S05.E09: The Bear King

[thuganomics85]

This was just a weird episode.  If hadn't known better, I would have wondered if this was all an attempt at backdoor pilots for either Once Upon A Time in Brave Land (shudder), or Xena Warrior Princess 2.0., where Xena is now Mulan and Gabrielle can turn into a wolf (OK, I'd totally watch that...)  Certainly an odd way to end a two parter like this.  It is almost like they knew this probably wouldn't last by itself, so they burned it off.

 

All that said, this was probably the only time I kind of liked Merida, because she wasn't just yelling all the time, but actually showed legit emotion and we saw why she was reacting the way she does.  As I mentioned in other threads, I never had an issue with Amy Manson's acting when it came to the character, so I thought she handle all the emotional scenes well.  I just wish there had been better build-up to all of this, because it still isn't quite enough to make me care about her.  Or route for her against Arthur.  Yes, Arthur is a dolt, but he beat Fergus in battle: it's not like he poisoned him or killed him in his sleep.  Not seeing why I should be all that invested in her getting revenge.

 

Great to see Mulan and Ruby/Red again!  Still remember when I found Jamie Chung pretty bad when Mulan first was introduced, but I think she's pretty great now.  Although, I'm not sure if it was on purpose or not, but I felt like Mulan was giving both Merida and Ruby the eyes at time.  I know she still seems to be about Aurora, but Mulan certainly didn't seem opposed to any of the eye-candy here!  Speaking of which, not sure if absence made the heart grow fonder, but I thought Meghan Ory was looking extra hot in this episode.

 

I did laugh at the silly scene with her and Snow.  So, she was just hiding back there the entire time they announced Baby Neal?  Too bad it was revealed she left because of a bean, because I was hoping they would pull a Nikki/Pablo from Lost (remember them?!), and start showing numerous scenes of all the crazy shit that happen these past few episodes/seasons again, only reinserting Ruby in them in the oddest ways possible.

[Camera One]

I had to laugh at the final "cliffhanger" line.  Telegraphing that Merida's story is STILL not over doesn't exactly inspire people to tune in next time.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Merida Goes In Search Of A MacGuffin On Once Upon A Time
Part 2 of last night's double episode event is a really great use of everyone's time.

[Camera One]

I was wondering if we missed a scene in this episode...

 

RED: So you just got coronated?

MERIDA: Yes.  I might never have become Queen if not for a woman I kidnapped and tied up.  Her name was Belle.

RED: Belle is here? What are the odds?  And you know what?  I once chained her up too!  It was during my centric.

MERIDA: This time, it was my centric.  Well, she helped me to find my self-esteem by throwing me into a certain death situation.

MULAN: Wow!  I did the same to Belle way back in the day!  I think it was her centric.  Whoever owns the centric learns to believe in herself.

RED: We've all had a random filler adventure with her and look, now we have a random filler adventure TOGETHER!

MERIDA: Actually, this is my second centric.  I'm already tied with you, Red.

 

Did Merida ever mention to Mulan and Red that their friends are here in Camelot?

[KingOfHearts]

 

Did Merida ever mention to Mulan and Red that their friends are here in Camelot?

I did not even think of that. That's pretty silly. Team Storybrooke is in Camelot, they know Merida, and Red + Mulan just happen to be in the next kingdom over. Yet they don't even realize it. I guess there won't be any visiting Red this time around... like Snow would even care.

[xander874]

I didn't dislike this episode. I am glad to see Mulan and Ruby again, although I needed more surprise from Ruby when she saw Zelena alive (I would think she wouldn't know about the resurrection). Also, where does Mulan as a Merry Man fit into this storyline? 

 

And agree on Queen Elinor being too young. I have only seen Brave once years ago, so for the first half of the episode, I thought it was Merida's best friend Jasmine making a trip from Agrabah.

 

Oh and dipping my toes into the shallow pool to say that MacIntosh (Merida's frenemy) is super duper hot.

