Unpopular Opinions: Happily Ever After? Yeah, Right!

[DigitalCount]

Up until Marian, Zelena hadn't even killed anyone. The writers, however, are starting to fill out the Evil Queen dance card with the rape and murder.

It really is a checklist, isn't it? I watched the AU episodes recently, and then when they started saying things about how James was Snow's true love and she stole David's heart to replace him I just facepalmed.

[Lieutenant]

On that new article mentioning a possible LGBTQ/Mulan relationship:

 

I honestly don't care one bit if they add a relationship for Mulan - this is NOT to say I don't want any minority representation on this show.  Mulan is a minor character, and one whose presence on the show doesn't make or break watching for me.  So, que sera sera *shrugs*  I will, however, be miffed if they decide to give her a relationship with Aurora, who already has a canon TL in Philip.  I always wonder what Sleeping Warrior shippers think of him - or if they even think of him?  I mean, he loves Aurora, and she him.  They have a kid.  There's been nothing to indicate a change on her part.  Does what he wants and desires in a relationship not matter if it comes down to checking a box in the diversity column?  Go ahead and give Mulan a great relationship with some fantastic gal.  Just don't do it by breaking up a canon TL couple, who as far as we know, love each other dearly and have a family together.

Edited September 19, 2015 by Lieutenant

[retrograde]

(taking this to Speculation)

[Amerilla]

Having read multiple reviews and Tumblr posts over the last couple days, I've come to one inescapable conclusion: I never want to read the word "sass" or "snark" (or "sassy" or "snarky") ever again.

 

Unless you happen to be a fan of the character - and are thus predisposed to think that any line that comes out of them is either "sassy" or "tragic" - neither Regina nor Hook come off as particularly "sassy." That's on the writers, who mostly suck at genuinely funny lines.

 

#SassIsTheNewCleave

[Curio]

neither Regina nor Hook come off as particularly "sassy." That's on the writers, who mostly suck at genuinely funny lines.

 

Agreed. Regina just comes off as an unfunny mean girl and Hook hasn't been allowed to be "sassy" in ages, but even when he was allowed to use innuendo, I cringed at how awful those lines were. I don't mind some subtle innuendo here and there, but I feel like the writers had a contest in Season 2 to see who could get away with the most ridiculous line instead of just writing for the character. 

 

The closest I've gotten lately to laughing at a line a character has said on the show is Cruella. But even then, it's more about the delivery than the actual lines. The angry birds joke was lame, but I could just see the entire writers room cracking up over how "clever" they are. This show desperately needs a good comic relief character who actually says funny lines instead of being "sassy" or "snarky." They were able to pull that off with Will in the Wonderland series, and Hook could easily fall into that role here if they ever let him stop brooding.

[KingOfHearts]

 

This show desperately needs a good comic relief character who actually says funny lines instead of being "sassy" or "snarky." They were able to pull that off with Will in the Wonderland series, and Hook could easily fall into that role here if they ever let him stop brooding.

Agreed. Most of the jokes they use are old and recycled. (Hook being one-handed, the number of curses/monster bashes, Snow telling a secret, etc.) I remember saying we needed a comic relief character and someone saying Will might be fitting that bill. Too bad they didn't use him at all. While S1 didn't necessarily use a lot of straight funny lines, they were humorous ironies and clever parallels to EF/SB. It was much more intelligent and subtle. (Henry asking Red if she'd like to run around with a little basket, Evil!Snow singing to the bird) I'm not sure if a lot of it was intentional, but there were parts that cracked me up.

 

Whenever the show plays on the culture clash between EF and LWM, it's funny. You see Emma's "What the heck?" expression when she finds out the Wicked Witch is real or when she eats chimera. You see Hook trying to figure out a cell phone or Ingrid visiting a fortune teller thinking she's legit. It's that kind of material the show should be taking advantage of. But now there's so much of the fantasy element that's it's become routine and there's really no conflict between the two worlds.

[YaddaYadda]

They cut a whole scene with Elsa/Kristoff/Anna and twinkies! That's kind of the comedic relief. I'm no Anna fan, but her face when Kristoff took a bite of that was priceless.

