#once upon a time season 4a

[happy-emmdings]

Captain Swan Vibes 1/2⚓️ 🦢

Seasons 2&3&4

[drjohndisco]

Once Upon A Time Appreciation Week 2023 ( Hosted by @dinneratgrannys )

November 12th (Day 1) Favourite Show Arc - Season 4A

[mythuzalasheir3]

Why do I do this to myself?

I was just planning out exactly how many chapters I need to write for the Once Upon A Time In Hatchetfield AU and here’s my running total broken down by season of OUAT

Season 1: 20 chapters

Season 2: 10 chapters

Season 3A/Neverland: 10 chapters

Season 3B/Oz: 8 Chapters

Season 4: 12 Chapters

Season 5: 5 Chapters

Season 6: 5 Chapters

Season 7: 15 Chapters

So that’s 85 chapters and I’ve only written and posted seven of them 💀💀💀

I cut and removed Seasons 4A, 5A and 6A and retrofitted their corresponding B sections so they all flowed together because I wanted to make it slightly less convoluted :)))

[cathloves]

Mine is season 4b

[petty-d4bblr]

I thoroughly enjoyed season 7 of Once Upon a Time. Like, seasons 4a, 5, and 6 were not great, but S7 pulled me right back in.

I am so tempted already to rewatch S1 - 3 again immediately. FFS.

Apparently, despite my best efforts, I am not, in fact, getting my brain back after this.

[barbiegirldream]

my mom and i were watching once upon a time together years ago and out of nowhere she asked me what otp stands for and i died 😭 it’s so funny hearing people that you wouldn’t expect to reference fandom things reference them

I watched once upon a time with my mom too ! She gave up after the Elsa plot of season 4a. She was smarter than I… my grandfather is in his 70s and says pog sometimes. It’s crazy

[justmilah]

Once Upon a Sailor Moon

So, no one asked for this idea I had literally years ago, but it was a way I could bring Sailor Moon (which I was watching at the time) to Once Upon a Time (which I was also watching at the time) in a way that was very Oncey. And it had actual little to do with the modern day Sailor Senshi goings on but had more to do with the mythos of what happened before. And since this is Once, the origin would have changed a bit.

So Princess Serenity, daughter of the moon goddess, fell in love with Endymion, the prince of earth. (Yes, it is loosely based off the Selene/Endymion Greek myth.)  There is a war over this, because a powerful sorceress loved him and felt scorned, and Endymion is killed. That’s all true to Sailor Moon. But after that, instead of Serenity ending up dead as well, she is so struck by grief that she cries for day and night for over a month and it floods the earth. (I was going for a Gilgamesh tie in I can’t remember any more, I suck at outlining.)

Realizing that humanity is about to be wiped out, the moon goddess herself banishes magic and whisks her grieving daughter home. The floods recede only now there are vast oceans and seas and rivers and lakes, and they’re all connected to the moon because they’re the daughter’s tears and-- okay it was just me going ‘hey this would be a neat way to tie in why the moon has an effect on water.’

So, since magic can’t disappear, the realms are created by accident. And it’s why the moon looks so similar in all of them - there is only one moon and it connects them all.

Then I had the idea that she would like Killian because when he burned the sail it returned the wings to her Pegasus friend, Helios. And she warns him that her cousin Poseidon is angry with him, but promises to protect his ship in repayment for saving her friend.

Then in modern times Regina remembers she’d caught her in a lamp before casting the curse (she’d been trying to catch the pegasus) and she’s now feeling guilty about it. And without magic in the land, the silver light around Serenity fades and her hair is now gold and she’s clumsy as heck because she doesn’t float anymore. And she is freaking out because she isn’t allowed to BE here, because she’s almost destroyed the world once.

Then it turns out the sorcerous had cursed Endymion to be born and die at the age of his original death for an eternity or until true love came for him, believing if enough lifetimes went by he would come around, but the problem is he never remembers her because it’s always a new life with new memories so he can’t, but he always dreams about the moon.

I think I was intending this to be between 4a and 4b, so just when Killian was starting to be trusted but still not quite trusted, so it would have been kind of...fun to see this tiny, bubbly, clumsy, friendly, so very extroverted moon goddess latch onto this guy a lot of people still saw as a murderous pirate because he once accidentally saved one of her best friends.