[jhlipton]

Arthur is not a murderer. King Fergus was an idiot that turned his back on an attacking army. You need to watch your back in battle because you better believe that somebody is going to take advantage of your inattention. If Arthur had popped out from behind a curtain in Fergus's bedroom and stabbed him in the back, that would be murder. What Arthur did is just good battle tactics.

 

I guess.  Something about it came off as "sneaky", but you're right -- you don't turn your back in a battle.  (Which is why every time I see a combatant do a "spin move", I'm hoping their enemy will stab them mid-turn.)

 

 I was hoping they would pull a Nikki/Pablo from Lost (remember them?!), and start showing numerous scenes of all the crazy shit that happen these past few episodes/seasons again, only reinserting Ruby in them in the oddest ways possible.

 

But then they'd be done in two episodes and buried alive.  No thanks!

[InsertWordHere]

Too bad it was revealed she left because of a bean, because I was hoping they would pull a Nikki/Pablo from Lost (remember them?!), and start showing numerous scenes of all the crazy shit that happen these past few episodes/seasons again, only reinserting Ruby in them in the oddest ways possible.

This was my hope too. I absolutely loved that episode and it was even written by A&E! Even though the characters were not popular, the way LOST inserted them into previously shot scenes was a thing of beauty. Being in the fandom at the time, this episode was almost enough to cause fans to forgive the existence of Nikki and Paulo in the first place. It didn't hurt that the episode did not end well for two of fandom's least liked characters. It's not too late to do it with another character like Archie or Nova, I suppose, or even a new character who is randomly inserted into Storybrooke but has been there all along, but it would really have been perfect for Red, who was sidelined way before the show went a whole season without mentioning her. It would have been a reverse Nikki and Paulo, since those characters appeared out of nowhere in Season 2. 

[Dianthus]

It was little things that bothered me most about this ep, once I got past the absence of any regulars. The arrow and the scrap of cloth from the cape have been exposed to the elements for two years, but they look nearly new, and Red can still get a scent from the cloth? Hah! My friend, watching the ep with me, found that amusing. Pfft. Still, after Merida's physics-defying arrow in that other ep, why am I surprised?

[HoodlumSheep]

Finally watched the episode! I was going to hold off until Sunday, but I was too impatient. I wanted to get this episode over with.

Hmmm...mixed feelings about this episode? I'm glad I wasn't able to watch the episode after "Birth" because it would have given me whiplash. Although, that doesn't stop the confusing-as-usual timeline from giving me a horrendous case of whiplash anyway.

-It was nice to see Mulan and Red again. Moreso Mulan than Red at this point. My love for Red has kind of faded over the years, sadly.

-the witch was well casted

-king fergus was decently casted

-queen Elinor was not casted well in my opinion.

-I still don't really care about Merida

-i feel like Red's leaving could have been handled better. Really? Another magic bean? Also, was anyone else made aware Ruby had a bean and asked if they wanted to leave?

-the fact that Ruby felt left out/like she didn't fit in and wanted to find her pack, when her last centric dealt with that issue and she came to the conclusion that Snow/Granny/friends were her family. I can understand her feeling alone though, because Snow ditched her for Regina.

-the Tiny mention aggravated me, because it reminds me how he's never with the dwarves, after his centric basically dealt with him finding a place to fit in (and then he's never around).

-wish we would have gotten a scene with Red/Granny saying goodbye.

The timeline was one of the main killers though: how long was Camelot frozen for, because 28 years doesn't make sense, unless the title cards just confused me. Several years earlier the war started--if Arthur was part of that, was that before or after the curse? Was Camelot frozen less than 28 yrs? Also, was Merida's land frozen in time? then 2 yrs later I assumed was meant to be after the 1st curse or after Mulan left to join the Merry Men, but then it goes back to 2 yrs earlier when Fergus died? 2 yrs from when?

Basically the several years earlier part screwed me up. If it was meant earlier from the present then that means Camelot was frozen for less than 28 years because "several"'does not mean a "few," and it's only been a few years since the curse was broken.

