- Penny: "You know, they'd be better off with a dog. More loyal and they die sooner."
- Leo: "Excuse me?"
- Penny: "Oh... (chuckles) Don't mind me. You know, I never have very much luck with men."
- Leo: "But you've been married four times."
- Penny: "Exactly." - An example of Penny's frustration with men.
The formidable and no-nonsense Wiccan matriarch of the Halliwell Family, Penelope Halliwell, also known simply as "Penny", is the daughter of Priscilla Baxter and Gordon Johnson and the great-great-great granddaughter of the Matriarch of the Warren Wiccan line, Melinda Warren. Penelope is the mother of Patty Halliwell and grandmother of the Charmed Ones: Prue, Piper and Phoebe Halliwell and Paige Matthews, who refer to the matriarch as "Grams".
Following the death of her daughter Patty in 1978, Penny acted as the guardian of her three granddaughters along with their father Victor Bennett, who also left shortly after Patty's death due to opposing view points on how to raise the Halliwell sisters, leaving Penny to care for the three sisters herself in the Halliwell Manor.
After her death in 1998, Penny became a High Priestess of Craft, and kept a constant watchful eye over her granddaughters, acting as a guardian spirit who ensured that no harm befell them and frequently assisted them in their magical destiny as the Charmed Ones: many a time she would (silently and unseen) flip the pages of the Book of Shadows to reveal the demons and warlocks that they were fighting against, and revealing the spells and potions that can be used to achieve their goals.
Even as a spirit, Penny is still a formidably powerful witch who could effortlessly employ her telekinetic powers and basic Wiccan abilities to perform incredible feats, and is a force of good whom only a fool would understimate.
Quick Facts[]
Full Name: Penelope Halliwell (nee Baxter)
Gender: Female
Species: Witch, High Priestess
Birthdate: June 23, 1930
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Date of Death: March 5, 1998
Parents: Priscilla Baxter & Gordon Johnson I
Hair Color: Blonde/Light Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Skin Color: White
Daughter: Patty Halliwell
Granddaughters: Prue, Piper and Phoebe Halliwell, Paige Matthews
Wiccan Powers: Telekinesis, Spell Casting, Potion Making, Scrying
Spiritual Powers: Corporealization, Teleportation, Blessing + Wiccan Powers
Portrayed By: Jennifer Rhodes
Episode Appearances: Is There a Woogy in the House?, That 70s Episode, Witch Trial, Magic Hour, Just Harried. Pre-Witched, Charmed Again, Part 1, Happily Ever After, Necromancing the Stone, Witchstock, Cheaper By the Coven, Still Charmed and Kicking, Forever Charmed
Birth[]
While Priscilla Baxter, cousin of Pearl Russell and Phoebe Bowen, was in Boston, Massachusetts, alone or with her husband Gordon Johnson, she gave birth to Penelope in a hotel room.[1] It was an unusual birth due to unknown circumstances resulting in Penelope being born breech; meaning she entered the birth canal with the buttocks/feet first as opposed to the normal head first presentation. Other family members and friends may have been present but this is unknown.
In 1975, Penny questioned her granddaughters about where she was born because she was skeptical that the three women were really her granndaughters from the future when they travelled to the past after an encounter with a powerful warlock known as Nicholas.
The "P" Tradition[]
Possibly carrying on a tradition in the Baxter Family or hoping to create a new one, Priscilla and Gordon were sure to name their daughter using the letter "P", something that was then repeated by Penny herself when she had a daughter and then again by Penny's daughter, Patty.
Gail Altman and Penny's Coven[]
During her younger years, Penny attended college where she belonged to a sorority and met another woman known as Gail Altman.[2] The two became extremely good friends, so much in fact that Penny's granddaughters referred to Gail as their aunt. Penny and Gail along with other friends created a coven of both magical and non-magical witch practitioners.
After Penny's death, Gail emerged in the Halliwell's life seeking to obtain a spell that could be used to bestow the demon Cryto with the three sisters' power in exchange for youth and beauty.
Gail arrived at Halliwell Manor where she explained that she knew Penny was a witch, calling her "one of the most powerful witches" she ever knew, saying that Penny told her that the three sisters would become the Charmed Ones when they were older. The sisters were skeptical and suspicious about Gail's motive for appearing when she claimed she discovered a demon skinning people alive. But eventually travelled to Gail's home town of Santa Costa where Gail brewed the potion, stripped the sisters of their powers, bestowed them upon Cryto and was given youth and beauty in exchange. However, the sisters were able to defeat the demon, but not before he killed Gail.
