Surrender

**Surrender** is the seventeenth episode of the first season of *Charmed* and the seventeenth episode of the series overall. It premiered on March 31, 2019.

## Synopsis

DEEPEST DESIRE — When Niko (Ellen Tamaki) reaches out to Mel (Melonie Diaz) for help, she unknowingly reveals a new demon. Maggie (Sarah Jeffery) volunteers to infiltrate the "cult" to help thwart him, but when she goes missing Macy (Madeleine Mantock) and Mel set out to find her before it's too late. Harry (Rupert Evans) must face the consequences of the "gift" that the Elders have bestowed on him, leaving Mel, Macy and Maggie shocked and angry. Mel thinks that Fiona (guest star Leah Pipes) might be the key to helping Harry, which seems to cause trouble between her and Jada (guest star Aleyse Shannon). Meanwhile, Parker (Nick Hargrove) is getting worse and Maggie has an idea on how to make him better.

## Plot

The episode begins with Harry facing a tribunal before the Council of Elders, his “unsanctioned’ relationship with Charity now public. Facing further charges of putting the Charmed Ones in harm’s way — by, you know, being unaware that Charity killed five Elders (including Marisol Vera) and then attempted to kill Macy to cover her secret — the council rules to revoke his whitelighter status.

With their whitelighter M.I.A., the Vera sisters are struggling — and not just because of his unofficial duties as their personal chef. Unaware of Harry’s fate and with no way to contact the Elders, the sisters are frustrated by the council’s hold on them. But Harry isn’t the only person they’re concerned about.

Galvin has abruptly ceased all connections with Macy, leaving her worried his grandmother is right about his quest being too dangerous. Meanwhile, Parker’s condition is continuing to deteriorate as Maggie and Dr. Wagner seek a cure for his demon virus. Mel is surprised to receive an urgent text from Niko asking her to come over.

Despite Maggie and Macy’s warnings not to get caught up with Niko again, she agrees. At Niko’s, Mel finally meets Greta, the private investigator’s ex in the previous timeline and fiancée in the current timeline. She also meets Scarlett, who has just fled a cult but has no memories of her time there. Niko explains to Mel that she saw Scarlett and a number of other glassy-eyed women at the grocery store the week prior and concerned, gave them her card. Niko wants to know if this cult is affiliated with the Sarcana, though Mel reassures her otherwise. The cult may not be Sarcana-related, but there’s definitely magic at play.

In a remote barn, the demonic cult leader is fuming over Scarlett’s disappearance, which is threatening the success of an upcoming ritual. After killing her friend and a fellow follower, the demon sends four of his entranced followers to retrieve the former devotee, encouraging them to kill whoever stands in their way.

Maggie is desperate to see Parker but his condition is too dangerous. Dr. Wagner reveals that the last time Parker was afflicted with this demonic virus, the blood transfusion from Alastair activated his demon side. She also opens up to Maggie about meeting Alastair, not knowing he was a demon until she was living a “real-life *Rosemary’s Baby*.” While Parker refuses a blood transfusion from Alastоr, Julia needs demon blood to cure him and since Macy, a half-demon, is ineligible, Maggie vows to find some.

After being stripped of his Whitelighter powers, Harry is back...as a very old, *human* man. To their horror, he tells the sisters that his body is now rapidly aging, catching up to the age he’d be if he hadn’t died and become a Whitelighter. Considering that age is 98, Harry knows he’s running out of time and has some final words of advice before he dies and the new Whitelighter arrives. Calling the sisters his legacy, Harry tells them he’s so proud of them. But while he encourages them to accept his fate — making one final request to see Fiona before he dies — the sisters refuse to give up on him.

Meanwhile, the demon cult leader’s followers have tracked Scarlett down at Niko’s. Hearing her screams, Niko rushes to the living room to find Scarlett levitating in the air, the cult followers circling her. Confused by what she’s seeing, Niko pauses and one of the followers uses telekinesis to knock her out with a vase. Mel finds Jada at the tattoo parlor the Sarcana use as a headquarters. Jada tells her the Keeper (a.k.a. Fiona) is ready for a ceremony that’ll allow her to take on her new powers, which would shift control of magic from the Elders to the Sarcana. Mel tells her about Harry’s situation and asks for help, but Jada is unwilling to help Harry, whom she calls an “Elder patsy.” She warns Mel that a war is brewing between the two groups and it’s time to pick a side. Furious at her apathy, Mel questions her relationship with Jada and storms off.

Having overheard, Fiona emerges, telling Jada that anyone too close with her sister isn’t worth saving. Angry that the Sarcana are refusing to help Harry and unable to contact the Elders, Mel resorts to calling the Elders the old-fashioned way: forcing them to make contact by recklessly using her powers in public. The Charmed Ones are summoned before the Council of Elders, where they make a plea on Harry’s behalf. While the Elders are unwilling to reinstate him, Mel reminds them that they also share some culpability in being duped by Charity.

