Once upon a Time Rewatch 1.16, "Heart of Darkness"

Read the previous entry in the series here.
Read the next entry in the series here.

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1.16, "Heart of Darkness"

Written by Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg
Directed by Dean White

Synopsis

After a restatement of the series's premise and the title card, the episode begins with Charming and Red still being pursued and attacked by the king's men. Red bids Charming flee to find Snow White, remaining behind to assume her lupine form; he does, and melee ensues.

No towering figure, she.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In Storybrooke, Mary Margaret is processed into police custody. She and Emma confer about their respective situations; both are constrained by their positions.

In the Enchanted Forest, Snow White tends to the dwarves' cottage. Grumpy invites her to dinner, which she resists; the assembled dwarves introduce Jiminy Cricket to her conducting something of an intervention with her, addressing the changes in her behavior following her taking a memory-erasing potion. It does not proceed as they hope, and Snow White prepares to depart in anger to kill Regina.

In Storybrooke, Emma questions Mary Margaret with Regina present. The questioning goes poorly for Mary Margaret. Her counterpart fares better, waylaying one of the Evil Queen's riders and interrogating him regarding Regina's whereabouts. She despoils the rider and proceeds along her way, despite the dwarves' impassioned pleas. Grumpy proposes to take Rumpelstiltskin to reverse the effects of the potion; she demurs.

Yep, everything seems in order.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Emma checks her shared residence for signs of a break-in following the questioning session. None are forthcoming, and Henry arrives to interrupt her search and notes that Regina has motive to frame Mary Margaret. A strange scratching sound attracts attention, and Emma finds a hidden hunting knife.

August later meets Henry at Granny's, conferring with him about developments. August suggests Henry check his book for answers; Henry attempts to demur, but is persuaded into it. August also explains the difficulty of persuading Emma into belief, and Henry resumes his reading.

In it, Charming continues his pursuit of Snow White, coming across the knight Snow White had despoiled. He reports her actions and direction, to Charming's disbelief.

How does he do it?
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In Storybrooke, David calls on Regina, pleading with her about Mary Margaret. She presses him about his lack of knowledge of her. He tries to argue that he has done ill during his blackouts. Meanwhile, Emma notes her findings to Mary Margaret and notes that she should hire a lawyer--at which point Gold announces himself and offers his services. Mary Margaret accepts the offer, although Emma is uncertain of Gold's sincerity.

In the Enchanted Forest, Rumpelstiltskin notes there is no return available for Snow White. He offers to assist her in killing Regina, advising her of a better tactic to do so. Grumpy refuses further complicity, and Rumpelstiltskin delights in the prospects.

David calls on the psychologist, Dr. Hopper, asking how to remember the events of his blackouts.

Charming makes to confront Rumpelstiltskin about Snow White. The Dark One notes that true love's kiss can break the potion's effect and offers Snow White's location in exchange for Charming's cloak. Charming rushes off as Snow White makes her assassin's preparations; he confronts her, finding her memory gone and kissing her. It does not work, and she knocks him unconscious.

Well, that'll open some doors for you, kid.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Henry greets Emma outside her residence, brandishing a set of keys that allows access to everything in Storybrooke. Emma is doubtful, but Henry demonstrates the truth of his claim.

Charming rouses to find himself restrained. Snow White rejects his appeals and stalks off to assassinate Regina. David, meanwhile, undergoes hypnotic regression. The memories that emerge conflate his life in Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest, and David departs Hopper's office in haste. Charming is confronted by Jiminy Cricket, and the two proceed to try to interdict Snow White, who is taking up position to assassinate the riding Regina. Charming intercepts the arrow meant for Regina, and the two confer, with Charming pressing Snow White to remember who she is. At that point, they kiss, and she recalls herself and him. George's pursuit continues, and Charming is taken prisoner; she begins to pursue him, in turn.

Mary Margaret continues to languish in lockup, David visiting her. He reports his own findings to her, which revelation staggers her no less than his pained rehearsal of the evidence against her. She rebukes him for his doubts and dismisses him.

Snow White, penitent, returns to the dwarves and apologizes. They accept her back, but she notes that she cannot stay; she must retrieve the imprisoned Charming. The dwarves move to accompany her in her quest and fall in to work.

Mary Margaret finds one of the strange keys in her cell. Trying it on the cell door, she finds it works and that she can walk free; she conceals the knowledge as Emma arrives with breakfast. She reports that the heart is, indeed, Kathryn's and that, with that evidence, legal proceedings will have to begin. They confer about circumstances, and Emma goes off to confer with Gold about how to prove Regina's interference. He offers cryptic encouragement, and his alter-ego prepares more magic. Mary Margaret, meanwhile, makes her escape.

