Paige Matthews
Encyclopedia
Paige Matthews is a fictional character from the television series Charmed
. One of the featured leads
, Paige is introduced at the start of season four as the fourth Halliwell sister and youngest Charmed One one of the most powerful witches of all time. The character was portrayed by Rose McGowan
from 2001 until the end of the series run in 2006. In 2008, AOL
named Paige the 13th greatest witch in television history.
During the start of season four, Paige is introduced in the two-part episode "Charmed Again (Part 1)" and "(Part 2)" originally aired as back-to-back episodes on October 4, 2001. Raised as an only child by her adoptive parents, Paige enters the series as the fiercely independent youngest sister of the new incarnation of Charmed Ones. As Paige comes to terms with her destiny of defeating the forces of evil in San Francisco, she initially worries about living up to the shadow of her deceased sister Prue Halliwell
. Later in the series, one of the reoccurring struggles for Paige is finding an identity for herself outside of her role as a Charmed One. In addition to the television series, the character has also appeared in numerous expanded universe
material, such as the Charmed novels and its comic book adaptation
.
within 112 episodes from 2001 to 2006. In the first episode of the fourth season (2001-2002), "Charmed Again (Part 1)", we are introduced to Paige who is a reformed alcoholic in her early twenties working for South Bay Social Services as an assistant and would-be social worker. In the same episode, it is revealed that after Paige's adoptive parents (played by Lisa Darr
and M. Scott Wilkinson) died she went searching for her birth parents and suspected that she might be related to the Halliwell sisters. With Patty Halliwell (Finola Hughes
) long since deceased, Paige relented on pursuing the matter further. After the Source of All Evil learns of Paige's existence, he puts a hit out on her life. Paige is eventually saved by Phoebe Halliwell
(Alyssa Milano
) and her boyfriend Cole Turner
(Julian McMahon
), and then subsequently introduced to Piper Halliwell
(Holly Marie Combs
) and her husband Leo Wyatt
(Brian Krause
). Paige then goes on to help reconstitute The Charmed Ones by taking Prue Halliwell
's (Shannen Doherty
) place in "The Power of Three". This is made possible after it is revealed that she is the daughter of Patty and the Whitelighter
Sam Wilder (Scott Jaeck
), making her a sister-witch to Phoebe and Piper. The episode reveals that Paige was given up to protect her from the wrath of The Elders if they were to discover her Whitelighter heritage.
In a fulfillment of the Melinda Warren (Tyler Layton
) prophecy regarding the Charmed Ones, Paige inherits an ability to "move objects with her mind" to fill the niche of Prue's missing powers. However, due to her Whitelighter heritage her magical method of movement causes "objects to orb from one location to another
". Paige has also shown the ability to impart momentum
on these orbing objects. Throughout season four, Paige shows that she has inherited a variety of Whitelighter powers such as orbing, and sensing. While Paige finds it easier to develop a friendship with Phoebe, she initially butts heads with Piper, but eventually the two sisters grow to have a mutual respect for each other. Later in the season, Paige reveals her identity as a witch to her childhood friend and "sometimes" boyfriend, Glen Belland (Jesse Woodrow). Once she develops more control over her witchcraft Paige is able to help her sisters' avenge Prue's death and vanquish the Source twice – both in his original incarnation and that of his next incarnation, Cole Turner. During the finale of season four, Paige and her sisters are later visited by the Angel of Destiny (Dakin Matthews
) and given an offer to live a normal life without magical powers or the threat of demons. Over the course of the episode, Paige eventually convinces her sisters to decline the offer and remain Charmed to continue doing good in the world.
At the start of season five (2002-2003), Paige is officially promoted to social worker in the episode, "A Witch's Tail (Part 1)", but by the end of the second episode, "A Witch's Tail (Part 2)", Paige quits her job to pursue being a witch full-time. Paige shows signs of still struggling with living up to the legend of her deceased sister Prue and her title of "Superwitch". When Paige masters a difficult spell created by Prue, she appears to come at peace with her sibling rivalry. Later in the season, Paige, alongside Phoebe, trains to be a mid-wife in order to deliver Piper's baby. When Piper gives birth to a boy she names Wyatt, he is given the middle name Matthew in honor of his protective aunt Paige. In the sixth season (2003-2004), Paige grows tired of unemployment and obtains a job at a temp agency. While employed on the various jobs via the agency, Paige finds herself drawn into various magical endeavors concerning members of the magical community. Through one of these magical journeys she meets and later dates a witch named Richard Montana (Balthazar Getty
), a relationship which mirrors the love affair Phoebe had with Cole as Richard attempts to avoid the temptations of dark magic. The couple eventually break up, but not before Paige binds Richard's powers so that he doesn't feel the temptation to misuse his powers. Also in this season, Paige becomes the second person to discover that the sisters' new time-traveling Whitelighter Chris Perry
(Drew Fuller
) is actually Chris Halliwell and the second child of Piper and Leo. He has come back in time to prevent Wyatt from becoming evil in the future. Together, Chris helps Paige and her sisters discover that a powerful Elder named Gideon
(Gildart Jackson) wishes to destroy the Twice-Blessed Wyatt, an act which causes Wyatt to turn his back on good in the future.
