The Guardian

Rose Reynolds as Alice Once Upon a Time Season 7 episode 18 The Guardian picture image

Rose Reynolds as Alice

Aside from the Henry/Jacinda ongoing tepid romance subplot, this episode was pretty great. Then again it was a Rumple and Tilly heavy episode, so of course it was just better.

In the past section Rumple tests Alice to see if she is indeed the guardian. She does pass the test but Rumple stops her taking his darkness as it would make her an immortal, I guess, they didn’t actually explain things that well. Anyway Rumple didn’t want to trap her in an immortal life and that is the reason why he stopped her from removing the darkness from him. Rumple was being noble and sacrificing. Also Nook and Rumple become friends after Nook learned what Rumple did for Alice. It was touching.

The Hyperion Height plot is the Dagger is missing! Oh No! Rumple steals Regina’s magic to find it with a locator spell. Meanwhile Tilly and Margot go on a date but Tilly is hearing voices in her head. The voices are actually from the Dagger which she was unknowlingly guarding for Rumple.

Also Samedi/Facilier is being shady, Regina isn’t happy Rumple stole her magic, Rogers investigates Nick’s weird death as well as teams up with Drew, and Henry tells Jacinda that he is the Lucy’s father.    

The only criticism is that what is the guardian’s role? It seems that they purify the dark one powers but they also become an immortal? Does this tie into the Holy Grail aspect of how the dagger was forged? Then again story aspects involving  the Dark One mythos don’t make a lot of sense, if you ACTUALLY give it thought. So just run with what the season tells and recall what the season want you to remember, THAT’s THE SECRET TO ONCE!

Also the episode had some sort of references. It had a nod to Coco with the place where Rumple talked to Belle. Also who got a Star Wars Vibe when Henry told Jacinda about being Lucy’s father? Because I did!

Anyway it was a great episode, one of the best of the season.  This episode gets an A-

Also Alice’s cloak was amazing.

Episode 14: The Girl in the Tower

Rose Reynolds as Alice & Tiera Skovbye as Robin Once Upon a Time Season 7 Episode 14 The Girl in the Tower picture image

Rose Reynolds as Alice & Tiera Skovbye as Robin Hood

Let’s get the stupid nitpick of this episode out of the way; The Death Card in a tarot card reading does not mean literal death. Granted the meaning of cards can be fluid but still.

Otherwise this was a pretty great episode. Alice/Tilly has been a highlight of this season so seeing an episode center around her is great.  

The past section revolves around how she got out of the tower and her how her Robin meet/bond. The relationship between Robin and Alice is an apology for how the show has handle Lesbian pairings before. Mulan was in love with Aurora and then she teamed up with Red only to have Red fall for Dorothy in one episode. It was unearned. Here with Alice and Robin it was set up prior. Both Alice and Robin bond and grow from each other so it more than just a physical attraction on the onset.  They feel more natural than the Red/Dorothy pairing. Still wish Mulan had found love.

The present section dealt with Tilly trying to come with an alibi. Which she does in the form of the troll statue which had a camera in it. The Troll is also the magic Alice conjured to get out her Tower.     

The B-plot was Regina/Lucy mission stuff with Dr.Facilier. His goal is to get the Dark one dagger. Regina and Facilier’s dynamic continues to be interesting.  

Good episode all around. The second half of this season better than the first.  

 

Episode 15: Sisterhood  

Adelaide Kane as Drizella & Yael Yurman as Anastasia Season 7 Episode 15 Sisterhood picture image

Adelaide Kane as Drizella & Yael Yurman as Anastasia

I will miss Drizella. This episode wasn’t bad, it moved things along in the ultimate direction. The main focus of this episode was on Druzilla and her relationship with Anastasia.

The past section involves  Drizella’s test to join the coven in which she and Gretel  bond but she is forced to kill her because there can only be one. Druzilla didn’t want to and this plays in the present where Druzilla is posed to kill Anastacia to charge up a magic bean. It was all a ploy by Faclier tio get some magic for Regina and in the end the two sister’s return to the A.E.F.

So in the present we learn the identity of the murder who is going after the coven members. Turns out it was Hansel a.k.a Nick a.k.a Lucy’s fake dad a.k.a Henry’s B.F.F. At least he has a motive. Gretel said that Hansel was changed by the experience of the child eating witch AND Gretel was murder because of the coven however how did he wake up? Or is operating under subconsciousness, like he knows to go after these women but he doesn’t.

Anyway it was fine episode, it’s a shame than Ivy’s part is done  yet Jacinda’s and Henry awkward relationship continue but it was as bad in this episode as it has been in other episodes.

Got two this time and I’m also a week late but I’m a very lazy person so that’s a good enough reason.

 

Episode 7: Eloise Gardner

Meegan Warner a Rapunzel & Colin O'Donoghue as Wish Hook Once Upon a Time Season 7 episode 7 Eloise Gardner picture image

Meegan Warner as Rapunzel & Colin O’Donoghue as Wish Hook

I do love Fairy-Tale Procedurals!

