Dan Gordon

Dan Gordon was the mortal neighbor of the Charmed Ones, who was in a on-off relationship with Piper Halliwell. Dan used to play second base for the Seattle Mariners baseball team until he blew out his knee sliding home, then worked in construction. He moved to San Francisco for a job together with his niece, Jenny Gordon, whose parents had moved to Saudi Arabia for their job.

History

Dating Piper

Dan first meets the Halliwell sisters when he moves in next door with his niece Jenny. They soon establish a friendship and eventually Piper works up the courage to ask him out, much to his joy.

While dating Piper, he notices the oddity of the girls' lives and often suspects that they are hiding something. While Piper was attracted to Dan since he became their neighbor, she decides to date him instead of Leo because she felt that the relationship would be much less complicated than the on-again, off-again relationship she had with Leo.

However, Piper's sudden unexplained disappearances and avoidance of his questions drove Dan crazy and made him feel insecure in their relationship. He also always felt threatened by Leo, because even though Piper didn't see him often, he knew that they had been serious and that Piper still cared for him. Dan felt as though he was simply "geographically desirable" and that that was the basis of the entire relationship. Piper finally broke up with Dan after she realized that despite loving Dan, she loved Leo more. Dan also becomes very suspicious of Leo and even asks his brother-in-law who works for the state department to check Leo's army records.

Past Life

Dan's past life in the 1920's was Gordon Johnson, husband of P. Baxter and great-grandfather of the Halliwell sisters.^[1]

Leo's Army Records

Shortly after Piper broke up with Dan, he went on a date with a co-worker named Amelia. Ironically, they were sitting next to Piper and Leo in a restaurant as they were trying to have a normal, magic-free date.^[2]

When his brother-in-law discovers that Leo had been a soldier in World War II and had died in that war, Dan presents the information to Leo and finally to Piper. He even gives Piper information about his wife of that time. Because the only admitted Leo Wyatt was in World War II, Dan believed him to have faked his identity while Piper was aware of the truth.^[3]

Moving On

After a few months of absence, Dan comes back to town and is upset to find Piper still together with Leo after everything he uncovered. Piper makes a wish for Dan to move on with his life and he does, but later on he shows up at Piper's door, as an old man. Piper explains magic to him and shows Leo orbing, which causes him to shun her, even after his youth was restored. Piper makes a wish to a genie for Dan to forget about magic and to truly move on with life, this time with no consequences. Dan moves away to Portland, Oregon when he was offered a job.^[4]

Physical Appearance

Dan's look consisted of wearing jeans most of the time and either a button down flannel or casual dress shirt, sometimes a t-shirt underneath as well as suede and leather coats on top. He had a somewhat shaggy hairstyle that was combed so that it was split in the middle. For special occasions such as going out to dinner or a party Dan wore a short or long sleeved dress shirt tucked in and dress pants. He also sometimes wore cotton sweaters. Mid-season he also cut his hair but retained the same hair style.

Notes and Trivia

• The real house used for exterior shots of where Dan lived were filmed on Carroll Avenue in Los Angeles, California just as the shots of Halliwell Manor were. The address of the house used was 1331 Carroll Avenue.
• It is quite ironic, that Dan's past life originally lived in the Manor, where even said by him, he can never make it past the door a majority of the time.
• Dan along with Jenny were the only main characters who didn't find out about the sisters' secret as witches nor visited their attic.
  • Dan found out in Be Careful What You Witch For, but Piper made a wish that made him forget.
  • Dan also along with Jenny and Billie were the only main characters who never met Darryl once.
• Dan has only been mentioned twice since his departure from the show: once in Exit Strategy, when Piper asked Leo if he remembered him, and again in Cat House, when Phoebe told Paige about Piper's past love interests.
• Dan and Jenny are the only former main characters who never made an appearance in the Charmed comics.
• Dan possibly wasn't dating much, because his sister purchased him a membership at Fine Romance in "She's a Man, Baby, a Man!".
• Dan was featured in one novel, The Gypsy Enchantment. He and Piper had just broken up, and he did his best to avoid contact with her in order to deal with his pain.

Appearances

Dan Gordon appeared in a total of 18 episodes throughout the course of the series.

References