Title Ariel

Two-Sentence Summary After Hook reveals that Neal is alive in Neverland, he joins Emma, Snow, and Charming on a mission to rescue him, but, in order to do that, each of them must reveal their darkest secret. Believing that rescuing Neal is a distraction from their real mission, Regina teams up with Rumplestiltskin, and her relationship with Ariel—as shown in flashbacks to Fairytale Land—proves to be an important part of the puzzle to overpowering Peter Pan and saving Henry.

Favorite Line “My secret is I never thought I’d be capable of letting go of my first love—of my Milah—to believe that I could find someone else. That is, until I met you.” (Hook, to Emma)

My Thoughts Well that one hurt.

No matter which characters you love or hate, sympathize with or wish would get their hearts crushed, “Ariel” was painful. No character got away unscathed; everyone ended up hurt and everyone took part in the hurting, too. Yes, there were victories, and there were even moments of gleeful camp and villainy, but, ultimately this episode was about the very human struggles of people who just happen to be fairytale characters—and we all know that’s when Once Upon a Time is at its most compelling.

Let’s start with those much-needed moments of fun before we move on to the heartbreak, shall we? I knew that the Ariel backstory episode was going to be a great one for Regina from the second I found out that she would be channeling Ursula in the flashbacks. Lana Parrilla has made no secret of the fact that Ursula is her favorite Disney villain, and you could see just how much pure fun she was having every second she spent channeling Disney’s animated version of the sea witch. It was a joy to watch an actress so clearly loving her job and doing such a great job honoring a classic Disney character in the process.

What I liked most about the flashbacks in this episode was the way its emotional impact snuck up on me. For most of the episode, I didn’t really care about Ariel or Eric, if I’m being honest. I thought Joanna Garcia Swisher was a great casting choice, but I thought most of the story itself (and the characterization of Eric) was sadly one-dimensional, especially when juxtaposed with the incredibly complex emotions happening in the Neverland storyline.

But just when I was ready to write off this flashback as a cute but empty trip into the realm of another beloved Disney princess, Ariel stabbed Regina with her dinglehopper salad trident fork. That show of friendship, courage, and ingenuity made me love this little mermaid—and it made what happened to her even more horrible. I was not expecting to be so affected by the scene of Ariel losing her voice, but I think my reaction spoke to the power of surprise that Once Upon a Time invokes so well. I should have seen it coming, but I’m glad that I didn’t. Because it hit like me like a sucker punch (I’m still getting emotional over how well Garcia Swisher sold Ariel’s desperation), and sometimes I love being blindsided by my emotions.

Something that didn’t really surprise me was Ariel being used to help Rumplestiltskin and Regina get something from Storybrooke. As soon as we learned mermaids can travel between realms, I knew she would factor into Operation Henry somehow. But I loved the way the end of this episode set up a great storyline for Ariel next week, and I’m looking forward to seeing her reunion with Eric. Also, any scene that features Regina sassing Rumplestiltskin about ordering calamari is going to be a favorite scene for me.

Most of Regina’s scenes in this episode were favorites for me, to be honest. I liked her teaching Emma how to use magic, and I thought it was important to hear Emma calling her a monster because their relationship will never be completely devoid of antagonism—as it should be. And I loved her decision to skip out on Operation Henry when it turned into Operation Neal. If I were Regina, I would have done the same thing. The only thing she cares about is getting Henry back; she has no tie to Neal to make her want to help. Plus, that decision put the dream team of Regina and Rumplestiltskin back together. Whenever Parrilla and Robert Carlyle share a scene, I’m like a kid on the Fourth of July—just watching the fireworks. Those two are incredible together, and watching Regina snap him out of his pity party with plenty of sass and common sense was everything I never knew I always wanted.

I love the Regina we’ve been given this season, and I hope she never goes away. And if it means keeping Robbie Kay around longer to be the show’s central antagonist, then that’s even better. His “Breakfast with Rumple” scene was another moment for his growing highlight reel. Regina, Rumplestiltskin, and Pan were a trifecta of awesome antagonists who provided a strange kind of light at the end of some very dark tunnels (or Echo Caves) throughout the rest of this episode.

I would like to take a second and give the writers so much credit for not dragging out the “Will Hook tell?” drama at all. If there’s one thing these episodes are proving, it’s that Hook in regaining his lost sense of honor through putting Emma’s happiness above any thought of his own. I was so happy he chose to tell Charming first; it was a nice way to continue to build on the trust and openness we’ve been watching develop between them so far this season. To watch them act as a united front against Snow was a great way to make explicit the similarities between these two men and how they view honor, nobility, and love.

