WELCOME TO STORYBROOKE .. favorite / least favorite moments

[naomi]

Favorite moment:

The Greg reveal, where he sits down in the car and grasps the little keychain. I dunno, guys, but the whole Owen storyline was really interesting to me. 😀 In terms of child characters on this show, I like how Owen was NOT a little angel like Bae or Grace or even Pinocchio from Season 1. He was bratty, and stubborn, and troubled, all at once. And when those scenes got emotionally heavy near the end – that child actor did a great job. I doubt we will, but I REALLY want to see more of him!

Least favorite moment:

Another kid: Henry. To be honest, I’m starting to dislike him. I think it’s because it seems like he has this ideal about what his parents and grandparents should be like. He expects them to be heroes and storybook characters, and when they mess up (because they are human) he punishes them…shuns them or ignores them and makes them feel awful. To me that’s not a healthy reaction from a child. I think he just has to learn the lesson that all kids learn: parents/guardians aren’t perfect. And considering that Regina destroyed the curse, and Emma told him the truth about Snow & Cora, I think he should stop being so…I dunno. Petulant?

[laurieanne]

I agree, Naomi – and I have LOVED this kid from the beginning. Now he is just annoying me…but maybe that is the point. I think we are going to get a major separation in this family, instigated by Henry, by season’s end. I think it’s going to be Henry and Neal going to Neverland and maybe the others trying to follow? The only person Henry seems to like or trust right now is Neal. Make this guy a series regular!!

[RumplesGirl]

Another kid: Henry. To be honest, I’m starting to dislike him. I think it’s because it seems like he has this ideal about what his parents and grandparents should be like. He expects them to be heroes and storybook characters, and when they mess up (because they are human) he punishes them…shuns them or ignores them and makes them feel awful. To me that’s not a healthy reaction from a child.

This is a perfect summation of the Henry character, all of these things are totally true. But how would you react if your grandmother was Snow White and then you found out that she had a hand in killing someone. He expects them to be heroes because our world constructs them that way. Snow White is supposed to stand for all that is good and pure. And Henry’s mom is the savior–that’s a big deal to him. And when those heroes fall from grace, it’s shocking and hurtful. You’re right, it’s not a healthy reaction from a child. But Henry isn’t an ordinary child: he’s an 11 yr old who’s entire family are a bunch of fairy tale charcters that are mythic and larger than life and supposed to be above these blood fights. He thought that bringing Emma would mean the end of evil but instead evil is spreading. that doesn’t happen in fairy tale books! That’s why I think Henry should still be in therapy, he needs to learn to separate the fiction he think should be playing out (Snow White and Prince Charming ride off into the sunset having conquered evil) and the reality of living in this world where Snow is not perfect.

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

[arkham258]

I’ve already said most of my thoughts in the Initial Reactions thread. I will just reiterate a few here I guess

Favorite:
Rumpel speaking to Regina and actually trying to give her some genuinely good advice for the first time ever in his interactions with her. I’ve never seen that side of him come out in any scenes they’ve had together. He’s usually trying to indulge her dark desires rather than abate them

Least favorite:
The weak response the guy gave for why he wasn’t willing to stick around in Storybrooke with Regina. Really? Your life in New Jersey is better than staying in a town where you could have a relationship with a beautiful woman who is the major of a town and can give you and your son anything they need? Seriously? Wow. He just sounded like a moron to me. Keep in mind that scene occurred before Regina started acting crazy, at which point he had good reason not to want to stick around

I thought Snow was a bit melodramatic in this episode. She did a terrible thing, but I don’t know if I buy into her wanting to kill herself. That seemed slightly out of character for someone who cares so much about her family to just abandon them like that. I loved what her scene with Regina sets up for future episodes, but it seemed a bit contrived how they got there.

I don’t really understand the hate for Henry. Everything he does makes sense to me. I guess I must have the mind of a child 😆

I just think Henry is the conscience of this show. Maybe he doesn’t see the world as it really is, but he does see it the way it should be. He’s a lot like Clementine from The Walking Dead video games by Telltale, who is a sweet and adorable young girl who plays a very similar role in those games as Henry does in this show.

[schmacky]

Really? Your life in New Jersey is better than staying in a town where you could have a relationship with a beautiful woman who is the major of a town and can give you and your son anything they need? Seriously? Wow. He just sounded like a moron to me

Wha? How would you react if a woman you just met a couple days ago asks you to move your whole life to another state? It’s one thing if Regina said “Hey let’s keep in contact” or something. But…. really, I think that was an appropriate response for the guy. He has a job, a family back in Jersey (we know he has a brother). His kid has grandparents probably. They can’t just up and leave to a new town because some hot mayor asks them to. And let’s not forget that he is still dealing with the loss of his wife.

That’s silly to even think that is normal lol

[kfchimera]

@Schmacky wrote:

Really? Your life in New Jersey is better than staying in a town where you could have a relationship with a beautiful woman who is the major of a town and can give you and your son anything they need? Seriously? Wow. He just sounded like a moron to me

Wha? How would you react if a woman you just met a couple days ago asks you to move your whole life to another state? It’s one thing if Regina said “Hey let’s keep in contact” or something. But…. really, I think that was an appropriate response for the guy. He has a job, a family back in Jersey (we know he has a brother). His kid has grandparents probably. They can’t just up and leave to a new town because some hot mayor asks them to. And let’s not forget that he is still dealing with the loss of his wife.

