#5x01 the dark swan | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

jackiestarsister · 1 year ago

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OUAT rewatch: Season 5

Overall thoughts:

Season 5 is (both literally and figuratively) the darkest season of the show, and it feels the least "normal" in terms of the characters' day-to-day lives. In both halves of the season, they are stuck in a prolonged crisis. They don’t have time to relax, yet they don’t have much urgency about what they need to do. The most happy and “normal” moments are those stolen during their time in Camelot.

I think the storyline would have done much better if the Camelot storyline and Emma’s descent into darkness happened in the present day, rather than being presented as flashbacks after a time skip. Using the Dark Curse over and over again makes it feel like a cheap plot device rather than the life-changing tragedy it was at the start of the series.

One of the biggest problems I have with this season is the way they treat “darkness” as a kind of entity in itself, and the ambiguity about whether individuals struggling with darkness (Emma, Hook, Gold, and Regina) are truly in control of themselves. My other problem is that Emma’s motives and actions simply don’t match up, and so much of her behavior is out of character. It’s hard to figure out how much of her words and actions are sincere and how much are a manipulation. Is she simply pretending to be evil in order to lead them on?

With that being said, here are my thoughts on each episode:

Episode 5x01 “The Dark Swan”

~ Regina immediately reverts to her snarkiest self. I wonder if it is partly because she is so upset about what happened to Emma. Is she hurt that after she worked so hard to protect Emma from going dark, Emma took on the darkness willingly? Or does she have survivor’s guilt, since Emma saved her from becoming the Dark One?

~ Hook’s capacity for darkness is immediately on display. He hasn’t appeared this dangerously angry since season 2.

~ How is Henry suddenly there and aware of what happened? Did he see the whole thing? How does he feel about his birth mother sacrificing herself for the sake of his adoptive mother?

~ Rumplestiltskin presents himself as the Roku to Emma’s Aang. It’s an interesting move, and a way to keep Robert Carlyle in the cast while Gold is in a coma. But it’s a bit confusing with regard to Emma’s psychology.

~ Ironically, embracing one’s power is usually the goal of a protagonist, but in Emma’s case it’s what she wants to avoid at all costs.

~ Hook and Regina haven’t had such direct or intense interaction in a long time, and it’s great to see!

~ Emma’s “first taste of darkness” seems similar to when Hook regained his hand and thought it was acting outside of his control.

~ Merida’s casting is PERFECT.

~ What is the definition of a witch in this show? What makes Zelena a witch, but not other female wielders of magic like Regina and Emma?

~ Merida and Emma’s scene is great, but the turnaround from enemies to traveling companions is a bit rushed.

~ Why is Henry just leisurely reading a book at Granny’s? Shouldn’t he be poring over the storybook or something else useful in the search for Emma?

~ Hook’s reaction to Henry’s news that he broke the Author’s pen is perfect. He does not get angry with Henry, and in fact seems to understand and respect the decision, but you can tell he wishes that the members of this family weren’t always so noble.

~ They are so not subtle with the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest allusions! Are the nurse and mopper really supposed to be from that story?

~ Regina didn’t give Hook a commodified portable spell; she enchanted his hook herself.

~ Why are Robin & Roland staying at the Charmings’ loft? Wouldn’t Regina’s house make more sense?

~ The idea of Robin Hood reading Goodnight Moon to his son is adorable! I wonder if he discovered the children’s section of the town library and set out to read Roland all of this world’s classics.

~ Who is Floyd?

~ “Secure the condiments!” might be my new favorite line!

~ Why would they bring Zelena with them? I can understand Regina and Robin wanting to keep tabs on her and the baby, but wouldn’t it be safer for their quest to leave her in jail?

~ Of course Leroy arrives announcing bad news! His speech to Mary Margaret is both endearing and hilariously self-aware about the fact that the dwarves have been missing from the action so much over the last couple seasons.

~ Rumple is just like Darth Vader and Palpatine, egging on the hero to “Use your anger.”

~ “When has that ever stopped me before?” So true: Hook has crossed worlds and time for Emma on multiple occasions!

~ Two seasons ago, Emma was the one making a motivational speech in the season premiere, convincing the heroes and villains to work together. Now Hook is presenting that to her as proof of what she’s capable of.

~ “Of course someone’s going to get a punch to the gut for putting me through this, then mercy.” That’s funny and in-character for Merida, but also a significant statement about the role of justice alongside mercy.

~ Does Emma expect Regina to kill her if she gets out of control? That would just make Regina the new Dark One. Emma wouldn’t wish that fate on her.

~ “Terrible news: no onion rings!”

~ How long does the journey to Camelot take? Geography in this world is as ambiguous as in the Galaxy Far, Far Away: distance only ever matters for plot reasons.

~ Sneezy wears a red leather jacket like Emma’s while filling in as sheriff! My only question is, who put the remaining dwarves in charge of the sheriff’s department?

Episode 5x02 “The Price”

~ Did everyone get new clothes from their hosts, or did Regina conjure them with magic like she does for herself?

~ Regina not knowing how to dance really doesn’t make sense. I’m sure Cora and Henry would have made sure she learned when she was growing up, especially before marrying her off to a king.

~ “Why can’t anyone accept that?” Maybe because you cursed and threatened them?

~ Maybe Emma’s words to Regina were a warning, not a threat. That would make more sense.

