S04.E17: Best Laid Plans

[retrograde]

That early scene in the loft was really weird. Emma and Hook hug. Camera cuts away from their hug, Snow and Charming have an entire, not very quiet conversation that somehow no one hears. They cut back to Emma and Hook they’re still just standing there hugging in the middle of the room in front of Snowing and Henry.

[KingOfHearts]

So if the Author simply made people bad and manipulated them, or at some point set an unchangeable "heroes and villains" law, shouldn't Storybrooke be on the same team as the Queens of Darkness, since the Author screwed them all over? Don't they all just want to stop the Author, who's the real enemy here?

 

There was some weird editing in the Snow/Young Emma scene. The colors changed midway through, I guess to make it look evil or something, but it felt really abrupt. 

Edited March 30, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[Souris]

How the frell did August know all that about the author? Holy deus ex narration machina, Batman!

 

This show is the worst-written show I've ever had the misfortune of falling in love with a ship on. It makes my brain hurt. Like, I think my brain is going to slither out of my nostril and slap me upside the head for watching it.

 

I was hoping last week signaled an upswing in quality. Alas, no.

[OnceUponAJen]

That early scene in the loft was really weird. Emma and Hook hug. Camera cuts away from their hug, Snow and Charming have an entire, not very quiet conversation that somehow no one hears. They cut back to Emma and Hook they’re still just standing there hugging in the middle of the room in front of Snowing and Henry.

Cone of Silence? You got me! It's almost like everyone else froze while that conversation was going on. Either that or.....worst hearing ever.

[Curio]

This show is the worst-written show I've ever had the misfortune of falling in love with a ship on. It makes my brain hurt. Like, I think my brain is going to slither out of my nostril and slap me upside the head for watching it.

Seriously. It boggles my mind that this writing team - which has developed some very touching, deep, and beautiful relationships on the show - is the same team of writers that manage to dig themselves deeper and deeper into the idiot hole every episode. This show would have been cancelled by now if they didn't luck out with these amazing actors.

 

I can't believe they finally revealed who the author is, but I'm too annoyed at all the retcons and awful writing to even care.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Curio

[bmoore4026]

Is there anything that Patrick Fischler has been in where he doesn't play a bad guy?

 

The fact that the peddler was an Author writing the heroes doing bad things seemed like a bit of a reach.  I was kind of hoping for Neil Gaiman appearing as the Evil Author.

 

But, yeah, the fact that the Evil Author wrote Snow White and Prince Charming as kidnappers and handed over a baby to be essentially sacrificed so their daughter would be free of darkness doesn't make what they did any less heinous.

 

So the baby is named Lilith, huh?  Hope she invades Storybrooke with a big ass women's music fair.

[thuganomics85]

So, The Author is actually The Peddler, being played by Patrick Fischler, who I will always know as Jimmy Barrett from Mad Men.  I like him, so I can only hope this entire story-line gets better, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

 

The good news was that what Snow/Charming did to Maleficent did actually end up being horrible, so at least their reactions made sense.  It's just too bad that I'm kind of on Team Maleficent now.  I mean, I guess I'm suppose to believe that The Author's meddling caused this to happen, but that was beyond selfish of them.  And, rich of them to automatically assume that a) Maleficent's child wouldn't be a human (sure, it was an egg, but this is a magical land after-all) and b) her child was a lost cause.  Their are plenty of kids who had bad parents, but turned it around.  But, they just wrote her off.  For shame, Charmings.

 

So, Maleficent's child was that Lily girl, Emma befriended years back.  I'm sure an older version of her will be making an appearance soon.

 

Rumpel be creeping, I see.

 

Emma now knows her parents are lying liars who lie, so she's pissed and, in the process, released The Author, which is just what Rumpel wanted.  Great.  Meanwhile, Regina is now exposed, and he seems to have some kind of... plan for her.  Beats me.

 

For some reason, Cruelle saying to just slit Regina's throat, took me out of the story for a second.  Violence is clearly not new to this show, but I was really waiting for Rumpel to look at her and be like "Christ, Cruelle!  What kind of show do you think this is?!  This is Once Upon A Time, not Game of Thrones!  Tone down the blood-lust, lady!"

 

Despite Jane Espenson being one of the writers, this episode really lacked in the humor department.  Overall, after enjoying last weeks, this was back to being kind of disappointing.

[tennisgurl]

So....free will really cant exist here? Then what has been the point of ANYTHING EVER!?!?!

 

So, again, evil is like a genetic condition in this world? 

Edited March 30, 2015 by tennisgurl

[YaddaYadda]

I can't believe they finally revealed the author and I'm too annoyed at all the retcons and awful writing to even care.

