Season 2, Episode 18: "Selfless, Brave, and True"

"I've lived a life of selfishness, cowardice, and dishonesty, and only I can cure that. Not magic. Not science. Just me."-August W. Booth/Pinnochio

You guys, I am so sorry! This should not be this late, I am a horrible blog owner. Forgive me! I didn't even get to see the episode until Monday night. 

So, this episode was. . .um. . .well, in all honesty it was really bad. I have no idea how else to put it because so much of it was just dumb. I'm going to structure a bit differently this time since I have so many thoughts. Just bear with me, okay?

So, the August backstory was actually not that terrible. It provided some insight into his character and I loved the Lost-esque opening. The issue is that they did something amazingly racist in this segment, and that was the whole mystical Asian thing. The girls on the "Other Side of the Mirror" podcast were talking about this a lot, and I just know that Adam and Eddy are going to get massacred for it. Guys. This segment would have been pretty good if not for the Dragon. The Dragon was so dumb, especially because he has NOTHING to do with anything else going on in the show. 

Oh! Speaking of things that are completely ridiculous and stupid and pointless: Greg and Tamara. This was so unrealistic, strange, and disgusting that I wanted to die a little bit. First off, it was predicted by the fans instantly, which has done before with other things (nealfire). But with the whole Nealfire thing...it was actually a good idea that WORKED. There is nothing about this that works. It was predictable, and it's stupid. Sorry guys, I'm just really not amused by this.
Tamara as a character is just obnoxious, and we all know that she's just there to make an obstacle for Swanfire/Swan Thief. Her whole obsession with magic seems like it's just another thing to make her evil. I hope there is more to this that is less ridiculous. Also the taser is really, really dumb. How does taser beat mystical mushu? How does taser beat Pinnochio?
Also, I'm going to address the idea that there is racism presented in the fact that Tamara is "evil". I really don't think so. As it happens, yes, she is a woman of color, but I do not think the writers were taking a stab at other POCs with her character. I highly doubt Adam and Eddy were thinking that all black people are hoodlums who do around tasering everyone. It's a Tamara thing, not a POC thing.
The absolute worst thing in this was definitely that they made Pinnochio seven years old, though. I mean. . .
Wooden Swan shippers. . .I am so sorry. I know that if this happened to Neal or Emma, or to Rumpelstiltskin or Belle, I would be out to kill the writers. You guys do not deserve this.
As you all probably recall, in the episode "Manahattan", Mr. Gold says: "I can take away the pain", to which Nealfire responds, "Take away who I am? No thanks."
The point of me mentioning that quote this that they took away who August is. The utterly demolished his character by making him seven again. I can't think of any other way to put it. They should have killed him off. They really, really should have killed him off.
Okay, I'm almost done grilling the show, but there's one more thing I want to address, and that is dropped storylines. They have given us some really promising storylines throughout the season, and all of them get dropped instantly. Here are some examples:
-Belle being an amnesiac.
-Charming and Snow's arguing about going back to FTL gets occasional screentime, I guess.
-Mulan, Aurora, and Phillip.
-Regina wanting to get Henry back.
-Hook. Someone tell me: WHAT IS THE POINT OF HOOK?
-Henry being Rumple's undoing.
-We got about thirty seconds to address everything about the last episode. That had better not be the only thing we get.
I mean, instead of addressing all of these things, we meet "The Dragon" and find a way to drop the Pinnochio story!
Alright. That was my last complaint. Emma, Henry, Neal, Regina and Charming were all very nice in this episode. Snow was okay too.


LINGERING THOUGHTS/QUESTIONS/MUSINGS:
-What's the deal with Tamara? What do you guys think will happen with her?
-Do you think we'll see the Dragon again?
-Where do ya'll think Owen's dad is? Do you believe Regina?
-Aren't you just so overjoyed about the hiatus? *sarcasm*
-What'd ya'll think of August here?
-Was anyone else disappointed by the lack of Rumple? And basically every other character. . .
-How did you feel about this episode?

Okay, that's all from me! Have a bearable hiatus and stay magical! Hit me up on twitter if you have questions (@OUAFanBlog), or leave a comment.

Season 2, Episode 17: "Welcome to Storybrooke"

"I'll find you, dad! I'll never stop looking!"-Owen

This was such a great episode. I am really starting to like the storyline that ONCE is creating. There are a lot of things that they can potentially do now, so I am very excited for the rest of the season. 

PAST STORYBROOKE

We got Graham back! I am so glad we saw him again in his sherriffy form. I really love Graham and even though he wasn't in a ton of the episode, I was satisfied with it. I was also fine with how they handled the relationship between Graham and Regina. I am sure many of you have seen the twitter shenanigans that was going on with Adam Horowitz and some ONCE fans over the Graham issue. I didn't know what they were going to do, and I had a hunch it would anger these activists no matter what, but whatever. I thought what thy did was fine, and it worked out well. 

