Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20160425010026/@comment-24674051-20160425022142

Ok, very satisfying episode.

The flashback was good (maybe not great, but I will say that both young ladies did a good job portraying the pre-teen versions of Regina and Zelena).

"are you a good witch or ...". Once again, Cora is a liar. She is NOT a good witch. (I'll have to rewatch to see her exact response). But, in fairness, Cora is a heartless witch, so...

I loved the dynamic between Barbara, Lana, and Bex. there was a chemistry with all 3 on screen that was amazing. and they built up the reveal on what happened nicely. The fact that Cora got to cross to her happy place was nice. Cora in the UW is Cora with her heart. She was able to tell Zelena that she regreted giving her up, and really mean it. She was able to help Regina and Zelena find a piece of their history when they were happy together (one that she stole from them).

Now to the other sibling rivalry. I like that they played up James as the stronger, but meaner, brother. That what he was. the fight on the docks felt real, and David's remorse at sending his own brother into the water was totally in character. The story between David and James, did feel a bit rushed, but that might just be that I wanted to see a little more between James and David. The ending was fine (and actually not totally unexpected).

As to the ending with Pan and Gold kidnapping Zelena, someone asked why Zelena just didn't use magic. Her magic has been on the fritz since she arrived, and she has not been shown to use magic in the UW, except for when she was getting ready to fireball Regina, and that fireball was easily extinguished by Cora. So I would say that Z's magic is still a little wonky.

However, I think that kidnapping Zelena is not going to end well for Pan or Rumple. Because with the new dynamic, they just managed to piss off both Hades and Regina, and I can now see that it will be possible for Hades, Emma, and Regina to work together to rescue Zelena, and I would NOT want to be on the receiving end of that one. (Prediction: Pan goes to the fire or the lake, and he will possibly go early in the next episode. Not sure how Rumple avoids any negative repurcussions, since he did say that even he would be affected by the water from the River of Lost Souls.)