Once Upon a Time (2.2-2.9) Thoughts
Dec. 10th, 2012 08:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkwithheroesExcited for January? I am! Below you will find my thoughts on episode two-nine of season two of Once Upon a Time.
"We Are Both" (2.02)
- August was still wooden and now he's gone. First: Poor Gepetto. Second: What the hell? Where did August go? I'm supposing he's too ashamed to see his father, but that he plans to come back. Hence the hat.
- Thank you writers for admitting that David Nolan sucked. I'm so glad that Charming admitted that David wasn't the best person.
- Poor Sneezy forgot himself. Love that his brothers are holding onto hope and off to try and mine fairy dust.
- In a way I feel for Gold/Rumpelstiltskin, because he cannot leave town and find his son. It's very clear that Rumpelstiltskin has been planning how he's find Bae for hundreds of years and now his plan has hit a major snag. I mean, he made sure Regina learned magic from him - knowing (I'm assuming here) that she would try out just like her mother and that something would happen to make her use the Curse. He planned it all. Between Cora, Rumpel, and her own addictive personality, Regina never stood a chance.
- Holy Hell to Cora being in the pit with Emma and Snow/MM!
- Let's talk about Regina for a moment. If nothing else this show has gone out of its way to show us that magic/power is addictive. Regina certainly is addicted to the magic and the power it gives her. She also wants Henry's love and she knows what it is like to be treated like property and manipulated and abused. I do think Henry will end up being Regina's redemption. I actually think season two will be a 'everyone learns why Regina is who she is and she is redeemed' season. And, of course, something/someone even worse will pop up.
- I feel like the first three episodes of this season are going to be 'setting up' episodes. I find what is happening in StoryBrooke a whole lot more interesting than the Enchanted Forest, I have to say. It annoys me that Emma and Snow/MM are (according to spoilers) going to be in the Enchanted Forest for most, if not all, of the first nine episodes. While I'm interested in why that small part of their world survived and why those characters stayed behind. . .I'm much more into the characters I already know.
Plus, the fact that they keep adding guest stars/reoccurring roles scares me. I'm getting serious LOST flashbacks. Remember seasons two and three of that show? How they just kept adding more and more characters and our original peeps from flight 315 kept getting pushed to the side. (Well, expect for Locke, Sawyer, Kate, and Jack.)I'm already getting those vibes, especially with the weekly casting calls for 'guest stars with options for reoccurring or main role'.
"Lady of the Lake" (2.03)
Enchanted Forest Flashback:
- Sir Lancelot (Sinqua Walls)seems like a cool character. However, he really didn't have too much to do expect help Charming and Snow bring Ruth to the dried lake.
- While I'm sorry that Ruth died, I had already thought she was dead. I assumed she was as she was never mentioned by David.
- The whole 'Snow is cursed' thing made me roll my eyes, simply because we knew she would be cured, as we've already seen Emma.
In Storybrooke:
- People have been waiting for Jefferson to reunite with his daughter, but the writers give us less than a minute? That was such a gip.
- I would have liked to have seen the scene with Regina going to Charming and telling him about Henry. That could have been a great scene between them.
- Other than that, nothing much happened. Nothing much propelled the major plot forward. We knew Charming would let Henry help and train him. The only major thing was seeing King George stalking Charming and David. Creepy.
Fairytale World:
- Am I alone in thinking the CGI ogres looked cartoonish. I know it's tv, but it looked very fake.
- Cora killed Lancelot and has been posing as him?! Woman better watch herself. Especially as it seems she wants to come to our world for revenge. I'm really wondering if she'll be this season's "Big Bad" and if she'll come to Storybrooke in the end?
- Aurora is really bothering me. I understand her grieve over losing Philip, but it's fairly clear that Snow and Emma had nothing to do with it. I'm not sure if it's the way the character is written or the actress, but something about her rubs me the wrong way. She's too whiny and she doesn't think ahead. At least Mulan is cool; Jamie Chung isn't the best actress, but she brings something special to the role.
- While I liked the fact that Snow and Emma's mother/daughter relationship moved forward, I felt like it was a bit fast. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want it to drag, but Emma's end speech about how she is not used to people putting her first and their tearful hug felt off somehow. Like it was too fast or something. I'm not sure.
While I liked the episode, I felt that nothing much happened. The flashbacks and Storybrooke bored me and the Fairy World stuff felt rushed. As the AV Club stated: "Things are moving at a much brisker pace than last season, and this show is finally figuring out a good balance between fairy tale fantasy and grounded human emotion. The show does run the risk of becoming overstuffed with so many plots going on at once, though, and some of the more dramatic moments lose their impact because they aren’t fully built up." - I couldn't agree more.
"The Crocodile" (2.04)
Enchanted Forest:
- Finally we meet Milah. Fans have long held theories about her, and I have to say that the theories are better. I understand that Milah wanted adventure and to see the world, but. . .she left her son. And what's worse is that I didn't feel the "true love" between Milah and Killian/Hook. It felt false and just there for the plot.
- Speaking of Killian/Hook, I was let down. Um, Colin O'Donoghue was great in the role. However the character left something to be desired. He didn't seem evil, just a jerk. His great love for Milah left me cold.
