#discussion of 1x05 is always welcome

[sapphickittykatherine]

lmaooo you're so right about lance not knowing the basic requirements for becoming a knight of camelot. i guess you could put it down to his blind desperation, though. like you said, it's his way of coping with the insane trauma of losing his parents and his entire village. tbh you can't expect the guy to go about it in a rational way. i mean, you could even make the argument that lance did know that only noblemen can become knights, he just ignored it bc the promise of knighthood was the only thing his sanity hinged on... it's why i kind of dislike it when ppl use his identity fraud in this episode as proof of him actually being chaotic... bestie, becoming a knight is the only thing he's hung onto to stay sane since he was a child. and even then he decided to leave when he was found out. the guy is lawful good 100%, sorry.

arthur is such a bitch he's so funny and i love him

the morlance (crumbs) and gwencelot go hard in this episode. all of the core four were in love with lance, sorry. also: morgana as a praying mantis? you're so right

not even gonna comment on arlance anymore (lying). i've wrung their interactions for all they're worth tbh

"every waking hour since that day i devoted to the art of combat, as well as speaking in a fancy and chivalrous way" love that for him. i adore the way he talks honestly

OML THE SOUNDTRACK. i regularly listen to the music from that scene on spotify lmaoo. call me cheesy but it gives me chills actually

you're right that lance isn't in many episodes (if you hear crying, no you don't) but he is still an important character. he has a big impact on all of the six!! episodes he features in. the bare minimum on the part of the writers, really. he should have been more important.

merlin and gaius 🥺💕 they're so cute pls. merlin going to gaius for approval and looking so elated when he congratulates him 😭

here we go! again!!

today we are watching the Lancelot episode. just a few random comments because. I am so very sleepy and I deleted the first draft by accident.

A nice little episode all in all. Nice set up for an incredibly sexy recurring character. Some nice foreshadowing. What's not to like?

• I like how this episode opens. Merlin picking mushrooms, looking so baby. Eyes full of awe and wonder. Looking like... like he's never seen a mushroom in his life, in fact. Anyway, something very cottagecore about this. Fairy vibes.

• Also he's scarfless? For much (most?) of the episode? It looks like early in the series they weren’t so obsessively attached to Merlin’s neckerchief as part of his character design

• I love how Merlin doesn’t even try to use magic against the Griffin. He just falls on his back, shuts his eyes and goes, “Welp, guess I'll die”

• HOW DID MERLIN CARRY LANCELOT BACK TO CAMELOT

• “Ever since I was a child I've dreamed of coming here. It's my life's ambition to join the knights of Camelot.” -> Guy who's spent his whole life dreaming about becoming a knight of Camelot doesn’t know the first thing about the job requirements

• (No but really, the funniest thing about this episode for me is Lancelot’s utter shock at finding out only noblemen can be knights. That's, like. The first thing about the knights of Camelot, it seems like. You’d think he would have done some basic research beforehand. But that's also how I apply to jobs so I won't make fun of him too much)

• Merlin is such a hype man, “LANCELOT THEY'RE GOING TO LOVE YOU!!” This is literally what he says! He’s adorable.

• Merlin's acting like a kid who's found a stray puppy on the side of the road and is trying to convince his dad to keep him. “He’s great, you’ll love him, I promise. He won’t be any trouble I’ll walk him every day”

• MERLIN: “He's saved my life” / ARTHUR: “That's blown it for starters” -> ARTHUR IS FUNNY. I just feel the need to point out that Arthur is funny, actually. Especially when he’s being a cunt.

• MERLIN: “You're not a nobleman by any chance, are you?” / LANCE: “haha, good lord, no” -> someone didn’t read the job description 👀

• The way Gaius pointedly glares at Merlin after telling Lancelot he’s sorry he can’t be a knight… Like, he knows his son might be tempted to do something stupid about it (commit crime)

• I did not remember Lancelot’s tragic Origin Story!

When I was a boy, my village was attacked by raiders from the northern plains. They were slaughtered where they stood, my father, my mother. Everyone. I alone escaped. I vowed that day that never again would I be helpless in the face of tyranny. I made sword craft my life. Every waking hour since that day, I devoted to the art of combat, and when I was ready, I set forth for Camelot.

"Every waking hour since that day, I devoted to the art of combat" -> Yeah that sounds like a sane and healthy way of dealing with the trauma of losing both your parents and your entire village in one go, well done my boy

• Merlin looks SO proud of his little fraud scheme! BE GAY DO CRIME

• Seriously he is such an instigator! He says, “DAMN THE RULES, THE RULES ARE WRONG”! But he can see Lancelot’s obvious reluctance so he’s like, “We're not breaking the rules, we're bending them” HE’S SO SNEAKY I LOVE HIM

• This is such a basic narrative trope (if it even is a trope) but I love first meetings of characters who are going to become famously important to one another. I'm talking, like, Holmes and Dr. Watson. Or yes, Merlin and future King Arthur. There’s just something about it that I find delightful. "They don’t even know!! They have no idea. But I do!" This is about Gwen and Lancelot.

• Such a cute Meet Cute™. I love the way it plays with what we know is going to happen. Even if we don’t exactly know how it's going to happen in the series, Guinevere and Lancelot’s romance is the stuff of legends. I love their obvious and immediate mutual attraction. The slight awkwardness. The foreshadowing! “I'm not a knight yet, my lady” / “And I’m not a lady.” NO YET, BUT YOU WILL BE!! AAAAAH

• I didn’t pay much attention to it the first time I watched this episode but Lancelot speaks in such a formal, lofty way compared to everyone else. He literally sounds like he walked out of a book of chivalric romance. "I faced it myself, Sire. Some days past. I struck it full square. I wondered how it endured"; "Arthur stands in mortal peril", like WHO TALKS LIKE THIS. BE NORMAL. But it never crosses the line into being obnoxious, and I love how his character is defined through his speech as well as by his behaviour. Well done, writers.

• LANCELOT: "Are you two...you know" -> Lancelot wastes no time in checking if Gwen is on the market. GOOD FOR HIM. (I like how Merlin finds the idea of dating Gwen literally laughable. Bit harsh, that).

• “She seems lovely. Guinevere.” / “Oh, yeah. Yeah, she is. And the best seamstress in Camelot, I promise” -> MERLIN THIS MAN DOES NOT CARES ABOUT GWEN'S SKILL AS A SEAMSTRESS OPEN YOUR EYES YOU SILLY CHILD

• (But no, to be fair to him, he did notice)

• Arthur just... just BITCH-SLAPPING Lancelot out of the blue is actually hilarious. He's a comedian and he doesn't even know it.

• Merlin still acts like a bit of a teenager with Gaius in this ep. When Gaius discovers his forgery of the seal of nobility, Merlin tells him, “if you wanna punish me for it, go ahead” and then walks off! I’m sorry, this is a teenager acting out against his dad.

• Merlin does seem to be still testing boundaries with Gaius, but in a way that's an obvious request for reassurance, too – later in the episode he asks him: “Do you even care what happens to me?” (!!) And back in episode 1x02, when Gaius said, "What do I do if you get caught?", Merlin asked: "what would you do?" Insecure teen behaviour. Please Gaius just tell him you love him!! (He does tell him here, thank God).

