#OUAT 3x08

[vasfasan]

MALCOLM WAS PRO-CHOICE AND THE CHOICE HE MADE IS CHILD ABANDONMENT🤭🗣️🗣️🗣️

[florida3exclamationpoints]

Why do the shadows in ouat make the same sound as the silence in doctor who lol 😭

[dinneratgrannys]

ONCE UPON A TIME 3.08, Think Lovely Thoughts

[intothewickedwood]

Once Upon A Time Rewatch: 3x08 Think Lovely Thoughts

Little Rumple!

I’ve forgotten if Pan told the lost boys what he really needed Henry’s heart for.

That doll doesn’t have a face!  

Aww. David and MM holding hands as they walk is the cutest!

I love that Emma believes and wants to fight for her family all being together.

That was lucky that Rumple and Regina ran into the others. Maybe Neverland isn’t as vast as I thought it was.

Guys, those weapons are useless against Rumple. If he wanted to fight you, you’d be toast.

What the hell were those spinsters doing giving a child a bean so he can travel all alone and fend for himself? What were they thinking?!

Rumple’s dad is so creepy. I guess that’s why Pan is creepy.

The funny thing is that Rumple’s dad actually seems to care about his son. Like, he goes after him when Rumple’s upset and tells him tales of wonder. But then, looking at season 6, he seemed to hate him from birth, possibly because he blamed him for Fiona’s disappearance. He must have suffered some trauma being sold to the blacksmith and working in difficult conditions and then losing his wife. It makes sense that his behaviour would be a bit erratic and that he’d be desperate for a better life. It’s just a shame that he resented his son and sacrificed him for his own happiness. It also makes sense why he’d want to play all the time. Working with the blacksmith, he probably didn’t have much of a childhood and had to engage in all work and no play. He longed to have another chance at childhood and friendship and for people to revere him and this time he wanted to be in control.

Rumple just wants to be with his father.

The Stiltskins have such a vicious cycle of father’s abandoning there sons one way or another. Even Pan’s father sold him to a blacksmith. It makes you wonder if there’s a literal curse on the family, where all father’s or, heck, maybe even all parents must be separated from there sons. Maybe it didn’t work with Henry because he had a daughter or maybe the curse broke with Baelfire or Emma’s saviour status cancelled it out.

How the hell did Rumple create an elixir for dreamshade?

Woah there Rumple! You nearly scratched Killian in the face unsheathing his sword! Not that that matters to you but still! And what’s Hook to use to defend himself now?

Oh, cool David threw him a weapon.

Listen, I can’t get over the fact that Regina easily knocked out all the lost boys at once in this episode but didn’t do it when they were confronted by the lost boys and David got poisoned. Unless she did indeed forget the spell in such chaos?

How comes Baelfire was able to open the cage here but Emma couldn’t open Baelfire’s cage in the Echo Caves? Was it just because of the location? Or magic I guess?

Wendy be like, “for f**** sake I sacrificed centuries of my life to save Baelfire so I could date him and now he’s so freaking old!!” I’m joking, of course! I liked to think of there relationship in 2x21 as more brother and sister-y.

Bless her though. It was so kind of her to go and find him because she couldn’t bare for him to be without a family. Her parents must have been sick with worry for there missing daughter.

I’m so cozy right now. To watch Once I always put my quilt over my head and watch it underneath.I call it my ‘cinematic experience’ but today it’s extra cozy.

Yeah. Rumple’s Dad’s behaviour becomes more erratic when he reaches Neverland. He becomes obsessed with the idea of flying and is heartbroken when it doesn’t work. He longs to have the full experience and capture the child-like wonder of the one place he felt safe and happy. He would do anything to return to that but instead of dreaming it, he wants to live it. This man needed help raising Rumple. I feel like a part of him loved Rumple but he was forced to grow up too quickly and he was not prepared for fatherhood. He probably would have been a better father if Fiona was with him or if he had better support.  

Neverland seems so magical. I love the idea that you can just imagine what you want and it appears. That would be an amazing place to live if not for dreamshade and lost boys. You could manifest anything into your reality with enough belief!

Eww, don’t put the cake on that log. It could have bugs!

See! Look at him playing with Rumple, lifting him up and swinging him around! Perhaps he saw Rumple as more of a friend or a little brother.

Why Wendy lying? I guess she’s scared.

