Character Background

Christopher Perry Halliwell is a fictional character on the WB television series Charmed. He is the second son of Leo Wyatt and Piper Halliwell, younger brother of Wyatt Halliwell on the show. He is the third known "Whitelighter hybrid" on the show. He is played by actor Drew Fuller. Some fans comment on the similarity between his character, and Future Trunks in Dragon Ball Z.

Chris first appeared on the show Charmed to warn the Charmed Ones of the impending danger of the Titans. He claimed to be a Whitelighter from the future, but could not answer all their questions, as they might affect the future in ways they could not foresee. Although he was helpful in the defeat of the Titans, he orchestrated the promotion of Leo as an Elder.

When Leo left to stay in the Heavens, Chris was appointed the Charmed Ones' Whitelighter. Leo was suspicious of him because he would not reveal his full history. As Leo departed Chris altered Leo's course mid-orb to send him to Valhalla. Later, Chris uses his telekinesis to kill a Valkyrie by crushing her heart. Chris began sending the Charmed Ones after numerous Demons with little to no explanation. He also had several side agendas which were not revealed for some time. He was forced to take a potion to block Phoebe Halliwell's newly emerged empath powers so that she would be unable to read him. Leo later uncovered evidence that he had killed two Valkyries but opted not to use it because Chris had finally earned the Charmed One's trust.

Leo and Chris remained at odds, though Chris did unintentionally use the first wish from a Genie to gain Leo's trust, friendship and forgiveness. It wasn't until Phoebe uncovered the truth that Chris was her nephew and Piper's son when she saw a black-haired younger brother of Wyatt several years in the future in a premonition. When she confronted Chris, he finally broke his silence and told her "only if I can get Piper and Leo back together in time." After telling Phoebe this, he needed her help to have Piper and Leo sleep together so he could be conceived before he would cease to exist. Chris was conceived thanks to a night spent in the ghostly plane between Piper and a mortally wounded Leo. Chris, Phoebe and Paige managed to rescue them from this alternate world and have Gideon heal Leo from his Darklighter arrow wound just in time.

Chris apparently died from wounds suffered in a fight with Gideon just after becoming close with Leo and solving the mystery of who was after his "baby" older brother. Soon after the future Chris's death, the present Chris was born.

Powers and Abilities

As an adult he has the powers of Telekinesis and Orbing. He can, because of his witch ancestry, cast spells. It was thought that the present-day baby Chris had not come into powers yet but, in the episode Kill Billie Vol. 2 he orbs his brother Wyatt away from Billie and Christy.

He is shown to not be as powerful as Wyatt, in spite of his father being an Elder (Being an Elder is a status/job position, not a species). There was no prophecy concerning his birth, and as a result of this, he is not especially powerful, like his aunt Paige or his older brother Wyatt. He is shown to have a wide variety of Whitelighter-specific powers, such as the ability to orb to the heavens or hear the call of his charge, which in one episode he commented on having "put on mute". His future incarnation told Paige that he has yet to develop the power to heal.

Trivia

• Until Chris's appearance, all male witches on the show have been children.

• Drew Fuller became the first former co-star to reprise his role after being written out in season seven's Someone to Witch Over Me.

• As he first introduced himself as "Chris Perry," many fans have accepted "Perry" as his middle name. This carries on the family tradition of each child having a P at the beggining of their name.

• "Chris-Crossed," the one episode where Chris was part of the A-plot, was the highest rated non-premiere episode since Season three.

• In his first appearances, fans believed his character to be a sign that the late Prue Halliwell and Andy Trudeau return in the future. It was believed due to their similarities magically and physically.

• In the final episode, Chris once again arrives from the future, this time with Wyatt in tow, because young Wyatt's powers were taken from him because of the Hollow, rendering future Wyatt powerless. In the end, Wyatt's powers were returned.

Fan response

Charmed has had 13 "starring" characters in its eight years running. According to poles and fan response, Chris has been one of the most popular rivaling some of the sisters at times ^**, including Piper, who is usually regarded as being the most popular character.

Chris first appeared on Charmed on the season 5 finale, continuing his character into season 6, which is associated with fans with Chris, as his story arc was one of the main plots of the year. Prior to his appearance, ratings for the show had been declining since early season three. But after his character was upgraded from "guest star" to starring in season six, ratings rose. In fact, Chris-Crossed, the one episode concentrating solely on Chris, his future and his goal to save it, pulled in 6.6 million viewers. This was the highest-rated non-premiere episode since season three's All Halliwell's Eve. (The one episode rated higher was season five's premier, A Witch's Tail. After his death, however, ratings continued to plummet once more, sometimes as far as half of Chris-Crossed's success.

Charmed characters | Fictional witches | Fictional psychokineticists | Fictional angels | Fictional hybrids | Fictional time travelers | Fictional teleporters

Christopher Perry Halliwell