• The broomstick fight scene. Much has been said about it already. The rituals are, indeed, intricate. Something so homoerotic about Arthur’s attempts to poke Lancelot in the chest with his stick. What I want to know is – did they know? Did they know when they were filming it that it would look like this. Like, was it deliberate

• @sapphickittykatherine it’s not much but there are some hints of Morlance in this ep. During Lancelot’s knighting scene, Morgana looks at him with obvious interest and asks “Who is this man?” And also later at his celebration (I’ll get to it).

The celebration scene! I love it! I’m gonna break it down into parts:

• “You played God, Merlin" -> I like this line. I think Gaius put his finger on an important character trait of Merlin’s here. He always means well, but he can be manipulative and controlling. Not so much here, perhaps, but it does emerge more in later eps.

• Not Arthur looking at Morgana with incestuous intent 💀💀💀

• “Tell me, do you think her...beautiful?” / “Yes, Sire. I do.” -> Another favourite trope of mine – two characters talking to each other but having two entirely different conversations. A bit like that cursed scene in the Disir, and with Arthur just as much oblivious (actually, could someone tell the poor guy what's going on. just once)

• Meanwhile, Morgana’s making sexy eyes at Lancelot while biting into a… cherry? I can’t tell. Some kind of sexually-connoted fruit, that’s for sure. I love how she also looks murderous while doing it. Praying mantis energy.

• Merlin and Gwen’s conversation is so cute. I’ve said it before but it’s giving girlie-and-her-gay-best-friend vibes. Look at them! They are a woman and her gay friend sitting in a bar, exchanging notes about the men around them. Over drinks. The way Merlin encourages Gwen to commit mischief too! “OH YOU ARE NO FUN GWEN. COME ON, JUST PLAY ALONG. WHO WOULD YOU RATHER F—”

• Arthur or Lancelot? I think I know what Merlin’s answer would be. At least at this point in the series. (Hint: it's not Arthur).

• “I think our Sir Lancelot might have eyes for you, Gwen” -> Merlin playing matchmaker already. I love that he’s noticed, and that he’s trying to push these two together because LOVE MUST TRIUMPH. He’s such a romantic.

~ END OF THE CELEBRATION SCENE ~

• Oooh no, Lancelot’s ruse has been discovered, SIR YOU’RE UNDER ARREST

• “You are not worthy of the knighthood bestowed upon you. You never were. And you never will be” -> possibly the worst thing anyone could’ve said to Lancelot, SIR PLEASE STOP YOU’RE BREAKING HIM. CAN’T YOU SEE HE’S ABOUT TO CRY.

• All I can think about when I see gifs of Merlin talking to imprisoned Lancelot is, “it’s okay hun”

• It’s interesting to see S1 Uther so unwilling to accept that the creature they’re trying to defeat might be magic when later in the series he will relish the chance of accusing anything and anyone of being magic. ...Growth?

(The bisexuality of this scene. Off the charts.)

• It seems to me like they were setting up Lancelot to be more of an important character that he ended up being? I mean, he was important, just by virtue of being Lancelot, but he was in a grand total of 6 episodes. But, I love that we can see Arthur’s obvious attachment (for lack of a better word) to him already. A bit like with Gwen and Lancelot, it hints at what’s to come – he is destined to become Arthur’s favourite knight (I know people like to say that it's Leon, but I think it was Lance. And after Lancelot's death it was Mordred, eventually. If you must know.) I love it, foreshadowing. You can feel the future hanging heavy in the air.

• I didn’t remember that Gwen and Lancelot met again and she begged him not to go and I think they should have kissed here

• It’s so funny that while Merlin’s trying to master the spell to defeat the Griffin, Gaius goes, “Don't worry Merlin, we have plenty of time” GAIUS NO YOU LITERALLY HAVE LESS THAN 2 HOURS

• Actually this is a thing Gaius does a lot, telling Merlin he can make it when the chances of success are pretty slim, which on one hand is very sweet, like I get it he's being a supportive dad, but on the other hand it's also... setting Merlin up to be HUGELY DISAPPOINTED if he fails? I don't know, just something I've noticed in other eps.

• The scene of Lancelot killing the Griffin is actually pretty cool? I like the glowing blue spear (how did Merlin think Lancelot wasn’t going to notice) and THE SOUNDTRACK!!

• Merlin's PURE JOY after Lancelot's killed the Griffin is SO adorable, you just feel so happy for him. YES BABY YOU DID IT!!

• I love the parallel “You did it!” scenes with Arthur & Lancelot, Gaius & Merlin, and Arthur & Uther. Very nice, big fan of symmetry

• Gaius’s pride when Merlin comes back victorious is so heartwarming. I’ve said it before but I'll repeat it, Merlin and Gaius’s relationship is possibly my favourite in the show. I think Gaius doesn’t get enough credit for being Merlin’s main source of love and hugs during his Camelot years.

• “The Code bends for no man” / “Then THE CODE IS WRONG!” (!!) -> SAY IT LOUDER MY MAN!! S1 Arthur is so vocal with his father about what he believes is right and wrong, we love to see it

• Lancelot saying he must prove himself worthy of being a knight – of course, he might have been holding the spear that killed the Griffin but he wasn’t the one who actually defeated it, and this will not do. He must now abandon his life-long dream of being a knight and go fight strangers in a cage for money. It’s the only logical next step.

• LANCE I LOVE YOU BUT WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS

THE END!!

next episode is... one no one really cares about, but I really really liked it the first time I watched it so. hopefully it will live up to what I remember :3

[stahlop]

Once Upon a Time 2x13 “Tiny” Review

Reviews 1x01 1x02 1x03 1x04 1x05 1x06 1x07 1x08 1x09 1x10 1x11 1x12 1x13 1x14 1x15 1x16 1x17 1x18 1x19 1x20 1x21 1x22 2x01 2x02 2x03 2x04 2x05 2x06 2x07 2x08 2x09 2x10 2x11 2x12

This was a cute episode. I wouldn’t say it was of the caliber of the rest of the season. More like some filler and a little bit of exposition for something bigger looming on the horizon. We did find out that Jack was short for Jacqueline and that James was as much of a bastard as his father. We also find out David’s cursed name is his actual real name. We also now have confirmation that Greg lied to Emma about not seeing anything (I wonder why her superpower didn’t catch that).

Summary: Prince James and Jack befriend Anton when he goes down the beanstalk to find out how friendly humans really are with dire consequences. Emma, Henry, and Gold head to NYC, while Anton wreaks havoc in Storybrooke after Hook reveals that Cora brought him along (shrunken for traveling). 

Opening: Giant pulling a tree out of the ground.

New Character Observations:

Jack: The fabled giant slayer, who is usually a young boy, but in this iteration is a buxom woman who is sleeping with Prince James, but also an accomplished monster slayer (as she has apparently killed a Jabberwock). She and Prince James pretend to be Anton’s friend, but really they just want to attack the giants, steal their gold, and take their beans. She is killed by Arlo.

