Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20161024005929/@comment-24674051-20161025165212

If my previous comments indicate that I didn't like the episode, let me clarify. I thought it was a decent episode. Clearly the casting and acting for Al and Jas was spot on (even if Deniz has a bit of an accent, he is very believable, and did a marvelous job with his portrayal, as does Karen with Jas). I also liked Jafar (though I still do miss Naveen). The twist on the Aladdin story definitely drew in elements from the Disney version (including the iconic hourglass), but was also definitely given a proper Once twist that was enjoyable. From that aspect, this was a good episode. And that they finally tied Aladdin to Emma (which was hinted at in "The Savior") was also done well.

The fact that I see more than a few unanswered questions, as well as lack of movement in already established story lines, is what concerns me. As I said in my previous comment, we got more questions, and not really any answers. How well the episode is in the long haul depends on if we get payoff from all the questions raised. If the rest of the season builds on these questions and resolves them, then this episode did its job well. if not, then it was a poor insertion into the story line.

Some stray observations:

1 What was really the point of the day spa trip for Zelena and the EQ? That whole conversation falls into the unanswered question category. There is obviously some setup occuring, but what it is setting up is not very clear.

2 Archie changed to his Cricket form in Storybrooke. I found that amusing. Particularly with it hanging over Robyn's crib. How long until Emma and/or Regina come in to rescue the cricket?