#4.12 darkness on the edge of town

[ljones41]

Favorite "ONCE UPON A TIME" (2011-2018) Episodes

Below are my favorite episodes from the ABC fantasy series, "ONCE UPON A TIME". Created by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, the series starred Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas and Robert Carlyle:

FAVORITE "ONCE UPON A TIME" (2011-2018) EPISODES

1. (4.12) "Darkness on the Edge of Town" - Rumpelstiltskin aka Mr. Gold returns to Storybrooke with Ursula and Cruella De Vil in tow. Meanwhile, the Nolans (aka the "Charmings"), Regina Mills aka the Evil Queen and Killian Jones aka Captain Hook set about freeing the fairies from the Sorcerer's hat and deal with a threatening Chernabog demon, which had also freed.

2. (1.18) "The Stable Boy" – This very interesting episode revealed the origins of the Evil Queen’s antipathy toward Snow White. In the present, Mary Margaret Blanchard (aka Snow White) faces prosecution for Kathryn Nolan’s alleged murder.

3. (3.13) "Witch Hunt" - Following the return of Enchanted Forest characters to Storybrooke, Maine; Emma Swan works with Regina to find out who took everyone's memories from the past year. Flashbacks in the Enchanted Forest show the Evil Queen and Robin Hood attempt's to break into her castle, which had been overtaken by the Wicked Witch of the West.

4. (4.16) "Best Laid Plans" - While Rumpelstiltskin and the Queens of Darkness continue their search for the "Author" of the town's Fairy Tale Book, Mary Margaret and David Nolan (aka Prince "Charming") try to stop them in order to keep their daughter Emma from discovering their past misdeed, which is finally revealed in flashbacks.

5. (3.11) "Going Home" - In order to prevent Peter Pan aka Malcolm's plans to cast a new curse upon Storybrooke and create a new Neverland. Both Mr. Gold and Regina are forced to make big sacrifices.

6. (7.20) "Is This Henry Mills?" - Regina aka Roni enlists the help of her adopted granddaughter Lucy Mills to wake her son Henry Mills from the recent Dark Curse created by Eloise Gardner aka Mother Gothel. Rumpelstilskin aka Detective Weaver and Wishverse Killian Jones aka Captain Hook aka Detective Rogers go to Margot West aka Robin Hood in hopes of getting through to his daughter and the latter's girlfriend, Alice aka Tilly.

7. (3.09) "Saving Henry" - Emma, Mary Margaret and Regina struggle to prevent Peter Pan from absorbing a dying Henry Mills' heart into his body. Flashbacks reveal how Regina had ended up adopting Henry.

8. (2.16) "The Miller's Daughter" - While Regina and her mother Cora Mills aka the Queen of Hearts hunt for Rumpelstiltskin's dagger in Storybrooke in this spine-tingling episode, Cora's back story as a poor miller's daughter, who becomes the wife of a prince, is revealed in flashbacks.

9. (1.11) "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" – This episode reveals the back story of newspaper editor Sidney Glass’ life as a Genie in the Enchanted Forest, and how his relationship with the Evil Queen led him to become the Magic Mirror.

10. (2.10) "The Cricket Game" - Following Cora and Captain Hook's arrival in Storybrooke, the former set about framing Regina for Archie Hooper's "murder" in an effort to emotionally break the former mayor. Snow White and Charming disagree over how to handle the captured Evil Queen in the Enchanted Forest flashbacks.

Honorable Mention: (5.08) "Birth" - Hook risks everything to uncover the truth about what his lady love Emma, the new Dark One, did while they were all in Camelot.

[vargesz]

[watchingfairytales]

4.12 Darkness on the Edge of Town episode stills

[fyesthesavior]

365 days of emma swan: day 360

[efnewsservice]

Regina and Henry 4.12 The Darkness on the Edge of Town (x)

[theonceoverthinker]

Re-watching “Darkness on the Edge of Town” for my CSSB project and I will never be over the fact that Maleficent makes a casual reference to tentacle porn.