- The only interesting thing is that Hook and Cora have teamed up to get to Storybrooke. Why do I get the feeling that either Belle or Rumpelstiltskin are going to be killed at the end of S2?
- About Rumpelstiltskin killing Milah after she tells she never loved him. (After he asks how she could leave Bae) That was dark, even for him. But honestly, I felt like it was just used to set up the whole 'Hook hates Rumpel' story line they have going.
Storybrooke:
- I cannot believe people are actually hating on Belle after this episode! Belle was brave and intelligent and perfect in this episode. She refuses to stay with people who don't listen to her and who don't talk to her. If Rumpel/Gold won't talk to her and listen to her and if her father ignores her wishes, than she's out. I'm really looking forward to seeing Belle come into her own with her own job and friends and life. (BTW: loving the Ruby and Belle friendship!)
- Moe/Maurice is an ass. He'd rather his daughter lose all her memories than have her love someone he hates?! I'm starting to think he really would have called in clerics if she had made it home.
- Really interested to see if they ever find fairy dust. (They do!)
- So happy that Rumpel/Gold told Belle about the Curse, Bae, needing magic because he's a coward, etc. I was so happy that that is now all out in the open. I think it could start a new type of relationship between them.
"The Doctor" (2.05)
Storybrooke:
- I was a bit bored with this stuff. Regina going to Archie for help was all well and good, but I just didn't care. Daniel being in the crypt and then coming back was urgh. It felt off to me. I'm not sure, there was something unemotional for me. I think Lana Parrilla brilliant, but Regina is being written weird this season. She's ready for redemption, fine. But, must they make her into this huge victim? Oh, it's not her fault - she's been pushed into it. She's like a drug addict. Magic = addiction is something I like. But, I am not really liking this thing with Regina. Also, I really hated that there was no scene with Regina checking in on Henry and him telling her it was okay or he loved her or something. I'll explain my confusion on Regina -
Enchanted Forest:
- Getting it out of the way: Whale is freaking Victor Frankenstein!? So, there is some magical world with literally classic characters running around? Weird.
- I really like that Jefferson works for Rumplestiltskin. I'd actually really would like to see how those two met and how they started working together.
- Okay, let me now discuss the Regina stuff: Last season we spent twenty something episodes with the writings harping on the fact that Regina truly embraced her evil side because of Snow White and the events of Stable Boy. It was all Snow's fault. Regina just had that evilness in her and now - it was really Rumplestiltskin, Whale/Victor, and Jefferson. She was still good and could have been alright if only she hadn't been tricked and if only they had brought Daniel back. And the minute magic couldn't bring him back from the dead, she went EVIL. Really?! I have no problem admitting that Rumple clearly would manipulate Regina. But, to make Regina this consent victim in order to easily redeem her is just lazy writing.
Regina can be redeemed. But, she's also has done some very evil things: taking thousands of hearts, kidnapping, murder, raping, etc. Now I'm sure she went back to magic to try and find a stronger heart/magic to bring Daniel back. However, I cannot understand the fact that she completely lost it after this episode, when we saw her go dark after Stable Boy. Then, she was good again/semi good in her last two centric episodes. Did she change her mind in two weeks?
Someone made a really good point that the writers realized that they showed her going dark too easily last season. And the fact that she hates Snow enough to curse everyone is still stupid and selfish. So, they are trying to make her have more of a journey to becoming evil. But, that still doesn't make sense to me in that Regina harped on it being Snow's fault for 28 years. Suddenly she become a victim of being manipulated by a bunch of men?
I wish I could explain my thoughts better. But basically: Regina's back story of becoming the Evil Queen because a ten year old made a mistake and her true love died was stupid. It made her seem awful, especially when she should have blamed Cora. Now we learn that she truly become the Evil Queen because she was tricked by those three guys makes the Snow stuff seem off. Because - why would she still Curse everyone because of Snow if it was Rumpel, Jefferson, and Whale were the ones that truly pushed her over the edge with the Daniel stuff? And why are they trying to show her as this consent victim this season? Regina has done evil things. That doesn't mean she can't be redeemed, as she can. But, you don't have to be a victim in order to be redeemable.
"Tallahassee" (2.06)
- Firstly, I want to say how much better things flow in episodes that only juggle two stories instead of three. When they do 'StoryBrooke', 'Enchanted Forest' and 'Fairytale World' stories in an episode, the episodes tend to feel overly full and awkward at times. With just two stories (like in S1), the episodes tend to flow better and I feel like we get to learn and see more about the characters and plot.
Fairy Tale World:
- How much is Aurora growing on me? A lot. And that dream that Aurora and Henry were having (with each other! Connections between the two worlds. Maybe because they were both in magic comas very recently?) reminds me of a room that the Queen of Hearts would have. And, episode nine is called "The Queen of Hearts"
- Sorry Captain Hook/Killian, but I'm still not feeling 'Milah was my true love' and I still don't trust you. Not really. You helped Emma and have been honest, but ABC has informed me that you are a villain this season. I have no doubt you won't harm Emma or the other ladies - you just want to go kill Rumple. But, I still think if Cora could get you there, you'd betray the ladies in a heartbeat. Revenge is a powerful thing. However, really enjoying Colin O'Donoghue in the role. Chemistry with everyone and an amazing screen presence.