 

Are they really retcons though if Snowing were basically manipulated, had their free will taken from them by the Peddler?  Because that's what it is at the end of the day, this guy is like a fanfic writer (no offense to anyone who writes fanfic or anything like that).  He has these characters and he takes liberties with them to make the story more interesting.  Snowing are two goody-two shoes and he decides to fuck with them to make his book better so he sends them the way of the Apprentice who also gets his free will taken from him and banishes a baby after he basically strips it from its free will and its blank slate to a whole other realm.  In order to make the story good, he twists these people into pretzels so much so that they don't recognize themselves.  I'm actually very much with that interpretation.  

David needs to grow a spine and a pair of fucking balls.  Dude, my husband doesn't say no to me, but he also makes sure I know that I'm wrong.  There is nothing wrong with standing your ground when she is behaving like an idiot.

 

I was really angry last week after I saw the previews and I'm still miffed by Snow because Snow, apparently who has lived with Regina for I don't know how long still doesn't recognize that things, yes, they can either way.  What I actually really hated was that Snow was hell bent on protecting Regina's happy ending.  I understand why, she blames herself for Daniel, she's not over that, but we can't destroy the page because Regina.  Well, fuck!  

 

What about your kid to whom you have been lying?   Telling Emma the truth wasn't about Emma finding out the truth, it was about Regina being able to get her happy ending.

[KR Vermont]

I presumed the Walt reference was because OUAT is a Disney ABC show. Too obvious?

[Mathius]

Seriously. It boggles my mind that this writing team - which has developed some very touching, deep, and beautiful relationships on the show - is the same team of writers that manage to dig themselves deeper and deeper into the idiot hole every episode.

Not entirely true, as a good deal of members from the writing staff from the show's better days are gone now. The only ones left from S1 and on are Adam & Eddy, Jane Espenson, David Goodman and Andrew Chambliss, plus Kalinda Vasquez who has been here from S2 on.

Only Goodman is usually reliable (though even he sometimes gets stuck with thankless tasks like "Enter the Dragon"). Chambliss and especially Vasquez have never been all that good, and Espenson has really deteriorated in her output, IMO. But of course, Adam & Eddy are the biggest problems here. They are master scriptwriters, NOT master storytellers. I wish the network realized this and gave them the boot, but it's never happening.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Mathius

[Dani-Ellie]

So....free will really cant exist here? Then what has been the point of ANYTHING EVER!?!?!

 

That is not at all what they're saying. Free will does exist, per the Apprentice. Authors have existed from time immemorial, and they were tasked with recording events. (Liked August's Plato namedrop, by the way. The philosophy major in me grinned.) It's just the one dude who got power happy and began behaving like a writer rather than a recorder. We don't know how much he messed with, but everything from the time he got trapped in the book until the end of the book still happened, manipulation-free.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Dani-Ellie

[Guest]

Are they really retcons though if Snowing were basically manipulated, had their free will taken from them by the Peddler?  

 

I think the retcon feeling, for me, is more about all the stuff that they are trying to pretend was planned all along.  The prime example is that Snow's heart was dark because of kidnapping Mal's baby not Cora.  They are whitewashing their prior mistakes, the ones people are on them about constantly, by pretending they had some coherent grand plan laid out all along.

[YaddaYadda]

Apprentice: How dare you force me to do this to that child?

Author: It makes for a better story.

Apprentice: Return the quill!  You are ill-suited for this job.   You have abused all the rules, have lied.  You have deceived us.  You have forsaken your Holy duties and now you must be punished.

 

This Author specifically has taken people's free will.  The others have not.  

 

I think August spoke to the Apprentice.  That's where he found out all this information he knows about multiple authors and what this one has done.

[KingOfHearts]

If the Author didn't finish the book, then who did? Is there another author we don't know about?

 

 

I think August spoke to the Apprentice.  That's where he found out all this information he knows about multiple authors and what this one has done.

Could August be the next one in line, then?

Edited March 30, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[Dani-Ellie]

The next person in line? Author is a job, not a specific guy.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Dani-Ellie

[tennisgurl]

Ok, that does make more sense. I really need to watch this episode again. My stupid neighbors and their stupid Dubstep!

 

I have to say, the author thing does still have a million unanswered questions but...I might be a teeny bit interested? 

 

"Walt" totally has to be Walt Disney. I've been expecting him to show up ever since season 1, and even more so now that this Author thing is happening. 

[YaddaYadda]

If the Author didn't finish the book, then who did? Is there another author we don't know about?

Page 1, read my post ;)

 

Two Authors.  The Peddler who was messing with everything, got trapped in the book a few months before the Dark Curse and Emma's birth which are ALL part of Henry's book.  They likely have the wrong guy, although the Peddler will probably do whatever to make the story more interesting which means he will probably be willing to do Rumple's bidding.

Edited March 30, 2015 by YaddaYadda

[mustbekarma]

I knew it. I knew it! I always thought the author just recorded the stories and people wrote their own endings. According to the wizard, that's the way it was supposed to happen. All sorts of shenanigans are happening because the current author wants to write his own stories. I actually like this development. If the author is only supposed to record the stories, then this entire Once Upon a Time is supposed to be about the heroes and villains making their own choices. Every person has the potential to have a happy ending if the right choices are made.