I love this fucking show! XD

[freifraufischer]

4.12 The Darkness on the Edge of Town custom funko

[thesinglesjukebox]

JOJI - SANCTUARY

[4.12]

Dancing a little less slow...

Will Adams: Pro: George Miller appears to have learned to open his mouth more than a millimeter when pushing sounds out. Con: this means we have to hear more of his dubious pitch. Pro: there's more pop aspiration here than previous efforts, which mainly means there's somewhat of a pulse. Con: this means we're edging closer to Filthy Frank becoming a legitimate artiste. [4]

Katherine St Asaph: Given that I have happily taken my horse to the old town road, I have no rational, un-hypocritical grounds to distrust a song whose singer is less known as a musician than a memelord. But I have ample grounds to dislike halfhearted pivots to alt-R&B: How to Dressup Well. [3]

Ian Mathers: It's not that I think he's still trolling us, although anyone who used to roll their eyes at his attempts at humour not cutting Joji slack is... 100% fair. But replacing that with Lo-fi Chill Beats Study Mix music, just singsong-y enough to generate a truly nasty earworm, feels of a piece, you know? [4]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: That's quite a hummable hook, but Joji's riding hard on mere evocation of mood with lyrics this nonspecific. Which would be fine, but his singing isn't strong enough to sell the unspoken details. [5]

Alfred Soto: Its evocation of late night erotic claustrophobia owes something to early-decade Miguel, but like Sam Smith he presents himself as a R&B man with no qualms about sharing pain: it signifies the kind of "sincerity" that has him signaling the bartender for the check. [5]

Iris Xie: Linkin Park meets Sam Smith, but remove the most interesting parts of both and you have "Sanctuary." It's a surprisingly discomforting song that tries to cast itself as contemporary, charming, and full of space and longing, but ends up being the exact opposite, suffocating and cloying. The prechorus reveals the truth, where Joji tries to express how he is looking but his love interest doesn't have to wait anymore, because he "knows" that "when you lay alone, I ache / Something I wanted to feel." He then casts himself in a role where his love interest could be fulfilled since he's right here, and he isn't looking for an angel anyway so he wants you. These sentiments are supposed to be sweet, but "Sanctuary" is backdropped by nu-metal trappings, mildly interesting percussive throbbing, and syrupy singing that sound like the song was mastered inside a panini press. Actual space has no oxygen and no sound and is deeply unlike the romantic notions of space that we are often sold on, and "Sanctuary" is an inadvertent reminder. I've never heard a ballad before that made me so acutely admit that most love songs exude toxic sentiments, and that we don't really need to have pop songs that encourage replacing another person's thoughts with our own. [3]

Iain Mew: An inverse of "Slow Dancing in the Dark" -- Joji's vocals have a new clarity and focus, proving surprisingly strong, but the music is far more smeared and nondescript. Of the two I prefer this slow dancing in the light, but it still sounds like a work in progress. [6]

Alex Clifton: I got so bored listening to this that I couldn't even bother to write a witty or substantial review. [3]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[reasons-why-regina-is-crying]

Other villains are telling her that they've changed and deserve a second chance. She is skeptical.

[thecompletebookworm]

I'm officially caught up with Once Upon a Time.  Feel free to talk to me about anything. I'm also open for prompts if you need them.  Opinions on first two episodes below the cut.  

To be honest, I'm really digging the everyone is lying thing and how we're addressing that every person has a potential for good and evil. I mean the lines at the tree were right on point.  Emma is a child of true love.  That means she gets magic. Magic does not equal good.  Emma is who she decides to be.  I feel like "No one decides my fate but me"  is basically going to be the mantra of the entire series and I'm cool with that.  

The Queens of Darkness already have all of my respect and love.   I'm hoping that everyone can just work stuff out without having someone ending up dead. (There are other ways to resolve conflict A&E). 