- Mulan and Snow are both amazing women. Both are loyal and willing to do what they think is right to protect the group. Loving them this season.
- That giant. :( Jorge Garcia did a great job. Especially when you consider the fact that he probably did all his scenes alone - or with Jennifer off screen.
- Jack the Giant Killer may be dead, but there is still Jack and the Beanstalk. Hell, there are several Jacks in fairy tales.
- Adoring the way Emma is coming into her own in the fairy tale land. She's strong and brave and was willing to trust the giant, because of his story. After all, victors do always write history. I actually really like that the drama may be going in the 'not all giants are bad; humans can be just as evil'. Love that they are looking at things from all sorts of different angles.
Flashbacks:
- Have to get this out of the way, but Emma's hipster glasses didn't make Jennifer Morrison look like a 18/19 year old. I'm sorry.
- How much do I love Neal Cassady (Michael Raymond-James) He's great and the chemistry between Michael and Jennifer is amazing. 'Shipping them hardcore. Especially as they really did want to go straight and settle down in Tallahassee.
- What the hell was in the box that made Neal believe everything August said?!
- Oh, August. . . I'm so conflicted about what you did. Firstly, you did give Emma the car, but you kept the money. Uncool. Then, you disappeared for years, only to appear as Emma was happy? And why didn't he go to her after jail? Why did he wait until she was in Storybrooke? Why not just go to her and show her the box and then tell her the story? Why go away and wait ten years? I suppose it's to show how easily Pinocchio is lead astray. (Doesn't he do really horrid things in the original novel?)
- I really wish Emma could know that Neal didn't leave her because he wanted to and that he's been waiting for her for ten years. Oh, I cannot wait to see that reunion. And when he meets Henry! Oh, I can't wait to see how all this plays out. Just don't kill him off, writers!! I'm loving Neal, as he seems like a generally kind man who was good for Emma.
- Oh, do you think she because a Bail bondsman because she thought she might meet Neal? Also, she kept the car and the keyring (how cute was that when Neal gave it to her?) for nearly eleven years - that has to show something. Plus, and I may be remembering wrong, didn't she stay somewhere (Tallahassee?) for two years. Was she waiting for Neal? Oh God, the 'ship feels!
"Child of the Moon" (2.07)
- King George may actually be the evilest man in Storybrooke. He killed an innocent man in a truly horrid way. With an ax! He cut poor Billy into two pieces, in a truly disgusting way. Why? Because Charming pissed him off 28 years ago. Honestly I'm not even 100% sure George is still pissed. Yeah, Charming married Snow and something. . . (Have to say it - the villains on the show have the worst motives. Regina was pissed at Snow for the whole Daniel thing, which happened when she was a child and happened 10+ years before Emma was born and now this.) Which leads me to: why was he still walking around at the end of the episode!? Put that murderer in jail. The crimes before the Curse aside (which I think they are doing), he still murdered Billy/Gus. :(
- I really do love the bromances that are developing between Ruby and Charming and Ruby and Belle. Ruby is amazing and Meghan Ory is such a great actress.
- The flashbacks were so blah for me. The wolves were all weird and crazy and creepy. I'm really disappointed that Ruby's mother (are we 100% sure she is the mother) was some weirdo 'let's kill humans' woman. Weird and slightly pointless stuff. I'm glad Red learned to control herself, but I think there could have been cooler story lines of her learning to control her wolf side.
- So, Henry and Aurora travel to a world between life and death,during their sleep. They are a link between SB and the Enchanted Forest! Really looking forward to see how that (and Gold's necklace)plays out in two weeks.
Oh, this episode was co-written by Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, who also co-wrote "Lady of the Lake". An episode which also had pointless and boring flashbacks.
"Into the Deep" (2.08)
Storybrooke:
- First, I have to say that I adored the scene at Granny's! I'm glad they showed the hamburger date and I love that Granny doesn't fear Rumpel. She wants that money for those pickles.
- Though, I'm disappointed that the Belle sees Regina scene for the first time since escaping had to be now. Simply because it left no room for any real drama.
- I really liked seeing Charming, Regina, and Rumpelstiltskin working together. Those scenes were all really well done and I'm enjoying the "we'll redeem them, but not too much" arc that Rum and Regina have going. I especially liked the Regina and Henry scene. Because as messed up as she is and despite all the evil she's done - she does care about her son.
- Charming is now under a sleeping curse. :( I've never been a bit Snowing fan, (mostly because of the David/MM stuff), but the scene where they realized that they couldn't touch - that she couldn't save him and he was trapped - broke my heart.
Fairytale Land:
- Mulan is awesome. Yes, she sometimes makes bad decisions (compass), but her loyalty is great and she's clever. Please let her go to SB!
- I really hate that Emma has decided that Regina is to blame for everything. Yes, Regina casted the Curse for the stupidest reason - destroying the lives of thousands because she was pissed at a child. But, the Cure came from somewhere else. Even if Daniel had lived, Rum would have found someone else to cast it. Plus, Cora would never have left the Enchanted Forest. Things could be worse. Goodness knows what she would have done during those 34+ years she was missing. Oh, and uh. . .no Curse = no Henry. Honestly, I just hate that Emma always blames Regina and believes she's always plotting.
