S06.E03: The Other Shoe

[formerlyfreedom]

As Storybrooke continues to welcome the new arrivals from the Land of Untold Stories, families, friends and even long-lost enemies are reunited once again. When Ashley (Cinderella) searches for her step-family, intent on settling their unfinished business, Emma, Hook and Henry scramble to help her before it’s too late. Meanwhile, Regina attempts to bribe Mr. Hyde for information about how to defeat the Evil Queen and Snow helps Dr. Jekyll find a suitable laboratory for his work. David makes a deal with Gold and delivers a message to Belle in exchange for new information about his father. In flashback, Cinderella attends a ball and meets her prince

 

 

[InsertWordHere]

Jane Espenson for showrunner, please!

Not because of the Captain Swan stuff, even though that was awesome, but because this episode felt more like classic OUaT than this show has been in a long, long time. I have so much praise for the Ella storyline I'm even willing to forgive the fact that they totally could have just said Anastasia was the other stepsister and just kept her offscreen.

[Tiger]

This was excellent, except for the Rumple shit, and I do mean shit.

Jessy Schram and the Stepmother actress were really good.  It's a shame the show hasnt done more with Ella/Ashley.  And I think the Stepmother would have made a great and actual Queen of Darkness.  

I particularly loved Snow tracking, talking to animals, and wanting to get back to teaching.  The CaptainSwann movement was also great.

[mustbekarma]

This was an absolutely splendid episode. Cinderella was absolutely amazing.

[FormerMod-a1]

I love you Emma, but if it's so hard to  keep this secret from your family, maybe don't keep it.  Tell them.  It could be that fate only happens if you fight it alone, or accept it alone.  (Pure speculation, but I can see the show going there).  That said, I'm glad she was able to heal Ashley/Cinderella.

<shallow> I could listen to Hyde talk all day. </shallow>

[YaddaYadda]

I loved it. Why can't it always be like this?

I loved the flashbacks, Gus/Billy was back for like 30 seconds. Lady Tremaine was really good as were the step sisters, the whole episode was well paced. They didn't go overboard with Regina/EQ like last week. 

David needs to be be bitchslapped for the deal he made.

Belle decorated the JR's Captain's quarters and she looked really comfortable and actually happy. 

And Henry encouraged Emma for a change.

Now Emma, tell them what's wrong with you.

Edited October 10, 2016 by YaddaYadda

[Worsel]

I really liked this episode. I was disappointed in season 1 when we didn't get to see Cinderella's story except for the beginning with Rumple.  This was a great story, I especially liked that the evil step-sister was really not so evil after all, just trapped in a dysfunctional relationship with mom like Ella.

And I love Leroy!  I loved his comment about Dopey and how the dwarves had to rescue him themselves.  And it was a great ending with Leroy putting the evil stepmother to work doing hard labor.

 

ETA: I really liked the Snow/Charming scenes

 

ETA (again): I'm so distracted watching the debate forgot to also add - loved seeing Whale/Frankenstein - I hope we get to see more of the mad scientists/doctors working together.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Worsel

[Senna]

I really liked this episode, which feels kind of shocking.  The Cinderella flashbacks were solid enough and in the present day we had some good forward movement with Emma's savior plot and Emma and Hook's relationship.  Best of all, other than the nerve wracking moment at the end, this episode was not a downer to watch. Please, more like this!

[KingOfHearts]

That was pretty solid. 

Pros:
* All-in-all, the flashbacks returned to the fairy tale format that works so well. I thought it was more immersive than the drive-by perspective we've seen more recently.
* Emma using her head to figure out Ashley's case with the help of Hook and Henry was lovely. More, please.
* When Lady Tremaine was holding a shotgun, I knew things were getting real. I thought the actress portrayed the role perfectly. 
* "I'm the honest one." I love the Evil Queen. She can stay, Regina can go to Disneyland if she wants. EQ forever.
* "It's just defeat and repeat." I'm glad even Snow is realizing how repetitive the show is.
* I laughed when Lady Tremaine was stuck doing community service.
* Captain Swan moving in together. Regina: "Well it's about time."

