Ariah

So, it was a semi-open closed time loop I guess ;)

ctrl+c/ctrl+v from Television Without Pity: I loved about 95% of it! Really. Snowing and Captain Swan was lovely, Sparkle!Dark was positively impish and the Past Regina was just how I love her. There were some moments that didn't live up the second viewing: like - how did they get to the tower from the dungeons? (and why?). Also: what is Blue's agenda actually?... How come Regina's guards took Emma's dress but did not take the jewels?... Why are the pages in Henry's book printed backwards?... (At least some of them) But on the whole, I was so satisfied with this episode that nothing mattered that much and I got carried away by the time-twisting adventures. And romance - it trully was Emma's romantic adventure and coming of age story. Or coming into her own story. Snow Falls did not suffer by this story and no character was harmed ;) Great interactions between Rumple and Hook ("Burry the hatchet..." "...in your skull!"), Emma and Past!Hook, Charming and Snow... The thing that stuck out as a sore thumb was Marion. No charisma in this actress. Plus, I'm kind of happy how Regina/Robin thing turned out. It was awfully fast and rather sketchy. With Marion (however bland the actress is) in the picture, the story may actually have some gravitas. Also, the ugly selfish Regina rears her head back. And I'd rather have my Evil Queen back, i missed her so much! Now, naming the baby Neal is all king of awkward. "Yes, Henry, your uncle is younger than you and is named after your father..." And it wasn't emotional, it was... a retcon of all retcons. Did I miss the part where Neal saved everyone? Because I can't. Maybe the moment when he sent a message to Emma - but nobody knows about it. But the flashback to young Emma had a Neal I actually liked. As for the big villain... Well, I guess Elsa could be a) Regina's second sister (on her father's side) b) David's lost sister c) Rumple's daughter from a different mother d) Hook's mother e) ...

...and by the looks of it, a tuberculosis. I mean, what is Victorian gothic without a tuberculosis?...

I tend to go for anything gothic (and if it has the old League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novel feel to it, I'll bite even faster), so I liked it. Not with zealous love, but still. Kind of treated it as a game of "where did they take this element from". Surprisingly, I liked Josh Hartnett. I used to have a big crush on him when I was younger - oh, good times. Then it went away. It may be coming back... Eva Green looks like a woman on the verge of going down with the last stage of tuberculosis. The vampires seem to be scared of her... and her psychic powers, probably. Or maybe she used to be a vampire and now she has the mystical powers - the possibility of de-vamping a person would explain why the gang is searching for Mina (who must have been turned already). Unless they just want to kill her and save her soul. I'm waiting for Rose Tyler... Erm, Billie Piper to appear. I never liked the actress but she way be an interesting character here. As could be Dorian Gray. Anyhow, the series has potential... and I have a soft spot for Victorian.

Watched the sneak peak and I'm feeling totally frustrated right now. Like - the level of a badly written Mary Sue Regina fanfiction frustrated. I'm still hoping for a twist there somewhere: let it all be an ilusion planted in Regina's mind and feeding off her dreams of becoming "a hero". Let it all not be real. It's the only hope I've got right now. (At least on Wonderland Anastasia earned her happy ending and didn't become the most special snowflake there ever was and Jafar didn't become a misunderstood good-hearted boy who craved the love of his father and changed because of it...)

I don't think there were supposed to be any new ships to get even more people down - but the current generation was sure it is not their problem. Like "ok, we'll live our lives in space, and our grandchildren's children will have to deal with the problem... Good we won't have to draw straws!"

Well, it's official. Arrow went off my "watch" list with this episode. Too much Laurel. I refuse to like her. They probably won't kill her off in the remaining two episodes - I'm not that lucky. With my luck they'll off Diggle... Or Felicity. Or Walter. On a lighter note: The Diggle/Felicity scenes were all great. Can't we just have that? I really hated that once Oliver said "let's get back to the three-people team" to Laurel, he had to be proved wrong in the next five minutes. Because Laurel has to be special...