- Oh, the "zombies" were lame.
- Aurora. At first I didn't care for her, but she has truly grown on me. She was so fierce when she stood up to Cora. I love her. And now she's a puppet with no heart. :( God, I hate that. I really hate that she'll probably die, too. :(
- Let us talk about Hook taking Aurora's heart. Let's talk about how pissed I am about that and that he's now on my 'I really hate you' list. He took an innocent girl's heart. Not so trustworthy now, are you? He knows this girl will probably die now, but he doesn't care. Why? He wants revenge for a woman that, I'm sorry, I'm still not convinced he truly loved. Like Regina, he's become what he hates.
And someone brought up something interesting. Regina had evilness in her and let it take over due to her own anger and doubt. Rumpel was a coward and became evil to protect his son and than he let the Dark One take over and he basically became this insane evil puppet master. But, Hook was always an asshole. He knocked bowels out of begger's hands, he terrorized people as a pirate: we've seen him be a terrible person even before Milah died. As far as we have seen, Hook has no pure goodness in him. He (and Cora)are just not to be messed with.
"Queen of Hearts" (2.09)
*Sigh* What can I say about this "winter finale"? I remember in S1, I was underwhelmed by the season until "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter". The same can not be said for this season. To be brutally honest, I've really only loved three or four of the nine episodes. I liked a couple of more, but I've mostly found the first nine boring and set up and overstuffed with really pointless flashbacks. (Well, not the one that introduced Hook, that had a point)
Anyway, "Queen of Hearts" left me very underwhelmed.
( Collapse )
- First: Can Belle stop being hit? It seems that all of S2 has been her being kidnapped, hit, or chained! And she hasn't had anything to do since 2.04. They made her a regular and she's only been in five episodes - four of which were for one-three short scenes. I'm getting major LOST/Claire flashbacks. They better give her something to do - soon.
- Second: Thank goodness Aurora lived! I hope she and Mulan save Philip and then they can form a OT3. (Philip loved them both, they both loved him, and I'm sensing something more than friendship forming between the two.)
- Third: So. . .Hook is basically the Dean from Community. He just keeps teaming up with whoever suggests it! (BTW: HATED that he hit Belle and was going to kill her because she refused to believe what he said. . .um, one: should have waited until you were out to ask questions, if only for time and two: his character grows less and less likable, at least for me. Between this and the comment with Emma and the 'woman on her back'. Ew.)
- Fourth: Who didn't see Cora was the Queen of Hearts? Blah. Shocking? Nope. Didn't even really care.
- Now: My biggest issue/thought on the episode -
Is anyone else really annoyed/angry that Regina wasn’t invited to eat with everyone? She risked her life (and maybe all of SB, if it had been Cora) to save Emma and Snow. Then, they just all go off, all happy families, to eat at Granny’s? They don’t even ask her to come?! Even Henry just says: “Later.”?!
I understand that she helped start the whole thing (with Rumpel/Gold), but she only did it because she fears Cora. And she fixed things (possibly at the risk of her own life) because Henry wanted her to.
As much as I enjoy the Charmings/Emma/Henry (sometimes), they can be really rude and clicky - especially toward people who they dislike/see as an enemy/aren’t friends with. Even Henry is starting to get really dismissive of Regina. She’s legally his mother! And despite telling him he was making the fairy tale stuff up, she did take care of him and love him for nine/ten years. The fact that he knows about her history (I’m assuming it is in the book or he’s figured it out from Regina) and he treats her like dirt a lot of the time.
Basically: I feel terrible that Regina (who just wanted to protect Henry) was left out in the cold at the end. She’s done horrid things (and her whole reason for Cursing FTL isn’t worth all the pain she caused people and making Henry think he’s insane was WRONG), but she does love him and she is trying to be a better person. So invite her to a freaking meal!
I wrote these as the episodes aired (and posted them on LJ), so I know we have answers to a lot of the questions I asked. Still - thought I'd share my thoughts.
"We Are Both" (2.02)
- August was still wooden and now he's gone. First: Poor Gepetto. Second: What the hell? Where did August go? I'm supposing he's too ashamed to see his father, but that he plans to come back. Hence the hat.
- Thank you writers for admitting that David Nolan sucked. I'm so glad that Charming admitted that David wasn't the best person.
- Poor Sneezy forgot himself. Love that his brothers are holding onto hope and off to try and mine fairy dust.
- In a way I feel for Gold/Rumpelstiltskin, because he cannot leave town and find his son. It's very clear that Rumpelstiltskin has been planning how he's find Bae for hundreds of years and now his plan has hit a major snag. I mean, he made sure Regina learned magic from him - knowing (I'm assuming here) that she would try out just like her mother and that something would happen to make her use the Curse. He planned it all. Between Cora, Rumpel, and her own addictive personality, Regina never stood a chance.
- Holy Hell to Cora being in the pit with Emma and Snow/MM!
