| "All Hell Breaks Loose" | |
|---|---|
| Charmed episode | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Charmed_-_All_Hell_Breaks_Loose.jpg) The season ends with Prue (Shannen Doherty) and Piper (Holly Marie Combs) being left for dead by Shax. The cliffhanger ending was conceived by Brad Kern to accommodate potential cast changes. | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 22 |
| Directed by | Shannen Doherty |
| Written by | Brad Kern |
| Production code | 4300066 |
| Original air date | May 17, 2001 |
| Guest appearances | |
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"All Hell Breaks Loose" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the third season of the American fantasy drama television series Charmed. Written by Brad Kern and directed by Shannen Doherty—the third and final episode of Charmed she directed—"All Hell Breaks Loose" was originally broadcast on The WB on May 17, 2001.
Charmed focuses on the three Halliwell sisters, Prue (Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), who are known as the Charmed Ones, the most powerful good witches who use their combined "Power of Three" to protect innocent lives from evil beings such as demons and warlocks in San Francisco, while trying to lead normal lives. "All Hell Breaks Loose" focuses on their secret as witches getting exposed to the public after Prue and Piper are caught on tape battling the demon Shax (Michael Bailey Smith), which proves to have deadly consequences.
Shortly before the episode aired, Doherty was fired from the series. In 2023, the reason for Doherty's departure was confirmed to have been due to an ongoing conflict with Milano, who had provided an ultimatum to the show's producers that one of them had to be let go, also threatening to sue them. Following Doherty's departure, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Tiffani Thiessen were offered the role of Prue but turned it down, at which point it was decided to kill the character off; this resulted in the episode's ending being recut. In a 2016 interview, Kern would clarify that he intentionally wrote the episode to end on a cliffhanger with all three sisters' lives being in jeopardy to accommodate any potential cast changes.
"All Hell Breaks Loose" was watched by 5.26 million viewers and received positive reviews from critics, often being cited as one of the show's best episodes. Discussions have often focused on the episode marking Doherty's final appearance in Charmed and Prue's death, which critics have described as shocking. The episode's focus on magic getting exposed to the mortal world and the dire ramifications this has for the Charmed Ones was also praised, being noted for its connection to prior works that contained a similar theme.