S05.E02: The Price

[Curio]

And this is twice in two episodes that Regina has chosen Robin over Emma's well-being. Yeah, it was a life vs. something more nebulous, but we're also talking about Regina choosing someone else over someone who sacrificed everything to save her.

 

I think they were trying to mirror the scene where Emma begged Regina in the alternate universe to save Hook, but the big difference is that Emma actually listened to Regina and saved Robin's life, whereas Regina didn't listen to Emma and Henry was the one who actually came through in the clutch to save the day. (Sorry, having magical blood doesn't make you a savior.) And yet, Emma is the one who's paying the price right now, not Regina. 

 

The only person who paid a price in that episode was Emma. So I'm assuming the title of the episode had to do with Emma and not Regina. Because Regina doesn't pay for anything ever (the missing year doesn't count). 

 

Regina supposedly paid a price all those years ago when she was forced to sit and watch Leopold dance with Snow at every single ball ever. It is such a monumental travesty that Regina never learned to dance, I tell ya!

[YaddaYadda]

Regina supposedly paid a price all those years ago when she was forced to sit and watch Leopold dance with Snow at every single ball ever. It is such a monumental travesty that Regina never learned to dance, I tell ya!

 

Roland is more self-aware and whines a hell of a lot less (never) than Regina. Regina behaves like she has a 10 year old trapped inside of her. She doesn't need family or love, she needs a damn exorcist.

[Rumsy4]

Isn't it funny that Regina was jealous of her step-daughter and never treated her like a daughter, but is now being mothered and protected by said step-daughter over her own daughter. Hahhahha.. NO.

[Free]

And this is twice in two episodes that Regina has chosen Robin over Emma's well-being. Yeah, it was a life vs. something more nebulous, but we're also talking about Regina choosing someone else over someone who sacrificed everything to save her.

 

Because it's always about her well-being over anyone else's.

[snarkastic]

All that "price" stuff makes no sense. Rumple healed people he cared about left and right without there being any cost -- he was always healing Bae in the past, and we saw him healing Belle from the gunshot wound. Was the problem that Regina asked Emma to do it? Would it have been okay if Emma just decided to do it on her own without being asked? Rumple healed Whale for the price of making Whale say that magic beats science, so why couldn't Emma have asked some similar price, like making Regina say that Emma rules. Or, if we want to get a little darker, Emma gets primary custody of Henry -- a different kind of life for a life, making Regina actually pay, making Regina make a choice, but it's still not that big a deal because they're in the same town and it's not like Regina is losing anything except symbolically.

 

I think the "price" Rumpel paid when healing nilly willy is basically the same price that Emma paid in that moment: letting the darkness take a little more control. For Emma the price was actually much higher because it seemed to be why she couldn't TLK Hook, too. (Although I agree with whoever said it upthread that the kisser breaks the curse on the kissee, not on themselves, so it was weird all around)

[kingshearte]

Does Rumple have some responsibility for Regina?  Yes.  But, seriously, can’t we have a single scene where Regina doesn’t blame someone else for her life?   Because lots of her Evil Queen reputation were her own choices.

I thought this too. Oh good, someone else whose fault Regina's life is.

 

Since the fury's price was split between five people, did each one lose about ten or so years of their lives?

That's what I assumed. It'd be nice if it could be made explicit at some point — or if that's not it, explain what did happen.

 

Because David isn't James.  James was his (evil) twin brother who was killed by a dragon.  David, like Regina, just happens to have the same name in both realms.

Huh. It's funny, but until you mentioned it, I'd never really registered the fact that Regina's name is the same in both too. Somehow that never bothered me the way it did with David (although I'm also pretty sure that that only came up because the writers realized that, a season and a half in, this dude didn't really officially have a name, but they didn't feel like coming up with another one, so they just said it was David back in the EF, too).

 

It is fairly clear to me that whatever is up, Emma is acting out of good for the town and the people she loves, but they need to find the solution on their own for it all to work.

