S04.E20: Lily

[yeswedo]

Emma's potential for darkness is looming over everyone, but when Emma realizes Maleficent's daughter Lily is in fact her closest friend from her foster care days, she resolves to find Lily and reunite her with her mother. Regina joins forces with Emma and together they set out to track down Lily and to warn Robin about Zelena. However, neither of them is prepared for the harsh realities they'll encounter in the outside world. Meanwhile, in Storybrooke, Gold faces a crisis involving Belle. In a foster care flashback, things are looking up for young Emma with her new family until Lily's appearance threatens to destabilize everything.

[Mari]

I promise this is not me knocking Regina--but, was there something off about Parilla’s performance in the “Fate--let’s go on a road trip” office scene and in the “What happened” car scene?  She seemed stiff, and not in way that was just Regina asking for a favor she didn’t want to have to ask.

 

Did Regina and Belle’s thing with Rumple last week give him the impression that Belle isn’t truly dating Will?  That Regina’s faking the relationship to mess with his head?  Also, why is Will in Storybrooke?  And, where’s your wife, Will?  Does Belle know you have a wife, Will?  There’s a Belle/Rumple “Power of our love” speech coming, isn’t there? And that did sort of kibosh the theory that Belle told Regina should could take the heart, doesn’t it?

 

So, Lily shows up at Emma’s foster family, lies to the foster family, robbed a store, had Emma go get the necklace from her thieving boyfriend’s hideout, stole money from Emma’s foster family, and Emma’s a bad person because she told Lily to keep her distance?  And as for the “Since I met you my whole life’s been darkness?” thing--if the two of them made Lily’s life go into the toilet because of the curse thing, shouldn’t it have made rainbows and fluffy puppy wonderfulness start appearing in Emma’s?  Some sort of reciprocity?    As for the necklace, how did Lily get it?  Because she was egged, and there was no necklace.

 

Were these flashbacks before or after the stay with Ingrid?

 

Yes, show, I did notice that you made sure to point out that Zelena killed Marian.  Doesn’t change any of the moral issues involved, by the way.  And I’d also like to gloat a little, because I called that Zelena would be pregnant.

Edited April 27, 2015 by Mari

[TheRabbi]

One thing I've felt for a while, but had to mention it tonight.  Sometimes the overly dramatic music can be way too much.  In the opening scene, I couldn't even hear what the voice was telling the sorcerer because the music was so damn loud.

[YaddaYadda]

Oh, look, a rape baby.

[Worsel]

My thoughts during this episode:

So the sorcerer is a talking cloud of sparkling lights.  I was hoping for a Star Wars like hologram at the very least, but I suppose they want to preserve some mystery about what he looks like.

I saw a close up of Maleficent’s extra-large fake eyelashes in the diner.  It’s such a shame; she is a beautiful woman but the makeup, including the really intense lipstick, is making her look dated.  I like the retro clothing but not the retro makeup.  Yes, I suppose that particular scene just didn’t hold my interest enough to distract me from the makeup.

I loved the old fashioned microfiche Emma reviewed when searching for Lily.  I enjoy that even a couple years after the curse was broken, everything in Storybrooke is still dated, held back in time.  I wonder if it will ever catch up to the outside world.  Maybe at that point the show would be over?

Hook was so sweet during the good-bye scene with Emma.  We need more Hook in this show to cheer everyone up. 

Emma losing her temper more easily is supposed to mean she is going dark? I find this whole good/evil transference thing between Emma and Lily tiresome.  I’m looking forward to the end to this particular storyline.  Although I really enjoyed Agnes Brukner‘s performance as the adult Lily and Regina’s impassioned entreaty to Emma not to kill Lily. 

Finally Snow and Charming realize they should apologize to Maleficent.  Good for Maleficent for making them stew in their guilty juice a while longer. 

Rumple was particularly noble in giving up Belle, but I can’t help thinking he has some hidden agenda…maybe the Author rewriting the story so he ends up with Belle anyway.

<eyeroll> Robin got Zelena pregnant.  The most clichéd soap opera plot line ever.  Couldn’t they have come up with something better?

