#and after rewatching henry danger over the last few weeks

[demigods-posts]

i like how we all just adopted henry and charlotte as a version of percy and annabeth in a different universe at the exact same time. we really do share a braincell.

[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales Della Arc Reviews: The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!

Hello all you happy people. I’ve been dreading this one.. not because it’s bad. Quite the oppisite. In fact on rewatch I was marveling at how brilliant this one was and remembering why it was on my best of list. But because the ending, as you all well know, is the most gutwrenching part of the entire series. Three seasons and lots of other heartrending moments.. and the ending of this episode from the big reveal to that final shot above tears you the fuck apart. It’s hard to watch even know it all works out in the end and that i’d be watching the conclusion the next day instead of having to wait a rather painful week like I did at first airing. It’s just that good. So join me under the cut for a review of one of the series finest half hours and some of David Tennant’s best work as we crash the Sunchaser one last time.. for this season... and i think Launchpad crashes it again in the finale so I don’t get that title. 

So our plot for the episode is that 

Yes Clan McDuck is taking their version of a vacation. It’s off to Monocrow for the E.X.C.E.S.S. Expo! Yes it’s the EXCESS Expo! With the latest in racecars lasers and many more! The EXCESS Expo! With booths from such welcome guests as Stark International, Muppet Labs, S.T.A.R. Labs, VenTech, The Franklin Sherman Memorial Fishmobabywhirlomgig Institute, TCRI, Gryzzl, Sumdac Systems, G-Heavy Industries, Tylerco, Lexcorp, Wayne Enterprises, Quickstart, The Gizmonic Institute, Alchemax,and Baintronics! But that’s not all! We also have huge paneeellls! Hank Pym’s “The ethics of dating your robot grandaughter”, Reed Richards “How to Dispatch an Evil Council made up entirely of yourself!”, Victor Von Dooms “CURSE YOU RICHARDS I’M SMARTER FOR I AM DOOM”, Stanford Pines with “How to Kill a Godlike Demon and Get your Smile Back”, Dr. Bunsen Hondedew with “How to abuse your assitant in 2020″ Dr.Light with “The Ethics of helping your robot child fight an evil albert einstein”, Profesor Henry Hidgens with “The incoming apocalypse with songs from Working Boys: A New Musical” Ray Palmer “Welcome To Pain”, and you know our friend Ass Dan will be in full effect> yeah bitch you know he’s going to live forev... what’s that? He’s dead. oh shame. Someone call rusty venture. Yes I know i’m typing this. Shut up. THE EXCESS EXPO. BE THERE OR WE’LL SEND OUR ROBOTS AFTER YOU. 

... Where.. Where was I? Oh yes, big vacation. Monocrow.. which sadly is not just a big field with just Crow T. Robot in it. Someday you’ll get MST3K/Ducktales Jake, someday. Point is our heroes are excited, and Scrooge is also there to find the Maltese MacGuffin, a mysterious artifact no one’s ever seen. And the kids and Scrooge have their own specail guest joining them: Bentina! Yeah turns out she has hundreds of vacation days built up, and simply hasn’t used them so she’s using a few to join them. It also once again shows how much less of a heartless money monster this Scrooge is as any of his employees asking for a vacation, paid or not, in the comics would result in this:

So their off on their greatest adventure.. with Louie having’ bought something mysterious along with him he’s only telling the other kids about. On with the intro!

Beakly.. is intstantly not at ease as they take off after driving their jeep into the plane. She feels launchpad is reckless, rightfully so not helped by a lack of seatbelts on the plane or his cheefully saying the closest he’s got, a floatie, will help “When” we crash. She’s also equally annoyed by Scrooge’s cavalier attitude, having intrusted the kids to him only to find out what the adventueres are really like. And this is the only part of the episode that REALLY doesn’t work. She KNOWS these two idiots too well for this to be beliviable. Launchpad wrecks part of the mansion at least once a day, and before Duckworth she had to clean that shit up. He’s there all the time.. and more damingly HE DROVE YOU AND YOUR KID, YOUR KIDS BEST FRIENDS, AND YOUR KIDS GIRLFRIEND TO THE FUCKING MOVIES. I can’t buy given how bad a driver launchapd is she didn’t wrench the wheel from him to prevent their early graves. Scrooge meanwhile is her BEST FRIEND. And until season 2 for her and 3 for him ONLY friend. Sure she works for him, but outside of one incident in this episode he treats her as his equal more than his housekeeper for the entire series. They trust each other more than anyone else at this point. And the only other two people Scrooge ends up trusting as much are Donald and Della. She’s been around him enough to know how he is. What did she THINK he was going to be like with the kids? She’s met the twins, and even mroe so is on good terms with Donald even into the pilot and they only got off on bad terms due to clashing over house rules. So she KNWOS this is what he does with children. You can’t be shocked Scrooge took children on death defying adventures in a barely secured plane after all this time. It’d be like giving Donald a turkey to carve and being suprised when it ends in this...

It just dosen’t work especially with a professional spy! Her job is reading people! And yes I know many of you are going to say “Well she misread Bradford”... but so did Scrooge and so many others. NO ONE suspected him. He’s that good. So her suddenly having a complaint about all this stuff when she could’ve come along anytime to check it out or just looked at the plain bothers me a LOT. Thankfully it’s only really present at the start as while it sets off her concern their back and forth soon has a far deeper meaning. But Scrooge insists Launchpad take her on a tour to ease her worry, seems like a contrdictary set of sentences there, while he flies. How hard could it be. Somewhere on the Moon, Della has the sudden urge to kick her uncle’s ass. 

So meanwhile in a secret base set up in a cargo box, the kids are working on the Della mystery. Turns out what Louie smuggled aboard was the documents shredded on the date the boys found on the Spear of Selene plans. Louie got them by smooth talking Quackfaster who even he found nuts. It also once again shows Dewey was only holding things back by keeping the other boys out as in jus weeks, since chronologically there were two other episodes between this and the last Della episode versus just one, their almost to the truth as one document from that day is simply torn into pieces and simply needs to be re-jiggered like a puzzle. Like most puzzles though naturally once they get it all together they find there’s one goddamn piece missing and it ends up loose int he plane flitting around... just as Scrooge majorly screws up and bumps things, leading Beakly to wonder where the kids are and them to scramble out. 

