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stahlop · 1 year

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Once Upon a Time 4x03 “Rocky Road” Review

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So the ice cream lady is apparently the Snow Queen and she’s cursed Marian to become frozen! And she’s also, apparently, Elsa’s aunt and was trapped in the urn before Elsa was. Interesting that Elsa’s mother never thought to tell her scared daughter that ice powers run in the family! And Emma finally pushes past some of her trust issues with Hook!

Summary: Marian becomes frozen and True Love’s Kiss doesn’t work when Robin tries to save her. Hook resorts to blackmail to find out who else has powers like Elsa. In the past, Elsa and Kristoff fight Hans and his brothers and end up discovering a long-lost relative.

Opening: Any Given Sundae

New Characters:

Will Scarlet: He’s apparently an outcast from the Merry Men. How he’s come to be in Storybrooke is a mystery. He’s a thief and will always be a thief. The most helpful thing he does is show Emma and David that the ice cream shop doesn’t use anything to keep the ice cream cold. (For those that don’t know, Will was a favorite on the spin-off Once Upon a Time in Wonderland)

Character Observations:

The Snow Queen: She doesn’t have a name in Arendelle or Storybrooke yet, but Emma refers to her as the Snow Queen, so that’s what we’re going with. In Arendelle, she is revealed to have been trapped in the urn Hans was going to use to trap Elsa. Instead, the Snow Queen freezes Hans and scares his brothers away. She is revealed to be Elsa’s mother’s sister.

In Storybrooke, she is determined to make people think that Elsa is behind all the freezing mayhem that is going on. She does some kind of magic to Marian’s ice cream cone which eventually makes her frozen. She attempts to kill Hook in order to make it look like Elsa did it. Luckily, Emma comes and saves him. But the Snow Queen clearly knows Emma somehow, even if she doesn’t remember. Elsa also doesn’t remember her, but the Snow Queen tells her the Rock Trolls took her memories like they did with Anna when she was younger. She eventually disappears. We later see her talking to Gold. He offers to help her, which she rejects. He also warns her about Emma remembering her.

Regina: How the hell did she run a kingdom when she is terrible at subterfuge? She attempts to hook Henry in by buying him comic books and then makes obvious comments about how the storybook doesn’t have an author. Henry sees through her immediately. She goes on about finding the author and getting her happy ending. Henry, instead of telling her that’s not how this works, tells her it’s her best idea yet. Oy vey! Meanwhile, Marian has been frozen and Robin asks for her help to reverse whatever curse has been put upon her. It’s interesting that she automatically blames Elsa, when she, herself, has been unjustly accused of magical things happening in Storybrooke that ended up being other people (Cora in The Cricket Game). She claims she’s trying to change, but she still jumps to conclusions at the first chance she gets. Elsa says only an act of true love can save Marian, so Robin kisses her, which doesn’t work. David claims the ice is acting as a barrier like when Frederick was turned to gold in What Happened to Frederick, but Robin later tells Regina it didn’t work because he’s in love with someone else. Regina takes it with grace, since he and Marian are technically still married. They decide to take Marian’s heart so she’s not frozen completely, and Regina can work on reversing the curse.

Emma: Her magic is acting wonky, but she won’t admit it. Regina calls her out on it when she goes to try and figure out what caused the freezing spell on Marian. Emma thinks she’s still mad about her bringing Marian back in the first place. Which, she’s not wrong, but also, neither is Regina. Hook wants to go with her, but she tells him to take Elsa to the sheriff’s station to protect her from the townspeople who think she’s responsible for Marian. Hook doesn’t want to leave Emma, but she gets angry and asks him to just listen to her for once. At Robin’s tent, Emma comes across former Merry Man, Will Scarlet. He runs when he finds out she’s the sheriff, but is taken down by David. Will gives them information about the ice cream shop’s ice cream still being frozen hours after the blackout happened. Will attempts to pick the lock of the ice cream shop to show them, but Emma gets impatient and does it for him, much to David’s surprise. They discover that Will was telling the truth when they see the back room is frozen. And also Will takes off and steals money from the till. Emma wants to go after him, but David says they have more important things to do concerning Marian and she can go after Will another time. Emma expresses self-doubt about her abilities, but David tries to lift her spirits. Emma and David arrive to the Snow Queen trying to kill Hook. The Snow Queen taunts Emma that her magic isn’t stronger than hers, but Emma knocks her back with a blast of magic and manages to magic David and Hook out of the way of the falling icicles. After the Snow Queen disappears, Emma tells David and Hook that the way the Snow Queen said her name sounded familiar, like she’d heard it before. Hook offers to help look for her lair, but Emma gets pissed at him for not following her directions and almost getting himself killed. Emma talks to Elsa who is upset that the Snow Queen told her that Anna put her in the urn. Emma thinks they’re all pawns for something bigger, since Emma brought Elsa there accidentally, but the Snow Queen was already there. Emma doesn’t think the curse brought her to Storybrooke. Emma runs into Hook outside of Granny’s and she’s not happy with his shenanigans. He accuses her of not trusting him, but Emma tells him the truth. She does trust him, but she’s afraid he’s going to get himself killed since every other guy she’s been with is dead. Hook promises her he’s a survivor and they start kissing in the middle of the street!

Hook: He certainly does not like being told what to do, which gets him in trouble with Emma, but not for the reasons he thinks. We start with him, Emma, and Elsa questioning Gold about how Elsa and the urn ended up in his vault. He claims not to know. Hook isn’t buying his BS about turning over a new leaf for a second. Even when Belle compels him to tell the truth with the dagger, you can tell he’s not buying it. Emma, Elsa, and Hook go to the mayor’s office when Marian has been frozen. Emma goes to look for whomever is responsible and Hook wants to go with her. He’s very upset when she asks him to take Elsa to the sheriff’s station instead. Immediately, Hook and Elsa decide not to follow Emma’s orders and take the investigation into their own hands. By going to Gold’s shop and blackmailing him. Can I just say how much this pains me to see Hook stooping so low when he’s trying to prove to Emma how trustworthy he is? To secretly go to Gold and blackmail him because he knows Belle doesn’t have the real dagger to get what he wants is the opposite of everything he’s trying to prove to Emma. I mean, I know it does help them find out where the ice cream lady/Snow Queen is, but using a way that harkens back to his villainous days is not the way to go about it. Sigh. Gold changes a piece of Marian’s frozen hair into snowflakes that leads Hook and Elsa to the Snow Queen. Hook attempts to call Emma, but she doesn’t answer and has to leave a message (the crux of which is, why did she get him a phone if she never answers it, lol). When Hook and Elsa attempt to leave to go find Emma (since she’s not answering the phone), Hook’s feet are frozen by the Snow Queen. Luckily, Emma saves him before the Snow Queen’s plan to kill him takes place. Later that night, Hook is drinking at Granny’s and Emma’s still pissed at him. He accuses her of not trusting him, but she says she does trust him. She’s just afraid of him getting killed. He tells her he’s a survivor before kissing her. And, this is the first time Hook has initiated a kiss with Emma, she’s initiated it every other time. Hot! Hot! Hot!

