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anthonybrxdgerton · 6 years

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Lily Sparks OUAT recaps masterpost.

So, @sieben9 I don’t believe you had a pleasure to meet Lily Sparks yet? She’s a tv.com journalist who happens to make pretty damn ouat recaps.

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN THE LINKS TO EPISODES YOU HAVEN’T SEEN YET, BUT DON’T WORRY, THOSE EPISODES ARE NOT TITLED SO YOU WON'T ACCIDENTALLY BE SPOILED.

ALSO: I CAN’T FIND ANY MORE RECAPS PAST 6.11 SO IF ANYONE KNOWS WHY/HAVE ANY MORE LINKS (IF THEY EXIST) PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND DON’T SPOIL ANYTHING FOR SIEBEN)

She is funny,

sarcastic,

and she’s always brutally honest.

Emphasis on brutally.

Of course, the photos are not the only thing you might enjoy, Lily’s recaps really are something else, and besides being sarcastic little shit, she’s very often on point. Here’s one paragraph from 1x06:

Snow and Prince Charming have mixed DNA, so for him to look at a windmill and decide to go back to his fake wife is not piquing my interest in their relationship so much as punishing me for caring about them in the first place. It doesn't help that Josh Dallas might seriously be into Ginnifer Goodwin. I mean, if the acting he's doing opposite his fairytale mom is any indication, I don't think that crackling energy in his scenes with Ginnifer is acting. #StartingRumors

About year later Josh and Ginny got married.

Links are under the cut!

Season 1:

1.01 Pilot (aka. Too Crazy Not to Root For)

1.02 The Thing You Love Most (aka. Curses!)

1.03 Snow Falls (aka. Kiss and Wake Up)

1.04 The Price of Gold (aka. Assassination of (Fairy Tale) Character)

1.05 That Still Small Voice (aka. Pulling the Strings)

1.06 The Shepherd (aka. Snow Job)

1.07 The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter (aka. Crying Wolf)

1.08 Desperate Souls (aka. Kiss My Boot!)

1.09. True North (aka. Who's Your Daddy?)

1.10 7.10 AM (aka. When Doves Cry)

1.11 Fruit of the Poisonous Tree (aka. Genie in a Bottle)

1.12 Skin Deep (aka. Deeply Disappointing)

1.13 What Happened To Frederick (aka. Real Love)

1.14 Dreamy (aka. Rotten Dwarf Eggs)

1.15 Red-Handed (aka. Time to Transform)

1.16 Heart of Darkness (aka. Straight to the Heart (of Darkness))

1.17 Hat Tricks (aka. A Tip of the Hat)

1.18 The Stable Boy (aka. Mother Knows Best)

1.19 The Return (aka. Sonny-Side Up)

1.20 The Stranger (aka. A Heartwarming Nightmare)

1.21 An Apple As Red As Blood (aka. Snackrificies)

1.22 A Land Without Magic (aka. There’s A Cloud Hanging Over Us)

Season 2:

2.01 Broken (aka. (Literally) Falling Into Place)

2.02 We Are Both (aka. The Un-Evil Queen)

2.03 Lady of the Lake (aka. A Million Little Pieces)

2.04 The Crocodile (aka. Never-again Land)

2.05. The Doctor (aka. A Patched-Together Abomination)

2.06 Tallahassee (aka. No Honor Among Thieves)

2.07 Child of the Moon (aka. Pack Mentality)

2.08 Into The Deep (aka. Bedtime for Bonzo)

2.09 Queen of Hearts (aka. New Conflict Ahoy, Me Hearties!)

2.10 The Cricket Game (aka. Can People Change? Who Cares?)

2.11 The Outsider (aka. For Whom the Belle Tolls)

2.12 In the Name of the Brother (aka. Multi-dimensional Storytelling, Literally)

2.13 Tiny (aka. Take Us to the Beans!)

2.14 Manhattan (aka. In the Name of the Father)

2.15 The Queen Is Dead (aka. Birthday Girl)

2.16 The Miller’s Daughter (aka. Sympathy for the Devil)

2.17 Welcome To Storybrooke (aka. Open Your Heart to Me (Also Can We All Start 'Shipping Emma and Regina?))

2.18 Selfless, Brave And True (aka. Bait and Switch)

2.19 Lacey (aka. The Lacey Is a Tramp!)

2.20 The Evil Queen (aka. This Show Just Keeps Bagging on Regina/the Evil Queen)

2.21 Second Star To The Right (aka. The Diamond Goes Pear-shaped)

2.22 And Straight on ‘Til Morning (aka. Straight on 'Til Season 3)

Season 3:

3.01 The Heart of the Truest Believer (aka. U Start Believing in Me & I'll Start Believing in U)

3.02 Lost Girl (aka. Breaking the Cycle)

3.03 Quite A Common Fairy (aka. Watching With Hope, Not Anger)

3.04 Nasty Habits (aka. Nasty Messages)

3.05 Good Form (aka. Bromance, Romance, and Hook-ups)

3.06 Ariel (aka. Part of Which World?)

3.07 Dark Hollow (aka. How Darling)

3.08 Think Lovely Thoughts (aka. Dusthead Deadbeat Dads)

3.09 Save Henry (aka. I Regret Nothing)

3.10 The New Neverland (aka. A Familiar Story Device)

3.11 Going Home (aka. Over the Borderline)

3.12 New York City Serenade (aka. Pawed by a Flying Monkey)

3.13 Witch Hunt (aka. A Mother's Touch)

3.14 The Tower (aka. Once Upon a Freudian Slip)

3.15 Quiet Minds (aka. Lumiere Arrives and an Old Flame Gets Snuffed)

3.16 It’s Not Easy Being Green (aka. Once Upon a Repetition Compulsion)

3.17 The Jolly Roger (aka. Your Curse Is On My Lips)

3.18 Bleeding Through (aka. What Ghost Around Comes Around)

3.19 A Curious Thing (aka. Give Your Heart a Break)

3.20 Kansas (aka. Ding, Dong, the Witch Is... Something)

3.21/3.22 Snow Drifts/There’s No Place Like Home (aka. Twice Upon a Cash Grab)

Season 4 (titled up to episode 3):

4.01 A Tale of Two Sisters (aka. Not Cool, Bro)

4.02 White Out (aka. More Like Wig Out!)

4.03 Rocky Road (aka. A Hot Mess of a Sunday)

4.04

4.05

4.06

4.07

4.08 (those two epiodes are treated as one)

4.09

4.10

4.11

4.12

4.13

4.14

4.15

4.16

4.17

4.18

4.19

4.20

4.21

Season 5:

5.01

5.02

5.03

5.04

5.05

5.06

5.07

5.08 (two episodes as one gain)

5.09

5.10

5.11

5.12

5.13

5.14

5.15

5.16

5.17

5.18

5.19

5.20

5.21

Season 6:

6.01

6.02

6.03

6.04

6.05

6.06

6.07

6.08

6.09

6.10

6.11

#txt #ouat #sieben9 #ahh okay so sorry for future episodes being included here but i wouldn't be able to update it every time you watched new episode #hope it's okay!#long post

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sieben9 · 5 years

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Why does the title card have a horror movie sting?

Do I even want to know?

EDIT: and I’d forgotten how good David looks in that prince-getup

#sieben talks #sieben watches ouat #''the song in your heart''#i am suspicious

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sieben9 · 5 years

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What, in the name of sanity, is that blouse, Emma?

EDIT: season 1 lighting!

