Once Upon A Time: Child of the Moon

Yaaaay, a Red episode! But, sadly, not the best Red episode. It was just okay for me. How about you guys?

Oh, and do I get to gloat now? I do? Okay!

I was right, nyah, nyah! I was right about Henry and Aurora's dream! I am teh smart! S-M-R-T, smart! (Simpsons reference for the win?)

Ahem! Okay, on with the recap! Here we go!

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In Fairytale Land that Was-

Snow and Red are running from the Queen's lackeys. They escape, but the full moon is upon them and Red's cloak has ripped. They must split up. They agree to meet again the next day.

Red wakes in the forest and goes to meet Snow. As she's washing up, her hood is stolen. She chases after the culprit who reveals that he knows what she is, and that he's also a child of the moon.
His name is Quinn and he brings her to a place that can help her learn to control her wolf side.
The leader of the wolf band is Anita...Red's mother.
She tells Red the 'truth' about her childhood and her wolf side and takes Red for a run. Red remembers everything. She can control the wolf.

Suddenly, Snow enters the wolf hideout. Red saves her from her wolf pack, but the King's men track her and find the hideout.
Quinn is killed by the soldiers and Anita wants to make Snow pay for his death.
Red refuses to kill her friend, but Anita changes and lunges for Snow. Red changes and pounces on Anita...accidentally pushing her onto a spiky adornment that kills her.

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In Storybrooke-

The Dwarfs are mining when Grumpy falls through a wall. He's found diamonds, and diamonds means FAIRY DUST!
Everyone heads to Granny's to celebrate. As they eat, drink and make merry, Red is working.
A man named Billy tells her that his name is really Gus and that he was one of Cinderella's mice. (OMG, I loved Gus! The adorable fat little mousie!)
He asks Red out for a drink, but she has to turn him down. It's the first full moon since the curse was broken, she can't find her red hood, and she has no idea what's going to happen.

Meanwhile, Widmore King George drops by to talk to Charming. He threatens to tell the townsfolk who Charming really is. Charming doesn't seem to give a rats ass what the King does. He has faith in his people.

The next morning, Granny comes into her diner to find that Red has escaped the fortified freezer. There are wolf-scratches all over the kitchen.

Across town, Henry is having the dream again. The room is on fire and he sees a woman in white....and then Regina wakes him. (She's babysitting because Charming has to find Red)
Oddly, he wakes with a burn on his hand!

 Granny and Charming find Red in the forest. Charming gets called to a suspicious vehicle.
Inside they find half of poor Billy. Red finds the other half a few feet away. Red is sure she killed him.

Over at Snow's place, Mr. Gold makes a housecall. He gives Henry a charm that will help him control his dream--which is actually a real place. A place somewhere between life and death.
He does this as a favour to Henry. (I wonder what housecalls REALLY cost?!)

Back at the crime scene, Charming doesn't believe Red did it. She convinces him to lock her up, just in case.
But in walks King George, who accuses Red of murder and wants justice. Charming's not having it and stands in the King's way.
The King goes to the people and rallies a mob against Red. Luckily, Charming has recruited Belle and has taken Red to the library basement.
Belle refuses to leave Red so Red tricks her and cuffs her inside the library.
Red then goes to turn herself into the mob because she believes she should die. (Er, wut? This is all not very Red-like...)

In the meantime, Granny tracks the killer--King George--who has Red's hood in the trunk of his car.
Charming realizes this is all a plot against him. Poor Red was just the device the King chose to use.

The mob finds Red in her wolf form and the King raises a gun. But, THWACK, Granny is right there with her crossbow and shoots the gun out of his hand!
Charming explains what the King did and proves that Red isn't a killer by 'taming' the wolf, making her remember who she is, and giving her hood back.
The King escapes and Charming and Red go after him.

They find him easily enough, near a bonfire. He has the fairy dust and he tosses it all into the fire. He vows that no matter how much they get, Charming will never see his wife or daughter again.
Red talks Charming out of killing the King.

Later at Snow's, Charming is feeling disheartened and Red gives him a pep talk. Then she goes for a wolf run.