I have that sense too, but I also worry that the writers are just trying to make things seem more twisty and complicated than they really are, so that whatever simple solution they come up with in the end will inevitably be disappointing.

 

The problem, I think, is that they are having trouble distinguishing light magic from dark magic. Does it literally just mean what colors your sparkles are, or does it have to do with how you use your magic? Because I thought Emma could control light magic? Does her light magic not count if she`s the Dark One? Even if she is doing something good? 

I think this is a very interesting and important question that I will be very surprised if we get an answer to.

[kili]

I think the "price" Rumpel paid when healing nilly willy is basically the same price that Emma paid in that moment: letting the darkness take a little more control.

 

I have a problem with that. Perhaps I'm too influenced about what goes on in the "Last Battle" (Chronicles of Narnia), but I like to believe that good things done, even with dark magic, increase the lightness in your heart while bad things done, even with light magic, make you darker. I thought that was where they were going with Regina. Even though she kept using dark magic (for that was all she knew how to do) because she was doing a lot of good, it increased the lightness in her heart until she could do Light Magic....well, plus love. Redemption and Love.

 

If Emma is doing savoir type actions (saving an innocent person's life - Robin may have terrible taste in women, but he didn't deserve to die) and its making her darker, it seems kind of contrary to what happened with Regina. Regina should only have ever become light if she had stopped using her red/purple magic altogether. I know that the dark curse is different, but it still seems remarkably contrary.

 

Calvinball!

[Delphi]

Huh. It's funny, but until you mentioned it, I'd never really registered the fact that Regina's name is the same in both too. Somehow that never bothered me the way it did with David (although I'm also pretty sure that that only came up because the writers realized that, a season and a half in, this dude didn't really officially have a name, but they didn't feel like coming up with another one, so they just said it was David back in the EF, too).

I always assumed that David was David in Storybrooke was because he didn't really have a cursed memory. It was just something Regina came up with on the spot because Snow accidentally woke him up so she just sort of worked on the fly to give him some sort of fractured sense of identity.

[Amerilla]

David did have a Curse name: John Doe. He wasn't really "David Nolan" until Emma arrived and he was able to awaken from his coma. Like Delphi, I figured that was something Regina cooked up on the spot. 

[Rumsy4]

John/Jane Doe is just a name used for an unidentified person. That's not David's Cursed Name.

[Amerilla]

John/Jane Doe is just a name used for an unidentified person. That's not David's Cursed Name.

 

I think we may be getting into hair-splitting. David and Belle didn't have formal Curse names because they were locked away, but designations like "John Doe" or "the Patient" effectively function as their names until Emma arrives. Granny is Granny in both world. The Blue Fairy ain't no Mother Superior.  

 

And before the mods have to remind us to get back on topic...  

[legaleagle53]

This is how I feel about David. David's not his name! It's his twin's (or was he just a droppelganger) -- the person whose identity he took when he became the prince and killed the dragon way back in season 1..

 

You're reading history backwards.  James was the twin who was killed by the dragon.  David was always David and assumed James' identity at the insistence (read blackmail) of King George.

[kili]

You're reading history backwards.  James was the twin who was killed by the dragon.

 

James was killed by a huge dude that he didn't make sure was dead. The huge dude fight was a demonstration to prove that he could take on Midas's troublesome dragon. Midas left when everybody thought the huge dude was dead (before he put Prince James on a pike), so King George/Rumple substituted David for his brother. David was just supposed to hang back while the real knights slew the dragon, but after they all turned into Dragon Chow, David slew the dragon himself.

 

How did Grannies end up back in working order in less than a day? The friers were ruined and all the eletrical/plumbing attachments would have had to be re-done...or did whoever initiate the curse build fixing Grannies into the curse? In that case, I think Grumpy cast the curse that brought them back to Storybrooke because he's probably the only one who would think that Grannies needed to be operational when they returned.

 

Was anybody other than Emma wearing flowers in her hair during the ball? I saw lots of up-dos and tiara's, but not a lot of flower-power hairdos.

