Once Upon a Time Season 5 -- Let's Begin

[Outlast]

Sean -- AKA Robin -- posted an interesting photo of him and Lara today.  Do you want to know what it was in front of??

sure. Unless it spoils something major plot wise. You know like a dagger that says Snow White or something. 

[LindaM]

How about a clock tower on the ground!

Can't really put my thoughts of last night's episode into words yet.  Did they travel back to Storybrooke twice.  If Zelena couldn't speak how did she tell evil Arthur a plan?
Can we just get rid of Arthur?

[Outlast]

Due to more Dish drama  I've only just watched the episode. Only a few things to say at the moment...

I wasn't thrilled at the use of the Holy Grail. I know it's a fictional item (allegedly) but it is linked to Jesus Christ and it didn't quite feel right, if that makes any sense at all. And yet when Monty Python does it... hilarious. Weird.

Nimue wasn't impressive either as a human or a Dark One... until the final scenes with all the hooded (uncasted) Dark Ones past. I thought that scene was good.

Merlin's name being on the bottom half is interesting.

Zelena side-plot... whatever. It mostly felt like filler to keep the main cast (minus Rumple and Belle) in the episode. Plus I'm really starting to wish they'd just let Zelena and her baby go back to Oz already. As a Rumple fan I despise a great deal about Zelena and I was thrilled when Rumple 'killed' her, but I'm tired of this Regina/Zelena/Robin plot. Just send her off to get her thousandth chance and maybe just maybe motherhood will make her a slightly better person. You know like Regina. Slightly better in the fewer villages burnt lately category. 

Once made the cut for People Choice! Vote Here for OUAT, skip forward a couple to vote for one of the Ginny's as best sci-fi actress...
http://vote.peopleschoice.com/#!/home/all/43/2

[LindaM]

My final decision on the episode ---

Whatever with Zelena

I still think that Merlin and Emma has something up.

Uniting the sword was impressive.

Nimue was much better in the books!  She bested Merlin where she didn't before.

How many times did they come back from Camelot.  The first episode they returned in Granny's, this time they didn't.

[Outlast]

How about a clock tower on the ground!

Can't really put my thoughts of last night's episode into words yet.  Did they travel back to Storybrooke twice.  If Zelena couldn't speak how did she tell evil Arthur a plan?
Can we just get rid of Arthur?

DOWNED CLOCK TOWER
Interesting. I can't wait to see how that happens! My initial thought was earthquake, but I think some kind of magic battle is more likely. Maybe Emma will fling Zelena through the tower or something.


I'd be fine with getting rid of Arthur too. What a disappointment he is both to Camelot lore in general and as a villain on OUAT.

I'm confused about the timeline too. It's feeling more jumbled than usual and I just read a post that said they screwed up the time card and the date will be changed on the DVD from 200 to 500 years. I did wonder about that but I figured I must've read it wrong. If Nimue became the DO only 200 yeArs ago than the timeline would be really screwed up re: Rumple, Zoso and ALL those other DArk ones only being inside a 200 year span. As it is I think 500 is awfully tight for the number of DO's they showed behind Nimue. Seriously how did that many dark ones die in less than 300 years?(Rumple age is believed to be somewhere between 200-250).

[Outlast]

Something fun...
http://thewordsearch.com/puzzle/2630/once-upon-a-time-characters/

Also I had an idea for the midseason break. There is always a lot of talk about how many people the 'heroes' have killed without apparently blackening their hearts. I suggest we go back and re-watch the whole series and do a body count for each main castmember and see who really should have the blackest heart. 

Battle scenes would probably be the hardest to count. I'd say stabbed = dead - conked on the head = alive - arrow wound would depend on where it hit.

There are other problems of course, like how many deaths do you assign for a village. Do ogres count at all? It's interesting isn't it?

[LindaM]

Very plus I plan to start rewatching for the book.  I'll have to watch at night of course, and all the good shows end around December 10th.

[Outlast]

DOUBLE DOUBLE DARK ONE
Well... Didn't see that one coming.

I'm onboard with a wound from Excalibur being unhealable, but he didn't look as hurt as he was acting. To see him writhing in the field you'd have thought he had a fatal chest wound or something, not a gash on his neck that even magic couldn't heal. Maybe Emma cloaked his cut so well that we didn't see all the massive blood loss that was I assume killing Hook.

ZELENA
"If the Dark One gives you onion rings don't eat them!" 

The accelerated birth stuff worked well with Belle actually getting one wrong in thinking it was the baby Emma wanted, when in fact she just wanted Zelena so that she could kill her/uber darken her. Whatever that was. Again I'm not comfortable with them handing Regina Zelena's baby. That whole plot point has been icky.


MERIDA
Look I love Scotland, but after Birth the Bear King felt like a let down. So much happened in Birth and in Bear King we just got Merida becoming Queen again. Sure we got Ruby back with an interesting if stupid explanation for how she ended up in the Enchanted Forest (loved that she was the witches pet wolf though), really they had a magic been and Snow just let Ruby take it without a thought to how useful it could be or you know, trying to grow more?

Mulan... Man Robin Hood mustve corrupted her. Now she's a mopey thief or something? Or was she working for King Ferguson first and then she was the thief in the tavern. I wasn't paying strict attanetion I guess.


NEXT TIME IN OUAT
Hook is now an all powerful Dark One so he goes after Rumple again. What a shock. Why don't you shoot Belle in the back again too. That would be swell.

[LindaM]

OKay -- this is what my student and I discussed via email.  She's in London but keep up with it better than before.

