![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katleeptVery image heavy!
First off, let me say that this may not necessarily be completely chronologically correct as my memory sucks and the wonderful folks at Screencapped.net, where these caps came from to make the gifs, did have their images a bit jumbled for Snow Drifts. That being said, and hereby officially apologized for in advance, let us proceed.
There's not a lot that I still like about Emma. For the most part, whereas I haven't exactly HATED her character this season, I have strongly disliked her and HAVE hated how she stood between Regina and Emma and planned on abandoning her entire family for New York. (Who the heck wants to live in the city when you can live a fairy tale?) I also tired a while back of her treatment of Hook, especially after he did try to save her boy, even if his methods were wrong, from the Wicked Witch.
With that in mind, this scene totally grabbed me. I also don't usually like human kids (so it's pretty amazing I like Henry is as well as I do and write him as often as I do), but this one totally hit me. It's packed full of Emma's emotions, and they also picked the perfect actress to portray Emma's younger self. Here she is stuck in an orphanage clearly for years, long and gangly and kinda ugly too, having to watch yet another younger child get a home when she knows, deep down, she's never going to get one. (At least, not in New York.) I really felt for her, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. This scene, along with several others from this season's finale, was simply perfectly done.
It's really nice to see Regina happy at the beginning of the episode. Her character has had a long, hard journey, and she deserves to be happy. :-) Of course, I kept thinking all throughout this scene that her joy couldn't last, that something would happen to Robin or at least to cause her to lose him, but that doesn't happen until the next episode.
I know there's a lot of fans who don't approve of Hook. A lot of them think of him as just a means to fix Emma up with a new guy and get rid of Neal. Now I wasn't Neal's big fan, and I've always had a thing for good Pirates, but I find it hard for people to still not like Hook at least a little after he went in the portal after her. He didn't know what he was getting into. He could have been being sucked to his death, for all he knew, and he'd warned her about the portal. He had a secure grip on the ground with his hook, but he CHOSE to let it go and let himself fall into the portal and be sucked to who knew where or when in order to stay with Emma. That and his steadfast loyalty to her throughout these two episodes have got to amount for something even with those who dislike Hook the most. In my book . . . Well, they'll never replace RumBelle, but I am still totally swooning over this heroic Pirate. :-)
And let's not forget, ladies and gents, that he SOLD his ship for her. For a Pirate, a ship is a lot more than just a means of their livelihood and a home. As Captain Jack Sparrow brought out so well in Pirates of the Caribbean, it's freedom. It's their chance and right to be their own man and not answer to any one else. When Hook gave that up, he pretty much finished giving up all that he had once been and done for Emma. Now that's love and dedication. :-)
Colin and Jennifer have a lot of fun with this episode, especially with Hook's approval of Emma in the time period's clothes and when Emma has to flirt with the Hook of the past to give her, and our Hook, time to meet with her mother in the guise of his past self and make sure Snow doesn't sail out of Charming's life forever. These are some of the funnest and funniest scenes we've had in a long time.
Speaking of that moment with Hook telling Snow she has to steal the ring Charming is to give to his fiancee to buy passage out of the Enchanted Forest on his ship, I love Fairy Tale Land Snow! She is such a strong character who somehow usually manages to keep a touch of mystery about her despite us knowing her story very well by now. She doesn't back down to any man, or Queen, and yet remains kind hearted and always quick to help those who aren't evil and need her help. Of course, if she'd truly helped Regina back when she'd wanted to elope with Daniel, she never would have become the thief and fighter she is, but then, too, we wouldn't have our story, would we? :-)
And then there's the dance. Oh, my! In addition to having fun, Colin also provided us with what is surely some of his best acting in these two episodes. He brings out all of Hook's best qualities while still showing what a drunk Pirate he was in the past with his former self.
