Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20170410010002/@comment-25926288-20170410125913

Esk's Grade Report for the episode.

Plot ( 2.5 of 3)

+ Flashback, Hook side-plot. Both accomplished what they were after. A sad past and a comedic pairing.

+ Emma and Gideon team-up. The logisitics were more on point than they often are.

+ Regina and Henry and the Authorial woes. The Author powers are often a sitting deus ex machina that trivially sits by the wayside. This brings it back to the forefront and can be used for interesting foreshadowing if done correctly.

- The only downside is the implication of "That's all of the Dark Realm you get folks!" Worldbuilding is usually on the weakside for Once. So many worlds, so little development. However, this is simply the first appearance, so it's too early to tell.

Character ( 2.5 of 4)

+ Emma and Gideon: They make an interesting pairing. Emma was the physical aggresor while Gideon did the mental agression. Before the twist, Gideon actually apologized for his mistakes which seems genuine and a decent establishing fact after we find out he's being controlled.

+ Regina and Henry: Regina gets some snark back and some bonding time with Henry; however, much of it is attached to superlative-laden exposition. Nonetheless, it's a pairing that often gets time without storyline.

o Rumple and Belle: Rumple is showing strong parallels to his son. The episode emphasizes Gideon as a combination of his parents. Coward manipulator and a hopeful hero and tied in a bundle of angst. It is however neutered by their lack of inclusion in previous episodes and the lack of interaction between them and their son. Them sitting and discussion that they need to save their son can only occur so much.

+ Black Fairy. A Vindictive, Cruel, yet Sugar Sweet Fairy. You can tell she is a fairy and her impish nature nicely ties in with Rumple. It's also amazing how similar both Rumple's parents are. Impish meets deranged, controlling meets selfish, and both very manipulative.

General Consensus ( 1.5 out of 2)

- It edges out being positively received. Some view it as crowded, others as set-up heavy, but nothing significantly wrong with the story presented.

Balance ( 1 out of 1)

- It was akin to normal A & E episodes were the humor and darkness are a bit more obvious but it fell together nicely. The greatest demonstration of this is after killing Gideon's friend....

BF: This is on you Gideon.. and on my boot. [emotionally destructive, but a hilarirous little quip at the end. She was quite the pun-master].

<p style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:14px;margin-bottom:0px!important;">Overall Score: 7.5 out of 10, or an B-, or a solid episode. Nothing to say other than a great start to the last potential arc of the season.