Once Upon A Time 3.15
Mar. 31st, 2014 12:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakIn which (some) answers are given and someone gets their characterisation back. Also, this was a great episode.
First of all, welcome back, Belle! I think this was her first good episode since, well, that early s2 one where her father tried to mindwipe her and she told both him and Rumple off. The Belle here is one whose being in love with Rumple doesn't mean she doesn't have her ethical standards or is willing to go "my Dark One, Right Or Wrong". Having her wanting Rumple back, but not at the price of everyone else's misery, not wanting to make the same choice he did was a great pay off for her early discussion with Neal where she says Rumple died a hero to save everyone and Neal replies: "You know that's not why he did it, right? He did it to save us. His family." (More about Neal and his choices in a moment, of course.) I also appreciated that Belle did figure out Lumiere was lying in FTL (and in time, too; if Neal had listened to her, the ensueing disaster would have been avoided) and was research woman in Storybrooke, both of which used the character well and not just as a love interest for Rumplestilskin to angst over.
Now for the big one. Regina wasn't the only one who made a sacrifice mid-season; so did Rumplestilskin. Plus with the spin-off show making a huge plot point out of the laws of magic not allowing resurrections from the dead and them not having been broken (yet), I was wondering how the show would get around this in order to make the inevitable resurrection of its most popular male character not look cheap on both a Watsonian and Doylist level. Turns out that they did find a way that plays by the laws established on both shows, starting with Rumple's favourite punchline: Magic always comes with a price. And the candel of life exchanging doom (see also: Cora) established that you can magically trade the life of one person for another. (But one of them certainly remains dead.) Making Neal that person was inspired because it's absolutely the cruelest thing you could do to Rumplestilskin, and thus his resurrection has full emotional weight. Moreover, while Neal doesn't know exactly who'll pay the price for his father's resurrection he does know, courtesy of Belle figuring out Lumiere's lies in time and Lumiere telling them he works for the Wicked Witch, that his father's resurrection will come at the expense of other people and is willing to go through with it anyway, continuing the show's theme of parent-child relationships and what you're willing to do because of them, as well as the specific question of how similar/dissimilar the three fathers and sons of this particular family are.
The explanation for Rumplestilskin's madness - that in a last attempt to save his son, he's taken him into himself and thus has two personalities crowding his head until Emma separates them - wasn't one I'd have thought of but which is very him, and very this show. Incidentally, in retrospect Neal's death does look prepared - he gets that conversation with Hook we've been waiting for since the end of s2 which isn't about Emma but about their previous connection, he has a heart-to-heart talk with Emma about their past and present in which he expresses his wish for her happiness independent from their relationship. But I really didn't see it coming until the actual resurrection scene in the flashbacks, at which point it dawned to me just what the price for this particular magic would HAVE to be.
It was both sad and effective, and from a ruthlessly pragmatic standpoint the right choice, imo. The young actor who played teenage Baelfire was amazing, but the actor for the adult Neal never had anything like the same skill (case in point: the big showdown/goodbye scenes in the mid-season half finale where he looked like he was standing around bored), and was definitely the weakest current recurring cast member. And while Rumplestilskin's death would have been a good way to end his story, if you bring him back you have to tell stories with him which haven't been done already. Rumplestilskin having to cope with a world without the son who was his justification for everything he did for 300 years is one. Also new, of course, is Rumplestislkin in a situation where someone else has possession of his dagger and thus complete power over him. Both make what must be his worst nightmare (other than those connected with his own father, which he dealt with in the previous half of the season). With him being the king of loopholes, I don't doubt he'll find a way eventually to get his dagger out of Zelena's possession, but how he'll deal with a Baelfire less world is anyone's guess. "You are my happy ending, Bae", as he said in Neverland. And now this is gone for good, beyond any hope of recovery. Show, if you want to be hardcore, you are HARDCORE.
Emma realising that she doesn't really want Henry to have his memories back because he was happy in New York and because she wants to return there with him, to that life, once the new curse and the witch are dealt with is an intriguing twist. I don't think she's right (and nor will Henry), but I can see why she thinks so right now. It also is a case of Emma being very human, which also means flawed: she had a taste of a happy supernatural drama less life with her son (as opposed to her actual life pre-show pilot), and I think it's not just that she convinced herself Henry is better off that way, but that she is, and doesn't want to give that up, though she's not consciously aware of that.
In other news: Regina and Robin were enjoyable together before but now they have sizzle. He's not bad at flirting, is he. And I think that's the first time we've seen Regina flirt with someone sans evil intentions or desperate attempts, just for the fun of it (she was definitely teasing him with that whiskey description). Show, I'm with you so far.
