Source: http://www.spoilersguide.com
Title A Wondrous Place
Two-Sentence Summary As Killian works to get back to Emma in Storybrooke, his adventure aligns with Jasmine and Aladdin’s quest to find and save Agrabah—with some help from a familiar face. Meanwhile, Regina and Snow take Emma out to help her open up, which has some unintended magical consequences.
Favorite Line “You are a hero.” (Aladdin, to Jasmine)
My Thoughts “A Wondrous Place” was the television equivalent of a magic carpet ride: bumpy at times and sometimes dangerously close to crashing, but ultimately inspiring, beautiful, and unique—and despite a bit of a rocky takeoff, it nailed the landing.
Despite the plethora of other characters who played important roles in this episode, this was finally Jasmine’s time to shine. “A Wondrous Place” revealed the layers to her story that have been hidden from us since she was introduced earlier this season, and as each of those layers was peeled back to reveal her reasons for her desperation to find Agrabah and her distance from Aladdin, she became more of a fully-realized character with flaws she was more than aware of and strengths she had yet to fully embrace. In short, she became the kind of princess Once Upon a Time specializes in bringing to life: a fierce, complex female leader learning to love herself and to accept love in her life.
Jasmine certainly retained that “I’m not a prize to be won!” mentality from Aladdin, but she was given even more depth beyond that independent, outspoken streak. This version of Jasmine was allowed to be afraid, was allowed to have doubts, and was allowed to fail before succeeding—not because she wasn’t strong enough to defeat Jafar, but because she didn’t believe she was strong enough. She felt like a real person with flaws and emotional baggage, and I have to give the writers and Karen David credit for creating such a nuanced and believable character arc for Jasmine in such a short time.
Jasmine’s entire arc was about facing her fears and discovering that she could be afraid and still be a hero—what defines a hero isn’t their lack of fear, it’s their ability to fight even when they’re afraid. She spent so much of the episode trying to find a hero to help her save her kingdom when she was that hero all along. She didn’t need a prince to fight for her; all she needed was to believe in herself.
Jasmine lost her kingdom when she lost faith in herself and agreed to marry Jafar instead of fighting to find another way. She essentially gave up, and a defeatist attitude never got anyone anywhere on this show. What she needed to find was someone who believed in her to help her believe in herself, and she had that in Aladdin.
For a while, I found myself fairly unimpressed with the development (or lack thereof) of Aladdin and Jasmine’s relationship. It always felt like Jasmine was pushing him away, which made it hard for me to invest fully in what should have been an easy couple to root for. However, “A Wondrous Place” finally showed us why Jasmine had kept Aladdin at arm’s length for so long, and it the reason was heartbreaking: She felt undeserving of love. She pushed Aladdin away to punish herself for her perceived cowardice, which, as Killian pointed out so astutely, was itself another act of cowardice.
I loved the scene in which Killian and Jasmine talked about love because Killian finally got to use his wealth of experience to help someone else, showing how much he’s learned from his recent mistakes. For too long, Killian also acted as if he was undeserving of the love of a Savior, and that sense of guilt and shame controlled him. Once again, Colin O’Donoghue was a master of sincerity, working beautifully with David to create a lovely connection between their characters.
Both Killian and Jasmine were far from home in this episode, and it was nice to see them bond over that shared longing for the place they knew they belonged. And while Jasmine’s longing for Agrabah made sense, it was a sign of how much Killian has grown that the sea no longer feels like home to him—Storybrooke does, because Storybrooke is where Emma is. Home truly is where the heart is for these characters, and Killian’s desperation to get back home—back to Emma—mirrored Jasmine’s in a poignant way.
Home is something you fight for, something you’d do anything to protect. For Killian, that meant fighting to get back to Emma because he knew that his absence would make her feel abandoned; he understands her so well, and O’Donoghue did a great job of showing how much pain it was causing Killian to know that he was causing Emma pain. And for Jasmine, that meant finally fighting back against Jafar when there was no one left to fight for her. All she had was her belief in herself, which was bolstered by the belief Killian, Ariel, and Aladdin had in her. But that proved to be more than enough. With faith in yourself and the support of people who care about you, this show has proven time and time again that even the most fearsome foes can be vanquished and that you can make your way back home where you belong.