Elsa and Kristoff: In Arendelle, Elsa is freaking out over Anna. Kristoff is trying to calm her down by relaying all of Anna’s heroic feats, but Elsa is stressing big time. She then gets a report that Hans has an army and is heading towards Arendelle. Kristoff wants to go see what’s up, but Elsa won’t let him, using his status as Anna’s groom as her reasoning. He goes out anyway and overhears Hans telling his brothers about a magical urn. Kristoff reports back to Elsa that it can contain magical beings like her. He wants to bring some soldiers to go destroy the urn. Elsa wants to avoid war. She suggests just she and Kristoff go. Elsa almost walks herself off a cliff while she and Kristoff have a heart to heart. They get to the cave with the urn and Elsa goes to destroy it, but then some runes show up on it, and she’s trying to decipher them when Hans and his brothers enter. Elsa fights off two of them with her ice powers, and Kristoff dispatches another with a sword, but then Hans gets the drop on Kristoff and threatens to make Anna a widow if Elsa doesn’t hand over the urn (and Kristoff, with a sword to his neck, still makes a joke that he and Anna aren’t married so she wouldn’t technically be a widow). Elsa ends up giving Hans the urn, despite Kristoff’s protests. Hans continues to be the worst person ever by telling Elsa that she doesn’t belong anywhere so he’s going to put her in the urn like she doesn’t exist, which plays on all of Elsa’s magic insecurities. But surprise, surprise, when he opens the urn to put her inside, the Snow Queen comes out instead. And she freezes Hans and his brothers run off. Elsa is in heaven meeting someone who has ice powers like herself. They compare stories about making snowmen come to life and building ice castles. The Snow Queen sees the painting of Elsa’s parents and lets her know Elsa’s mother was her sister, making her Elsa’s aunt. Elsa is understandably confused as her mother never mentioned a sister. Elsa lets her know her mother was lost at sea and it’s just her and Anna now. She tells her how scared she is that Anna is missing, and the Snow Queen promises she’ll help her find her, because that is what family does.

In Storybrooke, Elsa is accused of using her powers to freeze Marian. Emma wants her and Hook to stay at the sheriff’s station, but they go looking for whomever actually froze Marian. They eventually find the Snow Queen in the woods. The Snow Queen wants the town to turn against Elsa and she doesn’t understand why. She tells Elsa the Rock Trolls stole her memories of when they met in Arendelle, but doesn’t say why. She also tells Elsa that Anna put her in the urn. Elsa is adamant that Anna would never do that.

Mary Margaret: She attempts to have a ‘fireside chat’ as the mayor to go over items in the town (complete with baby Neal in her arms), but all anyone wants to talk about is Elsa.Things go south quickly when Marian starts literally turning to ice. After the meeting, Mary Margaret gets some unsolicited advice from Archie about needing to let things go, meaning she doesn’t need to have baby Neal with her constantly and she’ll be better if they aren’t attached at the hip. Mary Margaret is obviously afraid she’ll miss something if she isn’t there with him constantly because of missing out on Emma growing up.

Questions:

Why isn’t Emma’s lie detector blaring when Gold says he’s decided to turn over a new leaf? Or when he says he’s given Belle the dagger? There should be sirens going off in her head.

Exactly how far away is Misthaven from Arendelle? With all the magic going on in the Enchanted Forest, how have they not heard of it in Arendelle?

Since the Snow Queen acknowledges Elsa is queen, why didn’t she realize her sister would have to be dead for that to happen? She seems genuinely shocked when Elsa tells her.

How did Elsa’s urn end up in Gold’s vault? Did the Snow Queen give it to Rumple since we know they know each other?

Have Gold and the Snow Queen been talking since the curse broke? How does he know that she knew Emma once? Does that mean the Snow Queen has been out of Storybrooke?

Observations:

This is the most casual we’ve ever seen Regina. Her hair is in a messy ponytail and she’s wearing a t-shirt and vest!

Emma looks amazing in this episode also. She’s letting her freckles shine through, and she just looks cute as a button.

The two comic books we see Regina get Henry are Thor and ShenLu.

Regina and Henry decide their search for the author will be called Operation Mongoose.

Hook tells Gold that he could have Belle summon him with the dagger and when he didn’t appear she’d have proof the dagger isn’t real. We’ve seen plenty of times when all someone had to do is say Rumpelstiltskin's name (even in other realms) and he’d appear.

The cage that Kristoff puts his torch in is already lit when he and Elsa enter the cave. Then he lights it again. Or there is another cage already lit, which should be a red flag that someone is already in the cave.

Hook now has a cell phone and it has an ‘Emma’ button.

Once Upon a Time Firsts:

Magic can change form but never be destroyed.

So, we find out a little bit more about the Snow Queen, but not what her end goal is yet. She is obviously very bitter about something having to do with her magic and people fearing it, and she doesn’t seem to care if people are okay with it like they are in Storybrooke. I am not happy about Hook blackmailing Gold as it just goes against everything he’s worked so hard to put in his past. But Emma and Hook seem to be getting on the right path for being together despite that! Yay!

Please leave comments and reblog! Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future reviews.

@searchingwardrobes @thisonesatellite @justbecauseyoubelievesomething @laschatzi @profdanglaisstuff @mariakov81 @lfh1226-linda

#once upon a time #once upon a time review #once upon a time rewatch #once upon a time 4x03 #once upon a time rocky road

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jackiestarsister · 7 months

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OUAT Rewatch: Season 4

Episode 4x01 “A Tale of Two Sisters”

~ While the inclusion of Frozen may have been a questionable direction overall, there is no denying the brilliant casting and in-character writing of Elsa and Anna. Kristoff, though, is underwhelming.

~ Regina’s light-colored outfit suggests that she is still ultimately good.

~ Regina and Robin having their conversation in the same room where they were so romantic and intimate two episodes ago is so awkward and sad.

~ I like Belle’s yellow dress in this episode much more than the one she wore when first introduced!

~ It seems that Gold gave Belle the dagger before they began their honeymoon, possibly before they even consummated their marriage. His actions in this episode seem to ring true for the image of him being “addicted” to magic, trying to quit and maybe succeeding for a while before giving in to temptation when presented an opportunity.

Episode 4x02 “White Out”

~ The episode starts with Anna knocking on someone’s door!

~ How do David and Kristoff know each other? Neither of them seem like the sort to travel much, and apparently there is an ocean between their lands. Did the rock trolls take Kristoff on a trip to the Enchanted Forest?

~ Henry is the Anna to Regina’s Elsa in this episode. Oddly enough, Emma seems to understand Regina’s point of view, because pushing away the people she cares about is her own tendency.

~ Emma and David’s conversation in the car is a sweet and realistic moment between them as father and daughter. And David talks about walls as they’re on their way to a literal wall!

~ Grumpy/Leroy’s assertion that Snow/Mary Margaret is now the ruler sounds kind of like fanservice, like the writers listened to fans who said that should be the case.

~ Where did Anna and David get their swords? He made it clear that swordfighting was not something he practiced; did she bring them with her while traveling?

~ For David to have such a detailed backstory with his father, it seems like it should have been mentioned at some point earlier in the show. It could have tied in with his insecurities about being a good father in the previous season—especially since he turned to secretly drinking in order to deal with his nerves, when drinking was what caused his father’s downfall.

~ Out of all the dwarves, why is Happy one of those spouting complaints?

~ Why isn’t Leroy using the blackout as an opportunity to sell the nuns’ candles, like in the blackout he caused in season 1?

~ Since Snow wasn’t really present in the previous episode and has a minimal role in this one, it’s nice to see her have an outburst and stick up for herself! They really shouldn’t be bothering her when she is getting used to caring for an infant for the first time.

~ Emma and Elsa’s level of connection is great, only it seems to escalate very quickly, along with Emma’s freezing.

~ When did Emma mention Henry to Elsa? Did they talk more between scenes?

~ Despite apparently being aware of her situation, Emma doesn’t seem very concerned about the fact that she is in danger of death. I would imagine her having more fear and concern about her family, asking Elsa to tell them that she loves them and that kind of thing.

~ After lamenting that Henry would not hug her earlier, Emma gets a hug from him in the end!

~ David saying that the people in their family “really don’t like to give up” is even more significant after seeing what he was like before Anna changed him!

Episode 4x03 “Rocky Road”

~ This episode’s title is pretty apt: multiple pairs of characters are on both physical and metaphorical roads.

~ The name of Ingrid’s ice cream parlor, Any Given Sundae, is not only a pun but also refers to how she gives away Marian’s ice cream.

~ Snow and David had a court jester named Rupert?! He couldn’t have worked for them very long, since they seem to have been married for less than a year before the Dark Curse was cast.

~ Regina’s outfit and hairstyle in her first scene are way more casual than anything we’ve seen her wear before! And she’s suddenly in short sleeves though just days earlier it seemed to be winter.

~ I think Operation Mongoose and Operation Cobra together allude to “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” by Rudyard Kipling. In that story, the hero is a mongoose and the villain is a cobra. So both names refer to Regina, first to expose her as a villain, then to prove her a hero.