Character Observations:

Anton/Tiny (SB): Contrary to what we were told in Tallahassee, Anton is not the meanest and the fiercest of the giants. He is actually the runt of all his brothers. He is constantly made fun of for his stature (they call him Tiny), and for dreaming about going to make friends with humans. His brother, Arlo, reminds him that humans took their beans and used them to conquer far away realms, which is why they stopped trading the beans with them. Anton is determined to prove that not all humans are like this (he says that just because a few went conquering doesn’t make them all evil, very contradictory to his thinking the last time we saw him,) so he goes down the beanstalk to meet some. He looks into a tavern and is stopped by James and Jack. Anton tells them he’s always been fascinated by their customs and James and Jack (who just happens to have part of a magic mushroom to make him human-sized) offer to show him around. Anton complains about his family to James and Jack who make it sound like they are abusive to him. At first Anton disagrees, but then realizes they are horrible to him. James tells him sometimes you have to leave home to find the people you’re meant to be with (damn he’s laying it on thick). And poor Anton is eating it up with a spoon, having never been appreciated by his own family.  Anton notices James arguing with someone and Jack tells him the kingdom is broke, but she does it in a way that makes him sound really noble about it. Which makes Anton want to help. Jack suggests magic beans, but Anton is smart enough to not reveal he has those. He does say he has gold he can give them though. Jack kisses his cheek and calls Anton her hero, which is something he’s never been called before. Anton goes to get gold for James and Arlo is in shock that he went down to the human world. Anton insists they’re nice and he’s made friends. But then the sentry birds take off and Anton wonders if he made a mistake. James and Jack are up at the top and Anton says he has the gold for them, but James says they’re there for the beans. Anton is confused, he thought they were friends. Jack sets him straight and says they’ll kill everyone if they don’t bring them to the beans. The giants are being attacked by some kind of army? There’s some kind of fireball in the sky (are they catapulting flaming rocks or something). Anton blames himself for trusting James and Jack. Arlo tells him to raze the fields to get rid of the beans so the humans can’t take them. Arlo goes down after Jack stabs him with her poisoned sword. He dispenses some life advice to Anton about knowing what path to choose, and then gives him a cutting from one of the bean plants, letting him know that he’ll find the right place to plant it and then they’ll have beans again.

Which is apparently Storybrooke! Anton (or Tiny as I’ll be calling him) is shrunk down and has been brought over on Hook’s ship in a cage. Hook just happens to have the key to the cage, so David, Mary Margaret, and Leroy get him out. But Tiny takes one look at David and freaks out. He knocks him and Leroy to the bottom part of the ship before Mary Margaret threatens him with her arrows. Tiny runs off telling David that he’ll pay for what he did. Tiny is at the lake when Regina comes upon him. He threatens to kill her, but she just laughs. She hands him a piece of mushroom that will make him bigger. Tiny is now in town throwing cars around and causing general mayhem. Tiny runs across David and tells him he’s going to destroy everything like he destroyed everything for him. David explains that it was his twin brother, James, that did that. Not him. Tiny wants to know where James is; David tells him he’s dead. Mary Margaret lets him know that Emma is their daughter. He wants to talk to her so she can confirm, but, of course, she’s out of town, so Tiny doesn’t believe anything they’re saying. Rampaging starts again. And then the funniest scene ever; while David and Leroy discuss David’s name, Tiny is chasing after them and runs into the power lines and doesn’t know how to get out of them. When he catches up to them later he ducks under them, because he’s learned. David makes a deal to sacrifice himself to save all of Storybrooke, and Tiny apparently decides he’s going to jump and stomp on David, but ends up busting straight through the ground, and then he conveniently turns small again. David, Mary Margaret, and Leroy see him hanging from a pipe that is running through there. Despite the fact that Tiny just partially destroyed their town, the whole town comes to help rescue him. When David reaches him Tiny thinks maybe death would be better than life, but David tells him he would’ve let go already if that were the case. He takes David’s hand and they rescue him. The town goes to Granny’s and Leroy tells Tiny he can stay there until they find him a place. Tiny thinks he should just go stay in the woods because he usually doesn’t fit in well. Leroy lets him know what types of people they have in town, and that he’ll fit in just fine. Mary Margaret says they all miss their land, but they’re stuck there. Tiny shows them the bean sprout and says he may have a way (but didn’t it take 100 years to grow the last crop?). They find a field and Tiny says it should grow the beans fine. But Cora wanted him in Storybrooke to grow beans. Leroy says the dwarfs will protect the crop and work on cultivating them (work is work, it’s what we do he says). They give him a pick axe and the name Tiny appears on it. Leroy welcomes him into the dwarf brotherhood. Tiny has found a new family.

James: Well, we get to see what kind of an ass James really is. We didn’t really see much of him previously. Just that he was an expert swordsman, but it seems he really does have George’s temperament. He goes after Anton specifically to rob him and most likely murder him, while acting like the nicest person in the world. He has no morals about what he’s doing to Anton and then, when Jack gets hurt, all he cares about is taking off with the treasure and running his kingdom. Too bad karma will get him in the end.

David/Mary Margaret: We start with David politely asking Gold to take care of Emma and Henry while they’re out of town. Gold promises no harm will befall his family and reminds him that they have a deal anyway. David comes out later wearing a gun holster. He mentions missing his sword, Mary Margaret thinks he looks hot with the holster (I kind of agree). They are heading out to find Regina, but she is at their door when they open it. They explain to Regina that Cora framed her and that they are truly sorry for not believing her. Regina wants to see Henry to ‘protect’ him from Cora, but they inform her that he left with Emma and Gold. Mary Margaret reminds Regina that they didn’t know where she was, but she also gets a little snarky by saying that Emma doesn’t have to run anything by her concerning Henry. Please see observations below for my rant about that. Since Regina has now been found and informed, they go to Hook to get information about Cora. Hook continues to piss David off by flirting with Mary Margaret. Hook claims that Cora won’t be there, but David’s convinced there will be something on the ship that will help them find her whereabouts. Hook shows them the giant in a box. He gives them the key when David starts to strangle him and then leaves (Hook knows what’s up with that giant). Mary Margaret tries to calmly let Tiny know he’s safe, but he sees David and freaks. Later on, David realizes that Tiny must think he is James. David tries to get all the townspeople to the town hall while he and Mary Margaret try to talk to Tiny. David goes to talk to Tiny, much to Mary Margaret’s consternation. David explains that Tiny is mad at his twin brother, James, who is now dead, and Mary Margaret tells him they just want to help. They bring up that Emma is their daughter, but Tiny wants to talk to her, which he can’t since she’s out of town with Gold. This makes Tiny madder because James is dead and Emma isn’t available. Leroy questions David about his name. He’s still confused by the end even though David makes it quite clear that his EF name was David as well as his cursed name. They try to lead Tiny away from the town but then realize that will get him to the town line and they can’t unleash him into the real world.David decides to give Tiny what he wants to save the town, himself. Which somehow leads Tiny to making a huge hole in the street that at first he is stuck in, and then he shrinks and is holding on to dear life in. David and the town rescue him and Tiny realizes humans aren’t so bad. When he shows then the bean sprout, David is elated, but Mary Margaret isn’t so cool about it (probably thinking how that will spark another argument between them eventually like last time). David contemplates what would have happened if he had been raised by King George instead of James. Ah, the age old questions of nature vs. nurture. But Mary Margaret thinks that their hearts were different enough that David wouldn’t have succumbed to evil like James did. Okay, Mary Margaret, whatever. There is no way you could know that. Mary Margaret changes the topic to say that she had a lot of fun and missed their old adventures. David brings up the beans again and how they could do this all the time if they went back to the EF. Mary Margaret tells him that home is where their family is, and that’s right here in Storybrooke. She doesn’t think Emma would go to the EF and she won’t be separated from her again. David figures that Mary Margaret is worried about Emma with Gold. He points out that Emma can take care of herself. I don’t think that puts Mary Margaret at ease.

