Once Upon a Time Season 7 Episode 1 Hyperion Heights Review

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Season 7 Episode 1 Hyperion Heights

Once Upon a Time Season 7 Episode 1 Hyperion Heights picture image

Dania Ramirez as Cinderella & Andrew J. West as Henry Mills

And we’re back at this. Why? I don’t know. Let’s just say I was inspired by Hulu show Difficult People. There was an episode where the main character was doing community service by teaching inmates about recapping TV Shows and how that it’s not really about the recap it’s the person doing the recap. So here we go, Season 7 of Once Upon a Time.

Basically they Disney Straight-to-Video-Sequeled  it! What does that EVEN mean? You know how one model of Disney sequels is the protagonist’s kid doing the same thing? Well that is what is happening here extensively. Henry’s daughter is getting Henry to fix a curse which he does not believe. Henry is Emma and Lucy is Henry. However in this version Henry is cursed and Storybrooke is  Hyperion Heights a neighborhood in Seattle. Seattle is probably also going to play the role of Boston and New York City. Sorry Portland Maine,   Once Upon a Time forgot you exist but maybe Portland Oregon will get a Shout-out.  

It’s all a soft reboot, doing the same thing Once Upon a Time has always done, Amnesia Curses. However there are different people at play, maybe and different people affected, maybe. We know Regina is affected as she now goes by Roni, a bar owner and Hook is a cop named Rogers. Rumple goes by Weaver but who knows if he affected.  So they all get new names to go by which these reviews extra fun…  I hope you all get the puns here. Hook is Roger because of the Jolly Roger and Rumple weaved Straw into Gold. It’s all very clever. Not sure where Roni comes from.   

The new players are Lucy, Henry and Cinderella a.k.a Jacinda’s daughter. She knows about the curse. Cinderella is Jacinda a single mom working a some chicken restaurant.  There is Victoria the new Regina a.k.a The Wicked Step Mother and her daughter/ assistant Druzilla. Her name is credited a Ivy. There is also Alice and Tiana. Tiana has a bit part in this episode declining Frog legs at the ball because oh you get it but she to be a recurring character. Also I’m confused on the subject of custody with Lucy vis-a-vis Jacinda and Victoria. Does a stepmother have rights to custody over her step-daughter’s daughter? Guess it would depend on if Jacinda was minor when she has Lucy. Don’t know but it’s not like Once Upon a Time was ever hazy in custody details  before, oh wait, it was for like three seasons.  

While Once Upon a Time did do Mystery well in the first season, it never  managed to since the that opening season, it does do twists well because it withholds vital information to make the twists happen. Like for example Hook being the/a Dark One, there was no set-up just the reveal. Sure, it makes for a twist but not one that was set up or hinted at. It’s hard to see how this season will stack up to the other seasons since it trying to a lot at once.  

Is it bad? No. Was the premiere a rehash? Oh boy was it! Do I hope it does its own thing and is compelling? Yes, am willing to give it a try especially when without Emma we don’t have her whiny savior moping, no hope speeches from Snow White or toxic Belle and Rumple. Though it does seem like Regina/Roni will get the hope speeches this season.

I feel like I shouldn’t question the logic of this show since it’s a slippery slope that leads to head implosions but other Realm Cinderella can drive a motorcycle having only ever before operating a horse-drawn carriage? Stop trying to make How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days more realistic!

 

Once Upon a Time Season 6 Finale Review

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Episode 21: The Final Battle Part I

Jennifer Morrison as Emma Once Upon a Time Season 6 Episode 21 The Final Battle Part 1 picture image

Jennifer Morrison as Emma

Okay for the record Henry is 14 which means 4 years of show time have past but then how old is Neal and Robin? Really just forget about time in the show, it’s easier on the brain.