During the start of the seventh season (2004-2005), Paige fights to keep Magic School from closing after the death of its headmaster, Gideon. The Elders then place Paige in charge of Magic School as the new headmistress once they realize how deep her dedication runs. Also this season, Paige befriends federal agent Kyle Brody (Kerr Smith
), and the two eventually grow close over their mutual investigation of The Avatars
, powerful beings who are neither good nor evil. After initial hesitation, Paige and her sisters join sides with The Avatars in their plan to turn the world into a utopia against the warnings of both Kyle and The Elders. When The Charmed Ones discover that the new utopia robs the world of their free will, they join sides with Kyle and the demon Zankou (Oded Fehr
) and force The Avatars to restore the world to normal. Kyle, however, is killed in the process, but is resurrected as a Whitelighter as a reward from The Elders for helping to defeat The Avatars. He says his goodbyes to Paige, before leaving to start his new life.
In late season seven, in episode seventeen "Scry Hard", Paige grows tired of being cooped up in Magic School and desires a reprieve from her duties as headmistress. At the suggestion of Piper and Phoebe, Paige instates the now human Leo as the new headmaster of Magic School in her place so that she can take a break while Leo can work in a place safe from the harm of demon attacks. The following episode, "Little Box of Horrors
", The Elders manage to convince Paige that her continued quest for a life outside her role as a Charmed One stems from her destiny as a future Whitelighter. In the episode "Freaky Phoebe", Paige takes on official Whitelighter duties and gains her first charge in a witch named Mitchell Haines (Seamus Dever
) who has the power of superhuman speed. In the season seven finale, during a suicide mission to vanquish Zankou, Paige and her sisters fake their deaths in order to escape the constant threat of demon attacks as well as police and government investigations.
In the eighth and final season (2005-2006), Paige takes on the false identity of Jo Bennett (Christina Ulloa) and attempts to live a normal life free of magic. This proves to be impossible, as Paige hears the continual call of a new charge, a telekinetic witch named Billie Jenkins
(Kaley Cuoco
). In the fifth episode of season eight, "Rewitched", Paige and her sisters reclaim their true identities with the help of federal agent Murphy (Brandon Quinn
) in exchange for helping the FBI handle supernatural investigations. Episode eight, "Battle of the Hexes", introduces Paige to parole officer Henry Mitchell (Ivan Sergei
). After a courtship, which involves Henry discovering Paige's secret identity as a witch and whitelighter, the couple get married in the episode "Engaged and Confused". Later in the season, Paige discovers that her charge Billie and her sister, Christy Jenkins
(Marnette Patterson
) are the ultimate power The Charmed Ones must defeat to save Leo from the Angel of Death (Simon Templeman
), but she has reservations because the women are human and not demons. In the end, Paige willing participates in the ultimate battle between The Charmed Ones and the Jenkins sisters. After the series end, it is shown in flashforwards that Paige accepts her role as a Whitelighter, aiding many witches and future Whitelighters that include her nieces and nephews. It is also revealed that Paige and Henry's marriage will produce three children, twin daughters and a son.
with the series or each other, and are often considered to be non-canon
. However, the television series producers have final approval of everything in the novels, which could indicate the literature fitting into the established canon of the series and the so-called "Charmed universe". Paige's first appearance in Charmed literature takes place within the novel Charmed Again by Elizabeth Lenhard in 2002, which acts as a novelised version of the fourth season premiere episode. Her last appearance in a Charmed novel takes place within Trickery Treat by Diana G. Gallagher
on January 1, 2008.
In 2010, Charmed gained an officially licensed continuation in the form of a comic book
, which is often billed as Charmed Season 9
. The series is published monthly by Zenescope Entertainment. Set eighteen-months after the series finale, the sisters are seen living happy demon free lives and have each entered into motherhood. Paige has had twin girls with Henry Mitchell named Kat and Tamora Mitchell. In the comic series, Paige is working as a full-time Whitelighter and can also be seen helping Leo at Magic School with his students. In Issue #3, Innocents Lost, Paige develops a new power in the form of a reinforced forcefield made up of orbs. Later in Issue #8, Oh, Henry, Paige rescues a baby from the womb of his dying mother. She and Henry later adopt the infant boy and name him Henry, Jr.
on the objects she orbs allowing her to throw them across distances. Telekinetic Orbing does not require a great deal of accuracy in calling an object. For instance, in the season six episode "Hyde School Reunion", Paige orbs demonic acid by using the vocal call, "Icky stuff". She also displays the lack of need for accuracy in the episode "A Wrong Day's Journey into Right" when she redirects a shuriken by calling out, "Weapon...thingy."
Over the course of her time on the series, Paige's powers grow in strength allowing her to move things without verbally calling for them. This can be seen in the episode, "Sword and the City" when she orbs the stoned encased Excalibur
into the attic of the Manor without a vocal command. She shows this skill again in the season eight episode "Repo Manor" when she orbs the replica dollhouse of the Manor into the attic without saying anything as well. By late season seven, it becomes evident that Paige can now orb people and demons to any location by saying the name of the desired location. For example, she orbs Phoebe back to the Manor by stating, "Home!" in the episode "Charmed Noir". Towards the end of season eight, Paige displays the advanced skill of being able to orb and throw adult sized demons and people across distances in a similar fashion to Prue's telekinetic lift and throw method. The most prominent example of this occurs when she orbs the demon Asmodeus (Steven J. Oliver), a member of The Triad, directly into a fireball thrown by fellow Triad member Baliel (Sören Oliver). Paige also simultaneously orbs and throws two demons into a dumpster in the episode "Gone with the Witches".
is a human soul that has been made a "guardian angel
" for good witches and other future Whitelighters (also known as a Whitelighter's "charge"). A Whitelighter acts in the service of The Elders who bestow these souls with their new angelic powers. Because Paige's father, Sam Wilder, is a Whitelighter, she has inherited a number of powers associated with this race of guardian angels which include Orbing, Sensing, Glamouring, and Healing.
to hold a meeting.