You know what I really liked that I wasn't expecting to:  Marco.  He had all this sass/anger and he accepted that he didn't always do the right thing, only what he thought was necessary for his family to survive. Marco has also basically been the only one to say that finding the author isn't really a solution, that life isn't fair for anyone and what gives you the right to rewrite it in your favor.  (I'm not a huge fan of the author storyline, although I do think it's Shady McBlue.)   

And even though I was never an August fan.  I appreciate how they had Marco save all of August's stuff on the off chance that his son would remember and want it again.  Marco thought he missed all the important parts of his son's life.  He probably spent all this time looking over August's stuff, wishing he could have been there to help him grow up, and August in the end was too scared to even approach his dad because he thought he failed him.  There were a lot of feelings I wasn't prepared properly for.  

Now on the hypothetical Scarlet Beauty note, I was preparing myself for the worst.  I am a hardcore Rumbelle shipper and love Scarlet Queen so much.  (You have no idea how much I need to know what happened to Ana.)  I'm honestly kind of just shrugging off the interaction we saw.  I'm standing by my theory that it's purely platonic and we're seeing a twisted version from Rumple's perspective.  I have a lot of meta if this does actually end up being another poor writing thing and they are romantically involved, but I will only pull that out if necessary. (After rewatching OUATiW because the only way that can work is if they killed off my wonderful Ana.) 

[scribbles-by-kate]

Thoughts on 4.12 “Darkness on the Edge of Town”

So, we’re back. After the heartbreak of “Heroes and Villains”, it’s been a long four months waiting to find out how the story would play itself out for our favourite characters. We return to a changed Storybrooke, where new alliances have been formed, and to a Rumplestiltskin who’s as manipulative as ever in his quest to get his happy ending, though he’s also perhaps humbler than before after losing both love and power in one fell swoop. “Darkness on the Edge of Town” was a good start to 4b, answering some questions and raising others. Thoughts below.

My fan fiction

My Once Upon a Time episode reviews, essays, and meta

Changes in Storybrooke — Snow’s back teaching (in the smallest classroom ever, which probably makes sense given she only has about eight students) and Regina’s back as mayor, which is probably for the best. I was pleased to see her get rid of Snow’s tacky décor!  Emma and Hook seem to be going strong and Hook’s even helping out at the library (Hook reads???). Storybrooke seems generally quieter and more peaceful…but not for long!

Hook and Belle at the library — didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. Hook was obviously genuine in his guilt about the fairies and I think Belle saw that, so was willing to help him, or let him help her, since all he seemed to do was throw a tantrum and knock things over. Glad to see Belle still thinks he’s a bit of an idiot — ‘I see you still have your temper’ and ‘They call it the internet’ both said with a sense of scolding disdain. She also knew that he was responsible for trapping the Apprentice and was perfectly ok with assigning blame where it was due, though she was rather hard on herself with her talk about trusting Rumple (you were mostly right to trust him, Belle). Anyway, it’s a pity we didn’t see Hook’s apology to Belle, but it’s clear that she no longer sees him as a threat and is ok with having him around, so I’m ok with him being around her, as long as he doesn’t try to hurt her or use her for revenge again, which is by no means certain — I don’t trust him not to use her against Rumple when he returns. If he does that, he’s just objectifying her again and undoing all the progress he seems to have made with her as of this episode. I did like him reassuring her that Rumple did love her. He could have said horrible things and upset her more, but he chose to reassure her and give her back her faith in Rumple’s love, or try to anyway, so that is a point in his favour. I actually suspect that Hook, having seen Belle help other people quietly and even in times of her own struggles and grief (helping ‘Ariel’ when she was also trying to free Rumple from Zelena and now working to free the fairies after losing Rumple) realises what a good, kind person she is, and perhaps regrets treating her as an object, but if he uses her in revenge again, I revoke all I’ve just said.

