Paige Matthews's History
Paige Matthews is the youngest Charmed One, younger maternal half-sister of Prue, Piper, and Phoebe Halliwell. She is the biological mother of twins Tamora and Kat Mitchell, and the adoptive one of Henry Mitchell Jr. Paige is the adopted daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, and the biological one of Patty Halliwell and Sam Wilder. She is married to Henry Mitchell.
Paige was left at a local church shortly after her birth, by her bio parents, subsequently adopted by her parents. She met her maternal half-sisters, Piper and Phoebe Halliwell, in 2001 after the death of her eldest half-sister Prue Halliwell. As the daughter of a witch and a Whitelighter, Paige is the Charmed One with the most powers, despite being the youngest and last sister to come into her Charmed legacy. Her powers include telekinetic orbing, orbing, healing, and the ability to generate an Orb Shield. Additionally, she also possesses the basic powers of a witch: The ability to cast spells, brew potions, scry for lost objects or people, and divine for information, along with other typical Whitelighter-powers. Furthermore, Paige can access the Power of Three, the collective power of the Charmed Ones that enhances their powers.
Besides her duties as a Charmed One, Paige is a full-time Whitelighter and works as a recruiter for Magic School when new witches come into their powers.
Early life:
Paige was born on August 2, 1977, to Patty Halliwell. Unlike the first three daughters Patty had with her mortal husband Victor Bennett, Paige was fathered by Patty's Whitelighter, Sam Wilder. Also unlike her sisters, Paige was born with an inactive Wiccan gene due to the prophecy of the Charmed Ones only consisting of three sisters, with three distinctive powers. Patty initially wanted to keep the baby and raise her along with Prue, Piper, and Phoebe, however, in those days, it was not only forbidden but unthinkable for a witch and a Whitelighter to be romantically involved. By this time, Patty and her mother, Penny, had known for at least two years that Patty's daughters were destined to become the Charmed Ones; witches destined to be bestowed with great power and the duty to protect the innocent. Penny feared that the Elders would deny the girls their birthright if they ever found out about Patty and Sam's affair. Patty and Sam decided to give the baby up for adoption.
The day Paige was born, Patty and Sam orbed to a local church and left her with a nun called Sister Agnes. They asked that she would find her a good home. Additionally, Patty had one more request for people who would adopt her, that her name started with a P.
Not long after, Patty was killed by the Water Demon. This gave her a chance to look over Paige for the first time. Patty noticed that her wishes were granted, Paige was being raised in a good home by the Matthews.
Paige was given a normal life by her adopted parents. At one point in her life, she met Philip Lewicky who gave her a bracelet and became her first love. In her eighth grade graduation, Paige was supposed to sing the school song in front of eight hundred people, when the time arrived, Paige froze, ran out, and missed her own graduation, it turned out to be the worst day of her life all her friends laughed at her and a guy named Bobby Maynard dumped her. But when Paige came into her teens, she started to hang out with the wrong friends and began drinking, smoking, skipping classes, and disobeying her parents.
At some point during her rebellious stage, Paige was drinking with her friends and got behind the wheel while drunk, getting in a car accident.
The Death of Mr. and Mrs. Matthews:
Around the age of seventeen, Paige's adoptive parents, Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, were killed in a terrible car accident. From what she could remember, they didn't see the car that swerved into their lane. Paige survives, suddenly waking up on the pavement seeing the car totaled and on fire. It would be revealed to Paige after she became a witch that she had subconsciously orbed out of the car. After the death of her parents, Paige changed her attitude drastically; she stopped smoking and drinking, and also started to study harder. She was accepted to UC Berkeley for good grades and a well-written essay on the death of her parents. She later graduated with a degree in social work.
Meeting Piper and Phoebe:
One year before the death of Prue Halliwell, Paige started to go to P3 as she felt a connection to the Halliwells. Then Paige met Phoebe at the funeral of Prue where Phoebe had a vision of Shax killing Paige. Phoebe and her boyfriend Cole Turner went to check on Paige, trying to save her from Shax. When he attacked, Phoebe and Cole saw Paige orbing. After they rescued her they told Piper who summoned their grams and mother immediately. They explained Paige was their half-sister. Paige then arrived and met with her half-sisters at their home. Upon shaking hands with Piper (with Phoebe clutching to Paige's arm), the chandelier above them began to glow and shine a blue light just like it did before when Phoebe reawakened the powers of herself and her sisters.