He is Emma's rock as she goes about experiencing the life she might have had and the world of her parents. He is her rock later on when Snow dies and is steadfastly by her side, except when she gets captured. Some may raise an argument at that showing him to be a coward or not really caring for Emma, but if he'd been captured as well, he wouldn't have been able to rescue her. Of course, it turns out she didn't actually need rescuing thanks to Neal, but we'll tackle that in the appropriate episode.
I also want to note that Hook is clearly grateful for this opportunity to share Emma's first dance with her and tells her as much. For a Pirate, he can certainly be a dashing gentleman, too, when he wants to be.
Did I mention that it's official that Hook is now my second favorite male character on Once? I think I've also finally come to love this version of the character greater than any other save my Drew's characterization of him in our Love on the High Seas series.
Of course, I am prejudiced. :-)
While Emma is in the Queen's dungeon, she not only meets the woman who will later screw up Regina's life yet again but also picks their way free of the dungeon's lock. This is something she learned from Neal, and we're treated to another flashback and probably Neal and Emma's most romantic date. We also learn that Emma's idea of home came from Neal: that home is a place that you miss when you're away no matter what else is good or happening in your life.
I may love Hook, BTW, and be able to go over his good qualities for hours, but I really don't hate Neal. He's had some wonderful moments like this and when he took control of his father's body to send Emma the message that saved every one. His love for her was obvious, but FOR ME, he's simply no comparison to Captain Hook. :-)
Just a bonus Neal gif for those loyal fans of his. :-)
Colin's great at expressing his character's emotions, especially in those dark, Irish eyes of his. It's so obvious that Hook is aching for Emma's family to accept him as he and Charming talk and Charming tells him that Emma's father should accept him, especially after all he's done for her. I just wanted to hug him here!
Everybody who knows me in the Once fandom knows I absolutely love Rumpel, RumBelle, and RED! I am SO happy that Intelligence was canceled (though, my apologies to its fans) as it means we'll be able to get more Red than we would have ever gotten while her actress was tied up on the other show on another network.
When Snow White sends for help to aid them in breaking Emma out of the Queen's prison, who better than Little Red Riding Hood, who, as we know and love, also happens to be the Big, Bad Wolf? I love the way Red enters here, the guys' reactions now and later when she transforms, and how she controls her wolf. (I'd also love to know the backstory on how she came to being able to control the wolf here better than we've ever seen her do it before.)
I also admit to, for the first time, seeing just a hint of possibility of Hook/Red here. I still by far prefer him with Emma and her with Snow, but I can now admit freely that they would certainly make an interesting, and kicking (or should I say biting), couple.
Snow's death looks pretty certain, but I have to give the writers and Emma's character props for her realizing, through her grieving, that something is not quite right about what they've seen because she's still alive and wouldn't be if her mother had really been killed before ever falling in love with her father or giving birth to her. Still, the scenes dealing with Snow's death are powerful. I love how Hook is there for Emma and she actually lets herself fall into his arms, and I especially loved Red's reactions. Their grief is palpable, and it's all just so emotionally poignant, especially with Red's touch of a howl as the scene closes out.
On Regina's side, though, I have to admit while she was enjoying the barbecue, I was thinking how much of a good thing it was that this had never really happened, that she didn't manage to get her revenge on Snow before the curse, because if she had, she never would have gotten Henry or Robin. She never would have even really LIVED her life but would have remained the evil Queen forever and eventually found the revenge rather lacking and her life still empty.
As I mentioned earlier, Hook is really Emma's rock in these episodes. His dedication to her is awesome, his love for her so clear and strong, and I just absolutely LOVE how he treats her in these moments! He wouldn't abandon her -- not when the portal sucked her through to who knew where, not when she was captured by the evil Queen (he did leave her then but he had to to get help), not when she lost her mother and was grieving, not even when it meant selling his ship to be with her again. He is what every gentleman and every Pirate should strive to be for their lady or gentleman of choice.