Engagements and Marriages[]
Although Penny was dedicated to her Wiccan duties, she pursued a normal life, or as normal as she could make it, attempting to find a man that would treat her with the respect and integrity she deserved and who would be open to her magical abilities. This desire led Penny to marry four different men and being engaged six, the first of which was a marriage to Allen Halliwell, where in Penny conceived her only child but the marriage ended when Allen was taken away from her by the warlock Nigel. Afterwards, Penny married three other times, but none of the marriages worked out, to which Penny has contributed to the men desiring magical power.
It is unknown if the men Penny married after Allen were only mortals or magical beings but since Penny expressed concern about a male being born into the Halliwell line when her granddaughter Piper gave birt to a boy, describing men as hungry for power and unnable to handle power, it could be assumed that the men she married had difficulty with her being a a powerful witch.
Cursing Her Engagement Ring[]
- "To gain another is to lose oneself." - Penny's Inscription
Because of the difficulties with the men she had married and became engaged to, Penny cursed one of her engagement rings causing the wearer to become a sixties' housewife dedicated only to pleasing her husband. Doing so in order to remind herself not to remarry ever again because she always loses her identity when she gained a lover.
This ring was acquired by Cole Turner who proposed to Phoebe Halliwell with it, causing her to become a sixties' housewife dedicated to pleasing only Cole.[3] And the curse was later used by the demon Dumain to convert Piper in a plot to cause her to abandon the magical community in their time of need.[4]
- Note: It is said that the ring was given to Penny by her first husband Allen but why exactly she cursed a ring from the man who's last name she kept and truly loved is unknown. But it may reflect how after she found Allen killed, she became extremely vengeful towards evil, causing her to lose her flower-child, pacifist attitude.
Allen Halliwell[]
During her early adulthood, Penny met Allen Halliwell, a tall, handsome man with brown curly hair, who happened to be mortal, and the two fell in love. Although unknown how exactly Penny revealed her identity as a witch, Allen learned the truth about his lover and was understanding in the revelation and Penny's Wiccan secret. The lovers then married during the 1940s and Penny became pregnant with a daughter in 1949 and gave birth to her in 1950. She and Allen carried on the "P" tradition and named the girl Patricia.
After marrying, the two held magical gatherings in Halliwell Manor where other Witches and magical beings were free to practice magic openly amongst one another.[5] During the summer of 1967, the two lovers and their friends and followers planned to tap into the powers of Wiccan Nexus beneath the Manor in hopes of "riding the magical wave" in what they considered a Magical Be-In. However, this plan came to a halt when a close friend of Penny and Allen's betrayed them resulting in Allen's death, leading Penny to become a true paragon of Good, serving only Good Magic, destroying any and all evil threats that came her way and protecting all those who she held near and dear to her heart.
Affair With Armand[]
Although Penny was in love with Allen, sometime prior to or after their marriage, she met Armand and the two began dating one another and fell in love. But when Penny discovered that he was a demon that possessed the power to control the dead, she vanquished him forthwith and created an entry in the Book of Shadows in which she wrote personal attributes of the demon such as his favorite movies, food and so on. But after he was vanquished, he became a spirit that maintained the ability to dominate the dead and gained the title "The Necromancer". This affair contributed to Penny's disdain and distrust for men.
Robin's Betrayal[]
In the mid 1960s, Penny met a young woman named Robin and the two became friends, Penny not realizing that Robin was an evil witch who partnered with a warlock known as Nigel that plotted to kill her, Allen and all the witches at their magical be-in during the summer of 1967 in order to steal their powers.
Robin and Nigel's plan was soon to become a reality but during a gathering at the Manor the day before the be-in, Allen grew suspicious of Robin and followed her to the Attic where he found her calling upon evil entities. Robin then blasted a flame of fire at Allen, killing him. When Penny discovered Allen was dead, it caused her to seek vengeance and ultimately resulted in her desire to annihilate any evil threat that came her way.
Altered Timeline[]
While Phoebe and Paige moved out of the Manor to pursue lives with the men they loved, Piper packed away her two sisters clothes and other belongings and stored them in the Attic. But when the two returned and sought to change clothes, Piper told them everything was in the Attic but also packed in the Attic was a box of Penny's belongings which included a pair of red go-go boots - boots that possessed a curse to return them to their rightful owner.
When Paige found the boots, she put them on and was transported back to 1967 where she met a thirty-year-old Penny and Allen. Paige was taken aback seeing her grandmother and grandfather and posed as a witch who'd come join their Wiccan gathering. After Allen commented on Paige bearing a striking resemblance to his sister Janice, the two informed her about a get together the following day in which they were going to tap into the power of the Nexus and "ride the magical wave".
However, while Paige and Penny were talking to Robin, Allen grew suspicious of Robin and followed her into the Attic where he found her invoking evil magic, casting a spell to let evil roam freely in the Manor.