My response:

Okay – are there two “Dark Ones” or has Hook become the Dark One and Emma back to being only the savior?  That’s the one thing I’m unclear on.  In some ways it makes sense for Hook to be the Dark One.  Hey. It will get rid of him for us.  Also, he has to overcome the evil inside which means he will have to struggle.  Seeing him fight it might be interesting but we know he won’t win.  If you saw the preview you would know what I mean. 
 
I’m seeing a pattern develop.  The “Dark One” will eventually consume either Arthur or Zelena.  Regardless of which, Zelena will be the new “big bad” on the show which will be good.  She’s cunning but always loses.  If Arthur is the “Dark One” he’ll easily be defeated.  He’s dumb.
 
Another option is that Merlin gets all the power and thus puts himself into the deep sleep that we know he is supposed to fall into.  He will sleep until the battle rages and he must unleash the force that sets the world back to where it should be.
 
I’m  hearing LOST images will be seen in the last half so I’m wondering if they’re going to put good and evil on an island.  Again, Merlin and Arthur makes more sense here than regulars Hook and Emma.

Her response:

I have a theory, which if this were season one or two, would be spot on, but the writers have thrown logic and reason out the window so to speak... I think that Merlin and Nimove together will be the key to defeating the darkness. I think they will both be lost but be together. I would rather not have Zelena be the big bad again, we already did that for like two seasons, and it was silly enough the first time through.
Just when I am starting to like Hook, ok tolerating him. He becomes the dark one. How has he already not noticed that he has powers and can make things happen? Emma seemed like a selfish savior in Camelot by enacting this whole curse and turning herself and Hook dark just to save his life... She in turn effectively gave up her son and caused all of this raucous in SB. Nevertheless, we shall see what happens.

[LindaM]

DOUBLE DOUBLE DARK ONE
Well... Didn't see that one coming.

I'm onboard with a wound from Excalibur being unhealable, but he didn't look as hurt as he was acting.

I think he was trying for the John Barrowman over acting death scene.  Yeah, Colin hasn't even posted anything about that over do on Twitter that I've seen.  I really can't see someone who comes across as almost comic being the dark one but I would rather it be him than Em.

ZELENA
"If the Dark One gives you onion rings don't eat them!" 

The accelerated birth stuff worked well with Belle actually getting one wrong in thinking it was the baby Emma wanted, when in fact she just wanted Zelena so that she could kill her/uber darken her. Whatever that was. Again I'm not comfortable with them handing Regina Zelena's baby. That whole plot point has been icky.

Had problems with this whole thing but it's been done before on sci-fi.  I think Doctor Who did it (with Amy maybe)? Anyway, it was good to see Dr. Whale back.  And I was a little upset with the disregard Zelena showed to having her baby stolen after she got her powers back.  And if she was with Arthur how did she lose them anyway?

MERIDA
Look I love Scotland, but after Birth the Bear King felt like a let down. So much happened in Birth and in Bear King we just got Merida becoming Queen again. Sure we got Ruby back with an interesting if stupid explanation for how she ended up in the Enchanted Forest (loved that she was the witches pet wolf though), really they had a magic been and Snow just let Ruby take it without a thought to how useful it could be or you know, trying to grow more?

Mulan... Man Robin Hood mustve corrupted her. Now she's a mopey thief or something? Or was she working for King Ferguson first and then she was the thief in the tavern. I wasn't paying strict attanetion I guess.

Second part first.  I think she went to robbing because she lost faith with Ferguson's group.  The question is why Mulan would lose faith.   

Yes, Bear was a let down but it is setting something up.  If it was only about Merida getting her crown, why was Arthur the one who killed daddy.  Now she's sworn to get Arthur, she's in Storybrooke, and she's likely to be more with the Neverland gang with the Arthurian recruits.  I understand why they showed this particular episode (due to American Music Awards).  It just seemed slightly out of kilter except for the ending of the episode.  Declaring war was good!

NEXT TIME IN OUAT
Hook is now an all powerful Dark One so he goes after Rumple again. What a shock. Why don't you shoot Belle in the back again too. That would be swell.

We should realize that Gold is his first target.  My question is would Em have to help?

[Outlast]

Had problems with this whole thing but it's been done before on sci-fi.  I think Doctor Who did it (with Amy maybe)? Anyway, it was good to see Dr. Whale back.  And I was a little upset with the disregard Zelena showed to having her baby stolen after she got her powers back.  And if she was with Arthur how did she lose them anyway?
.

I was also wondering how Zelena got shackled again before they returned to Storybrooke. Maybe she was never reshackled? Maybe Emma just cloaked the fact that she was free and made her think she was still in the cuff?

Amy was a little different. If I'm remembering correctly I believe she was kept in some kind of prison during most of her pregnancy, but with her mind being channeled into a duplicate on the tardis. So she didn't know she was pregnant until her real self went into labor.

Oh and I meant to mention Whale. I was weirdly happy to see him back and the banter between him and Regina was great, as was seeing him get blasted into a wall. AGAIN.
 

[LindaM]

And another returning character has been added.  Young Lily will make an appearance.  Seems she's been filming a Center Stage movie with Chloe from Dance Moms in Vancouver.  Saw the announcements on some Dance Mom stuff and confirmed it.

[Outlast]

I guess I'm glad that they're not just sweeping the whole Lily thing under the rug (not that I would blame them If they tried) but I'm not a fan of the lily/Emma dark potential egg thief stupid Charmings storyline so I hope they fix it up somehow.

[Outlast]

http://www.thetvjunkies.com/once-upon-a-time-most-romantic-moments/?utm_content=bufferbbc83&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
 

[Outlast]

 
http://www.buddytv.com/articles/once-upon-a-time/once-upon-a-time-poll-does-rum-57992.aspx#comments

Good grief LM but your site needs a new OUAT blogger. At least the poll/comment section is pro-Rumple and Belle. 

Elderly uncle?!