~ The bird painting is funny, and in line with Mary Margaret/Snow’s interests; but how is Regina so indifferent/accepting of Snow taking over her mayoral office, like she did her kingdom?

~ If they wanted Elsa to keep a low profile, the least they could do was get her some clothes from this world. Why is her only outfit the one from the movie, when this show gives so many outfits to the other characters in each world?

~ The scene of Hans and his brothers is so horribly written; the only good thing about it is that it is short. But it could have been omitted since Kristoff recaps it to Elsa.

~ How can Granny be part of the mob blaming Elsa, after everything Red/Ruby went through? If Ruby were still in Storybrooke at this point (her absence isn’t explained until later), she and Elsa could have bonded over their experiences as magical beings whose powers are spurred by fear.

~ It’s nice to see Elsa and Kristoff interact so much, since they don’t in the movie.

~ Will Scarlet must have been in Storybrooke (or elsewhere in the Land Without Magic) for some time before this curse, if he knew that blackouts were the time for a thief to go to work.

~ What was that scene with Archie about? The decent thing for him to do in that situation would have been to offer to help Mary Margaret get the carriage into the car, and/or tell her about the danger Elsa was in from the townsfolk. It doesn’t seem to me like Snow needs to let go of her newborn; what she needs is support from other people, instead of trying to handle everything about mayorhood and motherhood herself! And they gave Archie a “Let It Go” reference?!

~ Regina and David’s words to Emma, and her saying she doesn’t feel able to save anyone, seem like telling rather than showing a conflict. There’s no real support for it onscreen.

~ Elsa and Hook’s conversation is great!

~ Ingrid does the same thing to Elsa that Cora did to Regina, framing her in order to make people turn on her so she’ll think she can never have their trust.

~ Regina casually sending Henry to fetch something from her vault shows that they’ve come a long way from the time Henry almost got himself killed while sneaking in there.

~ Why is Emma at Granny’s at the end of the day? She seemed to be living with her parents again, not staying at the B&B. Did she go there to get dinner by herself, or to talk to someone?

~ Throughout the show, Hook and his acquaintances refer to his knack for survival, yet he has many close brushes with death. This kind of goes along with how the ticking crocodile, a symbol of inevitable death, stalks him in Peter Pan.

~ This episode has some good storylines in it, but there are extra scenes that make it feel scattered or convoluted. It could have been streamlined by deleting some scenes, like the ones about hunting for Elsa and Archie talking to Snow.

Episode 4x04 “The Apprentice”

~ Why is the Sorcerer’s Apprentice so old? Is there no way to graduate from that role?

~ If the Apprentice has faced other Dark Ones before, he should know that a sword would not kill them. So either his sword was enchanted, or it was just an act to stall him.

~ This is the second time anyone has asked Henry what he thinks about Emma’s love interests, and both times, he prioritizes her happiness over his own feelings. This is even more impressive now, since he just recently lost his father. With both Walsh and Hook, he encourages Emma to pursue love and happiness.

~ Did Henry go off somewhere else while Emma asked Hook out?

~ Anna in the flashbacks and Hook in the present both make deals that they shouldn’t with Rumplestiltskin.

~ What I want to know is, what did Emma and Hook talk about over dinner? Was he able to calm down enough to carry a normal conversation? What do they talk about when they’re not solving a mystery or handling a crisis? Evidently they enjoy each other’s company enough to want more of it, but it would be nice to see them connect when they have time and space to themselves.

~ The scene of Regina and Henry … doesn’t really make sense. It’s like they chose him at random to verbalize what Regina and the audience are thinking, and then she just dismisses it based on his young age.

~ The Storybrooke radio mentions Rip Van Winkle wanting music “to wake up to”!

~ Did Hook spend the whole night drinking and/or sleeping on the docks? Poor guy!

~ How would someone in the Enchanted Forest know the phrase “fully charged”? Did Rumplestiltskin have foreknowledge of this world’s technology?

~ The fact that Henry doesn’t simply ask Gold directly about the Author suggests that he does not actually trust him.

Episode 4x05 “Breaking Glass”

~ Is Emma the judge and jury for all criminals in Storybrooke? It’s a bit autocratic to have her be the one person to decide someone’s sentence, and for it to be so arbitrary.

~ When Hook says he is taking Henry sailing, he obviously doesn’t mean the Jolly Roger since he no longer has it. What kind of craft do they sail instead, and to whom does it belong?

~ I’m glad to see they at least got Elsa a decent cloak … or maybe she made it for herself with her magic, since it’s the same style as her signature dress.

~ “You screw someone over, there’s no getting them back.” This sounds contrary to some of Emma’s experience: she and Hook ended up together despite all the times they betrayed each other.

~ When did Regina and Robin have time for someone to take their picture?!

~ Josh Dallas’ character mentioning Asgard offhandedly is hilarious, since he played Fandral in Thor!

~ This episode almost feels like Frozen II in that most of the characters end up lost in the woods.

~ Lily soliciting that promise from Emma feels pretty contrived, considering they’ve only known each other for about a day. I guess the reasoning behind it was that Lily didn’t want Emma to think badly of her if they were caught and her secret was revealed.

~ “I’m going to build a snowman” never sounded so ominous!

~ It makes sense for Snow to suspect that David set up an adventure for her, because that’s exactly what he did in Episode 3x2.

~ Regina says “before it’s actually winter,” but it seemed like they were in winter just a few weeks earlier.

~ It’s great to see Sidney finally stand up to Regina’s abuse, but it happens at the least convenient time for Emma!

~ How is Elsa able to break her chains of fear so easily?

~ Part of what I dislike about Emma’s backstory with Lily is that it kind of lessens the importance/impact of her backstory with Neal. It means that Lily was the first person she was on the run with and who let her down, rather than Neal.

~ Force choking? Really?

~ It’s a bit odd that Regina’s bad feelings toward Emma are now fixated on Marian, when she had plenty of grievances prior to that.

~ What Elsa says to Emma about never giving up on people sounds like how Hook never gave up on Emma despite her friendzoning him and trying to leave.

~ “I don’t want to kill you.” “See? That’s a start.” That’s actually a great bit of dialogue, only it might have done better for an enemies-to-lovers storyline like Emma and Hook’s.

~ When did Emma learn about Will’s escape, and how did she react? I’m guessing David probably told her via text or phone call.

~ Why does Emma have her box of childhood belongings at the sheriff’s station? Is the loft too crowded with Elsa staying there?

~ Where was the box when Emma was on the run with Neal and serving time in Phoenix? Did she bring it with her to New York, or did it disappear and reappear with the curses?

~ “Reflective today, are we?” is more true than Hook realizes, considering the mirrors in this episode!

~ “I’d love to know more about your beginnings.” Funny when you know the name of their song in the musical episode!

Episode 4x06 “Family Business”

~ David said they searched Ingrid’s business and home. If Ingrid wanted Emma to find that file, why didn’t she simply leave it in her home so they would find it sooner?

~ That lacy version of Belle’s blue and white outfit is so pretty!

~ Belle is doing the same thing to Elsa about Anna that Hook did to Ariel about Eric in Episode 3x17, withholding information about a newcomer’s missing loved one because they are ashamed of what they did to them.

~ Anna’s suspicion of Ingrid is similar to Amethyst’s suspicion of Bismuth in Steven Universe: they both question why a long-lost relative was never mentioned by their family’s leader.

~ It’s a little odd how various princesses in this show meet and become friends without even mentioning to each other that they are princesses!

~ It seems that Belle learned about Rumplestiltskin’s existence and power from Anna, but Anna did not reveal his name, so Belle “did some reading” and learned more about him before returning to her home.

~ In the scene where Belle pulls out Rumple’s (fake) dagger, her scarf has a pattern of daggers printed on it!

~ Emma saying that the longest she ever stayed in a foster home was six months contradicts what she said in Episode 3x05 about counting the days in each new home until it seemed pointless.

~ Looks like Emma has had fair artistic abilities since she was a kid. Does that make art something she had in common with Milah and Baelfire?

