Hi everyone, this is Heather and I’ll be filling in while Katie is away. I hope you all had a satisfying week of TV and I’m excited to give you a few thoughts of my own.
It was a week of finales on network TV this week. On Sunday, Once Upon a Time wrapped up it’s season with Emma finding out that her home is in Storybrooke with her family. Also on Sunday, Alan Cumming reminded us all why is such a great actor and Eli Gold is such an interesting character on The Good Wife and Tyrion’s trial began on Game of Thrones. On Monday, Castle ended their season with a case of blackmail, mobsters and Beckett’s husband that concluded with more heartbreak for Beckett when Castle went missing on the way to their wedding. On Wednesday, Nashville finished their season with 2 proposals, a break-up that I hope doesn’t stick, what may be the rekindling of Gunnar and Scarlett’s professional partnership, a coming out, and a truly great performance by Hayden Panetierre. Finally, on Saturday, Sarah discovered that Rachel’s father may still be alive and is working with Helena and Leekie to free Felix and Cal discovered that Kira is very good at lying to people to protect her family on Orphan Black.
In my other shows of the week, Monday also brought us the series finale of Star-Crossed which ended on a cliff-hanger with at least one character’s life at risk and the promise of more Atrians coming to Earth. Tuesday brought us the series finale of Trophy Wife, which may not have been its strongest episode but the final scene captured exactly what the show is about, as well as the season finale of Chicago Fire and all of the tears that seem to come with this show weekly. On Wednesday, we said goodbye to Chatswin as Suburgatory aired its final episode.
For me, there wasn’t really any competition for the Best Thing I Saw this week. I loved Once Upon a Time’s season finale and the scene where Emma gets her magic back in particular.
I regularly have a lot of emotions about the fictional characters I watch every week. I am frustrated with them when they make bad decisions, I am sad when bad things happen to them, I am happy when something works out for them, and sometimes I am unbelievably proud of their growth as a character. This moment was one of those that made me incredibly proud of the journey Emma Swan has been on in the first three seasons of Once Upon a Time. She finally feels like she has a home. She doesn’t have to be a lost girl any more.
Nerdy Girl Notes 
I have stewed about this one for the last few days. I get the pick, because it is the optimistic and perfect moment because it brought full circle a character we watched build towards it for 3 years. And her moment before opening the portal to her convincing of Rumple was truly great. But I am going a different way. My top three moments:
3. Castle and Beckett on the Bench — of all the characters currently on T.V. I don’t know that there is a duo I am more invested in than these two. Fact remains whatever the flaws or let down people felt in the finale, that bench scene was classic Castle and a beautiful peek/reminder of the deep intimacy these two characters have built over six seasons. It reflects how much they bring out their best selves in each other and that their kinship extends well beyond love affair. It is what I love about these two. It is what made that moment wonderfully warm, romantic and true to these fictional characters I adore and invest in so deeply.
2. Emma/Hook – Emma/Rumple – for all the reasons you pointed out and many many more.
1. Tyrion Lannister speech at his trial — I am an unabashed Peter Dinklage and I have been since the very beginning of this series. I thought he was left with too little to do last year and feel like in the arc of this season we have seen a resurgence of the Tyrion of season 2 – much to my delight. His scenes with Jamie have hit all the right notes and moreover, his interactions with Sansa show the scope of Dinklage’s work and this character. While I love a seething tongue lashing from Tyrion as much as the next person, what made this moment so visceral to me was his reaction shots, particularly within his interactions with Shae’s testimony and ultimately her betrayal. There is nothing he loved so well as her and his anger and hurt were palpable. The look, the distraught realization that his acts to protect her were the very things she used to against him to reinforce the lie of his guilt. He loves Shae and even in that moment of exquisite pain he can not lash out at her so with the sinister looks of Cersei and Tywin, the game master we watch him shift his weight (literally) embrace the sadness he feels from Shae’s betrayal and then, and only then do we watch that pain, suffering and sadness shift to the lifetime of pain, suffering and sadness suffered at the hands of Tywin and by extension Cersei and Joffery. That lifetime of emotion cloaked in wine, women and sarcasm thunderously rises out of Tyrion in the form of abject anger. And THAT’s when we get to the booming explosion that is his speech of recrimination. It is a terrific crescendo of paced and thoughtful scene blocking and acting. And that is the reason it is the best thing I saw this week.
Peter Dinklage was truly fantastic in that scene. I think that would have been my 2nd pick for the week. He dealt with all the other lies in the trial but Shae’s testimony was just too much for him and he handled it in typical Tyrion fashion – with a biting speech that has been building up for years.
I am just going to say that the best thing I saw this (last?) week was Emma’s smile. There were so many, and I loved seeing each and every one of them. I loved the smile full of wonder when she saw the moment her parents were supposed to meet. I loved the Im living a dream smile when she was at the ball. And the euphoric smile when they successfully get Snow and Charming to meet. I love flirty distracting smiles with past Hook. And the amused grin with jealous hook. The proud smirks when she saves herself or channels her pirate side. And I especially love the bashful smile in this scene when she gets her magic back. I love the fact that Hook is beaming at her and that alone causes her to smile before she even makes the realization that her magic has returned. And then of course the mid-kiss-forehead-resting,-smile of contentment. More Emma smiles! More Hook smiles! More smiles for everyone!
I would be very happy with more smiles for everyone! There were so many and they were all so different that I don’t think I could really pick a favorite, but her flirty smile with Hook would definitely be high on the list.