So yeah Scrooge seemingly crashed the plane.. except Launchpad notes that if they crashed.. why are they still airborne? This leads to everyone finding out their precariously perched on a VERY narrow rock that’s skewered the plane. Orignially the crew decided to strictly adhere to the concept that any movement would rock the thing.. but realized i’td make things boring visually so they allowed themselves some artistic license. 

So yeah our heroes are stuck in a hard place and Scrooge stubbornly digs in insisting he can fix this and turns on the plane.. which sends it spinning and prevents Dewey from getting the piece which ends up wedged in the jeep. Huh I think we need some appropriate music for going in circles. 

So yeah all Scrooge did was blow up one of the engines... I mean the blow up the engine button is right there, would’ve saved you some time. So Beakley berates him for not calling for help and digging in and for it’s next plan it’s time for Handyman Corner where he’s going to show you how to jumpstart a plane with a jeep’s engine. Beakly is not impressed and Scrooge’s case is not helped as Louie feigns fear , with Huey and Webby following his lead, so Dewey can get the piece. Unfortunately pointing out the very REAL dangers they face, with Huey giving the odds and Webby pointing out unlike most dangers they face there’s no easy way out and no villian to fight, sends Louie into an actual panic, jumpstarting the car  and causing the cargo bay to open, leading to one hell of a sequence: From Bentina driving a butterfly knife into the ground to hold the kid’s secret base crate (and wondering why it’s so heavy), to Launchpad desperatley platforming his way to saftey to scrooge swining in with his cane to rescue them. It’s some whopper animation that really shows off how damn good the team was and how gorgeous this show truly was at it’s best. 

The results aren’t good: the plane’s ballnce is now off so even a slight movement can move it, a holdover from the original idea simply saved for when it’d create the most tension. As a result Dewey can’t get the last piece as he can’t move and Scrooge berates the kids and has thems tay still watching the end credits of darkwing duck (It’s launchpad’s inflight movie and the tape is jammed to that section.

IT’s here the Scrooge and Beakley stuff went from poorly written to “oh shit” in one line. Scrooge is getting more and more desperate to prove he can take care of the kids on his own but Beakely’s demeanor has turned from annoying scolding.. to genuine concern and PLEADING with him not to go through with another dumb stunt that will leave them in a worse situation, int his case using the parachutes as counterweights to fix the engine. He refuses both rebuffing her as “your boss” (Which gets her rightfully pulling on the cord too tight) .. but then that one line comes in “I can protect her”. Beakley is confused.. but it instantly makes clear this is about Della and on rewatch now knowing the reveal at the end.. it makes it that much more heartbreaking. Part of his refusal to backdown is his natural nature as a stubborn ass. It’s been well displayed throughout this season and the ones after it: HIs refusal to backdown from nevverst, his jealousy of Dewey for being better at him and his refusal to accept it.. the man just does not back down and while it’s good in tight spots and against bad guys, as he finds a way out for him and his family with sheer grit and badassery... it’s a massive character flaw when dealing with people, as refusing to actually talk to them like a ratoinoal adult only makes things worse. And boy oh boy is he about to make things worse. But the other part is he can’t admit to himself there’s a risk in his lifestyle and that he can’t keep everyone safe constantly.. that theres inherent danger. He’s bought into the “because i’m scrooge mcduck” mantra here not out of his ego, entirely, but because he can’t let that not be enough again. He can’t LOOSE someone again like he lost Della and he can’t fail again. So his worst trait and his greatest trauma have mixed to make him act so rashly even Launchpad takes some shouting to agree to give him the other parachute. It’s clear he’s endangering EVERYONE to prove he can save them. 

Eventually though things reach their head as Dewey CAN’T take the wait anymore. He’s waited his whole life to find out about his momma, and the answer’s feet away... and he can’t let it sit any longer. He HAS to know what happened. So he goes for it, though the rest of the kids are against it since i’ts highly risky and they can wait Huey ends up agreeing to help using his Junior Woodchuck knowledge (Where Newton apparently got the idea), to counterbalance hsi weight and guide him via walkee talkee. It’s a really nice moment, not only showing off Huey’s skill and intellect but also how much they care for her. Dewey may of screwed up last time but their still the duck boys and if he can’t talk him out of being sucidially reckless.. Huey’s going to at least give him a fighting chance. 

Unfortunately Scrooge spots him mid argument with Beakley and naturally wants him to give it here... but once the ship buckles when Dewey tries we get the scene that makes the episode. Up till now the tension has been top notch, ratcheting up by bit, not knowing if the kids would get caught, if something would happen with the plane all building to this. Scrooge and Dewey’s final chase. Dewey uses the distraction to make a runner for it with Scrooge following.. and Launchapd using the fact he’s still attached to the airbag to stop him. It’s a small but excellent character moment, showing that as much as Launchpad loves his boss.. he loves his best friend and eveyrone else’s saftey more. SCrooge of course uses it to knock him back while Beakley and the kids counterbalance. We also get the best joke of the episode as Beakley tells them to stop running.. only for them to simply start tip toeing, with Bentina’s reaction being a perfectly resigned “That’s not what I meant and you know it”. 

It’s a tense chase, with both sides using the enviorment to their advantage from the parachute to the crate.. and it’s breaking open reveals something’s gonig on and causes Beakley to notice Webby has the blueprints in her pocket and once she unfurls them and finds out what they are.. she can only give a sad, remorseful “oh children, what have you been up to” She’s not even mad like they seem to think.. she’s just sad, knowing the wound that’s about to be reopened for her closest friend and the one that’s about to be inflicted on those poor children, and knowing that they’re ALL made it worst by hiding it. Toks deserves all the praise for her delivery here. 

Eventually the piece blows outside of the plane and Dewey refuses to give up and go after it. Things get their most tense as everyone BEGS him not to come back, it’s not worth his death to get this. It’s not worth all of this. But he simply chucks the walkee away and ignores them. We then get Scrooge going from scolding grandpa.. to dearly begging Dewey to come back... David’s delvery here is just heartbreaking “I can’t protect you. Is that what you wanted me to say. Please lad just tell me what it will take to come back inside?” And Ben Schwartz meets it with an utterly emotional “Tell me about the spear of selene”. The animation here is once again some of the series best with Dewey’s determined face and Scrooge’s heartbreak as he realizes he has to finally stop hiding this from them and he’s not ready. So he takes his uncles hand.. and if you thought all of this is painful.. oh boy.. we’re just getting started. 

