Once Upon a Time (ABC TV Series)

[Sotiris]

Assorted comments and observations after watching the latest episode.

• I enjoyed the Jasmine and Ariel team-up and I'm glad they finally wrapped up the Aladdin storyline even though they really under-utilized Jafar.

• Some things didn't make much sense as per usual. How did Jafar break free out of the genie shackles on his own? How did true love's kiss restore Agrabah? TLK breaks curses put on people, not on entire kingdoms. The bit about the power of the savior's tear and how it can prevent Hook and Emma from reuniting wasn't clear either.

• Gideon changing his mind about killing the savior came out of the blue. What was the point of reforging the sword then? Asking the savior to help him defeat the Black Fairy should have been his plan all along.

• I actually liked drunk Snow. It reminded me how badass she used to be.

• David took the news that Hook killed his dad way too well. He wasn't even that upset about it.

• Why are David and Snow still under the sleeping curse? Didn't Regina say that the Evil Queen told her how to undo it in the previous episode?

• Henry's behavior was a bit out of character. Instead of consoling his mom or telling her to have faith, he just kept playing video games.

• Emma getting over Hook and packing up his things so soon was really weird. We're taking about someone for whom she went to the underworld to save. Maybe she could have waited more than a day to write him off?

[JeanGreyForever]

Thank you!! I had forgotten about the time-travel part of the show! (Is it confusing when you watch it??)

My dad just sent me an article about the episode:
https://www.geek.com/television/once-up ... d-1694859/

I like that Ariel and Jasmine helped each other, but I'm confused about everything else...

It's not really time-travel as much as half the show is flashbacks which connect to the present day. So the flashback of Ariel and Jasmine confronting Jafar is interlaced with the present when the entire group finally defeats him. But yes it does get confusing and they have involved alternate realities and time-travel before in the show. The show is really bad with continuity and basically makes things up as it goes so there's no coherence to the plotlines.

Assorted comments and observations after watching the newest episode.

• I enjoyed the Jasmine and Ariel team-up and I'm glad they finally wrapped up the Aladdin storyline even though they really under-utilized Jafar.

• Some things didn't make much sense as per usual. How did Jafar break free out of the genie shackles on his own? How did true love's kiss restore Agrabah? TLK breaks curses put on people, not on entire kingdoms. The bit about the power of the savior's tear and how it can prevent Hook and Emma from reuniting wasn't clear either.

• Gideon changing his mind on killing the savior came out of the blue. What was the point of reforging the sword then? Asking the savior to help him defeat the Black Fairy should have been his plan all along.

• I actually liked drunk Snow. It reminded me how badass she used to be.

• David took the news that Hook killed his dad way too well. He wasn't even that upset about it.

• Why are David and Snow still under the sleeping curse? Didn't Regina say that the Evil Queen told her how to undo it in the previous episode?

• Henry's behavior was a bit out of character. Instead of consoling his mom or telling her to have faith, he just kept playing video games.

• Emma getting over Hook and packing up his things so soon was really weird. We're taking about someone for whom she went to the underworld to save. Maybe she could have waited more than a day to write him off?

Most of these can be answered by the fact that Once Upon a Time no longer cares much for continuity lol. Everything is off including their timeline and magic explanations, not to mention how out of character everyone can be. Another thing to add to your list is that Ariel lost her voice from Regina and didn't have it for the whole 28 years of the curse. Also she wore a magic bracelet that gave her legs, not a necklace. Somehow in this time, she has a necklace instead that gives her legs and a voice. By the time the present hits (when we first meet her in the Neverland arc), she's back to the bracelet and presumably voiceless for all 28 years until Regina gives her her voice back.

I can try and answer most of those things though. The ring of Agrabah (might be the mystic blue diamond that the Sultan wears in Aladdin) keeps Agrabah safe from harm. The magic is tied to the kingdom and since it belongs to the royal family and is inherited through engagement and marriage, maybe it's connected to love or true love. Since Jasmine will likely marry Aladdin, the ring will go to him, so maybe their act of true love brought out the deep protective magic of the ring to restore the kingdom. Pretty far-fetched though. No idea about Jafar breaking the genie curse or how the savior's tears stop portals. But Gideon was raised by the Black Fairy who is an ancient being who dabbles in dark magic so her expertise would be very old, very dark magic, that few others would have knowledge of, maybe not even Rumple. So maybe the tears of a savior are something Gideon learned from her.

