Once Upon a Time S2: The Magic Returns

[Artemis@BC]

Spoiler

So someone's dead but we don't know who it is?? Whoa. Well played, Once upon a Time.

I'm assuming it's someone we don't know, and won't ever know. Just like the guy on the dock whom Cora turned into a fish. There will be more casualties too, I'm certain of that -- but very likely not any "known" characters." And hey, I'm just happy Hopper isn't really dead (though I didn't actually think he was).

Charming: "It's nice that we can still give her a few traumatic childhood memories at this stage of the game."

Other line: "You got your PhD from a curse!" -Regina to Archie

Don't forget "Go take yourself for a walk!"

Yes, if I needed any reminder of why I love this show so much (which, by the way, I didn't) ...

I'm so happy it's back! I'm also happy that I managed to not watch "Queen of Hearts" until just before last night's episode, so I had a double dose. Seeing those two episodes back-to-back really intensified the arc.

I had 2 teeny tiny quibbles, though. In "Queen of Hearts," when Team Princess was approaching Rumple's jail cell, Snow said something to Emma about "here's where your birth was prophesized." [sic] Grr, I know that usage is becoming more accepted, but there's just no need to bastardize the language that way!

The other was more substantial. In "The Cricket Game," when they used the dreamcatcher thingie on Pongo, it projected what he saw. But it should have projected what he perceived. Dog's don't see things the same way people do, and by his reaction when Cora-disguised-as-Regina arrived at Hopper's office, he knew something was wrong. So for his "memory" to be only as what a human would have seen ... that didn't ring true for me. In another context I might have suspected Gold of manipulating things, but I don't think that's the case here.

But I'm not going to let that spoil things for me in the slightest. Bring on next Sunday!

[Wyliefan]

I'm assuming it's someone we don't know, and won't ever know.

Do you think so? I kind of thought they might be setting us up for an unpleasant surprise. But time will tell, I guess!

[rjblue]

That was a great episode- my favourite of the season. Rumple and Belle have such great chemistry.
I did not see that ending coming, and I can't wait to see who is in the car. I want to be able to dress like Belle and Mulan.

[HeatherC]

Great episode tonight even though there wasn't as much Emma in it (she's my fave and I don't always enjoy the episodes she doesn't appear much in). I loved seeing her trying so hard to help Henry and I LOVED that she thought about bringing Pongo to him to help out. That was fantastic! I also really enjoyed seeing more back story for Belle and love that she's no pushover. She's very smart and I loved seeing her compassionate side too. I also felt like tonight's story told us quite a bit of new information (how Phillip met Mulan which was SO clever and I did not see that coming, how Rumple plans to leave Storybrooke) and yet also pushed the main story forward (Archie being alive wasn't dragged out at all, Emma now knows that Cora is in Storybrooke). I like episodes that tell me past information but also push the main story forward a few notches. Hook and Rumple's fighting wasn't unexpected since they hate each other so much but I did NOT see that ending coming at all. Poor Belle! That was very sad.

I cannot wait for next week! This show just gets better and better and I like seeing the cast pretty much all together again. The show is SO much better when everyone gets a chance to be in the episode. I LOVE THIS SHOW.

[Artemis@BC]

Last night's episode was another one where I thought to myself "Hey, there really needs to be some kind of chronology database of characters & events in Fairytaleland." Well, I should have known ... there is. Or rather, there are. Many. (Here's just one.) This episode was easier to nail down chronologically right from the start because of Dreamy -- but of course it does require one to remember details from past episodes!

I am looking forward to seeing more of the Mulan-Philip story and how it intersects with Auora. Is Aurora already asleep at this point? Probably not, if Maleficent had used the yaoguai curse to keep them apart.

Meanwhile back in Storybrook, I'm glad they didn't drag out Hopper's mistaken deadness too long -- for his sake as well as for Henry's. (And Pongo!) But I'm left to wonder ... where the heck was Cora during the goings on? I guess she didn't need to hang out with Hook any more once she got a lift into this realm, but I was still expecting her to pop out at any moment. But I guess she's got her hands full with feeding evil thoughts into Regina's crushed psyche, no doubt we'll see more of that very soon.

The car crash: could it be Neal and/or Baelfire? The camera seemed to linger on the licence plate, but I couldn't see anything significant there.

[Norlite]

The license plate said Pennsylvania. Is that where he was? I couldn't remember.

[Artemis@BC]

BTW I was amused to see the Orca mural in the background during one of the Storybrook scenes. Most of the time you don't see things that make you say "hey, that couldn't be Maine," and it's only if you're as familiar with the film locations (mainly Steveston and Fort Langley) as I am that you'd actually recognize them. But the mural was a bit of a give-way -- Orcas are extremely rare off the coast of Maine, it's highly unlikely they'd highlight that particular whale species in a mural!