[DigitalCount]

Neal and Mulan had that funny conversation about movies once. I also liked the "I push the Emma button" thing, so yeah, culture shock is probably the best in terms of organic humor. What I don't like is when they show too much meta-awareness like when Hook said that David was being comparatively old-fashioned even by his standards "and I still pay in doubloons." That shouldn't seem strange to him if it's his only experience. There was some stuff like that with David and Anna as well but I can't remember it right now.

[stealinghome]

They should let Snow and Charming have some genuinely funny lines more often. They pull it off well, and since it's not like the show has let them do anything ELSE in ages, comic relief is at least...something. The Wicked Witch GMA segments were HILARIOUS, and I also got a real kick out of the "backstage tour" they wrote.

[Shanna Marie]

What I don't like is when they show too much meta-awareness like when Hook said that David was being comparatively old-fashioned even by his standards "and I still pay in doubloons." That shouldn't seem strange to him if it's his only experience.

Or there was Hook commenting on the irony of Emma being amazed that the Wicked Witch of the West was an actual thing, considering she was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. To him, Snow White is just the princess and Prince Charming is Snow's nickname for her husband. He wouldn't have any idea of their cultural significance to Emma, and he wouldn't know why Emma would be boggling at the idea that the Wicked Witch was real. Either he'd never have heard of her because she was in Oz all that time, or he wouldn't see why anyone would be surprised that this person who exists exists. As I recall, in that case, the Storybrooke/Enchanted Forest people only figured out who she was because their Storybrooke memory downloads apparently included the Wizard of Oz, so Hook wouldn't have had any context whatsoever for the Wicked Witch.

 

But their funniest stuff really does come from those culture clashes. I think one of the funniest bits in 4A was the offhand mention of Aurora calling the TV in her room at Granny's "the devil box" and saying she wouldn't make that mistake again. That's a lot funnier than any of Regina's sass and snark, which is usually obvious remarks like "Captain Guyliner" or saying that the nine-months pregnant woman has eaten a lot of ice cream.

[Rumsy4]

Or the ever-increasing hand jokes.

[KingOfHearts]

Or the ever-increasing hand jokes.

Because goodness knows being one-handed is Hook's only opportunity to spawn comic relief.

Edited September 26, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[daxx]

Or the ever-increasing hand jokes.

Granted the only time it seemed to phase him at all was when Emma said it in 3b. He felt the need to speak up for himself rather than ignore the slight as usual or simply roll his eyes.

"You know I'm good in a fight."

[YaddaYadda]

The snark on this show used to be clever. Now, not so much.

[stealinghome]

The writers have fallen into the trap of confusing "snark" with "bitch."

[Rosiejuliemom]

With a few exceptions, I hated the Frozen arc. I thought it was too long and simply not that engaging. The most enjoyment I got out of it was imagining young Ingrid in a zombie apocalypse and adult Ingrid taking the time to become a Psychiatrist and work at Cook County General Hospital for a few years. It may be my prejudice bleeding through, as I would gladly forego all things Arendelle if my daughters would let me.

[FierceAfroChick]

Not a fan of the Hook and Belle friendship.  Because Belle and her accent and speechifying is annoying as fuck.  Her mere presence on my screen is annoying as fuck.  I hate that she's in scenes with my dude because I may have to start fast forwarding him to avoid listening to her (or I can mute the sound and hold up my hand to block her out).  Her fans already get giddy if they think she's going to tell him off, cause she's feisty like that.  Let him get in a situation where he has to chose her over Emma...ooh boy.  I can just see him getting the short end of that "friendship".   And I can't see her as the kind of chick they're trying to make her out to be...that fierce, badass, downs rum kinda chick.  If Killy needed a friend, I'd prefer anyone else...maybe Tink or Will.  I guess David's too busy coddling Woegina.

Edited October 5, 2015 by FierceAfroChick

[Mari]

Because Belle and her accent and speechifying is annoying as fuck.  And I can't see her as the kind of chick they're trying to make her out to be...that fierce, badass, downs rum kinda chick. 