The more important part of this was Regina. We now know the reason she wanted Henry. This whole segment was just so heartbreaking because literally all she wanted was to be happy and to share that happiness with someone. She just didn't know how. It's a common theme with Regina, and it was amazingly sad to see here. It's even worse that she totally terrified Owen and Kurt. 

Mr. Gold was so funny because Regina probably expected him to have his memories and he was just like "lol nope."

PRESENT STORYBROOKE

To be honest, I actually wasn't much into this whole thing. It was kind of stupid and not much happened, so I'm okay with the fact that they didn't spend too much time on it. 

So, Emma and Neal are now being lumped in with David and Mary M. We can call them "the four idiots". it can be a spinoff on ONCE when the show ends.

Henry was trying so hard to be a peacemaker, but he was not doing so good with it. 

You know what's messed up? Mr. Gold says "ok guys watch Belle or I'll kill you" and David and Mary M don't even bat an eye, but when MM is the one in trouble David is all like "YOU OWE ME SOMETHING". Like ok, you ditched his girlfriend and then saved his life so I think we're even.

I feel like ONCE should be called "Torture Regina Time". Seriously. 

I actually really dislike Greg/Owen. He bothers me even more now because Regina was like "I don't wanna hurt you ok just don't run away". And I feel like if he hadn't run away they could have been like "So Regina...this is my kid not yours and we live in New Jersey and we're gonna get you your own kid cause I know you and the sheriff are banging. Sound good? Ok, peace." They were being too dramatic about it.

LINGERING THOUGHTS/QUESTIONS/MUSINGS:

-What do you think will happen with Owen?

-Is there a reason they didn't show Belle in the asylum?

-I really want to see what happened to Owen's dad now.
-So, Henry has literally heard the same freaking lesson in school every day for his entire life. He was probably like. "YOU SAID THIS EVERY DAY!" "WHERE IS SUMMER" "OK LEGIT WHY IS NO ONE QUESTIONING THIS EXCEPT ME??" "
MARCO THAT SIGN IS BREAKING EVERY DAY JUST GIVE UP!" 
-So, I'm listening to the ONCE Podcast (they're awesome, ya'll should listen to them) and they thought exactly what I did. I thought the lovey-curse thing was THE curse. Like, the one that brought them to SB. I thought that Gina was re-enacting it. 

-This episode was one that I really liked. The writers have a really interesting track record.  Some good ones, like "Lady of the Lake", but some less good like "Child of the Moon". The director did "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" though, so it all came together nicely.
-Granny is so sassy: "when I said over-easy I was talking about the eggs!"

-*spoilers* we get too see August next week, and he's still wooden. I really should not be laughing about this.

-The whole dynamite thing was very Lost-ish. I was down with it. 

-*spoilers* we're also getting to see Neal's lovely fiancee next week. *unenthusiastic woo*

All in all, a pretty good episode. I'm excited to see the rest of this season. Stay magical and I'll see you lovely people next Sunday! Hit me up on twitter and stuff @OUAFanBlog.

Upcoming Episodes

Here are the episode titles for the rest of the season with summaries done by me to my best ability:

-Welcome to Storybrooke
Basically the storyline just moves forward but we all get a glance into the past on the first day of the curse's enactment. But really all everyone cares about is that Graham is back, which is understandable.

-Selfless, Brave, and True
We finally find out what happened to August. I feel like this episode is a little late but whatever. Plus, this totally defeats my theory of him being burned in Mr. Gold's backyard.

-Lacey
Belle has a Storybrooke identity besides an insane person. Her name is Lacey, but everyone has taken to calling her "Racy Lacey" because of spoiler photos. There was supposed to be a 4-week hiatus before this episode, but it has been taken off wikipedia so I guess it was a flake.

-The Evil Queen
To be honest, I have no clue.

-Second Star to the Right
Eddy and Adam have said we're going to see another land this season so I feel like this is pretty self-explanatory.

-. . .And Straight on Till Morning
Yeah so it's the finale.

That's the rest of season 2! We have six more episodes, and I am excited for all of them
You guys are awesome, see ya'll Sunday!

Season 2, Episode 16: "The Miller's Daughter"

"Oh, I'm full of love"-Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold

So, I'm in shock. 

That was really, really good. I'm not sure I liked it as much as the last two, but you can tell from this that the show is getting REAL. I mean, I'm starting to feel as crazy as I did when last season started getting like this. There's just so much going on and I am not sure if I can even fir everything I want to say into one post, but I'm going to try!

