myril

Possible. Funny thing, it made me stick around maybe for a while longer than I should have, but now it is what finally has driven me away. I love a few characters way too much to stay around to watch them getting (even more) butchered, twisted for the whim of shiny toy sensations. I am even still slightly angry at myself for having been so dumb in the first place, to ever hope, that this show would in the end be anything but just a mediocre, cheesy and rather conventional, old fashioned live action Disneyworld on TV screen. A huge disappointment for someone believing, that fantasy can actually be brilliant, quality story telling. Well, not on broadcast mainstream TV, I get it, thanks A&E for clarifying that for me.

Ah, thanks for clearing that up. So no hope for me left for a better story. For moment there I had this faint idea, OUaT could change, how stupid. Bringing back Zelena this way, what I saw in the preview and sneak peek, doesn't attract me to watch the episode at all, quite the opposite, Zelena was terribly overdone.

Not following spoilers for this show closely anymore, but Facebook was so gracious to let the sneak peeks for Sunday's episode wash up in my news feed (that feed algorithm is so stupid). It gave me a crazy idea. Pretty much everyone seems to assume that Zelana became Marian, be it in shapeshifting disguise or by Zelena's life essence taking Marian as host. Right? It's still all speculation, based on mere interpretation, wishful thinking and horror scenario fears, or is there by now hard fact evidence to support that speculation? Zelana taking Marian as host or becoming her in disguise makes not much sense to me, and I've seen I'm not alone with that. Or,I rephrase it, it would be not smart. Marian was no ignorable, simple peasant Zelena could hide out in (unless Zelana wrongly thought she was), secretly changing things, biding time until she could be herself again, nor had Marian access to power and magic in useful ways for a wicked person like Zelena to scheme the demise of her objects of hate. Zelena in some way being Marian or a part of her makes to me only sense, if there was no other choice, if Marian was by chance (or fate) the first person crossing Zelena's or her essence's way to be taken over. And Zelena then was lucky (or fate was nice to her), that things worked out, with a little help of her own doings. What if Marian being Zelena or have been used as host by her is nothing but fan idea, amusing the writers endlessly, because it's so not what they are writing? What if Zelena was able to use someone else as host? What if she was for a change smart and became just a whispering voice in a possible choir of voices , seeding ideas, pushing things a bit in useful directions for her, or trying to, while staying well hidden? What if her essence couldn't do that much more than that, just seeding ideas, being a voice, at least for some time? What if Zelena used Rumple as host? Rumple looks like the only good choice to get the information and tools to restore herself in her own body at some point (other possibility might have been Cora, but Zelena knows she was killed, so no good choice for a long running scheme). I know, that sounds utterly crazy, Zelena being inside of Rumple. It gives plenty of headaches, large plot holes looming, but that is true for the Marian version as much if not more, and the Marian version is rather boring and could come across as just some contrivance to make OutlawQueen look better. Okay, there would be the question why the Dark One would not notice or tolerate it, how the merging with Neal was still possible, why kill Pan instead of pushing Rumple to join him. But could find answers for that. It could help to explain Rumple's change, though PTSD could explain some of it, but this show is just not good at sticking to plain psychology. It could save RumBelle for some (not for me, found the pairing problematic from the beginning, at least as dream and role model OTP). It would be some crazy twist. Ah, well, it's just a crazy thought on a lazy spring weekend morning. edit: Or what if Zelena became an influence in the Peddler, not able to completely rewrite but at least do gradually change the stories?

Unless the Brussels we saw in the show was in those parts of the USA, and unless he was charged for indecent exposure additionally, no he wasn't tagged. It's just some subtle humor, or irony, that they played this out in the city known among others things for a statue called Mannekin Pis. Nothing more serious to that story, just comedy.

