Once Upon A Time 3.09 Review: Everything For Henry

All those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of Once Upon A Time, titled ‘Save Henry’, now would be a good time to go and do that. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Well, I have to say that I am not at all happy with the direction that this series is going in. This series – aside from the Emma and Hook moments, and a few fleeting Emma and Neal moments – has gotten so terribly bad. Not only have these last nine episodes only expanded across a handful of days, but when it finally comes to a somewhat conclusion of the, not Pan story but, Neverland story it’s so beyond easy that it is ridiculous. Honestly, is that all it took to defeat Pan’s attempts at stealing Henry’s heart? Regina just takes it out of his chest? Did Pan really not see that coming?

They really appear to be trying to redeem Regina somewhat and make her a morally gray person. She’s not what appears to be the villain of the piece, and that’s really detracted from this series. I get trying to bring fairytale stories to the real world in a realistic way, but sometimes a villain is a villain, and giving them heart just because their actress is good doesn’t always work in the best interest of the overall piece. Maybe no one is wholly good, or wholly evil, but people do veer towards each end of the spectrum, and not everyone is redeemable.

This episode really could have been so good. Unfortunately, the writing just didn’t click, and the acting was half-assed at best. Even someone as strongly favouring of Emma as a character as myself thought that her “mothering” the lost boys, and that dreadfully written speech, just came across as near pathetic. It needed so much more passion behind it, and that’s just not something I felt. For a mother that was coming close to losing her son, she didn’t seem too embroiled about saving him. She certainly wasn’t anywhere near as impassioned as Regina was this week at trying to save Henry. Honestly, Regina was about the closest thing to being a strong point this week – for the most part.

Overall, I don’t think I’ll stop watching this series any time soon – because I really need to see where it’s going with Hook, Emma, and Neal – but I do feel like it’s lost its heart. It just doesn’t have that freshness it came to have during the first season, and even parts of the second season. The closest it’s had this year to greatness were fleeting moments that likely don’t even encompass one full episode. And don’t even get me started on this whole Henry centric season, or the fact that he is in no way capable of encompassing how bad ass Pan has been this season – up until last week’s reveal that he is Rumplestiltskin’s father. Anyways, until next week with this series. Please let it be good.

My rating: 5.5 out of 10.

There were no favourable lines this week.

Okay, by this coming out, I hope you get the hint that I will not be posting a review for Dracula this week. Unfortunately, it just has not caught my attention in four episodes, and I will likely be falling behind now until I feel the need to catch up. Which could very well not happen for a great deal of time, so no more reviews likely of this series in its future – however short that may be. Anyways, check back in tomorrow for reviews of How I Met Your Mother, Almost Human, and The Blacklist.

Once Upon A Time 3.08 Review: How Far Does the Apple Fall From the Tree?

Anyone that has yet to watch tonight’s episode of Once Upon A Time, entitled ‘Think Lovely Thoughts’, I suggest that you go and watch it now before proceeding ahead. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

So, we found out who Peter Pan is, and let me just say, I saw that coming as soon as they introduced Rumplestiltskin’s father. Nevertheless, while it does wrap the characters up rather neatly, I’m not a fan of who they chose him to be. A lot of things from earlier episodes don’t make sense now to me, and the character doesn’t seem like the actor knew ahead of time that this was who he was going to end up being, and thus was unable to act accordingly. Plus I find myself liking Peter Pan less now that we’ve learned who he began as.

In my opinion, there was far too much Henry in this episode. I understand the need to use this character, but the actor is just not good enough to be in as many scenes as he is. I almost wish he was going to die, but we all know that’s not going to happen. When they get his heart back, could the magic of putting it back transform him into another actor? I’m pretty sure only if this kid got major acting lessons, or a legitimately talented child actor took over the role would I actually begin to like Henry too. It just sucks because I actually like the name Henry and this kid is ruining it for me.

While I do find that this episode felt like I got through it far too quickly, I am still beginning to get sick of Neverland. I’m a little bored of this arc because it doesn’t seem to be moving at the same pace as the amount of episodes we’ve had this season. By last week’s numbers, I don’t even think it’s been a week since they’ve gotten there, and too much has happened that it’s difficult to keep track of time. It’s making me a little delirious, and I’d really prefer to move onto to a story arc that isn’t based around Henry. As much as I did find Pan an intriguing villain up to this point, we’ve learned too much about him that I’m pretty much done with this arc. Can it be over soon, please?

