S06.E01: The Savior

[Tiger]

I'm 100% convinced that Channing Dungey told A&E to get their shit together asap or they were done.  

And it does feel like the beginning of a final season.  If ABC develops 3-4 new hits, it will be.

[Curio]

There was a lot to take in this episode and I had to explain things every 5 minutes to my friend who's a casual viewer. I think I'll have to watch it again before I give a more thorough review.

18 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

If anything I thought Killian was acting like a brat.  Emma doesn't feel like talking right this second and he goes stomping off.

What was Killian supposed to do in that moment instead? Was he supposed to smile and cheerfully skip away singing "Walking On Sunshine" after knowing his True Love girlfriend lied to his face? Emma told Killian to give her some space, so he listened and walked away. I don't understand how that's being bratty?

[Hookian]

20 minutes ago, Tiger said:

I'm 100% convinced that Channing Dungey told A&E to get their shit together asap or they were done.  

And it does feel like the beginning of a final season.  If ABC develops 3-4 new hits, it will be.

Unfortunately only one of there new shows is scoring good stuff. The others...not so much. I think they've got 2 more seasons personally.

[KingOfHearts]

If the Oracle is Jafar, then is he no longer a genie? Or is OUATIW just out the window?

[Mathius]

Hyde directed Emma to the Oracle, so it could be that Jafar is a genie and Hyde is his master.

[Hookian]

9 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

If the Oracle is Jafar, then is he no longer a genie? Or is OUATIW just out the window?

Like Mathius said Hyde could have the lamp and Jafar as the Genie means he obeys Hyde.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Hookian

[Curio]

I'm really excited for this whole Emma's Keeping A Secret plot to end with Emma confessing her secret to Hook on the phone, but Hook will never receive her voice mail message, the plot is dropped altogether, and then they never discuss the secret on screen. Or we'll spend multiple episodes watching Emma tell more lies and digging herself deeper into a hole, and when Emma finally confesses her secret to her family, it'll all take place in Offscreenville during a commercial break.

(I can't believe those are two plots that actually happened before on this show.)

[KingOfHearts]

Quote

I'm really excited for this whole Emma's Keeping A Secret plot to end with Emma confessing her secret to Hook on the phone, but Hook will never receive her voice mail message, the plot is dropped altogether, and then they never discuss the secret on screen. Or we'll spend multiple episodes watching Emma tell more lies and digging herself deeper into a hole, and when Emma finally confesses her secret to her family, it'll all take place in Offscreenville during a commercial break.

Then Emma will have a brush with death and Hook will go boozing with David.

Edited September 26, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[Curio]

3 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

Then Emma will have a brush with death and Hook will go boozing with David.

And then Emma will blame Storybrooke's clocktower for preventing all Saviors from having happy endings.

[Frozendiva]

Only tuned in to see if I'd want to watch this season. Undecided.

I did like the Beauty and the Beast dance scene - of course it is the movie's 25th anniversary. Nice nod.

[Shanna Marie]

I wouldn't mind exploring what it means to be a Savior. I don't even entirely mind the idea that it really is a burden that tends to lead to death.

Except ... it doesn't work at all on a series that Never.Shuts.Up about heroes vs. villains and how heroes get happy endings while villains don't. And it really doesn't work when just two seasons ago the thread that carried through the entire season was about the concept that villains don't get happy endings, with all the characters seemingly believing that as they took a lot of risks to help find the Author to rewrite the book to give Regina the happy ending she wasn't allowed to have because the book showed her as a villain. How can both concepts exist simultaneously -- villains don't get happy endings (and presumably heroes do), except that the ultimate heroes, the Saviors who have to devote their lives to helping others, are apparently doomed to never really find their own happiness because they're too busy saving others and they're going to get themselves killed doing Savior stuff?

And meanwhile, the showrunners wrote an arc about how bad it sucks to be a Savior, but they promoted this season by doing a ton of interviews in which they talked about how bad Regina's luck is and how such awful things always happen to her. In this episode alone, Emma learned about a potentially horrible fate that she can't avoid and that she's afraid to talk about with the man she loves, while Regina had to deal with moving boxes in her house, couldn't find the feather she was looking for, and had a spat with her sister before being comforted by her former victim.