Shortly after that moment, Shax came bursting in through the front doors and knocked the sisters away. Piper and Phoebe grabbed Paige and ran upstairs while Leo distracted Shax.
In the attic, Piper and Phoebe ordered Paige to cast the vanquishing spell with them and thus revealed she was a witch. Paige did what her sisters told her to do and saw to her amazement how the monster in front of her eyes blew up.
Shocked and in disbelief, Paige ran off to her boyfriend Shane, who was at the hospital.
The Window of Opportunity:
As Shax wasn't successful in killing Paige, the Source of All Evil decided to use the Window of Opportunity to turn Paige against her sisters and make her his servant.
To achieve this the Source possessed Paige's boyfriend Shane and used his powers to lure Paige to evil. He posed as a father who abused his son and convinced her of killing him by orbing his heart out of his body. Paige tries but isn't able to complete thanks to her sisters, Leo, and Cole.
After a little battle in which Paige discovered the Source's true nature, she finally joins the good side just in time to help save Cole who was fatally stabbed by the Source.
Moving into Halliwell Manor:
Paige was reluctant at first when she was asked to move into the manor. She felt that she would have no privacy after Piper and Phoebe had burst into her apartment. A more important reason was that she felt that Piper and Phoebe only wanted her to move in to fight the demons and warlocks and all the other foes the sisters faced. She told this to Leo when he, on Piper's order, had to persuade Paige to move in.
After Piper and Phoebe made Paige feel like she was a part of the family, she moved in Prue's bedroom. Paige initially didn't move or take away much of Prue's stuff, as to respect her, but as time went on, she made the room her own. She had moved in all her painting-stuff and made it her atelier for a while. She took away all her paintings and materials after all the demon-fighting made her unable to paint in her free time.
Dealing with the Death of her Parents:
One night, as Piper and Cole run to help a woman in a car wreck, Paige freezes in fear, recalling the events of her parents' death. Paige explains to Piper and Phoebe how she feels guilty for their death every day, because she survived, even though it shouldn't have been possible.
To help her, Leo calls for the help of a spirit who specializes in time travel; Clyde, who sends them to the early 1990s. Paige pops into her teenage body on a school morning, arriving at the moment where she is caught smoking by her father. Paige realizes how horrible she was to her parents and how much she regrets her actions. She decides to change her attitude in the hope that it would save her parents from being killed, though Leo warned her to not mess with past events. However, as the day progresses, Paige is suspended from school for her rebellious behavior and discovers that she subconsciously orbed out of the car during the wreck. Paige is devastated to have to watch the death of her parents a second time.
Back in the present time, Paige explains what happened, and how she survived the accident, during dinner. Although she was happy to have seen her parents, she still wished she could see them again. At that moment, Leo walks in with a surprise for her. Suddenly two ghosts walk in, Paige's parents. They embrace their daughter, saying they always knew she was a good person.
Distrust of the In-Law and The Offer:
Paige seemingly inherited Prue's distrust of Cole, believing that he had become a demon again. Ultimately, Paige was correct as Cole had been possessed by the Source of All Evil, and had taken Phoebe to be his queen. Paige was left as the last sister standing as Piper consumed herself with guilt, blaming herself for losing Phoebe. Paige was able to pull her sister together and together, the Charmed Ones vanquished Cole/The Source. After the defeat of The Source, the sisters were given the opportunity by an Angel of Destiny to retire from being witches. While Paige was against the idea, her sisters, who had been fighting evil longer and had lost more, were for it. After realizing how much good they do, to Paige's delight, the sisters decided to keep their powers.
Becoming a Full-Time Witch:
Paige, who had recently become promoted from assistant to a social worker at her workplace is, however, reluctant to the idea. Thinking, she'll get more hours but won't have enough time to still fulfill her duties as a witch as she had recently decided to devote her life to the craft.
Confused, she ignores her first day as a social worker and concentrates on helping her older sister, Phoebe who had recently been turned into a mermaid due to her love for her former husband, Cole Turner. After Paige dealt with the problems of her sister and her ex-lover, she eventually decides that her duties as a witch are more important than her job as a social worker. Paige quits and tells her boss she'll still be helping people, just not there. She hugs Mr. Cowan, thanking him for everything he had done for her.