All in all, not the worst writing they’ve had on this series, but they seem to be wrapping their characters up to neatly for my taste. Not only that, but the lack of continuity they seem to be able to grasp, even in this season alone is a little disconcerting. I mean, Rumple crying over and being surprised concerning the poppet-like doll because it reminded him of his father just makes little sense now that we all know he left it there. Really, this is another series that I watch that I honestly wish I could go in and clean house. Please, show runners, read a few negative reviews just so you can get some constructive criticism about how your series is going!

My rating: 6 out of 10.

Best Line:

“I’m not walking in there with nothin’ but my good looks.” – Rumplestiltskin states.

Okay, I’m off to watch and review Revenge now, so check back soon for that. Afterwards it’s the review of the series premiere of Almost Human. Stay tuned.

Once Upon A Time 3.07 Review: What Matters Most

Anyone that has yet to watch tonight’s episode of Once Upon A Time, entitled ‘Dark Hollow’, now would be a good time to do so before reading ahead. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Okay, can I just begin by saying how bewildered I was when I learned it’s only been five days since they reached Neverland? That’s just plain ridiculous, we’ve had more episodes this season than we have had days passed. They could’ve at least had each episode equal one day because Henry is going to age faster than this series can keep up with if this is the way they’re going to write the series.

Aside from that, this was a surprisingly good episode. Perhaps it’s that I kept an open mind, but I actually thought that the acting had mostly improved in this episode. The only two that really stood out as not being very good were Belle and Henry. Otherwise, I really liked the rest. Not only that, but there was a nice balance of characters this week. I got my fair share of Emma, with Neal and Hook tagging along, and everyone else was able to get their fair share of the rest of the cast. I really think this is more of the direction this series should go in, definitely an improvement on past episodes.

I have to say that I was surprised by Wendy being the other prisoner, although it made sense with the way they wrote the Darling’s into this episode. I just think it would’ve had more emotional depth to it, had it been Rumplestiltskin’s father. Still, it was a nice way of keeping her and the Darling’s involved with the series, as well as Neverland. I’m just not sure why they would’ve needed to destroy Pan if Neal had kept the shadow from taking them when he was with them.

At first, I actually thought Henry was getting smarter and that I was going to start to be able to like him again, a thing that hasn’t been true since the pilot. But then he goes and gets all naïve again, and I’m back to thinking of his character as merely a plot device. I mean, really, he’s not a good actor, what other need do they have for him other than progressing the story? Also, what’s this heart of the truest believer nonsense? His family basically had to prove to him they were there to get him before he stopped believing in Pan for that millisecond of time. He just, he really aggravates me sometimes. Why couldn’t they have found a stronger child actor?

Elsewhere in the episode, I was really happy with Ariel this week, and her unchangeable optimism. Her perky but clueless attitude perfectly played into her scenes. Although, when Regina said she’d just have to trust her, I think it was less that than Regina was basically her only hope of reuniting with her prince with legs. Also, I once again have to state how much I love Hook. He’s amazing, with his quiet bad boy-ness. I may have loved Emma and Neal being together last year, particularly during that flashback of their past together and when they found each other again, but this year it’s Emma and Hook that seem to have more chemistry. I’m just glad they’re not going the True Love root just yet. It may come eventually, being that this is a series about fairytales, but I’m glad it hasn’t happened yet.

All in all, this was a good episode this week. Very enjoyable, full of drama and emotional scenes. I loved the whole speech between Snow and David, but let’s be real, they’re going to find someway of getting him off that island alive. For a series that is mostly iffy each episode, this one made me very evenly happy. This is definitely the way this show needs to keep going, aside from Henry being so blatantly stupid. If only they could just swap actors for the character, or get the boy some acting lessons and a bottle full of talent… I don’t know, but otherwise I’m happy.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“You might want to believe a little harder.” – Grumpy tells Belle.

“Now you’ve got a dress code? I seem to recall some Ruby outfits that are seared into my brain.” – Grumpy exclaims to Granny.

