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A good episode and the best of the season so far.
Liked
Hades- We actually have a villain who is an actual threat to EVERYBODY instead of just one particular person. All cards are off the table because you don’t know what Hades is going to do next.
Cruella- Cruella always adds a touch of humour to any situation.
Rumple explaining Emma’s connection to Hook and Baelfire and Milah’s reaction- It was about time that this was addressed.
Milah- She was actually likeable and you could see why things ended up the way they did between her and Rumple. Her first meeting with Hook was better. It seems like she went to the tavern many times with Killian before she decided to run away with him instead of what was implied in The Crocodile where it seemed like she’d literally just met him before running away.
Rumple- Poor Rumple, yet again getting screwed over by trying to be a good man in the past. The writer have definitely given Rumple some purpose back and given him back his core: that of a father doing whatever it takes to protect his child. Rumple isn’t doing unsavoury things just to be evil, he’s doing them because the safety of his child is at stake and he is putting his child first. The “heroes” have been willing to through Rumple under a bus, Belle called them out on it in 5A, so it’s only fair that Rumple puts his family first over the Charming clan. Also Snowing can’t have a go at Rumple about what he is doing in order to protect his child, considering they stole Maleficent’s baby and put all of Emma’s darkness in her then sent her away because they wanted to protect THEIR child.
Mixed
Bae touching the snake- Surely don’t go touching snakes is plain common sense.
Dislike
Hook still being all revengey over Rumple- Hook needs to just let it go. Hook is going to start something, it’ll come back and bite him in the arse, and then he’ll play the innocent little victim. Either he or Rumple need to be the bigger man and just let things lie.
[adrotate group="5"]All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixI thought the episode was mediocre. I think we are all used to bad episodes so when a mediocre one comes we think it’s good.
I hate that they try to retcon Rumple and paint him as one who can do no right just to glorify Hook who they try to make him as the one who can do no wrong. It’s okay for characters to have flaws, but when those flaws are not acknowledged, it just makes the characters seem selfish and hypocrites.
Rumple’s episodes such as 108, 119, 204, 214, 304 and 308 were always the strongest of the series and all of them fit well together. This one compared to them was weak and it doesn’t fit, mainly because of all the retcons and characters assassination.
In addition, great way of destroying a powerful moment from 209 when Cora wasn’t able to take Emma’s heart.
"All your questions are pointless"
I thought the episode was mediocre. I think we are all used to bad episodes so when a mediocre one comes we think it’s good. I hate that they try to retcon Rumple and paint him as one who can do no right just to glorify Hook who they try to make him as the one who can do no wrong. It’s okay for characters to have flaws, but when those flaws are not acknowledged, it just makes the characters seem selfish and hypocrites. Rumple’s episodes such as 108, 119, 204, 214, 304 and 308 were always the strongest of the series and all of them fit well together. This one compared to them was weak and it doesn’t fit, mainly because of all the retcons and characters assassination. In addition, great way of destroying a powerful moment from 209 when Cora wasn’t able to take Emma’s heart.
Was it really retcon though? I mean in the past he was a coward. Which is what we saw here yet again when he couldn’t kill Fendrake. And yet, he was also willing to do whatever it took (except for murder) to save his son, which also is in line with his character. And in the present, it’s revealed that he was trying to see Neal in the globe, so he still cares about his son. And we see he’s willing to do what it takes to get home to Belle. So I’m not sure what you are specifically referring to as far as retconning and character assassination goes.
And yes, the show likes Hook. But that doesn’t mean we have to compare him and Rumple. Rumple has made plenty of mistakes in his life and he always has. Honestly, him making another one is more in line with his character than it is a retcon. What exactly did Rumple do in this episode that didn’t make sense? He’s the DO so he’s looking out for himself, and Belle. Nothing new there. And in the past, he was a coward and cared for his son. Nothing odd there either.
I thought overall this was a flawed episode, but it was so vastly better written than anything we’ve seen this season, in terms of both narrative and dialogue, that it stands out in the sea of mediocrity that was this season so far.
Liked:
I actually liked the Rumple/Milah dynamic. I thought the writers did a good job at showing how this dysfunctional relationship progressively spiraled further and further out of control. In a sense, Rumple and Milah are portrayed as both codependent and incompatible, and they both — very systematically — bring out the worst in each other by being who they are. I though Milah was a lot more sympathetic, even in the way her liaison with Hook played out, but I also didn’t think Rumple was really all that retconned. WoobieRumple has been portrayed as someone utterly unable to calculate the consequences of his actions, or really face them when they come up. At the same time, I don’t think it’s because he’s an idiot, as Milah said — after all, he’s capable of very complex schemes once he’s the Dark One, and I don’t think it’s just the curse. Rather, Rumple spent most of his human life feeling like he’s up against the wall, and blinded by his panic. So actually, I thought the writing was quite good — this episode showed them both as very flawed, but not entirely unsympathetic. At the same time, they are utterly destructive of each other.
Finally! Praise the gods, Emma found out about the Hook/Milah/Neal connection. Better late than never. The dialogue with Rumple was sort of priceless.
Hades makes for an excellent villain so far.
Cruella is a delight. Bambi’s mother? That was sick but hilarious.
Neal was actually at the center of this episode, even if it was just his absence. At least it was acknowledge to some extent.
