Matthew Tate

Matthew Tate was a powerful 17th-century warlock with the power of Mimicry, the ability to replicate any power used against him.

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History

Salem

During the time of the Salem witch trials, Matthew seduced Melinda Warren, and copied her powers. He then exposed her as a witch to keep up his own cover. As a result, Melinda was arrested and sentenced to be burned at the stake.

Matthew visited her while she was imprisoned in order to mock her, but it turned out to be a mistake. Melinda managed to strip him of all the powers he had stole from her, and used a powerful curse to imprison him inside a locket that he had given to her as a gift. While she herself was inevitably doomed, his sentence was even worse than hers—he had to spend all eternity in oblivion, knowing the sting of betrayal. Only Melinda herself or one of her descendants could open the locket and set him free. Legend states that Matthew must never be freed, or he would destroy the Warren line. Indeed, the eldest Charmed One, Prue, stated they had "never been up against anyone like him before."

Being Freed

Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster deliberately gave the locket to Prue in an attempt to steal the Charmed Ones' powers and kill them. Rex and Hannah intended to banish him again once they got the Charmed Ones' powers. When Prue freed Matthew, he knew immediately that Prue was a blood relative of Melinda and went in on her, but Prue flung him across the room—allowing him to copy her power of telekinesis. After a struggle, Matthew telekinetically blew out Prue's window and leaped to the ground. He then killed a lawyer, Arnold Halliwell, and another Halliwell who owned a hardware store. Rex and Hannah finally tracked him down and convinced him that he needed their help to kill the Charmed Ones.

The Charmed Ones summoned Melinda for help, and found her original curse in the Book of Shadows. Piper and Phoebe went to Quake to get the ingredients. However, Matthew tracked them there with Rex and Hannah's help in hopes of getting Piper's freezing power. He missed her, but did manage to collar Phoebe in the kitchen and copy her power of premonition after Phoebe saw him coming after Melinda in the manor. Matthew then toed over to the manor and ran into Melinda, but couldn't goad her into freezing him. He saw a vision of the four witches cursing him back into the locket, and demanded to know where Prue was. Terrified, Melinda made Matthew think Prue had gone to the zoo to get a spotted-owl feather needed to curse him, while she had actually gone to the Museum of Natural History.

Banished Again

Later that night, Matthew came back to the manor, armed with a gun Rex had given him. He telekinetically drew Piper to him and threatened to kill her, hoping that she would freeze him instead. At the last minute, Prue rushed in with the feather, and they were able to curse him back into the locket. When the Charmed Ones released Melinda back into the realm of the dead, Melinda took the locket with her—likely keeping Matthew trapped for eternity.

Powers and Abilities

Basic Powers

Spell Casting: The ability to cast spells and perform rituals.

Scrying: The ability to locate lost objects or people.

Potion Making: The ability to make magical potions for various effects.

Active Powers

Power Mimicry: The ability to replicate any active power when it is used against or while in contact with the user. Matthew used it to obtain the powers possessed by Melinda Warren, though she later stripped them. He later mimicked them again from the Charmed Ones.

Blinking: The ability to instantly teleport by blinking. A power that once belonged to an unknown witch.

Telekinesis: The ability to move matter with the power of the mind. Matthew's control over the power was advanced and creative, as he could use it to simulate levitation to jump down several floors and land unharmed.

Premonition: The ability to see the past, present or future in premonitions. He used it to see the Charmed Ones trapping him in the locket.

Molecular Immobilization: The ability to slow the movement of molecules to the point where time appears frozen.

Other Powers

Immortality: The ability to possess a possibly infinite lifespan and an arrested aging process.

High Resistance: The ability to be highly resistant to magical and physical harm.

Immunity: The ability to be immune to certain powers, spells or potion. Matthew became immune to all powers he mimicked.

Spells

TateLocket

Matthew is banished into Melinda's locket.

Warlock Curse

(To Curse Matthew Tate into Melinda's locket)

Ingredients needed:

assorted herbs,

a Spotted Owl Feather,

a leather bag

and a locket.

Combine the herbs and make it into a fine powder.

Put the powder into the leather bag and add the owl feather.

Put the bag into fire and let it burn while chanting the spell

and holding the locket open, pointed to the to-be-cursed warlock

Outside of Time!

Outside of Gain!

Know only Sorrow!

Know only Pain!

Notes and Trivia

Matthews is the first warlock and character to use the power of Blinking. Melinda states that Matthew must have copied it from another witch. However later in the series, Blinking is presented as a Warlock power.

It is unknown if Matthew possesses Power Absorption like other warlocks.

Although Prue channeled telekinesis through her eyes when Matthew stole it, he still was able to channel it through his hands.

Appearances

Matthew Tate appears in a total of 1 episode throughout the course of the series.

Season 1

The Witch is Back