So the final battle is the Never-Ending Story. The Black Fairy has Emma in a version of Storybrooke where she is a mental patient battling belief. As her belief wanes all the Story realms fade away. Emma’s family except for Henry is back in the Enchanted Forest and the EQ has moved into Regina’s castle. Also Aladdin and Jasmine are back. The hat is mention and Hook gets a bean to save Emma. But Emma burns the book at Fiona’s insistent.

Also really show, more amnesia? Or is the curse a type of alt-world or both. I’m confused.

While the idea of the final battle is more of battle of faith does bring the series full circle, what does The Black Fairy get out of it? She just gave into to the fate of a villain to fight good but that is so basic and now she just doing this whole killing the savior’s belief because that’s what she suppose to do. Doesn’t make much sense for the story. It’s more like the writers had this concept for the last part of Once Upon a Time and the villain was just sort whoever. Or they did know that it was the Black Fairy but didn’t really do a great job at that element that makes a good villain, motivation. The Black Fairy always seemed half-baked in her evil plans. Why did she kidnap babies? Why did she want out of her realm? Why does she want to kill the savior? Shrugs to all those questions except the getting out, she wanted to be with Rumple but did she really???

Also did anyone notice that the plot of Untold story characters fizzled out? It went away awhile ago and really all it amounted to was EQ, Jasmine, and Nemo, Wish we could have know Hyde’s plan.

This episode also adds setup for next season with some little girl in “a time of great upheaval.” And the photoshop work on those pictures of Belle were REALLY bad.

Any that was part one, onto part two.

Episode 22: The Final Battle Part 2

Jennifer Morrison as Emma & Jared S. Gilmore as Henry picture image

Jennifer Morrison as Emma & Jared S. Gilmore as Henry

I will say, this the ending on one point for I guess that book of Once upon a Time. Next season it will focus on a new book with an adult Henry and his daughter, ye old gender swap plot.

So what happened? Well number one we learned that The Black Fairy’s true motivation for killing the savior and I guess the story realms were so that she could break the laws of magic, whatever those are, and have unchecked power. She baits Rumple with bring Baelfire back to life. She also tells him that she still has Gideon heart and that only he can kill Emma. Rumple them kills the Black Fairy thus breaking the curse. Rumple has committed both patricide and matricide. Anyway Rumple tries and do the right thing by getting Gideon’s heart to stop him but alas it doesn’t work.

So Emma and Gideon fight but she sort stops and lets him stab her which I guess works because she doesn’t die and Gideon gets a restart as a baby. This only works because Emma and Rumple did the right thing. I don’t know how this make sense. I guess Rumple was an anti-Emma this whole time and now he doe switching from be somewhat redeemed and being a power-hungry ass-face.

It all wraps up with everyone being super happy and Emma is Jesus. She is in the Jesus position in OUAT’s version of the Last Supper.

And we did get to see David’s dog again? Where has he been this whole time? Seriously show!

Season 6 was an unfocused mess as it has WAY too many plot threads. Oddly the finale made up for it a little as it was a nice throwback to the first season and did have a sense of what made the first season really good.

And then there is the cliffhanger for season 7 with only three of the cast members returning. The Trailer and a promo recently came out and it does seem weird but who knows I won’t lie and say i’m not a little curious. Maybe this series needs a Fresh Start.

 

Once Upon a Time Season 6 Episodes 7 & 8 Review

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Episode 7: Heartless

Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White and Josh Dallas as David Once Upon a Time Season 6 Episode 7 Heartless picture image

Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White and Josh Dallas as David

And we are back to having a sleeping curse in play. This time it’s a shift based curse on the Charmings. If Snow is awake then David is asleep and vice-versa. It’s rather clever. Too bad the rest of the episode hinged on being boring aside from the puppy. What happened to Charming’s dog?  

The past section rewrites Snow and David’s first meeting so instead of meeting when Snow robbed him, now they actually have their first encounter when Snow got captured by a bounty hunter. Why? Why retcon this? Is it so they have more True Love to their story because they literally drown in true love mythos.

