Monday Recap: Heart of the Truest Believer

Spoiler Alert! (because I know you were all watching Breaking Bad last night and forgot that this was on.)

Who did we meet?: Peter Pan! And at least one mermaid.

What did we learn?: A lot! How portals work! Who is in charge of the "home office". That Henry possesses the titular heart. That Rumplestiltskin has history with Peter Pan. That mermaids are worse than sharks, whales, or krakens, and that you can say 'bitch' in primetime.THE IMPORTANCE OF COOPERATION. Maybe the Charming-Snow-Swan family can team up with the Evil Queen and Captain Hook to make a community garden.


When/Where do the events take place?: Present-day Neverland and the Enchanted Forest. 11 years ago in an unspecified hospital.

Why is this important?: Taking Greg/Owen's shadow. Hm. File him under not dead yet.

Oh Henry!: No, we are NOT making smores. *facepalm*

Wait, what?: Aurora tells Bae/Neal that he is in "Our kingdom". Meaning...hers and Philip's? Or hers and Mulan's? OR...hers AND Philip's AND Mulan's? Multi-Ethnic Polyamory Royals! Royals behaving badly! Nah, I'm guessing it's Aurora and Philip's (half decimated) kingdom because she has a new hairdo and some kind of tiaraish crowny headgear. And Aurora has a superpower! ...sleeping. Sleepwalking. Sleep...realm-jumping. Hooray she's being given something to do,  but boo her something kind of sucks. BUT her superpower is still better than Emma's. Womp-womp.

This is probably the kind of thing that will only bother me BUT, in a wink-to-the-fourth wall moment, Mulan asks Bae 'What's a movie?', but when Bae meets Robin Hood, and says he's Rumplestiltskin's son, and Robin takes him at his word. Bae says 'What, you don't want to see ID?'...how is Robin hood familiar with the idiom ID?

Best Line: "It is so much easier to get people to hate something than to believe." - Peter Pan. Truth.com.

Best Line Honorable Mention: "Good thing you guys don't ask questions." - Henry  Bahahahaha! Ok, that was solid. It's not often ever than Henry gets a good line, and this just proves that I hate(d) Greg and Tamara more than I hate Henry.

Really OUAT?: The lights flickering during Henry's "auspicious" birth was totally ripped from Wyatt's birth in Charmed. That 11 years ago flashback was SUPER unnecessary. It did nothing to enhance the story, and it didn't tell us anything we didn't already know.

Overall, I'm maintaining my optimism. Tamara and her nonsense storyline are out of the picture. Things seem to be refocusing on the characters and their relationships. Henry's contributions to the actual episode were few. If last season was the Harry Potter season, this is going to be the 'Lost' season. Our heroes trapped on a malevolent, magical, possibly sentient island? Hm.

It's REALLY interesting that Rumple genuinely seems to fear Pan, and that he's gone sort of lone wolf in going after Henry. In a way, Peter Pan seems to be a bigger threat than Cora.

Pronouns. Oy.

Ok, legit crackpot theory.

Is it possible that "the boy" the Seer prophesizes isn't Henry Mills, but Peter Pan? The seer says that her power has limits, and there's a distinction between what can be from what shall be. A lot of the speculation hinges on the idea of what constitutes "undoing", but maybe we're scrutinizing the wrong detail.

Obviously Rumplestiltskin hasn't learned his lesson about acting rashly based on unspecified prophecy. You'd think after that Oedipus debacle, there'd be a support group for people that get prophesied about.

The Seer's dying prophecy is as follows:

"You will be reunited with your son and it will come in a most unexpected way. The boy. A young boy will lead you to him. But beware Rumpelstiltskin, for that boy is more than he appears. He will lead you to what you seek, but there will be a price. The boy will be your undoing."*

"Ooh, yeah, honey when the teacher said you were 'Special'
she meant something different..."

Worth noting that we're starting S3 with Rumple and Baelfire separated again.

Maybe I just have a hard time being open to the idea that Henry could ever possibly be "more than he appears".

*S2 Ep14 - Manhattan.

September Speculation: Killian Jones Edition!

Things I did not do between May and September: Catch up on Scandal, Revenge or even all of Game of Thrones. Blog intermittently while re-watching episodes of OUAT.

