Once Upon a Time Season 2 Episode 13 & 14 Review

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Episode 13: Tiny

Jorge Garcia as Anton, Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White, Lee Arenberg as Grumpy and Josh Dallas as Charming Once Upon a Time Season 2 Episode 13 Tiny picture image

Jorge Garcia as Anton, Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White, Lee Arenberg as Grumpy and Josh Dallas as Charming

Ha!!!!!!! That is not what Logan Airport looks like, or I have been using the wrong terminal all this time. Also really a flight to Boston to New York? It’s not that far via car or bus, or train and then none of that take off the cloak Drama. Basically  Rumpelstiltskin is having cultural shock and he can’t use magic.

In the character’s past Prince James, Charming/David’s twin, and his lover Jacqueline a.k.a Jack are tasked with tricking a Giant, Anton, who has come to town. Anton is the giant from the compass episode.  He thinks they are friends but they just want the beans. James and Jack kill all the giants but Anton destroys all the beans and before the giant leader  dies, he gives Anton a new beanstalk seed that can grow more beans.  Also to prove James is more of a jerk, he lets Jack die.

In Storybrooke, Hook shows Snow, Charming and Leroy, a captured Anton, who is travel size.  Anton goes on a tear when he sees Charming/David. Regina and Hook decide to use Anton as a distraction and Regina makes him big. Charming offers himself for the town. Anton tries to crush him but the size mushroom wears off and Anton’s life is in danger. The town saves him and he welcomes him into the fairy/literature fold. Anton tells them about planting the bean to return to the enchanted forest but warns them that it’s what Cora wanted.

 

At end Snow tells Charming home is where Emma and Henry are and she doesn’t want to leave them. Greg also tells Belle that he saw magic too.  

 

This was not the strongest episode. It some ways it moved the plot and in other ways seemed to stall. Did the giant need a backstory and did it need a whole episode?  Let’s see where it leads but most of it felt like filler.  I do like the irony of a giant being an honorary dwarf at the end.

 

Episode 14: Manhattan

Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin Once Upon a Time Season 2 Episode 14 Mahhattan picture image

Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin

Confession time, this episode got spoiled for me BUT oh wow!  Amazing twist! You could not have predicted who the true identity of who Neil really was. It fits perfectly and does add to the drama.

The plot of this is fairly simple. Emma, Rumpelstiltskin  and Henry go to Manhattan to find Baelfire and oh boy do they find him quickly. Like Rumpelstiltskin’s globe pinpointed the building.  

So they find him but he takes off running, Rumpelstiltskin sends  Emma after him and to get Bae to speak to him. She catches him but it’s her baby daddy Neal a.k.a Baelfire.  Emma questions that if  his motivates for being with her and if they were part of the curse. He says no and he wants nothing to do with Rumpelstiltskin. Emma withholds the information that he has a son.

Emma reports back that she was unsuccessful and Rumpelstiltskin breaks in to Baelfire’s apartment. Rumpelstiltskin notices Emma acting weird and starts questioning her but Baelfire shows up to defend Emma against Rumpelstiltskin since Emma didn’t really keep her side of the bargain. When Baelfire see Henry he questions Henry’s age and it’s revealed to everyone else that he is the father.    

The character’s past portion is about Rumpelstiltskin pre-dark one and post. Rumpelstiltskin is excited to go to the front but while there he meets a seer. She tells him he will die and it will leave his son fatherless. Or rather his actions will lead his unborn son fatherless. And yes they do. Rumpelstiltskin meets her after becoming the Dark One and she tells him that he will reunite with his son but a boy will be his undoing. Rumpelstiltskin says we will have to kill this boy. The boy is Henry. Seems like invented conflict since Rumpelstiltskin’s motivation have been his son the whole time so it seems a little out of character for him to now want to kill his grandson but we’ll see where this goes. Character’s personality change so much in this show that it COULD be in his character.

Also In Storybrooke, Cora, Regina, and Hook are on a quest to find Rumpelstiltskin’s dagger so that he will be the one to kill those who stand in Regina’s way of being the sole mommy of Henry. I guess that mean she’ll have to kill Rumpelstiltskin too since he have more of claim on Henry than she does. Does that close adoption thing mean nothing now? Did the curse break existing law? How did that law work? I mean Henry was born in Arizona. Someone MUST have brought Henry to Storybrooke  and yet no one could get into Storybrooke prior, unless they were related to the Fairy Tale world. We Know Rumpelstiltskin arranged it but did Regina go? She can leave since she wasn’t a victim of the curse. But Rumpelstiltskin couldn’t leave Storybrooke since he was a victim but he retained his memories. So many questions. How did they get into the town like pregnancy tests or coffee? Does the curse just make commodities appear?   

Also Gregg saw Regina use magic and sent “her” a video of it.

 
Despite raising all sorts of questions with this possession over Henry plot, this was a great episode. The drama from New York crew was on point. They rest of the episode did feel weak by comparison although that seer was kind of awesome.  She reminded of the Harpy in The Last Unicorn. I want to know how she got captured and why? Where is that episode?

 

Bonus Picture Time

The Seer Once Upon a Time Season 2 Episode 14 Mahhattan picture image

The Seer

Once Upon a Time Season 1 Episodes 13 & 14 Review

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Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/James & Aria Pullman as the Siren ABC's Once Upon a Time, What Happened to Frederick picture image

Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/James & Aria Pullman as the Siren

Episode 13: What Happened to Frederick?