Ha! I am not alone. I usually kind of feel bad about it, because in interviews De Ravin always seems sweet and enthusiastic, but I don't find her a particularly gifted performer, and when you combine it with her voice, which I find grating, and a character I find almost as self-centered and repugnant as Regina, and I keep thinking that it would just be so very nice if her baby was healthy, and awesome, and she decided to work fewer hours.

[Amerilla]

I feel the same way about the Hook/Belle friendship. But not because of Emilie. 

[FierceAfroChick]

...and I keep thinking that it would just be so very nice if her baby was healthy, and awesome, and she decided to work fewer hours.

 

Heh!

[shoregirl]

I don't find Lana Parilla a very compelling performer. She's good at the over the top Evil Queen but the other stuff I don't find very good. I don't think she has layers as an actor. I think I'm supposed to find Regina sympathetic in the last episode but I just found her whiny. Some of that's the writing but I think some of its Lana Parilla.

[kdm07]

The SO and I did a catch-up on this show (along with other shows) so I guess I can just jump right in here.

 

I hated the Frozen arch from start to end. The only saving grace was Elizabeth Mitchell.

I didn't like the writing for Henry at the beginning of the show and I kept wishing he would disappear (I know, that's awful to think about a kid). Now the writing is slightly better so Henry can stay.

I find nothing compelling about Hook/Emma and yet the show would have me believe they have this wonderful love or something.

I miss S1 Rumple AND Regina. They were evil and they/the show owned it. Now they're stuck in this weird vortex of being "redeemed" which the show is doing terribly with. I also still like Regina, always have and probably always will.

Robin needs to disappear as quickly as Neal did. He's not a remotely interesting character anymore (this seems like a popular opinion now).

The Charmings are incredibly bland and always have been.

This isn't character based but I have always been less than impressed with how the show treated adoption in its early seasons. 

 

That's all I got.

Edited October 5, 2015 by kdm07

[Mathius]

RE:the Hook-Belle friendship: this in of itself may be an unpopular opinion, but I just don't get the continual opposition Hook and Belle fans have toward the other character based solely around negative interactions in two episodes from three seasons ago (2x09 and 2x11).

Yes, Belle fans, Hook hit her unconscious once and shot her into an amnesiac state once. Yes, Hook fans, Belle said some ignorant and hypocritical things to him and only had Rumple spare his life for her and Rumple's sake rather than for his. But come on...TWO episodes! Back in Season 2! How many episodes have Regina and Rumple screwed people over? How many RECENT episodes? And how many of those people are somehow still interacting with them or still letting them live freely? Or in Regina's case, treating them absurdly positively? Compared to disturbing aggressor-victim dynamics like THAT, then Hook and Belle letting bygones be bygones is perfectly acceptable, and an admirable show of maturity on their parts.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Mathius

[FierceAfroChick]

RE:the Hook-Belle friendship: this in of itself may be an unpopular opinion, but I just don't get the continual opposition Hook and Belle fans have toward the other character based solely around negative interactions in two episodes from three seasons ago (2x09 and 2x11).

Yes, Belle fans, Hook hit her unconscious once and shot her into an amnesiac state once. Yes, Hook fans, Belle said some ignorant and hypocritical things to him and only had Rumple spare his life for her and Rumple's sake rather than for his. But come on...TWO episodes! Back in Season 2! How many episodes have Regina and Rumple screwed people over? How many RECENT episodes? And how many of those people are somehow still interacting with them or still letting them live freely? Or in Regina's case, treating them absurdly positively? Compared to disturbing aggressor-victim dynamics like THAT, then Hook and Belle letting bygones be bygones is perfectly acceptable, and an admirable show of maturity on their parts.

 

I don't have a problem with Hook/Belle burying the hatchet...I have a problem with them (and Emma/Regina, Regina/Charmings) kissing each others' asses.  I guess that's another unpopular opinion…I don’t think these people have to be friends, especially given that they’ve committed horrible crimes against the other.  You can be mature and move on, but why would you want to hang out with someone who tried to kill you?  The lack of contentious relationships on this show is unrealistic and makes interactions head-scratching.  It's why they keep introducing these boring ass foes, because they don't allow any of the main characters to actively hate the other.