First of all, welcome back, Belle! I think this was her first good episode since, well, that early s2 one where her father tried to mindwipe her and she told both him and Rumple off. The Belle here is one whose being in love with Rumple doesn't mean she doesn't have her ethical standards or is willing to go "my Dark One, Right Or Wrong". Having her wanting Rumple back, but not at the price of everyone else's misery, not wanting to make the same choice he did was a great pay off for her early discussion with Neal where she says Rumple died a hero to save everyone and Neal replies: "You know that's not why he did it, right? He did it to save us. His family." (More about Neal and his choices in a moment, of course.) I also appreciated that Belle did figure out Lumiere was lying in FTL (and in time, too; if Neal had listened to her, the ensueing disaster would have been avoided) and was research woman in Storybrooke, both of which used the character well and not just as a love interest for Rumplestilskin to angst over.
Now for the big one. Regina wasn't the only one who made a sacrifice mid-season; so did Rumplestilskin. Plus with the spin-off show making a huge plot point out of the laws of magic not allowing resurrections from the dead and them not having been broken (yet), I was wondering how the show would get around this in order to make the inevitable resurrection of its most popular male character not look cheap on both a Watsonian and Doylist level. Turns out that they did find a way that plays by the laws established on both shows, starting with Rumple's favourite punchline: Magic always comes with a price. And the candel of life exchanging doom (see also: Cora) established that you can magically trade the life of one person for another. (But one of them certainly remains dead.) Making Neal that person was inspired because it's absolutely the cruelest thing you could do to Rumplestilskin, and thus his resurrection has full emotional weight. Moreover, while Neal doesn't know exactly who'll pay the price for his father's resurrection he does know, courtesy of Belle figuring out Lumiere's lies in time and Lumiere telling them he works for the Wicked Witch, that his father's resurrection will come at the expense of other people and is willing to go through with it anyway, continuing the show's theme of parent-child relationships and what you're willing to do because of them, as well as the specific question of how similar/dissimilar the three fathers and sons of this particular family are.
The explanation for Rumplestilskin's madness - that in a last attempt to save his son, he's taken him into himself and thus has two personalities crowding his head until Emma separates them - wasn't one I'd have thought of but which is very him, and very this show. Incidentally, in retrospect Neal's death does look prepared - he gets that conversation with Hook we've been waiting for since the end of s2 which isn't about Emma but about their previous connection, he has a heart-to-heart talk with Emma about their past and present in which he expresses his wish for her happiness independent from their relationship. But I really didn't see it coming until the actual resurrection scene in the flashbacks, at which point it dawned to me just what the price for this particular magic would HAVE to be.
It was both sad and effective, and from a ruthlessly pragmatic standpoint the right choice, imo. The young actor who played teenage Baelfire was amazing, but the actor for the adult Neal never had anything like the same skill (case in point: the big showdown/goodbye scenes in the mid-season half finale where he looked like he was standing around bored), and was definitely the weakest current recurring cast member. And while Rumplestilskin's death would have been a good way to end his story, if you bring him back you have to tell stories with him which haven't been done already. Rumplestilskin having to cope with a world without the son who was his justification for everything he did for 300 years is one. Also new, of course, is Rumplestislkin in a situation where someone else has possession of his dagger and thus complete power over him. Both make what must be his worst nightmare (other than those connected with his own father, which he dealt with in the previous half of the season). With him being the king of loopholes, I don't doubt he'll find a way eventually to get his dagger out of Zelena's possession, but how he'll deal with a Baelfire less world is anyone's guess. "You are my happy ending, Bae", as he said in Neverland. And now this is gone for good, beyond any hope of recovery. Show, if you want to be hardcore, you are HARDCORE.
Emma realising that she doesn't really want Henry to have his memories back because he was happy in New York and because she wants to return there with him, to that life, once the new curse and the witch are dealt with is an intriguing twist. I don't think she's right (and nor will Henry), but I can see why she thinks so right now. It also is a case of Emma being very human, which also means flawed: she had a taste of a happy supernatural drama less life with her son (as opposed to her actual life pre-show pilot), and I think it's not just that she convinced herself Henry is better off that way, but that she is, and doesn't want to give that up, though she's not consciously aware of that.
In other news: Regina and Robin were enjoyable together before but now they have sizzle. He's not bad at flirting, is he. And I think that's the first time we've seen Regina flirt with someone sans evil intentions or desperate attempts, just for the fun of it (she was definitely teasing him with that whiskey description). Show, I'm with you so far.