Discussion

The thing that stands out in mind for me in the episode is the permeable nature of imprisonment. While it is the case that concerns of race factor heavily into depictions of jail--it is, and they do, as is true of the reality of imprisonment in the United States--the episode does follow precedent both in focusing on incarceration and in depicting it as both porous and escapable. I am minded of Malory, as is often the case in the work I do for the Society; the "knight-prisoner" author of Le Morte d'Arthur refers repeatedly to his own incarceration in the work, and he focuses on knights' imprisonment several times, as well. Indeed, a section of my dissertation (66-72) concerns itself with such matters; I'll not recapitulate it here, but will simply note that at least one major work of medieval literature presents prison as permeable and escapable (not least because of its author's experiences), so that for Once upon a Time to present it as such reinforces the (pseudo-?) neo/medievalism of its milieu.

Once upon a Time Rewatch 1.15, "Red-Handed"

With apologies for the delay...
Read the previous entry in the series here.
Read the next entry in the series here.

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1.15, "Red-Handed"

Written by Jane Espenson
Directed by Ron Underwood

Synopsis

It's never a good sign...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Following a restatement of the series's premise and the title card, the episode begins with Emma questioning David regarding his possible involvement in Kathryn's disappearance. She sends him home to get some sleep--with a recommendation to retain a lawyer.

Formidable.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

At Granny's, August flirts with Ruby while Granny looks on in some annoyance. He boasts of his travels to her, and the scene pivots to the Enchanted Forest, where Ruby's counterpart, Red, entertains a gentleman caller, Peter, despite her grandmother's intent. The two attest their mutual affection and intent for one another before Red is called away to join her grandmother. The latter dismissed a hunting party and confronts Red about Peter; Red speaks in his defense, and the two secure their home for the evening.

Granny confronts Ruby about her conduct; an argument follows, with heated words exchanged. And in the Enchanted Forest, Red and her grandmother begin the next day, Red tending to the chickens. There, she finds Snow White hiding and purloining eggs; Snow White gives an assumed name and is taken in. Red reports on the ravening wolf as Snow assists her with further chores; they find the slaughtered remains of the previous night's hunting party.

In Storybrooke, Mary Margaret asks Emma about David and Kathryn. They walk together, conferring, and Emma notes the opprobrium facing her. They encounter Ruby and Dr. Whale, the latter soon absenting himself. Ruby notes her desire to leave town in reaction to the fight with Granny and quitting her job. Emma cautions her about the need to have a destination, and Mary Margaret invites her to their shared home.

Hell of a love-nip.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In the Enchanted Forest, rabble-rousing regarding the ravenous wolf ensues. Granny and Red arrive at the tavern where another hunting party is being planned, and she rebukes those gathered for their thoughts that they might prevail against the wolf. She notes her own history with such creatures, having watched the beast slaughter her family. Snow White and Red confer about the situation afterward and Red's infatuation with Peter. Red arrives at the idea of killing the wolf; Snow demurs, but Red persuades her to assist.

Administrative work can be rewarding, yes.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In Storybrooke, Mary Margaret drives up to the town line, meeting clandestinely with David. They confer about their shared situation, though David seems addled and wanders off. And in the Enchanted Forest, Snow White and Red track the wolf, finding signs of its passing and of its immense size. Meanwhile, Henry helps Ruby find new work; she begins answering phones in the sheriff's office, and Emma takes her on as an assistant. Mary Margaret reports her encounter with David to Emma with some shame.

Red and Snow come across strange tracks as they continue searching for the wolf. They realize they are remarkably close to Red's home; the tracks lead there, and Red arrives at the notion that her beloved Peter is the wolf. They work out a plan to save Peter and the rest of them.

Ruby returns to Granny's--as a customer, rather than an employee. Granny greets her bluntly, conversation between them tense and terse.

Why am I hearing four strings and three horns?
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Red confronts Peter about the possibility that he is the wolf. He expresses initial confusion but agrees to be restrained for the safety of all involved, and she declares her intent to remain with him.

Henry reports to Emma that Ruby is, in fact, Red Riding Hood and remarkably capable. As he leaves, Ruby arrives with lunch; Emma takes her on patrol, finding her strangely capable as she hunts for David. Ruby soon finds David, unconscious in the woods and injured. Emma rouses him, and he evidences a gap in his memories. Dr. Whale diagnoses it as a similar event to his early emergence from his coma, and David worries that he did something wrong while unaware of it. Regina arrives to disrupt matters, and Emma dispatches Ruby to follow up on a sudden idea she has. Ruby searches, soon finding recently disturbed earth and, beneath it, a box, the contents of which startle her.

