S06.E20: The Song in Your Heart

[Shanna Marie]

15 hours ago, Terrafamilia said:

Hook. Blow-gun. Rumple on the floor. Too bad it didn't hold.

Funny, I saw a comment on Twitter about how this is proof that Hook hasn't been redeemed because he still wants revenge. I guess the writers' work is done in instilling a warped morality if stopping someone who is an imminent threat and who is assisting the villain who is trying to kill the woman he loves is considered something that a redeemed person wouldn't do and is only seen as revenge, and if he's not allowed to still be angry at the man who murdered the last woman he loved while he's trying to stop him from assisting in the death of the current woman he loves. Really, at this point, I think they could do just about anything to Rumple without it being considered evil because he more than has it coming. There's a difference between devoting your life to revenge and taking action to stop a threat, especially when you're dealing with someone who has caused so very much harm.

Anyway, after listening to some of the songs again some more, for science, I'm still mostly impressed musically. Josh Dallas really needs to be the prince in any future Disney princess musical cartoon movie, and his musical theater experience shows. I'm curious what, exactly, Colin's musical background is. I know he plays guitar and sings in a rock band, but does he have any musical theater experience or other musical training/experience? I was getting heavy choir vibes from him, just because he has solid technique without necessarily a lot of power. His pitch and diction were very precise, and he's got an impressive upper register with effortless high notes (I bet he could even sing countertenor), but he needs more breath support. Jen clearly has some talent and training, but I got the sense that she was very self-conscious and maybe overthinking it a bit. You could practically see the thought bubbles of "okay, breath support, phrasing, vowels, phonation, but then there's the emotion and the character ..." It was much better in the finale number than her solo, but then her solo was supposed to be this really emotional moment, and I'm wondering if some of it was maybe even done live rather than with a backing track, since it started raw and then turned into a musical number.

Mostly, though, the songs had nothing to do with the story, and while they were good songs, that was a weakness for the episode. It came across kind of like Hook's, Regina's, and Zelena's songs were the demos the songwriters put together to prove that they could write songs for these characters, and then they came up with a story to justify a musical, wrote the "story" songs, and then stuck these songs in. They'd have been great for introducing these characters, but they didn't belong in season six, even in backstory. Regina's song would have been great for the pilot, just before she cast the curse, or else in some of the other season one flashbacks. Hook's song might have fit in a flashback during season two in one of his early episodes, but was redundant and pointless here. Zelena's song fit in her backstory episode from season three, but was "been there, done that" here. The excuses for Hook and Zelena to be singing were so thin that it makes me feel like the songs were shoehorned into the plot rather than written as part of the plot. I can kind of buy Hook maybe being influenced by the presence of the Charmings, but did that spell reach all the way to Oz? It doesn't help that this shows how narrow the scope of this world is, since we only saw known characters singing (with background singers/dancers). We didn't get any little moments like the mustard bit or the parking ticket bit from the Buffy musical, showing that this affected the entire world. That made it look like the spell somehow picked out the few people who would later become important in Emma's life. Even there, how does Zelena fit? Have she and Emma ever even had a conversation?

[tennisgurl]

By far the most embarrassing moment was when Regina broke into her little dance routine near the end of her villain song. I actually thought the rest of the song was pretty good (not anywhere near a classic Disney villain song, but still good) and Lana did pretty well, but that little dance? My God, it was like the dances I do when I'm alone in my room rocking out to AC/DC! I can just imagine the guards in the hallway watching this shit, and trying not to laugh their asses off.

[Rumsy4]

1 hour ago, Mitch said:

And...."Sing, I would rather scratch my eyes out with rusted forks!"  LOL..ALL is forgiven Rump just for that one line.

That was the funniest line of the whole season! Especially paired with that little Imp!Rumple-dance pose.

[Shanna Marie]

42 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

By far the most embarrassing moment was when Regina broke into her little dance routine near the end of her villain song. I actually thought the rest of the song was pretty good (not anywhere near a classic Disney villain song, but still good)

I just didn't feel like it was a good "Regina" song. When I think of the character of Regina, rock-and-roll isn't quite what comes to mind. Hook's song was exactly the sort of thing you could imagine Hook singing during that phase of his life. Heck, I can even imagine him doing that sort of thing without the spell to make people sing. Zelena's song even suited her. But Regina seems more like a slinky torch song kind of person, kind of breathy, with a lot of purring -- kind of Eartha Kitt. The song didn't even really suit Lana's voice, judging by how much better she sounded in the group number at the end.