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Date: 2014-03-31 06:33 pm (UTC)And honestly, I've liked Michael Raymond James a lot in other stuff, but he's been out of place on this show for quite a while (made sense as Emma's back in the day love interest, but didn't handle the transition to FTL stuff well at all, and Josh Dallas's great rapport with Henry -- my favorite thing about Charming's portrayal -- just highlights how bad MRJ is at acting opposite kids, in comparison. He really should have been written out at the end of season 1, so hopefully this time it will stick (and maybe the actor will find a role that he fits with better).
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Date: 2014-04-01 05:22 am (UTC)It was, wasn't it? And Robin seems to bring that out in her. I just hope this won't change now that she's spotted the tattoo and bolted understandably, given what Tink had told her - I wish she hadn't found out for a while, but I suppose there are the flashbacks in FTL to hope for in which she hasn't and can flirt with him without the awareness of possible destiny.
I've liked Michael Raymond James a lot in other stuff, but he's been out of place on this show for quite a while (made sense as Emma's back in the day love interest, but didn't handle the transition to FTL stuff well at all
Yes. I had no problem with him in Tallahassee as Emma's first love, but emotionally I never quite could believe him as a grown up Baelfire. And the second part was why they couldn't just let him fade gracefully in the background - Emma's ex could have simply moved to other parts, but given that finding Bae was Rumple's prime motivation for centuries, there was no way his son could unless the show was willing to let go of Rumplestilskin at the same time, and let's face it, they wouldn't, not with Robert Carlyle and Lara Parilla and their characters as the two most popular cast members. So they had to give him a definite fate.
Josh Dallas's great rapport with Henry -- my favorite thing about Charming's portrayal -- just highlights how bad MRJ is at acting opposite kids, in comparison.
Good point. I'm doing some s2 rewatching currently, and Charming really has a relaxed affectionate ease with Henry, or perhaps Josh Dallas has. Mind you, I'm aware the comparison is probably unfair on an actor level - those actors have known each other for a year by the time David and Henry get scenes together in s2, so of course they interact more comfortably than Jared Gilmore and a new adult guest star. But still, the show tells us Henry and Neal immediately struck a rapport but that's not what Michael Raymond James' uncomfortable body language does. I suppose you could say subconsciously Neal has father-son hangups and feels guilty for how he left Emma?
Then again, Charming feels guilty about the whole Emma situation but in addition to his rapport with Henry, I noticed that this season they've been giving him and Emma several really nice father-daughter scenes without it feeling artificial. He doesn't crowd her or put his angst on her, is there as a shoulder if she wants one, does tease her a little ("You're sure you're not just encouraging me with Neal because you want to keep me away from Hook?" "Emma! You think I'm interested in Hook? I'm a married man" is still my favourite Charming-Emma exchange), and in this episode it shows they work well as a team, complete with silent signals. In conclusion, perhaps it's really that Charming is good Dad material?
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Date: 2014-03-31 09:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-01 05:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-01 06:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-01 11:03 am (UTC)? When did the episode ever claim that? He had to die because he resurrected his father. Which was said really clearly in the resurrection scene by Zelena and Rumple (and by Belle in the present day - the price for resurrecting the Dark One was the life of the one who resurrected him). Rumple managed to delay this by absorbing Neal into himself, but that made him insane (small wonder), and the moment Emma separated them again Neal continued to die. As he was doomed to the moment he pushed the resurrection button, so to speak.
Also: Rumplestilskin letting go of his dagger in his desperate move to save his son by performing the absorbing is a counterpoint to him clinging to the dagger and letting go of Bae. "You can't hold on to both", Zelena says, and he makes the reverse choice he originally did.
Disgusting to watch: should it have been aesthetically pleasing?
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Date: 2014-04-01 11:44 am (UTC)/Rumple managed to delay this by absorbing Neal into himself [...] and the moment Emma separated them again Neal continued to die. As he was doomed to the moment he pushed the resurrection button, so to speak./ - Oh, that's true! So this Neal/Rumple merging was all an unsuccessful delaying tactic. *nods* Indeed it was clearly spelled out. *facepalm* Sorry, got confused. For some reason it got all jumbled up in my head. Thanks so much for clarifying what happened! It all makes much more sense now...
Still, if Neal was dying, shouldn't Neal-and-Rumple be dying a bit too? But then, that's magic, who knows how it works...
Indeed the dagger parallels are great! *nods*