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Alright, I will be the first to admit that I was wrong about this episode. (So there, now nobody can say that I post crap and never admit when I’m wrong.) Anyway, I was absolutely dreading that this episode would be filled left, right, and center with nothing but CS stuff from beginning to end. So I applaud Adam & Eddy for resisting the urge to plaster the entire 42 minutes with CS stuff. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that Regina *(I’m just going to call her Regina, because to me she will always be Regina)* actually got a decent amount of screen time this episode. Sure, it wasn’t as much as she usually gets, but it was a MASSIVE improvement from last week’s episode. After seeing all the promos, leaks, sneak peeks, images, social media stuff, etc. I was convinced that Regina would hardly get any screen time this episode, because that’s what it looked it. I’m glad I was proven wrong. Her screen time for this episode was good enough to keep me watching. (For now.)
OK, the thing with Hook. I know a lot of people are not happy with the route they took with Hook. But it is actually the best thing they could have done. I am not the most educated person around, and I don’t really know how TV contracts work, but from what I understand they pretty much HAD to use Colin in this season, because he still had one year left on his contract. (He only joined the show in season 2 and got the same six year deal as all of the other main cast members.) So they couldn’t have left him out of this season even they wanted to. Now, before this episode aired I saw some really wild theories about Hook. Some were saying it’s Hook from the future who found a way to time-travel. Some were saying Hook found a way to clone himself. Some were saying it is an impostor using a glamour spell. Compared to those ideas the WishRealm Hook idea really is the better option. I know it’s not ideal, but the time-traveling thing and the clone thing and impostor thing would have been a million times worse. So basically we ended up with the best of a bad choice. So that’s something.
Overall the episode was not bad. It was not fantastic, but it was not bad. Because of this, and because Regina did not get totally screwed with screen time, I am willing to keep watching, for now. (Yes, I know, I’m biased. But she is my favorite character. Can you really blame me? I’m sure all of you want to see more of your favorites as well.)
Here are the things that bothered me about the episode:
-What is going on with the timeline? If anybody can present some kind of explanation I would really appreciate that. First, Adam & Eddy have said that the present day stuff takes place in 2017. Then we have the flashback stuff, where Henry is clearly much older than he was when he left home, and yet Regina, Hook, and Emma haven’t aged a day. (Note that in these flashback scenes Henry doesn’t have a daughter yet.) What is even more confusing, is that in present day stuff Henry has a 10 year old daughter, which would indicate that the present day Hyperion Heights stuff takes place at least 10 years after the Enchanted Forest 2.0 flashback stuff. But how is that possible? That would mean the flashback stuff takes place in 2007. Which is not possible, because that’s even before Henry was born. Add to that the fact that in the present day Hyperion Heights stuff Regina, Rumple, WishRealm Hook, and even Henry don’t look a day older than they did in the Enchanted Forest 2.0 flashback stuff. So… what on earth is going on here??? And the fact that they still haven’t explained this, or that the characters themselves don’t even acknowledge this just annoys me to no end. And neither Regina nor Hook seem too surprised to see how much Henry has aged, and in turn he doesn’t seem at all surprised that they don’t look a day older than what he last saw them. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!?!?!?!?!
-The reunion between Regina and Henry in Enchanted Forest 2.0. While I did love seeing the reunion between them it was way too short. They really should have extended that scene.
-No dialogue at all between Regina and Emma. WHAT IN THE HELL??????
-(Some people are going to hate me for saying this), but Gabrielle Anwar’s performance as Lady Tremaine still sucks. The less we get to see of her the better this season will be. (And what is going on with Gabrielle Anwar’s face? She has no facial expressions at all. She’s like a mannequin.) Lucy was actually much better in this episode than she was in the premiere. Let’s hope she can keep that up. Dania Ramerez was still a bad choice for Cinderella. She just doesn’t fit the part.
-Something seems very off about the way Robert Carlyle delivers his lines this season. It’s almost like he’s just rushing through his script as fast as he can. I don’t know how to explain it, something is just very off about the way he is delivering his lines. And he has this almost vacant look on his face for most of his scenes.
