Once upon a time 2.22
May. 13th, 2013 09:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakIn which, safe for one big disappointment, I enjoy the finale, and also Snow confirms herself as my favourite.
The big disappointment first: I think any affection for Belle I had and hope that the writers would be doing something interesting with her in the present died when her response to getting her memories back (with delay) were a hug and a kiss. I suppose if I were in the mood, I could fanwank and say that with only a few assumed minutes before the apocalypse, she may have thought there was no time for reproaches, but later, when the apocalypstic threat is gone, it's all hugs and kisses, too. And I'm sorry, but this puts Belle and her love for Rumpelstilskin on a level with Henry Senior and his love for Regina. Sure, it's real. It also enabling and spineless (didn't use to be in FTL for Belle, but is now), and as opposed to Henry Sr., I'm not sure the writing is aware of that. The Belle and Rumple scenes felt more like "we know this is one of the two main ships, so here you have your lovers back together again" than anything else, completely undeserved by the narrative. Perhaps it was too much to hope for the whole Lacey interlude would be used for Belle in a more expanded, but self aware way to how being David Nolan impacted Charming, but at the very least I wanted her to respond to Rumplestilskin essentially accepting and using her Stepford-Wife-zation and beating people up not in her dreams but in real life for the hell of it. She didn't. Instead, hugs and kisses. Which kills any respect and sympathy in me.
On to the better part of the finale. What sells Regina having a last a shot at redemption to me isn't that she's willing to sacrifice her life for Henry (well, for Henry not ending up like Emma and Owen as an orphan alone in the world) - she's always been willing to do that, and it still doesn't have anything to do with what she did to people-not-Henry. What sells it to me are the magic words to Emma: "You were right. This is my fault." Responsibility: Regina accepts it. For the very first time in her entire existence, in both past and present. Doesn't mean she's already redeemed, but it is a first step, and who knows, if she keeps at it this time without doing it to look better in Henry's eyes, she may get there. Which is why I also think not killing Regina off in a heroic act of self sacrifice was the better choice, both on a Watsonian and Doylist level. Going out in one big gesture is the easier way. Having to live with the fact most people have more than enough reasons to hate your guts and no, it's not their fault, it's yours, and they don't owe you anything is the harder one. And I love, love, love the way this is tied to Snow White's own acquaintance with darkness this season. That Snow is the one who figures out that there is an alternative to Regina dying to save the town, courtesy of Henry bringing up the Wraith attack at the start of the season, to wit, get rid of the device itself via portal. One reason why I like the show's version of Snow White so much is that, amnesiac cursed Mary Margaret interlude aside, she's always pro-active about things (and has that responsibility accepting part down pat). From jumping after Emma at the start of the season to figuring out a way to save the town and Regina, there hasn't been anything Snow did this season which I didn't find a good storytelling choice. (Including and especially killing Cora via manipulation of Regina and her response to it.) Oh, and also, Snow's response to Regina killing the villagers in the flashbacks two eps ago was just what I wanted from Belle both about Rumple killing Milah and about the Lacey interlude and didn't get. Snow loved (perhaps part of her still loves) Regina, a lot. She wanted to believe in Regina still having good inside as desperately as Belle believes in the good man inside Rumplestilskin. But that doesn't mean Snow not horrified and disgusted by Regina-committed atrocities, or willing to let these pass and put the lives of Regina's victims to lesser importance than Regina's hurt feelings. In conclusion: definitely my favourite.
Doesn't mean I don't have a lot of affection for everyone else. Including, for the first time, Hook, possibly because the Hook and Bae flashbacks were the first time we see Hook from his own pov and doing something other than either keep switching sides, trying vengeance on Rumple or bantering with Emma. Back when we joked around caused by Charming's Thanksgivings remark after he and Snow heard about the Henry's Dad = Rumplestilkin's Son news about possible scenarios, I told Astro that Hook would also qualify as a participant since you could say his living with Milah in common-law marriage makes him Baelfire's stepfather of sorts. I didn't expect the show to go there in actual fact, but it did. Hook's two fold response to Bae (after finding out who the boy was), seeing him as both Rumplestilkin's son (a way to hurt/kill his foe) and Milah's son (the son they never had, someone to love again) was great. It also gave Baelfire a briefer parallel to Henry and his Regina and Emma situation, and Hook one both to Rumplestilskin and Regina in not taking rejection (upon discovery) well at all - but eventually getting around to trying to change behavioral patterns of a life time. There was even pay off for the Hook and Emma scenes mid season which at the time did strike me as a bit transparent, and I really appreciate it's not in a "Hook decides he lurves Emma and that's why she gets through to him" way but, "Emma recognizes the similarities between herself and Hook, and that, in addition to his Baelfire feelings, is why she gets through to him".
(Sidenote: the flashbacks also answer something I've been wondering for a while, to wit, whether/when Neal/Bae would find out about his mother. That Hook didn't tell him at once but does tell him when Bae accuses him of killing Milah and that Bae spots the implication that Milah left him (at which point we also get some info on how Milah felt about that during the years of pirating, thanks, show) and ends up angry at all three parent figures makes sense. It also fits with Neal's resolute hostile distance to his father when Rumple isn't dying.)