And Henry has another dream. This time he controls it. He makes the fire die and speaks to the girl he sees...

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In Fairytale Land that Is-

Aurora has another nightmare.
"This time it was different. There was a little boy. He put out the fire. He talked to me. He said his name was Henry."

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BOOM! How's THAT for a reveal, right?!

So, a 'meh' episode with a pretty great ending. And remember, 'meh' for OUAT is 'frickin' awesome' for all other shows. That's how high my standards have become because the writing/acting/directing/everything is just SO DAMN GOOD.

Sadly, I just didn't find Red all that believable in this episode. She's a STRONG woman. I don't think she'd just roll over and give herself up like she did.
But I'm not a writer, so what do I know?! ;)


Highlights:
-Beverley Elliot is just so, so great as Granny.
-Meghan Ory is a brilliant Red.
-The Dwarf scene at the beginning. I got goosebumpy when they found the diamonds!
-Lee Aranberg. 'Nuff said,

What questions do we have after this episode?
-Will Henry and Emma communicate through Aurora now?
-How will Emma and Snow get home?
-Why does King George want to ruin Charming?
-Does the King want the town?
-How did he get the fairydust?!
-What did he mean when he said Charming will never see his wife and daughter? Does he know something or is he just going to keep stealing the fairydust?
-CAN the fairydust help Emma and Snow get home?
-What do housecalls really cost?
-Why did Gold do Henry that favour? Is Belle rubbing off on him, finally?


No episode next week, Oncers. But here's the trailer for 'Into The Deep', which airs on Nov. 25!

WHAT THE WHAT?! ZOMBIES?!

Only TWO more episodes until the mid-season break, you guys! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO WITHOUT OUAT?! :(

See you back here in two weeks!

Once Upon A Time: Tallahassee

I sound like a broken record, right? But AGAIN, Jane Espenson knocked it OUT of the park! And co-writer Christine Boylan as well!

What an absolutely BRILLIANT episode! So many questions answered...and so many more questions raised!

How much did you love Neal?! Michael Raymond-James is gorgeous and amazing and I'm completely head-over-heels in love with him already! Heehee!

By the way--I'm totally shipping Emma and Hook. And Emma and Neal. Either of the two, I'm good with. ;)

Before I start, I'm going to point you all towards this Wikipedia page, just in case you're not familiar with the name Neal Cassady and who he is. Go ahead and read it. I'll wait.

Okay, done? Good.
Interesting parallels, no?
Cassady was arrested for receipt of stolen property. Served 11 months of his sentence. And he was a drifter.
Just like Emma.

The writers REALLY do their homework, and I love them for it!

And, lastly, I'm not even going to bother to mention that there's NO way Jennifer Morrison can pull of being a teenager. No, Emma in Portland didn't look like a teenager.
But do I care? Did it make the episode unwatchable? No frickin' way!
The end. ;)

So here we go!


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In Fairytale Land that Is--

It's decided that Emma will climb the beanstalk with Hook.

Emma asks about the magic beans and Hook tells her that Jack fought a war with all giants. The giants destroyed all the beans so no one would have the power.
Jack killed all the giants but one--The strongest and biggest of them all. And they have to get past him to get to the magic compass.
They can use Cora's magic ashes to get back to Storybrooke, but they need the compass to show them they way.
Hook swears allegiance to whoever can get him there.

Snow, Mulan and Aurora settle in to wait and Aurora tells Snow about her nightmares.
Snow says it's from the sleeping spell and that they'll go away, eventually. She promises to watch over Aurora as she sleeps.

Back up the beanstalk, Emma figures out that Rumple took a lot more from Hook then just his hand....
Hook summons the giant (Hi, Jorge!), and Emma puts him to sleep with the powder (made from poppies?!).

At the bottom of the beanstalk, Aurora has a nightmare and Snow wakes her.
Aurora dreams of, "A red room. Bright red curtains, but no windows or doors and she couldn't get in or out. The curtains are on fire. She was in the corner and she looked over to the other corner and sees someone else there. She can only see HIS eyes."