Niko calls Mel for help, describing what she saw the night the cult followers came for Scarlett. She asks again if the Sarcana are involved. Mel admits that there’s a lot about the Sarcana she doesn’t know and offers to look into it. The sisters find the demon they’re looking for in the Book of Shadows. Named Viralis, he’s a soul-sucking demon who forms a cult every decade, preying on vulnerable women to sacrifice in order to extend his life by another 10 years.

With Harry dying and time running out, the sisters don’t want to be distracted by a demon on the loose. But knowing that Harry would want them to continue their duties as Charmed Ones, they decide to quickly go after him. Maggie offers to be bait, wanting to secure some demon blood for Parker and under the impression witches would be immune to Viralis’s powers. Unfortunately, while Maggie is able to attract Viralis’s attention, he is able to sense her deep desire for a love that will never leave her and uses that to place her under his spell. The two of them then disappear back to his compound.

Having lost track of Maggie, Mel and Macy panic and call out for Harry…who arrives, admitting to having followed the sisters out of worry. While he no longer has his powers, Harry’s magical knowledge remains and he is able to help the sisters track down Maggie’s location and agrees to take them. Meanwhile, Fiona has been secretly following the trio.

Having acquired his necessary 10 followers, Viralis begins his ritual, which involves his sacrifices stabbing themselves as he sucks the life out of them. Outside the barn, Harry, Mel, and Macy arrive and stumble across Niko. To prevent the P.I. from getting in the way, Mel freezes time, but unfortunately, the now-human Harry is also frozen, leaving Macy and Mel to continue alone. Mel’s powers cause all the humans inside the barn to freeze, leaving Viralis and Maggie. He gives her some of his demon blood and commands her to kill anyone who walks through the door. Maggie attacks Mel with a knife and while Mel’s initially reluctant to fight back, the pair duke it out. Outside, Fiona appears and attempts to perform magic on the frozen Harry. Failing, she vows to “get into his mind” before he dies.

Under the spell of Viralis, Maggie tells Mel that while Parker and Harry are leaving her, he won’t. Meanwhile, the demon confronts Macy with a large knife. She’s able to quickly get the upper hand, using her telekinetic powers to choke him with his necklace, causing him to disappear. Knowing he’ll likely try to continue his ritual, Macy has the knife waiting when he reappears and is able to vanquish Viralis and lift his spell. While Macy and Mel try to stage the scene so that Niko won’t know they intervened before her, the P.I. tells Mel that something weird is happening and she’s somehow always in the middle of it. Macy, meanwhile, presents Maggie with a vial of the demon’s blood.

Maggie gives the demon blood to Dr. Julia, who warns her that things are going to get worse before they get better. As Dr. Wagner goes to deliver the dose to Parker, we find out why she’s keeping Maggie away. No longer looking like the fraternity brother we’ve become accustomed to, Parker now looks wildly unhuman — in his uncontrollable, shadowy demon form.

As the sisters recount Maggie’s rescue to an even older and frailer Harry, Fiona portals into the living room. She tells them she wants to save Harry because she wants the Charmed Ones to be in her debt — but she definitely has other ominous ulterior motives. Jada also appears, warning Fiona against performing the powerful magic on Harry. However, she quickly departs after being threatened by the witch. Agreeing to her help, Harry and Fiona disappear to the Vortex. After restoring Harry to his younger age, Fiona uses her heightened powers to, once again, get inside his mind. While she’s significantly more successful this time, she’s unable to obtain everything she needs from him, forcing her to take Harry captive.

## Cast

* Madeleine Mantock as Macy Vaughn
* Sarah Jeffery as Maggie Vera
* Ellen Tamaki as Niko Hamada
* and Rupert Evans as Harry Greenwood

Recurring Cast* Rya Kihlstedt as Julia Wagner
* Leah Pipes as Fiona Callahan
* Aleyse Shannon as Jada Shields

Guest Cast* Tyler Blackburn as Viralis
* Jessica Steen as Devorah Silver
* Carlena Britch as Greta
* Kimi Alexander as Scarlet
* Sia Foryoh as Wendy
* Kelly McCabe as Bar Dude
* Klarc Jerome Wilson as Pretentious Guy
* Rachel Renaud as Cult Follower
* Jennifer Tong as Cult Follower
* Rebekah Asselstine as Cult Follower
* Brittany Good as Cult Follower
* Emma Stewart as Cult Follower
* Mariesa Crouse as Cult Follower
* Joanna Marie Reyes as Cult Follower

