S04.E13: Darkness On The Edge Of Town

[Bort]

Can we talk for a second about that Shady fairy?  That woman talks out of both sides of her mouth.  So she knows the Author and the Sorcerer are two separate entities.  Then she is all like well the Author could also be a she and proceeds to jabber on about said Author and how they haven't been seen in a long time.  So, she clearly knows who that person is.

I have been suspicious of the Blue Fairy since DAY ONE. I am convinced that she's the Ultimate Big Bad and every scene seems to support my theory.

[retrograde]

I enjoyed it. I like the new villains and I am interested enough to see where most of these storylines go, though I hope they can get through it all in half a season this time:

 

Liked:

• Cruella!
• Regina smiling sweetly as she burned snow’s bird picture
• “Bad judgement and gin.” That will be the title of my memoir.
• The whole fast food drivethru scene. I really wish we’d seen more of them in the real world.
• Belle and Hook as friends, surprisingly
• "Lurking and brooding -- that's a classic combo."
• Someone in the spoiler thread called the Snow Queen scroll being the way people could get back into Storybrooke. Nice one, whoever that was!

 

Didn't like

• I’m glad Snow is no longer mayor, but man was that whole storyline pointless in the end
• Okay, okay, Emma and Regina are friends now. We get it, show.
• Still struggling to care about or understand the author plotline
• Blue says she knows who the sorcerer is, but no one bothers to quiz her any further once they know he isn’t the author?
• Why would academics in our world be able to translate ancient languages from another one?

[tennisgurl]

A really good opener....for the most part.

 

Lots of Captain Swan adorableness! I assume they are going to have problems later on this season, so I am going to enjoy the cute coffee dates and kisses while I can. I loved how supportive Emma was in the scene where Hook was upset about trapping the fairies. He spent so much time having her back last year, while she was having doubts about herself, its good to see her being supportive as well. 

 

I think I like the Queen of Darkness so far. I`m still disappointed that they changed Ursula from a badass, mysterious sea goodness of a maritime kingdom, to some other villain. I like the actress though, I`ll see where this goes. 

 

Amazing how much more I like Belle when she`s not being Rumples doormat. Speaking of which...

 

Rumples at his best when he`s scheming, so I am looking forward to this. But...Rumple...if you want to be all secretive puppetmastery, maybe you shouldn't walk around the middle of the street.

 

I usually like the first part of the season, its the second half where things take a weird turn.

 

The author plot still makes no damn sense. Shouldn't the idea that there is some all powerful person out there, controlling the loves and fates of everyone they know, be kind of a more earth shattering revelation? Not just another stop in the Regina Redemption Quest. All you care is that Regina gets a "happy ending"? What? I have a whole big rant about this, but I`m saving that for later. I`m assuming the author will turn out to be a woman now, but I`m still holding out for the frozen head of Walk Disney. 

 

 

ooooooo. I didn't even notice Belle and Hook's board in the library mentioned 'YEN SID'.

Am I forgetting what this is? I feel like I should know this...

Edited March 2, 2015 by tennisgurl

[bmoore4026]

Why did Chernobog look like Goliath from Gargoyles?  Also, why was he not the size of a mountain?

 

It also disappointed me that he was destroyed so easily, considering he's the personification of evil.

[stealinghome]

Why did Chernobog look like Goliath from Gargoyles?

Disney cross-marketing. Or reusing production design. ;)

[Souris]

Am I forgetting what this is? I feel like I should know this...

 

YEN SID. Read it backward. ;) He was the sorcerer in The Apprentice. (The cartoon, not the OUAT ep.)

[MadyGirl1987]

Overall, good episode. Should be great to watch Rumple and the Queens of Darkness interact with each other. Loved Rumple and his expressions at the drive-thru.

 

It was about halfway in when I realized Charming had yet to make an appearance or get a mention.

 

Am I the only person who who wondered why no one at all noticed that HUGE demon flying off into the sky when the fairies were released. They were still right there!

[TwistedandBored]

I miss the good old days when evil mastermind villains were just that…evil. WTF is with this happy ending BS!

[tennisgurl]

 

YEN SID. Read it backward. ;) He was the sorcerer in The Apprentice. (The cartoon, not the OUAT ep.)

*smacks self in head* Duh! Thanks Souris! That is an interesting development!

[KingOfHearts]

 

I kinda feel like I'm the only one who's seeing "greatest potential for darkness" as them saying that Emma has the potential to go dark, not that it's a given. But really, Emma's magic is born of the strongest magic in all the realms. What villain worth his or her salt wouldn't try to corrupt that, especially now that she's using it with a degree of confidence? If you can't beat her, try to get her to join you, and all that. So yeah, they're going to try to get her to join the dark side. There's no guarantee they're going to succeed.

I believe it depends on what you consider "darkness". There's her magic, which I believe comes into play with her parents' dark secret. I believe that has potential to actually go dark. Also, it's sort of an irony (for lack of a better word) that the person with the lightest magic could also be the one with the darkest. She's the most powerful wielder in the realms probably. If Rumple and the Queens could harness that with manipulation, a spell or what have you, they'd be invincible. She's the most powerful, therefore the has the most potential to be the darkest.

 

Something tells me Cruella is going to be the most redeemable. She really seems more just scarred than "evil".