Cons:
* Poor Leroy. Archie cheated him out of his hour he paid for. Archie is the worst therapist of the year.
* Thomas was nonchalantly affirming his wife may be off to kill someone over a grudge... in front of his young daughter. K.
* Gus turning human was unnecessary. Writers: "See our wonderful continuity with S2?!"
* Stop me if you've heard of this before: The social-climbing, overbearing mother is hellbent on stopping her daughter from marrying a commoner. So she tries to kill him. Sound like Cora much? I thought Clorinda's story was oddly similar to Anastasia's. The similarity is so striking it almost needs to be addressed.
* Ella never heard of magic... and she lived in the Enchanted Forest. 
* Why was Snow making a big deal about becoming a teacher again? She was just teaching in 4B. She wasn't cursed then.
* While I appreciated Snow's concerns about "normal life", it just doesn't work under these writers. Small town life sounds like a nice idea to them, but they never follow through with it. We've gone over this already in 2B and 3B.
* Rumple's poem for Damien wasn't cute. It was manipulative.
* Gee, Charming. Way to throw Belle under the bus in order to make room for your daddy issues.
* Charming's stupid manhunt. I thought Secrets and Lies was moved to next week because of the debate. I didn't know Once was filling in...

I think everyone is going to be gushing about how this episode was better, cleaner, etc. But, in truth, it was superior because it borrowed old formulas that worked. While it was good, I've seen it before many times.

Edited October 10, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[Worsel]

2 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

 

* While I appreciated Snow's concerns about "normal life", it just doesn't work under these writers. Small town life sounds like a nice idea to them, but they never follow through with it. We've gone over this already in 2B and 3B.
 

I agree - and also I really wish we could see more of these fairytale characters dealing with the mundane things in our world - that might create some interesting situations and humor.

[OnceUponAJen]

Stop keeping secrets David and Emma! Have we learned nothing?

I agree the show was well-paced! I didn't feel fatigued for the characters while I was watching. So, I guess the EQ didn't magic Hook, Emma and Henry over the town line?  For a minute, I thought she had.

Yay for Captain Swan relationship progression! I like how comfortable they seem with each other.

Favorite line:"Free cheese. Go!"

Edited October 10, 2016 by OnceUponAJen

[Shanna Marie]

8 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

Stop me if you've heard of this before: The social-climbing, overbearing mother is hellbent on stopping her daughter from marrying a commoner. So she tries to kill him. Sound like Cora much?

I was mentally adding that to the list of retreads. Don't forget that the good one was really at fault for ending the bad one's happiness because she told a secret. If they're going to be that repetitive, at least hang a lampshade on it and make a remark about how similar she was to Cora, or the trend of social-climbing mothers, or something. That one thing kind of ruined the episode for me after all the retreads from the last two episodes. Surely they could have found some other story for Ashley and her family.

However, the actress playing Lady Tremaine was brilliant and really sold it. I did like one of the stepsisters being not so bad, but it was a little irksome that she treated Ashley so awful to cover up her relationship, but then Ashley was so in the wrong for telling a secret. I'm not sure it would have bugged me so much if we hadn't had years of the Regina and Snow stuff, but coming after that, I was rolling my eyes.

Hook with Alexandra was rather adorable, but I have a suspicion we were seeing a bit more Colin than Hook there.

I want to see the show about Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Frankenstein teaching high school science. That's what this series should have more of, the storybook stuff fitting into the "real" world.

[ParadoxLost]

This is why I still watch.  Every once in a while they do an episode like this.  I enjoy it.  And then I wonder what they hell goes wrong the rest of the time.

So apparently its the costume that has been annoying me with the Evil Queen.  She was fabulous here.  Keep the new style and attitude.