[KingOfHearts]

Regina's should have echoed classic Disney villain songs. Of all the villains in the show, I'd argue that style would fit her best. Something like "Hellfire" comes to mind. I could see her attempting to justify her revenge against Snow, just as Frollo justified his need to kill Esmerelda.

Quote

 Zelena's song even suited her.

It did. It was like delving into her psyche, propelled by song. While we didn't learn anything new and it was largely unnecessary, I could see it working in a musical that was about her life. Go from the "It Isn't Easy Being Green" flashbacks to that, and it's like her Let It Go/Defying Gravity moment.

Edited May 9, 2017 by KingOfHearts

[Mitch]

1 hour ago, Shanna Marie said:

I just didn't feel like it was a good "Regina" song. When I think of the character of Regina, rock-and-roll isn't quite what comes to mind. Hook's song was exactly the sort of thing you could imagine Hook singing during that phase of his life. Heck, I can even imagine him doing that sort of thing without the spell to make people sing. Zelena's song even suited her. But Regina seems more like a slinky torch song kind of person, kind of breathy, with a lot of purring -- kind of Eartha Kitt. The song didn't even really suit Lana's voice, judging by how much better she sounded in the group number at the end.

I was thinking they should have just reworked Eartha's Kitt's.."I Just Want to Be Evil" for Regina.

[Tara Ariano]

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

 

Emma And Hook Get Married In Once Upon A Time: The Musical

The power of song helps Emma work through some abandonment issues in the run-up to the final battle.

[jhlipton]

On 5/8/2017 at 0:49 AM, cuppasun said:

I'd prefer representations of healthy relationships, which hahahahahaha...never gonna happen on teevee!)

Jake and Amy on Brooklyn 9-9, Biff and Evelyn on Pitch (cancelled -- [sob]), Randall and Beth on This is Us.

On 5/8/2017 at 1:55 AM, KAOS Agent said:

Snow & Emma are not the same size, so I didn't see that sharing of the wedding dress working.

I said the same thing in the "LIve" thread!

[tricknasty]

That was terrible. I fucking hate musicals. Had to FF whenever someone burst into song

[Camera One]

I liked the melody of Zelena's song and I liked the actress's voice, but that song felt like a mismatch.  As someone else said, her voice was too sweet for the lyrics, which was the line which is basically laughable at this point... "Wicked always wins" or "Wicked is better than evil".

All the gyrating in the Regina song was embarrassing to watch.  It looked like a parody and reminded me of The Evil Queen from 6A... the one which was a joke.

The sing-off was weak since they were singing the exact same thing.  It should have been a slight variation at the very least.

Why was Granny suddenly a fearful granny?  That made no sense.

The Hook song had the most elaborate and watchable choreography, though I didn't find the tune as catchy as I thought I would.

[KAOS Agent]

I think Hook's song just worked the best because it made sense to have his pirate crew there dancing and singing with him as he told his tale of revenge. It reminded me a bit of Pirates of Penzance, though less cartoonish. Everyone else was kind of off in their own little singing world alone. That led to some unfortunate choreography. Whoever told Lana that grinding against the mirror was a good look should be fired.

I'm still confused about why everyone was singing and dancing about happy beginnings when they all knew the curse was coming at six. Why didn't they all leave town? Why not try for a destination wedding in the Enchanted Forest or Vegas? Did I miss the part where no one could leave again because it seems like that wouldn't be a bad idea? I understand that they're doing some Super Dark Curse, but that was never explained, so why are these idiots still in Storybrooke?

[Camera One]

29 minutes ago, KAOS Agent said:

I'm still confused about why everyone was singing and dancing about happy beginnings when they all knew the curse was coming at six. Why didn't they all leave town? Why not try for a destination wedding in the Enchanted Forest or Vegas? Did I miss the part where no one could leave again because it seems like that wouldn't be a bad idea? I understand that they're doing some Super Dark Curse, but that was never explained, so why are these idiots still in Storybrooke?

