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Some qualms I have with the episode:
1) Where is this empty platitude that “heroes don’t kill” even coming from? That’s a horrible message to send, because sometimes everyday heroes have to make life-and-death decisions. Men and women of the armed forces and police force have to make impossibly difficult decisions every day to protect society, and sometimes that includes taking out people whose intent is to kill innocent hostages. Emma killing Cruella in defense of her child is not a dark deed by any stretch of the imagination. As town sheriff, Emma upheld her legal duty to protect an innocent civilian (in this case her own son). Saving a child is not a villainous deed, but a heroic one. Emma had no way of knowing in advance that Cruella had been magically rendered incapable of killing. All Emma knew in the heat of the moment was the Cruella was pointing a gun at her child and threatening to kill Henry. How is protecting an underage hostage from an abductor who threatens to kill him a dark deed? Answer: it’s not a crime, but a heroic act.
2) The way Emma places her full trust in people who’ve actively harmed her in the past while not allowing for any grace towards her own parents is crazy. While Snow and Charming may be hypocrites of the highest order, at least they’ve never tried to kill their daughter, unlike Emma’s current new best friends, Regina and Hook. Since when are known killers somehow more trustworthy or deserving of a second chance than her parents, who’ve spent the rest of their lives trying to do good deeds as penance for their bad deed? I get that Emma thinks her parents are hypocrites (which they are), but how is hypocrisy worse than mass murder? Emma needs to check her own moral standards. The last time I checked, Regina ordered her guards to kill Baby Emma, yet somehow she’s less guilty than Emma’s parents? Emma shows contempt for her own parents while showing compassion on villains.
3) Cruella was certifiably insane and killed people from a young age. So it seems certain people are born with a greater potential for darkness than others. While I find this a refreshing change from the typical Once villain sob story, the writers continue to treat mental health issues without understanding or concern. What Cruella needed was professional psychiatric treatment, yet the writers don’t give a second thought about that. Instead, they write her off as a nutcase and then end her. I in no way blame the death of Cruella on Emma (who in my eyes acted heroically to save her child), but the writers were careless in their portrayal and treatment of an insane person. And now the writers are using this incident to send Emma over the edge of darkness herself, which I also think is a stupid consequence of saving a child.
[adrotate group="5"]"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
I found this tale rater twisted, though sadly, not untrue to real life. While every child may be born with a blank slate (in so far as that child has yet to commit any crime), that doesn’t mean people aren’t born with different proclivities for disease, which includes mental illness. Psychopathy is a disease of the mind, which some children may just be born with a very high proclivity for; it doesn’t mean there is no self-responsibility for one’s actions, but these people need to be identified early on and treated so that their proclivity doesn’t grow into a full-scale threat to others.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
If we’re talking about, “Does this make Emma dark?”, I thought it was justified. She was defending the life of her son – the person in her life who she has unconditional love for.
I agree. Emma killing Cruella doesn’t (and shouldn’t) count as a dark deed. If anything, what Emma did was actually a heroic deed: she acted to save a child (her child). I don’t see what Emma did as a crime, at all. She is a sheriff, whose duty it is it to protect the people of SB. She was upholding her responsibility, and sadly, sometimes the police have to use force when necessary. On top of that, she killed Cruella in defense of her own son against a woman who was certifiably insane. Emma had no way of knowing in advance that Cruella had been magically rendered incapable of killing anyone again. I really dislike the way the writers are trying to make Emma’s decision to act in defense of her own son tantamount to murder, because it’s not. A police-woman who acts to save a hostage by killing the would-be murderer (in this case Cruella), is not a villain, but a hero!
Where is this stupid platitude that “heroes don’t kill” even coming from? That is not true, at all, and isn’t how the real world works. Guess what? Everyday heroes must make life-and-death decisions on a daily basis. Sometimes the police have to take a life in order to save and protect innocent people. People in the armed forces, special forces, and police force sometimes have to kill in the line of duty to protect civilians.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
The blue mist just makes me think there must be a connection to Blue Fairy.
Ditto.
Nope. She was surprised to find out the Sorcerer was in SB so no, she cant be him. Unless she is him? *shrug* idk with this show anymore…..
That is the best crack theory: Blue = Sorcerer (ess). Blue is magically disguising her voice to sound male. Case solved.
