Once Upon A Time, season 2, eps 10 - 12
Jan. 22nd, 2013 09:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakAnd I've caught up!
First of all, an absolutely trivial observation: is the fact the new arrival in Storybrooke has the Star Wars theme as his ring tone the first result from Disney acquiring Lucas Films, or what? :)
On to the reviews. Now that Snow White and Emma are back, we're on to the second half of the season, which brings two long term good questions: stay or try to get back to Fairy Tale Land (btw, I like that this is really not an easy one to answer, even though I think at the very end of the show it will wrap up with Snow White and Charming and some of the other characters going back - because they're heroes, even if they want a break, and they need to save the land (again) - and Emma and Henry staying. Where Regina ends up is anyone's guess (if she doesn't get the traditional sacrificial redemption death, but this show seems to prefer more complicated ways to deal with its maybe former villains). Rumpelstilskin, if he survives the end of the show, will stay in our world which will be magicless again. But again, that won't happen until the very end of the show, not the end of this season. The other longer term question posed is: how to handle visitors to town who aren't related to Fairy Tale Characters, now that they can come? More about this in a moment.
These three episodes also take away from last season's villains the emotional crutches, so to speak, they were given. BTW, I love that while Cora frames Regina for Archie's murder, she didn't actually kill him because he was useful for other purposes as well (information); that's a resourceful villain. The juxtaposition to the present day frame job to the flashbacks with Snow White making one last attempt to get through to her step mother in The Cricket Game worked really well for me; both because the Snow - Regina relationship is part of this show's emphasis on mothers and daughters, and because it underscored the trickiness and difficulty of, to put it flippantly, offering villain rehabilitation. Mercy and assurances of belief in the possibility of redemption won't do it if the villain in question is as entrenched as ever in their own issues and sees no reason to work on being different, which Regina was in the past. (BTW, I have no problem with everyone believing in her guilt in the present. With her track record, even a sloppier frame job would have done the trick, and no, that doesn't make anyone in Storybrooke mean. It makes them people with good memories.)
The Outsider in its flashbacks did me a favour by giving Belle one of the heroic adventures she wanted to have post- Rumpel and pre-incarceration by Regina and emphasized her cleverness and ability to put clues together in both past and presence. (Mind you: hers is still a tv cleverness, meaning that she also does something dumb because of plot necessity, to wit, go to Hook's ship alone as opposed to drafting someone else - say, Red or Emma - for support first.) That she teams up with Mulan and frees a cursed Philip makes me wonder whether either Mulan or Philip or both will play a role in restoring Belle's memories eventually, given what happens at the end of the episode. The show also addressed something I wondered about since The Crocodile: both that no, Rumpelstilskin is still unable to be completely honest with Belle (as far as the death of his wife is concerned), and yes, of course Hook would spot that immediately and tell her. The balance the show strikes with Belle continuing to believe in R's redeemability but not being willing to support evil acts on his part works for me; it's a delicate issue, because there is always the danger of a "stand by your man, and he'll be better" message, but so far the show has not fallen in to it. (Incidentally, we also get examples of how unconditional supportive love is no help at all and in fact enables further villaindom with Regina's father and with Sydney.) Not least because the karmic comeuppance for Rumpelstilskin's verbal stiletto to Regina ("and if you're very lucky, maybe they'll invite you to dinner") follows when Hook gets his revenge and Belle loses her memories. Narratively speaking, there had to be a situation where Belle's love for our Mr. Gold would no longer be there and where he would face rejection by one of the two people whose opinion he actually cares about, just as Regina did with Henry. Because lack of evil behaviour when you get rewarded by love isn't so much redemption as it's bribery.
Given that Emma and Henry are the only people who can leave Storybrooke without their memories taken or a magical protection like the one Rumpelstilskin just made for himself, I had been wondering when he'd use either of them to track down his son, and Emma, once she's back, is of course the best choice. I look forward to their road trip. Their interactions last season and their scene in 2.09 were always interesting to me; she doesn't have the bad history with him most of the other characters do, but nor does she have romantic feelings the way Belle does or is invested in his proving his capacity for goodness. (Meaning: if she thinks he's actually about to kill people, she'd have no problem trying to kill him. Or, you know, remove that shawl once she figures out what it is that keeps him Rumpelstilskin as opposed to an amnesiac and powerless Mr. Gold.)
