Once Upon a Time - "Dark Hollow" - Review

Intro

Making a slight change in at least the order I do my reviews in. Since I watched Once Upon a Time last night, I might as well do the review that's technically scheduled for today instead of waiting until I can do it chronologically.

SPOILER WARNING

The following review is for Once Upon a Time, Season 3, Episode 7: "Dark Hollow." If you haven't seen the episode, I would watch it before reading this review. Even my character lists contain spoilers.

Once Upon a Time - "Dark Hollow" - Review

Characters:

• Emma Swan - Played by Jennifer Morrison. Daughter of Prince Charming and Snow White. Birth Mother of Henry Mills. Product of True Love. "The Savior."
• Regina Mills - Played by Lana Parrilla. Mother of Henry Mills. Step-Mother of Snow White. The Evil Queen.
• Prince Charming/David Nolan - Played by Josh Dallas. Father of Emma Swan. Husband of Snow White.
• Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard - Played by Ginnifer Goodwin. Mother of Emma Swan. Wife of Prince Charming. Step-Daughter of Regina Mills.
• Henry Mills - Played by Jared Gilmore. Son of Emma Swan, Baelfire, and Regina Mills. The Truest Believer.
• Captain Killian "Hook" Jones - Played by Colin O'Donoghue. Pirate.
• Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold - Played by Robert Carlyle. Father of Baelfire. Grandfather of Henry Mills. The Dark One. Regina's mentor.
• Neal Cassady/Baelfire - Played by Michael Raymond-James and Dylan Schmid. Son of Rumplestiltskin. Father of Henry Mills.
• Peter Pan - Played by Robbie Kay. Big Bad of Wonderland.
• Felix - Played by Parker Croft. Peter's messenger... or something.
• Ariel - Played by JoAnna Garcia Swisher. Mermaid.
• Belle - Played by Emilie de Ravin. Rumple's True Love. Storybrooke Librarian.
• Archie Hopper/The Cricket - Played by Raphael Sbarge. Storybrooke's resident Psychiatrist.
• Blue Fairy/Mother Superior - Played by Keegan Connor Tracy.
• Grumpy/Leroy - Played by Lee Arenberg. One of the Seven Dwarves.
• Michael Darling - Played by James Immekus. Youngest of the Darling children. Kept alive by Pan.
• John Darling - Played by Matt Kane. Middle Darling child. Kept alive by Pan.
• Wendy Darling - Played by Freya Tingley. Eldest Darling child. Captive of Pan.
• Granny - Played by Beverley Elliott.
• Tinker Bell - Played by Rose McIver. Yup, that Tinkerbell.

Review:

We got to go back to Storybrooke today! That was a giant breath of fresh air, I have to say. Like, I love the Neverland stuff, but there's only so much jungle I can take. It was nice to be in a lighter area for once. Also, all the magic in this episode was awesome. I'm a sucker for the sparkles and the lava-y effects.

I very much enjoyed seeing everyone in Storybrooke. It was cool to see how Granny and Archie are attempting to take care of Belle, even if she's being Mopey-pants. I was also glad to see Belle and Ariel hit it off right away. They're one of those pairs I never thought I'd see put together. They made a great team, even if Ariel was incredibly distracted.

Jumping back a bit, I thought the cloaking spell was pretty cool. I was surprised to see John and Michael's car actually make it through, mostly, before it slammed down. Actually, I didn't think they'd made it into Storybrooke. I thought they'd somehow ended up on the other side or something. I don't know why I thought that, but the reveal of who they were later was actually a giant surprise to me... as I was putting the pieces together anyway. I figured out who they were before it was revealed on the show.

Speaking of, we finally found out who the other person in the cages was. Of course it would be Wendy. I was surprised to see her still a young Wendy, instead of grown up more, like her brothers. It was also interesting to see her sort of working with Pan. I think he's holding her brothers' lives over her head, like he's doing to them with hers. Also, that entire thing with Henry was obviously a manipulation of him. He's being played like a fiddle and doesn't even realize it. I wanted to smack him again.

I wasn't at all impressed with the "Dark Hollow." It wasn't very dark at all, just very red. Like a dark room, but brighter. I figured Neal and Hook would fight over whatever they had to do there, because fighting over things that aren't Emma but are stand-ins for Emma in front of Emma is such a good plan. That was dumb, but gave Emma a chance to use her one magic lesson. I think Emma learning magic is going to throw a wrench into her and Neal's relationship. However, I'm very glad Emma put her foot down with the boys. Henry is her priority and them fucking things up is unhelpful and annoying.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Regina honor her bargain with Ariel at the end of the episode. I didn't really think she'd reneg on that, but it was still nice to see. Uhmm... also, Pandora's Box? Really? How did Belle even know what that was on sight? That bugs me. A lot.

