Just the facts:

CHARGE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

CHARGE Synonyms: 575 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster Thesaurus

CHARGED Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The word charge  originated around 1200 from the Old French chargier ("to load, burden"), which derived from the Late Latin carricare, meaning "to load a wagon or cart".  It stems from the Latin carrus ("two-wheeled wagon").  Its meaning shifted from physical weight to abstract responsibility (14c.), financial cost (15c.), accusation (15c.) Impetuous attack upon an enemy (1560s), and the amount of electricity carried in a capacitor or battery (1767).  

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the earliest known use of the verb charge is in the Middle English period (1150-1500), with the earliest evidence dating to before 1250 in the Ancrene Riwle (a guide for anchoresses), where it carries the sense of loading or imposing a burden.  The earliest evidence for the noun charge appearing around c1225, meaning "a load, a weight".  The original sense was "a load or burden," including cargo on a ship or a pack animal, but it quickly evolved to mean an injunction, duty, or responsibility (late 13th century).  The legal sense of "accusation" or "injunction" is recorded from the late 14th century, with formal legal accusation arriving in the late 15th century.  The military sense of "rushing to attack" appeared, possibly evolving from the earlier meaning of "loading a weapon" (1540s).  First used in the sense of filling with electricity was 1748.  

The concept of "charging forward" in storytelling—often termed narrative drive or forward motion—is critical for keeping an audience engaged, ensuring that every scene, character action, and dialogue exchange pushes the plot toward a specific goal or resolution. It prevents narratives from becoming stagnant, ensuring that characters are active agents of change rather than passive observers of their own lives.