Speaking of people who do have history together, my guess is that Cora's reason for giving him the globe of son-tracking capabilities is that it means he will actually leave Storybrooke post haste, which means the only two powerful magic users left in Storybrooke will be herself and her daughter. Whether or not she and Rumpel are equally powerful (as Regina needled him in the dinner), it makes things way easier for her if he's simply not around. Otoh that "let's seal it as we used to" plus kiss of course makes one wonder how far things did progress back in fairy tale day between the miller's daughter and Rumpelstilskin. I briefly toyed with the idea that Regina might be his biological daughter, but no; he'd have behaved differently towards her then. But Regina is probably the first child he demanded in a deal. In the original story the way the miller's daughter got to keep her child was by finding out Rumpelstilzchen's name, but in this universe, he introduces himself to everyone with his name, so that can't be how Cora got to keep Regina, plus the "give me back my daughter" bit seems to indicate he still has some magical claim to her.
Seems he also taught Cora how to manipulate in ye olde days, which she's grown superb at: and that you do it best with the truth. (Back when she tricked little Snow White, Cora didn't lie, either; but of course her idea of doing-anything-for-my-daughter was utterly unlike what she made the girl believe it was.) Playing the "I want you back and want your love just like you want your son's" angle with Regina was perfect precisely because it wasn't a lie, and Regina knew it wasn't; what makes it so horrible is that Cora's idea of parental love is breaking your child so often as it takes to have it only in the frame fitting your own idea of what said child should be like. (And, of course, to hell with everyone else.) As I said in an earlier review, Regina's (hard) efforts so far didn't come from repentance (at least not un-Henry-related repentance) but from wanting Henry's love, so as with Rumpel and Belle, it thereby narratively follows that there had to be a situation like this. Not just with the ground she gained with Henry taken away (which btw it isn't really, since Henry now knows she was innocent of murdering Archie) but given the possibility, which Cora offers, to get him back not at his conditions but (presumably) her old ones. It's one thing not wanting to repeat her mother's behaviour when there is no one around who'd support her in this, and another when Cora is actually there and demonstrating it works. (As Regina herself is unable to not love Cora.) So basically the test coming up: when having someone she loves supporting her in villaindom, is she still capable of choosing the infinitely harder path?
And lastly: of course Jane Espenson gets to write the Frankenstein episode. Complete with black and white flashbacks. (Rumpelstilskin and his gold as the only elements of colour in them were a neat touch.) These also explained something I'd been wondering, to wit, why Dr. Whale bothered to reanimate Daniel in the present. Of course if he tricked the younger Regina (which is why he didn't let her see the operation) to get the heart she gave him for Daniel for his brother, he'd have a reason to try and make up for it by fulfilling his debt to her. And it's Viktor Frankenstein after all, though with an un-Shelley-like tale. Incidentally, since he was unable to bring himself to kill Monstered-Gerhard and asked Regina where his brother was at the season starter (to which she replied she hadn't brought him with the curse), I take it that means Monstered-Gerhard will show up again somewhere. Fairy Tale Land? Elsewhere? Another sign of a Jane E. episode is the geeky dialogue; Henry gets to point out that Frankenstein is the Doctor's, not the Monster's name, and also that this story isn't a fairy tale but from a different book altogether. And The Doctor, too, pointed out Frankenstein/Whale hails from a world which is neither Fairy Tale Land nor our world. Basically I take it we're operating with a multiverse model, which probably will come in handy in future seasons. Speculation: there will be a cliffhanger at the season ending which leaves some of our characters stranded in one of these worlds, not necessarily black and white horror movies world or Wonderland, though these are the two that have already been shown, but definitely one that's neither Fairy Tale nor "our" world. The show might pinch something from the comic Unwritten and put some characters through a trip through books.
