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Trivia
- Shannen Doherty was very sick whilst filming multiple episodes of the season. This is noticeable as Prue looks particularly pale and tired.
- Piper is the first of the Halliwells shown on-screen.
- When Piper tells Prue she is too hard on Phoebe, Prue says Phoebe has no vision and no sense of the future. This turns out to be ironic foreshadowing as Phoebe later gains the power of premonitions.
- Prue is the first sister to be shown using her powers by making Roger's pen explode in his pocket.
- Phoebe is the first sister to use a spell.
- Prue uses her powers to close the Manor's front door, which would become tradition for how every finale for the show would end - Prue closes the door in the finales for Seasons 1 and 2, in Season 3 it's caused by Shax leaving the Manor, in Season 4 by the Angel of Destiny, in Season 5 by Chris, in Season 7 seemingly on its own (but hinted to be Prue's ghost) and Season 8 by Piper's granddaughter. Season 6's finale happens in the hospital, where it's the doors to the ward that close. Additionally, Holly Marie Combs revealed that she was sitting just off camera and closed the door with her foot to give the illusion of Prue's telekinesis.
Tropes
- Blooper: Piper has a black umbrella when she's walking up the Manor in her first scene, but it's a different one with a floral design when she comes inside. The first shot is from the original unaired pilot, which was filmed in the actual house. This episode and the remainder of the series was shot on a soundstage.
- Completely Different Title:
- French: "Le Livre des Ombres" (The Book of Shadows)
- Costume Backlash: Holly Marie Combs poked fun at her chef's outfit on her House of Halliwell podcast, noting how it is unusually "snug" compared to Chef Moore's and the sleeves are too short for a proper uniform.
- Fake American: Matthew Ashford (Roger) is Canadian, as is Chris Boyd, who played the original Andy.
- Fake Nationality: Chef Moore appears to be a French Jerk but is played by Chris Flanders, who's American. It's possible he's this in-universe, as Piper makes a dig at him having a "phony accent" in the next episode.
- Looping Lines:
- Piper's line to Phoebe "don't tell me you put on a black conical hat, and spent the night flying around the neighbourhood on a broomstick" is quite obviously dubbed in, as Piper's back is to the camera for most of the time.
- Eric Scott Woods was uncomfortable saying the word "bitch", so another actor dubbed him for the three times he says it. The same audio was used for each time.
- The Other Marty: In the unaired pilot, Phoebe was played by Lori Rom and Andy Trudeau was played by Chris Boyd. They were both replaced with Alyssa Milano and T.W. King. According to Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano was who Aaron Spelling really wanted for Phoebe, but the network told him he could only have two of his desired three leads (and he had fought especially hard for her to play Piper, and Shannen Doherty was bringing the name recognition). Once Lori Rom left, Alyssa Milano was offered the role immediately.
- What Could Have Been:
- The unaired pilot showed Jeremy being far more powerful than he was in the eventual episode. He would go One-Winged Angel and turn into a snake monster before the sisters were able to vanquish him.
- The unaired pilot also included an extra line - after Piper says she knows neither their mother nor grandmother were witches, Phoebe says "I beg to differ about Grams". The conversation is the same in the final episode, but without that line from Phoebe.
- The unaired pilot also would have Prue not coming around to the idea of being a witch until all three sisters were in the attic fighting Jeremy. In the episode itself, this conflict is resolved before Prue and Phoebe return home, and it's Prue's idea to chant "the power of three will set us free".
Cultural References
- When Phoebe and her sisters walk down the stairs after she reawakened their powers says, "Well, my head spun around and I vomited pea soup." This is a reference to the '70's horror film The Exorcist, where the little girl is possessed by a demon and vomits soup.
- The title of the episode references to a couplet in the William Shakespeare play 'Macbeth', "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes." The season 7 finale is called 'Something Wicca This Way Goes..?' which references this episode.
- Phoebe references the children's story, Chicken Little when Piper tells her that she should've been the one to tell Prue she was moving back into the manor.
- Prue calls Piper Switzerland when Piper tells her Phoebe is coming home. Switzerland is an important mediator, just like Piper is.
- Piper references the children's series, Nancy Drew. She says, "Take that, Nancy Drew," when Phoebe tells her about her being the Charmed Ones.
- In the episode, Melinda Warren is stated to have been burned at the stake during the Salem Witch Trials. This is a historical error as people believed to be witches in 1693 were hanged or drowned. The period were witches were burned at the stake was called the Burning Times.