When Allen walked in on Robin, she fired blasts of fire at him but Paige knocked over a container of round balls causing Robin to fall to the ground and she was destroyed with her own fire blast, changing the course of history, resulting in Penny, who was in the present time trying to assist in vanquishing a Slime Demon, to revert to her carefree former self.
Piper and Phoebe discovered more objects cursed by Penny and they travelled back to the 1960s as well where they informed Paige that history had been changed because Allen was meant to be killed by Robin.
But then while the three sisters, Penny and Allen were discussing the situation, Nigel emerged and stopped time and then killed Allen. But Penny still remained a pacifist and carefree in both the past and present.
Piper, Phoebe and Paige however managed to get Penny to realize she had to fight the forces of evil and avenge Allen's death. Thus, when Nigel surfaced again, she used her power of Telekinesis against him and cast a spell that destroyed him in a flowery blast. Penny had realized it ws her duty to annihilate evil beings and her present self returned to her regular self.
Patricia Halliwell[]
After expressing their love in 1949, Penny and Allen became pregnant with a daughter who was born on April 5, 1950, choosing to name her Patricia; "Patty" for short. Because Penny was a Warren witch, Patty acquired the power to freeze people and objects, commonly known by the Charmed Ones as Freezing and as Molecular Immobilization (by some). Penny sought to perform a magical blessing on Patty shortly after she was born, known as a Wiccaning, in which the spirits of the Halliwell Matriarchs would be summoned to bless the young girl.
During this blessing however, Penny's former lover who was a demon, known as Armand, now known as the Necromancer, attacked and plotted to feed on the spiritual energy and magic of the Matriarchs but Penny managed to stop the evil creature and banished him.
Penny raised Patricia in the ways of witches, teaching her how to properly use her powers, create potions and spells and other magical duties. While raising Patty, Penny thwarted various demonic and evil threats and tried to instill caution and awareness in her only daughter.
Patricia later met Victor Bennett, a mortal, and the two fell in love, married and conceived three daughters, Prudence, Piper and Phoebe, the Charmed Ones. Penny insisted that Patty keep the Halliwell last name and not take Victor's; a request that was agreed to and later honored by Piper and Phoebe as well. Although the two were in love, Patty fell in love with her Whitelighter Sam Wilder and had a fourth daughter, Paige. But with Penny's help and advice, Patty and Sam took the newly born to a cathedral and left her with a sister known as Sister Agnes, requesting that she take care of the baby and be sure her name began with a "P". Penny and Patty then made a promise to keep the event secret.
Eventually, Patty and Victor grew apart resulting in Victor leaving the marriage after an argument with Penny.[6] Victor leaving resulted in Penny taking on a greater role in her granddaughters' lives and she chose to live with Patty in the Manor to ensure no harm came to her and her three girls. As Patty took a job as a waitress at Buddy's Diner to support herself and her children, Penny stayed with her granddaughters when they weren't in school and taught them spells and potions and other Wiccan responsibilities.
In 1976, Patricia later learned of a demon residing in the water at Camp Skylark known as the Water Demon and when she sought to vanquish it, the demon surrounded her and drowned her in it's watery body. Penny was then left to take care of Prue, Piper and Phoebe herself and did whatever possible to protect her darlings from any harm.
As Patty moved on to the Afterlife, she gained the ability to return to earth as a spirit and guide her daughters in their time of need.
Patricia also joined her daughters in the Final Battle against the Triad and helped Piper save her two sisters from being killed. She and Victor then shared a moment after the battle before she and Penny returned to their respective times.
Meeting Her Future Granddaughters[]
- Penny: "What's IBM selling at in your time?"
- Patty: "Mom!"
- Penny: "What?"
- Patty: "It's not the time for personal gain."
- Penny: "If they could just nod their heads. Okay, forget it. Well, look at you. The three of you. Oh, Patty, I always knew I would deliver the Charmed Ones. Once removed, of course. Prue. Piper. And..."
- Phoebe: "Phoebe!"
- Penny: "Oh, another 'P'. What a surprise." - Penny questions the sisters
Shortly after Patty became pregnant with her third child, she was tricked by the warlock Nicholas into meeting at Victor's apartment. Thinking she was going to meet Victor, Patty went to the apartment where Nicholas awaited and when she arrived, he forced her to bless a ring to give him immunity and promised him her daughters' powers in exchange for their lives. Patty informed Penny of the situation and she cast a spell to bind her granddaughters' powers to ensure they would never fall into the hands of evil.