Emma wouldn’t want Regina to die.

~ Why did everyone in the present day switch back to the outfits they were wearing when they left?

~ I love seeing Belle have such great friendships with Hook and Grumpy/Leroy. She both gives and receives encouragement in this episode.

~ “It’s far easier to hate a Dark One than it is to love one.” That rings true even in real life.

~ Why is Regina’s leadership capability important now? She moved back into the mayor’s office weeks earlier and no one commented on it. Then again, how did that transition of power take place? Did they hold an election, or did Snow abdicate the role to her?

~ How much of Emma’s “new look” is involuntary? Can’t she control things like her hair, makeup, and wardrobe?

~ I don’t like that Robin has basically just become a plot device in Regina’s storylines, particularly in the role of “damsel in distress.”

~ Mary Margaret and Emma’s ballgowns are gorgeous! And even Granny has beautiful ball attire!

~ Why does Mary Margaret use that name instead of Snow White in Camelot? Why don’t she and David reveal themselves as royalty of their own kingdom? Do people there not know of them?

~ David, Henry, and Violet are like Hermes, Orpheus and Eurydice in Hadestown.

~ “Are you a knight?” “Better. I’m a writer.”

~ That ball montage is lovely! In such a dark episode and season, it’s nice to see the characters have a few moments of fun and happiness.

~ It’s nice to see David fight in Regina’s defense, but how can he just kill her assailant? What happened to “Heroes don’t kill”? They make such a big deal about it regarding enemies like Zelena and Cruella, but apparently not for random attackers?

~ Emma’s musical theme starts to play but then takes a dark turn!

~ Why did Emma choose that moment to kiss Hook? Did the idea of True Love’s Kiss only occur to her then?

~ Why/how were they able to fend off the Fury? They didn’t give a life as it demanded. Was it something about love defeating death, or love fulfilling the price?

~ How can David and Mary Margaret talk about winning or losing “this fight” when Emma hasn’t even said what she wants?

~ That montage at the end is so beautiful! Love Regina freeing Sneezy (though, why didn’t she do that earlier?) and Hook and Belle toasting to not giving up on love.

Episode 5x03 “Siege Perilous”

~ Have the dwarves been mining fairy dust regularly throughout these past few seasons? I thought it was just during Season 2 as part of the effort to bring Emma and Mary Margaret home.

~ It’s nice to have an episode focused on David as an individual, since he doesn’t have many! And this one shows the continuity of his motives and feelings. He has always done everything he could to protect/save his children, and had a lot of angst about his perceived failures and limitations in Season 3. His frustrations here are much the same.

~ Does Arthur wear his full armor all the time?

~ Arthur is out to flatter David from the very first moment he appears. He is very quick to suggest that he and David should consider themselves brothers.

~ Leroy is right that the dwarves, and the townsfolk in general, swallow a lot because of the royal family. But his threat is completely contrary to the loyalty he and the others have always shown.

~ I wonder if David’s red leather tunic is an homage to Emma’s red leather jacket!

~ “A leader does what needs to be done.” That might be Arthur’s philosophy in a nutshell.

~ Why does David feel the need—or the justification—to use deception? He did it when he made Snow think she’d pulled Excalibur, and he does it with the supposed “Chalice of Vengeance” now.

~ I don’t know what’s funnier: King Arthur driving a truck, or turning a car chase into a joust!

~ Those empty suits of armor try to drown David like the Inferi in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

~ Seeing Hook and Emma together, yet so distant and strange, is heartbreaking. Emma keeps changing tactics: since Hook didn’t go for her coy seductress act in the previous episode, she switches to the innocent look she had on their first date. They’ve basically switched places from where they began, as she is now asking him to trust her rather than the other way around.

~ It is confirmed that Hook told Emma the full story of what happened between him, Milah, and Rumplestiltskin. It is satisfying to hear Hook repent of his actions and acknowledge that he was the villain of that situation. He can now see that he created the crocodile as much as the crocodile created Captain Hook.

~ Arthur keeps Excalibur sheathed when knighting David, so no one can see that the sword is incomplete.

~ Baby Neal crying during his father’s induction to the Knights of the Round Table is the most realistic thing he has done since he was born. Too much of the time, the writers and characters just gloss over the fact that David, Snow, and Robin are raising young children. They just get pushed to the side while their parents go on adventures and deal with drama.

~ Lancelot tells Snow to “trust your eyes,” but then says Camelot is not what it seems. Mixed messages much?

~ Arthur and Grif’s scene is so chilling, like a cult leader pressuring their disciple to become a martyr.

~ When did Robin decide to put his thieving days behind him? And when did Hook decide he was no longer a pirate?

~ Did Emma set up the whole date with Hook just so she could get something that touched Rumple? If she knew there was something on the ship that would qualify, couldn’t she have just taken it?

~ I don’t understand why Emma fixates on turning Gold into a hero. Why not just get one of the many heroes in town to draw Excalibur?

Episode 5x04: “The Broken Kingdom”

~ Young Arthur and Guinevere are very well cast!

~ Why and how did Emma start making dreamcatchers? Did she request materials from the palace staff, or were there already some available that she decided to take advantage of?

~ “You’re the Savior. Save yourself.” Was that a direct allusion to Jesus on the cross?!