I'm starting to think that the showrunners are just figureheads and there are interns kept chained up in the basement, writing the scripts while the showrunners do all the interviews without actually watching the show. That would explain all the "we hope so" stuff in interviews. They're hoping the interns follow the outlines on the index cards they dropped through the meal slots. I wonder, if you take every fifth word in the dialogue, will it give us the coded message "help us, we're trapped and hungry and tired of writing this crap"?

[KingOfHearts]

I honestly can't stand the, "I can tell your past by the look in your eyes" trope. It's been so overused on this show. Hyde knew Emma went to prison? Really?

Weren't we joking at one point that Belle's unborn child would TLK her? 

Edited September 26, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[InsertWordHere]

12 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

Weren't we joking at one point that Belle's unborn child would TLK her? 

We were. I want to say it was @Curio who first guessed it. 

[twoods]

Oded Fehr as Jafar? Yes, please!

Liking the season so far, and all the new villains. Much better than last season, that's for sure.

[OnceUponAJen]

2 hours ago, Worsel said:

I'm starting to doubt what Morpheus said.  I think he woke Belle up because he is the god of dreams and has that power, not that he is her son and they have true love.  He has some nefarious agenda.  You can't always trust the gods...

Yet he gave her completely sound advice.  "Don't let him ruin our family the way he ruined his first one." Hell to the yeah! I can't believe Belle actually listened to him.

[Curio]

17 minutes ago, Shanna Marie said:

I'm starting to think that the showrunners are just figureheads and there are interns kept chained up in the basement, writing the scripts while the showrunners do all the interviews without actually watching the show. That would explain all the "we hope so" stuff in interviews. They're hoping the interns follow the outlines on the index cards they dropped through the meal slots. I wonder, if you take every fifth word in the dialogue, will it give us the coded message "help us, we're trapped and hungry and tired of writing this crap"?

I just think A&E have become addicted to Member Berries and are too nostalgic about Season 1, so they've literally decided to revert all the characters back to Season 1 and even brag about switching the storytelling style to Season 1. (Please tell me there are South Park fans here...)

3 minutes ago, InsertWordHere said:

We were. I want to say it was @Curio who first guessed it. 

I've guessed several cockamamie plots on this show, but unfortunately, I don't know if I can take credit for that one.

[InsertWordHere]

1 minute ago, Curio said:

I've guessed several cockamamie plots on this show, but unfortunately, I don't know if I can take credit for that one.

It just seemed like your type of guess! I apologize if that makes it sound like I'm saying you think like A&E. It's more like you seem to know how A&E think. 

I guessed that they would go the creepy version of Sleeping Beauty route and have the breastfeeding baby wake her up but I think someone else actually guessed fetus. 

[retrograde]

If Rumbaby already distrusts his dad in the womb, it's difficult to imagine he'll ever like him, so it's kind of inevitable things will go sour, no?

[Curio]

28 minutes ago, InsertWordHere said:

It's more like you seem to know how A&E think.

My mind can go to some dark and twisted places. ;) That sometimes lack continuity...

Did anyone else catch how Hook gave Emma the glass of rum he already drank from? He initially started with two glasses of rum, he took a big swig out of one right before Emma walked in, and when she asked for one he gave her the glass he literally just drank out of. There was barely any rum left in it for her! 

Now to get completely over-analytical here: Was Hook expecting Emma to come to Granny's eventually and that's why he had two glasses of rum in front of him? Or did he order two because he was stressing out so much about Emma keeping a secret? But if he was stressed and ordered himself extra drinks, he'd probably just keep filling one glass, so I'm going to go with the former and say he ordered the shot of rum for Emma. But then why give her the glass he just drank from? Does he know her tolerance is low? Can Emma not finish two fingers of rum, so he helps her out? (Yes, these are the inane details I prefer to think about in order to forget the Evil Queen stuff that's going on. Also, there's a Captain Swan joke about two fingers and dirigibles somewhere in there...)

Edited September 26, 2016 by Curio

[Camera One]

I'm glad the show is back, but I was annoyed by much of this episode.  

Charming having nothing to do but ask questions like "What's that?" and "Where the hell is everyone?"  Check.

The Writers bending over backwards to prevent Snow from having a conversation with Emma, while they give Snow and Regina TWO long conversations.  Check.

Emma has WALLS again.  Check.

The biennial, let's destroy our memories of the Beauty and the Beast dance.  Check.

Villain (Hyde) makes vague threats like "there's nothing more dangerous than an untold story!".  Check.