Or was Camelot never frozen? But that contradicts 5x04.

The timeline is starting to melt my brain.

Otherwise, it was an okayish stand alone episode that probably would have fit better after 5x06. Sure that would have put 2 Merida centrics back to back and would have lengthened the middle-of-the-arc slump, but at least it wouldn't have felt so out of place?

Edited November 19, 2015 by HoodlumSheep

[MDKNIGHT]

Yes, Arthur is a dolt, but he beat Fergus in battle: it's not like he poisoned him or killed him in his sleep.  Not seeing why I should be all that invested in her getting revenge.

 

Although all's fair in love and war, in Fairytale World I'm pretty sure stabbing somebody from behind is considered unchivalrous.  Ironically since Arthur is a fantasy it kind of relies heavily on courtly ways and fairness etc which REAL knights never did.  So he's kind of been the direct  opposite of what his myth is about.  He is probably the most weak willed king I've seen in a long while.  He's almost effeminate-rendition-of-Nero levels of weak king. 

 

I'd watch the Mulan-Ruby version of the Adventures of Xena Warrior Princess too.  I also really really want Mulan Rouge to be a canon couple just because it would be the awesomest couple name EVER!

[Camera One]

I can't believe Miss Shoot Three Arrows Out Of The Air With A Single Arrow missed hitting Arthur.

[kili]

I can't believe Miss Shoot Three Arrows Out Of The Air With A Single Arrow missed hitting Arthur.

Don't forget that she has had two years to practice since then. Two years where she apparently had absolutely nothing to do because she didn't get the job as Queen until now.

[KingOfHearts]

I would have rather seen Red's goodbye scene with Granny, tbh. Less insult to injury could have gone a longer way. Granny hasn't had any substantial scenes since S2. Sometimes I forget she used to be an actual character, not just a wisecracking coat rack. The Red/Snow friend-ship has sailed more or less, and since Granny is family and the reason Red is leaving would hit closer to home for her, I just have to think that would be the better option. The writers never put any effort into a MM/Ruby relationship after the curse, so why did they bother now?

Edited November 20, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[Shanna Marie]

Why wouldn't the other members of Red's pack (you know, the ones she turned her back on when she decided she chose her own family) have been in Storybrooke? Were they somehow exempt from the curse? I thought they were in the Enchanted Forest, so they should have been brought over by both curses. Curse 2 had a more limited range, but it still seemed to have snagged everyone in the immediate area. And would she really prefer to track down near strangers who weren't particularly nice to her when Granny is actually her family, is someone who was like her, and was the person who brought her up? Or is she seeking other werewolves she hasn't even met yet?

 

It just seems like a really weak excuse to get Ruby into Camelot for this story, which was a weak set-up for their promised romantic storyline with Mulan. I'm not sure why they needed to use an existing character to pair with Mulan. It almost comes across like the way they came up with Robin as a partner for Regina or decided to pair up Will and Belle -- a random person who wasn't already paired off. Also, she mentioned her "only" boyfriend having been the one she ate, so is she not counting Billy/Gus-Gus, the guy she seems to have dated throughout the entire curse? Wouldn't it have been better to come up with an original character who hasn't previously been shown in relationships with men to put with Mulan? As scarce as Ruby has been, it's not like she really counts as an "established" character to fit into this storyline.

[Camera One]

In addition to a scene with Snow, I agree Red should have had a scene with Granny, but at the very least, I'd have expected them to give Granny a line this episode about how she might want to find Red now that they're in Camelot (maybe in the scene Granny has with Henry and Emma).  Surely, they could have cut one of the scenes with Merida whining.  I would have liked something with Granny before this episode, but that's assuming the writers even knew they were going to bring back Red when they wrote the first few episodes, which I somehow doubt (plus they always need to "surprise" us).  I'd rather have seen an episode where Granny, the Dwarves, Snow and Emma go to look for Red.