So back in the plane, with Launchpad setting up a table and a proper counterbalance so they can all sit, Scrooge finally explains and the boys, webby, and us int he audience all get the answers we desperately wanted: It was 10 1/2 years ago. The Original Trio had journeyed the world, having all sorts of adventures and making themselves into legends. But eventually you hit a wall and they’d realized they’d been just about everywhere. They could still globetrot of courser and as Season 3 would bear out there were some places they didn’t know about.. but the earth was about used up. So Della, being an aerospace wunderkind, thought of the next logical place to go. The stars. The Spear of Selene was a rocket, her pet project to give her kids, who she was expecting at the time the stars. 

Thing was Donald wasn’t on board with this at all. And the clash between the two, which we see in the flashback but don’t hear since Scrooge is narrating all of this over some cool looking semi-still images, was inetiviable. As I coverd in the spear of selene review I feel Donald was burnt out at this point. That he was tired of adventures and just wanted normalcy even before Scrooge forced his hand with what was to happen next. So to him Della should just settle down, live a regular life and raise those kids. The problem is... Della WASN’T burnt out. She didn’t need a break to live a normal life like Donald badly needed. She wanted to keep going and it was her choice. While Donald ultimately was right about the risk, he was wrong to try and force her into a life she didn’t want and project on her like that. 

What happened next though was all on Scrooge and Della. Scrooge simply did the thing that’s likely part of why Donald resents him so much and it took so long to fix thing: He ignored what Donald felt and thought, sided with Della and built the ship without telling either of them. His selfishness, thinking he knows what best and treatment of donald.. all backfired horribly. Della sussed out the ship.. and I still feel she was suspicious on her own.. and that Bradford telling her was him simply handing her a lit fuse knowing it’d go off and WHATEVER happened as a result of this would break scrooge. Even if the rocket had gone off saftely and everything was fine.. he could easily claim Della threatned him,k which she probably did and he simply went with it, and either way Donald would be unable to forgive either SCrooge or Della for the deciet. It just went better, and worse than he could’ve anpiciapted: much like the fantastic four she took the ship in the dead of night and hit a cosmic storm, with Scrooge only finding out in time to try and help her.. but the storm hit the ship.. and unlike the ff instead of gaining the power to turn invisible, she simply disappeared. She was lost. He and Donald didn’t speak again after Donald found out till 6 months ago. 

If that wasn’t heartbreaking enough.. it gets worse. The kids, full of fresh pain and anger over Scrooge’s part in things, their mom abandoning them, and their uncles hiding this for decades.. take it out on the one person there. Frank and Matt recently said in an artcle detailing the best 7 episodes from one site, or at least what the site considered to be the best, that Donald was absent because  he also knew and would’ve told them sooner. I also feel it’s because he would’ve disarmed this conflict, at least admitting what scrooge did alongside beakley. As mad as he was.. his own anger had started to disapate. The wound was fresh to the boys and thus they lashed out. 

Dewey blames him for it outright, Huey tell shim he should’ve called her back, and Louie tells him he shoudl’ve sent a fleet of ships to find her. As we find out in the somehow even MORE crushing ending he did the last two and as I made clear, and the show does, this was Della’s horrible decision. She took an unfinsihed rocket, she left her kids, she did this. While she regretted it and I don’t hold it against her because she spent 10 years away from the mon the moon, she’s suffered THROUGHLY for it and I don’t feel I need to pile on, Scrooge wasn’t wholly responsible. Still partly. Dewey makes things worse by impling scrooge GAVE UP ON HER because it cost too much. 

Look the rest of it is valid, if misguided, as Beakley tries to chime in on it and correct them knowing the full story. But claming, no matter how greedy he is that Scrooge would ABANDON HER.. that’s just wrong and he knows it. It’s why Scrooge gets so upset.. and why he pushes the last two people in his corner away. Webby critisizes building the rocket and Scrooge belts out “This is a family matter, your not family”. runing his position and poisiong his one ally by lashing out at someone who DID NOT DESERVE THIS. Make no mistake, this is present day scrooge’s WORST action. The past scrooge did worse, we saw that, but this is almost worse than the goat thing. Telling a child h’ed basically adopted, ignoring the finale twist for this as it’s irrelvant and all it does is twist the knife deeper, that “she’s not family” just because he wants someone to be mad at besides his boys... that’s fowl. Everyone’s against him except launchpad and tha’ts where his stubbornesst ragically comes in: he digs in his heels refuses to explain.. and the plane crashes due to it. though safely. Their safe.. but the family is broken. 

So we get our hell of an ending scenes. Donald cheerfully announces to the boys, who earlier had no intention of leaving anyway, the boats finished.. only for Dewey to inform him “We know abotu the spear of selene” . Donald is heartbroken, not only that they know.. but that he didn’t tell them. 

But since “it gets worse” is this episodes motto, we end on Beakley, Webby and Duckworth all leaving on vacation. How a ghost does vacations I dunno, maybe he’s going to go to Amity Park. Point is Webby, despite EVERYTHING , is crestfallen he’s not even going to say goodbye and still worried. As I said in my review of the finale.. it’s her heart that makes her and while Scrooge may be a dick right now.. he’s family. So we get the final lines of the episode Beakley: Well, you've successfully pushed your family and everyone who ever cared about you away... again. I hope you're happy. Scrooge:I AM

It’s just damn heartbreaking.. once again he’s lost everything and is too bitter to admit it and try and get it back. And as we see between the lines.. the boys were wrong: He drained his bin and his buisnesses creating a fleet to get Della back, and kept going despite the expense. He did everything he could to call her back. Nothing worked.. and he only stopped because the board yanked him away, Bradford sneering with pride as his plan, which backfired HORRIBLY, had at last finally gotten him what he wanted: a broken scrooge tired of adventure. And as Scrooge sits in his chair seething.. he’s broken again, angry, with tears in his eyes, loving nobody.. and nobody loving him, eerily mimickcking his first appearance in comics. 

Final Thoughts: 

This episode is a masterpice. It’s perfectly paced, with only a minor flaw tha’ts qwuickly snuffed out for a gripping drama. This was a gamble, taking 9 minutes where ther’es almost no jokes and just pure tensino and heartbreak.. but it paid off. This episode is one of the series finest and leads to one hell of a finale but on it’s own.. it’s nigh untouchable. This is the series at it’s best, and the finale and later information (More about Della and the spear, WEbby’s true origin, bradford’s role in all this and role as head of fowl), only make it better, with all those things being aware to the creators but not us. They really made us wait for this reveal but damn if it wasn’t perfect. 