 

Camelot doesn't appear to be suffering with their lack of a sword and no Merlin - Violet says they throw a ball every couple of days.

 

Belle should offfer to give back the guantlet Rumple stole. Rumple is snoozing, so he won't object. Plus, after it pretty much ruined his 4A plan, he might like to see it gone. Arthur might be placated with the gauntlet until he can find his half sword again. That and a change of clothes and a shower will make him a new man.

[Amerilla]

Was anybody other than Emma wearing flowers in her hair during the ball? I saw lots of up-dos and tiara's, but not a lot of flower-power hairdos.

 

I thought that was stupid. She looked like a flower child who got a job handing out giant turkey legs at a Rennaisance Faire. 

[Free]

I thought that was stupid. She looked like a flower child who got a job handing out giant turkey legs at a Rennaisance Faire. 

 

I knew she seemed hippie-ish at the Ball with the crown of flowers and that dress.

[tri4335]

 

Was anybody other than Emma wearing flowers in her hair during the ball? I saw lots of up-dos and tiara's, but not a lot of flower-power hairdos.

 

I didn't see anyone else wearing flowers but I thought it worked.  Snow was seeing Emma as a child and not as a grown woman. She was thinking of the first time her mother thought she was old enough to attend a ball and dressed/accessorized Emma with that in mind.  Quite different then how she was dressed for the ball with Hook by Rumple.

[kili]

Snow was seeing Emma as a child and not as a grown woman.

 

Violet wasn't dressed like an escapee from Woodstock. Neither did we see Wee Snow ever attired in such a manner.

 

She was thinking of the first time her mother thought she was old enough to attend a ball and dressed/accessorized Emma with that in mind.

 

So, she worries that her step-mother fits in at the ball (dressed appropiately and knowing how to dance), but she choses to not see who Emma really is and dresses her in a manner that will make her look like a pre-tween? Sounds about par for the course for Snow.

 

Quite different then how she was dressed for the ball with Hook by Rumple.

 

Rumple didn't want Emma to stand out like a soar thumb  and sees her as an adult.

 

I get that they decided to go for "irony" by having the Dark One dressed in an innocent manner, but it came off as bizzaro. Emma and Hook liked somebody had pranked them into thinking it was a masquerade ball (two of these things are not like the others).

Edited October 6, 2015 by kili

[scenicbyway]

Finally got to see the episode.

 

I feel like the role Regina is playing (faux savior) was really meant for Lily but because there was an outcry from fans (rightfully so) to use the characters they have established, they gave it to Regina.  It makes no sense that this would've been Regina's first ball.  At the very least there would've been a wedding ball for her marriage and surely she would've been made to dance with her new husband for one dance.  Snow even said they'd been to balls together, it's impossible for me to believe that Cora wouldn't have had father Henry teach his daughter to dance.  It would've made a lot more sense for it to be Lily's first dance since she didn't grow up in the EF.  As lame as Emma's flower crown look was, I was glad to see a little moment between Snow and Emma that was filled with love.  I would've like to have seen the same between Snow, Charming and Emma, you know she's never danced with her dad either except in a nightmare.

 

Speaking of weird Camelot costumes--what is Hook wearing?  It's a slightly different version of his EF outfit, but it looked so out of place next to Charming and Robin (whom I guess couldn't afford a new outfit)?  I also thought it was bizarre in the last episode and at the beginning of this one where Emma was the only one not dressed like the others, so obviously she's different, but no one blinked when Regina  that she was the Savior?  So who's the blonde in the prison, forest garb with the worried look?

 

As for present day Dark!Emma, I see that they are going the route of a little reset ala season 1.  Just like Regina blamed Emma for everything in the first season, kicked her out of her home and yard, etc.  We saw Emma do the same thing in this episode.  She kicked Regina out of her new house, she blames Regina for turning her dark (which I'm guessing that despite what we saw with her sparkling after Robin, it really isn't Regina's fault).  They even fought over Henry a little.  I suspect there will be more of this back and forth until we find out how to "get the darkness" out of Emma.

