Continuity, Nitpicks, Unanswered Questions and Timeline Headaches: When Did That Honeycrisp Apple Come From

[Camera One]

Adding a line of dialog to explain the absence of a very minor barely recurring character is not necessary. Giving screen time, even just for a line of dialog, to one character always comes at the expense of another character's screen time. There's a lot of complaining that favorite characters do not get enough screen time. Why would you want to reduce that further to make time for characters who are unimportant, or some might say "pointless", to the show?

Referring to absent recurring characters, especially iconic ones, add to the mythology.  There are tons of pointless lines in every episode that could be cut.  When the viewer asks, "Wait a minute, what happened to..." or "Huh?  Where's...", it's distracting and takes one out of the show.

[Shanna Marie]

8 minutes ago, Camera One said:

Referring to absent recurring characters, especially iconic ones, add to the mythology.  

Heck, I'd have rather had an entire episode devoted to Aurora struggling with that demon box in her hotel room and Philip trying to figure out how to drive to his new job, or possibly that "no cursed memories" support group I jokingly created around the time that episode aired, than most of what we actually got in that episode. Since most of the "plot" stuff doesn't matter in anything but the last couple of episodes of the arc, they may as well devote the time to the fairy tale characters interacting with each other and with this unusual world.

[Camera One]

"How Maleficent Got Her Groove Back" was bad on so many levels.  It made Maleficent ridiculously pathetic right from the onset in the flashback (and the Queens of Darkness equally pathetic with their definition of evil being burning a police car), it added nothing to the "Sleeping Beauty" mythology (wasting King Stefan and Aurora), it made Regina seem petty as hell putting a horse under Sleeping Spell, and it failed to create any consequences for Regina giving Maleficent a "special punishment" in Storybrooke.  What a waste of time.  

Here's an interview with the actor who played Philip, though I'm not sure why it was necessary to "make a break with" the show considering he wasn't on contract or anything.

"I had been [on] 'PLL' and 'Once Upon a Time' and some other stuff, and I was really enjoying it," he said. "I was loving everyone that I was working with. But I realized that I was settling into what I knew I could do, and I started to think about why I got into acting in the first place. It was because of the directors, people like Marc Forster ['Monster's Ball'], and the challenge that it presented. So I made a break with 'PLL' and 'Once Upon a Time.' And I felt like I needed to do that to give myself the opportunity to give myself these other challenges."

http://www.mtv.com/news/2272402/julian-morris-pretty-little-liars-wren/

[andromeda331]

On ‎8‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 0:25 PM, Shanna Marie said:

Maybe Philip, unlike everyone else in town other than maybe Granny, has a regular job that he actually shows up for, so while Aurora was at Mommy and Me time with the newborn, he was off working.

However, that doesn't explain the weirdness about that kid's age. Aurora was pregnant before Snow was, then was turned into a monkey and turned back after Snow gave birth. There were some lines about how it was a good thing she was turned back before she gave birth to a flying monkey, but if the pregnancy had continued at a normal rate while she was a monkey, wouldn't the baby have already been born? But if the pregnancy was frozen while she was a monkey and only resumed after she was restored, then it wouldn't have been born just a week or so after Snowflake and already be at an age to be out at Mommy and Me time.

Since Aurora didn't seem to be adjusting too well to life in Storybrooke, I wonder if she and Philip headed out with the Camelot folks and the Merry Men when they had a chance.

Shouldn't Ashley/Cinderella's kid be older too? Alexandra was born in the fourth episode back in season one.  It did make me wish we got to hear all three complaining about their pregnancies.  Like Snow makes a comment about how much her back aches and Ashley reminds her she was nine months pregnant for 28years and Aurora insists hers was worse because she was a flying monkey.

[Shanna Marie]

2 hours ago, XrystalPond said:

The kid should be already out of college, working, married, maybe kids of her own at this point. 

That frozen time thing creates some interesting situations. For instance, since they made it clear that Camelot was frozen in time during the curse, too, that means that Violet is not only significantly older than Henry, she's actually older than Emma. Or, at least, she was born before Emma was. Ditto with little Roland.

[Writing Wrongs]

I've started my re-watch of 4B. 

Why didn't Aurora ever mention that Regina was there when Maleficent attacked her? She was clearly visible.