As I said in my last review, we're definitely getting toward the mid-season finale. All the pieces are falling into place. I like that we don't really know what Pan's goal is here, though watching the preview for next week seriously spoils that. Don't do it, if you haven't already. I can't wait to see what happens next week.

Miscellaneous Notes:

• Time in Neverland: 5 days... presumably.
• Hook actually annoyed me this episode with his telling Neal and messing with Emma. I dislike obvious love triangles.
• Using Ariel's tail to get free was very clever. I missed Belle.
• Skull Rock actually exists. Why am I not surprised.

Housekeeping

Let me know what you thought of the episode in the comments. Follow me on Twitter!

Also, that's gonna be it from me today. I've got some stuff to do before work... and then work... and sleep.

Love ya, Jessie

Once Upon a Time - "Ariel" - Review

Intro

Only a week late with this one. If I keep at the pace I'm going, I might get caught up after all... but no, probably not. My grandparents are coming into town and that always throws a wrench in my predetermined schedule...

SPOILER WARNING

The following review is for Once Upon a Time, Season 3, Episode 6: "Ariel." If you haven't seen this episode, I would go do that before reading my review. Even my character lists contain spoilers.

Once Upon a Time - "Ariel" - Review

Characters:

• Emma Swan - Played by Jennifer Morrison. Daughter of Prince Charming and Snow White. Birth Mother of Henry Mills. Product of True Love. "The Savior."
• Regina Mills - Played by Lana Parrilla. Mother of Henry Mills. Step-Mother of Snow White. The Evil Queen.
• Prince Charming/David Nolan - Played by Josh Dallas. Father of Emma Swan. Husband of Snow White.
• Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard - Played by Ginnifer Goodwin. Mother of Emma Swan. Wife of Prince Charming. Step-Daughter of Regina Mills.
• Henry Mills - Played by Jared Gilmore. Son of Emma Swan, Baelfire, and Regina Mills. The Truest Believer.
• Captain Killian "Hook" Jones - Played by Colin O'Donoghue. Pirate.
• Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold - Played by Robert Carlyle. Father of Baelfire. Grandfather of Henry Mills. The Dark One. Regina's mentor.
• Neal Cassady/Baelfire - Played by Michael Raymond-James and Dylan Schmid. Son of Rumplestiltskin. Father of Henry Mills.
• Peter Pan - Played by Robbie Kay. Big Bad of Wonderland.
• Felix - Played by Parker Croft. Peter's messenger... or something.
• Ariel - Played by JoAnna Garcia Swisher. Mermaid.
• Prince Eric - Played by Gil McKinney. Human. Ariel's True Love.
• Belle - Played by Emilie de Ravin. Rumple's True Love. Revealed to be Pan's Shadow in Neverland.

Review:

I have never really been a fan of The Little Mermaid. Even reading the original tale, I wasn't enamored with it. However, I surprisingly enjoyed Once Upon a Time's take on the story. I'm really glad they spared us a remake of the movie, instead moving things along to weeks or months later. I was, however, kind of surprised at the audacity of Ariel to essentially throw Snow under the bus without even thinking about asking her if she wanted to be a mermaid. What even was that? I'm glad Ariel got to stab Regina with a fork and help Snow get away, even if that ruined her shot with Eric. I was slightly amused that Ariel's voice was taken away only after she stabbed Regina, but it made more sense than walking around in pain... which only really makes sense if you've read the original story and know the back story on it.

I thought the concept of the Echo Cave was pretty awesome. It wasn't what I was expecting at all. With a name like "Echo Cave" you just sort of think people get lost because of all the echoing. I very much liked the airing of everyone's secrets. I was getting extremely annoyed with David keeping his tie to Neverland a secret. I was, however, expecting Snow and Emma's "secrets" to be what they were. Of course Snow would want another child and of course Emma's afraid of the pain associated with Neal. These weren't actual secrets as far as the audience goes.

I thought Regina was awesome this episode, even if we didn't get much with her in the present. The teaching scene with Emma was great, even if I think she could find something other than rage to channel. However, Regina's just teaching the way she was taught and it's fire so... rage works for that. It was fun seeing Regina and Rumple team up, especially when she yells at him for being dumb. As for the flashbacks, I thought Regina's plan to impersonate Ursula was awesome. Lana did a wonderful job with the movement and the accent during that scene, even if the wig was ridiculous.

As for Rumple this episode... he was being Mopey McMoperson. I was more worried about his psyche when the Belle hallucination started acting all weird. However, all that was pushed aside when Regina came in and revealed Pan's shadow. I'm glad he appears to be getting his mojo back now that Regina's given him ideas. Hopefully it'll be something that will help him get back into Neal's good graces... or something.

Anyway, "Ariel" was a solid episode. We're definitely doing the slow build toward the mid-season finale now. I'd say more, but I'll leave that for the next Once Upon a Time review.