 

I still tend to think that a TLK should've worked, no matter what the caveats.  I do wonder why it didn't at least restore Hook's memories from this latest curse.

[snarkastic]

Camelot doesn't appear to be suffering with their lack of a sword and no Merlin - Violet says they throw a ball every couple of days.

Maybe they're cursed and have been throwing a ball every night for 30 years and time won't start again until Excalibur and the dagger are reunited?

[Curio]

I thought that was stupid. She looked like a flower child who got a job handing out giant turkey legs at a Renaissance Faire. 

 

It might have looked out of place compared to everyone at the ball, but I thought Emma was by far the best looking one there. But I also don't mind a little Bohemian style in real life, either. The dress that kept bugging me was Regina's with the weird spaghetti strap things.

 

Snow was seeing Emma as a child and not as a grown woman. She was thinking of the first time her mother thought she was old enough to attend a ball and dressed/accessorized Emma with that in mind.

 

Do we know if Snow actually chose the flower crown for Emma? Or did Emma choose the flower crown herself because she just happens to like that look, but since she's the Dark One and Snow is probably terrified to defy her for fear of making her mad, she just went along with it and was like, "Oh, yeah, sure...looks great!" See, we could have gotten more of that explanation if we didn't spend so much freaking time preparing Queen Regina for her first ball.

[october]

Someone on Tumblr pointed out something I'd missed: that Emma holds Killian's hook while they dance at the ball. I mean naturally she does, but during their dance in the S3 finale he was wearing a prosthetic hand. This show hasn't always dealt with Hook's disability well but I appreciate how comfortable he and Emma are with each other physically. So I'll add that to the list of things I liked about this episode.

[didia]

I really liked this episode. I'm happy with season 5 so far. I'm intrigued by the dark one mythology and Camelot. Emma and Hook are great as ever. Snowing had more scenes, even if I would prefer to see them with Emma. I knew about the spoilers, so Regina's scenes as the "savior" didn't bother me. I don't really hate Robin or Zelena, so, I'm OK with them. Really enjoyed the scenes with Belle and Hook. Henry with a crush is a cute story for him.

 

Yeah, Percival deserved a better treatment, I still hate the terrible morality in this show, but I believe season 5 will be better than season 4. I really liked Arthur and Guinevere, I don't know if they are shady or not, but they seem to be a good addition to the show.

Edited October 6, 2015 by didia

[Curio]

I re-watched the episode, and surprisingly, I enjoyed it a lot more the second time around. Probably because I knew the idiotic plot points going in, so I knew when to roll my eyes and zone out for a few minutes. But one part made me crack up that I must have missed the first time:

 

Regina: "So, you want to do this the hard way? Good, because I love the hard way!"

 

Seriously? When has Regina ever liked doing things the hard way? Didn't we spend an entire season on Regina trying to get a short-cut to her happy ending by blaming an author instead of taking the hard way by becoming a better person on her own?

[Mari]

Regina: "So, you want to do this the hard way? Good, because I love the hard way!"

Twitter took that a completely different way.

 

It was a little scary.

 

In a startlingly brief period,  there were photo manipulations.  Regina and ___ of choice.

 

Scarier.  

 

The internet is a twisted, twisted place.

[DigitalCount]

I re-watched the episode, and surprisingly, I enjoyed it a lot more the second time around. Probably because I knew the idiotic plot points going in, so I knew when to roll my eyes and zone out for a few minutes. But one part made me crack up that I must have missed the first time:

Regina: "So, you want to do this the hard way? Good, because I love the hard way!"

Seriously? When has Regina ever liked doing things the hard way? Didn't we spend an entire season on Regina trying to get a short-cut to her happy ending by blaming an author instead of taking the hard way by becoming a better person on her own?

When the easy way means the other person folds to Regina's demands, that's boring. The hard way means they resist and she gets to burn them to a crisp.

The savior, folks.

[gik910]

 

Dark Emma in the trench coat reminded me of Kim Novak in Vertigo. Dark Emma in the black sheath dress looked like all she needed was red lipstick and she'd look like she was in a Robert Palmer video.