And then Season Seven had their own thing and I went ‘whelp, guess this will just live only in my head forever now’ only now I was finally able to share it because I remembered enough to do so! 

(And I don’t think Milah was involved because I got the idea for it before I even started writing her. I started plotting this 20 June 2017 according to Drive and my first Milah sideblog came about  6 July 2017.)

[ladystrallan]

Once Upon a Time season 4A thoughts

I’m rewatching OUAT and I wanted to share some of my opinions on each season!

- Funny story about this season, back in the day when I was watching OUAT for the first time, me and my dad watched it on netflix, and when we finished season 3, season 4 wasn’t on netflix yet, so we bought a box set and then a week later (no joke) it was put on netflix lol

- It’s beck from You!

- That cgi ice…

- I mean marian is a little bit right (even though I don’t like her)

- I feel like Regina’s redemption was a bit fast, and her only motivation for being good is Henry (not her having actual remorse for her actions)

- Rumple visiting Neal’s grave :(

- The ogre wars are the funniest thing in this show

- How long did they last? How did they start?

- I guess we’ll never know

- Regina… girl… just turning evil at the smallest inconvenience

- RUMBELLE HONEYMOON

- They are so adorable omg

- Him trusting her with the dagger… awww

- Aaaaaaaa! The beauty and the beast dance

- This is too cute

- “Maybe we should have gone with baelfire” yeah if you want him to get bullied

- Sidney is so thirsty for Regina lol

- THE SORCERERS HAT

- I’m sorry but the enchanted forest also being called misthaven??? I kinda hate it

- “Anna, I will find you” would you say… you will always find her? Lol

- LONG HAIR DAVID

- Omg he looks like he should be riding a horse on the cover of a romance novel

- “They call her bo peep” aka the least menacing name ever

- What are your intentions with my daughter???

- I forgot they made bo peep a lowkey mafia boss

- Not David calling her a warlord lol

- “When I was six years old, one morning I woke up hearing my father and mother going at it” yikes

- Ohhhh they were fighting… I thought they were doing something else

- Nooooo he died from drunk driving

- Ok I think I’m a full on captainswan shipper now

- “I don’t like to say such a name out loud” he’s not voldemort

- I’d know that giggle anywhere…

- INGRID

- This is the frozen 2 we deserved

- Oooooooo she got the white streak

- Ponytail Regina looks kinda fruity ngl…

- That painting clashes so bad

- Marian looks like she ate a blue popsicle

- Why don’t they disguise Elsa? She’s not exactly looking inconspicuous like that

- WILL SCARLET (For some reason I called him will roland for the longest time)

- Wait but didn’t he literally switch it out with the real dagger though???

- The way he hooked her arm!!!

- It’s zoso

- Ooh has rumple not “succumbed to darkness in his heart”?

- Captainswan date!!!

- “I don’t pillage and plunder on the first date” lol

- Awwww that’s cute that he wants to hold her

- But the hook is kinda sexy

- “Captain hand” that’s so funny

- “Is there something wrong with your skin?” Please—

- Wait… granny’s ISN’T the only restaurant in town?

- His old self is coming back to haunt him…

- Those brooms in fantasia used to give me nightmares

- Placebo hand

- Should I watch OUAT in Wonderland?

- LILY

- Awwww they’re cute

- I like how she poofs away in a little blizzard

- Ooh this is like the broken glass curse

- The Neal picture…

- Omg plot twist (I actually remember this lol) Ingrid was Emma’s foster mom

- THAT OGRE IS SO SCARY

- Ogres killed my mom…

- OAKEN

- “I pray you never have to cross paths with that twisted man” she’s married to him lol

- Omg the duke’s moves lol

- Rumple is in every single story

- This man is everywhere

- Ew the duke of weselton is such a creep

- Oh no she froze her heart

- Yikes what happened to focus on your wife???

- Zelena actually could have been the sister Ingrid was look for

- She was born with magic and misunderstood

- Why does Robin dress like a lumberjack???

- I forgot about the whole rumple stealing Emma’s magic thing

- Why doesn’t Ingrid wear shoes?

- Why do they hate happy? What did he do?

- I really like the emma/elsa friendship

- Rumple stop being evil and just be married to belle!!!

