Season 6 -- Oh, why not

[LindaM]

Okay - let's dea l with your before going on to mine.

Loved Rumple/Belle acting as a team but they team should have been wider. Yes, the Charmings were acting like hypocrites but I see everything from now on as a way of (a) exiting players and (b) moving players ahead.  Snow/Charming wake from the sleep curse evidently next week and have to make some decisions. Here's where it looks to be going.  They have to decide whether to alter the past so Emma isn't the Savior.  She was born to defeat the Black Fairy so what are they going to do, stop her from being born.  I don't think that once she came into the world, she could stop being the savior.

Regarding Emma and the Spider:  As I see it, she never had a chance to defeat it.  She thought it was from the Black Fairy, an unknown entity.  While it was from the Black Fairy, it was also the gift of Gideon.  I'll get to him in a minute.

Now about the Black Fairy question on how she could conceive Rumple, I'll go one better.  I'll answer yours first.  We know that the fairy can change.  If a fairy gets pregnant (and I'm sure Black like a good time), she may be earth bound until she gives birth.  So once she gave birth to Rumple, she was free and clear to revert to form and leave whenever she wanted.

Hook/Blackbeard:  This was the "C" story and only served to get Neverland behind us for good.  It also allowed them to bring in Tiger Lilly who we haven't yet seen. 

My big problems:  The author and the heart yank.  Are you getting as tired as I am of having the heart pulled out every since time they want to control someone.  Fairies should be able to do that in another way -- or at least they are according to Torchwood.  The author got shipped out of town.  Boy, you should have been on twitter.  TVLine immediately called them on the "Hamilton" ticket angle.  Then Adam Horowitz said the show is 13 months behind us.  Still not timeline accurate (I don't think since Henry's supposed to be in middle school but is really 16).  The time flux was running rabid on twitter so I added that we needed a TARDIS so portals were no longer necessary.

I was annoyed by Gideon through most of this because I was sure he was going to betray Emma and I prefer the lighter gray version of my Stiltskins. But I do appreciate that the show found a way to (sort of) fix all the weird confusing things about Gideon by using a simple heart control dynamic and I honestly could kick myself for not seeing that one coming.

This is setting it up for us to forgive Gideon because he was being controlled by his "mother."  I've already stated I hated the heart grabbed and she could have used something else.  By the way, did you see a heart when she came through to Storybrooke?  I didn't.  This is setting up two angles.  I've always wondered if you kill someone without a heart if they're really dead.  I know Robert was back on set and it looked like the set with either the Author's Mansion or maybe a light version of Black Fairie's realm. Could he be going to get Gideon's heart so he will return to life? 

By the way -- The actress who plays "Blue" announced her departure from the show last week.

[Outlast]

Well that episode was... Crap? I guess I sort of enjoyed some of the first season references and a bit of the visit to the cursed era was nice, but the rest was so bad.

Forgetting potions are like the little blinking lights this show adds onto crap episodes to highlight the crap. Having team Charming wake up ten years into the curse and then chose not to raise Emma and forget everything is such a frustratingly stupid idea.

As for the evil pixie flower that grows where evil feet tread and yet despite all the evil tramping through Storybrooke over the years this flower has only appeared twice once ten years into the 1st dark curse and now... More crap.

Emma chooses Hook over her folks... No surprise there after she dragged them all to hell last season to save her stupid pirate.

And to cap it all off now the whole town can share a sleeping curse to wake up team charming? That just doesn't work logically for me.

the highlight of the show was probably Hook cutting off his shadow and getting pummeled by lost boys.

[Outlast]

I should probably add that I did enjoy the scene between Rumple and Black Fairy where he confronts her about Gideon's heart. Thank goodness someone was paying attention.

[LindaM]

There were some nice moments but I saw this as the perennial "goodbye" for Snow and Charming.  They even mentioned wanting the farm house where in the "spoilers" they go to with baby Neal.

Emma choose to get Hook because that's what Snow wanted.  Stupid, I thought but whatever is in the Adam and Eddy's mind hasn't made sense since season 4. 

Somehow I think the son is going to prove stronger than the mom.  Will it turn him completely good, who knows?  But they evidently filmed two version of the aftermath of the fight.  One with Rumple/Belle there and one without.  And evidently it happens soom after the wedding as Charming and Snow are in formal dress.  And wouldn't Charming at least have punched Hook in the nose???