That’s silly to even think that is normal lol

I agree with Shmacky, Kurt’s reaction is normal, even if Regina weren’t giving out major creepy vibes from the start. He first meets her in the diner where she is freaking out about who’s kid Owen is and then she asks him “Why would you need a hotel room?” Some small towns people may not be friendly, and as the Mayor, maybe she is just uptight around kids, but he had to think she was a bit weird. Plus he saw the green/purple smoke, and a town appear where it did not exist the night before. He did not know WHAT was wrong in the town, but even before he caught her with the heart, he did kind of suspect something was off. He had a lot on his mind already with the death of his wife, so maybe he and Owen did not notice anything else weird (like all the people repeating actions and conversations). We can imagine maybe he did notice some odd things, but even without that, from the scenes we are shown, it is pretty easy to see why he wasn’t jumping at the chance to stay in Storybrooke.

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

[PriceofMagic]

@Swanning-Off wrote:

Regina going through mourning – great acting. She is a nonce, but she’s a nonce in pain. Why is she a nonce? Because she’s so dumb.

I wouldn’t call Regina a nonce. Why? Because in my country, nonce is another term for paedophile. Regina is a lot of things, but she most definitely isn’t a paedophile.

My favourite moments include Regina’s cheesy grin as she watches MM put flowers by David’s bedside without knowing who he really is and Rumple protecting Snow from Regina just by standing in her way.

My least favourite moment has to be Regina separating Owen from his father just because she wants Owen for herself. That was cruel and actually made me dislike Regina a little bit.

Henry annoyed me in the forest scene just by his actions and the way he played on Regina’s emotion. When Emma was holding out her hand for him to take, he moved towards Regina and it looked like he was choosing her. Then when Regina destroyed the curse, he immediately went back to Emma and hugged her and just left Regina. He didn’t want Regina killed because she was his “mom” yet he doesn’t treat her like his mom. Make up your mind Henry! Also how stupid can he be playing with dynamite. Magic has no physical form so it can’t be blown up.

I think the problem with Henry is that, now he is starting to become older, the innocence and naivety that made him cute during season 1 is less cute now during season 2. It could be the writing, there is nothing worse than a kid trying to be cute. Cuteness has to be a natural thing. Take for example, Henry and Emma walking in on Snow and Charming indulging in some afternoon delight. Of course Henry might not be aware of exactly what they were up to, sex education might not be apart of Storybrooke’s school curriculum, but you would have thought he would have realised that he’d just walked in on some sort of private moment between Snow and Charming.

All magic comes with a price!

Keeper of Felix

[RumplesGirl]

I think the problem with Henry is that, now he is starting to become older, the innocence and naivety that made him cute during season 1 is less cute now during season 2. It could be the writing, there is nothing worse than a kid trying to be cute. Cuteness has to be a natural thing. Take for example, Henry and Emma walking in on Snow and Charming indulging in some afternoon delight. Of course Henry might not be aware of exactly what they were up to, sex education might not be apart of Storybrooke’s school curriculum, but you would have thought he would have realised that he’d just walked in on some sort of private moment between Snow and Charming.

If Henry ends up in Neverland in the season finale I could see him becoming more mature, especially if he’s alone.

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

[lunatiger]

I really love the episode! Just when I thought they couldn’t go on with the great episodes the writers pull this one out of their hats.

Favorite moments:

Having the opening scene not about Storybrooke town or Enchanted forest. But a normal kid and his dad. Threw me a little off guard like the episode “Broken” opening scene in Manhatten. It feels refreshing.

Graham stepping out of the car and introducing himself as sheriff. Enough said….

Neal and Henry scene. Very well done father/son bonding moment. And Emma’s “You fell for that??? He’s YOUR son!” line was awesome. Emma and Neal’s parenting banter was just icing on the cake. I just love how these two gel so well with each other even after the messy family reunion. I just know they’re just going to get back together.

Seeing a Groundhog Day scenario in Storybrooke and Regina going crazy having the same routine day after day. Can’t say that I feel sorry for her, she had so many warning bells telling her not to cast the curse but she did it anyway.

Regina barging into Gold’s shop and saying “I’m not happy!” and Gold’s reply “I believe Dr. Hopper’s office is down the street.” That cracked me up. Also seeing for the first time Mr. Gold as just Mr. Gold, no underlying smirk and knowing nothing about magic.

Henry touting how magic ruins everything. The kid is right. He’s just like his dad. Realizing magic just corrupts the good in people.

Kurt telling his son Owen to run for it and reminding him that he will always be there with him, giving him the keychain as a remainder. And then later when Owen comes back with the police and crying after realizing Storybrooke disappeared, never seeing his dad again was such a heartbreaking scene. I really like the child actor. He was really good in this episode.

The last scene where we find out Greg is actually grown up Owen. I knew who he was right when the kid mentioned Star Wars reference in the opening scene. But I love how they weave his back-story to Storybrooke and give him a more meaningful purpose of him being there, not just to wrack havoc and expose the town.

Least Favorite moments:

Snow having a serious guilt trip over defeating her arch enemy. I know she did an underhanded thing to Regina. But I don’t feel the least bit sorry for Regina. She should have gotten her comeuppance 10 episodes ago. I really don’t like that they have a black and white view of good vs evil, yet they make it OK for their evil characters to have shades of grey. Why can’t the good guys have shades of grey as well???

[timespacer]

OK – I need to amend my previous post and add a “Least favorite” moment. A post by myril over in the “Initial Reactions” thread (https://oncepodcast.com/forums/posting.php?mode=quote&f=73&p=46972 ) reminded me that Kurt and Owen crawled into their tent during the “electrical storm” that was the creation of Storybrooke when they should have taken advantage of their car as a Faraday cage!

Otherwise, I still like all the “Favorite moments” previously mentioned and consider this a great episode and one of my favorites!

[Author]

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