#sieben talks #sieben watches ouat #it's ''awake''#and i'm nervous about that name

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sieben9 · 5 years

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“beauty” impressions

{Quick request to anyone reading: I’m watching OUaT for the first time, and I want to avoid spoilers. So, if you want to discuss something spoilery, I’d be grateful if you could start a new post for that. Thank you!}

Well… That sure happened

Now that I am nothing more than the hollowed-out, broken shell of a person, let me share my feelings with you! But under the cut. (Fair warning: there is a lot of sadness in here. Proceed with caution and maybe a mug of hot chocolate. Also, don’t open this on mobile. I went a bit screencap-happy.)

I loved this episode? So much? I know, I was really subtle about it, and it’s possible to miss amidst all the crying but hoooly crap, this is easily among my Top 3, I think.

Alright, quick rundown of the “side plots”, because while That Thing™ is definitely at the forefront of my mind after watching, the other stuff going on was actually pretty good and important plot developments. Which, really is another point in the episode’s favour. Yes, the Halloween-plot worked well to space out the other stuff, and it provided some much-needed relief of tension, but it was clearly important in its own right, so…

Guh. Henry. You know I love you, but I will also find a way to smack you in the head with a rolled-up newspaper, because you are an idiot. …yes, I get that he feels like he just lost his family all over again, and that’s not something that inclines people to adventurous behaviour, but still. You were so close!

Instead, we get this:

Which, uh… I’m not saying Ivy shouldn’t have good things in life, because lord knows, that was a sad, sad story right there, but this also did not sound like you two will be good for each other. Neither of you really want a safe, “uncomplicated” romantic relationship, you want a family. Ivy, specifically, needs someone to who doesn’t just love her conditionally, and Henry… well, Henry mostly just needs to wake up from the curse, because what he wants will be all over the place until he does.

Still, Ivy’s moment of bravery when saying that she’ll deal with Belfrey and the others should enjoy their Halloween was pretty heart-warming. Did I mention that this lady worries me? I’m worried for her, and I am still worried about her.

In other news: I’m pretty sure I know where Hook’s daughter is, now.

the rook is a metaphor

I mean, I could still be wrong, but that seems like one hell of a red herring to put out. And it opens up so many questions! Did they meet again before the curse, or is this a horrible game of emotional keepaway? Does Rumple know who these two are to each other? What, exactly, is his relationship with Tilly/Alice? I mean, he was so ready to fight Tremaine over her, before and after he woke up, and he went into 107% Concerned Dad Mode when he thought she was hurting, so he clearly feels very protective of her, but when did that happen? How did that happen? Is she actually this “guardian” or is that Henry? Or is this just one big prophecy-screw, after all? Seriously, you’d think after that first disastrous experience, Rumple would have learned to never trust a prophecy. Ever. Why am I the only one here who remembers that??

Ahem. Anyways. Lots of potential there. I can’t wait to see how that one unfolds.

Other highlights included Weaver butting heads with Belfrey. It was glorious. I almost wish Rumple had woken up just a little bit later, because watching these two go up against each other was a pure delight.

Also, this:

presented without comment

…look, I’m only human.

I was also deeply amused by the conversation between Weaver and Rogers. Okay, maybe “amused” isn’t quite the word, because it’s clear that Roger’s cold case is how the curse incorporated his search for his daughter into his memories, so it could keep torturing him with the loss. Which, you know, doesn’t really qualify as amusing. But Weaver is the walking, talking personification of that meme “’I don’t care,’ I say, caringly, as I care way too much.”

Yes, it is immediately obvious that you do not care about anyone. At all. Not even a little.

pictured: a lying liar who lies

Really, the relationship between Weaver and Tilly might just have made it on the top of my list for this season, on the strength of this episode alone. The way this kind of terrible person cared so deeply for young woman, showed concern for her well-being, and directly jeopardised his own advantage and safety to help her just pushed aaaall of my buttons.

And Tilly’s mounting desperation to remind Weaver of who he really is, before she loses herself again was heart-breaking to watch. She knew she wasn’t getting out of this with her mind in once piece, but right until the end she didn’t stop fighting to help her friend.

…look, “help” looks different for different people, alright?

And with that…

Thanks, show! It’s not like I really needed my heart in the first place. Fantastic light, though.

So, I pretty much knew what was coming (in general terms at least), because… well, I had some warning and it didn’t take that much guessing in the first place. And I saw the “how” the moment that montage started because I, too, have seen Up.

I still cried like a hungry baby. My cat was very concerned.

please. your face. I cannot deal with this.

This was such a well-told story. They really gave it their all to show that yes, these two were happy, at the end. The montage, for one, which even for people who haven’t seen Up works as a good visual shorthand. The nostalgic clutter in the house. The fact that these two dorks still dance around the house when they feel like it. All the little gestures between them—the fond looks, the little tuck of a blanket, Rumple matching Belle’s steps perfectly as they walk out into the garden. I just… they were so happy together.

And I’m glad they told the story like this. Nothing bad happened to Belle. Her life wasn’t some inspiring tragedy or anything like that. She spent her life with her True Love. She raised her son and saw him grow up well. She got to fulfil her dream of travelling the world, and did so together with the people she loved most. And she died after a long and happy life, not in some grand, dramatic fashion, but simply because that is what mortals do. We die.

hi, is anyone else absolutely convinced that he carved that with his own two hands rather than use magic? because I am and I want to share my feelings! there’s quite a lot of them…

And just… you know, when that conversation with Gideon happens, and Rumple says ruefully that time might have stood still for this realm, but it didn’t for Belle… you just know he forgot about it. They were together, and they were happy, and he was so determined to spend the rest of his life with her that he didn’t realise what was happening right until she fell off that ladder. It’s clear they’d never talked about him using his magic to rejuvenate her before—that was the first time the topic ever came up, I think. And the last, of course.

(By the way, there’s totally a conversation about fridging to be had here, but I’d prefer that to be another post. I’m really deep in my feelings right now and I’d rather leave putting on the analytical hat for later in the day.)

Obviously, that entire death scene fucked me up. His face. Her face. The way they told each other their own story like it was a fairy tale (because it was!) Rumple’s half-sobbing “I am afraid”, because he sees the rest of his life without Belle looming before him and he doesn’t know how to do it. He never planned to, in the first place. And then she was gone, and he was crying, and I was crying, and the camera cut away, and you could still hear him sobbing in the background god why...

yes, I will be interspersing this with pictures of my OTP being happy and in love, why do you ask?

And while I’m a bit sad that I’ll never find out what Weaver really wanted, this very clearly sets the stage for Rumple’s motivations and goals this season. Because this episode, beautiful as it was (no pun intended), can’t be the last entry of the Rumbelle story. This was the end of act 2, and I insist on a third act. The stage is all set: Rumple needs to get rid of the dagger so he can be reunited with Belle, which, granted, a bit dark. Considering it means he’s going to die (and won’t that be a fun day…) At the same time… he said it himself: he’s seen the generations pass by and he doesn’t even want to be immortal anymore. He was planning to spend the rest of his life with Belle. Just because he wasn’t physically able to doesn’t invalidate the decision he made. He’ll just have to get there the long way around.

And can I just mention how damn impressed with Rumple’s character development I was? He threw away the dagger! Not in a moment of “do or die” crisis, not as part of an “either, or” ultimatum, no, he was just… done with all that. He didn’t want the Dark One anymore, and nobody had to push him into that realisation. So much for “my power means more to me than you”, huh, past!Rumple? (Also, is it just me or did it feel a little like he waited for Belle to be roughly his physical age to do that? Because it did to me, and I have a lot of emotions about that.)

though I might giggle for a while about how Belle went grey the way an Urban Fantasy protagonist would

Other highlights included, but are not limited to:

The neverending stream of loving looks, from soft fondness to full-on bedroom eyes...