~ Did Emma start her file of Henry’s projects in Storybrooke, or during their time in New York? The latter would probably make more sense, but the former would have been a huge sign of growth in her relationship with him.

~ Why does Belle not even tell Gold that she met Anna? He can probably piece it together since Belle mentions the hat, which Anna took from him.

~ Why does Belle need to go to the rock trolls to get her memories back? Why not find someone more local to make her a remembering potion, like the one Zelena made?

~ Watching Belle and Rumple’s scenes when she is so emotional and trusting of him is downright painful.

~ How could that heraldry record exist if the royal family wiped out all records of Ingrid’s existence?

~ Hearing Ingrid’s plan laid out at the end really makes her seem like a psychopath. Is she supposed to be mentally ill, like a stalker going after someone they’re convinced they are in love with?

Episode 4x07 “The Snow Queen”

~ The opening flashback is way too saccharine, and the dialogue in the second half is way too fast.

~ Is Regina’s vault just open for anyone to walk into now?

~ What went wrong with Emma and Elsa testing the candle? Did they mean to neutralize Elsa’s powers as a test?

~ It’s canon that Emma babysits her brother!

~ I love that the local princesses—Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella—are all in the same mother-baby group! And I love Aurora’s modern outfit!

~ Ashley making a joke out of the “Cinderella” story is a bit odd since Rumplestiltskin was the one who served the role of fairy godmother. Did she even have a pumpkin carriage?

~ The dialogue and drama in that scene is just so contrived. Up to this point, Emma hasn’t expressed anything like jealousy or anger toward her parents for wanting/having another kid. It seems random for it to come out now, without any prior setup.

~ Emma telling Elsa not to let emotions get the better of her, when she is about to do just that …

~ Emma jokingly/casually calling Ingrid “sister” really isn’t appropriate given the context!

~ I love the scene with Regina and Henry, but why has it taken this many episodes for him to begin his job in Gold’s shop?

~ Emma says her family spans three generations in 400 years. Where does that number come from?

~ David and Hook look at each other as they reach the same conclusion and realize the danger Emma is in. Like in “White Out,” they are on the same page when it comes to Emma’s safety.

~ Robin Hood missing his target? Even if it’s darts instead of archery, that’s hard to believe!

~ Robin and Will’s conversation is … interesting. It sounds like it could fit multiple characters and relationships in the show, which makes me wonder how much it needed to be them.

~ The story of how Robin and Marian met sounds like it could have been its own flashback episode.

~ Gold shows a lot of trust in Henry’s self-control. Putting that particular kid in a shop full of magical items is like having an ordinary kid watch over a candy shop!

~ Young Ingrid’s fear of hurting others doesn’t hold as much weight as Elsa’s. Ingrid is only shown losing control when a bad person was threatening her loved ones; it was self-defense. Elsa on the other hand hurt her sister because they were careless while playing.

~ Did Emma even realize that she was trapped inside the sheriff’s station? Did she not hear the others calling out to her? And why was she left to interrogate Ingrid alone, without any other witnesses or magical backup?

~ Ingrid taunting Emma is totally like Satan, playing on people’s deepest insecurities, talking them into despair. Her words are probably things Emma has thought herself, only she might not have let herself dwell on them.

~ Emma’s internal, emotional conflict about struggling to control her magic seems to come out of nowhere. She and the other characters have talked about her need to learn more about it and/or embrace it, but that has usually been about her underutilizing it, not being able to tap into it. There has been little to no setup to establish her not being able to keep it in check.

~ David pushes Hook out of harm’s way! But Snow … how could you say “Emma” in such a “how could you” tone?

~ Why is young Ingrid dressed in that over-the-top sparkly outfit in this flashback? It visually conveys her ice magic, but at that point she is still trying to suppress her powers.

~ Ingrid barely displayed any of her magic in front of Wesselton. Why does he automatically assume everyone would hate her for her magic? Do they not have any good practitioners of it in Arendelle or the surrounding lands?

~ Helga’s end is pretty horrifying. Is it supposed to have happened more quickly than Anna’s freezing because Ingrid’s powers are greater?

~ How can Gerda suddenly slap such a dehumanizing label as “monster” on Ingrid? She must realize that it was not ill will that caused the accident. Maybe Ingrid giving up the ribbons made her think Ingrid did not care as much about their bond as she once did?

~ Overall, the relationships between sisters in this show—mostly Ingrid, Helga and Gerda, but also Elsa and Anna, and Zelena and Regina—feel shallow, like they were written by men who don’t really understand the dynamics of sisterhood.

~ Robin’s conclusion, and his decision to throw his morals to the wind and go to Regina, doesn’t really make sense.

~ That shot of Ingrid admiring her magic mirror—or admiring her reflection in it, I can’t tell—isn’t needed. It would have been a more fitting transition to show Emma alone and guilty, then cut to young Ingrid alone and guilty.

~ What does “we’ve looked everywhere” mean? Even for a small town, that would be difficult to achieve and would require a coordinated search with many people.

~ This whole episode feels somewhat haphazard. Then again, so does this half of this season.

~ The absence of the usual supporting/minor characters is also noticeable. Why doesn’t Archie offer his services to help Emma work through her sudden fear of her powers?

Episode 4x08 “Smash the Mirror – Part 1”

~ It makes sense for Henry to be the one to approach Emma, have no fear of her, and even deny the significance of any injury she causes. But him running away without a word doesn’t sit right; he would have at least said something like “I’m not giving up on you.”

~ Why couldn’t Emma ask Gold for something like the cuff that neutralizes one’s magic temporarily? That would be a much better way, since she does occasionally (but with increasing frequency) need her powers in order to protect her loved ones and defeat her enemies.

~ Even if she trusts Gold now due to him being Henry’s grandfather, Emma should know better than to think he would help her without asking something in return.

~ Why is Elsa wearing her gloves (apparently given to Ingrid by Rumplestiltskin) in these flashbacks? She didn’t have them in the earlier ones.

~ Cool use of the broken mirror in the cinematography, having Anna and Elsa appear in different pieces of the glass.

~ Why is frozen Hans still intact, whereas frozen Helga disintegrated?

~ This is the second time Robin has mentioned Friar Tuck. I want to see this Merry Man! On that note: Sundays would be the least likely day of the week for a Christian to be sober, since Sunday is a day of celebration like Easter; even people who are fasting may break their fast on that day.

~ Did Hook ride in the back of David’s pickup truck while they searched for Emma? That’s kind of amusing to imagine!

~ David couldn’t have taken that picture, because he’s in it!

~ Is “Anton the Giant” an homage to Andre the Giant? If so, I approve!

~ While Emma is trying to get rid of her powers, Henry bemoans the fact that he has none. He really should have had a larger role in trying to convince her to embrace her magic rather than run from it; that has been his role ever since he came into her life.

~ What kind of queen has to sneak around her own castle? Does Elsa not have as much political/legal power as Ingrid now?

~ Hook’s phone message scene is heartbreaking, in the best way possible! His emotions are so raw, yet his integrity and good heart shine through. And I loved the way his music theme played at the end as he realizes where he has to go!

Episode 4x09 “Smash the Mirror – Part 2”

~ Does Elsa just walk in those high heels everywhere? Even over a distance most others would drive?

~ Snow and Regina’s conversation is interesting, but it feels wrong for them to be discussing that when they should be urgently searching for Emma.

~ “If you do good hoping to be redeemed, is it really good?” That’s a very good question, probably one of the better points of reflection in this show!

~ Of course Will “gets” the Evil Queen type!

~ Gold and Emma’s scene is fascinating, but also painful to watch. There’s so much vulnerability but also so much manipulation. They are much like Pan and Henry in season 3, with the villain trying to convince the hero to give up their power to them. Gold seems to be making a confession to Emma, since he thinks she won’t be around much longer. Emma actually thanks him, something she’s never done before.

~ The scene of Elsa talking down Emma and explaining the necessity of self-love is so beautiful and powerful.

~ It’s great to see Elsa being proactive and heroic, rather than just being the cause of a crisis as in Frozen and the first few episodes of this season.