Next Time: Webby, Bentina and Launchpad try to desperatley piece the family back together before the boys and donald leave forever.. and Scrooge’s darkest hour leaves him vunerable for his greatest foe. It’s finally time to get back to Lena as the Shadow War descends over our heroes.

If you liked this review, follow for more and you can comission your own reviews by paying me 5 bucks to review any episode you like. Message me to talk it over. And if you’d rather get a gaurantted review every month, hit up my patreon at patreon.com/popculturebuffet. For 5 bucks a month you get a review every month and as of now special thanks in each review. Even a buck a month gets the thanks and helps and my next stretch goal, which is 5 bucks away nets everyone a review of darkwing duck everymonth for my lovely patreons to vote on. Special thanks to my patreons Emma and Kev, and I will see you at the next rainbow. 

[twdmusicboxmystery]

8x13: Do Not Send Us Astray - Re-Watch

Hey Everyone! So the rewatch of S8 continues. As I wrap up S8 this week, I’m kind of addressing broad themes rather than specifics in the episodes, but I’m glad I rewatched this season. It’s definitely given me some interesting insights.

This is the episode where the Saviors attack HT and hit a bunch of people with their walker-blood poisoned arrows. Later, when everyone is sleeping in the manor house, Tobin dies from the infection, turns, and starts biting people. Carol kills him. Also, Henry accidentally lets the savior prisoners out when he’s looking for whoever killed his brother, so he runs off. This is the beginning of where Carol will go to find and rescue him.

The first thing I noticed (not really TD) were similarities between Morgan’s arc here, and Carol’s in S10, particularly in the Look at the Flowers episode. So, remember how they had Carol hallucinating Alpha (after she’d died) and Alpha would say things to Carol that other characters, like Lizzie and Mica had said?

I'd forgotten, but they did the same thing with Morgan here. Remember that last episode, Henry killed Gavin. So in this episode, Morgan keeps hallucinating Gavin with blood running down from his throat where Henry stabbed him, and saying all things Morgan used to say in Clear and Here’s Not Here. (You were supposed to, etc.) Just thought that was really interesting, and more proof that Carol and Morgan have pretty much the same arc. It revolves around deceased children they couldn’t save and their (Carol and Morgan’s) mental state. Morgan also does this a few episodes later with Jared after he dies.

Okay, so they have this little battle at Hilltop. There’s a school bus heavily involved, which is obviously a potent symbol. But they also had a light and dark theme going on. Once the Saviors were inside the gates, all the car lights turned off, which plunged them into darkness. Simon even says, “I can’t see shit.” It just reminded me of Beth’s possible blindness, and of her and Noah staggering around in the dark when they tried to escape.

Then, when Simon and the others move forward, the HT-ers suddenly turn all the lights on in a blazing stream and start firing from the windows of the manor house. This is really what wins the battle for them. Simon and the saviors cut and run. Many die, but some, including Simon, get away. But HT has won the battle, and they used the light—car lights, no less—to do that. So obviously very heavy symbolism there.

During this battle, Tobin is stabbed. He doesn’t die here, but rather later from the infection. I think his wound is in the shoulder or chest, but it’s not fatal. The interesting things is that when he goes down, Carol runs over to him. (Remember this is prior to her hooking up with Zeke, which she does after the end of this season, after she saves Henry. So Tobin is her most recent love interest. She left Alexandria at the end of S6 and hasn’t seen him since.)

What caught my interest here is the dialogue. You’ll definitely recognize it. Carol runs over to him. Tobin says, “I’m okay.” Carol answers, “It’s okay. I’m here.” Pretty much word for word what Beth said to Carol at Grady. I have a few possibilities for how to interpret this.  After hashing things out with my fellow theorists, I think I have a better handle on this. So, here’s the thing. I do think this is a Beth thing. Tobin is a parallel/anti-parallel to Beth here. Why? Party because of the Grady dialogue.

Tobin wasn’t bitten, but he still died from the walker virus. Carol didn’t die at Grady, but probably should have (internal injuries). So, Tobin could be an anti-parallel to her. Then again, Carol wasn’t bitten and wasn’t ever really in danger of turning. It’s Beth that we think was bitten but didn’t die. So, I lean toward Tobin being an anti-parallel to her, and that’s why it’s Carol saying the “I’m here” line this time.

But the other reason I’m equating Tobin and Beth has to do with Patrick, from 4a. Remember that he died in 4x01, but no one realized it. He woke up (as a walker) and started eating people at the prison, right? Well, we have the exact same situation happening here. And after thinking about it, I realized something really big that equates Beth and Patrick.

For today, I’m just going to give you that as a tease. I don’t want this post to be overly long, so I’ll talk about Beth and Patrick tomorrow. For now, just know that this Tobin situation in 8x13 plays into that.  

During the fight, we also have Tara being injured. Over these episodes, one thing I haven’t touched on is that Tara and Daryl are constantly arguing about whether to kill Dwight or not. Daryl wants to, but Tara is starting to recognize that Dwight really wants to help them, etc. 

So here, Daryl sees Simon and Dwight sneaking up on Tara to kill her. (Dwight doesn’t really want to; he’s just going along with Simon to keep his cover intact.) Daryl shouts at Tara and she turns, but still gets shot in the shoulder with an arrow. After they figure out that Tobin turned because of the poisoned arrow, she’s sure she’ll die, same as the others, but she doesn’t.

So, plot-wise, this is a way to show that Dwight really is on their side. He might have shot her, but he gave her a non-fatal wound with a NOT poisoned arrow. If Simon had shot her, she would have died.

While thinking about this, I fixated somewhat the poisoning thing, especially as we’ve had so much water poisoning symbolism during S10. It occured to me that maybe we can draw a parallel between Tara and Beth here in that Tara was shot and should have died, thought she would, but didn’t. Which may have been true of Beth if she was bitten, as we believe, and was also true of Carol at Grady.

@wdway​ said she agreed with that. She pointed out that the bullet that struck Beth could be seen as her own, personal poisoned arrow. It probably should have killed her, but didn’t, because there were mitigating circumstances TF couldn’t have seen or known about. The same thing happened here. They couldn’t be sure Dwight’s arrow wouldn’t prove fatal, so they all assumed Tara would die. But she didn’t. Great insight!