Years later in 1999, many months after Penny's death, Nicholas appeared on the doorstep of the Manor posing as man delivering flowers to Penny from a secret admirer. Piper wanted to leave the man a note to inform him of Penny's death, not realizing he was a warlock but then the doorbell rang and the sisters answered it. Nicholas told them it was a delivery for Penny and then went to drop the vase of flowers to the floor but Piper managed to freeze it before it fell and she grabbed it as the grandfather clock began to chime. She told her sisters she was glad that this year she had the power to freeze the vase unlike other years where it merely smashed on the floor. But then when she unfroze Nicholas he noted he only heard five chimes but it was noon, he told the sisters it meant he was frozen and then held up his hand and shifted to a younger version of himself.
As the sisters backed away in fear, Nicholas informed them of Patty's blessing and that since they had their powers it meant Penny was dead. He then proceeded to cause the sisters' blood to boil but Phoebe managed to knock him down and the three women ran to the Attic to try to find a magical aid in the Book of Shadows. Phoebe found a spell to Unbind a Bond and as Nicholas ran up the stairs, she cast it causing the sisters to travel back to 1975.
Prue went down the stairs and saw her and Piper as young kids as Phoebe picked up the phone and heard Penny on the phone with Patty. Patty explained to Penny that she had a premonition where she saw three female warlocks with little Piper and Phoebe. Penny told her that was impossible because she didn't possess the power to see the future.
As Prue, Piper and Phoebe went downstairs, past Prue and Piper ran into them and as Prue picked her younger self up, Penny walked in and she blasted the three women out of the Manor door with her power of Telekinesis.
As Prue and her sisters tried to discover a way to confront their mother about Nicholas, Penny called Buddy's Diner where Patty was working and informed her that the three women were at the Manor. As Prue and Piper were inside the diner waiting to order from Patty, Patty told her mother that she was going to come home right away. Patty left through the back door, where Phoebe was waiting and the two women ran into one another. Nicholas then appeared and as Patty left, Phoebe took Nicholas' keys and threw them a far distance and ran to her sisters to tell them Nicholas was there.
The three women then went back to the Manor where Phoebe listened into to Patty and Penny talk about Victor as Prue and Piper tried to get their past selves to trust them. Patty explained that Victor had called her to meet and Penny told her Victor, like all men, shouldn't be trusted. But unbeknownst to both women, it was really Nicholas who was waiting for Patty.
As Patty went to met with Victor, Prue, Piper and Phoebe took little Prue and Piper to the park but little Andy Trudeau wanted to go as well, causing little Piper to freeze him. After they left, Penny found Andy frozen and with a wave of the hand, she unfroze him and erased his memory. She asked him where the girls went and he told them that the three ladies took them. Penny ran outside and saw the women leave with the children and then quickly called the police. While the sisters and their past selves were at the park, police officers showed up and arrested them.
Patty was grabbed Nicholas and she forced him to bless his ring with immunity and she then proceeded to the police department where Prue, Piper and Phoebe were taken. Patty questioned the three women and they revealed that they were her daughters from the future.
Patty and her daughters went back to Halliwell Manor where they informed Penny of the situation but she was hesitant to believe what they said. She questioned the three women about herself aking where she born, what the secret ingredient was in her cobbler as well as what IBM stock was selling at in their time, to which Patty quickly stopped Penny. Penny then exclaimed that she knew she would deliver the Charmed Ones, once removed that is and was surprised to learn the women had all "P" names.
Patty revealed that she had already made the pact with Nicholas and blessed the ring. Penny figured out that she must be dead in their time because it was the only way for their powers to be unbound. And when Phoebe was about to reveal to Patty that she too was dead in their time, Penny told them not to reveal anything else because it could alter the future. And after hearing that the sisters thought it was too late to stop Nicholas, Penny told them that they were witches and anything was possible.
Penny, Patty, Prue, Piper and Phoebe then devised a plan for the sisters to retrieve the ring, cast a spell to unbless it and then send the girls back to their own time. The sisters retrieved the ring and returned to the Attic of the Manor where Penny and Patty cast a spell to send the girls back to their own time, but it didn't work.
They travelled through time for a few seconds but then reappeared to Penny and Patty. As Nicholas stormed into the Manor, Penny used her power against Nicholas as he walked toward her, blasting him backwards. Patty then discovered that there must not be enough power behind the spell and had little Prue and Piper recite the spell with her, sending the girls back to their own time.
As the girls returned to 1999, Penny and Patty created a spell in the Book to vanquish Nicholas and as she stormed into the Attic, the sisters recited the spell and destroyed him.
