Once Upon A Time Recap: And Straight on 'Til Morning

Well dearies, we've made it to the season finale! From the aftermath of the broken Curse and an adventure in the Land that Was, to the threat of a new and powerful evil, to the reuniting of family and a plot to destroy Storybrooke, we've been through a lot! So let's get to it:

The episode begins with a loving Grandpa watching his Grandson play on a swing. Except it's Rumplestiltskin, and he's trying to kill the threat to his existence. As he begins to fray the ropes of Henry's swing, causing him to fly into some pointy-looking rocks (seriously, who designed this playground?), Emma, Charming, and Snow rush to tell him the news about Baelfire. They also tell him about that Greg and Tamara have the trigger, and he must help stop them. Gold refuses, distraught over losing his son again. Meanwhile, Greg and Tamara take Hook down to the mines and, with a dwarf's pick-axe, strike the trigger to the fail-safe and set in motion the end of Storybrooke, literally wiping it off the map. The forest on which it appeared begins to take back the land as trees jut out of the ground and the earth begins to shake.

"Time to run, then? Yep...let's run..."

The Family Charming, including Regina, are at the apartment when Hook shows up to tell them the news. But not everyone will share in Storybrooke's fate. Because Henry was born here, he will remain here....alone. It is decided that they will take a two-pronged approach: Regina will try to stop the trigger, and Hook and Charming will go after Greg and Tamara in order to get some magic beans as a means to escape destruction. The dashing duo manage to succeed in obtaining a bean, but the Muggle Patrol manage to slip away yet again.

Anyone else see a buddy cop spin-off coming out of this? 

Meanwhile, knowing that their doom is imminent, the dwarves raid Gold's shop in order to find a potion to restore Sneezy's memory so that he can at least die as himself. When they finally are able to get a batch, they offer some extra to Mr. Gold, who restores Belle's memory so that, in their last moments, they can be together. Even knowing that Belle would eventually get her memory back, hearing Gold say "I didn't want to wake you up to die..." just tugged at all of my heart strings.

In Neverland, Hook discovers that the boy brought on board his ship is actually Rumplestiltskin's son, and decides to use him to enact his revenge. When the Lost Ones (a very dark take on Peter Pan's band of misfits) board the ship demanding the boy that the Shadow has great need of, Hook will not give Baelfire up (even under threat of having his shadow ripped out...ouch). After they leave, Baelfire tries to kill Hook, having found a picture of his mother on Hook's desk (proving even then that you need to delete your search history and not leave things open on your desk). Hook tries to tell Bae about what really happened, that he and his mother fell in love...and that his father killed her. Hook offer Bae the opportunity to stay with him and his crew, as a way to make it up to Mila, but the Son of Stiltskin refuses. It is then that he is captured by the Lost Ones. I have to say, not calling them "boys" makes them truly seem like lost souls in the service of a dark, great evil. And it definitely makes them more threatening. 

Back in the tunnels, things are not going so well. Regina does not have the power to stop the trigger from detonating. When Emma goes to pull out the bean, hoping to send the failsafe into oblivion (or at least a dimension in which it can do no harm), she discovers that Hook has absconded with their only hope at survival. No bean, assured destruction, and no way to stop it.....well, it looks like it's sayonara, Storybrooke.

"Not one of my better backup plans..."

Emma is hesitant to leave Regina, but her arch-rival pleads with her. She has been known for so long as the Evil Queen, she just wants to die as Regina. Henry realizes that there's good left in his mom and finally (oh, finally!) he goes over and hugs her. It's then that Emma realizes that she might be able to help. Nubile as she is in the magical arts, she has seen for herself that she has the potential to be quite powerful. And so, together, in the best Mother's Day salute ever, Emma and Regina combine their strengths and defuse the bomb. They are blown back a bit, but a few scrapes serve as confirmation that they are, indeed alive. Yes: Prince Charming, Snow White, their daughter, and even the Evil Queen are all okay. And Henry...Henry? Ahhhh, crap.

Greg and Tamara, seizing upon the distraction caused by the trigger, abduct Henry and bring him back to the docks. As all the main cast members rush to save him, the two villains prove "like father, like son" as they drop a magic bean into the water and jump, arm in arm with their captive, into the portal. Since it is pretty much impossible to cross worlds without one, they must come to terms with the fact they they will never see Henry again. But, ahoy mateys! Captain Hook has a change of heart and sails back into port, magic bean in hand! Mr. Gold knows that, indeed, the boy will be his undoing, but he must find him to honor Baelfire. He bids Belle farewell, and together, the most unlikely family sets off for Neverland.