". Paige originally activates this power by waving her hand over her face, but in later seasons all she must do is snap her fingers.
as a replacement character for Prue Halliwell
. In May 2001, it was officially announced that actress Shannen Doherty
would be departing from the series Charmed. The producers originally considered recasting the role of Prue with a different actress. Executive Producer Aaron Spelling
even approached actresses Tiffani Thiessen
, who replaced Doherty on his previous series Beverly Hills, 90210, and Jennifer Love Hewitt
to take on the role as Doherty's replacement. Spelling revealed to Entertainment Weekly
, "Tiffani was our first choice to take over for Shannen - even before we asked Jennifer [Love Hewitt], but Tiffani told us she wants to do a half-hour comedy." Hewitt also declined the role.
Producers then decided to kill off the character of Prue and replace her with a long-lost younger sister in favor of having "a fresh face" join the series. Spelling stated, "[The character's] going to be the long-lost sister Alyssa and Holly never knew [they] had. And wait until you see what we came up with to explain why she's been lost: Nobody ever knew she even existed."
Film actress Rose McGowan
was later revealed to be cast in the role of Paige (last name later revealed as Matthews), her first role as a series regular on a television series. Kern later participated in an interview to give details about the new character stating, "From Paige's point of view, you go to bed one night, and you think you're a single child, and no one understands you. Then you wake up the next morning, and you find out you've got sisters who are witches, who've got supernatural powers, who have a destiny that you must now share and embrace, and you must learn your new powers." He later elaborated saying, "When we meet her, she will have been searching for many years, both for her birth parents, but also for an answer to that feeling that she's had inside of her that there's something special, there's something else that nobody has yet been able to understand and explain."
On casting McGowan in the role of Paige, Kern admitted, "Our personal hope was to find somebody that would be of Shannen's calibre, that would have the sexiness, the edge and the range. That, for the age range we were looking for, is hard to find. We said, 'We don't want somebody conventional. We don't want a shrinking violet. We don't want just another pretty face that smiles and has great teeth. We want somebody who has an attitude.' I think Rose definitely has an attitude, and that's an energy that we can take advantage of for the betterment of the show."
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
. One of the featured leads
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, Paige is introduced at the start of season four as the fourth Halliwell sister and youngest Charmed One one of the most powerful witches of all time. The character was portrayed by Rose McGowan
Rose McGowan
Rose Arianna McGowan is an actress and singer. She is known for her role as Paige Matthews in The WB Television Network supernatural drama series Charmed. She played Ann-Margret alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis Presley in the CBS mini-series Elvis...
from 2001 until the end of the series run in 2006. In 2008, AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
named Paige the 13th greatest witch in television history.
During the start of season four, Paige is introduced in the two-part episode "Charmed Again (Part 1)" and "(Part 2)" originally aired as back-to-back episodes on October 4, 2001. Raised as an only child by her adoptive parents, Paige enters the series as the fiercely independent youngest sister of the new incarnation of Charmed Ones. As Paige comes to terms with her destiny of defeating the forces of evil in San Francisco, she initially worries about living up to the shadow of her deceased sister Prue Halliwell
Prue Halliwell
Prudence "Prue" Halliwell is a fictional character from the television series Charmed. Prue is depicted as one of the featured leads as she fulfills her role as a witch and, more specifically, a Charmed One one of the most powerful witches of all time...
. Later in the series, one of the reoccurring struggles for Paige is finding an identity for herself outside of her role as a Charmed One. In addition to the television series, the character has also appeared in numerous expanded universe
Expanded Universe
The term Expanded Universe is generally used to denote the 'extension' of a media franchise with other media...
material, such as the Charmed novels and its comic book adaptation
Charmed (comic book)
Charmed is comic book that is an officially licensed continuation of the popular The WB television series of the same name, which ended its eight year run in 2006. The series is published monthly by Zenescope Entertainment. The comic book serves as a continuation set eighteen months after the...
.
Television
Paige appeared in the final five seasons of Charmed, portrayed by Rose McGowanRose McGowan
Rose Arianna McGowan is an actress and singer. She is known for her role as Paige Matthews in The WB Television Network supernatural drama series Charmed. She played Ann-Margret alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis Presley in the CBS mini-series Elvis...
within 112 episodes from 2001 to 2006. In the first episode of the fourth season (2001-2002), "Charmed Again (Part 1)", we are introduced to Paige who is a reformed alcoholic in her early twenties working for South Bay Social Services as an assistant and would-be social worker. In the same episode, it is revealed that after Paige's adoptive parents (played by Lisa Darr
Lisa Darr
Lisa Darr is an American actress.Darr was born Lisa Darr Grabemann in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Mollie, an actress, and Karl Grabemann, a lawyer. She attended Stanford University and graduated in 1985 with a degree in Biology; she went on to receive an MFA in Acting from UCLA.She played...
and M. Scott Wilkinson) died she went searching for her birth parents and suspected that she might be related to the Halliwell sisters. With Patty Halliwell (Finola Hughes
Finola Hughes
Finola Hughes is an English actress, television host, author and former dancer, best known for role as Anna Devane on the General Hospital, All My Children and General Hospital: Night Shift , and her role as Anna Devane's identical twin sister, Doctor Alexandra Devane Marick, on All My Children...
