Once Upon a Time 2.17: Welcome to Storybrookeby Wolfen MoonsgetReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Network
Credits Grade: 9 We get flashbacks to when Storybrooke was first created by the curse, catching a couple of bystanders within it, and learn some surprising things. In our time, Regina mourns her mother and seeks vengeance, while Henry wishes for an end to magic.While I still liked it, this episode felt markedly different from other episodes in terms of atmosphere, especially in the flashbacks. It was like an indie thriller, helping to modernize the fairytale theme of a witch trying to steal a child, turning it into a human-interest story. What started out as an amusing, Groundhog's Day-ish scenario (one which nicely explained who the people of the town went through 28 years without noticing that they didn't age -- too bad they didn't air this one back around Groundhog's Day) became a deliciously creepy, more Twilight Zone-ish sort of tale. I think what made it so different was that was a pretty dark, oppressive ep on the whole, more so than any other ep, even in a show that can frequently be tragic. I still feel sympathy for Regina for things she's gone through, before and after the curse, but I don't think I've ever been so chilled by the results of her actions (even as I sympathise with her desire for love during said actions) -- she was quite a creeper at one point. I liked this ep as a cautionary tale about both the detriment of being a control-freak and how getting what we want isn't always the best thing for us, and I like the suggestion of how mystery adds spice to life. The arrival of Storybrooke as a storm and how the pair of bystanders got caught up in it reminded me some of Dorothy and the Oz series -- save that it was more of an inverse, since the strange place basically landed on them. So Henry was wrong about the town never having had outsiders! When I'd heard that Graham would be in this ep, I'd assumed that it would be a fairytale flashback, and so was pleasantly surprised to get this sort of flashback. On the other hand, I was disappointed by the lack of real use of the character, how two-dimensional he was -- it fit the story, but I'd been hoping for a story about him. (In fact, since the ep aired on St. Patrick's Day, I'd hoped it would be an ep dealing with Irish folklore, and so ended up disappointed that it wasn't.) Meanwhile, I realised we got to see Gus again! Here's to hoping for more such flashbacks! Spoiler time. I loved the depiction of Regina moving from pleased about how her spell worked out to disillusioned with it, starting to understand that one should be careful what one wishes for because they just might get it. I must say that I was a bit surprised that she was so pleased with her more humble surroundings, particularly when she held up that super-plain dress. I would have thought she would see it as a step down after her super-ostentatious gowns and castle, but then again she seemed to have lived a simpler lifestyle when she was with Daniel, so maybe subconsciously she associates simplicity with her lost love. I wonder if the curse knew she needed a chance at real love (as opposed to a mindless sex-toy such as Graham was until Emma arrived) and at being a mother, and that's why it basically landed on Owen and his dad. (I find it puzzling that Regina would be so surprised at the pair being in Storybrooke -- surely she didn't know everyone who lived in the kingdom! Did the curse let her know everyone who was brought over?) It's ironic that she would be so drawn to the pair as something she couldn't control, which therefore made them interesting, yet she still sought to control them. I like how she eventually came to understand in the past that fake love (or power over others, for that matter) born of a spell wasn't a love worth having because it wasn't real -- and then how she came to do a 180 on the issue in the present because she was so lonely, she'd reached the point where something fake was better than having nothing at all. I imagine that, after a while of a happy life with a doll-like son, she would get bored and disenchanted with such a being, just as she quickly did with the town. I like that they listed the same rules regarding magic as was listed in the animated film Aladdin, about not being able to bring someone back to life or make someone fall in love with someone else. It's interesting that there are ways to get around it -- we know that, within the context of the show, one can use magic to raise the dead as zombies (as Cora did), and now we know there are spells that can make one think something is true in their head even if it doesn't reach their heart. Did Cora never try that spell on Regina?Did she come ti the same conclusion that the earley Regina did, that false love wasn't satisfying? I wonder if the Star Wars reference about Luke and Darth Vader's light sabers was just thrown in because the writers are fans, or because Disney owns Star Wars now, or if we're supposed to be seeing a parallel. Maybe the union of Luke's green and Vader's red in a single keychain (note another key reference) is a commentary on how Good and Evil are often intertwined? Is this the key to making something happen? Perhaps it's about how Henry (Luke) convinced Regina (Darth) to not do something (for a second time, and at the same place!), suggesting there is still a possibility of redemption in her, as there was in Vader. Speaking of Henry, when Emma chides Neal for falling for Henry's trick, pointing out that Henry was Neal's son (and therefor has similar skills), it occurred to me that Henry could have turned out that way anyway, given that he's also Emma's son, and she's a thief too -- as was Snow! I guess thievery runs in the family! Maybe lying does too, considering how easily he came up with an excuse for being in the woods when Greg questioned him. I do find it curious that Greg, having nearly been abducted by Regina before as Owen, would knowingly help her capture another child that could have suffered the same circumstances. I'm intensely curious now as to how Regina got Henry in the first place, considering that Gold couldn't leave the town (unless he played no part in it? I can’t recall now ...) and strangers couldn't enter. I like the parallel between Regina approaching Owen and her approaching Henry, her hands in the air and trying to convince each that things would be okay. I also like the parallel of how he stopped her from killing his family this time as compared