Back at the top, Hook and Emma are admiring the booty (with much flirting on Hook's part). Hook wants to stay and plunder, but the giant wakes.

He catches Emma and she bites him. He drops her and she uses the tripwire to trap him.
Holding Jack's giant-killing sword, she gets the compass from the giant but doesn't kill him.
The giant frees himself, but he doesn't kill Emma either.
He grants her two favours and frees both Emma and Hook....But Emma cuffs Hook and traps him in the giants castle because she 'needs a headstart'. She asked the giant to hold Hook there for ten hours before freeing him too.

At the bottom, Mulan starts chopping down the beanstalk, as she'd promised Emma she would after ten hours.
Snow fights her and Emma returns.
Snow makes Emma promise that they'll go home together only.
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In...er....Portland, 11 years ago--

Emma steals a very familiar car.

And--GASP!--Mystery Man from the season premiere pops up in the back seat!
It seems that Emma has stolen a stolen car!
Mystery Man introduces himself as Neal Cassady (see link above).

In time, Neal and Emma fall in love. And steal stuff. Lots of stuff. All over the country, it would appear!
During one such outing, Neal steals Emma a keychain and Emma steals a dreamcatcher. (The same dreamcatcher that can be seen in Neal's apartment in the season premiere, by the way!)
He seems to want to settle down. He convinces Emma as well, and they choose Tallahassee.

Sadly, Neal finds a wanted poster of himself up in the post office from a jewelry heist he'd done previously.
They can't go to Tallahassee. Neal has to leave. Emma and the country.
Emma won't allow it. She suggests that she go get the watches, sell them, buy new identities and go to Tallahassee.
Neal reluctantly agrees.

Emma succeeds and Neal takes the watches to the fence.
They make a plan to meet later, after he gets the money.
On the way, Neal is accosted by....AUGUST?!? (And I screamed at my TV)
Our darling August, with a much younger-looking face, explains that he's Emma's guardian angel.
He shows Neal something in his wooden box that convinces Neal of Emma's destiny and of Fairytale Land.
He believes everything August tells him.

Neal calls the police, who find Emma is possession of stolen goods. A watch.
Emma is obviously confused and heartbroken.
Her love has turned her in...and left her.

Two months later, Neal and August meet in Vancouver.
Neal can't move on. He wants to know about Emma. Is she okay?
August explains that she's serving 11 months in a minimum security prison. That she's going to get out and have a good life, as long as Neal stays away.
Neal makes August promise to be there for her. August does.
Neal gives August thousands of dollars and the keys to the Bug to give to Emma. He then asks August that, if anything changes...if she does her job...if she's free...
"I'll send you a postcard.", is August's reply. (This was the second time I screamed at my TV)

And in a minimum security prison in Phoenix, Emma Small gets mail from Phuket, Thiland. (Where our darling August once 'lost himself', as you may recall from 'The Stranger')
Inside are car keys...on a familiar keychain. A SWAN keychain.
And in her hand is a pregnancy test....a positive pregnancy test.

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In Storybrooke--

Henry wakes from a nightmare. He tells Charming, "I was in this room...and it was red. And there was no doors, no windows. And these curtains...and they were on fire. And I was in this corner...and I was looking up....and there was someone else there...SHE was staring at me through the flames..."
And Charming tells Henry that it was just a bad dream....

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HOLY COW, right, you guys?!?!

Epic episode of eipcness!! Jorge Garcia is a perfect giant, although I wish he'd had more lines!
The GOOD news is that...ready?...He's COMING BACK!
Yes, he mentioned in an interview that the show has called him back to appear on at least one more episode this season! *happydance*

Okay, so now I want to mention a theory I have--
Aurora and Henry are having the same dream. And if you noticed, I bolded the important parts in each's description of their dream.
Aurora speaks of a MALE in the dream and Henry of a FEMALE.
My theory? They're dreaming of EACH OTHER.
And when Emma/Snow/Charming figure this out, THIS WILL BE A WAY FOR THEM TO COMMUNICATE THROUGH THE DIMENSIONS, YOU GUYS!!!
I'm a frickin' genius, right?!? Of course, right! :P
Who's with me here?! *crickets*
(Might I add that Jane Espenson called me 'clever' when I mentioned this theory to her on Twitter? So there! Nyah, nyah!)