[Senna]

I hated everything about this episode.

 

Oh, wait, there was scene with Hook being cool.  I revise that: I hated 95 percent of this episode.

 

If fate was soooo bad to Lily because of Emma, then where the hell was Emma's charmed life?

[HoodlumSheep]

Regina felt off to me, like she was oddly written. She seemed uncharacteristically wise-ish and very..."chill" compared to the previous episodes, especially considering Zelena's with Robin. Like, I feel like...she was just sort of...there, for like exposition purposes or something.

How did young Lily manage to find emma?

How did Mickey the apprentice make it to the real world? He went rogue? Wait, so he's been chillin' in Storybrooke (at least since the Snowing curse, or since forever?) and hasn't tried to help correct things, but he decided to help young lily?

I liked the Rumple/Will threatening scene.

And that pregnancy "plot twist"...why, A&E, why???

[Rhetorica]

Lily's mobile home must be a Tardis. It was bigger on the inside than the outside... Oh yeah, blah, blah, blah, fate fate, fate...

[ParadoxLost]

Sorcerer to Lilith:  Everything will be harder for you

 

This implies that Emma's life was very easy and full of light and happiness.  Except not.

 

They were implying that since they met, Emma's life got better at their separation and Lily's worse.  Except Neal, jail, and giving up Henry.  Proof that they are pulling this storyline out of their ass and trying to force it to fit.

[Worsel]

 

Did Regina and Belle’s thing with Rumple last week give him the impression that Belle isn’t truly dating Will?  That Regina’s faking the relationship to mess with his head?  Also, why is Will in Storybrooke?  And, where’s your wife, Will?  Does Belle know you have a wife, Will?  There’s a Belle/Rumple “Power of our love” speech coming, isn’t there? And that did sort of kibosh the theory that Belle told Regina should could take the heart, doesn’t it?

All good questions - unfortunately the only thing we know for sure is that Belle was unaware Regina had taken her heart - so presumably Regina did not have Belle's permission.

[tennisgurl]

 

Oh, look, a rape baby.

But its not rape if there`s magic involved! Or if it was a woman! Or...if A&E say so! That`s why Regina forcing Graham to have sex with her repeatedly against his will wasn't REALLY rape! Right? RIGHT? 

[Souris]

Oh, I just had the most ridiculous, soapiest thought EVER! What if Robin knocked up Zelena while she was pretending to be Marian? So now Regina's sister is pregnant with her soul mate's baby! Hahahahahahahaha sobsobsob.

 

Reblogging myself from the Spoilers thread. This show sucks so much donkey ballage.

[ParadoxLost]

Regina felt off to me, like she was oddly written. She seemed uncharacteristically wise-ish and very..."chill" compared to the previous episodes, especially considering Zelena's with Robin. Like, I feel like...she was just sort of...there, for like exposition purposes or something.

 

I think that is because she was.  Someone has to talk Emma out of giving into darkness which means Regina can't be Regina.  But they really wanted a Regina/Emma road trip so here we are.  I spent a lot of this episode thinking it would be a lot more fun if Emma was a little less disturbed and on edge and Regina was a little more Evil Queen.

[YaddaYadda]

But its not rape if there`s magic involved! Or if it was a woman! Or...if A&E say so! That`s why Regina forcing Graham to have sex with her repeatedly against his will wasn't REALLY rape! Right? RIGHT? 

I'd like to call it karma revisited upon Regina for what she's done to Graham, but sheesh, can we be done with rape already?

[Bluerang1]

Love that Lily is on a warpath. Glad they explained how she knows quickly. Of course people were right about Zelena being pregnant. Why are they always so obvious.

THIS SHOW

[retrograde]

With the exception of the last part, I actually enjoyed this one. And I usually prefer camp and quippy over dark and angsty. Thoughts:

 

Liked

• Young emma continues to be great casting and I'm always glad to get more of her
• Enjoyed seeing Emma being awesome without magic again
• I like that Emma continued to explain to the fairytale character that getting justifiably angry isn't "going evil" it is being human
• I'm glad that Emma and Regina continued to bicker on the road trip
• Obviously the consent issues are gross, but the "Zelena being pregnant with Robin's baby" twist is so ridiculously soapy, I could only laugh ($5 says she is not pregnant and it is magic, though).