Villain (Jafar) making vague references to the past like "Despite what you did to me..."  Check.

Easy-peasy creation of a portal.  Check.

--------

While I suppose there could have been some value in the second Snow/Regina talk, since Regina finally made the step of acknowledging she was a bad stepmother (understatement of the year), I still feel that they're shoving this "friendship" down our throats.  Sorry, I don't buy it at all.  The first conversation where Snow asked Regina how she was feeling felt fake and unconvincing.  And the "You taught me to have faith.  You're the one who taught me hope was a choice."  What the hell?  I'm pretty sure Snow already had "faith" and "hope" before Regina tried to murder her.  Yet again, they were completely segregating Emma from her parents... if anything is going to make me quit watching the show, it's this since it still makes my blood boil even after all these years.  

Emma lying about her shaky hands gave me bad flashbacks of David lying about the dreamshade and Snowing lying about the eggnapping.  I hate watching every variation of this.  It's not enjoyable in the least.  If Emma had questions about being the Savior, couldn't she first go to Blue?  Why is it always the villains who has all the answers?  What if the Red Bird was a trap?  How would it hurt for Hook to go with her?  It just made Emma act like an idiot and I hate that.  

You know what's the same with every hero? How they beg the villain to kill them.  Join the club, Aladdin.

"You never hear these words about saviors... they lived happily ever after."  Insert villains for heroes, and you get 4B.

Will they ever explain how Hyde is so impervious to magic?  I wouldn't be surprised if he's Jafar in disguise.

I'm not a fan of Zelena's screentime hogging, but practically the only thing which felt new and not done-before in this episode was the Regina/Zelena relationship.  Their argument was good, and their dynamic still had room to grow.  

Since when was Rumple's castle a "terrifying place" for Belle?  I don't remember her ever being so shaky and nervous with Rumple.  I liked how Belle rejected Rumple in the end, but I was annoyed by the manipulative use of the Beauty and the Beast music yet again.  

Morpheus looked like what I had envisioned Merlin would look like, and he was intriguing.  That was a good twist, but that probably means we won't get to see Morpheus again?  That would be too bad.

I felt like I was watching 4B again with the use of the pointless unnatural monologue with completely unfitting scenes.  "My life was never just one story... it was many stories.  To some a villain... blah blah blah.  To others, I'm a hero (uh, to who?).  They've seen my strength, my ability to do the hard things even when I couldn't (why would Regina even be saying this?  They should really have cut to Snow dozing off from the boredom).    

And was the falling feather supposed to be touching?  I was just wondering where the hell it came from.  Zelena lost it... I'm pretty sure she didn't send it propelling through the air.  I have no doubt Robin fans are really at peace now.

So The Evil Queen is 100% so full of vengeance, but she's fine working with that sister she apparently really hated.  Riiiiiiiiiiight.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Camera One

[InsertWordHere]

Hyde and Emma have a really nice chemistry. I am really liking him (and his voice) so far.

Is that Merlin's wand or the Black Fairy's wand that Rumple was using? Zelena last had Merlin's wand when she went through the portal and then patched it back together, didn't she? If it is Merlin's wand, how is Rumple able to use it since it's supposed to be wielded with Dark and Light? Is it because he has Emma's (and possibly Merlin's) magic now? That seems really unfair. 

1 hour ago, Curio said:

 But then why give her the glass he just drank from?

Honestly, I think he was still a little mad at her so he gave her the almost empty glass. I don't think the other glass was intended for her, I think it was his backup.

[KAOS Agent]

45 minutes ago, Camera One said:

The Evil Queen is 100% so full of vengeance, but she's fine working with that sister she apparently really hated.  Riiiiiiiiiiight.

The villains on this show are quite incapable of multitasking. Remember when Maleficent was totally cool with Regina having locked her up under the library as a dragon for 28 years. And this was after Regina killed? attempted to kill? her pet unicorn. Maleficent could only be mad and want revenge on one target at a time, so Snowing was it. 

Can't the Evil Queen target multiple people that she has issues with? If she's just all evil and stuff, wouldn't that be what she'd do? According to the showrunners, this Evil Queen is more evil than she ever was, so I'm expecting her to get ahold of the nuclear codes and annihilate Storybrooke sometime this season.

[retrograde]

Also, Hook just carries a sword with him now? Okay.