Uncredited* Peter Brown as Grad Student

## Magical Notes

### Spells

* *Restoration Spell*
	+ Harry taught the spell to Macy and Mel to bypass Viralis's cloaking system and track him through Maggie.
* *Mind Scanning Spell*
	+ Fiona tried to use this spell to get inside of Harry's mind, but she wasn't powerful enough due to her time in Tartarus. Later, through the augmented power of the Vortex Viribus, she was able to complete the spell, though she still was not able to fully extract the information she needed from him.
* *Viralis' Sacrificial Immortality Ritual*
	+ This ritual was begun by Viralis, but was interrupted by Macy and Mel. It requires a total of ten women sacrificing themselves to Viralis, allowing him to absorb their souls and maintain his virility and life for another ten years.

### Powers

* **Desire Sensing:** Used by Viralis to sense Maggie's deepest desires.
* **Electrokinetic Orbing:** Used by Jada Shields to teleport in and out of Vera Manor.
* **Empathic Telepathy:** Used by Maggie to sense what Mel actually feels about Niko.
* **Floating:** Used by Viralis's followers to levitate a few inches off the ground.
* **Hypnosis:** Used by Viralis to control his goddesses, and then to control Maggie's feelings and herself.
* **Muting:** Used by Devorah to make Harry silence.
* **Portal Creation:** Used by Fiona to portal herself to Harry twice and take herself and Harry to the Vortex Viribus later.
* **Power Augmentation:** Used by Fiona Callahan who tapped into the Vortex Viribus's power to augment her own. \***Power Granting:** Used by Fiona through the augmented power of the Vortex Viribus to restore Harry's youth and powers after they were taken by the Elders.
* **Power Stripping:** Used by the Elders to strip Harry of his Whitelighter powers.
* **Remote Teleportation:** Used by Devorah to summon the Charmed Ones to their headquarters and then to send the sisters back to the Vera Manor.
* **Smoking:** Used by Viralis to teleport away with Maggie from the campus, then later to escape from Macy thrice and to teleport to her once.
* **Swirling:** Used by Fiona through the augmented power of the Vortex Viribus to teleport herself and Harry from the Vortex Viribus.
* **Telekinesis:** Used by Viralis's to draw his 'goddesses' near while hypnotizing them, then used by Viralis' 'goddesses' to levitate Scarlett and sling a vase at Niko, knocking her unconscious. Later used by Macy to light a light bulb, then to move a necklace on Viralis's neck to choke him.
* **Teleportation:** Used by the Elders to teleport themselves close to Harry during his trial.
* **Temporal Stasis:** Used by Mel Vera to freeze time at The Haunt, then later to freeze time so that Niko isn't put in danger and that they can vanquish Viralis; this also froze Harry, who had been stripped of his powers and was a mortal at the time.

### Artifacts

* **Book of Shadows:** The Charmed Ones' book of magic.
* **Viralis' Phallic Dagger:** Used by Viralis for his rituals, and by Macy to vanquish him.
* **Surveillance Compass:** Used by Mel and Macy to find Maggie and Viralis.

## Trivia

* Jessica Steen is the first actress invited to the reboot, who played in the original series.
	+ She played Ruth Brody.
* The sisters visit the Elders' headquarters for the first time.
* Harry is stripped of his powers in this episode by the Elders, and as such slowly ages to his actual age of 98.
* Alastor and Charity Callahan were mentioned. They were last seen in *Memento Mori*.
* Nick Hargrove doesn't appear in this episode, but Parker's demonic form is seen near the end of the episode.
* This is the only episode so far in the series to show Harry frozen in time, due to him being temporarily reverted into mortal.

## Answered Questions from Previous Episode(s)

* How will Maggie cure Parker from his demonic infection?
	+ By claiming the blood of a full-blooded demon and injecting it in him. After vanquishing Viralis, Maggie gives Dr. Wagner his blood to cure Parker.

## References to the Original Charmed

* Viralis's eyes would glow before he teleports in or out. In the original series, there were at least two demons who could do so: Klea and Vicus.
* Harry is forcibly stripped of his powers for having relations with Charity Callahan, similar to Leo Wyatt with Piper Halliwell and was punished by the Elders who stripped him of his powers when he saved her from dying of human disease.
* The sisters using magic recklessly on purpose in public to attract the Elders' attention to them is very much like how Phoebe and Paige granted the Cleaners' attention in Season 6 after they had framed Darryl for murder.

## Production Notes

* The episode was watched by 0.70 million U.S. viewers.

## Gallery

* Promotional Images
* Screencaps
* Behind the Scenes

## Videos

* Videos

Charmed 1x17 Promo "Surrender" (HD)Charmed Surrender Promo The CWCharmed Surrender Scene The CWCharm Reboot - Powers (1x17)