Gideon originally wanted to play the hero himself to prove himself to his parents especially because of that book Belle gave him (the one she constantly brings up). I'm guessing since his talk with Rumple, he realized that killing a hero will not make him a hero and he'll need her to do the deed for him. The sword could be a contingency plan or some form of leverage.

This interview explains a little about David's mentality when he learns the news.
http://ew.com/tv/2017/04/02/once-upon-t ... -spoilers/

Last episode said that the Evil Queen didn't know how to break the sleeping curse either but she has a lead on it which Regina was planning on acting on. I guess we'll see that in a few episodes since Regina is also working on breaking the town line spell (another spell that comes and goes whenever it suits the story). I doubt the writers know what to do with either David or Snow White, so it's easier to keep one out of commission this way.

Yeah Henry did seem OOC but maybe he felt that romance isn't something he really can advise his mother on so it's better to stay out of it. Especially if he saw how hard Regina was trying (can't say the same for Snow).

I guess from Emma's POV, Hook has left for good. He packed his bags and boarded the Nautilus and since they can travel realms, he might be trying to go as far away from Emma as possible, even to another world. That would be her line of thinking, that he voluntarily wants to stay away from her. I think one of the dwarfs spots Hook going on board but Snow also saw him so after the revelation that he left, she could have told Emma her last conversation with him. We, the audience, knows that Snow's words convince Hook not to leave, but Snow would have assumed that she had no effect on him.

[Disney's Divinity]

I haven't seen the whole episode; there were so many things on yesterday night and I visited a relative today, so I'll have to get to it tomorrow. From what I did see, I loved Aladdin, and the Jasmine-Ariel interactions. The new Eric was better; he’s still not great, but at least he’s actually hot unlike the last guy. I did like the slight change to the film with Jasmine having to marry because the kingdom’s at war and they need reinforcement. I liked the new actor for Jafar a bit better this ep. Hook and Nemo’s interactions were cute. Is it just me or does Hook (or maybe it’s the actor who plays Hook) have chemistry with just about every character that he comes across on the show? Emma, Regina, Arthur, Cora, Charming, Nemo, etc.

I've found myself often putting OUAT on the backburner lately. I'm really surprised to say that, because I was still glued to this show at the end of last year (I loved S5). I think part of my disinterest has been the lessening screentime of Zelena and Emma/Hook for the sake of the Evil Queen plot and way more Rumpel and Rumbelle than I ever wanted, ugh. Honestly, I hate to think this'll be the last season because it's easily their worst season, imo. Which is a shame because I was excited for this year to begin with, with Hyde being so gorgeous and the Aladdin spoilers. But at the same time I’m not surprised because I believe the new ABC head meddled and had them turn TEQ story into a full-season arc instead of just a half-season one when season 2 already proved they can’t hold one story out for 22 episodes. I have a feeling she was also responsible for Hyde and the Land of Untold Stories being quickly written out, and Robin returning to appease the Outlaw Queen fandom.

I didn't really hate TEQ plot, but it never quite went where I wanted it to and the brief Rumpel tryst was just, yuck. Her cursing Snow and Charming and the ending with Robin in the Wish Realm are the only times I liked TEQ. And Regina being a bitch to Zelena still pisses me off. Especially since I thought it would have been great point for the character to show how much she'd grown by having her NOT blame someone innocent for her loved one's death (considering irrationally blaming Snow is where she fell down the hole in the first place). But then... *sigh* Here I was hoping we'd finally see these two have a family together that they were both denied and we got this trash.

[Disney Duster]

Ariel being all inquisitive like she is in the original movie shows a great part of the character I love.

I really like this episode. Nothing super bothered me except some of the things Sotiris and others mentioned. I like how they took care of Jasmine, Aladdin, and Jafar's stories, even if they were quickly dealt with in one episode.

