We All Scream for Ice Cream

While not exceptional, this episode is very good, especially because it never goes where one would expect. Everything seems to hint that Phoebe has kept in touch with Cole and is secretly emailing him. So it is quite a surprise when her "old friend" turns out to be the sisters' father, who despite frequent mentions had not reappeared since season 1. Since he apparently is here to stay, the episode takes some necessary time to set old grudges to rest, and it manages that quite well. Not that Victor will ever be completely forgiven for abandoning his daughters, but it turns out it was not completely his fault --incidentally, from now on some of the flak he had been taking will be transferred to Grams.

Another great idea is that for once the demons are not the burly-looking man with the weird magical device, but the poor, innocent little children. This is an excellent twist, and the children are quite good in both parts. My only qualm is that, since the ice truck is supposed to attract only demons, Prue's obsession with it remains rather inexplicable (therefore the iceman's mistake is also quite justified).

Finally, I have to mention that after accidentally watching the episode twice in two days (replay channels will do that for you), I ended up spending a whole day with that stupid song stuck in my head!

Prue has a melody in her head and when she sees a girl humming the tune, she finds that it belongs to the ice-cream truck. Prue and Phoebe follow the girl and the trio is sucked by a vortex inside the van. They find a playground in the middle of the snow and several children hiding from The Nothing. They rescue the children and once back in San Francisco, they realize that they are demon children. Meanwhile, their father Victor Bennett returns and helps his daughters to fix the situation, capturing the dangerous demons and sending them back to The Nothing.

"We All Scream for Ice Cream" is a very silly episode of "Charmed". The corny return of the father of the Halliwell sisters and the explanation for his absence are totally unreasonable and boring. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "O Sorveteiro" ("The Ice Cream Man")