Edited March 2, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[Shanna Marie]

I was expecting Rumple to be in Cruella's trunk when they crossed the town line, so I was actually a little disappointed that they played trust games instead. But wouldn't that have made a lot more sense? And it would be nice payback for him putting Hook in his trunk.

 

I kind of want to invite Cruella over for a watching party. She seems like she'd be fun to snark with.

 

I thought the scene between Hook and Belle was sweet. They've got a nice brother/sister vibe.

 

So now Storybrooke is a town for villains to come to for happy endings?

They said something about that in the "behind the scenes" special, and it makes the author plot make even less sense. The way they explained the whole premise of the show was that in the fairy tale world, villains can't get happy endings, and the point of the curse was to come to a world where things were less black-and-white, where life just happened instead of playing out like a fairy tale -- our world. And that implies that our world is a place where villains have the potential for happy endings, in the same way everyone else does. Good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people, and how your life turns out has a lot to do with the decisions you make, not whether you're wearing your "villain" jersey or your "hero" jersey. But that's already the way things are, so what's the deal with the author? As far as we've seen, the author has no influence over what happens in our world because nothing has ended up in any of the books.

 

I kinda feel like I'm the only one who's seeing "greatest potential for darkness" as them saying that Emma has the potential to go dark, not that it's a given. But really, Emma's magic is born of the strongest magic in all the realms. What villain worth his or her salt wouldn't try to corrupt that, especially now that she's using it with a degree of confidence? If you can't beat her, try to get her to join you, and all that. So yeah, they're going to try to get her to join the dark side. There's no guarantee they're going to succeed.

That's also my read, that it's about potential, not that any darkness exists. Emma is powerful, and power does seem to open people up to darkness. She's also vulnerable and damaged. She's gone down wrong paths before. If she had made different decisions at various points in her life, she could be a very bad person now. And she loves deeply, and right now has a lot of people she loves. When you look at the people on this show who've gone dark, it's so far usually come out of love -- Rumple became the Dark One in part to save his son. Hook went down a dark path first because of the death of his brother, then because of the death of his lover. Ingrid felt betrayed by her sister. Regina snapped because she lost her lover. If they hadn't loved so deeply, they might have actually been less evil. Emma may have her walls, but when she loves, she seems to go all-in. Now she's got Henry, her parents, her brother, and though she hasn't said so directly, Hook. She even cares somewhat about Regina. Having this much love is new to her. How would she react to a loss?

 

And then there's also the possibility that it was a red herring since Rumple set it up in the first place and he knows Emma is his biggest threat.

[KingOfHearts]

 

Having this much love is new to her. How would she react to a loss?

This is where I think her parents' dark secret will come into play. If it's as traumatizing as it sounds, it could put a divide between them that could totally change her view on what a "hero" is. She seems to like to hang out with "villains" more than heroes nowadays, anyway. (Hook, Regina, etc.)

[bmoore4026]

Am I forgetting what this is? I feel like I should know this...

 

Urge....to tell you....must....contain....

[Wishing Well]

LOVED the part when Emma turned to give everyone heir instructions and they already knew what they were doing. Just another day in the life...

[jay741982]

Why did Disney make them change Mal to the hideous Angelina Jolie version? But then again, I live in Orlando and know full well that what Dizmo wants, Dizmo gets.

That's how she looks in the animated Disney movie not just The Angelina Jolie movie

[Autumn]

So people in the real world can call into Storybrook on the phone and send them e-mail?  Do they get cable?

 

Cruella is a hoot.  Ursula is kind of dull in comparison but they made a a good Thelma and Louise Team.  I am not looking forward to Maleficent who is one of my least favorite characters.

 

Blue Fairy is sketchy as hell.

 

I assume Gold was using some kind of cloaking spell while walking down the street so no one saw him but Cruella and Ursula.

 

I felt sorry for Gold when he thought that Cruella and Ursula weren't coming back for him.

[Mathius]

I really liked the episode...BUT the half-season premieres and first few episodes that follow are usually good, and then it all goes to crap. Only 3A was satisfying from start to finish for me. 3B and 4A both burned me, and I'm not trusting this arc to be any different in the long run.

And the big problem since the show started the split-season scheduling, which is that the regulars have become guest stars in their own show while the villains take over.

Technically, that started in 2B. Cora, Regina, Rumple, Hook, Greg & Tamara...what exactly did the heroes do of significance compared to them? Besides kill one of them in self-defense and then be shamed for it?

Something tells me Cruella is going to be the most redeemable. She really seems more just scarred than "evil

No way. Many behind-the-scenes stuff suggest that Cruella is actually a very nasty piece of work, or at least was in the past. I actually think Ursula is the most redeemable and the least "evil"-acting of the three.

[patchwork]

Emma having the potential to go dark in a big way is a very interesting idea, I' love to explore it if I didn't have a sneaking suspicion it's only happening to make Woegina look good.

 

I'm glad MM and David are getting their own storyline again and that Belle and Hook have someone to confide in, it something they both needed. I'm hopeful it will be team library who put the pieces together and see through Gold's scheming.  

 

I like the queens so far but the horned headpiece really doesn't suit the actress, I prefer the look she had in earlier seasons. 

Edited March 2, 2015 by patchwork

[Souris]

*smacks self in head* Duh! Thanks Souris! That is an interesting development!

 

Urgh, and I meant he was in Fantasia, not The Apprentice. I had Mickey on the brain. ;)

[scenicbyway]

Why wouldn't Belle go to Regina with the language for translation?  She's got all those ancient books in her vault!