“Well, this is awkward.” – Hook mutters after relaying the kiss he shared with Emma to Neal. More like awesome.

“He’s a prince… The kind with legs.” – Ariel says to Belle, concerning Eric.

“So when I win your heart, and I will win it…” – Hook begins his speech to Emma, with a squeal worthy confidence.

“Welcome to the twenty-first century.” – Neal says to Hook, regarding lighting the candle and his lighter.

“Or a fin. Whatever Eric’s into these days.” – Regina mutters to Ariel, after enchanting her bracelet so that she can have legs or fins of her own choosing.

Okay, I’m off to watch Revenge now. Stick around for my review of that.

Once Upon A Time 3.06 Review: There Are Such Things As Second Chances

All those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of Once Upon A Time, entitled ‘Ariel’, here’s where I suggest that you do that before reading ahead. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! Proceed at your own discretion.

Once Upon A Time finally delved into The Little Mermaid treasure trove with our very own Ariel, Eric, and Ursula. JoAnna Garcia Swisher played the titular character in this week’s episode, and while I wasn’t as convinced with the casting decision as a lot of people seemed to be, being that she appeared a little older than she should’ve been, I was pleasantly surprised. Of the three new fabled characters we met this week – although we didn’t completely meet the real Ursula – she was the one I was happiest with. She was actually good at portraying the innocent, yet curious mermaid, and wasn’t half bad by this series standards. Eric, on the other hand, was a little ridiculously written. Maybe there is a thing such as love at first sight, but the way the prince was played and written just made me see him as a kind of dud with no personality. They’re kind of ruining my second favourite Disney movie, after already ruining my first (Beauty and the Beast).

For the most part this week, I wasn’t all that happy with the flashback scenes. Sure I liked the way Ariel’s personality was portrayed, at least in the beginning, but the way Regina pretended to be Ursula was like the actress was trying to mimic the animated movie character instead of making it her own person. Plus Regina was just way too overdone in the flashbacks. It’s like this series is trying to be over-the-top when it comes to acting and writing. Also, while the octopus tentacles looked decently realistic, the actress looked ridiculous pretending to be Ursula, especially with how fake that hair looked.

Elsewhere in the episode, I was happy to see Hook actually tell the Charmings that Neal is both alive, and in Neverland. He doesn’t seem to be going back to his conniving self, he appears to be turning into a better man because of Emma, and that’s something that I love. So basically, everyone – except for Regina – makes their way towards where the trail to Neal leads, and have to reveal their darkest secret. David’s was obvious, but Snow’s was saddening because of David’s secret. Complete squeal moment when it came to Hook’s, who never thought he could love again. Good on the writers to make it so that everyone doesn’t just get one True Love, a person can find another, that makes it possible for them to back themselves into a wall. Emma’s secret was little less encouraging, mostly because I’d’ve expected hers to be about how she didn’t know if she could forgive Neal for leaving her and not coming back for her when he’d learned she’d broken the curse. But then, maybe that’s already been dealt with. I am excited to see this love triangle going ahead, mostly because it isn’t the center of the universe in this series – unlike The Vampire Diaries – and because, like with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I keep going back and forth with who I want her to be with. I think, I think I want her to be with Hook, but then Neal so obviously loves her too, and I loved Emma’s flashback scene last year when they were falling in love. It’s a complete conundrum for me, but it keeps me watching, so I commend the writers for being able to do that.

All in all, I was happier with the present day scenes wherever Emma was involved, as well as Hook. Ariel is also a curious character going forward that I’d like to see more of, but Eric needs more personality, not sure how happy I am about his casting. Pan, while not inherent in this episode, was good as always, and it was interesting to learn Belle wasn’t a figment of Rumplestiltskin’s imagination, but Pan’s shadow. And while it does create for interesting possibilities with Rumple and Regina working together, there wasn’t much to it this week that was any good.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

No lines jumped out at me this week, so I’ll just say that I took a break between reviews and watched the episode ‘The Zeppo’ of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so here this is now. I’m off to go write up the review for Revenge now, so stay tuned.