 

Did not like

• So “darkness” just means having crappy things happen to you and some petty theft?
• Hook continues to do nothing
• Will continues to do nothing. It has been almost an entire season and he has had about three lines and we still know nothing about what happened since Wonderland. 

[KingOfHearts]

I hated this episode. My life wouldn't be any worse if I never saw it again.

 

You'll like this episode if you...

... find that the words "Swan Queen road trip" just warm your heart.

... thought Breaking Glass was the masterpiece of 4A.

... can't get enough Emma foster home flashbacks.

... appreciate darker, grittier settings.

... wish this show wasn't so fluffy and magical.

... see episode titles named after secondary characters as clever.

... ship Scarlet Beauty like there's no tomorrow.

... want Emma and Lily to be totes BFFs foreverz.

 

You'll dislike this episode if you...

... don't enjoy watching annoying characters gain sympathy because fate.

... can't stand soapy twists like unexpected pregnancies.

... watch this show for the main characters.

... see right through the "dark Emma" plot. Way to over-dramatize, writers.

... still just loathe the Zelena = Marian twist.

... think there are already enough Mills family members in the world.

... waited for the normal witty, humorous dialog for 42 minutes.

... are tired of the trite drama.

... don't find the "darker" tone A&E are going for as all that entertaining.

... get sick of plot conveniences put in place in order to hop to other plots. (Lily knew all!)

 

I'm ranking Lily all the way down with Henry. I didn't like her in 4x05, but now I just despise her. Oh and as for the Zelena pregnancy twist, all I can say is:

 

This show...

[ParadoxLost]

If there was ever a person who embodied 'love the one you're with'  his name is Robin. 

 

I need an out clause to the pixie dust fated love stuff.  Every time I think I can't dislike Robin more, they find a new way.  I feel bad for supporters of Outlaw Queen.  I like the actor, but the character needs to go.  Its just a shame all around.

Edited April 27, 2015 by ParadoxLost

[sharky]

For everything they do right with Captain Swan, they do wrong with Outlaw Queen. It's the theme of tonight too! Emma is Captain Swan, Lily is Outlaw Queen and all messed up. Bring back the dead wife? Impregnate her? Why the fuck not? At least the meatloaf in the oven line was more foreshadowing than we got for the Zelena switch in the first place.

Other than that fuckery, I really liked this episode. Emma back story was awesome, having her threaten Lily and then sort of make amends, the car chase! More of that, please. Still makes me wonder what's going on with the light and dark. As someone mentioned on tumblr, aren't Lily's boyfriend problems similar to Emma and Neal? So how is Emma the good one?

And I really did like the Savior Queen interactions in this episode, much more than I expected. Crazy that Regina was the moral compass, but I actually believed it in this episode. Not saying what she's done isn't wrong, but her "expertise" with the Dark Side is similar to Hook so it was a good person in place of Hook. Besides, Hook needs to hang out with Henry and take care of him while Emma's away. Oh, the feels.

And as a Captain Swan fan, I know we didn't get much but we got plenty. These two love each other and are in a good relationship. So glad they haven't screwed that up. I feel bad for Outlaw Queen fans. CS gets all the good stuff, OQ gets all the dramazzzzzzzzzz!

[Mari]

They were implying that since they met, Emma's life got better at their separation and Lily's worse.  Except Neal, jail, and giving up Henry.  Proof that they are pulling this storyline out of their ass and trying to force it to fit.

 

Yes.  We should start a "Look at the retcon proof" list.

 

All good questions - unfortunately the only thing we know for sure is that Belle was unaware Regina had taken her heart - so presumably Regina did not have Belle's permission.

Which makes me wonder what the point of the scene they shot with Belle and Regina was?  If you're going to have Regina just take Belle's heart and mess with Rumple, why give the audience the impression that Belle had okayed it?  Just have Regina take the heart if you want her to take the heart.

