'Once Upon A Time' Season 5 Episode 4 'The Broken Kingdom' Review

Non Spoiler Review-  This episode was among the best of the season and a majority of the episode was spent in flashbacks either filling in the story of what happened in Camelot or with a flashback showing Arthur's backstory. I really enjoyed this as it filled in a lot of the plot holes and answered many questions.  Overall, it was a great episode that really excited me for the rest of the season as well as being quite entertaining. 

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

Highlights of the episode

1. Merida will teach Gold to be brave?- One big twist was the reveal of what happened to Merida in Storybrooke as we learn that she has been tied to Emma's bug as a prisoner of sorts. Emma takes out her heart to gain control over Merida to force her to attempt to teach Gold to be courageous although that seems like it will be a very difficult task. I'm excited to see where Merida's character will go in the upcoming episodes.

2. Merida jailed by Arthur- The episode also revealed Merida's location in the flashback part of the story as we learn that she's imprisoned by King Arthur for unknown reasons. I'm very curious to see if she and Lancelot will escape and what will become of the two characters.

3. Arthur's Backstory- The backstory to explain Arthur's motivation was very interesting and answered a lot of questions as to why he is evil and more of his perspective. I really enjoyed how this was done and would like to see it continued in coming episodes.

4. Magic that will make what is broken appear to be fixed- The magic Rumple gives Guinevere allows for things that are broken to appear as though they are repaired. It was used to change the Charming's perspective as well as basically hypnotize all of Camelot into believing the kingdom is great. I'm curious to see if this magic will be further used this season and for what purpose.

5. Hook helps Emma- Another great part of the episode was seeing Hook help Emma overcome the voice of Rumple in her head. It was a great part of her character arc this season and I'm excited to see the outcome of this. 

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'Once Upon A Time' Season 5 Episode 3 'Siege Perilous' Review

Non Spoiler Review- A decent episode of 'Once Upon A Time' compared to the previous two episodes this season. The episode focuses on David in both the flashbacks and main story and actually made him a slightly more interesting character, which I think has been lacking from his character for awhile. I also liked the few reveals and twists in the episode that were very interesting. The story of the episode was fairly generic though so I hope next week's episode will have more drama. 

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

Highlights of the episode 

1. Emma awakens Gold- A big twist was seeing Emma awaken Gold from his sleep and telling him that he is currently neither good nor evil and that she will make him a hero so that he can lift Excalibur for her. I really liked this twist because Gold is my favorite character so to see him get more screen time is great! I can't wait to see the outcome of this subplot.

2. Arther is a villain- Another big twist that I actually liked was the reveal that King Arther is actually a villain and  has other plans.   This is revealed in a flashback when lancelot tells Snow about the twisted man and is further supported by his actions in the current story when he asks a man to poison himself ignorer to prevent Regina, David, and Snow from learning about his true intentions.   I really like this because it allows for another villain aside from Emma as the Dark One and I'm curious to learn of his plans for Storybrooke. 

3. David joins the Knights of the Round Table- A interesting plot point was to see David added to the Knights of the Round Table and i'm curious to learn if he did so to manipulate David and have a stronger pull over him to possibly gain the Dark One's dagger.

4. Emma and Hook- When Emma asked Hook to meet her I feared she was planning to manipulate him to lift Excalibur but we learned by the end of the episode that was not her intention but she needed Hook's sword to awaken Gold. I hope their relationship will find a way to continue because I enjoy the characters together.

5. Regina threatens Zelena- A scene I particularly enjoyed was one between Regina and Zelena whee she tells her the child will survive but she can't promise the same for Zelena. I was glad to see Zelena get a little bit more screen time this week and hopefully this trend will continue because i like the character and every scene she's in.

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'Once Upon A Time' Season 5 Episode 2 'The Price' Review

Non Spoiler Review- Another solid episode to this fifth season that maintains the mystery and intrigue while revealing some of the events that occurred in Camelot through flashbacks. The episode really focused on Regina along with a subplot for Hook that was nice to see. One thing I really like about this show is that it does a terrific job of switching the focus on specific characters from episode to episode so each character is given a compelling arc at one point or another.  For the most part I really enjoyed this episode and I'm looking forward to the upcoming episodes as they reveal more in the flashbacks, etc.

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

Highlights of the episode 

1. Emma's plan revealed- At the end of the episode,  Rumpelstiltskin appears to Emma and tells her that he is there to help her complete her plan and we learn that she plans to use Excalibur to wipe out the light. As of now, I like Emma as the Dark One because it's so different and I enjoy how they included Rumpelstitskin into her consciousness, etc. 

