Warning! The following contains spoilers for Practical Magic 2. Read at your own risk!
I had a date to see Practical Magic 2 recently, and as luck would have it, the original was available to stream with an HBO Max subscription, so I could see it beforehand. It ended up being a blessing and a curse, to be honest, as while I wasn't in the dark about the Owens women, one plot point from the sequel drove me up a wall.
The movie opens up with the news that Gary Hallet, the detective played by Aidan Quinn in the first movie, has died. We then learn that Sally, who felt burned again by the Owens Curse, used magic to erase her daughters' memories of being witches, which is more or less what she did when her husband died in the first movie!
I Don't Understand Why Sally Made The Decision To Hide Magic From Her Daughters Again
Sally turned her back on magic before, and it went pretty poorly in Practical Magic. She forbade Francis and Jet from teaching the girls about magic, which ended up being a largely successful endeavor. The kids in town were able to get in Kylie and Antonia's ears, and before too long, it was time to come clean.
By the end of the movie, everyone in town knows the Owens women are witches, and they embrace it! Even Gary is so smitten with Sally that he clears her and Gillian of murder, even though they totally did kill her ex. They were loved, accepted, and well-liked, so why would Sally erase every memory they had of that?
The more I think about it, the crueler the spell seems. Sure, grief makes us do rash things, but when Kylie and Antonia lost every memory of magic, did it also remove the positive memories they had with their aunt and great-aunts attached to it? I still like the movie, despite other critics looking down on it, but this part really bugged me.
I'm Not Sure How Kylie And Antonia Weren't Able To Discover They Were A Family Of Witches
Magic aside, it's even more baffling to me that Kylie and Antonia didn't immediately find out they were witches all over again. Once again, Practical Magic ended with them getting the love and adoration of the town, and it's even mentioned that the aunts are visited by people nightly for help with their ailments.
Sure, Antonia mentions hearing "rumors" of the family being cursed to Kylie. But how did no one ever say, "Hey, remember when we all got together, and your family floated down from the roof of your house?" Them being witches was not a secret, and wouldn't the daughters be the least bit concerned that everyone remembered this but them?
Fortunately, this glaring plot hole has not diminished the sequel's success, as Practical Magic 2 is finding an audience despite the reviews. It may not be the same as the original, but it offers the nostalgia hit that audiences are looking for, and something the cast was looking for as well. I can't pretend I'm interested in seeing it again like I am with the original, but I'd be down to watch another sequel!
We'll see if another sequel is ever in the works, as there are more books to adapt. In the meantime, I'm going to try and use magic to erase my memory of that plot point, because it's still making me mad here as I write.