Gold: He is still in total asshole mode when he goes to pick up Emma, especially when she informs him that she is bringing Henry along. He says the deal is only with her, but Emma refuses to leave Henry with Cora hanging around. Gold thinks David is trying to threaten him about his family and mocks him about not being able to cross the town line, but David just wants Gold to protect his family.  Gold gets it and promises no harm will come to them. Gold is driving them across the town line and hopes that his potion still works. Seems a little late to be thinking about that as they’re driving over the line. It works and they’re on their way to Logan International Airport. Once at the airport, Gold seems very vulnerable. Henry mentions that it must be hard to be like everyone else and not be able to use magic (in front of the whole security line, way to be discreet, kid), and Gold is definitely feeling strange about all this. Emma informs him he has to put his shoes and shawl in the security bin and he gets a little scared because he might revert without the shawl on. He threatens another passenger who’s basically mad because he’s holding up the line. Emma assures him her father is just nervous. Gold is not happy that she referred to him as her father. I mean, he’s old enough, I don’t know why he’s taking such offense to that, unless it’s just Emma in general he’s opposed to. He takes off the shawl and starts feeling woozy. They also make him put his cane through, which I find odd since he needs it to walk, but I guess they have to make sure it’s not carrying anything inside. The second he gets his shawl back on feels better. But Gold did not like the feeling that he had without the shawl. Gold is pacing in front of Emma and Henry waiting for the plane and he is not in a good place. After Emma asks him if he’s okay too many times, he heads to the public restroom. He’s taking a long, hard look at himself in the mirror and doesn’t seem to like what he’s seeing. Maybe he’s seeing the coward from centuries ago. Maybe he’s seeing the man Belle doesn’t recognize anymore. Either way, he’s frustrated, and he takes it out on a toilet seat cover holder. He tries to heal himself but nothing happens, as is to be expected in the Land Without Magic, but he’s still a little unnerved about it. On the plane, Gold is gripping the seat rests. Emma tells him they’ll find his son to make him feel better. Gold says he knows, but looks like he is scared out of his mind.

Regina: So she’s completely reverted, just making the town think she’s still trying to change. I guess once Henry’s away the Evil Queen comes out to play. I do wonder if when she comes to  Mary Margaret and David’s at the beginning of the episode if she really was trying to make amends and convince them that she was framed, or if the whole thing was an act. It almost felt like once she found out Henry was gone and Mary Margaret was so condescending to her, that old Regina came out to play. I mean, did Mary Margaret really need to antagonize her like that? Should you really try and antagonize the Evil Queen when she’s just been told her mother tried to frame her? It’s like kicking someone when they’re down. Anyway, we next see Regina when Hook tries to summon Cora. She appears instead and reminds him that he was supposed to kill her mother. She tells him he’s lucky that they’ve reconciled. Regina, acting as Cora’s proxy, wants to know if David and Mary Margaret found the ship and if Hook got Cora’s things off it. Hook informs her she’s been tied up in bed and not in the good way. He does inform Regina that a shrunken giant got loose and wants to murder David. Regina thinks she can work with that. She finds Tiny at the lake and offers him her help. He threatens to kill her but she just laughs. Way to make a shrunken giant feel good about themselves, Regina. She’s talking to him as if they’re just having a conversation about the weather or what to cook for dinner, except they’re talking about wrecking the town and killing people. It’s a little psychotic. She gives him a magic cookie that will make him giant-sized again. Regina laughs evilly as he gets bigger. She’s really embracing being evil again. Also, this is the happiest we’ve seen her since Daniel was alive. True joy on her face when Tiny became giant-sized again.

Belle/Greg/Ruby: Ruby goes to visit Belle in the hospital (complete with basket full of goodies) but Belle doesn’t remember her. She brings her some comforts from home, including a book, which doesn’t trigger anything. Ruby looks distraught that the book doesn’t help her remember. Belle wants to know if they were really friends and Ruby says they were. Belle asks about the magic Gold used, and Ruby blames it on the tranquilizers Belle’s on. Belle says she knows what she saw and that her name isn’t Belle. The nurse gives her a sedative and Ruby is upset to see her friend like this. So, they aren’t trying to acclimate her to the town, just pretend that it’s a normal town? I’m pretty sure Sneezy just thinks the other dwarfs are crazy but they still talk about everything in front of him. Greg witnesses the tale end of this and asks if everything is okay. Ruby says it is and asks how he’s doing. He says he’s mending. Then she puts on the most saccharine smile and attitude to tell him that he needs to finish healing so he can get out of their quiet little town. Because that doesn’t scream that they’re hiding something and they don’t want you to find out what. Greg goes to visit Belle later after her sedative has worn off to tell her he overheard her conversation. Belle thinks he’s there to tell her she’s crazy, but he doesn’t. He doesn’t think she’s crazy because he saw the magic fireball too!

Questions:

Why is Gold afraid the shawl won’t work? He’s already tested it. Does he think the potion will wear off? Also, why would he be driving the car if he’s afraid he might forget?

Why is Gold, not Emma, driving to the Boston airport? Gold has never been out of Storybrooke. Wouldn’t it make more sense for Emma to drive?

Why are Gold, Emma, and Henry driving to the airport in Boston and not Portland, ME? Boston is a 4 hour trip (as stated in previous episodes), which means Storybrooke has to be situated somewhere near Orland, ME (3 hrs and 54 mins from Boston according to Google, yes I mapped this out). They are adding an extra 1 hr and 45 mins to drive to Boston instead of going to the Portland airport.

Anton raises a good question: Why grow the beans if no one uses them?

How have humans never seen the beanstalk? It’s not as though it’s hidden or hard to see.

How is Greg up and about when he had surgery on his chest just that night? This is only the next day.

What are James and Jack doing in that tavern to begin with? Are princes usually hanging out with women in taverns?

When was James supposed to tell Anton about his kingdom being broke? Jack has been with him the whole time.

Are James and Jack the only humans that came up the beanstalk? How have the other giants fallen? There’s no one else there?

How does one grow things in a land up in the clouds?

Why does Cora want beans? To get back to the Enchanted Forest? To get back to Wonderland?

Observations:

Gold mentions the deal that he and David made in We are Both where they promised that they wouldn’t interfere in each others lives.

The town line that Gold, Emma, and Henry drive over is not the same one Gold and Belle were at the previous night.

Mary Margaret mentions that Emma doesn’t have to run anything by Regina regarding Henry. Technically, Regina is Henry’s legal parent. She adopted him, which means she is his legal guardian. Emma may be his birth mother, but (as Regina reminded her plenty last season), she has no rights to him. The fact that Emma just took Henry over state lines would get her arrested anywhere else. Especially because she doesn’t have any written documentation with Regina’s permission. She’s basically kidnapped Henry. And considering Henry brought it up to Emma last year in the Pilot when she threatened to turn him over to the police, Emma should know better. Just because they don’t like Regina doesn’t mean Emma, Mary Margaret, and David can do whatever they want with Henry.