~ “I’ll take that risk if you will.” That scene has way more sisterly love than all the mentions of “my sister” between Elsa and Ingrid and their respective siblings.

~ This is the second time Rumple attempts to take Killian’s heart; the first time, Milah stopped him. He also experienced Cora controlling him via his heart.

~ I don’t really buy the worldbuilding they tried to make around the storybook, but Robin and Regina’s scene in the library is quite good, especially as she says she owes Snow a quarter!

~ Emma’s smile after she makes the fireworks is so sweet: she’s proud that she was able to use her magic that way! That’s a great shot of the five of them looking up at the fireworks. The only odd thing is that Emma does not notice Hook’s absence from that lineup.

~ How could the Sorcerer’s Apprentice just conjure a doorway to the Land Without Magic? If it were that easy, why did it take Rumplestiltskin centuries to create a Dark Curse for the same purpose?

Episode 4x10 “Fall”

~ A whole episode is a pretty long time between a curse being enacted and taking effect, especially since they keep looking at the coming cloud.

~ It’s a small thing, but I like how Emma delegates everyone’s tasks, and finds one for Hook that is suited to his area of expertise.

~ What was it that caused Arendelle to thaw out in the present day, after being frozen for 30 years?

~ Gold’s words about choosing himself over everyone else sounds exactly like Hook’s attitude up until the end of season 2. That probably makes it even more detestable to Hook, because it reminds him of how he used to be.

~ This episode totally rehashes the stakes and twist of the season 2 finale, where the heroes have to decide whether to risk the town to save one person, and someone does a sleight-of-hand/bait-and-switch passing off an empty pouch while withholding the item that their fates depend on.

~ Shouldn’t Tinker Bell be among the fairies? She was in Storybrooke after the second curse, and after that no one could leave due to the flying monkeys. There was only a small window of time between Zelena’s defeat and the appearance of the ice wall; might she have left Storybrooke then to take her chances in a Land Without Magic?

~ Hiding and crawling on her hands and knees seems unbecoming of the Blue Fairy. Even if her magic is not comparable to that of the hat, I would at least expect her to fight in defense of her fairies. As Mother Superior, the other nuns are her spiritual daughters.

~ Hook feels so guilty and ashamed of doing that to the fairies and having to hide it from Emma!

~ Hook is so genuinely indignant and disgusted with Gold for Belle’s sake, seeing how dishonest he is with his loving wife. I think it may point to their different priorities: Hook is self-sacrificing and would choose love over power any day, whereas Gold either chooses power over love, or tries (and fails) to have both.

~ Gold explicitly goes against his own advice to Regina in Episode 2x17, that “You can’t have everything.”

~ Snow’s “both of you” means she was addressing both Emma and Elsa about their magic!

~ When told that he is going to die, Hook’s last voluntary action is to see Emma again!

~ Regina telling Henry “I wish I was as brave as you” is beautiful!

~ If Regina really wanted to keep herself contained for others’ safety, her vault would not be the best place, as she would be surrounded by powerful objects there that she could then use.

~ That montage at the end, showing the various ensemble characters waiting/watching in different places, is great!

Episode 4x11 “Shattered Sight”

~ They completely gloss over the fact that Ingrid made a life for herself in the Land Without Magic. What was it like for her to finally be like other people, without the powers she had feared for so long? And why did she expect Emma’s magic to come out in such a land?

~ In a show where the power of love is so often the solution to problems, it seems dissonant for the heroes to seek out strong hatred as a means to counteract such magic.

~ Emma compares her relationship with Hook to the relationship Regina could have had with Robin!

~ Hook’s fall is so fake!

~ Even while under the Shattered Sight spell, Mary Margaret and David still love their baby!

~ Did the sorcerer’s scroll allow Ingrid to get past Storybrooke’s magical protection?

~ One of the biggest plot holes: Why did Ingrid wait so long after Emma came to Storybrooke before enacting her plan?

~ Is David still trying to help Mary Margaret when she fights Regina?

~ That letter is waaay too long and too neatly written for Gerda to have drafted it in that scene of the storm at sea.

~ The role Anna plays in this climax is similar to that of Frozen: when the magical sister cannot stop the storm, she comes in and risks her own life to show love.

~ The fact that the spell can only be broken by killing the person who cast it … just doesn’t sound or feel right for this show. Ingrid’s death is completely unnecessary, and even contradictory, from a thematic standpoint.

~ Ingrid’s “conversion” moment and her decision to reverse the spell are way too rushed.

~ The fact that Snow White and the Evil Queen can laugh at themselves for fighting each other is pretty remarkable, considering their history.

~ The reunion scene is lovely, but why doesn’t Emma think of Hook? The last she knew, he was going to chain himself to the docks; shouldn’t she think to check on him?

~ Did Belle just sleep through the entire spell?

~ Gold’s parting words to Hook make him realize just how terrible a scourge the Dark One would be on that world.

Episode 4x12 “Heroes and Villains”

~ Emma sounds like a Jedi saying “I sense …”

~ Regina is back to wearing vivid primary colors! I love her blue coat and cable-knit sweater.

~ When has Marian had time, since waking up, to see the way Robin and Regina look at one another?

~ Hook speaks as though he believes in reincarnation, while Gold alludes to Hell and/or the Underworld.

~ Is that a Winnie-the-Pooh bear that Henry picks up in Gold’s shop?

~ Why did Henry bring the book to Gold’s shop, other than to remind the audience of Operation Mongoose? Was he finally going to ask Gold directly about how it works? That interaction with Belle really feels like it doesn’t have any foundation.

~ An animal leading a heroine off the path, into the woods, feels very fairy tale-esque.

~ Emma’s surprise at Hook makes sense: while he is resourceful, magic is not his area of expertise, and the idea of Gold helping his old enemy without a price is bizarre.

~ Hook wants so much to warn Emma, or just to hold her one last time, he manages to squeeze her hand despite Gold controlling his words and most of his actions!

~ When Rumplestiltskin looks for Belle in the flashbacks, was that the first time he called her by name? And was that message in the shell the first time she called him “Rumple”?

~ This probably wasn’t intentional, but Rumplestiltskin’s outfit in this episode is similar to Hook’s old style, with a black coat and red vest.

~ Until now, Gold and Regina have hardly seen each other this season! They’ve had maybe one scene where they were in the same place with a bunch of other people, but this is their first one-on-one. It may have been primarily to find out why Henry was snooping in his shop, but it also seems evidence that on some level he truly cares about Henry and Regina. That hand squeeze at the end is sweet.

~ Gold’s hubris is on full display in his monologue to Regina.

~ How can Robin leave behind his Merry Men? Are they disbanded now? The Sheriff of Nottingham is in Storybrooke, but are there poor people to steal for? Would Emma let them?

~ Regina ripping up the page underscores her despair of her happiness. Yet, she still chooses to do the good/right thing. Her willingness to do what’s right despite still having a “villain’s fate” may make her one of the most heroic characters in this show.

~ Cruella being in the Enchanted Forest and allied with Maleficent and Ursula makes no sense whatsoever. She came from a 20th-century Land Without Magic, not a magical medieval land.

~ “If anyone’s going to crush your heart, it’s gonna be me.” Such sad foreshadowing!

~ Emma should be thanking Elsa, not just the other way around! Elsa helped her learn to love herself and embrace what makes her unique.

~ Rumple/Gold did choose Belle over power when he exchanged the gauntlet for her.

~ Gold is left in a pretty pathetic condition, without even a cane to support his now-returned limp.

~ The “chocolate” in unison is a cute tribute to Frozen, but feels out of place in that conversation.

~ It seems strange for Anna to be wearing gloves as part of her outfit. They’re a symbol of Elsa’s repression, and Anna has always been openhearted.

~ They cut from a wedding to Emma restoring Hook’s heart!

~ Considering how much time was spent on Gold having Hook’s heart and planning to kill him, and what a big deal Emma made about the possibility of losing him, their recovery of his heart and their reunion kiss are way too fast. And how can Emma leave him behind so quickly to hang out with Regina and Henry?