In the Enchanted Forest, Snow White impersonates Red--poorly--and Granny reveals that Red is, in fact the wolf, realizing that Peter is in grave peril. And he learns as much when, chained, he comes under attack from the wolf.

The box Ruby finds contains a human heart, and Emma commends her efforts. Snow White and Red's grandmother charge out into the woods, the latter relating Red's background and history along the way. She notes that she, too, is a werewolf, and she makes ready to kill Red while she feasts upon her erstwhile lover's body. The shot fails to kill Red, but it does incapacitate her long enough for magic to effect her transformation back into a human; they make to flee the coming hunting party as the revelation of her status breaks upon Red.

Ruby returns to Granny's, asking for her job back. Another awkward conversation ensues, offering something like apologies and reconciling the two. Mary Margaret tries to comfort David, and he begins to believe he has done something wrong. Emma arrives where they are, noting findings--including that Mary Margaret's fingerprints were inside the box with the heart.

Discussion

I've written about werewolves before, here, and while it is the case that a lot of work subverts the expectations of audiences, it is also the case that as much or more maintains those expectations; they have to come from somewhere, after all. And despite the protestations of many that Disney and its subsidiaries are "too woke," the media institution that it is is fundamentally conservative in scope; Disney has worked over decades to make itself one of the standard reference points for United States popular culture and common understanding, an unofficial canon that carries more weight than most anything else taught as "authentically American." It's not a surprise, then, that the present episode returns to those understandings in its presentation of lycanthropy--or that it links it to misogyny, as well, because there's no shortage of that in "real America." While not perhaps very neo/medieval/ist, it is unfortunately prominent and common; here, as elsewhere, I am disappointed but not surprised not to have seen better.

Once upon a Time Rewatch 1.14, "Dreamy"

Read the previous entry in the series here.
Read the next entry in the series here.

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1.14, "Dreamy"

Written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz
Directed by David Solomon

Synopsis

The very picture of grace...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Recapitulation of the series' premise being absent, after the title card, the episode opens in the Enchanted Forest with the Blue Fairy receiving a delivery and report from another fairy of much less poise. She rebukes the other fairy and dispatches her, the latter dropping some fairy dust along the way--which settles onto a large egg and alters it in advance of its unexpected hatching a smiling dwarf.

In Storybrooke, Leroy angrily eats his breakfast as Mary Margaret pleads for help with candle sales. She is greeted with silence. Leroy notes their shared pariah status, rattling her; Emma follows after, asking about the candle sale and reactions to Mary Margaret. She laments her status, and Emma is called off to tend to duty; she offers encouragement as she leaves.

Admittedly, I react to glitter similarly.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Preparations for the festival the candle sales underwrite--the Miner's Day celebration--proceed, and Leroy encounters a nun, Astrid, at work on them. He reacts much more happily than might be expected, helping out, and the two seem to connect before going off to their respective tasks.

Emma reports to the scene of Kathryn's disappearance, soon joined by Sidney. Investigation proceeds, and suspicion begins to fall on David swiflty.

The hatched dwarf, Leroy's counterpart, is brought into service, Explanations are offered to him, along with labor-force indoctrination. The dwarf, along with his seven brothers, receives a mattock that gives him his name, Dreamy, and the group are sent into the mines to work in support of the magic underlying the Enchanted Forest.

Leroy belatedly signs up to volunteer to help with candle sales. He overhears Astrid getting into trouble and moves to offer comfort; he learns of the financial difficulties she and the convent face. Emboldened, Leroy resolves to aid. Meanwhile, Emma confronts David regarding Katharine's disappearance, quizzing him about what he knows. Emma affirms that she will find Kathryn. Regina provides records to Sidney regarding the disappearance, as well.

Shiny.
Image taken form the episode, used for commentary.

In the Enchanted Forest, work proceeds in the mines to produce fairy dust, which the fairy counterpart of Astrid, Nova, monitors. She struggles with it and is aided by Dreamy, who recognizes her from his pre-hatching dreams. A series of mishaps ensues, from which Dreamy manages to save the fairy dust and the fairy tasked with its delivery. He encourages her, and the two connect.

Candle sales start off poorly at the event. Leroy takes it into his head to sell door to door. Emma presses Sidney for his promised help as the sales duo tries and fails to peddle their wares.