Hook’s lies by omission — it’s pretty clear he hasn’t come clean entirely. Belle knows that he was responsible for hatting the Apprentice and was an unwilling participant in the hatting of the fairies, but he talked about being weak enough to be fooled by Rumple, but what he really should have said was that he shouldn’t have been weak enough to resort to blackmailing him. What Hook did here was twist his story to make it sound more like Belle’s, and that’s a problem. Belle was genuinely manipulated and fooled by Rumple (he did make her his unwilling and unwitting alibi and accomplice and he wouldn’t be honest with her), but that’s not true for Hook. I suspect he deliberately painted his story as similar to hers in order to win sympathy and trust, so he still has a loooong way to go before he can come close to earning my trust. I suspect Belle is willing to trust him because she thinks she was wrong about Rumple so maybe she was wrong about Hook and so should give him a chance. Thing is, Hook’s a liar too, and his are just as bad as Rumple’s. All in all, this episode didn’t make me trust or like Hook any more, though it was nice of him to try to reassure Belle, I’ll give him that.

Belle choking up at the mention of Rumple — poor baby :( She’s broken hearted, and she obviously hasn’t been sleeping. For her to say she hopes he’s found what he was looking for is so sad, because she obviously thinks that she wasn’t enough for him. She still obviously loves him enough to want him to be happy. Sad that she’s no longer wearing her wedding ring, or she’s not wearing it on her ring finger, though, but I can understand why: she thinks it was given to her entirely on a lie. She’s wrong about that, but her insecurities won’t let her see that :(

Emma and Regina — I like their dynamic more and more. Jen and Lana have developed a nice rapport and they’re very natural together. I loved the scenes in the office and the one in the car when Regina chose to sacrifice herself to save Emma.

Regina has changed so much — sacrificing herself to save Emma and being magnanimous enough to give other ‘villains’ a chance at a happy ending, knowing that it’s not right to deny others theirs if she’s being given a chance to get hers — bravo, Regina. You’re definitely on the right path. And when you’re more reasonable than the Charmings, you get an extra pat on the back.

The Queens of Darkness — are remarkably trusting and helpful for villains, which makes me think they’re not really villains at all. I think all three of them have been done wrong at some stage . I’m dying to know what their happy endings are. I bet they’re really rather simple — a family, a place to belong, understanding — something like that. They’re a great team and I love them helping and trusting each other. Not your typical ‘villains’ anyway, and I think that’s the point. I like them more than Snowing right now, and I’m on the QoDs’ side more than Snowing’s, and I think that’s the point too.

Cruella — gets a special mention because I loooove her! I love her snark and insulting Rumple, and her magical ability is interesting. Getting animals to do what she wants, hmm. I’m cool with it as long as it doesn’t actually hurt the animals, and it doesn’t seem to, and she seems to actually quite like animals, so I don’t have a problem with her controlling them from time to time. I love her. Can she stay: please??? She’s amazing.

Snowing, what did you do??? — Something horrible, I suspect. I wonder what could be soooo bad that Snow would threaten to go all Evil Queen on them if they reveal it, and especially to Emma. I suspect that what they did is something like what happened to Emma. Maybe they’re the reason Lily grew up without feeling like she belonged. Did they separate Lily from her family? If that’s it, then it’s reaaallly bad, because that’s what happened to Emma, and Emma would NOT be pleased to learn that her parents were the reason her friend grew up without her real family. This is going to be interesting.

Pot, meet kettle — or, Snow, get off your damn high horse. But they’re villains! Yeah, and you’re so heroic, Snow, threatening people with crushing their hearts so they’ll keep your secret. So hypocritical. Why don’t you go share tips on being a hypocrite with Blue? Honestly, I’m so pissed at the Charmings as of this episode.

Blue just will not die! — Back again! Obviously there’s a reason they keep bringing her back, and it’s hopefully because she’d the real big bad and has been all along. She was so ungrateful when Regina freed her. What a bitch! Interesting that she seems to know both the Author and the Sorcerer, and that she’s perplexed at the idea of the Sorcerer having the Author’s books. She seems to prefer the Author over the Sorcerer, so is that a clue that we’re supposed to prefer the Sorcerer? Either way, the chernabog attacked just at the right moment so she wouldn’t have to reveal any more information — damnit!