 

Why would Regina trust Cruella and Ursula?

 

Cruella seemed to be the only QOD not phoning in her performance.  Ursula (other than at her apt, btw who's taking care of her aquariums?) was awful and Maleficent was ridiculous.

 

I certainly wouldn't have left the entry scroll with the new villians..

[BoPeeps]

One woman's (disappointed and not very upbeat) opinion:

 

First hour lead-in wasn't a very good re-cap and if someone had showed up as a new viewer, it didn't do much to create interest. The best moment, a real gem, was the pickle ride!

I'm glad they are having fun making this, and it is apparent they DO have fun. They are having more fun making it than I am watching it, sadly. Too.damn.much.story and too.many.characters for any of it to be quality writing.

 

Every one of them is getting short shrift and very shallow presentation and that is making it all look  habitually inconsistent at best, with a few moments of cool, but very brief interactions and dialogue and at it's worst, borderline bat-crap crazy and choppy, disjointed, predictable, repetitive and a freaking mess.

 

None of these Queens of Darkness are substantial. Maleficent (who is my favorite villainess of all time) is positively mediocre. Cruella, even with the premise of fractured fairytales, is wayyy out of place. Ursula seems impotent and weak.

Unfortunately for filming, much of it took place in the rain and Gold and rain do not mix well.

Hook is too groomed and clipped...and brooding. Where is my luscious leather dude's wit and snarky smolder????

david. WTF??? (and I didn't capitalize his name for a reason!)

Regina has lost the passion/definition of her character, whether you like her evil or good or not at all.

Everyone (except Belle, for cripes sake) has been dumbed down to make way for hurried mishmash.

They seem to depend way too much on the surrounding dialogue of the Internet to explain and point things out, without actually SHOWING those points through the actual finished product.

 

Oh, boy. I hope they can recapture some magic, fast. As fast as they whip through the scenes and plot points and poorly supported character developing.

I really want this to get better and be a highlight of my weekend again.

[thuganomics85]

Once is back!  It felt like it's been ages.

 

So far, Rumple's plan is already in effect.  He's not only already back in Storybrooke, but just strolling around in the middle of the street like a boss, with no fears of getting spotted whatsoever.  I guess the citizens of Storybrooke all turn in at the same time.  Even Will doesn't wander around drunk or something.  

 

The Queens of Darkness have now joined the party... well, two of them at least.  Sounds like they need to do something to bring Maleficent back from the grave.  I'm kind of enjoying them, but there is still some work.  So far, I feel like Ursula is being poorly used. I feel like Maleficent is more or less the de facto leader of the trio, while Cruella gets to vamp it up and has most of the best lines (not surprised; the actress excels at dining on scenery, like she did on Dracula.) Ursula just seems to only hang around, although I did like her annoyance with Rumple as a sucky roomie.  And, I still wish Maleficent had more of an edge to her, which I blame on Kristen Bauer's time on True Blood.  I'm not expecting her to cuss like she did on that show, but I just wish she had more bite and snark like Pam did.

 

I am though, very intrigued over what went down with them and the Charmings.  Anything that makes Snow sound like she's a mob boss, is good in my book.  They better not disappoint with this development.

 

Actually didn't mind Emma/Regina, since Regina turned the whining down a lot, and even showed glimpses of self-awareness.  That said, I totally knew the creature was after Emma.  We'll see where this goes.

 

For some reason, I really loved Hook's "I'm sure the Savior and the Evil Queen can handle a hell-beast."  I think it was the combination of a line that only works in a fantasy setting like this, and Hook/Colin's flippant delivery.  He really was like "This really isn't nothing new, guys."  And, he's right.  Hell, it was only I don't know how long ago, they had snow golems wrecking everything.  Even Emma and Regina seemed merely annoyed by it, then worried.  It's just Storybrooke Life! 

 

Also really loved Cruella pulling out the gun.  With all the magic spells, fire, crossbows, sweet looking knifes, and swords, it's just amusing seeing a character be all "Screw this!  I'll just cap your ass, and call it a day!"

 

Still not feeling this quest to find "The Author."  Who, thanks to the Blue Fairy, we know isn't the same person as "The Wizard."  How many more of the mysterious dudes whose names are their occupation, are going to show up?  The Shoemaker?  The Candlestick Maker?  The Muffin Man?  The Man in Black?  The Doctor?  The Rock?

 

Either way, I'm glad it's back.  I have my issues with this show, but, I don't know: it's still kind of fun.  Or maybe "charming" is the right word.

[shapeshifter]

So people in the real world can call into Storybrook on the phone and send them e-mail?  Do they get cable?...

Belle had Internet in the library.

So. Are we sure the Chernabog isn't just a really big flying monkey AKA Christopher Gorham/Walsh/Emma's ex-finance?

[Blue Plastic]

Gawd, these women are awful! They are not glamorous villains. Whoever did their hair, makeup, and wardrobe did them no favors. They just look sloppy.