- Let's talk about Regina for a moment. If nothing else this show has gone out of its way to show us that magic/power is addictive. Regina certainly is addicted to the magic and the power it gives her. She also wants Henry's love and she knows what it is like to be treated like property and manipulated and abused. I do think Henry will end up being Regina's redemption. I actually think season two will be a 'everyone learns why Regina is who she is and she is redeemed' season. And, of course, something/someone even worse will pop up.
- I feel like the first three episodes of this season are going to be 'setting up' episodes. I find what is happening in StoryBrooke a whole lot more interesting than the Enchanted Forest, I have to say. It annoys me that Emma and Snow/MM are (according to spoilers) going to be in the Enchanted Forest for most, if not all, of the first nine episodes. While I'm interested in why that small part of their world survived and why those characters stayed behind. . .I'm much more into the characters I already know.
Plus, the fact that they keep adding guest stars/reoccurring roles scares me. I'm getting serious LOST flashbacks. Remember seasons two and three of that show? How they just kept adding more and more characters and our original peeps from flight 315 kept getting pushed to the side. (Well, expect for Locke, Sawyer, Kate, and Jack.)I'm already getting those vibes, especially with the weekly casting calls for 'guest stars with options for reoccurring or main role'.
"Lady of the Lake" (2.03)
Enchanted Forest Flashback:
- Sir Lancelot (Sinqua Walls)seems like a cool character. However, he really didn't have too much to do expect help Charming and Snow bring Ruth to the dried lake.
- While I'm sorry that Ruth died, I had already thought she was dead. I assumed she was as she was never mentioned by David.
- The whole 'Snow is cursed' thing made me roll my eyes, simply because we knew she would be cured, as we've already seen Emma.
In Storybrooke:
- People have been waiting for Jefferson to reunite with his daughter, but the writers give us less than a minute? That was such a gip.
- I would have liked to have seen the scene with Regina going to Charming and telling him about Henry. That could have been a great scene between them.
- Other than that, nothing much happened. Nothing much propelled the major plot forward. We knew Charming would let Henry help and train him. The only major thing was seeing King George stalking Charming and David. Creepy.
Fairytale World:
- Am I alone in thinking the CGI ogres looked cartoonish. I know it's tv, but it looked very fake.
- Cora killed Lancelot and has been posing as him?! Woman better watch herself. Especially as it seems she wants to come to our world for revenge. I'm really wondering if she'll be this season's "Big Bad" and if she'll come to Storybrooke in the end?
- Aurora is really bothering me. I understand her grieve over losing Philip, but it's fairly clear that Snow and Emma had nothing to do with it. I'm not sure if it's the way the character is written or the actress, but something about her rubs me the wrong way. She's too whiny and she doesn't think ahead. At least Mulan is cool; Jamie Chung isn't the best actress, but she brings something special to the role.
- While I liked the fact that Snow and Emma's mother/daughter relationship moved forward, I felt like it was a bit fast. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want it to drag, but Emma's end speech about how she is not used to people putting her first and their tearful hug felt off somehow. Like it was too fast or something. I'm not sure.
While I liked the episode, I felt that nothing much happened. The flashbacks and Storybrooke bored me and the Fairy World stuff felt rushed. As the AV Club stated: "Things are moving at a much brisker pace than last season, and this show is finally figuring out a good balance between fairy tale fantasy and grounded human emotion. The show does run the risk of becoming overstuffed with so many plots going on at once, though, and some of the more dramatic moments lose their impact because they aren’t fully built up." - I couldn't agree more.
"The Crocodile" (2.04)
Enchanted Forest:
- Finally we meet Milah. Fans have long held theories about her, and I have to say that the theories are better. I understand that Milah wanted adventure and to see the world, but. . .she left her son. And what's worse is that I didn't feel the "true love" between Milah and Killian/Hook. It felt false and just there for the plot.
- Speaking of Killian/Hook, I was let down. Um, Colin O'Donoghue was great in the role. However the character left something to be desired. He didn't seem evil, just a jerk. His great love for Milah left me cold.
- The only interesting thing is that Hook and Cora have teamed up to get to Storybrooke. Why do I get the feeling that either Belle or Rumpelstiltskin are going to be killed at the end of S2?
- About Rumpelstiltskin killing Milah after she tells she never loved him. (After he asks how she could leave Bae) That was dark, even for him. But honestly, I felt like it was just used to set up the whole 'Hook hates Rumpel' story line they have going.
Storybrooke:
- I cannot believe people are actually hating on Belle after this episode! Belle was brave and intelligent and perfect in this episode. She refuses to stay with people who don't listen to her and who don't talk to her. If Rumpel/Gold won't talk to her and listen to her and if her father ignores her wishes, than she's out. I'm really looking forward to seeing Belle come into her own with her own job and friends and life. (BTW: loving the Ruby and Belle friendship!)
- Moe/Maurice is an ass. He'd rather his daughter lose all her memories than have her love someone he hates?! I'm starting to think he really would have called in clerics if she had made it home.
- Really interested to see if they ever find fairy dust. (They do!)
- So happy that Rumpel/Gold told Belle about the Curse, Bae, needing magic because he's a coward, etc. I was so happy that that is now all out in the open. I think it could start a new type of relationship between them.
