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Warning: Really long post ahead.
I’m not sure where to put this so I’ll stick it here. I was reading the list of most and least favorite moments from Sunday and thinking about why I have such contempt for every little thing on the show. Some of you have been present to my enumerating all the reasons why this show sucks. (It’s quite a long list.) But the last episode with the appearance of a magic bean, bad wigs, uninteresting characters just had me literally laughing in absurdity despite having these things in season one. I didn’t have this anger or snarkiness then that I have now at their appearance. Why did I tolerate episodes like “Dreamy” or “True North” but cringe at a “The Bear King”?
The easy answer and obvious is they killed the heart of the show. When Neal died much of the, pardon my word choice, magic left. But there were cracks before that. And now the crack are chasms and crevasses. So what’s the deal?
For me it all goes back to inconsistent world-building. But not only that. It’s not knowing when to stop building that world. If you’re crafting a story, especially with a new world/environment/magical properties you need time to create that world. In Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling did it little by little in the beginning. We’re introduced to new things as Harry was. It was organic. But at some point, it slowed down. By the middle of the series, Harry knew about house elves, ministry politics, butterbeer, etc. He’s still learning but at some point J. K. Rowling’s world stops expanding radically. There has to be a point where thing slow down. The introduction of new lands, creatures, kingdoms, etc. has to slow down. You can still introduce new information but we need a pause.
How does that apply to Once? Eddy and Adam never stop world building. They are constantly introducing new characters, new lands, new storylines. And they’re not good at it! They push the parameters they’ve created in season one to the point that they’ve broken their own storytelling rules because they forget them and their new interests don’t mesh with the old. So they scrap the old and go forward hoping we all forget those pesky seasons one and two details.
I think the show would have been better if they’d had drawn a line in the sand: here is our world and we’re going to only operate within these parameters. I don’t mind the hopping around from different lands on the show if there were a common thread to it all. But they’ve expanded their story to a point that it’s a meandering maze of streets that never connect. There are many dead ends, a few cliffs, some hills, etc. in that maze.
Don’t get me wrong, there are many other things vastly wrong with this show: the constant ship baiting, minority representation, misogyny, network interference. But when it comes down to brass tacks you need a solid foundation or everything will crumble. If Once had this then maybe they could have hung on to some of their ratings and not had divided fandom we have today.
Okay, I‘m stepping off my soapbox and going to bed. I usually don’t post long rambling word vomit but I just had to get it out and you guys will humor me here. 🙂
[adrotate group="5"]Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
I know that’s Slurpeez ‘s theory as well, right? I’ve been going back and forth, but I think the writers are just not clever – or, rather, not careful – enough to pull off that sort of doublespeak.
Well, I would agree, since basically there are many things wrong with the internal logic of the show (as @Josephine wrote above). Yet, I really think A&E know how wrong Hook is for Emma (even if they don’t promote him as such). That admittedly is my own conjecture, but it’s based on a couple of things (other than just the script itself). Eddy’s line in S2 that Hook is eye candy but that Emma wouldn’t look at him and think what a good father figure he’d make is the first thing. Next, Adam’s tweet in S3 about some people being right for you (*cough Neal cough*), some are wrong for you (*cough Hook cough*) and and others you just choose (the implication being Henry). Despite the infamous reset button being hit in S3b, the writers still know this deep down. Hence the meta about “you killed a man for a ship” in the same half season the “wish fulfillment” happened for the CS movie. The way CS has been depicted (versus how some CS fans interpret it) in the script itself is anything but healthy. Hence, Hook jumped off of a building to summon Emma. The audience is not meant to be rooting for this unhealthy dynamic, even though some people do.
Don’t get me wrong, there are many other things vastly wrong with this show: the constant ship baiting, minority representation, misogyny, network interference. But when it down to brass tacks you need a solid foundation or everything will crumble. If Once had this then maybe their could have hung on to some of their ratings and not had divided fandom we have today.
THIS. The thing I loved about J.K. Rowling is that she spent 5 years just researching everything from alchemy to human rights’ violations before she ever even finished writing the first Harry Potter book. To quote Rowling herself:
JKR: “To invent this wizard world, I’ve learned a ridiculous amount about alchemy. Perhaps much of it I’ll never use in the books, but I have to know in detail what magic can and cannot do in order to set the parameters and establish the stories’ internal logic.”
And
JKR: “I spent a lot of time inventing the rules for the magical world so that I knew the limits of magic. Then I had to invent the different ways wizards could accomplish certain things.
And
JKR: “The five years I spent on HP and the Philosopher’s Stone were spent constructing The Rules. I had to lay down all my parameters. The most important thing to decide when you’re creating a fantasy world is what the characters CAN’T do.”