I so agree.  I thought Maleficent's makeup and wardrobe were particularly poorly done.  Her heavy, pasty makeup contrasted too much with her bright red lipstick and the black of her cheap-looking horned costume.  Her makeup needed a dewy finish, maybe even a little sparkly and perhaps even a slight green or purple tint, but maybe they didn't want to do all that and have her appearance compete with Sparkly Rumpel and memories of Zelena.  I don't like Ursula's outfit or headgear, either, and it looks nothing like movie Ursula's outfit.  Of course they can change it however they want, but it's ugly IMO.  The actress was very attractive when they had her dressed in street clothes with nice makeup on, but that Ursula outfit is a monstrosity.  The only one I think looks kind of okay is Cruella, but I don't get why she's there.  She doesn't fit in because original Cruella didn't have magic and lived in a non-medieval-based time period so I'm not sure where/when she would have been meeting Snow "back in the day" but whatever.

 

So Emma is the person with the biggest potential for darkness. Of course she is. Because Regina is made of sweetness and light, sugared gum drops, and kitten stickers. In a vacuum, the idea of Emma going evil could be interesting, but since it's these writers I have no hope for it to be well-written, properly paced, or engaging.

See, what I'm afraid of is that if Emma "goes evil" for even one nanosecond, then the writers are going to have her apologizing to and kissing the butt of saintly Woegina for the rest of the show's run.  Stuff like, "I'm so sorry I ever criticized you, Regina!  Now that I was tempted by evil, I can see how hard it was for you!  I'm no better than you are!  In fact I'm worse, 1000 times worse!  Can you ever forgive me?"  Stuff like that.  I know it.  This is coming from someone who has so far read no spoilers but I know how they are.

 

Mostly I was annoyed by this episode (I, too, was thinking Belle was awfully cheerful while she was unlocking the library), but Snow/Charming and Regina/Emma being on opposite teams regarding letting in Ursula and Cruella was interesting and then Snow's little "threat scene" at the end was intriguing.  I'll definitely tune in for that.

[Whitley Trillbert]

The monster immediately made me think of Night on Bald Mountain from Fantasia so I thought that was cool.

 

I love all the actresses portraying Ursula, Cruella, and Maleficent from their prior shows so I'm going to enjoy them for now unless the writing fails.

 

I'm drawing a blank but Cruella never had any magical powers in 101 Dalmatians right ? 

 

I liked Belle and Hook together tonight. Hope we see more of it.  I know this author story is not going to make a lick of sense so hopefully it does not drag or weigh the rest of the season down. 

[stealinghome]

Cruella gets to vamp it up and has most of the best lines (not surprised; the actress excels at dining on scenery, like she did on Dracula.)

I'm not sure how much of it is the actress--who I agree has a grand old time chewing the scenery (and she's very fun, so it's not really a complaint)--as much as it is Cruella seems like Regina 2.0 and the writers obviously love writing for Regina. It seems to me they just love writing that kind of bitchy "high class" Mean Girls type humor/characters who have that sense of humor.

 

Because I agree that Cruella was at the forefront of the trio which, given her lame powers compared to the other two, didn't make sense. Maleficent was the nominal leader but wasn't given as much bite, and Ursula was really forced to take a backseat.

 

Although I DID love Maleficent's line about "strangled, impregnated, or whatever those tentacles are for." It made me actually laugh out loud.

[KAOS Agent]

I was bored. I have less than zero interest in the author plot, the villains were not entertaining and I'm just irritated as hell that Rumpel was kicked out at the end of the finale and is already back by the end of the premiere. 3B is already repeating itself. Also, my dog threw up all over the couch in the middle of the episode, so I'm taking that as a bad sign.

 

A couple of notes:

 

- I get that they had Rumpel using the three woman to get the Dark Curse because it was a shortcut to show off their magic, but it seems really stupid. Cruella talks to animals, Maleficent has fire magic and Ursula has...tentacles? Man, if anyone has gotten the short end of the stick, it's Ursula (take note: Adam & Eddy)

 

- Hook's lurking around a jukebox and has a discussion about heroes. Was that a tiny shout out to Foreigner? Also, that song will not get out of my head.

 

- Emo!Hook needs to go away. Please, please make it stop!

 

- Emma's bug played the role of Doc's Miata tonight.

 

- Snow & David are idiots.  Don't they know that the cover up is worse than the crime? Instead of admitting we did horrible thing X, don't let them in, they say vague things that will lead to a lot worse. They suck.

[KingOfHearts]

If you like the Queens of Darkness, Regina or Rumple, you'll greatly enjoy this episode. If you're more into Hook/Emma, you'll probably just want to read the recap and wait for next week. That's my takeaway and advice to other viewers. I myself am not a huge Hook/Emma fan, so I found myself lacking little. It's understandable that this episode had such a big focus on the Queens of Darkness, since this was their grand, official entrance.

 

I'm hoping Snow and Charming's secret act is just downright despicable. These characters have been so bland lately that they really need a new kickstart, especially one that re-energizes their dynamic with Emma. If this show is going to attempt to level the playing field with heroes and villains, it needs to actually show true darkness. Not just a snippy comment or accidentally sneezing on someone's dog. If Snow is willing to threaten a double murder to keep it secret, it better be pretty darn nasty.

 

I liked that Hook felt bad about hatting the fairies. Brooding Hook isn't fun to watch I know, but it's nice to finally have some character continuity for once. That was an organic reaction, and those are so rare that it's welcome in my book no matter how annoying it is. It was executed much better than Rumple's alleged Zelena PTSD.

