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Ok, so typing my above post actually set off a new train of thought re Belle. I’ve long considered her lack of self-preservation instincts to be a flaw. She forgives VERY easily. This was alright as long as she was only endangering herself. But now, she is going to be responsible for another human being’s safety. Suddenly, the issue becomes far more serious. Maybe this is what the writers are trying to explore, but it’s not coming across.
Consider the following scenario. Belle and her baby are in the library. Hook enters and wants help with some research for his current problem. Should Belle tell him to “sling his hook” (pardon the pun) and stay the hell away from her baby? Considering that he tried to murder her and more recently, murder Emma’s entire family, I believe the answer is yes. Who cares what excuses Emma/the Charmings/anyone else is making for Hook? Belle’s a mother, she shouldn’t take ANY chances. I think this would be interesting and realistic character development for Belle. It’s not like she’s contradicting her moral beliefs, she’s just becoming more assertive and more cautious.
I would LOVE to see the above scene play out sometime. Hook might return with a shocked Emma, who questions Belle’s rudeness. Then Belle can give them a piece of her mind using the juiciest vocabulary her reading has given her. The “heroes” are stunned for a while, but eventually come to respect Assertive!Belle. I would also love to see this version of Belle call out EVERYONE for their bad behaviour. It’ll provide her with another (and more entertaining) narrative function and open a door for people to confront their mistakes instead of just getting away with anything, like they are now.
[adrotate group="5"]I don’t like where this seems to be heading. So we’re bringing Belle down to Rumple’s level, rather than bringing him up?
I agree. While their story does provoke some interesting questions about morality, I do not like what they’ve done with Belle. Previously compassionate, forgiving and idealistic, she’s now being portrayed as something of a goody-two-shoes who considers herself on morally higher ground to everyone else. Not once have I seen Belle in this way, and I think it’s unfair to cast her character in this light. Being idealistic does not mean she is not intelligent enough to understand shades of grey and the importance of context when evaluating moral choices. She seemed fine with Rumple killing Pan; I presumed that this was because she accepted that it was necessary for everyone’s safety. Also, as @ry4christ pointed out, she IS generally in the right when it comes to Rumple. On the occasions when she’s objected to his behaviour, it’s because he was lying, manipulating, killing and torturing for his own gain. Now, I don’t have the best memory when it comes to specific events in OUAT, so if anyone can think of contradictory examples, I’d be interested to hear them. Finally, Belle has always seemed like she acted in certain ways because it was compassionate or simply “the right thing to do”. Being worried about “darkening her soul” makes her seem selfish, like she only does things to maintain her own personal purity . Maybe they can pass this off as her being stressed or something, but I hope they don’t continue along this line because it’s degrading to her character.
And where did they get the baby carrier…?
I hear Felix is down there and runs a store called ‘Baby and Camping Supplies for Deceased Nature Loving Parents’. Robin popped in there and paid for it all with money he stole from the living to give to the dead.
Taking a step back from Cora, I am not impressed with how OUAT has addressed redemption generally this arc. It’s completely dependent on plot convenience and protecting fan/writer’s favourites as RG said. From the characters’ perspective, it’s nothing more than a lottery. I mean, at least Cora and James had a chance to finish their unfinished business. Poor Aunt Em had no such luck.
I suppose what I find slightly disturbing/distasteful is that heaven/hell or ‘Better and Worse Places’ as they’ve been calling them here are deeply ingrained cultural beliefs and the show has been treating them as a cheap plot device for creating sensationalism. It’s bewildering and inconsistent that a show about hope, second chances and humanising villains could be so blasè about sentencing Milah, James, Gaston and Aunt Em to enternal torment. Some viewers might actually perceive this as a moral judgement on those characters when that is not the case. I mean, I understand that they need stakes to make the underworld arc more interesting, but they should have put thought into making it more consistent and compatible with the existing themes of the show.
Good episode, although I must say that Rebecca Mader’s definition of “mind blowing” is rather different to mine. Maybe I’ve read too many spoilers, but there were no real surprises in this one. Its strength was the heartfelt scenes between Zelena, Regina and Cora.
Liked:
– Rebecca Mader’s acting. She nailed it. BH and LP were also terrific.
– The family reunion scenes, the emotion, the bonding, the goodbye at the end. Very moving.
– Pan kidnapping Zelena. This is one of the only two ways in which I felt the plot moved along.
– Cruella punching Emma. I’m not entirely sure why this gave me so much pleasure. Maybe it’s because Cruella was acting out my subconscious desires since the end of 5A.
– Seeing more of Zelena’s childhood in Oz. Increased my sympathy for her.
Mixed:
– The flashbacks. There was nothing hugely unexpected here, and it didn’t really make sense. Cora suddenly requiring Zelena’s services was just a convenient plot device. It seemed like a complicated and roundabout way for the sisters to meet, just so that they’d have a memory to bond over in the future when the stakes are high.
– David and James interacting. I was looking forward to this one, but I felt they didn’t do it justice. It turned out to be a simple good twin vs evil twin story. I wish they’d given them a whole episode and allowed them to explore their relationship in a more meaningful way.