 

 

 

But its not rape if there`s magic involved! Or if it was a woman! Or...if A&E say so! That`s why Regina forcing Graham to have sex with her repeatedly against his will wasn't REALLY rape! Right? RIGHT? 

Well, all the women involved are beautiful.  That makes it okay.  After all, it's not like guys would refuse to have sex with a woman they found morally repugnant or frightening, as long as she was beautiful. Guys are totally into sex at all times, as long as the woman is attractive . . .

 

And isn't that gross, creepy thinking?  Thank you, show, for perpetuating that.

Edited April 27, 2015 by Mari

[Writing Wrongs]

Were these flashbacks before or after the stay with Ingrid?

 

 

That's what I wanna know.

 

I kept yelling for Emma to shoot Lily...just because.

 

ETA: Cameron Bancroft got old.

Edited April 27, 2015 by Writing Wrongs

[YaddaYadda]

So was it Emma's magic that blew up the bug's lights or Lily's?

 

Also, Hook...I love him, awesome, supportive boyfriend who should be a more than wall paper.  And fuck you show for giving Rumple the creeper a lengthy ass scene with Belle's heart and monologuing about it.  This makes me even more pissed about what happened in 4x11.

[KingOfHearts]

Rumple giving Scarlet Beauty its blessing... yeah right. That felt so awkward and creepy. There were so many points in this episode where I was just yelling, "Why?!!" loudly in my head. The gun scene was played out way too long, the flashbacks felt like a mash-up of Shattered Sight and Breaking Glass, the Outlaw Queen angst at the end was too dumb to believe, the road trip was totally squandered, Snow and Charming are pretty much stagnant, and the Author was just sort of... there. I felt like half the show was put on hold to show us Lily's story, similarly to the past two weeks. Except I found her backstory to be an absolute snore.

Edited April 27, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[ParadoxLost]

I think the returning of Belle's heart is saying that Belle's relationship with Will only happened because her heart was gone. Now that its back, she wants Rumpel again.  Predictable, sadly.

[OnceUponAJen]

I was really hoping Belle wasn't going to say, "Wait!" as Rumple left She might have if Will wasn't there. I'd like to know about Will's wife too. I never watched OUATiW, but if they've established this story for his character, they just can't brush that aside forever. If I were a fan of that show, I'd be waiting for an explanation.

I really liked seeing more of young Emma and Lily. The actors were really good in their scenes. I don't see that Emma has made such charmed decisions in her life, either. There's a lot about being the savior that pretty much sucks. They both seem to have had it pretty hard just being separated from their families.

Ugh...Zelena pregnancy reveal. I was afraid it might, but was hoping that wouldn't end up happening. It's so predictable....and how in hell would Zelena ever want that to be her life, just to mess with Regina? That's twisted.

[Chaos Theory]

I loved this episode but then I like Regina and I love Regina and Emma scenes (I don't necessarily ship them but I do think they have chemistry and love their scenes together) so I loved their road trip. I don't care at all about Zelana's baby so zzzzzz to that. I did enjoy the back story with Emma and Lily and liked that there were some serious repercussions for darkening Lily's soul. I guess you can call it a predisposition for making bad choices. I actually thought for a moment that Emma was going to shoot Lily. As for the Rumple and Belle stuff zzzzzzzzzz

<------edited for spelling because my iPhone likes to make up words.

Edited April 27, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Minneapple]

 That`s why Regina forcing Graham to have sex with her repeatedly against his will wasn't REALLY rape!

Oh, you. Who's this Graham person you speak of? O LOOK, REGINA'S TELLING EMMA NOT TO GIVE IN TO THE DARKNESS.

 

So now we have Zelena pregnant with Robin's baby and he knocked her up when she was disguised as Marian. I'm pretty sure the writers stole this plot straight from Passions. Or was that Days of Our Lives? Either way it's stupid.

 

About the ONLY THING this show does right is Captain Swan. None of the romantic angst fuckery that goes on with other shows. They are downright sweet.

[ParadoxLost]

I'm going to admit something that proves that I haven't always paid complete attention.