Henry must wonder why Pan would need to activate a protection spell when, as far as he knows, Pan is in charge of everything and there is no known threat.

So pixie dust grows on trees.

He doesn’t want to fly! And you can’t make him climb that tree! Well, at least he apologised. But you can’t leave your son alone in a strange place! And the worst part is that, as far as they know, they’ve used the last bean. There’s no way back to civilisation.

It looked like he didn’t have to climb that far.

Jesus Christ!!! I freaking jumped! That shadow is hella creepy! I hate, hate, hate the sound it makes and the way it speaks. It’s the stuff of bloody nightmares!

Once I learnt that that demonic thing was the sole inhabitant of Neverland, I’d get my ass the hell outta there!

Poor Rumple’s so scared!

Okay, but I’m actually really creeped out now.

Lmao! The way Emma just flipped when she walked up to the protection spell!

Fire is not the answer to everything Regina.

So, I’ve gotta wonder if the real reason Rumple was able to get past the protection spell was because of blood magic. He could have just lied when he said that it was because he didn’t have a shadow. But then and again I’m pretty sure Henry’s parents get through when they block out the moon so maybe not.

But look at the way he hugs his son. You can’t tell me that a part of him didn’t care.

Oh, so I guess the whole imagining things into existence doesn’t work with adults either.

Rumple and his father had the same haircut!

But what he does here is awful. Rumple must have been so terrified. He didn’t have to abandon him like that. Poor Rumple must have been dragged all the way back to the EF by that demonic shadow! He probably had no idea where the hell it was taking him or how his father could suddenly be so cruel!

I wonder why the shadow gave Rumple’s dad instructions on how he could be young again and how the shadow could become part of him. Perhaps the shadow needed a human vessel.

So cruel! And such an amazing twist that he was Peter Pan. I definitely did not see it coming when I first watched!  

Pan looks upset that he’s let his son go.

It still haunts me to this day whether Pan was genuine when he asked Rumple to stay with him on the island. Personally, I do think he was genuine. I do think he loved his son in his own way. He just doesn’t want to be a father and his own desires take priority.

It’s true. Why would he call himself ‘Peter Pan’ after Rumple’s doll if he didn’t care a bit and he asks that so passionately. See, I think Pan’s feeling for his son are a lot more complex than pure hatred. His son was perhaps his first friend.  

Okay. Maybe adults can summon things by imagination since Pan seemed to think Rumple could be capable of such a feat with enough belief.

Pan just said, “the choice was yours.” So maybe he was really giving Rumple a chance.

Well, he got what he wanted. He can fly now. But was it worth it?

Aaaaah! Stop talking demon Shadow! It’s voice is so spine chilling!

Henry, don’t believe him! He’s so manipulative!

Just as I thought! You have to have magic to pull out a heart or put it back in, so how comes in the graphic novel, Shadow of the Queen, Red was able to put Graham’s heart back in? Unless, her wolfy-ness counts as having magic?

Henry, noooooo!

Wait, is Pan telling Henry that all magic is at risk or just that of Neverland’s?

Oh noes!

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 3X08 - Think Lovely Thoughts

We’re nearing the end of the arc and it’s just utter PANdemonium!

Shut up, Rumple! That was funny!

Anyway, to find out why, venture below the cut!

Press Release

Pan leads Henry to a secret cave, where he has convinced the boy that he alone can save magic and Neverland itself. But a showdown between good and evil is about to go down as Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Regina, Mr. Gold and Hook find themselves directly on a path to Pan in an effort to save Henry. Meanwhile, back in the Fairy Tale Land that was, young Rumplestiltskin is given a magical item that could help him make a fresh start with his father – who has been anything but a good dad.

Main Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness

Past

This flashback may have one of OUAT’s most mature messages: Sometimes, family can be bad and they need to be cut away from you. There’s no hope of reconciliation and not even a removed heart to blame for it all. Sometimes, they’re just garbage people and trying to keep them in your life will only hurt you.

Malcolm’s abandonemt is one of the most malicious abandonments ever shown on the show. Like, had it not been for Gothel, it would probably be number 1. Malcolm sneers as he tells Rumple he’s the only thing holding him back and then just throws him to the metaphorical wolves. It’s the meanest kind of break up and making it familial just makes it so much sadder.