Miscellaneous Notes:

• Ursula was a sea goddess? Also, she makes crappy threats.
• Wasn't expecting Snow to blurt out the info about Neal.
• Pan kind of reminds me of Ben from Lost with all that manipulation.
• I want to know the actual story on Rumple's dad.

Favorite Lines:

"You wanna follow the evil munchkins' dirt road, be my guest." - Regina

"Don't kill the messenger, love." - Hook

Extras:

A translation of the original The Little Mermaid can be found: HERE.

Housekeeping

Let me know what you thought of "Ariel" in the comments. If you've read the original tale, let me know what you thought of that as well.

Love ya, Jessie

Once Upon a Time - "Good Form" - Review

Intro

Second review for today. Still not sure how many I'm gonna be cranking out, but it might be a veritable flood.

SPOILER WARNING

The following review is for Once Upon a Time, Season 3, Episode 5: "Good Form." If you haven't seen it, save yourself with spoilers and go watch it.

Once Upon a Time - "Good Form" - Review

Characters:

• Emma Swan - Played by Jennifer Morrison. Daughter of Prince Charming and Snow White. Birth Mother of Henry Mills. Product of True Love. "The Savior."
• Regina Mills - Played by Lana Parrilla. Mother of Henry Mills. Step-Mother of Snow White. The Evil Queen.
• Prince Charming/David Nolan - Played by Josh Dallas. Father of Emma Swan. Husband of Snow White.
• Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard - Played by Ginnifer Goodwin. Mother of Emma Swan. Wife of Prince Charming. Step-Daughter of Regina Mills.
• Henry Mills - Played by Jared Gilmore. Son of Emma Swan, Baelfire, and Regina Mills. The Truest Believer.
• Captain Killian "Hook" Jones - Played by Colin O'Donoghue. Pirate.
• Neal Cassady/Baelfire - Played by Michael Raymond-James and Dylan Schmid. Son of Rumplestiltskin. Father of Henry Mills.
• Peter Pan - Played by Robbie Kay. Big Bad of Wonderland.
• Felix - Played by Parker Croft. Peter's messenger... or something.
• Captain Liam Jones - Played by Bernard Curry. Hook's older brother. Deceased.

Review:

Hooray! Back story on Hook! I was super excited for this. I should have known it would be a bit lackluster. Not that I didn't enjoy it, but the back story itself wasn't as fun as the earlier/later bits of back story we already have. It was pretty awesome seeing Hook in something other than his black pirate gear. It was also pretty awesome that he was able to temporarily save his brother. The lack luster bits were mainly on Liam's shoulders.

Liam would probably have been more interesting if he'd a) had more of a personality and b) hadn't been so dumb. I did not connect with him at all. I mainly wanted to whack him over the head with something. If there's someone who lives in the place you're visiting or whatever and they tell you that the plant you're looking for is poison, frigging listen to them! Don't dismiss them because they're "younger" and don't poison yourself with the plant to prove a point. Liam clearly failed on both counts and died because of it.

I liked the budding "bromance" between Hook and David. It was fun to see, even if David was being ridiculously judgmental the entire time. Also watching David go through what would have been the last hours of his live was... strange. He seemed to have parts where he was perfectly fine and then parts where his punches went completely wild. I liked that Hook gave David the choice of whether or not to drink the water. It showed that Hook is honorable, even if his methods aren't always the best ever.

I thought the dynamic between Emma, Snow, and Regina was interesting. Emma's essentially the tie-breaker between what has been fed to us as ultimate good and ultimate evil. I think at this point, Regina's plans are more likely to bear fruit than Snow's. Snow comes from a place, mentally speaking, where never doing something that could be perceived as wrong is better than ending up with the results you want. Yeah, Regina is a bit rough around the edges, but her plan made the most sense.

I'm not going to talk about the Emma/Hook kiss. It was there. I have nothing to say about it.

I'm not sure how I feel about Henry at this point. On the one hand, he seems to be falling in line with Pan's plan for him and on the other, he's being really sulky. I wasn't really phased by anything that went on with him, except the bit with the mirror. A) Thinking the mirror thing is Pan's doing is really strange. Pan's mostly been upfront with what he wants from Henry. B) Did Henry really throw the mirror away and break it? It has more chance of being found now and it's broken. This bugged me, a lot.

But yeah, pretty solid episode. I enjoyed the ride.

Miscellaneous Notes:

• Just how big was Pegasus supposed to be?
• What was so important about Hook killing David? Like, why did it have to be Hook?
• Emma and Regina referred to Henry as "our son" FINALLY!

Favorite Lines:

"Listen to my mother?" - Emma

"At least you got to say goodbye. Most people don't get that much." - Hook

"That you were stubborn? Yes, I gathered that rather quickly." - Hook

"She didn't. I did. That's what I'm here for." - Regina

"What I wouldn't give for another sleeping curse." - Regina

"I don't do rum." - Regina

Housekeeping

On to the next review!!!! This one only took 25min to crank out.

Love ya, Jessie