The Jolly Roger is made from enchanted wood.

Ruby gives Belle a copy of Jules Verne’s The Mysterious Island which is the same book Mary Margaret was reading in 7:15 AM.

Arlo mentions that it has taken a century for the beans to be ready to harvest.

How convenient that Jack has a magic mushroom that she keeps on her person for when they meet Anton.

Hook goes to summon Cora with a Queen of Hearts playing card.

James does the same sword twist that David does.

It looks as though Tiny busted through into the underground mines/caverns since there is a never ending looking hole underneath him.

I’m pretty sure dwarfs and giants are related. They both call each brother, they have no females, and they’re made to work (dwarfs mining fairy dust, giants cultivating magic beans). Plus, the dwarf axe gives Tiny a name, which Leroy points out only happens for dwarfs.

So, Emma, Henry, and Gold are heading to NYC where we know Neal is living. So, most likely they’ll run into him. Greg and Belle both saw magic and now know it’s being covered up. Regina is evil again, and Tiny is an honorary dwarf.

Please leave comments and reblog! Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future reviews.

@searchingwardrobes​​​ @thisonesatellite​​​ @justbecauseyoubelievesomething​​​ @laschatzi​​​ @profdanglaisstuff​​​ @mariakov81​

[signurture]

Kat Edison Personality/Zodiac Analysis

Ok, here we go: to the anon that asked why I think Kat is a scorpio

In all honesty tho you can relate to multiple signs if you really try.

Nonetheless, I think theres multiple aspects of Kat Edison’s personality that point towards her being a Scorpio. I’ll separate this into strengths, weaknesses, and “other personality traits” of scorpios and how Kat fits in w/ them. I’ll be providing examples from her relationship with her friends to her relationship with Adena.

Strengths

Bravery - Every episode we are told of how brave she is. From the very first episode where she wasn’t shy to speak up during a meeting when asking about the cancellation of the lesbian muslim article. In that same episode, Sutton calls her confident. In 1x04, at Adena’s gallery, Jane say’s she wishes she was as brave as Kat. You can just tell that she isn’t afraid to fight more what she wants and believes in.

Passionate/Determination - This one is pretty obvious. Kat is very passionate about her work. We can see that in every project she takes on. She went after the muslim story even after her boss said to drop it. She spoke out about the sexism in VR headsets and when she received backlash, she went out of her way to make an ad about cyberbullying. Kat is always giving all she has into what she does and doesn’t expect to fail. That same episode (1x03) where she walked out when giving a pitch to the board bc someone leaked her nude, remember she was ready to walk right back in bc she knew she could fix it.

Leadership - Kat is a leader. She is the Social Media Director for Scarlet. This one doesn't really need an explanation. She enjoys being in charge and takes that responsibility with ease. It comes natural to her.

Weaknesses

Obsessive - Ok, Kat has a very obsessive personality. I already touched on it a little earlier. we can see it in how she didn’t give up on Adena’s lesbian muslim story even though she was turned down by not only Jacq but Adena herself. In episode 3, we see her obsessing over her phone/twitter when she receives all the backlash. In episode 5, she’s obsessing over her impact on Adena and Coco’s relationship. She even admitted to stalking Coco’s Facebook(?) and we see her stop in the middle of the side walk to check Coco’s instagram. There’s other examples but you get the point.

Impulsive - Kat shows signs of this behavior a couple of times. A lot of the time she talks before she thinks and it gets her in trouble. We’ve seen it in the first episode in the subway when she snaps at Sutton. She does it when Adena gets detained and she almost starts a hashtag to free Adena until she’s stopped by Lauren. We really see it in episode 4 and 5. in 4, Kat was quick to punch the man that was being racist to Adena. In episode 5, she’s quick to call things off with Adena.

Jealousy - Now this one is a bit harder to notice. Episode 5 is where i believe we really see it. I think we might see it more in the next episode? Maybe, maybe not. But in 1x05, she is clearly jealous of Adena and Coco’s relationship. Despite Adena choosing her, she still envy’s how Coco and Adena had a deep history. We hear it when she talks about how Coco and Adena have done all these incredible things together and when she says “not all of them bad” referring to the 3 years Adena spent with Coco. This one is harder to dictate bc it has more so to do with relationships and we haven't seen Kat in one to even get jealous. I do think that her stalking Coco’s social media and telling Adena to go back to her “beautiful, successful, certified lesbian girlfriend” was partly jealousy. We’ll see how Kat reacts to Adena going back to Paris tho.

Other Aspects of Kat’s Personality (these don't really fit in the good/bad list)

Independence - It’s pretty clear Kat is an independent woman. She works alone, lives alone, and has never been in a relationship. So she enjoys her independence. In episode 3, she says herself that the only phone number she knows in Scarlet’s. She really doesn't seem to have any other friends other than Sutton and Jane. She doesn’t do relationships. It was hinted that her relationship with her family isn’t that close either.

Secretive/Emotional - Just like scorpios, Kat is very emotional but can hide it very well. She tries put on a mask to hide how she truly feels. In episode 3, she tries to act like the hate tweets don’t affect her at all. Multiple times in her interactions with Adena, she tries to hide how she really feels about her. Her emotions go to the extreme. I mean she goes from being confessing her feelings to Adena in the middle of the night to being completely cold, telling Adena to leave her workplace bc she can't do relationships then back to running to Adena’s apartment to tell her she wants to be in a relationship. Kat is all over the place lol. Understandably, considering her situation and personality.

Misunderstood - Funny how this lines up perfectly with Kat. I’ve researched scorpios and it always (!!!) comes back to this word multiple times. Scorpio’s are difficult to understand and always have more going on in their head/heart than they seem to express. This really doesn’t need any further explanation bc Kat literally sent Adena a picture of herself holding up a sign that says “Misunderstood”.

Sex - This one is easy. Its no secret that scorpios are the most sexually driven signs. Kat has said that she enjoys sex and sticks to just that when it comes to relationships. She enjoys and prefers a physical relationship. She's very comfortable with that part of herself.

Controlling/Protective - This one can go hand in hand with the leadership but here I’m magnifying her controlling nature with Adena. When I say controlling I don't mean it in a negative form. It’s more of a dominance. I’ll point out two instances. The first being in 1x04 where she punches the guy who insulted Adena. Her first reaction is to always protect Adena. as said before, she was impulsive in this act, admitting it in the taxi cab ride with Jacq. The second instance(s) is when she's kissing Adena. In both cases she's the one directing. She's the one in control. In the 1x04 Kat is the one that intensifies the kiss and moves Adena’s hand to her waist. In the 1x05 kiss, Kat is the one that holds the back of Adena’s neck. She always leading as far as we’ve seen.

