Once Upon A Time, season 2, 2.01- 2.03
Jan. 21st, 2013 08:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakYes, I couldn't resist continuing. Especially not once it turned out the first episodes gave me all I wanted regarding Amy Pond, River Song and Rory in Doctor Who and didn't get. And the show immediately addressed my two big s1 complaints to boot! I think I'm in love.
Seriously: this is how you do a storyline where parents reunite with the daughter they lost as a baby, whom they got to know and relate to as an adult without finding out the truth. This is how you deal with characters who now have two different sets of memories in their heads. (And Amy has more, but let's leave it at two.) Show, I'm seriously impressed. By just about everything regarding these issues. Emma's awkwardness and conflict because yes, in theory she understands the reason why they sent her away, but in practice she still lived through 28 years alone, plus she just had her entire world view shattered. I love that her friendship with Mary Margaret can't just be transfered seamlessly to Snow White because things are different now, so is Snow from Mary Margaret, and that the show gives them the time to develop a new rapport. In Fairy Tale Land. On a quest together. That was such an inspired twist. And now let's hear it for Ginnifer Godwin, who does a great job with acting. I mean, in s1 obviously Mary Margaret was different from Snow White, but what I love here is that older Snow White, with her MM memories as well as her own, is also subtly different from younger Snow White in the flashbacks. Not in terms of determination or intiative (the endless dithering of David and Mary Margaret is gone for good, thank the powers that be), but she does come across, without any additional make up, as older, somewhat wiser. And the plot device through which she and Emma end up in FTL makes complete emotional sense because of Snow's determination to not let Emma fall alone into another world again.
...and then they team up with two more female characters. Who hail from a plot line where a possible love triangle was nipped in the bud by the young man getting fridged and the women bonding over his death, then going questing together. Nothing against Prince Philipp, but I was delighted. (Mind you, there is an in show continuity problem because Maleficent and Regina referred to the Sleeping Beauty events in 1.02 as already having happened, but I'm entirely prepared to handwave for the sake of what we get. Generally the show is good with its own continuity, but I can think of one other example that shows they hadn't figured out all of their storylines from the get go - Snow White in the pilot says Regina poisoned her with the apple because she thought Snow was prettier, which is of course the classic fairy tale motiv, but not the one the show offers later.)
Meanwhile, in Storybrooke we see the repercussions for everyone, not just our heroes, of having now two sets of memories, plus Charming sort of redeems the David storyline by the way he handles that. Which brings me to my next point. The plot device to keep everyone in Storybrooke after the curse is broken - the discovery that when they leave, they lose their original selves' memories - not only made for a great character scene for Charming (of course he doesn't want to be David again, but his second conclusion, that he also doesn't want to lose the David memories precisely because David screwed up so much, and he needs to remember that and learn from it, was unexpected) but made for a perfect elegant karmic slap for Rumpelstilskin. The man just saw through the most elaborate long term plan that would make many a supervillain and manipulator weep with envy, he manipulated everyone to perfection for centuries, he sacrificed and wrecked countless lives, including his own, and he actually pulled it off. And then he finds himself trapped anyway, as far as the purpose he at least believes he did it all for is concerned. (Note: I wonder how long until it occurs to him that given the only two people who as of now can leave Storybrooke without instant amnesia are Emma and Henry, and since Emma is currently unavailable...)
The "I thought you changed" - "what, in the hour you've known me?" exchange between Rumpelstilskin and Belle was a very meta moment. I wouldn't say he's incapable of changing, but so far, too much in love with his own cleverness and too married to the wish to have power over other people to try. Yes, he pulled off the longest con in history in order to get to the same world his son ended up in. But: when Baelfire wanted to go there, it was explicitly because there was no magic in it and hence it would remove his father's powers. (Incidentally, I don't think this would have solved the problem, because as Mr. Gold illustrates beautifully, Rumpel is capable of becoming powerful and manipulatling people left, right and center without any magic as well.) Whereas Rumpelstilskin changed the odds from the get go by including something that would allow him to bring magic into the world. To have power and his son the same time. (And don't tell me he just wanted the magic to track down Baelfire.) It's centuries since the vortex opened and he clung to his knife and his son, and he still can't let go of either.