@wdway​ also pointed out that, per this edit, Beth’s hand fell like Snow White’s, right? And with Snow White, it was the result of a *poisoned* apple that wouldn’t kill her, but merely rendered her unconscious for a time. So yeah, loving this connection!

The only other thing that really jumped out at me in this episode are the clocks.

As everyone settles down for the night in the HT manor house, before Tobin passes, we see a grandfather clock. It’s basically an 8:20 clock. The hands look slightly off to me, but we’re also seeing it at an angle, so that may be why. Overall, I think this is basically an 8:20 clock, which = resurrection.

So, here’s the sequence we see: First, the 8:20 clock, and then Henry steal a gun, and head out to confront the Savior prisoners. Then we see Tobin take his last breath and die. Then, we see a black, digital clock with red numbers that reads 2:13 am.

So, the idea is, that’s when he died. Then we see—get this—a FULL MOON (think Beta in S10). Then the digital clock again, reading 3:26. This is when Tobin starts biting people. 

So, to be clear, the idea is that it was an hour and 13 minutes between when he died and when he resurrected and started biting. Then we see the lady doctor up and walking around. She looks at her wristwatch (not digital) and it reads 3:57. So another half an hour has passed. (Notice that the second had points to both 8 and 20, because military time). And then Tobin bites and kills the doctor.

Then we see the 8:20 grandfather clock again. And here’s what’s weird: the grandfather clock has stopped. When it first shows it, before Henry, we hear it ticking, and the subtitles also say this. But now, several hours have passed, and not only is it still at the same time but we no longer hear it ticking. So, it has stopped at that time.

No way that’s not a purposeful, symbolic sequence. But it’s hard to tell what applies to Henry and what to Tobin. I suppose if the clock is meant to represent the same as the 8:20, resurrection, then maybe that is just more evidence that Tobin = Beth.

This may also have a connection to Patrick and Carl through Tobin and Henry (yes, I know that sounds complicated) but I’ll get to that in tomorrow’s post when I talk about Patrick.

For now, I’m thinking the clocks here just point to Tobin’s resurrection and him waking and biting people and causing chaos being part of a broader theme that’s been in play since Patrick did it in 4x02. Tune in tomorrow and I’ll get into it in more detail.

That’s all I have for this episode. Pretty interesting stuff that’s making me look at broader themes that run through the entire series, but which we couldn’t have really figured out back when S8 aired.

Thoughts?

[abfa-writing]

Rewatch fic: 1x02

Here’s a short fic inspired by 1x02 “The thing you love most”. Many thanks to @watchingfairytales for organizing the rewatch! Also, goodness...I’m so behind in the rewatch it’s as if I never started heh. Expect some mini fic spam going on in the next few days as I attempt to catch up…

The tree is merely a tiny sapling when it arrives on the grounds. Mother surely spent an exorbitant amount of money on having the best gardeners redo the entire property, but Regina is too young to particularly understand or care.

It is a bright and sunny afternoon, and all she wants to do is play outside rather than learn boring ‘ladylike’ manners with her nanny. The moment the woman’s back is turn, she is slipping out of her large and uncomfortable chair, and sneaking out the door. The gardens are full of new people bustling around, shouting orders, planting large and unusual bushes, and trimming the hedges. Regina runs through the crowds quickly, trying to find somewhere quieter to play, when she arrives in one of the side orchards. There before her stretch endless rows of small saplings, their roots wrapped in cloth.

‘What are you doing here, little one?’ a voice calls, and a huge man suddenly appears. His beard and wild hair make him seem almost as hairy as a bear, but his eyes are kind as he kneels down to address her. ‘Are you supposed to be this far away from the house?’

Regina ignores this question, and points to the unusual sight.

‘What are those?’ she demands, and he chuckles in response.

‘They’re apple trees,’ he informs her. She wrinkles her nose at this.

‘Trees are big,’ she says skeptically. ‘These are not much bigger than me.’

The gardener takes her small hand, and leads her forward towards a random little sapling.

‘Just like humans, trees have to start small,’ he tells her. ‘I’m planting all of these ones in this orchard, where they will grow big and strong, and provide apples for your kitchen. This species is the most vigorous and hearty of all apple trees. It’ll weather any storm.’

Regina can’t help but reach out, patting the leaves gently. The tiny tree seems to quiver slightly with pride under her attention.

‘Show me?’ she asks, all thoughts of playing for the afternoon leaving her mind.

She spends the rest of the afternoon planting her little tree in the orchard. The gardener can plant almost all the rest in the same amount of time, but she wants to do this one alone (except, perhaps, with help to lift it…she is still rather small after all). As they work, he tells her all sorts of techniques to look after apple trees, and when to know if the fruit is ready for picking.

When her nanny finds her hours later, Regina’s hands and knees are covered with dirt, with a large smudge of Earth across her cheek.

‘Go clean up before your mother sees you,’ she orders. As Regina is led away, she waves farewell to the gardener. She doesn’t see him again, but never forgets the advice he gave her.

Five years later, a blight hits the orchard, and not even being the hardiest species of apple tree can save most of the trees. Almost all die, and Regina has to sneak out almost every night to check her tree and tend to its branches. In the end, it is the only one to survive.

The tree grows and grows, and soon it towers above Regina’s head. She still looks after it, but now it is sturdy enough that she can hike her skirts up and clamber into its branches. The world seems muted and far away when she sits, cocooned in its branches and leaves, and this is the place she chooses to go whenever Mother makes her upset.

One day, she is hiding up the tree when everything appears to shake. Someone has dared to steal one of her apples!

She drops to the ground suddenly, prepared to shout at the intruder who dares touch her tree. But when she straightens, she realizes before her is a young boy around her own age.

‘Sorry,’ he says, with an embarrassed smile. ‘I didn’t realize anyone was up there. Just wanted something for my lunch.’

He is the most beautiful boy Regina has ever seen, and all ability to speak seems to have fled her mind.

‘Daniel,’ the boy continues, holding out a slightly dirty hand for her to shake.

‘R-Regina,’ she stutters, and as their fingers touch, something shoots through her heart.

The apple tree becomes their favourite place to meet over the years, sometimes sitting in the grass with their backs against the rough trunk, other times perched high in the branches, giggling at each other.

Daniel kisses Regina for the first time while they are sheltering under the branches from heavy rainfall. Their lips and tongues are sticky and sweet from apples.

When Regina is forced to wed the King, she is taken far away from the Manor and grounds she has called her home for the last eighteen years of her life.