Desire to Remove Her Granddaughters' Powers and Her Death[]
- " My sweet girls. You're just not ready. I've got to stop you from becoming..." - Penny as she bottles the potion
Feeling that she wasn't as strong as she once was and that her death was eminent, Penny sought to protect her granddaughters from the kind of life she lived and prevent them from having to do battle with demons, warlocks and other evil creatures thus she created a powerful potion that would permanently relinquish the Charmed Ones' powers, making them fully human.[7]
Contributing to this belief was seeing how uncooperative her daughters were to take a photograph together, Phoebe being caught shoplifting, and the constant bickering in the weeks leading up to her death.
However, Patty disputed Penny's decision telling her it wasn't their decision to make as to whether or not the girls should carry out a destiny as the Charmed Ones but Penny told her believed it was for the best because she felt the three women would never be able to come together as sisters and act as one to protect themselves from evil.
But as Penny completed the potion, Piper found her in the kitchen and began adding a few ingredients to the potion. Penny questioned Piper as to why she wanted to waste her talent behind a counter at a bank rather than pursuing her dream to be a chef/restaurant owner, telling her she was born for it (also making an implication that she born to make potions).
After Piper told her that her dreams won't pay the bills and Penny's hospital expenses, she walked away and Penny placed the power stripping potion in a vial.
Shen then summoned Patty in the attic and Patty told her that it wasn't their choice to decide the destiny of their daughters but Penny was adamant, insisting that they were not ready for such a destiny and that she did not want to put them directly in harm's way.
As Patty dematerialized, Penny telekinetically moved the Book of Shadows from it's stand into a trunk and then left the Attic, closing the door and sealing it. As she proceeded down the stairs to administer the potion, she had a heart attack, clutched her chest and fell down the stairs. Prue, Piper and Phoebe heard the fall and rushed to Penny but nothing could be done, their grandmother and Matriarch of their family was dead.
After her death, Prue and Piper moved into an apartment in North Beach while Phoebe pursued other avenues in New York City. But six months after Penny's death, the three women moved back into the Manor and Phoebe invoked the Power of Three, bestowing herself and her sisters with their Charmed powers.
Rite of Passage[]
- "Fight it with the Power of One, or else..."" - Rite of Passage
Upon the Charmed Ones' first anniversary as being witches, Penny sought to inform her granddaughters to act as one in future battles and flipped the pages of the Book of Shadows to a blank page and magical wrote "Fight it with the Power of One or else ... A more powerful evil that awaits will destroy you."[8] Phoebe went to the Attic and found the entry and called her sisters but before they could finish readin the entry, a portal opened and the demon Abraxas emerged and telekinetically pulled the Book of Shadows through the portal.
As the sisters then proceeded the day as normal, invisible to the sisters, Penny travelled to each of them and spoke the words "the Power of Three", just before Abraxas sent a past evil after them by reciting the words of spells found the Book backwards.
The sisters then realized that to defeat Abraxas, they had to unite their powers and act as one. They travelled to a sacred spot and recited the Spell for Invoking the Power of Three, successfully retrieving the Book of Shadows and vanquishing Abraxas.
The sisters then returned to the Attic where Penny appeared to them in non-corporeal form and wished her darlings a happy anniversary, informing them that she was the one responsible for flipping the pages of the Book of Shadows as a way to assist them. She then vanished as the pages flipped to an entry that read "Happy Anniversary, My Darlings".
Piper and Leo's Handfasting[]
Knowing that their union was forbidden by the Elders, Piper and Leo Wyatt sought a way to be together without interference and as Phoebe was looking in the Book of Shadows for a way to nullify a curse placed on a young woman and her lover, she asked for some help and the pages magically flipped to an entry entitled "Handfasting".[9] Phoebe said that it wasn't what she was looking for and then Penny materialized and told her that she was looking for an answer and that there it was. Phoebe then expressed her concern about Leo and Piper being together but Penny reassured her that they were in love and nothing could stand in their way of being together.
Prue and Piper learned about the Handfasting entry but Phoebe told them that they needed a High Priestess to perform it and that they didn't have one but then when they were attempting to save the cursed woman and man, they realized that Penny could perform the ritual during a solar eclipse that was occurring that day because if they couldn't look up, it meant the Elders could look down either. But unbeknownst to the sisters, Cole Turner informed the Elders what the sisters were planning.
The sisters summoned Penny and decided to perform the Handfasting. The Matriarch stood at an altar in the Manor and magically turned on a nearby stereo that began to play Pachelbel's Canon as Prue and Phoebe stood to her side and Leo in the middle. Piper emerged from the stairs and walked toward her future husband. But then Leo was suddenly struck with shock and orbs appeared and he was pulled away by the Elders.
As Piper fell to the ground crying and Prue and Phoebe consoled her, Penny told her not to worry and that they would fix it and she reached out her arms as too hug her granddaughters.