The Author and the Sorcerer — so, we finally know that they’re two different people. At the end of 4a, it seemed that they were one and the same, but they didn’t actually confirm it, and though we know now that they’re not (if we can trust Blue, that is), we still don’t know much more. I like that. This is the most interesting mystery they’ve had for a while and I like that we’re getting to the bottom of it slowly. I still have no clue which of them, if either, is the baddie and which, if either, the goodie. I wonder if it’s something like the Jacob/Man in Black story from LOST. Jacob wanted people to make their own choices and saw every event in life as progression, while the Man in Black saw everyone as bad and just wanted to judge them without giving them a chance. Jacob was manipulative and interfered in people’s lives, and even Ben said there might be a better way, but he was mostly a good guy, while the Man in Black was way worse. Is it the same for the Author and the Sorcerer? Is there a similar flawed angel and judgemental devil dynamic going on there?

Rumple and the QoD — I liked his banter with them. His disdain for fast food was funny when he was eating disgusting synthetic noodles! I also liked that he made up for betraying them by telling them his plan and leaving it to them to decide whether or not to invite him back into town, and he even said that he wouldn’t blame them if they left him out there. Rumple trusting someone is new — he couldn’t even trust Belle for more than a few hours, so it’s interesting that we see him humbled enough to actually trust them. It also shows how un-villain-like the QoD are that they invite him into town even after he screwed them over. This is an interesting dynamic — a group of ‘villains’ willing to help and trust each other. Shows that they’re all just human at the end of the day. Heartbreaking to see Rumple lose hope and then turn away, leaning so heavily on that cane, but what a transformation the moment he got the magic back. I confess, I hoped he’d keep the limp because it would be a symbol that he was aware he’d made mistakes and was going to work to fix them, but we are where we are. He obviously hasn’t learnt much anyway, since he’s still lying and manipulating.

Sorry, but Rumple doesn’t deserve to win Belle back right now — because of said lying and manipulating *sigh* Rumple, why do you think she banished you? And you’re lying to her of all people now? And potentially putting her in danger? Shaking my head. He has not learned any lessons yet, and until he does, Belle has every right to keep her distance from him. I suspect he thinks he can just show up and she’ll take him back. Boy is he in for a shock. Yeah, she loves him, but she’s no doormat, as she’s clearly proved. Rumple, you’re going to have to really change if she’s going to trust you again. Do you really think that when she sees you, she’s not going to realise that it was you who sent that translation and tricked her into releasing the chernabog? She could have been hurt: anyone could have been hurt. You’ve a long way to go before you deserve to get her back.

Emma has the greatest potential for darkness — interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing where that goes…

The LOST references — Mr Cluck’s and Jin! Very good! I wonder if there are more to come.

Next week — “Unforgiven” — ominous title. I confess I’m nervous about this one. Rumple sees Belle and then sees something that makes him angry. It’s obviously related to Will, but what is it? And will he get his dagger back? And will we find out what Snowing did?

[vargesz]

Yeah, well, I love you, too! (fitzsimmons ft. swan queen [x])

[watchingfairytales]

4.12 Darkness on the Edge of Town episode stills

[efnewsservice]

Rumple and Maleficent 4.12 The Darkness on the Edge of Town (x)

[mryddinwilt]

Thoughts on the Mid-Season Premiere

It's been a long hiatus but OUAT is back and I have so many thoughts I decided to do my first post-episode meta. This took a lot longer than I planned and I did screen grabs! I really hope you read and enjoy!

In the Land Without Magic we started with a typical normal morning in Storybrooke. This opening reminded me of the opening of 1.02. The music playing over the scene is a variation on "Things Are Changing In Storybrooke" from Season 1 and is often played and associated with the town. I felt like the whole scene was to show the "calm before the storm" and it did a great job. Plus we got a return to Season 1 and Snow teaching about birds (which I am starting to think might be the only subject she is qualified to teach).