) long since deceased, Paige relented on pursuing the matter further. After the Source of All Evil learns of Paige's existence, he puts a hit out on her life. Paige is eventually saved by Phoebe Halliwell
Phoebe Halliwell
Phoebe Halliwell is a fictional character from the television series Charmed. One of the featured leads, Phoebe is introduced in the series as a witch and, more specifically, a Charmed One one of the most powerful witches of all time. The character was portrayed by Lori Rom in the unaired pilot,...
(Alyssa Milano
Alyssa Milano
Alyssa Jayne Milano is an American actress and former singer, known for her childhood role as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom Who's the Boss? and an eight-year stint as Phoebe Halliwell on the series Charmed. She was also a series regular on the original Melrose Place portraying the role of...
) and her boyfriend Cole Turner
Cole Turner
Cole Turner is a fictional character on the WB television series Charmed, portrayed by series regular Julian McMahon between seasons three and five. McMahon returned for a guest appearance in the show's seventh season, for its 150th episode. Charmed is a series which focuses on three good witches,...
(Julian McMahon
Julian McMahon
Julian Dana William McMahon is an Australian actor and former fashion model. He is best known for his portrayals of Cole Turner in The WB hit series Charmed, womanizing plastic surgeon Christian Troy on the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning TV show Nip/Tuck, and Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four and...
), and then subsequently introduced to Piper Halliwell
Piper Halliwell
Piper Halliwell is a fictional character from the television series Charmed. One of the featured leads, Piper is introduced in the series as a witch and, more specifically, a Charmed One one of the most powerful witches of all time. The character was portrayed by Holly Marie Combs throughout the...
(Holly Marie Combs
Holly Marie Combs
Holly Marie Combs is an American film and television actress and producer whose roles have included a portrayal in Charmed as Piper Halliwell and another in Picket Fences, where she received a Young Artist Award for her role, as Kimberly Brock...
) and her husband Leo Wyatt
Leo Wyatt
Leonardo "Leo" Wyatt is a fictional character from The WB television series Charmed, portrayed by Brian Krause. A possible breakout character included in the writing initially as a love interest beginning in the seventh episode of the first season that initially set Phoebe and Piper quarreling and...
(Brian Krause
Brian Krause
Brian Jeffrey Krause is an American actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Leo Wyatt on the WB Network TV series Charmed from 1998 to 2006.-Background:...
). Paige then goes on to help reconstitute The Charmed Ones by taking Prue Halliwell
Prue Halliwell
Prudence "Prue" Halliwell is a fictional character from the television series Charmed. Prue is depicted as one of the featured leads as she fulfills her role as a witch and, more specifically, a Charmed One one of the most powerful witches of all time...
's (Shannen Doherty
Shannen Doherty
Shannen Maria Doherty is an American actress, producer, author and television director, known for her work as Heather Duke in Heathers , as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 and its spinoff series 90210, and as Prue Halliwell in Charmed .-Early life and career:Doherty was born in Memphis,...
) place in "The Power of Three". This is made possible after it is revealed that she is the daughter of Patty and the Whitelighter
Whitelighter
A Whitelighter is a fictional character featured on the WB television series Charmed. These beings are former human mortals who are given a second chance at life in order to serve under an angelic group known as The Elders as guardian angels for good witches and other future...
Sam Wilder (Scott Jaeck
Scott Jaeck
Scott Jaeck is an American actor who was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October 29, 1954. He attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, graduating in 1973. He attended the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. He is married to actress Mariann Mayberry, a member of the Steppenwolf...
), making her a sister-witch to Phoebe and Piper. The episode reveals that Paige was given up to protect her from the wrath of The Elders if they were to discover her Whitelighter heritage.
In a fulfillment of the Melinda Warren (Tyler Layton
Tyler Layton
Tyler Layton is a US actress from Alabama.Layton's father was a radio announcer and a sports journalist who encouraged her from an early age...
) prophecy regarding the Charmed Ones, Paige inherits an ability to "move objects with her mind" to fill the niche of Prue's missing powers. However, due to her Whitelighter heritage her magical method of movement causes "objects to orb from one location to another
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
". Paige has also shown the ability to impart momentum
Momentum
In classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object...
on these orbing objects. Throughout season four, Paige shows that she has inherited a variety of Whitelighter powers such as orbing, and sensing. While Paige finds it easier to develop a friendship with Phoebe, she initially butts heads with Piper, but eventually the two sisters grow to have a mutual respect for each other. Later in the season, Paige reveals her identity as a witch to her childhood friend and "sometimes" boyfriend, Glen Belland (Jesse Woodrow). Once she develops more control over her witchcraft Paige is able to help her sisters' avenge Prue's death and vanquish the Source twice – both in his original incarnation and that of his next incarnation, Cole Turner. During the finale of season four, Paige and her sisters are later visited by the Angel of Destiny (Dakin Matthews
Dakin Matthews
Dakin Matthews is an American actor with a long history of work in film, television and theater. He is also a playwright, director, and theatrical scholar.-Life and career:...
) and given an offer to live a normal life without magical powers or the threat of demons. Over the course of the episode, Paige eventually convinces her sisters to decline the offer and remain Charmed to continue doing good in the world.