~ I don’t like the use of captions for every time and place in this episode. “Five years later,” “Five years earlier,” again and again. And those years don’t add up with Lancelot being banished and meeting Snow and David roughly thirty years earlier.

~ It’s nice to see Guinevere being proactive and having an arc, but it seems to be at the expense of Lancelot being an active character. He mostly just follows her and reacts to her.

~ Hook’s facial expressions throughout the scene with Henry and Violet are priceless! He is so pleased, proud, and amused.

~ I like that Hook has a healthy and realistic explanation for how he was able to cope with his trauma and demons during his long life. Being near the ocean is extremely therapeutic.

~ Guinevere’s ultimatum to Arthur seems to come out of nowhere. It would mean more if we saw them struggle more in their relationship.

~ When in his life did Hook have the opportunity to learn how to ride a horse? Is it difficult with only one hand?

~ Odd to hear Rumplestiltskin allude to Milah. Even more so considering he was the reason it didn’t end well for her.

~ As good a twist as it was, David and Snow revealing their ruse doesn’t entirely make sense. They put all their cards on the Round Table.

~ This episode shows how unnecessary the six-week timeskip was for telling the story of this half-season. The entire episode takes place in the past, jumping between two different points in time, except for the final two scenes.

Episode 5x05 “Dreamcatcher”

~ When Hook offers to give Henry dating tips, I think that may be the first time Regina realizes that he is becoming a parental figure/role model to her son, and how disastrous that could be!

~ Did Belle take the time to change outfits after discovering Gold had disappeared?

~ Finding a girl’s missing horse isn’t restoring a happy ending, it’s just doing a good deed.

~ How can Emma and Regina let Henry continue to go around Camelot unsupervised and unprotected after what happened to Snow and David?

~ You can actually see the moment when Emma gets the idea to do to Violet what Cora did to Daniel, minus the killing.

~ That is a pretty easy way to cheat a protection spell!

~ Henry trying to set up a date is soooo cute!

~ The magic stuff is weird, but visually, it’s cool to see Emma using both light and dark magic! When she’s done, Emma looks so proud of herself, tossing her head back a little.

~ Regina is a bit of a hypocrite in this episode: she just recently took Belle’s heart in order to blackmail Gold, but gets mad at Emma for taking Violet’s heart to deceive Henry. Does her anger lie in the fact that Emma did that to a young girl, or the fact that she deliberately hurt Henry?

~ Merlin’s question to Emma, about whether she is truly ready to be free of the darkness, has some real-life parallels. People may subconsciously cling to the sins, bad habits, and addictions that (they say) they want to be rid of.

~ The final shot of Emma against Regina’s house conveys more isolation and devastation than any of her other Dark One scenes. Their situation is so similar yet different to Season 1, when Emma was trying to connect with Henry and Regina wanted to keep them apart. Now Emma, not Regina, is the one hurting Henry in the name of protecting him, and Henry does not want to see Emma.

~ This episode has the most mentions of Baelfire/Neal without him being a protagonist or plot device. Apparently he told Henry about how he won Emma’s heart, and Emma told Hook some things about her relationship with Neal, such as his gift of a dreamcatcher.

Episode 5x06 “The Bow and the Bear”

~ I don’t mind Belle having a side quest with Merida, but the way it happens is just weird. Why would Merida expect someone she kidnapped to agree to help her if she does not have any leverage over her?

~ Gold uses the same trick to escape Emma that Emma used to escape Jefferson, breaking a teacup in order to cut through their bonds.

~ Does Emma really not care whether Belle lives, or is she confident in Gold’s ability to protect her? Either way, seeing her be so callous about Belle, who has helped her family so many times, and even saved Hook’s life, feels so wrong.

~ Interesting that Emma says she doesn’t believe some things can’t be forgiven. If she truly believes that, why would she wipe everyone’s memories?

~ Interesting that even when the tables have turned, Emma and Gold are still nemeses.

Episode 5x07 “Nimue”

~ They never explain what the Holy Grail is or where it actually came from. In Athurian legend, it’s a Christian relic, and in OUAT it is decorated with crosses; but the characters talk about it as if it’s a gift from a pantheon of gods.

~ Why would Merlin expect a different outcome from touching the Grail after his companion died trying?

~ Couldn’t Merlin and Emma just teleport close to their destination?

~ Merlin and Nimue are very much like Jesse and Winnie in Tuck Everlasting. A magical drink gives immortality to one, and the other has to decide whether they also want to be immortal, or live a normal mortal life.

~ A battle plan drawn on a Granny’s Diner menu is like the epitome of this show’s style.

~ The shot of Nimue passing the Grail to Merlin in front of the fire is beautiful.

~ Emma clutches Hook’s ring when she is afraid!

~ Nimue’s hair ends up in a style like Emma’s after embracing the darkness! But why doesn’t Emma’s skin turn crocodile-like the way Rumplestiltskin and Nimue’s did?

~ Emma’s declaration about her self-worth is awesome! She used to think she was an orphan who didn’t matter and never would; now she knows better!

~ Emma passing her test would feel more meaningful if the audience didn’t know about her going dark later on.

~ How can it be that easy to “tether” someone so powerful to an object?

Episode 5x08 “Birth”

~ I wish there were more scenes of Prince Charming, Captain Hook, and Robin Hood working as a trio! They’re the romantic partners of this show’s three main protagonists, and they’re some of the best examples of healthy masculinity in the whole show.