- At least for a season

- My plan to resist the curse: wear goggles

- Noooooo the vows before they die

- That is so sad

- Honestly serves blue right

- Hey, at least the curse looks pretty

- Alternate plan: tear out everyone’s hearts (the curse didn’t work on hook because he didn’t have his heart)

- Everyone fighting each other is really funny

- Awwwww that’s actually so cute (Ingrid adopting Emma)

- Why does anyone bother running when they can just poof away

- Henry? More like Kevin McAllister

- And… she ruined it

- That’s sad :(

- Rip Ingrid

- Finally a villain that shows ACTUAL REMORSE for their actions

- “Don’t you sneeze on me, you son of a—“ lol

- Oh, rumple. When will you learn?

How I feel about the characters this season

Love: Belle, Emma, Anna, Hook

Like: Rumple, Elsa, Ingrid, Kristoff, David

Neutral: Regina, Snow, Henry

Dislike: Marian, Robin

Hate: Hans, the duke

Season rating: 7/10

I liked this season more than I remembered liking it! The beginning felt a little slow, but it got really good towards the end. I like Ingrid and I think she is the best ‘misunderstood’ villain in the whole show. Her sacrifice was so sad but such a payoff! I’m just not a fan of the Marian plot and Rumple being evil for the sake of it (he didn’t really have a strong motivation for his actions imo)

[once-upon-a-ouat]

OUATtober 2022 Day 7 - Favorite Spell (Alternative)

[chaoticbug]

unpopular once upon a time opinion:

4a > 4b

[jenniferdiazisatransgirl]

I maybe indulging my Frozen obsession a bit right now 😂

Yesterday I watched Season 4A of Once Upon A Time which is basically the plot line that focuses on Elsa, Anna and the Snow Queen.

Now, I’ve just finished Frozen 1 and am about to watch Frozen 2.

Might watch Tangled after that.

Can’t really do much right now seen as I’m still recovering from my asthma attack on Sunday. So enjoying some Disney Animated Classics seems like a good idea.

Season 4A of Once Upon A Time had me in tears though. It is my second time watching it and I’d forgotten what went on beyond Elsa, Anna and the Snow Queen being in it. But it was such a perfect storyline and so fitting with movie’s themes 😊 Should be noted it came out before Frozen 2 though and isn’t considered canon within Frozen’s universe.

[long-live-the-many-fandoms]

Unpopular OUAT opinion...

Season 4a (with the Ingrid, Elsa, and Anna) is seriously one of my favorite storylines in the entire show. I remember being so annoyed that the writers wanted to bring 'Frozen' characters to the show, I was actually a bit angry. However, the roles were cast perfectly and the storyline was so good! Ingrid is my favorite villain (that isn't a series regular).She believed wholeheartedly that she was justified in her actions, and she was relatable enough to see her side of things. I could go on and on about this storyline, but I won't. I am just going to say that it is one my favorite storylines of all time. The cast was great, the villain was wonderful, and the story in general was entertaining. I was so angry when they decided to bring these characters to our show, but I am glad they did. I really enjoyed it.

[enixamyram]

The explicitly disney storylines (frozen, brave etc)

One Thing I Like: ... The actresses were pretty good? I mean, I did like Merida and Anna was fun at least.

One Thing I Dislike: It was a complete cash grab and did not work with the rest of the series! Once Upon A Time was about fairy tales! As much as I love those films, it makes zero sense why they would be part of this classic retelling except that they quite obviously just wanted to cling onto what was popular at the time which actually brought those seasons down for me.

One Thing I’d Change: I wouldn’t have included them. I like the actresses and I liked some of the scenes so it wasn’t completely awful but I would honestly have scrapped the lot of them. At the very least maybe I would have included a couple hints and winks like with Maui’s fish hook - they could have included Elsa’s gloves for a storyline about the Snow Queen and later maybe Merida’s bow or a potion that turns someone in a bear for some other story?

Send me a character - ship - storyline/season and I’ll tell you a like, dislike and change I’d have made.

[cyclone-rachel]

“...No, they’re for Kara.”

...

“Brainy! I’m so glad you made it!”

~

It’s a rare moment of quiet for them, after the air is cleared and Kara is freed from her Kryptonite-proof suit, that she asks.

“Brainy?”

“What is it, Supergirl?”

