Episode 20: The Evil Queen
Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White & Lana Parrilla as Regina
Poor Queen Regina, no one likes her. In this episode Regina wants Snow White dead, of course, and hates that the subjects prefer Snow to her. Rumpelstiltskin disguises her as commoner to learn about the common people and kill Snow. However Regina and Snow hang out and Snow thinks there is good in her that is until Snow sees the village Regina has slaughtered and takes it all back. Regina then decides she doesn’t want her people to love her but fear her for she is The Evil Queen.
A lot in Storybrooke this episode. It’s introduced that the curse has a fail-safe trigger that will destroy everything. Regina plans on using it and having her and Henry escape back to the Enchanted Forest. Regina and Hook, who has double crossed Greg and Tamara go adventuring to get it down in the dragon pit. However it was a super double cross as Hook only did it so that the fail-safe will kill Rumpelstiltskin. And they take away Regina.
While that is happening Emma is suspicious of Tamara and Henry overhears and wants to restart Operation Cobra or now Preying Mantis. Emma and Henry break into to Tamara and Neal’s room but Neal catches him and call Emma out her lie detector power, thank you Neal.
This episode was more of the alright to average range. The show is trying to do a lot to get the plot to the season finale and set-up the next season. The magical doomsday for Storybrooke seems like straight out left field and Greg and Tamara are weird as villains. Greg has some motivation but Tamara doesn’t so far.
Episode 21: Second Star to the Right
Dylan Schmidt as Baelfire & Freya Tingley as Wendy Darling
I was wrong and yet I was sort of right. Baelfire was not Peter Pan, though he did go to Neverland and was Lost Boy for a time. In the character past after Baelfire went through the portal he went to Edwardian London, sure ok, wardrobe goes to Maine, Beans go to London. There he was an orphan till he met Wendy Darling and is taken in by the Darling. Baelfire learns that Wendy is being visited by a shadow and it takes her away. When she returns in the morning she says the shadow let her go because it only wants boys and it will come for one her brothers. Baelfire doesn’t want the Darling family ruined and so he gets taken away. He arrives in Neverland but gets away from the shadow and Hook saves him.
Still a lot going on in Storybrooke but the main thing is Greg and Tamara are torturing Regina. Turns out they are working for someone to get rid of magic in the “world without magic” but also Greg wants to know where is his father is. Rumpelstiltskin gives Snow a spell so that she can see thing through Regina’s eyes, but all see senses is pain and the smell of fish.
Emma, Baelfire/Neal, Snow and Charming all converge of the canary. Snow and Charming save Regina but Greg gives them the slip. Tamara confronts Neal and Emma. Neal gets shot and then goes through a portal as Tamara threw a magic bean at them. Emma is heartbroken as she believes Neal won’t survive the portal and a gunshot wound. Also Tamara and Greg get away with the trigger to Storybrooke destruction.
While I don’t love the story of Peter Pan, I do like that there is a somewhat nefarious tone to the story. Pan’s shadow is near demonic taking boys away in the dead of night. Though he doesn’t like girls. Though it’s weird because Neal says the World Sans Magic wasn’t his right stop way back in episode 14 but it was. He just went to Neverland too afterwards. Would have sucked for Rumpelstiltskin if Neal was dead in the real world the whole time, very convenient.
This was an ok episode. Lots of stuff happening though Tamara and Greg are not as enjoyable as Cora or Hook. They are weak bad guys. Really they just seem like zealots, and no one likes a zealot least of all a boring zealot. But the episode was engaging aside from them. I love that Neal called BS on Emma’s on again off again lie detector.
Episode 22: And Straight on till Morning
Colin O’Donoghue as Captain Hook & Dylan Schmidt as Baelfire
The character’s past involves Baelfire’s involvement with Hook and the lost boy pursuing him. As it turns out Peter Pan is a bit of some demi-god who controls Neverland, you don’t leave unless Pan lets you. Baelfire and Hook are bonding nicely till Baelfire learns that it was Hook who took his mother away even though Milah and Hook had plan on going back for Baelfire one day. Baelfire leaves Hook and that is how he becomes a Lost Boy but he is not the boy Pan is REALLY after, Peter Pan is really after Henry, who now is apparently some child of prophecy or something. Man everyone wants this kid.
In Storybrooke, Tamara and Greg activate the trigger but Hook, is having second thoughts as he doesn’t want to die. The people come up with a plan THAT Regina will hold off the trigger as long as she can while everyone escapes back to the forest with a bean portal. Things go awry and everyone thinks they will die but together Emma and Regina stop the trigger.
Rumpelstiltskin learns that the Blue fairy fixed the whole cursed persona thing so the Dwarf and Belle are cured, wow that whole Belle as bad girl plot really went far. Also apparently Tamara and Greg’s goal were to bring Henry to Neverland.
The season ends with Rumpelstiltskin, Emma, Regina, Snow White, Charming and Hook going through a bean portal to Neverland.
Also everyone thinks Neal is dead but Mulan, Aurora and Phillip save him. Wow, Aurora and Mulan saved Phillip off screen huh?
This episode was ok, not real conclusion to any storyline but set-up for next season. It’s really dumb that ALL the character think Neal is dead. Like why do automatically assume that. Because it’s most dramatic?
Season 2 was more smaller stories than a long goal narration so it felt more choppy than season 1 but it wasn’t bad. It had some strong episodes and even the lower episodes felt better than the lower episode in season 1. So while no ultimate conclusion was reached in season 2 it definitely made you want to continue to season 3.