~ If Emma truly believes that “everyone deserves their happy ending,” why was she just drinking to Gold’s misery?

~ I imagine Henry, inspired by movies like Young Frankenstein, must have tried turning every sconce in the manor in order to find the secret passage!

~ How could the fairy-tale characters be aware of their being in “stories” even in the Enchanted Forest as their stories were still unfolding?

Episode 4x13 “Darkness on the Edge of Town”

~ I really don’t like how the characters suddenly own up to labels of “villain.” It would make more sense, and not change the script much, if they instead said “people consider us villains.”

~ Throughout the show, it seems as though the writers reinforce the labels of “hero” and “villain” even as they try to transcend them. It’s confusing and inconsistent.

~ The montage at the start of this episode is a nice way to show what the characters have been up to during the six-week time jump. This, apparently, is when Regina and Snow go back to being mayor and teacher respectively.

~ I wish more of the show took place during periods of peace, just showing the characters’ lives and mini-adventures when they aren’t being threatened by “big bad” villains.

~ Where is David in the first half of this episode? He’s the only main character not shown in the opening montage. If he’s not working for the sheriff’s department or taking care of baby Neal, how is he spending his time?

~ While I like both scenes, there isn’t much emotional transition from the peace and happiness of the montage to Hook’s intense frustration in the following scene.

~ While some parts could have been better written, I really like that Hook and Belle have a scene together, talking about the guilt they feel in connection to Gold. Despite their messy histories, they’ve actually become friends, who understand and encourage each other.

~ What does Belle think Gold could possibly have found, after being stripped away from her and from his power?

~ That scene of Rumple and the trifecta was really unnecessary. No new information was given, nothing developed in the plot or relationships.

~ After all that talk about needing a translation, Regina doesn’t even speak any incantation. And why is she trembling so much while clutching the Dark One dagger afterwards?

~ How do none of them notice the dark thing that comes out of the hat/box?

~ This episode suggests that Rumple didn’t make the Dark Curse himself, just modified one that already existed.

~ Rumple in flashbacks sounds less like his old, impish self, and more like his Gold counterpart.

~ It makes sense for Hook to be shown harboring insecurities, uncertain of whether he belongs with the “heroes,” even after the fairies are freed. While it is not resolved in this episode, it shows continuity throughout the season (and into the next two).

~ It seems a little insensitive to have the welcome-back party for the fairies in the same place where they were captured.

~ I really like Regina’s line about “what’s killing property values this time.” They’re so used to magical mayhem, it’s no longer a complete shock when something happens!

~ It is funny, and fitting, that they all have their roles figured out for when crisis strikes. Mary Margaret’s line about “getting everyone to safety” makes me wonder if they have actual evacuation plans in case of emergencies.

~ Why was Ursula needed for Rumple’s heist? Just to reach over a distance with her tentacles?

~ Trust is a big theme in this episode, but it’s murky when the villains are the ones throwing the word around. Emma also says “Trust me” to both Hook and Regina.

~ There should be some kind of system or protocol for when a “villain” wants to enter Storybrooke. No one is really held accountable for their past crimes, and there could be people already in town who have history with newcomers. Maybe there could be some sort of probation process?

~ Mary Margaret’s lines at the end of the episode are blatantly out-of-character. I know that’s the point, but … come on.

Episode 4x14 “Unforgiven”

~ I can’t decide what’s more OOC for Snow and David: the fact that they did something horrible in the first place, or the fact that they are so focused on hiding it after the fact.

~ I don’t like it when drama is pinned on characters hiding some secret, and there is too much of that going on here.

~ Flashback Snow and David already show their willingness to compromise their values, when they don’t do anything about Maleficent killing those guards.

~ Hook is so sweet and supportive, bringing Emma the lunch she was craving! Oddly, their music theme plays over the ending of the scene, when they’re in an awkward stalemate over him not wanting to share about his past with Ursula.

~ Honestly, given Hook’s reputation and his evasiveness on the subject, I’d expect Emma to suspect him of having a romantic history with Ursula sooner.

~ “Is this really the right thing to do?” David’s response doesn’t actually answer the question. Keeping the truth from Emma is their goal, and may be in their best interests, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. And Snow asks another version of the very same question in the next scene.

~ Regina and Marco’s scenes are great! It’s a wonder that she hasn’t had more interactions like that with the various townspeople. And when she apologizes, showing empathy and humility, she receives kindness and encouragement in return, just like a heroic protagonist would.

~ Does Belle now run both the library and the pawnshop? How does she balance both jobs? And why would she keep the pawnshop running? I can understand having a sort of custodian since it’s full of magical objects, but aren’t many of them really the belongings of other people in the town?

~ It’s great to see Belle immediately assert herself when her former enemies show up! She wants so much not to be a pushover. I just wish she succeeded more often, instead of so easily being hoodwinked by other characters.

~ I’m not a fan of the whole trope of the heroes playing into the villains’ hands through an elaborate ruse. In this case, Cruella had no guarantee that David would search her car, find the trinket, and decide to go after Maleficent’s ashes.

~ “I only care about one thing: your pain.” The following episodes disprove this.

~ Emma shows a lot of maturity and growth in her second scene with Hook. It’s heartbreaking that that newfound optimism and confidence in her loved ones is what prompts her parents to persist in lying to her, in order to preserve that image.

~ Mary Margaret’s voiceover monologue overlapping scenes of various other characters feels like one of Jenny Lee’s voiceovers in Call the Midwife.

~ Where the heck did Belle and Will’s romance come from? The only time they saw each other before this was when she found him passed out in the library. And how can she be so quick to open herself to a new relationship after her short-lived marriage to Gold?

~ Mary Margaret asking Regina to keep a secret from Emma could have been a real test of friendship and integrity, but it doesn’t really amount to anything over the later episodes.

Episode 4x15 “Enter the Dragon”

~ The timeline of this episode does not fit with what Aurora described in Episode 2x01.

~ Does Storybrooke have its own railway system? Or did Cruella drive them somewhere outside the town to find that train crossing?

~ The whole test seems like something out of Rebel Without a Cause.

~ It’s interesting to see Regina have a “never meet your heroes” storyline with Maleficent in the flashbacks. Usually that kind of interaction is used for heroic characters who need to be called back into a fight.

~ The question that seems to be emerging from this half-season is: How far are the characters willing to compromise their values in order to preserve their reputation (either for good or for evil)? Snow and David cross lines in order to protect Emma’s goodness and their own image; and Regina goes along with the witches’ schemes, even going so far as to kidnap Pinocchio, in order to maintain trust with them.

~ Did King Stephen not recognize Regina as King Leopold’s wife?

~ It’s interesting that Gold uses a ruse that relies on Belle trusting Hook, who he hates. It’s so sad to see Gold take advantage of their newfound friendship.

~ I wonder if Gold/Rumple impersonating Hook is meant to show how similar they are. The cinematography cutting between the two of them is great, conveying the transformation without any special effects.

~ Gold (disguised as Hook) and Belle echo the vow they made when she agreed to stay with him: “You have my word” / “You have mine.”

Episode 4x16 “Poor Unfortunate Soul”

~ This show basically splits the (back)story of The Little Mermaid in half, giving the romance to Ariel and the father-daughter/human-merpeople conflict to Ursula. It’s interesting that Hook betrays both of them in some way, but reconciles with them later.

~ It seems that Hook and his crew didn’t just stay in Neverland for however many years; Pan allowed them to leave in order to pick up supplies for him.

~ Hook is justifiably angry about how Gold used his likeness and deceived Belle.

~ (Spoiler alert:) The episode drops the first hints that either Hook or Emma could become the Dark One!

~ I LOVE the version of “Fathoms Below” that Ursula sings! As fun as it is in its sea shanty version, it sounds beautiful as a ballad, and could even be a lullaby.

~ It took me a long time to figure out that Hook finding the Jolly Roger in a bottle was a nod to Jack Sparrow finding the Black Pearl in a similar condition! I guess that’s what happens when Blackbeard takes over your ship.

~ You can see the shift in young Ursula’s demeanor when she and Hook strike a new, less charitable bargain.