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Highlights: 
-Jorge Garcia! Even speaking with mostly grunts and groans, the man is wonderful! You know, he did every single one of his scenes in front of a green screen?! How amazing is he, right?!
-Michael Raymond-James. I'm so, so in love with his character! The chemistry between he and Emma was so gorgeous!
-AUGUST!! I'm SO happy they kept his appearance a secret!
-The swan on the keychain is WHY Emma Small is now Emma Swan! AWW!
-The car was Neal's car! Now we know why Emma drives it and loves it so much. It's a piece of him!

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What questions do we have after this episode?
-ARE Henry and Aurora dreaming of each other? If so, can they communicate? And if the dreams are a side effect of the sleeping spell, can Snow also have the dream and communicate with Henry??
-Will Neal come to Storybrooke for Emma?!? (Oh, God, YES, PLEASE!)
-How will Emma react if/when she sees Neal?
-Where is August? (We now know he's alive because he sent Neal the postcard!)
-Why did August leave Storybrooke after the curse broke?
-Will Hook catch up to Snow and company?
-How will Snow and Emma return to Storybrooke?
-How will Snow and Emma get the wardrobe ashes from Cora?
-How did August convince Neal about Emma?
- (BradPittSe7ev) WHAT'S IN THE BOOOOOOOOOX?! WHAT'S IN THE BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOX?!? (/BradPittSe7ev)
-Is it possible that Neal is also Baelfire? He was convinced of Emma's destiny awfully easily.
-How much older than Emma is Neal? (This could matter if he is Bae!)

Here's the trailer for next week's episode--it's all about Red!--called, 'Child of the Moon':

Okay, you guys! Share your theories, please! I want to know what you guys think will happen with Aurora & Henry, with Neal and Emma, with everything!

And as always, I'll see you back here next week, Oncers!

Once Upon A Time: The Doctor

And so, now we know who Whale REALLY is! What do you think? Are you okay with this turn of events?
This ain't your kids' Disney story anymore! ;)

I'm seeing a lot of folks on Twitter and message boards are unhappy with this. They say that Frankenstein isn't a fairytale. And they're right, of course.
But who said OUAT was only about fairytales?! I don't recall hearing that! And frankly, I'm glad to see them going off of fairytale characters for once. I hope we see many more like Dr. Whale!

Here we go!

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In Fairytale Land that Was--

Rumple is teaching Regina magic. Alas, Regina is unable to take the heart of a unicorn because, "It's innocent."
Rumple doesn't really care. He wants to know what's holding Regina back.

Some time later, Regina finally asks Rumple is he can teach her magic to bring back the dead.
Rumple says no such spell exists.
The Mad Hatter drops by with a crystal ball. Rumple asks about the 'the slippers' (Oz! OMG!) and learns that they've been taken to another land.
Rumple explains that he needs to get to a land without magic, but takes the ball and tells the Hatter to help himself to his payment.
Rumple tells Regina to let herself out--they're done and she was a waste of time.

The Hatter overhears and offers Regina his help. He happens to know a man who can bring back the dead.--a wizard--but for a price.
He wants safe passage through Regina's lands. She agrees.

The Hatter introduces Regina to the Doctor.
He examines Daniel's preserved body. This is when Regina learn that the Doctor has never actually done this before. It's completely experimental.
He needs a heart and none that he's used have survived the shock needed to resurrect the dead.
He's been told that the hearts in Fairytale Land are stronger. Regina refuses to use her magic to obtain a heart, but brings the Hatter and the Doctor to Cora's secret room. It just happens to be FULL of hearts.

The Doctor chooses a heart but, sadly, the experiment fails. Daniel is still dead.

Or did it?

Enter Rumple, who's been working with the Doctor. He gets his heart and Rumple gets Regina--who's now the cold, bitter Regina we've come to know and love.