In the mines, Dreamy sits alone, contemplating his feelings. Belle, present where the dwarves are taking their meal, notes that Dreamy is in love; it is clear to her from his deportment. The other dwarves disbelieve as Belle expounds upon love to Dreamy. She encourages Dreamy to go meet Nova, and he does so.

Leroy makes to report his difficulties to Astrid. He is unable to follow through on doing so, for fear of disappointing her, and Mary Margaret rebukes him for his failure. He avows that he will make good on his promise.

They are cute together.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Dreamy rushes to meet Nova, and the two look out over the Forest together, happily. They confer about their respective situations, and Dreamy offers to sail the world together with Nova. She accepts, and they arrange to meet again and run off together.

Leroy offers to sell his boat to Gold. Gold refuses, citing a history with the nuns. Astrid calls on Leroy after Gold leaves, and she marvels at the boat before finding the unsold candles and silently rebuking Leroy for his dishonesty. Meanwhile, Emma receives Kathryn's phone records, giving her cause to doubt David. Leroy reports his failure to Mary Margaret, and the two commiserate about their common pariah status.

Dreamy rushes away to meet Nova again, sneaking out in the night from the dormitory he shares with his brothers. One, Stealthy, confronts him, the rest waking at the exchange, and they press him. Dreamy relates his reasoning, and his brothers cheer him on his way. A senior dwarf tries to interdict him, citing his responsibilities and a congenital inability to love--which the Blue Fairy, descending, affirms. Dreamy is persuaded to abandon his love for Nova, putatively in her own interest, just as Leroy tries to set aside his affection for Astrid. He resolves to take action, and proceeds to where the Miner's Day festival is in progress. Ascending to a rooftop, he disables the lighting for the festival--and obliging candle sales en masse.

"It's Grumpy, now," understandably.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Nova waits for Dreamy, having found a ship for the two of them to sail away. He relates what he has been persuaded to believe, and she rages at the situation. He denies her love, and they part in sadness. Dreamy returns to work; his old mattock fails him, and a new one declares him Grumpy.

Candles sales proceed at the Miner's Day festival, Mary Margaret and Leroy exhausting their inventory. Leroy delivers the proceeds to Astrid, and he offers to take her aboard his boat once it's restored. They delight in the festival while Emma reviews phone records, her investigation ongoing and under threat from Regina. Mary Margaret even begins to receive some reconciliation from the community, while David looks on in longing, and Emma takes him into custody as the town looks on.

Discussion

Of some interest is the depiction of fairies as being...not entirely benevolent. It's something at odds with the Disney sources that inform the understandings of neo/medieval/ist materials much or most of the presumed primary audience of the series has; in Disney, of course, the colorful fairies are sympathetic, helpful beings that work selflessly to the benefit of those they encounter, rather than traffickers in exploitable resources. Frankly, the Blue Fairy is something of a jerk in the present episode, outright laughing at her subordinate in a way that smacks of what James Fredal discusses in his January 2011 College English article.

I note, too, with some interest the hatching of the dwarves. Given my background and the Society, the Tolkienian comment about there being no dwarven women comes to mind--but who lays the eggs? More seriously, though, with Labor Day in the US having only recently passed, I am in mind of the labor stratification that is clearly at work with the former Dreamy and his siblings. The idea that certain groups are fated to work in support of others is hardly unique to the medieval, of course; there are any number of execrable people even now who espouse such hateful ideology. But it does line up in broad strokes with the traditional three orders social system many ascribe to and associate with the medieval; the dwarves are a "natural" labor class, conditioned and constrained to work and punished for deviations from that labor. It's...not a good message, really, embedded in them.

Once upon a Time Rewatch 1.13, "What Happened to Frederick"

Read the previous entry in the series here.
Read the next entry in the series here.

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1.13, "What Happened to Frederick"

Written by David H. Goodman
Directed by Dean White

Synopsis

Following a restatement of the series's premise and the title card, the episode opens with Princess Abigail arriving at Charming's kingdom. The king greets her amid sudden tumult, and the search for the escaping Charming commences as the prince rides off. He manages to evade pursuit, at least initially; he is ambushed and taken.

Well ain't this just cozy?
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In Storybrooke, David and Kathryn dine quietly together. Conversation is clipped and tense, Kathryn noting a hitherto unannounced application to law school in Boston; she suggests moving to make new memories and make a fresh start.

Charming finds himself apprehended by Abigail, who notes his love for Snow White. She offers to assist him in his flight, noting her lack of love for him.

David and Mary Margaret confer about Kathyrn's revelation; she complains about their secrecy and deceit, calling for disclosure, and he demurs despite having no real alternatives. She reiterates the call, pressing David to choose; he chooses Mary Margaret, and she bids him tell his wife before she walks off.