~ Hook’s decision to take Ursula’s voice … doesn’t really make sense.

~ Snow White pulled a Rapunzel, using a frying pan to knock out Cruella!

~ Emma looks at Hook with such pride, like, “You did that! You caused a happy ending!”

~ Hook’s final conversation with Emma is so beautiful! He is still full of insecurities about his past, his hero/villain identity, and his future. Him telling Emma that she is his happy ending is just like Flynn Rider telling Rapunzel that she is his new dream. For as long as it takes Emma and Hook to say “I love you,” they find many other wonderful ways to make their feelings clear to each other.

~ If Ursula and Ariel never met, how did Ursula gain her reputation as a villain? Did she ever do anything actually bad?

~ Does Ursula keep her tentacles, or return to a mermaid tail after reconciling with her father?

Episode 4x17 “Best Laid Plans”

~ This is the episode that is most self-contradictory about the theme of free will.

~ The fact that Snow refers to their child as “it” instead of “she,” even after seeing that the baby will be a girl, is very telling.

~ Parents afraid of their child growing up to be a threat to them is very mythical. In Greek myth this happens with Ouranos, Kronos, and Zeus, as well as Laius, the father of Oedipus.

~ Putting a whole town under a sleeping curse seems to be Maleficent’s MO

~ What makes Isaac’s introduction so convincing is that he seems to serve the kind of role that is typical of folk tales and episodes alike: the guide providing exposition and offering advice to the protagonist(s).

~ “We’ve gone too far own this path.” = The rationale for most characters who start down a dark path and persist because they think the can’t go back.

~ How did they not see any potential danger in banishing darkness into the offspring of a villain/part-time monster? Wouldn’t that make them an even more dangerous threat?

~ Maleficent is far too nice in this show. She’s supposed to be the mistress of all evil, but she seems like a softie.

~ I find it hard to believe Maleficent couldn’t overpower Snow and Charming as they fled. And why would she not go after them during the months remaining before the Dark Curse was cast?

~ Gold and Belle’s scene is so bittersweet. What else does Gold refer to as “changing”?

~ Although they throw around semi-religious terms rather clumsily, the scene of Snow and Charming resolving to do better in the future is pretty beautiful.

~ It’s nice to see Mary Margaret acknowledge that Regina is becoming their friend. That has been increasingly evident this season, mostly in small moments like that one.

~ How long was that sleeping spell in effect? Did David and Mary Margaret come home to find Emma asleep on top of Hook?

~ Mary Margaret saying “I’m your mother” is kind of out of nowhere.

~ Even though it’s a small thing, it’s nice to see Hook have an arc of accepting August as Emma’s friend. Being comfortable with your significant other having friends of the opposite sex shows trust and maturity.

~ Is no one concerned about Regina apparently missing? And where is Henry when his grandparents come clean?

~ Why are none of the Authors that August alludes to female? They could have easily included Scheherazade, which would have provided a connection to Aladdin and the other Arabian Nights tales.

~ Apparently despite all the time they’ve spent looking for the Author, none of the heroic protagonists considered that he might have his own agenda, and that it might not align with theirs.

Episode 4x18 “Heart of Gold”

~ A title with multiple meanings—I like it!

~ This is the first episode that really focuses on Robin Hood as a protagonist, apart from Belle, Baelfire/Neal, or Regina (though she is still very much present in his thoughts). I wish we got to see more of him in action like this.

~ How would Marian have known so much about Baelfire?

~ For all that I dislike about this episode, Robin Hood chasing a thief on horseback down the streets of New York is pretty hilarious!

~ Apparently Robin knows this world’s emergency procedure: call 911. Maybe he learned this when they brought Little John to the hospital in Storybrooke?

~ Robin and Will met in Oz? Just how many lands/realms/worlds did Will traverse? If Robin’s mission were in Wonderland that would make more sense.

~ Walsh turns out to be relevant for something! And there’s a Hidden Mickey in his drawer!

~ Perhaps the biggest plot hole: Why did Zelena’s shapeshifting stay intact when they left Storybrooke and entered the Land Without Magic? That lifted the impact of the Snow Queen’s magic.

~ Zelena is basically playing the same role that Walsh did, trying to ensnare a hero into a false marriage.

~ Will’s backstory is kind of huge, and his words, “Doesn’t seem fair to ask somebody for their heart until I can fix me own,” holds a lot of truth; yet they seem to gloss over it.

~ I totally thought Will was playing up the nice act and trying to pick Robin’s pocket; having Robin instead slip the potion to him is a good twist!

~ The Genie poster for Aladdin is visible behind Robin outside the hospital!

~ The scene of Robin and Gold outside the hospital starts out so sweet and sincere, but then becomes so twisted and manipulative. Gold’s advice sounds like it would actually be good in real life, but he’s using it to play into Zelena’s deception.

~ Robin doesn’t really make the distinction that he only steals from the corrupt, unjustly wealthy. The way he talks about stealing for yourself or for others makes it sound like any kind of thievery done for others is morally justified. That could be taken in dangerous directions.

~ The real Marian is so sweet and supportive when Robin becomes an outlaw! No wonder he was so surprised by her apparent reaction to his behavior in New York.

~ There is a very plausible reason for Robin to have Regina’s number: she helped them get their start in New York, and she could help them again if they were ever in need.

~ Does Robin find a way to make a living in the modern world? What jobs would he qualify for, outside of crime?

~ Regina being protective of Emma is beautiful, and a sign of true character growth. Instead of wishing for Emma to share the same horrible experiences she did, she wants to spare her from them.

Episode 4x19 “Sympathy for the De Vil”

~ I get that Gold threatened Regina’s love, but for her to take Belle’s heart, like Belle isn’t even a person with agency of her own, is such a regression back into darkness.

~ “A person obsessed with vengeance is easy to manipulate.” Gold knows this because Hook demonstrated it earlier this season.

~ It’s nice to see Emma and Regina interact as concerned friends. Emma wants to protect Regina just as much as Regina wants to protect Emma.

~ Light brown is an interesting color on Regina. It’s one of the lighter colors we’ve seen her in.

~ I like Emma’s conversation with Hook and Regina, but searching for Henry seems like an odd time for them to get on her case about forgiving her parents.

~ This whole episode seems to stigmatize mental illness. Or maybe it’s supposed to be a commentary on poor treatment? The way it’s written off at the end as Cruella just opening herself to darkness is … unsettling, and not in a good way.

Episode 4x20 “Lily”

~ Who arranged Cruella’s interment? And why is Emma just watching Gold and Isaac from a distance, neither of them hiding from the other? Are they at a stalemate in terms of power?

~ Why would the Storybrooke library have microfiche records of births in Minnesota? Or did Lily enter this world closer to Maine, like Emma?

~ Abby Ross does a great job playing teenage Emma. It could also be a directing thing, but she seems to mimic Emma’s way of talking and moving very well.

~ Regina implicitly criticizes Snow and David for “messing with” fate, but then encourages Emma to push against fate.

~ Hook and Emma’s conversation is nicely placed at a time in between the major ups and downs of their relationship. He confirms what the audience could already deduce about how she influenced him to change.

~ I love Regina’s purple dress!

~ Emma seems to blame herself a lot for pushing Lily away, but Lily was a pretty awful friend to her.

~ Regina says she “went to the trouble to create Storybrooke.” That raises a lot of questions I’ve wondered about: how much of the town did she design, and how much was Rumplestiltskin’s handiwork?

~ It’s weird and ironic to see Regina be the one restraining Emma’s temper.

~ It feels like the show’s writers are using fate as an excuse for tropey, formulaic writing. Like, of course the wolf is fate intervening. The funny thing is how self-aware the characters are about it, even as Regina tries to deny it.

~ Lily really asked Emma to put herself in danger, approaching her gun-owning boyfriend.

~ Did that kid’s parents never warn her about strangers luring her with food? That is so creepy for Lily to do!

~ Was that even Lily’s car that Emma stole?

~ Even though Emma is mad at her parents, she still fiercely wants to protect them.