 

I have always thought that the wolf that originally stopped Emma from leaving Storybrooke was Graham.  I was completely certain of it.  I thought it wasn't even a mystery, it was Graham.  I thought this even though Red could go all wolflike.  I had no idea it was fate's wolf.

 

So, when the wolf ran in front of the car, I'm all 'holy shit Graham guest start without the actor'.

[AmeliaBedelia]

This episode didn't piss me off as much as last week, but I think that's because I was distracted by birthday dessert (which just makes everything better).

 

I liked: 

Emma being in most of the episode! That's what I want/expect when someone is a main character. Now we just need more Snow/Charming/Hook to make me happy.

Young Emma. That actress is very natural and looks a lot like JMo.

Hook/Emma saying goodbye at the car.

The car chase. I kept waiting for Emma/Regina to use magic, and then remembered why they couldn't.

Will stealing the heart back.

Zelena is pregnant! I called it (as I'm sure most on here did). It's soapy and I kind of love it.

 

I disliked:

The depiction of Lowell, MA. I'm from MA, so the wrongness stuck out.

Adult Lily. I thought the actress was very flat/monotone.

Regina was also oddly flat this episode too. Not a lot of conviction with her line readings.

Maleficent...her scenes put me to sleep. How can you be evil and have such low energy?

Lily's dialogue about darkness and being cursed. Thanks for beating us over the head writers.

 

I won't watch this episode again, but at least I didn't want to throw things. Progress I guess.

[Worsel]

Ugh...Zelena pregnancy reveal. I was afraid it might, but was hoping that wouldn't end up happening. It's so predictable....and how in hell would Zelena ever want that to be her life, just to mess with Regina? That's twisted.

But I think that's the point: Zelena wants what she doesn't have.  Her intense jealousy of Regina includes wanting Regina's soul mate or true love (whatever) and by getting pregnant with Robin she can have what Regina could have had.  The question should be: why would any of these women want Robin at all?

[mjgchick]

So rape victim number 2 for the Mills. Please tell me Cora is classier then that? This is some Sami Brady mess.

I thought Emma could use Magic outside of Storybrook?

Edited April 27, 2015 by mjgchick

[ParadoxLost]

So if Apprentice is helping Lily, does that mean he put August up to getting Neal to betray Emma, frame her and send her to jail, and lose Henry to even things out?

 

Its really the only way this storyline work what with Emma's life supposed to be wonderful and easy.

 

Look in the mirror Apprentice, you'll see the Author looking back at you. 

Edited April 27, 2015 by ParadoxLost

[Worsel]

I thought Emma could use Magic outside of Storybrook?

That was certainly implied during the scene when she gave birth to Henry, although never confirmed.  

[ParadoxLost]

I won't watch this episode again, but at least I didn't want to throw things. Progress I guess.

 

It was better than Heart of Gold.

[tennisgurl]

WHY THE HELL IS YOUR WIFE, WILL?!?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?!

 

Alright, now that that's out of my system...

 

The problem I have with this whole Author/darkness/Lily story line, is it seems to be removing free will from the equation, which makes it hard to "get" characters. Snow and Charming were deliberately written out of character by the Author when they stole Lily, so, technically, this isn't really their fault, so how can I support Emma being pissed at them. Granted, they do have legitimate issues to work out, but this shouldn't count, right? And Lily is an awful, unlikable character, but its not her fault, because she was cursed with darkness, so I should feel bad for her? Because her moral compass is off...or something? She has a dark cloud over her head? What?

 

If Lily got the dark, and Emma got the light, shouldnt Emma be a perfect person, living a perfect life? We just had a whole story arc about how sad and lonely Emma`s life has been! Here life has SUCKED! It seems like Lily got the better deal, really. We`ve seen that she isnt some perfect angel princess! Thats her appeal as a character! It all just stinks of sloppy writing and retcons. 

 

Of course Zelena is pregnant. They were like "what is the silliest, grossest thing we could do in this story? Rape by fraud! Go us"! And Robins reaction was so weird. Why would he still want to stay with her? She`s dangerous and terrifying and a rapist (and Regina says they're nothing alike). Being all "I cant go" is not so ridiculous. I thought she had put a spell or something on him, but I guess that would make sense. Actually, why did Zelena even reveal herself? Robin didn't even believe Regina! And, now they are going to focus on all the Regina angst, without even mentioning that Robin was raped by her evil sister? They need to stop creepily accidentally writing rape stories! Ugggg!