 

A bit OT but ask and ye shall receive

 

https://instagram.com/p/8J90MjoFeL/

[kitticup]

I liked the episode. I think A&E were trying to do a better job integrating all the characters. I like that all the characters seemed to have a scene, even though it was a Regina episode. I liked Gramps Charming helping Henry with his crush. Henry and Violet were cute. I like that Henry is growing up and starting to act more normal teen.

I liked Emma and Snow together. I wish they got more time together.

I liked Hook. He is very focused on saving Emma. Hook is resourceful. He thought of using the author's pen to write the darkness out of Emma; he was the one to figure out that Zelena needed to wield the wand; he had a better plan than Regina with respect to getting Zelena to open the portal ( he was going to take her heart which I think should have worked since the heart shouldn't have been enchanted); thought to use TLK. He is looking at all options and ideas. I liked that he didn't get side tracked by the ball.

I liked Captain Beauty. Only Ariel is better with Belle than Hook. It will be interesting to see where their relationship goes.

I like Dark Swan. I loved that Emma called out Regina on never taking responsibility and not being the savior. I like her scenes with Henry and Hook. She softens around them.

I still don't like Robin and that saddens me because Sean seems so nice. I think one of the problems is they try to make Robin so earnest that he doesn't have any range. Although I did like him and Regina dancing.

I wasn't sure how to take the percival scene. I was thinking that after Emma calling Regina out, A&E were finally going to address regina's past. I sympathized with him.

I love the idea that Regina should have saved his life. Whichever poster came up with that was brilliant. That would have shown growth on Regina's side.

Edited October 7, 2015 by kitticup

[placate]

I don't like no self-esteem Regina.  It's not like her at all.  I don't really care for this new season yet.  Most of all, I'm wondering why Camelot refugees are chilling with the merry men in their tent community when Granny runs a respectable inn that doesn't get many new guests.

[Curio]

Here's a question: Zelena was easily able to chop off her hand to take off the magic cuff in front of Hook in the premiere, so why is she all pouty in front of Regina saying "is this really necessary" like she can't just do that exact same thing again? What's stopping her from stealing Charming's sword and literally doing the exact same thing? Not having a tongue doesn't stop her from doing that.

[Rosiejuliemom]

Here's a question: Zelena was easily able to chop off her hand to take off the magic cuff in front of Hook in the premiere, so why is she all pouty in front of Regina saying "is this really necessary" like she can't just do that exact same thing again? What's stopping her from stealing Charming's sword and literally doing the exact same thing? Not having a tongue doesn't stop her from doing that.

 

Imperius Curse? Regina would probably have some experience with Unforgivable Curses. Other than that, I got nothing.

[FormerMod-a1]

Maybe she did escape, became the Dark One and is now impersonating Emma as the Dark Swan and Emma is trapped somewhere else (because she can't be dead).  And that's why TLK didn't work here in Storybrooke.  (That, plus it was more of a lustier kiss than a loving kiss.  :-P )  We haven't seen her since they arrive in Camelot, after all.

[DeLurker]

The single best thing about this episode was Emma's a-line trench coat.

 

JM was rocking that despite the bad hair.  The worst part was the scene she showed up in the trench was with Henry by the dock.  His damn lipstick was so distracting and bright that I couldn't focus on the trench.  Bastards!

[Shanna Marie]

I do love that black, full-skirted coat. It's a similar silhouette to my winter coat.

 

Something that struck me: the Regina posing as Savior in Camelot plot was right out of a wacky misunderstanding/deception romantic comedy -- the heroine either pretends to be someone/something she isn't for good reasons or is mistaken for someone/something else and doesn't immediately correct the mistaken identity for good reasons, and then wacky hijinks ensue as the situation spirals out of control and she keeps digging deeper and deeper into the lie. Finally, either she's exposed with a bit of public humiliation, losing the trust of the person she's come to care about until she can find a way to make it up, or else she gets into a situation where the only way to get out of it is to come clean. We haven't hit that resolution yet, but so far we've had the "yes! I'm the Savior!" moment and the "yes, I saved him with my Savior magic!" moment as she gets in deeper and deeper. By the time Arthur learns the truth, there will have been a web of lies. And I suspect he'll react like most romantic comedy heroes do for this sort of thing: Five minutes of snit, and then he'll be over it. But will Regina have to do the desperate cross-town run to reach him and make a public declaration of her good intentions?

