Once Upon a Time - Season 7 Prospects

[Merry Prankster]

MP found A Pirate's Life somewhat disjointed and confusing.   Old young Henry, new older Henry, left Hook, right Hook, missing daughter left Hook, Emma with bun in the oven Right Hook (bleach blonde is not her best look), Regina No Hook....Then again, MP is not an initiate in the Order of the OUAT Acolytes.  MP is not yet ready to bail but he is looking for a parachute.  It never hurts to be prepared.

[LindaM]

I'll stick awhile longer.  The Hook2 as I call him was old and fat in Wish EF.  I'm not sure how the spell worked by a non-magic believer made him young except to accept the fact that there is more magic in Tremaine than thought.  If they make her the Black Fairy I may scream.  On the other hand, Zelena is filming beginning today.

[LindaM]

My take on the mess.

https://televisionchangesblog.com/2017/10/18/once-upon-a-time-changes-and-season-7/

[Merry Prankster]

I'll stick awhile longer.  The Hook2 as I call him was old and fat in Wish EF.  I'm not sure how the spell worked by a non-magic believer made him young except to accept the fact that there is more magic in Tremaine than thought.  If they make her the Black Fairy I may scream.  On the other hand, Zelena is filming beginning today.

MP  wondered about Tremaine wielding magic.  Every time she does, doesn't she say something like "Magic is taken, not given."  Does that imply that the magic in the wand obeys its' holder, even if the holder happens to be just some mortal schmuck?   The other possibility might be that the fairy godmother's magic was transferred to Tremaine when T used the wand to turn FG into fairy dust.  Think Rumple and the dagger.  Of course, Rumple had magical critters in his ancestry.  BTW, who the heck is the Black Fairy?

[Outlast]

BTW, who the heck is the Black Fairy?

Short answer - she was Rumple's mother and 'the big bad' of season six.

Long answer - She was Rumple's mother. Her name was Fiona and she was actually human. She stole a wand and (somehow) turned herself into a (Gold colored) fairy because according to her she needed to protect her son from his destiny to die a hero (or however that stupid plot point went). After a few weeks of dragging Tiger Lily (also a fairy) around looking for a special baby (plot point forgotten) she gets antsy and tries out some black magic and is turned into The Black Fairy for her trouble and she is immediately (I mean within seconds of turning black) banished from the Enchanted Forest by the Blue Fairy.

So BOTH Rumple's parents started out human and then abandoned him to gain youth/power/magic whatever and became magical creatures. Which of course mirrors Rumple's own journey, starting out human and becoming magical in a quest to gain power and save his son, only to lose him anyway. Twice in fact.

Personally I thought the Black Fairy storyline was confusing and we never really understood what her motivations were. Which is an issue that Rumple's character (among others) has also suffered from in later seasons.

[Merry Prankster]

Thank you Outtie.  A thorough and enlightening answer, as always.  This whole “magic taken/magic given” issue caused MP to engage in a train of thought that usually ends in a train wreck.  Although MP can’t be certain due to his sporadic engagement with OUAT over the years (except for Season One), he believes that Emma was born with white magic.  If this is correct, Emma’s offspring might also possess white magic.  Is this a possibility or is MP just whistling into the abyss? (It won’t be the first time or the last.)   

[Outlast]

Emma's magic is 'Savior' magic. Because her parents hair (true love) was woven into the dark curse that Regina cast back in season one, Emma was basically born a 'savior', however as she was transported to our land without magic moments after her birth we have no way of knowing if she would've grown up with powers or not. As I recall she didn't start exhibiting magical tendencies until she broke the original curse by kissing Henry. After that she had some ability, but it was kind of weak and untrained for a long time.

Henry has some ability too, both as The Author and having 'the heart of the truest believer', but I don't think we've ever seen him use magic per say.

As for Emma's new offspring having powers...possibly. While Emma and Hook have both been Dark Ones and I'm pretty sure no Dark Ones have ever reproduced together before since the usual method of dark one power transference is murder, but though Emma still seems to have Savior magic, Hook has only been shown using magical items, which apparently any norm can do, other than his own brief stint as the DO when he healed Rumple's leg and poofed around a bit. Who knows really.

Chime in if you have anything else to add LM. I fully acknowledge you as the Emma expert around here. 