Edited March 2, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[El Seed]

See, what I'm afraid of is that if Emma "goes evil" for even one nanosecond, then the writers are going to have her apologizing to and kissing the butt of saintly Woegina for the rest of the show's run.  Stuff like, "I'm so sorry I ever criticized you, Regina!  Now that I was tempted by evil, I can see how hard it was for you!  I'm no better than you are!  In fact I'm worse, 1000 times worse!  Can you ever forgive me?"  Stuff like that.  I know it.  This is coming from someone who has so far read no spoilers but I know how they are.

 

Considering the track record of the show, that's what I fear too. Because even though Regina has raped, pillaged, and mass murdered, the slightest inkling of one of the heroes "going evil" is made out to be just as bad as what St. Regina's done. I haven't ventured over to the spoilers thread because I value my liver as I'm sure what the writers have planned will entice me to heavily drink.

 

As for the Find the Author Quest: Choose Your Own Adventure plotline, unless it involves Emma Thompson, I can't bring myself to care about it.

[placate]

I'm adding happy ending to the drinking game.  Why is it Dev il on the car and not De vil?

[KingOfHearts]

 

I'm adding happy ending to the drinking game.  Why is it Dev il on the car and not De vil?

Not sure why it was originally, but in the 102 Dalmations it was Dev il as well. The car also looks the same from that movie, so it made sense for them to mimic the license plate.

 

 

Considering the track record of the show, that's what I fear too. Because even though Regina has raped, pillaged, and mass murdered, the slightest inkling of one of the heroes "going evil" is made out to be just as bad as what St. Regina's done.

I don't know. This episode seemed to make a point that Regina was by far the most evil under Rumple. They didn't hammer it into our heads that Regina was a "hero" now like they usually do. Again, it's more about the "potential" than the actual level of darkness. I'm optimistic about Woegina so far.

Edited March 2, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[honeywest]

I loved Robert Carlyle saying "Cruella Feinberg," but then I love anything Carlyle does--which is why I watch this show.

 

But I'm so tired of its total Disneyfication this season.

[coops]

I really enjoyed this episode. The dialogue between Rumple/Ursula in their apartment and Emma and Regina in the office impressed me because there were lots of references to the fact the characters werent from our world, such as the bickering over how the microwave works and Regina reminding Emma she was a queen. The show feels so much more real when the characters 'remember' they come from another realm- usually they all act as if they are still cursed and have lived in our world the whole time to the extent of calling each other by their curse names so I enjoy it when the characters reference the fact they come from another place and dont belong in a world with microwaves and cell phones... too many times Ive watched them use phones and asked myself 'would they know how to use that?' so it was great to have the characters ask the same questions.

There wasnt really any reason given for why Snow decided to go back to teaching and why Regina became mayor again. It seems like Snow taking over in the first half of the season was a pretty pointless storyline that went nowhere and was just dropped!

I think I like Cruella the most out of the three queens. The three of them werent as much fun together as I hoped but I did enjoy seeing how they bounced off Regina. I liked the simplicity of the story in this episode- Ursula and Cruella wanted to be let in to storybrooke should Emma and co trust them? The characters reactions to this were interesting, namely S ow and Charming, and I honestly brought Regina's reason for letting them in.

There are some questions that I really hope are going to be answered and not ignored. Such as how did Cruella and Ursula end up in our world? Im fairly confused about why they are so afraid of Regina... didnt Ursula over power Regina the first time they met? She was supposed to be a sea goddess yet now she doesnt seem that powerful at all. All in all I think it was a great episode, Im enjoying it way more than the frozen arc.

[Camera One]

The episode was alright.  I thought the first half was considerably weaker, especially with several of Rumple's scenes being entirely exposition which became a little repetitive after a while.

 

Having the three villainesses be "summoned" by Rumple really took the tooth out of them right off the bat.  I'm not sure how we're supposed to take Ursula seriously as a villain when she's willing to do menial work while letting that ungrateful Rumple sleep on her couch.  Cruella didn't even want to go with them even though her husband got arrested and she lost everything, and even in the flashback, she said she was content with her life.  I can't reconcile the supposed fact that these are horrible people, with the fact that they seemed so forgiving of Rumple (after he left them to die in the past).  Plus they seemed to have a sense of honor and loyalty.  Ursula saved Maleficent in the cave even though she didn't have to.   Why?  Is this going to mesh with the stuff they do later in the season?  And if Ursula (and Regina herself) thought Regina was the worst of all of them, then it will be all the more unbelievable that they deserve to die while Rumple and Regina stick around forever.

 

As expected, we saw five minutes of Storybrooke in peace.  Even though there were probably hundreds of baddies like Bo Peep all over town.  I too thought it was lazy writing that Regina was mayor again, with zero explanation.  Why would Henry still be in Snow's class?  Why did that look like half a classroom?  The writers were the ones who made her mayor, and Snow as a character was owed a character scene whereby she decided she didn't want the job anymore.  Considering she was the ruler of many of these citizens in the Enchanted Forest, and to me, one of the areas where her character could still grow and develop.  The absence of Charming was distracting.  

 

I'm glad they had that talk between Hook and Belle, though you'd think they would have rehashed the same conversation for 6 weeks by this point.  Belle seemed like she missed Rumple, and there was zero anger in her tone or voice.

 

I was surprised at the end that Rumple was that Harvard professor who translated the spell.  But I already thought it was ridiculous that Belle was using the internet for research in the first place.  Why would the runes in the Enchanted Forest be the same ones from our world's history?  At first, I thought she said she reached out to the finest minds of Storybrooke and that sounded kinda funny.