As irritating as I’ve found the stuff with Snowing and Emma recently, I must say that the way JMo delivers that line about ending Lily if she touches her parents made quite an impact.
Yeah, good to know Emma will still save her parents, despite not trusting them.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
Oh that moment just angered me. Emma…that’s not how this works!!! Just because Hook admits to being a villain at one point doesn’t negate his villainy and it doesn’t make your parents the real big bads here.
THIS! Emma doesn’t trust her own parents, but does place her trust in two of the people who’ve either left her for dead or tried to kill her. Yep. Makes perfect sense. *heads desk* I really hate how the writers have scarified the integrity of the Charmings and all but destroyed the Charming family dynamic in favor of propping up the villains.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
I think the low ratings are the result of a couple of things: convoluted plots, timeline confusion, and a storyline that fails to interest people. Plus, the preview for 4×17 gave away that Zelena and Robin Hood would be returning, and maybe they’re less compelling to a GA as they may be to part of the online fandom. Also, this episode came one the heels of an episode in which it was revealed how Snow and Charming drove evil into a baby. Granted, I may be projecting some of my own preferences onto a GA (who doesn’t do that to some extent), but these are my suspicions. I don’t think your average family wants to watch a show that promotes adultery but then tries to backslide and wrangle its way out of said net through a convoluted “twist” that involves a crowd-splitting villain like Zelena. I don’t think your average family wants to see noble characters like Snow and Charming commit actual acts of evil.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
And if holding Belle’s heart captive is what ensures Rumple doesn’t go on a killing spree in Storybrooke, and turn the Savior dark…then so be it.
Belle is a person (granted a fictional one), not a pawn. In the story, she has feelings, hopes and dreams; she has free will, a spirit, and is important just by virtue of being human. Regina has harmed Belle enough times to last 100 lifetimes. Regina had best not go after Belle; instead, she should go after Rumple’s dagger if she wants to control the dark one.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
Yet, if Emma’s going to hold her parents to such a high standard, why does she not also do the same to Hook and Regina, who’ve committed way more dark and dismal crimes than her parents? Because Snowing took away Emma’s agency. This has been Emma’s issue since season two.
What about when Regina took away Emma’s family with the first curse? What about when Rumple manipulated events so that she’d be the savior, whether Emma wanted the job or not? What about when Hook left Emma for dead in a magically fortified jail cell? Are those not also “taking away Emma’s agency”? I admitted that Snow historically didn’t seem to respect Emma’s agency by sending her away, but at least Emma’s parents had Emma’s best interests at heart! If they hadn’t have sent Emma through the wardrobe, she would’ve died at the hands of Regina’s guards! They were totally wrong to drive Emma’s potential for darkness into Lily, but at least they thought they were doing it to protect Emma. But I’m not going to make this a shipping battle. Not now. Not ever. I’m allowed to have my opinion and to state it here. It’s not about shipping. It’s about family. And it’s about treating others, especially one’s parents, with love, understanding and forgiveness, especially when people who’ve committed far greater and many more crimes than Snowing get a free pass in Emma’s book. Emma treats her family with disdain while treating Rumple (at least in S2), Regina and Hook with compassion.
Saw an interesting theory floating around that I feel I might as well share here. What if Emma actually ends up killing Cruella while trying to save Henry? Something just might make Emma snap and go too far, therefore she makes her first real slip towards darkness. We know Cruella probably isn’t going to be around after this episode, based on set reports and spoilers for the remaining episodes, so either Cruella leaves or she’s killed.
That’s interesting. I theorized it might be Regina who makes good on her threat to end Cruella if she harmed Henry, but Emma doing so instead might be the unexpected thing that sends her over the edge. As far as we know, the only person/thing has Emma killed is Maleficent in dragon form, who it turns out, isn’t really dead. Killing someone is a dark business, and even when done in self-defense of defense of someone else, can cause a person to wrestle with issues of right and wrong (e.g. when Snow killed Cora).
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
Along the lines about what we’ve already discussed, I’m going to post a huge qualm I have about the destruction of the Charming family dynamic based on recent events and the latest sneak peek for 4×18.