 

I can get behind this idea wholeheartedly.

[Mathius]

I like how the Author thing ended up being too. My issue with it remains that the characters were so incredibly dumbed down in order for this plot to work, actually believing whole-sale that the Author controlled everything and that it would be a swell idea for him to alter Regina's story to give her a happy ending. The reveal that the Author records events that happen naturally and that altering fate and free will is a CRIME was a pretty big "DUH!" moment.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Mathius

[tennisgurl]

Now every time a character in a show/movie/book/whatever I like acts out of character, or a story line goes bad, or things just start to suck, I now have someone to blame! Stupid peddler author guy! 

 

Its the new "gas leak year" from Community! 

 

Cant blame everything on the gas leak year, Regina. 

[FabulousTater]

He has these characters and he takes liberties with them to make the story more interesting.  Snowing are two goody-two shoes and he decides to fuck with them to make his book better so he sends them the way of the Apprentice who also gets his free will taken from him and banishes a baby after he basically strips it from its free will and its blank slate to a whole other realm.  In order to make the story good, he twists these people into pretzels so much so that they don't recognize themselves.

I can't tell if you're talking about Adam & Eddy or the storybook author.

It seems to me that everything that the eipsode is claiming the author did (controlled Snowing and The apprentice to do bad things so as make the story more interesting) is funnily enough the exact same reason A&E are doing this song and retcon dance now because "Oh, shiny! See now, Heroes are Vllains and Villains are Heroes! See how complex we are audience!" I think AE are trying to be meta and it's backfiring on them.

[Anakerie]

While I'm sure they mean Disney, my first thought was WAAAAAALTTT!!!! He shows up, I'm gone.

[Mathius]

I can't tell if you're talking about Adam & Eddy or the storybook author.

It seems to me that everything that the eipsode is claiming the author did (controlled Snowing and The apprentice to do bad things so as make the story more interesting) is funnily enough the exact same reason A&E are doing this song and retcon dance now because "Oh, shiny! See now, Heroes are Vllains and Villains are Heroes! See how complex we are audience!" I think AE are trying to be meta and it's backfiring on them.

Now I want this guy's name to be Adward Kitsowitz. He's totally A&E's avatar in the story.

[TwistedandBored]

Just when I think this show could not get any worse than it is right now…they do something to prove me wrong. Seriously, why do I keep watching this show?

[InsertWordHere]

I presumed the Walt reference was because OUAT is a Disney ABC show. Too obvious?

That's what they want us to think. Walt will turn out to be a LOST reference instead ;) 

 

ETA: I posted before I saw Anakerie's post.

 

While I'm sure they mean Disney, my first thought was WAAAAAALTTT!!!! He shows up, I'm gone.

Well, they never really explained his "powers." Just saying.

Edited March 30, 2015 by InsertWordHere

[Curio]

If the Author didn't finish the book, then who did? Is there another one we don't know about?

I'd assume there's another author we don't know about. But what I'm really confused about is how this all fits in with Hook and Emma's time travel adventure. They went back in time and the book pages went blank, basically erasing all of the author's hard work. So when they made the timeline right again, was there an author around who magically put in the new pages for them and finished the book in the past? And whose pages did Emma and Hook erase - the peddler's pages or some other author? And how could the author who was trapped inside the book create a page about Robin and Regina if he could barely grab his flask?

[Guest]

I like how the Author thing ended up being too. My issue with it remains that the characters were so incredibly dumbed down in order for this plot to work, actually believing whole-sale that the Author controlled everything and that it would be a swell idea for him to alter Regina's story to give her a happy ending. The reveal that the Author records events that happen naturally and that altering fate and free will is a CRIME was a pretty big "DUH!" moment.

 

If they were going this way, it would have been better if no one believed that the Author could give Regina her happy ending.  Its more emotionally impactful if everyone is utterly certain that Regina's story was the result of her own choices and then found out that at a pivotal moment the Author took away her free will in deciding to meet Robin because it was the more interesting option in his 'choose your own adventure' book.  I always find it very strange that the show can't even serve their own agenda very well.

[FabulousTater]

Just when I think this show could not get any worse than it is right now…they do something to prove me wrong. Seriously, why do I keep watching this show?

The author made you do it.

[Souris]

LOL. Yeah, now whenever I screw up, I'm just gonna say, "The Author made me do it! Totally not my fault! Give me my happy ending!"

[Rumsy4]

Rumple is so gonna die.

 

That was my takeaway as well, with him clutching his heart while creeping on his wife.

 

Am I getting it right that the Peddler guided Snowing and the Apprentice to do what it is that they did?  I mean his stuff reeked of manipulation right off the bat.  So did he actually take away everyone's free will?