Paige's Inferiority Complex toward Prue:
During her early years as a witch, Paige had a slight inferiority complex towards Prue. Paige was jealous of the fact that Prue was a powerful witch, that also had a full-time job, while Paige, who quit her full-time job, hadn't quite mastered the skills Prue had, this left her feeling disappointed by the fact that she hadn't mastered Prue's Animal Conjuring Spell. Besides this, Paige felt that she had to work extremely hard to become accepted by her sisters and tried to fill Prue's shoes.
When Barbas, the Demon of Fear attacked the Charmed Ones, he used that weakness to shake her. Overall, Paige was able to overcome it once and for all when he attacked them head-on. The potion originally meant to vanquish the Demon was knocked back and smashed on the floor. Phoebe told her to orb the potion onto him as Prue did with Telekinesis. Although at first, she didn't think it would work, she proceeded to do it and it vanquished him. Later that night, Paige finally masters Prue's Animal Conjuring spell by conjuring doves.
Taking on Whitelighter Duties:
Piper explains to Paige that being part Whitelighter is who she is, and it is the part that made Paige become a social worker. Piper also explains that it is their compassion, not their powers, that separates them from the bad guys, and also the part that she can never afford to lose.
Slowly understanding, Paige visits Melissa in jail. She comforts and consoles her, slowly winning over her trust and help her deal with her husband's death. It is the first time Paige understands the importance of her Whitelighter half.
When the Elders assign Paige to her first charge, she is very enthusiastic about it until she discovers that her charge is the man who gave her up, her biological father Sam Wilder. Unfortunately, Paige is attacked by a Darklighter Arrow, and Sam, who has become a drunken stupor is the only one who can save her. Through his love of Paige, Sam gets over his self-pity and gets his Whitelighter powers back, healing Paige in the knick of time.
Temp Jobs with a Magical Purpose:
After realizing that consuming her life with witchcraft was the wrong path, Paige desired to have a life separate from magic. She got a job at a temp agency in order to have some sense of normalcy. However, each one of her temp jobs held a magical purpose that would have Paige helping some sort of innocent. Through one of her temp jobs, Paige met fellow witch Richard Montana who had trouble with witchcraft, believing that his family's bad karma affected his usage of magic. However, Paige was happy to finally have someone to do magic with besides her sisters. Unfortunately, Paige was forced to strip Richard's magic as he would lose control when he used it.
Magic School and the "Coming Storm":
After Gideon, headmaster of Magic School attempted to murder her nephew, Wyatt, the Elders prepared to shut the school down. Paige stood against them, believing that young witches need a place to learn how to use and control magic. The Elders decided to keep the school open, and surprisingly made Paige the headmistress.
During this time, Paige and her sisters prepared themselves from the "coming storm," meaning their encounter with the Avatars. Paige met and fell for Agent Kyle Brody of Homeland Security who was obsessed with killing the Avatars in revenge for the death of his parents. Paige helped Kyle find out that it wasn't the Avatars who killed his parents though he still held onto his obsession with stopping their plans of Utopia, which cost him his life.
After his death, Paige felt trapped within Magic School and desired to go out and live. Coincidentally, Leo had recently become mortal so her sisters decided to have him take her place as Head of Magic School. Following this, Paige took on full-time Whitelighter duties, becoming the guide of witches such as Mitchell Haines and a witch from New Zealand. Another one of her charges was Joanna, a future Whitelighter who, with Paige's help, was trying to get herself out of an abusive relationship. Paige was devastated after finding Joanna dead at the hands of the demon Zankou.
Temporary Retirement and becoming Jo Bennett:
After vanquishing Zankou, Paige, her sisters, and Leo, faked their deaths and took on other identities. Under the glamour, Paige assumed the alias of Jo Bennet and attempted to go out and live her life. Unfortunately, the call of her newest charge put a damper on that.
Billie Jenkins:
In late 2005, Paige met a young blonde witch by the name of Billie who had just come into her powers. Unknowingly, she kept calling for her Whitelighter who happened to be Paige. Unlike Paige, Billie was more interested in fighting demons and didn't really care if she got injured or not.
After Billie finally finds out who Paige and her sisters are, she asks them to teach her everything they know about witchcraft so she would be able to fight the demons and let the sisters get on with their normal lives. Over the next couple of months, the sisters, more specifically Paige, helped Billie learn the craft and would often let her go out and fight demons by herself. At one point, she accidentally got caught by Agent Murphy, a federal agent working on the supposed death of the sisters, which ultimately causes the sisters to remove their magical disguises which frustrated Paige.