Local Dork Caught Staring Lovingly At His Wife

Also, is there a version of that first scene where Gideon doesn’t show up? Asking for a friend.

The Skin Deep parallels!

did I open up Skin Deep to get that first screencap? of course I did.

Just… guh, my heart! And the poor cup got shattered.

Again.

Everything about that last confrontation between Alice (because at that point she could barely remember ever being Tilly) and Weaver messed me up, by the way. Her mounting desperation, because she didn’t have much time left. His frantic pleading, first because he was worried she’d hurt herself and then that she’d do something she wouldn’t be able to come back from.

And, of course, that last scene between Rumple (welcome back, buddy!) and Tremaine. I’d almost feel sorry for the woman, because she probably wasn’t counting on this happening. Though I would disagree with Rumple’s “there’s nothing you can do to hurt me”--you, my friend, just lied your ass off to help Tilly get out of trouble for shooting you. After waking up. Clearly there’s some people you still care about, and I can’t wait to see how that plays out, honestly.

And there’s so much more. I could just post stills of the entire montage here, really, because it was wonderful and I loved it, even as it cracked open my ribcage and held my still-beating heart up to my eyes so I could see the life go out of it.

…ahem. All right. Deep breath.

Like I said at the top, this episode actually had some important developments that seem like they will be catalysts to kicking the plot into gear. …and as soon as my emotional batteries have recharged, I’m sure I will be very excited about that. In the meantime… please send fluff?

Oh, on that note: I want to thank everyone who tagged me in stuff. You are amazing, and I am incredibly grateful! It’ll take a while to go through it all, but I do look at all the little @s in my notifications, and they fill me with joy. (In other news: prepare for some dashboard spam over the next... ::checks drafts:: three months or so.)

#ouat #once upon a time #ouat beauty #sieben watches ouat #rumbelle #sieben talks #yeah i put it in the tag this once #so sue me #i'm not even kidding with that last one btw #i've got enough posts in my drafts to last a good 2.5 months at my current queue rate

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sieben9 · 5 years

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“wake up call” impressions

Holy shit.

Holy shit!

…ahem. So, uh, Ivy cast the curse, huh? I don’t know if it counts as a surprise as such, but that reveal still hit like a freight train. Just… damn, Drizella. I would ask “who hurt you”, but we already got a 5-episode essay on the subject. We know who hurt you.

Yeah, no, you’re still The Worst. Planning to use your child’s heart to revive you other child is still at the top of my shitlist for this particular season, thank you very much.

…murdering people and putting them under a curse designed to make them miserable is definitely among the top 3, but I’m just saying. Priorities.

More under the cut.

Before we get to that disaster, though, I just wanted a quick look at the Hyperion Heights plot. First, because seeing that very-nearly-fight between Henry and Jacinda was really interesting. Maybe because it shows where their personal “lines” are, and that’s always a good way to define a character.

speaking of defining character moments…

I also really like how this shows compatibility between the two. After all, the best friends/romantic partners aren’t the ones who never have a fight. It’s those who can fight and get angry at each other and still be together afterwards. It’s also nice to be reminded that no curse will get the amicable dorkiness out of Henry.

And all that parallels nicely with the budding relationship in the flashback. Well, I say “budding”, even though it’s pretty clear that Henry is already head-over-heels in love with Ella. Still, he’s being remarkably cool about it.

bonus running!Regina not intended but highly appreciated

Another bit I liked, because 1) it showed off how much Henry has grown in the past years (and that he’s learned to cope on his own) and 2) that Ella can also, in fact, take care of herself in a physical confrontation. I mean, she was going to assassinate a prince; maybe she practiced.

Regina’s dejection at “not being needed anymore” also set up the other flashback story quite nicely. Though I will say: Regina, I love you dearly, but if you think the reason Henry wanted you around was so could light bad guys on fire you are an idiot.

See?

And while the Regal Believer stuff was excellent (as it nearly always is, because I am a sucker for that relationship), I think the real heart of the episode lay elsewhere.

::sigh:: You know that Star Trek quote (if you don't, just pretend) about how you can do everything right to the best of your abilities and still not succeed? Because I really think Regina did the best she could here. She saw someone in pain, someone with different yet familiar problems to hers, and she did everything she could to help Drizella not to repeat her mistakes.

As an aside, I loved the similarities to her first “magic lessons” with Emma; only she didn’t throw Drizella off a bridge, she pulled a tower down on herself to make her pupil react. That… takes some confidence in her ability to judge people, I’d say. (I mean, she could probably have poof-ed away at the last moment, but still. Risky and extremely awesome)

And thennnn it all went to hell.

I love this expression a lot and I’m not 100% on why

OK, one thing: I know Drizella (and, to an extent, the narrative of the episode) presents Regina’s role in this as “if she hadn’t mentioned the curse, none of this would have happened”, but I really, really doubt it. Not only that, I also believe that “let me relate to you to help you understand that you don’t have to wreck your life to be happy” should never be a bad thing to say. Regina did everything she could, and Drizella… did the same, in her own way. Because tragic as this moment is, can we just appreciate the dark brilliance of her move for a second?

Because not only is Drizella freeing herself from the threat of her mother killing her to resurrect her sister (which is some dark shit, I just want to say), she’s also ruining her mother’s attempts at social advancement (no status and riches from being this prince’s mother-in-law…) and getting back at Regina. Nevermind that Regina only wanted to help her, it’s pretty clear that Drizella saw her not giving up details of the curse as a betrayal through inaction.

And she did it all with one single murder. That’s some frightening efficiency right there.

While I’m on the subject: her actress is just doing a fantastic job in this scene. You really get the sense that Drizella did not expect this to affect her as much as it did. And you can see her go past that and straight into “look at that—I win” territory. She’s communicating a lot about her character with expressions only, and I’m enjoying it immensely.

Actually, now that I think about it, that whole plot contrasts with Roni bonding with Lucy in the Hyperion Heights storyline. Yes, that one didn’t go quite as expected, either, but the two obviously like each other a lot. Personal highlights: Roni’s expression of “well… shit” when she found out about Henry’s adoption and the fact that they went to “Weaver” for help.

Rumple is having a very bizarre couple of days, I suspect.

By the way, I loved the little interlude between him and Regina in the flashback.

It’s so nice when they’re not trying to outmanoeuvre each other and can just be improbably old friends together. It’s still one of my low-key favourite relationships on the show, and I don’t see that changing in the near future. Assuming they spill the proverbial beans sometime soon.

Because as I see it, there’s two ways this can go. Well, three. Either a) one of them (my money is on Regina, because Rumple is still the most closed-off little shit there ever was) just goes right ahead and says “OK, I’m awake, how about you?” or b) they spend the next three episode in an increasingly hilarious dance of dropping increasingly large hints to each other and being generally unsure if the other is actually awake or just weird. Third option would be c) one of them (still voting Regina) goes right for it and the other goes “whomst?” Which would also be oddly hilarious, because of the potential “I know that you know that I know that you know that I know… but I will rather drop dead than admit that.”

…look, I am easily entertained, alright?

Anyway… the end-of-episode reveal. They do like to punch me in the face with these, don’t they? Just putting it out there: whatever Drizella is alluding to in that last scene, it’s 100% about Henry. Because… I mean just look at Regina.

Even if she’d kept her pokerface, Drizella’s absolute certainty that Regina is going to help her, despite them clearly not being allies anymore, should tell you everything.

