Sunday, December 14, 2014

Once Upon a Time 4.12: "Heroes and Villains"

“Being good doesn’t always mean good things happen.”
- Mr. Gold

Well denizens of Storybrooke, we’ve made it to the fall finale. It’s a bittersweet moment for me since we won’t get any new adventures with this gang for several months but on the other hand, at least for January, we’ll get Galavant (which Jen will be covering). Anyways, on with the recap! It seems some of Ingrid’s magic is still lingering at the town line, even though Elsa brings down the wall. So they’re going to have to find a portal or something to get the Arendelle gang home. Rumple is worried that Anna will go blabbing about his plan if they cross paths so he sets Hook on her trail, still promising to kill him in the morning (well that evening but whatever). Rumple and Hook though do find a portal to Arendelle in the sorcerer’s mansion. While he’s doing that, Rumple will be preparing Belle for their trip to New York to see the world (as he long ago promised he would do). But as she starts to pack and Henry pops by with the storybook, she finds an old relic that brings back some not so good memories.

Elsewhere in town, Regina returns Marian’s heart to her which prompts a very tight hug between husband and wife (though Robin clearly has a look like ‘I’d rather be hugging Regina’). It seems Marian’s caught the glances between he and Regina because she stops by Granny’s and tells Regina that she understands now what’s been going on and she doesn’t want Robin to be with her out of obligation. If he chooses Regina, as Marian believes he will, Marian will step aside. I real hope Robin ignores his duty and just follows his heart because I need a little Outlaw Queen happiness to tide me over until March.

Back in the Enchanted Forest before Belle and Rumple’s romance really started, we see Rumple return from a trip to Camelot where he’s returned with a magical gauntlet that points out people’s weakness. When Belle points out she thinks he collects magical items to fill a void in his heart, he sends her out to do the washing. While she’s grumbling to herself, a little Dalmatian puppy with weird glowing green eyes appears and she follows it into the woods. Yeah, don’t do that stupid. She gets nabbed by who I’m guessing is Cruella. Rumple goes to check on her and gets a sort of holographic message via crow from Belle saying that he needs to deliver the gauntlet by midnight or she’s dead. It would appear our Dark One does have a fondness for the help at this point after all. He shows up to confront what turns out to be a trio of Maleficent, Cruella and Ursula. He ends up trading the gauntlet for Belle’s life which we now know makes no sense since he had it in his shop now. It seems he might have tricked the ladies when he later meets with them and flaunts the fact he always wins at them. I don’t think they like it very much.

In Storybrooke, Rumple is using Hook’s heart to control him and get the Arendelle crew back home. At least I’m hoping he’s not being nefarious about it. But Emma can sense that something is amiss. Still, she is happy about the portal. Out at the park, Marian and Roland are having fun while Regina and Robin watch. Robin professes his love to Regina and says he chooses her, despite the messy situation. He wants to teach his son to live truthfully. Unfortunately, their half-second of happiness is interrupted when Marian falls to the ground with some after effects of Ingrid’s spell. It has likely hit her heart already so the only way to save her is to send her over the town line for a one-way trip into a world she’s never been in before. And to ensure her safety, Robin and Roland have to go with her. Damn it Adam and Eddie, why do you do this to my poor shipper heart! You bastards!

And if having to make the choice to leave town wasn’t hard enough, Regina actually lets Robin go. The scene is heartbreaking as she fails to seize on her happy ending like Rumple suggested (in quite a touching scene. She even explains why Henry was snooping about). As Robin and company walk away, Regina rips up the storybook page that Robin found in his bag and walks away, leaving the merry men (not so merry now) to watch. I have to admit I am angry about this. I think I’m even angrier about this than when they killed Neal without letting him and Emma get their second chance.

And if Regina’s having a bad night, Rumple’s is turning out even worse. Anna stops to chat with Emma and company about this “nice Mr. Gold” and when she finds out it is Rumple, she warns them to his plan. So Emma and Snow head over to stop him from finishing the spell. But it’s Belle, having used the gauntlet to find his weakness (the real dagger), that stops him. She whisks him to the town line (well she makes him do it) and she confronts him about all of his lies and his lust and obsession with power. He tries to talk his way out of it but there’s no going back. They’re done and she orders him over the town line, knowing he can never return. It is actually a pretty heartbreaking scene too because he just collapses (guess without magic he has that nasty limp again). God, this is really just a shitty day for everyone.

We flip over to present day Arendelle where Anna and Kristoff are finally getting married. The sisters seem quite pleased and I’m guessing they restored the realm to its rightful rulers and gave the people back their memories of Helga and Ingrid. So at least all is well for them for the time being. I’m sure drama will hit them eventually.

Emma and Regina share a shot together which I have to say I enjoyed. Just the two of them being friends and Emma trying to cheer Regina up makes me smile. Plus they were gloating about Gold having a shitty day, too, when Henry busts in with good news. It seems the author of the storybook owns the mansion (aka the sorcerer). So Operation Mongoose is still a go. Six weeks later in New York, Gold finds Ursula at an aquarium feeding fish. He wants to team up with her and the other Queens of Darkness to get what he wants and give the baddies a happy ending for once. Because of course he does. I can’t tell if his anguish at having to cross the town line was real now or not. And I’ll have three months to stew over the mess Adam and Eddie have left our heroes.

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