On another note -- here's an article on the big musical.  It's the wedding episode (another dumb move I suppose). 

http://www.etonline.com/tv/215327_once_upon_a_time_hook_emma_wedding_musical_episode_jennifer_morrison_colin_odonoghue/

http://tvline.com/2017/04/16/once-upon-a-time-wedding-emma-hook-preview/

[Outlast]

Yeah I've seen the poster for the musical episode already... 


And though I only just posted this in the general OUAT thread here a link to a better story Once told back when the writers cared...
http://boushh2187.tumblr.com/post/159075343259/cruella-cassidyswan-its-like-poetry-yes

[LindaM]

I just had a friend in my office.  Guess what is being talked -- writer's strike.  Her brother belongs to the guild.

[Outlast]

A writers strike? What for better writers? 

Don't mind me I'm just grumpy that all of Once seems to be centered on Hook now and that's such a frustrating direction after rewatching those first three seasons.

[LindaM]

They talk about Jennifer going part-time.  Hasn't that what most of the cast (Jennifer, Ginnifer, Josh, and Robert) been part-time this year.

[LindaM]

A couple of things leaked yesterday.

The wedding will be the musical episode (and I know that Colin broke his foot during a dancing scene).
The final battle is part of the musical episode (but I ask how much of it?).
Jennifer cut her hair I would say about chin length.  Not a bad look for fly away.
And on another note -- where did they get her clothing this year?  While her wedding dress is pretty, it's not what I would imagine the Princess would wear.

[Outlast]

This episode was pretty decent I guess. I didn't care for the Oz stuff it just didn't click for me. I think it was basically a nod to the movie by throwing in The Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion for us, probably because this is the end for OZ and they wanted to cover all the high;lights before they closed the book on it.

I did not need to see Hook and Emma making out. I still don't see the appeal. I did love Snow bursting in full of uncontrollable excitement about planning the wedding.

I still don't know what's up with The Author stuff.

I liked that Belle and Gold continue to be a team.

Sucks that Belle is basically the babysitter on call (Granny is probably watching Neal 24/7 now since we never see him), but at least she got to have mommy feelings and commiserate with Rumple about the time they lost with their son. Again I love that they're together on this, but I do kind of want Belle to apologize because a big hunk of this is her fault for sending the baby away in the first place.
 
Please note that 'the heroes' and especially Regina were awful to Zelena this entire episode and while I agree that Zelena going off after The Black Fairy like that was a rash and stupid thing to do... I don't think Regina yelling at Zelena in that way was helpful in the least. In the end I think Zelena showed more heroics in the last five minutes of this episodes than Regina in the last six seasons. She gave up her magic, which until she had her baby, was the most important thing in the world to her. And she did it to help her sister, the same sister who has treated her like crap for most of their time together. Zelena just gave up more than almost any other character has ever been willing to do (Rumple died to same his family/the town so I'll give him the gold star there, even though giving up magic has never been a thing he could do) and that was a pretty darn big deal. I haven't in the least forgotten what she did to Baelfire, but I do sort of wish her well at this point.

[LindaM]

Please note that 'the heroes' and especially Regina were awful to Zelena this entire episode and while I agree that Zelena going off after The Black Fairy like that was a rash and stupid thing to do... I don't think Regina yelling at Zelena in that way was helpful in the least. In the end I think Zelena showed more heroics in the last five minutes of this episodes than Regina in the last six seasons. She gave up her magic, which until she had her baby, was the most important thing in the world to her. And she did it to help her sister, the same sister who has treated her like crap for most of their time together. Zelena just gave up more than almost any other character has ever been willing to do (Rumple died to same his family/the town so I'll give him the gold star there, even though giving up magic has never been a thing he could do) and that was a pretty darn big deal. I haven't in the least forgotten what she did to Baelfire, but I do sort of wish her well at this point.