Neverland....as in "never gonna go to that land"

As the waves crash on a distant shore, we come across a man in bad shape. Clinging to life, Baelfire is discovered by none other than Princess Aurora and (ugh) Mulan. But he is worlds apart from where he needs to be in order to protect his son. Because Peter Pan never wanted him....he was after Henry.

Well, then! I have to admit I was a little underwhelmed when I watched it last night, but going over it again really made me appreciate the subtleties of the episode and how it sets up an exciting Season 3. 

Til' then, dearies!

- Joe

Once Upon A Time Recap: Second Star to the Right

Tons of secrets were revealed, and new mysteries surfaced, in last night's episode of Once Upon A Time, "Second Star to the Right." From a boy who knew all too well the price of magic, to the true ambitions of two outsiders, to the unthinkable plot by a too-often slighted queen. The penultimate episode of the season was, as expected, one giant build up to the finale.

Let's start with Baelfire, shall we? We had long suspected him of being Peter Pan (that is, after we learned that Greg Mendell wasn't!), so seeing him dropped from the portal into Victorian London definitely set the Anticipation Alarm off. We see him in a short confrontation with the Darling's dog, Nana (a great nod to the classic Disney movie) before befriending Wendy, who secretly takes care of the poor boy until her parents find out...and welcome him into their home (because if upper class Victorian parents were one thing, historically, it was nice to beggar boys that their daughters have hidden away in a crawlspace).

"Harumphaphurphurphurumph"

One night, Wendy (and brothers Michael and John) tell Bae about a shadow that visits them in the night. It can do all sorts of things like change shape, fly, and take them to a land with magic! Bae, with his One Direction haircut, pleads with Wendy not to let the shadow in, because he knows from experience how magic can destroy a family. I thought this was a particular bit of great acting on the part of young Dylan Schmid, who manages to show some real concern for his newfound family mixed with the pain of his past. You really believe him when he tells Wendy that magic comes with a price. One person who did not believe him, however, was Wendy.

"Woopsie?"

When she returns from Neverland, she is distraught. The shadow, it seems, is not a friendly spirit. At night, she tells Bae, she can hear all the lost boys crying out for their parents. Ultimately, the shadow rejects Wendy....because he's after the boys.

An APB has already been called in by London Metro Police.

I have to say this was a really great twist on the classic tale. To imagine Peter's shadow as a living entity, and a malevolent one at that, was pretty creepy and really brilliant. Neverland isn't some happy place, it's where abducted children are forced to spend eternity by a wraith-like being. In any case, Baelfire does his best to ward off the shadow, but to no avail. When the shadow reaches for Michael, Baelfire boldly takes his place. He is carried off to Neverland, a dark and foreboding island shrouded in mystery.

Now where have I heard that before?

But, the quick thinking Son of Stiltskin uses a match to ward off the shadow and he crashes into the ocean, where he is rescued by none other than Captain Hook. Will Baelfire rise to become the Pan, defeat the good Captain, and rescue the lost boys of Neverland? We'll just have to wait and see!

Back in Storybrooke, Neal is just a liiiittle bit upset with his dad, who has taken up some old bad habits now that he's with "Lacey". I'm not too thrilled with how this is all turning out, honestly. Rumplestiltksin created the Curse to find Baelfire, had to almost die to reunite with his son, and now is basically telling him not to crimp his style with his new lady friend. This, of course, will all get resolved in the finale, but it just seems a little forced.

"Hateth the game, noteth the player, deary!"

Meanwhile, Regina is put into a bit of an uncomfortable situation, as she is strapped down by Greg and hooked up to a machine so that she will finally reveal what happened to his father. I have to say, as much as I cringed at seeing Regina electro-tortured, Mendell really let out his evil, vindictive side and it was a fine piece of acting. It's about this time that we learn that Tamara and Greg are not the only two out there who know how to "take care of" magic and magical beings. Showing their Lost roots, the writers reveal that there is an entire organization dedicated to finding and eliminating magic from this world. Storybrooke is apparently not the first breach that has been made into our land, and the dastardly duo have discovered a way to make sure that the town will go the way of the others.