[YaddaYadda]

I would totally throw Regina under the bus for keeping up with the lie, but one thing I actually do get, is where she's coming from. And the lies seem to be going both ways. 

 

Yeah, Arthur...you've known for a decade or so about the prophecy. So this one is completely open to interpretation. No one from Camelot even flinching that Percival was killed. And Regina jumping to the conclusion that Percival was the boy from the village she destroyed. If that's the case, how did he not recognize Mary Margaret? Her face was plastered all over the Enchanted Forest during that time. Regina was destroying everything in her passage because she believed people knew or were protecting Snow. I don't think he was lying about the boy, I just don't believe it was him.

[kili]

Maybe [Zelena}  did escape, became the Dark One and is now impersonating Emma as the Dark Swan and Emma is trapped somewhere else (because she can't be dead).  And that's why TLK didn't work here in Storybrooke.  (That, plus it was more of a lustier kiss than a loving kiss.  :-P )  We haven't seen her since they arrive in Camelot, after all.

Zelena is unlikely to be Dark Swan. We did see her in Storybrook. She was wearing a blue dress and standing next to Henry in the back during the Granny's scene in episode 1. There is a cut directly from Dark Swan entering the restaurant to Snow and Regina with Zelena behind them, so they've been seen at the same time in the same place.

 

Of course, they can always Calvinball themselves into telling us that the Zelena we see is actually Emma, but since Regina made Zelena mute, all Zelena has to do is glamour Emma into looking like her and make her mute too. Erase a bunch of memories and everything is explained. Emma is Zelena and Zelena is Emma.

Edited October 7, 2015 by kili

[Shanna Marie]

And Regina jumping to the conclusion that Percival was the boy from the village she destroyed. If that's the case, how did he not recognize Mary Margaret? Her face was plastered all over the Enchanted Forest during that time. Regina was destroying everything in her passage because she believed people knew or were protecting Snow. I don't think he was lying about the boy, I just don't believe it was him.

That would fix the timeline. Otherwise, either Camelot wasn't affected by the curse, which messes up David and Snow's encounter with Lancelot, or Regina had to have started slaughtering villages much earlier, while Leo was still alive.

 

I suppose you could say that Mary Margaret looks so different from Snow White because of the hair, and maybe he didn't recognize her. But we don't actually know that he didn't. Her presence with Regina might have been what made him doubt Regina's identity enough that he needed to bother with the necklace, since the real Evil Queen wouldn't possibly be hanging out with Snow White. At any rate, he merely didn't say anything about recognizing her, and he might not have wanted to play his hand and reveal that he knew who any of them were.

[Watt]

I'm on vacation and haven't seen the episode, and I've only read two pages but I just want to say there's no way Hook and Emma aren't endgame. Nope nope nope.

I'm on vacation and haven't seen the episode, and I've only read two pages but I just want to say there's no way Hook and Emma aren't endgame. Nope nope nope. And if they ever DO break then up for good I'll just pretend season before last was the end. When Hook and Emma go back in time.

That is all.

[KAOS Agent]

I'm actually very happy with the way the show is using Emma's family and friends to hurt her without them actually meaning to. If this continues, and I suspect it will, Emma has real reasons to be angry, but it's still understandable on the part of her loved ones. It also fits with what so many of us have said in the past in that it often seems like they take Emma for granted and only see her as the Saviour or the solution to their problems without ever actually examining how it affects Emma and realizing she's a person too. They are sacrificing Emma again for others and this will be what ultimately leads to her giving in completely to the darkness.