I was wrong about Neal having ended up in Neverland (he's with Mulan, Aurora and the apparently reunited-with-his-soul Philipp instead) but right that everyone else would go there. The kidnapping of Henry by Owen and Tamara for this purpose, I did not expect, nor the increasingly complicated Peter Pan question. As in, who is he? Just the Shadow? Future Henry, maybe? Shadow-plus-Baelfire, as I previously thought (who'd then stop existing and become Baelfire again once the boy makes it back to our world at some point in the 19780s so he can grow up to become Neal)? Anyway, the idea of "Peter Pan" as the villain in Neverland and Hook as, not the hero but the ambiguous newbie there is intriguing. And I still suspect a connection between the Home Office and Wendy Darling.
Let's see, what else? Emma adding her strength to Regina's was on the blatant side of visualizing a theme, but worked for me; also, Henry telling Regina for the first time (on screen, on the show) he loved her was yet another reason why I'm glad they didn't kill her off because saying that to a villain in the act of dying is one thing, but having to live with it something else, see also Rumplestilskin and Neal.
Speaking of Mr. Gold: aside from the Belle scenes which made me hiss and spit, his final willingness to go on the rescue-Henry-mission despite still believing the boy to be his undoing and his son to be dead (i.e. no reward in the form of Baelfire forgiving him as an incentive) could be a first genuine step, especially since, as with Regina, the words "it's my fault" (or rather, the lengthier version) are spoken. But note: this scene starts by showing us he was actually finally willing to go there and kill Henry; it was only the news about Baelfire that put a stop to it. (Clearly, he heard that Walter White defeated him in the Who's The Biggest Bastard poll and determined to even the score on the kids front.)
The prospect of Emma, Snow, Charming, Regina, Hook and Rumple on a quest together (and other than Cora, aren't they the Thanksgiving party we talked about?) in Neverland as an incentive for next season is definitely something I'm looking forward to. And one reason why I'm currently toying with the idea that Peter Pan, Ominous Ruler of Neverland, may be Future!Henry, or Mirrorverse!Henry, because if he's a completely new character, it won't have an emotional impact other than foe-to-defeat for his particular group. Meanwhile, it will be nice to see Mulan and Aurora again, who I assume will be able to save Neal, but I must admit, my main interest is the dysfunctional family outing to Neverland.
The big disappointment first: I think any affection for Belle I had and hope that the writers would be doing something interesting with her in the present died when her response to getting her memories back (with delay) were a hug and a kiss. I suppose if I were in the mood, I could fanwank and say that with only a few assumed minutes before the apocalypse, she may have thought there was no time for reproaches, but later, when the apocalypstic threat is gone, it's all hugs and kisses, too. And I'm sorry, but this puts Belle and her love for Rumpelstilskin on a level with Henry Senior and his love for Regina. Sure, it's real. It also enabling and spineless (didn't use to be in FTL for Belle, but is now), and as opposed to Henry Sr., I'm not sure the writing is aware of that. The Belle and Rumple scenes felt more like "we know this is one of the two main ships, so here you have your lovers back together again" than anything else, completely undeserved by the narrative. Perhaps it was too much to hope for the whole Lacey interlude would be used for Belle in a more expanded, but self aware way to how being David Nolan impacted Charming, but at the very least I wanted her to respond to Rumplestilskin essentially accepting and using her Stepford-Wife-zation and beating people up not in her dreams but in real life for the hell of it. She didn't. Instead, hugs and kisses. Which kills any respect and sympathy in me.
On to the better part of the finale. What sells Regina having a last a shot at redemption to me isn't that she's willing to sacrifice her life for Henry (well, for Henry not ending up like Emma and Owen as an orphan alone in the world) - she's always been willing to do that, and it still doesn't have anything to do with what she did to people-not-Henry. What sells it to me are the magic words to Emma: "You were right. This is my fault." Responsibility: Regina accepts it. For the very first time in her entire existence, in both past and present. Doesn't mean she's already redeemed, but it is a first step, and who knows, if she keeps at it this time without doing it to look better in Henry's eyes, she may get there. Which is why I also think not killing Regina off in a heroic act of self sacrifice was the better choice, both on a Watsonian and Doylist level. Going out in one big gesture is the easier way. Having to live with the fact most people have more than enough reasons to hate your guts and no, it's not their fault, it's yours, and they don't owe you anything is the harder one. And I love, love, love the way this is tied to Snow White's own acquaintance with darkness this season. That Snow is the one who figures out that there is an alternative to Regina dying to save the town, courtesy of Henry bringing up the Wraith attack at the start of the season, to wit, get rid of the device itself via portal. One reason why I like the show's version of Snow White so much is that, amnesiac cursed Mary Margaret interlude aside, she's always pro-active about things (and has that responsibility accepting part down pat). From jumping after Emma at the start of the season to figuring out a way to save the town and Regina, there hasn't been anything Snow did this season which I didn't find a good storytelling choice. (Including and especially killing Cora via manipulation of Regina and her response to it.) Oh, and also, Snow's response to Regina killing the villagers in the flashbacks two eps ago was just what I wanted from Belle both about Rumple killing Milah and about the Lacey interlude and didn't get. Snow loved (perhaps part of her still loves) Regina, a lot. She wanted to believe in Regina still having good inside as desperately as Belle believes in the good man inside Rumplestilskin. But that doesn't mean Snow not horrified and disgusted by Regina-committed atrocities, or willing to let these pass and put the lives of Regina's victims to lesser importance than Regina's hurt feelings. In conclusion: definitely my favourite.