First of all, an absolutely trivial observation: is the fact the new arrival in Storybrooke has the Star Wars theme as his ring tone the first result from Disney acquiring Lucas Films, or what? :)
On to the reviews. Now that Snow White and Emma are back, we're on to the second half of the season, which brings two long term good questions: stay or try to get back to Fairy Tale Land (btw, I like that this is really not an easy one to answer, even though I think at the very end of the show it will wrap up with Snow White and Charming and some of the other characters going back - because they're heroes, even if they want a break, and they need to save the land (again) - and Emma and Henry staying. Where Regina ends up is anyone's guess (if she doesn't get the traditional sacrificial redemption death, but this show seems to prefer more complicated ways to deal with its maybe former villains). Rumpelstilskin, if he survives the end of the show, will stay in our world which will be magicless again. But again, that won't happen until the very end of the show, not the end of this season. The other longer term question posed is: how to handle visitors to town who aren't related to Fairy Tale Characters, now that they can come? More about this in a moment.
These three episodes also take away from last season's villains the emotional crutches, so to speak, they were given. BTW, I love that while Cora frames Regina for Archie's murder, she didn't actually kill him because he was useful for other purposes as well (information); that's a resourceful villain. The juxtaposition to the present day frame job to the flashbacks with Snow White making one last attempt to get through to her step mother in The Cricket Game worked really well for me; both because the Snow - Regina relationship is part of this show's emphasis on mothers and daughters, and because it underscored the trickiness and difficulty of, to put it flippantly, offering villain rehabilitation. Mercy and assurances of belief in the possibility of redemption won't do it if the villain in question is as entrenched as ever in their own issues and sees no reason to work on being different, which Regina was in the past. (BTW, I have no problem with everyone believing in her guilt in the present. With her track record, even a sloppier frame job would have done the trick, and no, that doesn't make anyone in Storybrooke mean. It makes them people with good memories.)
The Outsider in its flashbacks did me a favour by giving Belle one of the heroic adventures she wanted to have post- Rumpel and pre-incarceration by Regina and emphasized her cleverness and ability to put clues together in both past and presence. (Mind you: hers is still a tv cleverness, meaning that she also does something dumb because of plot necessity, to wit, go to Hook's ship alone as opposed to drafting someone else - say, Red or Emma - for support first.) That she teams up with Mulan and frees a cursed Philip makes me wonder whether either Mulan or Philip or both will play a role in restoring Belle's memories eventually, given what happens at the end of the episode. The show also addressed something I wondered about since The Crocodile: both that no, Rumpelstilskin is still unable to be completely honest with Belle (as far as the death of his wife is concerned), and yes, of course Hook would spot that immediately and tell her. The balance the show strikes with Belle continuing to believe in R's redeemability but not being willing to support evil acts on his part works for me; it's a delicate issue, because there is always the danger of a "stand by your man, and he'll be better" message, but so far the show has not fallen in to it. (Incidentally, we also get examples of how unconditional supportive love is no help at all and in fact enables further villaindom with Regina's father and with Sydney.) Not least because the karmic comeuppance for Rumpelstilskin's verbal stiletto to Regina ("and if you're very lucky, maybe they'll invite you to dinner") follows when Hook gets his revenge and Belle loses her memories. Narratively speaking, there had to be a situation where Belle's love for our Mr. Gold would no longer be there and where he would face rejection by one of the two people whose opinion he actually cares about, just as Regina did with Henry. Because lack of evil behaviour when you get rewarded by love isn't so much redemption as it's bribery.
Given that Emma and Henry are the only people who can leave Storybrooke without their memories taken or a magical protection like the one Rumpelstilskin just made for himself, I had been wondering when he'd use either of them to track down his son, and Emma, once she's back, is of course the best choice. I look forward to their road trip. Their interactions last season and their scene in 2.09 were always interesting to me; she doesn't have the bad history with him most of the other characters do, but nor does she have romantic feelings the way Belle does or is invested in his proving his capacity for goodness. (Meaning: if she thinks he's actually about to kill people, she'd have no problem trying to kill him. Or, you know, remove that shawl once she figures out what it is that keeps him Rumpelstilskin as opposed to an amnesiac and powerless Mr. Gold.)
