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Once Upon a Time: the show about the characters you thought you knew but actually didn’t then spent six seasons finally knowing but turns out they’re not that at all.
[adrotate group="5"]Keeper of Thor’s Hammer, Will Scarlet’s Genie Bottle, Emma’s Gun, Emma and Henry’s Moment at the Castle, Cora, and the infamous Family Tree!
I think it’s going to be interesting, because it seems like ABC is experimenting with a drama block on Fridays. I mean, “The Inhumans” is supposed to be this big event series, so to see them launching *that* on Fridays with OUAT as its lead-in doesn’t scream “lack of faith” to me.
Keeper of Thor’s Hammer, Will Scarlet’s Genie Bottle, Emma’s Gun, Emma and Henry’s Moment at the Castle, Cora, and the infamous Family Tree!
Wow. We knew it, and all signs of the show pointed to it, but with all the buzz surrounding the possibility of a new contract, I’m surprised she announced it before the finale.
Now I hope the show ends. I would’ve liked a seventh season surrounding Emma, but if she’s only going to be involved in one episode out of a potential 22, I think it needs to end. You can “reboot” it all you want, but this show starts and ends with Emma Swan. There is no way you can justify continuing it without her.
Keeper of Thor’s Hammer, Will Scarlet’s Genie Bottle, Emma’s Gun, Emma and Henry’s Moment at the Castle, Cora, and the infamous Family Tree!
I think this issue is complex. I should note that, when reading everything below, remember that I am one of the biggest Nealfire fans on this sub.
When I first saw the hints of Bae making this decision, I grew upset. “He’s the good guy! He’s not supposed to give into darkness!” I mean, this is the guy who tried to convince Rumple to leave an entire world for the sake of giving up magic. This is the guy who, many years later, stopped Rumple from beating the Sheriff of Nottingham up with Lacey (hey, remember her? *crickets*).
But look at the time *between* those two incidents. After he was Baelfire, he was Neal. Neal was not the most moral figure. He gave into impulses (theft, lying, etc). Did he have good intentions for some? Sure. But he wasn’t perfect. As he grew older, he learned better.
Now look at the younger version of him. He was a teenager (which, remember, teens are hormonal) who watched his dad get insulted and himself get pushed. He was holding the weapon capable of ultimate evil in his hands. He was enraged, a feeling probably amplified from the dagger. He probably wasn’t realizing what he was saying at the time. When he returned to the cottage, he was still holding the dagger. As a result, he was probably still on the dagger’s high. Rumple saw that and wanted to take him out of it before it could get any further. He was a good kid who accidentally slid off the track. He wanted to put him back on it and absorb his sin himself.
I’m not saying that this story direction is okay. I’m not saying Bae’s reaction is completely IC. But I’m also not saying that it’s entirely OOC either.
Keeper of Thor’s Hammer, Will Scarlet’s Genie Bottle, Emma’s Gun, Emma and Henry’s Moment at the Castle, Cora, and the infamous Family Tree!
IMO Belle really didn’t need to be a series regular in the first place. And so if there’s a S7 they’ll save money by demoting her to recurring.
I think she was supposed to be given a larger role as the story went forward, but I don’t think they ever recovered from their S2 reshuffling for Neverland and couldn’t find a narrative for her in each subsequent story.
Keeper of Thor’s Hammer, Will Scarlet’s Genie Bottle, Emma’s Gun, Emma and Henry’s Moment at the Castle, Cora, and the infamous Family Tree!
There’s no word on what that means for fellow originals Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, and Jared Gilmore, nor Emilie de Ravin, who joined later in season 1, but that doesn’t necessarily mean their returns are off the table.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Gosh didn’t return. Their characters have been played out for too long with barely any plot thread other than them being separated (you can only say “I will always find you” for so long). For Emilie, I think she’ll stay if Bobby does, but I could see her being fed up with not having much to do other than rant about Rumple.
I’d be personally upset about Jared leaving, as he was the heart of the show for so long and, even with an adult Henry, it wouldn’t feel the same without his charisma.
Keeper of Thor’s Hammer, Will Scarlet’s Genie Bottle, Emma’s Gun, Emma and Henry’s Moment at the Castle, Cora, and the infamous Family Tree!
What bothers me about this plan is this: if you can gain Savior powers by killing a Savior, why didn’t Cora do that instead of trying to kill Rumple in S2? Why didn’t Rumple try to kill Emma throughout the entire show? How does something this big not come up sooner?
(Yes, I know why it didn’t, but I’m hoping for an in-universe reason.)
Keeper of Thor’s Hammer, Will Scarlet’s Genie Bottle, Emma’s Gun, Emma and Henry’s Moment at the Castle, Cora, and the infamous Family Tree!
Well, after months of family stuff and school stuff and political stuff and finding my life in upheaval, I’m back!
Let’s get on with it.
Favorite:
– I like August being back. Watching his scenes with Emma, I thought a lot about their dynamic in Season 1 and how much that really influenced Emma as a character. Plus, as always, JMo and Eion have great chemistry.
