NotBothered

I don't know what the source material is like, but I keep feeling like Rob Thomas just really really wants to make his Duncan plot work. He hasn't figured out that the issue wasn't Jason Dohring > Teddy Dunn, but with the entire set up. I am also still finding the whole Lowell thing bizarre. The never seeing the body business just feels off. For a second I thought it was going to turn out that he was just in that hibernating form of dead that we saw with Blaine's goons in the meat locker, but is it just that they didn't want to pay Bradley James for an episode of playing dead? Were we never supposed to get invested in that relationship (and Rob Thomas misread the chemistry balance again)? We're several episodes out from that, and I still keep expecting there to be a twist.

It also lines up with other set reports and spoilers we've gotten. I was initially excited about this, but now I'm getting worried. I'm just trying to focus on the fact that hopefully this means people will actually have to fight for Emma for once (maybe we'll even get a real parental reactions from Snowing!) and Hook will hopefully have something to do other than provide backup.

I'm betting it's Regina speaking through Belle. I'm also guessing that everyone is going to be weirdly on board with the the "let's steal Belle's heart for leverage" plan.

I am also expecting it to go this way. Because Regina is soooooooo trustworthy.

From tumblr: It's so badly written it has to be real.

Just a word about the sweep scorecard...Zelena won't count as a resurrection/return because it didn't happen during sweeps.

Does anyone remember if someone picked that dagger up at the end of that shot? The would be a pretty major way to end the season...have them pick the dagger up and suddenly see Emma's name there.

The spanking didn't really both me that much in the book, but it sure did in the show -- especially the zany caper music they played in the background for the whole thing. I thought this episode really suffered from the perspective switching to Jamie. I didn't feel like I gained any new insight into the spanking scene, and found the whole thing much harder to stomach when we're not part of Claire's coming to terms with the situation. I don't need to hear someone whose in a position of power rationalizing the situation. I need to understand how the victim is dealing with it. I also felt that cutting the entire conversation they have on the way back to Leoch makes her forgiveness that much more confusing. I am glad that they changed the sex scene at the end. While I could rationalize the spanking the book, I could not get behind that. The last thing we needed in this episode was Claire asking him to stop, and him refusing.

All the feels. I am down with this plot, because we can count on JMo and Colin to bring some quality angst. And this in theory means they'll be front and center next season. I'm also excited to see what being the Dark One (assuming that's where we're going) actually means when you don't have to go though the "evil" act of killing the previous Dark One. If Emma leaves the dagger behind, can't they just use it to summon her back?

They generally don't hide the twists. They didn't hide Rumple killing Pan, and they didn't really block the kiss. The screen was for lighting purposes, not super secret ending purposes. They also didn't hide the EF costumes for the CaptainSwan movie last year, and I'm pretty sure they didn't block the curse being broken at the end of 1. I would not assume that just because we've seen it, it must not be that important. It sounds like a pretty solid set up for next season to me.

This seems fake to me, but I would totally be down with Emma turning into the Dark One. And then maybe the show can actually get back to "you are responsible for your own choices." Emma could be the Dark One, but not be evil, BECAUSE SHE MAKES GOOD CHOICES. And I guess that whole bit about her wanting to stick a dagger in Gold's chest -- but not really -- would be a nice bit of foreshadowing.

I agree with everyone else that they're still struggling with pacing. I kept getting distracted and then was totally lost. I think part of this is that Rob Thomas has never done a procedural before. Trying to establish the guest cast and the mystery while still giving Liv time to build relationships with the supporting cast, in addition to Rob Thomas's usual packed-dialogue, is a lot to do in 42 minutes. And while Veronica had a bit of a case-of-the-week structure, it really relied on the arc plot to drive it. I think iZombie still needs to find what's driving it. That being said, I am generally liking this show and hope they give it time to find its feet. Rose McIver is really starting to settle in and I am always happy to have more David Anders on my screen. My sister texted me "Is that Logan?" about 30 seconds after he arrived on screen. And because we are watching a show on the CW, I keep wondering just who we're working up to the be romantic interest. While I think Liv and Blaine (I also missed that name) seem to have more chemistry than anyone else, it's really going feel even more like Veronica Mars paint-by-numbers if they go that route.

So if she's evil in the alternate universe, does this mean that Lily is a hero in the real world?