 

At the end of the day, Snow (ing) made the choice to steal Mal's baby, and agree to the weird abracadabra spell. Btw, I totally think the spell was fake, and something the Peddler made up. 

 

I just can't believe that Snowing would do what the show said.  Also, neither would lightly make a deal over darkening another child's soul especially if they had no idea what was going to happen after the darkening of said child. ...

Snow, who talks to all the woodland creatures, wouldn't take  turning another creature or human's child into an evil being, imo.  

 

I agree. Whether Snowing thought the egg was going to hatch a baby dragon, or a baby pig, it doesn't matter. Separating a mother from its child to "ensure" their child's goodness was the most idiotic idea ever. And very unlike Snow. 

 

There was some weird editing in the Snow/Young Emma scene. The colors changed midway through, I guess to make it look evil or something, but it felt really abrupt. 

 

I noticed that too--it was odd.

 

Could August be the next one in line, then?

 

That was my feeling too. 

[Mathius]

I'd assume there's another author we don't know about. But what I'm really confused about is how this all fits in with Hook and Emma's time travel adventure. They went back in time and the book pages went blank, basically erasing all of the author's hard work. So when they made the timeline right again, was there an author around who magically put in the new pages for them and finished the book in the past? And whose pages did Emma and Hook erase - the peddler's pages or some other author? And how could the author who was trapped inside the book create a page about Robin and Regina if he could barely grab his flask?

The pages were blank because the book hadn't been compiled yet in the time period they were in, and the new pages were merely a result of the altered timeline. They weren't so much new pages; the old ones just simply never existed now.

We still don't know who compiled the book from the Author's pages, but I assume it's the Sorcerer due to that room in his house, and I definitely think he made the page about Robin and Regina.

[scarynikki12]

I don't know who in the writer's room has a thing for repeating the same words over and over but they need to stop. Between the Charmings and Mal I swear the words "my child", "our child", and "her child" were uttered with almost every breath.  ENOUGH!  We get it, they didn't want to reveal the gender until the final moments (though it's not like most of us hadn't pegged Lily as Mal's kid the second we knew she'd had one) and also didn't just want to say "it" the whole time but there are so many other things they could have talked about than just repeating those words.  They did the same thing with THE SECRET and it gives me a twitch.  Hopefully, now that THE SECRET is out and Mal knows the gender we'll stop hearing the infinite repetition of those words.

 

I thought Ginny did a really bad job tonight.  She over acted to an extreme degree, likely to emphasize how worried Snow was about Emma going EVIL and finding out THE SECRET, but it didn't work.  Plus, her and Josh were both doing the irritating thing that daytime soap actors do where they talk in whispers.  Let these people use their normal voices please!  I don't care how dramatic a scene is supposed to be, no one whispers unless they're trying to avoid being overheard.  Oh, and loudly whispering two feet from the person you don't want to know THE SECRET is also a classic daytime staple and makes everyone in the scene look stupid.  It makes me think that they borrowed a director from General Hospital for this episode. 

 

And it still annoys that Snow was far more concerned about Regina getting her happy ending than anything to do with Emma.  I think they're going to regret not burning that page and somehow it will be presented as the Charmings' ruining Regina's life.

 

I am glad that the show emphasized that this particular Author made some changes before quickly being imprisoned but I still expect everyone to use his manipulation of the Charmings and the Apprentice as the reason Regina shouldn't be blamed for her evil deeds, including those committed in the present day.  Bonus points if they all agree that somehow the Author is to blame for Henry bringing Emma to Storybrooke, which will end up being the most horrible thing to ever happen.

 

Moving on, I did like that Lily's full name is Lilith.  So.Many.Possibilities!  Will the show rip off Supernatural and present her as a powerful demon?  Or will she be a vampire like in some folktales?  Personally, I'm hoping she turns out to be a successful, if stoic, psychiatrist who lives in Boston.  Bonus points if her ex-husband lives in Seattle, she frequents a popular bar, and we learn she has a lovely singing voice.

[bettername2come]

I was ridiculously excited to learn Henry's middle name is Daniel. Snow looked gorgeous in the flashback...and I'm out of positive things to say.

[KingOfHearts]

For some reason I thought the unicorn was going to be more important after seeing it in the title screen. It was the exact same title card from 1x02. Maybe Maleficent captured it later and turned it dark. That would be a bit ironic.

[TrininisaScorp]

I find my mind wanders a bit during episodes as of late.  So when we found would Mal's child's name is Lillith, my brain said "well, Fraiser always said she was a little evil..."  Heh.  I know it doesn't make sense, but I made myself laugh.

 

Like many of you, I thought Jennifer Morrison's acting  when she found out the secrets was well acted.  I felt bad for Emma.  Loved Hook being all sweet and understanding and slightly jealous. It worked for me.

 

I'm not super excited about this author stuff now.  We'll see.

 

Lord Jebus, MORE Oz?!  Didn't we learn and suffer already?!  No?  Dang it.  I really am going to miss The Walking Dead coming on directly after this.