She’s with him in the DEO, and sits in a rolling chair by his side, as he’s still searching for information about the Children of Liberty and keeping such research as private as he can.

“I was just wondering… if you would like to come to my apartment for Thanksgiving.”

“Ah. Yes, the twenty-first century holiday.” He answers. “And your family will be there?”

“Alex, and Eliza, and J’onn, yes- and James and Lena.” She clarifies. “There are a couple more people I’d like to invite, but I figured that since this is your first time spending the holidays in the twenty-first century, that you… that I didn’t want you to feel alone.”

Kara thinks of previous years, previous Thanksgivings, all since she became Supergirl, where she’s made sure her friends had a place at her table. Both Winn and James, certainly, even before she learned about Winn’s unfortunate family history.

The following year, Mon-El had joined them, and though Maggie hadn’t gotten to be there, she had certainly become part of family gatherings afterwards. After that- and due to Barry Allen’s wedding conflicting with her plans- Thanksgiving had been more low-key, but she’d definitely made up for it with a Christmas celebration, with Lena and Sam and M’yrnn joining that particular party.

He, meanwhile, supposes it would likely not be the best time to tell her that, prior to joining the Legionnaires, he has always spent holidays feeling alone- even when his parents were present.

“That is very kind of you.” He answers, before looking back at his computer screen. “But, all of this work…”

“It could wait?” Kara suggested. “I mean, it’s definitely important. But with how much you’ve been working, surely you can set aside one night to relax and have dinner with us.”

At least, unless something happens- which it seems to, almost every year.

“I believe you.” He says. “However… where exactly is your apartment? I know what it looks like, of course, but…”

“Right.” Kara says- and how could she have forgotten that? “16 Hope Street, apartment 4A.”

“I will do my best to be there.”

~

Querl found himself in a grocery store again.

(“Found himself” was, in actuality, an inaccurate phrase- he made the conscious choice to go, even despite his negative experience almost half a year prior. And if the sight of his appearance had been enough to nearly cause a riot then, he could scarcely imagine what would happen now, were his image inducer to malfunction like it had just a month previous…)

(That was false too. He could definitely imagine, as he’d caused such riots in his own time before. But this century was supposed to be different- or at least, it would become different.

He had to put that out of his head for now, though. He had to keep the timeline intact, remember what was supposed to happen and when.

Even though it was difficult, at times, and his own insertion into the timeline was something he had to continually monitor.)

Regardless, he was here, now, and intent upon not leaving empty-handed- he needed to find a gift for the person who’d shown him such kindness in the past few months, who made sure he wouldn’t be alone today.

There would be plenty of food, of course, it wasn’t necessary to contribute more of that for their gathering. Drinks, as well, would be provided, and plentiful.

His eyes landed on a display near the front of the store, specifically focusing in on a particular bouquet- one filled with the colors of the season, reminiscent of the fallen leaves that adorned much of the décor in this very establishment.

(As beautiful as the one who had invited him to Thanksgiving in the first place)

Yes, these flowers would be perfect, and once he returned to the DEO for the outfit he had picked out, he would make his way to Kara’s apartment.

[themattress]

OUAT Observation

It’s funny...my system of grading the quality of OUAT episodes/seasons ended up making a perfect match for my ranking of the series’ story arcs....except for in one specific instance.

Season 5A / The Dark Swan Saga, is by my grading system, technically better than Season 2B / The Price of Magic Saga (Part 2) and Season 3B / The Wicked Witch’s Revenge Saga. Its quality is directly equal to Season 4A / The Frozen Storybrooke Saga; it even has the same style of pacing to the arc’s events and the noteworthy factor of having an episode that is a result of the network’s unexpected demands (“Smash the Mirror” as a double-length episode and “The Bear King” respectively). So why do I place 2B and 3B’s arcs above it?

Upon reflection, there are three reasons.

1. The “feeling” of 2B and 3B vs. 5A.  Because they were back when Daniel T. Thomsen was still the story editor, 2B and 3B still felt like Once Upon a Time, despite all their faults. They still felt like the same show I knew and loved. 5A, right from its very premise of Emma Swan as the Dark One, honestly didn’t. It just felt way too miserable and grim for the most part, or else doing the same substance-less Disney plugging it did in Season 4. Only the Camelot stuff felt on point; that should have been the main focus of the arc instead of Dark Swan.