 

It's like the writers write every episode assuming people have only watched Season 1.  Eating the boyfriend was in the first freak'in season.  They often completely ignore everything since then, including, as someone said above, that Red would have expected Zelena to be dead.  Why would Red even be telling people to call her Ruby?

 

It's pretty disingenuous for A&E to act like they're doing this because they care about Red and Mulan, even though it was all about Merida.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Camera One

[KingOfHearts]

The flashbacks in this episode were borderline confusing. There wasn't a whole lot of difference in feel between DunBroch past and present. Same characters, same setting.

 

 

It's like the writers write every episode assuming people have only watched Season 1.

It's more like they're assuming people only watched whatever episode they want to reference at that point in time. They'll throw in little continuity references like Peter or Tiny while disregarding other things like with Zelena. I'm with Shanna Marie - as skimpy as Ruby dressed and how flirty she was, I doubt the only boyfriend she had was Peter.

 

 

Why wouldn't the other members of Red's pack (you know, the ones she turned her back on when she decided she chose her own family) have been in Storybrooke?

Didn't Regina's guards kill them all? My memory is a bit fuzzy.

 

 

This might be an unpopular opinion, but to me, Red and Mulan were incredibly shoehorned in. They really had no business being there other than to be backup singers for Red Fury. But I think the clan leaders could have filled that role if A&E wanted them to. I guess if they were pulling for LGBT diversity it wouldn't have felt so cheap, but there was no chemistry whatsoever. Merida, Red and Mulan barely acted as a unit. Red had little reason to help. She was just kind of following Mulan like a lost puppy.

Edited November 20, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[Camera One]

It felt shoehorned in to me as well.  I like both Red and Mulan individually, but this pairing didn't feel organic.  Red was basically used a bloodhound in this episode.  Her absence would not have made an ounce of difference in the plot.  At least with Mulan, they managed to shoehorn her in both the past and the present.  Red's goal is also completely nebulous, and Mulan would not be a natural companion for the mission to find her clan.  Red wouldn't be able to wolf out as often, and I'm sure the other werewolves would have been suspicious just like they were with Snow.  It didn't help they were both used as supporting for someone else's story - Merida.  Because of this, neither Mulan nor Red was explored to any depth.  

[Rumsy4]

Not that the Camelot storyline needs more clutter, but Mulan and Red should have been brought to an episode with the main characters. The Merida standalone could have used Belle yet again, in addition to Arthur and Zelena. Heck--send Robin with Merida. She could use his archery skills. It's not like "Birth" needed to have either Belle or Robin. 

 

Imagine the comedic potential of Mulan seeing Emma and Hook being all lovey dovey! A touching reunion between Red & Granny, and Red & Snow would be nice. Mulan sure could have helped with the jail break-in. But no--A&E had to shove them with the random shoe-horned character. Every time there's an organic way to connect characters, the writers seem to avoid it. (Same thing happened with Mal in 4B)

Edited November 20, 2015 by Rumsy4

[Camera One]

The Merida standalone could have used Belle yet again, in addition to Arthur and Zelena. Heck--send Robin with Merida. She could use his archery skills. It's not like "Birth" needed to have either Belle or Robin. 

 

Are you trying to create an episode that could be *completely* skippable, LOL?

[Rumsy4]

Are you trying to create an episode that could be *completely* skippable, LOL?

Can you blame me? ;-)

[Serena]

I don't mind Ruby considering Peter her only boyfriend. It doesn't matter how many people she flirted or even slept with during the curse - they weren't "really" her boyfriends, like Regina wasn't "really" Graham's girlfriend and Abigail wasn't Charming's wife, etc. Peter seems to be the only one she actually loved, anyway.

[Camera One]

If this episode had aired tonight, I can imagine the outcry.  

[HoodlumSheep]

^ lol. Yup. People would have been so confused too.

I still think that this should have been aired after The Bear and the Bow. It would have completely killed the little bit of momentum left after 5x05 and 5x06, but it would have made more sense.