At the start of season five (2002-2003), Paige is officially promoted to social worker in the episode, "A Witch's Tail (Part 1)", but by the end of the second episode, "A Witch's Tail (Part 2)", Paige quits her job to pursue being a witch full-time. Paige shows signs of still struggling with living up to the legend of her deceased sister Prue and her title of "Superwitch". When Paige masters a difficult spell created by Prue, she appears to come at peace with her sibling rivalry. Later in the season, Paige, alongside Phoebe, trains to be a mid-wife in order to deliver Piper's baby. When Piper gives birth to a boy she names Wyatt, he is given the middle name Matthew in honor of his protective aunt Paige. In the sixth season (2003-2004), Paige grows tired of unemployment and obtains a job at a temp agency. While employed on the various jobs via the agency, Paige finds herself drawn into various magical endeavors concerning members of the magical community. Through one of these magical journeys she meets and later dates a witch named Richard Montana (Balthazar Getty
Balthazar Getty
Balthazar Getty is an American film actor and member of the band Ringside. He is known for the roles of Thomas Grace on the American action drama Alias and Tommy Walker on the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters.-Early life:...
), a relationship which mirrors the love affair Phoebe had with Cole as Richard attempts to avoid the temptations of dark magic. The couple eventually break up, but not before Paige binds Richard's powers so that he doesn't feel the temptation to misuse his powers. Also in this season, Paige becomes the second person to discover that the sisters' new time-traveling Whitelighter Chris Perry
Chris Halliwell
Christopher Perry "Chris" Halliwell is a fictional character on The WB television series Charmed. He is played by actor Drew Fuller. He is the son of Piper Halliwell and Leo Wyatt.- Character's background :...
(Drew Fuller
Drew Fuller
Drew Fuller is an American actor and former male model. He is best known for his portrayal of Chris Halliwell in the television series Charmed and for playing soldier Trevor LeBlanc on Lifetime's Army Wives.-Early life:Fuller was born in Atherton, California and grew up in Newport Beach; he has a...
) is actually Chris Halliwell and the second child of Piper and Leo. He has come back in time to prevent Wyatt from becoming evil in the future. Together, Chris helps Paige and her sisters discover that a powerful Elder named Gideon
Gideon (Charmed)
Gideon is a fictional character on the television show Charmed.- Character's background :Gideon is one of the most powerful Elders and is the headmaster of Magic School, an institution where young magical beings learn magic...
(Gildart Jackson) wishes to destroy the Twice-Blessed Wyatt, an act which causes Wyatt to turn his back on good in the future.
During the start of the seventh season (2004-2005), Paige fights to keep Magic School from closing after the death of its headmaster, Gideon. The Elders then place Paige in charge of Magic School as the new headmistress once they realize how deep her dedication runs. Also this season, Paige befriends federal agent Kyle Brody (Kerr Smith
Kerr Smith
Kerr Van Cleve Smith is an American actor best known for playing Jack McPhee on The WB drama series Dawson's Creek, Kyle Brody in The WB's, supernatural drama, Charmed and more recently Axel Palmer in My Bloody Valentine 3D...
), and the two eventually grow close over their mutual investigation of The Avatars
Avatars (Charmed)
The Avatars are fictional characters in the WB television series Charmed.- Description :Avatars are an ancient group of magical beings who can bend the very fabric of time, space and reality. Their power is often described as the ability to manipulate time and space, through which they can reverse...
, powerful beings who are neither good nor evil. After initial hesitation, Paige and her sisters join sides with The Avatars in their plan to turn the world into a utopia against the warnings of both Kyle and The Elders. When The Charmed Ones discover that the new utopia robs the world of their free will, they join sides with Kyle and the demon Zankou (Oded Fehr
Oded Fehr
Oded Fehr is an Israeli film and television actor now based in the United States. He is known for his appearance as Ardeth Bay in the 1999 remake of The Mummy and its sequel The Mummy Returns, as well as Carlos Olivera in Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Extinction and Resident Evil:...
) and force The Avatars to restore the world to normal. Kyle, however, is killed in the process, but is resurrected as a Whitelighter as a reward from The Elders for helping to defeat The Avatars. He says his goodbyes to Paige, before leaving to start his new life.
In late season seven, in episode seventeen "Scry Hard", Paige grows tired of being cooped up in Magic School and desires a reprieve from her duties as headmistress. At the suggestion of Piper and Phoebe, Paige instates the now human Leo as the new headmaster of Magic School in her place so that she can take a break while Leo can work in a place safe from the harm of demon attacks. The following episode, "Little Box of Horrors
Little Box of Horrors
Little Box of Horrors is a box set released by North Carolina horror punk band Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 on May 9, 2006, on Restless Records in the USA and People Like You Records in Europe on May 29, 2006...
", The Elders manage to convince Paige that her continued quest for a life outside her role as a Charmed One stems from her destiny as a future Whitelighter. In the episode "Freaky Phoebe", Paige takes on official Whitelighter duties and gains her first charge in a witch named Mitchell Haines (Seamus Dever
Seamus Dever
Seamus Patrick Dever is an American actor.Dever was born in Flint, Michigan, and grew up in Bullhead City, Arizona. He graduated as valedictorian of his high school class, completed his undergraduate studies at Northern Arizona University, and holds MFAs in Acting from the Moscow Art Theatre and...
) who has the power of superhuman speed. In the season seven finale, during a suicide mission to vanquish Zankou, Paige and her sisters fake their deaths in order to escape the constant threat of demon attacks as well as police and government investigations.