~ How can Mary Margaret voice doubt about Emma still existing? She’s always the voice of hope and love!

~ Hook’s hair has been longer and messier throughout this season, and his facial hair more pronounced. I wonder if he’s neglected his appearance out of worry for Emma, and/or if it is a costume choice meant to make him look darker.

~ Why is Dr. Whale so weird and awful? And have there really not been any babies born in Storybrooke in the months since Neal’s birth?

~ Why couldn’t Regina use magic to free herself?

~ You can barely see the moment when Hook is injured.

~ Emma and Regina’s conversation about the allure of darkness is actually one of the show's better ones on the topic. It’s the first time someone talks to Emma about it with sympathy, without trying to tempt her to embrace it.

~ Hook must be so tired of Emma chaining him up! How many times has it been since they met?

~ Emma and Hook’s love literally ignites a flame!

~ If tethering Hook turned him into a Dark One, why didn’t Merlin become one?

~ Jennifer Morrison’s acting during Hook’s “death” scene is amazing!

~ The title of this episode has a double (or perhaps triple) meaning: Zelena and Robin’s baby is born, and both Emma and Hook are reborn as Dark Ones.

Episode 5x09 “The Bear King”

~ The casting for Eleanor, Fergus, and the Witch from Brave is fantastic!

~ This is another episode that switches between two timelines in the past, showing how unnecessary the six-week timeskip was.

~ Ruby says the last time she saw Philip and Aurora, at baby Neal’s coronation party, they were about to have a child. But Aurora was pregnant at least a few weeks before Mary Margaret was, and Leroy implied that she had given birth before Neal’s coronation party, which would mean Aurora must had her baby before or at the same time as Mary Margaret had Neal.

~ If Ruby and Anton/Tiny managed to produce a bean, they ought to have given others the chance to go back to the Enchanted Forest too.

~ This is the first time a full-on battle between opposing armies has taken place onscreen in this show.

~ “Your magic is never very direct, is it?” from Eleanor to the Witch is hilarious!

~ I love the Celtic-inspired music in this episode!

~ This might be the first episode in which Emma does not make a single appearance!

Episode 5x10 “Broken Heart”

~ The dark version of Hook’s musical theme!

~ Hook’s transformation into the Dark One is so painful to see onscreen. It seems like a reminder that birth in itself is a traumatizing experience. Given that, it makes sense that such a rebirth, as he refers to it, would be full of trauma.

~ Interesting that once he emerges as a Dark One, Hook changes his costume for the one he used to wear in Seasons 2 and 3, rather than the fancier one he wore in Camelot.

~ What I just cannot buy about Hook becoming the Dark One: A) that he did not sense anything different about himself after returning to Storybrooke, and B) his sudden and absolute plunge into the darkness after regaining his memories. He had grown past his desire for revenge and recognized that it would not bring him fulfillment.

~ Hook acting like Rumplestiltskin is so weird and creepy!

~ So apparently there are Dark One chronicles just readily available? Did Hook read them during the years he spent plotting his revenge?

~ Why would Gold accept Emma’s offer of protection after what she did to him? What is she thinking?

~ Weird that Emma and Henry talk about him forgiving Gold, and Henry says Gold showed that he changed. Is he talking about how Gold saved Belle and became a hero worthy of Excalibur?

~ I was wondering where Lancelot has been since his breakout! And the Lady of the Lake is his mother? Was that already known? What happens to Lancelot after this?

~ I’m glad Mary Margaret defends Emma’s decision to save Hook! Everyone seemed to gang up on Emma telling her that she ought not try it.

~ Hook is right about Emma pushing away the people she wants to protect, but wasn’t that already covered during Season 4’s Frozen arc?

~ Do Dark Ones really need to worry about things like scouting a path and finding water? Couldn’t they just teleport and conjure the things they need? And splitting up right after finding each other is pretty bad strategy, especially if Emma is afraid of what Hook might do.

~ I like that Regina and Robin are giving Zelena a chance with clear boundaries in place; but what assurance do they have that she won’t simply disappear with the baby?

~ “Operation Cobra Part 2” isn’t a very original name! Plus, their current mission doesn’t have much to do with the first. “Operation Dreamcatcher” or “Operation Dark Hook” would be more fitting.

~ For all their intensity, Emma and Hook’s flashback conversations are a bit repetitive.

~ The part of Hook’s fall that is believable is his desire to never be controlled again. As is revealed in the next episode, he grew up basically a slave; then he served in the Royal Navy; he was manipulated into doing a corrupt king’s dirty work; and Gold controlled him by taking his heart. As a pirate and a former slave, he places an extremely high value on freedom.

~ If they are both Dark Ones, with equal amounts of power, how can Emma simply knock Hook out with a wave of her hand?

Episode 5x11 “Swan Song”

~ This is the first episode of the season whose flashbacks have nothing to do with the Camelot arc, and instead add backstory from further in the past to the context of a character’s actions in the present day.

~ The casting for Brennan and young Killian is great! Young Killian has amazingly good facial expressions as he thinks over his father’s question and decides on his answer.

~ What was the point of Rumple and Hook’s meeting on the road? Why does Hook let him keep Excalibur?