"The Doctor" (2.05)
Storybrooke:
- I was a bit bored with this stuff. Regina going to Archie for help was all well and good, but I just didn't care. Daniel being in the crypt and then coming back was urgh. It felt off to me. I'm not sure, there was something unemotional for me. I think Lana Parrilla brilliant, but Regina is being written weird this season. She's ready for redemption, fine. But, must they make her into this huge victim? Oh, it's not her fault - she's been pushed into it. She's like a drug addict. Magic = addiction is something I like. But, I am not really liking this thing with Regina. Also, I really hated that there was no scene with Regina checking in on Henry and him telling her it was okay or he loved her or something. I'll explain my confusion on Regina -
Enchanted Forest:
- Getting it out of the way: Whale is freaking Victor Frankenstein!? So, there is some magical world with literally classic characters running around? Weird.
- I really like that Jefferson works for Rumplestiltskin. I'd actually really would like to see how those two met and how they started working together.
- Okay, let me now discuss the Regina stuff: Last season we spent twenty something episodes with the writings harping on the fact that Regina truly embraced her evil side because of Snow White and the events of Stable Boy. It was all Snow's fault. Regina just had that evilness in her and now - it was really Rumplestiltskin, Whale/Victor, and Jefferson. She was still good and could have been alright if only she hadn't been tricked and if only they had brought Daniel back. And the minute magic couldn't bring him back from the dead, she went EVIL. Really?! I have no problem admitting that Rumple clearly would manipulate Regina. But, to make Regina this consent victim in order to easily redeem her is just lazy writing.
Regina can be redeemed. But, she's also has done some very evil things: taking thousands of hearts, kidnapping, murder, raping, etc. Now I'm sure she went back to magic to try and find a stronger heart/magic to bring Daniel back. However, I cannot understand the fact that she completely lost it after this episode, when we saw her go dark after Stable Boy. Then, she was good again/semi good in her last two centric episodes. Did she change her mind in two weeks?
Someone made a really good point that the writers realized that they showed her going dark too easily last season. And the fact that she hates Snow enough to curse everyone is still stupid and selfish. So, they are trying to make her have more of a journey to becoming evil. But, that still doesn't make sense to me in that Regina harped on it being Snow's fault for 28 years. Suddenly she become a victim of being manipulated by a bunch of men?
I wish I could explain my thoughts better. But basically: Regina's back story of becoming the Evil Queen because a ten year old made a mistake and her true love died was stupid. It made her seem awful, especially when she should have blamed Cora. Now we learn that she truly become the Evil Queen because she was tricked by those three guys makes the Snow stuff seem off. Because - why would she still Curse everyone because of Snow if it was Rumpel, Jefferson, and Whale were the ones that truly pushed her over the edge with the Daniel stuff? And why are they trying to show her as this consent victim this season? Regina has done evil things. That doesn't mean she can't be redeemed, as she can. But, you don't have to be a victim in order to be redeemable.
"Tallahassee" (2.06)
- Firstly, I want to say how much better things flow in episodes that only juggle two stories instead of three. When they do 'StoryBrooke', 'Enchanted Forest' and 'Fairytale World' stories in an episode, the episodes tend to feel overly full and awkward at times. With just two stories (like in S1), the episodes tend to flow better and I feel like we get to learn and see more about the characters and plot.
Fairy Tale World:
- How much is Aurora growing on me? A lot. And that dream that Aurora and Henry were having (with each other! Connections between the two worlds. Maybe because they were both in magic comas very recently?) reminds me of a room that the Queen of Hearts would have. And, episode nine is called "The Queen of Hearts"
- Sorry Captain Hook/Killian, but I'm still not feeling 'Milah was my true love' and I still don't trust you. Not really. You helped Emma and have been honest, but ABC has informed me that you are a villain this season. I have no doubt you won't harm Emma or the other ladies - you just want to go kill Rumple. But, I still think if Cora could get you there, you'd betray the ladies in a heartbeat. Revenge is a powerful thing. However, really enjoying Colin O'Donoghue in the role. Chemistry with everyone and an amazing screen presence.
- Mulan and Snow are both amazing women. Both are loyal and willing to do what they think is right to protect the group. Loving them this season.
- That giant. :( Jorge Garcia did a great job. Especially when you consider the fact that he probably did all his scenes alone - or with Jennifer off screen.
- Jack the Giant Killer may be dead, but there is still Jack and the Beanstalk. Hell, there are several Jacks in fairy tales.
- Adoring the way Emma is coming into her own in the fairy tale land. She's strong and brave and was willing to trust the giant, because of his story. After all, victors do always write history. I actually really like that the drama may be going in the 'not all giants are bad; humans can be just as evil'. Love that they are looking at things from all sorts of different angles.
Flashbacks:
- Have to get this out of the way, but Emma's hipster glasses didn't make Jennifer Morrison look like a 18/19 year old. I'm sorry.
- How much do I love Neal Cassady (Michael Raymond-James) He's great and the chemistry between Michael and Jennifer is amazing. 'Shipping them hardcore. Especially as they really did want to go straight and settle down in Tallahassee.
- What the hell was in the box that made Neal believe everything August said?!