They might have screwed their chance to sell this show to German TV stations with this episode. ;-) Okay, no, I had a good laugh, but I am sometimes not so sure about the humor of my own fellow countrymen. Greek financial and economical situation is a hot issue in Germany, unfortunately sparking some nasty nationalistic tones in both countries and is used by extremist parties. Sadly haven't overcome all that crap of pathetic and populist nationalism in Europe. President Dalton mumbling to Bess about German Chancellor Schulz "Even at her most chipper she can freeze fire" made me sure laugh (yes, Merkel can, as she likes to laugh though, just view her watching soccer). As colorful jackets and bead necklaces are indeed somewhat Merkel's signature, though the "Merkel-Raute" (in body language studies called Steepling) is better known. (-_-) -<>- Though they do things sometimes cliched and a tad too idealistic even for my taste (and I am an idealist) tip of the hat to the writers of the show for the political issues and situations they pick up. The episode was a filler episode, a lot of comedic elements with a few serious moments scattered in between, the latter probably building up for the last episodes or maybe even second season (like Henry taking eventually a new job). Kinda the breather before the final dramatic run. I am not going to translate, what Blake said in German, but see it as a bit of a wordplay somewhat referring to his gaffe. Very funny to let Blake get in trouble with the needs of nature in the town of the Mannekin Pis statue - but indeed public urination is in Brussels forbidden and would be fined (100 Euros think it is). Was a bit of a running gag for this episode, was it, with the scene at the beginning at McCord's farm. Bess asking if they should knock - lol. One can notice that Tea Leonie has done a lot of comedy. The dynamic between Bess and Russel - getting better and better. Maybe they should put a lock on the door, or a special Russell barrier, and stealthy charm is a diplomatic description of his personality. I don't mind Stevie. Even think she is mostly a well done character, but guess will be rather alone with that view here. Yes, she is annoying, spoiled, idealistic, has much to learn, so many dislike her, but think she has her role on the show. Can't like all characters on a show IMO. As much as I dislike Matt for example, if I would meet that guy in real I would go through the roof and welcome to see him get fired, as character he works on the show, regardless that the Maisy story doesn't work that well IMO. But YMMV. Speaking of Matt. Say it again, he is heading for trouble, bit on a high the guy, and maybe he actually is frequently high, using drugs, some stimulants. The way Matt reacted to Nadine in the prep meeting for Brussels - some mistake. Anything like that when Bess is present - and I'll hope Bess gives him the boot or at least some serious last warning. They seem to have some tall ones. Or could say, Germans have some healthy sense to get out of the way when there is no need for a brawl (not really). Dalton said he wanted Bess from the beginning but advisers told him differently. Party politics.

While I agree, that this show is not different than other shows, has to work with availability and keeping budget, I disagree about some recurring characters being just some minor characters not worth referencing. IMO Red was no minor character in season 1, got her own development arc, which went on in season 2. Red was a recurring character showing, that the whole curse and family feuds business of Rumple, the Mills' women and the Charmings was effecting significantly other people, including the interesting question, if being in a world without magic was maybe even a good thing for some (something they dropped though the minute it came up). As Archie could have been, and was at the beginning, the voice of scepticism and reason in both worlds, Blue a mysterious power in the background sparking plenty of conspiracy theories, or there was Grumpy as the average working class guy. By now this show has been reduced to be some revenge soap opera royal fairy tale drama mostly ignoring the cost the idiot behavior of royal villains and heroes have on average people, peasants, pretty much what most of us would be in such a world. Having these supporting recurring characters and showing their stories as well was something that made this show different from the average takes on fairy tales on big and small screen. I fell in love with the show in season 1 because it was not just princesses and kings and powergrabing evil wannabe queens and despots. It was a world of people and not just some squabble of royales. That charm is gone and with it went my love. Did she? I haven't read anything like that, but maybe someone has a source for it. I am more than aware that any person with some PR sense would try to keep smiling and be nice in public even if there were something, but unless someone has official statements I take all that bad blood talk as just gossip and speculation. Let us speculate about the story and character development, but think we should not speculate about relations in the cast and crew, I don't find that charming for any fandom (and that goes not just for the situation with Meghan Ory).

You're right, Bess was not a just paper shuffling analyst, but neither did she struck me as full fledged regular field operative just because she was send for a specific interrogation into a war zone. Either way agree, that PTSD isn't following any logic we fully understand or are able to predict. Research might suspect certain markers in personality, but a person having those markers doesn't necessarily have to develop PTSD after a traumatic violent event, nor does showing PTSD mean a person has to have those markers. The important thing is to accept, that eventually anyone experiencing violent trauma eventually could develop PTSD, and when someone shows signs it's not a failure and a question of toughing it out but needs professional help.