Jennifer Morrison played Emma’s suppressed fear of seeing Neal again perfectly. I loved the tension in the scene between Emma and Snow when Snow talked about Emma’s happy ending. You could tell that Emma wanted so badly to tell her mother about all the ways Neal destroyed her ability to hope for so long, but she kept it to herself. I don’t think Snow has any real idea about Emma and Neal’s history, just like I think she has no real concept of a love that can exist after first love. For Snow, “true love” and “first love” have always been synonymous, and she thinks that’s the way it’s going to be for her daughter as well. But every character on this show is growing and learning through the trials of Neverland, and I think part of Snow’s journey is coming to terms with having a daughter whose experiences are so different from hers, both in life and in love.

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Title Good Form

Two-Sentence Summary As Hook and Charming go off on a journey that ultimately saves the prince’s life (with one very big caveat), flashbacks show Hook before he took on his more colorful moniker, when he was simply Lieutenant Killian Jones, who lost his brother after a quest to Neverland and then began his life as a pirate, finding more honor among thieves than in working for a corrupt king. With Charming safe (for now) and Henry aware of her presence in Neverland, Emma allows herself one moment to give in to the feelings that have always existed between herself and Hook, but Peter Pan throws a wrench into any romantic developments by telling Hook that Neal is not only alive—he’s in Neverland.

Favorite Lines
Pan: Please…You think that kiss actually meant something?
Hook: I do. I think it means she’s finally starting to see me for the man I am.
Pan: What? A one-handed pirate with a drinking problem? I’m no grownup, but I’m pretty sure that’s less than appealing.
Hook: A man of honor.

My Thoughts There’s no sense in burying the lead here; if Once Upon a Time titled its episodes in the style of Friends, “Good Form” would be called “The One with the Kiss.” Yes, other things happened in this episode: Charming was cured of his Dreamshade poisoning (with consequences, of course); Regina ripped out a Lost Boy’s heart to talk to Henry (and Emma let her); and Henry continued to fall deeper under the spell of Peter Pan. But when all was said and done, this was an episode about a kiss and everything it meant for a lost girl and a pirate with a sense of honor to rival even the most charming princes.

It makes sense that an episode centered around a pirate who’s more antihero than villain would be one steeped in moral ambiguity, and that’s how I like my Once Upon a Time episodes. “Good Form” was a great exercise in showing all of the layers and complexities in this group of characters, allowing them to surprise us and—perhaps more importantly—surprise each other.

Let’s start with the Truest Believer, shall we? Even Henry wasn’t exempt from darkness in this episode. Watching Pan continue to manipulate this boy who didn’t have many friends growing up is like a creepy PSA for avoiding peer pressure—and I love it. It was cool to see Henry’s belief manifest itself in actual magic, and then I gasped when he used the sword he conjured to hurt the boy he was fighting. In typical Henry fashion, he immediately apologized, but the damage is being done—Henry is falling for the allure of the Lost Boys, and I’m starting to see why. Remember, Henry was a loner. He grew up around kids who never aged; he never had any real friends. It’s going to be interesting to see jut how deep Pan’s claws are in him by the time his family rescues him (especially since I feel like he was less excited than I was expecting him to be when he saw them in the mirror).

That rescue effort took an important step this week with the women of Operation Henry figuring out a way to let him know they’re in Neverland. When Regina suggested ripping out the Lost Boy’s heart to control it, I found myself hoping Emma would agree to it—because it’s completely right for her character. In the season premiere, Emma didn’t define herself as a hero or a villain (or a pirate); she defined herself as a mother. So it made sense for her to want to do whatever it took to get to Henry; for Emma, the ends justified the means. Emma is one of the best characters on Once Upon a Time because she’s always been a real person in the middle of a fairytale; she’s not perfect, and that makes her all the more interesting. She’s not Regina—gleefully rolling up her sleeves before ripping the heart out—but she’s not her mother, either. Snow was devastated by that action, but Emma knew it needed to be done, so she held her mother and did the only thing she could do—apologize. The heartbreakingly quiet way Jennifer Morrison delivered that apology is still haunting me because it was such a human moment, such a real moment. And that’s what this actress has always given to this show—a grounding force of human emotion in a world of fairytales and magic.

Another grounding force of reason in this episode was Regina, and I would love for her to stay this pragmatic and snarky forever. When she told Snow that she was playing her part in the group by ripping out the Lost Boy’s heart, it showed the kind of self-awareness that we first saw in “Quite a Common Fairy” and I hope never goes away. I love Lana Parrilla’s dramatic acting like I love very few other things on this show, but this side of Regina is one that she seems to really find delight in portraying, and it’s made for some of the best lines of not just this episode but the whole season.

As the women of Operation Henry struggled with their own questions of morality, Charming and Hook began a quest that forced both of them to confront their ideas of what makes a man honorable. Their relationship has always been strained, but this episode saw it at perhaps it most antagonistic yet, which I attribute to two things: Charming’s growing understanding of Hook’s feelings for his daughter and the worsening effects of the Dreamshade. It broke my heart to see Charming so repulsed by the idea of Hook caring for Emma, but it made for great TV drama to watch him slowly change his mind as they journeyed together and Charming got to see what makes this pirate tick—because it’s not that different from what makes him tick.