Piper and Leo's Marriage[]
In order to prepare for Piper's wedding, Penny was summoned and assisted Prue and Phoebe decorate the Manor.[10] While summoned Penny instructs Piper to keep the Halliwell last name rather than take Leo's telling her that the women in the Halliwell family always keep their own last name.
During this time however, Prue's power of Astral Projection resulted in Prue's inner desires to take form while she was asleep and eventually during the wedding, her astral self took control and went off with a man she was seeing, ruining Piper's wedding and causing Piper to call off the wedding. But after the situation was settled and a talk with Patty, the wedding was back on and Penny proceeded to bind Piper and Leo as husband and wife in a Handfasting ceremony in the Manor.
Revelation of the Fourth Sister[]
After the demon Shax brutally killed Prue Halliwell, Piper sought to bring her back and cast various spells from the Book of Shadows hoping something would work. But when she cast the spell to Call a Lost Witch, a call in the wind was sent that led Paige Matthews to Prue's funeral.
At the funeral, Paige shook Phoebe's hand causing her to recieve a premonition in which she saw Paige being attacked by Shax atop a roof. Phoebe informed her sisters of the vision and she and Cole went to the location that evening and saw Paige with Shane and prevented Shax from killing her. However, at the Manor, Piper again attempted to summon Prue but Penny materialized and told Piper that their destiny still awaited and that she and Patty were guiding Prue.
After Phoebe returned to the Manor, she told her sisters what had happened and Piper grew suspicious and went to the attic to summon Penny again. Piper cast the spell and Penny appeared. Piper questioned Penny what she meant about her destiny awaiting and then she revealed that she was sworn to secrecy.
When Piper and Phoebe asked by who, Patty appeared and told them she swore Penny to secrecy and then revealed that she had an affair with Sam, her Whitelighter and that they had a child together that they left with a nun at a cathedral. They explained that since it was forbidden for Witches and Whitelighters
to be together let alone have a child, the only option was to keep the child a secret from everyone. Piper and Phoebe realized that the woman was their baby sister and a Charmed One.
During the revelation, Darryl Morris and Inspector Cortez arrived to which Penny responded by telling Phoebe to cast a spell to ship Cortez away. Along with Phoebe they sent Cortez to Timbuktu.
Meeting Paige Matthews and the Big Bad Wolf[]
While pregnant with her first child, Piper wanted her grandmother's advice resulting in her unborn son summoning Penny so that she could advise Piper on magical pregnancies.[11] As she was summoned and corporealized, Paige arrived and met Penny for the first time. Penny was elated to finally meet her fourth granddaughter but Paige was weary of Penny because she had her own grandmother that she loved dearly and she was hesitant to accept Penny as her grandmother. Paige told her that she had only known one grandmother during her life but eventually, Penny talked Paige into opening her heart and letting her into it; as she was not trying to replace any of the other family members Paige has loved or lost over the years, telling Paige that hopefully there is enough space in her heart to let her into.
During this time the Wicked Witch of the Magic Mirror escaped her mirror and sought to destroy the most powerful witches in existance - the Charmed Ones - in order to gain the title for herself. Part of this plan led to the conjuration of the Big Bad Wolf from the Fairy Tale "Little Red Riding Hood".
While Penny and Paige were creating a potion to vanquish the Wicked Witch and discussing Paige's relationship with her adoptive grandparents, the wolf emerged and devoured Penny after Paige took a bite from a poisonous apple. The wolf then took on Penny's appearance and devoured Piper as well. Penny however escaped after Piper was swallowed as well and blew up the wolf from inside.
Wyatt's Wiccaning[]
After giving birth to her son, Piper summoned Penny hoping she could perform a blessing on Wyatt. But when Grams arrived she was shocked to discover that the child was a boy.[12] She was adamant that no men have been or should be born in the Warren/Halliwell Family because she felt that men couldn't be trusted with witchcraft or power.
After Piper expressed her feelings toward the situation suggesting that Penny was bitter towards men because of her past experiences and the revelation of her past affair with the demon Armand, Penny let go of some of her bitterness and disdain towards men and asked Piper, Phoebe and Paige to forgive her. She then accepted Wyatt into the family and summoned the Halliwell Matriarchs to bless him in goodness.
Armand Resurfaces[]
When Penny arrived for Wyatt's Wiccaning, she asked Piper and her sisters if they took care of all the magical threats that could prevent the blessing. Piper told her that they vanquished the Creepers, the Rigors, Zombies but then Penny brought up the Necromancer, telling the girls that he attacked during their mother Patty's Wiccaning. Piper told them that they hadn't so she and Penny proceeded to the Attic to find the Necromancer's entry in the Book of Shadows. Penny explained that the demon craves the sensuousness of life as Piper read notes Penny made on the entry about things he liked. They then made potion to destroy the being and they proceeded to the Necromancer's lair.