Jasmine’s support system included a kindred spirit in Killian, her True Love in Aladdin, and—my personal favorite—an encouraging female friend. Only on Once Upon a Time would you see Jasmine and Ariel team up on an adventure, and it was everything I never knew I always wanted. “A Wondrous Place” put female friendship in the spotlight in multiple storylines, but it was this friendship that I found the most inspiring in the episode. I loved the twist on the romantic magic carpet ride, with it being shared instead by two female friends on a mission. And I loved the warmth both David and Joanna Garcia Swisher projected in their scenes together. My only complaint is that we most likely won’t see more of them together.
With Killian serving as a mentor of sorts (or a grumpy matchmaker as he might describe himself) and Ariel serving as a friend, the final piece of Jasmine’s team was the man whose faith in her and love for her never wavered. Aladdin belongs in my favorite class of Once Upon a Time male characters: men who love badass princesses and think everything they do is amazing but also aren’t afraid to remind them when they’re not being their best self. Deniz Akdeniz was incredibly convincing and charming in this episode as Aladdin was completely unable to hide his affections for Jasmine, despite her emotional distance. His chemistry with David was palpable, and it allowed me to completely believe their love story, which was necessary given that it culminated in a True Love’s Kiss.
When Jasmine finally believed in herself, she also finally believed she could have True Love, and that magic—the magic that comes from the heart—was enough to bring her and her True Love back home. David was radiant in the moment in which Jasmine realized the love she felt for Aladdin was strong enough to create magic. I also loved that their kiss freed Aladdin from his life as a genie. Love has freed so many of these characters in so many ways; this was just one more example. In just this episode alone, we also saw how love helped Jasmine free herself from the idea that she always had to be defined by her past failings. She chose a new path—a brave path—and by choosing belief in herself and choosing to open her heart to True Love, she became the hero she had spent so long searching for.
Jasmine’s story in this episode was a story about the ways fear can keep us from believing the truth about ourselves, and that same lesson was reflected in Emma’s storyline in this episode. Emma spent much of the hour fearing that she had been abandoned by Killian, and that fear consumed her, blinding her to the truth about herself and taking her back to a place where—like Jasmine—she defined herself by her past heartbreak (every painful time she had been abandoned). Was it pretty to watch her abandonment issues rear their head again? Of course not. But it wasn’t pretty to watch Killian’s self-loathing rear its head, either. Both of these characters have been damaged by their pasts, and for as painful as it may be, it’s not necessarily a bad thing to show that love may give you the strength to battle your fears and demons, but it doesn’t erase them altogether.
Despite understanding Emma’s fears, I still found myself confused by how her storyline played out in the episode. My main complaint was that it felt as if much more time had passed after Killian’s disappearance than was actually the case. Emma’s certainty that he had left her could be excused by her long history with abandonment causing her to jump to the worst-case scenario, but there was no excuse for how quickly her family (especially Henry, who shouldn’t even have been in the episode for how much of a plot device he was—all that did was annoy me because he should have been giving his mom some hope) wrote off Killian as having left her and how quickly they were forcing her to deal with things on their terms instead of her own. (Although they did the same thing with her grieving process last season; I have a bit of a sore spot for characters telling each other how to express their feelings.) Yes, drunk Snow was hilarious, but I would have gladly traded those laughs for a conversation where Emma’s mother gently reminded her not to give up on her True Love so quickly.
Because, for a long time in this episode, that’s what it felt like: Emma had given up. It was a sad parallel to Jasmine giving up her quest to find a hero and agreeing to marry Jafar because she had no faith. But once again, why was Emma so quick to give up after a day? I could understand if a year had a passed or maybe even a month, but after a day, all of her talk about moving on felt incredibly rushed and not at all in line with her character growth and the overall theme of the show. Emma and Killian’s relationship has been defined by fighting for each other—even going to the Underworld and back for each other—and, while I could see her talking about moving on as taking what she learned about letting go last season and using that to drive her actions, it still felt like not enough time had passed for her to be so thoroughly defeated and for everyone else to be so thoroughly convinced that Killian was never coming back.
