Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1894786-20151102014307/@comment-5106672-20151102205102

That's one of those mixed-feelings episodes. The bad first.


 * I'm not sure how much this episode would have made sense to anyone who hadn't seen Brave before. I'm hoping to hell once they're done with Merida, they shove her down whatever portal and just STOP making up sequels to Disney / Pixar movies. DO YOUR OWN STORY ONCE, pretty please?


 * Speaking of which, what were we up to back in Camelot, again?


 * Belle got kidnapped again, what a shocker.


 * The Charmings were selfish, hypocritical and self-centered, what a shocker x2.


 * So let me get this straight. It took certain characters (which I'm not going to mention) two half seasons to earn forgiveness from the Charmings, another half season to get the town's acceptance and a sparkle of light magic, another season to actually be called a hero and there's still hell of a road to go… while it took Rumple the first and only episode in which he didn't kill, threaten, manipulate or otherwise harm anybody to rise to Excalibur-Level Hero? (That's a hyperbole, calm down, you Rumple fans). Like, not even going to Charming-forgiveness level first, straightaway to Excalibur-Approved-Pro? I mean, I'm enthusiastic to finally see a spark of redemption for Rumple and I would watch ten seasons of Rumple rediming himself in between one slip and another, recalling his past mistakes, learning from them, teaching others from them, earning Belle's and everybody's forgiveness, all of that, but did that really happen? He did one single selfless, brave action after proving himself a coward, a manipulator and a magic-addict even without the Dark One's powers, and that's enough for Excalibur to let him pull it out? I guess Maleficent and Aurora should be BFF by this time: Mal hasn't tried to kill her in a while now, has she?

I don't know where to put it:


 * So Merida is a selfish bitch after all, whether Emma is controlling her or not. I mean, by herself she's not murderous nor has she truly ill intentions, and we really need to see her when she's not truly desperate and on her last nerve to judge ger, but she doesn't strike me as reckless and Griffindorish brave: she's actually nasty piece of work.


 * Henry got his five seconds of glory only to end up into nothing at all. Meh. They really don't know what to do with him.


 * I would have loved to see more of Merlin before he turned into post-mortem voicemail. I mean, more as in him doing things, not as in less clothes on him.

The good:


 * Kidnapping aside, Belle really shown in this episode. She can be actively useful, but she's also believably the only human character in this episode. I love how she grabbed the fire extinguisher to defend herself in the library. As for her sudden proficiency at magic, I guess that's the books she found in Merlin's tower: that's why she could do witchcraft with Merida or help Merlin, and why she didn't do much back in Storybrooke. She has forgotten all that knowledge courtesy of the Dark Curse 3.0. I also loved her sassing Gold, but I'll get back to that in a minute.


 * This is the first time I've liked Rumbelle since probably S2. Finally it's turning into a potentially helathy relationship: Belle is concerned about Rumple, possibly still in love with him, she's being empathetic and supportive of him, but strictly on her own terms. She's not putting up with any of his crap, leaves the moment he's his old self and lets her guard down when he shows some guts. Also, I loved how she stood there awkwardly when he was speaking in the library and kinda changed subject instead of going all "Oh my gosh I still love you let's get back together now". There's still love, but it needs a new-found trust, as well as a serious effort on Rumple's part. I like it. It's realistic and it's probably the first glimpse of Beauty and the Beast since S1. Go for it, writers!


 * Zelena had one scene and totally killed it. Firstly, I loved how it wasn't totally unrelated to Regina. Then I loved how she treated Emma as a newbie villain, outsassed her and politely declined her offer. Maybe she's not as bonkers as she would seem. And I also loved how she gave Emma insight about what consequences her actions are having: that was very mature of her.
 * As I mentioned, I liked how Rumple is still choosing the easy way out even now that he's not the Dark One. Excalibur shenanigans aside, that's a good starting point for a redemption arc I'm dying to see.