The demon, now a spirit known by his actual name, Armand, was surprised to see Penny but they threw the potion at the spirit and presumed he was vanquished. But then, Skreek, Armand's minion, resurrected his spirit and Armand set his sights on reuniting with Penny, knowing that she must be summoned to perform a Wiccaning on Piper's son.
While Penny and her granddaughter's were preparing for the blessing, Armand emerged and captured Penny and brought her back to his lair where he used his magic to restrain her, hoping to convince her they belonged together. He forced her to agree to summon the Halliwell Matriarchs in order for him to absorb their magical energy to fully resurrect himself and told her there would be enough to resurrect her as well. But when Penny refused, Armand caused her to hear a painful ringing that he would only stop if she agreed. Penny and Armand then kissed passionately.
Penny told Armand she would do as he requested and she went to the Manor where Piper, Paige, Phoebe and Leo were waiting and Armand materialized as well.
Penny tried to warn her granddaughters but again Armand caused the ringing to begin again and she then began to recite the spell to summon the Matriarchs but Paige realized that if she could cast the Truth Spell, Penny recites the spell to destroy Armand Penny would reveal how she
truly felt about Armand and destroy him. With the spell cast, Penny told Armand that she did love him but her love for her family was greater and she cast the spell to banish him into Oblivion.
She apologized to her granddaughters for her behavior and told them to always keep their hearts open to love before she recited the spell to summon the Halliwell Matriarchs to bless Wyatt.
The Slime Demon[]
After Paige accidentally put on a pair of Penny's cursed Go-Go Boots, she was transported to the 1960s but at the same time, a Slime Demon traveled to Halliwell Manor after being confronted and blown up by Piper Halliwell in a warehouse. With Paige in the past, Piper and Phoebe summoned Penny, who revealed she cursed the boots to send the wearer back to the Summer of Love and indicated that it was a crucial time in her life because it was when her husband Allen was killed, triggering her desire to annihilate all those who dare try to harm her family and loved ones.
The Slime Demon began to feed on the powers of the Nexus below the Manor and grew to enormous proportions. Unwillingly, in the past, Paige altered the future causing Penny to revert to her carefree, pacifist ways in the present time. She then went to confront the Slime Demon thinking she could talk to the demon, but it devoured her.
The sisters traveled to the past to retrieve Paige and they ensured that Penny let go of her pacifist ways and then they returned to the present, vanquished the Slime Demon, releasing Penny.
Christopher's Wiccaning[]
After giving birth to Christopher, Paige summoned Penny in order for her to convince Piper to have a Wiccaning for the child. But when Penny arrived, she noticed how Wyatt and Christopher were not getting along and she cast a spell to try to resolve Wyatt and Chris' sibling rivalry. Inadvertently, the spell resulted in the Charmed Ones reverting to their childlike mindsets.
After arguing with Victor on the best way to handle the situation, Patty appeared from the Afterlife and took Victor's side. Angered by Patty siding with Victor, Penny dematerialized back to the Afterlife. Patty reversed the spell and Penny returned, apologized to the family, and performed Christopher's Wiccaning.
The Charmed Ones' New Identities[]
After her granddaughters' defeat of the demon Zankou where in which the three sisters took on new identities and gave up their destiny as the Charmed Ones, Penny expressed her displeasure with the decision. The matriarch of the family was upset with the witches for not first discussing the situation with her before taking on new identities and giving up their duties as protectors of the innocent. However, when Paige summoned her shortly after the vanquish of Zankou, she advised the youngest Charmed One that it was okay for her to pursue a new destiny and do whatever makes her happy.
Final Battle[]
When the Triad reemerged to carry out a plan to use Christy Jenkins and her sister Billie in order to kill the Charmed Ones, both the Jenkins and the Charmed sisters sought to summon the Hollow to use against one another, believing it was the only option.[13]
However, when the two sides confronted one another in Halliwell Manor, the powers clashed destroying the Manor and killing Phoebe, Paige and Christy, leaving only Piper and Billie. Piper then searched through the debris and found Phoebe's dead body. She saw Billie emerged as well and as she began punching Billie, Leo stopped her and the two went to Victor's apartment where Piper devised a plan to go back in time using Coop's ring in order to prevent the invocation of the Hollow.[14]
Using the ring, Piper and Leo ended up going back to the 1970s to Patty and Victor, where the two were making love in bed. Patty was stunned to see her future daughter and agreed to help Piper.
They then went forward in time to the 1980s where Penny was talking to little Piper that she was special and that she kept her sisters from killing each other most of time; she then told her that she had gifts and that one day those gifts will make her even more special.