The scene also served to establish the new level of intimacy between Emma and Hook. They have couple habits now that include good morning kisses and standing coffee dates (excuse me while I scream internally) on their way to work. Which is where we got another newly established relationship, Hook and Belle.

Captain Book are adorable research buddies and co-Captains of the "Rumple Used and Manipulated Me" (RUMM) club; on Wednesdays they wear blue (someone should tell Ursula and Cruella). They had a remarkably open and honest conversation (that at 2 1/2 minutes was longer than all the CS scenes put together) where they both lifted and validated each other. Hook's regret here is really key to his development. When he was still a vengeful pirate he shot Belle and showed no remorse. Now he feels bad even for things he did while under Rumple's control. Belle not excusing Hook's actions but also not blaming him was really important because I think it spoke of her own feelings. Hook reassuring Belle of Rumple's feelings because he knew she needed to hear that it wasn't all a lie was another lovely moment.

Two important plot takeaways here are that Hook has told everyone some version of how Rumple manipulated him because Belle knows about the Apprentice and that the theme of "love being a weapon" is alive and well this season. I would bet that at least one of the Queens of Darkness have a backstory where love was used as a weapon.  

Speaking of…next we jump to Ursula and Rumple sniping in an aquarium filled apartment. The costuming for Rumple was spot on throughout the episode as he went from bathrobe to grubby suit to sparkling duds all reflecting his slow return to the man we love to hate.

I have seen a few people talk about how he hit rock bottom and how that was going to be a catalyst for change. However I don't think that is the case. Him cat fishing Belle and orchestrating the release of the chernabog just shows that he has learned nothing. He is still lying and manipulating with little regard to the feelings of others. It echoes him releasing the wraith in Season 2 to get around his promise to Belle. At this point I wonder if anything will ever get through to him and make him change.

There is no doubt in my mind that Rumple is manipulating them. He always knows exactly what buttons to push. For Ursula he emphasizes her crappy apartment and boring existence. So she may not buy the Author idea but it's better than eating ramen and feeding her fish (seriously who is feeding her fish while she is gone?). For Cruella it's the threat of going back to where she started and being ordinary (which makes me think her backstory involves her selling her soul for magic). Also $5 dollars says Rumple tipped off the IRS on Mr. Feinberg just to make sure Cruella was in the right frame of mind when he made his play. Given that Rumple burned them in the past I like to think that these women are playing him or will try to backstab him at some point. Which, coincidently, is why villain's working together never works out, they always turn on each other.  

Rumple's tactics here also reminded me of 1.02. In that episode he appears to be at a low point, in prison and about to be cursed along with everyone else, but later we learn that everything was actually going to plan and he was exactly where he wanted to be. While it was satisfying to watch him cower before Cruella's bejeweled pistol I couldn't help but wonder if the show of weakness was to lull them into thinking they were in control.

Back in Storybrooke we had Regina and Emma's slowly blossoming friendship. The taped up page was a sweet moment and a good way to reintroduce Operation Mongoose while ripping out the hearts of Outlaw Queen shippers. I became very aware of Regina's walls in this scene, her sassy comebacks to Emma, not wanting Emma to see the page, not wanting to admit to hope, and then quickly hiding the page and her tears when Captain Book barged in. Belle was too adorable as she babbled on about how they found the ritual. Hook was even worse as he good-naturedly tried to rush her along and made happy puppy faces at Emma.

They wasted no time in setting up the ritual. Which seemed to require burnt sacrifices and some kind of altar. Anyone notice the Arendelle style runes on the altar? The music did a definite majestic swell here and I can't help but wonder if it is a score we will hear again. Also Regina was shaking an awful lot afterwards and the camera lingered on her giving a very weird look to the dagger. I don't know if that was meant to be significant.

