#(except worse some of the raisins are just rabbit poop....)

[lovecanbesostrange]

OUAT peaked for me during season 2A the heights started in cora's origin story and then reached it's very very highs with snow knowingly killing cora. those run of episodes were electric to me.

Can we talk about the fact that Snow was so horrified of what she had done, that she ran to the shop to warn Regina and stop it. But she came too late. And then a bit later she went to Regina's house and was absolutely begging for Regina to kill her? CAN WE?? Because the show glossed over what they did there. Sure, they show Snow (yeahyeah, I know she went by Mary Margaret, but that name is too damn long to type out and she should've reverted back to it when she was back home with Emma for a day and picked up WEAPONS again, Miss Blanchard didn't leave as much of a dent as other cursed personas) sitting at home, lying in bed, clearly falling into a state of depression. And Regina - who is known for lashing out - realizing once again that this isn't about killing Snow, it's all about taking the happiness from her... standing on her porch with Snow's heart, seeing that black spot, tormenting her with it and Snow doesn't even know what to do with herself.

SEASON 2 HAD SO MANY DARK MOMENTS THAT GOT UNDERPLAYED!!! (Including Ruby deciding that suicide-by-mob would be a deserving punhishment and also Whale jumping into the water drunk, who knows maybe he's a bad swimmer, banking on going under. And also August living in the woods slowly turning into wood.)

Cora was such a delicious villain. And in her own backstory she gets sympathy points. But you can see that enjoys her scheming in ways that not even Rumple does (I wish they played Rumple more as an agent of chaos and not this one-dimensional bit of "I want all the power", he was best when switching side to side for amusement and not just personal gain, that would have helped a lot). And then we find out that Cora had pulled her own heart out to make herself stone-cold, to cut love out of her life. AMAZING!

The only other villain this dedicated was Cruella, who just went "I like murder and fashion". In the end the whole show is Regina's redemption arc (that does not end with a man by her side, but a crown on her head). And that's fantastic. And it's also important that the villains all have their own history. But some need to be evil and not constantly show cracks in their walls. COMMIT TO THE CRIMES!

The way Cora broke her own daughter AGAIN and pitted the town against her. *chefs kiss* And Snow wanted to stop her at all cost. Uh, how much do I love that moment when Emma meets Cora and then Snow steps in! "As bad as you think Regina is, this woman is worse." It's so funny, because Emma is the one who will give Regina chances to be better. And Snow has come to the realization that her true war is with Cora. And Barbara Hershey is so fucking good in the role!! (I would have been here for Cora/Rumple tbh.)

When Emma and Snow return - and bring Cora and Hook with them - while suddenly Greg, the Outsider, appears. THE SHOW HAD SO MANY POSSIBLE ROADS TO TAKE! And the one they followed with Cora was magnificent to watch. And it all framed Regina in a new light. We'd seen Cora before, so that the Evil Queen has her own demons and all. But it got so much better! I mean Snow is like "She tried to kill us - yesterday", but if she had to like choose to either save Regina or Cora, that would not even be a question and she would want to save Regina, still owing her from all those years ago and wanting that friendship back.

I LOVE SO MUCH IN THIS SHOW WITH ALL MY HEART, BUT IT'S MOSTLY THE FIRST TWO SEASONS.

But then the last eps of S2... something is just not right. When Regina finds the beans, is in super-evil-scheme-mode, Lacey is... there, Greg & Tamara get one cool moment, but ultimately don't do anything... (the one bit I love of course is in The Evil Queen, where Regina disguises herself as a peasant and meets bandit!Snow, but it's like the show takes the wrong conclusion to explain evil!Regina in the present...), even Neal being in Storybrooke felt like a waste, because they didn't give him a chance right then to fully explore his baggage.

To go back to the beginning of this post, Snow going to the woods in Selfless, Brave and True to shoot some arrows set to Bad Reputation was a masterpiece. And sadly the last we saw of her dealing with those dark emotions, I guess. Insert here, my obligatory rant that not having Snow's best friend by her side to go through this whole thing is stupid, if Snow battles depression I want her husband, her daughter, her grandson, her bff, her seven past roommates and her cricket therapist involved - which almost happens in the end (except her bestie, who is my fav as we all know) and I love Regina's self-sacrifice play that feels so weird after those eps before... and then it's the Hook show.................................................. *eternal sigh*