I always love a good Red Snow moment, and their reunion was certainly right up there with my favorite moments for these two. However, I again felt for Emma when she hugged her mother so tightly but Snow didn't even know who she was. But again, I guess that's what the girl had to go through in order to finally feel like she belongs where she DOES belong! (Can you tell I've been rather fed up with Emma's character for a while now?)
I rather hate that the writers had to mess with Charming and Snow's backstory at all as they did such a thoroughly wonderful job with it the first time around, but I am glad that if Emma did have to mess with the tale (in order to feel like she actually belongs with her family and in her home ^&^&*%^&^&), they at least left these two scenes mostly intact as they are two of my favorites. :-) Who doesn't love a Princess who's also a thief who can pretty well kick just about any man's butt and knows her place isn't in a castle sitting pretty with a crown on her head but adventuring out in the wilds of life and helping others? It certainly doesn't hurt, either, that those "others" include a beautiful Werewolf and seven Dwarves. :-)
Rumpel looks so old and tired here, and you know it's from his ongoing search for Baelfire and all the emotional pain with which he's dealing. He takes in a lot of information from Emma there in the end, and you know it has to terrify, upset, and just hit him so hard to learn that he does find Bae but then loses him to death. It also speaks volumes, however, that he does actually listen to Emma, and out of his love and respect for his son, drinks the potion to forget and lets her go. He loves his son so much, and these scenes where that love shines are always so powerful and touching.
Emma finally gets her crap together. Sure, it took being sucked into a time hundreds of years before, messing with her parents' lives and love story, and even almost losing her mother to get her here, but at least, she's here at last, ready to stay home where she belongs, accepting her family, her home, and her life, including every fairy tale aspect of it, and truly loving her folks as she should have been all along.
Our beloved Rumpelstiltskin here is such a contrast to the last scene in which we saw him in this finale. He looks so much younger and less tired. He almost seems to be at peace, and his reaction to the Charming's baby's naming may be simple but it is so perfectly in character for him. He accepts their honoring of his son graciously with a smile of thanks and a nod of honor.
I do, however, have to admit that I had already deduced the name for the baby, but this episode I think, with this moment coupled with the flashback, is a fitting final farewell to Neal. And, of course, we mustn't forget that, as Charming himself said, Neal did save them all. He may be gone, but he'll never be forgotten and was truly honored appropriately here.
Some one else mentioned in a post I haven't had time to respond to yet that they would have liked to have seen the baby also have the name of Daniel. I toyed with that myself but couldn't find a way to make the two names mesh together without being awkward for the child, and we have to admit, whereas Daniel was important to Regina and Snow, Charming and the others never knew him. Maybe for the next child. :-)
And Emma FINALLY gives Hook what he deserves, too! :-)
Here, towards the end, everybody's looking so happy. Hook and Emma are kissing, Rumpel and Belle are getting married, Snow and Charming are tending to their little one, and Robin, Regina, and Roland look to be becoming a family. I'm quite sure I wasn't the only one looking for the painful cliffhanger coming up our proverbial butts.
I really felt like they could have done more for Rumpel and Belle's wedding. I know there's a lot of fans who are still feeling disgruntled about Rumpel taking so much of the series' starring light, but his is a wonderful story that needed to be told. Their love is awesome, and I know the RumBelle fans are a pretty large part of the Once fanbase. We, and they, deserved a longer wedding.
I do recognize that Rumpel isn't the type for a big, elaborate ceremony. I know, too, that he's still on the outskirts of the family, so I get why the others weren't invited. Still, it would've been nice to see some one, just about any one, there with them besides Belle's father (who should have had at least another scene where we see WHY he's come to accept their love instead of just Belle talking about his acceptance and then him showing up) and Archie. I do rather love that Archie served as Priest, however, and I ADORE their vows, how Rumpel opens up as to how he still doesn't know how he got so lucky as to have Belle love him and she tells him that sometimes "the dustiest book has the best story". So sweet and completely in character!