By the way, I just want to say, Drizella, if you want help keeping this curse going, maybe Regina is maybe not the one you should talk to. She has a 0% success rate at keeping Dark Curses going. Hell, she even broke one herself!

Oh, and speaking of Henry…

…this is going to hurt a lot, isn’t it?

And there’s a theme! (At least they both don’t remember…?)

So, uh, yeah. Lots of happiness and joy in this episode! …please, just let them be OK in the end, will you?

#ouat #once upon a time #ouat wake up call #sieben watches ouat #sieben talks #please excuse the hideous colours in the screencaps #i do not know what is up with my eyes recently #god i just reread this #and it's SO RAMBLY #i think my main points still come across though

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sieben9 · 5 years

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OK, who the frickety-frack are these people?

#sieben talks #sieben watches ouat #SEASON 6 FINALE!#aptly called ''the final battle''#please excuse the shouting i'm kind of excited

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sieben9 · 5 years

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It’s nice to see that after all this time, Henry still has the “you’re in trouble now, my moms are coming” tactic going.

Good for him.

EDIT: “Who are you??”--”I’m his mother >: (” And there was much rejoicing

#sieben talks #sieben watches ouat #''a pirate's life''#i'm... not sure what to think rn

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sieben9 · 5 years

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“hyperion heights” impressions

::plays “New Season” from Galavant::

…look, I’ve got the thing stuck in my head, and I thought I’d share.

I liked the episode? I think? There’s a lot of set-up and not a whole bunch of plot, but I think I like the things that were set up. And the characters definitely got off to a strong start (with one little problem I’ll get to later), so that’s always a plus for me.

More under the cut.

OK, so the flashback was a good, solid foundation for further conflict. Henry and Cinderella had some solid chemistry, and the twist to her particular version of this tale was one I did not see coming.

murderous Disney princess in a poofy dress on a motorcycle is definitely a Look™

I have to say, getting in a traffic collision with your future partner is... actually very on-brand for every single part of Henry’s family. Glad to see you’re keeping traditions alive, pal. (And yes, that explicitly includes Regina, who found her first girlfriend through breaking and entering.)

And it’s ...let’s say “nice” to see that Lady Tremaine, in whatever universe we see her, still continues to be The Worst. More on that below, but I found it interesting that one mainstay of OUaT seems to be that no, she’s horrible to all her children and not just her stepdaughter. It’s just different kinds of terribleness. I’m also wondering if Cinderella just has the one step-sister in this version (I know for a fact that there are some out there where that’s the case) or if it’s a plot point. And if there really is only one sister, the next question is: where is she? Did something horrible happen? And if so, was it the result of her mother’s terribleness or (part of) the cause? So many questions, so little time~

…can you tell I’m loving this bit? I mean, I hate her guts, but she intrigues me, which is always great. (Me? Latching on to a villain? What a strange thing to happen.)

The closing shot for the flashback plotline is very promising, with Henry deciding that no, home can wait, the strange lady who punched him in the face and almost framed him for murder needs help, first. …you know, I can’t even tell which part of his family he gets it from, because they are all completely bananas.

you grew up great, buddy

Also, just as a closing question: does he have a magic motorcycle? Is that why it doesn’t need fuelling up in however long it’s been since he left Storybrooke? Just asking.

I mentioned my one problem with the modern-day cast at the top, and I’ll just get right into it: my biggest problem at this point is not comparing everyone’s “roles” to the original cast configuration. Like, “Roni” doing Snow’s job (even if her temper is very different from Mary Margaret’s). Henry isn’t Emma, even if he’s the “new guy in town”, and Lucy isn’t Henry, even if she clearly inherited his “little shit” genes. (I love her so much, but how her mother manages her on her own, I will never know. Victoria Belfrey sure as hell isn’t Regina, because Regina would never treat any child of hers this way, thank you very much. In fact, I wonder if she and Cora went to the same school for being a terrible mom together. That’s the level of “I do not like this person” I’m on.

Still, the Hyperion Heights people seem like a good bunch, and I look forward to seeing more of them.

Henry is a lovable fuck-up who thinks he made up the entirety of the show so far and managed to squeeze it all into one book. My guy. I know what the transfer rate from TV to prose is. You could never fit that in one volume.

at least not that one. that’s... what? 600 pages, tops?

And is it just me or did his particular role in the curse take a fucking dark turn? Because it’s bad enough to separate everyone from their loved ones, but giving the guy fake memories of his wife and child burning to death in a house fire? Just… wow. Please let the poor man remember soon because this will be haunting me until then.

Speaking of things that will haunt me…

They didn’t recognise each other and I was not prepared for the complete gut-punch that was. They were sitting there, looking at each other, and they didn’t know. Guh! (And yes, I am 100% convinced that Roni is, in fact, Roni and not Regina, because she might have kept up the pretence for a good enough reason, but she’d never have kept that good a poker face; I also doubt she would have given her son and his not-quite-date strong liquor at before 4pm)

Special mention goes to Henry’s line of “imagine if I were to walk in here and say that I’m your son”, because yeah, imagine you doing that. To anyone. What a crazy thing, right? (

And while I’m on the topic of Roni…

I love her so much. Everything about her. Her attitude, the way she moves, the Looks™ she gives people, her voice… Yeah, I may not be entirely objective on the topic, why do you ask. I am also looking forward immensely to seeing her butt heads with Belfrey. Because of reasons.

this scene is 95% of the reasons

I also wrote in my notes “so the villain this season is gentrification?” and honestly, I don’t think I was that far off. There’s definitely a strong theme of class in this set-up, and I hope the writers carry that through at least a little.

A quick rundown of the other characters, while I’m at it:

I like Jacinda well enough, although her main character trait at the moment seems to be “really, really stressed out”. Which is fair. She’s a single mom with Belfrey as her only family connection. Her scene with Henry in the bar and with Lucy at the well was extremely adorable, though, so I’m optimistic as for future developments. (And Cinderella bought her some goodwill because she was determined and vulnerable and scared and generally amazing in all the right ways. I liked that version of her, and it’s been established that your cursed self hardly puts your best traits on display.) I definitely smiled when she made that wish at the well.

Good on you, not giving up hope. (And I immensely appreciated the way it was set parallel to Henry finally writing that first sentence of his.)

I’m… not 100% sure who her roommate is meant to be, which is going to irk me until I am, but I can live with a little mystery in my life *g*

I have no idea what Weaver’s deal is, but I really hope he isn’t awake this one time around.

please take that man’s head out of the water

Rumple as a police officer is… uh, a special kind of hilarious. A really terrible one, too. And now he’s partnered up with not-Hook, which, to coin a phrase, I’m sure they’ll all laugh themselves sick about some day. I’m interested in seeing what his connection with not-Alice is. Both in the modern-day plot and in the flashbacks, because there’s usually some kind of interplay between the two storylines.

Rogers is… not on screen that much. He seems nice. Which is already a better opinion than I had of uncursed!Hook, and that is a crying shame because they’re all bound to wake up at some point. Still, I’m holding out hope. People have said good things about Hook in this season.

Apart from all that, there’s also an implied mystery in this season that I really like, and it’s “who, exactly, cast the curse?”

I mean, it’s clear that the show is setting up Lady Tremaine as the Big Bad, but 1) I’m not new here, I know how much these writers love their villain fake-outs, and 2) I get the feeling that her whole “magic can be taken away blah blah” speech might be meant to give a hint that it’s not, in fact, her.

god, I hate her so much already; it’s delightful

Which leaves the question of “OK, then who?” and I… have a few thoughts. Which I will keep to myself until at least three episodes in because I doubt that we’ve met all parties involved at this point.