I still can't deal with Regina's angst but I did get the sense that maybe there was a bit of an acknowledgement of fandoms feelings about the lasagna in this one.

Wasn't sure where Snow's desire to teach was coming from.  I was with David that it was kind of a Mary Margaret thing and didn't she decide she wanted to be Snow in the Underworld.   Felt like they were setting up plot.  But nice to see Whale again.

Really, everything about Emma's session was great.  As was Emma asking Hook to move in and Hook reminding Emma she wasn't completely incapable without magic.  I'm halfway to wanting the shaky hand stuff to resolve with Emma not having magic permanently and being ok with it.

I don't think having so much magic readily at hand to defeat the villains is really helping the show.

Everything about Cinderella's story was devine.  It felt so much like season 1.  They need to do more of that and less of the EQ rinse and repeat flashbacks.

[KaveDweller]

Didn't we see Cinderella's Stepmother and Stepsister on Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and it was a totally different story? Are we just pretending that never happened?

[Rumsy4]

I really enjoyed the episode. This seemed more like a callback to Season 1. Cinderella's story was well done, and there was no stupid retcons. I LOVED seeing Gus Gus back. and him going after the cheese was adorable. 

All the Captain Swan moments were adorable! Killian holding Emma's hand and hugging here when her magic was wonky was so sweet. And the moment with Alex was so assfjsdflkjsdflkj. 

EQ!Regina was starting to get to Henry a little there. I had to laugh at her trying to get him to not slouch. 

Lady Tremaine was legit scary, more than any of the live-action adaptations of Cinderella I have seen, including Ever After (my fav). Her subtle portrayal of evil was such a contrast to Lana's campy Evil Queen.

Grump had lots of good moments--he provided a lot of the humor. haha

I am very disappointed in David. Both for taking the mix-tape to Belle, and for keeping secrets from Snow. Like Father. Like Daughter. 

Whaaaaaaaaaale!! Yes.

Hyde Queen. #IShipIt

[Mathius]

5 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

Didn't we see Cinderella's Stepmother and Stepsister on Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and it was a totally different story? Are we just pretending that never happened?

Yes and yes.  Or rather, just because they were never outright said to be her Stepmother and Stepsister (although the hinting was pretty damn blatant), Adam said on Twitter that they weren't, and that if they can get Anastasia onto the show this season her backstory will be a new one altogether.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Mathius

[FormerMod-a1]

One thing I forgot to mention.  Whale looks like 80s era Michael DesBarres.

[KingOfHearts]

Quote

Hyde Queen. #IShipIt

Forgot to add that to my pros list. The Hyde Queen ship sails!

Quote

Yes and yes.  Or rather, just because they were never outright said to be her Stepmother and Stepsister (although the hinting was pretty damn blatant), Adam said on Twitter that they weren't, and that if they can get Anastasia onto the show this season her backstory will be a new one altogether.

I'm not sure if Ana and Clorina would bond over their common experiences or just be freaked out. It's eerie.

Edited October 10, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[OnceUponAJen]

I think I may like Hyde-EQ!  Also, I like her more toned down. Less crazy eyes.

Edited October 10, 2016 by OnceUponAJen

[KaveDweller]

9 minutes ago, Mathius said:

Yes and yes.  Or rather, just because they were never outright said to be her Stepmother and Stepsister (although the hinting was pretty damn blatant), Adam said on Twitter that they weren't, and that if they can get Anastasia onto the show this season her backstory will be a new one altogether.

I guess that is the benefit to never outright saying things, you can change your mind if it is convenient.

[MaiLuna]

Really fun episode! I loved seeing Cinderella both in the present and in the flashbacks. More flashbacks like that, please! I was really shocked when Lady Tremaine stabbed Ashley. Not so much when Clorinda revealed she loved the footman, their first scene had Daniel/Regina written all over it :P

I love all the Captain Swan development! But most of all, I love that the characters are finally getting tired of so many crises. 

