#it was literally the opposite of any cursed ep 11

[incandescentflower]

Cherry Magic Thailand said the episode 11 curse is *not* the kind of magic you're getting this time. I really love that. I'm still reeling.

[novantinuum]

i DO really love TOH, but there are definitely times in my rewatch where I wish it treated reveals with more gradual build-up, subtlety, or explosive impact (some of which seem like kind of opposite asks, but hang with me here-)

for instance, i never really felt like the s1 ending with eda and lilith felt as justified as it could’ve been- because we only learned about the mere POSSIBILITY of the “solution” in the beginning of the finale itself. imagine how powerful that plot thread could’ve been if that reality of eda and lilith’s once close childhood bond was solidified a whole half SEASON earlier... if the power of the sharing spell had been showcased in some innocuous moment instead of, tellingly, mere minutes before it would be used to share the curse. this is an issue of a lack of build-up. it’s still a very touching character moment, and it makes sense given lilith’s guilt that she’d consider such an act, but it doesn’t hit as deep as it could’ve.

the lack of subtlety is best seen in the ep hollow mind, in which pretty much the whole fandom had already connected the dots about philip = belos, but the show itself spent many precious seconds of its runtime with a clip reel of luz’s encounter with philip in the past. that moment of the episode feels incredibly clunky whenever i watch it, and i think this reveal could’ve been made far stronger by belos simply transforming into philip while goading her about how she had helped him unknowingly this whole time. the clip reel was unnecessary and repetitive, and didn’t strengthen the narrative for me.

an example of a “reveal” (although... I can’t really call it that, since it technically hasn’t even been revealed yet) that lacked explosive impact was all the background details about philip’s turbulent familial past, and him literally MURDERING his brother. to be fair, it’s hard to say if the show is done discussing this element or if we’ve yet to uncover the spoken history of these two, but if the paintings in the background of philip’s mind are all we are to get about this plotline, then it feels very underwhelming. it lacks ‘ooomph.’ it feels like it’s something SO JUICY that would only serve to further the hunter/golden guard storyline, and yet they haven’t vocally laid it out yet. it’s frustrating to me when all the most interesting pieces of lore are things that the story seems to dance around but never fully discuss. (honestly, amphibia fell prey to this issue for me as well.) i can only hope that the paintings are not the end-all-be-all of caleb wittebane’s story, otherwise... yeah. it lacks impact as a “reveal.”

as a defense to everything i’ve said here, i DO very much acknowledge that TOH being cut short likely changed a lot about the structuring of s2 in particular, and might have caused certain storylines to be sliced down or almost entirely omitted in order to allow time to tie up the major plot. but even with this, i KNOW this story is incredibly capable of showcasing brilliant pacing and well-timed reveals, because it’s succeeded in this in many other aspects... such as with the development of luz and amity’s relationship, or with the reveal of raine using their whistle trick to change the very makeup of terra’s “tea.” (which is probably one of my favorite reveals of the show... the writers established raine using this ability in an innocuous scene (ep 11) without calling attention to it, then they showed young raine using it to change a drink’s flavor for fun and explaining how it works, and THEN they showed raine using it to evade terra’s control. that was GREAT build-up. that worked very well.)

in sum, TOH is a lovely show with relationships and ideas i absolutely adore, but its reveals (or lack of reveals, in certain cases) often leave me wanting. it’ll be interesting to see how they wrap things up in the final episodes, in any case. i really hope i’ll get the answers i’m hoping for.

[counttotwenty]

Bullet Points: The Fog Clears

A Wondrous Place-part 6 (part 1-5 here, here, here, here and here)

Bullet points are encapsulated scene analysis from the top of each act to the bottom. (each act is bookended by a commercial break)

1. When the scene opens Emma is sitting watching Regina and Snow shoot pool with the Vikings. 

Seriously?

I mean I get that she said she wanted to be distracted and didn’t want to talk about Killian leaving but at this point she could get more support in a crowd of strangers than she’s getting from Regina and Snow.

At the risk of repeating myself, the contrast between the Regina/Emma/Snow interactions and the Killian/Jasmine/Ariel interactions is both striking and intentional.

Emma is on her own here. Facing an emotional maelstrom and just trying to hold on. (more on Emma’s state of mind a little farther down)

2. “I tried to write my own story but it just kept coming out with talking animals and canned morals.”

Even though in retrospect we know the bartender wasn’t really Aesop this is a nice little piece of foreshadowing to the troubles of an author coming in the next episode.

Well done!

3. Aesop/Gideon carefully crafts his tale of woe with his relationship to mirror Emma’s and evoke an emotional response from her. He’s manipulating her and in her current emotional state she’s not clear headed enough to see it.

4. So let’s talk for a minute about Emma’s state of mind and how she got there. 

Leroy reported he saw Killian get on the Nautilus. He wasn't being shanghaied. He wasn’t at the point of a sword. He was alone and appeared to be acting of his own free will. Emma has no reason to disbelieve Leroy and Leroy has no reason to believe the story goes any deeper than what he saw. There’s a whole lot of incomplete information here but none of it is malicious and there’s no reason for anyone to suspect the situation is anything other than what it appears to be.

The Nautilus is not a place of danger for Killian. There’s nothing about his going there that should raise a red flag. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. It is THE place Killian would run if he needed to think and seek the counsel of a friend (Nemo) and the connection of family (Liam 2).

Emma is the one who told him if he wasn't ready to trust her they needed not to talk for awhile. So in her mind she sees his leaving as him doing exactly what she suggested. Why should she assume there’s anything suspicious about that?

Her packing up his things and moving them to the shed is less about trying to get over him and more about getting some very painful reminders to a place where she doesn’t need to see them constantly.

