What Charmed Says About Sisterhood
The moral case for relying on family to help give you power.
Very few people live what could be considered a charmed life.
Most of us have a life that is pretty mundane and without much fanfare. With the exception of big events like weddings, anniversaries and a few other often rare events, our lives tend to be uneventful. We dream about having more interesting lives in which the world might change because of decisions we make. Of being approached by some powerful entity that wants us to fight the forces of darkness and evil that plague not only us but the people around us. To make it a better place. However, more often than not we fail to consider what such a life will end up doing to us. Carrying such things are quite the burden that very few people might be willing to take on. A life like that where so many people would choose to turn away makes for a very lonely existence.
In circumstances like that, it's a good idea to have people you can rely on. Turn to as a way of helping you through the inevitable pain and suffering you're going to have to deal with. Perhaps the most obvious people who might be willing are family. They have an inherent connection to you that most other people don't have. If you're going to rely on anyone, they're the ones. It helps even more if they share the same burden of responsibility you have. You create an unbreakable bond which creates a power that can rival pretty much any other in existence. Sibling relationships can be some of the best for such a bond. You grew up together. You understand each other on a level that's hard to break. At least not by anyone other than your own siblings.
Knowing someone so well might create a powerful bond, but it's also an incredible weakness. If someone can exploit this weakness, you not only destroy that person but anyone connected to them and the power they're using to make the world better. Such power can be turned against the world, creating chaos wherever you go. As a result, it's important to keep these bonds working as best you can. Which is part of where the benefits of family comes in.
Charmed is very much about how difficult it is to maintain that bond. Prue, Piper, Phoebe and later Paige have an incredibly powerful bond. As sisters, they use their connection to create a powerful force worthy of the destiny they've been given. It's far from an easy thing to maintain. They fight and disagree about so many things, from the most ordinary things like who borrowed who's favourite shirt, to the best way to defeat a particularly powerful demon like The Source. Even if they are charmed in so many different ways, their lives are far from it.
However, through it all they have each other. When things come right down to it, they never fail to come together in their most desperate moments to fight those who would seek to break them apart. It's a beautiful thing to watch.
Explore the power of sisterhood by checking out Charmed as soon as you can.
You can watch Charmed on Peacock as well as Amazon.
I watched it as a child, but your reflective, touching post makes me want to rewatch it. I'll probably understand the themes better as an adult.