-A lot of the stuff in this episode just felt so rushed. I really hope that from episode 3 and onward they slow down, just a little. It definitely felt like they tried to cram too much into this episode. More so than the premiere. They really just need to slow down a little. (Though don’t slow down so much that it becomes boring.) I think that 42 minutes a episode just isn’t enough for what they are trying to do this season. They definitely need to address this, otherwise all of the episodes will end up feeling rushed.
-Now all of a sudden magic works differently in Enchanted Forest 2.0, and because of that Regina is having problems with her magic? I really hope that gets sorted out soon. What’s the point of a magic based show if “due to (lazy) plot reasons” the characters can’t do magic? I really hope Regina gets her magic working (in the Enchanted Forest 2.0) again soon.
As I said, for the time being I’ll keep watching. However, we, (the fans), really need to get into contact with Adam & Eddy, over social media or where ever, and let them know that the timeline stuff and no aging stuff needs to be explained, ASAP. I also think it’s about time this new curse and its dynamics are explained. (I’m also STILL waiting for an explanation as to how Victoria can just take Lucy away from Jacinda like that.) And, correct me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t Henry be able to report Weaver for police brutality for that unprovoked elbow to the face? In front of several witnesses no less. That crap would NOT fly in real life. People would be up in arms real quick, and Weaver would be thrown off the force faster than you can say “Gold Spinner”.
I’m about to make yet another unpopular statement, so brace yourself. I’m glad this episode is out of the way, and that the Emma stuff is over and done with. It was getting really annoying that they kept pandering to a character who isn’t even in the show any more. Hopefully they can now put all that CS stuff behind them, and focus on really getting this new season (and new story) started for real. Perhaps even focus on providing some much needed explanations as to what the bloody hell is going on with the timeline. And maybe giving us some PROPER Regina & Henry reunion scenes, that last for more than 2 seconds.
One final note: I hope to all that is holy that they are NOT going to make WishRealm Hook be Regina’s new love interest. Please, PLEASE don’t do that.
Anyway, sorry for the wall of text, but thanks for reading, (and putting up with my complaints). 🙂 Onward, to next week’s episode…
[adrotate group="5"]I like Regina, but she has been rewritten multiple times just like all the other characters on the show. I liked it when she was a villain in the first few seasons and i liked her when they just rewrote her and she was part of the team in later seasons. For me, this show doesn’t really develop characters, it just rewrites them, so this new Roni is just a new iteration of the character they have rewritten multiple times anyways.
I am not a big fan of the curse lasting long either. It seems like a waste of time, but if the returning characters are just background characters then maybe it won’t be so bad.
If it turns out that Regina/Roni is just a background character this season then the show has lost me for good. I’ll give it until episode 5 for the show to prove to me that Regina is not just a background character this season. If by episode 5 I’m not convinced then I’m done.
Some of you said that the more Lana Parrilla you have on your screen, the better. I completely agree with this. I love Lana Parrilla. She is an amazing actress. And Regina is my favorite character on the show.
I tried with all my might to give these new characters a chance, but after seeing the premiere of season 7 I just don’t like any of the new characters. Especially Cinderella and Lady Tremaine. Dania Ramerez and Gabrielle Anwar were, for me, the weakest link of the entire episode. (I’m sorry, but both Dania Ramerez and Gabrielle Anwar’s accents sound completely ridiculous to me. Every time Dania Ramerez speaks I just want to cringe, and every time Gabrielle Anwar speaks I just want to burst into laughter. Are those their real accents? Because they sound utterly ridiculous. Who on earth thought it would be a good idea to cast these two actresses?) Alice might still be redeemable, I need to see more of her before I make up my mind, but I instantly dislike both Cinderella and Tremaine. I also don’t like that they explained virtually nothing in this episode. You can actually skip this episode and still have pretty much the same amount of information that you had after watching it. That is not a good thing at all.
The only things I liked about the episode:
-Lana Parrilla/Regina/Roni. Put her in front of my screen and I’m happy. The more story arcs they have that involve Regina/Roni the better the show will be.
-Andrew J. West as adult Henry. I think he actually does a believable job at portraying an older Henry. I’m willing to see where he takes the character.