 

I laughed at the Blue Fairy's reaction to Regina's quest.  She actually scoffed.  I didn't think she was acting shady.  She seemed extremely guarded, and I didn't blame her since she clearly did not trust Regina at all and was not pleased she got that blank book.  I agree she knows more than she's saying, but I liked that she didn't fall at Regina's altar for freeing her from the Hat.

 

The giant Black Bat event was almost a parody, with Belle saying she'll run to the library while Snow offered to bring everyone to safety?  How is that even possible?

 

I wasn't a fan of Snow and Charming acting all shifty and having some big secret that they're desperate to hide.  There are better ways to use their characters than giving them dark secrets that can only be revealed through flashback.  I'm so sick of them muddying the heroes to justify their whole everyone makes mistakes, so Regina deserves a second chance crap.  Snow saying she'll rip their hearts out made no sense, since she doesn't even have that ability, so it was an idiotic threat.  Why would Cruella and Ursula shiver in their boots at that?  It's too transparent that they are trying to intrigue people by giving them what they don't expect.

 

Ditto for Emma having "the heart with the darkest potential".  Give me a freak'in break.

 

Why would Emma and Regina let Cruella and Ursula keep the Snow Queen's Scroll?  I seriously doubt the Sorcerer made a Scroll which ANYONE could use, if he's as smart as he's supposed to be.  Though since he's a hero, clearly he's as incompetent as they come.

 

Strangely, I'm kinda liking the potential friendship of the three villainesses and I think that is the most interesting thing to me out of all of this.

Edited March 2, 2015 by Camera One

[Anisky]

If in FTL villains never get a Happy Ending, and everybody KNOWS this, to the point where the idea of a villain getting a happy ending is SO insane and unbelievable that nobody believes that even the most powerful immortal sorcerer they know could possibly do it, then nobody would become a villain.

 

Seriously! I suppose there is the occasional person, like a serial killer, who just does evil things for the sake of evil things. But the vast majority of bad people do bad things because they believe it will benefit them, and Disney-type villains are definitely of the second type. If they KNEW it was an immutable law of the world that villains don't get happy endings, then OF COURSE they would go about pursuing their goals in a way that was not villainous, for the same reason that people don't jump out their 5th story window because it's a quicker way to the ground than the elevator.

 

And seriously, if they all want their happy ending and cannot get it, that would have to mean they could not be redeemed. So then why did Snow try to redeem Regina and give her second chances all the time back in FTL? Is it that villains CAN be redeemed, but they still don't get happy endings? If that were true, there would be even less reason to be redeemed than there would to become a villain in the first place (or rather, the same amount of reason: 0 = 0).

 

So there's some author that controls their lives, who writes everyone's stories, and who could write different stories so the villains weren't villains and could get a happy ending. I don't see how this is in any way compatible with free will. In which case the villains didn't do those terrible things by their own volition, but were forced to do it. In which case the Author is the real villain, and as he has omnipotent control over everyone and everything in FTL, which would make him God? This really doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. I don't know how to care about characters who don't have free will in-universe. If they can't choose what to do and what not to do, then none of their actions have meaning anyway. It would mean Regina really WASN'T responsible for anything she did until they came to our land, which would finally explain what's up with the show's treatment of her, I guess, but it makes the whole show completely unsatisfying on the most fundamental level.

 

I like watching Robert Carlyle act though. He is good.

Edited March 2, 2015 by Anisky

[tennisgurl]

Already dreading finding out that the Charming`s Deep Dark Secret is just something little and silly. Like, maybe Snow stepped on Ursula`s tentacle at a surfing competition, and that started her on the path to evil, or something. 

[The Cake is a Pie]

There needs to be a Cruel Housewives of New York spinoff. Because I would watch the shit out of that show.

I didn't hate this one, I guess. Faint praise, I know, but I was expecting something completely craptastic and it was actually decent. Low expectations and all. At least no one propped Regina up about being a hero and Hook got one "evil" dig in. The Queens flashback still doesn't make much sense, since Rumple has never before mentioned anything about wanting "happy endings", just Bae. Also, why didn't Maleficent turn into a dragon when Chernabog went after her? I so wanted a demon vs. dragon fight.

Watch, Snow's dark secret is something like, she's the one who told King Stefan to marry Aurora's mother instead of Maleficent, therefore ruining Mal's happy ending, or something utterly lame like that. I say Snow, because it's obviously not David's secret. Was he even in this ep? I must have blinked and missed him.

[Camera One]

Also, why didn't Maleficent turn into a dragon when Chernabog went after her?

 

They already blew the CGI budget on the most pathetic obstacle course, ever?   Can't wait for the flashback in Season 7 when we see Pocahontas create the Dark Curse.

 

How did Maleficent not know who gave Regina the Dark Curse, way back in Season 1? 

[LizaD]

I was only half paying attention so I might have missed some things but Rump didn't create the Dark Curse? Is that what they're saying? What? Why would they present Rump as BOSS but then retcon the biggest con he ran? Stupid.

So if they're revisiting this curse origin thing yet again I'm thinking Emma's dark heart thing is probably a bit more literal and tied to the retcon. It could be the source of her magic is from the darkest source, the same one as the curse and why Rump specifically pegged her to be the curse breaker. He lied about the true love thing.