I've heard the Dark Curse smoke hitting your face is very relaxing, like going into a sauna.

It's actually a great strategy for a wedding.  The Curse is at 6pm so no need for a costly dinner reception.

Edited May 10, 2017 by Camera One

[pezgirl7]

Wasn't Hook's song suppose to take place at the docks? I wonder why they changed it? Did they blow their cgi budget and have to settle on the cramped confines of the tavern?

[cuppasun]

15 hours ago, jhlipton said:

Jake and Amy on Brooklyn 9-9, Biff and Evelyn on Pitch (cancelled -- [sob]), Randall and Beth on This is Us.

I said the same thing in the "LIve" thread!

omg, yeah, Randall and Beth, of course--how could I forget! You're absolutely right. I've never been into Brooklyn 9-9, so I'll take your word for it, and I have to catch up on Pitch so I'll see when I get around to that. I do still find it a little painful that there are so few genuinely healthy examples out of the nearly endless stream of pop culture relationships... but I'll take what I can get : )

[StaceyNotStacie]

It's funny how both this show and The Middle both had musical numbers this week. Despite them both being Disney shows, they each had a different feeling. The Middle came off more naturally compared to OUAT. The musical numbers, especially the ones by Snow and David and the ending seemed very Disney, as if they could have put the actors on floats during a Disney World parade with their songs playing in the background. 

[Mitch]

12 hours ago, Camera One said:

I've heard the Dark Curse smoke hitting your face is very relaxing, like going into a sauna.

It's actually a great strategy for a wedding.  The Curse is at 6pm so no need for a costly dinner reception.

"The Dark Curse," should have just been that they would be stuck for eternity dancing the  " Chicken Dance, " " YMCA " and worst of all "Strokin'"

Oh my God, wedding receptions are hell arent they???

[CCTC]

10 minutes ago, Mitch said:

"The Dark Curse," should have just been that they would be stuck for eternity dancing the  " Chicken Dance, " " YMCA " and worst of all "Strokin'"

Oh my God, wedding receptions are hell arent they???

I remember being at a wedding dance where everyone was dancing all out to Dashboard Lights, and thinking - have they actually listened to the lyrics of the song's ending?  Not exactly happily ever after.  

[Curio]

15 minutes ago, CCTC said:

I remember being at a wedding dance where everyone was dancing all out to Dashboard Lights, and thinking - have they actually listened to the lyrics of the song's ending?  Not exactly happily ever after.  

I've heard that song played at a lot of receptions. I always thought it was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. 

[CCTC]

31 minutes ago, Curio said:

I've heard that song played at a lot of receptions. I always thought it was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. 

I think it largely is - although I think a lot of times it is played because people think it is a good song to dance to and don''t think of the words.  Similar to how people will hum to Mack the Knife cheerily and ignore the who slasher element.

[Shanna Marie]

3 hours ago, Mitch said:

Oh my God, wedding receptions are hell arent they???

Yes. I've been to many a wedding at which the arrival of a dark curse would have come as a blessed relief. I'd have been willing to cast it a few times.

I've decided that while Emma's dress out of context is okay, it really doesn't work here for this story. For one thing, Princess Grace seems a weird thing to refer to, as that was a commoner becoming a princess by marrying a prince and didn't have an entirely happy marriage, then there was a tragic ending. Emma is a princess marrying a commoner, and let's hope they ultimately have a happy future together. This was supposed to be the culmination of Emma's story, her fully dropping her Walls, opening herself up to love, taking that risk, being part of a family and community, so the very tight, closed-off look seems wrong for that. Her wedding look was basically a visual representation of walls, with the tight, high-necked gown, tightly pulled-back hair, harsh makeup. She needed something more loose and flowing, soft and open, possibly something princessy that reflects the Enchanted Forest style, with maybe some modern touches to show both sides of herself. Hair down in those fluffy princess curls. Not looking like she'd reverted to the Dark Swan.

[jhlipton]

4 hours ago, CCTC said:

I remember being at a wedding dance where everyone was dancing all out to Dashboard Lights, and thinking - have they actually listened to the lyrics of the song's ending?  Not exactly happily ever after.  