Which brings me, of course, to Regina. Thank you, show, for immediately giving me what I didn't get in s1: Henry having conflicted feelings. I don't want him to root for her or be on her side, but his reaction to seeing the lynch mob run towards her house, him not wanting her dead, was exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. Then ep 2 was even better with their scenes together. Yes, the parallel scenes between Regina and Cora, and Henry and Regina weren't exactly subtle, but they worked, and in addition to dealing with what I thought was a bit of a flaw at the end of The Stable Boy (i.e. that Regina in the last flashback scene after finding out Snow White talked to Cora seemed to transition instantly to her later self, as opposed to Rumpelstilskin getting an entire episode of in-between stage) by showing us Regina post revelation as still not a villain (yes, she daydreams of strangling the kid, but doesn't plan on actually doing it and mostly wants to get away and be free), it also showed Regina, gasp, as capable of making a serious effort to not make "the same bad choices", to use Belle's phrase about Rumpelstilskin. There is no guarantee it will keep, and it doesn't make up for the damage she caused other people, but still, letting Henry go in order to avoid playing out her relationship with her mother all over again, only with herself as Cora, was impressive.
Speaking of Cora: call me slow, but I didn't realise until that episode that a) Cora was in fact the original miller's daughter from the Rumpelstilskin tale (I expect we'll see that flashback eventually) and b) Cora was also the Queen of Hearts from Wonderland (which explains why the Queen of Hearts was veiled, what she had against Regina, and why she was keeping Henry the Older in a box). Making Rumpelstilskin instrumental in enabling Regina's transition to who she eventually becomes fits with the type of relationship they have. (Incidentally, my current speculation as to why he put first Cora and then her daughter on the magical path and what the deal was with his bargains for children in general: he needed to create someone who would be both powerful and ruthless enough to enact the curse so they could get to the world without magic. He himself couldn't do it because the curse required the enactor to kill someone he or she genuinenly loved, and Rumpel hadn't let himself left anyone who'd fit. Cora was presumably ruthless enough but didn't have the incentives to trade the whole world away in order to be in a place without magic, and presumably at that point (who knows about now?) would not have sacrificed Regina; her husband didn't qualify for her. ) In the 2.02. flashbacks there was a blatant sexual undercurrent which wasn't quite as obvious before, and in a way they deserve each other, but I don't think actual hate sex is on the menu any time soon. They would never trust each other not to use the situation for a murder.
Meanwhile in ravaged Fairy Tale Land: speaking of not making the same mistakes all over again: I was very gratified that Snow White didn't fall for Cora's act twice. Also, the whole encounter gives Emma new information on Regina that should come in handy once they return. (Not in an excusing but in an understanding way, which are different things, as this show so far has known.) Someone told me in their comment to my last entry that Once Upon A Time is about mothers and daughters, and that's very blatant here, with the Snow-Emma relationship on the one hand and the Cora-Regina one on the other being set up as crucial motivators for the season. (I assume that whatever Cora has in mind for a reunion, it won't involve hugs and kisses.) Lancelot joins the ranks of Philip and Graham in getting killed off to show the seriousness of the situation and to push the plot forward; I assume he was there to begin with because Disney made that cartoon based on T.H.White's Arthurian novel? Anyway, he was a sympathetic character but I was not too surprised his fate was unlucky: I mean, he's Lancelot.
In other parental news: you know, I completley forgot to mention in the s1 overview that Charming's adopted father is none other than Charles Widmore from Lost. (Does Alan D. ever get to play someone who isn't a complete bastard? It's the voice, I assume.) I was sort of wondering why we were spending flashbacks on him being furtherly rotten in the past because been there, done that last season, until the ep 3 tag scene, because yes, s1 also had established he made it to Storybrooke (where he was prosecutor). And now he has his memories back. Oops.
