Sunday, April 24, 2016

Once Upon a Time 5.19: “Sisters”

“It’s simple. You stole my glory. You were never half the man I was and yet you got everything that was mine. Well, now you’re gonna pay.”
- James

This week, ladies and gentlemen, it’s sibling rivalry week! We’ve got sisters facing off and brothers finally showing down! But before we can get there, we’ve got some romance brewing in the Underworld. Hades takes Zelena to a hill overlooking town where they share drinks by a fire and observe the town below. Hades says he wants to give Zelena the real Storybrooke once his heart starts again. But that would involve leaving all the heroes forever trapped below. Zelena doesn’t say yes but she doesn’t say no either (as Regina points out when big sis comes waltzing in late at night). Zelena rebuffs Regina’s sisterly concern and storms off. She accuses Regina of never wanting a sister.

Boy that couldn’t be farther from the truth! We get some new flashbacks (yay) to a preteen Regina who just wants to play dolls and dress-up with her mother but Cora is too busy with running around being regal (and oddly not as evil and a super bitch as we’ve seen her in the past before). Cora’s focus is so distracted that she doesn’t properly lock a drawer housing her magic wand. Regina gets her hands on it and ends up hurting herself. Now only someone with magic in the family who hasn’t hurt her can heal her. I have a feeling that we are going to see the sisters meet before they knew they were sisters! And we see Cora rescue a young Zelena from her father’s wrath as he’s about to beat her for using magic. Cora entices her oldest daughter with the promise of showing her father that her magic isn’t wickedness. Zelena quite handily saves Regina without even being told what to do (she claims it just came to her) and it’s clear the girls share a bond and fondness as soon as Regina wakes up. Somehow I doubt Cora will let that bond stay. After all Zelena isn’t exactly a common name even in those parts and we know Regina had no idea she had an older sister nor who Zelena really was until season 3. The girls ultimately learn that they are sisters but Cora wipes their memories in a rather heartbreaking scene where the girls are literally ripped away from each other.

The gang is debating how to stop Zelena from getting it on with Hades. They nix Hook’s plan of killing Zelena in favor of trying to use Cora against her. Hook busts Cora out of the grain mill while Rumple tells Belle (who as we last saw was unconscious thanks to a sleeping curse) that he can’t use light magic to save her but he’s not going to let her just lay there while Hades could make other moves. I honestly can’t imagine what Rumple is planning. Oh and David and James finally come face to face (David with a bag of groceries which he gently puts down before things can get out of hand…um can people who are alive actually eat food from the Underworld?) Anyway, we’re going to have a case of mistaken identity for much of the episode once James knocks David out!

Emma and James (who she thinks is David although I have to hope she suspects that it’s not her dad) head out to meet Regina and Robin. Out in the woods, Regina and Cora are getting reacquainted (including the whole Zelena and Hades romance thing) when Cora suggests they make Zelena forget all about Hades (see I knew she was up to no good in the past!). And Emma is about to get a rude awakening herself when she and James meet up with Robin in the woods (where did he acquire a car seat to carry around the nameless baby?). He puts a magic cuff on Emma and then Cruella rolls up. They want to use the baby as leverage for getting Hades to let them leave the Underworld. Yeah that won’t work. Things get iffy for a hot minute but then Hook and David swoop in and James ultimately takes a dunk in the River of Souls. Yeah because who didn’t see that coming.

At the farm house, Cora and Regina are trying to drug Zelena with the memory potion but she’s on to them. She pegs Cora’s apology as insincere and accuses Regina of wanting to ruin her life again. But Regina insists she is just worried for her sister. And then in a somewhat shocking moment, Cora gives the girls back the memory of that brief moment of sisterhood. She makes this touching speech about the strength love has given both of her girls and that they will always be connected. I kind of hope this does redeem Zelena a bit. I still don’t know that she can change Hades but I suppose we will see. We still have 5 more episodes.

Cora has another emotional goodbye with her girls in the cave where people move on one way or the other. It seems at first that she’s going to get swallowed up by the fire but then the light appears and she gets to go to the good place. I guess bringing the girls together again makes up for being a horrible person. I don’t necessarily agree but I’m not writing the show. If I were, Hook would be dead for good and Neal would be alive. Anyway, after Cora is gone, Regina urges Zelena to go to Hades. Maybe she can change the man after all. Unfortunately for her, Rumple has another plan in mind. He’s going to use her as leverage to get to Hades. Sure he can’t hurt Zelena so that’s why he brings along his loophole. A trench coat wearing (kind of hot looking) Peter Pan. He is kind of giving off some weirdly sexual vibes as he’s tossing the hood over Zelena’s head. Now Hades is in the diner in full view of this whole kidnapping but doesn’t seem to notice. I guess he’s too busy dancing to some old time tunes on the juke box. I really hope we see a little more of Pan before the end of the season. I doubt he’d move on since he wants a relationship with his son and that is not on Rumple’s agenda. Maybe he needs to make amends with Henry? Basically I just want more Robbie Kay on my TV!

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