[bmoore4026]

Oh, so this season is about Saviors burning out?  Much like the audience, ain't it?  *zing*

When, I saw the airship I was hoping we'd be seeing Final Fantasy characters, especially from Final Fantasy VI, but no such luck.  Because fans can't have awesome things.

So, Ginnifer Goodwin is done being pregnant?

Also, are Mr. Hyde's lips always in a pucker?  I swear I've heard his voice somewhere before.

"Temple of Morpheus"?  *Insert Neil Gaiman's The Sandman reference here*

Archie's back!  Expect for him to be underused and forgotten by episode five.

Belle finally kicked Rumple to the curb.  Good.  Now maybe she can find a nice blonde dude named Adam and marry him.

And just obliterate Zelena already, Regina.  One fireball.  That's it.

Anyone else see Princess Mononoke?  Because that's what Aladdin's and Emma's trembling arm reminds me of.  The hero of that movie can barely control his arm due to a curse that's killing him.

And of course Oracle Girl is Jafar.  Of course.

Oh, Henry still exists.  And how did Evil Queen Regina get to Storybrooke?

[retrograde]

AV Club is not impressed. 

[profdanglais]

Meh. This secret-keeping business just makes Emma seem like a jerk. Couldn't she at least have said "I'll tell you later" to Hook, as it's not really a conversation you want to have in the woods in the middle of the night, instead of just shutting him out?  Does she really think she can hide this forever? And why is she trusting Hyde? 

I liked Belle's yellow dress and baby Rumbelle seems badass. 

If the Regina/Evil Queen storyline is ever going to be convincing, there has to be a difference between regular Regina and de-evil queened Regina. The original Star Trek had a similar plot line: the transporter splits Kirk's bad side from his good, the bad side goes rampaging and the good side is too ineffectual and indecisive to do anything about it. Eventually they manage to get the transporter to meld them again. We need to see some changes in Regina, some indication that she's not the person she was before being de-evilled. If nothing else, when William Shatner's acting is more subtle than yours, that's a sign that you need to put a bit more effort in. 

[maraleia]

Seriously at this point Lana, Ginnifer, Jennifer and Rebecca's acting is the only thing keeping this show afloat. I was so bored by the story and how convoluted A&E have made the show overall.

[PixiePaws1]

When i saw the feather floating to the ground my first thought was that it belonged to the red bird (which just has to be Iago) because Jafar has him eavesdropping for him.

...and I  just can't help it...i think  Dr Jekyll is adorable  (yes , yes..probably going to be a villain)

[Michel]

3 hours ago, bmoore4026 said:

When, I saw the airship I was hoping we'd be seeing Final Fantasy characters, especially from Final Fantasy VI, but no such luck.  Because fans can't have awesome things.

@bmoore4026, I thought of Final Fantasy, as well!  Did you think that looked more like Setzer's airship (the Blackjack) or Daryl's airship (the Falcon)?

[bmoore4026]

2 minutes ago, Michel said:

@bmoore4026, I thought of Final Fantasy, as well!  Did you think that looked more like Setzer's airship (the Blackjack) or Daryl's airship (the Falcon)?

The Falcon

[3dog]

So Emma loves Killian enough to scour the Underworld for him and enough to risk making him a Dark One just to keep him alive no matter the price. But when touching the hubcap off a dirigible gives her a vision and the DTs? Nope. Don't love him thaaat much. They're established True Love, but apparently not Dirigible DTs Love. 

That's what pissed me off. It wasn't that she didn't tell him about the crazy bird oracle as much as it was that it was her very first instinct to shut him out. And she didn't pull back from that instinct at all. No she dug in and even lied to his face by promising nothing more was wrong. Zeus must be like, "Dude! Sorry I sent you back to that."

[sharky]

Exactly. A&E keep talking about this idea that viewers say they want the quiet moments and people being happy together, but that's not what makes a good story. Holy crap, how out of touch with your viewers can you be? I came to this fandom from Chuck and The Office. Both had great central couples who got together in the middle of the show's run and guess what? They were happy and it worked and it was nice to see those couples working together fighting off the rest of the world. It can be done and it can be done well and viewers will like it. Of course, a storyline like that only works with good writers and well... I think A&E are just proving that they won't be given a new TV series anytime soon.