Whale and Jekyll working together looks like fun. Also, the EQ and Hyde strutting their evil stuff. 

The only thing that annoyed me is that Snow & Charming seem to care more about Neal than Emma yet again (I know he's a baby and needs them so much more, but it still irks me).

Overall, OUAT going back to their old form works. Keep it up, show. 

[RandomWatcher]

Snow wants Jekyll and Frankenstein as science teachers? That just seems like a bad idea. However that does make me wonder what other classes are taught at school. Archery? Fencing? Ballroom Dancing? Is there a magic class?

[Shanna Marie]

5 minutes ago, RandomWatcher said:

Snow wants Jekyll and Frankenstein as science teachers? That just seems like a bad idea. However that does make me wonder what other classes are taught at school. Archery? Fencing? Ballroom Dancing? Is there a magic class?

I have long wanted Hook to teach math (since his navigation skills would involve serious math).

Mad science in school would probably get kids' attention, but just imagine a classroom full of Jekyll/Hydes. Then again, that would be normal in junior high, when they randomly switch between being children and being teens, and you never know which one they're being at any given moment.

Regina should fund the ballroom dancing so that no other girl will ever not know how to dance at a ball.

[bmoore4026]

Y'know, this show is pretty good when it focuses on characters other than Emma et al.

Whoever played The Wicked Stepmother kicked ass.  Who was it?

Also, what happened to the other stepsister?

Other than that, the rest was forgettable.   Snow telling David that she missed parts of the cursed life, like her being a teacher.  You're not alone on that, Snow.

[Shanna Marie]

23 minutes ago, bmoore4026 said:

Snow telling David that she missed parts of the cursed life, like her being a teacher.

That rubbed me the wrong way. She was only moderately content then because she's the kind of person who's content in any circumstance and because she was robbed of all awareness and free will. She was actually under constant attack then and was essentially a prisoner being kept away from the people she loved. She just was oblivious to it because of the curse. So, she may have enjoyed being a teacher, but her life wasn't blissful security. That whole bit struck me as an attempt to whitewash the curse.

[Mathius]

Also, so much for not wanting to be Mary Margaret anymore, right?

Because if she wanted to be Snow, she'd demand mayor position back from Regina.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Mathius

[Scovies]

Can Jane write every episode? We somehow managed to get forward momentum, excellent character moments (Snow wanting to go back to teaching and the general idea of finding "normal," David struggling with the info about his father, Emma with Archie, the Captain Swan stuff, Regina realizing what the EQ was trying to do), Belle being smart, a twist on an old fairy tale, good continuity, callbacks to beloved old characters, and every single major player included in the story without anything seeming rushed or tacked-on. 

This is the show I want to watch every week. I stick around for Captain Swan because it's the only thing that's consistently written well, but I could get really invested in the show as a whole if it maintained this kind of quality.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Scovies

[thuganomics85]

As with most things Once Upon A Time, episodes written or co-written by Jane Espenson end up being one of the better ones.  She just seems to be able to make everyone be in character (even when they're doing dumb things), and the humor.  The bit were both Emma and Hook were struggling with the stepsister's name was right in her wheelhouse.  Also the moment when Emma finds out that Dopey is no longer a tree and Leroy said something like "We can do things without you!"  At least the show acknowledges that there is a lot of stuff they never bother to explain again on screen.  Granted, there are the episodes where I almost wish I was seeing what the minor characters were up to.

The Cinderella flashbacks were decent, even if it was hard to watch her keep getting tricked by her stepmother over and over again.  The actress playing the stepmother was perfect.  Jessy Schram was good too, even though I still have gotten her creepy, psychotic Cash from Nashville out of my head, yet.  I did like the idea of one of the stepsisters actually not being fully horrible.  Still kind of sucks that she was willing to turn on her though, after one mistake.