In the end, though, we all know why Emma was saying what she said and acting how she did: The plot called for it. Once Upon a Time is a show where the plot often dictates how the characters are written. And in this case, the plot called for Gideon to get one of Emma’s tears, so the writers had to craft a scene in which she mourned the loss of her relationship. I knew something was up with Aesop from the start (He was just too gosh-darn charming and attractive.), so I had a feeling whatever conversation he and Emma would have was going to be more about the end result for the plot than anything to do with her character development. So while it was nice to see her get hugs from the women in her life (in another parallel to Jasmine’s story), the whole scene felt hollow because it was so clearly a setup.
The same could be said for Emma’s seemingly rushed decision to move Killian’s things to the shed. It felt like an unnecessary step so soon after he left, but she needed to hear him through the seashell in the most dramatic way possible, which is exactly what happened. And although I should be mad about how contrived the plot that came before it was, all my frustration ultimately faded away as I watched Killian remind Emma of the truth: He would never willingly leave her. Between O’Donoghue’s pleading voice and the emotion on Jennifer Morrison’s face, I was an emotional mess. Should Emma have figured that out without him contacting her? Maybe. But there’s nothing wrong with needing some help believing when your faith is at a low point. Sometimes you just need a sign to keep believing, and Emma has needed signs and support on her journey to believing more than most characters—for completely understandable reasons. So for her to get that reassurance from the man she loves was the perfect way to close their story in this episode and move them now into a place where they are once again on the same emotional page, working together to tackle an outside problem instead of an inner emotional conflict.
That outside problem came in the form of Gideon, who used Emma’s tears to close the portals and keep Killian away from their realm. (How convenient that we’re just learning now that Savior tears can close portals.) However, I am glad that Gideon finally got wise to the fact that working with Emma to destroy the Black Fairy made a lot more sense than killing her to take her powers. It’s going to make for an interesting partnership; although I hope they defeat the Black Fairy quickly so Killian can come back home—this angst has gone on long enough.
Extra Thoughts
• Were the Vikings in the bar supposed to be the guys from Tangled? Or was I the only one who noticed their similar vibe to everyone’s favorite Snuggly Duckling patrons?
• Aesop’s Tables might be the best name for a business this show has come up with yet. I’m going to credit Jane Espenson with that one until proven otherwise.
• The costumes in this episode were stunning—from Jasmine’s camel-colored coat to her Agrabah clothes.
• I loved the return of “kleptomaniac Ariel,” even if it did seem way too convenient for her to be hoarding the container that just happened to hold Jafar.
• I was honestly shocked they didn’t have Ariel slap Killian for old time’s sake, but I did love seeing them hug and being reminded of all the history between them.
• I actually laughed a lot during this episode, which was a major clue that Espenson wrote it. She has the best sense of this show’s unique humor potential, and she always uses it to its fullest.
Nerdy Girl Notes 
Lovely job on this, Katie. The magic carpet characterization: brilliant.
Aladdin and Jasmine. I wish this storyline had been given more space over multiples episodes. These are such great characters. Jasmine, for instance, is such a great blend. We see her afraid, but with the strength to admit her fear. She has the strength of character to own up to her cowardice when it’s pointed out. She realizes that she can draw on the strength of fellow heroes. I really would have loved more Jasmine and Aladdin adventures.
Ariel and Jasmine. Ok, seriously, have they paired Ariel up with anyone and it hasn’t been awesome? (I still want the adventures of Belle and Ariel at some point.) I love supportive friendships on this show.
I will admit to being annoyed that NO ONE spoke up on Killian’s behalf. No one. Yes, Leroy saw him get on the Nautilus and that looks bad, but you’d think someone would point out that Killian’s probably having a tough time, feeling isolated, etc. NO ONE brought up all the times he’s been there for Emma? Everyone just jumped on the “let’s judge by appearances” train?