So only the trio Queens know Snow and Charming's secret? Rump has to know too right? It wouldn't make sense that his lackeys know but not him. I hate that lackey vibe by the way. Big mistake to make them Rump's underlings.

Maybe Mitchell's Snow Queen is a hard act to follow but I found all 3 to be lacking in presence and gravitas. She commanded any and all scene she was in and didn't even have to speak. These 3 feel like they belong in high school reenacting Mean Girls. Cruella is at least fun. But when Snow White comes off more commanding and more intimidating than the supposed QoDs, you've got problems.

Also no Emma's real world reaction of Cruella and Ursula? Yeah I know its repetitive and she should probably be used to it at this point but I feel like that nod to the audience is crucial. It's a campy cheesy show! Come on play that up instead of all constant serious moping faces going on all the time.

[Camera One]

Also no Emma's real world reaction of Cruella and Ursula? Yeah I know its repetitive and she should probably be used to it at this point but I feel like that nod to the audience is crucial. It's a campy cheesy show! Come on play that up instead of all constant serious moping faces going on all the time.

 

Yeah, total missed opportunity.

 

So Cruella and Ursula are sleeping in the car?

 

Cruella de Vil was living in New York in high society dressed and looking exactly like Cruella de Vil?

 

On another note, if the Chernabog had been like the Winged Monkey, the town line trick wouldn't have worked, right?  Emma and Regina didn't raise that as a possibility.

Edited March 2, 2015 by Camera One

[coops]

Also no Emma's real world reaction of Cruella and Ursula? Yeah I know its repetitive and she should probably be used to it at this point but I feel like that nod to the audience is crucial. It's a campy cheesy show! Come on play that up instead of all constant serious moping faces going on all the time.

I think they have to be careful with Emma's reactions to some of these characters, for example Cruella is not a fairy tale character she comes from a book written in the 20th century set our world. If Emma starting pointing this out it would raise all sorts of awkward questions the writers cant answer like why the hell is Cruella in the EF to begin with. One question no character has ever asked is how all the 'events' from the EF became stories in our world, the answer to that question would make a really interesting plot but instead its never mentioned or asked about! Sometimes you just have to go with it with this show...

[retrograde]

Maybe Mitchell's Snow Queen is a hard act to follow but I found all 3 to be lacking in presence and gravitas. She commanded any and all scene she was in and didn't even have to speak. These 3 feel like they belong in high school reenacting Mean Girls. Cruella is at least fun. But when Snow White comes off more commanding and more intimidating than the supposed QoDs, you've got problems.

I agree. But Rumple is clearly the real big bad this season (he may still be playing the trio), so I don't mind so much if they're just wise-cracking hench-women.

 

Also no Emma's real world reaction of Cruella and Ursula? Yeah I know its repetitive and she should probably be used to it at this point but I feel like that nod to the audience is crucial. It's a campy cheesy show! Come on play that up instead of all constant serious moping faces going on all the time.

 

 

Yeah word. Cruella at the very least deserved a "Wha?"

[Camera One]

But Rumple is clearly the real big bad this season (he may still be playing the trio)

 

He must be.  Why does he need to resurrect Maleficent?  Apparently, he knew all along she wasn't completely dead?   Is it going to make sense why he wanted Charming to place the egg inside Maleficent as a dragon?  

[FurryFury]

This... wasn't as bad as I've feared, but overall, kinda meh. Overall, I just don't care that much about the show. The shark has really jumped so high already and so many times that it's simply not as fun to watch anymore. Still, without too much Regina, the show's still mostly tolerable and can provide a few interesting moments.

 

- Cruella seems to have the most presence, definitely. But my biggest impression of the three is that I really don't like Ursula. Something about her just seems off. Also, she's the only one amongst the three who wasn't shown using magic. Are her tentacles her only power? How disappointing.

 

- Rumple, at least, was back to being fun, after a half-season of repeating one thing over and over again. My pet theory is that the show will try to make us believe him wanting to get his happy ending means getting Belle (and Belle herself will think so), but in reality,he just wants to resurrect Neal or retcon the shit out of everything that has happened over the last few years.

 

- Emma and the dark heart stuff is so idiotic I don't even want to discuss it. Please, let this be a red herring! 

 

- I kinda like that they've tied the Sorcerer to the dark curse. It doesn't feel as such a big retcon and even makes a bit of sense, considering that the book's origins were a big mystery from the beginning. But I'm iffy on the Author and the Sorcerer being two different people. Using both of their titles together sounds incredibly silly. I was distracted during Regina/Blue/Emma scene just because of this.

 

- I'm already dreading the Snowing's "secret". It has sky-high potential of being another idiotic retcon to make the villains look better, in the vein of Eva telling Leopold about Cora's pregnancy.

 

Also, why didn't Maleficent turn into a dragon when Chernabog went after her?

 

I thought she was going to, but Ursula managed to snatch her a second before that.

Edited March 2, 2015 by FurryFury

[txhorns79]

Can't wait for the flashback in Season 7 when we see Pocahontas create the Dark Curse.

 

This had me dying a bit, and then imagining some kind of ridiculous season where Mowgli, Pocahontas and Scrooge McDuck are the Big Bads, because why not?

[bettername2come]

Was I the only one who was ridiculously excited to see Mary Margaret teaching again in the opening montage?

[Curio]

Yooooooo. I didn't even notice Belle and Hook's board in the library mentioned 'YEN SID'.

