Halliwell Manor. Day. Kitchen. Piper "At Wit(ch)'s End" Halliwell enters the room, carrying shopping bags while blathering, "Any day that brings new shoes is a good day." Shouldn't you qualify your purchases as "boots," Piper? Phoebe "The Abominable Ms. Pheebs" Halliwell follows her into the room, carrying shopping parcels also, prattling, "Are you kidding? Yoga, pedicures, shopping, lunch. When has a day been more fun?" Prue "Brinda Starr" Halliwell enters the kitchen with bags too, adding that it's been "nice" to "bond" over something other than "vanquishing demons." Damn, the Halliwells finally do something fun and the cameras weren't there to capture it. Sigh. Phoebe notes that demon-hunting activities have brought the sisters together, so she's not knocking them. She also takes the "worst-dressed" prize for this scene. Shannen's in a simple black tank dress, Holly Marie's in tasteful separates as usual, but Alyssa . . . well, Alyssa's costumer couldn't decide whether the character should wear Daisy Dukes with her bare-shoulder Lycra top, or a flowing floral skirt. So she's wearing a skort that incorporates the worst aspects of both garments. Ew. Stop picking clothes out of Tori's cast-off bin on the Spelling lot, Charmed wardrobe people! Then, for some reason, the television gets turned on during all of this "bonding" and we see some news footage of a recent riot that broke out at a block party in the city. Prue expositions that "stuff" like that has been "happening a lot lately." Phoebe: "Random social violence is encouraged by a general decline in ethical thinking, according to my sociology professor." I am so not buying "brainy" Phoebe (eyeglasses accessory included!). Alyssa obviously read that line off a cue-card and stumbled over most of the multi-syllable words. Pheebs continues her thesis, stating that the prof thought that people "don't ask the big questions enough." Prue wonders, "Like 'how did you stay awake in his class'?" Heh. Phoebe says she actually enjoyed the mellow, soft-science sounds of Sociology 101. Then she brings out a book she just purchased; it contains ethics conundrums for discussion. Or as she calls them, "deep, profound [sic] questions." Whatever. Phoebe puts on her glasses and recites one: "What if a building is on fire: Do you save five strangers or a sibling?" Prue: "That's easy -- a sibling." Piper: "Of course." Phoebe smirks and adds, "Ditto!"

Sidebar. Okay. The "Awakened" ep was re-run just recently. That same episode was referenced repeatedly in the last new episode. Didn't the lazy Ps' decision to save Piper from Aroya Fever cause a mini-ninja-itis outbreak that threatened to kill many innocents? Didn't the Halliwells learn from their travails in that ep that pitting one of their own against the survival of the populace was a Very Bad Thing? Don't the writers watch their own friggin' show? Anyway, continuity be damned. Let's move on.