

I disagree. Later on it became so much more about Phoebe.

What did Paige add to the show?

Thanks to Magic, she has a family, that is the beautiful thing about it

Paige was newer at it.

Yeah, that's what I liked best about Paige. She never whined about wanting to be normal all the time like Piper or suddenly wimp out like Phoebe. She understood full stop what it would mean if they gave up their powers all together and what it would entail.

She did to me.

You're right about them handling it so well, If someone wasn't aware of the behind-the-scenes drama it absolutely feels like it could have been planned! She just slotted into the show so perfectly, like even if Prue hadn't died, due to the back work from season 2 (Sam and Patty's actors really sold it!) part of me thinks Paige could have still 'existed'. (Albeit with a more minor degree and presence.)

Me too, I didn't know I have this high appreciation for Paige and the way she was introduced and portrayed.

Only the six male main cast members or the other important ones (mainly the Charmed Ones' boyfriends/husbands) too?

In the 100th episode, Centennial Charmed, Cole creates a world in which Paige never reunited with her sisters after Prue's death. Piper only cared about vengeance and vanquishing Shax, and Phoebe was miserable and living with Cole. It was a great episode that really highlighted how important Paige's character was!

That's not true. All the sisters saved each other during the Prue era. The Power Of Three was much stronger with Prue. And the chemistry was a lot better.

Thank you! 😊

I’ve been saying this for years but season 2 episode “P3 H20” is a really important episode of Charmed. It set up the foundation for another Charmed One to be revealed with the revelation of Patty & Sam’s relationship. I have a feeling the writers set up that storyline as a way of a safety net in case any of the actresses (Shannon, Holly & Alyssa) decided to leave the show for whatever reason (They obviously and correctly hoped the show would go on for a number of years). It’s why the transition from Prue to Paige works so so well. That and the fact the casting for the show is excellent in the sense that all four actresses look like they could actually be related! I’m glad the writers had the foresight to dish up that episode and the subsequent affair that came from it. Had that episode not happened, I think they would have either have had to have done a recast of the character of Prue or the show would have ended very prematurely! What a blessing that season 2 episode ended up being!

Prue dying changed the dynamic, but not for the better.

No. It was not meant to be. Paige looks nothing like Phoebe and Piper. Prue looked like them and had better chemistry.

Paige was the weakest character of the 4 sisters but that didn't matter cause Cole Leo Chris Darryl even Wyatt Billie and Christy kept people interested ad the show wrote the other characters around the sisters better

I've been tangentially involved in the fandom since the mid-2000s ish and she's always been a polarizing character. Those who love her are very vocal about it but I know there are plenty who felt she was inconsistently written, overpowered or dominated storylines too much. It may be influenced by when the person started watching the series - there was a channel called Living TV in the UK that ran double bills of Charmed every day but for ages they couldn't show the first three seasons so people may have had their first impression be Season 4. I've noticed all the sisters get that to an extent, although you'll rarely find someone declaring their hate for Paige (she seems to be the least disliked).

@@BobbyCalloway , plenty of people dislike Paige.

You're not wrong

That's cool :3 Mine is the opposite xdxd Phoebe Paige Piper Prue

Pure is driving me nuts lol

Pure 💜😭

only facts

Well she was their “ long lost sister “ basically a secret child so I can see why she suddenly appeared

@hoehoe8516 yeah, it's just my pet peeve when a major character comes in out of no where. Like maybe they met baby Paige but had the memory erased. Or have Patty get a weird sad look on her face if somebody said "your three daughters". I'll always prefer saying "should've seen that coming" versus "never saw that coming".

it's the hair

Season 4,5, & 6 Paige were phenomenal especially 5 and 6 with her powers and getting to save the day instead of just being the Leo cosmic taxi replacement season 7 was the worst for her character season 8 too except her learning to heal and being able to orb her and her sisters in the dollhouse

My head canon for this was one year after having a family and being a witch boosted her confidence and self-esteem. Hence, she seemed different post-S4.

@@galenaking713 👌🏾 true true!

Yes very true. They simply don't know what to do with her in S4.

I always preferred Prue over Paige.

That's fine I've always preferred Paige over Piper.

I disagree. Prue definitely had a sense of humor and she had several funny moments. Prue could be serious, but she also had a sense of humor. Phoebe, Piper and Prue was very fun together.

Exactly. Prue is very popular and beloved.

Completely Agree with your ranking

@@laurak7203 oh thanks 🙂