Once Upon A Time 3.05 Review: An Honourable Pirate

For all those that have yet to watch tonight’s episode of Once Upon A Time, titled ‘Good Form’, I suggest you go and do so now or exit this screen until you have. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! Proceed at your own discretion.

Not a bad episode this week, although I would’ve expected a little more from Hook’s backstory, it was still a more interesting flashback story of the week than last week’s Rumplestiltskin centric episode. It was incredibly weird seeing Hook before he was a pirate, with his incredibly stupid looking neatly done hair. I have to say that I much prefer the Hook that dresses in black – as opposed to white – and has the skillfully disheveled short hair. Plus he was so much the younger brother type, looking up to his elder sibling.

While it was awfully assuming of David to jump to the conclusion that Hook could in no way understand where he’s coming from, I still understand it. He’s the hero type to not understand at all how someone could do something for personal gain, but people come in all shapes and sizes, and I suppose David will just have to appear like he put his foot in his mouth for jumping the gun. Not only that, but Hook is much more like Emma than her father is, so despite how awe inspiring his will to protect her from bad men is, she grew up in the real world where people aren’t inherently evil or good, they’re mostly grey.

I’m very happy our good guys were able to get a message to Henry, because I was beginning to ask myself how much more stupid and naïve he could get. I mean really, you grew up in the Evil Queen’s household for ten years, why would you think a boy as inherently selfish as Pan would take you away from a good family for good reasons? If it was just to save magic, why not just ask? But then, maybe Henry’s not as curious and questioning as I was at twelve (or is he thirteen now?) years old. Really, though, no one kidnaps a person from good people for a valid reason. So thankfully, he’s gotten the message that his family is there to come rescue him, because that could’ve gotten way more out of hand.

A few other things I really liked about this episode, the first being the loving smile Snow gave David. For someone that has darkened her heart by knowledgeably assisting someone to kill someone else, as evil as she may have been, she has been able to put that aside and really bask in her adoration of her husband. The second thing was how much Hook smiled and was basically giddy as Emma thanked him and before the kiss. His face was just breathtakingly swoon-worthy. And, of course, the kiss, which will only happen “that one time”. Emma may have said that, but their chemistry is just palpable. I definitely agree with what people have been saying online, Neal may have been Emma’s first love, but he abandoned her to her destiny, that’s not something I think Hook would do. What Neal did hurt Emma in a way that I feel will always stick, but she can have something fresher with Hook. The last thing I greatly enjoyed was Pan as he spoke with Hook at the end, taunting him. The way he just brilliantly gives Hook information that could hurt his budding relationship with Emma whether she finds out from him, or from someone else. The way he needs to look at it is whether he wants a short, but possibly passionate relationship with Emma now – and lets someone else tell her Neal is alive and that he knew, or he waits for the possibility of a long relationship that may never happen – and tells Emma himself. I personally yearn for him to choose the latter because I think they could end up being a long-term thing in the end.

There are a few questions running around in my head after watching this episode. The first is obviously what will Hook decide, tell Emma now or pursue her now? Another one I have is, how long exactly has Pan been on that island? Obviously he’s older than Rumplestiltskin and Hook, but how old is he? And where did he first come from? I really want to know his background, but I expect that’ll come eventually. My last question is who is in the other crate next to Neal? It’s none of our heroes, or Rumplestiltskin, and I’m pretty sure the real Belle is back in Storybrooke. I doubt that shadows can be held captive, so it’s unlikely it’s Rumplestiltskin’s shadow, and the ones that brought Henry there were thankfully killed, so who is it? Someone we have yet to meet? Oh, maybe it’s Rumplestiltskin’s father! That’d be the most interesting choice that’s running through my head.

Anyways, this was definitely an improvement on the last episode, but then I’m a big Hook, Neal, Emma supporter, so those are my favourite stories to watch. I did like the Tinkerbell episode two episodes back, so I’m not against other flashback storylines, I just find some characters have had a few too many flashback sequences revolving around them. But that’s just my two cents.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“I don’t do rum.” – Regina states, as Snow attempts to pass her the flask.

“What? You mean a one-handed pirate with a drinking problem?” – Peter Pan sums up who Hook is, after Hook says Emma’s coming around to him.

Okay, folks, I’m off to watch Revenge now. Stay tuned for that review soon.