What I do think was significant was Blue's mention of being locked up with something horrible in the hat.  What or who else is in the hat? We don't know what the original purpose of the hat was, only that every Dark One sought after it. What if it was meant to be a weapon against evil? A means to suck up evil magical creatures and magic users and harnessing their magic for good? I mean a chernabog did come out of there so it seems like a possibility.

Of course you can't talk about this scene without mentioning the way Emma held Hook's hand and checked in with him when the fairies were returned. In fact a lot of the shots used their held hands as a frame for the action of this scene. 

No words were said but it was clear that she was there for him, supporting and comforting. This continued on at Granny's where she attempted to talk him out of his brooding. This was a fast scene (20-30 secs tops) and I expect we will get a longer one later. This was more about setting up Hook's arc and Emma's role in helping him feel like a hero. Just as the equally quick diner scene at the end was about setting up Henry's quest and Emma's new found optimism (also I think that scene was cut for time. Hoping we get to see the deleted goodness!)

The party at Granny's was missing a lot of familiar faces. Carl and Ellie (not their names, that's what I call them) were there and lots of other extras. 

But aside from Granny and Blue there wasn't a single side character, at the very least they could have had Leroy around to announce the arrival of the chernabog. Pretty sure the CGI ate up the budget usually reserved for all the other actors (even Charming and Henry had about 4 lines each). Either that or no one really likes the fairies!

Now that Blue was out of the hat she got inducted into Operation Mongoose. As per usual she was a fount of cryptic information. First she thought Regina's idea had some actual merit because the books are powerful. Second she seemed a bit nervous about looking for the Sorcerer which makes me question just where on the hero-to-villain spectrum they fall. Third the Author is not the Sorcerer but Blue doesn't know who he or she is. Fourth there are clues in the books if you look closely. Calling it now the Author is Waldo-- start scanning Storybrooke for a guy in a striped red shirt.

Cryptic exposition time was interrupted by some ominous roaring and window shaking. Since Leroy wasn't there to rush them they took their time and bundled up in their coats and gloves before going out to investigate. Turns out it was a simple hell beast, that despite it's impressive strength and size was really only a threat to one person in town. The teamwork in this scene was great but Hook's almost blasé reaction was my favorite thing. I don't know if it is because he has lived so long or because he has such unshakeable faith in Emma's abilities but either way it makes me grin. Almost as much as the fact that Killian is now designated researcher with Belle.

With chernabog running amok it was the perfect time for Ursula to make a call using a phone I am pretty sure Gold bought with the money he made getting Henry for Regina. I am hoping that Regina and Emma both picked up on how convenient the Queen's arrival and information was. They certainly didn't seem to recognize what the chernabog was after.

The decision to let two new villains into town seems like a no brainer. But in true Once fashion they had a debate about it; with Snowing being on "Team We Want to Keep Our Secret" and Regina and Emma being on "Team Redemption". It was great that Emma picked up on the strangeness of Snow's reasoning (and called her Mom!) and I am sure we will see more of that in the next episode. Bravo to Regina for making the heroic choice to give them a chance at a happy ending.

There was a bit of role reversal going on with Regina spouting hope and Snow threatening to rip hearts out (Like how? Do you have magic now Snow?). The Snowing and QoD showdown was beautifully shot and superbly acted. Even though Charming basically just stood there and looked intimidating while Snow threatened murder.

Next episode we are getting the flashback to what happened with the Charming's. Personal theory is that it somehow relates to Emma's conception. Remember how upset Snow was after Regina's threat at the wedding? She didn't think they could start a family with Regina's threat hanging over them? Well how do you fight fire? With fire! They must have gone to the QOD for protection or a spell or something. I worry a little bit about how the Snowing storyline will play out. I feel like I have a good handle on them as characters and for them to suddenly reveal this huge dark secret that will radically change their history worries me. But I am trying to stay positive and withhold judgement until I actually see the episodes.