to last time, how both instances took place at the well. Henry needs to stop leaving Regina each time she does something he asks of her and overcomes the darkness in herself! I understand why Henry wants to get rid of magic, just as his father did, but of he did so, wouldn't everyone lose the part of their memories regarding the fairytale world, just like Belle and Sneezy did? Wouldn't that be essentially murdering half the town (as in half of each person)? I'm glad that Emma seems to finally realise that it's wrong to lie to Henry, even to keep his heart safe -- for his physical safety, he needs to be kept in the loop. Like snow tells her students, when they were building bird houses: "What you're making is a home, not a cage"; Emma and Charming hiding Henry form the truth is like keeping him in a cage. Snow's other words about the birds, "If you love them and they love you, they will always find you," is a nice nod to the Snow-Charming family motto -- as well as perhaps foreshadowing to the fact that Owen returned for his father. The cage lesson could also have been good for Regina, regarding the life she's trying to build in Storybrooke and her relationship with Own and his father! Then again, as far as the town goes, there are certainly worse cages -- aside from Ruby and her gran, everybody seems pretty chipper. I assume that having everyone be outright miserable wouldn't be a pleasant place to live for Regina herself, since even the monotony gets to her pretty quickly. I like that Regina admits that she doesn't learn from her mistakes, and the fact that she decides to just sit back and let Snow reap her own karma. Even so, shouldn't Regina fear what Snow will become capable of if the darkness in her heart spreads, knowing that Snow would be gunning for her? If Cora could still be protective of Regina (in her own twisted way), and Regina could still be protective of Henry, then Snow's family wouldn't likely have much to fear from a dark Snows compared to Snow's enemies! Despite Rumple's insistence that he won't help Snow, technically warning them in the very first place about Regina's intentions was him already helping, much less the second time, when he explained the curse she intended to cast! Was his twice-refusal really a matter of not thinking there was any reason he should help? Or did he really want to help in the first place but figured they wouldn't welcome it if he offered, so he let the family bully him in order to make it look like it was their own idea for him to be there? Or maybe it's a matter of how, the worse you seem in the first place, the greater chance you have of impressing others -- and the lower the risk of disappointing them. Or maybe it really comes down to the blood-feud; maybe he's just sick of it and depressed because he sees no way to stop it. I loved the little heart-to-heart he and Snow had, where she asked how he lives with the things he's done, and he replied that you tel yourself you did it for the right reasons and maybe someday you'll believe it. Tricksters lie to themselves, and Snow has shown some trickster traits, so maybe she can do it. Meanwhile, this is more proof that he's not all evil; if he was, he wouldn't need to convince himself of the rightness of his actions. I loved seeing Rumple show regret over Cora's death, that he still carried some love for her even if his evil side allowed him to trade her life for his (and fairly so -- she did try to take his life first). I'm very happy he tried to make peace with Regina, attempting to talk some sense into her -- I think he actually did it as much for her sake as for the safety of Bael's new family. It's too bad that conversation seems to have failed; it's also interesting to compare it to the other conversation they had, in the flashback, which was, despite his lack of understanding then, more successful. Other thoughts .... I also love Snow's line, when she's shown David, about how maybe someday he'll wake up and someone will find him -- again, it's a nod to the motto. It's also a nice nod to their fairytale, especially the song from the Disney movie, "Someday my Prince Will Come," even if it's in reverse. Regina's talk in the flashback of bad things happening when she feels threatened was a great segue to her in the present, angrily mourning Cora. And her lack of understanding the "Boss" reference was both cute and a good indicator that she really has little knowledge of the outside world. While I realise it's integral to the story that Regina decide she wants a child, and that Owen's asking Regina why she wasn't a mom yet was what spurs her to realise she wants one, it's a horribly rude question that I hate ever hearing anyone ask. if one wants kids but can’t have them, it hurts them to be asked. If you don't want them (like me -- who thankfully also can't now), when society acts like it's perfectly okay to ask that question, it's like society is saying there's something wrong with you for not wanting any and you need to answer to them for it. I'm mollified here some, though, by the fact that it's established that Owen is rude -- I just wish Kurt had come in and chastised the boy for asking. When Regina asked whose son Owen was and Marco-Geppetto answered that he'd never been so lucky, I wonder of Regina worried, even for a moment, about where Pinocchio was. Interesting that the parallel between her and Marco -- evincing the desire for a child but being unable to have one -- is raised. Come to think of it, that plot point is never actually addressed -- is she barren, or did she purposefully seek out the grandson of Snow and Charming? I only managed to figure out that Greg was Owen right before the reveal. Can strangers really enter Storybrooke, then, or was Greg able to come in because the town had basically landed on him in the first place? Is there something special about him that brought it to him? Why was he no longer able to see Storybrooke after he went to get the police -- a defensive part of the curse? I find it odd that Kurt never freaked out when confronted with magic. Not that he wasn't afraid, but it seemed all about what should be done with magic rather than that magic existed at all. Maybe Kurt was what the magic was drawn to. Why couldn't Regina let Kurt go? Did she not realise he wouldn't be able to lead anyone back to Storybrooke? If she thought that was a danger, then why let Owen go? What did she do with Kurt? I'm eager to find out! Written: April 21, 2013
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