"Did I leave the oven on? No...Locked the doors? Yep....Hid away the thing that can destroy the whole town? ...ah, crap"

In an effort to locate Regina, the Charmings visit Mr. Gold, who blends Regina's and Mary Margaret's tears so that Mary Margaret can see and feel everything Regina is at the moment...which...of course...is searing pain from electrocution. They then liberate Regina, letting Greg go in the process, as Emma and Neal track down Tamara. A gunshot to the abdomen finally convinces Neal that his finacee hasn't exactly been truthful with him, and when Emma steps in to save him, Tamara uses the magic bean she pilfered from Regina to open up some distance between them...as well as a portal to another world. Emma and Neal hang on for dear life, both having been sucked into another dimension before and not eager to do so again, but this is a drama we're talking about, and someone's got to go!

"It's okay! I'm an expendable secondary character!"

The portal closes and Emma is left in shock. Having just declared their love for each other, they were ripped apart by magic. You can bet that, wherever Neal winds up, Emma will find him. After all, it's in the family genes. Back at Chateau de Charming, David and Mary Margaret are watching over a recuperating Regina. They are again (really, again?) shocked by Regina's malice as they learn that she has created, and then lost, the failsafe trigger for the Curse. Cut to a distraught Greg Mendell as he digs up the remains of his father. Tamara approaches him with a gift, a black diamond that holds the key to the final and absolute destruction of Storybrooke.

And so, we head "Straight on Til' Morning".

Til next time, dearies!

-Joe

Once Upon A Time Recap: Lacey

Well hello again, dearies! I feel like it's been forever since our last OUAT recap. It's almost like stepping over the Storybrooke line, the mind resets and you kind of forget what's been happening. So here's where we stood coming in: Greg/Owen and Tamara have been revealed as cohorts in a plot to find his dad and, perhaps, reveal Storybrooke to the world. Pinocchio, for his bravery, has been turned into a little boy, but not before warning Emma and Co that danger is lurking right around the corner.

Now, back to last night. The show opens with another weird dream sequence. It's Henry's birthday and Grandpa Gold allows him to pick anything he wants in the shop. Henry chooses a wand (a weird choice for the kid who rags on magic all the time), and Gold uses it to turn him to porcelain and smashes him to bits (thus fulfilling a whole lot of fan fantasies).

I would have been happy if he just pushed his head into the cake...

Clearly he is still worried about the prophecy that Henry will be his undoing. But, back in the Land That Was, Rumplestilskin is preoccupied by someone else. You know me, I'm a big RumpBelle fan, so it was great to see more of their story unfold. We all know the Dark One is pretty bad, but something about him gleefully preparing to skin Robin Hood alive was a bit unnerving.

Who's merry now?

Belle, of course, appeals the the good in him and Rumple decides not to kill the would-be-thief. As it turns out, he only wanted the wand in order to heal a pregnant and dying Maid Marion. You could really feel that his heart was changing, especially when he gave her the pillow (to "muffle her crying") and showed her the library ("just another room to dust"). The scene where he takes the Sheriff of Nottingham's tongue for calling Belle a wench? Well....baby steps, I guess.

Back in Storybrooke, Regina is furious that no one told her about Neal being Henry's father. She decides to take it out on Mr. Gold by giving Belle her Cursed memories, giving her a new life as "Lacey". Lacey is, as much as you can be on this show, a party girl who doesn't really care about Mr. Gold or this "Belle" he keeps insisting she is. She prefers to hang out at the hitherto unknown "The Rabbit Hole".

Because nothing says "bad girl" like exposed shoulders and shooting pool.

Who knew Storybooke had a nightlife? And that there was an alternative to going to Granny's?! In any case, Belle was just starting to accept that Rumple cared for her and that he was a part of her life before she lost her memory, so the turn from princess to bad girl hit Gold pretty hard. That is...until he had another run-in with the Storybrooke version of the Sheriff, and hit him even harder. It turns out Lacey likes the bad boys, and this might just be Rumple's way to have his cake and eat it too. To keep his true love while fully embracing his dark side.

Embracing her dark side costs $40 an hour.

Meanwhile, Regina is suspicious about where Charming, Anton (hey, Hurley's back!), and the Dwarves are going every day. So, as they pull into the Rabbit Hole for a few brewskies (because now that we know it exists, of course everyone goes there!), she uses a really cool new power to trace the tire tracks back to the bean farm right at the edge of town. Will she burn the crop to keep her enemies trapped in Storybrooke? Or will she use the beans to transport herself out and start a new life?

Oh, and looky looky, Greg and Tamara have a Hooky!

Til' next time (hopefully not 6 weeks) dearies!
- Joe