Or "Every Breath You Take".  At least, I haven't heard "The Pina Colada Song" at a reception.. yet...

[Jul 68]

4 hours ago, jhlipton said:

Or "Every Breath You Take".  At least, I haven't heard "The Pina Colada Song" at a reception.. yet...

I was once at one in a church where the bride requested (and the DJ played) The Thong Song.

[hockeycat400]

Watched it again.  Loved it again.   However, I'm thinking:

*They should have made this a 2-hour series finale

*The Emma/BF showdown in the mayor's office should have been the real Final Battle

*The wedding/reception should have been given much more time.  (Granny and Gepetto hooking up!  Dwarves hitting on Zelena!  Henry sneaking drinks!  Pongo licking the cake!  What fun!)

*After the reception fun, the "Happy Beginning" song/dance should have ended with "The End" written in fancy script

*Bonus: They can then do a special TV movie in the fall (since Jen has agreed to appear once) and show honeymoon/CS babies/other stuff

Sigh.

I will still watch if they do S7...especially if Hook is still around.  But it will never be the same.

And the Rangers are out of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

I am sad.

[KingOfHearts]

I'm obsessed with Zelena's song now. (Surprise, surprise.) It actually reminds me considerably of ABBA. 

Edited May 11, 2017 by KingOfHearts

[stephalex76]

Yes, it struck me as very Abba-esque, too.  It's killing me trying to figure out which ones!

[CCTC]

I will need to re-listen to Zelina's, but there were also a few moments I had some Debbie (or Deborah as she liked to be called later) Gibson flash backs as well (I think the sweetness of her voice.  There were a few 80's bubble gum pop vibes at time.

[Randomosity]

15 hours ago, hockeycat400 said:

And the Rangers are out of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

I am sad.

Seriously. Bad week. Emma's out, so S7 will be a mess if it happens (do we know for sure it will?). Stupid Ottawa. And on top of that, Timeless was cancelled.

*cries*

[Shanna Marie]

9 minutes ago, Randomosity said:

And on top of that, Timeless was cancelled.

It's like the networks are conspiring to give me more reading and writing time. Just about everything I watch on regular network TV is being cancelled or changed to the point it might as well be cancelled.

The more I think about it, the more I wish they'd left the wedding as the season (series?) finale. It just doesn't fit here. For one there, there's the abrupt switch between "we'll have the wedding after the Black Fairy is defeated" and "the wedding is tomorrow!" -- and trusting Rumple's word about the BF being defeated. Then there's treating it like a victory when the Black Fairy poofs away after a confrontation and they still know there's a huge dark fairy dust bomb set to go off during the wedding, and having the wedding anyway. They've already this season had the situation where they treated it like a win when Gideon poofed away, and it turned out he was perfectly okay and came back. Did they not learn? So, the Black Fairy is still out there, and there's still a curse looming, but they have a wedding -- a big one, not even an "I want to face whatever happens next married to you" quickie wedding -- and are dancing and singing about a happy beginning at the time they knew the curse would be hitting, and yet they're acting afraid and alarmed when it hits. And then there's the singing and dancing. There was no reason for them to be singing and dancing. They gave no indication that the spell spilled over and created a musical number. No one seemed to be surprised to be singing and dancing. We've never heard "real" Emma sing before. We've never heard Hook sing before. This is all supposed to be in the "real" world, not affected by the musical theater spell. But Emma bursts into song during her wedding, and Hook manages to join in and harmonize, and then all the guests are able to sing along and dance in a choreographed spectacular. If this was a plan to see if they could stop or soften the curse using the magic of song, we needed to see that. Did they hand out sheet music and have rehearsals? What did people think when presented with this plan? The only real reason to have the wedding in this episode was to do a musical number at the wedding, but there was no reason for a musical number at the wedding.

But if they'd let it wait until the end of the season (series?), the "happy beginning" thing would have made more sense, since it wouldn't have been immediately followed by a curse. It would have tied a nice bow on Emma's story and would have bookended nicely with the series premiere, both in the contrast between Emma's solo birthday and the community celebration of her wedding and between the Snow and Charming wedding interrupted by a curse and Emma's wedding actually being happy. As it is, it comes across even more like Emma not being allowed to ever be fully happy. She can't even enjoy her own wedding without a dark cloud -- literally, in this case -- looming over it.