• Gideon changing his mind about killing the savior came out of the blue. What was the point of reforging the sword then? Asking the savior to help him defeat the Black Fairy should have been his plan all along.

• I actually liked drunk Snow. It reminded me how badass she used to be.

• David took the news that Hook killed his dad way too well. He wasn't even that upset about it.


• Henry's behavior was a bit out of character. Instead of consoling his mom or telling her to have faith, he just kept playing video games.

• Emma getting over Hook and packing up his things so soon was really weird. We're taking about someone for whom she went to the underworld to save. Maybe she could have waited more than a day to write him off?

I pretty much agree with these observations, but I also think JeanGreyForever's explanations may make them ok.

But for true love's kiss freeing Agrabah, I think that actually makes sense because the ring is a sign of marriage and thus true love, and so true love is connected to the magic that help Agrabah. Like, whoever Jasmine truly loves and is destined to marry her will be tied with her to Agrabah and be able to control it.

[JeanGreyForever]

I don't know how I feel about the Black Fairy right now. They keep talking about how cruel she is but we haven't really seen anything that makes her different from any other big bad villain. I'm glad though that we know now that Gideon is under the Black Fairy's control. It explains his warped logic now on why he thought killing Emma would be better than trying to ask for her help.

The return of Neverland isn't really exciting to me but maybe it'll lead to a Pan/Black Fairy flashback on how they meet and procreated. Since the Black Fairy seems to be the originator of most of the evil in the show, I'm curious if she was born evil or made evil.

I'm starting to think more and more that this is the last season. The revelation that the storybook's final chapter is coming with the last battle (which is also the name of the season finale) seems like it's all leading to the end of the show. Not to mention this new curse which is apparently worse than the Dark Curse. Makes sense to end the show with a curse like the one that started the show. It could lead to that reboot that is being talked about with an entirely different story premise because of the new curse and the end of the storybook (which could easily write out Henry and the Charmings).

[Disney's Divinity]

I'm starting to think more and more that this is the last season. The revelation that the storybook's final chapter is coming with the last battle (which is also the name of the season finale) seems like it's all leading to the end of the show. Not to mention this new curse which is apparently worse than the Dark Curse. Makes sense to end the show with a curse like the one that started the show. It could lead to that reboot that is being talked about with an entirely different story premise because of the new curse and the end of the storybook (which could easily write out Henry and the Charmings).

I agree. All the cameos, CS finally getting married, the Black Fairy being the one who made the Dark Curse, etc. It really does feel like the end.

[Sotiris]

I really enjoyed this episode. I think it was this season's best, so far. Judging by the preview, the next one's going to be a doozy too. It looks like we're reaching the end. Even if it's renewed for another season, it's not going to be the same. Despite all the frustrations I've had with the show, I'm saddened that it's ending and I'm going to miss it.

They keep talking about how cruel she is but we haven't really seen anything that makes her different from any other big bad villain.

I hope they'll show that in the next episodes. So far, she doesn't come across particularly menacing or depraved.

I'm glad though that we know now that Gideon is under the Black Fairy's control. It explains his warped logic now on why he thought killing Emma would be better than trying to ask for her help.

For once, they made up a plot twist that made sense.

The return of Neverland isn't really exciting to me but maybe it'll lead to a Pan/Black Fairy flashback on how they meet and procreated.

It better! Otherwise, the Neverland subplot would have been pointless.

[disneyboy20022]

I'm sad that this most likely is the last season. I mean, when I first started watching this, I binged watched the first season on Hulu while I was suffering from my first round of Herniated Disc. Seeing how far I've grown since that time and now is amazing. I'll give this reboot season 7 a chance, should it happen.

[Disney's Divinity]

^ I would watch the reboot, too, mostly because there’s almost nothing on TV anymore what with all the shows I watch coming to an end (and nothing worth a crap coming on to replace them).

[Sotiris]

Great news! The show's as good as renewed.

It's going to be weird though without Henry and Belle who are closely associated to the main characters. It's more understandable for Snow and Charming to depart than those two.