In the eighth and final season (2005-2006), Paige takes on the false identity of Jo Bennett (Christina Ulloa) and attempts to live a normal life free of magic. This proves to be impossible, as Paige hears the continual call of a new charge, a telekinetic witch named Billie Jenkins
Billie Jenkins
Billie Jenkins is a fictional character on The WB television series Charmed. She was played by actress Kaley Cuoco, and appeared in every episode of the series' eighth and final season....
(Kaley Cuoco
Kaley Cuoco
Kaley Christine Cuoco is an American film and television actress. She first came to attention for her role as Bridget Hennessy on the Emmy Award-winning sitcom 8 Simple Rules. She later starred as Billie Jenkins on the final season of the supernatural drama series Charmed...
). In the fifth episode of season eight, "Rewitched", Paige and her sisters reclaim their true identities with the help of federal agent Murphy (Brandon Quinn
Brandon Quinn
Brandon Quinn is a television and film actor. He started his career in 1998 as Charlie Murphy in the film Express: Aisle to Glory....
) in exchange for helping the FBI handle supernatural investigations. Episode eight, "Battle of the Hexes", introduces Paige to parole officer Henry Mitchell (Ivan Sergei
Ivan Sergei
Ivan Sergei is an American actor known for his work in television.-Personal life:Sergei was born Ivan Sergei Gaudio in Hawthorne, New Jersey, and is of Dutch and Italian descent. Ivan attended Hawthorne High School, where he was a member of the graduating class of 1989, and was a quarterback on...
). After a courtship, which involves Henry discovering Paige's secret identity as a witch and whitelighter, the couple get married in the episode "Engaged and Confused". Later in the season, Paige discovers that her charge Billie and her sister, Christy Jenkins
Christy Jenkins
Christy Jenkins is a fictional character from the television series Charmed. The character was primarily portrayed by Marnette Patterson in eight episodes in 2006, with the character as a whole appearing in ten episodes of the eighth season.-Television:...
(Marnette Patterson
Marnette Patterson
Marnette Patterson is an American actress who is perhaps best known for her role as Christy Jenkins on Charmed.-Career:Patterson portrayed Nicole Farrell on the NBC series Something So Right....
) are the ultimate power The Charmed Ones must defeat to save Leo from the Angel of Death (Simon Templeman
Simon Templeman
Simon Templeman is an English voice actor known for his role as Kain in the video game series "Legacy of Kain", and as Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir in Dragon Age: Origins. He is also known as Simon Templeton. He is married to character actress Rosalind Chao with whom he has a son and daughter.- Animated...
), but she has reservations because the women are human and not demons. In the end, Paige willing participates in the ultimate battle between The Charmed Ones and the Jenkins sisters. After the series end, it is shown in flashforwards that Paige accepts her role as a Whitelighter, aiding many witches and future Whitelighters that include her nieces and nephews. It is also revealed that Paige and Henry's marriage will produce three children, twin daughters and a son.
Literature
As one of the central characters of the series, Paige appears in a number of Charmed literature. These appearances first began in the eleventh book of the series of novels. The novels follow no strict continuityContinuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
with the series or each other, and are often considered to be non-canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
. However, the television series producers have final approval of everything in the novels, which could indicate the literature fitting into the established canon of the series and the so-called "Charmed universe". Paige's first appearance in Charmed literature takes place within the novel Charmed Again by Elizabeth Lenhard in 2002, which acts as a novelised version of the fourth season premiere episode. Her last appearance in a Charmed novel takes place within Trickery Treat by Diana G. Gallagher
Diana G. Gallagher
Diana G. Gallagher is an American author who writes books for children and young adults based on television series. She has contributed to book series based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Charmed, among others....
on January 1, 2008.
In 2010, Charmed gained an officially licensed continuation in the form of a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
, which is often billed as Charmed Season 9
Charmed (comic book)
Charmed is comic book that is an officially licensed continuation of the popular The WB television series of the same name, which ended its eight year run in 2006. The series is published monthly by Zenescope Entertainment. The comic book serves as a continuation set eighteen months after the...
. The series is published monthly by Zenescope Entertainment. Set eighteen-months after the series finale, the sisters are seen living happy demon free lives and have each entered into motherhood. Paige has had twin girls with Henry Mitchell named Kat and Tamora Mitchell. In the comic series, Paige is working as a full-time Whitelighter and can also be seen helping Leo at Magic School with his students. In Issue #3, Innocents Lost, Paige develops a new power in the form of a reinforced forcefield made up of orbs. Later in Issue #8, Oh, Henry, Paige rescues a baby from the womb of his dying mother. She and Henry later adopt the infant boy and name him Henry, Jr.
Magical powers
In Charmed it is revealed that magical witches can develop and master a variety of magical skills and powers which include; scrying, spell casting, and brewing potent potions. As a magical witch Paige can utilize scrying, a divination art form that allows one to locate a missing object or person. Paige can also cast spells, often written in iambic pentameter or as a rhyming couplet, to influence others or the world around her. She can also brew potions, most often used to vanquish foes or to achieve other magical feats similar to the effects of a spell. As a witch and Charmed One, Paige has also developed a number of magical powers which include Telekinetic Orbing and Force-Fields (sometimes called Orb-Shields).Telekinetic Orbing
In the second half of the two-part season four premiere, "Charmed Again (Part 2)", Paige displays her method of moving objects with her mind by orbing objects from one location to another through a vocal command. When she vocally calls the name of an object or living being it will orb to her, appearing in hand or within close range to her body. This power is sometimes labeled Telekinetic Orbing. Due to her Whitelighter side, Paige's telekinetic power carries aspects of teleportation, although she still showcases the ability to impart momentumMomentum
In classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object...
on the objects she orbs allowing her to throw them across distances. Telekinetic Orbing does not require a great deal of accuracy in calling an object. For instance, in the season six episode "Hyde School Reunion", Paige orbs demonic acid by using the vocal call, "Icky stuff". She also displays the lack of need for accuracy in the episode "A Wrong Day's Journey into Right" when she redirects a shuriken by calling out, "Weapon...thingy."