In short: on strength of its characters alone, I am cautiously excited for this new season. Bring it on!

And, because it didn’t fit anywhere else:

The keychain made it through!

#ouat #once upon a time #ouat hyperion heights #sieben watches ouat #sieben talks

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sieben9 · 5 years

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“the black fairy” impressions

Wow, you really weren't kidding about this being one hell of a ride. ::pokes shattered remains of my heart:: Good thing I don't need that one, huh?

All joking aside, I loved this episode so much. I mean, yes, I do have some issues with specific bits, but overall it was 40 minutes of a good script, performed wonderfully, especially by Robert Carlyle, who should be legally forbidden to ever cry on screen again. (I am kidding, he is fantastic.)

More under the cut. It's mostly gushing, to be honest. Except about Blue. Screw Blue. Also, screw the Black Fairy, but that's nothing new.

Alright, before I get into the whole Rumple-related bit of the episode (which is also most of the episode, obviously), I just wanted to mention the amazing snark-off/witch-off in front of Granny’s with its tonally very appropriate ending.

can I call it the zucchini-mobile?

It was perfect. I loved it. Regina being about 90% unimpressed with the Black Fairy's trash talk and being just about ready to tear her apart in the middle of the road? Perfect.

And yes, Zelena's timely intervention via dubious looking car was hilarious and I laughed out loud. This whole scene was good

In fact, the whole subplot was surprisingly funny, considering what went on. But the somewhat dark humour of the characters' lines and the excellent delivery by all actors really made it work. Special mention goes to the "put on your Mayor Pants"--"excuse me?" exchange, because, just... excellent comedic timing. Well done, that.

And another honourable mention goes to Snow’s very belated realisation that yes, you should all have safewords! Like… someone gets impersonated roughly every other week, and now is when you figure that out? I mean, better late than never, but damn, this was pretty late, guys. Did none of you read Harry Potter even once?

Honestly, I despair of you human disasters, sometimes.

Over in the flashback:

too tiny! this is too tiny a person for me to deal with!

What do you mean “he’s the Saviour”??

Or “a” Saviour, as the title is clearly not unique or even exclusive at any single point in time. Still, that was one hell of a wham line. I so want the conversation where he and Emma talk about the fact that he basically “made” his successor/replacement. I know I’m not getting it (with about 98% certainty), but I can dream, right?

speaking of which…

And one of the reasons I want the conversation is that this episode reminded me how much I loved Emma’s and Rumple’s interactions back in the early seasons. These two are so similar, yet so different in a few crucial aspects that make them clash in the most interesting ways. It’s fantastic. Rumple going “nope, I just brought you because I didn’t want to do this alone and didn’t want to risk Belle I don’t want you starting shit in the waking world”, and Emma bantering with him, because well, she’s here anyway, so why not go along with it. Or Emma pushing him to confront his fear and deep-seated hurt about being abandoned by his mother. The “we are bad at being vulnerable” line, and the fact that she never once judged him for being afraid of his past, but showed understanding and compassion and, ugh, damnit, why can’t this be the show every week?

Just an aside: I don’t have a clear enough recollection of all the prior episodes, but I think this might be only the second time the flashback is actually integrated directly into the episode. As in, something the characters experience themselves. And I’m hesitant to count the first, because that wasn’t a flashback, that was time travel. (Meaning the 3B finale)

Anyway, it was a neat little touch, and I liked it a lot, even if the actual content hurt my heart.

Like this:

I just keep thinking that this is the first time he’s met his son on actually equal terms. No lies, no mistrust, no missing heart to force them apart… and it was beautiful and perfect and I loved it, but it was also sad, because the whole situation is incredibly fucked up. Even if the Black Fairy didn’t have his heart, there’s the matter of the 28 years she stole from Gideon and his parents. Like Belle said, they’re not getting those back, and just… ugh. Pain. Lots of.

And that is why I still don't find Fiona sympathetic. Not as she is currently, because... yeah, she might have had the best intentions, but the road to hell and all that. She kidnaps children to enslave and torture them. That's just on its own level of evil, right next to Pan, which... damn, Rumple, do you need another hug?

I feel like there should be more hugging

Like I said: she’s only more sympathetic than Pan in that she at least had selfless intentions to start with, even if they brought her to the place where she is now. With Blue’s help.

Yeah, let’s talk about that.

Because from where I’m standing, the story goes like this: to a happy young couple, a child with a great destiny is born. Two fairies visit the couple, to declare that they will watch over this child, because of his great destiny. In the process, though, they reveal that part of the child’s destiny is to die in battle against a great evil and then… basically leave her alone with that. No consolation, no offer to help her deal with the horrible truth, just “oops, I shouldn’t have said that” without further acknowledgment of responsibility. I’m willing to let Red at least partially off the hook, because she had her hands full with damage control, and didn’t realise how far Fiona had gone in her quest to save her son’s life (which makes me think that she hasn’t worked with many parents before, but nevermind that.) And in the end, the mother does find a way: sever her child’s fate, so he will never have to face the evil that she has become. It’s a flawed solution, but it works.

Which is when Blue pushes her through the portal, and then drops the child like a hot potato. In fact, she doesn’t even leave Red behind to watch over the little guy, who is now in the care of a father who professed to hate him right in front of their noses. Like… they were in the room. There’s no way they didn’t realise what that would mean.

Great fairy-godmothering, right there. And weird how Blue dropped this completely innocent child like a hot potato the moment he was no longer the Saviour (read: "useful to her").

I mean... damn. We're absolutely sure she isn't evil?

And all that doesn’t even go to the way Blue interacted with Rumple afterwards. I would love to go there, but at the same time I doubt this was meant to be part of their history until maybe ten episodes ago, so it feels a little nitpicky. Blue is just not a very good person. Or even a good fairy, if you ask me.

By the way, after seeing all that, doing all that soul searching, after being so painfully reminded of what the Black Fairy did to his son…

…I’m supposed to believe that Rumple would work with her? Yeah, get out, show, nobody buys that. He either already has a specific plan for stabbing her in the back or he’s hanging around until he gets an opportunity. I mean… that whole speech sounded suspicious as hell and I cannot believe neither Belle nor Gideon noticed that, but I’d like to believe that my reading of “I have a plan, please trust me, even if it looks really bad for a while” is the correct one.

The only thing that worries me: if I find this ploy painfully transparent, you would assume the Black Fairy might catch on to it, as well. Yes, the villain gets to hold the idiot ball on occasion, but if she doesn’t… well, let’s say I really hope that was Gideon’s actual heart Rumple gave back to him. He’s pulled that trick himself before, I hope it stays a one-off.

scheming seems to run in the family…

So. I gather next episode is the wedding? Or at least an attempt at a wedding. I’d be extremely suspicious if this goes off without a hitch (no pun intended) because that is not how Drama works. If you want a quiet wedding, have it after the finale. If you want an awesome wedding, have it during. “Before” is just asking for trouble. Look at Snowing!

#ouat #once upon a time #the black fairy #sieben watches ouat #sieben talks #anti cs #jokingly but hey #if that's not your cup of tea then be aware

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sieben9 · 5 years

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“the song in your heart” impressions

OK.

So.

…

You sure kept that one quiet, huh?

I just… :: gestures:: Wow. That was a lot. Also, I may have checked the episode two or three times while writing this, because I kept thinking that maybe I made all of this up. And nope! It’s still there.

Alright, I’ll just go to straight under the cut because I’m in a paragraph kind of mood.