 

That screenshot says, "C.O.C. records said landlord is Yen Sid." Am I stupid for not knowing what a C.O.C. is? Clerk of Courts? Certificate of Compliance? And I thought Rumple was the landlord of all the properties in Storybrooke? I don't know why I'm zeroing in on this detail when it probably doesn't even mean anything. I guess that goes to show you how much of an impression the Queens of Darkness left on me that I'm more interested in this random sticky note.

 

Speaking of this ridiculous cork board Hook and Belle put together...why was a convoluted missing persons board needed in the first place? The mystery of the missing fairies wasn't that complicated where they needed to pull out shoe strings to connect places and people together. Hook used a magical hat on them in Granny's Diner and now they're gone. Boom. Done. Sure, the process of getting them out of the hat is a bit more complicated, but researching spells to release them doesn't require a cork board full of photos, maps, and conspiracy theory sticky notes. I feel like the props people just put that together to make it look like Hook and Belle have been trying really hard over the last month to figure out this great big mystery, but in actuality, most of those sticky notes probably just say things like, "This doesn't make any fucking sense" or "I ate a bowl of Lucky Charms this morning and I found three sorcerer's hats in my cereal. Is it a sign?"

 

Now I have the mental image of Hook pulling a Charlie Kelly from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia where all he's been doing for the past 6 weeks is losing his goddamn mind over this board he put together, while Belle just placates him and lets him run with his crazy theory while she does the "real" research in the magical Internet box.

[YaddaYadda]

But Rumple is clearly the real big bad this season (he may still be playing the trio)

 

He is playing the trio.  Would not make sense if he wasn't.  He played them the first time around and now he wants his happy ending still and he is using them to do his dirty work.  The worst part is that he said a few things about that, that the only person he cares about is himself.

 

Cruella seems like she might give Rumple a run for his money.

[Tiger]

Looks like another season of awful writing, laughable cgi, and stellar acting.

The QoD actresses, particularly Smurfitt, looked like they were having a blast.

I knew A&E were delusional when it came to Regina, but I was shocked that Lana might be even more so. And her line about people telling her she has a big heart? Who the hell says something like that out loud and in public?!?

[kili]

What I Liked

 - Cruella - the snarking, the clothes, the trashily fighting with the repo men

 - Rumple in the world without magic and getting a little karmic smack down in the process (going through the drive-thru, living in Ursala's crappy apartment, waiting sadly at the town line)

 - The non-reaction of the town to the latest threat (I guess Grumpy was home sleeping off last night)

 - Hook & Belle working together

 - Emma taking the time to cheer up Hook (I'll take those few seconds when I can get them - it's not like she has the time/energy to devote to her BF that she has for her BFF - she has to fill the time walking back from the bathroom with something - that is their Bathroom Hallway of Love - that scene in the 4A finale now makes sense - he was probably lurking at the jukebox with his heart in his hand waiting for her to get out of the bathroom, so she stopped for a few seconds to put it back before re-joining Regina)

 - Emma handling Chernabog like a boss

 - Cruella basically calling the Author theory nonsense (beats blaming bad judgement and gin)

 

What I didn't like

 - shady Snow and Charming. Seriously, what have they done wrong that is consistent with their characterization? Charming took an arrow to prevent Snow from going dark, Snow has been shown specifically not killing people, Snow wouldn't even execute her life-long tormentor. What could they have done that is so bad? And why aren't they already forgiven with the old "What ever happens in the EF not only stays there, but is forgotten two seconds later" theme we've been working for the last two seasons? Unless Mal's sister is the dragon Charming slew , Medusa is Ursula's sister and James drank all of Cruella's gin, I got nothing.

 - Blue obviously keeping secrets again. That never works out for you lady, so just spill

 - Everything about the Author. If there is no free will, what is the point of the show/universe/my time? Plus, it is a massive ret-con about how we've seen the book working. Why would the pages of the book go blank when Emma/Hook time-travelled? If the Author has all the control, he can still write the same story.

 

 

Speaking of ret-cons, here are a couple obvious ones

- When we originally met Mal, she didn't know where Regina had gotten the curse scroll from. Now she almost died helping Rumple retrieve it.

- When Ursula first appeared on this show, Regina had no idea who she was. Now they supposedly know each other and have traded barbs before?

- Chernabog can fly with great agility, but somehow climbing a cliff allows you to escape such that you can stand around looking down at him? What?

- Rumple won't eat drive-thru food because he wants to live longer, but he happily eats burgers, fries and lasagne at Granny's.

 

I'm going to assume that the heart with the greatest potential to go dark to be like potential energy. You have more potential energy the further you have to fall (ie you have more potential on the top of the cliff than at the bottom). So, Emma is the further from darkness than Regina and that is why the easily defeated monster went after Emma. Lalalalala. What? It's either fanwank the crap out of this stuff or die of liver failure from drinking while watching this show.

 

I knew Rumple was the Oxford professor as soon as he was shown getting mail. Why would an actual Oxford professor know how to read ancient spells from another land? So, that's twice that Rumple has decided to put his grandson's only biological parent's life at risk using the hat. At least his characterization is fairly consistent. Ursala and Cruella reveal  why villains always end up with crappy endings. They reach for too much. Having their powers restored should be enough to make them happy, but no, they have to go for everything and let Rumple back into the land with magic. He is so going to screw them over and they are too stupid to notice. He's probably going to use them to refill the hat since you can't put anybody back.