So show of hands, who sick of Belle and Rumple’s toxicity? I hate that they take up  so much screen time. The show murdered their relationship because it needed Rumple to always be in the villain position but they can’t make Belle a doormat so it’s sucks to watch them. You can’t root for them.    

Emma and Hook are getting boring since more of their scenes are just pep talks. And that just leave the Charming who are too perfect but now they are curse. So I guess that makes them compelling? Not really.

Liked the twist on the curse and the puppy. Also the line about the Dying of the Light reference. Sure they were referring to the poem but my mind went to the George R.R Martin book.

 

Episode 8: I’ll be your Mirror

Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen and Jared S Gilmore as Henry Once Upon a Time Season 6 Episode 8 Ill be your Mirror picture image

Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen and Jared S. Gilmore as Henry

Well don’t the Charmings just adjust super well? No curse is going to get in the way of making pancakes. And hey and the curse allows to actually  care for their baby whom they haven’t talked much about this season but at least baby Neal is there, still a baby and  yet Henry keeps on aging.  

This episode has Regina and Emma getting trapped in the Mirror world with the Dragon. The Dragon seems like he has a compelling backstory which we will probably never see. EQ tries to pull a Darth Vader on Henry when she gives him a Sophie’s choice which is kill the Dragon, whose heart she holds or let the Dragon, who can turn into a dragon, kill Emma and Regina. Henry opts for that heroic third option which is the smash the mirror which works and not just taking  the heart from EQ and telling the Dragon  to stop. They never do things like that. Maybe heart stealing is that fourth option.  In anycase  since Regina has had a light and dark battle in her soul, is she Kylo Ren?

In other plots, Aladdin steals the portal wand so that Belle can go to the Enchanted Forest because Rumple is a mammoth  asshole who wants to use the Shears of Destiny on their son so the kid won’t hate him or something? Rumple forces Belle to stay and now he wants Zelena killed since she has leverage on him because he can’t hurt her. Just sick of  the Rumple plot. The show loves the actor but they can’t do much with character without constantly making him an ass-face.

Also Emma is going on and on about her death again. This season lacks focus

Also RIGHT before EQ throws Hooks I swear there some weird effect in the water. Maybe it’s a subliminal message?

subliminal message or weird effect in Once Upon a Time

subliminal message or weird effect or compassion error?

 

Once Upon a Time Season 5 Episodes 21- 23 Review

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Episode 21: Last Rites

Sean Maguire as Robin & Lana Parrilla as Regina Once Upon a Time Season 5 Episode 21 Last Rites review picture image

Sean Maguire as Robin & Lana Parrilla as Regina

Ok, so Hades’ plan this whole time and the real reason he gave up on the time travel thing to switch places with his brother and focused on Zelena was because Zeus broke the Olympian Crystal and Hades couldn’t repair it with his heart stopped in addition to not being able to leave the underworld. Also it seems like Hades wants it all, Storybrooke, Olympus, no-calorie cookies and power. Now the Olympian Crystal is the only thing that can kill or end a god. This the same plot device the show uses a lot towards the end of each arc, some magic thing that either saves everyone or doom everyone, like season 2 it was that fail-safe trigger, or is season 4 with that necklace. Or how a cut from Excalibur just murders you.

Trouble is Hades he can, like everyone else, can snap a person’s neck with magic, so why not just do that? He did it with Arthur. Why really do you need the trouble of forging your only murder weapon, even if they do-gooder don’t know about it? Why bother?

Except Arthur and Hook found the pages about Hades and the crystal and they put in the book and TA-DAnce, pages in the Storybrooke version for Emma to see. But it is Zelena who kills Hades after he obliterates Robin’s being and lies about this schemes. Hades did love Zelena though he just fell victim to being a villain and wanting to have it all. Power, love, family, power, a kingdom to rule, power and more power. He didn’t explicitly say it but he probably wanted to kill Zeus with the crystal. Anway Zeus restores Hook to life because he was a good boy. So Hook stayed officially dead for like one episode. Arthur is cool with being in the underworld since he now knows Camelot wasn’t the kingdom that he was prophesied to repair, it was UnderBrooke. Looks like Cruella is going to have some opposition.