 

The logic used to have Regina claim to be the Saviour is super wonky and is a stupid decision that I can poke holes in instantly, but it was an impulsive decision by Regina and I think we're supposed to see the holes in the logic because it's obviously going to backfire magnificently. I'm willing to go along with it because this is clearly intentional and it is actually leading somewhere.

[Camera One]

I found it kind of pointless how the characters withheld a bunch of info, such as not revealing Regina was the Evil Queen and pretending she was the Savior, and not telling Arthur that Emma was the Dark one.  Yet when Arthur finally found out about these things, he got over them super quickly and was even "no biggie, Camelot is all about second chances!" regarding Regina being the Evil Queen.  The understated reactions didn't mesh with the rest of the episode showing their desperate attempts to keep those things secret.   

[KAOS Agent]

Arthur's reactions were really unbelievably low key, but I don't blame them for not introducing themselves as who they are. What if David had done the introduction like this: I'm David and this is my wife, Snow White. That's our daughter, Emma the Dark One and her boyfriend, Captain Hook. And this is my wife's stepmother, the Evil Queen, Regina. They want the guy's help, not to tell him he's just invited a lot of evil into his kingdom.

[Camera One]

Of course I don't blame them either and I understand their logic.  Still, it contributes to the feeling that time is just being filled for the sake of being filled.

[Free]

Of course I don't blame them either and I understand their logic.  Still, it contributes to the feeling that time is just being filled for the sake of being filled.

 

I think that's part of my problem with the arcs apart from it being repetitive, it doesn't need to take half a season but the writers stretch it out that long.

[darkestboy]

Solid episode but didn't really care for Robin's almost death and the price Regina paid a little quickly for it as well.

 

I did like her having to step up a bit though as the Saviour I guess and Emma as the Dark One worked a little better in this episode.

 

The dagger and Excalibur connection was a little unexpected but worked well enough. Not totally feeling this version of Arthur and Guinevere though. Merlin being a tree, um interesting enough.

 

I almost get the feeling that Henry's crush is either going to turn traitor or be killed off later in the season. 8/10

[tri4335]

It might have looked out of place compared to everyone at the ball, but I thought Emma was by far the best looking one there. But I also don't mind a little Bohemian style in real life, either. The dress that kept bugging me was Regina's with the weird spaghetti strap things.

 

 

Do we know if Snow actually chose the flower crown for Emma? Or did Emma choose the flower crown herself because she just happens to like that look, but since she's the Dark One and Snow is probably terrified to defy her for fear of making her mad, she just went along with it and was like, "Oh, yeah, sure...looks great!" See, we could have gotten more of that explanation if we didn't spend so much freaking time preparing Queen Regina for her first ball.

 

 

This was posted by JMO on her Facebook page so it confirms the idea that Snow dressed/accesorized Emma:

 

This is my absolute favorite look and dress I have ever had for a role. Ever. Thank you to Edwardo Castro for the gorgeous design and a big thank you to ALLISON ROY who actually made the dress. The detail of every stitch and where every piece of lace is placed, makes this gown truly a piece of art. There is a femininity that Allison builds into the dresses that she makes that absolutely adds to the character and the storytelling. Adam, Eddy, Edwardo and I all felt like this should be the gown that SNOW picked for EMMA. The gown she always imagined EMMA going to the ball in had she been raised in Fairytale land with her family. I have never loved a piece of clothing more. Even despite the corset, I would live in it if I could. It is, right now, my absolute ‪#‎favoritething‬

[Shanna Marie]

I loved Emma's whole ball look. It seemed more suited to the Camelot setting than most of the other costumes did. I still wish they'd dressed Hook in something that fit the setting instead of yet another variation on the same costume. You know, he's got a hook. We can figure out that he's Captain Hook even if he's not wearing something obviously piratey. It could even have been in a totally different color and something different enough from Arthur that we wouldn't get them mixed up in a long-range shot.