[Shanna Marie]

I can't tell if you're talking about Adam & Eddy or the storybook author.

Well, the Peddler does share some traits with them. All three seem to think that throwing in random twists that are entirely out of character and make no sense but that are "shocking" makes a story better. No, no it doesn't. Really.

 

I think the thing that pisses me off most about this episode is that this whole "put all the goodness in one baby and all the badness in another" thing diminishes Emma if she had no choice but to be all goodness and light because of some spell done when she was a fetus. One of the things that was awesome about her was that she'd been through all that hell, and yet she came out of it a decent person. But now they're saying this was because of magic making her that way? I guess this is yet another prop for Regina, since we've been saying all along that Regina really has no excuse for being the way she is, that Emma had far worse things happen to her than Regina did, and Emma didn't turn evil and destroy an entire kingdom and slaughter villages. But hey, now we know that this was only because of magic making Emma good. She would have been just like Regina, since that's obviously a totally rational way to react to something bad happening, if her parents hadn't done this stupid spell.

 

But it doesn't really hold up because while Emma is nowhere near evil, she does have her dark moments. Would someone who had no darkness at all in her have become a thief? Cut down Regina's apple tree? Left Hook handcuffed at the top of the beanstalk? Been willing to rip out a Lost Boy's heart to interrogate him? Seriously considered killing Ingrid as a solution to the Shattered Sight spell? Been angry enough at her parents about this revelation to essentially cut them out of her life?

 

And Lily hardly seemed to be such an epitome of darkness that she needed to be cast into another world. Yeah, she was a bratty teen ungrateful for her cushy adoptive family and stealing her parents' credit card, but she was kind to Emma, taking pity on her and saving her from being caught shoplifting. Someone who had all darkness and no light would have let her be caught and laughed at her.

 

So maybe it was a bogus spell just to make the story more dramatic and didn't actually do what they said it would (oh, so very, very meta).

 

Also, while I love the "it's free will, you morons" revelation, that does make all the characters look like idiots for actually taking seriously the idea that they could get Regina a happy ending merely by demanding it of some mystical Author rather than by her living her life. It's hilarious that the Author altering the story is seen as a crime, when that's been treated like a worthwhile goal all season long.

[tennisgurl]

 

Also, while I love the "it's free will, you morons" revelation, that does make all the characters look like idiots for actually taking seriously the idea that they could get Regina a happy ending merely by demanding it of some mystical Author rather than by her living her life.

That is why I have been so confused about all of this! WHY did everyone just assume that the Author had the power to do anything he wanted? Why was this not a big deal to anyone but Regina and the villains? You would think that knowing there was some random guy who was in charge of your whole existence, and having proof of that fact, would be kind of a bigger deal.

 

I am really glad they established that Authors are only supposed to record things that happen, and that means hero's and villains are responsible for their own actions, but why did no one think of this sooner? 

[Mathius]

I think the thing that pisses me off most about this episode is that this whole "put all the goodness in one baby and all the badness in another" thing diminishes Emma if she had no choice but to be all goodness and light because of some spell done when she was a fetus. One of the things that was awesome about her was that she'd been through all that hell, and yet she came out of it a decent person. But now they're saying this was because of magic making her that way? I guess this is yet another prop for Regina, since we've been saying all along that Regina really has no excuse for being the way she is, that Emma had far worse things happen to her than Regina did, and Emma didn't turn evil and destroy an entire kingdom and slaughter villages. But hey, now we know that this was only because of magic making Emma good. She would have been just like Regina, since that's obviously a totally rational way to react to something bad happening, if her parents hadn't done this stupid spell.

Actually, the Apprentice said toward the end that darkness could born in Emma again if the Charmings didn't raise her to follow the right path, which they didn't, thus darkness was born in her again and she was right back to where she started when just a fetus. Emma simply used free will to choose the right path of her own accord. It all just emphasizes how tragically pointless the whole ordeal with Maleficent's child was, and how STUPID the Charmings (mainly Snow) were by not just leaving Emma as she was to start with.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Mathius

[TwistedandBored]

The author made you do it.

 

LMAO! You are probably right!

[Curio]

I think the thing that pisses me off most about this episode is that this whole "put all the goodness in one baby and all the badness in another" thing diminishes Emma if she had no choice but to be all goodness and light because of some spell done when she was a fetus. One of the things that was awesome about her was that she'd been through all that hell, and yet she came out of it a decent person. But now they're saying this was because of magic making her that way? I guess this is yet another prop for Regina, since we've been saying all along that Regina really has no excuse for being the way she is, that Emma had far worse things happen to her than Regina did, and Emma didn't turn evil and destroy an entire kingdom and slaughter villages. But hey, now we know that this was only because of magic making Emma good. She would have been just like Regina, since that's obviously a totally rational way to react to something bad happening, if her parents hadn't done this stupid spell.