Also, was thinking about this again this morning. They had to do reshoots for the season premiere and this is what the reshot version looked like? I mean, reshoots can be for any number of reasons. Lighting, sound, whatever. But I think it's pretty obvious now they had to do reshoots because the episode wasn't great. I can only imagine what kind of hot mess it was before they did the reshoot.

3 hours ago, retrograde said:

AV Club is not impressed. 

Yep. I honestly don't think anyone was. Tumblr had its detractors, reddit had the same complaints as well. It's again making me worried about next week's ratings -- will people still come back after that mess? -- and about the future of the show. If they fall below 1.0 in the ratings, I can see them on the bubble for getting cancelled this season. And considering how much this first episode is just another retread of Emma's walls/Rumbelle/messy episodes, cancellation doesn't seem so far fetched.

[YaddaYadda]

I don't think A&E should ever write the premiere episode.

I thought it was a bit of a mess. Being spoiled, I know the scenes that were filmed in front of Granny's with everyone were cut. The only thing they kept was Emma's sword fight and Emma coming out of Granny's. Belle's scene where she was walking past the pawnshop was filmed much later.

I thought the show was going really fast, like it was very disjointed, so I wonder what it is that they trashed.

Given how we've been told that Saviors are their own worst enemy, I wouldn't be surprised if Emma isn't fighting herself the same way David was in 3B.

[bmoore4026]

4 minutes ago, sharky said:

will people still come back after that mess?

Don't know 'bout anyone else, but I'm moving on to Poldark.

[Writing Wrongs]

Why does Hyde talk like Bane from The Dark Knight Rises?

I'm going old school here, but the trembling hand reminded me of Jaime Sommers rejecting her bionics on The Six Million Dollar Man.

[FormerMod-a1]

I also think the Oracle is up to no good, if she is an Oracle.  And don't understand why Emma is trusting her and Hyde.  She's smarter than that.

[daxx]

Given the red eyed snake staff and the red bird I suspect the "oracle" is either Jafar in disguise or controlled by Jafar (he has her heart) or is in league with Jafar.

[TheGreenKnight]

12 hours ago, Tiger said:

I'm 100% convinced that Channing Dungey told A&E to get their shit together asap or they were done.  

And it does feel like the beginning of a final season.  If ABC develops 3-4 new hits, it will be.

LOL That's not going to happen. DS might do okay, but the rest... lol I wouldn't be surprised if HtGAwM also crashes this year. I could see this being the final season, but not because ABC has any new hits on their hands.

I was not impressed with the new Jafar. The accent in particular didn't work for me.

[Chaos Theory]

I think I feel about Hook the way a lot of people feel about Regina.  What some find reasonable reactions to events annoys me to no end.  It's gotten to the point I am looking for reasons to be annoid by him and I feel that is how some people react to Regina but then to each is own and why television is so much fun.  I know I need to get over my thing with Hook because CaptainSwan is a thing but he is just so...ugh!

Oh I'm better now.! Rant over.

[Primetimer]

The new season of the fairy tale mash-up hints at more fantasy characters than ever, plus at least two scenery-chewing villains, and some familiar names with new faces. You might want to take notes.

View the full article

[Rumsy4]

8 hours ago, retrograde said:

If Rumbaby already distrusts his dad in the womb, it's difficult to imagine he'll ever like him, so it's kind of inevitable things will go sour, no?

I have a feeling Rumple has plans to control that baby already.

7 hours ago, Camera One said:

And the "You taught me to have faith.  You're the one who taught me hope was a choice."  What the hell?  I'm pretty sure Snow already had "faith" and "hope" before Regina tried to murder her.  

Why does MM keep kissing Regina's ass?? Why does Regina get any credit here??

Quote

I have no doubt Robin fans are really at peace now.

lol

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Henry: Villains are lying liars who lie.

Emma: Oh, okay, Hyde, I will believe whatever you tell me even though it's clear you are a bad guy and you have no reason to be honest or helpful.

What I found unintentionally hilarious is that after Emma followed the Redbird of Doom (emo cousin of the Bluebird of Happiness), she marched right back to Hyde and demanded that he tell her how to stop whatever bad stuff was coming. Seriously, why did she think he would help her? Or tell her the truth in the first place? Come on, girl. Your superpower is supposed to be that you can tell when people are lying but I think your lie-o-meter has been broken for several years now.

Quote

I wouldn't mind exploring what it means to be a Savior. I don't even entirely mind the idea that it really is a burden that tends to lead to death.