Things I did do between May and September: Read all of the currently in-print Song of Ice and Fire Series. Began watching The Big Bang Theory, Watched Bob's Burgers, and Orange is The New Black. Bitched about S2 of OUAT being UTTER NONSENSE while trying to entice other people to watch the show. (I was bad at this last thing. You see the conflict.)

There are other things that I did and did not do, but those would make this blog long and entirely too personal and not at all about OUAT, so...yeah.

Welcome to September and S3! It is a new season! Jane Espenson is back! I am optimistic! I want to be optimistic! I remember what happened the last time I was optimistic!

I could write about my hopes and fears and disappointments about this show - but I'm going to make a very conscious attempt to be forward thinking, and only look back as it relates to what we know or don't know about the story so far.

With that in mind - I'm going to start off with some speculation about Captain Killian Jones - aka Hook.

"No, you're right. I wear less eyeliner than
Jack Sparrow. Three guesses why."

Who is he?: Killian Jones, pirate, Captain of the Jolly Roger. Former ally of Cora, enemy of Rumpelstiltskin, Relationships with the rest of the Storybrooke Gang - unclear, bordering on antagonistic. Emma is CLEARLY drawn to him, but (rightly) doesn't trust him. Snow White is understandably repulsed by him, and he and David are doing the alpha dog 'circle and snap' deal that guys do. To be fair, Hook has been charmingly lewd toward David's wife and daughter, so David sort of has the moral upper hand (HA! Get it?) here. His relationship with Regina is a bit fraught. She's got to hold him a little responsible for Cora's death - which is for some reason upsetting to her, even though she sent Hook to Wonderland with instructions to KILL CORA. Then again, Regina's default is to blame Snow White, so maybe not.

What do we know about him?: He's the current Charming Rogue in Emma's life, whether she knows it or not, or wants to admit it. It'll be interesting to see if her "superpower" re-manifests in his presence. He spent time in Neverland for the purpose of living long enough to plot his revenge against The Dark One. He has a healthy (?) fear/respect of the Lost Boys.

"Captain, I really don't think we should
accept blankets from these colonists."

What do we NOT know about him?: How he became a pirate. How he became a captain. How much time he spent in Neverland, (Query: How can one "spend time" in Neverland? We know there is day and night, and they're not on some kind of temporal loop that causes them to repeat actions a la 'Groundhog Day', but people...lifeforms?...don't age. Does this include plants? If nothing dies, how do food chains work? I've been watching a lot of The Magic School Bus lately.) and what he did or who he interacted with while he was there. Incidentally, we also don't know what happened to the rest of his crew. When he heads into Neverland, he's got a ship full of pirates. All of whom but Smee go conspicuously missing. Smee goes missing later. There's a very good chance he's still a rat.**

Where is he from/going?: Originally from the Enchanted Forest, Hook travels to Neverland after Milah's death and his impromptu amputation so that he can remain the same age and plot the death of the Dark One.

Why does he do the things he does?: Short term - revenge and survival. "If there's one thing I want more than my revenge, it's my life." Hook wants to survive long enough to get to Rumplestiltskin and kill him, thereby avenging Milah. Long term - Hook, like everyone else on this show, is looking for love. D'aw. The bitter pill is that he FOUND it, albeit briefly. Moral of the Story: Happily Ever After, rarely is. The bigger question is what led Killian/Hook to become a pirate, and why does he have these fixed ideas about Good Form and fair fights?

A black pirate captain?
Why not? It worked in Blazing Saddles.
(Wait, that's not right...)

Before S2 began, I entertained the idea that Lancelot after being banished from the Round Table in disgrace, might have become Hook. Swordsman, strong principles, it could have worked. Oh well.

How does he impact the story?: Well, his only motivation that we've seen, is to kill Rumpelstiltskin. Which means he has to get in the same universe, to begin with. I'm not sure why Cora needed Hook, but we know why Hook needed Cora. Now that he knows where his nemesis is, and what some of his weaknesses are (Belle, the dagger, and garden variety poisons APPARENTLY.) he's....helping him get to Neverland because....reasons?