And I love Cruella, but she looks completely out of place in the EF. How did she even get there from the 1920s?

[KingOfHearts]

Cruella fits the Land of Untold Stories better, imo.

[Writing Wrongs]

I still don't understand how Storybrooke can function. If the outside world doesn't know they exist, where do they get everything? Who provides their internet and cell phone service? How are they getting Netflix? Food? Clothes? It makes no sense.

[Curio]

You'd think there would be a real-world person who investigates the weird disappearances that happen at that specific latitude/longitude point in Maine. It's basically like a Bermuda Triangle, so when is some real-world conspiracy theorist going to come to town to investigate it?

...oh wait. That was Season 2. Such a wasted opportunity that turned into weird Home Office crap.

[RadioGirl27]

25 minutes ago, Writing Wrongs said:

I still don't understand how Storybrooke can function. If the outside world doesn't know they exist, where do they get everything? Who provides their internet and cell phone service? How are they getting Netflix? Food? Clothes? It makes no sense.

This is something my mom asks me every time we watch the show together. My answer (and probably also A&E answer): magic!

[Writing Wrongs]

I was hoping that there was a deleted scene explaining why Hook had the snow globe when he left Gold's shop.

[KingOfHearts]

The train from 4B still bothers me. So is it just an LWM train passing through an invisible town? How the heck was Storybrooke on Emma's GPS?

[YaddaYadda]

12 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

The train from 4B still bothers me. So is it just an LWM train passing through an invisible town? How the heck was Storybrooke on Emma's GPS?

She could just enter the coordinates and give it a name? 

[Camera One]

Emma et al. has a special Bluedroid phone, developed by the Fairies.   Robin also had one, so all his contacts were pre-installed and accessible from NYC.  It sends signals to the Wishing Star, which bounces the signal back down to Storybrooke.

[KingOfHearts]

Just now, YaddaYadda said:

She could just enter the coordinates and give it a name? 

There were roads and maps you can't just put into a normal GPS on a phone, though.

[KingOfHearts]

Why did Team Hero automatically assume Emma cast the Dark Curse when Hook, Henry and her parents were all still standing with their hearts intact? They did nothing to investigate Emma's motives other than bluntly asking her about them. Why was the curse a glow of golden light and not storm clouds like it usual is? (And was when Hook/Nimue cast it in Camelot.)

Edited August 26, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[Writing Wrongs]

Why was Merlin brewing the Dark Curse? Why did he tell them to find Nimue?

[KingOfHearts]

Why would a TLK be able to fix the Dark One curse, but not Excalibur's death curse? If it was just a wound, Curse 3 would have fixed it. True Love is the strongest magic of them all, except when it's not... Also, if Hades was "marked" to stay in the Underworld and Zelena freed him with a TLK, why couldn't Emma do the same to her family members in 5x11?

Edited August 26, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[YaddaYadda]

2 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

Why would a TLK be able to fix the Dark One curse, but not Excalibur's death curse? If it was just a wound, Curse 3 would have fixed it. True Love is the strongest magic of them all, except when it's not...

that's always bugged the hell out of me with Excalibur and Hook's death. True love is supposed to be rarest magic of all, except it isn't. It's supposed to fix curses, but it doesn't. No one even suggested a TLK in 5x08 in which, you know, they could have just ended the Dark One and saved Hook all in one fell swoop. 

Every person that was ever cut by Excalibur likely died that day when they tried to reforge it. Oops, you didn't know, did you? Meanwhile the guy who had it for years never cut himself.

[KingOfHearts]

Quote

that's always bugged the hell out of me with Excalibur and Hook's death. True love is supposed to be rarest magic of all, except it isn't. It's supposed to fix curses, but it doesn't. No one even suggested a TLK in 5x08 in which, you know, they could have just ended the Dark One and saved Hook all in one fell swoop. 

That's the problem with introducing something readily available to most of the characters that overrides all other magic. Whenever they face problem, the question will be, "Why don't they just use a TLK?" If True Love had been ultra rare and Snowing was the grand exception (because reasons), I could buy that. But you've got Regina kissing Henry, Belle kissing Rumple, Ruby kissing Dorothy, and Zelena kissing Hades. All those toxic relationships are deemed to be Purest of the Pure, yet Emma is sorely out of luck when it comes to saving the boyfriend she would literally go through hell to save. How is that different from her parents? I'm not saying I'm a fan of the TLK or that I would have liked to see that as the solution to the 5A problem. But it bugs me that in the same season, nearly anyone and their dog can kiss to fix all things. 