So according to someone on reddit the reveal of Alice being both Tilly  AND Wish-Hooks daughter was obvious and yeah it was, I mean I caught onto it BUT I never saw anyone mentioning it prior so maybe it was in your face that one needed to mention it, I’ll leave it at that. And yet I was off on Gothel being Eloise Gardner, I think or she posing as Eloise Gardner for  dramatics.

This episode explain how who is Alice’s mother and how she became cursed. Wish-Regina infoms Wish Hook that she is out of magic, so he goes to a tower to find some. Rapunzel is there and she tells him she needs a flower petal to ecape so he gets a flower and then they share an “enjoyable night.”  However  Hook is trick by Mother Gothel  who was posing as Rapunzel who had in turn trapped her in the tower and she needed a someone with her blood to be trapped in her to escape. Gothel is also the witch trapped by Ivy and Victoria and she also poses as Eloise Gardner too just throw off Rogers because Eloise Gardner is the missing teeangers who saved Rogers but the OUAT wiki says Gothel is Eloise, more confusion. This backstory does make things a little more problematic.

First thing, I did not HATE this backstory BUT there big big problems. FIRST ONE, The Tower itself.  So wish realm Hook goes to the OTHER Enchated Forest with no issue? We know it’s in that realm because we saw it when Regina trained Ivy. The realm hoping and time line are just in shatters for a show that’s WHOLE first center around it. Remember Rumple orchestrating the Dark curse to find his son? Remember? How Realm  hopping is child’s play and easy EXCEPT when it’s not. So Wish Realm Hook had a baby with another realm witch? Is he real and that makes Real World/Enchanted Forest/MistHaven Regina a murder and that begs the question What Happen to Wish Realm Regina? Also How old is Alice? She is conceived  after Regina failed the Dark curse so she has to be Emma’s age but time seems to move faster in the other enchanted forest. How old is she?  I”M CONFUSED NOW!  

Ok, the OTHER problem with this backstory  is the one most people are talking about with is OUAT penchant for rape with magic. This is not the first time a character has engaged in sex with someone who is in disguise, in essence the person did not consent to sex with that person. THis happen with Zelena in season 4 posing as Marian and getting pregnant with Robin. And now again with Wish Hook and Gothel posing as Rapunzel.  But wait there is more, Graham from season 1, remember him, he was Regina sex slave because he had his heart and then she murders him. Emma dates a flying monkey who is technically in his real form as Walsh/Oz but still was misleading as well as Emma and Neal because she still a minor when Henry was conceived. So this show has issues! Like big issues

 Colin O'Donoghue as Wish Hook Once Upon a Time Season 7 episode 7 Eloise Gardner picture image

Colin O’Donoghue as Wish Hook

So the rest of the episode was Roger tracking down Eloise and finding Gothel and Victoria gets locked up for it as by Ivy’s design.

The there is the food truck plot which what I’m calling the Jacinda Henry Lucy stuff. It’s just not interest. Basically Regina in order to protect Henry from whatever it was Ivy did is blocking Hnery and Jacinda for dating. This should more dramatic emotional thing but who cares. Henry has more chemistry with his mix tapes and in turn Jacinda has more chemistry with her truck’s engine. Does ANYONE CARE?     

Despite the issue with this episode it was fine. It’s nice to see the OUAT writers learn what a set-up is because the Hook dark one arc was stupid and I’m not over it, also Tilly might be one of the more interesting new characters, her and Ivy .  

 

Episode 8: Pretty in Blue

 Rose Reynolds as Alice & Dania Ramirez as Ella Once Upon a Time Season 7 episode 8 Pretty in Blue picture image

Rose Reynolds as Alice & Dania Ramirez as Ella

Oh Show why did you bring up Catherine Nolan? I still want to know happen with Frederick? Did Catherine go to law school, I mean Dopey got a master’s degree so why not her? Oh this show and dropping people and characters.

Anyway this episode, groans.

So Alice and Wish Hook have this curse on then where Hook’s heart is poisoned so they CAN’T be together. That is a thing now and WHY?  Why on them? And who cast it? Anyway long and short of it is this poisoned Heart was on Ella’s (Cinderella) mother and father but Ella thought her mother abandoned her family and Ivy tried to it  to Henry’s heart but gets stopped and something with pendants showcasing Henry and Ella are true loves. The pendants have to show it because the actors do not. Also Alice can make portals appear, like that’s her thing.  

And apparently it’s not fully the actors’ fault because they have chemistry with other characters. Henry and Ivy and Jacinda and her baby dad, Nick. Lucy’s theory is that Nick is the Catherine Nolan of Hyperion Heights. Nick is a lawyer and a cool dude. But what is happening? Why do Henry and Ivy and Jacinda and Nick seem more like the pairing direction than Henry and Jacinda who the show trying to force true love on. We know it’s true love with them since it’s thier kiss that will break the curse because Ivy set it up and she making sure Regina blocks them. But what is the curse? Ivy or rather Drizella set it up to make her mother suffer but also to get magic from Anastasia? It’s all more convoluted than Regina’s or Snow’s or Hook/Nimue’s.

I did like Regina trying to gauge Weaver/Rumple, don’t why he would fake it. Anyway next time Regina and Henry are off to San Francisco to get someone.

Didn’t enjoy this episode as much it was all over the place.            

Tis the season for ugly x-mas sweaters