So, this one is an odd one (surprise), and I’m really glad I’m not writing “review” at the top of these, because for the life of me, I wouldn’t know how to review this. I cannot tell if it was good. It very probably wasn’t, objectively speaking, but I just… can’t care. I had too much fun.

I mean look at them

And when all is said and done, I’m not sure what else I would expect from the one musical episode in a semi-serious TV drama. I think the placement hurt it, because this close to the finale, they had to combine the singing with at least some semblance of finale-level plot, but more on that later.

I wasn't incredibly impressed with any of the songs, but they were decent (and I still have that stupid pirate chorus stuck in my head; get out of there, guys, there's really not enough room as it is!) and so were the performances. Basically, none of the technical stuff was bad enough to take me out of the story, except for That Dress. Dear lord what happened there. (I mean, I got a very nice and comprehensive list of posts outlining what exactly went wrong, so I don't have to speculate, but still. Damn.)

As plot excuses go, the wish was... honestly, on par with what I've seen from other musical episodes. That’s the thing about putting a musical episode in something that usually has no singing—you kind of do need a plot excuse. (Unlike actual musicals, where the singing should only be acknowledged in the case of farcical comedy. Yes, I’m looking at you, Galavant.) Again, it was nothing to write home about, but enough of a handwave that it didn't take me out of the moment.

And the moment was fun!

I think what helped (most of) the episode was that for once, it didn’t take itself very seriously. Especially Regina’s whole introductory scene was “OK, this is ridiculous, but why not have fun with it”, which… is a good mindset to be in for this whole thing.

Also, the choreography was pure gold.

special mention goes to Granny's "wtf?" face

I won’t go through all of the songs individually, so here’s my highlight reel:

“curses, potions, or beans” Just… that line. I nearly suffocated from laughing too hard

also holy crap, Josh can sing

that damn pirate song is still stuck in my head!

as is Regina’s dramatic rock-piano thing. my head is a jukebox, don’t worry about it

also, Hook, have you considered just asking Rumple out on a date?

That ending song makes no sense, but I loved the chorus part and am therefore willing to forgive it for that

The weak link, as it were, seems to be the present-day plot. I mean, I get it. You have to string those 19 minutes(!) of music together somehow, but I can’t help but feel that a less… intense plotline might have been helpful. I mean, Emma deciding to give up her life so her friends and family can live is some heavy stuff, and squeezing it in between the singing extravaganza did it no favours.

Intellectually, I know that serious drama went down, but all my emotional space is occupied by chasing that damn pirate song out of my brain.

Same goes for the whole “Oh no, treachery dark and deadly!” reveal of Rumple working with the Black Fairy

Gotta say… that bit looked bad. What, pray tell, is your endgame here? Do you want her to cast the curse? Why? Is there any way you’re better off with that happening than without? Guh. Rumple. Talk to us.

And, just because it’s a bit too much of an event to just ignore…

the greenscreen is strong in this one... what happened, didn’t you find a large enough roof?

::sigh:: OK, you know I don’t exactly love this ship, so I’m just going to skip over all of that. But I’m also not a fan of this wedding in general. This didn’t look like something either of these characters would do. OK, maybe one exception: Emma having her family there. That’s something that I absolutely believe would have been important to her. But everything else seemed just deeply generic. Don’t get me wrong, having your family there is pretty generic, too, but at least that’s something any wedding of Emma’s should have contained, so I felt the need to point it out.

…now I want to write a thing. Which will have to wait, because Other Things have priority, but this is going in my idea folder, definitely ::cough::

To sum up: maybe this episode was an ill-conceived filler right before the finale of a season that didn’t advance the plot in any meaningful way. But frankly, if all it did was bring me, as a viewer, forty minutes of pure, uncomplicated fun, I don’t really feel like faulting it for that.

Mind you, it’s not what I’d want to see every week, because there’s other shows that do that better, so it’s quite nice that they all get horribly cursed at the end of this. Hopefully, the curse will also murder that dress.

…finale next time, huh? (Yes, we’ll be watching both episodes in one go)

#ouat #once upon a time #the song in your heart #sieben watches ouat #sieben talks #anti cs #anti emma's wardrobe #ouat writing critical #(all very mildly except for the wardrobe)#(i'm merciless there)#guys this was so much fun you cannot even imagine #it's a day later and i'm still grinning like an idiot when i think about it #also i'm starting to get really excited for s7

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sieben9 · 5 years

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“where bluebirds fly” impressions

OK, first of all, a happy New Year, everyone! Hope the holidays treated you well.

And now, I will begin this impressions post by indulging in a weird food metaphor. It's been a while, I think I can afford one.

So, I do not like zucchini. At all. And really, it's not just "dislike", but all-out "the taste makes me puke" hatred.

This means that if a dish contains zucchini in any noticeable amount, I will not like that dish. I will probably not eat that dish. I can see it's good food, and that you put a lot of effort into it, and I'm sure it will taste wonderful--as long as you like zucchini.

pictured: someone who likes zucchini. metaphorically speaking.

Do you see where I'm going with this, yet?

More under the cut. (Don't worry, no more vegetables from here on out. Just some green people. Well. Person.)

So: this was a really good episode. Like, really, really good. I was impressed. It was well-structured, the flashback didn't distract, but add to the atmosphere, the sideplot was kept short and poignant, and the central character underwent some serious development.

Out of all the Zelena-centrics, I like this episode the most, hands down. But, well... Guess where the problem lies.

Like I said, she underwent some major development, most obvious in the fact that she stayed behind to fix the shit she helped break. (It's not entirely her fault the Black Fairy used her magic to power up the Crystals of Doom, but at least half her fault, I'd say). Considering her main character flaw, that's a huge step. And not only did she fix the crystal fiasco, she did it by giving up her magic. Something that very clearly terrified her, as the flashback showed. Instead of giving up the chance of human connections for her magic, she made the opposite choice this time. Good for her.

::sigh:: Look, sometimes you just don’t like the zucchini. It’s not a big deal.

One thing I have to say though: considering they didn't grow up together, Regina and Zelena sure have that sisterly bickering down to a [x].

Also, I have a question: why didn't they just poof out of that mine? Is that explained? I mean, I have a headcanon explanation, but I feel like I must have missed something.

And over in the sideplot...

You know, last season, I would have said that Emma wouldn’t be caught dead in one of these, but the recent wardrobe changes make me nervous. Please let this turn into a Magrat thing where she marries in the tattered remnants of her wedding dress that are poking out under the battle armor she had to put on to drive a bunch of meddling elves out of her home. Please, show. I'm begging over here. I may not be a fan of the couple, but at least let them have a proper wedding, if you’re gonna do it. (Also, taking bets, except not really because all of you already know what’s going to happen: wedding before, after, or during the finale? I’m hoping “during”, but I have some good arguments for the other two, as well.)

This plotline also had one of the most effective gut-punches of the episode, and maybe the season: Snow and David's little moment/not-quite-argument outside of the town hall. David worrying that they're rushing Emma into something she wouldn't really want for herself, and Snow being so scared that they--or worse, Emma--might not be around for the wedding if they don't... ouch. Just. Damn. I sometimes forget why I like this show so much (yes, still do, shush), but it’s moments like this that bring it all back. It’s just such a human moment, and some good, good acting.

Over in the other sideplot…

guys, she’s literally as helpful asleep as she is awake; don’t bother!

Yay, Blue is awake. ::the most unenthusiastic pom-pom wave:: OK, seriously though, I’m kind of glad Rumbelle don’t have to “hide” the woman in the back room anymore. That must have been awkward as all hell. I’m also glad nobody tried to pin the blame on Rumple, despite things really not looking great if taken out of context.