[Randomosity]

21 minutes ago, Shanna Marie said:

Just about everything I watch on regular network TV is being cancelled or changed to the point it might as well be cancelled.

Ditto. It started a few years ago for me, but I thought I was doing well by picking up 3 new shows this season. Silly me; all cancelled. And with this show on it's way out... I got nothin'.

[hockeycat400]

3 hours ago, Randomosity said:

Seriously. Bad week. Emma's out, so S7 will be a mess if it happens (do we know for sure it will?). Stupid Ottawa. And on top of that, Timeless was cancelled.

*cries*

IKR?!   Loved Timeless.

Bad, bad week.

[mythoughtis]

So all it takes to defeat the black fairy is a song?  I'm sorry, I didn't see the fantasticness of this episode. Yes, they sing very well.  

[Jul 68]

4 hours ago, Randomosity said:

Ditto. It started a few years ago for me, but I thought I was doing well by picking up 3 new shows this season. Silly me; all cancelled. And with this show on it's way out... I got nothin'.

I've given up all hope on the networks. I have refused the watch any new show until it hits season 2 for many years now. I even did this with our beloved OUaT. It's like they want us to all give up and only watch shows on cable, Netflix, and Amazon.

I meant to add that I keep singing Hook's song at work and people are starting to look at me funny. I think I need to change songs.

Edited May 12, 2017 by Jul 68
Forgot something

[RulerofallIsurvey]

Believe it or not, I just watched this ep.  I kept reading the spoiler thread here, but didn't and haven't read through the ep. discussion thread yet.  I think one reason I put off watching it for so long was that sneak peak of the EQ's song.  Before then, I'd been mildy excited for the ep, but the more spoilers I read/saw, the less interested in it I became.  And there was Jen's announcement which, while understandable, really put any interest in Season 7 to rest.  

This episode however was very enjoyable!  I caught myself laughing with delight during the first song, especially when Snow first wakes up, and again during the pirate's song.  Just a few points, I think:

• Did the EQ's face look a little funny to anyone?  It almost had a light greenish tint to it.  I think her makeup was off.  
• Wow - Josh Dallas really was Prince Charming in those flashbacks, huh?  He made a great, hunky fairy tale prince.  Why have they so underutilized him, I just don't know.
• The EQ's song was better in context with the entire ep. than I thought just from the sneak peak.  And her voice - while not great - kind of suited the character, so maybe Lana went that direction on purpose.  
• Killian Jones you sexy singing pirate you.  Man, I wish the the show had been like this for the past 6 years.
• Rebecca Mader has a very nice voice also.  But all during her song, I kept thinking how out of place it felt to have it there.  I guess we needed it for the random box that housed the songs in their hearts?  Weird.  I don't remember seeing the box in the present day though, so it still feels a little random.
• The Snowing/EQ sing off was boring.
• Oh, and if they wanted to stop the black fairy's curse, why didn't they just break the damn clock?  You know - remove a Cogswell Cog or Spacely Sprocket or snap off the hour hand and go have a wedding!

Depending on how bad the finale is - and what happens at the end, I might very well join those just pretending that this episode was the series finale.  

[darkestboy]

I love a musical episode and I really loved this one.

I liked that it was in flashbacks and down to a spell of sorts.

The songs themselves were solid. I liked Snow/Charming's opening number but Regina, Zelena, Hook and Emma got the memorable ones though. Rumple managed to skip out of a number though.

The group number was nice as was the Emma/Hook wedding but the ending with the dark curse and the last two episodes are makiing me wonder if the show shouldn't be ending here though, 8/10

[CCTC]

12 hours ago, RulerofallIsurvey said:

Wow - Josh Dallas really was Prince Charming in those flashbacks, huh?  He made a great, hunky fairy tale prince.  Why have they so underutilized him, I just don't know.

I was thinking those scenes were just fun in general.  I mentioned earlier, the Enchanted Forest flashbacks in season 1 used to have some fun and adventure and mystery.  They lost that somewhere along the line and the flashbacks became just more doom and gloom.  And yes, you can never go wrong with Dallas in his Enchanted Forest attire and mode.