 

On the plus side, we did get some lovely Captain Swan, plus Emma, even in her darkness approaching mode, making sense and being logical (except for smacking around that random guy). Yes, people are aloud to have bad moments, without being evil!

[Jul 68]

My only thoughts were:

Emma doesn't have a spare tire?

Lily knows all about Storybrooke and her past, but has to ask "What was that?" regarding Zelena's magic?

[Spartan Girl]

Oh wow, Zelena is pregnant. Did you think of that all by yourself, writers? *sacastic applause*

[Writing Wrongs]

I hope Zelena is lying. We don't need another baby on the show.

 

I think the idea is that Emma and Lily have to be close in order to balance out their "light and dark".

Edited April 27, 2015 by Writing Wrongs

[KingOfHearts]

 

Of course Zelena is pregnant. They were like "what is the silliest, grossest thing we could do in this story? Rape by fraud! Go us"!

And you thought this was a family show! Ha! We've all been baited by the long con.

 

 

I hope Zelena is lying. We don't need another baby on the show.

I'll be doing a lot of praying this week...

Edited April 27, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[tennisgurl]

 

So, when the wolf ran in front of the car, I'm all 'holy shit Graham guest start without the actor'.

I totally thought the same thing! I was so convinced in season 1 that Graham was the wolf, or he was connected with the wolf, my brain never put together that he probably was not connected. Or was he friends with the wolf? Its been awhile. Whatever, I associate the wolf with Graham. I`m taking this as a shout-out.

 

I`m still getting sad now, thinking about poor Graham, and how his years of torture, rape, and eventually murder was never given given justice. I hope the wolf at least gets some vengeance, and gives her a good bite. 

[Sabs]

I think that she doesn't know she can use magic outside Storybrooke, but the lightening and exploding lightbulbs would indicate that she can...

[SzmuttyPratfall]

That was certainly implied during the scene when she gave birth to Henry, although never confirmed.  

It is confirmed in Shattered Sight. Ingrid get Emma to use slight magic as a child, but Emma doesn't know she did anything.

[KR Vermont]

Seems the only things I like about this show are Hook and the changing animation under the OUAT title near the show open...this week was the yellow Bug, last week was running dalmatians, etc...otherwise, I'm not liking the direction of many of the characters and how so much doesn't make sense.

But I keep tuning in, wtf.

 

[Chaos Theory]

High speed chase in a stolen car and not a cop in sight: plus a woman holding a gun on another woman in broad daylight.

[OnceUponAJen]

But I think that's the point: Zelena wants what she doesn't have. Her intense jealousy of Regina includes wanting Regina's soul mate or true love (whatever) and by getting pregnant with Robin she can have what Regina could have had. The question should be: why would any of these women want Robin at all?

Actually, the impression I got in S3 was that Zelena was more interested in the "good life" that Regina got....being a queen, living in a castle, having the support of their mother, and getting chosen by Rumple to cast the curse. I realize that Zelena wants to screw up Regina's happy ending with Robin, but I didn't get the impression that impoverished life with a thief is what she had in mind.

I agree with others above too...she may be lying and I hope she is.

Edited April 27, 2015 by OnceUponAJen

[Jul 68]

So now we have Zelena pregnant with Robin's baby and he knocked her up when she was disguised as Marian. I'm pretty sure the writers stole this plot straight from Passions. Or was that Days of Our Lives?

Perhaps they share writers with Grimm. A VERY similar situation has been recently revealed on that show as well.

[Curio]

Some people think it’s easier to be a cynical TV critic than to be a cordial viewer who gives positive, objective reviews. To them I say, “fuck you.”