[LindaM]

Okay -- I definitely am not the Emma expert but here's my take on it.  Yes, Emma supposedly was created by the dark curse but really it was true love.  Emma's gift of "saving the town" came from the curse, but I think she had to have magical abilities of her own because of her parent's true love.  And let's not forget it was the gift of music in season 6 that revealed just how powerful true love is.

Neil may not have been magical but I honestly believe that there was a hint of it in him.  I'm rereading a Jayne Anne Krentz novel now that has the setting in a town where everyone has a hint of what Once would call magic.  It's how advanced their power is that makes them powerful.  I think Neil is the one who gave Henry the "true believer's" heart.  He may have done some shady things but he did believe, in the end, that magic existed because of his father.

And that being said, let's not forget the historical quest always associated with the hero.  Emma, as hero, not only had to prove herself, defeat the evil and vanquish it (or in Regina's case, change her heart), but also find her place.  Emma did that so basically her story (and I'll even say Storybrooke) was done.  Now her son is on his quest.  The real question is:  Is he the "hero" or "savior" of this story or is it Cinderalla or Lucy?

[Merry Prankster]

Good discussion of Emma’s magic, Outtie and LindaM.  It seems to MP that a major premise of OUAT is that true love always defeats even the most powerful dark magic.  Therefore, true love must be the most powerful magic.  Without it, there is no hope and dark magic triumphs.

LindaM asks a good question:  Who will turn out to be the savior?  At this point in the story MP is more interested in the answer to another question:  How the heck did Tremaine cast such a powerful dark curse?  She must have had help, but from whom and from what?  Rumple must figure into the mix.  Does Cora lurk in Tremaine’s back story (MP hopes so)?  Zelena?  The Evil Queen?  Or is there some new villain we have yet to meet?  What about the glass slipper?

[Outlast]

Ok I think this was definitely the best of season seven so far. It will probably get surpassed by next week’s Alice/Rumple/Belle centric, but for now at least it’s the best.

I liked that we learned what Tremaine’s goal is... her 14 year old daughter Anastasia is mostly dead and needs a believing heart to revive. Ok that's creepy, but no creepier than Regina and zombie Daniel from season two.
Weaver’s long game gave me happy chills. I just know that he's awake and lining up all the domino's to fall on Belfrey. 

I don’t really have a lot to complain about this week. If I have one it’s that I’m still not on board with New Cinderella (I didn’t like old Cinders much either come to think of it). I haven’t been able to embrace her yet and I really hope that changes soon since she’s obviously so important to Henry’s story.

[LindaM]

Okay --- I take it Lady Tremaine never heard of Frankenstein or is she stuck so much on the Princess Bride.  My real question is this:  Who is she holding prisoner and why didn't it have to be with some special chains/spells,  Come on, now we know where the eighth witch came from. 

On another note -- Ella (or it is Ella Enchanted) is boring.  Revolutionary may be good and why Titiana at all.

More later.

Oh, Rumple didn't get it, I don't think, until Alice calls him Rumple.

[LindaM]

Hopefully, the puppy won't decide to put her two paws into it. 

I think that Henry wants to believe but the spell has hit him the hardest.  Somehow he apparently is the last to arrive, and the one everyone (Weaver, Tremaine) has been on the look out for.

Will Weaver be good?  That's the million dollar question.  I think he will be in it for himself but will he change when he realizes the particulars?

Alice -- I think she has ties to Hook2 and Rumple.  She may be the child that Hook2 went hunting.  She may be Gideon's daughter.  Maybe we'll find out more by the end of the week.

The executives are not ruling out a Belle return.

Tremaine's daughter -- almost dead.  As someone on Twitter said last night:  Call in Miracle Max.  Or is that too new a story?

[Merry Prankster]

Finally!  Finally!  Finally!  The Garden of the Forking Paths is the best episode of Season 7, by far.  Of course, the first two episodes were so pedestrian MP might be overestimating this episode.  MP will limit his comments to the four corners of the episode because he dares not compete with the superior OUAT/Fairy Tale/Mythology knowledge of Outtie and LindaM.