I am cautiously optimistic (and will stick around no matter what because it's Rob Thomas). I am going to have to re-watch this episode again to see if I can get past the Veronica Mars overlay. I spent most of this episode hearing and seeing Veronica (hoodies, trauma induced hair cut, snark, and voiceovers) and trying to figure out whose voice the other characters were speaking in (if Major is Duncan, and the cop is Weevil, is Ravi Wallace or is he Mac? And will David Anders be Logan?). I'll happily watch a Veronica Mars redux, but I hope this will find a more unique voice as they spend more time with these characters.

Farfaraway is back again as a registration only site, so pictures are still a possibility.

I saw a quote from Colin today that confirms that to Hook, it was a final goodbye, while to Emma it was just a goodbye for now. I think the speculation that Emma picked up on the intensity of the kiss is correct, especially after the uncharacteristic intensity of their kiss in the last episode.

It's interesting that the world has pretty much discounted Blake as a continuing love interest. I know I'm in the minority that actually like them, but I don't think we've seen the last of him yet. Julian Ovenden has been doing Christmas press, and I don't think it's just going to be about promoting the album. I also don't think they would have put him on the Christmas album so prominently if we were just getting rid of him.

Last verse seems potentially relevant: I now really need to go listen to that album...

I think there's a good chance Tom will "leave" during the Christmas special, and then be back by the first few episodes of the next season. Just like Tom and Sybil "left" at the end of season 2. Speaking of decorating the Christmas tree...

I really enjoyed this episode. Interesting developments in both Storybrooke and in Arrendale. Some actual character beats. Villains acknowledging that they're villains. And for some strange reason making Robin a full on ass makes me hate him and Regina less. It probably hopes that I was not really attached to Robin Hood as a character outside of once. But who is taking care of Roland? So much this. Can anyone tell me who the other couple getting married in the book was? I got rid of my DVR, so I couldn't rewind and stand close enough to the TV to actually see. ETA: After 3 years of "misunderstood" villains...they have finally done it with Ingrid. She's the first one I've actually felt some sympathy for. I oddly want her to be redeemed and stick around.

Did they ever answer why Missy manipulated things to get Clara and the Doctor together? I hated this episode so much I couldn't even bring myself to rewind that section. I just don't care what happens to anyone anymore. I have zero emotional connection to the Doctor, to Clara, or to Danny. And if I don't care what's happening to any of the characters I'm not going to be able to ignore how dumb the plot is.

I like Matthew Goode, but what was the last season and a half about if both Blake and Gillingham are out of the picture at the end of this season? And if Blake isn't out of the picture, are we doomed for a repeat of this past season? I will try to keep an open mind on this, but I am not excited.

Yeah....I'm having a hard time getting excited about this. I do like the potential for a non-magical villain, but I just did not care for 101 Dalmatians. And it's not the visceral childhood fear and dislike I had for Dumbo and Pinnochio...I just found 101 Dalmatians boring. I like her look, but that's just about it. I just don't see how this fits in with anything else. Or how a villain who skins dogs for a coat works for more than a one off. Are we going to have an episode of Emma wondering where all the dogs in town (that we have never seen before) are disappearing to, and then an episode where we meet the person in head of the pet shelter who no one has ever met before (even though David worked there) and is just a little too helpful? I wonder if the multitude of villains means that 4B won't have an arc-long big bad and that the 4B arc is actually the book. Does Regina go on a hunt for the the other villains to try and go get all their happy endings together? Is there a villains support group in Storybrooke?

Bah. I forgot that switching tabs on an iPad causes the page to refresh. Long story short... 1. Regina is still he worst villain this show has seen. I think she may actually have a higher body count than Cora. They are at least close. Assuming DQ didn't kill Helga, I am somewhat sympathetic. 2. I am on the fence about this episode. It is either going to be really really good or reall really bad. I need to dump all my booze because this show is destroying my liver. 3. When we got the original Frances O'Connor casting spoiler, was there anything about multiple episodes? That seemed weird even by this shows standards.

Yeah. I kept expecting there to be a reveal (at least the audience) that something else happened. I was hoping that the books weren't valuable just because they were books, but because they had some secret that needed to be kept. And that Belle's mother was really alive, but helped captive. I wonder if this will be revisited in the future.