Even in 7x20 Future Wyatt seemed closer to Paige than Phoebe, funny enough considering Phoebe's focus on Wyatt. Wyatt mentions wise words Paige told him and so forth. I think Paige being half whitelighter gives her an upper hand but she's also, definitely, easier to get along with than Phoebe, imo.
I think it all comes back to the fact that Phoebe is self-involved, has no concern for other people or how they will be affected by the consequences of her actions, and is dismissive of other people’s problems, experiences and traumas (something that became all too clear with the way she treated Chris).
For example, she was more worried about herself getting hurt by Piper and Leo getting married in secret and invoking the unspeakable wrath of the Elders, than to be happy for her sister marrying the love of her life. But when Phoebe decided to let Cole go instead of vanquishing him when they found out he’s a demon, because Cole wouldn’t hurt her, she didn’t care at all that she risked the lives of her sisters and the rest of the world. Because although Cole didn’t want to hurt Phoebe, he was still a demon that had killed and would kill more people in the future (which was proven a few episodes later when he killed a person in the ghost town). And on top of that she faked his vanquish and lied to her sisters for months, making it hard to trust that she would care for anyone that doesn’t somehow benefit her own need to get what she thinks she deserves/is owed.
I do think she has some good things about her as well, like when she worked hard to get an education and later to become successful at her job (even though one could argue that being an advice columnist is less about actually helping people and more about being a public figure, but she’s still intent on having a career apart from being a witch (perhaps a little too much at times, ignoring her duty as a Charmed One) which I think is a good ambition, one shared mostly by Paige). Another good thing is her determination to train in martial arts to be able to fight alongside her sisters, because initially she was the only one with a passive power. It undoubtedly took a lot more time and effort to learn to fight than it took Piper and Prue to learn to use their powers. Being skilled in hand-to-hand combat as well as having the power of premonition, which, despite being a passive power, was heavily relied upon and oftentimes the key to succeeding with a mission, makes Phoebe powerful even before she developed the powers of levitation and empathy. Although, she later abused her powers and inevitably got her active powers stripped, and only her premonition power got restored on the show.
That being said, I don’t think Phoebe has the traits of a good role-model. She’s not someone to confide in, because she can’t keep secrets (unless it’s her own), and she has a track-record of invalidating other people’s problems and refusing to help because it didn’t affect her or benefit her. I think that Wyatt and Chris found her to be unrelatable, and Chris experienced her inconsideration first-hand.
Paige on the other hand, is a far better person, and she has been shown to be considerate of people that she doesn’t know, that she dislikes or that “steal” the things that she wants (like in 5.13 House Call when Glen is getting married and Paige is upset and rude to Jessica at first, but after seeing that she has hurt Glen by hurting Jessica, she accepts that she and Glen aren’t meant to be and tries to make things right). In Chris and Wyatt’s case, Paige is also half Whitelighter so they have the same powers. She could probably coach them on how to use them better than even Leo could, because even though Leo is very knowledgeable and has been a Whitelighter for a long time, he wouldn’t know what it’s like to be half Whitelighter, and if there are things that work differently in regards to using their powers Paige probably knows more about it. She is also one of the only people that show concern for Chris, both before and after his identity is revealed. Both his parents abused him, both physically and psychologically, by throwing him into furniture or kicking him out of the house etc. Phoebe constantly invalidated his trauma and even went as far as to say that Chris wasn’t meant to exist, that his only purpose was to come to the past and save the future, so she could have her happy ending, and then disappear. Whereas Paige genuinely tried to keep Chris from ceasing to exist, and only called him out for doing stupid things or lying to them, when his actions affected or risked the lives of others. She was also the only sister that was there and visibly sad when Chris died.
To conclude this, I think Paige is a better aunt, role-model and mother (although we don’t see much parenting from either of them on the show) than Phoebe will ever be.
baratheonpilled
titsay