In aspects similiar situations and still it was different. Doubt that Henry will suffer PTSD like Bess, even though he obviously struggled with feelings of having failed or that he could have done better. Most people experiencing violent, traumatizing events don't develop PTSD. Having been in the CIA, as an analyst, doesn't imply, that Bess must have experienced violent, life threatening situations before, a lot of CIA people spend their working days in office reading tons of papers, and are more likely getting injured by paper cuts than ever will face a life threatening situation. Sorry, as much as some sure would like to claim their ugly hair day as traumatizing fashion near death experience or being forced to drink bad office coffee as torture, it hardly would bring anyone close to trauma experience in clinical definition. Yep, seems like Matt is heading for trouble. I was rolling my eyes already when he was approached by his former university "buddy" at the dinner. Geee, Matt is working on some inferiority complex, is he, jumping into every dumb dick measuring contest imaginable, especially when Daisy is around (remember how he reacted to Win). Even Stevie is behaving more reasonable and adult than Matt (and being in her early twenties, barely out of of teenager drama stupidity, she is entitled to be unreasonable and over idealistic wannabe rebellious). Matt needs to grow up. Aside that "Z-Man" is so obviously flattering Matt only to get to useful information, working on his own journalistic stardom. Matt is easy prey in the shark tank, a gullible idiot.

Well, maybe he should ask people who actually know something about asexuality, because it doesn't exclude being gay. What a moron. Seriously, writers, do your homework, do resedarch and don't create just more BS wrong mythologies about something. That said. A&E said SQ won't happen like aeons ago, but they said a lot of things over time. Their inconsistency in their world building and character development and their interviews gives people plenty of wiggle room to keep their hopes up - not to mention everybody likes to hear and interpret things only through their own biased filters.

It will get more sense seeing this idiot Author plot. Just speculating: The Author (or the sorcerer, whoever manipulated August) probably needed Emma unhappy to increase her potential for turning evil with the darkest of all hearts one day. Or something. So any more time spend in some sort of happiness was bad and had to be destroyed - and August, compliant idiot accomplice, did the job.

There with you. IMO it's old Mad Men time thinking, that professional women should wear skirts, utterly outdated. It's like saying: Don't you dare to express visually, that you might feel on par with the guys around you, don't dare to feel comfortable and at ease doing the same jobs they do, you should feel your femininity threatened by wearing pants, you have to express you are still a woman. I am okay with women who like to wear skirts to wear skirts though. The difficult thing is, women in business wearing skirts might be taken not as serious as men in management positions, a study done in the 90' suggested as much, and sadly some things don't change that fast. So I am somewhat ambivalent about the pants at the same time. It would be great if it wouldn't matter at all, if pants or skirt, as long as appropriate for business. The show has shown Beth in both, in business pants and suit skirt, she looks professional either way. And thankfully they didn't feel the silly urge other shows frequently have of sexing up the female cast even in business wear (unless it is a bit in character as I would say it is for Daisy). Noticed the 3/4 sleeved jackets as well and wondered, but do like it in a way. I struggle every time in business wear to keep my jacket sleeves down, because it looks quite silly when rolled up. 3/4 sleeved is a sort of compromise in my eyes.

It was in the pilot.

Online groupies - and as loud and annoying as they are in the offline world. Love it when they over a short time tweet the same tweet, exact same wording or occasionally somewhat smarter with slight variance, to force attention. Things like that meet Twitter's criteria for spam. It amuses me for a while by now that slang BAE (short for babe, baby or sometimes translated as 'before anyone else') coincides with the nickname for a certain character on the show. These groupies barely are able to "whisper" anything but ILY (i love you), and other internet or teenager lingo of adoration, creating an illusion of in-group feelings with their use of language, totally blown away by the looks and charm of the object of their adoration, And if you visit their account (if you dare) brace yourself for jabbering in CAPS and drolling all over the place. Good thing is, in online world there are tools to filter such nuisance out and mute the accounts.