What does the protagonist want?: I know, I know. Hook isn't a protagonist. ...in Peter Pan's story, as we know it. But first - that's Captain JAMES Hook, not Killian Jones. And bigger point, that's in Peter Pan's story.  No one is ever the villain in their own story, and EVERYONE has their own story. Told from Hook's POV, he's avenging the the death of his beloved at the hands of the Dark One through the use of Good Form and Pointy Objects. So, what he wants is...unclear. The only way to put it right now, is that he wants an opportunity. Whether that's to genuinely redeem himself in the eyes of the Charming-Snow-Swan family, or just lull Rumpelstiltskin into a false sense of security remains to be seen.

Crackpot Theories: Hook's not just captaining the ship, he's going to be the guide to Neverland. Rumpel seems to have a passing familiarity with Neverland, and we know Regina knows about it - but David and Mary Margaret are in the dark (Why are they going? How are they supposed to be useful?), and Emma might only know what the rest of us know about Peter Pan, which is never absolute knowledge.

Hook as a love interest for Emma, natch. Especially since we're all comfortably assuming that Neal/Baelfire is dead, which he is NOT. That'll be an interesting love triangle - Daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming at the crux of the pissing contest between the Son of the Dark One and the Pirate Captain who used to be all about the Dark One's ex-wife. JER-RY JER-RY JER-RY!!!

Honestly, it's hard to form a proper crackpot theory around a character who's motivations are so obscured. We've seen him ally himself with literally every character at this point, however disingenuously. He agreed to kill Cora on Regina's behalf, he assisted Mary Margaret and Emma at Cora's behest, He helped Baelfire evade the Lost Boys, he even helped Greg and Tamara trap Regina. Now he's helping Rumpelstiltskin and Company get to Neverland. He seems to be playing a very ADHD endgame. Stay tuned!








** Actually a rat. S2 Ep11

Meanwhile, back at the ranch OR Raise your hand if you're not here

Who's left in Storybrooke at this point? (*denotes an actor who has left/may be leaving the show for the foreseeable future.)

• Belle
• The Seven Dwarves
• Tiny/Anton
• The Fairy-nuns
• Dr. Whale
• Granny
• Ruby*
• Jefferson* & Grace
• Dr. Hopper
• Gepetto
• Pinocchio/L'il August
• Nurse Rachet
• Smee (as a rat?)
• Moe/Maurice (Belle's father)
• King George
• Sidney Glass -remember him!?
• Cinderella/Ashley*
• Prince Thomas
• Alexandra (Cinderella and Thomas' daughter who ought to be a toddler by now)
• Sherriff of Nottingham
• Kathryn (though I think it's safe to assume she moved to Boston)
• Hansel & Gretel & their dad

…and a BIG old power vaccum. The Mayor, Sherriff, erstwhile King and Queen, and the town's most eminent citizen have all royally bailed on the charming Hamlet of Storybrooke.

So...who's in charge? Please tell me if I missed anyone!

Edit: Maleficent. I forgot Maleficent. That'll be an issue...

And Straight on To S3!

It just isnt a season finale without Belle getting her memory back. Maybe she should try scrapbooking to shorthand all this in the future?

Who did we meet?: No one we haven't met already! 3 nameless "Lost Ones" as Smee refers to them. I've seen one (the one with lines) referred to as Felix, but I don't know if that's actually his name, or if that was the name given for the casting call.

When/Where do the events take place?: Neverland, pre dark curse...probably. If no one ages in Neverland, it's going to be difficult to measure the passage of time. It's safe to assume it's pre-DC because we know that Hook returns to the EF, and is there when the curse is cast.  The question now is HOW both Baelfire and Hook  (and his ship and his crew) escape Neverland. Also Modern-Day Storybrooke.

What did we learn?: Baelfire/Neal is NOT Peter Pan. Peter Pan is after Henry.

Why is this important?: Henry. Why is Henry important? To anyone in life ever, really, but why is he suddenly more important of "the sacredness of [Greg and Tamara's] cause" and all their professed loathing of magic goes out the window as they haul Henry through a portal to Neverland...because Henry "changed everything". >.< Doctor, my head.