She feels ill from it all – from the loss of Daniel, the loss of her freedom, the future ahead she cannot bear to think about.

‘Our wedding day is almost upon us, and yet I have not presented my bride-to-be with a gift!’ Leopold announces one day at breakfast. Snow claps her hands excitedly.

‘Oh Papa! You should get her some beautiful, sparkling jewellery!’ the child bursts out. Regina bites her lip, and stays silent.

‘What would make you the happiest, dear Regina?’ Leopold asks, attention half on her and half on his meal.

‘My freedom,’ she almost says, but she knows that would not be a wise thing to ask for.

‘You are most generous, my King,’ she says instead, bowing her head slightly. ‘Of course, being welcomed into your family is a gift enough. But if it pleases your Lord, I would like for my apple tree to be brought here.’

‘How quaint,’ Leopold replies, his brow furrowing slightly. ‘It is not a gift to show in court, but I suppose we can all appreciate wanting something from our home kingdom. Let it be done!’

Regina is almost worried sick that the tree will not make the journey alive. She watches out of her window every morning, and several weeks go by until she spies a small group of people on a cart arriving at the palace gates. Her tree is wrapped carefully on the back.

She nearly flies down the stairs to get to the courtyard quickly, and spends the rest of the day overseeing the re-planting.

Its new placement, in the palace grounds, does not change the meaning of the tree for her. It is her salvation whenever she feels her heart breaking, and the servants learn quickly not to approach her if they see her figure huddled under its branches.

Years later, when Regina’s heart has turned dark, and her hands are awash with blood, she still comes to the tree. It is the only object in the entire kingdom besides Rocinante that she can express kindness to, her hands gently patting the leaves as she chooses which apples to pick.

For the first two days after the curse, Regina barely thinks of her tree. There is so much to explore and understand in this new land – new personalities, new technology, new positions in society. Regina starts to settle into her role as Mayor quickly, and on the third day she is working in her new office when the desire to take a break and enjoy the sunshine overcomes her.

The tree is the first thing she sees when she enters the Town Hall garden, sitting proudly in the center. She rests her forehead against the bark, feeling its rough surface dig into her skin, and starts to cry. She shouldn’t be so happy to see an object that reminds her of all the painful memories she is trying to escape from, but there is something comforting about this one constant in her life.

Over time, she starts to remember the sweet memories of her and Daniel under the tree’s branches, rather than the sorrow felt during her years as Queen. When Henry comes into her life, she takes him into the garden during the spring and summer months, and they have picnics in the grass.

Henry first learns to stand by holding onto the trunk of the tree, his little fingers clutching tightly as he giggles over this new-found skill. A few days later, he uses the same technique to take wobbly steps towards Regina’s open arms.

His first baby tooth is lost by biting into a slice of apple, and he smiles proudly to show off his gap. Regina thinks maybe she has found her happy ending after all.

Henry’s birth mother arrives without much fanfare at first, pulling up in an ugly yellow car that looks as if it’s seen better decades.

Regina hates the woman first on principle, and then because she dares look her in the face and ask if she loves her own son. She wants Emma Swan gone from Storybrooke, out of their lives and minds, and is determined to do whatever it takes to make that happen.

It all comes to a head when she is working in her office one afternoon, and the sound of a chainsaw suddenly cuts through the air. One glance out of the window, and there is Miss Swan, cutting down a large branch from her apple tree. A wave of pain and anger sweeps across Regina at the sight. It is not enough that the woman is trying to interfere with Henry, but she seems insistent on hurting everything Regina holds close to her heart.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ she snarls, marching furiously toward the infuriating woman. Miss Swan postures loudly, throwing down the chainsaw and walking away in triumph, as if her words mean any sort of true threat to Regina. All they have done is pierce her heart further, and as she bends down to pick up a fallen apple, her fist clenches so tightly that the fruit breaks apart, as if a heart turning to dust.

Later, after she has proven to Miss Swan just how dangerous it is to underestimate her, she returns to the garden to tend properly to the tree’s wound.

‘What a mess,’ Mr Gold says, ambling into the garden.

‘Not for long,’ Regina replies, and as much as she’s talking about the situation on hand with Miss Swan, she is also talking about her butchered tree.

As a gardener once told her, it’s the hardiest apple tree of all.

[once-upon-a-ouat]

OUAT Rewatch 1x08 “Desperate Souls”

Where do I begin? This episode was just... wow. Buckle up ‘cause you’re in for a round of fangirling and gushing over pretty much everything the episode had to offer.

Rumple’s backstory is the best so far. This is how you make character development! We saw so many layers of him in this episode. The protective and loving father, the desperate coward, the genius peasant, the wannabe savior, the power hungry beast, and that was only in the flashbacks. Robert Carlyle portrayed every one of these personalities smashed together in the same person perfectly. He was desperate, he was loving and protecting, he was genius, he was power hungry. He showed us exactly where Rumple was coming from and while you can understand that and sympathize with him, you can’t really agree with his course of actions because Baelfire is there as the voice of reason not only for his dad, but also for the audience. His fear was so tangible in that last flashback but Rumple’s lust for power had already dulled his senses so much that he really couldn’t perceive it. He was already so lost in the feeling of having magic and power and I think that served as a great way of foreshadowing the rest of the story. Also, can’t forget about “Magic always comes with a price”. I think that also fits quite well in the foreshadowing category.

We saw a bit of origin story for the Dark One. The dagger was introduced and so was the darkness itself. We had two Dark Ones in past and present who were both so terrifyingly skilled at manipulation and pulling the strings of anyone around them to arrange them in just the way they needed them. By the way, “I know how to recognize a desperate soul”. Is that some notification for passing the Dark One power to another? Zoso said it to Rumple and he became the Dark One. Then Rumple said it to Emma and she later became the Dark One (granted, it took almost four seasons, but can that really be shrugged off as coincidence? Maybe A&E had that idea all along but only found a good chance to introduce it in season 5).

Moving on to the present, Gold and Emma’s interactions were awesome in this episode. Their teamwork gave satisfying results not only for them, but also for the audience. I loved the way he knew exactly what to say and do in order to point her in the direction in which he wanted her to go. I also loved the realization of how smart Gold was washing over Emma. She got to see the man who everyone’s afraid of and be afraid of him. Well, afraid is probably not the right word, but you could see her going “Holy shit!” when she realized who she was facing and how far the workings of his mind went. I’m not gonna go into detailed analysis of Gold’s scheme. We’ve already seen how skillful he is at manipulations and it was obvious that he had planned every single thing from Emma coming into his shop right when he was using the lanolin to going to the debate in order to give her one last push.