Adam & Eddy: You do not like the plot right now?
Me: I do not like it anyhow.
A&E: Don’t think too much. Just watch and say, “wow.”
Me: I refuse to praise something so lowbrow.
A&E: Aren’t you intrigued by all the suspense?
Me: That’s the thing you’re worst at, no offense.
A&E: We don’t give clues to keep things intense.
Me: But that makes everything else not make sense!
A&E: Could you watch the show on mute?
Me: No, the plot still would not compute.
A&E: How about Lily? She’s pretty cute!
Me: She’s pointless. Useless. Give her the boot!
A&E: But she’s essential to Emma’s past.
Me: Their one-day friendship didn’t seem to last.
A&E: Swan Queen bonding is such a blast!
Me: So, when will Emma learn how Graham truly passed?
A&E: Don’t you like Zelena and this author fellow?
Me: Maybe if he could turn her into Hook’s Jell-O.
A&E: That hurts our feelings. Try to be mellow!
Me: Let me play you a sad song on Mark Isham’s cello.
A&E: What can we do to improve our show?
Me: So many things! You’ve hit a new low.
A&E: Please, just tell us. We have to know!
Me: Here’s a formula to help your ratings grow:

Just do the exact opposite of what you’re doing right now. That’s it. Stop bringing in hordes of villains and characters we don’t care about. Use the regular cast you already have and focus more on character development and less on big surprising twists. (That aren't actually twists because most of us have called what's going to happen.) Don’t have Regina going around saying how she should have cursed everyone to Massachusetts instead of Maine during an arc that’s devoted to giving her a happy ending. It keeps reminding us of how much she doesn’t deserve a happy ending. Stop trying to make Emma and Regina BFFs. It’s not a thing. Stop using Hook as background man candy. It’s getting ridiculous. And for the love of Granny’s lasagna, no more retconning!

A&E: That doesn’t rhyme…
Me: Rhyming time is over. Now fix the show or I quit.

 

Yes. I have resorted to writing poetry about how bad this show is. This is where I'm at.

[CatMack]

Thing is, even if Zelena is lying, Robin believes her which means unless he is really confused about how babies are made, they've had sex.  Which means even if Zelena is lying about the baby, Zelena still raped him.  Which was already heavily implied, but is absolutely confirmed now.  And we all know how well these writers understand consent and rape.  So I'm sure this will be handled with tact and respe- *snort* nope, sorry, couldn't get through it with a straight face.

[Actionmage]

I was weak. *sigh* I held out for about 20 minutes, so I missed Hook. Oh well.

 

*It was super-paternalistic with the Rumple "I'm handing you, lil' Wifey, over to the male I approve of watching over you and this heart, here in my hands."   There was a scene as distasteful in The Flash a couple of episodes back; I wish writers would stop writing things like that, yes, even with the villains.

 

*Could they not get younger actors for Gennifer and Josh? Ever since the Darkest Secret Evah!!!1111!1!!! was revealed, Snow and David have gone around being spoken to as if they are children who need small words. As if the storyline hasn't irked me, how Snow and David are written to act and respond are as irksome as when I stopped watching!  Snow and David would never realize on their own to apologize to the person they harmed most directly- really Show?  (On the shallow end? Kristen Bauer von Straten is working the pencil skirts, and the hair! )

 

*I missed how long Emma was supposed to be with the Flashback! Family; it still perpetuates that more often than not, fosters don't consider you theirs. What a gross misrepresentation. I hope that foster families have written and continue to write ABC and A&E in protest, especially as Disney probably has some celebration of families and or foster families.

 

*Hey! Apprentice! Yeah, you. There is telling someone Truth they need and telling Truth to someone who has a big, earned grudge and will use the Truth to cause all manner of havoc, collateral damage be damned. Also? 'Vague' works for no one but the actual Yoda, and sometimes not even then.

 

*Gee, the cut between Lily and Zelena holding out the magic necklace wasn't foreshadowing, not at all.  Because a thief with an earned grudge would never have any reason to steal the shape-shifting necklace from the bsc witch that has it and cause all sorts of payback.

 

*I love when you're bsc, Zelena, but STFU and go away until there's a story more worthy of you and your battiness.

 

I will probably watch the finale, but I don't know if I want to deal with next week.

 

#FreeRoland!!!

[tennisgurl]

Curio, that was a thing of beauty.