Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20171216015812/@comment-24593235-20171216043646

Amazing episode, and possibly their best mid-season finale!

I just finished re-watching the episode because my TV messed up like half way through, so I ended up seeing the episode for the first time with an hour break in the middle of it. Anyways, at first I thought the flashbacks were... weird. Everything was happening so fast with Lucy being born, Drizella being frozen and then eight years later, but the second time I around I quite liked all of it. I trust they'll hopefully fill in a good amount of the gaps like Henry and Cinderella (both post-7x08 and pre-7x01), why Rapunzel aligned herself with the heroes against Drizella, and then everything in the missing eight years of course. As for what we did see, I quite liked all of it. I liked Regina going to see Zelena and Robin, Hook getting help from imp!Rumple, Queen Tiana, the stuff with Alice and Robin (who I totally ship, by the way!) There was a good amount of diversity showing where everyone was at the time of the casting, and I LOVE the twist that Regina is the one to cast. I'd previously considered it, but it wasn't something I thought that much about. I love the whole situation though, having to save Henry, and it's really complicating everything. It makes for some pretty great drama, and I'm here for it.

As for the present day stuff, let's talk about Kelly. I'm glad she's over and done with. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the spin class scene, but when I heard we were getting Zelena's cursed persona I figured it would be while Regina was cursed as well. Seeing one cursed and not the other would've been frustrating, so I'm glad we cut to Zelena regaining her memories, and I liked the montage of her history in the show. I really love the dynamic between Regina and Zelena, and I'm very excited to see more of them working together as sisters in the back half of the season, especially after being cheated out of that the majority of Season 6.

I'm also liking the stuff with Rumple's storyline and how the weird symbols from earlier in the season are actually beginning to make sense. Not gonna lie, I hardly retained any of the "missing Eloise Gardener" storyline and really thought it'd mostly amount to a bunch of nothing. I guess I'm glad to be proven wrong? Lol. I'm sure Ana isn't the Guardian simply because we're only half way through the season, but I liked the scenes with her, Rumple, and Victoria. I also think the actress playing her is doing a really good job, so shout-out for that. Tilly continues to be absolutely adorable, and Ivy continues to be a fantastic villain. Gothel betraying her wasn't much of a surprise, but I must admit I laughed when Victoria said "Don't even look at me" when she got thrown into the pit. I really do hope Ivy gets a happy ending (still unsure about Victoria, but definitely not Gothel).

Anyways, this and the previous were both fantastic episodes, and this season is really starting to turn itself around. If it keeps going at this rate then perhaps it'll be a good season after all. I'm definitely looking forward to the back half right now, at least.