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
It’s 3:30 am. I am awake. I just had the most intense freakout (mostly to Phee who is the only one awake with me right now–and she assures me that I’m adorable) ever. I’m like legit crying.
I can handle any sort of stupidity OUAT throws at me. OUAT can keep their poor narrative, their poor character development, and their misogynistic pirate and toxic ship. Just get me to Dec 18th. Just get me to Dec 18. Just get me to Dec 18th. That’s all I want. I just want my OTP.
(there may or may not have been some Shamy news when I woke up this morning)
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"It’s 3:30 am. I am awake. I just had the most intense freakout (mostly to Phee who is the only one awake with me right now–and she assures me that I’m adorable) ever. I’m like legit crying. I can handle any sort of stupidity OUAT throws at me. OUAT can keep their poor narrative, their poor character development, and their misogynistic pirate and toxic ship. Just get me to Dec 18th. Just get me to Dec 18. Just get me to Dec 18th. That’s all I want. I just want my OTP. (there may or may not have been some Shamy news when I woke up this morning)
No but really guys. Dec 18th. It’s going to be an “All Ranchettes on Deck” sort of night. Jo is going to need help handling my emotional vomit.
(I’ll respond to CS/OUAT/World building later. I’m still sobbing into a pillow ATM)
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Season 5 rewrite scenes with Neal , episode 7 here
"I offended you with my opinion? Ha, you should hear the ones I keep to myself".
(there may or may not have been some Shamy news when I woke up this morning)
I think I know what news you’re referring to.
No but really guys. Dec 18th. It’s going to be an “All Ranchettes on Deck” sort of night. Jo is going to need help handling my emotional vomit.
I have to say I’m a bit shocked. I never thought they’d go there and this quickly. Series ending thing, maybe. But it’s just a shock. A Christmas miracle for RG?
I will be there for you. At least with TGIT going on hiatus we won’t have to watch this one at midnight.
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
It’s 3:30 am. I am awake. I just had the most intense freakout (mostly to Phee who is the only one awake with me right now–and she assures me that I’m adorable) ever. I’m like legit crying. I can handle any sort of stupidity OUAT throws at me. OUAT can keep their poor narrative, their poor character development, and their misogynistic pirate and toxic ship. Just get me to Dec 18th. Just get me to Dec 18. Just get me to Dec 18th. That’s all I want. I just want my OTP. (there may or may not have been some Shamy news when I woke up this morning)
No but really guys. Dec 18th. It’s going to be an “All Ranchettes on Deck” sort of night. Jo is going to need help handling my emotional vomit. (I’ll respond to CS/OUAT/World building later. I’m still sobbing into a pillow ATM)
I’m so happy for you!
At least somebody’s ship is sailing right! Shamy’s Heading Toward Sexual Healing Avenue!!! Enjoy it @RumplesGirl!
"If you go as far as you can see...you will then see enough to go even further." - Finn Balor
Morning. I’m a bit more level headed this morning. So in response to Jo’s wonderful World Building and OUAT mega post, I don’t have a whole lot to say except that it’s spot on. The more shaky and unfocused the world because the bigger mess it creates and the more I stop caring about the world, the characters, and the plot. That’s what happens when you don’t stick to plans and laws you’ve set up.
As for Hook, I would still love it if Slurpeez were right about how he’s being purposely written (ie: bad for Emma) but I still have zero hope on that front. The writers, for me, are not that self-aware (their half-hearted attempt at LGBT shows me that they are totally unaware of certain social issues and how to tell a convincing love story–at least post S3A finale). They still think the way he’s written is perfectly fine (and not at all wildly inconsistent) and that Emma/Hook is a love story that might have struggles but will come out smelling like roses in the end. Like, after Emma traverses the underworld to find the pirate instead of leaving him there forever. The fact that the writers don’t see a problem with a relationship in which one partner says they want to hurt the other is…oh, so troubling. Belle and Rumple have had a lot of issues but Rumple has never threatened to hurt Belle, emotionally or physically. I’d like Adam to really think about the message he’s sending his daughter when they have the romantic lead for the Audience-Stand-In-Character (Emma) say such things and then have the relationship touted as something romantic and true.
Blah blah blah, rape culture. You guys know me well enough to know where I’m going with this.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"I will say that the “love is a weapon” thing is a TV trope.
I know we’re going to the Underworld so that may not stand here.
If Hook ends up forgiving Emma, it will actually be good character growth for him. However, if he seeks revenge on her, I’ll still be up on my soap box.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
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