~ Why would Zelena show up and tell Regina and Robin what she plans to do? And what does Robin expect his arrows to do against the resurrected Dark Ones?

~ It’s such a reversal to see Hook having more magical prowess than Regina!

~ Why would Regina need to rendezvous with Hook outside the palace after recruiting him? And her outfit and the slinky way she comes out of her carriage are really over the top!

~ I get Mary Margaret’s point about wanting to spend her last moments well, but saying it might be a fight they can’t win is so out of character!

~ So, Belle didn’t get marked, and no one told her about the impending threat to the others? And she just blithely accepts Gold’s random offer of an opportunity to travel, while knowing that Hook and Emma are still Dark Ones? That’s insulting to her intelligence and integrity.

~ If you pause at the right moment, you can read what Emma wrote in the note she left for her family, and it’s heartbreaking!

~ There are way more Dark Ones than people who got marked.

~ You can see how guilty Hook feels as soon as he kills his father.

~ Even though her life was not in danger, seeing Emma in pain finally snaps Hook out of his fixation on revenge.

~ Hook is basically doing the same thing Ingrid the Snow Queen did last season, sacrificing themselves to save everyone from the very threat that they created.

~ Even after she’s no longer the Dark One, Emma still talks with the same deep pitch and strange accent/cadence she adopted when she was.

~ “How does one get to the Underworld?” There’s a whole song about it in Hadestown!

~ The weirdest thing about the Underworld arc is that there is no conversation about who will and won’t go. David, Snow, and Robin leave their babies behind, and Regina lets Henry make the dangerous journey, without any argument or explanation. There is no stirring moment of everyone deciding that Hook is worth it and that they want to help Emma.

Season 5x12 “Souls of the Departed”

~ This is one of the biggest episodes about Regina. I’m pleased that they did something they rarely do, filling in a gap in the characters’ larger story—in this case, how Henry Senior ended up Cora’s miniature prisoner, a situation first set up in season 1.

~ I’m guessing Emma’s dream/vision takes place in the amusement park that she and Neal broke into. I wonder if the name of the ride, The Revelation, is symbolic!

~ The idea of the Underworld looking identical to Storybrooke … really seems like they’re just looking for any way to keep using the same sets and locations, even when the characters go to different worlds.

~ Regina’s father’s words are true, but should have been spoken to her years earlier, before she ascended to Evil Queen!

~ I don’t like how childish Regina is in the flashbacks.

~ While I love that the two Henrys got to meet, I find it hard to believe Regina would bring Henry along for a confrontation with Cora.

~ The clock beginning to move the same way it did in the pilot episode is a fantastic callback—and interestingly, Regina’s reaction is the precise opposite of what it was then!

~ The revelation of Hades feels a little predictable, with all of this show’s homages to the Disney versions of classic tales. Personally I find the actor underwhelming for the God of the Dead, and the blue fire hair just doesn’t work; it’s enough of an homage to have blue flames when he teleports.

Episode 5x13 “Labor of Love”

~ That is one intense teaser, and shows so much of Hook’s character. Even after being tortured, he refuses to give up, at least when Emma is involved. He insists on helping his fellow prisoner escape, and holds off Cerberus so she can do so, trusting her with the task of finding Emma.

~ David using the name “Bandit Snow” feels a little too much like an awareness of the fandom’s nicknames for characters.

~ Young Snow running through the woods and falling into a pit feels like the scene in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves when she gets lost in the woods.

~ Hercules’ casting is great: he’s young, as most demigod heroes probably were; he’s handsome, making him a believable first love interest for teenage Snow; and he has a strong physique to go with his godlike strength.

~ I wish there were more scenes with Henry and Robin Hood! Henry is already the son of two former thieves, he would probably get along really well with Robin!

~ Hercules and young Snow basically have the same storyline as Anna and David last season, with the newcomer giving the future hero a one-day crash course in fighting so they can defeat their extorting enemy. Anna and Hercules impart practically the same lesson about trying what seems impossible. While the premise is repetitive and a little flimsy, I like that Hercules does not offer himself as the hero to solve Snow’s problems; instead he offers to teach her so that she can solve her problems.

~ The music when Hercules talks about his labors seems reminiscent of “Go the Distance”!

~ It must warm Hercules’ heart to see Snow carrying a bow and arrow when they reunite!

~ How does Robin Hood known about air ventilation ducts? Has he learned how to carry out heists in the Land Without Magic?

~ Regina calls Herc “Wonder Boy”!

~ Young Snow basically experiences the humiliation that Hercules experienced in the movie when he first came to Thebes.

~ It’s interesting and quite plausible that Regina worked behind the scenes to undermine Snow even before killing her father and trying to kill her.

~ Cruella says “We hear it all down here.” Just how much do the Underworld residents know about what happens in the land(s) of the living?

~ Regina being the one to give Snow White a pep talk really does seem like a “when Hell freezes over” kind of moment!

~ Why didn’t young Snow change into that more practical outfit before confronting the bandits?

~ Did David and Hercules ever get a proper introduction? That would have been great to see!

~ Meg does not seem at all like her Disney movie counterpart. But, I like that Hercules does the same for her as he did for Snow by equipping her to defeat her fearsome enemy.

~ There are still many unanswered questions: Why/how did Meg end up in Cerberus’ path in the first place? And why did Hades imprison her? And why did he torture Hook?