- Oh, August. . . I'm so conflicted about what you did. Firstly, you did give Emma the car, but you kept the money. Uncool. Then, you disappeared for years, only to appear as Emma was happy? And why didn't he go to her after jail? Why did he wait until she was in Storybrooke? Why not just go to her and show her the box and then tell her the story? Why go away and wait ten years? I suppose it's to show how easily Pinocchio is lead astray. (Doesn't he do really horrid things in the original novel?)
- I really wish Emma could know that Neal didn't leave her because he wanted to and that he's been waiting for her for ten years. Oh, I cannot wait to see that reunion. And when he meets Henry! Oh, I can't wait to see how all this plays out. Just don't kill him off, writers!! I'm loving Neal, as he seems like a generally kind man who was good for Emma.
- Oh, do you think she because a Bail bondsman because she thought she might meet Neal? Also, she kept the car and the keyring (how cute was that when Neal gave it to her?) for nearly eleven years - that has to show something. Plus, and I may be remembering wrong, didn't she stay somewhere (Tallahassee?) for two years. Was she waiting for Neal? Oh God, the 'ship feels!
"Child of the Moon" (2.07)
- King George may actually be the evilest man in Storybrooke. He killed an innocent man in a truly horrid way. With an ax! He cut poor Billy into two pieces, in a truly disgusting way. Why? Because Charming pissed him off 28 years ago. Honestly I'm not even 100% sure George is still pissed. Yeah, Charming married Snow and something. . . (Have to say it - the villains on the show have the worst motives. Regina was pissed at Snow for the whole Daniel thing, which happened when she was a child and happened 10+ years before Emma was born and now this.) Which leads me to: why was he still walking around at the end of the episode!? Put that murderer in jail. The crimes before the Curse aside (which I think they are doing), he still murdered Billy/Gus. :(
- I really do love the bromances that are developing between Ruby and Charming and Ruby and Belle. Ruby is amazing and Meghan Ory is such a great actress.
- The flashbacks were so blah for me. The wolves were all weird and crazy and creepy. I'm really disappointed that Ruby's mother (are we 100% sure she is the mother) was some weirdo 'let's kill humans' woman. Weird and slightly pointless stuff. I'm glad Red learned to control herself, but I think there could have been cooler story lines of her learning to control her wolf side.
- So, Henry and Aurora travel to a world between life and death,during their sleep. They are a link between SB and the Enchanted Forest! Really looking forward to see how that (and Gold's necklace)plays out in two weeks.
Oh, this episode was co-written by Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, who also co-wrote "Lady of the Lake". An episode which also had pointless and boring flashbacks.
"Into the Deep" (2.08)
Storybrooke:
- First, I have to say that I adored the scene at Granny's! I'm glad they showed the hamburger date and I love that Granny doesn't fear Rumpel. She wants that money for those pickles.
- Though, I'm disappointed that the Belle sees Regina scene for the first time since escaping had to be now. Simply because it left no room for any real drama.
- I really liked seeing Charming, Regina, and Rumpelstiltskin working together. Those scenes were all really well done and I'm enjoying the "we'll redeem them, but not too much" arc that Rum and Regina have going. I especially liked the Regina and Henry scene. Because as messed up as she is and despite all the evil she's done - she does care about her son.
- Charming is now under a sleeping curse. :( I've never been a bit Snowing fan, (mostly because of the David/MM stuff), but the scene where they realized that they couldn't touch - that she couldn't save him and he was trapped - broke my heart.
Fairytale Land:
- Mulan is awesome. Yes, she sometimes makes bad decisions (compass), but her loyalty is great and she's clever. Please let her go to SB!
- I really hate that Emma has decided that Regina is to blame for everything. Yes, Regina casted the Curse for the stupidest reason - destroying the lives of thousands because she was pissed at a child. But, the Cure came from somewhere else. Even if Daniel had lived, Rum would have found someone else to cast it. Plus, Cora would never have left the Enchanted Forest. Things could be worse. Goodness knows what she would have done during those 34+ years she was missing. Oh, and uh. . .no Curse = no Henry. Honestly, I just hate that Emma always blames Regina and believes she's always plotting.
- Oh, the "zombies" were lame.
- Aurora. At first I didn't care for her, but she has truly grown on me. She was so fierce when she stood up to Cora. I love her. And now she's a puppet with no heart. :( God, I hate that. I really hate that she'll probably die, too. :(
- Let us talk about Hook taking Aurora's heart. Let's talk about how pissed I am about that and that he's now on my 'I really hate you' list. He took an innocent girl's heart. Not so trustworthy now, are you? He knows this girl will probably die now, but he doesn't care. Why? He wants revenge for a woman that, I'm sorry, I'm still not convinced he truly loved. Like Regina, he's become what he hates.
And someone brought up something interesting. Regina had evilness in her and let it take over due to her own anger and doubt. Rumpel was a coward and became evil to protect his son and than he let the Dark One take over and he basically became this insane evil puppet master. But, Hook was always an asshole. He knocked bowels out of begger's hands, he terrorized people as a pirate: we've seen him be a terrible person even before Milah died. As far as we have seen, Hook has no pure goodness in him. He (and Cora)are just not to be messed with.