The fairy back wasn't terribly complicated but it did a few things. It showed how the QoD came together after being manipulated and betrayed by Rumple. It showed off their unique magical talents and singled out Maleficent as the one with the most potential for darkness. But most importantly for the shows mythology we got to see the origin (sort of) of the Dark Curse.

I had always assumed that Rumple created the curse but it seems that he actually stole it from someone (the Sorcerer?) who put it under Bald Mountain. Rumple told the Queens they needed the curse to give them their happy ending. Which again leads back to 1.02 and Rumple pushing Regina to cast the curse to get her happy ending (which was actually so he could get his!). That is also the episode where Regina visits Maleficent in her fortress and steals the curse from her. In that early scene Maleficent advises Regina not to cast the curse and asks where she got it. With this new scene it seems that Maleficent had a pretty good idea where it came from!  I am sure the curse will come up again later this season but I am hoping that nobody is going to cast it (again).

Darkness on the Edge of Town was, like most premieres, a set up episode, positioning everyone for their character arcs for the rest of the season. Adam and Eddy have said that this season will make us look at Season 1 differently so I found it interesting that there were a lot of Season 1 callbacks. I hope that continues in a way that doesn't destroy the wonderful story and characters that we love!

[freifraufischer]

Do you have or know where to find a list of Regina centric or at least episodes with a lot of Lana? Also same question, but for Regal Believer. Or do you know of any complilation vid of Regal Believer moments thru the series? When I search Youtube, it's mainly just a montage set to music, but I want to see/hear actual scenes. Thanks!

Key Regina Episodes (RB in italics, * indicates that it’s B or C plot so the Regina material may be a very small percentage of the episode)

1.01 The Pilot

1.02 The Thing You Love the Most

1.05 That Still Small Voice

1.07 The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

1.11 Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

1.13 What Happened to Frederick*

1.16 Heart of Darkness*

1.17 Hat Trick

1.18 The Stable Boy

1.21 An Apple Red as Blood

1.22 A Land Without Magic

2.01 Broken

2.02 We are Both

2.05 The Doctor

2.07 Child of the Moon*

2.08 Into the Deep

2.09 The Queen of Hearts

2.10 The Cricket Game

2.12 In the Name of the Brother*

2.15 The Queen is Dead

2.16 The Miller’s Daughter

2.17 Welcome to Storybrooke

2.20 The Evil Queen

2.21 Second Star to the Right

2.22 Straight On Till Morning

3.01 The Heart of the Truest Believer

3.03 Quite a Common Fairy

3.05 Good Form*

3.09 Save Henry

3.10 New Neverland

3.11 Going Home

3.12 New York City Serenade 

3.13 Witch Hunt

3.14 The Tower* 

3.15 Quiet Minds

3.16 It’s Not Easy Being Green

3.17 The Jolly Roger*

3.18 Bleeding Through

3.19 A Curious Thing

3.20 Kansas

4.01 A Tale of Two Sisters

4.02 White Out* 

4.03 Rocky Road

4.05 Breaking Glass

4.08 Smash the Mirror

4.12 Darkness On the Edge of Town

4.13 Unforgiven*

4.14 Enter the Dragon

4.16 Best Laid Plans

4.18 Sympathy for De Vil 

4.19 Lily

4.20 Mother

4.21 Operation Mongoose Part 1

4.22 Operation Mongoose Part 2

5.01 Dark Swan

5.02 The Price

5.05 Dreamcatcher 

5.12 Souls of the Departed

5.13 Labor of Love*

5.16 Our Decay*

5.19 Sisters

5.21 Last Rites

5.22 Only You

5.23 An Untold Story

6.01 The Savior

6.02 A Bitter Draught

6.03 The Other Shoe*

6.04 A Strange Case

6.06 Dark Waters*

6.07 Heartless

6.08 I’ll Be Your Mirror

6.10 Wish You Were Here

6.11 Tougher Than the Rest

6.14 Page 23

6.18 Where Blue Birds Fly