~ As weird as it is to see Snow have a romantic interest other than David, her relationship with Hercules is pretty believable for the kind of people they are and the stage of life they were in when they met.

~ What Snow/Mary Margaret says about forgetting who she was, and reclaiming her identity as Snow White, is interesting for character, but seems like the kind of thing she should have said earlier in the show. It would have made more sense in Season 2, when the curse had just broken and everyone in Storybrooke had to reconcile their two identities. It would have been great to see Snow struggle to return to her old self, instead of immediately bouncing back.

~ Who are the guards working for Hades? Are they supposed to be Pain and Panic?

~ Hook seems a lot like Westley in The Princess Bride during his final scene, in terms of both the torture he endures and the nature of his threat against Hades (basically “to the pain,” since he can’t kill him).

~ This episode’s title is excellent, as it refers to Emma’s quest, Hercules’ labors, Snow’s efforts to protect her people, and the fact that Hercules finds love with young Snow and Meg.

Episode 5x14 “Devil’s Due”

~ Is the eye an homage to the three Fates/Gorgons who shared an eye?

~ Looks like Belle is hanging out with Grumpy/Leroy at Granny’s!

~ Milah kills a snake to save her son, like Mother Mary stepping on the serpent to save her children!

~ Milah seems at least somewhat aware of who Emma is, but still has to ask for clarification about her relationships. I appreciate that she doesn’t give Emma a hard time about either Hook or Neal; she simply asks to make sure she understands.

~ Putting Emma’s nursery furniture in her house is creepy as … well, Hell!

~ Why does Milah insist that Rumple be the one to kill Fendrake and steal the cure? Why not do it herself, since she’s braver and has the use of both legs?

~ Young Killian knocks out Milah’s assailant with his left hand, the one that he later loses!

~ Milah and Killian’s first meeting explains so much about them and their relationship. He is a foil to pre-Dark One Rumple. He stands up for Milah, showing bravery and physical strength, even though she is a stranger to him. Meanwhile her husband is reluctant to fight for his own wife and son.

~ It’s kind of amazing that Snow is the one to accompany Regina to find Daniel’s grave, since she was the one Regina blamed for his death.

~ Milah and Rumple’s relationship is wonderfully complex. Neither of them is completely innocent, yet neither is entirely to blame for how things turned out. They each caused each other to change for the worse.

~ Gold didn’t need to send Milah into the river of lost souls; surely he could have just used a memory charm to make her forget that she had seen Hades appear. Or would that not work because she is dead?

~ I’ll never forgive the writers for deciding that Milah couldn’t be reunited with Hook or Neal. Rumple, at least, seems to feel a little guilty for betraying her, but believes it necessary to save his child.

~ Regina healing an injured horse is interesting, and fitting since she used to love them so much. I totally thought it was going to be a horse that belonged to her.

~ How does Robin know that the friend was a “her,” and that she meant something to Gold? Did he tell them all that Milah was the one they were going to enlist for help?

~ “She made me who I am” is true, and sounds like a compliment, but I doubt Gold means it that way.

~ It’s so heartbreakingly ironic that after all the times Gold has pressed people into bad deals and even threatened to take away their children, he is now at the bad end of a deal that could cost him his child.

~ Hades chose the three central characters to stay in the Underworld. Emma, Regina, and Snow have been the main foci of the show since its beginning.

~ The characters seem to use idioms with the word “hell” in them more than ever now that they are in the Underworld!

Episode 5x15 “The Brothers Jones”

~ I’m glad that Henry acknowledges how hard it was for him to see Hook die.

~ I like that Hook is dealing with the weight of what he did as a Dark One, and is not immediately on board with Emma’s plan/desire to bring him back to life.

~ It’s sad to think of Liam waiting for Killian to die so they could be reunited, only for Killian’s life to continue for centuries.

~ The flashbacks seem to indicate that Killian always had doubts about his self-worth.

~ “If you served an honorable king, it would change you.” This seems to have come true, as Hook changed while serving the Charmings!

~ They totally robbed us of an emotional reunion hug between Killian and Liam! Why’d they have to cut from their first look to when they’ve settled down with drinks and apparently caught up a bit already?

~ This episode adds a bit more nuance to Hook’s relationship with rum. Apparently young Killian used it as a coping mechanism while working as a deckhand, and it cost him his opportunity to escape from slavery. When he then enters the king’s navy, he scolds a sailor under his command for possession of alcohol, saying it leads to bad form; now we know he was speaking from experience!

~ I like the wording of Liam’s declaration, but the delivery comes off kind of wooden, like he’s making a show of nobility rather than acting on real conviction.

~ The mayor and the sheriff having an affair seems like a callback to Regina and Graham in Season 1.

~ I’m curious when exactly Regina forgave herself for her wrongdoings. In Season 2, she asserts that she might actually be good, and that the title “evil” was given to her by her enemies. In Season 3, she says that she has no regrets about the horrible things she did because they all led to her adopting Henry. At what point did she come to understand that what she did was wrong? And once she repented, when did she forgive herself?

~ Regina says she tore out the pages of Henry’s storybook about herself so he wouldn’t figure out she was the Evil Queen, but I don’t remember that, and he did figure it out. Emma was the one who tore about the pages about herself.