THE FAIRYTALE WORLD:

So, the gist of this was Rumpelstiltskin and Cora. I was mainly just really confused about this whole thing. I'm a little upset that we didn't get more time with it because there was so much going on in Storybrooke. We all know from "Skin Deep" that Jane Espenson writes a killer love story. However, the difference between this one and that one is that Rumple and Cora were given so little screen time. With "Skin Deep" we had a major emphasis on the Fairytale portion and very little on Storybrooke. Unfortunately, we sort of had to spend a lot of time with Storybrooke, and so we hardly got to see the whole relationship with Cora and Rumpelstiltskin. The good thing about it was that it was SO sexy. Robert Carlyle deserves the Emmy for Most Arousing Performance. No, really. I think they should make that a thing just for him. 

The reason I was really confused was that this episode was written by Jane Espenson, who obviously is fully aware of the whole true love's kiss thing, so someone was lying their leather pants/fancy dress off. One didn't love the other, and I know we all want to say it was Cora, but then why did she rip out her heart? I'm thinking the whole thing was just lust and that Rumple was really more infatuated with Cora than in love with her. 

Another thing was that while I'm glad that Regina PROBABLY isn't the daughter of Rumpelstiltskin, nothing is set and stone. Regina could easily have been Rumple's daughter by the looks of things. I mean, Cora and Rumple were "together" the day before her wedding. Who's to say whether or not Regina is actually related to Rumpelstiltskin? I demand an explanation. 

One question: How in the world did Henry end up being three feet taller and mexican?

So, I get that Eva was kind of mean to Cora, but I feel like that really was not worth killing her over. . .

STORYBROOKE:

Emma didn't do a ton here except stand by while everyone went crazy and have an internal debate with herself about Neal, because we all know that she DOES care about him being engaged and she's probably thinking that he's part of her family now. The other thing about Emma is that she used magic, really used it, and she liked it. Looks like someone is beginning to understand Regina a bit more. 

I felt so horrible for Regina. The worst thing about it was that she spent her entire life trying to convince herself that her mother loved her when she didn't, and when she finally did, it was too late. Now, of course, we have an evil Regina again, which I am fully okay with, especially now that we are done with Cora. 

The whole conversation between Mr. Gold and Belle was so completely heartbreaking I could nor even deal with it. 

The only thing that broke my heart more was the thing with Mr. Gold and Neal. That was so incredibly sad because at that moment you can just see how much those two still really do love each other, and I hope that now they can explore that relationship even more. Although Gold is going to have some stuff to own up to after convincing Snow to kill Cora!

Which brings me to Snow. Now, I was totally rooting for her up until she handed the heart to Regina. She should have just done it herself, because giving the heart to Gina showed her that her mother could be good. Now she's never going to forgive her. Snow had to make a choice: She was either going to kill Rumpelstiltskin or kill Cora. With Rumple, Henry would be devastated, and if Belle ever gets her memory back she would be gunning for the Charmings. With Cora, she really wouldn't be losing nearly as much if she had done it herself, or if she had simply returned Cora's heart to her and let Rumple die a natural death. Sure, Henry wouldn't be especially happy, but at least she would have a better explanation. However, the tactic she chose was terrible, and now we have more bloody drama. 

It was time for Cora to go, but I was actually kind of sad about it. I know it was predictable, but the way they did it really wasn't. I thought it was original and fascinating, as well as heartbreaking, and I give them props for it. 

LINGERING THOUGHTS/QUESTIONS/MUSINGS:

-Okay so who do you guys think was lying about being in love? Rumple or Cora? Or maybe it WAS love, but it wasn't TRUE love? Thoughts?

-So, I think we'll be getting more with this loser fiancee of Neal's (kidding, she's not a loser since we haven't even seen her yet), what do ya'll think will happen there?

-Favorite line, "Hey, you're not allowed to be surprised anymore, Mr. Son-of-Rumpelstiltskin!"

-There's a little debate on tumblr about the fact that Snow thought it was okay to kill Cora, who is technically Henry grandmother, but not Rumpelstiltskin, who is his grandfather. People are saying that it's all about the adoption issue. Personally, I disagree because Henry never really met Cora and he was actually pretty psyched about Rumple being is grandpa. I think that's what Snow was thinking. What do you guys think?

-Next week's episode is the hotly anticipated "Welcome to Storybrooke". If you've kept up with spoilers, you know what that means. After that we have "Selfless, Brave, and True", which is all about my *least* favorite wooden person, and after that we go on a very painful FOUR WEEK HIATUS before another episode that everyone is psyched about, "Lacey," and after that we're in the final stretch of episodes. I'll make a post tomorrow about upcoming episodes tomorrow, but for now, that's the gist of it. 

-*spoiler* we're getting Graham back next week! In a flashback, though, so don't let your hopes get too high. Magic isn't back THAT much. 

-Looks like Snow may be getting a little darker. Thoughts?

-What did you guys think of the episode?