But do NOT get me started on Belle's wedding "dress". This is NOT the 1920s, folks! Either go with something from the Fairy Tale Land or something more modern, but not plain, simple, and antique! We've already seen Belle in at least two dresses that looked better than this one, and I'm SURE Rumpel could have gotten her something far more enchanting even if she hadn't let him use his magic!
But at least they DID finally, actually, officially, completely get married, which is more than a lot of our favorite couples ever actually get, so kudos to the writers and a big THANKS for that!
We always know our favorite characters' happiness can't last. Too many people involved with actually making our favorite shows feel that we wouldn't tune in if they let them be happy, so they're constantly throwing new messes at them.
I admit to not recognizing Marian until just a few moments before this tragedy happens. I'd known she was trouble but hadn't been able to figure out why until we see her at Granny's. Then I knew a scant moment or two before Robin saw her and felt almost as upset for Regina as our dear Lana looks here.
Really, WHY couldn't they have just left her dead?! There are so many other ways they could've interrupted Robin and Regina's happiness! And WHY does it always have to be the women of the Charming family who end up keeping Regina from being happy? It's too bad they can't go back in time and bring Daniel forward for her, especially as they've now messed her life up yet again!
I loved these episodes. Really, I did. The last several episodes of this season have been some of my favorites of the entire series. But the ending of this episode really left a lot to be desired.
Not only do the writers take Robin and Roland away from Regina by returning to Marian (if they had to return somebody, WHY couldn't it have been Daniel or even Neal for the Swanfire fans?), but here they make about the most predictable move I've seen from them yet. It's hard for me to find a show, movie, or even book that I truly and thoroughly enjoy because I can so often see what's happening way ahead of time. The Once writers don't usually do this to me, and I'm really hoping this isn't a sign that the whole series is heading down that direction. :-( I enjoy being surprised, and like their use of unexpected, multidimensional villains; this certainly is neither.
This has been for a![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
onceuponaland challenge. If you join, be sure to tell them that Kat Lee of Team Regals sent you!
First off, let me say that this may not necessarily be completely chronologically correct as my memory sucks and the wonderful folks at Screencapped.net, where these caps came from to make the gifs, did have their images a bit jumbled for Snow Drifts. That being said, and hereby officially apologized for in advance, let us proceed.
There's not a lot that I still like about Emma. For the most part, whereas I haven't exactly HATED her character this season, I have strongly disliked her and HAVE hated how she stood between Regina and Emma and planned on abandoning her entire family for New York. (Who the heck wants to live in the city when you can live a fairy tale?) I also tired a while back of her treatment of Hook, especially after he did try to save her boy, even if his methods were wrong, from the Wicked Witch.
With that in mind, this scene totally grabbed me. I also don't usually like human kids (so it's pretty amazing I like Henry is as well as I do and write him as often as I do), but this one totally hit me. It's packed full of Emma's emotions, and they also picked the perfect actress to portray Emma's younger self. Here she is stuck in an orphanage clearly for years, long and gangly and kinda ugly too, having to watch yet another younger child get a home when she knows, deep down, she's never going to get one. (At least, not in New York.) I really felt for her, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. This scene, along with several others from this season's finale, was simply perfectly done.
It's really nice to see Regina happy at the beginning of the episode. Her character has had a long, hard journey, and she deserves to be happy. :-) Of course, I kept thinking all throughout this scene that her joy couldn't last, that something would happen to Robin or at least to cause her to lose him, but that doesn't happen until the next episode.