~ Hades really plays the part of the devil, with limited power in this world, but enough promises of worldly power to tempt people to evil.

~ What would the point of a mutiny be if the new captain maintained the exact same course as the old captain?

~ With Emma being so protective of Hook and afraid to lose him, how could he be abducted from right under her nose?

~ So much of the dialogue in this episode comes across cheesy, but Hook’s line about the bar being so high he could only fail is great. That dynamic between the two brothers makes sense.

Episode 5x16 “Our Decay”

~ Dorothy has grown up a lot since the last time Zelena saw her! The scared little girl is now a powerful woman … but no explanation is given of how that happened.

~ They give Dorothy basically the same dynamic with Zelena as Snow did with Regina, a rogue heroine beloved by the people.

~ How does the Scarecrow have a brain now, if he didn’t go on that quest with Dorothy to get one from the wizard?

~ It’s cool that they lean into Hades’ jealousy of Zeus, but to bring out more parallels with Zelena, it would make more sense to stick with Zeus being the younger brother, not older.

~ How can Hades steer the bike with Zelena’s hat blocking his vision?

~ I’m surprised that Gold, who has spent so long hiding secrets from Belle, comes clean to her as soon as he sees her.

~ Gold’s little speech to Belle sounds like a conversation they should have had earlier in the show, perhaps in Season 2.

~ Zelena has never been as emotionally or psychologically complex as she in this episode. It’s refreshing to see!

~ If Hades’ heart was stopped, how can he claim to love?

Episode 5x17 “Her Handsome Hero”

~ Hades finding a flower in the Underworld and recognizing it as a sign of hope … should be a nod to Persephone, but of course they wouldn’t let her be his love interest in this story.

~ “I don’t have any issues.” The looks that the others give her = Emma is so in denial!

~ It’s good that they explore what is going on with Emma, since she has not been the focus for the last several episodes; but it feels like more telling than showing.

~ The toxicity of Belle and Rumple/Gold’s relationship is on full display in this episode. They both betray each other.

~ How did Belle get the dagger? Why would Gold part with it after saying how much he loves it?

Episode 5x18 “Ruby Slippers”

~ “It’s hard to be a Savior when no one wants you to save them.” That’s actually a good line, but it would have meant a lot more at some other point in the series, when Emma is in the midst of playing that role for her people.

~ I love that Hook and David talked, and that they work together to help Snow! They acknowledge the fact that everyone came to the Underworld to save Hook, and that it wasn’t just for Emma’s sake. And the one thing they have most in common is that they’ll do whatever it takes to help/protect the women they love. It’s great to see Hook help David to help his wife and son.

~ Ruby and Snow’s conversation about love has a lot of wisdom in it. I wish Snow had given that kind of encouragement to Emma when she was trying to figure out her feelings and relationship with Hook. Aside from the first season when everyone was cursed, they’ve never really talked about dating!

~ The way Hades kills Auntie Em demonstrates one of the biggest and most frequently recurring plot holes in fantasy fiction: if the villain is powerful enough to kill people so easily, why doesn’t he just kill the protagonists, instead of drawing out the conflict for so long?

Episode 5x19 “Sisters”

~ The song choice at the beginning of the episode and the wording of Hades’ proposal make me think of Loki. I wonder if those writers took inspiration from OUAT, or if there were any writers in common between the two shows.

~ “Because he’s a villain” really doesn’t make sense coming from Regina, of all people.

~ Interesting to have Hook and Cora reunite! I was not expecting that, and it went pretty well for both of them, considering that the last time they saw each other, they were getting in the way of each other’s plans.

~ The parallels between Zelena & Regina and David & James!!!

~ How is Robin able to take care of a baby by himself in the woods? I know it’s not his first time caring for a child, but logistically, how is that working out? Where/how is he getting milk for her?

~ Cora, Zelena, and Regina’s reconciliation is amazing! Barbara Hersey is one of the best actors on this entire show, and she knocks it out of the park; as melodramatic as they are, none of her scenes are cheesy or saccharine. And Cora being redeemed at the end was beautiful; I seriously wondered if she would go on to the worse place, after harming and destroying so many lives, but instead of consuming her, the fire seemed to purify her, like purgatory, before allowing her to move on to the better place.

~ David throwing his brother into the River of Souls just doesn’t sit right. It’s dissonant with both David’s character and the show’s theme of redemption.

Episode 5x20 “Firebird”

~ This is the first episode in quite a while that focuses on Emma in both past and present, and explores her relationship with Hook.

~ If Emma went looking for answers about her past in Maine, at the diner where she was found, she must have realized how close she was to the diner when Henry first brought her to Storybrooke.

~ Emma was on the receiving end of a bail bondsperson! And learned her tricks from her!

~ So apparently Emma only worked as a bail bondsperson for a year or so before Henry found her. What did she do to support herself during the decade after her imprisonment?

~ It seems weird that Emma continued to look for her parents even after placing her own son for adoption.

~ Hades’ explanation for why Emma and Hook’s heart split wouldn’t work makes sense. Emma’s plan always had that flaw: she would not have been sharing her heart with Hook’s physical body, only with his Underworld counterpart.

~ It makes sense for Peter Pan of Neverland to be one of the few people to say “tick tock,” the others being Rumple and Hook.

~ Robin has good reason to be suspicious of Regina trusting Zelena: there could be any number of magical deceptions at work, such as controlling her heart.

