Written by Brad Kern and directed by Shannen Doherty—the third and final episode of Charmed she directed—"All Hell Breaks Loose" was originally broadcast on The WB on May 17, 2001.

"All Hell Breaks Loose" focuses on their secret as witches getting exposed to the public after Prue and Piper are caught on tape battling the demon Shax (Michael Bailey Smith), which proves to have deadly consequences.

In 2023, the reason for Doherty's departure was confirmed to have been due to an ongoing conflict with Milano, who had provided an ultimatum to the show's producers that one of them had to be let go, also threatening to sue them.

Following Doherty's departure, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Tiffani Thiessen were offered the role of Prue but turned it down, at which point it was decided to kill the character off; this resulted in the episode's ending being recut.

In a 2016 interview, Kern would clarify that he intentionally wrote the episode to end on a cliffhanger with all three sisters' lives being in jeopardy to accommodate any potential cast changes.

"All Hell Breaks Loose" was watched by 5.26 million viewers and received positive reviews, often being cited as one of the show's best episodes.

The episode's focus on magic getting exposed to the mortal world and the ramifications this has for the Charmed Ones was also praised, being noted for its thematic connection to prior works.

At the news station, Elana (Mercedes Colón) shows her crew the footage of Prue and Piper vanquishing Shax, convincing them to air it.

[2] "All Hell Breaks Loose" marked the third and final episode of Charmed that Doherty directed, having previously acted as director for "Be Careful What You Witch For" and "The Good, The Bad, and The Cursed".

[10] Having the lives of Prue, Piper, and Phoebe be in jeopardy by the end of the episode ensured that regardless of any cast changes facilitated by either the actresses or the network "gave everyone options about what they were or were not going to do".

Collider's Jay Snow similarly described it as one of the show's best episodes, singling out Doherty's performance and calling it "an impressive final outing for Prue".

[16] Comic Book Resources' Vera Vargas cites "All Hell Breaks Loose" as the second most-rewatchable episode of Charmed and describes Prue's death as having shocked fans of the series.

Concerning Prue's death, which she described as a "shocking choice", Baugher Milas lamented that it resulted in the show's declining quality and argued that Phoebe should have died instead.

[23] de Blécourt notes how all four works have the same central theme of "outsiders becoming aware of witches in a world that denies their existence, followed by the consequences of this revelation".