'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 14 'Unforgiven' Review

Non Spoiler Review- This episode contains many more twists and turns and proves to be much more exciting than the midseason premiere last week. 

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

Highlights of the episode

1. Belle and the Knave kiss- At the end of the episode, Gold is wandering the streets and peeks into his shop and notices Belle and the Knave kissing. For one, I don't understand how Rumpelstiltskin can just walk about and night and nobody seems to ever notice him. But this seems to have deeply affected him and will motivate him in his quest to earn happy endings for villains.

2. Snow killed Maleficent's baby- The revelation that Snow White somehow took away Maleficent's child explains why Snow White has such a big secret. I'm sure Maleficent will try to seek revenge by going after Neal or converting Emma to the dark side. I'm interested to klearn more of the villains plot and how they will get a happy ending.

3. Snow reveals a secret and asks a lot of Regina- Snow White reveals that Emma has a great potential for darkness and asks Regina to spy on the evil group in town. It seems obvious that the Savior, who has powerful magic, could potentially be a powerful villain so I don't understand why this is a big deal because I'm sure Emma won't join the group because she seems to be quite happy as is.

4. Maleficent resurrected- Maleficent was brought back to life by the villains somehow and I don't understand why no other characters have been able to be resurrected other than Rumpelstiltskin. Why couldn't Gold bring back Neal? I think it's great that Maleficent is alive again because she is my favorite Disney villain and I enjoy the character. I think part of the reason they brought Maleficent to the show is that 'Maleficent' was quite popular and did quite well at the box office. I'm excited to see maleficent in Storybrooke and to learn what is in store.

5. Regina asks for help- I really liked to see Regina apologize to Gepetto for screaming at him and Pinocchio. I also liked that she reached out for help and that Gepetto saw the change in her and gave her some of August's things. I like seeing the shift in Regina and enjoy her more as the hero.  

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'Once Upon A Time' Season 4 Episode 13 'Darkness on the Edge of the Town' Review

Non Spoiler Review- Overall a somewhat disappointing return to the series after the midseason break. This episode seemed to be a filler episode that served one purpose and I was annoyed that practically none of the characters were given anything interesting to do, character development, etc. which are the things that make up compelling characters. This episode focuses too much on setting up the next to provide a fun and entertaining viewing experience. 

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

Highlights of the episode

1. Snow makes a threat- Despite the little that happened in this episode, at the end Snow and Charming meet with Cruella and Ursula and Snow threatens to rip out their hearts if they reveal a secret regarding something that happened in the Enchanted Forest. This was more of a big tease at the end of the episode that just added to the list of things that makes me dislike Snow White's character.

2. Rumple is back in Storybrooke- I thought it was great to bring Rumpelstiltskin back into Storybrooke and as you can see above Rumple gains his magic and strength as soon as he crosses the line. I really liked the reveal that he had been orchestrating everything behind the scenes. That was probably one of the few enjoyable parts of character development that occurred.

3. Regina allows Ursula and Cruella into Storybrooke- It was interesting to see Regina wanted to give other villains a chance to redeem themselves showing she has come a long way and another reason I have grown to like her character. 

4. Chernabog- As soon as the beast appeared I recognized it as the chernabog from Fantasia. However I never knew it's name till I looked it up for the purposes of this review. but it was interesting to see another Disney beast adapted for the show. The visuals for the chernabog were great also and probably helped to somewhat redeem the episode.

5. Queens of Darkness- It was fun to see these three villains assemble in a flashback in the Enchanted Forest to help Rumpelstiltskin and I'm curious to learn what else these three were up to while they worked together.

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'Once Upon A Time' Season 4 Episode 10 'Fall' Review

Non Spoiler Review- An episode that answers one of the major questions from the 'Frozen' arc and explores Elsa's character. There are also many plot twists and reveals that add interesting drama and tension to the episode. A good episode but not quite the best episode. 

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

Highlights of the episode

1. The Spell of Shattered Sight is cast- I liked that in this episode we actually see the villain cast the big curse. In the previous seasons, Emma and Storybrooke stopped cora, Pan's curse by cursing themselves, and defeated the Wicked Witch. it's interesting to see a curse actually cast again and see the villain temporarily win, I'm sure they will still triumph in the end.

 2. Fairies consumed by Sorcerer's hat- I did not expect Rumple to force Hook to take the magic from several fairies. I expected Rumpelstiltskin to make Hook do terrible things but I didn't see this coming.

 3. Anna is now in StoryBrooke- I'm glad the finding Anna subplot was finally resolved. We now know that Anna and Kristoff were frozen for 30 years that conveniently brings them to the same time everything is going in StoryBrooke. I'm glad they brought her to StoryBrooke in a logical manner and now everything makes sense involving why they couldn't find her.