I can't get behind the fact that the show tries to whitewash Cersei - and the infamous scene in the Sept is another example. So, in order to make Cersei a full-on victim, the writers totally butchered Jaimie in this scene. Don't get me wrong, the scene was terrible in the book - but it appeared earlier (sort of) and in a bit different context. From what I've gathered and tried to salvage from the scene in the episode, Jaimie didn't come into the sept with the intention of raping Cersei. I shall believe that he came to comfort her - but then she asked him to kill Tyrion. And then she kissed him - and pushed him away. Again. Now, the scene logically should have ended there and then. If character development is a thing to go by. Why did the writers decide to go this route - I still suspect they're crazy fans of Cersei and want her to be semi-redeemable. If they trully don't see anything wrong with how the scene played out, they should keep away from strong female figures, pronto. No, i take that back. They should keep away from ANY female figures whatsoever. This was rape, there was no consent, and it was totally unncecessary - in the series even more than in the books. But I'm pretty sure the scene won't have any conequences (apart from the disdain the Unsullied Watchers will once more feel for Jaimie).

The timeline of this show is seriously more twisted than Dr Who. So Ava should have recognized Cora in The Miller's Daughter, right? That's why she tripped her? And Leopold had a bad case of selective amnesia. Or he just thought: "well, Rose McGowan could not mature into Barbara Hershley, so this couldn't be the girl I once wanted to marry." I liked only the Emma scenes: the giggling, smiling, flirting Emma. (Emma, your Jennifer Morrison is showing!). It was good to see the roles in Captain Swan reversed: this time around she was the one open and he head his broody walls up. Too bad there was a Bellus Interruptus. But I hope Hook comes clean in the next episode - because not doing so would go against his character, as demonstrated in 3A. Speaking of Belle - she's a much better character without Rumple. Sorry for all the Rumbelle fans, but that's how I see it. She stands her ground, she verbalizes her anger... You go girl!

The whole cursed kiss plot felt (for me) like taken straight out of a fanfic written by a teenager. (No offense to all teenagers writing fanfics). I tried to find some logic in this riddiculous kiss'n'drain plot and finally reached the point where I think i know why Zelena did what she did ;) Well, at least I think I know. It has been mentioned all over the 3B, that Zelena is not evil, but wicked. So: twisted and corrupt, and poisoned with vile. And this would be her motivation, as she herself told Hook: to corrupt the love between him and Emma. I think she wants the other to feel helpless and miserable - thus making Hook her proxy in distributing the curse. Perhaps this curse is supposed to contord the idea of a True Love's Kiss? That's why Zelena needed Hook to admit sincerely who he loves. Only then was she able to put the curse on him. And I guess she knows Emma and him are not an item. He admitted his heart is still broken. Zelena wantes to force him to kiss Emma against her will - it will hurt both Hook and Emma that way. (Sort of reminds me of that one scene in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, when Gannicus was forced to have sex with the slave he was silently in love with - and it broke them both). I hope Hook finds Charming alone and tell him everything, Together they can try to keep the secret from the girls... In vain, probably. Other things I liked: - Hook telling Zelena that she won't kill Emma (and she can stop pretending). Finally someone called her on her bluff. - Regina's facial expressions, especially the "I think i just killed Emma" and "You let him drive a truck" faces. - The fact that Ariel got her happy ending.

Awww, I liked Chilton... What an exit. I guess Miriam is broken beyond help at this point and will be shipped somewhere far away... (Or she'll be yet another victim by the end of this season). Will! Once he got the cool back and had the haircut... The game is on. He's acting on belief that Hannibal likes him - or is at least fascinated by him - and won't eat him (yet). But the way he's talking and acting, it's as if he's not fully there anymore. Like he's one foot in that dream world of his. I still love the calculating Will. Will Alana even survive the season? I'm not so sure right now. There was a shot in one of the first "all season" promos with her pointing a gun at someone, virtually shocked. Maybe she walks on the season premiere fight between Hannibal and Jack? A side note: gotta love the happiness Will showed when he was greeted by his dogs.