This is going to sound silly but I wished they had reversed Kathryn/Abigail’s name like Kathryn is the princess and Abigail is the real world counterpart. Also, I’m pretty sure I have the same yellow pot that David and Abigail have in their home.

In the Fairy Tale world part of the episode follows James and Abigail. Abigail doesn’t want to marry him because she too has a tragic love story. Her love, Frederick, got that Midas Touch  and is now a statue. Abigail tells James she tried the whole true love kiss but silly Frederick being a soldier and protecting his King was wearing his helmet, so the true love kiss cure doesn’t work if it’s not on the lips, oddly specific. Abigail tells James about another cure all, the water of a lake guarded by a beast who kills all who tries to take the water. Since James killed that unkillable dragon he is pretty confident he can get that water and he does. The Beast is really a sexy siren who lures men in with either her looks or the looks of other women, in this case Snow White. The Siren doesn’t know context though so James thinking Snow White doesn’t love him doesn’t fall for the lure, guess heartbreak can save the day? So Frederick is cured and they all are happy because love.  James also finds out from Red Riding hood, who is a Snow’s Pal,  that she does love him and the King made her say she didn’t love him.  King George is such a dick!

In the Storybrooke world it comes out that David is cheating on Kathryn with Mary Margaret. The trouble is David didn’t tell Kathryn about the affair just that he was leaving her and couldn’t go with her to Boston. It’s Regina who tells Kathryn and Regina also wrote “Tramp” on Mary Margaret’s car. At the end, Mary Margaret again tells David they can’t work since he wasn’t honest. These two are so back and forth. Also Kathryn tries to leave Storybrooke but curse says she can’t and gym teacher that we see earlier in the episode comes to her aid but she is gone. Also he’s Frederick. The show isn’t very subtle about elements.  Also Emma goes on a date with The Stranger. They go to a well and discuss the healing properties of water. The Stranger also restored Henry’s book and left it for Emma to find.  

I really liked this episode. Abigail is starting to get a personality. Also I find it refreshing that “other woman” is the one the audience is rooting for it but the “wife” isn’t a horrible person. Alongside Once Upon a Time, I’m watching this Turkish Drama called “Magnificent Century” which like depending on the episode you’re rooting for the other women and also the “other women” switches between two women, they are concubines.  

Anyway, super off topic. I liked that this episode was very much it’s own thing and wasn’t taking from a set Fairy Tale but it pulled more from myths. I liked that the Beast was a Siren as this show doesn’t do CG effects super well and we had seen James already fight a dragon so the mental challenge  was more interesting.

As for the Storybrooke plot, it was fine. It did seems like the plot was moving a bit forward but then backtracked with David and Mary Margaret. I do like Emma and the Stranger a.k.a August Wayne  Booth, who named these characters? Anyway good episode.  

Ginnifer Goodwin as Mary Margaret & Lee Arenberg as Leroy ABC's Once Upon a Time, Dreamy picture image

Ginnifer Goodwin as Mary Margaret & Lee Arenberg as Leroy

Episode 14: Dreamy

This story focuses on Grumpy’s backstory. Grumpy’s real first name was Dreamy. Dwarves come from eggs and they mine for diamonds which get turns into fairy dust which fuels the world. They couldn’t call it Diamond Dust since that would a Final Fantasy reference. However Dreamy is special because before he was hatched his egg was sprinkled with some fairy dust which makes him capable of love and he is in love with a novice fairy named Nova who seems to like-like him back.   However Dwarves and fairies are bound to their very fixed speice roles so they can’t be together to see the world. This leaves Nova heart-broken and Dreamy becomes Grumpy.

Meanwhile in Storybrooke, Mary Margaret is still being shunned by the town but is trying to sell candles for miner’s day. That is a day where Nuns make candle to trade with Miners for coal. Grumpy’s counterpart, Leroy, whom I’m resisting calling Leeroy Jenkins is enamored with a nun, named Astrid. Now why is Mary Margaret the one with a Nun sounding Nun but the Nun doesn’t? These names!  Anyway, Astrid is Nova’s counterpart and because of a goof she made the Nuns will get kicked out of their convent if they don’t sell all the candles by following day.. Leroy and Mary Margaret rally together but since she is the town tramp and Leroy is the town drunk they don’t sell any candles. Leroy tells Mary Margaret that Astrid was the first person that said he could do anything. Leroy then causes a blackout because some well intentioned property damage is okay. This back-out sells all the candle so the Nuns can stay. While that is happening  Kathryn is missing.  Emma rules out David as her magic internal  lie detector doesn’t go off. Sidney and Regina get the phone records from Kathryn which makes David look super shady has he called her shortly before Kathryn disappeared.

Overall this episode was a average at best. I want to like learning about the Dwarves but it didn’t really connect and felt contrived. This also left me wondering why Emma can’t detect Sidney lying back in episode 11 when all he did wass lie. Is there a reason or is this superpower plot specific? Also Nun’s paying rent for on convent? That seems odd but plot says that is the plot.  I did like how you can tells which candles are real and which ones are fake LED lights.  

Anyway it was an average epsiode, next!