I'd be fine with the Savior being the OUAT version of the Slayer - fate chooses you for this role, you have a duty to help others and save the world, and then you die.

Speaking of the Buffyverse, I remember that around S2 of Angel, I started getting sick of the word "champion.' Apparently OUAT decided that they should see if they could beat that so they used the word "story" eleventy billion times in one episode.

Emma isn't just keeping her DT tremors a secret from Hook. She's hiding it from everyone which is really crappy considering that Snow, Charming, and Storybrooke depend on Emma and Regina to protect them from Bad Stuff. She almost got Regina killed because she was having flashforwards and shaky hands. If they're going to include her in their weekly Hero Plans, then she owes it to them to be honest about the fact that she isn't 100%. But of course she's going to keep this all to herself because she is a martyr and thinks that she's protecting them.

Edited September 26, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Sarcastica]

5 hours ago, retrograde said:

AV Club is not impressed. 

AV Club speaks for me. I had time to think about it. That felt so meh...

[Camera One]

As usual, the "lesson" of the episode is convoluted.  So Regina "chooses" to have faith and believe that Robin's soul was not obliterated.  Well, fine, but at what point is "hope" actually denial, since there is no evidence either way?  Meanwhile, we have Emma blindly believing in Hyde and the Oracle.  Is it supposed to be ironic that she wasn't "learning" the same lesson as Regina?  Finally, did Regina learn anything from her fight with Zelena?  Is she now less mad at her because she chooses to believe Robin is in a better place?  Meanwhile, Snow gives yet another speech about hope (what happened to avoiding being Mary Margaret?), but while searching through the woods with Charming, they had Snow saying something like "Since it's getting dark, It's only going to get harder from here", which is the opposite of hopeful.  

This episode was basically divided into three mostly segregated character groupings.  

- Emma supported by Hook/Archie/Hyde/Oracle/Aladdin

- Regina supported by Snow/Zelena/Henry

- Rumple/Belle supported by Morpheus

For a season premiere, that contributed to the disjointedness. Regina got the internal conflict, Emma got the external conflict, and Rumbelle got the "romance" and the plot twist. The actual entry of the Land of Untold Stories people felt like an afterthought... I'd rather have seen Snow and Charming's role extend from that short scene in the woods where they convinced the people to come out.  No way it's that easy to get people to trust you.  Oh yeah, and Meet us at Granny's even thought you guys have no idea where that is.  

Edited September 26, 2016 by Camera One

[snarkastic]

Things I noticed on rewatch:

The red bird (Iago) is actually in the opening scene (in a cage though) so maybe it was the Oracle's at some point. Or her prisoner. 

I swear I heard Charming say, "That was Emma and Hook. No sign of HYDE or his people." Like, pretty sure Hyde is in jail? Why would you expect to find signs of him?

[Shanna Marie]

The metaphor for this episode that popped into my head when I was waking up this morning that it was like something bought from Ikea and assembled without using the directions, and there were pieces missing from the box, but also extra pieces from some other box that didn't belong. The result is that while there are pieces in the finished product that might have created something useful and attractive if they'd been assembled correctly with all the other right pieces, what you end up with is just kind of a mess.

One of the big problems for me with Emma's shaky hands issue is that it comes across as a case of the characters being written as though they had the writers' knowledge. The writers know that something is going on, but at the point when the Charmings sent Archie, there hadn't been anything that was that big of a deal. Meanwhile, all the characters seem to have forgotten what just happened to them. They're still wearing the same clothes, so these people all just finished driving back from New York. They had enough daylight after arriving back in Storybrooke for the makeout scene, and then going to find the dirigible, and then catching Hyde, which suggests that if they didn't stop somewhere along the way to finish the drive in the morning, they probably drove all night. Emma has driven to and from New York in the last day or so. That alone, forgetting all the emotional stuff about leaving Hook behind in the Underworld, Robin's death, the Hook funeral we didn't see, the shock of Hook's return, Idiot Boy running away, her parents and Hook possibly being trapped in another world by Idiot Boy's antics, etc., etc., should have been more than enough to explain the brief moment of spaciness at the dirigible that led to them sending Archie after her. Heck, if I'd made that drive, my hands would have been shaking like that, no visions needed. I'm like that after a two-hour drive. The caffeine consumption required for her to have done all that would be enough to explain the shakes. If someone zones out after spending most of the past day or so driving cross-country, you tell them to eat a meal, hydrate, and get some rest. You don't send a shrink. That was one of those pieces from the wrong box, along with pieces missing from the right box.