Over the course of her time on the series, Paige's powers grow in strength allowing her to move things without verbally calling for them. This can be seen in the episode, "Sword and the City" when she orbs the stoned encased Excalibur
Excalibur
Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
into the attic of the Manor without a vocal command. She shows this skill again in the season eight episode "Repo Manor" when she orbs the replica dollhouse of the Manor into the attic without saying anything as well. By late season seven, it becomes evident that Paige can now orb people and demons to any location by saying the name of the desired location. For example, she orbs Phoebe back to the Manor by stating, "Home!" in the episode "Charmed Noir". Towards the end of season eight, Paige displays the advanced skill of being able to orb and throw adult sized demons and people across distances in a similar fashion to Prue's telekinetic lift and throw method. The most prominent example of this occurs when she orbs the demon Asmodeus (Steven J. Oliver), a member of The Triad, directly into a fireball thrown by fellow Triad member Baliel (Sören Oliver). Paige also simultaneously orbs and throws two demons into a dumpster in the episode "Gone with the Witches".
Force-Fields
In the Charmed comics, specifically Issue #3, Innocents Lost, Paige develops a new power in the form of a reinforced forcefield made up of orbs. Paige displays the ability to encase others inside of her forcefields, without being within them herself, when she uses her new power to contain the explosion caused by the resurrected Source's destruction in the tenth issue of the comic series, Three Little Wiccans. In this same issue, Paige also uses her forcefield power offensively to push back demons.Whitelighter powers
In Charmed a WhitelighterWhitelighter
A Whitelighter is a fictional character featured on the WB television series Charmed. These beings are former human mortals who are given a second chance at life in order to serve under an angelic group known as The Elders as guardian angels for good witches and other future...
is a human soul that has been made a "guardian angel
Guardian angel
A guardian angel is an angel assigned to protect and guide a particular person or group. Belief in guardian angels can be traced throughout all antiquity...
" for good witches and other future Whitelighters (also known as a Whitelighter's "charge"). A Whitelighter acts in the service of The Elders who bestow these souls with their new angelic powers. Because Paige's father, Sam Wilder, is a Whitelighter, she has inherited a number of powers associated with this race of guardian angels which include Orbing, Sensing, Glamouring, and Healing.
Orbing
Paige enters the series with the ability to orb, which is a teleporting ability unique to Whitelighters as it allows them to travel between various supernatural worlds, including the magically guarded realm of The Elders often called "Up There" in the show. In the season four episode "A Paige from the Past", it is revealed that Paige has always had access to her power to orb, as the ability saves her from dying in the car crash that killed her adoptive parents. When we are introduced to Paige, her orbing power can only be channeled in panic induced situations as a fear response. She is also only able to orb in and out within the same place, which makes her unable to travel across distances with the power. In the season four episode "The Three Faces of Phoebe", Paige displays growth with her orbing powers by transporting herself across town for the first time. In the same episode, she also displays the advanced ability of orbing with passengers. Despite taking on the full duties of a Whitelighter by the eighth and final season of the series, Paige never shows the ability to orb "Up There". Instead, whenever she congregates with an Elder, she orbs the top of the suspension tower of the Golden Gate BridgeGolden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...
to hold a meeting.
Sensing
In late season four, it is revealed that Paige has acquired the ability of sensing, a supernatural power which grants a Whitelighter a magical awareness of a charge's location and physical well being. Paige's first instance of full on sensing is seen in the episode "Saving Private Leo". Paige's sensing power enables her to hear the "call" of her charges whenever they are in need, allowing her to go to them when they need her most. Before becoming a full-fledged Whitelighter, Paige displays the ability to hear her sisters' "call" when she is far away from them. As a Whitelighter, her charges must not always vocally call out to her when they are in need. The sensing power allows the Whitelighter to instantly hear a charge's inner call whenever the charge is in immediate danger, which is, more often than not, life-threatening.Glamouring
In the fifth season of the series, Paige reveals her ability to glamour. A number of Whitelighters possess the power to glamour their identity by creating an illusion around their body to appear as another individual. Paige is first seen using this power in the episode "House CallHouse Call
Sanjay Gupta MD is a medical-centric news program hosted by CNN's in-house physician, Sanjay Gupta. It typically airs on weekends at 7:30 am E.T....
". Paige originally activates this power by waving her hand over her face, but in later seasons all she must do is snap her fingers.