Colin O’Donoghue and Josh Dallas have a fantastic onscreen rapport. From trading insults to a new kind of mutual respect, I believed every interaction they had in this episode. I liked the parallel of Charming and Hook’s brother Liam, but the parallel I liked most was the one between Charming and young Killian Jones. Both are idealists, both believe in honor and duty, and both always want to do the right thing. While Hook may have told Charming he saw a lot of his “stubborn arse” brother in the prince, I think he also saw a lot of the honorable man he once was and is trying to become once again.

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Title Nasty Habits

Two-Sentence Summary After Neal arrives in Neverland, he joins forces with his father to rescue Henry, but his discovery of the prophecy of Rumplestiltskin’s undoing leads him to run away with his son—only to have both of them captured by Peter Pan, whose plan to turn Henry into a Lost Boy appears to be working. In flashbacks, we see Rumplestiltskin trying to free Bae from the clutches of the Pied Piper, who turns out to be Pan himself.

Favorite Lines
Emma: According to uh…
Tinker Bell: Tinker Bell.
Emma: Yes, I know—still weird to say.
Tinker Bell: Tink is fine.
Emma: Not sure that’s any better.

My Thoughts I’m still trying to process what I think and how I feel about “Nasty Habits.” I’ve been picking apart this episode in my brain ever since it ended, including a stretch of a few hours in the middle of the night where I couldn’t sleep because my head was swimming with thoughts about Emma Swan and what this episode meant for her as a character. If pressed, I would say that it was my least favorite episode of this young third season, but I still think it was better than the majority of Season Two. It ultimately had enough moments of solid twists and strong acting to make up for its circular storytelling.

If we’re talking about strong twists and solid acting, we have to start with Robbie Kay’s Peter Pan. I cannot say enough about this actor and the way this character has been written. There is so much controlled malice in Kay’s performance; he’s a beautiful little psychopath and he’s a phenomenal addition to the great pantheon of Once Upon a Time antagonists. It takes a great actor to command a scene that’s shared with Robert Carlyle, but Kay more than held his own throughout this episode. I cannot wait for more of Pan and Rumplestiltskin’s relationship to be explored. It has the potential for more fantastic plot twists and even more fabulous interaction between two of the show’s most powerful actors. And just what do I think their relationship is? I honestly have no idea, and I love that. This show is at its best when it surprises me, and I have a feeling this particular storyline is going to be full of surprises.

I wasn’t surprised by Pan’s “Pied Piper” identity, but that was okay because there were already so many similarities between both of those stories that it seemed almost inevitable. The flashbacks themselves weren’t as emotionally engaging as some of the best ones involving Rumplestiltskin and Bae, but they did set up one of my favorite moments of the episode: Pan stating that Rumplestiltskin’s biggest fear isn’t his son being taken from him; it’s his son leaving him. That ability to draw out and prey on people’s deepest fears seems to be playing a huge part in Pan’s psychological gamesmanship with Emma (and her parents), but I’ll say more about that later.

Every second Kay was onscreen, I found myself believing everything he was saying while also trying to remind myself that this version of Peter Pan is a master manipulator who no one is supposed to trust. Did he really orchestrate everything from Neal’s escape from Neverland to Henry’s birth? I hope not—because my favorite thing about Emma and Neal’s relationship is that their love was something real and human and messy in the midst of their fairytale lineages. But I found myself wondering if Pan is as much of a master manipulator as he wants Neal (and Henry) to believe he is; he’s just that convincing.

Pan’s powers of persuasion also worked to make the end of the episode a bit more palatable. I loved that Henry couldn’t hear Pan’s music at first because we know he’s not abandoned and unloved, and we know that he knows that. So when he heard the music at the end of the episode, I was initially angry that this “Truest Believer” would give up on his family so easily. However, there is a part of Henry that did grow up feeling lost and alone (Regina did send him to a psychiatrist, after all), and even with the knowledge of his mothers’ love, he might be more susceptible to Pan’s mind games than we previously thought. And I think even the most faithful people might start to doubt when put in such close proximity to Pan. He’s just that good a villain.

While Kay is so good because makes Pan so completely unsympathetic, Carlyle is so good because he always makes us feel for Rumplestiltskin regardless of the horrible things the character has done. In this episode, he had me cringing in the flashbacks because of his cowardly decision to force Bae to come back home rather that letting his son choose; holding my breath as he attacked the son he thought was dead; and crying when he told Neal that he was his happy ending. I believed every single one of those complicated emotions, and it’s only because Carlyle is so brilliant. He brings out the best in Michael Raymond-James, too. Each of their scenes was filled with such distrust and pain but also so much love. I was angry that their relationship was ignored for so much of the second half of Season Two, but their scenes together in this episode continued this season’s theme of giving the audience the deep moments of character interaction that last season lacked.

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