That pretty much wraps it up. Do you think she’s a Scorpio? Did I just waste my time for no reason? Am I Kadena trash? Let me know :))))

**This is obviously all just speculation and opinion since we don't know Kat’s birth date. From what I analyzed, I’m getting Scorpio vibes all the way. Hopefully TBT creators follow horoscopes lol. Please let me know if I missed anything or you feel that something is inaccurate. Comments/discussion is always welcomed <3 If i could make gifs i would've to make it more interesting but I'm a talentless hoe**

[stahlop]

Once Upon a Time 2x05 “The Doctor” Review

Reviews 1x01 1x02 1x03 1x04 1x05 1x06 1x07 1x08 1x09 1x10 1x11 1x12 1x13 1x14 1x15 1x16 1x17 1x18 1x19 1x20 1x21 1x22 2x01 2x02 2x03 2x04

We finally find out who Dr. Whale is. Turns out he’s not from the Enchanted Forest at all and he’s Victor Frankenstein! Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting that. This is the first character we’ve seen who isn’t a fairy tale or nursery rhyme character. I did love all the misdirects to Whale possibly being the Wizard from The Wizard of Oz, though, he technically could still be, maybe just not at this point in the story. This is a long one, there are so many characters to talk about because there are 3 different storylines happening here. So buckle up!

Summary: Whale brings someone from Regina’s past back to try and get her to open a portal for him back to his land. Emma, Mary Margaret, Mulan, and Aurora find one survivor from Cora’s slaying of the Safe Haven, but Emma doesn’t buy Killian Jones’s ruse for one second. In the past, Jefferson brings The Doctor to help Regina bring Daniel back from the dead, despite Rumplestiltskin’s insistence that ‘dead is dead.’

Opening: Lightning bolts in black and white.

Character Observations:

Victor Frankenstein/Dr. Whale: We are given many clues to who The Doctor is in this episode. Many of them pointing to The Wizard of Oz. We see The Doctor (who I dubbed Steampunk Whale on first viewing) and it is explained that he can try and bring Daniel back but the procedure is experimental and he needs one of the enchanted hearts he’s heard about in this realm, because they are stronger than regular hearts. Young Regina won’t take a heart for him because it is considered evil and Victor feels she has wasted his time, but she knows where they can get one. Young Regina takes them to Cora’s heart vault and tells Victor to take his pick. He picks a random one and claims it’s perfect. It is time try putting the heart into Daniel’s body. Victor must do this alone. He’s in a tent outside, hardly the place for a medical procedure. He makes a dramatic show of pulling out the heart and looking like he’s jamming it into Daniel’s body, and then hangs his head. He tells young Regina that the heart wasn’t strong enough and it didn’t withstand the procedure. Victor and Jefferson meet up with Rumplestiltskin. The whole bringing Daniel back was a scam to make young Regina harden her heart enough to go back to Rumplestiltskin. Victor still has the heart and plans on using it for his experiment in his own land. Rumplestiltskin ruffles Victor’s feathers by saying he’s making a monster. Victor says he’s not making a monster and with this heart he’ll transcend the limitations of magic with whatever is stronger in his land. Rumplestiltskin thinks Victor will someday see that he’ll need magic, Victor doubts it. Before Jefferson takes Victor back to his land, Rumplestiltskin reminds him that everything comes with a price. And if you haven’t figured out who Dr. Whale is by now, we see  a stately home, in black and white, and see him in his laboratory. Considering the lightning storm brewing and the body on the slab, it’s not hard to figure out that we’ve been dealing with Victor Frankenstein all this time. He harnesses the electricity into the body and then it’s arm (complete with harsh stitches) starts rising up. Victor welcomes his brother back. His assistant says it’s magic, but Victor says it’s science.

While Victor is very cocky about everything that’s happening, Whale is having a really bad day. First he goes to talk to David who automatically punches him for sleeping with Mary Margaret during the curse. Whale wants to know if he is trying to find a portal. David confirms that he is. Whale wonders if all the lands survived. David thinks so. Whale goes to Archie’s office and interrupts Regina’s session with him. Archie, dude, lock your door during counseling sessions. Whale wants to be sent back to his land with his brother, who is dead. Regina says she can’t and Whale questions whether she can’t or won’t. Archie kicks him out. We next see Regina looking for Whale after seeing Daniel in the storm. Whale has brought Daniel back, but he apparently ripped Whale’s arm off from the shoulder (OW!), because he’s, dun dun duuuuun, a monster!!! So, a few days later, maybe, Whale is walking around town in a bloody shirt with his ripped off arm in a cooler. He goes to Gold’s shop and shows him the arm. He demands Gold reattach his arm. Gold wants to know why he brought Daniel back in the first place. Whale admits to wanting to get on Regina’s good side so she’d send him back to his land. His first experiment with his brother didn’t end well and he wants to try again. That doesn’t sound too good. I know the saying goes ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again’, but I don’t think it meant when trying to bring back the dead. Gold reminds him there is always a price. Whale’s willing to pay whatever it is. Gold wants him to admit magic is better than science. Whale seems pained to do so, but he does, and his arm is magically back and usable. Whale is in shock that it worked so easily. Whale does not seem like the type of person to give up easily. I hope he doesn’t do anything else to piss off Regina.

Jefferson: Wow! This is a side of Jefferson we’ve never seen. He’s jovial and quirky, and much more in line with how we would picture the Mad Hatter. He shows up at Rumplestiltskin’s castle while young Regina is there. He brings Rumplestiltskin a crystal ball of sorts. They discuss if Jefferson found the slippers, but Jefferson says they’ve already been moved to another land. Jefferson talks to young Regina after Rumplestiltskin has told her he’s done teaching her. He says he travels a lot and knows someone who may be able to help her with her problem. He calls him a wizard. Jefferson’s price is a royal passport throughout young Regina’s lands, since she is the queen. Young Regina questions whether this wizard can really bring someone back from the dead. Jefferson says if he can’t, no one can. Later on, Jefferson is bringing young Regina to meet the wizard. He warns her that this wizard is not familiar with our ways and our magic. Young Regina doesn’t care as long as he can help her. He presents to her, her salvation, and young Regina just rolls her eyes at Jefferson’s ridiculousness. Jefferson hangs out while Victor takes a look at dead Daniel. He gets berated by Victor when he realized young Regina doesn’t know this procedure is experimental. But then explains to Victor why the enchanted hearts are so… hearty (because they’re ripped out from a living person). Young Regina refuses to do this and Jefferson tells her that if she wants her fiance back she’ll need to do it. But young Regina has other ideas.They go to Cora’s vault. Jefferson wants to know whose hearts they all are, but young Regina has no idea. Jefferson and young Regina are waiting outside Victor’s medical tent. Young Regina wants to know if he’s doing magic in the tent. Jefferson says he wields a power greater than magic, but he doesn’t know what it is. Young Regina wants to see what’s going on. Jefferson says there’s a lot they don’t understand about the land Victor’s from, but if he can’t bring Daniel back, then Rumplestiltskin is right and bringing back the dead can’t be done. Thank you Jefferson for explaining this for the millionth time. Jefferson seems to be the narrator for this story. After Victor fails, he and Jefferson are in the woods to return Victor to his land. Jefferson says the deal isn’t done until he says it’s done. He is Rumplestiltskin, and, oh, this was all a set up to get young Regina past the notion of bringing Daniel back to life. Jefferson pulls the box with the heart from his satchel and hands it to Victor. Rumplestiltskin and Victor have a little back and forth about magic and what Victor is doing. Jefferson just watches the fireworks. If he had popcorn, he’d be eating it and enjoying the show. Victor is done arguing and wants to go home. Jefferson looks to Rumplestiltskin for permission and he nods his head to grant it. He opens the portal and they jump. I loved seeing Jefferson before he became all broody. He was a lot of fun and just a breath of fresh air.