I know there's a lot of fans who don't approve of Hook. A lot of them think of him as just a means to fix Emma up with a new guy and get rid of Neal. Now I wasn't Neal's big fan, and I've always had a thing for good Pirates, but I find it hard for people to still not like Hook at least a little after he went in the portal after her. He didn't know what he was getting into. He could have been being sucked to his death, for all he knew, and he'd warned her about the portal. He had a secure grip on the ground with his hook, but he CHOSE to let it go and let himself fall into the portal and be sucked to who knew where or when in order to stay with Emma. That and his steadfast loyalty to her throughout these two episodes have got to amount for something even with those who dislike Hook the most. In my book . . . Well, they'll never replace RumBelle, but I am still totally swooning over this heroic Pirate. :-)
And let's not forget, ladies and gents, that he SOLD his ship for her. For a Pirate, a ship is a lot more than just a means of their livelihood and a home. As Captain Jack Sparrow brought out so well in Pirates of the Caribbean, it's freedom. It's their chance and right to be their own man and not answer to any one else. When Hook gave that up, he pretty much finished giving up all that he had once been and done for Emma. Now that's love and dedication. :-)
Colin and Jennifer have a lot of fun with this episode, especially with Hook's approval of Emma in the time period's clothes and when Emma has to flirt with the Hook of the past to give her, and our Hook, time to meet with her mother in the guise of his past self and make sure Snow doesn't sail out of Charming's life forever. These are some of the funnest and funniest scenes we've had in a long time.
Speaking of that moment with Hook telling Snow she has to steal the ring Charming is to give to his fiancee to buy passage out of the Enchanted Forest on his ship, I love Fairy Tale Land Snow! She is such a strong character who somehow usually manages to keep a touch of mystery about her despite us knowing her story very well by now. She doesn't back down to any man, or Queen, and yet remains kind hearted and always quick to help those who aren't evil and need her help. Of course, if she'd truly helped Regina back when she'd wanted to elope with Daniel, she never would have become the thief and fighter she is, but then, too, we wouldn't have our story, would we? :-)
And then there's the dance. Oh, my! In addition to having fun, Colin also provided us with what is surely some of his best acting in these two episodes. He brings out all of Hook's best qualities while still showing what a drunk Pirate he was in the past with his former self.
He is Emma's rock as she goes about experiencing the life she might have had and the world of her parents. He is her rock later on when Snow dies and is steadfastly by her side, except when she gets captured. Some may raise an argument at that showing him to be a coward or not really caring for Emma, but if he'd been captured as well, he wouldn't have been able to rescue her. Of course, it turns out she didn't actually need rescuing thanks to Neal, but we'll tackle that in the appropriate episode.
I also want to note that Hook is clearly grateful for this opportunity to share Emma's first dance with her and tells her as much. For a Pirate, he can certainly be a dashing gentleman, too, when he wants to be.
Did I mention that it's official that Hook is now my second favorite male character on Once? I think I've also finally come to love this version of the character greater than any other save my Drew's characterization of him in our Love on the High Seas series.
Of course, I am prejudiced. :-)
While Emma is in the Queen's dungeon, she not only meets the woman who will later screw up Regina's life yet again but also picks their way free of the dungeon's lock. This is something she learned from Neal, and we're treated to another flashback and probably Neal and Emma's most romantic date. We also learn that Emma's idea of home came from Neal: that home is a place that you miss when you're away no matter what else is good or happening in your life.
I may love Hook, BTW, and be able to go over his good qualities for hours, but I really don't hate Neal. He's had some wonderful moments like this and when he took control of his father's body to send Emma the message that saved every one. His love for her was obvious, but FOR ME, he's simply no comparison to Captain Hook. :-)
Just a bonus Neal gif for those loyal fans of his. :-)
Colin's great at expressing his character's emotions, especially in those dark, Irish eyes of his. It's so obvious that Hook is aching for Emma's family to accept him as he and Charming talk and Charming tells him that Emma's father should accept him, especially after all he's done for her. I just wanted to hug him here!
Everybody who knows me in the Once fandom knows I absolutely love Rumpel, RumBelle, and RED! I am SO happy that Intelligence was canceled (though, my apologies to its fans) as it means we'll be able to get more Red than we would have ever gotten while her actress was tied up on the other show on another network.