It does suck that Robin’s existence has been wiped out, like his soul is gone. It was a noble sacrifice for Regina. It might have been sadder if he wasn’t being such a douche about his daughter, how Zelena was dangerous and how Regina shouldn’t trust Zelena.

This conclusion to the arc felt very underwhelming. Robin’s death is only going to cause more drama for Regina because this show loves its drama. Girl can’t be happy because that’s not dramatic.

All in all this was an arc of cameos and call backs.

Episode 22: Only You

Jared S. Gilmore as Henry & Olivia Steele Falconer as Violet Once Upon a Time Season 5 Episode 22 Only You review picture image

Jared S. Gilmore as Henry & Olivia Steele Falconer as Violet

Remember in season 2 when Henry tried to destroy magic? Well he’s at again though with more teenaged angst. He thinks magic is the root cause of all the suffering in Storybrooke expect Storybrooke is made of magic so when Rumple steals a piece of that Olympian Crystal and tethers Storybrooke’s magic to it after Belle’s father refuses to wake her, Henry using his author powers steals the crystal and goes to New York to destroy it and Violet goes with him. At a library they find other Once Upon a Time books like one has Don Quixote and Paul Bunyan, not sure why they are in the same book. Violet also sees a “twin” of the Holy Grail which they conclude can destroy magic. Why is it in the Mid-town library? Rumple however shows up and takes the Crystal before Emma and Regina can get there.

Regina is once again go through the fine line of being good and suffering and following her impulse and be evil which means she would lose everything and everyone. This was an emotionally charged scene and the best of the episode.

Speaking of the balance of good and evil we have Jekyll and Hyde now. Because of the impending Doom, there is an evacuation of Storybrooke. Before Zelena can close the portal it goes crazy and her, Snow, David and Hook are pulled to somewhere. With the wand broken they captured and are the prisoners of Mr.Hyde. Hyde is not a fan of the Dark one. Jekyll repairs the wand but is caught and Hyde allows the plan to continue as he wants everyone in the steampunk zepplin land to go to Storybrooke too. Hyde also steals Belle in pandora’s box from Rumple. Rumple actually picks to save the power object over his love. Classic Rumple. Don’t feel bad for him. Hyde does this for leverage.

Here’s a thought, couldn’t Henry, as the author, just write that everyone loses their magic? Then no more magic. Or is that not dramatic enough? He just uses his author power to steal the magic but not remove it from people.

This episode is more of the same just upcycled. We have seen Regina’s struggling with her darker self and now there the Jekyll and Hyde plot. Henry wants to destroys magic again, people trapped in a weird land again. Rumple wants power for love but choice power again. This episode reverts to it’s old patterns and just repackages it. Characters don’t get arcs they grow a little bit and then a setback happens and people accuse them of following back to their old patterns, just like the show. That maybe how real life goes but it’s not interesting in a show about how gray fairy tale characters are and redemption arcs.

This episode is serviceable as the first part of the two part finale. On a plus side the violin music at the end was amazing. It had a Phantom of the Opera vibe. Do Phantom of the Opera Once Upon a Time. Or Hunchback. I don’t really want to think those curiosity were a weird Hunchback reference, I’d rather be reading too much in their extra choices.

Episode 23: An Untold Story

The Land of Untold Stories Once Upon a Time Season 5 Episode 23 An Untold Story review picture image

The Land of Untold Stories

This episode is the 2nd part of the finale. Zelena, Snow, Hook and David find out the identity of the Good Gardener/Doctor and the Warden and they try and flee Mr.Hyde who has been separated from Jekyll. Turns out they are in the Land of Untold Stories which is full of Outcasts, show’s own words, so high hopes for Hunchback. To be fair yet another extra looks like Esmeralda.