IMO the writers are not interested in the daily Storybrooke stuff, they are not interested in slowing it down, they've just served us the thrill of 3 more whiny and occasionally snarky villains. Belle makes jumps in development, sadly they didn't give her the actual space to develop on the screen, but as likely she might regress in jumps back taking Rumple back at the end of the season. Emma turned into a Regina cheer-up and sitter, which sure is some kind of development but one I don't feel much logic in. Will dropped into Storybrooke like a stranger from some star and we still know little about him - does anyone who hasn't watched Wonderland even care if Rumple would turn him into some ferret? Regina has in my eyes regressed with the whole Robin and pixie dust mess into a spoiled and whiny drama queen crying for her happy ending asap, and it has to come with guarantee. For me the WTF-moments by now outnumber significantly the Wow-moments. I don't see much of character development, only some character changes making little sense, or changes somewhat making sense but have to fanwank much of how the character might have gotten there. So IMO the character development has stalled. Regardless that in theory and in our imagination there is for sure plenty of story still to tell, the show has reached for me a standstill. Of course one can still get audience even with the same formula playing out again and again, look at most crime shows, they're extremely successful with that, but the show doesn't give a least me anymore the emotional and intellectual depth and curiosity I felt at the beginning, not because it was a new show, but it promised to be something different. It was fun to explore fairy tales new with the cast and crew, but by now it has the taste of an addiction, something one can't stop following but doesn't enjoy much anymore.

The funny thing is, as I see it the Author story was pretty much in the fabric, in the DNA of the show, the book had a prominent role in season 1. As the question of individual responsibility/free will or fate/influence of some higher power and the question of the power of belief was there from the very beginning of the show. If they wouldn't have gone for soap opera-ish Love-conquers-all as overarcing theme, this question of fate or individual responsibility could have been the meta of the show. It has been a meta in several good TV series, all of Star Trek, Buffy, Xena, Battlestar Galactica - it's an interesting theme to work with, asking very basic questions of what makes us human. If this show would stop trying so hard to be silly easy digestible Sunday eve distraction with cheap and fast gone by WOW effects, the Author story could even not just make sense but get into interesting territory. They probably think, that they are even doing that. The Author story could work already slightly better, if they would have at least one voice of reason questioning the whole idea and the quest as stupid and a waste of time (Charming, Hook, whoever). Instead we get a goofy race between goodevil and evilsobs to find the Author, with some useless Snowing secret squashed in and the usual flashback swamp of misunderstood and unfortunate villain sob. Yawn. The cosmic justice/injustice silliness is not new and not even bound to Regina, though I agree, she is the most prominent winner concerning it. But remember how fans excused Neal failing Emma, talking of fate, claiming he had to do it to not get in the way of her becoming the savior, so Emma could follow her calling to save her parents and a whole town of people trapped in a curse. The writers very much made it look that way in the end. In season 2 episode Manhattan they turned Rumple's story into one very much directed by Rumple believing in fate, though for hundreds of years Rumple on the other hand claimed, that he was giving people a choice, that it always was their doing, their responsibility what happened, regardless that he manipulated people into doing what he thought fate had already laid out. It was like he couldn't let go of believing in fate for his own sake (to excuse him failing his family) while desperately looking for a sign, that people could go against fate (so he could believe in somehow overcoming his fate and be reunited with his son). But the writers never made something of that dilemma, it was mostly in Carlyle's acting. And then came the pixie dust. Before it the show was not all decided about if it's more fate or individual responsibility, there was still a fight going on, but with the pixie dust they pretty much put the nail in the coffin. There is a very slim chance, that the pixie dust was not telling fate set in stone but a fate that can change, but a lot of fans took it as unchangeable truth written in stone. Regina and Robin were meant to be, but fate would test them and keep them apart until both are truly ready for their happy ending with each other. Or so. Bringing up the Author after this pixie dust deadlock inevitably looks like fate is the winner, some higher power being the puppet master. Although, not giving up all hope, regardless that they leave little with what they make of it on the show, in the end could turn out, the Author never had that power, or the characters he/she created have developed a life on their own and no matter what, by now they could do something differently. Unfortunately the meta of the idea is though not salvageable, this show has become a fantasy soap opera joke and I don't see any way back to a more ambitious story telling. Meanwhile by the way Rumple seemed to have totally lost his ability to see glimpses of the future - maybe because he was kinda dead? Or maybe the Author took it away, because Rumple fulfilled his role for the story and is a dead character walking? The Author story could have been a great one to dig into an interesting theme, but they don't know how to make good use of it, and as so many other things on this show, it is reduced mostly to be some silly WOW train of fun entertainment. Time to puff myself out of its track. ;-) Agree much with what many have said: If Storybrook would limit magic significantly or have no magic at all, it would be a still intriguing place with a lot of interesting story material. So think, if they want to get of the track of bore and cheap thrill and silly brief effects, they should come up with a curse, limiting or taking away magic in Storybrook for the last season(s). Let the characters finally settle in a world without magic, where individual responsibility takes over and fate loses power. More world hopping would make IMO only something better on this show, if they would be ready to let go of some of the main characters and their stories, maybe even of all of them. There is nothing interesting in whiny Regina going on some other quest for whatever to whatever other world. It could be interesting for a couple of episodes maybe to see Emma confronted with just another magic crazy world again, which she knows from her storybooks, but even that has not much to offer. Otherwise I can at the moment only think of some of the supporting characters being interesting to follow their story and eventually do that in a different world. The development of the main characters simply stalled, and it's due time to bring their story to an end. As much as fans never can get enough and would love to explore every detail of their favorite character(s) (I am no different), it's not what good story telling makes. Paying attention to detail makes stories more believable, sometimes more relatable, but that doesn't mean, that you have to tell all details. Focusing on every detail indeed can kill good story telling even. Forgetting about details, you set up before, is bad writing though.