Zelena's Storybrooke story was the best part of the whole thing.  Giving up her magic, but with Regina and Emma there for support, was amazing and I said so on Twitter last night.  The one thing though is while she gave up her "green magic" I can't help but wonder if something major has changed.  This was the "crimson heart" after all that would save a person.  If the thing it did was just to turn the Black Fairy's plan awry, it wasn't complete.  I think it will play somehow into the final battle and I know that Zelena is there standing beside Regina.  What if the power that Zelena got was more pure and giving than any that she had before.

I don't quite agree with your assessment of the heroes.  She didn't show her best side in Hades but I think all but Regina were more forgiving after that.  Plus, Emma more or less sees her as a part of the heroes -- maybe not fully engaged but there.

This whole thing smacks of the end of the show.  I don't care what Adam or Eddy say.  Would they have let Jennifer cut her hair in that new style if they were going to continue.  And don't use "It can grow back during the Writer's Strike" because no one knows how long that will last.

[Outlast]

I just don’t know how to feel at the moment. I loved the first ten – fifteen minutes right up until they said Rumple was prophesied to die… then my heart dropped into my shoes. Even though I knew it was likely I still held onto hope and right about now that hope is starting to shrink to mustard seed dimensions.

The Black Fairy backstory was different than I expected because she started out human rather than fairy, but that twist was unexpected for a reason IT MAKES NO SENSE. Based on how Black and everyone who knows Black talks about her she sounded like an ancient evil type and it makes zip sense that she’s barely older than Rumple. Add to that her sudden affection for Rumple once he knows her secret feels as bizarre as Emma ridicules behavior in season five when she was hiding the double dark one thing. So one minute BF wants to kill everyone and delights in torturing Rumple and his son and as soon her her big secret is out she’s all mummy loves you again? I don’t get it.

BF was basically a good women corrupted by magic (some kind of dark fairy thing that happens when fairies dabble with dark magic instead of light, paralleling Rumple and The Dark One curse) and the need to protect her son at all costs up until the point it might cost her her newly acquired (really how long had she even been a fairy judging by the size of baby Rumple when the fairies dumped him on Malcolm) power and after only like a month of being fairy powerful she couldn’t stand the idea of being human again even if that would’ve saved her son? I’m just a bit confused here. Granted my satellite TV when out for a minute or so while BF and Rumple were having their big chat so maybe I am missing something somewhere.

It's nice that Belle is back to the good version and not the screamy version but I do wish they could erase all the nonsensical screaming she did at Rumple in the last few seasons.

It's also nice that Emma sort of recognized the parallels between her life and Rumple's, it just sucks that she hasn't said so sooner and, you know, tried to befriend him like she did literally every other villain that lived in or passed through that town. Now that Rumple's lied to her about the BF being dead I'm sure she'll go right back to hating him, even though she and her parents have done an awful lot of bad things in the name of family too.

I'm sure Rumple has some kind of plan going on, but I don't understand it and I'm very afraid that this will all end in tears...MINE! 

[LindaM]

I just don’t know how to feel at the moment. I loved the first ten – fifteen minutes right up until they said Rumple was prophesied to die… then my heart dropped into my shoes. Even though I knew it was likely I still held onto hope and right about now that hope is starting to shrink to mustard seed dimensions.

Set up a different story didn't it.  Likewise, loved this part.

The Black Fairy backstory was different than I expected because she started out human rather than fairy, but that twist was unexpected for a reason IT MAKES NO SENSE. Based on how Black and everyone who knows Black talks about her she sounded like an ancient evil type and it makes zip sense that she’s barely older than Rumple. Add to that her sudden affection for Rumple once he knows her secret feels as bizarre as Emma ridicules behavior in season five when she was hiding the double dark one thing. So one minute BF wants to kill everyone and delights in torturing Rumple and his son and as soon her her big secret is out she’s all mummy loves you again? I don’t get it.

This makes no sense on several levels.  Here's my take.

We know Rumple is older than everyone else on the show.  My thoughts is that she changed relatively young and "fairy power" keeps you young.  We know Rumple grew up as a natural human but he turned to the dark side at an older age.  Thus their ages are similar.  We also know that Rumple has had a long life -- how long is the question -- so I'll give the writers that.