Strengths:  A bunch of great teasers for stories to come.  Anastasia, the beloved daughter, pure of heart, suspended between life and death, a single breath away from life or the Underworld.  How did this happen, who did it, and what will happen?  The Witch in the Tower of Belfry Tower.  How did she come to be Belfry’s prisoner and will she play a role in the resurrection of Anastasia?  What will happen after that?  A very ominous conversation between these two, no love lost.  As an aside, MP was hoping Victoria would also have a few bats in her belfry……ummm, sorry.  Lucy’s and Henry’s (inferred from context) protected hearts.   How did they come to be protected and who protects them?  Rumple?  Regina?  Emma?  Characters:  Tremaine/Belfry—MP is warming up to her because he sees real Coraesque potential.     Destroying everything her step-granddaughter believes in so she will willingly surrender her true belief?  That sounds like a page straight from Cora’s playbook.  Rumple/Weaver is warming up but the writers need to give him a bit more scenery to chew on.  Henry—MP is liking him more but the writers need to give him more range.  Even Left Hook is showing some potential.  The Witch—MP liked her instantly.

Weaknesses:  Jacinda/Cindy—she is wearing on MP.  MP thought he would never say this but watching J/C makes him long for the days of Emma Swan.  You should have taken the condo and run like a thief in the night, J/C.  Some spotty writing---Jacinda’s hokey, schmaltzy monologue and “truly believe, true believer, believe, believe…,” liberally sprinkled throughout the episode. Enough already!  Can’t the OUAT writers…..never mind, it’s hopeless.  The crooked guy from the building commission---another British accent?!  MP figured out what’s going on.  It’s not the Russians we need to fear, it’s the British!  They’re taking over the government from the bottom up, one position at a time.  Diabolically clever.  Where are the ICE agents?  Call the FBI!  Get Bannon and Breitbart on this pronto!  MP knows that Hook is Irish and Rumple is a Scotsman but that’s close enough for government work.

The previews from next week’s episode look good.  MP hopes that Alice proves to be a somewhat demented, unpredictable character.  OUAT needs a wild card.

[LindaM]

Lucy’s and Henry’s (inferred from context) protected hearts.   How did they come to be protected and who protects them?  Rumple?  Regina?  Emma?

Okay, if I remember correctly, Emma's heart was pure and could not be taken.  Cora tried and was defeated.  The reason:  Her goodness.  And it wasn't that she could give it either.

Henry's "pure of heart" came from a protection spell I believe (and Outtie will correct if I am wrong) cast by Regina.  It could have been season 4 (or was it 5) when Regina to protect Henry confined him to a house.  I believe it was during the Peter Pan saga which was season 3.  As far as I recall, Emma has left the protection spells to Regina.  Rumple only does them in extreme incidents.  Otherwise, he would have cast one on Neil.

Lucy's is still to be determined.  If she is the "savior," her heart may have the same protection as Emma.  I don't think Emma has met Lucy so she didn't cast the spell.

 

Anastasia, the beloved daughter, pure of heart, suspended between life and death

The daughter of Tremaine -- pure of heart.  I don't think that she's as pure as we think.  And why would Ella's dad be responsible for what happened to her.  Makes me want to go review Ella Enchanted to see what I missed. 

The witch is the interesting character.  Remember her threat seems even more powerful than the Black Fairy.  And what is with this "Black Fairy dust" suddenly.  We know what it will do after seeing it last season.

[Merry Prankster]

LindaM, regarding your comment on protected hearts, it raised several follow-up questions in MP’s mind but he will keep his yap shut for the time being, probably much to the relief of you and Outtie.

Regarding Anatasia’s pure heart, you have a point.  Tremaine/Belfry is no Sweet Polly Purebred and the other sister, Drizella/Ivy, does not exactly ooze sweetness and light.  Plus, MP knows several moms (and dads) who look at one or more of their children through rose-colored glasses or wear blinders.   On the other hand, Anastasia is only 14, perhaps her evil gene is still dormant.  If MP recalls correctly, Regina was pretty innocent and pure as a girl/young woman and she had a mom with the blackest of black hearts.  Of course, Regina’s dad was a decent guy.  That raises an interesting question:  Who is/was Anastasia’s father?

Regardless of how Anastasia was before suspended animation, MP doubts her resurrection will go as planned, especially if the Witch is involved in the proceedings.  Who knows what sort of creature will arise from the crypt?