Well, it's hard to be mischievous when your beloved ship is gone, you're mouring a friend from the past and the son of the woman you loved dearly and the woman you gave your heart to keeps putting up her walls even higher... But I am biased, as I adore Hook. And i think he did atone more for his deeds than Regina did. And Rumple.

So Zelena (The other Slavic language, Polish, has the world "zielona", pronounced /ʑɛˈlɔn̪ɨ/ ) was a relatively miserable young woman who became green with envy for Rumple -I have this effect on women - Stiltskin. If she was so worked up towards revenge and she could jump between realms at a click of the heels, why didn't she strike sooner? Ok, perhaps she waited till the curse was cast (what was she doing during these 28 years? Why didn't she age?). But once the curse was lifted... why didn't she attack during the 2nd season? Or the beginning of the 3rd?... (Answer: because the writers didn't think her up yet) Other things: - great montage during the funeral. I was really impressed with that scene and the dirt hitting the coffin = Rumple falling to the ground. - Emma finally realizing that she needs to practice magic. At least that's what I think the effect of the brief fight with Rumple had on her. - Hook bonding with Henry. I liked it. And I don't like Henry. - Robin and Regina. Not to subtle on the whole "have my heart" metaphor... I'm kind of thinking it's all to heavy handed, and the only way of making it interesting for me would be once Regina opens to Robin fully in comes another man with a lion tattoo.

The Three Musketeers have always been about friendship and loyalty - and I'm happy to see this done well in the series. These four men work well together and understand eachother, even if they can differ in opinions. Watching the actors I can actually believe they are close friends. In the light of the men's cameraderie, the romantic relationships may fell a bit flat. Although i love this version of Constance, her romance with D'Artagnan is somewhat skimmed over. Milady and her feelings take the lead... And her relationship with anyone can be summed up with "it's complicated". I was positively surprised by the route they took queen Anne: in most versions she's in the background, a gilded plot device. Here she's actually an active player. Now, I have no idea who's seen which episode, so maybe I'll say it in tags:

^ adding to your list "how to use-up a human body" - drain the blood for future transfusion, - take the teeth for implants, - generally "waste-not-want-not" politics. (see: Frank Herbert's Dune for details)

Perhaps he enjoyed their little talks over music, literature and human anatomy? Maybe she was his Clarice 1.0? His accomplice, completely brainwashed. She had no arm, but as far as it was shown, she was relatively unharmed... We don't know yet if she has a tongue... And if her mental faculties are fully intact.

I'm actually impressed with how the producers are trying to make the series FEEL a tiny bit accurate. I'm nota talking about historical events, but costumes and settings. And weapons. These Musketeers use muskets! (and pistols) The dresses seem rather well done for the time period and the whole setting-light-setup has a Vermeer feel to it. I also like the fact that the characters are not overly... clean. They have dirt on their clothes and faces, they can be sweaty - good effort.

Who else's eyes turn colour on the show? The baby's! (OK, that is far-fetched and completely impossible) I love mama-Grimm. She's lethal and efficient, if a bit hot-headed. I liked the moment she remembered she actually killed Adalind's mother: a matter-of-fact "oh, you're right. Slipped my mind". We still don't know if the father is Renard or the dead brother, but if the child is that powerful, perhaps it's the combination of Hexenbiest, Zauberbiest and Royal blood? I mean Renard himself is a mix of Royal and Wessen blood - why is he not seemingly powerful? (Maybe it only goes in female line?) I'm starting to like Juliette - what is wrong with me? Rosalee's dress... I'm not a fan. The sunglasses idea? Totally's going to go wrong in so many ways...