Gold also displayed a more genuine side though. Showing concern about Emma not spending enough time with Henry was really cute. We saw the father in him come to the forefront and that’s what I love most about “Once Upon a Time”. It does the parent thing really well. Of course we’ve had quite a few cases of disastrous parenting but still. No matter good or evil, the characters get to be real parents and not just to go by that title (which is not the case with “Descendants” for example and if you are not familiar with it, it is about the next generation of Disney and I’m honestly not impressed with how they portrayed the villains as ‘parents’).

Emma and Henry’s interactions were quite adorable here although it was hard to see Henry so disheartened. I can’t imagine how hard those two weeks must have been on him. Believing his mother killed Graham and being on his best behavior in order not to piss her off and simultaneously avoiding Emma was probably quite difficult to manage and a big feat on his part. I loved how he was ready to put off Operation Cobra in order to make sure Emma was safe but having to push her away in order to do that broke my heart. He also tried to protect her from entering an alliance with Gold and I think that showed how smart for his age Henry actually is. What I also loved was that Emma didn’t try to lie to him about the newspaper article. And her desire to show him that good could win was just adorable and she actually managed to do it and restore his belief that good can beat evil. Emma saved Henry’s belief in this episode and I think that is the most remarkable job she has ever done as the Savior.

On that note, Emma and Mary Margaret’s interactions were also super cute in this episode. I love how Mary Margaret manages to get past Emma’s walls and bring to light the thing that Emma’s trying to hide. She knows exactly how to push her gently enough so as to not scare her and make her retreat behind her walls. She knows how to get Emma to trust her and open up to her and that’s pretty impressive because Emma doesn’t trust easily. She’s a tough nut to crack but she doesn’t stand a chance against her mother’s gentle approach and I love that.

Talking about desperate souls, that was quite the scene between Mary Margaret and David there. Apparently the one night stand didn’t help because otherwise she wouldn’t have stapled those posters to the board so angrily (and I love how she was insisting that there was nothing to get over in the previous episode). I loved how they were put on opposite sides all because of Regina and her friendship with Kathryn.

And that brings me to Regina. She seemed to have it all under control before Gold and Emma stepped in (mostly Gold). I loved how they showed that it was Regina who actually wrote Sidney’s speech. We already saw that she had a way with words when she was introducing him as the new sheriff. And we saw how much power she has over Sidney (but I also liked the fact that he got to look offended when she called him a fool*). Also, I loved the part with “I wanna serve as a reflection of the best qualities of Storybrooke”. Honestly, the dialogue was so brilliant in this episode.

Emma and Regina’s dynamic was very interesting here. Their fight in the Sheriff Station was a great scene and Regina did have the upper hand there. I have a feeling that she purposely waited for the last moment in the two-week period to fire Emma so that it would hurt her more. It was obvious that Graham’s death was hard on both of them and yet, they managed to make an argument of it. I loved how Emma didn’t want to let Regina win but she left the badge on the desk from where Regina could easily grab it.

The scene with them in Regina’s office was also pretty awesome. Emma wasn’t that mad about Regina getting her hands on her records but about the pain that that whole thing inflicted on Henry. I hated how Regina just brushed it off. It’s as if Henry’s physical health is the most important thing to her (as seen in 1x05) but his emotional stability has no value whatsoever.

Emma saving Regina was one of the best moments in the episode. The contrast between their personalities was so clear in that scene. I actually loved how scared Regina was when she thought that Emma had left her but then said that Emma saving her wasn’t a big deal. You’d think she would be a bit more grateful but... nope, Evil Queen’s gotta evil, y’know. At least this time she handled her defeat more gracefully (at the end of the episode).

Not the case during her scene with Gold though. I loved how she took the liberty to flip the sign on the door. Gold pestering Regina is always good for the soul (well, almost always). Gold bringing up Graham’s death for me was just another proof that Regina actually cared about Graham. He poured salt into the wound because he knew it would hurt her. It’s satisfying to see Regina against someone who’s out of her league. It provides a nice contrast to her always pushing people around and works as a great conflict.

I loved Archie in this episode. For a therapist he is such a mess when it comes to public speaking. He was just adorable to listen to with all his awkwardness and stumbling over words. I really felt for him. Poor guy! Who decided to make him the host of that debate? (It was Regina. She always loves to torture people (I’m kidding.).)

Damn, I loved Ruby’s outfit in this episode!

Favorite scene: Can I put every single scene (except for the one below) from this episode in here? No? Dammit! Okay, if I had to pick, I’d say... I can’t. I really can’t choose only one scene from this episode as my favorite. Not only because they’re all so great, but also because my favorite scene is usually one that I loved and I wanted to pay more attention to, look at it in detail. But I think I already covered everything (well, actually I really wanted to analyze some of the scenes line-for-line but seeing how long this post already is, I don’t think that would do anyone any good).

Least favorite scene: Hordor making Rumple kiss his boot. I was so fucking mad during that scene. Not only did he humiliate him in front of his son, but he also tried to tear down Baelfire’s respect for his father. Who the hell do you think you are? Honestly, my only thought during this scene was “Can I, please, kill him?” and then I was like “Oh, wait, Rumple took care of that so we’re all good”. Besides, he was all mighty and stuff while he had the Dark One having his back, but he immediately turned into a pathetic coward when faced with danger. Just the type of human I adore. *proceeds to fume silently*

Favorite line: “You know what, next time I’ll just do the same thing. And the time after that. Because that’s what decent human beings do. That’s what good people do.” - Emma to Regina

Least favorite line: “She’ll ride with me.” - Hordor to Morraine’s parents

Ugh, that was so disgusting. I can’t remember when was the last time I disliked a character so much. Honestly, death was too good for this one. On a side note, the anguished wails of Morraine’s parents just tore my heart apart. Ugh, pain and agony.

I can’t even begin to address how utterly impressed I am with this episode. Robert Carlyle shined once again. The story moved forward so much and all the main characters got some development. The details came together in an awesome way in this episode and, God, did I miss that! All of the dialogue was genius here and so was the title of the episode and I just... I can’t really put my love for this episode in words. I think this is the best episode so far.