"Queen of Hearts" (2.09)
*Sigh* What can I say about this "winter finale"? I remember in S1, I was underwhelmed by the season until "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter". The same can not be said for this season. To be brutally honest, I've really only loved three or four of the nine episodes. I liked a couple of more, but I've mostly found the first nine boring and set up and overstuffed with really pointless flashbacks. (Well, not the one that introduced Hook, that had a point)
Anyway, "Queen of Hearts" left me very underwhelmed.
( Collapse )
- First: Can Belle stop being hit? It seems that all of S2 has been her being kidnapped, hit, or chained! And she hasn't had anything to do since 2.04. They made her a regular and she's only been in five episodes - four of which were for one-three short scenes. I'm getting major LOST/Claire flashbacks. They better give her something to do - soon.
- Second: Thank goodness Aurora lived! I hope she and Mulan save Philip and then they can form a OT3. (Philip loved them both, they both loved him, and I'm sensing something more than friendship forming between the two.)
- Third: So. . .Hook is basically the Dean from Community. He just keeps teaming up with whoever suggests it! (BTW: HATED that he hit Belle and was going to kill her because she refused to believe what he said. . .um, one: should have waited until you were out to ask questions, if only for time and two: his character grows less and less likable, at least for me. Between this and the comment with Emma and the 'woman on her back'. Ew.)
- Fourth: Who didn't see Cora was the Queen of Hearts? Blah. Shocking? Nope. Didn't even really care.
- Now: My biggest issue/thought on the episode -
Is anyone else really annoyed/angry that Regina wasn’t invited to eat with everyone? She risked her life (and maybe all of SB, if it had been Cora) to save Emma and Snow. Then, they just all go off, all happy families, to eat at Granny’s? They don’t even ask her to come?! Even Henry just says: “Later.”?!
I understand that she helped start the whole thing (with Rumpel/Gold), but she only did it because she fears Cora. And she fixed things (possibly at the risk of her own life) because Henry wanted her to.
As much as I enjoy the Charmings/Emma/Henry (sometimes), they can be really rude and clicky - especially toward people who they dislike/see as an enemy/aren’t friends with. Even Henry is starting to get really dismissive of Regina. She’s legally his mother! And despite telling him he was making the fairy tale stuff up, she did take care of him and love him for nine/ten years. The fact that he knows about her history (I’m assuming it is in the book or he’s figured it out from Regina) and he treats her like dirt a lot of the time.
Basically: I feel terrible that Regina (who just wanted to protect Henry) was left out in the cold at the end. She’s done horrid things (and her whole reason for Cursing FTL isn’t worth all the pain she caused people and making Henry think he’s insane was WRONG), but she does love him and she is trying to be a better person. So invite her to a freaking meal!
I wrote these as the episodes aired (and posted them on LJ), so I know we have answers to a lot of the questions I asked. Still - thought I'd share my thoughts.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-11 03:12 pm (UTC)And it's just another way for the narrative to hold Regina blameless for her actions, when she has free will. Even with the manipulation and victimization, her actions and her choices are her own, and she shouldn't get a free pass from the story just because, "Oh, her son hurt her feelings."
Although I didn't see the scene where they all went to the restaurant the same way. Why couldn't Regina have gone with them? It's not like she's banned from Granny's. I did see the Charmings as maybe being a little thoughtless and not even considering explicitly inviting Regina (and I can't blame them, because she's not part of their group, she has caused them and their friends untold pain, and they are under no obligation to consider her feelings just because she helped them out this one time). But I didn't see outright rejection. If she had tried to join them and someone outright told her she wasn't invited, that would have been rejection. But Regina didn't even try. If she's serious about redemption, she's the one who has to make overtures here. She can't just do a couple of good things and expect to be forgiven and included like one of the family.
Totally agree about Belle. Why was she promoted to regular if she's barely even going to be in the show? I get they have a large cast and that not everyone is in every episode, but she's had a criminal lack of screen time.
I think, though, that I'm liking this season more than season one (which started out well, dragged through the middle, but did have a good finale). There have been some slow points and, like you said, some places where things just weren't built up enough, but I haven't been outright bored by any of the episodes yet. There were several episodes in season one I almost couldn't sit through because they were so uninteresting.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-12 10:02 pm (UTC)If Regina goes evil again because Emma and the Charmings don't let her see Henry, I'll be pissed. Because a) Henry is legally her son, so she can go get him and b) it would be just so lazy to use that to get Regina under Cora's thumb.
I honestly think Regina didn't go because Henry basically said "Later" and maybe she felt she wasn't welcomed. But, as someone else said, that was really lazy writing to make us feel that Regina is still an outsider. I see your point: she could have asked. But, let's face it: this is the season of Regina's redemption and the writers are really trying to manipulate us into feeling sorry for her. I do feel sorry for her in some ways, but as we've both said: a lot of her problems are her own doing.
I'm just hoping Belle gets more to do in the last thirteen episodes of the season. At least she's getting a centric episode this season. (Though, I'm still have LOST flashbacks with this character. Claire also barely had a story line.)
For me, season one was really draggy and a lot of things (especially all those Snow, Charming, Regina flashbacks) were uninteresting. I think this season is a bit too crowded and all nine episodes have been build up and getting ready for the second half of the season; however, it's first nine episodes were better than a lot of the season one episodes.