Things also look promising for veteran Once Upon a Time, contingent on closing deals with four cast members identified to lead a planned reimagining of the series, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Robert Carlyle and Colin O’Donoghue. I hear the show is meeting with writers as two of its key producers, Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, left to become co-showrunners on Fear the Walking Dead.

Source: http://deadline.com/2017/04/bubble-watc ... 202068661/

[Disney Duster]

I thought they were making it clear this would be the end. I'm glad that seems to not be the case...except I hope Belle and Henry stay, because I feel Belle and Henry are integral to show, epsecially since Henry is the one who kind of started the show.

CS finally getting married

Who's CS?

I'm glad though that we know now that Gideon is under the Black Fairy's control. It explains his warped logic now on why he thought killing Emma would be better than trying to ask for her help.

For once, they made up a plot twist that made sense.

Yea, so they found a way to make sense out of asking Emma for help and looking like killing her was a stupid mistake.

[Disney's Divinity]

Great news! The show's as good as renewed.

It's going to be weird though without Henry and Belle who are closely associated to the main characters. It's more understandable for Snow and Charming to depart than those two.

Things also look promising for veteran Once Upon a Time, contingent on closing deals with four cast members identified to lead a planned reimagining of the series, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Robert Carlyle and Colin O’Donoghue. I hear the show is meeting with writers as two of its key producers, Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, left to become co-showrunners on Fear the Walking Dead.

Source: http://deadline.com/2017/04/bubble-watc ... 202068661/

For heaven's sake, why can't we be rid of Rumpel already? That would be the only positive benefit of a soft "reboot" like this, and they're wasting the chance. Let him either die saving Gideon or walk off into the sunset with him and Belle--and go away.

[disneyprincess11]

Oh goodness I'm actually excited Shame Ginnifer and Josh are leaving

[JeanGreyForever]

I thought Robert Carlyle was reluctant to sign on again but I guess not. I'm sorta tired of his character but I'm glad Emma, Hook, and Regina will be returning.

I thought they were making it clear this would be the end. I'm glad that seems to not be the case...except I hope Belle and Henry stay, because I feel Belle and Henry are integral to show, epsecially since Henry is the one who kind of started the show.

CS finally getting married

Who's CS?

I wouldn't call Belle or Henry integral to the show. Henry was just relevant in season 1 but ever since, he's had very little role. He only had importance during the Pan arc and then again under the author storyline. Since the show seems to be ending the storybook theme, Henry will have little reason to continue. Anyway it seems like they might be bringing in adult Henry who will probably make more sense with the show's "reboot." Belle has been even less relevant though. She's generally absent from big arcs like the Neverland and Underworld arcs and most of the time the so-called "heroes" are aware that Rumple is evil but keep this a secret from her, leaving her the unsuspecting doting wife. Her plotlines are really Rumple's plotlines.

CS is the ship name for Emma and Hook: Captain Swan

[Sotiris]

^Wouldn't it be weird though for Emma to leave Henry behind? The same goes for Rumple and Belle, especially now that they're in the process of reconciliation.

[Disney Duster]

Oh, I suppose they aren't relevant in those ways, JeanGreyForever, but I still feel they are important because of their ties to the show, like, what they mean to the show as a whole. And thanks for the CS explanation.

Yea, it would be weird if Emma left Henry behind, Sotiris.

[unprincess]

meh, I was hoping for a mostly new cast with an adult Henry. Im sorta done with the regular crew. Ill still keep watching though if they keep dangling the August carrot at me, lol.

[Disney's Divinity]

Yay, a Zelena episode on the horizon! (And likely for the final time. ) I just love Rebecca Mader. I hope she gets cast in another decent show I can enjoy in future.

[bradhig]

Was that an enderman giving Emma the message from Hook? Somebody working on the show must play Minecraft.

[Sotiris]

I didn't care for the latest episode. The retcon was full of continuity errors, plot holes, and contrivances, not to mention that it diminished the impact of Snow and Charming reuniting in the 1st season. Emma choosing to save Hook over her parents felt wrong. I hope they won't kill off Zelena in the next episode. If they need to write her off the show, they can send her back to Oz with her baby. She already sacrificed her true love, why must she give up her own life too?