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Once Upon a Time: A Curious Thing

“This is how you take away a happy ending.”

The new narrative was taken full advantage of this week as the race to the season finale really started to pick up.

The past and present storylines ran side by side as, in both time periods, the Charming family discovered exactly how to stop Zelena: light magic. Conveniently, Emma is really starting to come into her powers just in time.

The way that we learned about each new piece of information was clever. The flashbacks filled in the blanks and in the present day things were given more reiteration. Although this episode was a big one in terms of magic and action, it was also home to some of the strongest emotional moments of the season.

My favourite was Regina being the one to break the curse. It’s confusing that she was able to do it sans her heart, but I was just too happy about what was happening to sweat the small stuff like that. Now that she’s getting hot and heavy with Robin it looks like she’s starting to get closer to the happy ending she felt she was robbed of by Snow and her loose lips.

Another big moment was Snow sacrificing Charming to help stop Zelena and protect her family. I was surprised that Snow actually went through with this crazy plan and crushed Charming’s heart; it all felt a little easy, as did Snow’s sudden Eureka to split her own heart with her other half. Despite the silliness, I bought into what was happening enough to accept it.

Considering how hard they fought to get back to Emma, it must be hard to see her wishing they hadn’t. But Emma wanting to go back to the simple life she had with Henry in NYC is part of why she’s Emma; she’s relatable. In the midst of the fair of heart princesses and dull as mud princes, she’s the grounding force. She’s the one bit of normal in the middle of all of this. She’s also the only one to have had a taste of the easiness of life outside of their crazy little town. Why wouldn’t she want to leave?

She obviously won’t. She’s too important to her family, and even more important to the residents of Storybrooke whose lives are in her hands. She wasn’t the savior of the second curse, but she’ll be the one to end Zelena’s reign of terror.

The story is really starting to take flight with Snow’s baby on the doorstep. I’m curious to see how Zelena will be stopped in time, or to see if she succeeds and changes the lives of everyone in Storybrooke. Either way I’m excited and that’s down to ‘A Curious Thing’ doing a great job of building towards a climax.

4 out of 5 curses tainted with a forgetting spell

Plus

Why was everyone so quick to kill all the monkeys considering they’re just their friends under a spell?

Also, too bad for Aurora and Philip. Will they be turned back once Zelena is stopped?

Regina fashion watch: That blue number. J’adore.

He Said, She Said

David: “Why do women keep their shoe boxes?”
Mary Margaret: “Because after true love there is no more powerful magic than footwear. It has to be protected.”

Originally posted at PandaTV.

1 comment:

  1. I was pleasantly surprised by the reveal about how the curse was cast, and why. I guess we all assumed that it was Zelena who cast it, and guessed that there was something on this side that she needed. But the multi-layered reveal about why the curse was cast this time, and by whom, how it was tampered with, and then finally who sent the message and memory potion to Hook were all very well done, and they all completely made sense once the truth was laid out for us.

    The whole dynamic about Emma being reluctant to get sucked back into the whole Storybrooke drama, and letting Henry get sucked back in by reviving his memories, versus the unfairness of keeping him from remembering Regina etc. is an aspect of this storyline that I don't think the writers have handled all that well, to be honest. There are valid points to be made on both sides, but the characters haven't really done a good job making those points, the conversations seem kinda "meh". So Regina's emotions for example don't seem quite as appropriate as they might be, simply because the conversations that could have either stoked them or calmed them weren't what they should have been. I am glad that they didn't wait until the very end to bring Henry's memories back, and that Emma didn't fight against it too much. Though Regina bringing it up as the way to break the curse did seem a *little* self-serving. It would have been better if a different character had suggested it.

    NOT pleased with the latest wrinkle in the Emma/Hook relationship. OK yes, Hook probably should've just told Emma about what Zelena did to him, but I can't remember if Zelena threatened to do something to him if he tattled. And in the end, he did try and keep Henry safe, that's got to count for something.

    Not sure how this storyline is going to resolve itself, but I can't wait to find out, it's been a lot of fun. I really like the idea of splitting the season into two main story arcs, it keeps them from dragging(though the Neverland story was probably an episode or two too long). My big question though is the longterm plan for the world of the show. I mean, they can't keep going home to the Enchanted Forest only to get cursed back to Storybrooke again. So will Emma & Henry join everyone in going home to the Enchanted Forest permanently, and leave the modern world behind? Will there be another jaunt to a new world like the trip to Neverland? I'm having a hard time seeing how this series plays out over 5-7 seasons.

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