Seriously: this is how you do a storyline where parents reunite with the daughter they lost as a baby, whom they got to know and relate to as an adult without finding out the truth. This is how you deal with characters who now have two different sets of memories in their heads. (And Amy has more, but let's leave it at two.) Show, I'm seriously impressed. By just about everything regarding these issues. Emma's awkwardness and conflict because yes, in theory she understands the reason why they sent her away, but in practice she still lived through 28 years alone, plus she just had her entire world view shattered. I love that her friendship with Mary Margaret can't just be transfered seamlessly to Snow White because things are different now, so is Snow from Mary Margaret, and that the show gives them the time to develop a new rapport. In Fairy Tale Land. On a quest together. That was such an inspired twist. And now let's hear it for Ginnifer Godwin, who does a great job with acting. I mean, in s1 obviously Mary Margaret was different from Snow White, but what I love here is that older Snow White, with her MM memories as well as her own, is also subtly different from younger Snow White in the flashbacks. Not in terms of determination or intiative (the endless dithering of David and Mary Margaret is gone for good, thank the powers that be), but she does come across, without any additional make up, as older, somewhat wiser. And the plot device through which she and Emma end up in FTL makes complete emotional sense because of Snow's determination to not let Emma fall alone into another world again.
...and then they team up with two more female characters. Who hail from a plot line where a possible love triangle was nipped in the bud by the young man getting fridged and the women bonding over his death, then going questing together. Nothing against Prince Philipp, but I was delighted. (Mind you, there is an in show continuity problem because Maleficent and Regina referred to the Sleeping Beauty events in 1.02 as already having happened, but I'm entirely prepared to handwave for the sake of what we get. Generally the show is good with its own continuity, but I can think of one other example that shows they hadn't figured out all of their storylines from the get go - Snow White in the pilot says Regina poisoned her with the apple because she thought Snow was prettier, which is of course the classic fairy tale motiv, but not the one the show offers later.)
Meanwhile, in Storybrooke we see the repercussions for everyone, not just our heroes, of having now two sets of memories, plus Charming sort of redeems the David storyline by the way he handles that. Which brings me to my next point. The plot device to keep everyone in Storybrooke after the curse is broken - the discovery that when they leave, they lose their original selves' memories - not only made for a great character scene for Charming (of course he doesn't want to be David again, but his second conclusion, that he also doesn't want to lose the David memories precisely because David screwed up so much, and he needs to remember that and learn from it, was unexpected) but made for a perfect elegant karmic slap for Rumpelstilskin. The man just saw through the most elaborate long term plan that would make many a supervillain and manipulator weep with envy, he manipulated everyone to perfection for centuries, he sacrificed and wrecked countless lives, including his own, and he actually pulled it off. And then he finds himself trapped anyway, as far as the purpose he at least believes he did it all for is concerned. (Note: I wonder how long until it occurs to him that given the only two people who as of now can leave Storybrooke without instant amnesia are Emma and Henry, and since Emma is currently unavailable...)
The "I thought you changed" - "what, in the hour you've known me?" exchange between Rumpelstilskin and Belle was a very meta moment. I wouldn't say he's incapable of changing, but so far, too much in love with his own cleverness and too married to the wish to have power over other people to try. Yes, he pulled off the longest con in history in order to get to the same world his son ended up in. But: when Baelfire wanted to go there, it was explicitly because there was no magic in it and hence it would remove his father's powers. (Incidentally, I don't think this would have solved the problem, because as Mr. Gold illustrates beautifully, Rumpel is capable of becoming powerful and manipulatling people left, right and center without any magic as well.) Whereas Rumpelstilskin changed the odds from the get go by including something that would allow him to bring magic into the world. To have power and his son the same time. (And don't tell me he just wanted the magic to track down Baelfire.) It's centuries since the vortex opened and he clung to his knife and his son, and he still can't let go of either.
