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Happy 100th episode, OUAT!
Over the past two weeks, we’ve looked back at individual seasons but now let’s look at the series as a whole. You know the drill! Answer what you can!
1) Favorite season?
2) Top 3 favorite episodes?
3) Top 3 LEAST favorite episodes?
4) Who was your favorite character in S1?
5) And who is your favorite character now in S5B?
6) Best moment over 100 hours? Worst moment?
7) Best developed character?
8) Best villain?
9) How have your feelings on the show changed–for better or for ill, no judgement on all views!
[adrotate group="5"]"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"My thoughts:
1) Favorite season?
Season One, clearly. To me there are no seasons and even come close. The lackluster episodes of S1 (That Still Small Voice, Dreamy, True North) are better than the highlights of later seasons. It was truly magical and wonderful. The focus on family, on mother/child relationships felt fresh. So did the focus on women and how they worked together to survive (be it Snow and Red in the EF or Emma and Mary Margaret in SB). The curse lifting by TLK in SB is still one of the best moments of the entire series.
2) Top 3 favorite episodes?
1. Skin Deep
2. Manhattan
3. A Land Without Magic
3) Top 3 LEAST favorite episodes?
1. Quiet Minds
2. Swan Song
3. Heart of Gold
4) Who was your favorite character in S1?
Rumple, obviously. From the moment I saw Bobby as Rumple, I was enchanted. He was absolutely unhinged but so charming. I loved getting more of his story and after A Desperate Soul and Skin Deep I knew that this little imp would hold a special place in my heart.
5) And who is your favorite character now in S5B?
This is hard because I don’t have one. The writers have killed Rumple for me. His constant Black-Hat, power mad persona are just totally wrong when compared to the very human qualities he possessed in the earliest seasons. Emma was my second favorite character but they’ve turned her into someone who cares more about her own love life than her town, her self, her son, and even her cosmic standing. Everyone else is a pale shadow of who they used to be.
6) Best moment over 100 hours? Worst moment?
Best moment? Too many to name. Emma waking Henry; Emma and Neal saying ILY over the portal; Rumple and Belle in Skin Deep; Neal and Rumple’s talk in Manhattan; Rumple’s sacrifice
Worst moment: 315. Do I even need to say more?
7) Best developed character?
Regina. Clearly. Hers is the only story that hasn’t been totally botched. There has been some real development there.
8) Best villain?
Hm. Probably Pan for me, followed very closely by Cora.
9) How have your feelings on the show changed–for better or for ill, no judgement on all views!
Yes.
Look, it’s no secret that this show and I no longer see eye to eye. What was once a charming, family driven, heartfelt drama, has turned into a soap opera in which the actors seem totally at a loss for why their characters do what they do. The acting has becomes forced and wooden; the stories are cheesy and offensive. Every arc there’s rape, misogyny, sexism, racism, and homophobia. The good moments are few and far in between and when they do happen, they are quickly overshadowed by something that makes me cringe in horror.
I think A and E lost their way when they decided to listen to TPTB and the media/fan craze for certain stories. It’s part of business so I can’t fault them 100% but the story I used to love with the fire of a thousand suns died in 3A. What I’m left with now is a show that makes me think and analyze, but almost never in the positive. I watch for a lot of reasons (mostly because I don’t believe in turning off my brain when it comes to hard issues) but for me there really is no way back. It will never be what it was.
But lest anyone think I’m nothing but bitter: what it was…was incredible.Magical. Important.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"1) Favorite season?
Torn between 1 and 2…so I’ll pick 1 mostly because 2 fractured as they shifted course and a lot of its promise, which was HUGE, was not fulfilled as a result.2) Top 3 favorite episodes?
–112, Skin Deep
–211, The Outsider
–406, Family BusinessAll Belle centrics of course…I was into the show and watching from the start, but Skin Deep and The Outsider were game changers for me. Skin Deep was when it became an addiction, and The Outsider…well, it started me on the timeline and brought me here, to this site and into the fandom. Family Business wins 3rd because, while it wasn’t as outstanding as some…the way that they portrayed Belle’s insecurities hit me so close to home it was scary. Those two scenes alone were powerful enough to carry the whole episode for me.
3) Top 3 LEAST favorite episodes?
–212, In the Name of the Brother. The Doctor was an awesome episode and I wanted more of Whale’s story, but this episode was painful to watch, in part because the acting felt wooden, but also because the storylines just didn’t work well (and coming between the powerful episodes of The Outsider and Manhattan, it stood out as especially bad). When I rewatched even to get timeline stuff down, it’s one of the few that I almost always fast-forwarded through parts cuz I just couldn’t watch again.–315, Quiet Minds. I actually enjoyed the first half of the episode. I loved the flashbacks. And then…Neal’s death was crushing in all the wrong ways. Nothing about it felt necessary or in-character. The results of that episode have made certain characters, like Rumple, feel somewhat OOC ever since to me, at least in certain ways. The fact that even Emma acknowledged that going to the Underworld SHOULD have been the logical result of 315 (and would have made a glorious finale of S3) on screen says something. It was the end of a character and family dynamic that I had been looking forward to seeing more of. A well-done death drives the story or closes it; this one did neither, and didn’t even make a lot of sense. Also an ep I struggle to go back to and have to skip parts of when I do.
–416, Best Laid Plans. Just got the pun in the title looking it up though. (Egg, get it?) It was SO OOC for David and Snow, and I suppose it could have paid off if they’d do more with Lily…but she’s currently on Forgotten Character Island, I guess learning to be a dragon. The author gets the blame for the apprentice’s actions in the episode, but David and Snow are only shown being given the suggestions–they actually choose to take them, even knowing they’re wrong. It also removes some of Emma’s agency…in fact in ways that are inconsistent with the character we’ve seen. The whole Lily storyline was problematic but this is the one where it culminates in Just No for me. Still, it’s not as much of a Nope as the first two mentioned.