Emma came across as more in the confusion state of grief . . . reeling from what just happened, so she’ll pack it up and try not think about it. Sometimes you just need time and space to process . . . and no one is giving her that. (I’m sure all my fellow introverts understand what I’m talking about. No, I don’t want to go out. Yes, staying in will actually make me feel better.) As you say, they want her to deal with this on their terms and timeline. Emma seems like she’s in a state of shock, and no one is addressing this. (Keep her warm and feed her sugar. It’s shock, folks.)
I’m with you, Katie: Killian’s shell monologue made up for A LOT. I’m so glad we didn’t end the episode without Emma hearing that.
Random bits:
While I hate seeing Killian in pain, I must admit that he’s super sexy when he’s on a mission to get back to Emma.
Oh, now I want that Ariel slap.
After Emma’s and Charming’s comment about chasing down dwarves, am I the only one saw this as confirmation of Shaun’s black-market theory of last week? 🙂
Oh, pffft. I’m going to miss Nemo. I want more Killian and Nemo and Liam II. (*sniffle*)
Gideon. Seriously, dude. Just ASK FOR HELP. It’s the Black Fairy. I’m sure the heroes would have been on board with this if you had asked in the beginning. However, I guess it shows just how messed up his childhood was that he feels he could only get this by stealing or manipulation.
Forget Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. I want Snow White and the Seven Vikings – or the Seven Patrons of the Snuggly Duckling. (Vladimir collects ceramic unicorns. Everybody sing!) I love tipply Snow who can still throw a knife like nobody’s business.
I am glad you made that point about Gideon needing to just ask for help. I have a bad feeling that the writers didn’t have a clear plan for that character and this story: “He wants to kill Emma to take her power! No wait, he’s going to force her to help him defeat the Black Fairy, someone they should all want to defeat anyway! Also, his magic can do anything he needs it to at any time!” Hopefully the next episode links his choices to the terrible childhood you mentioned and sets more of a clear path forward for him. I hope he turns out to be a compelling character.
Its no secret I am super annoyed by Gideon’s plan of not just asking for help, so the fact hes basically ended up FORCING her help is kinda even more annoying. But I am going to go with the theory that this is a poor traumatized kid that has never really had love in his life. He doesn’t come from a place where people help others willingly. He’s someone who wants to do the right thing, but grew up with a villain, so he is acting like a villain because he wants to be a hero, and he dosen’t realize this is not how heroes are supposed to act. So what may seem completely obvious to us, is probably the last thing on his. He is pretty much the extreme of the villain being the hero of their own story.
Shauna’s dwarf theory. That was supposed to say Shauna’s theory.
Katie, thanks so much for your review. I have been enjoying your write-ups this season as always, and I am constantly amazed at how quickly you are able to post such clear and insightful analyses.
Your magic carpet ride analysis for this episode was great. I had been thinking it was kind of a mess – not in a totally bad way; just that it was somewhat all over the place and needlessly complicated and frustrating at times! It certainly wasn’t anything to get upset about, as I understand some folks did on social media.
A couple specific thoughts –
Emma and others’ reactions to Killian leaving: In having Emma accept so quickly that Killian had left, I think the show was hamstrung by having to keep the timing in sync between the action in Storybooke and the events on the Nautilus. It wouldn’t have made much sense for Killian to just be sitting around on the sub while Emma and the others looked for him and slowly accepted that he’d left. So basically, what you said – the plot NEEDED her to accept it quickly. That having been said, thanks to Jen’s performance, her emotional guardedness seemed pretty true to character. I believed she was truly building up her walls again in the absence of the person who’d always been able to break them down. Also, I think having Snow get drunk was a (fun!) way to justify having her act a bit out of character. I like to think that sober Snow would have still held out hope that Killian hadn’t left of his own free will.
Jasmine and Aladdin: I am glad you enjoyed their story. I had a more tepid response, and I think these characters are illustrative of the problem OUAT has with it’s guests: If they spend enough time and flashbacks on developing a fully realized story over the course of a season (like they did with the Frozen gang) then they inevitably have to push some main characters off to the side. I think with Jaladdin (and the Camelot crew last year,) they tried not to take too much time away from the main characters, but didn’t come up with a compelling enough story or a particularly unique twist on Alladin/Jasmine story to really hook me. David and Akdeniz were fine, but I just didn’t connect with their romance or the flashbacks in this episode (or their episode earlier in season.) I mostly chalk it up to the inherent difficulty he show has on finding the right balance with guest characters.