Oh, Henry!: Please tell me that him being kidnapped means that there will be less Henry in S3. You can call the whole season The Quest for Henry - just as long as we don't have to actually deal with him until like...12 episodes in.

Really OUAT?: SO many of these...oy.

• Lost Boy Ninja...guy? Felix? We're familiar with the sound of ripping. Your onomotopoeiac interpretation of sound is not so much sinister as sillly.

• I know I've mentioned this many times before, but David is REALLY trigger-happy. Wasnt he supposed to stop being Sherriff when Emma got back? Cause that was awhile ago. He's getting to the poing where it is Not Ok. Like openly threatening Hook with his gun in front of everyone. But I guess that's to set up the testosterone battle we're going to see between Hook and David in the coming season.

• Honestly, we couldn't get an "I will always find you" for Rumple and Belle? They've had it harder than Charming and Snow. And THEY'VE found each other. Lots of times. It'd be sweet and poignant coming from Rumple and Belle. It might even get Snow and Charming to soften toward him - just a little.

Wait, What?: Philip's back! (It actually took me saying the words out loud for it to register that Philip was back. "Mulan, Philip, Aurora...Philip! PHILIP!!!") Oh, goddammit, we're going to have to see Mulan and Aurora team up to defeat the wraith in flashback, aren't we?

So...what, Regina and Emma are The Magic Wonder Twins now? The internet is going to have a FIELD DAY. (OMG WHAT WAS EMMA GOING TO SAY TO REGINA WHEN SHE TURNED AROUND??? SHE TOTES THOUGHT REGINA WAS GOING TO DIE AND SHE WAS GOING TO PROFESS HER LOVE!!!) ...No. Not going to happen. Regina and Emma are not Gabrielle and Xena reborn. I have zero opposition to that happening. But this is a prime-time network show on ABC whose parent company is Disney with lots of nods to G-rated Disney properties. They're going to make this show as action-packed as possible without any actual Action, and as titilating as they can with out any actual tits. You want that, you watch Game of Thrones. -Soapbox Moment- I doubt this show will ever highlight an LGBT character. They may throw out some canon/non-canon character info at a con, but this show is probably going to stay heteronormative. More's the pity. I would REALLY like to know why all the giants & dwarves are male, why the faries all seem to be female, and how they all manage to reproduce. /soapbox

I call shenanigans on Rumplestiltskin. He's all skeptical - and rightly so - that the Blue Fairy (who we have seen what, twice this season?) has suddenly and miraculously created a magic potion that restores Enchanted Forest memories. And then he just happens to be carrying  a concealment spell in his pocket to give to Belle. Then again he can see the future. Alright, I'll let it slide.

We can just change the name of The Jolly Roger to the SS Uneasy Truce. Upcoming feuds will include:

• Hook/Rumple
• Rumple/Regina
• Emma/Hook - before makeouts
• Hook/David - testosterone fights!
• Regina/Emma - SHUT UP INTERNET.
• Regina/Snow - Bored with this.
• Rumple/Rumple - To Kill Henry, or to Not Kill Henry...it's not really a question.

BUT THEY ALL NEED EACH OTHER!!! TO SAVE HENRY!!! ...and find Neal who isn't dead, just shot...

I sincerely hope that Greg and Tamara don't make it out of the season alive. I doubt they will. I also think there's a very real possibility that either Greg or Tamara or both have (at least!)been to Neverland before.

Lots of recap and speculation this summer between viewings of Game of Thrones, and True Blood, and Warehouse 13, and Scandal...ok, maybe I'm using the term "lots" loosely.

Weekend Speculation

"Your acting all season has been
 more wooden than mine right now."

Well, this is it. The culmination of a bizzare, lackluster season. A season that started with tremendous promise and then seems to have shat the bed.

By Kitsis and Edwards own admission their biggest regret of Season 2 was having August/Pinnochio tasered to death, because wood is historically traditionally scientifically not the greatest conductor of electricity.