[Mathius]

But that's the thing, I haven't seen Belle and Hook kiss each other's asses.  Their friendship isn't a particularly close one, I don't feel like they have much of an interest in one another's personal lives, it's more like they've begun to hang out with each other because they are literally the one ones who know how the other feels about certain matters: first about being the Dark One's close-and-personal abuse victim, then about being in love with the Dark One.  Nobody else but the two of them can relate on this level, it's more of a friendship of convenience rather than actual feelings, which is how I would have preferred the Charming family's relationship with Regina and Rumple have gone down.

[Mari]

^^^^

I actually agree with this. I think the Hook/Belle truce was one of the better handled on the show. It's just that my not enjoying Belle has very little to do with her comments to Hook (of course she's not going to believe him), and more to do with how she responds to Rumple evilling all over town, combined with not enjoying the performance.

The Hook/Belle scenes are usually the closest I've come to enjoying her.

As for Rumple and Regina? We'll have to see how the post de-cursing of Rumple goes--I've very much enjoyed parts of Carlyle's performance without rooting for Rumple. I despise Regina, and how she makes all the characters around her less enjoyable.

[orza]

A agree about Emilie's annoying voice. She always sounds like she's about to cry with her quaking voice, and she does weird, distracting things with her mouth.

 

I don't see any great friendship between Hook and Belle. Working together and having a few civil conversations is not a friendship, unless we're talking about Facebook-type pseudo-friends.

[Mari]

A agree about Emilie's annoying voice. She always sounds like she's about to cry with her quaking voice, and she does weird, distracting things with her mouth.

 

I don't see any great friendship between Hook and Belle. Working together and having a few civil conversations is not a friendship, unless we're talking about Facebook-type pseudo-friends.

Responding in the relationship thread, as I'm probably going off topic.

[KingOfHearts]

 

I don't find Lana Parilla a very compelling performer. She's good at the over the top Evil Queen but the other stuff I don't find very good. I don't think she has layers as an actor. I think I'm supposed to find Regina sympathetic in the last episode but I just found her whiny. Some of that's the writing but I think some of its Lana Parilla.

I agree. Her reactions and deliveries are usually inappropriate and negate Regina's own humanity. She's either crying or going snarky psycho with little in between. Even though she's supposed to be this deep character, her essence is very shallow. Which seems very strange because I wouldn't find difficulty in thinking of what would be the correct way to write or act her out. My unpopular opinion is that it wouldn't take much to fix many of the problems with Regina. She can work if they grounded her empathy for others better.

[stealinghome]

Compared to disturbing aggressor-victim dynamics like THAT, then Hook and Belle letting bygones be bygones is perfectly acceptable, and an admirable show of maturity on their parts.

imo a lot of the strong reaction against the Hook-Belle friendship, from both sides, is really about Rumpel (vs Hook). Belle fans tend to dislike Hook because Hook stole Rumpel's first wife and forced Rumpel to kill her THAT BIG BULLY JERK. Hook fans tend to dislike Belle because Rumpel is TEH EVUL and how dare Belle like him and not precious lamb Killian? It's not actually really about Belle and Hook at all. It's about the fact that Rumpel stans tend to loathe Hook and vice versa.

 

I agree. Her reactions and deliveries are usually inappropriate and negate Regina's own humanity. She's either crying or going snarky psycho with little in between. Even though she's supposed to be this deep character, her essence is very shallow. Which seems very strange because I wouldn't find difficulty in thinking of what would be the correct way to write or act her out. My unpopular opinion is that it wouldn't take much to fix many of the problems with Regina. She can work if they grounded her empathy for others better.

I honestly think a large part of the problem is that Parrilla drinks the Regina Kool-Aid HARD. Carlyle manages to make Rumpel seem like a coherent, complex character despite crappy writing because he never loses sight of the fact that Rumpel as a human being blows chunks. Rumpel can be sympathetic, but he also always sucks. Whereas Parrilla is like Regina Stan/True Believer #1 and probably has a Monday night drinking club with Adam and Eddie where they bemoan how poor little lamb Regina is SUCH A VICTIM and those evil Charmings need to burn in hell 5ever for being oh so mean to her.