Meanwhile, Henry successfully destroys the magic of Storybrooke with the Dark Grail only to find out that most of his Family is trapped in another realm. They meet the Dragon, who isn’t dead and he tells them that magic is everywhere. They go a fountain and make wished which charges the crystal but it’s not enough. Henry makes speech about magic and belief which is enough to restore the crystal and open a portal which brings back Zelena, Snow, Hook and David along with Jekyll. Rumple slips through the portal to save Belle. The New Yorkers then think it was a act. Regina then uses Jekyll’s serum to remove the Evil Queen and crushes her heart. However Evil Queen isn’t dead, she on the war path for the next season.

Rumple and Hyde come to some deal and Rumple gives Hyde Storybrooke and Rumple gets intel on saving Belle. Hyde brings all the untold story people to Storybrooke for next season shenanigans

Also Violet’s dad was from the Twain’s story, A Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Funny didn’t he chastised Henry for not being a knight. But they did say his name was Sir Morgan so might have been planned that way.

This episode has the flaws of the last episode but it have lot more set-up for next season with three plot threads, Regina versus Evil Queen in the flesh, no subtle internal struggle anymore, the show will eats its cake dammit, The Untold Stories featuring Hyde and Jekyll, and Rumple saving Belle which more than likely will get wrapped up quickly but it’s still a plot thread.

Henry flip-flopping on magic was annoying and his speech was awkward.

There was a heavy-handed foreshadowing when Emma tells Hook she loves him without being in peril there is a wedding gown positioned in between them in the background. What could happen next season???

So on to next season. Will there be Hunchback? Feel like I would have heard if there was by now since the season has ended. That extra might be it but she looks more like Esmeralda than the underworld waitress. Do you guys think that is Esmeralda?

Another Curious Extra or maybe Esmeralda Once Upon a Time Season 5 Episode 23 An Untold Story review picture image

Another Curious Extra or maybe Esmeralda

 

 

Once Upon a Time Season 5 Episodes 11 & 12 Review

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Episode 11: Swan Song

Colin O'Donoghue as Captain Hook with Caroline Ford as Nimue & Dark Ones Once Upon a Time Season 5 Episode 11 Swan Song review picture image

Colin O’Donoghue as Captain Hook with Caroline Ford as Nimue & Dark Ones

Must be fun to be extra playing a Dark One. I swear though one of the Dark One’s capes has the same fabric they used with Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens. What is a group of Dark Ones called? A Gaggle? A Constitution? An Unpleasantness ? A Murder? A Darkness?

Still not sure how the Dark Ones are really coming back other than they are a Vista from Hell or the Underworld and need the souls of the living for the exchange. Does seem like there were more Dark Ones than Storybrooke sacrificial lambs.

The plan of the Dark One does seem odd. Why would a Dark One want more Dark Ones around? Just to “snuff out the light?” And then what? Dark Ones are going to terrorize Storybrooke and compete for whose the Darkest? Doesn’t matter because Hook comes to his senses and sacrifices himself to put out the Darkness except he doesn’t because Rumple pulled out a double-cross and used the sword as conduit to be the Dark One again. Only this time he has all the powers of the Dark Ones. But wasn’t that the point, all Dark Ones are connected to the other Dark Ones. Didn’t the repeatedly say the pervious Dark Ones are inside the mind of the Dark One? Or do the Dark Ones communicate even though they are in the Underwood? It doesn’t make much sense and the murkiness of the explanations and the revelation doesn’t help, point is Rumple once again lost his redemptive arc and went with power. This show is a cock tease with Rumple’s character development.

Then there is Hook who in the past section meets his father who abandoned him and his brother and sold them. Then Hook’s dad was put under a sleep curse, met a girl while asleep, fell in love, got that kiss, married her and had another son. I guess this lady who died before we could meet her, I bet her name was named Adelaide and loved vegetables. Comment if you get that reference.