~ Emma and Hook’s first adventure was ascending a beanstalk into the sky; now, on what seems to be their final adventure, they have to descend to the deepest place underground.

~ STEALTHY! I hope he and Snow had a reunion at some point!

~ Emma looks back as she leaves the Underworld, just like Orpheus in the myth!

Episode 5x21 “Last Rites”

~ Hades kind of causes his own downfall by killing Arthur, giving him the opportunity to help Hook.

~ Hook knows the names of the stages of grief! That’s pretty funny, considering how long it took for him to move on from losing Liam and Milah.

~ Like when they first met, Robin and Regina are once again in a secret tunnel breaking into her own seat of power!

~ I would expect Hook, a pirate, to know well enough where someone would hide their treasure.

~ Even in death, Hook does everything he can to help Emma!

~ It’s cool to see Hook and Arthur both having moments when they decide to do the heroic thing.

~ It’s nice that Zelena reaches out to comfort Regina, but Regina should have tried to comfort Zelena as soon as she killed Hades, not turned to Robin’s dead body.

~ Emma, Regina, and Zelena all lose the men they love in roughly the same day.

~ Someone finally pronounced “prophesied” correctly! I wonder if King Arthur’s actor pointed out that characters had been saying it wrong.

~ Zeus is totally miscast. He looks completely unimpressive and underwhelming, not like a god or a king. They could have at least given him a decent haircut.

~ The fact that Hook already has a grave in the Storybrooke cemetery raises many questions: Who buried him? Was he buried with his hook, or did someone save it and give it to Emma? Did he leave behind a will and testament? Did ownership of the Jolly Roger pass on to Emma?

~ Everyone putting arrows on Robin Hood’s coffin is a beautiful, fitting tribute.

~ I have mixed feelings about Hook coming back. On the one hand, it’s fitting that he was only able to return after he and Emma were willing to let him move on; that kind of paradox makes sense. But for him to come back when Robin cannot is just weird, and it undermines the character growth Emma has been struggling with, learning to love despite the fear of loss and let go of those who cannot stay with her.

~ I would expect Regina to get rid of Hades’ ashes as quickly as possible, not let them lie in her office.

Episode 5x22 “Only You”

~ Roland joins the Merry Men’s toast with what looks like chocolate milk!

~ If Gold wanted to obtain all of Storybrooke’s magic, wouldn’t the well be the better place? That was where he brought magic to Storybrooke in the first place.

~ Emma uses the same arguments on Regina that the others were using on Emma in the previous episode, saying that she should take a break to deal with her grief.

~ This is not the first time Henry expresses the idea that all magic is bad and should be destroyed. But he has also expressed wistfulness about Emma and Regina’s magic, which has the capacity for good. And he himself uses magic for good as the Author. There could have been more, better buildup to him deciding to destroy magic.

~ Why would Gold appear to the heroes and tell them what Henry is doing? The only plausible reason would be if he wants them to find Henry for him. They should realize that!

~ I’m guessing Guinevere returns to Camelot with the other inhabitants, but does anyone console her about Arthur’s death or tell her about the role he played in defeating Hades?

~ Roland’s final scene is sweet, but it’s strange to see Little John so at ease around the witch who turned him into a flying monkey. And Roland’s relationship with Zelena is so weird at this point: they lived together for several weeks, so they must have bonded while she was pretending to be his mother, but she killed his actual mother, and Regina and Robin made him forget about the period of time when they lived together. And what does Roland think of his baby sister?

~ The scene of Emma and Regina in the apartment (which has now been inhabited by both of their dead lovers) is unusually long, and amazingly deep. Regina finally talks about the tension between good and evil inside her, and what motivates her from moment to moment. I only wish this had been explored or explained earlier in the series; but maybe she did not have the words to explain it, or enough trust in Emma to be vulnerable about it with her.

~ Henry is acting more like his father than ever, breaking the library’s exhibit and stealing an artifact.

~ I knew Gold would be behind the doors!

~ Gold choosing to save the Olympian Crystal rather than Belle from the portal is almost predictable at this point. Did he learn nothing from his centuries of regret over not choosing Baelfire over his magic?

~ I have mixed feelings about the new context they give to Baelfire/Neal. On the one hand, I’m glad they gave some explanation for what he did during those years apart from Emma, and his apparent hatred of magic resonates with the attitude he expressed to Hook and the Darlings. On the other hand, doing research to destroy magic goes against what he said about trying to forget about the Enchanted Forest.

Episode 5x23 “An Untold Story”

~ Overall, I don't like that this show treats works of science fiction like Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as if they were fairy tales, because they're categorically different. That being said, the steampunk-like landscape of the Land of Untold Stories is quite interesting!

~ Gold seems to change his tune to Regina throughout this episode: in one scene he tells her that she’s gone soft, in the next he tells her that the Evil Queen is who she truly is.

~ Henry seems to both teach and learn a lesson about the “willing suspension of disbelief.”

~ I’m a little disappointed that Emma and Hook did not get more screentime during this finale, after everything they went through this season in their struggle to be together. But I’m glad they finally had a moment and professed their love when they were not in danger.

#Once Upon a Time #ABC's Once Upon a Time #reactions #Captain Swan #Dark Swan #Underworld #Camelot

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