Biggest Season Two Regret
Eddy and Adam also took a moment to address a major fan complaint this season: The Tasing of Pinocchio. "Here's the thing, we thought, 'We need a real world weapon.'" In the moments in making that decision we never realized the backlash that would be from a taser," Eddy emphatically said. "We just figured the audience assumed it wasn't a taser ... but they didn't. So I got a lot of history lessons about wood and conducting electricity. If I could go back one season and change one thing, I would have made it a syringe. If she had just taken a [glowing] syringe and shoved it into the dragon, no one would give a sh*t. I am sorry we chose a taser. We are willing to take the hit for the taser. We f*cked up." (http://www.etonline.com/tv/133446_Once_Upon_A_Time_Season_2_Finale_Spoilers/)

So we head into "And Straight On Til Morning" on Sunday. Neal/Baelfire has been shot and gone through the portal into another world. We've gained some insight into Hook and Baelfire's past relationship - that is, that they had a past relationship.

Here's what we know:

• Neal and Emma are Henry's biological parents
• Neal is Baelfire, Rumpelstiltskin's biological son
• Rumplestiltskin believes that Henry will be his undoing, based on the prophecy of the seer.
• Neal and Emma both traveled to other worlds through the Blue Fairy's involvement.
• Rumpelstiltskin says that fairy magic doesn't mix well with what he is
• Emma is inherently magical - The Chosen One, born of true love destined to break the Dark Curse. She hasn't actually broken it yet. 
• Shortly after being sent to A World Without Magic, Baelfire is taken to Neverland.
• In Neverland, you don't age. Hook goes there with the intent of giving himself unlimited time to plot his revenge against Rumpelstiltskin, since The Dark One has "life eternal". (But can apparently be killed by poison. Whatever.)
• Rumpelstiltkin is the "crocodile" responsible for cutting off Hook's hand - and killing his True Love - Milah.
• Milah is Rumpelstiltskin's former wife, and Baelfire's mother.
• There are faries in Neverland, according to Wendy.

Here's what we don't know:

• We don't know why The Shadow is kidnapping boys to Neverland.
• Where Neal is now.
• What happens to Baelfire while he is in Neverland.
• How Baelfire/Neal gets back from Neverland to A World Without Magic.
• What Hook and and Baelfire's relationship is to one another.
• How Henry got his book of Fairy Tales - weren't we promised that this season?

Shady. Bitch.

Is it possible that The Blue Fairy is playing a bigger end game than Rumpel? Both Emma and Neal made it to A Land Without Magic through her involvement. But Baelfire/Neal was born and went through the portal LONG before Emma was conceived or even thought of. So a mysterious magical force, coming from a land which houses mermaids and faries is kidnapping young boys and keeping them in a land where they don't age for reasons unknown. But we know Neal leaves Neverland somehow. In time to meet Emma and father a child. A child who is now being prophesied/assumed to be the undoing of The Dark One.

Rumpelstiltskin's willing to chalk Regina's adoption of Henry up to 'fate'.  I'm not so sure.

I also still think that Bae is the reason that Hook knows about Rumpel's dagger. I can't help but wonder if/when Baelfire finds out that Rumpelstiltskin is actually the person responsible for Milah's death.

I'm not so sure that Baelfire IS Peter Pan. I'll be pleasantly surprised if he's not.

See what happens when you go on hiatus OUAT?

I stop caring. My computer stops caring. And by "caring" I mean "working at all". But the fact that I don't care doesn't bother me. The fact that my computer doesn't care doesn't bother me. (it sort of bothers me.) What bothers me is that YOU seem to have stopped caring OUAT.

So here are my I-dont-care-at-this-point-recaps.

Lacey: Is it weird that I'm super curious about the bartender at The Rabbit Hole? Who's he? What's his story? He was interesting! That was some of the more interesting character work I've seen on the show in awhile.

Lacey. Belle. Bad Belle. I have to give them credit, this is an interesting twist on the "Evil Twin" trope. That being said...um, doesn't everyone else in town KNOW who she is? We actually haven't seen this issue addressed. From the time that Sneezy crossed the town line in the beginning of the season (and it can't be a coincidence that he's who Lacey is hustling in pool) we don't know what happens to people who cross the town line and then RETURN to Storybrooke. Mr. Gold seems to not want to...remind Lacey of who she is? Well first he does, but then when it looks like Granny might jog Lacey's memory, he cuts her off. Why? What will happen if people are reminded of their true memories?

