'Once Upon A Time' Season 4 Episode 16 'Poor Unfortunate Souls' Review

Non Spoiler Review- A much needed episode that dives into the origins of a few characters, and provides intriguing plot twists, etc. I consider this episode along with last week's episode to be some of the best episodes this season. 

*******There will be Spoilers from this point on*******

Highlights of the episode

1. The Author's location- At the end of the episode it was revealed that the sorcerer trapped the author inside the book. This revealed that the sorcerer and the author are indeed separate entities and not the same person as I suspected earlier this season. I really enjoyed the twist and find it fitting that the author is trapped inside his own creation.

2. Ursula gets her happy ending- I liked that Ursula was able to obtain her happy ending by getting her singing voice back and rejoining her father with Hook's help. However it's a little strange that the Queens of Darkness are now missing one of the original members. I did like that a villain was able to obtain their happy ending without the author's assistance proving that it is indeed possible.

3. Hook tells Emma she's his happy ending- A heartfelt moment of this episode was when hook spoke to Emma about his concern his happy ending will be taken from him given that he was formerly a villain and she asks what the happy ending was. he then answers saying it is Emma. I enjoyed this scene and hope to see more scenes like this in the future.

 

4. Ursula Origin- This episode provides us with Ursula's origin and reasoning for becoming a villain. I was very happy to receive this since prior to this episode, she and Cruella seemed to be weak links in Rumplestiltskin's plan and not very evil. It made me understand why Ursula chose the path she did and I enjoyed seeing character development for her and Hook making both characters more complex. I also was glad that to see the origin since it has been referenced in the past few episodes. I hope to see more villain origin's soon (**cough, cough** Cruella **cough, cough**). It also made for a nice Ariel cameo in Storybrooke.
5. Gold plans to use Emma-  At the end of the episode Ursula tells Hook of Gold's plan since he helped her obtain her happy ending. It is revealed that Gold plans to make Emma evil. I honestly don't feel that this was a big surprise or anything given the promotional material for the midseason premiere and Snow White's worry that Emma has potential for darkness. Honestly I think this seems very ridiculous, I'm fine with the show runners wanting to make it plausible Emma could turn evil, etc. but I think they are really stretching it but it seems obvious that someone with powerful magic would be a powerful villain.

Promo

'Once Upon A Time' Season 4 Episode 15 'Enter The Dragon' Review

Non Spoiler Review- Another interesting episode with a few more twists and surprises than last week's episode. It also manages to develop multiple characters at once taking advantage of the flashbacks, etc.  

*******There will be Spoilers from this point on*******

Highlights of the episode

1. August restored- At the end of the episode the Queens of Darkness convince Regina to kidnap Pinocchio and she does so in an attempt to gain their trust. They bring him back to their hideout and Rumpelstiltskin reveals himself to Regina and tells her that he can help her find the author, etc. He then uses his dagger to restore Pinnochio to August again. I'm glad that the show has done this because the character was much more interesting as an adult than a child and there is much more depth to his character as August. 

2. Rumpelstiltskin's game of deception- Another twist was that Rumple was posing as Captain Hook and approached Belle suggesting to relocate the dagger and that only he could be trusted with it. She gives him the dagger and as she leaves he reveals himself as Rumpelstiltskin once he's alone. I like that Rumple is one step ahead and aware of what he must do to be ahead and what measures he must take. I wonder how Belle will react when she learns the truth. 

3. Belle and the Knave are a couple- After Rumple has the dagger he goes to his shop and speaks to Belle about the rose she has and where it came from, etc. In this conversation she reveals that she and the Knave are an item and that he makes her happy despite still having feelings for Rumple. This puts Gold in an awkward position so he leaves and appears to be saddened by the news. I feel very bad for him despite the villainous acts he has committed this season. If Belle learns the truth it willl only distance the two.

4. Maleficent backstory- The flashback provides some much needed backstory to Maleficent and Regina in one flashback subplot. It was very interesting and was honestly a more interesting situation for Maleficent than that seen in 'Maleficent' last year.

5. Regina goes undercover- Regina goes undercover and pretends to be evil to fit in with the Queens of Darkness and learn the secrets they are keeping. I'm glad Regina is placed in this situation because it helps to make her a much more interesting character that I enjoy much more now.

Promo