[Camera One]

They could have aired the two episodes back-to-back.  Call it Merida Night.  Night of the Brave.  There could even be a theme song... instead of "I Just Can't Wait To Be King", it can be "I Am Just Not Fit To Be Queen".  

 

Or these flashbacks could have completely replaced those from "The Bear and the Bow".  

[Hanahope]

I guess some writer really hated having to read all the good King Arthur stories as a kid because boy talk about complete character assignation.

[Serena]

They should have either told the writers about the added episode earlier, or allowed them to add the added one to 5B.

[darkestboy]

This seemed a bit odd to air after the other episode but it was diverting enough though.

 

Zelena and Arthur make for a decent enough team but where the hell did Guinevere disappear off to? She hasn't been around for the last two episodes.

 

I liked the scenes with Merida, Mulan and Ruby. I think the writers might go somewhere with Mulan and Ruby too, which could work I guess.

 

The other stuff was a bit meh though, 7/10

[Camera One]

This show needs to add a new voiceover warning.

 

"We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for... Merida"

[KAOS Agent]

As if to confirm that this episode had absolutely nothing to do with anything, none of the theme words I've been tracking this season were uttered in this episode except a couple of mentions of the Dark One as explanation for why Arthur & Zelena were even there.

[Camera One]

In honor of Merida, "can't" was used 13 times each in "The Bear King" and "The Bear and the Bow".

 

Though I can't say it's actually that meaningful since "can't" was used 16 times in "Birth", LOL.

[Sarcastica]

It's been a few weeks and I still can't believe I wasted an hour of my life watching this episode. I'm so mad at myself.

[Curio]

It frustrates me so much that this episode ruins what could have been a great three-episode run of good storytelling with "Nimue," "Birth," and "Broken Heart." I'm just going to remove this episode from my headcanon list of episodes and think of it as a DVD extra instead.

[HoodlumSheep]

If I rewatch 5a(is it weird that I think I'll rather enjoy rewatching it marathon style, despite the nonsense?), I will put this in it's proper place: after The Bear and The Bow. Yes, that'll mean a very slow middle 4/5-7, but I think it would fit better there.

Also, there's a part of me that will forever resent this episode, because it could have been used to expand upon 5x10.

[Camera One]

If those two episodes were together, we could call it the bear pit of Season 5.

[AudienceofOne]

 I was kind of under the impression that the reason we were getting a 2-hour episode was that it was going to be the mid-season finale (I didn't realize there was another episode in 2 weeks). So imagine my shock when the entire second hour was devoted to a newly introduced character nobody gives a flying crap about. Even if the show runners believe Merida is a compelling character the audience will fall in love with, what on earth are they thinking by leaving us on such a riveting cliff-hanger then shelving the entire main storyline for a one-off about minor supporting characters? This is the second time they've done this within the past month. They are killing the momentum and doing a lousy job integrating Merida into the main story.

 

I'm typing this while It's on because I've wandered off to do something else. I just don't care. I'll wander back in in a minute and hopefully this episode of "Brave" will be over and we can get back to Once. Not hat Once has been great this season. It hasn't. But that last episode almost made up for the rest of this season. Shame I'm not finding out what's happening with that right now.

 

The problem with the "Two Years Ago" stamp, is that the curse was broken more than two years ago.  Two years ago would be smack in the middle of the Team Princess adventures.  

 

They really should have been more accurate with the timeline, because timestamps that fall within the amount of time after the curse are not helpful, if they meant "two years before the curse."

 

People should just save this as a macro and press CtrlT (for timeline) to post it into every thread. I don't bother with the timestamps because they make no sense. They'd be better off just saying "in the beforetimes" or something.

[KingOfHearts]

This episode promised a few things -

introducing an LGBT relationship

, bringing back Mulan and Ruby, giving Merida a cohesive story, and also being a one-off that still held some relevance to the main plot. In my opinion, in failed on all accounts except for Merida.