As little Piper walked away after a hug, Penny heard Patty talking to Piper and she was shocked to see her daughter, so much so that she collapsed to the floor; awestruck to see Patty because it had been over five years since Patty's death.
Piper and Patty informed Penny that Piper was from the future and that she was a Charmed One. She explained what had happened and Penny immediately agreed to assist in saving her granddaughters.
Again with the ring, Penny, Patty and Piper travelled to the present time where the three sisters were doing battle with the Jenkins and Patty and Piper cast a spell that removed the Hollow from the five women, preventing the death of Phoebe, Paige and Christy.
Piper then rushed back into her present body and Penny was able to meet her future great grandchildren before travelling with Phoebe to her condo to make a potion to destroy the Triad once and for all. As they made the potion, Penny commented on how she couldn't believe how big the Book of Shadows had become. With the potion,
the sisters destroyed the Triad and after convincing Billie to help them, vanquished Christy in a fiery explosion.
Penny, Patty, the Charmed Ones, Leo, Coop and future Wyatt and Christopher reunited at Halliwell Manor and celebrated their victory over the Triad with embraces. Coop then used his ring to send both Penny and Patty to their respective time periods. Penny was hoping to maintain the memory of what had happened but Coop ensured it wouldn't be remembered as to not change history.
Penny Spells[]
Penny has created various spells and potions that are contained within the pages of the Halliwell Family's Book of Shadows and can be quoted as saying she wrote the Book - or all the good spells at least. She has also created impromptu spells to vanquish demons that have attacked on various occasions, one of these spells includes the following that she used to destroy a demon that Piper encountered in the Manor as a young girl.[15]
Hellspawn demon,
Creature of Death.
Fire shall take
your very breath.
Another spell she created is the spell to banish Phoebe's childhood monster that actually is the shadow found within the Nexus below the Manor known as the Woogyman. She used the spell when Phoebe was very young to prevent the shadow from escaping from the Nexus, afterwards, she taught it to the girls telling them it was merely a rhyme. Phoebe in fact actually walked in on Penny as she was banishing the Woogyman and recalled the event in a premonition when the Woogyman reemerged and possessed her. The spell reads:
I am light,
I am one too strong to fight.
Return to dark where shadows dwell,
You can not have this Halliwell.
Go away and leave my sight,
and take with you this endless night.
In addition to contributing spells, potions and other entries on magical beings in the Book of Shadows, Penny also kept an additional smaller book containing spells such as one she used in an attempt to prevent Wyatt and Christopher's sibling rivalry. The exact contents of the book are unknown however.
Notes[]
- Penny adds two secret ingredients to her blueberry cobbler: honey and a splash of rum.
- After Piper froze Andy when they were children, Penny was able to undo the freeze with a wave of her hand; She waved her hand over the frozen boy as she said "you won't remember a thing". This suggests Penny has the ability to undo certain magical powers physically or mentally and erase memories.
- Penny's haircolor and style has always changed over the years from dark brunette, light brunette, auburn, blonde and then brunette again; this is because in reality Jennifer Rhodes always like to wear different wigs in all her television appearances.
- Although Penny has stated that all the women in her family keep the Halliwell last name, Halliwell is her married name, her birth name being Johnson, or if she went by her mother's name, Baxter. Even after her 3 other marriages, she maintained the Halliwell last name from her first husband Allen; possibly because Allen was her one true love that was taken away from her by supernatural means. This could also be because it was during her marriage to Allen when she gained a reputation as an extremely powerful force of Good recognized by the magical community and she wanted to ensure it was passed on to her daughter and her granddaughters.
- Penny's birthplace was Boston, Massachusetts, possibly to reflect her Wiccan and familial ties to the Salem Witch Trials of the 17th century in Massachusetts; it has been said that the Halliwell family assisted the Marks family during the Salem Witch Trials.[16]
References[]
- ↑ Season 1, That '70s Episode
- ↑ Season 2. How to Make a Quilt Out of Americans
- ↑ Season 4, Lost and Bound
- ↑ Season 8, Gone With the Witches
- ↑ Season 6, Witchstock
- ↑ Season 5, Sympathy for the Demon
- ↑ Season 3, Pre-Witched
- ↑ Season 2, Witch Trial
- ↑ Season 3, Magic Hour
- ↑ Season 3, Just Harried
- ↑ Season 5, Happily Ever After
- ↑ Season 5, Necromancing the Stone
- ↑ Season 8, Kill Billie, Vol. 2
- ↑ Season 8, Forever Charmed
- ↑ Season 5, Sympathy For the Demon
- ↑ Season 8, Generation Hex