Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20170327005929/@comment-31564770-20170327013532

Alright so my notes on this ep:

1) I was not 100% satisfied with the EQ ending. I know, a lot of you called it, she's going to the Wish Realm with a Robin and all, but I wanted recombination. I don't think they tied that up well enough, but I also don't think that's the last we'll see of the EQ. If it is, I'll be sad. Even though each now has heart composition of good and evil similar to before the split, having two of them that are both essentially Regina feels loose to me. Plus, the EQ was sent to the Wish Realm- where Regina, who looks just like the EQ, killed Snow and Charming, and where Henry is still assumedly looking for blood. I feel like we'll have some fun there soon enough.

2) Though we all called the flashback, even though I hoped for something that would be actually shocking and it did end up redundant and slightly retconny, I enjoyed the flashback nonetheless and it did serve a good purpose for the plot.

3) Even though I feel recombination would still be the best end to this story, I now think it unlikely. Regina and the EQ are no longer connected, after all. Like I said, though, I feel we are probably gonna see the Wish Realm, and the EQ, again. Furthermore, this begs the question that I hope they address: where is the Wish Realm's EQ? There was one originally and as far as we know she's still out there. I hope we get some answers there too.

4) Welp, they've blown it. I'm super really disappointed with how they've handled Hook and Emma, starting with the botched proposal, and now she gave the ring back?! Like, wtf? They've killed it. They could've salvaged the proposal with this episode, and instead they screwed it even more.

5) The whole redeeming the EQ moment was beautiful, with Regina finally loving herself and all, and not gonna lie I was crying. That said, the leadup to that moment took half the freakin episode, and it was nowhere near as exciting as I'd thought it would be. Slight disappointment there.

Overall, I give this episode:

6.5/10 on the enjoyment scale. I wasn't happy with the tie up on the EQ, it was lacking for me. Also they butchered Hook/Emma.

6/10 for plot value. They had better make up that flashback to us with something actually surprising soon.

4.75/10 for mood setting. EQ felt a little off tonight, and the music was a bit lacking as well. Also, the flashback/present day ratio was unbalanced, with a redundant flashback that only served as leadup to one scene and only occurred during the first half of the ep.

-.5 for loose ends (EQ and no recombination) -.25 for that pose Regina struck when the EQ was severing their link. That was disgusting. +1 for beautiful message on self-love and that great scene with Regina and EQ.

Total score (average enjoyment, plot value, and mood setting, then add or subtract bonuses): 6/10

Overall, I was disappointed. This felt loosely done on all levels, and though I may have been overhyped for a Regina episode, this fell short. I'm upset. I wanted to believe in the writers and their creative power, but they let me down. I'm also mad at how this whole EQ thing went down and I demand reparations. You'd better fix this, writers, because I am not happy.