In 5x02, Belle says this concerning her TLK attempt to Rumple: "Rumple got scared of a life without power, and he chose power over love. He pulled away from me, and in that moment, darkness forever regained its grip on him. You know, a curse isn't a curse any more if the victim wants it." It sounds to me like she believes Rumple can never be saved by her love for him. That line of thinking makes you wonder why she went back for him in 5x11.

Edited August 27, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[Shanna Marie]

The season 5 premiere alone was loaded with nitpicks and continuity issues (both forward and backward).

• There was Merlin's cryptic warning that doesn't match anything that happened later.
• The Apprentice said the wand required a mix of dark and light magic. Regina was apparently too "light" to use it, but Zelena was able to use it. Did that mean she always had some light in her? Then later in the season, Regina used it with no problem to send Zelena away. Did that mean that Regina had gone darker?
• There was the hook potion for heart ripping, which didn't match what we saw previously.
• Zelena said she enchanted her heart so that it couldn't be ripped out "eons ago," but Regina was able to remove her heart last season to save her from the freezing curse while she was posing as Marian.
• Regina was the one who brought in Emma's baby blanket to direct the twister portal. Did we ever see a scene in which Regina was shown that blanket, knew anything about its significance, or even knew where it was? Emma showed it to Mary Margaret when they were rooming together in season one, and Emma brought out the box of belongings in the police station and shared it with Hook. Regina said the blanket was easier than bringing the yellow Bug, but there was a whole box of little trinkets. It really seems like Hook would have been the one who knew more about little items that would direct them to Emma, or it would have made sense for her parents to bring a personal item. Regina doing it was so random. That was definitely the writers pulling strings rather than something arising organically from the characters and situation.

[Rumsy4]

It was freaking blasphemy having Regina even touch Emma's baby blanket, seeing how she is the main reason Emma ended up an orphan.

[Rumsy4]

Why on earth were Arthur and Grumpy ready to die with Regina when the Fury came to claim Robin?

[Camera One]

Well, Grumpy had an "arc" in that episode whereby he got a lobotomy, uh, I mean realized that they needed Regina.  Remember his classic line:

Grumpy: Standing up to that monster proved one thing... if anyone's gonna save this town, it's you.

[Curio]

11 minutes ago, Camera One said:

Grumpy: Standing up to that monster proved one thing... if anyone's gonna save this town, it's you.

Because it's not like literally every person in Storybrooke has faced a monster at one point or another. Also, that was a particularly terrible example for Grumpy to use because Regina didn't even stand up to the monster alone, it was a group effort by Snow, Charming, Grumpy, and Arthur.

[Camera One]

In the Writers' deluded mind, it demonstrated that Regina had the Savior ability that Dark Swan alluded to earlier in the episode, the ability to rally the troops... into doing something incredibly stupid without knowing how it would turn out.

[KingOfHearts]

Regina was willing to sacrifice her life so that equals Savior, I guess? The sacrifice trope loses it meaning most of the time its used. After a while, it becomes a cheap way to create extreme angst and within the context of the show, an escape route so a character doesn't have to deal with consequences. In Regina's case, it's well and good that she was willing to sacrifice herself for Robin. But the stupidity of everyone else joining in really tainted the moment. Plus, it tacks on another instance where Regina got away with not paying for her actions.

In 5x03, Regina sees a "?" she wrote on a note in Camelot. It bugs me that no one in Storybrooke keeps a journal. If they did, their constant memory loss issues wouldn't have so much sting. Why doesn't Henry, The Author, do his job and keep track of important events? Heck, the characters have phones - why not just take pictures or video? Henry could use his iPod in Camelot. I'm sure they can magically keep them charged up.

Edited August 29, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[Camera One]

LOL, alternate scene at the end of Dark Swan.

SNEEZY: What are you guys doing here?

MARY MARGARET: According to my handy notebook, Hook, Emma and Merlin went into Granny's and we were waiting for them to get the darkness out of Emma and Killian.

DAVID: Emma AND Killian?