The lesbian romance was too non-existent for what was promoted. Mulan and Ruby were NOT Mulan and Ruby to me

. Zelena and Arthur had meaningless involvement. The only reason to watch this episode is if you want to see Dun'Broch on your screen without any atmosphere or characters from Brave.

Edited December 31, 2015 by stacey
Spoiler tags

[Rumsy4]

To be fair,

the LGBTQ pairing

was projected for 5B. They just decided to bring add Mulan and Ruby in the extra episode to sort of reintroduce them back into the show, and set up a potential storyline for them in 5B. I agree on all other counts, though. This episode was pointless.

Edited December 31, 2015 by stacey
Spoiler tags

[KingOfHearts]

 

To be fair,

the LGBTQ pairing

was projected for 5B. They just decided to bring add Mulan and Ruby in the extra episode to sort of reintroduce them back into the show, and set up a potential storyline for them in 5B. I agree on all other counts, though. This episode was pointless.

I didn't really see any chemistry to project from, though. I wasn't expecting them to immediately fall in love or start kissing, but Tallahassee introduced a potential couple much more organically. Since we already know Mulan Rouge is going to be a couple, I thought there would be a little more. To me, it's a very forced pairing to supposedly diversify the show. A&E were trying their darnest to keep it slow and not draw attention, but everything about them and this episode was shoehorned. Their very presences just came out of nowhere, regardless of romance. I don't have the faith to say they'll get their dues in 5B.

Edited December 31, 2015 by stacey
Spoiler tag

[Camera One]

I would love to see more platonic friendships on the show, so I wouldn't mind seeing Mulan and Red going on adventures together,

but to announce their long-range plan to the press before we even got to see the episode itself, the whole setup felt contrived.  I felt the same when Regina and Robin were proclaimed soulmates or whatever they were

.  The way this episode was written,

Mulan and Merida had more of a connection, since they parachuted Red in halfway through

.  A&E&J acts like it would kill them if they devoted an episode to a friendship like Snow and Red.  Instead,

they got that ridiculous setup scene in the diner.  If they're going to throw away episodes like this, why not show characters we actually care about and build on their existing history instead of yet another mashup we may never see again?

  Didn't they learn their lesson from pairings like David and Anna that jamming characters into cookie cutter centric allocations lead to bad episodes?

Edited December 31, 2015 by stacey
Spoiler tags

[formerlyfreedom]

Just a gentle reminder - Let's please keep the conversation in here about the episode, and not future (possible) events. You can take further convo to the Speculation topic (with appropriate spoiler taggage, of course!), or to the Spoiler topic. Thank you!

 

ETA: My apologies for very possibly butchering your thought processes when I added the spoiler tags above! Just trying to keep the streams uncrossed!

 

Edited December 31, 2015 by stacey

[pezgirl7]

A vidder made opening credits to this episode in the style of Outlander, and I found it 100 times more enjoyable than the actual episode.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=AjOu1d0TnDQ

That same vidder made one of my favorite CS vids to the song Arms.

[KingOfHearts]

Arthur's reasoning for going after the helmet made no sense. He needed his men to have the courage to go up against the Dark One and Merlin? That would be suicide. Zelena's payment was him using the completed Excalibur to kill Regina. It made her look naive. Surely, she would understand all the things Arthur would have to accomplish before he could do that. There were about a hundred more practical ways to dispose of her sister if she really wanted it. I'll just chalk it up to psychotic boredom.

After rewatching this episode for the first time, I can still say it was stupid. It tried so hard to get us to feel bad for guest characters. As far as adapting Brave goes, it generally did a good job of recapturing its tone and style. The failures were in Merida and Queen Elinor. Fergus, the Witch and the clans were all spot-on. I didn't really need to see Merida go all Indigo Montoya on Arthur, though.

[Shanna Marie]

To replicate the original viewing experience, we should have scheduled the rewatch so that the previous episode and this one were in the same week, and then we took a week off before watching the next episode. Though I think doing it the way we are is less frustrating, since there's a week after that cliffhanger before this, and then we get to go straight into the next episode instead of having to wait two weeks.

