I watched the first few seasons of Charmed when it was on, and somehow lost track of it before the show ended. I started re-watching the entire series to catch up. Plus, who doesn't love witches in tank tops? After watching the first few episodes, I started to get worried that most of the "innocents" that the Charmed Sisters were to protect, or who would die as an indicator that there was a demon around, were women. So I decided to start this blog, and keep it up through the entire series.
But, come on, the whole series? That's ridiculous. So here is Season 1.
And because I'm me, I also noted the race of the innocent victims.
E1: Something wiccan this way comes- young
women witches (One
White woman was shown)
E2: I've got you undertaken skin- young
women (Two
White women were shown)
E3: Thank you for not morphing-
the sisters
Although the Charmed sisters are obviously women, they are also the main characters of the show, and supposedly super-powerful, so I'm not counting them in the "innocent victim" category. With power comes people who want to take, regardless of your gender.
E4: Dead man dating-
Chinese man
E5: Dream Sorcerer- young
women (One
White woman was shown)
Additionally in this episode, Prue gets attacked in a bath tub. Really? Let's just reinforce that naked women are vulnerable, why don't we?
I have noticed good thing during the shows is that the sisters are shown eating. Mostly snacking, but also meals. It's nice to see women who actually eat. Rare, but nice.
Also, Phoebe made it clear that she had
safe sex. Lots of safe sex. :)
E6: The wedding from hell- young,
White straight
couple, and the groom's (
White)
mother.
E7: The fourth sister- The sisters, and a teenage
girl (
White)
E8: The truth is out there, and it hurts- scientists (one
White man, one
Black man) and the (
White)
mother-to-be of a future scientist.
Although I give kudos for having a scientist of color, why is the one woman who is attacked not a scientist? She's basically just a carrier, a vessel. She's attacked for what's in her uterus, not for anything that she personally accomplishes.
E9: The witch is back- the sisters. Two random
White men with their last name were killed, too.
E10: Wicca envy- the sisters
E11: Feats of Clay- 3
male thieves
E12: The wendigo- 2
White men, and Piper.
E13: From fear to eternity- 13 unmarried
witches. All
White, young, and pretty.
Yet again, Prue is attacked while naked. This time, in the shower instead of the bath tub.
E14: Secrets and guys-
Black boy with powers
E15: Is there a woogy in the house?- Everyone who went in the basement:
White gas
man,
White woman professor,
White male neighbor,
White male police detective (and Prue's sometimes-boyfriend), and Phoebe.
E16: Which Prue is it, anyway?- The sisters
E17: That 70s episode- the sisters, or may be their mother (She's also a powerful witch, but
White and
female, too).
E18: When bad warlocks go good-
White guy, but a random blond (
White)
woman also was almost sacrificed. A pagan symbol was drawn on her chest. Not over her heart, but riding the tops of her breasts. Classy.
E19: Out of sight- 2 boys, and a good person (a
Black man)
More mentioning of safe sex, though; woot!
E20: The power of two- Revenge killings (
man, old
White man, old
White woman)
I think Detective Trudeau (Prue's sometimes-boyfriend) should have his own show. Except that, when he learns of Prue's powers, he says that he can't date her because he doesn't want a wife with as dangerous of a job as he has (as a police detective). This is quite the double standard.
E21: Love hurts- A
White woman and a
White man. He is a White Lighter, and she's a White Lighter To Be.
This episode had a controlling (ex?)boyfriend stalking a women. He was a demon, but he did say what abusers typically say to their victims.
E22: Deja vu all over again- the sisters, but Prue's sometimes-boyfriend sacrifices
himself so that the sisters can live. You rarely see a man sacrifice himself for a woman. BTW, he's still
White.
Also, this episode made me cry.
And those are the victims in Season 1 of Charmed! There were 22
women threatened or killed, 26
men threatened or killed, 35
White people threatened or killed, and only 4
people of color threatened or killed; 48 victims' gender was known, while only 39 victims' races were known.
My hypothesis that more
women would be in danger than
men (not counting the
Charmed Sisters) was incorrect; there were about equal numbers of men and women killed. It might be interesting to only look at one main victim, rather than everyone who was harmed in an episode, though.
Unsurprisingly, the show is very, very
White. I had hope that this would not be the case because one of the secondary characters is a
Black man (Prue's sometimes-boyfriend's police partner). The beginning of the season had some
men of
color as victims, too, but that soon faded to only
Whites. It is interesting that there is no
women of
color anywhere on this list. I wonder why?