The third sneak peek is just plain annoying. While Snow and Charming were in no way justified in what they did, and while Emma has every right to be incensed over what they did to Lily, Emma’s double standard is starting to grate on my last nerve. Emma may hold her parents to a much higher standard than everyone else, seeing how they’re her parents and they call themselves heroes, but her blind refusal to look at them as human and fallible while giving a pass to Hook and Regina, who’ve either left her for dead or actively tried to kill her, is just plain outrageous.
And Snow’s not helping matters either, because she is self-satisfied in saying she was actually justified in her horrible decision to cast Emma’s potential for darkness into an innocent child. Snow’s continuing to rationalize her terrible decision just shows her outright hypocrisy. Snow had to learn the lesson from her own mother to keep goodness in her heart, but she didn’t have enough faith in Emma’s ability to freely choose whether to pursue goodness or darkness. Snow doesn’t believe in Emma’s autonomy or ability to make moral decisions for herself. I fully understand why Emma is upset with her parents, and her mother in particular. Yet, if Emma’s going to hold her parents to such a high standard, why does she not also do the same to Hook and Regina, who’ve committed way more dark and dismal crimes than her parents?
Emma is now treating her parents the same way she treated Neal. This version of Emma is unforgiving to those who love her most, possibly because they hurt her emotionally the most by letting her go to fulfill her destiny. But then again, Emma is placing her trust in known killers (Hook and Regina) who’ve actively, knowingly, and intentionally harmed Emma and endangering her very life! Emma continues to resent her parents and Neal for trying to let her fulfill her destiny, yet welcomes Hook and Regina with open arms. The villains deserve forgiveness and absolute trust, but not Neal or her parents it seems. They’re undeserving of compassion in Emma’s eyes.
I really hate what has become of Emma and Snow’s relationship since S1. I miss their friendship and their closeness. Yet, ever since Emma discovered Snow was her mother, she’s held her at arms length while not treating her father that way. I suppose it’s understandable on one level, especially since Snow still seems to think she was right to allow an exorcism on her unborn daughter. I just weep for what has become of Emma’s relationship with her parents, especially when she was just getting used to them, opening up to them, and calling them mom and dad most of the time. I’m especially saddened that now Emma’s especially close personal and professional relationship with her dad is effectively ruined, too.
Now Emma will run into the arms of her questionable villain-turned-anti-hero boyfriend and come under the influence of her new bestie, the former Evil Queen. Because Emma hanging out with and being under the influence of people who openly struggle with darkness themselves is the best thing for someone with as great a potential for darkness as Emma. Maybe Emma feels she can identify more with them, but it just sounds like a slippery slope. Hook already brings out the worst in Emma (e.g. her treatment of Will).
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
The third sneak peeks is just plain annoying. While Snow and Charming were in no way justified in what they did, and while Emma has every right to be incensed over what they did to Lily, Emma’s double standard is starting to grate on my last nerve. Emma may hold her parents to a much higher standard than everyone else, seeing how they’re her parents and they call themselves heroes, but her blind refusal to look at them as human and fallible while giving a pass to Hook and Regina, who’ve either left her for dead or actively tried to kill her, is just plain outrageous.
And Snow’s not helping matters either, because she is self-satisfied in saying she was actually justified in her horrible decision to cast Emma’s potential for darkness into an innocent child. Snow’s continuing to rationalize her terrible decision just shows her outright hypocrisy. Snow had to learn the lesson from her own mother to keep goodness in her heart, but she didn’t have enough faith in Emma’s ability to freely choose whether to pursue goodness or darkness. Snow doesn’t believe in Emma’s autonomy or ability to make moral decisions for herself. I fully understand why Emma is upset with her parents, and her mother in particular. Yet, if Emma’s going to hold her parents to such a high standard, why does she not also do the same to Hook and Regina, who’ve committed way more dark and dismal crimes than her parents?
I really hate what has become of Emma and Snow’s relationship since S1. I miss their friendship and their closeness. Yet, ever since Emma discovered Snow was her mother, she’s held her at arms length while not treating her father that way. I suppose it’s understandable on one level, especially since Snow still seems to think she was right to allow an exorcism on her unborn daughter. I just weep for what has become of Emma’s relationship with her parents, especially when she was just getting used to them, opening up to them, and calling them mom and dad most of the time. I’m especially saddened that now Emma’s especially close personal and professional relationship with her dad is effectively ruined, too.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