The Hatter sends the Doctor home.

And Regina? Well, Regina kills her 'replacement' after ripping the heart from her body and asks Rumple to continue teaching her.
He, of course, obliges.

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In Storybrooke--

Regina visits Archie to talk about her magic addiction.
We learn that, along with bringing over all of the live people, she's also brought a dead one to Storybrooke.
Her fiancé, Daniel, who's been preserved with a spell all these years.
Dr. Whale barges in on Regina and Archie and asks her to send him back to his land. To his dead brother.
She says she can't, of course.

Driving home in the rain, Regina spies Daniel, who promptly disappears.
She goes to check the vault (the next day, for some reason?) and she finds his glass coffin empty.
She goes to find Dr. Whale. His office has been destroyed and he's been attacked. He's also missing an arm.
He tells Regina that he brought Daniel back from the dead...but he's not Daniel anymore. He's a monster.

Regina brings Whale to the hospital, Charming shows up and she tells him everything. They realize that Daniel is on his way to the place he and Regina last saw each other--the stables.
Exactly where Charming just left Henry, mucking out horse stalls.

Daniel enters the stall and attacks Henry, but Regina and Charming arrive in time.
Henry runs off and Charming is ready to kill Daniel. Regina convinces him to let her talk to her fiancé.
Daniel attacks her, but she's able to remind him of himself before he kills her.
He's in pain and he begs her to let him go. With many tears and emotion, she uses her magic and destroys her love.
Regina returns to Archie's office and asks for help.

Meanwhile, Whale enters Gold's shop carrying a cooler. Yes, it contains his arm, of course.
He asks for Rumple's help reattaching it. Rumple first asks Whale why he brought Daniel back.
Whale reveals that he thought that if he helped Regina, she would send him back to his own world so he could try to bring his brother back. Again.
Before Rumple reattaches the arm, he makes Whale say one thing, "I need magic."
With the wave of his hand, Whale's arm is once again whole and attached.
"Always a pleasure doing business with you...Victor."

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In Dr. Whale's Land that Was--

With the stronger heart from Fairytale Land, the Doctor and his assistant reanimate a body on the table.
The body of Victor Frankenstein's brother.
"It's alive."
"You did it. Victor, you did it."
"Yes. I believe I have. Welcome back, brother."
"It's magic, Dr. Frankenstein?"
"No. Not magic. Science."

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In Fairytale Land that Is--

The safe haven has been destroyed and all of the inhabitants killed. All but one. The blacksmith.
Emma, of course, finds that odd and finally gets him to talk.
He confesses that he's Captain Hook and that he's been working with Cora to get to Storybrooke.
He's now willing to work with this new crew, and he tells them about a magic compass that they'll need to return to their home.
Why does he want to go to Storybrooke?
"To exact revenge on the man who took my hand. Rumpelstiltskin."

Only problem?
The compass is at the top of a beanstalk. And, of course, that's also where the giant lives.

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GIIIIIIAAAAAAANNNNNTTTTT!!!! Played by the amazingly awesome JORGE GARCIA!!!!!
SO EXCITED!!!


Highlights:
-Rumpelstiltskin. ALWAYS. Sometimes his ways make me laugh so hard that I have to rewind the scene because I missed everything he said!
-"When they say I charge an arm and a leg...that's a figure of speech." (Gold)
- David Anders was brilliant as Frankenstein, wasn't he? Eyeliner and all!
-Regina's emotion and tears. Lana was amazing.

What questions do we have after this episode?
-Who is Frankenstein's brother?
-Where is Frankenstein's land? Does that matter?
-Why does Whale want to reanimate his brother so badly?
-How did the brother die?
-What happened after the first attempt? Exactly what the story we know says? Or something else?
-How are Emma and Snow going to get home?
-Will they get the compass?
-Will Hook be brought to Storybrooke with them?

AGAIN, the promo is spoilery, but this time the Canadian version is MUCH more so than the US version!
Here's the US version for you guys!

It's called Tallahassee!

Did you guys like Frankenstein's reveal? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

See you next week, Oncers!