As a result of the above, I definitely found myself enjoying the stuff on the periphery of this episode more than the main story or the flashbacks –
– Ariel and Killian’s easy rapport – I have always loved that pairing!
– Killian and Liam’s goodbye-for-now hug!
– Snow throwing daggers at the dartboard!
– David’s hurt feelings at being asked to go back to sleep so that they could have a girls night out!
Finally – did this episode set some kind of record for using random magical objects (macguffins?!) By my count –
1) The red powder that turned people into staffs
2) The ring that contained Agrabah
3) The harpoon that could find lost souls seeking revenge
4) The shell phone and shell necklace (aww, I loved that last scene with CaptainSwan!)
5) The bar napkin with the tears of the savior
6) Kraken’s blood
7) Aladdin’s lamp
8) The bottle that contained Jafar
I probably missed some, but all the different, random stuff that they needed to move the plot along definitely contributed to my sense of messiness!!
Thanks again, Katie!!
wow, so many convenient magical objects!
Man, there were a ton of magical items in this episode! Although I have to say, I give the writers credit anytime they at least bring back a magical item we already knew about. I thought most of these fit pretty well into the story, EXCEPT for the tears of the savoir and the kraken’s blood, but those were the new ones. I bet all the others seemed convenient to me the first time around too.
I was definitely expecting Agrabah to be miniature in some way, so the ring wasnt a surprise. I am trying to remember if there was another City in this show that was miniaturized or if I am thinking of a different TV show or movie but I know it was reminding me of something!
Ariel is always great fun. I enjoyed having her back. I had thought she was going to be asked to swim to Storybrooke and give Emma a message (can’t mermaids do that?) but the shellphone worked, I guess. I wasn’t thrilled with how that all played out, but at least they didn’t keep Emma in the dark too long.
I was annoyed at everyone pronouncing Aesop wrong. Didn’t they all say it like Ted Moseby saying encyclo-pae-dia? I double checked with the internet, and my childhood pronunciation of Aesop with a long i like “eesop” is correct. (Just like the ae in Caesar). Why must Americans pronounce every letter literally?! (sorry, British heritage pet peeve there…) I loved the name of the new pub, but laughed when someone on Tumblr laid out the timeline of Gideon’s dastardly plan to open a bar and advertise it in the hopes of the girls having a night out where he can catch Emma at her saddest in order to steal convenient Savior’s tears to close portals to force her to… yeah, it might have been a lot more efficient to ask the heroes for help against the bad guy. Might have saved the writers from making up new magical conveniences on the spot too.
The whole episode felt a bit forced to me, but I was happy that Jasmine finally got what she wanted and that Emma found out what was really going on. And it was a pretty fun episode to watch if you didn’t think too hard about any of it.
I must be one of those silly Americans that have always pronounced Aesop wrong because it sounded right to me haha. But I am also somebody who has to think REALLY hard before saying “Buffalo Sabres” less I be laughed at for pronouncing it likes its Spanish.
Of course, I grew up pronouncing all kinds of words oddly, so I really shouldn’t criticize… I sometimes revert to pronouncing here and hair (or beer and bear) as homophones. Stupid NZ accent.
I am still upset about chaise longue being anglicized into chaise lounge. Yup, I might be a bit of a prescriptivist, struggling to accept that language is living and changing… and that Birmingham having all its sounds in Alabama is just as correct as “Birming’m” is for the UK version 😉
I’m still learning all the ways Americans pronounce things differently…
You’re not alone in this . . . I’ve always heard and pronounced it eesop. I thought maybe it was a Southern thing. (Looks like you’ve discovered that in the South we put in ALL the syllables in our words . . . and if it only has one syllable, we’ll make it two.)