But then again ... maybe they're enchanted whales that got brought through on the curse.

[TanithandBenFan]

The license plate said Pennsylvania. Is that where he was? I couldn't remember.

Bael was in NYC I believe. They showed the guy in the car on next week's preview and it's a new character.

[Artemis@BC]

I don't think this counts as a spoiler: Yesterday on a local CBC radio program Lesley Nichol, aka "Mrs Patmore" from Downton Abbey, was on the show. She's in town because she was filming for a spot in OuaT, an episode to air in March! Very cool crossover between two of my favourite shows.

She wouldn't say much about the role or the plot, other than to say it's "a character who has a connection to Snow White."

The full interview is online here -- I know CBC TV is geoblocked but I'm not sure about their radio streaming. The interview is more about Downton and the effect it's had on her than about OuaT.

[manhn]

I found tonight's episode the weakest of the season (which has been consistently strong). The flashback was pretty weak and not at all gripping (the performance by David Anders was wooden). I hate it when the writers use Emma's supposed superhero ability to detect when people are lying/telling the truth only when it suits their needs. And I hate how easily Regina succumbed to her mother's

But I am a big fan of Ethan Embry. Can't Hardly Wait! Whatever happened to David's wife, Kathryn? Did she go to law school? If she crossed the line, then she forgot everything, right? Maybe that's who was calling the guy from Can't Hardly Wait.

[HeatherC]

Actually, the new guy didn't really fool Emma's lie detector device. He just answered her questions in a certain way as to not tip her off that he saw anything special before he crashed his car. I think if Emma had asked him something specific (i.e. "Did you see the random guy holding a fireball in the street?!" ), he may not have been able to fool her because he would have had to lie to her and say he saw nothing. Just my opinion though.

Tonight wasn't the strongest episode but it did put certain things in place for the next few episodes. I love that Emma will be helping Rumple find his son because their banter is usually pretty entertaining and seeing Rumple go through airport security should be freaking hilarious. OY VEY to Regina believing Cora who I will always think is up to no good. Loved the banter between the Charmings, Emma, Whale, Ruby, and LeRoy at the beginning in the hospital (Snow: "What all happened here while we were gone?!" ) because we finally got some concrete evidence that they really haven't had much time to talk about what all went on while Emma & Snow were MIA in Ogre infested Fairytale Land. I did like seeing Ruby and Whale have their little talk on the dock. I liked their comments about this opportunity to start over in this new world and that has to be something other characters are thinking about too. The back story didn't interest me too much tonight but it was interesting to see what happened when Dr. F brought his brother back to life and how that story came about and affected his own life. I'm intrigued about Henry's comments regarding Dr. F and how there could be other characters in town who aren't in the book (and Emma's exasperated head on the table moment was hilarious to me...this mom thing is totally wearing her out, LOL ). Again, not the strongest episode but it did have some good moments and it's still better than most other crap on TV these days.

I HATE waiting for new episodes but with that random movie that ABC is airing next Sunday and the Superbowl coming up on Feb. 3rd, it makes sense to avoid these two weeks and save their upcoming new episodes for February sweeps. I know one thing about the episode airing on February 17th that I cannot WAIT to see and I'll spoiler tag it for anyone who doesn't want to know....

Spoiler

Neal comes back in that episode, which is entitled Manhattan, and where there should be an awesome reunion between him and Emma! I CANNOT WAIT to see them together again and to see how he explains why he left her alone all those years ago. DRAMA! WOOT! :

[Artemis@BC]

(I am NOT looking at the spoiler!)

A few thoughts about last night:

I agree the Frankenstein flashback wasn't the strongest writing or acting ... but visually it was superb. Brilliant choice to make it all black and white, with Rumple being the only splash of colour in his OTT cloak.

(BTW, can someone remind me: whose heart did Viktor take when he crossed over into Fairytaleland?)

Have I said recently how much I love the development of Ruby's character? I think they're really making good use Meghan Ory's talents.

Favourite line: Leroy "You do understand that computer hacking and pick ax hacking are different?"

And I loved the whole scene between Emma & Hook in the hospital. Their charisma is pretty electric.

Why was Henry so excited about discovering that Whale/Frankenstein was not a fairy tale? We've seen additions from other, non-fairytale stories before: notably Hook and The Mad Hatter. Mind you ... The Mad Hatter was in Henry's book, so they're already mucking with the definition of "fairy tale" there. Not that I mind that, I have a huge amount of faith in the writers to make sense of all of this.

