S04.E12: When the Bough Breaks

[Tabbyclaw]

Haven's Troubles have never been more deadly than when William activates a Trouble in a baby: with every cry, someone dies. Audrey soon learns this is a Trouble she's failed to stop before...and with origins she herself had a hand in. As the victims pile up, Jennifer and the Teagues Brothers search for the Heart of Haven, the only place William--and now the Troubles--can be stopped.

 

[Tabbyclaw]

To my surprise, I liked this one a lot better this time around. On first watch it felt awkward and inorganic, and while there are still a couple clunky moments it's better overall than I initially credited it for. William starts to get genuinely sinister, which Colin Ferguson pulls off way better than the 'wacky evil' thing he's been doing for the past couple episodes. I love Gloria's meltdown when she's demanding that Audrey find another way, and it reminds me of Molly Grue raging at the Unicorn for some reason. I really love that this episode starts with the premise that it's important for men to be allowed to cry, and nobody questions this or argues with it. What I still don't love about this one is Nathan. Normally the writing manages to stay on the "protective" side of the line when it comes to how he views Audrey, but this week it was all possessive.

[Shanna Marie]

Normally the writing manages to stay on the "protective" side of the line when it comes to how he views Audrey, but this week it was all possessive.

More like "stubbornly blind." He really can't seem to wrap his head around the idea that Audrey, even at any time in her past, was anything less than perfect or could do anything wrong. Most of the time, his loyalty is endearing, but here he starts to get into "stupid." I didn't get possessive so much as denial that she might ever have loved anyone else or ever could have loved someone like William, and I can kind of see that as a defense mechanism because if you're the one she currently loves, would you want to believe that she would ever have loved someone like William? It wasn't so much that he was saying "You can't have her because she's mine" as he was "You can't have her because she'd never want someone like you and she loves me, so there." But we know he was pretty insecure about it, as that conversation with Duke in the previous episode showed, so there may have been some bluster to convince himself. He's utterly terrified of losing her and utterly terrified of facing what she might really be. Duke is the one who's able to be more objective about her and face the fact that while he likes Audrey, he might not have liked her past selves, and she could have something really dark in her past, and she seems to realize this, as it's Duke she goes to when she needs to talk it through, since Nathan's stubbornly set on "you're not bad, you can't give people Troubles, it's not true, you'll figure it out because you always do," and while it's good to have that kind of loyalty in your corner, it's not always helpful when you really can't figure it out.

 

The plot in this is so wrenching, and Gloria is what sells it. We see that she's got a big heart under that crusty exterior. I love Gloria, and after this episode I love her even more. They did a nice job of setting up an absolutely no-win situation.

 

On a continuity note, I'm glad that Nathan was holding the baby in at least one scene. Something would have been horribly wrong if they did an entire story about a baby and Nathan never once held it or fussed over it. He also got a positively gooshy look on his face in one scene when Audrey was holding the baby.

[Tabbyclaw]

It's willful stupidity and possessiveness, and the possessiveness bothers me more because the idiot level of loyalty is at least built into the character.

 

Duke is the one who's able to be more objective about her and face the fact that while he likes Audrey, he might not have liked her past selves, and she could have something really dark in her past, and she seems to realize this, as it's Duke she goes to when she needs to talk it through, since Nathan's stubbornly set on "you're not bad, you can't give people Troubles, it's not true, you'll figure it out because you always do," and while it's good to have that kind of loyalty in your corner, it's not always helpful when you really can't figure it out.

 

If you want someone in Haven who's gonna get it when you say you've got a history you're not entirely proud of, you go to Duke. Possibly Dwight. I agree that he's exactly what Audrey needs right now. There was a commentary in one of the early seasons where one of the writers said that what Duke brings to the table is a broader perception married to an understanding of the town, by virtue of being a local who spent a good chunk of his life anywhere but here and eventually returned.

 

On a continuity note, I'm glad that Nathan was holding the baby in at least one scene.

 

My commentary notes from the first time I watched this episode include "Dear audience: We're sorry everything is about to be absolutely terrible. Please accept this shot of Lucas Bryant holding a baby as our apology."

Edited September 11, 2014 by Tabbyclaw

[Elsinore]

You keep notes?

 

Anyway, re watched the episode last night because I didn't remember too much of it.

 

I love Gloria. She knocked it out of the park in this episode. No matter if she's snarking or desperately pleading for her stepsons life, it's just such a great character.

 

Also, lots of Vince and Dave banter.

 

I didn't think Nathan was possessive, perhaps in that scene with William but otherwise he was his overbearing, stupidly devoted self.

 

Can we just love all the Duke/Jennifer stuff in this episode too?  In hindsight (and knowing what we know *insert spoiler*) it just breaks my heart. I love her honest devotion to him.

[Tabbyclaw]

You keep notes?

 

Chat logs. Television is a social event for my internet best friend and me.

 

Another thing I wanted to mention, especially since this episode aired when I was really starting to get sick of how Once Upon a Time was handling the issue, was that I appreciate there being two adopted characters who are both happily adopted and only moderately curious/concerned about their origins.

[Shanna Marie]

Another thing I wanted to mention, especially since this episode aired when I was really starting to get sick of how Once Upon a Time was handling the issue, was that I appreciate there being two adopted characters who are both happily adopted and only moderately curious/concerned about their origins.

Three, really: Nathan, Jennifer and Dave. Nathan I guess is in a gray area since he didn't find out until he was an adult and he and his dad had a difficult relationship, but their relationship woes didn't have anything to do with his adoption, just their personalities and circumstances, and aside from his initial blowup upon getting the news, he's remained firmly in the "the Chief is my real dad" frame of mind, as he probably realizes he's much better off than he would have been with his biological father. As far as we can tell, he hasn't given much thought to Max and hasn't bothered to investigate his own past. (Though with Once Upon a Time, I wouldn't consider it an overall statement on the merits of adoption, considering the adoptive mother was the Evil Queen. There, I'm more concerned with the domestic violence issues that get brushed aside, like her emotional abuse of her adopted son that now doesn't seem to bother him, or the fact that a character who murdered his first wife because she left him is given a "true love" story with a classic Disney princess.)

[Tabbyclaw]

Yeah, I wasn't counting Nathan because it's not something that he grew up with (and not something he ever would have found out had Max not rolled back into town). But on the OUaT side I am counting "Emma's childhood was a nightmare and now she doesn't trust anyone becase she was a foster kid" and "We have to browbeat a guy who had a one-night-stand ten years ago and has no parenting experience into taking Hansel and Gretel, because otherwise they will go into The System and there is literally nothing worse than that." One of the many reasons I gave up on the show was its obsession with "real" families, which are always a man, a woman, and their biological children (and if you don't have children you're not a real family).

Edited September 11, 2014 by Tabbyclaw