4) Who was your favorite character in S1?
–Belle, with Henry, Rumple, & Leroy as strong seconds.5) And who is your favorite character now in S5B?
–Belle, though I really have to headcanon stuff to get around some of the OOC waffling they’ve done with her to drive up the drama lately. Still love the other three too.6) Best moment over 100 hours? Worst moment?
–Best: Rumple and Belle dancing on their honeymoon.
–Worst: Neal’s death and Rumple and Emma not doing ANYTHING to stop it.7) Best developed character?
–Rumplestiltskin. Though some of it is left to the viewer to figure out because part of the appeal is his mystery…8) Best villain?
–Cora. Deliciously played in all her appearances, and a driving force in the lives of most of the mains in a way other villains have not been. There was actually a bit of regret at her death even though it was like, wow, she should die at that point, mainly because she was a FUN villain to have around…and I’m so glad they’ve found ways to bring her back since.9) How have your feelings on the show changed–for better or for ill, no judgement on all views!
I haven’t lost my enchantment with the show yet. The costumes are as brilliant as ever (except for Ariel’s ball, wth was up with those?), the actors’ performances as compelling as ever, and the magic is still there for me. I think Neal’s death and the drive to try to shock viewers/race through plots has made some of the writing and character consistency go down after the first season; the desire to pull in new toys from the shelf has left some clearly promised storylines left open, some of which are unlikely to ever been satisfactorily gotten back to as actors age, move on, or otherwise become unavailable as they would have been in the right moment (Mulan-Aurora-Phillip adventure, I’m looking squarely at you). And I do feel like the focus has been increasingly on Hook & Emma’s story to the detriment of other stories, like Henry’s or Rumple’s (not even getting into secondary mains like Robin and Belle here). That’s made it lose some of the family focus it had in S1 and S2, where even romance was centered in family dynamics.
Every show evolves; I’ve loved arcs like the Frozen arc that have come after Neal’s death. I’m still hoping for Belle’s happy ending with Rumple. I mourn for the show’s missed opportunities (so, so many of them along the way), but those tend to be my main dissatisfaction with the show. I guess in the end what I really want is just more…since half my whines are that they didn’t explore something they probably could have with more time. Oh, and I want Neal back and Belle actually on screen as more than a prop for Rumple.
Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing
1. Favorite Scene
Obviously…that final scene between Henry Sr., Regina, and Henry….that scene has just taken the cake, and is my favorite scene out of the entire series. It tore my heart to shreds, and I’m still crying over it!
2) Top 3 favorite episodes?
1. Souls of the Departed 5×12
2. Saving Henry 3×09
3. Manhattan 2×14
3) Top 3 LEAST favorite episodes?
1. Selfless, Brave, & True
2. Quiet Minds (The OutlawQueen portion was wonderful, the rest was…well…you know)
3. I can’t really think of another one.
4) Who was your favorite character in S1?
Regina Mills…from the moment the Evil Queen came crashed that wedding, I knew then that I was forever going to be her fan. Even five seasons later, I’m still one of her biggest fans, riding this roller coaster with her till the end!
5) And who is your favorite character now in S5B?
My favorite character, as in new or regular. If it’s regular, it stays Regina Mills, but if it’s new….I must say that Hades is so far really intriguing to me so far. Interesting to see where we go with him.
6) Best moment over 100 hours? Worst moment?
Best Moment: The best moment for me is when Henry returned home to Regina in 4×02. It came full circle with her giving him up in 2×02, and in 4×02, he decided that he was finally ready to come home. And their tearful hug was just….I’m a sucker for RegalBeliever Scenes.
Worst Moment: The Death of Neal/Baelfire…..I don’t really wanna dig too deep into this.
7) Best developed character?
Best developed character is Regina Mills hands down. The evolution from villain to anti-hero/hero was brilliant and beautifully developed. Despite every obstacle and set back she’s faced, she’s still managed to bounce back…it’s what it means to be the one with the most resilient heart. And the very people she spent years trying to destroy ended up becoming her family in the end.
8) Best villain?
The best villain for me would have to be Cruella De Vil….this was the worst of the worst because she’s unrepentant and her only regret is that she wasn’t able to kill enough people. As her theme song goes, if she doesn’t scare you, no evil thing will.
9) How have your feelings on the show changed–for better or for ill, no judgement on all views!
The initial excitement is certainly not there….I’m more so caught in the middle with OUAT. Not the best terms, but not the worst….it’s not as glorious as it once was, but I at least try to remember that it could be worse. Though the forums, you guys, and Lana Parrilla/Regina are the only reason I’m still watching this show.
"If you go as far as you can see...you will then see enough to go even further." - Finn Balor
Favorite season: Season 1
Top 3 Episodes: So many….but I loved A land Without Magic, Queen of Hearts, Skin Deep, Going Home
Least Favorite Episodes: Broken Heart, Swan Song, all the filler episodes that were just God awful.
Favorite S1 character: Rumple
Favorite character now: Still Rumple with Regina and Emma close behind.
Best/Worst Moment: So tough. Too many.
Best Developed Character: Regina with Rumple and Emma close behind
Best Villain: Rumple, Peter Pan, Cruella…in that order.
The show is not what it was, but I am determined to see it to the end because I think there is some great material they have been saving for the end, and the end is near.
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