Dr. Whale is always a welcome return, even though I crack up over David Anders still jus having his iZombie hair, probably because it would be too hard to cut it or change it.  I still hope they can find someway to work Rose McIver back in for an episode as Tinkerbell.

Snow wants to become a teacher again, which I guess is nice, although I'm not sure having Dr. Jekyll and especially Dr. Whale teach children is an especially great idea.  But I'm guessing issues will be arising, since Charmings seems like he's going to still be looking into his dad's death.  And lying to her about it.  Sigh...

Emma and Hook moving in together is a nice step, although I hope it isn't all to make him finding out the truth (it will so happen) even harder on him.

Regina finds out Zelena is hanging out with the Evil Queen, which is not good.  Even worse for them is the EQ has now sprung good old Mr. Hyde from the pokey.  Fun times!

It's nice of Archie to want to help Emma, but doing it at Leroy's expense is kind of a dick move, doc.

[TheGreenKnight]

I thought this was the worst episode so far. Cinderella and her stepmother both holding a rifle at one point, the Stepmother being way overdramatic, the Cinderella-stepsister story being a rehash of Snow telling Cora about Daniel, etc. The only parts I liked were Emma and TEQ. TEQ and Hyde looked very nice together there at the end. I'm hoping TEQ starts a relationship with Hyde and, when she's most likely absorbed back into Regina, those feelings remain, and Hyde is her new love interest. He's too hot to waste.

[twoods]

Hyde is freaking hot- I don't know if it's that voice or the way he carries himself but wow. Him and TEQ look good together. 

I liked the twist that the stepsister was nice, and glad she got her happy ending. 

Captain Swan always make me happy. Don't screw with them for the billionth time, please.

Oh David, this is not good. The killer is probably Regina or Hook so he's going to go all nutso on them. He's just like his daughter, hiding secrets from the ones they love.

[KingOfHearts]

Quote

Also, so much for not wanting to be Mary Margaret anymore, right?

5B: "I don't want to be Mary Margaret any more. I want to be Snow White."
6A: "I want to be Mary Margaret again. I'm tired of being Snow White."

Quote

That rubbed me the wrong way. She was only moderately content then because she's the kind of person who's content in any circumstance and because she was robbed of all awareness and free will. She was actually under constant attack then and was essentially a prisoner being kept away from the people she loved. She just was oblivious to it because of the curse. So, she may have enjoyed being a teacher, but her life wasn't blissful security. That whole bit struck me as an attempt to whitewash the curse.

Snow wasn't really a "teacher". She taught the same class the same lesson every single day and had little to no perception of time. I could see her enjoying the time she spent while Emma was in town, but not beforehand.

Quote

I think I may like Hyde-EQ!  Also, I like her more toned down. Less crazy eyes.

It's odd that this EQ is more subdued. Yeah, she's still chewing scenery, but she's not as... aimlessly cartoonish. She has a clear motive. She's not killing jesters for the heck of it. Dare I say, she's not even the "worse half" of Regina. Both her and her other half have the same potential for evil, but one takes more action and the other blubbers about their angst all day.

All the praise of Jane Espenson and I just keep remembering she wrote Bleeding Through. IMO, she's hit or miss, and tonight's episode was one of her hits.

Edited October 10, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[KAOS Agent]

Wait a second. Did that episode end happily? How is this even possible? I'm sure it's setting everything up to be all angst all the time, but I'll take this one.

Some Notes:

- Still liking Lana's hair. And since she didn't have any scenes with herself, she got rid of that beehive wig and got a better hairstyle for the Evil Queen.

- On the other hand, Gold's wig is awful. Please cut your hair ASAP. How creepy was it to have him reading that poem while he's hanging out in the dark outside the Jolly Roger?

- David really sucks for making that deal. He also sucks for not listening to Snow. You have a lovely son who needs you. Don't be a dick and screw that up.

- Was Whale's warning about what's in his refrigerator a vague reference to the brains he eats in iZombie?