HENRY: I left my ipod inside Granny's and the recording device was conveniently running, look at this!  
"I told you I would never abandon you. I'm not going to start now."
"I'm sorry, love. Once a curse has been enacted, you can't stop it."
"Yes. I might not be able to stop it... but I can make you forget why you cast it."

HOOK: I became the Dark One?  I cast the Curse?  Where's Emma?

[Whoosh]

DARK SWAN: Relax. I'm right here.

HENRY: Mom? What happened to you?

DARK SWAN: Isn't it obvious? You went to Camelot to get the darkness out of me.  *dramatic pause* And you failed.

DAVID: Actually, we know what happened due to our meticulous diaries, modern technology, and Henry's hand-illustrated pages.  Let's skip ten episodes and figure out how we're going to get the Darkness out of you two, shall we?  Let's get the fairies to make a potion or let's grab that "last" convenient magic bean, or find at Door at the Sorcerer's House, or give Ariel a call, or summon Shadow Air with Roland, so you two can go into The World Without Magic until we find a way to solve this problem.

Edited August 29, 2016 by Camera One

[Rumsy4]

Quote

so you two can go into The World Without Magic until we find a way to solve this problem

Literally the solution to ALL of Storybrooke's monster problems.

[Shanna Marie]

Of course, the Dark One wouldn't have been an issue if they'd hauled Rumple to the town line before he croaked of Darkness. Or if Idiot Hood hadn't risked himself to get the heart potion to heal the megavillain who was dying of the consequences of his own evil while he was in the World Without Magic. That's one of those supposedly good deeds that's actually evil if you think about it because it ended up causing so much harm in the name of "good."

[Camera One]

Of course, the Dark One wouldn't have been an issue if they'd hauled Rumple to the town line before he croaked of Darkness.

At the very least, someone should have mentioned this possibility?  I don't recall anyone saying it?  

[Camera One]

Hello class, welcome to Random Writing 101.  Here's your assignment this week.

Discuss the significance of the incantation The Apprentice used on a dying Rumple, and relate each phrase to the themes of Season 5:
"Purest evil, blackest bloom, darkness, too, can find its doom. Never dying, but contained, bound inside the falcon's chamber, shorn of anger, thornless danger, there forever to remain."

No hands please.  Your questions are pointless.

Edited August 29, 2016 by Camera One

[Rumsy4]

1 hour ago, Camera One said:

Discuss the significance of the incantation The Apprentice used on a dying Rumple, and relate each phrase to the themes of Season 5:
"Purest evil, blackest bloom, darkness, too, can find its doom. Never dying, but contained, bound inside the falcon's chamber, shorn of anger, thornless danger, there forever to remain."

I had to google to make sure this was actually used in the scene. I must have blocked out more of S4 than I thought! lol  I'm getting secondhand embarrassment at this line. Sounds like the fake incantation George taught Ron in HP. 

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,

Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." 

Edited August 30, 2016 by Rumsy4

[Shanna Marie]

This is another case of their inconsistency with magic, if they have to use an incantation sometimes, do an elaborate spell involving complicated ingredients sometimes, and just wave their hand to do whatever they want at other times.

[Writing Wrongs]

I was watching some Youtube videos about the Harry Potter movies/books and their inconsistencies with magic and wands. Sometimes they say a spell, other times they just wave the wands and things happen and all the stuff with ownership of wands. Plus why did Harry speak English to the snake and it understood him in Sorcerer's Stone, but later he was only speaking Parseltongue.

So it's not just Once that screws up magic. I can remember the stupid rhyming spells that Charmed used to have.

[Camera One]

For sure, every fantasy/sci-fi universe does have some inconsistencies, especially when developed over multiple seasons or books.  In most cases, though, it takes a diehard fan with multiple rewatches and readings to be able to point out the problems.

But I still think this show is an exception in terms of the sheer number of inconsistencies and undefined magical rules, to the extent than even a casual viewer would be constantly confused.  

As someone who has read all the Harry Potter books and movies, but only once, I would say overall, JK Rowlings introduced enough details and guidelines into her universe such that I could believe that the characters were using magic in a way that generally made sense within that world.