I guess that's why I'm a little forgiving of Emma's secret keeping. It seemed to me like everyone was overreacting, like the characters had read the scripts for upcoming episodes and knew it was something to be seriously concerned about rather than them only noticing that Emma seemed a bit out of sorts, when Emma had many, many reasons to not feel 100 percent. Instead of Hook being all "What's wrong that you're not telling me and why are you shutting me out?" it seems more realistic for him to just assume that she's overdone it lately. Because she has.

I just can't with the idea that Regina helped Snow learned to have hope by making her life so miserable that she needed to cling to hope to survive. So I guess the torturer gets credit and deserves thanks for helping someone learn to be strong.

And my head still explodes at the idea that we're going to be exploring the fact that Saviors don't get a happily ever after two seasons after exploring the fact that villains don't get happy endings. So, who does get a happy ending? Regular heroes who aren't also Saviors? People who aren't either villains or heroes certainly don't, since they get killed at random with no one giving a damn.

[Curio]

If Snow is off giving hope speeches to Regina, can I at least having Charming attempting to give a hope speech to Emma before they dumped the cricket who likes to hang out in Snow's boobs on her? Did Charming even get 30 seconds of screen time?

Also, I had to laugh at everyone being like, "Regina, you're not fine. I think this is about more than a feather." No shit. Her boyfriend just died like 24 hours ago, maybe it has to deal with that?

Quote

I swear I heard Charming say, "That was Emma and Hook. No sign of HYDE or his people." Like, pretty sure Hyde is in jail? Why would you expect to find signs of him?

I'm pretty sure you're right. Which might be a sign that a lot of portions of this episode had to be rewritten at the last second and that's why it seems so sloppy.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Curio

[tennisgurl]

I finally saw this, and...it had its moments, and I think it set up some plots that have potential, but it was mostly a big mess. Weird character stuff, stories that I am positive will be forgotten instantly, and that awful actress playing The Oracle. I wish they could have brought back the Blind Oracle who screwed with Rumple. Yeah she was an Enchanted Forest resident, but since when do the writers care about details like that? That actress (both young and old) actually pulled off Mysterious Seer of Future Things. 

Come on, show. Nobody thinks your really going to kill off Emma for real, so stop with all the drama surrounding it. And I am already sick to death of Emma lying to Hook. It just seems like we are constantly one step forward two steps back with her trust issues. Emma, girl, you went to HELL to save your boyfriend! You love the guy, cat is out of the bag. Honestly, Hook was probably more understanding of Emma clearly shutting him out than a lost of people would be. As soon as she apologized, he was fine. Can Emma and Hook seriously not get one damn episode to chill out and be normal before the next big drama fest breaks out?

The Regina stuff did not bother me as much as some of her issues, and I did appreciate that she admitted that she was a terrible step mom. It was kind of killed by Snow referring to Regina as the Evil Queen, like she was a different person. Damn it, thats not how that works! I did feel bad for how everyone seems to immediately expect Regina to be over it that Robin is dead. I mean, her True Love died like a day ago, give her a second to process! Granted, she does not seem all that emotional about it in general, so its hard to blame them.

I actually did not see the Morpheus twist coming! And Belle actually listened to him! Granted, I am sure shell be back to him in three episodes tops. Nobody on this show really manages to learn anything for that long, ESPECIALLY Belle and Rumple. 

[RadioGirl27]

This was so underwhelming for a season premiere. It was disjointed and, at times, really boring. I liked Oded Fehr and the Rumbelle part was intriguing. But the rest was a big mess. And I'm really tired of this one step forward, a million steps backwards with CS.

[maryle]

Love it overall I like that it was not heavy on one character but every one had their turn

Actually I am OK with Emma not rushing to tell her Loved ones I will not Rushing to tell my family if I just learned that I have a terminal cancer I will need time to process first and we know it won't be too long before it come out.

I loved Archie and Emma scene and everything with CS but why can we have scene with snow and Regina but so little of snow and Emma it becomes my major complaint.

After, the Savior and Hydes stuff I did liked the Rumbelle bit but not sure why their son have to be Morpheus. Still curious why he doesn't want his parents together and just like I knew the Regina part was just OK for me.

I still liked Zelena.