It's not a personal style, not just Janet is doing it, can see Rachel doing it as well. Interview techniques in the UK differ from what is common in the US. In the US the rather confrontational Reid technique is still popular, but it has been critizised as leading to false confessions and is less acepted in Europe. In the UK they work with a framework called PEACE: Planning and Preperation, Engage and Explain, Account, Closure, Evaluate. They aim more at getting accurate and reliable information of what happened and through that get to possible involvement of the suspect, it's less accusatory. You can notice in the interviews Rachel and Janet are doing, that they go for information, details of what happened at a certain moment or in the relationship between the interviewed and other people, they don't push for a confession. The show is quite close to investigating processes and techniques used in the UK. Co-Creator Diane Taylor was a Detective Inspector at Manchester Major Incident Team and taught at Crime Faculty. Having no desk between the interviewer and the interviewed (suspect, witness) makes psychological some sense. It can signal openess on the side of the interviewer. At the same time it makes it harder to hide, nothing there to hide behind, body language is more visible. And you can test it yourself, sitting face to face without desk between can make you feel rather uncomfortable even. A desk is a barriere creating distance, it can be a spatial shield for protection, it can be in the way so to speak. For filming though a desk in the room is useful for framing to create interesting visuals.

That's all just some editing and rewriting by The Author, proof he exists. ;-)

It is official, renewal for a second season was already announced by CBS in January.

Regina wanted to believe, that her happy ending would come with that, a happy ending defined solely by other people suffering instead of herself (fostered by Rumple's insinuations) . That "happy ending" was not about her being in a good place but about putting everybody else in as bad a place she believed had been in. It was an illusion of happiness and all about making everybody else feel miserable. In fairy tale lore of course something like that couldn't really work and only leave her unsatisfied (the hole in her heart). Possible the same might kinda happen now, the villains getting an illusion of happy ending, aka they thriving on everyone else getting the bad end for a change, but that won't give them any kind of good, better world for them either. Back to square one or history repeating itself. Another lesson in, you won't find your own happiness by making other people unhappy, or you can't get happiness without wishing happiness for others as much.