Present

Our present segment is kind of like “Into the Deep.” Like that episode, its character work is expressed not through more open-and-shut story, but through character interactions in the midst of plot progression. For a series like OUAT, I think these episodes are important because there’s always so much going on and this style keeps up the momentum of the season and of the two I’ve seen, I’ve liked them both!

It’s fantastic seeing everyone come together, flaws and and anger and all. We haven’t reached the “look how far we’ve come moment” yet, but the payoff is starting to emerge. We see bits of hope of reconciliation between Rumple and Neal, Neal forcing Rumple to do right by David, Neal and Killian working together better...yeah, there’s a lot of Neal, and I like that! Neal’s becoming a real favorite of mine and I’m really sad we’re gonna lose him soon.

But honestly, Pan is the true star of this episode again. What makes Pan such a good villain is how well he exploits tropes. He knows what buttons to press to make heroes do what he wants them to. “All heroes are tested.” He knew Henry would go tip over to his side with a line like that. Because Henry loves these tropes so well, Pan has been able to play him like a fiddle and that bit of manipulation is terrifying and fascinating.

Insights - Stream of Consciousness

-”Follow the lead, gents.” Not even being subtle (And I use subtle loosely), are we? XD

-”You’d be better off without him [Rumple’s Papa].” Fuck yeah, he would be!

-Wow, watching this again shows me just how much “The Black Fairy’s” flashback fucked us over. Like, here, Malcolm doesn’t outright detest Rumple, there are just a million things he’d rather do than take care of Rumple. In “The Black Fairy’s” flashback, well, he outright hates Rumple from the second he learns of Fiona’s fate.

-Pan’s influence and manipulation, not over just Henry, but all of the Lost Boys, is incredible!

-I fucking love the Spinsters. They are such sweet old ladies! They offer to teach Rumple and they’re so friendly! Rumple, stay with them forever. Tell Malcolm to fuck off!

-”Names always make things better.” FUCK. YOU.

-”I didn’t think I had any talent.” Damn! That is so sad! Baby Rumple went through a good chunk of his childhood without any real positive reinforcement. Like, I want to say what that does to a person, but we already know and...DAMNN.

-”Your father will always be your burden, Rumplestiltskin.” Honey, you don’t know the half of it.

-OMG! Malcolm did the Rumple laugh! I love this show!

-”But you trust me. Don’t you son?” “I want to.” Holy shit. That line could’ve come JUST AS EASILY out of Rumple and Bae’s mouths.

-Rumple’s family is so freakin’ ass-y with fathers and sons! Gideon, either don’t have kids or have those Belle genes kick themselves into high gear!

-”You suddenly interesting in what I have to say? Thought I wasn’t to be trusted.” Rumple, shut up. Your karma evaporated for a damn good reason! Don’t act hoity toity!

-”No deals, no favors, understand?” YESS KING! This is what I’m talking about with Neal. He’s not giving Rumple a fucking INCH and why should he? I said this before and I’ll say it again. Neal’s death had nothing to do with Emma but EVERYTHING to do with Rumple because Rumple would never be allowed to be sleazy again had Neal stayed alive.

-*Rumple grabs Killian’s sword right from his waist* *Jenna grins like a fucking idiot*

-”Thanks mate.” *A bro nod is exchanged* *Jenna grins harder*

-”You did that for me?” Let’s talk about this line. This fucking line! Neal never had anyone try to save him like this as a kid and now he learns that the Darling family was even more amazing than he ever thought! I love this show!

-”You told her I was dead?” NOT NOW, RUMPLE!

-”It was easier than telling the truth -- my own father abandoned me.” *Jenna cries like a little bitch*

-*Malcom falls* KARMA, BITCH!

-God, Malcolm is creepy as fuck as he remembers Neverland. He looks like he belongs in an asylum.

-”Well apparently, that’s the only thanks I need these days.” *sighs* You don’t get it now, Rumple, but you will in about four seasons.

-”You promise not to be long?” More like, “You promise not to BELONG?”

-“Because you don’t belong.” Holy crap! I wasn’t wrong!

-”Are you okay?” Neal, Emma just did a fucking back flip! You tell me!

-Blocking the moon out to get rid of shadows? Emma, you are a fucking genius! <3

-Is it any coincidence that I’m fucking humming “Brandy” while watching this episode? Damn, Guardians 2 hit me.

-”Oh, it’s for the best, Rumple.” Part of me isn’t sure if that’s the best bedside manner or not. On one hand, Fuck Malcolm with a rusty nail-covered bat. On the other hand, he’s an emotionally distraught child.