5. “As soon as things got tough he just ... took off.”

Again, this is a clear indication Emma's thinking is muddled. She and Killian have been through tough times before, chiefly the Dark One arc, and he never fled. But there’s a very significant difference this time. 

She’s the one that suggested a separation if he wasn’t ready to trust her. She threw out an emotional challenge and due to Leroy’s reporting she believes Killian failed it. 

The fact that her conclusion is based on faulty information doesn’t make it any less painful for her. Especially when she has no idea the information is inaccurate.

6. Aesop/Gideon believes he’s won when he sees Emma broken down and in tears, much like Jafar thought the same when he saw Aladdin in a similar condition.

BOING!!!!

7. When Emma says Regina got what she wanted she’s referring to Emma finally releasing some emotion, not Killian leaving.

And just in case that wasn’t clear the camera cuts immediately to the damp napkin.

Nicely done!

8. “You were probably right. It’s probably what I needed … It’s probably what I need…to move on.”

The “you were right” part of the sentence takes the thought out of Emma’s mouth–in concrete textual terms– and places it in someone else’s. In this case Regina. Emma’s not speaking her own thoughts–she’s parroting what she thinks someone else believes.

And it’s made even more powerful, in Emma’s mind, by the fact that she did indeed finally release her emotions as Regina had been encouraging her to do all night. If you were right about A then you’re probably right about B too. 

Emma’s not charting her own course here, she’s being pushed along by the tide.

Also, I count three “probablies” in that sentence. It oozes uncertainty from start to finish.

This isn’t Emma saying SHE wants to move on, it’s exactly the opposite.

9. Snow and Regina finally rustle up some physical support and comfort for Emma after she reaches a decision, albeit an iffy one based on false information, which resulted from a conversation with someone else that they didn’t contribute to at all.

Seriously--Emma needs Killian back pronto. He’s the only effective support system she has.

10. “And if you really know how to get Agrabah back then maybe someone there can help me.”

AGAIN, fantastic growth and development for Killian. He’s not some raging bull railing against the loss of his chance to get back to Storybrooke. He’s still focused on his goal but now fully cognizant of the fact that sometimes you need to help someone else and then give them a chance to help you right back.

This is the next step in his evolution as a hero. He’s not only willing to help himself and his friends and loved ones but he’s willing to help anyone in need.

BRAVO, Jane!! More fantastic ‘show not tel’l storytelling.

11. The answer to what Jasmine has been seeking is in the ring.

BOING!!!

I mean we knew that in regards to Killian and his ring but still ... really beautiful moment.

12. If Jasmine only had one wish left she’d use it for something to benefit the man she loves.

BOING!!! and sniffle.

13. “Losing Agrabah meant I could never have love until I won it back.”

The cut to Killian’s face immediately after that line is spectacular. Because he has struggled with that exact same thought. That he someone had to earn Emma’s love as opposed to taking it as a gift freely given.

BOING!!!!!

14. “The kind of magic that could break any curse.”

Heh. I see you, show.

I’m not saying they’re headed there but they certainly do like to tease the possibility.

15. Once Jasmine’s hero status is cemented, and she actually believes it herself and sees the results of not only her heroic stance against Jafar but her realization that love is not something that has to be earned and is in fact the greatest magic of all, Aladdin is free from the shackles that bound him. Shackles that were there just seconds earlier. 

In this case the restraints were physical .. but they can be emotional as well as in the case of another connected couple. 

BOING!!!

16. “Let me show you my world.”

Sigh. I saw that coming a mile away but still ...

17. “I’m free.”

Killian’s smile is both adorable and knowing. He’s happy for Jasmine and Aladdin but has also come to a new realization of his own.

Well done!!

18. “Once I hit the water I’ll be home faster than you think.”

BOING!!!!

19. “A shell phone.”

Heh.

20. “I have to go pick up my car from Aesop’s Tables tomorrow.”

In case it isn’t perfectly clear that Emma’s state of mind is foggy we see she was too impaired to drive home. They literally could not do anything more to make it clear Emma is not working with all her faculties intact.

21. Look it’s no secret Henry isn’t my favorite character, and like @lizacstuff I spend a lot of time wishing for his Hogwart’s invite to arrive, but the behavior he has exhibited in this ep is not like him at all and clearly both a connection to Emma (the earbuds and screen leaving him disconnected from the current action thing I mentioned in part 1) and foreshadowing of what’s to come.

22. Oh, stairs. How I love you as a metaphor. Of course Emma is descending the stairs here. It’s an illustration of her emotional condition.

BOING!!!

23. And FINALLY Emma knows the truth and has all the missing information. Just as we watched Killian in this position throughout this ep time to see how Emma acts moving forward.

24. Notice how immediately after hearing Killian Emma shifts into a different mode than the one she’s been in all episode. She’s quickly processing what she sees in front of her. Catches on to fake Aesop. Takes back her strength (it didn’t turn out so well for you last time, you don’t really have me in a helping mood right now, pal). In short, she’s on the express train back to being the old Emma. And all it took was learning the truth --that Killian still loves her and did not willingly leave her.

Killian and their love isn’t what makes Emma strong, she’s a strong woman in her own right, but being secure in his feelings for her helps her tap into her own inner strength.

BOING!!!BOING!!!BOING!!!

25. You better be careful, Gideon. Deals can sometimes backfire on someone even if they feel like they hold the key (ring, tears) that gives them the upper hand.

Jasmine out thought Jafar, do you really think you can out think Emma?

26. Gideon tells Emma she needs to EARN his gratitude. But we learned very clearly in the last act that “earned” is a tricky concept and one that is often misleading.