 

Although I agree that, yeah, Parrilla doesn't have a lot of layers as a performer. She's great at the OTT malicious stuff but she's got a limited toolkit as an actress and the longer the show has been on--and the longer they've tried to push Woegina--the more obvious her limited toolkit has become. Her acting worked in S1 because one or two fairyback episodes aside, Regina was pretty one-dimensional and evil 24/7. The moment Parrilla had to do more than that, you saw the cracks. (Though I also wouldn't blame her if she started phoning it in a few seasons ago, to be fair. Most of the regulars have to some degree or another.)

 

My unpopular opinion: Hook is so fucking boring as a character. They re-wrote his entire personality to make him a love interest for Emma and he's just...bland. He's a classic "bad boy" falling for the "good girl," only he's not nearly as interesting as a bad boy ought to be. He's mostly...there.

[FierceAfroChick]

imo a lot of the strong reaction against the Hook-Belle friendship, from both sides, is really about Rumpel (vs Hook). Belle fans tend to dislike Hook because Hook stole Rumpel's first wife and forced Rumpel to kill her THAT BIG BULLY JERK. Hook fans tend to dislike Belle because Rumpel is TEH EVUL and how dare Belle like him and not precious lamb Killian? It's not actually really about Belle and Hook at all. It's about the fact that Rumpel stans tend to loathe Hook and vice versa.

 

 

This is true.  As a neutral party here (because I'm more of an Emma stan) I just can't stand Belle, she is uber annoying and the less I see of her with my faves and on my screen, the better.

 

My unpopular opinion: Hook is so fucking boring as a character. They re-wrote his entire personality to make him a love interest for Emma and he's just...bland. He's a classic "bad boy" falling for the "good girl," only he's not nearly as interesting as a bad boy ought to be. He's mostly...there.

 

 

I would've preferred Hook to have retained some of his previous personality because they've neutered him too much IMO.  His love story with Emma is great and don't find him boring...yet.  I didn't really need him to be a hero though...I preferred sarcastic, shades of gray, will-side-with-whoever-gets-me-what-I-want Hook.

Edited October 6, 2015 by FierceAfroChick

[PixiePaws1]

I would've preferred Hook to have retained some of his previous personality because they've neutered him too much IMO, but don't find him boring...yet.

My hope was that once he was sure of Emma's affections we would get fun, flirty Hook back...but then Darkness happened. .. Still, there been signs of angry Hook which is a thing of beauty. .so there's that. .

[maryle]

I totally loved the Hook we got in the two episodes of this season. I saw a man be conflicted about the fact that he is in love with a person he used to hate. This play out really well in his attempts at TLK.

Jen also nailed the complexity of her character I saw it when she also try for TLK her expression is so spot on in the scene. And so different than her stoic personality in Storybrooke. They both deserve some bravo.

Now, the Lana situation.

I am not an E.R. in fact, I was shocked to learn she had this huge loud fan base for me she was a fun one dimensional villain and that was it. Now, I am mostly neutral, but can easily dislike Regina if she is too much on screen or if I read too many headcannon of her fans. So usually skip both when necessary for my own sanity.

But Lana for me was really good at be the Evil Queen and I was not so good at playing some sort of fortysomething Cinderalla wannabe savior in the last episode and is so-so in woegina or romantic scene.

I think it is a case where the love of A.E for Regina does not help at all.

[Mathius]

His last scene in the recent episode reminded me that I don't really care for Josh Dallas as an actor at all. Almost every single time he goes for the emotional moments, it's laughable. His constant whispery tone for delivering lines ("Mary Margaret...") and his mouth refusing to stay shut even when not speaking doesn't help.

[kitticup]

My unpopular opinion is that I don't think Milah was an awful person. She was trapped in a loveless marriage and outcast because of her husband's choices. She couldn't make a better life while she was with Rumple. I can understand her frustrations, and anger.

I don't think she was a great mother but I don't think she is evil.

[Mathius]

Milah and Leopold are both whipping posts for hardcore Rumple and Regina stans, and it's both completely unfounded. They were both certainly flawed people, but they were not evil, they did not deserve to be murdered, and there is literally no concrete evidence that Milah was a routine abuser of her husband or that Leopold was a routine martial rapist.