Doesn't mean I don't have a lot of affection for everyone else. Including, for the first time, Hook, possibly because the Hook and Bae flashbacks were the first time we see Hook from his own pov and doing something other than either keep switching sides, trying vengeance on Rumple or bantering with Emma. Back when we joked around caused by Charming's Thanksgivings remark after he and Snow heard about the Henry's Dad = Rumplestilkin's Son news about possible scenarios, I told Astro that Hook would also qualify as a participant since you could say his living with Milah in common-law marriage makes him Baelfire's stepfather of sorts. I didn't expect the show to go there in actual fact, but it did. Hook's two fold response to Bae (after finding out who the boy was), seeing him as both Rumplestilkin's son (a way to hurt/kill his foe) and Milah's son (the son they never had, someone to love again) was great. It also gave Baelfire a briefer parallel to Henry and his Regina and Emma situation, and Hook one both to Rumplestilskin and Regina in not taking rejection (upon discovery) well at all - but eventually getting around to trying to change behavioral patterns of a life time. There was even pay off for the Hook and Emma scenes mid season which at the time did strike me as a bit transparent, and I really appreciate it's not in a "Hook decides he lurves Emma and that's why she gets through to him" way but, "Emma recognizes the similarities between herself and Hook, and that, in addition to his Baelfire feelings, is why she gets through to him".
(Sidenote: the flashbacks also answer something I've been wondering for a while, to wit, whether/when Neal/Bae would find out about his mother. That Hook didn't tell him at once but does tell him when Bae accuses him of killing Milah and that Bae spots the implication that Milah left him (at which point we also get some info on how Milah felt about that during the years of pirating, thanks, show) and ends up angry at all three parent figures makes sense. It also fits with Neal's resolute hostile distance to his father when Rumple isn't dying.)
I was wrong about Neal having ended up in Neverland (he's with Mulan, Aurora and the apparently reunited-with-his-soul Philipp instead) but right that everyone else would go there. The kidnapping of Henry by Owen and Tamara for this purpose, I did not expect, nor the increasingly complicated Peter Pan question. As in, who is he? Just the Shadow? Future Henry, maybe? Shadow-plus-Baelfire, as I previously thought (who'd then stop existing and become Baelfire again once the boy makes it back to our world at some point in the 19780s so he can grow up to become Neal)? Anyway, the idea of "Peter Pan" as the villain in Neverland and Hook as, not the hero but the ambiguous newbie there is intriguing. And I still suspect a connection between the Home Office and Wendy Darling.
Let's see, what else? Emma adding her strength to Regina's was on the blatant side of visualizing a theme, but worked for me; also, Henry telling Regina for the first time (on screen, on the show) he loved her was yet another reason why I'm glad they didn't kill her off because saying that to a villain in the act of dying is one thing, but having to live with it something else, see also Rumplestilskin and Neal.
Speaking of Mr. Gold: aside from the Belle scenes which made me hiss and spit, his final willingness to go on the rescue-Henry-mission despite still believing the boy to be his undoing and his son to be dead (i.e. no reward in the form of Baelfire forgiving him as an incentive) could be a first genuine step, especially since, as with Regina, the words "it's my fault" (or rather, the lengthier version) are spoken. But note: this scene starts by showing us he was actually finally willing to go there and kill Henry; it was only the news about Baelfire that put a stop to it. (Clearly, he heard that Walter White defeated him in the Who's The Biggest Bastard poll and determined to even the score on the kids front.)
The prospect of Emma, Snow, Charming, Regina, Hook and Rumple on a quest together (and other than Cora, aren't they the Thanksgiving party we talked about?) in Neverland as an incentive for next season is definitely something I'm looking forward to. And one reason why I'm currently toying with the idea that Peter Pan, Ominous Ruler of Neverland, may be Future!Henry, or Mirrorverse!Henry, because if he's a completely new character, it won't have an emotional impact other than foe-to-defeat for his particular group. Meanwhile, it will be nice to see Mulan and Aurora again, who I assume will be able to save Neal, but I must admit, my main interest is the dysfunctional family outing to Neverland.
no subject
Date: 2013-05-13 12:18 pm (UTC)I loved everything else about it so much though! Aie.