Rumpelstiltskin is now VERY dangerous. He has magic. He has Belle. He has Baelfire (in proximity anyway.) Belle WANTS him to use magic to gain and keep power. She now *wants* to be a kept woman. Remember when Belle wanted to be a hero and liked books?

The best thing about this episode was it's TOTAL LACK OF HENRY. Seriously, does this kid go to school. He should be occupied for at least 6 hours out of each day, and he should be sleeping for another 8. Throw in two or three more hours for homework, eating, and general hygene and we should have a MAX of 8 hours of Henry-time per day, which works out to what - 3 minutes an episode? I could handle that.

The Evil Queen: What a horrific episode. The Evil Queen is evil. For those who hadn't been paying attention. She didn't want to be, but fuck it now she is - end of episode. We did learn that Rumpelstiltskin very deliberately planned to bankrupt King George's kingdom - which ostensibly sets into motion the events that lead to Prince James' death, leading Rumpelstiltskin to set David on the throne, all so he can get Cinderella's Fairy Godmother's Wand.  I'm also a smidge curious as to when Regina DID learn to shapeshift without assistance.

Second Star to the Right: This entire episode is setup for the season finale, and I don't even care. I should be more excited/invested/curious - but I kind of just want it to be over so I can watch Downton Abbey and Scandal for the summer.

Tamara and Greg/Owen - YOU SUCK as villains. I am bored with you. I am bored with you using "science" and  "mechanics" the same way that Storybrookians use "magic" as a PLOT DEVICE. Science and mechanics are real true things that exist. Try to think up plausible explanations as to how they work? Are magical beings vulnerable to electricity? Fine. But Regina isn't...really a magical being - not anymore than Snow White is. She's just learned some magic. And if there's magic in the world, she can use it. But it seems like anyone can, if they just know how. The only inherently magical beings we've seen in Storybrooke seem to be Emma, Gold, the Dwarves, the Faries, Maleficent, and August/Pinocchio. Other people just know how to  USE magic if it's available to them. So basically you're just electroshocking a woman. And (sorry, maybe spoilers) they don't know who they're working for? So they're working for a religious scientific underground government cartel that is hellbent on destroying magic because...Jesus? Come on, even the puritans were kind of okay with magic until it became a convenient scapegoat for things going wrong in their lives. I understand Greg wanting to find his father (and I guess becoming a zealot in the process) but what's Tamara's story? Bitch be cray.

I'm sorry, did Rumplestiltskin say "being immortal doesn't mean you can't be killed - it just means you can't die"?? Um...generally that's exactly what being killed leads to. So are there ways to live forever without dying that are horrific? Of course. Perhaps they should have specified that The Dark One does not AGE, but that does not mean he cannot DIE. This has bugged me since Hook poisoned him. All that setup about the stupid dagger, and for what? Zilch.

Mary Margaret and David. Go back and watch every episode this season and take a drink every time David pulls a gun. Go on, I'll wait.





Keep watching. Keep drinking. Stop crying.





You're either viking-caliber drunk or you're dead. Congratulations. And Mary-Margaret. I miss your badassery. You are weepy and whiny and just irritating. But good on your for being able to identify the smell of sardines. How very precise your royal olfactory senses must be. MAYBE THATS HER SUPERPOWER.

Oh yeah, Emma's superpower is back you guys. (But it's unreliable. You know what you call an unreliable superpower? NOTHING. You call it NOTHING - because if you talk about shit you can do, but only sometimes like when no one is watching you get LOCKED THE SHIT UP.) Because she could tell Tamara was lying. Anyone who could not tell Tamara was lying - raise your hand. No one? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? That woman is a horrific actress. She fits right in.

The Shadow - Ok, this is the only thing that sort of marginally interested me. We don't KNOW if Baelfire is Peter, or even if he's one of the  Lost Boys. We just know that he's in Neverland where he won't age. I REALLY hope he turns out to be Tootles. Or Slightly. Or Nibs. Mostly Tootles. So the shadow kidnaps boys and magically takes them to an island where they will never grow up, and every night they cry for their mothers. Save the Michael Jackson jokes, I have a feeling there will be plenty of those next week.