4. Final Goodbyes- we see each character give what they think will be their last goodbye as the curse is cast. it was a very touching and heartfelt moment too bad the next episode will take most of these characters in the opposite direction due to the curse. 

                            

5. Emma is left responsible- Snow leaves Emma to watch her brother. It reveals that Snow trusts Emma will fix everything and confident in her abilities. 

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'Once Upon A Time' Season 4 Episode 8 & 9 'Smash The Mirror part 1 & 2' Review

You may notice that this review is formatted somewhat differently and that is because this was a two part episode and is technically two episodes but they were shown back to back and work better connected as one 2 hour episode. There were several highlights in this episode so i felt the best way to split them without doing highlights from part 1 and part 2 was to divide it into flashbacks and Storybrooke. 

Non Spoiler Review- These episodes were probably the best episodes so far in the 'Frozen' arc of episodes. They are centered on Elsa, Anna, Rumpelstiltskin, and Emma. I'm very excited for the midseason finale after these episodes.

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

Highlights of the episode from flashbacks

 1. The Sorcerer's Apprentice offers a solution- I was very intrigued when it was revealed the sorcerer knew about Emma before even Rumpelstiltskin. I think he may turn out to be the author of the book who Regina is seeking. I also thought it was interesting that the Sorcerer's Apprentice was able to easily conjure a portal to the land without magic when it seemed like Rumpelstiltskin had so much trouble getting to Story Brooke.

 2. We learn the fate of those in Arendelle- We now know that everyone was frozen by the Snow Queen so they could still possibly be alive. I'm sure Elsa will somehow be returned to Arendelle by the end of the season.

 

3. Anna traps Elsa in urn- So we know that the Snow Queen was technically telling Elsa the truth about the urn but she kind of twisted the truth. I wonder when Elsa will regain her memories of this.

 4. Snow Queen casts Spell of Shattered Sight on Anna- So the Snow Queen was really behind putting Elsa in the urn so that way Elsa wouldn't be able to resist her.

Highlights of the episode from Storybrooke

 1. The Snow Queen casts Spell of Shattered Sight- So it looks like next week's mid season finale will be about another curse being cast in the town. it seems to be a recurring pattern since Season 2.

2. Rumple takes Hook's heart- I did not expect this, I'm sure that Rumple will use Hook for nefarious deeds until he has captured the magic he needs. I wonder what he will force Hook to do, and feel that that will be an important part of the rest of the season.

3. Rumple vs Snow Queen- it was great to see these two constantly one-upping each other. First, Rumple trapped Ingrid so he could take Emma's magic. Then when that failed and the trap wore off, Ingrid prepared her spell and made some evil friendship bracelets. I can't wait to see the end of this conflict.

4. Missing Page- While this wasn't as important to this episode, I think it will be more important for the second half of the season. I think the author used magic to put the alternate page in Robin's sack and I think we will continue to see missing pages appear.

5. Elsa helps Emma- It was interesting that Elsa was the one that helped fix Emma and not Henry because true love seems to always fix everything. I'm glad that Elsa is an important character and hope she will stay on the show. 

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'Once Upon A Time' Season 4 Episode 7 'Snow Queen' Review

Non Spoiler Review- This episode explains the backstory behind Ingrid, the Snow Queen, as well as revealing more of the Snow Queen's evil plot. Overall, it was a great episode that answered a few questions from Frozen like where Elsa's gloves came from, etc., and focuses on Emma, as well as the Snow Queen.

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

Highlights of the episode

1. Rumpelstiltskin and the Snow Queen make a deal- The big plot twist was the moment that Ingi=rid walked into Gold's shop and made a deal with him. She asked for she and her sister's ribbons, and that Gold would leave Storybrooke once her plan succeeds in return for secrets about the Sorcerer's hat that hill help to free Gold from the power of the Dark One's dagger. She whispered the secret in Gold's ear and then the episode ends so it ends witha big cliff hanger before the next two hour episode. I really want to know what the secret is but I suspect we will know within a few weeks.

2. Emma loses control- When Emma is interrogating Ingrid, Ingrid does something that causes Emma to lose control of her powers. Emma accidentally blows a hole in the wall, and almost harms people by accidentally dropping a light pole. I thought this is very similar to when Elsa loses control of her powers in 'Frozen' and I hope they find a way to differentiate this from 'Frozen'.

3. Ingrid's backstory- We learn that Ingrid accidentally freezes her sister which causes her other sister to put her in the urn that Elsa finds her in in an earlier episode. I thought it was similar to Elsa's backstory in the beginning of 'Frozen' but she accidentally kills her sister unlike Elsa who saves Anna.

4. Furniture Polish joke- The funniest part of the episode was when Henry asked to learn magic and Gold tells him he will give him a potion that makes old things new and pulls out furniture polish. I enjoyed this humor so much that the scene made my top 5 highlights list.

5. Duke from Weselton- You may recognize this short Duke from 'Frozen'.

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