[KingOfHearts]

The thing with plot holes is that they're not as noticeable if the story itself is entertaining. While continuity and worldbuilding are important, it doesn't have to be perfect to sustain a suspension of disbelief. In the case of Once, the plots can be so unengaging that you're stuck considering all the plot holes. There are plenty of others shows that break their own rules, but not all of them are as bothersome. If you're engrossed in what you're watching/reading and enjoy it, you don't really care about the nitpicks.

Edited August 31, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[Mari]

Entertaining, and if the characters react with authenticity--lots of stories with serious plot holes still work, as long as you can buy the characters reactions to whatever implausible thing is happening.

[Shanna Marie]

I think it also makes a difference whether the lapses make things easier for the characters or worse for the characters. We're a little more forgiving of things that make matters worse for the characters. Rowling may not have been entirely consistent with her magic, but she did set limits. The movies were looser than the books, with them just waving the wands and shooting magic at each other in battles, but the books tended to show them using specific spells in battles. Then there was the bit about needing a wand, and it working best if it was your wand. That meant if she wanted to make things worse for the characters or change the balance of power, she could do things like have them lose or break a wand or have trouble with a particular spell. There were risks with some of the spells, like the apparating that could be fatal.

With Once, the holes in the magical system tend to make things easier for the characters, like showing Regina unable to heal even a simple wound in season two, but suddenly able to heal just about anything later.

[Curio]

2 hours ago, Shanna Marie said:

With Once, the holes in the magical system tend to make things easier for the characters, like showing Regina unable to heal even a simple wound in season two, but suddenly able to heal just about anything later.

And the show hasn't told us what is "light" magic and what is "dark" magic. Apparently, in "The Dark Swan," Emma discovered that transporting from one place to another is tapping into dark magic. But will they have Regina using that same dark spell in Season 6 even though she's supposed to be stripped of her evil? Emma used that transportation spell in the Underworld, so was she tapping into dark magic for that? Why was Emma's magic cloud lighter colored then? Emma was transporting hot cocoa with Hook in Season 3, was that light or dark magic? You'd think healing is a light magic skill, but we've seen Regina use it and Dark Hook used it to heal Rumple, so it must tap into darker magic.

Why haven't they created a simple list separating which spells are light and which spells are dark? Oh, right — because all the magic is made up on the fly and there's rarely any consequences for using dark magic. Need an instant cupcake? Wave your hand and presto! Need to fix a falling bridge? Just think about it! Need to transport? Just swish your arms around! Need a vial of magic? Just conveniently look in the cupboard you've been ignoring for all these years!

Edited August 31, 2016 by Curio

[Camera One]

If Harry Potter had Once level inconsistencies, I would expect the following:
- Harry Potter's powers and capabilities change depending on which day of the week it is.   
- The three "unforgivable" curses are not always unforgivable.  It depends who uses them.
- Voldemort and Draco Malfoy can sometimes do light magic
- Random new wands regularly show up, which allow characters to do stuff they normally can never do
- Harry and friends must remember magic always has a price.  For villains, no worries!
- First season, invisibility cloak.... there's only one!  Second season, invisibility blanket.  Third season, invisibility Snuggie.  Fourth season, invisibility body lotions that you can get in an abandoned mansion in the woods.  Fifth season, invisibility blankets can die and go to hell.
- By the fifth book, multiple characters have scars on their forehead.  Harry isn't that special.  You can make the same sacrifice that Harry's mother made after knowing someone for half an hour, maybe less if you have a great bike ride with them.

Edited August 31, 2016 by Camera One

[Shanna Marie]

18 minutes ago, Curio said:

You'd think healing is a light magic skill, but we've seen Regina use it and Dark Hook used to to heal Rumple, so it must tap into darker magic.

And when Regina wasn't able to heal, Rumple was able to do it for her when he was the Dark One, so healing isn't a light magic thing. Meanwhile, there was the fear that Emma healing Robin would drive her deeper into darkness. Plus, Zelena was able to cut off her own hand and then heal it.

Yeah, only on this show would healing be considered a dark art. Except when it isn't. When Regina was suddenly able to heal, it seemed to be as a result of her learning to use light magic. That was the only thing that had changed for her.

[Curio]

1 hour ago, Shanna Marie said:

When Regina was suddenly able to heal, it seemed to be as a result of her learning to use light magic. That was the only thing that had changed for her.

