Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1916997-20151012011036/@comment-24674051-20151013180646

Ok, I'm missing something here. What's all the commotion with Bae's scarf?

That aside, I thouroughly enjoyed the episode, and I think there was actually some brilliant writing in it.

1. I liked that they are working together in Merlin's tower, and identified a solution (The Crimson Toadstool), but did not just have it "magically appear". The search for it, and how it was handled, is better than they have done with seasons past, and made it seem much less of a Deus ex Machina and more of an actual plot item.

2. Everyone is going off on Regina and Zelena. But I thought it was a brilliant, if hypocritical, scene. I think that there is a part of Regina that actually wants a chance at a relationship with Zelena, but knows that won't happen as long a Zelena keeps painting herself as a victim. Regina, for all of her hypocrisy, was dead on in her assessment of Zelena, and as long as Zelena keeps painting herself that way, there's no way that she'll succeed with any chances. And, I have to say that Lana's delivery of the line "My Gift To you..." was such a brilliant callback to the pilot.

3. The friendship between Arthur and David seemed well done, even if we do find out later that Arthur is a bit of a scum bag. The more I see of Arthur, the more that I think the writers are handling all of the source material very well, including parts of Arthurian legend that depict some of Arthurs less than heroic characteristics.

4. Lancelot being alive. Hurray!

5. JMo is showing some serious scenery chewing chops of her own this season. Dark Swan is seriously delicious.

6. Unlikely pairings continue. Belle and Regina in the Beginning, Hook and Robin at the End.

7. Everyone seems to get getting more screen time.

8. Little tease at the End of Undarkened Rumple. I liked his reaction to seeing someone else as the Dark ONe after 300+ years of holding that title himself.

9. I was watching with family, and as soon as Belle mentioned that they needed an item that Rumple had touched before he was the dark one, I immediately called out Hooks rusty sword that he threw at Rumple. THe scene where that actually came to fruition was brilliantly played, including Hook owning up to his own villainous past in that encounter.

10. The only weak thing that I saw was how slow the scene moved when David was knighted and sat at the Table. Also, that David was able to sit in the Siege Perilous. That whole scene felt a little off. I suspected that David would become a knight, but It would have been more fitting had he taken Percival's seat. And not have made such a major production out of the knighting ceremony. That's just my opinion.

Overall, the episode set some things in motion, and definitly moved the plot forward in a good way overall.