Which brings me, of course, to Regina. Thank you, show, for immediately giving me what I didn't get in s1: Henry having conflicted feelings. I don't want him to root for her or be on her side, but his reaction to seeing the lynch mob run towards her house, him not wanting her dead, was exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. Then ep 2 was even better with their scenes together. Yes, the parallel scenes between Regina and Cora, and Henry and Regina weren't exactly subtle, but they worked, and in addition to dealing with what I thought was a bit of a flaw at the end of The Stable Boy (i.e. that Regina in the last flashback scene after finding out Snow White talked to Cora seemed to transition instantly to her later self, as opposed to Rumpelstilskin getting an entire episode of in-between stage) by showing us Regina post revelation as still not a villain (yes, she daydreams of strangling the kid, but doesn't plan on actually doing it and mostly wants to get away and be free), it also showed Regina, gasp, as capable of making a serious effort to not make "the same bad choices", to use Belle's phrase about Rumpelstilskin. There is no guarantee it will keep, and it doesn't make up for the damage she caused other people, but still, letting Henry go in order to avoid playing out her relationship with her mother all over again, only with herself as Cora, was impressive.
Speaking of Cora: call me slow, but I didn't realise until that episode that a) Cora was in fact the original miller's daughter from the Rumpelstilskin tale (I expect we'll see that flashback eventually) and b) Cora was also the Queen of Hearts from Wonderland (which explains why the Queen of Hearts was veiled, what she had against Regina, and why she was keeping Henry the Older in a box). Making Rumpelstilskin instrumental in enabling Regina's transition to who she eventually becomes fits with the type of relationship they have. (Incidentally, my current speculation as to why he put first Cora and then her daughter on the magical path and what the deal was with his bargains for children in general: he needed to create someone who would be both powerful and ruthless enough to enact the curse so they could get to the world without magic. He himself couldn't do it because the curse required the enactor to kill someone he or she genuinenly loved, and Rumpel hadn't let himself left anyone who'd fit. Cora was presumably ruthless enough but didn't have the incentives to trade the whole world away in order to be in a place without magic, and presumably at that point (who knows about now?) would not have sacrificed Regina; her husband didn't qualify for her. ) In the 2.02. flashbacks there was a blatant sexual undercurrent which wasn't quite as obvious before, and in a way they deserve each other, but I don't think actual hate sex is on the menu any time soon. They would never trust each other not to use the situation for a murder.
Meanwhile in ravaged Fairy Tale Land: speaking of not making the same mistakes all over again: I was very gratified that Snow White didn't fall for Cora's act twice. Also, the whole encounter gives Emma new information on Regina that should come in handy once they return. (Not in an excusing but in an understanding way, which are different things, as this show so far has known.) Someone told me in their comment to my last entry that Once Upon A Time is about mothers and daughters, and that's very blatant here, with the Snow-Emma relationship on the one hand and the Cora-Regina one on the other being set up as crucial motivators for the season. (I assume that whatever Cora has in mind for a reunion, it won't involve hugs and kisses.) Lancelot joins the ranks of Philip and Graham in getting killed off to show the seriousness of the situation and to push the plot forward; I assume he was there to begin with because Disney made that cartoon based on T.H.White's Arthurian novel? Anyway, he was a sympathetic character but I was not too surprised his fate was unlucky: I mean, he's Lancelot.
In other parental news: you know, I completley forgot to mention in the s1 overview that Charming's adopted father is none other than Charles Widmore from Lost. (Does Alan D. ever get to play someone who isn't a complete bastard? It's the voice, I assume.) I was sort of wondering why we were spending flashbacks on him being furtherly rotten in the past because been there, done that last season, until the ep 3 tag scene, because yes, s1 also had established he made it to Storybrooke (where he was prosecutor). And now he has his memories back. Oops.
no subject
Date: 2013-01-21 03:44 pm (UTC)If you listen carefully to the dialogue between Maleficent and Regina, they were talking about Aurora's mother and not Aurora herself. :)
no subject
Date: 2013-01-21 06:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-05 10:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-06 09:28 am (UTC)