When Snow White sends for help to aid them in breaking Emma out of the Queen's prison, who better than Little Red Riding Hood, who, as we know and love, also happens to be the Big, Bad Wolf? I love the way Red enters here, the guys' reactions now and later when she transforms, and how she controls her wolf. (I'd also love to know the backstory on how she came to being able to control the wolf here better than we've ever seen her do it before.)
I also admit to, for the first time, seeing just a hint of possibility of Hook/Red here. I still by far prefer him with Emma and her with Snow, but I can now admit freely that they would certainly make an interesting, and kicking (or should I say biting), couple.
Snow's death looks pretty certain, but I have to give the writers and Emma's character props for her realizing, through her grieving, that something is not quite right about what they've seen because she's still alive and wouldn't be if her mother had really been killed before ever falling in love with her father or giving birth to her. Still, the scenes dealing with Snow's death are powerful. I love how Hook is there for Emma and she actually lets herself fall into his arms, and I especially loved Red's reactions. Their grief is palpable, and it's all just so emotionally poignant, especially with Red's touch of a howl as the scene closes out.
On Regina's side, though, I have to admit while she was enjoying the barbecue, I was thinking how much of a good thing it was that this had never really happened, that she didn't manage to get her revenge on Snow before the curse, because if she had, she never would have gotten Henry or Robin. She never would have even really LIVED her life but would have remained the evil Queen forever and eventually found the revenge rather lacking and her life still empty.
As I mentioned earlier, Hook is really Emma's rock in these episodes. His dedication to her is awesome, his love for her so clear and strong, and I just absolutely LOVE how he treats her in these moments! He wouldn't abandon her -- not when the portal sucked her through to who knew where, not when she was captured by the evil Queen (he did leave her then but he had to to get help), not when she lost her mother and was grieving, not even when it meant selling his ship to be with her again. He is what every gentleman and every Pirate should strive to be for their lady or gentleman of choice.
I always love a good Red Snow moment, and their reunion was certainly right up there with my favorite moments for these two. However, I again felt for Emma when she hugged her mother so tightly but Snow didn't even know who she was. But again, I guess that's what the girl had to go through in order to finally feel like she belongs where she DOES belong! (Can you tell I've been rather fed up with Emma's character for a while now?)
I rather hate that the writers had to mess with Charming and Snow's backstory at all as they did such a thoroughly wonderful job with it the first time around, but I am glad that if Emma did have to mess with the tale (in order to feel like she actually belongs with her family and in her home ^&^&*%^&^&), they at least left these two scenes mostly intact as they are two of my favorites. :-) Who doesn't love a Princess who's also a thief who can pretty well kick just about any man's butt and knows her place isn't in a castle sitting pretty with a crown on her head but adventuring out in the wilds of life and helping others? It certainly doesn't hurt, either, that those "others" include a beautiful Werewolf and seven Dwarves. :-)
Rumpel looks so old and tired here, and you know it's from his ongoing search for Baelfire and all the emotional pain with which he's dealing. He takes in a lot of information from Emma there in the end, and you know it has to terrify, upset, and just hit him so hard to learn that he does find Bae but then loses him to death. It also speaks volumes, however, that he does actually listen to Emma, and out of his love and respect for his son, drinks the potion to forget and lets her go. He loves his son so much, and these scenes where that love shines are always so powerful and touching.
Emma finally gets her crap together. Sure, it took being sucked into a time hundreds of years before, messing with her parents' lives and love story, and even almost losing her mother to get her here, but at least, she's here at last, ready to stay home where she belongs, accepting her family, her home, and her life, including every fairy tale aspect of it, and truly loving her folks as she should have been all along.
Our beloved Rumpelstiltskin here is such a contrast to the last scene in which we saw him in this finale. He looks so much younger and less tired. He almost seems to be at peace, and his reaction to the Charming's baby's naming may be simple but it is so perfectly in character for him. He accepts their honoring of his son graciously with a smile of thanks and a nod of honor.