- I liked the Emma/Ashley stuff. It really was a nice callback to S1 and Emma still helped Ashley get her happy ending. Bonus happiness for Clorinda and the footman as well.

- Finally, can someone please tell me why Ashley actually said that it was too bad there's no such thing as magic when she's talking to a fully clothed mouse? 

If we can have more episodes like this, I'll stick around. Less doom and gloom. More problem solving and adventuring albeit in Storybrooke.

Edited October 10, 2016 by KAOS Agent

[InsertWordHere]

So that is the same key Rumple used last episode, right? I wonder how Ella's mom got it.  

I cannot give enough props to the actress playing Ella's stepmother. I could swear she was channeling Meryl Streep at some points. Over the top sinister Meryl Streep, I mean. Awesome version of Lady Tremaine, complete with a callback to the cartoon version's cat. How on earth did she get an orange jumpsuit and assigned to community service on the same day and why is she being supervised by Leroy? 

I really liked the very rare pair scene of Belle and David. Would Rumple really choose a bedtime story for his kid that involves fairies? 

I think Emma and Killian were eating off the same plate at that little picnic.

Snow can now talk to mice too and track a mysterious guest home from a well-attended ball. There must be a unique footprint pattern for people hopping home with one glass shoe. Maybe Emma should have asked for her mom's help to track Ashley. 

David, don't lie to your wife. We've been over this. I do not like to think about who could have stabbed his father, only it seems awfully convenient that this information comes from Rumple. 

We learned more in this episode about daily life in Storybrooke than we have in at least the last season and that's pretty pathetic. We figured out Belle and Hook's living arrangements, that Henry is learning to parry, we learned MM's feelings about teaching, and we even got to see Whale's garage and learn there's no food in the garage fridge! 

ETA: Lady Tremaine just hopped worlds and abandoned her other daughter, which was probably good for the other daughter. I wonder what happened to her. Did Ella use her new status to help her? Was she sucked up with the curse? Did she change her looks and attitude and take a looking glass to Wonderland with her low status boyfriend while also somehow seeing her mother again before she left? These are important questions.

Edited October 10, 2016 by InsertWordHere

[andromeda331]

Where can I sign up for that science class? Victor and Dr. Jekyll, I'd pay to see that. This felt more fun. I loved Henry and Hook reminding Emma she used to find people without magic. And loved them trying to remember Clorinda's name. I agree it felt more like season one. There were a few annoying parts. Charming's daddy issues and talking to Belle of all people along with agreeing to bring that tape to her.  I really liked the Evil Queen pointing out she raised Henry, especially to Henry.

[Miles]

So they give the dangerous criminal who likes to stab people with a pointy stick a new pointy stick? Yeah, that won't end badly...

Storybrook, where attempted murder gets you community service.

[PixiePaws1]

yes, yes....Archie is a crap psychiatrist...but I am cutting him some slack in return for giving Emma the bus line...which resulted in the adorably confused look on Killian's face...

I  would give a great number of choc chip cookies to whomever can give me a scene of Killian bemoaning the frills Belle has put into the Captain's cabin..is it just me or did she look really at home....

[buffynut]

Loved the episode. My favourite one since the Frozen arc.  

[Primetimer]

But will you have a ball, or smash your glass slipper out of frustration?

View the full article

[Mari]

5 hours ago, PixiePaws1 said:

 

I  would give a great number of choc chip cookies to whomever can give me a scene of Killian bemoaning the frills Belle has put into the Captain's cabin..is it just me or did she look really at home....

Eh . . I'm not sure he'd really care.  It wasn't exactly a stereotypical hyper masculine man cave to begin with.

[Rumsy4]

That red embroidered drape over the shelf was already there--Captain Jones/Hook's cabin was never bare like in the Navy days. Belle just added a few extra frills. 

Belle definitelty seemed quite at home! 

Edited October 10, 2016 by Rumsy4

[allonsyalice]

A great episode! (But tbh I'm always happy when they manage to get Dagid Anders back for three lines.)