I absolutely adored Aladdin and Jasmine. Both of the actors completely nailed these roles. I dont know where Deniz Akdeniz came from, but his line delivery has just been perfection this entire season. I have laughed harder at his lines than I have on this show in a really long time. This show is ridiculous, and you need to be able to sell it, and both of them did a fabulous job selling it. While their romance didnt quite reach the same epicness as some of the other pairings on this show, it sure was fun to watch. Although again, this weird start/stop story structure they have going on this season is still driving me mad. This would have been so much more enjoyable had it been a continuous story over a few episodes. I feel like that long winter break just kinda killed any momentum the writers tried to build in the first half of the season.
Just like David and Akdeniz owned their roles, I always love seeing Swisher as Ariel. I wouldnt be surprised if Jane begged for Ariel to come back just so she could write more fish puns. I love that you can say ‘Son of a fish’ at 8pm on ABC and its completely innocent…but not.
I loved drunk snow, but I agree, everything was tainting by how annoying the setup for the bar scene was. I never even thought of the vikings being a nod to ‘Tangled’ but with how Tangled-esqe this whole plot is (Emma/Rapunzel thinking Killian/Eugene abandoned her when he really didnt) I wouldn’t be surprised.
So, now that most of this is cleared up and Emma knows Killian is fighting to get back to her, I am disappointed in how poorly executed everything was. I dont know if stuff got cut for time or things just didnt come through in the stage direction or what, but it just feels like there missing pieces. Or that very small dialogue changes could have gotten us to the same place without feeling so out of character. I have to think with Killian’s “I would never leave you” line that the intention of the writers here was for Killian to consider doing some soul searching on the Nautilus but letting Emma know first he was going to come back. I dont think there was ever any intention to leave without saying goodbye, but that really didnt come through in last week’s ep. And while I 100% think Emma’s “I dont want to talk about it/I need busy work” was perfectly in character, I also would have liked to see more confusion and even anger about the situation. But, I am sure anybody who has ever been in a relationship knows how easily insecurities can rear their ugly head. I dont get a text back from my boyfriend when I know he has his phone and I can go from 0 to “hes probably in the hospital or dead” in the span of 20 minutes. So yeah, sometimes you just cant stop yourself from being convinced that the worst possible scenario is true. But I did find it frustrating that nobody was offering up a different explanation for why Killian was gone. What are friends and family for if not to tell you you are overacting when you havent gotten a response to your text in 20 minutes?! Yes, the evidence was damming, but hell, this is Storybrooke, someone could have easily A) implanted images of Killian leaving into Leroy’s brain or B) Cora-ed themselves into looking like Killian. Man these people are gullible. Speaking of, damn it Leroy, this is why you are not part of the Storybrooke underground with the rest of the dwarfs.
I loved the scene with the shellphones, and I know the reunion is going to fabulous, but there is no reason why the setup to this had to be so confusing and frustrating.
Other thoughts:
– I am sad we didnt get more of Liam and Nemo with Killian. All of their interactions were mostly plot related, but it was great to see Liam and Killian share a hug.
-Where is Archie when you need him? One, I feel like if Emma wanted to talk some things through she would have gone to him, and two I think Archie would have defended Killian.
– So after all of this we just had David stomping around a little when he found out the truth about his Dad? Seriously Killian, way to overreact bud. I did love that when Emma told David that Killian left he didnt badmouth Killian or get more angry, he just went right into comfort Dad mode. It was really sweet and one of the few reactions I felt was realistic.
-Even if Aesop didnt turn out to be Gideon in disguise I dont trust anybody that says things like “actually I prefer mixologist”. And how the heck does Gideon know what a “mixologist” is anyway? I am going to guess that his savior address lookup was outdated and he first went looking for Emma in Portland before making it to Storybrooke.
And one more thing, nobody should look THAT cute while blushing behind a staff with a scary Jafar head on it. How is Ariel so adorable?!
Great point about the insecurities. Emma’s reactions do make a certain amount of sense — this isn’t what she expected him to do and she’s reeling from that. Although I was a little miffed at the whole he leaves as soon as it gets difficult line. But once again, we’re not always rational when we’re upset. We don’t think straight (or at all) in situations like this.
