Read the previous entry in the series here.
Read the next entry in the series here.
1.10, "7:15 AM"
Written by Daniel T. Thomsen, Edward Kitsis, and Adam Horowitz
Directed by Ralph Hemecker
Synopsis
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Convincing.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.
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After a recap of the series's premise and the title card, the episode opens with rain coming into Storybrooke as Henry confronts the stranger who arrived at the end of the previous episode. Regina sees the two converse and calls Henry back as the stranger gives a cryptic warning and speeds away. Elsewhere in town, Emma and Mary Margaret make ready for their day as the storm comes in; the latter is hurried, having overslept--for a meeting with David, about which she lies to Emma. It goes somewhat awkwardly, and David leaves to go to work; Emma arrives to confront her about it and her infatuation.
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Not creepy at all, guy.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.
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In the Enchanted Forest, Snow White hunts. She is interrupted by the arrival of Red Riding Hood, who brings supplies and reports on current affairs--James and Abigail are to wed, and Snow White frets about her longing for him. They confer about how to address Snow White's concern, Red reluctantly; she directs her to Rumpelstiltskin, and Snow White proceeds thither. They arrive at a deal for his assistance with her difficulty.
Mary Margaret runs into Kathryn while shopping and learns from the encounter that she and David are working on having a child together. Regina, looking on, urges discretion.
In the Enchanted Forest, James ponders his impending nuptials and the state of his kingdom. The king pushes him about his infatuation, urging him to set aside his feelings in favor of the good of the kingdom. After, James sends a message to Snow White.
Walking in the woods outside Storybrooke, Mary Margaret is distracted by a bird call; investigating, she finds a bird trapped and takes it to the animal shelter where David works. The bird is well, and Mary Margaret makes to return it to its flock; David offers to help and is rebuffed. And as the storm comes in, Emma tries to prepare for it as Regina asks about the stranger in town; she directs the sheriff to investigate him due to his interest in Henry, and Emma agrees.
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Smooth.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.
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Mary Margaret drives out into the incoming storm, and Snow White considers her "cure" from Rumpelstiltskin when James's message arrives. She reads it and is moved to question her choices. Mary Margaret finds a roadblock and proceeds on foot as the weather worsens, and Snow White makes for the impending nuptials, infiltrating easily and being detained just as easily. Another prisoner presents himself: the dwarf Grumpy. He notes a lack of egress as she struggles to find her escape; he notes his own lovesick struggles, and another dwarf, Stealthy, arrives to release Grumpy, and they reluctantly take her with them.
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Naughty, naughty.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.
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Mary Margaret proceeds on her intended errand as the weather continues to worsen. She falls down a hill and into peril, from which she is rescued by David. Rescued, Mary Margaret returns to her errand despite David's pleas; worsening weather obliges them to flee--and Snow White diverges from the dwarves to pursue her own agenda as they attempt their escape. Stealthy is slain, and Snow White intervenes, securing his freedom at the cost of her own. The storm drives David and Mary Margaret into a nearby cabin, where they confess their illicit love--and David is surprised that Kathryn thinks she may be pregnant.
Emma encounters the stranger, confronting him. His answers to her are evasive, taunting--until she agrees to let him buy her a drink, and he reveals himself to be a writer, carrying a typewriter.
The storm clears, and Mary Margaret resumes her errand, David pleading with her. She releases the bird, which rejoins its flock in the clearing sky, and she abjures David again despite their mutual confession. In the Enchanted Forest, the king presses Snow White to abjure James, whom he admits is not his son; she does so, breaking his heart to save him and the kingdom.
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Naughty, naughty, indeed.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.
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David and Kathryn confer about their relationship. She notes a desire to mend their relationship, and David agrees to work to that end. He also deliberately misses his usual pattern--and Snow White, aching from her actions with James, rejoins the dwarves, relating her tale as they take her in and dissuade her from taking her "cure" for the moment. Mary Margaret, too, breaks her pattern, Emma offering comfort; James rides in search of Snow White, Red noting that she has departed, and he avers that he will find her--although she has taken her "cure," while David and Mary Margaret
still encounter each other...and Regina looks on...
Discussion
It is of some interest that the recap came again in the present episode. I have to wonder if it is due to some out-of-order production. I do not wonder about the effect, though; it takes the series back to its neo/medievalist underpinnings, for reasons discussed with the previous episode.
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Here's your pseudo-European neomedievalist fantasy...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.
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It is of more interest that Snow White is shown hunting turkey in the episode. As I've noted
once or
twice, and as many who read this kind of thing will know, turkey legs are mainstays of faire food; they are commonplaces at mockups of the medieval and early modern, and so are associated strongly with the English / European Middle Ages in the minds of many in the United States--despite being entirely alien to them. The bird is North American, and the fairy tales from which the series takes its indirect inspiration--because they are filtered through Disney--hail from the European continent for the most part. The presence of the turkey is thus incongruous; yes, I know, it's a fantasy world, and the flora and fauna can be what they want to be--but not including a bird is easier than including it, and getting the context right's not that hard, dammit.
Except that Disney knows its audiences well; it has to to get as much of their money from them as it does. And it doubtlessly knows that most of its audiences will not think about where turkeys originate or that it's an oddity to have them pop up in a pseudo-medieval-European setting. Even if they might, well, you can get smoked turkey legs at Renaissance fairs, so maybe they were over there then...it's an issue of the inauthentic matching audience expectations, something others have spoken to at greater length and with greater eloquence and insight than I can summon. The mistake makes sense in that context, even if it rankles for me.
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