Young Regina/Regina: Rumplestiltskin is trying to mold young Regina into the heartless (pun intended) person that he wants her to be. He first tries to do this directly, just turning her into her mother, but young Regina isn’t having that. She expressly told  Rumplestiltskin in We Are Both that she didn’t want to be like her mother, and yet. Young Regina wants to bring Daniel back from the dead, a feat that magic cannot do. Rumplestiltskin tells her she’s wasting his time if she can’t take power from others, as that is apparently the point of magic. And also, that she needs to let go of the past. Jefferson appears and says he knows a wizard that can bring people back from the dead. Young Regina wants to know his price. He wants a royal passport since he travels the lands for his business. Young Regina is so cute when she asks how she’s supposed to get this for him, apparently forgetting that she’s the queen. She is certainly not dressing like a queen. She is still in her horse riding type clothes in almost every scene. She asks if this wizard can really bring someone back from the dead. Jefferson says if he can’t, no one can. Jefferson brings the wizard (who prefers to go by the doctor), to see young Regina. He warns her that he doesn’t understand their magic, but young Regina just wants him to do what he does to help her. She shows the doctor Daniel, who she kept preserved after his death. The doctor needs a heart to bring him back. Young Regina hesitates because she doesn’t want to take a heart, but the doctor challenges her by asking if he’s wasted his time coming here, so young Regina takes them to her mother’s heart vault (which you can apparently hear the hearts beating through the floor, ew). The vault is wall-to-wall hearts. Jefferson asks whose hearts they are but young Regina doesn’t know. Her mother was a collector, and a monster. Young Regina’s voice may say this in disgust, but her face almost has a bit of wonderment to it. Like she’s finally wondering if taking hearts would be such a bad thing since her mother was pretty powerful. Young Regina and Jefferson watch as the doctor attempts to perform the procedure. She questions Jefferson about whether he’s doing magic or not, but Jefferson says he’s doing something more powerful than magic. The doctor comes out looking defeated but young Regina looks so hopeful, she’s trying so hard not to smile and be happy and it’s not working. The doctor tells her it didn’t work and young Regina is heartbroken all over again. She goes in the tent to see Daniel and this scene is so sad. She brushes his hair back and closes up his shirt where the doctor attempted to put in the new heart and just cries over him, having lost him all over again. But apparently, that was enough for her to move on. She’s now dressed more Evil Queen like, in black leather and her hair up. She finds Rumplestiltskin teaching someone new in the woods. That pisses young Regina off and she immediately tears out her heart and crushes it. Oh Regina, how easily manipulated you are.

In Storybrooke, Regina is attempting to make good on her promise to Henry that she won’t use magic. Look, I get that the writers are trying to show that magic is like a drug addiction, but that’s not how I see it. Regina ends up having to use it to save people in this episode so maybe she should just learn how to harness it for good instead of evil. Learn how to control her temper instead of using it whenever she gets angry. Anyway, she’s decided to go see Archie to help her work through her magic addiction, or whatever. Whale interrupts wanting her to make a portal so he can go back to his land to look for his brother. She mocks him by telling him to check the missing persons board, but he says she only brought over the living. Regina may be trying to turn over a new leaf by not using magic, but her attitude is still pure Evil Queen. Unless it has to do with her, she doesn’t care. Archie tells him to go, then says that what Whale said isn’t true. She brought over her father’s body. Regina says she brought over who she wanted. Archie asks if she brought over anyone else. She tells Archie about Daniel and how she preserved him. He’s dead but frozen. Archie tells her that if she can’t let go of the past it’s doomed to haunt her. That’s a little too close to what Rumplestiltskin told her about Daniel, so she’s had enough. Archie says he can help her but Regina’s done. Regina is driving home in a downpour and swears she sees Daniel at a street corner, but then lightning flashes and he is gone. She goes to the mausoleum the next day and discovers Daniel’s body is gone. She then ventures down to the crazy ward of the hospital where it is sufficiently creepy (no Nurse Rachet or Chief sweeping this time), and she sounds so young when looking for Whale. She finds some kind of lab down there where it looks like someone has been fighting the cabinets and lights as they’re swinging and flickering. Regina discovers an arm on a gurney, and that actually freaks her out a bit. She finds Whale on the ground behind the gurney. He tells her that he did bring Daniel back because he wanted her to make a portal for him. But Daniel is a monster. David comes to speak to Regina after hearing about the attack on Whale. She admits that Daniel’s back. David knows that Daniel is dead. Regina says Whale brought him back by stealing one of her hearts. She’s so gleeful about this development. She’s just happy that Daniel is back, she’s not thinking about the consequences. David is though. He wants to know whose heart Whale took. Regina doesn’t know, she had so many she lost count. Oh, Regina. You definitely became your mother. Regina wants to go find Daniel, but David thinks he’s too dangerous. She doesn’t think Daniel will be dangerous to her. She figures he’d find stables since that was the last place he was before he died. And that’s where Henry is right now. Crap! Regina and David get there while Daniel is trying to choke the life out of Henry. Regina can’t do anything but stare at Daniel. David gets Henry out and locks Daniel in the stable. She and David argue about the best way to subdue Daniel. David wants her to use magic, she refuses to use magic on him. David wants to use his gun then, but she insists he’ll talk to her. This is the most vulnerable we’ve ever seen Regina, and it’s refreshing. David consents. Regina goes into the stable and is so happy to see Daniel. It’s like young Regina has come back. Daniel looks like he’s going to touch her cheek and kiss her, but he strangles her instead. She finally gets out that she loves him and that brings him back to himself. They hug and Regina is so happy, but Daniel is in pain. He wants Regina to stop the pain and let him go. She doesn’t want to. She loves him. Daniel tells her to love again before trying to attack her. She immobilizes him and starts to cry. Magically, she turns him to dust and he’s gone. Regina goes back to Archie for more magic therapy.

Rumplestiltskin/Gold: Rumplestiltskin is in rare manipulator mode this episode. He’s basically like a military drill sergeant, breaking young Regina down to mold her into what he wants. He wants her to take a heart and crush it. Considering how young Regina forgets she’s the queen with Jefferson, it can’t be too long after Daniel’s death that this is taking place. Why Rumplestiltskin thinks having her take and crush hearts so soon is a good idea is beyond me. Shouldn’t he be starting her slowly and not jumping straight to the magic her mother used to kill her fiance? Anyway, he basically tells Regina he can’t teach her anymore if she can’t let go of the past. Wow, pot meet kettle. Isn’t Rumplestiltskin’s whole agenda to get to his son, Bae, which is in the past? Anyway, we discover that Rumplestiltskin was behind young Regina’s whole adventure with Jefferson and Dr. Frankenstein to bring Daniel back and that Victor only pretended to try and bring him back so he could have the heart for his own experiment back in his land. Rumplestiltskin thanks Victor for helping him make his monster. That really didn’t take that long to turn young Regina.

We only see Gold briefly, when Whale wants him to help reattach his arm for him. Gold makes a quip about charging an arm and a leg to which Whale is not appreciative. The only price he wants from Whale is to admit he wants Gold to use magic to reattach his arm, since he’d said science was better than magic back in the EF. Whale does and Gold waves his hand and Whale’s arm is reattached and working as if it were never ripped off. It’s nice that sometimes Gold just wants to say ‘I told you so’ as payment.

