Once Upon a Time: "The Doctor" (2.5) Thoughts
My thoughts and feelings on this episode are so mixed! Let me get this out of the way first: the stuff with Emma/Snow/Mulan/Aurora and Hook is all set up for next week. It was okay and I'm so happy Emma can still see when people lie, but. . .eh. I really wish this show would stop with the three places per episode, because it's really ruining the pacing for me. Plus, we don't get enough time to explore more stuff. Frankly I'm a bit bored with the flashbacks, especially the Regina, Snow, Charming ones.
Storybrooke:
- I was a bit bored with this stuff. Regina going to Archie for help was all well and good, but I just didn't care. Daniel being in the crypt and then coming back was urgh. It felt off to me. I'm not sure, there was something unemotional for me. I think Lana Parrilla brilliant, but Regina is being written weird this season. She's ready for redemption, fine. But, must they make her into this huge victim? Oh, it's not her fault - she's been pushed into it. She's like a drug addict. Magic = addiction is something I like. But, I am not really liking this thing with Regina. Also, I really hated that there was no scene with Regina checking in on Henry and him telling her it was okay or he loved her or something. I'll explain my confusion on Regina -
Enchanted Forest:
- Getting it out of the way: Whale is freaking Victor Frankenstein!? So, there is some magical world with literally classic characters running around? Weird.
- I really like that Jefferson works for Rumplestiltskin. I'd actually really would like to see how those two met and how they started working together.
- Okay, let me now discuss the Regina stuff: Last season we spent twenty something episodes with the writings harping on the fact that Regina truly embraced her evil side because of Snow White and the events of Stable Boy. It was all Snow's fault. Regina just had that evilness in her and now - it was really Rumplestiltskin, Whale/Victor, and Jefferson. She was still good and could have been alright if only she hadn't been tricked and if only they had brought Daniel back. And the minute magic couldn't bring him back from the dead, she went EVIL. Really?! I have no problem admitting that Rumple clearly would manipulate Regina. But, to make Regina this consent victim in order to easily redeem her is just lazy writing.
Regina can be redeemed. But, she's also has done some very evil things: taking thousands of hearts, kidnapping, murder, raping, etc. Now I'm sure she went back to magic to try and find a stronger heart/magic to bring Daniel back. However, I cannot understand the fact that she completely lost it after this episode, when we saw her go dark after Stable Boy. Then, she was good again/semi good in her last two centric episodes. Did she change her mind in two weeks?
Someone made a really good point that the writers realized that they showed her going dark too easily last season. And the fact that she hates Snow enough to curse everyone is still stupid and selfish. So, they are trying to make her have more of a journey to becoming evil. But, that still doesn't make sense to me in that Regina harped on it being Snow's fault for 28 years. Suddenly she become a victim of being manipulated by a bunch of men?
I wish I could explain my thoughts better. But basically: Regina's back story of becoming the Evil Queen because a ten year old made a mistake and her true love died was stupid. It made her seem awful, especially when she should have blamed Cora. Now we learn that she truly become the Evil Queen because she was tricked by those three guys makes the Snow stuff seem off. Because - why would she still Curse everyone because of Snow if it was Rumpel, Jefferson, and Whale were the ones that truly pushed her over the edge with the Daniel stuff? And why are they trying to show her as this consent victim this season? Regina has done evil things. That doesn't mean she can't be redeemed, as she can. But, you don't have to be a victim in order to be redeemable.
Storybrooke:
- I was a bit bored with this stuff. Regina going to Archie for help was all well and good, but I just didn't care. Daniel being in the crypt and then coming back was urgh. It felt off to me. I'm not sure, there was something unemotional for me. I think Lana Parrilla brilliant, but Regina is being written weird this season. She's ready for redemption, fine. But, must they make her into this huge victim? Oh, it's not her fault - she's been pushed into it. She's like a drug addict. Magic = addiction is something I like. But, I am not really liking this thing with Regina. Also, I really hated that there was no scene with Regina checking in on Henry and him telling her it was okay or he loved her or something. I'll explain my confusion on Regina -
Enchanted Forest:
- Getting it out of the way: Whale is freaking Victor Frankenstein!? So, there is some magical world with literally classic characters running around? Weird.
- I really like that Jefferson works for Rumplestiltskin. I'd actually really would like to see how those two met and how they started working together.
- Okay, let me now discuss the Regina stuff: Last season we spent twenty something episodes with the writings harping on the fact that Regina truly embraced her evil side because of Snow White and the events of Stable Boy. It was all Snow's fault. Regina just had that evilness in her and now - it was really Rumplestiltskin, Whale/Victor, and Jefferson. She was still good and could have been alright if only she hadn't been tricked and if only they had brought Daniel back. And the minute magic couldn't bring him back from the dead, she went EVIL. Really?! I have no problem admitting that Rumple clearly would manipulate Regina. But, to make Regina this consent victim in order to easily redeem her is just lazy writing.
Regina can be redeemed. But, she's also has done some very evil things: taking thousands of hearts, kidnapping, murder, raping, etc. Now I'm sure she went back to magic to try and find a stronger heart/magic to bring Daniel back. However, I cannot understand the fact that she completely lost it after this episode, when we saw her go dark after Stable Boy. Then, she was good again/semi good in her last two centric episodes. Did she change her mind in two weeks?
Someone made a really good point that the writers realized that they showed her going dark too easily last season. And the fact that she hates Snow enough to curse everyone is still stupid and selfish. So, they are trying to make her have more of a journey to becoming evil. But, that still doesn't make sense to me in that Regina harped on it being Snow's fault for 28 years. Suddenly she become a victim of being manipulated by a bunch of men?
I wish I could explain my thoughts better. But basically: Regina's back story of becoming the Evil Queen because a ten year old made a mistake and her true love died was stupid. It made her seem awful, especially when she should have blamed Cora. Now we learn that she truly become the Evil Queen because she was tricked by those three guys makes the Snow stuff seem off. Because - why would she still Curse everyone because of Snow if it was Rumpel, Jefferson, and Whale were the ones that truly pushed her over the edge with the Daniel stuff? And why are they trying to show her as this consent victim this season? Regina has done evil things. That doesn't mean she can't be redeemed, as she can. But, you don't have to be a victim in order to be redeemable.