Anyway Hook meeting his dad was a test by Regina so Hook could kill Cora and go to Land without Magic to get his revenge on Rumple. He was going to spare his dad but killed him after he learned his new son is named Liam. So if he had a girl it would have been different? Actually Hook is mad about the abandonment and figures he hasn’t changed. Funny, that Hook never bonded with Emma about being orphans. Did anyway in this show NOT have a tragic childhood?

Hook’s redemption felt really rushed. So the drama of his sacrifice didn’t have enough impact.

Anyway it’s off to the Underworld with everyone to save Hook. Also we see that Nonchalant Duck again. That Duck and that Dove from season three should get more screentime.

 

Episode 12: Souls of the Departed

The Heroes in the Underworld Once Upon a Time Season 5 Episode 12-Souls of the Departed review picture image

The Heroes in the Underworld

Hey this is the 100th episode! And Welcome to Season 5 Arc 2 a.k.a Hell of Color-Correction. The Underworld looks like a dilapidated StoryBrooke with an ultra red tone.

So far this is the arc of dead character cameos as we see the Blind Witch from Season 1, Cruella drove by, Peter Pan, James and Henry(Regina’s dad) and Cora. Also Neal, who isn’t in the Underworld. Who knows who else will see again? Do the creepy marionettes that were Geppetto’s parents count as a cameo?

This episode focuses mainly on Regina’s parents Henry and Cora. Cora has set-up some plan to get Regina out of the Underworld but Henry begs her to stay to bring hope and help her friends. Cora tries to sent Henry to I guess even worse Hell but in the end he is set to Paradise, not sure what it is but it seems nice. Henry going to his reward was a nice emotional scene.

The backstory did answer a weird element from season 1, how Henry got trapped in Wonderland. Nice to get an answer, wondered if anyway was wondering how that happen.

A new character we meet is Hades. Not a fan. He looks like an asshole and whispers nearly all his lines. Maybe he will get better. Curious about the other character from Hercules. Like is the girl giving Hades a pedicure Megara? Could make sense.

Not a bad episode, had good moments with Henry and Regina but it’s the arc opener so there isn’t much going on yet aside from meeting Hades, the Crew’s quest to save Hook and help the Underworld people move on. I hate the Hades Blue Flame effect.

 

Once Upon a Time Season 3 Episodes 11 & 12 Review

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Episode 11: Going Home

Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan, Lana Parrilla as Regina, Michael Raymond-James as Neal, Jared S. Gilmore as Henry, Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White, Josh Dallas as David, Colin O'Donoghue as Captain Hook & company ABCs Once Upon a Time Going Home picture image

Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan, Lana Parrilla as Regina, Michael Raymond-James as Neal, Jared S. Gilmore as Henry, Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White, Josh Dallas as David, Colin O’Donoghue as Captain Hook & company

This episode is very dense and ends the Pan/Neverland arc and sets up a whole new world of  direction. In Storybrooke Pan crushes Felix’s heart because loyalty is a type of love. The ensemble figures out that they need to get the scroll back and a good plan is to switch Henry and Pan so that Henry can just bring it to them however they need the Black Fairy’s wand which the nuns/fairies have, which is in total RPG fashion, you need to get a thing to get another thing to do the thing that completes the quest. So Charming, Hook and Tinkerbell crash the Blue Fairy’s wake to find the wand but that pesky Pan’s Shadow gets in their way. Tinkerbell gets the pixie dust to work so that she can fly up and trap the shadow and then they throw it into a fire which apparently kills the Shadow. This relieves the Blue Fairy and she gives them the Black fairy’s wand.  Does this mean Greg is alive and the other people Pan killed by shadow removal?

Then it’s Operation get scroll but not before Rumple puts an anti-magic cuff on Pan/Henry, the one Greg and Tamara used on Regina in season 2. Regina does get the scroll but she passes out and turns out the cuff doesn’t work on Pan. Pan does put the cuff on Rumple. Pan then tells Rumple about how being a father was the worst because he couldn’t do the things he wanted and his dreams were crushed, I’m paraphrasing but you get the point.  