2. The context. 5A directly follows after 4B, where a huge focus was on turning heroes into villains and trying to push Emma toward “going dark”. I didn’t like it then, so I naturally didn’t like any more of it in the following arc. Worse, 4B’s whole conflict was driven by Regina and Rumple feeling entitled to having reality rewritten so that they get what they want. In 5A, we see Emma and Hook suffering the consequences of this, while Regina and Rumple not only get off scot-free; they actually get rewarded. 5A is when it became crystal clear that when A&E say that OUAT is “a show about hope”, what they really mean is “hope for oppressors”.

3. The fact that while 2B lost the plot and spiraled into total misery before ending on a note that promised a better arc to follow, and 3B was a huge waste of potential that the whole series suffered from in the long run, 5A was both. Perhaps not to as drastic a degree as those individually, but still a combined problem that gets on my nerves far more as a result. The version of Season 5 we should have gotten, the one that was the show’s final season that ended it on a high note, was dead in the water once A&E botched this particular story arc. Emma and Hook becoming Dark Ones with the latter even dying, Rumple becoming the Darkest Dark One, all of that build-up and lore connecting to the show’s past history with Merlin and Nimue and Excalibur and Camelot and the Gods...it was ultimately all for nothing. The crappy Author mythos from Season 4 ended up being more meaningful to the show by the end of its run! This, above all else, is why I do not like this arc, regardless of its quality.

....Its usage of an obscure pop song was great, though!

[twdmusicboxmystery]

TWD 11x21: Outpost 22 - First Analysis

What did everyone think of episode 21? I really enjoyed it.

***As always, spoilers for the episode abound below. Don’t read until you’ve watched!***

The beginning montage was actually very interesting. We first see them running at the prison in 3x01. And then in the barn in 5x10. Neither of those were particularly Maggie centric, but they both come from important Beth episodes. After that, we get into the Maggie stuff. We see her walking in Alone, and then some s11 stuff, and then hugging Rick. I think the walking in Alone was a huge clue, which I’ll get into a minute. But the stuff with Rick was also very reunion-like.

My main thing about this episode and Maggie is that it's pretty much a replay of Alone, or at least a replay of 4B, which I've been harping on for the past few episodes. I’ll probably harp on it a whole lot more before the end of the season.

Think of it this way. Everyone basically got split into groups when Sebastian died. Originally it was only three. Daryl and Carol in one, Eugene, Yumiko, and Max are back at the Commonwealth. And everyone else was taken in the buses. In this episode, a fourth group broke off. Maggie, Rosita, and Gabriel.

Rosita and Gabriel are a stand in for Sasha and Bob. The details are the same down to Maggie being separated from them for time before finding them again. The main difference is that in Alone, the separation was intentional on her part, and here it was accidental.

As we've already talked about, Maggie's search for Herschel will be a replay of her search for Glenn in 4B. Her killing the little walker boy was very significant, I think. Not sure what it points to, but given that we got this shot of her holding him next to the tracks, and then Daryl and Carol pulled up, it felt very much like a foreshadowing to me. I'm not saying I think Herschel is going to die. I'm not sure what this is meant to foreshadow, but it's something I'll keep in mind.

I was thinking that this particular thing, her killing the little boy walker, didn't have a mirror in the search for Glenn arc. But actually, it did. After leaving the prison, Maggie, Sasha and Bob came upon the BUS, and there was a walker on it looked like Glenn. She was relieved to find out it wasn't him. So, I think that kind of mirrors this.

And of course, last episode we had the dark tunnel with Carol and Lance that was very reminiscent of Maggie and Glenn's dark tunnel in 4x15. That's about all the notes I have for Maggie. If you watch again, do it with an eye toward how this is like her arc in Alone.

In terms of Rosita and Gabriel, they were clearly a Beth and Daryl proxy. Rosita was being surly and fatalistic (Daryl) and Gabriel was being more optimistic (Beth). He even had a cut on the left side of his forehead just where Beth was shot. And when Rosita suggested they split up, Gabriel said, "no way. I'm not leaving you.” Beth’s line to Daryl in the funeral home.