Paige and Billie's friendship is short-lived when Billie's older sister Christy, manipulated her into believing that the sisters had become selfish and corrupt. Paige was heavily affected by Billie turning against them, as she was her charge.
The Ultimate Battle:
When Christy not only turned Billie but the whole magical community against the sisters, making them believe they didn't care for anything else but themselves anymore, Paige and her sisters decided to take refuge in the only place where they could "be safe", the Underworld. Thanks to Paige's powers, they were able to return to their world, deciding to take refuge in Phoebe's condo and prepare themselves to do what must be done and fight against the Jenkins sisters.
After the sisters' first encounter with Billie and Christy, Paige orbed her sisters back to the condo where two demons, Nomed and Zohar, awaited them. The two demons had a proposition: the sisters should summon the Hollow and let it infect them after which they would collect the powers of the Triad and then kill Billie and Christy. Piper suggests that the Charmed Ones to get the Hollow before Billie and Christy do. Paige is skeptical, remembering what it did to The Source and Cole, but Piper is convinced that the Jenkin's are trying to steal the Charmed Ones' powers.
The sisters summon the Hollow, and kill The Triad, then proceed to orb into the manor. The Battle then starts to begin, Billie and Christy throw fire, whilst The Charmed Ones counter with lightning. The fight causes a huge explosion that destroys the manor and kills Paige as well as Phoebe and Christy.
Coop is devastated when he learns of Phoebe's death and gives a bereaved Piper his ring so that she can travel back in time to save Phoebe and Paige. Piper, along with Leo, is taken to the past and recruits Patty and Grams. Then the four travel back to 2006 when the battle took place and are able to banish the Hollow before the manor is destroyed, and Phoebe and Paige are saved.
The Birth of Tamora and Kat:
Sometime after the sisters' last destined battle, Paige became unexpectedly pregnant and gave birth to twin girls, naming them Tamora and Kat.
During this time, Paige decided to recruit young witches for Magic School, sometimes guiding her own charges to attend. One of these charges was Brent, a teenage bully who recently discovered witchcraft.
After Paige attempted to put Brent on the right path, he was murdered by Neena and Hogan. Paige was devastated by this and swore to protect the sisters' other innocents from the new threat and gladly declared that they were going to "kick some Underworld ass."
Adopting Henry Jr.:
After a Darklighter named Rennek kills a homeless mortal teenager, Paige attempts to heal her but fails. However, she was able to save her unborn child by orbing the baby out of the teenager's womb. She takes him back to her house, where Henry is waiting and extremely confused about the whole situation.
He worries that bringing a mortal child into their family will place it at greater risk. In the midst of the conversation, Paige mentions that Henry has been distant from her ever since the Source possessed him, causing him to attack her, almost killing her.
Paige is upset that her and Henry's relationship became rocky, this is because Henry felt powerless in comparison to his wife and children. Though with some urging from Victor, Henry decided to embrace the fact that his wife is who she is and to be there for her as much as he possibly can. Henry also decided to embrace the orphaned baby, calling him "Henry Junior."
Neena's Revenge:
During this time, because of the recent battle with the first witch, Neena, Paige was injured, causing her soul to linger in between life and death. Paige met with Kyle (who had become an Elder), who revealed to her what was going on. After finally being able to communicate with her sisters through telepathy, Paige initiated their plan of attack by moving on into the Beyond. Paige went beyond the gates to the other side to recruit all of the Warren witches into the battle.
Paige was excited to see her adopted parents, as well as to finally be able to meet Prue, but both situations were quickly diverted by her Grams and mom. Paige also finally met her most powerful ancestor, Melinda Warren. Paige led all of the Warren witches into battle in the Upper Regions against Neena's horde with a successful victory. Using a Power of Three spell the sisters placed Paige's soul back into her body just in the knick of time. Shortly after, the entire line of Warren witches defeats Neena.
Going Against Her Beliefs:
When Tamora and Kat finally came into their magic, Tam accidentally set Paige's house on fire, as it was revealed that she had the power of Molecular Acceleration while Kat had the power of Molecular Deceleration. Henry adamantly believed that they should bind their powers thinking that it was too dangerous for children to have them. Paige believed that binding a child's magic was not natural, but was forced to bind Tam's power until she can grow old enough to control it.