– Regina with Robin in Rumple’s prison ranks as one of my favorite scenes of theirs. It really touched on their relationship and, through Lana’s acting, you could see the depth in which Regina loved Robin. When Robin burst through the tree, I felt Regina’s relief.
– I like the Rumbelle discussions. That was a needed element in a relationship that has long been off the rails. So to see them discussing their child’s fate and see Rumple’s insistence in helping his son was a welcome relief.
– I hope those little snippets of abuse from Gideon’s childhood get explored with as much depth as the implication of introducing them.
– EF!Rumple is always the best Rumple, no matter the realm or time period.
Disliked:
– The dialogue really irked me. I know Once’s writing has been lacking over the past few seasons, but I’ve never felt more assaulted with the directness of the dialogue until now. I get that they want to teach lessons, but you can speak like a human while doing so! No real person (and no character on this show until season four) tells someone a number of times how they “have the power to make your own fate.”
– The tree was as wooden as most of the acting. I did, however, like Emma’s final scene with August.
– I don’t understand how this show can find so many loopholes in the laws they created. If you can kill a Savior and claim their powers, why didn’t Cora just try to kill Emma in S2? Why be more corrupted by the Dark One powers when she could’ve achieved (supposed) ultimate powers from True Love Incarnate?
– If I hadn’t seen the show until this episode until this episode and someone told me that Aladdin, Jasmine, Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, and a number of other literary characters were in the first half of this season, I would’ve never believed you.
Keeper of Thor’s Hammer, Will Scarlet’s Genie Bottle, Emma’s Gun, Emma and Henry’s Moment at the Castle, Cora, and the infamous Family Tree!
This was the first episode I’d been able to catch on the night of in a while (I hadn’t even caught up with the show until this past weekend – the benefits of applying to college!) and, needless to say, I was left dismayed. “Changelings” is OUAT at its worst – a show definitively about fairy tales yet isn’t sure what it wants to be.
Favorites:
<ul>
<li>Well, we now know who the Black Fairy is. A payoff!</li>
<li>Snow and Jasmine at Granny’s. Little character moments like these are what make the show watchable.</li>
<li>Belle was headstrong in this episode, which is nice in that it’s different from her being sidelined/babysitting all the time.</li>
<li>The Evil Queen is and always will be an absolute joy to watch.</li>
</ul>
Least Favorites:
<ul>
<li>Just when we thought this show was done extending Henry’s family tree, they still manage to surprise us.</li>
<li>I am no longer fazed by Rumple as a character. He doesn’t surprise me with his actions because, as of 4×01, this is who he is as a character. Sure, he did something nice in not poisoning his wife, but if that’s what “nice” is now to a man who killed himself to save a town, then we’ve literally gone to “a whole new world.”</li>
<li>Speaking of which, I’m frustrated with the lack of progress in the Aladdin arc. We went from the first scene in the premiere being centered on him to him and Jasmine popping up occasionally to remind us that they’re alive and do randomly powerful things. (Like Aladdin suddenly becoming a genie. He should know better!) Why?</li>
<li>This speaks to the larger issue of Season 6: the lack of progress. Regina is still as unsure about herself as she was in 5×23. The Evil Queen has done nothing to advance whatever plan she has except for messing around with everyone else. S1Evil!Regina had motives for her insane actions, so why this doesn’t apply to her is beyond me. (Yes, I know, my questions are pointless.)</li>
<li>To get a bit more episode-specific, I really found Regina’s speech to Zelena cringeworthy. You can’t save someone and claim that you did that because “that’s what heroes do” when you’re depriving someone who is in a very similar situation of that right. It’s hypocritical, inappropriate, and counteracts the newfound morality that Regina has.</li>
<li>Where does this Rumbelle flashback fall on the timeline? Because, whenever they introduce another flashback, I’m left in shock over how “Skin Deep” happened.</li>
<li>Emma Swan bothers me. I know she’s no longer the person she was in S1-3, but she’s become something else: dependent. She can’t rely on herself anymore, and what the Shaky Hands of Doom do is give the writers an ability to show that. Even when she went searching for the shears in Gold’s – she ended up needing Hook to get her out! I don’t know if that’s intentional, but if it is, it’s misguided.</li>
</ul>
I say these things as a person who, compared to the past few seasons, actually likes this one! I smiled at the Snowing montage of last episode and I’ve liked the going-back-to-basics mantra, but this episode confirmed one thing: the writers don’t want this season to be the last one, but that has more to do with their source of income than their creative goals.Keeper of Thor’s Hammer, Will Scarlet’s Genie Bottle, Emma’s Gun, Emma and Henry’s Moment at the Castle, Cora, and the infamous Family Tree!
I think the content of this (i.e. tying it back to S1’s theme, A&E answering burning questions (lol), etc.) adds to my belief that this’ll be the last season. I mean, if they’re trying to get to the basic structure of Storybrooke from season one, what more can they do from there?
Keeper of Thor’s Hammer, Will Scarlet’s Genie Bottle, Emma’s Gun, Emma and Henry’s Moment at the Castle, Cora, and the infamous Family Tree!