Broken record over here, but I kind of felt like this foreshadow something as well. Like maybe Daryl dislocating his arm at some point? The detail about Rosita's arm just felt so random to me. She literally fell out of a moving truck and wasn't harmed, but a walker pushed her down, her "arm" was dislocated. That doesn't mean anything. You dislocate joints, not bones. And sometimes, when something is dislocated once, it can slip out of place again easily, but we've never seen anything like that from Rosita. So, it actually felt a little unrealistic to me.

And again, I don’t mean that as a criticism. Just that they’re pointing to something and I’m not sure what. But also remember that Sam (of the apple house) in 4a also dislocated his shoulder, and Carol popped it back in for him.

It occurred to me when Daryl was questioning the dying trooper, that it might have mirrored the man from 4b who told Carol and Tyreese about Terminus. Maybe I'm reaching a bit, but this guy was telling them about the labor camp that was just up the way and how to get there. The guy in 4B told them to follow the tracks to get Terminus and take the children there. It just felt similar to me. (And, you know, he was on the train tracks.)

I don't have a lot to say about what was going on at the labor camp. I thought their food looked disgusting. It was steaming, which means it was hot, but it looked like cottage cheese. Hot cottage cheese.

It also occurred to me that they have sort of a Beth and Daryl template going on with Negan and Annie. If that's what they’re following, then Annie being taken in the truck represents the part where Beth was taken away from Daryl and to Grady. It's a small-scale separation before a larger one. Negan and Annie, based on the promo for next episode, will see each other again, but we've already theorized that there might be a much larger separation, which is why Negan leaves with Maggie. So, it's interesting to see that template with them.

Okay, let's talk about Connie. We all agree that there aren't really any romantic vibes going on there, even if the shippers on Twitter say differently. LOL. But my biggest thing is that she's a Beth proxy. This is a foreshadow. Of course Daryl's gonna be more sensitive about Connie than he perhaps would be about someone else, because he already lost her for a long time. He's gonna be a little bit freaked out about that with her as opposed to anyone else.

The other thing is that this hearkens back to Beth in a literal sense. When something very similar happened with Beth, Daryl lost her. So of course this situation with Connie makes him nervous. No matter who it was who is a prisoner, he would be nervous.

But I also think it has a lot to do with Kelly. We’ve discussed this before, but I think he sees a lot of Beth and Maggie in Connie and Kelly. Because he wasn't able to bring Beth back to Maggie, he wants to make sure he can always bring Connie and Kelly back together.

Here's the interesting thing. Daryl first sees Connie through the binoculars. It occurred to me how significant that was. Back in 5B, he and Aaron first saw Red Poncho Guy through binoculars. And we saw all kinds of parallels between that guy and Beth, with the main difference being that guy got killed pretty quickly. He was a minor character. But just the fact that Daryl sees Connie through binoculars tells me this is a Beth parallel/foreshadow. You can think of the CW soldiers as CRM, and him seeing her from a distance with the binoculars (which you could also think of as eye pieces to help you see better).

Now, we don't think Carol will be with him when he first sees Beth, but originally, we know they were planning it that way. And of course, something like this could also happen after the spinoff, when Daryl and Carol come back together eventually. There's no way to know how far out they are forecasting.

When Daryl is upset and Carol comforts him, I just feel like that's going to end up being way more about Beth and about Connie. And because of all the 22 stuff, I think designation two could refer to Beth as well.

And then there's the part where Daryl and Connie come back together. He says, "I thought I wouldn't see you again." I don’t think there’s ever been another line that could apply better to Beth and that. 

But more than that, did he truly think that? The instant he saw that the CW had her, he was instantly hyper focused on freeing her. At one point did he stop to think, “huh. I don’t know if I’m ever going to see her again.” Just doesn’t seem like something that actually went through his mind. And I know I’m kind of splitting hairs here. It doesn’t NOT make sense. I’m just saying it sounds like something that applies much more to Beth than to Connie in this situation. 

Then she says, "I'm not going anywhere." It's very similar to, "I'm not gonna leave you."

But the even bigger clue, in my opinion, is the way he smiles. Daryl only rarely smiles that big, and while he has smiled at Connie before, if you think about it, it doesn't entirely make sense in context. It's fine to say that she's not going anywhere, and for Daryl to be glad about that or comforted by that, but he practically laughs out loud. It just seemed like a little bit of an inappropriate reaction, given what she said and the fact that they're still in a very dire situation. Like, two seconds later it switched it “everyone’s in trouble, we gotta find Kelly, we gotta take back our home, etc.”

