SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.
As emotional and tragic as this episode was supposed to be it just didn’t resonate with me. I feel kind of “meh” coming out of it. Maybe because I spent the entire episode trying to decide if Emilie de Ravin was over acting or not. Which I’ve been doing all season. I can’t make up my mind about if I’m being picky or if she really is terrible (I think this about most of the actors in this show, to be honest). I’m leaning more toward her being terrible.
At least Rumple has come to the realisation that Belle wants nothing to do with him anymore and there is nothing he can do to win her back. Now if only it’d dawn on him that his unborn child already hates him and if he keeps going down this road that won’t change at all.
I wasn’t sure if he was being sincere when he cornered Belle in the elevator and told her he thinks he’s unlovable and that their unborn son, Gideon (isn’t his name Morpheus?), is his final shot at finding love. But it seems like he was. That being said, I wouldn’t put it past him to use honesty and sincerity to manipulate anyone to get what he wants.
So if it is 100% true that Rumple wants Gideon so desperately so that he can finally find love, then the fact that Gideon’s future-self is actively trying to help Belle keep his yet-to-be-born self away from Rumple, should be an indication to him that literally everything he is doing right now is counterproductive to that goal. If he was taking the right approach toward building a loving relationship with Gideon then no one – especially Gideon himself – would be trying to keep Gideon away from him.
The whole Black Fairy being Rumple’s mother thing was really random, but I suspect she’ll pop up again and be important later on in the season. I expected Belle to ask Blue to summon the Black Fairy so that she could take Gideon. It would have been a nice little twist if the mother that abandoned Rumple then raised his child.
I did like the scene in which Belle gives birth to Gideon being devoid of all sound except the soundtrack. It wasn’t effective and evocative in the way they were going for – at least not for me – but I appreciated it.
I still don’t care about Emma’s storyline. It’s just not interesting.
Because no matter how hard they try they can never create tension or a sense of dread concerning her well being. She is the main character; the leader of Team Good. The team that always finds a way out of the worst of situations. She. Will. Be. Fine. The mystery of the person under the hood isn’t even intriguing enough to make that storyline appealing.
The Regina vs The Evil Queen storyline started spectacularly, but then very quickly that got derailed into a confused mess of wasting a perfectly entertaining narrative that could have been amazing.
Right now the only storyline that is of any interest is Aladdin and Jasmine’s. I’m glad they have been around for a lot longer than I anticipated. It’s exceedingly obvious that that storyline is being stretched as far as it can go, but for characters who are little more than guests they’re starting to steal the spotlight from the main cast and the main story.
Random thoughts:
- Should’ve stuck with Regina, Zelena.
- Rumple: “I would never hurt you Belle.” But you have! And you just did.
Once Upon A Time airs Sundays at 8 PM on ABC.