~ While the script is painfully unsubtle, Lily’s monologue raises a big real-life question: if it seems like the world is against you, and bad things happen no matter what you do, what is the point of trying to make better choices?

~ Lily’s tirade at gunpoint is confusing, like Palpatine urging Anakin or Luke to kill him. Does she really want Emma to kill her?

~ The fact that Regina gets to talk down someone about to make the same kinds of mistakes she made is beautiful.

~ Was Regina talking to Maleficent, Lily’s mother, practically standing next to her, without even telling her?

~ Emma and Regina don’t actually tell Lily that they want to introduce her to her mother. That could have changed her whole attitude toward them from the start. If she wanted to go to Storybrooke, she should have just heard them out and gone along with them.

~ Gold finally shows some contrition for deceiving Belle, and enough selflessness to let go of her and let Will take his place.

~ I don’t have words for how messed up the Robin/Zelena thing is.

Episode 4x21 “Mother”

~ Motherhood is a central theme of this entire show, but this episode zones in on it in both old and new ways: Snow reconciling with Emma, Maleficent trying to bond with Lily, Regina contending with Cora, Regina destroying her own fertility, and Zelena expecting a baby. That’s five mother-child relationships being juggled in this episode!

~ It’s interesting to see Regina at a stage on her way to becoming the Evil Queen.

~ It's so good to see Cora this season! She is my favorite OUAT villain, because she is the most frightening. She is so convincing, it's always tricky to tell when she is sincere and when she is lying or manipulating the truth.

~ Is the color yellow significant for the rose? As the Queen of Hearts, Cora would have favored red or white roses.

~ They use a forgetting potion as an easy solution for Roland, whereas when Snow White used it to forget Charming it had a huge impact on her personality. This is one example of the show losing its “All magic comes with a price” theme.

~ Bringing the Wicked Witch back to Storybrooke, where she would have more access to magic, is a questionable move. And why doesn’t that ice curse resume its course when she returns?

~ When they’re shown together, Maleficent and Lily really do resemble each other!

~ Where and when could Cora and Tinker Bell have met? That would have been an interesting interaction!

~ The Queen of Hearts and the Sheriff of Nottingham are actually allies in the Sisters Grimm books, another series that sets fairy-tale characters in a modern-day town.

~ Lily and Maleficent are oddly similar to Emma and Henry at the start of the series, except this time it’s the parent that wants the child to stay in town.

~ “Things could change in a week.” This is true: a lot can happen quickly in Storybrooke!

~ Cora and Zelena both tried to use imposture to trick someone into having a child with someone they didn’t love.

~ Snow corrects David by calling Lily “she” instead of “it,” a nice callback correcting the way they talked about her in the egg!

~ The look David and Hook exchange carries a whole conversation. “You did this, didn’t you? Thank you.” “No problem, mate.”

~ Why/how did Lily calm down enough to revert to human form?

~ Isaac is right about Regina being self-destructive, and it’s most evident in this episode! Sterilizing herself in order to keep Cora from using her (or her future child?) to get more power is so painful to see. But Regina being infertile, and immediately seeming to regret it, helps to explain why she has such a soft spot for children and tried so hard to get one of her own in earlier seasons.

~ “My happy ending is finally feeling at home in the world.” That actually sounds like every person’s happy ending, the final step in the Hero’s Journey.

~ Is Isaac just playing Regina the whole episode? Did he ever intend to help her?

~ The series really goes in the direction of the Inkheart trilogy, with the Author able to conjure or alter realities simply by writing a few sentences.

Episode 4x22 “Operation Mongoose Part 1”

~ I’m confused about Isaac’s true motives. Is he just out for himself? Does he really care who gets a happy ending?

~ The characters really can’t seem to decide whether “villains getting happy endings” is a good or bad thing.

~ The intro/teaser about Isaac becoming the Author is cool! The test to identify the Author is much like the test to identify the Avatar in The Last Airbender, which is based on the search for the Dalai Lama in real life.

~ Probably the most unrealistic aspect of the Author is how quickly he can write a bestselling novel!

~ Henry seems to be going back to his first-episode roots, running away to find his family. The only difference is that this time someone tries to call the cops on him!

~ I wonder if Isaac’s press tour event resembles actual Once Upon a Time fan events. It looks like there are Disney cosplayers in the audience, including Jack Sparrow!

~ I love Henry in this season finale! After being absent or on the sidelines for a lot of this season, he finally gets to be a protagonist and hero. I only wish there had been a little more setup for his arc.

~ I think this is Henry’s first time in the Enchanted Forest, or at least some version of it. No wonder he is so excited when he arrives!

~ What an amazing, hilarious, unexpected yet fitting callback to Henry’s famous line to Emma!

~ Dwarves serving as Black Knights is so funny and disturbing at the same time!

~ Snow’s hair looks like it might be Ginnifer Goodwin’s natural hair, only styled differently!

~ This two-part episode is basically like the show’s own fan fiction of itself, and it’s hilarious!

~ Henry refers to “his plan.” Was he the one who sent Robin to rescue Regina? Was there some deleted scene of them?

~ Was Emma really locked up for years, as Regina says? Or did she just wake up in that tower and start screaming, as shown onscreen? If it was the former, that could have had a huge toll on her mental state from then on.

Episode 4x23 “Operation Mongoose Part 2”

~ It seems that in this reality, Baelfire has been replaced by his namesake baby Neal. His presence with Belle and Rumple could also be foreshadowing of them having a baby of their own, something first hinted at by Peter Pan in season 3!

~ Isaac says Baelfire died because of Rumplestiltskin’s cowardice, but that’s not really true.

~ It’s so good to see Hook and Henry working together, Henry demonstrating how much he learned from Hook, and Hook learning about the ways of Star Wars!

~ Emma’s dress is beautiful, but way too extravagant for a prisoner.

~ “My schedule’s pretty clear.” = subtle callback to Hook telling Emma “I’ve all the time in the world” at the start of this season.

~ I hope Snow apologized to the dwarf she killed (I’m guessing Doc due to the glasses) after they returned to Storybrooke!

~ I LOVE Emma’s new Enchanted Forest outfit! Not that her dresses aren’t lovely, but the vest and pants fit her style and personality much better.

~ Even in this adventure, Emma shows hints of darkness, yelling at Grumpy and threatening him. She also shows how fiercely protective she is of Hook in that moment.

~ In the background, Hook picks up the sword and holds it up, so clumsy and uncertain, yet ready and willing to fight for Emma.

~ “Is she worth your life, pirate?” “I’m willing to find out.” That’s really been Hook’s attitude since becoming Emma’s ally at the start of season 3!

~ After all their animosity in seasons 2-3, which gave way to friendship and alliance in seasons 3-4, it’s strange to see Hook and David have an all-out duel.

~ I think the writers/directors specifically blocked that scene so Emma would see Hook’s face as he died!

~ Belle paraphrases Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast!

~ “What does your heart tell you?” = another Star Wars reference?

~ I bet Emma has wanted to cross blades with Rumplestiltskin for a LONG time!

~ Regina choosing to protect Henry, even at the cost of her supposed happy ending, is completely in-character, yet also shows how much she has grown since the first season, where she put Henry in danger while pursuing her goals.

~ It’s hard to believe that after everything that happened, Emma is still too afraid to tell Hook “I love you.” Colin O’Donoghue’s acting in that scene is incredible. And apparently Hook finally considers himself a hero!

~ Great lines from Snow about what makes a hero or villain!

~ “The best way to show your love for those that are gone is to tell their stories.” True words!

~ Henry is a lot like Harry Potter in his scene with the Apprentice: he wonders about the possibility of resurrecting a dead parent, and he breaks the Author’s quill the way Harry breaks the Elder Wand in the film version of Deathly Hallows. But how can he still be the Author if he does not have the quill?

~ Apparently Will is Roland’s baby-sitter! Not sure how wise that is, but it could make for fun shenanigans!

~ Why does the darkness target Regina? It can’t be because she has the greatest potential for darkness, since that was shown to be Emma earlier this season. Is it because she is now so full of light, as Henry and Emma hint?

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