But if this is a foreshadow of him being happy about Beth, that’s something entirely different, isn't it? Also, Connie is taken hostage and held as a hostage by the CW troopers. Could be a callback to Beth being a hostage at Grady and the whole hostage exchange.

And, of course, the end where they all stood around the fire talking about going into Alexandria was a mirror to 4x15 when they all stood around a light and Abraham said, "tomorrow we go to the end of the line."

In terms of what AK said, I'm not sure what to make of Rosita and Gabe’s breakup. It was good to have confirmation of it. It will be interesting to see where it goes. I keep saying that I don't understand how Rosita can die with all the symbolism they’ve put in for her. But I suppose if she does, maybe she's always a stand-in for someone else. She's a lot like Daryl, and between her and Gabe, she's definitely the Daryl character. Plus, the writers have paired the two of them a lot this season, which might be to show that a lot of the symbolism around her will be fulfilled by Daryl. I'm really just rambling. No way to know what's going to happen until we do. But it's definitely interesting.

The only other two things I put down my notes was less about what AK was saying and more about the words she used to say them. When talking about child walkers, she mentioned “duality.” It just made me smile to hear her use that word.

And then when talking about Zeke and Negan, she said that this was just the beginning of, "a little bit of an arc for them." Again, not anything groundbreaking or shocking, but that's what we always talk about. An arc for the characters or that they're going to have an arc together. It's always gratifying to hear the writers use the same wording we do.

I think that's all I’ve got for now. More to come. What did everyone think of this episode?

@wdway:

Wow, there's a lot here to think about. I'm start with a few thoughts I had while reading your comments above . Great job as always. I was surprised at how in Maggie's montage how little there was of her and the people she loves most, Glenn, her son, her father, her sister. I need to watch again but the most emotional moment was the hug with Rick imo. What was that about?

It is interesting that the first scene was from the prison in 3x01 and later we have the radio voice use 301 as a code number and next episode TF will go back home that is now a prison.

When Rosita dislocated her arm, my mind went straight to s4e4 Indifference. Carol helping Sam with his dislocated arm. The other thing that stood out was all the red apples in the house. Now in hindsight we understand that those red apples were a foreshadowing of the poisonous situation that TF would find at Terminus. Sam disappearing in that episode and reappearing at Terminus now seems much more of a hint to red/red apples=poison/bad at core/corruption. Terminus led to police=Grady, CW, CRM.

Another interesting situation in s4e4 Indifference was the conflict between Carol and Rick. Carol's actions resulted in Rick vanishing her. This is me going on a long rant just to say that I believe Rosita dislocated arm was meant to direct us to the apple house in s4.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

So, I was getting screenshots from  ep 21, and I couldn’t help but notice some interesting details. After Maggie shoots the driver of the truck and it crashes into a tree, it shows the driver’s face. 

Very gnarly. Too gnarly for a simple car accident. But it wasn’t just that. Maggie was fighting with the trooper in back and the guy in front got shot in the head. Just interesting because it focuses on it so much, as though it wants us to notice. This guy would have been shot in the opposite direction as Beth (back to front rather than front to back) but it’s like they want us to realize what a deadly shot to the head would look like.

I also notice Maggie gets into the FRONT SEAT of the van and tries to get the trooper’s gun. (A weapon.) She can’t, though, because it’s wedged and more troopers are coming, so she abandons the endeavor and runs into the woods. Leaving the weapon behind in the front seat. 

The truck is very reminiscent of the Paddy 02 truck from 6x06, Always Accountable.

Also, there’s a trooper (black and white) hanging from the tree (crucifixion symbol). And actually, he’s upside down, which makes him a Peter/peace symbol. Also, callback to the Reapers.

When taking screenshots, I noticed little details like that all through it. At the end, YNB’s voice on the radio asks if they still have their compass. Callback to the broken compass in Alone, but also to “finding your way home.”  👀

It also occurred to me when Maggie and Carol were talking by the jeep that Carol says, “we’re not alone anymore, and we’re going to figure this out.” So, she actually makes an anti-Alone statement. Just backs up the Alone template and that it will be different this time through.

Like I said, I saw more little things, but I didn’t write them down. Those are just the ones that stuck in my mind. Thoughts?