*What I loved about OUAT’s villains was that they avoided making them speak like cartoon villains. Words like ‘fool’ or ‘imbecile’ didn’t really have place in the villains’ dictionaries on the show. Or at least that’s what I remembered. But hearing Regina call Sidney ‘fool’ disappointed me a bit although it didn’t really do that much damage and it’s only that one time (for now).

[flslp87]

6x14 My thoughts

After watching this episode last night I was left feeling like a huge mixed bag of emotions had been dumped over me, but since I’m a person who likes to process things I decided to rewatch today to see if I was able to clarify ‘why’ I was having those feelings.  

Normally plot holes aren’t that big of a deal to me and as long as I can work my way around the reasons ‘behind’ why I feel that xyz happened, then I’m ok. But this episode left me with a scene that I loved but at the same time, I hated, which is an odd feeling to have.  

Across my dash today I’ve read comments from people loving the show to people having the same criticism that I have with it and when some of these people are ones you never agree with, it becomes a curious thing.  

Breaking it down - 

Snow - as in the weather.  It was gorgeous, but darn did it look cold. 

Snow - the character.  I loved her talk with Killian and her kiss on his cheek and hug were so cute.  I also enjoyed her talk with Emma about her ring.  That was nice.  And I’m really happy that the EQ apologized to her about things that she has done. That was a bonus. 

Emma - Bad - I’m sorry, your man gives you a ring and you don’t run out and leave him alone.  You stay with him or take him with you - but she was really cute and happy in her scene in the loft but then the transition to the station was odd. And then in their house when she walked by Killian - how in the heck did she know it was a secret and her grandfather?   And then after everything that happened last year AND the shears this year, I felt she was really hypocritical of his behavior.  She automatically jumped on something and their usually wonderful communication totally broke down.  It just didn’t work for me. Good - I am however excited about a second proposal and her realizing that something has happened to Killian and freaking.  

Killian - Bad - I get this is about him and his feelings of self worth, BUT running is something the old Killian would do.  And how in the heck did he learn to put his memories in that catcher thing?  And burning them, if that was what he was thinking of doing is another form of running, that they should be long past. He’s usually quite eloquent with his words and sadly they were missing last night.  Good - Colin rocked the angst look and the reunion between CS better be one to rock the socks off of Emma.  His talks with Nemo and Snow were priceless.  I wish Nemo would hang around.  That man has such a pleasant vocal tone.  Good/Bad - New coat, liked it but since new coats are really changes in the character then they should have waited for the reunion, but whatever.  Nice decision on going back to Emma but man, send her a text! The big question - Interesting that Gideon wants him out of town - a curse perhaps awaits our savior? 

Regina/EQ/Robin 

Robin - Good - I still believe this Robin was there to act as a guide to help mend the 2 halves as well as make them look inside of themselves, and he did that by dropping truth bomb after truth bomb.  And I’m happy that he has the Q and perhaps can learn to love.  Bad - I’ll miss Sean.  I’d rather have his Robin on my screen any day instead of Zelena.  

Regina/EQ -  Since the beginning of the season I have felt that this storyline has been to show that we all have light/dark within us and that even if you split yourself, each side can also feel those other emotions.  It was shown a few times when Regina would get angry, but overall her ‘good’ side won out as well as when the EQ showed love for Henry but her ‘dark’ side won out.  It was also shown with J/H when each side was able to feel the opposite’s emotion.  

And for the first 30 minutes last night I was SO hopeful because Henry set it up perfectly by saying - I know there’s good in you, just like there’s bad in her which means you can change.  

But then.... we had some good and some bad....

Regina - her story as to why she hasn’t had a HE is because she has been taking short cuts and last night she really stepped up and took responsibility for all the bad she had done while she was the EQ, which is a huge step in her redemption.   Wanting to take on the EQ on her own, save Robin, etc.... so the GOOD - she took responsibility, showed empathy and compassion for her ‘evi’ side, didn’t just try to crush the EQ’s heart, but shared some of her good and took on some of the EQ’s hate, got the info for saving Snowing, and had Henry help that part of her get her HE -She also proved during the fight that her light side was stronger than her dark side as she was winning the fight- but - BAD - WHY in the heck do we now have 2?   Not only is this going against the whole we all have both, but it’s Regina taking another short cut.  She brought Robin back from the WW because she wanted him to be real (and there’s still fishy stuff there) but not fighting her other side when she wanted to use the shears is essentially taking a short cut or the easy way out AND giving her other side a HE is not taking responsibility for ALL of the feelings but it is only taking responsibility for HALF of them. That really annoys me - and makes me wonder if this story is perhaps not over completely?

EQ - interesting that the shears that she gave Rumple were buried and she knew where.  Also that she was able to get the pen and the wand. Busy woman.  Good - I did enjoy her interaction with Robin - fun and reminded me of the missing year stuff.  Her apology to Snow and her facial expression when Henry called her mom, even when she took the pen from Henry and he said that she wasn’t ‘all bad’ was moving.  And then after Regina showed up she did send Robin away so she was thinking of someone else.  Bad - The shears. Why?  And just like everything else that has happened, this is another short cut, which is supposed to be the whole idea of the redemption arc - to stop using short cuts.  

So the message that we all have both seems to have been tarnished a bit.  Will it be part of the ‘reset’ that it feels like is happening during the finale?  I really hope so because THAT would be a better message, esp if there is some way for them to integrate.  

Things that made me go hmmmm - Zelena made a comment about don’t blame me in a couple of months when the EQ is crushing your hearts.   Robin made a comment about his land having wide open spaces - but never named it. It was the EQ who said my wish world.   Tink’s comment to the EQ in the past - goes against what she said to Regina in 3x03, Robin made the comment about his partner knowing their way around magic - revisited or dropped line? - And they spent 3 years building up the whole soulmate thing between Regina/Robin and his tattoo and now it’s the Q who is with him?  And how is that even possible? The Q is hunted in the WW, so is Robin.  Why did Robin not age?  And the SoN story.  Where did that go?  And we were told that we would get a story about the background of Robin’s tattoo - 

So there it is.  Next week I am curious as to where Agrabah is but I also thought that Aladdin was to take Jasmine back there. He must not be a very good genie.  

And Ariel lost Eric - or was this before but again, how did a mermaid get into the desert?    

Hoping that Emma clues in that something is up and goes searching for him. 

A few of us think maybe Emma ends up under a sleeping curse, BUT we know those have to be cast by the person him/herself.  What would cause Emma to do that?  Danger to someone she loves.