Who is this guy, really? (We find out later.)
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In the morning, Emma calls in at Granny's, where she finds the stranger. He reluctantly gives a name--August Wayne Booth--and arranges for them to meet later. Emma follows up by meeting with Mary Margaret, and the confer about the latter's romantic entanglement. Mary Margaret notes that David is supposed to be telling Kathryn. He  tries to confess himself to her, but fails to give an accounting.

In the Enchanted Forest, Abigail takes Charming to Midas's realm, and Charming presses her for her reasons. She notes her ongoing love for another, Frederick, and when he notes that Snow White does not love him, she escorts him to where Frederick, afflicted by Midas's touch, stands. Abigail notes that a means for saving Frederick is available, but guarded; Charming undertakes to face the guardian.

August inserts pages into Henry's book, repairing the physical text with skill. Henry receives a gift of a handheld video game from Regina; he voices a desire to see Emma just before Kathryn intrudes. Henry leaves, and Kathryn presses Regina for details about her husband; Regina notes Mary Margaret's involvement in the affair, which Kathryn had not known, and provides the details requested. They are damning.

The hits keep coming.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Abigail and Charming approach the means for saving Frederick, a lake with salvific water. David mulls over pictures of Kathryn and calls Mary Margaret, lying to her about his actions. Kathryn arrives to rebuke Mary Margaret, publicly and violently. David's dissembling becomes clear.

Charming proceeds to the lake and is confronted as he tries to take its water. An alluring figure emerges from it.

August arrives for his meeting with Emma, taking her for a motorcycle ride. She reluctantly accompanies him, ultimately to a well at the outskirts of town. The significance is explicated, and they confer about the town and about openness to new ideas and experience. Meanwhile, Mary Margaret finds herself the subject of censure and derision in the town.

Fracas, yes.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The confrontation at the water in the Enchanted Forest continues, devolving into a fracas in short order.

Mary Margaret confronts David about his dissembling. She rebukes him for his failure, noting that she is paying for his transgressions and she breaks off the relationship.

Emma finds a box wedged up against her parked car. It contains Henry's book, as August sees. Kathryn calls on Regina, apologizing for her earlier outburst. She also notes that David never seemed to love her the way he clearly does Mary Margaret, and she relinquishes her claim on him in favor of moving to Boston for law school, having encouraged David and Mary Margaret after her initial anger.

In the Enchanted Forest, Charming delivers on his promise to retrieve the water for Abigail. She delights in it, and it restores her beloved Frederick to himself and to her. Charming resolves to pursue Snow White, departing in peace and amity--and with a warning about the coming wrath of Charming's putative father, King George.

Regina covertly enters Kathryn's home, purloining a letter she had left for David. Emma greets Henry at school, returning his book to him, to his surprise and delight. He reads of Charming's continued pursuit of Snow White, where he learns from Red Riding Hood that she has gone before he must flee again. Mary Margaret sorrows over what has transpired, Emma unable to offer much comfort or ease. And Regina delights in continuing to meddle as Kathryn seeks to leave town, only to be narrowly missed by a passer-by: Frederick.

Discussion

I forget if I've made the comment before, but the roads in the Enchanted Forest are remarkably regular, far more than would be expected of the pseudo-medieval milieu. While I am aware that much of medieval Europe--including the medieval England that the series seems most apt to ape--was able to take advantage of existing Roman roads, themselves legendary for their regularity and quality, there is not much to suggest that a similar political body preexists the fairy-tale world in which the characters have their overt origins. It may be inferred, of course, from the medieval(ist) parallels; the medieval was in some ways a reaction to the Roman, so that the Roman is something of a necessary (but insufficient) precondition for the medieval, but there's nothing direct so far, no Classicist ruins or holdovers to be seen. Even Midas, a Classical myth, is not in the series; he's present, but he's solidly medieval(ist). With all that said, that the roads are consistent in size--judged against non-shapeshifting characters for reference--and quality is something of an anachronism, and while I understand that the physical constraints of location-based filming are, I wonder about the choices made.

This dapper fellow, antithetical?
Image taken from Playbill, used for commentary.

I forget, too, if the name of Charming's false father is noted in earlier episodes, but the George is significant for American audiences such as would be expected for a show appearing on ABC. Kings named George are antithetical figures in the United States foundational mythology, of course, but George also has resonance with the medieval England in which the series obliquely traffics. It's not something I'm certain would rise to viewers' attention, but that does not mean it's not present and doesn't have some influence. What it means, though...I do not know.