(And oh, that bit where Belle says she doesn’t want them to lose any more time with Gideon to the Black Fairy... my heart. I am not OK, please send fluff.)

By the way, am I the only one who breathed the biggest sigh of relief when Belle said “you couldn’t have known your mother was pulling the strings”? Because I did. I mean, damn, someone not blaming Rumple for everything that goes wrong? It’s such a novel experience! (To be fair, at least 65% of things are at least partly his direct fault, so it’s novel for several reasons)

And so, we’re left with the dramatic promise of next week being the villain-backstory episode.

and right on schedule for the finale, too

Mind you, it would have to be one hell of a backstory to make me sympathise with the child kidnapper/torturer even a little, but I’m definitely curious.

#ouat #once upon a time #where bluebirds fly #sieben watches ouat #sieben talks #anti zelena #(ish)#anti emma's wardrobe #(very)

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sieben9 · 6 years

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“a bitter draught” impressions

Dear OUaT,

you can’t keep doing this. Seriously, I’m already busy trying to get one horribly camp musical score out of my head, you can’t just go and add another one.

::”Hell To Your Doorstep” plays in the distance::

Though I call shenanigans on Edmond’s age. This babyface is NOT old enough to have been of an age to take over a captain’s position before being arrested and spending fourteen years in jail.

…yes, I have very specific niche problems. It happens. Anyway, short version of this one: fantastic character episode that was not-quite buried under somewhat mediocre pacing. More under the cut.

So, to elaborate on that unkind statement: I liked the episode. A lot. What I didn’t like was the pacing of the first 20 minutes or so before the dock scene, which had me drifting off more than once, even though I enjoyed what was actually on screen.

For example, I did like the fact that Emma got some “sequel” scenes to process what happened last episode, but either they were too long or they were in the wrong place or whathaveyou, but for whatever reason, they made the plot screech to a sudden stop every. Damn. Time. And I’m all for depicting these characters as actually getting professional help with their issues, but the framing isn’t really working for me and slid right over into navel-gazing. Good idea, OUaT, but try again.

“this is my anxious face. it’s currently doing triple duty as my excited face and my angry face, as well.”

I’m also not super in love with the whole “I’m worried Regina is under that hood” twist, because 1) really, Emma? At this point? And 2) it seems a little trite.

Oh, and one more very important question:

What in the name of sanity are you wearing, woman?

Anyway, on to the good stuff, which was pretty much entirely going on at wherever Regina was. This episode delivered on some of the more obvious promises of this arc, and it did so excellently.

For one, this episode very clearly externalised Regina’s usually internal conflict and it also comes with a bonus villain who’s actually competent and knows how to get under the protagonist’s skin.

It also touched on a topic that I personally was hoping for, specifically the idea that Good/Evil (or Light/Dark, as it may be) aren’t just fixed passive qualities a person has, but rather the result of their decisions and actions. The show goes a bit back and forth on this (looking at you, Judgey Season Four Tree), but I definitely like this approach a whole lot more and it’s nice to see that we seem to be going that route for this particular arc.

This episode also establishes clearly that, yes, the Evil Queen is still very much out for revenge on Snow, which puts Regina’s actions in the show since around season 2 in an interesting light. Obviously, you don’t just “get over” a decade-long grudge, but that’s not what this is. The Queen isn’t just angry with Snow, she still wants her dead. Which means that part of Regina wanted her dead all this time. Again, it has been implied, but seeing it out in the open like this gives a new dynamic to this internal conflict.

Oh, and just so I don’t forget it: Lana Parilla was fantastic in this episode. Are you kidding me? Sure, on this show, most people play more than one “version” of their character, and often within the same episode, but I could actually see differences between “Evil Queen Regina” and “Evil-Queen-without-Regina” and I’m sure if I went back to the end of s5 and compared “Regina-without-the-Queen” with “regular Regina”, I’d find differences there, too. Just… wow. Good work. Kind of makes me wish these people got to interact with their “old/other selves” more often. (Rumple/Imp-faceoff is what I’m saying here, mostly. I want one.)

All of this also makes me really curious about how they will resolve this. I’m still hoping for the Star Trek theory of split personalities, myself, but that brings other problems with it. Whatever happened before, the Queen is now out there, making choices and forming memories of her own. She’s a fully realised person, albeit a pretty evil one. Would recombining with Regina “kill” that person? Am I jumping to conclusions by assuming that Regina’s “good” half would even be the dominant one? …yeah, I know, watch to find out what happens and all that.

I did like the backstory reveal about the Land of Untold Stories. I’m definitely excited and at least a little morbidly curious to see who else is going to get screwed over when their story plays out, now. (I mean, I’ve read the Musketeer sequels and I wouldn’t want to live through those, either…)

good for you, my friends

I feel like Edmond’s story was a little under-utilised, but I admit, I wasn’t expecting that much more. I suppose I’ve gotten used to the “ooh, shiny” effect.

::looks at Rumbelle plot::

::long sigh::

This is stupid. And I really hope for Belle’s sake that she’s one of the few women who don’t suffer from pregnancy-induced morning sickness.

Also, that was definitely one of the more mealy-mouthed apologies on this show. I get that it was a case of “better late than never”, but the framing was so lacklustre and forgiveness so easy (yeah, he’s changed… sure he has.) that maybe “never” actually would have been the better option here. (I’m also less than happy how this was put into direct contrast to Belle’s current troubles with Rumple, because that didn’t seem relevant at the time, but I will admit that I’m just not objective on that topic.)

::even longer sigh::

Though I did get one hilarious screenshot from this:

context? what context?

Only 9 episodes to go…

And while we’re on the topic of “this is stupid”:

There’s… uh, a Thing that gets introduced this episode, and while “retroactive continuity” is basically at the heart of this show’s mode of storytelling, and it’s often a good thing, I’m calling shenanigans on the Regina/Rumple thing. That’s not filling an unexplored space in the backstory, and it actively contradicts how they were treating each other up until this point.

I mean, I’m guess I’m stuck with it for the time being, but it’s weird and I don’t like it. In fact, I think I’ll just… ignore it really intensely until it either a) becomes relevant to the plot, b) goes away by itself, or c) both.

…ahem. Anyway. Very good episode. Could still have used another revision on the pacing.

#ouat #once upon a time #a bitter draught #sieben watches ouat #sieben talks #sorry for disappearing again #in my defence: i do have a new job #it's great! i love it #(i missed lab work...)#it also eats a lot of time

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sieben9 · 5 years

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“the final battle” impressions

Ah Once, what am I going to do with you?

I mean, this episode was definitely an Experience™, that much is certain. Just… ::sighs::

Look, if I try to sum it up, I think the best I can do is “this was twenty minutes of a really good finale stuck inside a rushed ninety-minute wtf-fest. Also, those twenty minutes belong to a totally different season.

this is the sort of thing you’ve got to foreshadow at least a LITTLE

The acting was pretty damn good, though.

(Fair warning: don’t open this on mobile, there’s a ridiculous amount of pictures under the cut)

OK. So. Couple of things that I really liked up front, so I can gripe in peace later on. (And readers can skip whatever part they wish ; )

First, and I realise this is a weird thing to enjoy, but I loved how utterly despicable I found Fiona in this one. She may have hung around like a bad smell for most of the season without really doing much, but she sure stepped up her game for the occasion.

Seriously, if Rumple hadn’t killed her, I would have found a way. “Our son”, indeed.