– Zelena confirming that she’s going to play Hades. I saw this one coming – I think everyone did. But at least the others know now, so it’s moved the plot along fractionally.
Disliked:
– The idea that the water of the River of Lethe is required to concoct a forgetting potion. I thought forgetting potions seemed reasonably common, so surely they don’t require such a rare ingredient?
– James being damned to eternal torment.
– The way the reappearance of Robin was handled. It seems ludicrous that he’s been running around the woods of the underworld with a baby. Then he tried to shoot a dead man. It’s beyond belief that the writers can’t make this legendary character more interesting.
I haven’t seen any interviews. But there is an OUAT convention in London this weekend and I think Meghan Ory is going to be there. So there might be something interesting to come out of that.
I have heard about that stereotype. Personally, I think it was done the way it was because:
– They did it with secondary characters whom they couldn’t fit into the main story in a meaningful way (or couldn’t be bothered).
– They had to rewrite the Ruby/Mulan story to Ruby/Dorothy because of Disney interference, so a relationship spanning two episodes was reduced to one. The switch also meant that we lost the careful build up of Mulan’s sexuality.
– They just don’t have the skills to show a deep, meaningful relationship developing.
Even if they were influenced by that stereotype, it doesn’t justify their poor storytelling. Fairytales or not, they should know that the audience will become more invested if they know the characters and they can see the relationship develop over time.
Also, two cents about this…
BUT, the problem is that at no point in OUAT, has there ever been a hint that Ruby wasn’t straight.
I actually started thinking of Ruby as bi or at least questioning, ever since I saw her in S2. In several scenes, it really seems like she was flirting with Belle. In S1 there were no signs, but then again, she was cursed. The curse was supposed to separate you from things that you loved so if Ruby liked girls, it makes sense that she wasn’t aware of it. Plus, she didn’t turn during the time that she was cursed, and if the wolf is meant to be a metaphor for bisexuality then it’s like she’d be cut off from that part of herself. Mind you, I don’t know whether to give the writers credit for any of this. When I saw Ruby and Belle, I thought it was queerbaiting. I guess we’ll never know if they ever intended to develop her character in the way that they have.
Now I am curious. If this “mind blowing” reveal is all it’s cracked up to be then it’ll enliven an increasingly familiar sounding redemption arc.
I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if this was about Henry, not Emma.
That would be interesting. Maybe S6’s ‘big bad’ does something to Henry which messes with his mind somehow. It could be because they want to block or control Henry’s author powers. Perhaps there is a story they don’t want him to write about, hence the title ‘An Untold Story’.
Henry is due for some action in S6. He’s been doing a bit of author stuff lately, but nothing major. I’d like to think that they are setting him up for a much larger role in the next arc.
Bit late but here goes….
My overall reaction to this episode is one of deep ambivalence.
Liked:
– The LGBT pair having a TLK. I half expected them to avoid a kiss altogether, so a TLK exceeded my expectations in every way. Furthermore, the scene paralled the Snow/Charming TLK in S1 and the writers have said that they consider Snowing to be the ultimate example of true love.
– Snow and Ruby’s conversation. Great to see that Snow White is a supporter of love, any love.
– Zelena sitting and drinking.
– Meghan Ory’s performance.
Mixed:
– Ruby Slippers. In my opinion, it should’ve been Mulan Rouge. We don’t know Dorothy, so it’s hard to care about Dorothy. Until very recently, she was no more than a plot point in gingham. Then there’s the fact that their relationship progressed at supersonic speed. I know it was meant to be love at first sight, but I prefer a slow burn – with previously established characters. But they did have some cute moments, so I can’t bring myself to hate it.
– Belle putting herself under the sleeping curse. This was just so weird. I don’t mind the drama it’s set up, but it seems so impulsive and harebrained. How is Maurice/Moe supposed to get to Underbrooke to give Belle TLK? Or is he already dead?
Disliked:
– What they did to Mulan. Others have encapsulated my feelings in their posts, so I will just say that I am very, VERY disappointed. Such a waste.
– Multiple storylines coming together in one episode. The episode was supposed to be Ruby/Mulan/Dorothy-centric, yet there were at least half a dozen scenes involving Snow/Charming/Hook/Zelena/Hades/Belle/Rumple. There were several more where Ruby just stood around with the gang not doing very much. It wasn’t that I disliked the scenes with the others, but I thought they should have been saved for another episode. This is the only episode where we’re seeing Ruby/Mulan/Dorothy, so it would’ve been nice to focus more on them. It felt like their story, including the relationship, ended up getting more like half an episode.
– How certain lines from the initial Hades/Zelena scene promised high drama and didn’t deliver. Examples:
Hades: “I’m going to take care of that wolf.” I found this line slightly chilling and was quite concerned for Ruby. But he didn’t do anything – not specifically to her anyway.
Zelena: “What I did was beyond wicked.” From the way that she said it, I thought she’d destroyed the entire population of Oz and had Dorothy strung up in a torture chamber. But it was just a sleeping curse. Not nice, for sure, but this is Zelena. Maybe she’s just going soft.
The Underbrooke portion of this episode would have been more exciting if Hades/Zelena had actively tried to kill Ruby, instead of having everyone wandering around looking for Aunt Em.