I also had high hopes for this episode, and I wasn't disappointed. Ashley's ep was my favourite in S1 and it was so nice to see her back. They should have done way more with her honestly. 

[tennisgurl]

I...actually really loved that? It basically had a bunch of the stuff I have wanted the show to have for ages? Its jokes were actually funny? We got actual continuity? What even is this?!?!

Not that it was perfect. The Evil Stepmother stuff was essentially the Cora story, and David and Emma continue to lie to their loved ones (even though they learned not to do that like three seasons ago) for contrived reasons, and I admit I did a double take when Ella said there was no magic. Girl, you live in the Enchanted Forest! Your best friend is a sentient mouse in a shirt! But I guess if she grew up with that, maybe it does not seem like magic?

But I am not going to complain about that, because I loved it so much. Even if the Cinderella story had a Cora thing going on, it was pretty much in line with the story, and I loved all the actors involved. It really did feel like season 1 again, taking a classic story and giving it a twist. And this episode actually ended happily! I thought that was against the rules now! Evil Stepmom does community service, Clorinda the not evil step sister is reunited with her true love, and Ashley still has her family, plus she reconnects with her sister! Happy endings! Plus, Gus Gus flashbacks! And his cheese! 

Dr. Whale/Frankestein is back! And he and Dr. Jekyll are going to be science bros! I would totally take a science class taught by them. That sounds 15 kinds of awesome. 

I can actually understand Snow wanting to go back to teaching and getting closer to a normal life. As she said (and as I've said a million times), its just defeat and repeat. with one bad guy showing up after another, with no resting in between. I would love to see the characters try to live something close to a normal life, mixing their fantasy stuff with their modern stuff. I hope they continue with this.

I also wonder if everyone in the Land of Untold stories is from some kind of old timie land. No stories from the future or space or the 20th century? Or something?

Edited October 10, 2016 by tennisgurl

[YaddaYadda]

6 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Ella said there was no magic.

I think it spoke more to her circumstances and the way she was treated than it did about actual magic.

It's like when Emma told her in 1x04 that there were no fairy godmothers and if she wanted to get things done, then she had to do them herself.

[RadioGirl27]

The episode was really good (finally!!). There was a season 1 vibe that made it really enjoyable. Loved the CS moments, even if I don't like that Emma is still lying to Hook and the rest of her family. And, if there wasn't enough with Emma, now David is keeping secrets, too. Oh, and it's the first time since season 4 (Cruella's episode) that I have liked the flashback, all three actresses were really good.

I get why Snow wants to go back to teaching, but doctor Jeckyll and doctor Frankenstein as science teachers? That can't end well.

[tennisgurl]

1 minute ago, YaddaYadda said:

I think it spoke more to her circumstances and the way she was treated than it did about actual magic.

That makes sense, it was just funny the way it sounded. I suppose its more "there is no magic wand to make this better", which is a good message for this story. 

[Shanna Marie]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

I admit I did a double take when Ella said there was no magic. Girl, you live in the Enchanted Forest! Your best friend is a sentient mouse in a shirt!

I didn't think Gus-Gus had anything to do with magic. He was just a particularly interactive and intelligent pet, and he wore clothes because Cinderella made clothes for her animal friends, not because of magic. Though this does bring up a worldbuilding issue in the question of just how rare or common magic is. Regina, Cora, Rumple, and the Apprentice were the only magic users we were aware of in the Enchanted Forest up to that time, other than the fairies. The Apprentice kept himself hidden away, so probably very few people were even aware he existed. If there's a prince and king, this isn't technically in the Enchanted Forest, so it wasn't Snow's kingdom, which means they weren't under Regina's reign of terror. It might have been possible for ordinary people to not encounter magic, especially in another kingdom. It might have been something people talked about or there were rumors about, but not something most people had seen with their own eyes.

