Chris Halliwell

Christopher Perry Halliwell is a fictional character on the WB television series Charmed. He is played by actor Drew Fuller.

Character background

Chris was born in 2004 to Piper Halliwell and Leo Wyatt. Chris is their second son, younger brother of Wyatt Halliwell and the older brother of Melinda Halliwell. He is the third known "Whitelighter hybrid" on the show.

Chris first appeared in 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 or no explanation, with a focus and passion reminiscent of Prue. 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 Ones' trust.

Leo and Chris remained at odds, though Chris did unintentionally use a wish from a Genie to gain Leo's trust, friendship and forgiveness. It wasn't until Phoebe saw a brown-haired younger brother of Wyatt several years in the future in a vision quest, that she uncovered the truth that Chris was her nephew and Piper's son. When she confronted Chris about this, he finally broke his silence and said "only if I can get Piper and Leo back together in time". After telling Phoebe this, he enlisted 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. His body disappeared as he passed away, however, proving that he had changed the future and that perhaps an alternate Chris with different memories would survive. Hours after the future Chris's death, the present Chris was born.

In the final episode, a very much alive Chris once again arrives from the future, this time with Wyatt in tow, because young Wyatt's powers were taken from him by the Hollow, rendering future Wyatt powerless. Since this Chris comes from a future in which Wyatt remains good, he is a different Chris from the one who died at Gideon's hands. In the end, Wyatt's powers were returned.

Powers and abilities

As an adult he has the powers of telekinesis and Orbing. Unlike Paige, he normally uses the conventional form of telekinesis (the same as Prue Halliwell). However, he has been observed to use telekinetic orbing at certain times. He can, because of his witch ancestry, cast spells. Present-day baby Chris came into his powers at the end of season 8 when he orbs his brother Wyatt away from Billie and Christy.

Chris, although quite powerful in himself, is not as powerful as Wyatt, who is said to be one of the most powerful witches to ever walk the Earth. Future Chris even alludes to insecurities concerning his brother's powers when he is told that his big brother had powers even from the womb. All the same, he is still a witch to contend with, as proven in previous episodes.

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 or teenagers.

• According to Chris, he was named Christopher for Leo's father.

• Chris accused Leo of never having any time for him in the future, twisting the knife by adding that he is "there for everyone else".

• After Piper's death in the future, Chris was looked after by Victor Bennett, his maternal grandfather, and the two became very close. Due to all the secrets he has to keep in the present, Chris is necessarily reserved, but when Victor pays a visit to the manor, he cannot help showing his joy at a familiar face, actually hugging his grandfather and surprising the three sisters (who are used to him being reserved and driven). During their talk, he also warns Victor about his cigars, telling him that he'll "regret" smoking so many of them. It is Victor who eventually gets Chris to talk about what happens to Piper in the future but he faithfully keeps the event a secret from Piper herself.

• In the future shown in the episode "Chris-Crossed", Chris is engaged to be married to a woman named Bianca. Unfortunately, she is killed by Wyatt.

• With his dark hair and hazel eyes, Chris has a strong physical resemblance to his deceased aunt, Prue. He also resembles her in character, being very serious about hunting demons and having the power of telekinesis.

• 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; however, this has not been backed-up on-screen.

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

• When Leo and Piper conceived Chris in "The Courtship of Wyatt's Father", Leo was an Elder. However, the show has given no evidence to the fact that Chris has any more, or special, abilities than Wyatt or any other Whitelighter-witch hybrids.