Healing
Paige first shows a talent for healing in the season four premiere, "Charmed Again (Part 2)", when she uses her Whitelighter powers to enhance the healing abilities of her own Whitelighter, Leo Wyatt, to fully heal the half-demon Cole Turner. Later in that season, Paige is able to channel Leo's healing powers to heal him of his wounds after he has been poisoned by a Darklighter's arrow. However, it is not until the season eight episode "Payback's a Witch" that Paige develops the trigger to be able to heal on her own. After expressing her love for wounded parole officer Henry Mitchell, Paige unlocks the emotional trigger of love to access her healing powers, which she later uses to heal Henry of his gunshot wound. Like all Whitelighters before her, Paige can only use her healing powers on humans and not animals or demons.Natural abilities
Paige has proven to be a skilled painter and sketch artist, first introduced in the season four episode, "Muse to My Ears". Paige also showcases her singing talents in the season five episode, "Sense and Sense Ability". She has limited training in physical combat. Paige's fighting skills are proficient enough to best Billie in hand-to-hand combat in the season eight episode, "Malice in Wonderland".Casting and development
The character of Paige Matthews was conceived by executive producer Brad KernBrad Kern
Brad Kern is a distinguished television producer and writer best known recently for his work as head writer and executive producer on the hit supernatural drama Charmed, which he was showrunner on for all eight seasons...
as a replacement character for Prue Halliwell
Prue Halliwell
Prudence "Prue" Halliwell is a fictional character from the television series Charmed. Prue is depicted as one of the featured leads as she fulfills her role as a witch and, more specifically, a Charmed One one of the most powerful witches of all time...
. In May 2001, it was officially announced that actress Shannen Doherty
Shannen Doherty
Shannen Maria Doherty is an American actress, producer, author and television director, known for her work as Heather Duke in Heathers , as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 and its spinoff series 90210, and as Prue Halliwell in Charmed .-Early life and career:Doherty was born in Memphis,...
would be departing from the series Charmed. The producers originally considered recasting the role of Prue with a different actress. Executive Producer Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
even approached actresses Tiffani Thiessen
Tiffani Thiessen
Tiffani Thiessen is an American actress best known for her roles as Kelly Kapowski in Saved by the Bell and as Valerie Malone in Beverly Hills, 90210. She is also known for her role on Fastlane as Wilhelmina 'Billie' Chambers...
, who replaced Doherty on his previous series Beverly Hills, 90210, and Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt is an American actress, producer, television director and former singer-songwriter. Hewitt began her acting career as a child by appearing in television commercials and the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated...
to take on the role as Doherty's replacement. Spelling revealed to Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, "Tiffani was our first choice to take over for Shannen - even before we asked Jennifer [Love Hewitt], but Tiffani told us she wants to do a half-hour comedy." Hewitt also declined the role.
Producers then decided to kill off the character of Prue and replace her with a long-lost younger sister in favor of having "a fresh face" join the series. Spelling stated, "[The character's] going to be the long-lost sister Alyssa and Holly never knew [they] had. And wait until you see what we came up with to explain why she's been lost: Nobody ever knew she even existed."
Film actress Rose McGowan
Rose McGowan
Rose Arianna McGowan is an actress and singer. She is known for her role as Paige Matthews in The WB Television Network supernatural drama series Charmed. She played Ann-Margret alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis Presley in the CBS mini-series Elvis...
was later revealed to be cast in the role of Paige (last name later revealed as Matthews), her first role as a series regular on a television series. Kern later participated in an interview to give details about the new character stating, "From Paige's point of view, you go to bed one night, and you think you're a single child, and no one understands you. Then you wake up the next morning, and you find out you've got sisters who are witches, who've got supernatural powers, who have a destiny that you must now share and embrace, and you must learn your new powers." He later elaborated saying, "When we meet her, she will have been searching for many years, both for her birth parents, but also for an answer to that feeling that she's had inside of her that there's something special, there's something else that nobody has yet been able to understand and explain."
On casting McGowan in the role of Paige, Kern admitted, "Our personal hope was to find somebody that would be of Shannen's calibre, that would have the sexiness, the edge and the range. That, for the age range we were looking for, is hard to find. We said, 'We don't want somebody conventional. We don't want a shrinking violet. We don't want just another pretty face that smiles and has great teeth. We want somebody who has an attitude.' I think Rose definitely has an attitude, and that's an energy that we can take advantage of for the betterment of the show."
Death count
During the run of the series and her life as a Charmed One, Paige died 8 times.| Episode | Episode Name | Cause Of Death | Revival |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5x03 | "Happily Ever After" | Takes a bite of the poisoned apple as Snow White | Piper vanquishes the evil witch as Little Red Riding Hood using the vanquishing potion made by Grams |
| 5x07 | "Sympathy for the Demon" | Beaten and stabbed by Phoebe, who was under a spell put on her by Barbas | Healed by Leo after Piper helped Phoebe face her fear |
| 5x08 | "A Witch in Time" | Killed by a fire ball thrown by the warlock Bacarra | Piper, with the help of Leo, went back in time to save her. |
| 6x07 | "Soul Survivor" | She let a demon, legally, take her soul instead of an innocent's. | After Piper and Phoebe killed the demon and destroyed the contract, her soul was restored. |
| 6x08 | "Sword and The City" | She was killed by a demon that threw lightning at her. | Leo healed her before her soul could move on. |
| 6x15 | "I Dream of Phoebe" | A demon wished on a genie for her death. | Since the evil genie wished the Charmed Ones to die, but not individually, when Piper called out to Leo when she was crossing over, he healed her. And since the Charmed Ones were bound together, Paige's and Phoebe's souls couldn't cross over because of this. After that, Richard was able to free himself with the help of Paige and Phoebe's ghosts, and then he wished for the Charmed Ones to be alive. |
| 7x05 | "Styx Feet Under" | In a change of events, she was killed by a demon. | Phoebe made a deal with the Angel of Death to exchange Paige's soul for the half demon's soul. |
| 8x21 | "Kill Billie Vol. 2" | Killed after the manor exploded; presumed dead (her body is not found) | Piper got Coop to lend her his ring and went back in time to save Paige and Phoebe. |