2. Hook wants to save Emma from the darkness- I really like how this arc is developing because it's interesting to see Hook, who was once a villain, have the desire to save Emma when he could easily become evil again. I also like how this led him to have a better relationship with Belle because she understands his problem. I can't wait to see this arc further explored.

3. Regina saves Robin- A man attempts to kill Regina when he learns she is the evil queen and instead Robin ends up being stabbed and so Regina turns to Emma to save Robin. She then asks Emma to use dark magic to save him which works but is said to come with a price. And we see that it starts expediting the process of Emma becoming dark. And at the end of the episode she saves him from the fury potentially revealing she could be the Savior now that Emma's dark. 

4. Henry's first crush- Henry seems to have a crush on a girl and I feel like this girl will later be important. This is because she seems to remember hearing the song that Henry shows her in Granny's Diner from before when he showed it to her in the Enchanted Forest. I think this means that maybe she could be able to have her memories restored somehow. 

5. Merlin trapped in a tree- This episode also reveals that Merlin is trapped as a tree but prophesied the events that have occurred.

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'Once Upon A Time' Season 4 Episode 19 'Sympathy For the De Vil' Review

Non Spoiler Review- A decent episode of 'Once Upon a Time' that has a few surprising twists. I was never really a fan of Cruella's character and thought she didn't quite fit in with the show given that she is not a fairytale character and the flashbacks somewhat explain her presence but overall I didn't feel an episode focused on Cruella's character was essential to the series and don't feel that the character was necessary for the series either. 

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

Highlights of the episode

1. Emma kills Cruella- The big twist of the episode was when Emma turned dark and killed Cruella to save Henry which I don't; feel necessarily makes her dark because in a way Emma did the right thing and saved Henry. Sure if she had known the truth she could have done it differently but emma was forced into this corner so I think she can redeem herself.

2. The Truth- Another surprise was the reveal that the author wrote down that Cruella can never kill another which means she isn't really that large of a threat and unfortunately Emma isn't informed. I didn't expect this but it explains why she hasn't done anything too bad in Storybrooke.

3. Rumpelstiltskin manipulates the situation- I was surprised to see Rumpelstiltskin manipulate the situation and separate hook and Regina from Emma so Emma is forced to act in the manner she chooses. It seems that Gold's endgame is to save his heart which is ironic because he is corrupting another to purify himself.

4. Regina Takes Belle's Heart- It was nice to see Rumple and Belle speak to each other but we soon learn that Regina was controlling Belle with her heart to basically signal to Rumple to stop him from informing Zelena she is headed to new York to stop her. I'm interested to see igf regina will keep the heart to hold dominion over Rumple or not. 

5. Cruella's Origin- While i wasn't particularly fond of Cruella's origin, I did like how it revealed how she got powers a,etc.

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'Once Upon A Time' Season 4 Episode 18 'Heart of Gold' Review

Non Spoiler Review- This episode focuses more on flashbacks and fills in the time which Gold, Robin, and Robin's family left Storybook and were in New York. It also provides another flashback to Robin becoming who he is today and why he has the moral code he has, etc. A very interesting episode with several plot twists that look to pay off for the rest of the season. Overall another great episode of 'Once Upon a Time'. 

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

Highlights of the episode 

1. Zelena is alive- The big twist was the reveal that when Gold "killed" Zelena she didn't die but went back in time and ended up killing Marion and posing as her using magic. So the entire time the Marion that was brought back was Zelena. Selena plans on attacking what Regina loves most; Robin Hood. So she is using Robin's feelings for Marion against Regina. I think it's an interesting plan and I'm glad to see Zelena back.

2. Gold blackmails Regina- Gold reveals to Regina he is working with Zelena and she will kill Robin of Regina falls out of line. He wants to use Regina to help guide Emma towards becoming evil. I find Gold's plot to be very interesting and can't wait to see how it plays out.

3. Gold enlists the Author- Gold finds the author before the good guys and convinces the author to help Gold in his evil scheme. It seems that Gold has everything about his plan in motion and everything is in his favor because he has the author, the remaining Queens of Darkness, Zelena, and control over Regina.

4. Flashbacks- It was interesting to learn what happened to Gold, Robin, and Robin's family while they were in New York. I especially liked the subplot of saving Gild's heart which lead to the revelation that Selena is indeed alive. I hope for more flashback like this to help fill in gaps in the timeline.

5. Robin gains a moral code- It was interesting to see Robin gain the moral code where he steals to help the unfortunate and for the better good, etc.

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