I do, however, have to admit that I had already deduced the name for the baby, but this episode I think, with this moment coupled with the flashback, is a fitting final farewell to Neal. And, of course, we mustn't forget that, as Charming himself said, Neal did save them all. He may be gone, but he'll never be forgotten and was truly honored appropriately here.
Some one else mentioned in a post I haven't had time to respond to yet that they would have liked to have seen the baby also have the name of Daniel. I toyed with that myself but couldn't find a way to make the two names mesh together without being awkward for the child, and we have to admit, whereas Daniel was important to Regina and Snow, Charming and the others never knew him. Maybe for the next child. :-)
And Emma FINALLY gives Hook what he deserves, too! :-)
Here, towards the end, everybody's looking so happy. Hook and Emma are kissing, Rumpel and Belle are getting married, Snow and Charming are tending to their little one, and Robin, Regina, and Roland look to be becoming a family. I'm quite sure I wasn't the only one looking for the painful cliffhanger coming up our proverbial butts.
I really felt like they could have done more for Rumpel and Belle's wedding. I know there's a lot of fans who are still feeling disgruntled about Rumpel taking so much of the series' starring light, but his is a wonderful story that needed to be told. Their love is awesome, and I know the RumBelle fans are a pretty large part of the Once fanbase. We, and they, deserved a longer wedding.
I do recognize that Rumpel isn't the type for a big, elaborate ceremony. I know, too, that he's still on the outskirts of the family, so I get why the others weren't invited. Still, it would've been nice to see some one, just about any one, there with them besides Belle's father (who should have had at least another scene where we see WHY he's come to accept their love instead of just Belle talking about his acceptance and then him showing up) and Archie. I do rather love that Archie served as Priest, however, and I ADORE their vows, how Rumpel opens up as to how he still doesn't know how he got so lucky as to have Belle love him and she tells him that sometimes "the dustiest book has the best story". So sweet and completely in character!
But do NOT get me started on Belle's wedding "dress". This is NOT the 1920s, folks! Either go with something from the Fairy Tale Land or something more modern, but not plain, simple, and antique! We've already seen Belle in at least two dresses that looked better than this one, and I'm SURE Rumpel could have gotten her something far more enchanting even if she hadn't let him use his magic!
But at least they DID finally, actually, officially, completely get married, which is more than a lot of our favorite couples ever actually get, so kudos to the writers and a big THANKS for that!
We always know our favorite characters' happiness can't last. Too many people involved with actually making our favorite shows feel that we wouldn't tune in if they let them be happy, so they're constantly throwing new messes at them.
I admit to not recognizing Marian until just a few moments before this tragedy happens. I'd known she was trouble but hadn't been able to figure out why until we see her at Granny's. Then I knew a scant moment or two before Robin saw her and felt almost as upset for Regina as our dear Lana looks here.
Really, WHY couldn't they have just left her dead?! There are so many other ways they could've interrupted Robin and Regina's happiness! And WHY does it always have to be the women of the Charming family who end up keeping Regina from being happy? It's too bad they can't go back in time and bring Daniel forward for her, especially as they've now messed her life up yet again!
I loved these episodes. Really, I did. The last several episodes of this season have been some of my favorites of the entire series. But the ending of this episode really left a lot to be desired.
Not only do the writers take Robin and Roland away from Regina by returning to Marian (if they had to return somebody, WHY couldn't it have been Daniel or even Neal for the Swanfire fans?), but here they make about the most predictable move I've seen from them yet. It's hard for me to find a show, movie, or even book that I truly and thoroughly enjoy because I can so often see what's happening way ahead of time. The Once writers don't usually do this to me, and I'm really hoping this isn't a sign that the whole series is heading down that direction. :-( I enjoy being surprised, and like their use of unexpected, multidimensional villains; this certainly is neither.
This has been for a
onceuponaland challenge. If you join, be sure to tell them that Kat Lee of Team Regals sent you!