Though, please, have some pity on the poor guy. At this point, he has killed both his parents, and one of them twice. That can’t be good for anyone.

oh look the wall robots are still there

And speaking of Rumple… dang, that was a good scene in the mines. What I loved most about it was that this was literally all him. Nobody would ever know what he did in there if he didn’t tell them, except for himself, and he still made the right choice. Despite being offered everything he ever wanted, despite being under the influence of his curse just as much as ever…

before you ask, yes, my mind did go Places

…and more literally than it’s usually shown. Well done, pal. I should probably be more excited about this, but despite the tense buildup, I feel like the scene kind of fizzled as a whole. Maybe because he already made the exact same choice earlier, and was just confirming that he really meant it, too. Still, it was a good moment, and I was very proud of this walking human disaster by the time it was done.

Some more on the topic of Rumple: congratulations on his acting skills. Rumple’s, not Robert Carlyle’s, specifically. Because there’s no way in hell I could have seen these photos…

…and kept a straight face. Honestly, I’m half convinced that they were a test by Fiona to see if he was awake after all.

Oh, and the book!

The book made it across! And you know why? Because Belle and her son have True Love, even if Gideon cannot remember that, because Fiona is The Worst. And Rumple worked so hard to make Gideon remember; it was heartbreaking to see. I mean, he had to do that for… what? Five hours? And he still couldn’t stand the thought that Gideon might believe his mother didn’t love him. It was a good scene, OK?

On a sillier note (but still unambiguously positive): Emma’s wardrobe came back for the finale!

I don’t know, it’s just nice to see.

Other things I loved a lot:

Any and all interactions between Regina and her now-settled other half. Just. Pure joy, even in the midst of the wtf-ery. And with the obvious standout-moment when the Queen goes and sacrifices herself to give the others that tiny bit of time they need to get back to their world and help Henry (and Emma, but I think we all know who the priority was in this case)

Just… damn. I’m still worried about this woman’s self-destructive streak in general, but this was a good moment. (It also helps that she got better. ‘cause that could have been really depressing otherwise.)

Oh, and since we’re speaking of Regina (or the Reginas, plural), I absolutely adored the speech she gave Emma. Just… I mean, I expect the hope speeches from Snow (and that one was pretty good, too), but this? I mean… wow. Please compare and contrast with season 1. Except you don’t have to, because Regina already did that, and it was beautiful.

Then we have an actual mirrored TLK (see below for a botched version…) in this very good moment:

Like, yes, I love bookends, and this was a great one. Calling back to the “holy crap why didn’t I see this coming” kiss in s1 worked surprisingly well, considering how little interaction Emma and Henry had this season, but there’s enough material in the show in general to make me buy into this. Like I said: sucker for bookends.

In general, I feel like this episode was at its strongest whenever re-focused on the family relationships between the characters.

And to close it out, the ending montage.

Just... it’s like Snow said. They get to live their happy endings now. Snowing finally have the time to be a proper family (and David got a dog!). Regina is accepted and loved by her people (and the Queen gets to have a completely “new adventure”, as Robin so aptly put it.) Snow can do what she loves and doesn’t have to fight all the time anymore. And Emma finally has a place in the world; one where she can settle and be comfortable and doesn’t have to be alone anymore... and I’ll just leave it at that. It’s a good ending.

And no, I haven’t forgotten it--obvious special mention to this bit here:

Yup. Killed me dead. And I died happy, thank you very much. They’ve been through so much bullshit, and now they can be together, and raise their son in peace, and won’t be really worried when he doesn’t stop growing, either.

I also want to give a special shoutout to the five six people who immediately made sure that I knew that 1) the kiss wasn’t scripted and 2) we, as a fandom, are extremely lucky to have Robert and Emilie. (For those who haven’t seen the interview in question, it’s here, and here)

The finishing dinner was nice, too, even if I’m not sure what the whole Last Supper imagery was supposed to do.

Listen, I’ve been going “just let them be happy!” for way too long to complain much when they finally are. Also, I could write an essay on the range of emotions Rumple goes through when he comes through that door and people are actually happy to see him and his family. Or about that look that passes between him and Regina, because I caught that and it made me cry! I don’t think either of them ever imagined they would really be this happy again when they first met and they’ve been through so much crap and just... guh. I like this. It’s a good closing shot.

And now, the rest.

Because frankly, this wasn’t a great finale. It wasn’t even that good of an episode. It was everything wrong with the 4B finale, only more of that.

For example: What was the deal with making Emma lose her belief? Since when was her belief required for the magical realms to exist? The only person who’s ever had even something approaching that function was Henry. She didn’t need to believe in magic to keep it alive, she needed it to break the curse.

And this was never set up as the Black Fairy’s plan. Not even a little. This came so out of left field, it wasn’t even in the same stadium! And it’s so frustrating, because this wasn’t a bad plot, as such, but there was no build-up, no real payoff, nothing. Or, let me put it differently: this was a perfectly fine plot resolution, it just had no business being attached to this season.

Everything felt rushed, there were about five dozen plot points, none of them with any time to breathe and somehow, we still got that terminally boring climb up the bean stalk.Sorry, David, you know I love you, but what was the point of that sidetrack? Nothing happened. There was no try-and-fail cycle (because there wasn’t time for one) and honestly, if you needed a handwave for how they got back from the magical realms, maybe you could have gone with a less time intensive one?

And that moment where Snow kisses David back to life? Yeah, unearned, again. And dear show: the cut-in from the first episode worked for the split-heart curse, because you were subverting it. But here? It just didn’t do anything. This wasn’t a parallel. David wasn’t cursed, he was crushed by a beanstalk.

And speaking of things that don’t make sense…

For the love of fuck. Her ankle? Really? This is such a cliché that even the slasher genre doesn’t do it anymore. And it’s a dumb cliché, too. It’s rooted sexism and it makes it look like you didn’t have any other ideas. I get it, you don’t want Belle with Rumple at that final point so she doesn’t influence his decision. Here’s a thought, then: let her stay behind for a good reason! Or, hell, if you don’t want to write a scene for her (the writers sure seem to be allergic to giving Belle any screentime), let there be a fork in the road! They don’t have the time to check each one, let Belle go one way and Rumple another. It’s still a lazy plot excuse, but at least it’s not the stupidest cliché in the book.

And one more thing…

::sigh:: I have such mixed feelings about this?

Because on the one hand: Gideon had a life that nobody would want. He was kidnapped, imprisoned, kept in the dark and abused for all of his twenty-eight years, and even if he got free, he would never get that time back. Nobody would ever choose that for themselves.

At the same time… Gideon died. The person I got to know over the last half-season is no more. He’s gone. And he never had any say in the matter. Hell, he didn’t even get to say goodbye. It’ just such a messed-up way to get a wonderful thing.

(Also, while I’m on that topic… yes, I did notice that Rumple didn’t recognise his very tiny son at first, and I realise that it’s because he’s never seen him before. It prompted a particularly long “oh noo…”, too.)

And finally…

… that cliffhanger/teaser, though, huh?

I have so many questions. Why was Henry in that monster forest? Why is he now in an apartment and doesn’t remember his daughter? When did he get a daughter? (Also, who with? Enquiring minds would like to know.)

So. I know, like, three things about s7, and one of them is the cast list. Please try not to spoil anything else, because that’s already way more than I wanted to know going in. Seriously, I’m a reasonably grown adult. I can deal with a couple of surprises.

#ouat #once upon a time #ouat the final battle #sieben watches ouat #sieben talks #ouat writing critical #anti cs #anti hook #(by implication mostly)

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