-”Pleasure to see you too, Baelfire.” Pan is such a little shit!

Arcs - How Are These Storylines Progressing?

The Mission to Save Henry - “We’re all going back. Together.” I love how everyone is together for the crescendo of the arc’s “climax” (Or one of like, three of them)! As I said before, it really delivers on the payoff promised at the end of Season 2 and the beginning of Season 3.

Emma Accepting Your Parents - “Maybe it’s just you rubbing off on me, but I refuse to believe that.” Until that line was said, to be honest, I was torn between being cynical of Emma for her rigid thoughts on family and her inability to understand the nuance of the situation and prideful in the character development she showed by fighting for her family. But once that line was said, I was on the latter side HARD! Also, this follows Emma’s line of thinking throughout the rest of the episode! She really wants to keep her parents!

Regina’s Redemption - Another small, yet big sign of Regina’s redemption is Regina apologizing for insinuating that Emma shouldn’t have rescued Neal right to Rumple’s face. Good job!!!

Killian’s Redemption - If my arch enemy called me a “cowardly pirate,” I wouldn’t smile. I’d gut him. I’m gonna give Killian points for being better than me in that regard!

Rumple’s Redemption - Rumple’s redemption is handled so well here! He’s still an asshole, almost charging David for the Dreamshade cure, but he’s really cooperating with the group because he knows he’s the center of a lot of bad blood. He’s trying to earn their trust because he knows Henry’s life means more than him being the top dog. And seeing him overcome his internal issues with Pan only to still lose hurts so much as a result!

Favorite Dynamic

The Nevengers and Rumple. Oh My Stars! The group teamup against Rumple was dramatic in the best way EVER. Just...everyone slowly making these points against Rumple as he weakly tries to throw a case for himself together was dramatic, tense, and incredible. All of Rumple’s bad karma comes to a head at the worst possible time and it is GLORIOUS! And the tense peace they reach is just as great! All of that distrust still remains, threatening to shake things up going forward. ”You life so much as a finger to perform magic, you’re gonna spend eternity in this box.” YESSS, Neal! And eventually, Rumple’s honorable decisions are recognized by Emma, Neal, and Regina!

Writer

David Goodman and Robert Hull are today’s writers and after their stellar start this season with “Nasty Habits,” I had high hopes for them. And they did a fantastic job here! Everything comes together very naturally, the dialogue is super en pointe, and the pacing for the packed story is just amazing!

Rating

Golden Apple. What an awesome episode. It’s a great rush seeing the final pieces come together for the grand Neverland rescue, seeing everyone work together as a team and sniping at each other while cooperating, and getting a great and comprehensive flashback at the same time! Also, everyone feels really intelligent and earnest to who they are and want to be, making this episode feel more real. It’s honestly such a great time watching it!

-----

Thank you for reading and sorry again for the smaller review. I got caught up by my backlog after coming home from the con and losing two of my review days, so it looks like you’ll probably be getting four reviews next week. Still, I promise I’ll make something a lot better for next time to redeem myself! In the meantime, I really appreciate your patience with me! <3

Also, thanks as always to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales for putting this project together!

Season 3 Total (76/220)

Writer’s Scores: Adam and Eddy (19/60) Kalinda Vazquez (17/40) Andrew Chambliss (17/50) Jane Espenson (10/30) David Goodman (20/40) Robert Hull (20/40) Christine Boylan (10/20) Daniel Thomsen (10/30)

Operation Rewatch Archives

[lumadreamland]

365 days of emma swan: day 212 

[allaboutjmo]

🦢 Jen as Emma Swan on Once Upon A Time episode 3x08 ‘Think Lovely Thoughts’

[laschatzi]

OUAT rewatch: 3x08 “Think Lovely Toughts”

The Nevengers finally reunited, and all Regina can do is spit her venom, gimme a break. She and Rumple might have Pandora’s box (well, that didn’t turn out that well in the end, did it??), but they have no clue and so far no means to get off the island. The others have Pan’s shadow and an enchanted ship, so there’s that. But I digress.

Rumple’s always Rumple, of course - when did he ever do something selfless? He never does the thing because it’s the right thing - only when someone he loves tells him to. 