I guess Regina healing that horse with dark magic was her slippery slope into becoming the Evil Queen again...

[KingOfHearts]

Is all dark magic considered "evil"? I would assume it is, since it's brought on by feelings of selfish hatred and anger. So if Regina used dark magic to heal that horse, what negative feelings were surging through her mind to fuel it?

[KAOS Agent]

I'm hazy on the 5B finale (I kind of zoned out while watching and have zero desire to watch it again), so did Henry succeed in ending magic? He did, right? Until the coins in the fountain I believe in fairies stuff. So he murdered Maleficent and possibly August as well. Maleficent specifically said that she couldn't leave Storybrooke because magic is what was keeping her alive. If magic ceased, she died. Will anyone point this out to him? Does Henry understand that his little pre-teen tantrum actually had life or death consequences? Do the writers ever even bother to remember this kind of stuff when they praise "heroic" Henry instead of actually forcing him to face the negative effects of his idiocy?

[Camera One]

I think he did get rid of magic from Storybrooke itself.  I'm not sure how the fountain stuff brought magic back to Storybrooke.  

I guess Maleficent would become a pile of dust again, and then Snowing can revive her again since they have "the blood from the people who wronged her most".  And August can get the Blue Fairy to turn him back into a real man.  These supporting characters are clearly irrelevant.

[Shanna Marie]

Early in season 5, in the Storybrooke side of the story, people kept summoning Emma by name, and she'd pop up, like she was compelled to be there if they said her name. Hook muttered about "don't make me summon you." But when have they shown that this was a thing for Dark Ones? If someone had the dagger, they could say, "I summon thee, Dark One," and the Dark One had to show up, but they didn't have the dagger during all this. Could they have been summoning Rumple all along, whenever they wanted to? It was implied that he was aware when his name was spoken, and thus Ruth warning Anna not to say the name out loud, so he could pop in if his name came up. Was that what was going on with Emma, she was choosing to pop by when someone said her name, but she wasn't compelled?

[KingOfHearts]

I seem to recall at least one instance where someone said Rumple's name three times to summon him. In S2, Rumple told Regina that if she needed him while she was disguised, that's what she would have to do. I don't believe it's compelled unless the summoner actually holds the Dagger.

[Shanna Marie]

7 hours ago, KingOfHearts said:

I seem to recall at least one instance where someone said Rumple's name three times to summon him. In S2, Rumple told Regina that if she needed him while she was disguised, that's what she would have to do. I don't believe it's compelled unless the summoner actually holds the Dagger.

So I guess Emma was showing up because she wanted to, not because she was compelled. They didn't even need to say her name three times, since Hook just stood there and muttered about not making him summon her.

Another weird thing about the Dark Ones: How was the whole swapping the Dark Ones for living people so they could come to Storybrooke thing supposed to work? They weren't able to bring Hook back from the Underworld, in spite of having part of Emma's heart (presumably the equivalent of having a living person to exchange) because he'd been dead too long. How would having living people to swap allow people who'd been dead decades to centuries to be alive again? Then again, they seemed to be there with their Underworld bodies, but in that case, why did it matter how long Hook's body had been dead? Couldn't his Underworld body have come out with Emma's heart giving it life?

Then there was the Dark Ones still having their power, or some kind of power, and had bits of Darkness (the black goo) to be sucked out of them by Hook with Excalibur. Wasn't the idea that the Dark One entity was taken out of them and into the new Dark One? How are they still Dark Ones? All the Darkness was in Emma and Hook. Then again, how is Hook the same kind of Dark One as Emma, with the same Head Rumple and Head Nimue? He got the Grail magic from Merlin, that had somehow turned dark (still not clear on that one, either). The Darkness Hook got hadn't been through Nimue and Rumple. It had only been in Merlin.

[Camera One]

Considering how many Dark Ones there were, shouldn't a lot more people have been summoned to the Lake at the end of "Swan Song"?  

Why didn't Zelena bring the Scarecrow's brain along with her in 3B?  Since the ingredients were so easy to get, couldn't both she and Hades enact the Time Travel spell?  She acted like only the Scarecrow's brain would work and Hades wanted it, but later, she actually uses Rumple's.  And it wasn't even literally his brain, just some rope which represented his brain, so what's up with that?  

Why is Zeus so useless?