There was some debate, what kind of car Cruella had in the animated version (where the car was red) and the live action movie (black-white car). In the live action it was a modified Panther De Ville, but thought sometimes to be an Excalibur. So not their idea per se, but maybe they gave it a thought. Concerning action scenes. I don't mind much if action is happening off screen or what we get to see on screen is somewhat clunky caricature of action - if the drama and characters and their dynamics and relationships would work. It's TV, better action scenes and CGI is not just a matter of money but as much of logistics and time, I think. TV is not big screen, never will be, never should even try to do the same action buster stuff IMO. TV series have their own merits - like being able to show week after week character development, relationship dynamics in a different way and rhythm than you can ever do on a big screen in a movie. You can go slower, pay attention to more detail, less overdramatization of single moments, let the characters breath and develop - well, could I should say. As I see it OUaT has become overdramatizing soap opera sucking out the love for subtlety and detail of stories and characters. The characters became colorless, flat mashup cliches of Disney tale and fairy tale archetypes. The plots are repetitive and make the impression of stuff made up on the go by some giggling teenage boys highfiving each other for their crazy brilliance. It's not enough, that prop department and maybe costumes are giving detail some love, the storytellers have to do that in the first place - and that is not the impression I have anymore, It's rushed, superficial, dumb Kill-Sunday-Primetime-bore entertainment. Pity. Fairy tales could be so much more. And the show is not funny and goofy enough to keep me watching it, never find bully bitching talk amusing, that is not snark what they're doing IMO. The first two episodes of 4B have bored the hell out of me. Actually 4A already mostly bored me, definitely since the episode that shouldn't be named, only watched it for the Frozen cast, not the Frozen story even. Never good if I watch a show just for the actors in it, as much as marveling at their work is justified on it's own. When did all these drama queens and bullies took over fantasy TV shows and were declared to be the more interesting protoganists, and even worse, the poor torn souls deserving happy endings? I want my nerdy, underdog, brainy, geeky fantasies back, where the shy and wallflowers and silently suffering folks win the day again, turning secretly into heroes making no big deal of saving the day, struggling with the grey any responsibility and power comes with. The rest of the world can go the frack off and back to their daily or weekly shiny soap crap drama.

Magic? Aka writers' handwave. We're just not writer and smart enough to understand the logic of it all and let go of such pesky, circumstantial details.

Think it's not that hard to keep track on the relationships on OUaT, they are rather flat and simple. It's not even hard to keep track who is related to who in what way, it's just crazy to tell it. Don't need a Google mind for that IMHO, particular not if the show is your daily bread and butter.

That's what PR people are for. As I said, I don't blame Jennifer Morrison, I don't expect her to keep herself all up-to-date. But some PR people should do exactly that for them and brief them well enough. If PR people neglect the fandom and believe PR is all about butt kissing the media outlets, well, they're doing not their best job anymore. It's the fraking job of a social media manager to know about hashtags and their use in detail. And it's the productions job to give promotion and PR in general and on social media some thought and find the right people to do that for them. Letting some intern keep an eye on that is by far not enough nowadays. Of course some fans should be taught some netiquette, a lot of people behave on Internet as if they were in their cozy private home and not in all public, but as much I see a responsibility on production side to handle such shitstorms and community fights better than the stupid trolling Horowitz is doing.

Not her mentor, her predecessor as Secretary of State was killed, that is what Bess is investigating. Her mentor at the CIA is now POTUS and alive and kicking. An okay episode. Though in real I find the micro-loan idea very interesting, couldn't quite make myself care about it in this episode, Only interesting thing about that was how Bess got back on Burke, foe for life now even more I guess. Interesting turn at the end. But still open, who his the master mind behind the murder.

Agreed, Jennifer Morrison is paid as actor. But promotion is part of actor's job nowadays fairly often. Agree again, she's no mind reader and likely has other things to do than to keep track with all the nuances in the fandom. But there should be people in the production and the television network to exactly do that, paid to monitor not just what some big press people are saying by now, but monitor social media, and do market research. It should be their job to put together necessary information for cast and crew to look not like idiots in promotion and social media. If they do their job right, the cast should have a briefing about hashtags, which to use, which probably to avoid. The whole SQ thing is nothing new, the main cast, the stars of the show should be briefed about it. I don't blame Jennifer Morrison, she's doing her best, but other people doesn't seem to their job that well.