Meeting Prue:
Paige goes to Salem, Massachusetts to recruit a young witch named Sarah for Magic School. However, upon arriving at her place of work, Salem Witch House, she discovers Cole guarding the door. Despite his protests, Paige orbs into the house and meets a woman named Patience, who urges her to leave. However, wanting answers, Paige grabs Patience's shoulder which causes an explosion with Paige's leg dispersing into orbs. Patience tries to tell Paige that she's actually her sister, Prue, though Paige does not believe her. After they match wits and powers, Paige agrees to hear her out. She orbs them back to the manor and then goes to get Piper and Phoebe to tell them of Patience's claims. Upon seeing the woman, Piper and Phoebe immediately recognize Prue's soul and reunite with their sister.
Paige, however, is in shock from it all and orbs to Henry's office. Though Henry is frozen along with the rest of the West Coast due to the sisters' powers being out-of-wack, Paige vents to him about the overwhelming feelings of Prue being back. Paige then goes back to the manor and readily brews vanquishing potions for Prue and Piper to vanquish demons with. While doing so, she then talks with Magic School faculty member Bailey, about how she doesn't know if she can still be considered a Charmed One now that her sister is back from the dead. Paige then suggests that she strips her powers and give Prue back her place in the Power of Three to correct the balance. Prue, however, takes the potion herself, stating that it was time for her to move on, telling Paige that being a Charmed One is her destiny.
Sometime after this, the world's magic suddenly shifted from magical beings to mortals, which caused enormous chaos. Worse, Paige and her sisters lost all of their powers, rendering them defenseless, though Prue had gained all of her sisters' powers. After her powers were returned, Paige joined forces with her family, Darryl and many of their friends to fight against Rennek and take back the Nexus of the All. By entering the Nexus, her powers were momentarily expanded. Though she and her sisters were unsuccessful at taking down Rennek, Prue managed to steal his magical possessions (the Empyreal Sword and the Grimoire) and use their powers, as well as the power of the Nexus to vanquish Rennek and then restore the world to its order.
The Old Ones and Prue:
Throughout the year, Paige and her sisters remain in contact with Prue, but when her very presence began to hurt them physically, they are forced to distance themselves from her. They eventually find out from a resurrected Kyra that Prue's body has been searching for something it had lost when she died: the Power of Three. With Piper, Phoebe, and Paige unwittingly resisting the pull, the All's magic is tearing them apart.
Paige is assigned to a train a new witch named Aidel in 2010, around the same time they find themselves threatened by a group of ancient demons known as the Old Ones. Worse, the Halliwells suffer another loss when Cole sacrifices himself to save Coop from being stabbed by the Ancient Athame: a blade infused with the power to destroy the essence of its victims. This results in his own destruction.
Marital Problems:
Henry, Coop, and Tyler venture into the Demonic Wasteland to find half a soul of Cole's father, Benjamin Turner. Paige is furious at Henry for putting himself in danger. Henry retaliates by saying how she puts herself and their children at risk every day. The argument goes on for months and takes a toll on their marriage, despite their attempts to mend it.
Prue as the Enemy:
Things between Paige and Henry are seemingly improving when Prue fuses with an Old One named Heremus and turns on her family, which once again takes a toll on Paige's marriage. Out of option and power, Paige, Phoebe, and Piper join forces with Darryl, Andy, and Amelia to try to stop Prue from resurrecting the Old Ones, which would bring about the apocalypse. Despite their best efforts, Prue's evil influence proves too strong. Paige gets stabbed by the Ancient Athame, which drives out her magic. However, she fights to stay alive and orbs Prue and Piper back to the Manor where the Power of Three is once again shifted back to Prue. Her essence, while depleting, also transports Aidel and Kareem to Tyler, Darryl, and Amelia to let them help fight the Old Ones.
Prue sacrifices herself to save the world. By getting stabbed with the Ancient Athame, the All is released along with Prue's spirit and Heremus's influence. Paige miraculously survives and becomes Charmed again, but suffers total amnesia. Throughout the next several months, Phoebe and Amelia help her regain her memories with their joint powers. Her marriage is also back on the mend.
Later life:
Paige continued to live her life as full-time Whitelighter, devoted to protecting her charges and nurturing the next generation of witches. She continued to live a happy life with her husband, Henry, and their three children. The magical lives of Paige and her sisters as The Charmed Ones are written in the history books of Magic School as well as their own Book of Shadows.