Speaking of Gus-Gus, was human Gus-Gus the same actor who played Billy in season one? Though I guess there's no real reason why the human form of Gus-Gus from Rumple's godmother spell would have to look the same as the human version of him created by the curse. It's not like he really had a consistent inner human. Though if he was an ordinary mouse, why would he have been made human by the curse? Are there other people in Storybrooke who are really animals back home? Archie was made human because he was really a human turned into a cricket. Is Pongo human back in the Enchanted Forest, and that's why we don't see him in flashbacks?

This episode is pretty much the sort of thing I was hoping to see when I started watching this series. In the flashbacks, we had the fairy tale mashup, with Snow White helping Cinderella's prince track her home after the ball, and we had the fairy tale twist of one of the wicked stepsisters only acting wicked to hide her relationship with a servant (though that plotline would have been better if it hadn't been an almost exact duplication of the Regina/Cora/Snow/Daniel story). In the present, we had Captain Hook minding Cinderella's baby, Cinderella running the town daycare, Cinderella going after her wicked stepmother with a shotgun, Cinderella being magically tracked with her sneaker, Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Frankenstein doing science together, Belle living on the Jolly Roger, and Grumpy having a therapy session with Jiminy Cricket. We had some family and relationship stuff, with Emma pondering her possible future with Hook, Hook playing stepdad with Henry, and Emma, Hook, and Henry teaming up on a case, using Emma's skip tracer skills and Henry not being annoying.

But poor Emma just can't win. She gets criticized for taking on too much and feeling like she always has to be the Savior, but then she gets the snarky "we don't wait around for you to help" from Grumpy, like she somehow failed in not saving Dopey and they resent having had to do something for themselves that they turned out to be perfectly capable of doing for themselves. They really need to define the job description for Savior because it seems like everyone should be taking more personal responsibility instead of counting on Emma to do everything, and there should only be specific occasions that call for a Savior.

[Mathius]

1 hour ago, Shanna Marie said:

but then she gets the snarky "we don't wait around for you to help" from Grumpy, like she somehow failed in not saving Dopey and they resent having had to do something for themselves that they turned out to be perfectly capable of doing for themselves.

I didn't get that from the line at all.  I felt the resentment was for Emma expecting like she needs to help with everything and feeling like other people aren't capable of doing things for themselves.  Grumpy is a dwarf, so he takes pride in doing his own work, he doesn't want or expect a Savior to help him all the time.  Emma ought to take this as a sign that she doesn't need to go around fixing everyone's problems and can take time off for herself.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Mathius

[iMonrey]

While the episode was perhaps better written and more entertaining than some of the more recent ones, it still shows that they've run out of ideas. I understand if they couldn't get Emma Rigby to reprise her role as Anasatsia, but couldn't they have at least cast someone who looks similar? At least someone with the same hair color? Or just keep the character off screen?

For that matter, is that the same actor who played Thomas back in Season 1? And the human version of Gus was not the same human version we met in a previous season when he introduced himself to Ruby. Continuity went out the window with this episode. So now, apparently, they are just going to start re-hashing stories they have already told and rewrite them. Yep, time to wrap things up, show.

[Writing Wrongs]

1 hour ago, Shanna Marie said:

Speaking of Gus-Gus, was human Gus-Gus the same actor who played Billy in season one?

Yes. And yes it was the same Thomas and no, Wonderland's Anastasia is not Ella's stepsister.

I really like this version of the Evil Queen.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Writing Wrongs

[InsertWordHere]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Continuity went out the window with this episode.

Even though I was disappointed that they chose not to include or even mention Anastasia as being a part of Ella's family, I am not sure I'd consider it a continuity error, because on OUaTiW, they never specifically mentioned the name Ella or glass slippers or anything that directly linked Anastasia to the Cinderella story, IIRC. It was all hints, not specifics. I would call it more of a continuity missed opportunity. 

As for Gus and Thomas, those were the same actors.