Edited October 7, 2015 by Mathius

[HoodlumSheep]

As much as I love Rumple, I've grown tired of him, and probably wouldn't miss him if RC decided to leave. I know the foundation of the show was built around his character pretty much, but it's changed so much that it doesn't hold up any longer. Again, I love RC and I still enjoy Rumple, but I'm over his character now (season 4 did Rumple no favors).

I also do not believe that Milah deserves as much hate as she gets. Yes, she was flawed, and it was pretty crappy of her to ditch Baelfire, but she was pretty much caught between a rock and a hard place. Stay and be absolutely miserable, or take Baelfire and then get hated on for bringing a 5-7 yr-old on a dangerous pirate ship.

Edited October 7, 2015 by HoodlumSheep

[YaddaYadda]

Is Milah that hated in fandom? I liked her. No, nothing justifies leaving your child behind, but realizing you're not in love with the person you're married to isn't evil. She handled the situation poorly, but so did Rumple. Did she deserve to die for it? No. 

[Shanna Marie]

As much as I love Rumple, I've grown tired of him, and probably wouldn't miss him if RC decided to leave.

Same here. I just can't see where they can take him from here. Right now, he's working okay as the voice in Emma's head, but I'm not missing him having any more of a role than that or interacting with the other characters. I really think he should have died at the end of season 4, and he could have been kept along a while longer as Head Rumple. But what else can they do with him? I might not mind him waking up and being a cowardly weakling scheming to get his power back, but I can't imagine them not finding a way to make him powerful again in some way, and I can't imagine them leaving him powerless and totally good (which would be hard to believe).

 

I also do not believe that Milah deserves as much hate as she gets.

I think in my initial viewing I was harsh on her, but I was surprised by how sympathetic I was upon a rewatch. How would you react to a husband who deliberately injured himself to get out of going into battle? I know I'd be extremely frustrated by a husband who refused to bend enough to do anything to make me happy. He wasn't compromising at all, was more concerned with his own dubious comfort (that place was his comfort zone, but how happy was he really?) than with her happiness. Who knows, if they'd moved elsewhere, maybe they wouldn't have ever had to worry about Bae being drafted into the war. But since he wasn't willing to give, she was in a no-win situation -- stay and be miserable and let her son grow up in an extremely unhappy home, leave and abandon her son but at least let her son grow up in a safe place with a loving father and not leave her husband utterly alone, or take her son with her to grow up in an unsafe environment away from his father and leave her husband utterly alone. Since being in the village was part of what made her unhappy, it doesn't sound like she could have separated from Rumple, moved down the street, and shared custody of Bae. Wherever she went, she'd have had to choose between taking her son away from his father or leaving her son. The fact that she ran away with a pirate just made the difficult decision more obvious, since it wouldn't have been good for her son to take him.

[stealinghome]

How would you react to a husband who deliberately injured himself to get out of going into bat

Ha, funny--that moment is actually the LEAST likable Milah is for me. She's way more sympathetic all through The Crocodile in my book

[Camera One]

I doubt most viewers even remembers who Milah is.

[KingOfHearts]

 

I doubt most viewers even remembers who Milah is.

If they did, they'd see more problems with Rumpbelle and A&E's illusion would be blown.

 

(But then again, we saw Regina murder a groom in 4B and that didn't get anyone's minds going. Go figure.)

Edited October 7, 2015 by KingOfHearts

[Mathius]

Ha, funny--that moment is actually the LEAST likable Milah is for me. She's way more sympathetic all through The Crocodile in my book

I agree, but I think that's mainly because we get to see Rumple's POV behind his decision and she can't. She had strongly advocated that he NOT go fight in the Ogre Wars to begin with, so it would certainly feel like an extra slap in the face for him to ignore her wishes, go to fight in the wars, and then change his mind at the last minute anyway and cop out in a way that brings social dishonor on her and her newborn child. Add to this that she'd spent years justifying her marriage to Rumple to other people by swearing that he was NOT a coward like his father, and then he goes and does this...it had to have been painful.

Edited October 8, 2015 by Mathius

[Curio]

I agree, but I think that's mainly because we get to see Rumple's POV behind his decision and she can't.