[Camera One]

On rewatch, I'm liking "A Happy Beginning" much more.  Though it's really a LOL moment when everyone looks surprised as the clock strikes six.   The checkered floor looked so fake.  Was it Charming who sang that "now our life can start anew"?  Seriously, I suspect they all drank some memory tea before the ceremony.

[Shanna Marie]

2 hours ago, Camera One said:

On rewatch, I'm liking "A Happy Beginning" much more.

I like the song. I just wish the whole scenario made more sense -- like just at least indicate a little surprise that they're all singing and show that it's the spell lingering, then maybe they have some hope that the song will defeat the curse. As it is, these apparently otherwise non-musical people are bursting into song and no one thinks it's at all odd. I've been to weddings of professional singers, and they didn't burst into song during the ceremony or reception. The only times I've seen people burst into song, it was planned and rehearsed, and we had sheet music. And then there's the "Hey, it's that curse we knew about but we're still shocked" moment.

[Rumsy4]

2 hours ago, Camera One said:

 Was it Charming who sang that "now our life can start anew"?  

Yeah. What was that about? That song made no sense. 

[InsertWordHere]

And it's in response to Snow's "We celebrate together, a longtime wish come true." Wouldn't something like "What makes it even better, is that I'm here with you" (or the same sentiment but more lyrical) make more sense? Unless Charming's super excited to be cursed again?   

[KAOS Agent]

That whole "Happy Beginnings" thing was an exercise in denial for the entire town. Not one person thought, okay I saw the wedding, now I'm outta here before I'm sucked up in the black smoke again and under the control of a psychotic fairy and her equally evil son.

Edited May 13, 2017 by KAOS Agent

[Curio]

Why didn't they just hold the wedding in the real world? Was the Black Fairy blocking everyone from ditching town? What's so great about Storybrooke that they have to live there forever?

[Rumsy4]

8 minutes ago, KAOS Agent said:

That whole "Happy Beginnings" thing was an exercise in denial for the entire town. 

In a meta sense, this totally fits with the reboot. lol

The lyrics to the final song were kinda generic. Maybe it was a last minute addition when they decided to fit in the Captain Swan wedding into the episode? So they song writers didn't have enough time to work on it or something. 

[Camera One]

The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it is.  Singing "Happy Beginnings" two minutes before life could be over is a whole new level of delusion for these crazies.  

[Rushmoras]

5 hours ago, Curio said:

Why didn't they just hold the wedding in the real world? Was the Black Fairy blocking everyone from ditching town? What's so great about Storybrooke that they have to live there forever?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but can they go out from Storybrook? Isn't the border still cursed or something?

[Rumsy4]

Regina said she'd removed the barrier the EQ had placed on the town line.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

The previous episode, David was talking about getting some beans to change the wedding venue. Now no one thinks of using them to escape the Curse?

[JonasArm]

Did they ever explain how Snow got the dark fairy dust? If not this nonsensical arc would have been the perfect opportunity to answer it instead of more flashbacks on how to make Snow look worse.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

4 hours ago, JonasArm said:

Did they ever explain how Snow got the dark fairy dust? If not this nonsensical arc would have been the perfect opportunity to answer it instead of more flashbacks on how to make Snow look worse.

Nope, they didn't. Given the lack of recognition, it's not even clear that it was *this* dark fairy she got it from.

[Camera One]

38 minutes ago, Noneofyourbusiness said:

Nope, they didn't. Given the lack of recognition, it's not even clear that it was *this* dark fairy she got it from.

We'll meet the other Dark Fairies in Season 7, 8 and 9.  They include Rumple's grandmother, Regina's great-grandmother and Hook's mother.  They're the three sisters from MacBeth.

[irisheyes]

Finally got a chance to sit down and watch the whole episode.  Umm, Josh Dallas can sing on my TV any time he likes. Colin too.  The plot made no sense, but I've given up on that. I mean, seriously, we keep talking about the "Final Battle" like it's an appointment for a dental cleaning.  Just get it over with people. 

Love the conga line the Dwarves put together. I bet they're fun at a party with an open bar. ;)