Speaking of people who do have history together, my guess is that Cora's reason for giving him the globe of son-tracking capabilities is that it means he will actually leave Storybrooke post haste, which means the only two powerful magic users left in Storybrooke will be herself and her daughter. Whether or not she and Rumpel are equally powerful (as Regina needled him in the dinner), it makes things way easier for her if he's simply not around. Otoh that "let's seal it as we used to" plus kiss of course makes one wonder how far things did progress back in fairy tale day between the miller's daughter and Rumpelstilskin. I briefly toyed with the idea that Regina might be his biological daughter, but no; he'd have behaved differently towards her then. But Regina is probably the first child he demanded in a deal. In the original story the way the miller's daughter got to keep her child was by finding out Rumpelstilzchen's name, but in this universe, he introduces himself to everyone with his name, so that can't be how Cora got to keep Regina, plus the "give me back my daughter" bit seems to indicate he still has some magical claim to her.
Seems he also taught Cora how to manipulate in ye olde days, which she's grown superb at: and that you do it best with the truth. (Back when she tricked little Snow White, Cora didn't lie, either; but of course her idea of doing-anything-for-my-daughter was utterly unlike what she made the girl believe it was.) Playing the "I want you back and want your love just like you want your son's" angle with Regina was perfect precisely because it wasn't a lie, and Regina knew it wasn't; what makes it so horrible is that Cora's idea of parental love is breaking your child so often as it takes to have it only in the frame fitting your own idea of what said child should be like. (And, of course, to hell with everyone else.) As I said in an earlier review, Regina's (hard) efforts so far didn't come from repentance (at least not un-Henry-related repentance) but from wanting Henry's love, so as with Rumpel and Belle, it thereby narratively follows that there had to be a situation like this. Not just with the ground she gained with Henry taken away (which btw it isn't really, since Henry now knows she was innocent of murdering Archie) but given the possibility, which Cora offers, to get him back not at his conditions but (presumably) her old ones. It's one thing not wanting to repeat her mother's behaviour when there is no one around who'd support her in this, and another when Cora is actually there and demonstrating it works. (As Regina herself is unable to not love Cora.) So basically the test coming up: when having someone she loves supporting her in villaindom, is she still capable of choosing the infinitely harder path?
And lastly: of course Jane Espenson gets to write the Frankenstein episode. Complete with black and white flashbacks. (Rumpelstilskin and his gold as the only elements of colour in them were a neat touch.) These also explained something I'd been wondering, to wit, why Dr. Whale bothered to reanimate Daniel in the present. Of course if he tricked the younger Regina (which is why he didn't let her see the operation) to get the heart she gave him for Daniel for his brother, he'd have a reason to try and make up for it by fulfilling his debt to her. And it's Viktor Frankenstein after all, though with an un-Shelley-like tale. Incidentally, since he was unable to bring himself to kill Monstered-Gerhard and asked Regina where his brother was at the season starter (to which she replied she hadn't brought him with the curse), I take it that means Monstered-Gerhard will show up again somewhere. Fairy Tale Land? Elsewhere? Another sign of a Jane E. episode is the geeky dialogue; Henry gets to point out that Frankenstein is the Doctor's, not the Monster's name, and also that this story isn't a fairy tale but from a different book altogether. And The Doctor, too, pointed out Frankenstein/Whale hails from a world which is neither Fairy Tale Land nor our world. Basically I take it we're operating with a multiverse model, which probably will come in handy in future seasons. Speculation: there will be a cliffhanger at the season ending which leaves some of our characters stranded in one of these worlds, not necessarily black and white horror movies world or Wonderland, though these are the two that have already been shown, but definitely one that's neither Fairy Tale nor "our" world. The show might pinch something from the comic Unwritten and put some characters through a trip through books.