David/Henry: David punches Whale because he slept with Mary Margaret during the curse. Again, hello pot, meet kettle. Kathryn thought she was pregnant at one point so obviously you weren’t chaste during the curse either. David reveals to Whale that he is searching for a portal back to the EF, and he’s pretty sure the curse didn’t destroy everything. David is teaching Henry to become a knight and that means taking care of a horse. So Henry gets a horse that he has to take care of before and after school and the horse will let Henry know when he’s ready to ride it. Henry’s not too happy about this, but David says it forms an essential bond between knight and steed. David hears about Whale and questions Regina about it. She says she just found him, but David knows better. He asks why Regina was coming to see Whale. She tells him about Daniel coming back. David knows Daniel is dead. He’s horrified to hear that Regina has a vault full of hearts from the EF with her in SB. When Regina thinks Daniel might be heading to the stables, David realizes Henry is there. Henry is still brushing his horse and talking to it when it starts to freak out and throws him before running off. Daniel enters the stable. Henry tries to talk to Daniel, but he’s not computing anything. Henry sees that he has blood on his hands and tries to see if he’s hurt, but holding out his hand triggers Daniel to remember Cora ripping out his heart so he starts to choke Henry. Regina and David manage to save Henry from Daniel and David gets him out of there. David wants Regina to use her magic to subdue Daniel, but she refuses. I find this interesting. David has been against Regina using her magic, but when it comes to the town’s safety, it’s alright to use it. David goes to use his gun to subdue Daniel, but Regina begs to let her talk to her fiance. Apparently, David leaves and lets her do it on her own.

Emma/Snow/Hook: Emma, Snow, Mulan, and Aurora are coming back to the Safe Haven from Snow’s castle. Aurora doesn’t think she can lie about Lancelot. Snow is telling her it’s technically not a lie, they just don’t want to incite panic. Um, why not? Cora is out there and has been masquerading as Lancelot for months, maybe years. I think the people deserve to know that. But it doesn’t matter because Cora has come and killed everyone already. But, she did leave one survivor. Oh look, it’s Hook! Now, see, this is almost where I wish we didn’t already know who Hook was, because it would have been so much better to see that reveal with him tied to the tree. Anyway, Emma is telling Mulan that having a survivor is sloppy and Cora isn’t sloppy, so Emma doesn’t trust him one bit. He’s supposedly a blacksmith that lost his hand in an ogre attack. Mulan says he’s been there a couple of months. So Cora has been planning this for awhile. I don’t know if the earring and rings scream blacksmith to me. Did men, other than pirates, wear earrings? He claims to have hidden under the dead bodies. Emma tells him about her liar super power. He offers to be a guide for them wherever they need to go and Emma puts a knife to his throat! Emma tells him he’s not going anywhere until he tells them who he really is.  Glad to see Emma’s bullshit detector is working again. They tie him to a tree but he still claims to be a blacksmith. So Emma decides to whistle some ogres over. They do that move where they act like they’re leaving so that he’ll freak out enough to tell them the truth, and it works. Emma asks who he is again. Gives the name Killian Jones but most people call him by his more colorful moniker, Hook. Mary Margaret recognizes his name and finds his hook in his satchel. Emma can’t believe she just met another famous fairy tale character. He tells them about Cora’s plan and Mary Margaret is incredulous about her trying to open a portal since they destroyed the wardrobe. Hook says the enchantment still remains so the portal can still be opened with the ashes. Mulan thinks they should kill him but Emma just wants to leave him for the ogres. Hook claims they need him because they all want to go to SB. He’ll make a deal with them and screw over Cora as long as it gets him what he wants. He tells them about the enchanted compass that will guide them in the portal and if they get it first, Cora won’t be able to get to SB. Emma thrusts a knife in his face again and wants to know why he wants to get to SB. He wants his revenge on Rumplestiltskin. That was enough for Emma to free him, so he takes them to where they can find the compass, which happens to be up a beanstalk where giants live. Of course. Emma and Mary Margaret are both convinced this is a trap, but knowing that it’s a trap will help them be one step ahead. So hopefully we have a beanstalk adventure next episode!

Questions:

Why are there holes in the dead people’s chests? Is it because Cora wasn’t enchanting the heart? Or did Cora do it for dramatic flair?

Was anyone else expecting a zombie army to rise with all the dead people missing their hearts?

There are pumpkin decorations at Granny’s. Does that mean it’s October again already? This makes no sense as it was (despite what the coats may say) spring when the curse was broken and it’s only been 4-5 days since then.

Where the hell is Kathryn? Do we really get no fall out from them thinking they were married and living as a married couple during the curse?

How did Whale know Regina was with Archie in his office?

Are the slippers another Wizard of Oz reference? Could Rumplestiltskin and Jefferson be talking about the Ruby Slippers?

How did Regina preserve Daniel? She didn’t have any magic when Daniel died and Cora certainly wouldn’t have preserved him. 

How did Victor learn about preserved Daniel being in our land? Did he overhear Regina talking about it with Archie?

Exactly how long did Whale have to go to the mausoleum, find Daniel, steal a heart, bring Daniel back to the hospital, and bring him back to life?

What is this room that Whale did the procedure on Daniel? Why is there a random laboratory in the basement of the Storybrooke Hospital?

What is it with people having body parts cut off and not bleeding out? First Killian’s hand and now Whale’s arm. At least there’s blood with Whale’s arm.

Why is Victor wearing sunglasses at night? Was this a thing?

How has Victor heard about our realm and that there are enchanted hearts?

What happens to the original person the heart belongs to if you put it in someone else's body?

Where did Victor hide the heart when he pretended to put it in Daniel?

How early were Henry and David at the stables? The whole encounter with Daniel had to take place before school because David said he was going to pick him up later.

Observations:

Henry is having trouble sleeping.

David calls his wife Snow, but everyone else calls her Mary Margaret.

Henry’s going to be awfully smelly when he goes to school if he’s doing he horse chores in his school uniform.

That’s a pretty small heart for a horse.

When you take a heart it becomes enchanted. It becomes stronger than a normal heart. Then you can control it.

Jefferson takes all the gold that Rumplestiltskin had just woven.

When Regina leaves Archie’s office it looks like it is late afternoon from the shadows on the wall, but when we see her driving home, it’s raining and dark out.

Whale somehow managed to put a tourniquet on his arm after Daniel ripped it off.

The girl Rumplestiltskin is teaching looks like Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Non-magical people can put hearts into people, as Victor seems to have done this with his brother.

According to the creators of the show, Victor’s land is called the Land Without Color.

Names:

Whale is named for James Whale, the director of the first Frankenstein movie.

This was a good episode, but I still don’t buy that young Regina caved so easily to Rumplestiltskin’s manipulations. How does she go from not wanting to do anything evil and be like her mother to basically turning into her mother overnight just because she wasn’t able to bring Daniel back? I also don’t like the magic as a drug metaphor. It’s not what it is, and besides, Buffy the Vampire Slayer already did this storyline years ago. It didn’t work then and it’s not working for me now. But we got more Hook and David punching Whale was worth the whole episode.

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