Oh, and yes! that’s what friends and family are for — to help us think — and they let both Emma and Killian down in a bad way. (I would really like a collective “we feel terrible for misjudging Killian” moment in the next episode.)
I also agree that even if Killian had decided to leave there is NO WAY he leaves without a note or something.
I am now having a great deal of fun imagining scenes with an incredulous Archie: You really believed he just left? All of you believed that?
This is followed by the fun of imagining Gideon and his cape looking for Emma in Portland. 🙂
Yes! give me incredulous Archie, lol. And somebody better put a muzzle on Leroy until after the wedding is over.
Nice job, Katie. Especially if you weren’t ‘feeling it’ because of social media. I liked how this episode wrapped up the Agrabah/Aladdin/Jasmine arc. I confess that I didn’t have much invested in their story. I think it might have been because they were here, then they were gone, then they were here…. But I think they served their purpose from a storytelling point of view. And Karen David is just lovely as Jasmine.
I hadn’t really thought about the shortened timeline with Killian leaving and Emma giving up on him. From the last episode, I think we were meant to believe that they had their fight sometime during the day, Killian goes to the docks to sulk, etc and at the end of the day, Emma comes home to find him still gone. So, even if there is one day in between the time that Emma comes home to an empty house and the time that she’s talking to David, packing up his stuff, that is pretty quick. I think we were meant to believe that Emma went looking for Killian the next day, ran into Grumpy/Leroy who told her he saw him getting into the Nautilus that the Nautilus sailing away, so that is why Emma gave up so quickly. At least that is what I thought when Emma told David that. Time is always a funny commodity on this show. But yeah, everyone assuming the worst of Killian right away. Didn’t anyone think maybe we should search for him first, show concern. Especially given that this is StoryBrooke, where people disappear all the time.
I was infinitely glad that they did not drag out the angst of Emma thinking Killian abandoned her more than one episode though. Connecting through the shell was a nice touch to bring Emma back from the brink.
Random thoughts:
– totally agree with the plethora of magical items in this episode. I didn’t notice it during the episode, but now that you mention it…..
– I also wished that they could have figured a way to have Ariel slap Killian, even if it was accidental. Love Ariel by the way. She’s always so positive (*Yeah, I’m a mermaid in the desert, but it’s all good’ )
– Loved drunk Snow and David grudgingly going back to sleep. But if David is asleep and Snow is out partying, who is home watching the toddler ?
– Gideon in normal clothes…. I thought all he could wear was the cape. And yeah, quite the turnaround from ” I’m going to kill you and become all powerful ” to ” I need your help. ” I liked Shauna’s explanation of Gideon’s thinking.
– Seems like the writers are REALLY trying to tie up all the loose ends, doesn’t it. Needing to suspend my disbelief alot these days. But something I think this cast does well is sell the absurd, so I’m just rolling with it.
I am with you, this A+ cast is the glue holding all of this together. There have been shows that have great potential but the subpar acting kills it for me. This is a show where the acting is so good I can forgive a lot of the plot.
First of all, I loved Emma’a hair down. I feel like her stylist has been dialing it in all season. Second of all, here is everything I found funny:
Misery, meet company
Why is this rug flying?
Do you ever not tattle?
Well that’s an interesting thing I’ll never do again.
Son of a fish!
And “Aesop’s tables” rivals “Game of Thornes” I knew who wrote this episode without looking it up. I haven’t laughed so hard since Rumple and Milah in the underworld.
Those were great lines. I admit to a certain sigh of relief when I saw in the opening credits that Jane wrote this one.
I think Drunk Snow was definitely the highlight of the episode. Ginny must have had so much fun playing that.
I’m happy Jasmine and Aladdin got a true love’s kiss and Agrabah was saved but I think the development, or the lack of writing didn’t help. I could tell Aladdin loved her but it was really hard to tell what Jasmine’s feelings were.
I’m still working on my true love meta and I only work with canon material, so I wasn’t really sure where these two would fall under because it just was never clear in the writing but I have a better idea where they go.