GENERAL: I am really really torn this week. There were some less than ideal epiphanies and themes but on the other hand some of the smaller moment of this week–like Snow teaching–were really great and I wish we could ease up off the plot and focus on that kind of storytelling. I also think the show managed to mine quite a bit of food for thought even in some murky waters which I’ll always applaud. We also had a lot of strong performances from Hyde, Rumple, Jekyll, and the Evil Queen.
Rating…gosh. I don’t know. Maybe…a 7.5/10
LIKED
–The cute family breakfast scene. Look! Normal things!
–“All magic needs is a little science”
–Rumple still knows how to recognize a desperate soul. Jekyll being rejected by his community but so desperately wanting to prove himself to others…sound familiar?
–We’ve had several balls this season; all the gowns and rooms have been well done!
–“Alright sister! Let’s dance” *Proceeds to fall straight down with a wave of the EQ’s hand.*
–Hyde and the EQ are a bizarre totally loony team up. Like Hades and Zelena last year, they are so over the top and crazy that you have to smile when you see them.
–Bobby as DarkOne!Rumple is still entertaining, 6 years later. You can tell it’s the role he prefers by about a mile.
–Snow teaching! It’s not Mary Margaret teaching; it’s actually Snow teaching.
MIXED
–Emma, we know you’re the Savior. You don’t have to say it every single scene even if this entire season is about Savior mythology.
–Rumple names Hyde “Hyde” because he was all the parts that Jekyll had to…hide. Oof.
–I have a ton of issues with Mary’s backstory and what the show demonstrated tonight. The basic sum is that Mary wanted a man who would show her passion and desire and overthrow societies conventions. For these thoughts and her acting upon them, Mary died. She was, essentially, punished for her sexual feelings. I guess you can argue that Jekyll (and Hyde) were punished in the long run, but not for expressing their sexual feelings–Hyde is basically a walking talking id–but for keeping Jekyll repressing them. There were a lot of sexual overtones this episode with a binary that men should be virile and women passive. Jekyll is the real villain because he’s weak and, basically, impotent. After the past two weeks in America, this sort of backwards old school gender dynamics really rubbed me the wrong way.
DISLIKED
–Really????! Rumple basically locked Belle in a CAGE and then said “you’ll thank me someday.” I cannot with how this show has turned one of their best, most loved couples into something egregiously damaged and abusive.
–And LATER! “You may not think you need me, but you do! You will come back to me..even for necessity” DONE. 100% DONE with this ship. Basically…you don’t know your own head and heart and you need me because of that. I know what you need better than you do. You shape up and hop to, little miss. You’re my wife and it’s time you behaved like one. I can’t believe the writers have done such a through job of destroying Rumbelle.
–‘Shirin’s” story about the princess who didn’t embrace herself and lost her kingdom…heavy handed way to tell “Shirin’s” story without revealing who she is. As if we all don’t know. Shock everyone! The princess in the story was Shirin!
–I really don’t like Emma’s brown coat. Why the change? Usually her jackets are symbolic of something. Is it because she’s doubting her own saviorhood? Probably, but it’s still an ugly coat.
–Really dislike the idea that in order to kill the doppelganger you have to kill the original. They are the same person! They are two sides of the same coin; one isn’t more powerful or more “real” than the other. It’s about integration and learning to temper both sides of yourself. So Hyde is, ipso facto, which also means that the Evil Queen is less “real” than Regina but…that’s a really silly way to go. They are one and the same. Regina is the Evil Queen, always. It’s about learning to keep the darkness at bay and listening to your “higher angels.”