From there, it goes downhill. 
a.  If her son is the savior, then why is Gideon supposed to defeat, Emma, the savior.
b.  If Rumple is the "savior" but now is "dark," is Gideon confused on who he is to fight.
c.  What did Rumple do to get the heart back?
d.  Are we sure it is the right heart?
e.  The change of heart of Black Fairy is ridiculous.  She could have stolen Neil and done this so much earlier.  Does she think that having the dark one on her side will make her more powerful?

BF was basically a good women corrupted by magic (some kind of dark fairy thing that happens when fairies dabble with dark magic instead of light, paralleling Rumple and The Dark One curse) and the need to protect her son at all costs up until the point it might cost her her newly acquired (really how long had she even been a fairy judging by the size of baby Rumple when the fairies dumped him on Malcolm) power and after only like a month of being fairy powerful she couldn’t stand the idea of being human again even if that would’ve saved her son? I’m just a bit confused here. Granted my satellite TV when out for a minute or so while BF and Rumple were having their big chat so maybe I am missing something somewhere.

All magic comes with a price, dearie.  In her case the price was power.  She wants things both ways which magic doesn't allow.


It's also nice that Emma sort of recognized the parallels between her life and Rumple's, it just sucks that she hasn't said so sooner and, you know, tried to befriend him like she did literally every other villain that lived in or passed through that town. Now that Rumple's lied to her about the BF being dead I'm sure she'll go right back to hating him, even though she and her parents have done an awful lot of bad things in the name of family too.

I'm sure Rumple has some kind of plan going on, but I don't understand it and I'm very afraid that this will all end in tears...MINE! 
[/quote]

My question is how did the Black Fairy get Rumple to concede.  We didn't see that.  Also, I think two different battle scenes has been shot -- one with Belle/Rumple, one without.  This all opens up some possibilities for season 7 which I'll give you later. 

[Outlast]

From there, it goes downhill.
a.  If her son is the savior, then why is Gideon supposed to defeat, Emma, the savior.
b.  If Rumple is the "savior" but now is "dark," is Gideon confused on who he is to fight.
c.  What did Rumple do to get the heart back?
d.  Are we sure it is the right heart?
e.  The change of heart of Black Fairy is ridiculous.  She could have stolen Neil and done this so much earlier.  Does she think that having the dark one on her side will make her more powerful?

a. I'm not sure, but I think maybe all this stuff about Gideon defeating the Savior to become the Savior is nothing but a ruse Black Fairy used on him to get him to do things. She already had his heart by the time any of this happened so for all we know she was controlling everything to do with Gideon since he arrived.
b. BF 'cut' Rumple's Savior destiny, so I'd say he was no longer the Savior, though I do like to believe that he could become one in the end by being the person Merlin prophesied that could wield both light and dark magic (or whatever he said. Guess I should've looked that one up).
c. I guess BF just gave it to him. Again I do not understand this immediate change from evil incarnate to mummy dearest.
d. I'd guess so, but you never know on this show.
e. I have no idea. Maybe I should try and re-watch at some point this week and see if I'm more confused afterwards or less.

I just so wish this whole show could be re-written and re-arranged until it was the perfect little gem of a show that it really should have been. 

[Outlast]

Song reviews!
charmings opening song - sappy, but very enjoyable. It fit in very well with the original storyline too.
Regina's song - very rock and roll. I loved all of it minus the b word which kind of ruins the replay value for me.
Hooks song - very enjoyable. A bit Gastonish in a villain dancing in a tavern, but I thought it was good.
Zelena's song - I liked it, but the sweet tone didn't match the lyrics. It was probably the weakest because it didn't feel as perfectly in character as the other three did.

On the actual episode content...

Enchanted Forest Past
Oh gee once again The Charmings are happy to turn Rumple over to be 'skinned', but Snow can't bring herself to execute Regina who actually murdered her father and tried to murder her... Rumple actually helped The Charmings. Even if it was for his own purposes.

In the present
Not crazy about Hook threatening to kill Rumple again. Always have hated the double standard regarding family. Charmings can protect their family at any cost, even the egg baby, but the Stiltskins don't get that leniency. At the same time I still don't buy that The Black Fairy is 'good at heart' or whatever they were trying to say in the last episode.

Having Emma's song break the frozen family curse (or whatever you call it) was fine with me. The wedding was ok I guess. I was glad to see Baby Neil was alive and well. Can't help picturing the real Neil as the groom though.