Actually, the Apprentice said toward the end that darkness could born in Emma again if the Charmings didn't raise her to follow the right path, which they didn't, thus darkness was born in her again and she was right back to where she started when just a fetus. Emma simply used free will to choose the right path of her own accord. It all just emphasizes how tragically pointless the whole ordeal with Maleficent's child was, and how STUPID the Charmings (mainly Snow) were by not just leaving Emma as she was to start with.

This really shows how pointless this entire episode and plot is. Snow and Charming went through this whole ordeal to make Emma this super goody-good person, but the spell could have been undone anyways if they were shitty parents. Which, is basically the same exact thing every parent goes through without having to go through some random magical spell. But even if The Apprentice didn't mention that last caveat about Snow and Charming needing to guide her on the right path, their entire quest was pointless because Emma wound up in the Land Without Magic anyways, which erased any of the goody-good magic that was supposedly pumping through her veins. Thus, why she's the morally grey character she is today - Snow and Charming's efforts did jack shit.

[Zuleikha]

Which means there's another Author.  They have the wrong one.

 

They don't necessarily have the wrong one. It all depends on what they want or need. They have an Author who knows how to use the quill pen of fate to alter stories. That author is the only one willing to change them. So they have the right one for their goals. They just don't have the current one. 

 

The lack of follow-up questions in the Sorcerer/Author plots is driving me crazy. Why didn't Emma or anyone else ask August this simple question, "How the hell do you know all of this?" My suspicion is that August was an Author at some point in his life, although he can't currently be. But the first thing we learned about adult August is that he's a writer, and he had his typewriter of mystery. He's known about things that just being grown up Pinocchio wouldn't tell him (Neal as Baelfire, the well as the Storybooke version of Lake Nostos). So maybe he briefly held the position of Author but then abandoned it for Phuket, and that's the real reason he turned back to wood (since it seems unfair to punish a young boy for not living up to the responsibility of caretaking a baby in a strange land). That may also be why Blue regressed him to a boy when she had the chance.

 

Anyway, if Emma just asked August to explain more, maybe she would have learned something to convince her that David had the right idea with throwing the page into the fire. (I'm not a Charming fan, so it pains me to say this, but it does seem like a running theme in the show is that when Snow/Charming disagree about what to do, Charming is always right.)

 

We're in the middle of the story, so I'm not going to make any judgments on the message the show is sending. We just had free will confirmed. Who knows what Lily's reappearance will show us? Maybe Lily's episode will show us that a loving upbringing can overcome inherent darkness. Just because she was born bad doesn't mean that she is bad. I also do not expect to learn that Snowing's choice was the result of the Author's meddling or any of Regina's choices. It would take away too much power of the story; the show's theme has always been that evil is not born, but made. At most, I'd expect to learn that Snowing's choice happening was some kind of butterfly effect result of Emma/Hook's trip through time and not something that had happened in the past where Snowing walked through Glinda's door of pure hearts. 

 

I am going to judge the story for making Regina ineffectual in her giving the forgery to Gold. She knew Gold would know it was false; that was why she didn't do it in the first place! She should have had some kind of escape plan in place or very quick lie. It was nicely set up, though. With Cruella and Maleficent there to vouch that she didn't do any tricks with Henry, and her previous explanation that the Savior was working magic on the page, it was reasonable that she could have been just as fooled as the other two. I wish the show would stop having Gold just be oh-so-much-smarter than everyone else and figured out a reason for why Gold, but not Cruella or Maleficent, would see through her. 

 

I'm also going to judge everyone for not being concerned about Henry. Where is he? The sorcerer's mansion has no special anti-Dark One properties as far as we know. I'm not sure if Gold has Robin or Henry, but if Gold wants to control Regina, then Henry is the best way to do it. Although maybe next episode will reveal that Henry was drinking chocolate in the loft and we just didn't see him yet.

[FabulousTater]

Let me lay out what I got from that debacle of a flashback —

Snowing go to The Apprentice because they think their baby might be evil, but The Apprentice wisely tells Snowing that everyone has the potential for good or evil but it’s the choices we make that decides what we are. Free will. (DUH, Snowing, DUH! You morons)

But then Snowing turn around and say that’s not good enough and that they want a guarantee, so they do this horrible thing to Maleficent’s egg!baby because they think her child/baby/egg!baby/whatever will be evil — despite the author just telling them that everyone has equal parts bad and good and it’s their choices they make in life that make the difference! *facepalm*

Snowing and The Apprentice then take all the “potential” for evil out of fetus Emma and stuff it into egg!Lily (because the author made him do it! *headesk*). But then after that’s done, What does The Apprentice tell them? Fetus Emma still has the potential for darkness, so she must still be guided to be good. HA! Haha ha. :-|

 

So, after all that BS, we’re back to fetus!Emma still has free will and you must guide her to be good!! I mean, did Snowing think before they sucked the darkness out of Emma that they could just dump baby!Emma on the street and she would be good and “heroic"? Like Insta-baby Goodness, just add water? Did they not think they would have to teach the child to be good before??? WTF. The stupid. IT BURNS.