My biggest concern at the moment is how much will we get to see Regina/Roni in this season? She didn’t get a lot of screen time in the premiere, (which hasn’t happened in a long time), and it seems as though she is not going to get a lot of screen time in episode 2 either. So I’m just worried that the majority of the season is going to be like that. (It also seems like there is going to be a lot of focus on Hook this season.) Since I don’t really like any of the new characters, if I’m not going to get to see my favorite character (Regina/Roni) all that much then I really don’t see the need to continue to watch the show. I’m going to give it until episode 5. If Regina’s screen time is still low by episode 5 then I think I’ll stop watching. She really is the only thing that is still keeping me interested in this show. I really hope Adam & Eddy weren’t dumb enough to lower Regina’s screen time for this “reboot” season. I can’t imagine that the majority of the fan base would be too happy about that.
That is an interesting take on Regina. The problem being that her behavior is coddled by the other characters. Her abuse of Henry is erased. Her attempts to murder everyone are just seen as little blips. That is why i find her characterization inconsistent and unrealistic. The way everyone reacts to her behavior is completely unrealistic and was the first major flaw in the show.
In the very first episode of Season 2, the way Henry reacts to Regina, saying she’s my mom and the way Emma reacts after just a few hours before having thrown Regina against a wall and saying if he dies you die, was just so inconsistent. Then the stupid episode where Regina tries to kidnap Henry and murder Charming and then Henry goes with her to protect the townspeople and then she lets him stay with Charming, but then later on in another episode Charming invites her over to babysit during Henry’s sleeping curse dream.
The way everyone reacts to Regina right after the curse broke and then again when Emma and Snow return from the Enchanted forest were such huge writing errors and it was never really fixed for me. They just rewrote her for Season 3, again, and from then on i liked Regina again. I liked the evil Regina in Season 1 and the like middle ground, part of the group, still willing to rip hearts and murder, but also actually showing some care for Henry, Snow, and Emma that happened from Season 3 on. Even though there were some great scenes with Cora and Snow and Season 2, Regina’s character was pretty much crazy in that season and how the rest of the characters reacted to her made them all seem crazy too.
I really like the Regina that exists now and her interactions with Emma and Henry have been really good. There has been some great Cora and Zelena stuff in the later seasons, as well as, a few nice moments with Snow over the years. I just don’t think her journey is consistent or earned or somehow better written then any others. They just rewrote Regina three times until they were like oh this is a good middle ground for her to be in and kept with it, so Roni is just the fourth rewrite.
@hjbau:
Abuse of Henry? Please explain? Sure, Regina did have selfish motives (at first) for adopting Henry, and she did go to extremes to keep the truth from him, but she never “abused” him. And anyone who actually paid attention while watching the show can see that Regina does love Henry.As for your comments about season 2. Season 2 is (for Regina) about Regina’s road to redemption. She starts to change (or at least tries to start to change) for (and because of) Henry. Also, from season 2 and onward throughout all the later seasons as well Regina puts her own life on the line several times to save the heroes. She also actively tries to be a better person and to make up for the things she has done in the past. Sure, on her road to redemption she does slip back to her old ways every now and then during season 2 and 3, but that is what makes her change so believable. (Unlike Hook who goes from villain to hero over the course of one episode, which is completely ridiculous and unrealistic.)
Unlike Rumple, we see that Regina is actually trying to change. And by the time we get to season 5 Regina has become a much better person.
Let’s also not forget that Rumple has done WAY WAY WAY worse things than Regina has ever done. And Rumple is LARGELY to blame for the way Regina turned out when we see her in season 1.
Can Regina ever make up for ALL of the bad things she has done? Well, maybe not. But from season 2 and onward she most certainly does a lot of things to make up for her past. And unlike Rumple, Regina is actually capable of change. Even at the end of season 6 Rumple would still kill everyone, including his own family, if it meant getting more power. And yet many fans praise Rumple as if he can do no wrong.
If you don’t notice how Regina changes (for the better) throughout the course of the show then I suggest you go and re-watch the entire show, and this time pay attention to what you are watching. It’s especially important to pay close attention to Regina’s facial expressions. She actually says a lot with her facial expressions alone. Most of the time if you take notice of her facial expressions you can see that 9 times out of 10 she feels bad whenever she does something “evil” or “bad”. Even in season 1. Just look at the episode in season 1 where she used the Mad Hatter to get her father back. When she leaves the Hatter behind, from the look on her face right before she turns to face him you can see she feels bad that he won’t get to see his daughter again.