This show is so absolutely beautiful! The food, the crimescenes... I take them all in and there is a part of my brain that whispers: "but how exactly would he put a man in a tree or a tree in a man and in an empty parking lot" but I say "hush, enjoy!". This show's imagery IS the intelligent psychopath, flirting with my ability of reasonable thinking. Oh, dear Alana. I liked the transition between Will's "Who does he have to kill before you see the truth' to Alana's face, watching Hannibal cut a heart. Perhaps the show will really go there. When Hannibal teased Will with "I'll give Alana Bloom the best"... he probably gave Will a flashback to what happened to Beverly. Will has been damaged so much. I could liken him to a broken bone that managed to repair itself, and is actually stronger at the point of damage - but at the same time is crooked and the healing tissue grows like a tumor. (Or antlers) He has crossed the point of no return. Even when everything is over and he is free, he will always be in a cage.

Correct me if I'm wrong (and I'm probably are), but wasn't it once a big plot point that the True Love's Kiss between Belle and Rumple would destroy the Dark One Curse and make Rumple normal again? And he didn't want that, so he sent her away. But now it seems the pair could kiss to their's heart content and the Dark One was still there. Perhaps it was because of Lacey and Belle merging? That now she accepts his darkness and the True Love's Kiss won't cure it?

Plus, how big was that panther anyway? Would 100 (ok, 97) people actually get enough or just something to sink their into into and actually make their hunger worse? What about their ability to digest meat? I'm sensing a really bad case of Montezuma's Revenge in the future for the kids...

So, a Jeckyll and Hyde episode. Nice twist. The retcon of Neal's "no choice" continues. I hope this episode marks the end of that. I've seen Talahasee, I have eyes. And "I had no choice, you know that" is not what happened. When Hook hugged Neal and said he sometimes forgets that Neal was Bae, I nodded - yes, Hook, it's hard to remember. Also, the scene was so well acted it hurt. We could have got so much more out of these two actors, if they had better material! I never liked Neal, so the episode didn't get to emotional for me. It was a good sendoff (minus the retcon, naturally). Poor Emma. All men just die in her arms. (I'm a bad bad person, but I chuckled a bit when Emma said, AGAIN, that Neal's dead. He had the habit of doing that... A lot.) I appreciate the irony, though: Rumple lost everything to get his son back, but in the end he also lost his son because of his bad choices. In the end, Neal was just a plot device, which is terribly sad.

I would say a quadrangle or a pentagram ;) Let's see: Wells likes Clarke, Clarke used to like Wells, Finn likes Clarke, Clarke starts to like Finn, Raven likes Finn, Finn used to date Raven, Olivia likes anyone with a certain bodypart... Whew. I'd say the Ark may have some special way of getting its inhabitants down to Earth safely, but perhaps it's their last resort. And they cannot waste it on each and every culprit. The've beta-tested the drop on the 100, and now the're waiting impatiently for the results. I just hope they won't atempt to take the whole station down, because those components were certainly not made to enter the atmosphere. Even in 2200 the physics works the same, I guess. Oh, anyone else thinking about the possibility of food poisoning after the panther dinner? ;)

Am I the only one who is not yet charmed by the Robin/Regina True Predestined Love and find it contrived? I feel as if i 've been reading a crime story and someone just spoiled the ending for me. Not in a good way. I mean they look great together and the actors have good chemistry, but... I don't know. It seems like I SHOULD like them and ship them, and I'm still not over Maid Marian. Maybe if we didn't know beforehand that Robin is supposed to be Regina's True Love and the romance anvils were not dropping all over the place? On the other hand, I'm an avid Captain Swan shipper and this pairing does not feel forced to me. i don't know what's wrong with me ;)

Yes, that was in the book. I must have missed that in the show - that should teach me not to do ironing while watching! The re-evaluation was also in the book, but I got the idea it was just a pro-forma statement, as the air is to precious to waste if a person does not contribute to the society... Either way, Clarke was pretty scared when the soldiers came for her and she was sure she's going to be airlocked even with the re-evaluation. Some "crimes" (and I still have the impression that some=all) can get you only killed.