What’s that Mr. Apprentice, sir? You mean everything Snowing did didn’t change a damn thing and Emma can still go dark if she chooses to just like before the stupid egg!babynapping and dumping her”evil” into the eggBaby? It was a freakin zero sum game!? *headdesk headdesk headdesk headesk*

I’m so glad the writers decided to put together an episode which the entire purpose of was to make Snowing look like A) Idiots, B) Heartless bastards C) Arrogant assholes that are also D) Only concerned with Regina (“No, Charmz! We can’t burn the page! What of Regina and her happiness?!?!” Oh, fuck off and die, Snow.) and finally E) Hiding their secret from Emma to only protect themselves.

 

Bravo, writers. You’ve made me hate Snowing as much as I hate Woegina. Notoriety Achievement: Unlocked! Also, the idea that you have free will, but we can suck the darkness out of you stuff? Those two ideas do not go together. Like this show and logic, one of these things is not like the other.

Edited March 30, 2015 by FabulousTater

[Blue Plastic]

My favorite part of this episode was seeing Ursula and especially Cruella get knocked out when the Charmings attacked.  I don't know if they told the Cruella actress to play it for laughs or what, but I totally thought she did.  I had to rewind that several times to appreciate it fully in all its glory.

 

I call BS on the Charmings thinking that Mal would have a fully dragon, non-human baby.  They've seen Mal herself switch back and forth between human and dragon form, so why wouldn't they consider that her child might be able to do something similar?  Well, this time the Charmings really did do something pretty bad, but I guess it will be the Author's fault/not free will.

 

This whole thing is so messed up because the Apprentice's spell was supposed to take all possibility for evil away from Emma and give it to Lily - do I understand that right?  Yet it's still possible for Emma to become evil, apparently, so in actuality that spell basically did nothing at all to change the fact that each person has the choice, the free will, to be a good or bad person.  So what was the point of taking away Mal's baby and taking on all the consequences of that when you get the same outcome anyway (i.e., Emma chooses her own path)?

 

So, what, Rumpel has heart disease?  I thought being the Dark One protected him from physical problems.  It seems to make his leg injury go away.  But he clutched his shoulder as if he had a physical ailment.

[kili]

Since the book we have did not end with the peddler/author getting stuffed into the book and authors are appointed in a series, shouldn't there be another author lurking about? The author who finished the book from the time of stealing the egg until the time Emma is put into wardrobe?

 

Is that author also writing the Storybrooke Chronicles?

 

Since Cruella and Ursula knew exactly what happened to Mal's baby (fell through a portal with them), why didn't they at least tell her that  her baby was in this world even if they were too lazy to help raise the baby themselves. Some friends.

[Daisy]

Someone said it above - this is getting too "Charmed" for me. And just like Wyatt, it's basically "oh mah gawd, our actions is what turns Emma eevol. Whut evuh doo we do?" And while I was watching the episode, i just had this running through my head. "Everyone is losing because everyone is dumb." I feel with this meddling peddler Author, no matter what people go "hey! free will! your own choices! you choose your own path!" now someone can go. "But if you WANTED you can change the story. Meddling Peddler did it, so can you!"

 

Re: Ursula/Cruella, and Lilly - I imagine it was sort of like what happened with Emma and Pinnochio. they weren't together at first (if I remember correctly) but they landed at the same orphanage.  (then Pinnochio got all "hey let's go have fun, suck it Emma."). So it very easily could have been Ursula 50 km in one direction, Cruella in another 50 directions, and a hatched Lilly on the side of the road. (Because, remember, Cruella was all Mrs. Fennberg for x amount of time, and Ursula spent her time doing something completely demeaning - they were never together, or really kept in contact until Rumple Charlie's Angel'ed them.

 

I.  can't remember why Emma would think Snowing was lying. But seriously, not showing them telling Emma? major faux pas. 

Also. Piss. the hell off, Snowing. Both of you. "well, the baby isn't human so it's totally okay to screw with it?" Even if Snow thought of it, the hell, Charming, tell her no. it's not that hard. "NOOO." 

 

(sigh) on Emma. 

 

And - I know there is a tonne of Captain Swannage here,  but I don't know. I need Hook to find someone more fun and let him know it's all about him. (poor guy). I get he gets his hugs, and the whole "don't be jealous" but... I dunnoo.... I'd be jealous  of the woooden man child too. 

 

I don't get how people didn't ask "so , August, how do you know all of this?

 

the one thing the Author storyline did, is open the OUAT world a bit (and i really, really hope they go there), is that there could be many authors (due to the many books). imagine a Grimm inspired one. "why is everyone so happy, in my books, they always end up eaten or, dead or whatever." or you could have ones who did all the Myths (ie: bring in Hercules et. al, or Loki/Thor/Odin. girl in the ring of fire story)......