That's all I've got! See ya'll next week, and have a very magical week! Questions and comments go to the comment section or to my lovely twitter, @OUAFanBlog. Stay magical, you guys! 

Season 2, Episode 15: "The Queen is Dead"

"Maybe it's time for me to change"-Snow White/Mary Margaret

Hello, my dears! I hope all of you are having a lovely Sunday! First off, if any of you missed the ONCE cast at paleyfest and would like to see it, you can watch it here. Secondly. . .sweet Lord this was a painful episode! Not that it was bad, it was actually quite good, but it was just. . .so painful! However, it was more than I expected seeing as how it was not written by Eddy and Adam or Jane Espenson. Hats off to the writers of this one. 

THE FAIRYTALE WORLD:

I've never been a huge fan of Little Snow. Don't get me wrong, Bailee Madison is wonderful and she plays the part so well, but I just don't love the character. Plus, I thought she was written kind of off tonight. I was alright with it though. 

Snow's Mom was kind of pointless. I feel like the only reason they put her in the episode was to show off what a jerk Cora is. Same thing with Johanna. I suppose they both showed how Snow became so good and stuff, but I thought it was kind of dumb. 

So, I guess I owe the Blue Fairy an apology for all the times I have called her evil. Perhaps it wasn't even her who agreed to Gepetto's psychotic plan or broke up Grumpy and Nova. However, I'm still not forgiving her for Bae. That couldn't have been Cora. 

Cora really is the worst, most evil character in the entire world. Also, I don't get why she even wanted Regina to be queen so bad. Why didn't she just bewitch Leopold with some love spell and marry him herself? Why'd she have to being Gina into it? 

STORYBROOKE:

This segment was pure insanity. I mean...the whole episode was, but I think I flipped off my TV the most here. 

I know that I told you guys I like Regina a lot better evil, and I stand by that, but i feel like Cora really ruins it. I like Regina being independently evil, not just doing what Cora says to do, if that makes sense. Also, Cora pushing Johanna out that window was literally the most heartbreaking thing in the whole world I almost died. It was so sudden I just had no clue what to even do with myself.

Snow and Charming/David were both being dumb here. I don't even know why I think that. I'm tired. Please ignore me. 

MANHATTAN:

Oh God what to say. . .

Emma and Neal clearly still love each other. I don't care how much I say SwanQueen should be canon, Swanfire is the best thing to ever happen to this earth and if they do not pull themselves together and understand that they are completely in love, both of them will be slapped. By me. Or Gold, who clearly ships it. 

Hook honestly just makes me laugh at this point. Not the stabbing Gold, because at that point I just wanted him to stop existing. The Milah thing was like a bajillion years ago and he needs to cry me a freaking river, build a bridge, and get over it already. I know that sounds evil, but I can't not think it. Also, I couldn't stop laughing at the fact that they knocked him out and left him there. What's going to happen when the cops show up and he's all "I am a pirate! I need to get revenge on Rumpelstiltskin! I'll stab ya'll with my hook!"? I seriously cannot get the image of him in a mental asylum playing connect four with crazy people out of my head. 

Mr. Gold getting stabbed was just plain cruel of the writers. I get that it was to show the sympathetic side of Nealfire, but still. They are really torturing Rumple right now and I do not approve. 

I feel like the whole point of Henry here was to show that an eleven year old can be more sane than three grown adults. 

So, this chick Tamara is literally only there to cause drama, in my opinion. Neal will obviously leave her for Emma, Henry, and his dad. She's a waste of character and I'm just hoping they get rid of her in a timely manner. 

LINGERING THOUGHTS/QUESTIONS/MUSINGS:

-Henry gets the sass award for his line tonight: "It's cheesy, delicious, and doesn't lie."

-Regina's face when she found out Cora killed Snow's mom was perfect. 

-So, do we have to trust the blue fairy now? I'm still skeptical. 

-It's starting to become really laughable how no one gives a single crap about August. 

-What are you guys thinking as far as this Tamara person goes?

-This whole Evil Snow thing seems like a total sham, but I'm still excited for it. 

-Okay, so the promo was flat out terrifying. It had better be Cora who dies is all I'm saying. 

-A lot of people are still crazy about this Captain Swan thing, even though Hook is currently M.I.A. Personally, I don't like it, but what do you guys think? And how do you feel about a possible love triangle involving Neal/Emma/Hook?

-A lot of people seem to think the dagger on the clock tower is a fake. What do ya'll think?

-We didn't get Greg the weirdo in this episode. Does anybody...you know...care?

-Next week is the highly anticipated episode, "The Miller's Daughter" thoughts?

-General thoughts on the episode?

That's all from me! If you want to know anything else, simply leave a comment or hit me up on twitter @OUAFanBlog, or my tumblr, robinsparkles14. Love you guys, have a fantastic week and stay magical!