I too am looking forward to the Rumple-Emma road trip. (Hmm, what kind of playlist would you come up with for them?) I'm also predicting/hoping that Bael will turn out to be Neil. If for no other reason that I think having Rumple as Henry's grandfather would be extremely cool and potential for all kinds of great storylines. After all, Rumple needs a reason to go against Cora & Regina, and what bettter reason than blood?

[rjblue]

I didn't mind the episode. It was mostly a stand-alone story, which these shows need to have once in a while, and I agree it was visually stunning. I'm sad for Regina, and gutted for Rumple. Belle sees the beast again.

I'm very intrigued by Henry's observation that other books can intersect with his- it opens up vast potential for a very long series, if the major current plotlines get resolved.

[Spareoom]

My observation is that what possibly separates Hook and Jefferson from Viktor is travel and origins. Jefferson had his hat that could take him anywhere and both he and Hook have their roots in the Storybook universe, even if their defining "worlds" are different and not strictly fairy tale.

Viktor is different because he doesn't have his roots in the main "universe", traveled there only once and was safely ensconced at home before the curse, yet ended up in Storybrook anyway. I'm sure there's more to the story and its possible that Regina maybe "wrote" him into the curse due to his connection with Daniel but who knows. If not, and the curse was far-reaching enough to snatch people out of totally unrelated worlds, could be interesting.

Anyway, I doubt OUaT will keep strictly to the fairy tale aspect and will bring in as many literary or fantastical characters as Disney has the rights too, lol.

As I see it, in OUaT, ALL books have their own worlds or plac, sorta like Inkheart. So Narnia, Middle-Earth, Oz, Hogwarts, etc, all exist in some form or another. Cool, because I love that concept.

[walei]

Speaking of Disney rights, I loved the not so subtle nod that Disney owns Star Wars now

[HeatherC]

Really good episode tonight (I still have to watch the first 25 or so minutes but for the most part, I really enjoyed tonight's show) but I am MAD STOKED for the episode coming up next week! Seriously, I've been waiting for that episode to air since before Emma & Snow got home and yes, I am well aware of that being extremely pathetic, LOL

Hehe, I was right on Charming's real name (DAVID!!! ) but the way it all came out was flipping hysterical. Why not have that conversation while running from an angry giant??!

[mocha-ice]

Really good episode tonight (I still have to watch the first 25 or so minutes but for the most part, I really enjoyed tonight's show) but I am MAD STOKED for the episode coming up next week! Seriously, I've been waiting for that episode to air since before Emma & Snow got home and yes, I am well aware of that being extremely pathetic, LOL

LOL No worries, it's not just you, I can't wait for next week either!! Very interested to see what does end up happening!

Agreed I really liked tonight's episode... The magic bean definitely has me intrigued, leads to lots of possibilities!

[Wyliefan]

Really good episode tonight (I still have to watch the first 25 or so minutes but for the most part, I really enjoyed tonight's show) but I am MAD STOKED for the episode coming up next week! Seriously, I've been waiting for that episode to air since before Emma & Snow got home and yes, I am well aware of that being extremely pathetic, LOL

Hehe, I was right on Charming's real name (DAVID!!! ) but the way it all came out was flipping hysterical. Why not have that conversation while running from an angry giant??!

That's just the Once Upon a Time way. And it was very meta, wasn't it? Sounded like the conversations the fans are always having!

[manhn]

That was a lovely episode. Loved the Giant working with the Dwarfs--made me even a little misty. And I liked how David has to deal with the mistakes of his alter egos in both universes.

Jack looks damn familiar. Anyone know who she is?

And Jerry from ER!

[HeatherC]

I get great comfort tonight knowing that I'm not the only crazy one who's been counting down to the next episode! Seriously, I think that episode has potential to be totally epic and I am SOOO excited for all the drama!

That was a lovely episode. Loved the Giant working with the Dwarfs--made me even a little misty. And I liked how David has to deal with the mistakes of his alter egos in both universes.

Jack looks damn familiar. Anyone know who she is?

And Jerry from ER!

I loved Anton with the dwarves too. David was funny wanting his own ax and getting rebuffed by LeRoy, LOL

Jack was played by Cassidy Freeman but I have no idea what else she's been in. Other OUAT fans knew her name though so it must be a popular show or movie. *shrugs*

JERRY!! That was a fun casting surprise! I'm bummed he's gone now because I enjoyed his character.

BTW-Did anyone else catch the Lost shoutouts tonight??! I love that Emma, Gold, and Henry are flying on Ajira Airlines! That was a riot and I cannot remember the second one for the life of me, but I know there was another one somewhere that also made me chuckle. I wish I could remember that second one! It was a little more obscure. I always get a kick out of the random Lost shoutouts when they show up on OUAT!