Regina wakes up and knows what she must do to stop the curse but Pan freezes everyone. Rumple then shows up having removed the cuff by cutting off his hand and using magic to reattach it. He grabs Pan and summons his own shadow with the Dark One dagger and stabs himself along with his father. Pan changes back to Malcolm begs Rumple to stop and that they can be a family again but Rumple says that he’s a villain and villain don’t get happy ending. He twists the dagger and they vanish into a burst of light.

However there is still the curse approaching. The way to beat it is for Regina to give the one she loves the most i.e Henry which will send everyone else safety back to The Enchanted Forest. She tells Emma she has to go with him because Henry will be alone since he was born in  the Land Without Magic, Emma can stay because of her Savior status.  Regina offers Emma and Henry  good memories of a life they spent together but they will not remember Storybrooke. Emma and Henry drive off as the curse falls.

One year later. Emma and Henry are living well in New York City when there is a knock at the door. It’s Hook telling her family is in trouble. He tries the true love’s kiss which fails and Emma kicks him in the rum balls and slams the door in his face. Hello second half of season 3.

Very dense epsiode. They were more parts involving the past of a few characters. The most memorable one was Snow White as Mary Margaret giving Henry the book. After that Henry sees her as Snow White which is when it clicked for him the nature and weirdness of Storybrooke.
All in all  the episode was highly good. Wouldn’t say it was great or a stand out but the setup for the second arc is intriguing.   Let’s see if Rumple will stay dead because I will miss him if he does but we’ll have to see.    

Episode 12:  New York City Serenade

Colin O'Donoghue as Captain Hook & Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan New York City Serenade ABCs Once Upon a Time picture image

Colin O’Donoghue as Captain Hook & Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan

Following from the last episode Emma and Henry are enjoying their lives in New York. Emma’s now has a boyfriend who wants to marry her and Henry’s on broad, there is just one problem, Hook. Hook keeps trying to convince Emma that her parents are in trouble and she needs to take a memory potion. Emma thinks he is crazy but she does go Neal’s old apartment at Hook instances. There she finds Henry’s camera he left there a year ago. Emma meets with Hook at central park and gets him arrested. Afterward she gets the  photos developed and realizes that the locations and people are unknown to her except her and Henry on in the pictures. Emma posts bail for Hook and he tells her that her good life is a lie and maybe there is guy who loved her in her old life, oh this ship. Emma takes the potion and remembers everything except there was one one portion so non for Henry.

Emma goes to tell her boyfriend, Walsh, about how she can’t marry him and her family needs her. Turns out her boyfriend is a freaking flying monkey, I get it, the dating scene is hard sometimes you just have to settle, oh wait, he’s was working for the new villain. Emma, Henry and Hook go back to Storybrooke. Emma reunites with Charming who remembers her but can’t recall anything about the last year and the only reason they KNOW at least a year has passed is because Snow is pregnant, like she nearly ready to give birth.

Over in The Enchanted Forest, Regina is devastated about losing Henry and tries to give up her heart. Snow convinces her not to. Hook also peaces out on everyone because there is  no reason for him to stay, he like-likes Emma.  Also someone has moved in to Regina/Snow’s castle and they group can’t get through the protection spell. They also get attacked by a flying monkey…geeze, I wonder who this “her” Aurora spoke of??? It’s the Wicked Witch of the West. We are now in OZ territory because Oz the Great and Powerful was a thing.  
I really enjoyed this episode. Emma got a little annoying with her whole whining about how great her life is but it’s understandable. It was interesting to have less dramatic episode where you can see the character’s life even for a brief moment. The Enchanted Forest storyline wasn’t as great but let’s just see where the Wicked Witch plot goes, not really looking forward to it but maybe we’ll see what they do with the character.