I came up with a wacky theory to explain this version of Merida, who's so unlike the movie version. I suspect that the character they really wanted to work with was Ygritte from Game of Thrones, but since she's not a Disney character, they just went with another feisty redhead that they could use. Basically, TV Merida is Ygritte wearing a Merida costume -- she's aggressive and surly and mocking anyone she considers to be inferior to her.

And that's really about all I have to say about this episode. I'm being a completist on this rewatch, so I did watch it, but I used it as background noise while I did a tedious task, so I barely noticed it other than to be really irked at the way they forced Ruby into this mess. It bothers me even more with the first two seasons being even fresher in my mind than they were when I first saw this episode, so I'm more aware of how weird it is that she left Storybrooke, where her grandmother is, to go find the pack that she rejected and that rejected her because she suddenly has this longing to be around other werewolves.

[daxx]

I wanted to watch the next one so even though I’ve watched every other episode. I skipped this one. Perhaps I’ll watch tomorrow if m really bored.

[tennisgurl]

What a weird episode, it felt like we were watching about three different backdoor pilots to shows that never happened. Not that it was all bad (it was great, if random, to see Mulan and Ruby again!) it was all just super disjointed and odd. 

I love the dramatic musical score when Arthur took his helmet off, while I am just here like "yeah...kind of figured that one out awhile ago." The timeline stuff in the episode is just so freaking confusing, I spent half the episode trying to figure out what was a flashback, what was happening now, or where anyone was in relation to anyone else. At one point, I thought we might be in a flashback within a flashback! And while its great to see Red, I dont like her reason for leaving. So the second things are settled for half a second, she decides to ditch her grandma and her friends and goes back to the EF, to find other werewolves, who she already rejected when she found out they hurt people, and who rejected her when they wanted to hurt Snow? And it all has this uncomfortable "you must stick with your own kind" thing that does not seem like a great lesson to teach, especially when its super random and came out of nowhere. And it was a little bit hilarious when Red and Mulan met and she was like "yeah, you totally met my friends, what a coincidence!". It really IS a small multiverse after all!

For all their talk of happy endings, they sure did ruin the one from Brave. Yeah, the heroes learned a lesson and defeated evil, but I guess none of that mattered, because a few years later, Meridas dad is dead, her mom was banished, and basically everyone has become an asshole for no reason. Yeah things got better, especially in this episode, but with how much people talk like happy endings are something that people are given on a platter and everything should be perfect after that, especially Regina, its funny how quickly their happy ending went up in flames. Even now that things are better, Meridas dad is still dead, so not so much with the happy. Its almost like peoples lives have ups and downs regardless of some creepy author giving you a prize for not murdering people for two days or something...

Spoiler

I still cant believe they stuck Ruby in that half assed romance with Dorothy, who was somehow even less likable than Merida,when they wanted to finally toss a bone to people that wanted an LGTBQ romance, instead of having her and Mulan get together. They even had a meet cute! Or even Mulan and Merida, they had some flirty chemistry, especially when they were fighting and laughing, just something! Its all right there! Not that it wouldn't probably be shoe horned in as well, as Ruby was all episode, but its better than what we got!Not that they cant all be friends and that would be less important, but if it was something they wanted to do, why make it so obviously forced? We have to wait until EF: TNG to actually get a same sex couple that gets screen time and actually works as a romance. Poor Mulan, always a bridesmaid.  

Edited May 5, 2019 by tennisgurl

[Camera One]

It's a shame we only had a handful of true mash-up episodes where heroines from multiple stories worked together.  From that perspective, this was a real diamond in the rough (emphasis on the "rough").  

They also missed a huge opportunity in this episode.. Granny was in Camelot, the actress who played Ruby was back, and... nothing.  This show is sure about family.  You would think these weren't the same Writers who allowed a centric for supporting characters in "Red Handed".  Are senior citizens only allowed one centric per series?

Edited May 6, 2019 by Camera One