 

Nearly every single villain sob story on this show would crumble and look pathetic if the heroes (or foils) actually got an equal POV episode to counter it. Of course the audience is meant to feel more sympathy for Rumple than Milah because we barely got any insight into her head. But if we were shown an episode where we got to see her decision to leave, her tearful confession to Killian that she can't take her son with her and how depressed she was in her marriage, and their debate about whether or not it was a good idea to frame it like she was being kidnapped by pirates, then both Milah and Hook come off slightly better to the audience. But in Season 2, the writers didn't want us rooting for those two—they wanted us to root for Rumple—so we got more of Rumple's side of the story. 

Edited October 8, 2015 by Curio

[KingOfHearts]

My only real problem with Milah is that she sort of left Bae with a bad father without looking for an alternative. She might have been able to with Hook as she traveled. But that being said, I'm not sure if I totally blame her for leaving either. It's perfectly logical that she was at her wit's end and wasn't thinking straight. Yes she was harsh on Rumple, but he deserved every bit of it. She wasn't a jerk, but rather someone who was pushed over the edge.

 

Going to take some Milah/Belle comparisons to the Relationships thread.

[YaddaYadda]

I'm gonna have to completely disagree that Milah left Bae with a bad father. Rumple from what little we've seen of him loved his son and did as best for him as he could with the cards he was dealt (and the ones he dealt himself). Where Rumple starts going downhill is when he becomes the Dark One and goes on his power trip.

[Shanna Marie]

Ha, funny--that moment is actually the LEAST likable Milah is for me.

It's definitely her least sympathetic moment, but I still don't find it a reason to hate her. It would have been different if she'd been the one nagging Rumple to join the military because of honor, pride, be a man, etc., but he was the one who signed up and she didn't really want him to go. I can understand being angry under those circumstances.

 

My only real problem with Milah is that she sort of left Bae with a bad father without looking for an alternative.

There's no indication that pre-Dark One Rumple was a bad father. He was a terrible husband, but he and Bae seemed to have a decent relationship. The one question mark would be whether or not Rumple would be willing to stand up and protect his son. He walked away rather than do anything on behalf of a wife he thought was being kidnapped and raped by pirates, so she would have had some reason there to worry what he'd let happen to his son rather than standing up for him, but if their village was generally safe, then that might not have been as big a concern. We don't know when the next round of ogre wars that required drafting 14-year-olds started.

 

It was the way she left that was the problem. I can see where she might have thought that maybe it was kinder for them to think she was killed rather than that she chose to leave, and by faking her death she was giving Rumple the opportunity to find someone else, assuming he could, since it's not clear there was such a thing as legal divorce. If she'd been honest and up front about the fact that she was leaving, it's unlikely Rumple could or would have done anything to stop her, and she might have been able to arrange visits with Bae. It would still have been rough on Bae, but a kid might have thought it was pretty cool to have a pirate queen for a mom who showed up every so often with her pirate captain boy toy and some cool exotic souvenirs they'd picked up on their travels. Though I guess that might have been rough on Rumple, having to compete with that sort of thing, like today's divorced Disney Dads -- where Dad who gets the kids on weekends gets to be a cool superhero who spends all his time doing fun things with them, and the mom who has to do mundane, day-to-day stuff like getting them to school and feeding them dinner looks lame in comparison.

 

I guess it just plain sucked, no matter how it was handled. Someone was going to end up hurt and unhappy, regardless.

[FormerMod-a1]

Please take further discussion of Rumple and Rumple and Milah to his thread or the Relationships thread.

[Amerilla]

Spent too much time on Tumblr. Offically sooooo sick of "bromance" and "brotp" bring evoked every time two male characters share a few lines. And "Daddy [insert name here]" whenever a male character has a scene with a child in the vicinity.

I know this show sets a low bar for relationships, but c'mon.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Amerilla

[maryle]

After yesterday, I decided to come out oficially and I will say it loud. Zelena has grow on me and I am rooting for her. Why?

I am not sure, maybe it is because Mader is funny in rl or how much Regina is hypocrite with her ( she did worst and more often) but for me she deserve to be redeem as much as Regina or Rumple.

Zelena as the new savior! I mean this title an lost his original meaning anyway.