Mixed:
Cultural-Appropriation-Joe, aka Fendrake the Healer. So, apparently, when the dude with the Mongolian yurt, generic medicine man necklaces, crystals, little alchemy vials, and culturally undecided facial tattoos isn’t offering shamanic workshops over the internet and promoting his new best seller “How to get rich and enlightened in 10 easy steps”, he’s swindling the peasants out of their second borns. I don’t know if this is a brilliant critique of hodge-podge New Age cultural appropriation, or a tedious barely veiled colonial-era metaphor on the medicine-man as charlatan (with potentially demonic associations). Because of OUAT’s track record with race and different cultures, I’m veering towards the latter.
Disliked:
Hook. I don’t love that character anyway, to say the least, but at this point I find he really needs a new goal in life. Trying to kill Rumble for revenge is getting so incredibly old and boring. The writers really need to think what they want to do with him.
This is a more general dislike, but OUAT really doesn’t know where to draw the line sometimes. The snake/100 gold pieces/second born/kill the healer thing is sort of in that same category as transferring the potential for darkness. I can see what they’re trying to set up — an impossible choice, that also then moves the plot along — but it’s entirely too convoluted and hand-wavy. I get it, complicated morality is complicated, but I think there could have been a more convincing way of telling that story.
So Cora and Rumple, heh. Well, I’m not surprised, that’s fine. Squicky. Well, I didn’t really think they were playing scrabble either, but still a bit squicky.
I actually liked the Rumple/Milah dynamic. I thought the writers did a good job at showing how this dysfunctional relationship progressively spiraled further and further out of control. In a sense, Rumple and Milah are portrayed as both codependent and incompatible, and they both — very systematically — bring out the worst in each other by being who they are. I though Milah was a lot more sympathetic, even in the way her liaison with Hook played out, but I also didn’t think Rumple was really all that retconned. WoobieRumple has been portrayed as someone utterly unable to calculate the consequences of his actions, or really face them when they come up. At the same time, I don’t think it’s because he’s an idiot, as Milah said — after all, he’s capable of very complex schemes once he’s the Dark One, and I don’t think it’s just the curse. Rather, Rumple spent most of his human life feeling like he’s up against the wall, and blinded by his panic. So actually, I thought the writing was quite good — this episode showed them both as very flawed, but not entirely unsympathetic. At the same time, they are utterly destructive of each other.
All of this, yes. I loved how they really showed how flawed and destructive both of them were. It takes two to tango.
So Cora and Rumple, heh. Well, I’m not surprised, that’s fine. Squicky. Well, I didn’t really think they were playing scrabble either, but still a bit squicky.
For me, this doesn’t make sense from Cora’s perspective. She wants to be queen or at the very least marry into royalty which she is now in a position to do so. She was previously going to marry a king but was kicked out when it was found she was carrying another man’s child. Why on earth would Cora risk having the same thing happen by getting pregnant with Rumple’s child? Cora’s many things but she’s not stupid.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixWhy on earth would Cora risk having the same thing happen by getting pregnant with Rumple’s child? Cora’s many things but she’s not stupid.
I’ve always assumed that magic users in the EF had some kind of control over their reproductive capacities. More generally, for a “medieval” society, there seems to be an extremely low birth rate, and low maternal mortality rate. These folks should all be having 8-10 children over a life time, with a couple of dead ones along the way, resulting in, say, 3-4 kids total reaching maturity. Instead, we are getting very small families, with 1-2 children at most, and many cases of infertility. So my “sociological” assessment of the EF is that either contraception is widely available (through magic or herbs), or there’s a population-level health issue that’s limiting fertility. 😛
So Cora and Rumple, heh. Well, I’m not surprised, that’s fine. Squicky. Well, I didn’t really think they were playing scrabble either, but still a bit squicky.
For me, this doesn’t make sense from Cora’s perspective. She wants to be queen or at the very least marry into royalty which she is now in a position to do so. She was previously going to marry a king but was kicked out when it was found she was carrying another man’s child. Why on earth would Cora risk having the same thing happen by getting pregnant with Rumple’s child? Cora’s many things but she’s not stupid.
I think this is where it comes in…
Cora was actually in love with Rumple, but having gone through heartbreak and disappointment before (aka Jonathan), she decided that it was best to play it safe this time and to say “Screw it, I’m done with love.”
She wanted to be with Rumplestilskin until King Xavier got in her head, and made her have flashbacks of Jonathan. So it didn’t really matter if she was going to get pregnant by him because she had already made up her mind to run away with him.
"If you go as far as you can see...you will then see enough to go even further." - Finn Balor
finally caught up.
5/10. Too many plotholes or confusions to give this a higher score.
LIKED
The disgust Milah had for Emma.
Young Bae
Emma’s wavy hair-almost as wavy as season 1
Rumple and Hades scenes; two great actors.
MIXED
That it took so long before it was clear that the flashback had bearing on the present.
DISLIKED
-That it took Milah for Emma to realise that he has had both Milah’s lover and her son. During season 3 I couldn’t stop letting people know my disgust over this.
-That Daniel didn’t appear to Regina like Neal did to Emma.
-No explanation as to how they escaped without the boat. Or did I miss something?
-Emma and perhaps the writers forgetting that her heart is protected because she is the savior, not because she has been chosen to stay in the Underworld. Surely Emma can remove it herself, though? I am very confused by this.
QUESTIONS
-When will we get the explanation as to why Regina’s magic is suddenly working again? Surely it is more than just inspiration? Or was it because she was chosen to stay down there? Confused.
-Why on earth (in the underworld) did Hades use Rumple to do his dirty work Did he reveal a weakness? Does he have less power than we think? Or was this just a silly plot point?
Keeper of Regina's bravery
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