 

heck. at this point,  all i want is the Storybook author to be found, everyone screaming "hey! if you don't do this I'll do this." and (S)he goes. "I don't give a crap if you kill everyone. it's not like your happy ending would poof away. if you kill me it won't be written. and i could manipulate it but i don't want to." heh. 

[KingOfHearts]

This episode gave me a new anger for this author plot. They confirmed on the canon that the Author indeed or can alter fate and remove free will. So what actions were free will, and which were the author's doing? What's justified because fate made them do it? These questions have been here since 4A, but now they're more valid than ever. I'm fine with prophecies, predestination and all that, but I'm not fine with saying crimes are whitewashed because of a magic pen. It just retcons and makes the show up to this point less real.

I'm glad they're finally doing a little worldbuilding with the author job, but they added a whole other layer of confusion. If that Author had written everything up to that point, then Snow and Charming's secret should have been in the book. Are there more books from the same time period? What events were in the books and not? Ugh, it hurts my brain.

[foreverevolving]

That is why I have been so confused about all of this! WHY did everyone just assume that the Author had the power to do anything he wanted? Why was this not a big deal to anyone but Regina and the villains? You would think that knowing there was some random guy who was in charge of your whole existence, and having proof of that fact, would be kind of a bigger deal.

 

I am really glad they established that Authors are only supposed to record things that happen, and that means hero's and villains are responsible for their own actions, but why did no one think of this sooner? 

 

Why do people worship gods and fellow rules supposedly dictated to them by said gods?

because for the characters the author = all powerful god.

just like religious people assume god does as he pleases, why? because he is God, because he makes the rules of what is right and what is wrong and all that crap. it's easier to adhere to a higher power and pretend that all these rules we live by, all the decisions we make and their consequences are powered by a higher power, thus removing all the guilt and consequence form our shoulders.

The OUAT characters are seeing their life written in the book as nothing but a mere fairy tale, a story... every story has an author, characters actions are controlled by said author decisions. (this makes so much sense for those of us who write fiction). my point is, seeing themselves as fictional stories and characters makes it easier for the characters to remove any and all personal responsibility they have over their own choices and decisions, and the consequences that follow them. in time of desperate need and want it is easier to adhere and believe in an higher power that can make everything better with ease and have it be consequences free.(or at least it appears this way- because at the end you are handing away control over your life to some unknown deity and to said deity mode swings and what not.

the idea of giving away total power to someone and just sit back and relax is very appealing to someone who has suffered and has been in total control of their life for a long time and have a hard time letting go and just be happy without waiting for the knife to be stabbed into their back, people like Rumple and Regina. hence why this entire arc is focused on them the villains, rather the heros.

[Emma]

Hours later and I'm still stuck with my bitter beer face. I can't go to work like this in the morning.

I wanted just one thing from this whole stupid secret plot. One damn thing. I needed Emma unleashing her anger on her idiot parents. Instead they skip the whole conversation.

Forget flipping tables. I'm chomping on soap bars from all the foul language coming out of my mouth.

There better be snark and cold shoulders in the coming episodes.

[KAOS Agent]

What the hell was that? Not gonna lie. I'm pretty much done with this show. And then I saw the preview. My utter joy at the return of two of my most favorite characters. Oh the excitement. Two weeks is not long enough to get past my disgust with this revolting development.

 

Some non plot notes because the plot is a whole festival of terrible:

 

- Snow sucks. A lot. I can't even begin to express my utter disdain for her. And I am beyond pissed that there was no real reaction from Emma. Although I think the point was she just shut down and walked away as per her old self rather than let her emotions run wild. Still, there damn well better be a blow up at some point. 

 

- I was vastly amused when Shady's talking about August's potential death and Regina chimes in all "we have a bigger problem." Yeah, your poorly done double agent stuff totally trumps someone's death, Regina.

 

- Damn straight, Emma, you tell them that no one gets to determine who you are or the choices you make. Also, your parents suck.

 

- Hook's hair was nice and messy early in the episode. I appreciated that.

 

- "If the vision I saw comes to pass, our child's life will be bleak. Full of pain and darkness" I know what that sounds like, Snow. You child's actual life. Good job, dumbass.

 

- Last week Ursula said she was banished to this world. She wasn't banished, she fell through a portal by accident.

 

- So Snowing think that the only way they can earn redemption is through being absolutely the best they can be and spreading hope and grace throughout the kingdom and beyond. It's nice that they aren't holding Regina to that standard.

 

- We should burn the page to protect Emma. No! Regina won't get her happy ending then. Way to suck some more, Snow!

 

- Finally, I pointed out in the spoiler thread that I thought the pun on "Best Laid Plans" was really asinine. After watching this episode, I find it more so.

Edited March 30, 2015 by KAOS Agent