[Curio]

I have a feeling the characters got to pick their own outfits for the ball, which is why Hook decided to keep his pirate look. Maybe it's just a personal style he likes and he can't stand the traditional menswear, so he said screw it, bedazzled his look a little bit, and called it a day. He did say that they were wasting time on the ball anyways, so he probably put in as much minimal effort into his outfit as possible. 

[Shanna Marie]

I have a feeling the characters got to pick their own outfits for the ball, which is why Hook decided to keep his pirate look.

But would clothes like that even have been available in Camelot for him to choose from? His clothes were so different from the styles everyone else was wearing that it was like he had them special-made on the spot rather than grabbing whatever he could find from the guest room closet. I guess he grabbed something left behind by some defeated, but stylish, slightly built villain (that outfit seemed like a "villain" color scheme and style compared to everyone else).

 

And then we have the fact that just about everyone else was wearing Camelot clothes that were different from their ball outfits when they returned to Storybrooke, while Hook was wearing the same thing he wore at the ball, so yet again, he's dressed like he's got a "costume" rather than being a person who has clothes.

[kili]

But would clothes like that even have been available in Camelot for him to choose from? His clothes were so different from the styles everyone else was wearing that it was like he had them special-made on the spot rather than grabbing whatever he could find from the guest room closet.

 

Good point. Plus, Snow and Charming were quick to tell Regina to dress less like a villain. Now, even though Hook isn't the Savior, don't you think they would look less suspicious if they didn't arrive in Camelot with a Pirate?  Even Rumple wouldn't let Hook go to a ball in his pirate outfit. Rumple didn't think it was sufficient just to glamour his face, he gave him an outfit so he would fit in (prior to the glamour spell, he was wearing his usual EF outfit, so it wasn't a matter of making it time period appropriate - it was making the outfit non-pirate appropriate).

 

Either he should have stayed in his SB outfit or he should have borrowed something that looked appropriate.

[YaddaYadda]

But you know that out of everyone, Hook is actually the most obvious in who he is? 

 

Mary Margaret was introduced as Mary Margaret, not Snow White. And Emma is a princess who was introduced as Lady Emma (Lady Mary Margaret). I'm assuming Camelot knows the stories of the Evil Queen and the curse she cast and her vendetta against Snow White who was the rightful ruler of the land. Percival at least knew exactly who Regina was, and that she was no Savior. 

 

Arthur doesn't even have to question who Hook is. He's a pirate, he's dressed the part and that's the end of that. He's the only one who seems to have presented himself as who he is.

[Curio]

But would clothes like that even have been available in Camelot for him to choose from? His clothes were so different from the styles everyone else was wearing that it was like he had them special-made on the spot rather than grabbing whatever he could find from the guest room closet.

 

I figured everyone got their own custom outfit made that day by Camelot's very fast seamstresses. What are the odds that Arthur and Gwen just happened to have snazzy outfits for each of their guests that fit perfectly? I could see each Storybrooke person telling the Camelot Project Runway wannabes what style and color they wanted for the ball, and then the outfit got whipped out that same day. But when it came to Hook (who could care less about the ball and only wants to focus on getting the darkness out of Emma) his fashion person is like, "Sir, what would you like?" "I don't bloody know, how about 1200 Post-Ogre Wars nautical captain." "For a ball?" "Fine, throw some gems on it."

 

Now, even though Hook isn't the Savior, don't you think they would look less suspicious if they didn't arrive in Camelot with a Pirate?

 

Eh, Arthur and Co. didn't question why Emma was the only one in their group who was wearing a tattered grey prisoner dress, so I doubt they would have cared if a pirate was among them.

 

Arthur doesn't even have to question who Hook is. He's a pirate, he's dressed the part and that's the end of that. He's the only one who seems to have presented himself as who he is.

That's a good point. He also didn't try to hide his hook at all or put on the fake hand. He basically is telling everyone in the room yes, I'm wearing a pirate outfit. And yes, I have a hook for a hand. If you guessed that my name is Captain Hook, congratulations...you have working eyes.

Edited October 8, 2015 by Curio