His backstory was heartbreaking, of course - and fascinating to see how many mannerisms he picked from his father, but only when he was the Dark One! The trademark DO Rumple giggle is actually Malcolm’s! My daughter was absolutely fascinated by that. Sidenote: damn, what a great villain Peter Pan was, still and forever my fave!

Damn Henry, so naive... on the other hand, all of the adults present have lately lied to him. Can’t even blame him. My daughter got very angry at me when I told her it was way past her bedtime and no, we couldn’t watch another episode LOL She would binge the whole show if she could!

[morgana-pendragon]

i know i’ve said it before and i will absolutely say it again henry is so fucking stupid

[ask-thelostgirl]

How do you feel about Gold now you know he tried to kill Henry?

What?! I only know what Neal told me and that is Henry being Gold's. I didn't know that he actively attempted it though. Is this true? @asksonofthedarkone? @askingmrgold?

[onceuponanothertime-rp]

EPISODE CHANGE: 3X08 - THINK LOVELY THOUGHTS

Hey friends!

Just a reminder that our plot has now moved forwards to the next episode: 3x08: Think Lovely Thoughts. All answers, paras and interactions should take place either during that episode, or between that episode and the next. If you have any pending interactions from this last week that you need to wrap up, please wrap them up by the end of the day today.

Our next episode change will be to 3x09 on Sunday, June 27th at 11:59 PST.

To everyone who joined the watch party: Thank you for joining us!! And to everyone who missed it, please join us next week, if you like. It was a lot of fun. Our next watch party will be on Sunday, June 27th at 7PM PST.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

-Mod Casey

[scully-deserves-better]

LIL BABY RUMPLE’S VOICE ARE YOU KIDDING

[dinneratgrannys]

ONCE UPON A TIME 3.08, Think Lovely Thoughts

[captainssaviors]

Captain Swan scenes: We need to talk. (3x08 → Think Lovely Thoughts).

[kiralamouse]

Okay, this is to reblog AFTER you’ve seen 3.08. So if I somehow accidentally send this out sooner, make sure you don’t read! (And scold me for sloppy Tumblr usage.)

So, uh, Rumple wasn’t a Lost Boy, then, but he knows Pan from before. I’m guessing “childhood friend”, because 1) it seems the most likely option at the moment and 2) I am incredibly amused by a child named “Peter” hanging out with a child named “Rumplestiltskin”.

Or, y’know, a child named “Rumplestiltskin” by his awful father who in turn names himself after his child’s sensibly-named doll.

I’m not saying that’s a flashback I want to see, but that’s totally a flashback I want to see.

Do you? DO YOU???

For heaven’s sake, what has Rumple ever done to you? (I mean, I have the creeping suspicion that he actually has done something to him, but I still highly doubt it justifies all of this crap.)

He was BORN. Oh, the awfulness! (Seriously, some of my fave fics are ones where the Dark One is able to overcome his childhood traumas enough to hold Pan accountable for his awful awfulness.) Like, the one time Rumple has a History with someone where he is, in fact, totally innocent. And it’s heartbreaking.

“The Piper was my friend”

And that was the day Rumple decided that his son needed better friends

And better family. I mean, really, for all Rumple’s manifold sins as a father and grandfather, he has done so, so much better than his father. And what’s really creepy is how Pan still blames RUMPLE for PAN’s abandonment, and Rumple’s too traumatized to call him out on it. And the way Pan uses *his own grandson* to get back at his son, and plans to use his great-grandson... it’d be bad enough if he just didn’t care about family, but that he keeps track of his family and only to use them...!

So this is where the “Lost Boys” come from? A dig against Rumple? …damn. That whole scene was fantastic, of course. Pan’s actor is really delivering the goods here, and on Rumple’s part… I don’t even know what half those emotions are. He’s scared, definitely (and hiding it poorly), but there’s also something like sadness. A lot of it, actually. And very little anger. Whatever happened between them, it doesn’t look like Rumple managed to hold a grudge.

*cries* I told you. IT GETS WORSE. IT ALWAYS GETS WORSE. (Although at least at this point you’ve hit the last of the “how much worse could it be? OMG SO MUCH WORSE HOW HOW HOW” parts with the backstory.)

“nasty habits” impressions

Quick request: I’m spoiler-free beyond this episode, and I’m trying to keep it that way. If you want to discuss future events, please start a new thread. Thank you!

Short version: Everything is awful

No, I mean it. Everything.

Longer version under the cut.

Keep reading

[onceland]

OUAT Episodes - Season 3