Once upon a Time Rewatch 2.5, "The Doctor"

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

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2.5, "The Doctor"

Written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz
Directed by Paul Edwards

Synopsis

Well, that'll ruin your day.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

After a recapitulation of series events, the episode begins with Snow, Emma, Mulan, and Aurora returning from the ruins of Snow's castle, conferring about Lancelot's end and Cora's escape. Reaching the campground whence they had come, they find it ravaged, its inhabitants slain and buildings ruined. It is clear that the ruination is Cora's doing, and a single survivor is found--Hook, whom the four do not know.

Following the title card, Whale confronts David in Storybrooke, which does not go well for him. Whale asks after David's intentions, and David notes his work to return to the Enchanted Forest. Whale inquires about other lands, piquing David's interest. Regina meets with Hopper, conferring about magic until interrupted by Whale and his demand to be returned to his own land. Hopper chases Whale out, and he asks Regina about who was brought over by the curse.

Washed up? All wet? Poured out?
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Regina recalls training in magic under Rumpelstiltskin, practicing by immobilizing a black unicorn. She balks at removing its heart, citing the animal's innocence. Rumpelstiltskin removes the animal's strangely-human heart himself, opining on the process and its implications. He presses her to kill the beast by crushing the heart in her hands; she refuses again, and he chides her for her hesitation before asking what holds her back. Regina muses on her slain beloved, preserved by enchantment--as she reports to Hopper. He notes that her retention of the dead holds her back from her stated intent of healing and redemption, and she departs in annoyance, driving out into the rain and seeing her late beloved standing on the side of the street in the downpour--briefly.

David drives Henry out to a horse paddock, Henry noting a lack of sleep. David introduces Henry to a horse, beginning with upkeep and maintenance.* David leaves Henry to the work, and Regina returns to her mausoleum, where the casket that had held her beloved stands empty.

Attended by Regina, Rumpelstiltskin works at his spinning. She asks if she can begin her study, and he quizzes her about her motivations. She asks if the dead can be resurrected; Rumpelstiltskin notes that "Dead is dead." Jefferson intrudes, delivering a crystal ball and reporting that access to Rumpelstiltskin's goal is unavailable. After, he dismisses Regina, citing her folly as a waste of his time. Jefferson, however, makes an offer of transport to another realm where she may be able to find a way to bring back the dead. He offers to deliver that way in exchange for a writ of free passage across her kingdom.

Snow and Mulan discuss the surviving Hook, Mulan reporting his alias in the now-ruined camp. Emma doubts him, citing earlier deceit from Cora. She asks after events, and Hook reports cowardice--which Emma disbelieves. Plans to depart are noted, and Emma presses forcefully for confession from Hook.

It's not too hard to piece this together...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Regina stalks through the Storybrooke hospital in the night, searching for Whale. In the Enchanted Forest, Jefferson begins to take Regina on a similar search, seeking out the "wizard" who can bring back the dead. Jefferson notes the differences between worlds that will be in play and introducing her to Whale's alter-ego. They discuss the resurrection of Daniel, Whale's alter-ego noting that his procedure is experimental and requires a strong heart--such as are found in the Enchanted Forest. Regina's reticence to take hearts is noted, and she is told that only her doing so will allow Daniel to return. And in the hospital, Regina finds Whale maimed on the floor, having worked his procedure on Daniel to his own harm.

Regina takes Jefferson and Whale's alter-ego to Cora's estate, where a chamber of hearts awaits. Taking them inside, she offers the alter-ego his choice of hearts. He picks one. And in Storybrooke, David reports to the hospital, asking about events. Regina reports Daniel's return at Whale's hand, and she purposes to go to Daniel; David refuses to allow her to go alone, and the two proceed to the stables--where Henry is tending his horse. The animals there grow agitated at Daniel's approach, and the erstwhile stable boy advances on Henry.

Snow, Emma, Mulan, and Aurora tie Hook up, Emma summoning an ogre to prompt his confession. It is, at that point, forthcoming. He notes his own espionage mission and Cora's intent to travel to Storybrooke. He bargains for his life, ultimately successfully.

Daniel attacks Henry as David and Regina arrive. Henry flees, and Regina tries to reason with Daniel. She pleads with David for the chance and recalls an earlier attempt to effect Daniel's resurrection. It fails, the purloined heart being insufficient to the task. The resurrected Daniel attacks Regina until dissuaded; he begs for death against the pain of his artificially renewed existence. In tears, she accedes to his demand, dismissing the spell that had preserved his body.

No symbolism here, nope.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Snow, Emma, Mulan, and Aurora follow Hook into what they understand to be a trap. They are presented with a towering beanstalk, at the top of which lives a giant. No other options available, they proceed thence. Similarly, Regina pushes ahead, and in the Enchanted Forest, she kills Rumpelstiltskin's new apprentice, resuming her place in his tutelage. In Storybrooke, she seeks counsel with Hopper. And Whale's alter-ego, Jefferson, and Rumpelstiltskin confer about what they have conspired to do with Regina, the alter-ego and Rumpelstiltskin debating about the value of magic as Whale calls in at Gold's. There, Gold reattaches Whale's arm after grilling him about his actions and his earlier disbelief. And Whale--Victor Frankenstein-recalls another failed attempt to effect a resurrection...

Discussion

It occurs to me as I watch the present episode again that Lancelot is changed from his late medieval iterations. In Malory, at least, Lancelot dies...poorly. At the end of Le Morte d'Arthur (21.19 and following), Lancelot goes to the widowed Guenever and seeks to return to an amorous relationship with her, only to be refused (rightly) on the grounds of now wanting to resume a love that led to ruin; Lancelot pines to death. While it might well be argued that being killed--likely murdered--by a heart-ripping witch isn't a good death, either, it is more in line with the popular image of Lancelot as a fighter (or a paladin in D&D terms) than is the death in Malory.

I've often thought about the prevailing disregard for or disinterest in the end of Malory's work and Lancelot's death within it. I quip about it, I admit, although I should note that Lancelot manages to die in a state of grace in Malory, and he is mourned by many of his erstwhile comrades; it is not a bad death, really, by the standards of the work's context of composition or initial reception. It becomes a bad death only in an anachronistic view of knights as warriors of faith, rather than as warriors of faith, of combat as the only worthy end of life (with "end" meaning both "conclusion" and "method" here), of what is ultimately toxicity. Thinking on it, I wonder why it should not be appropriate for Lancelot to mourn the loss of love--a loss that he accepts; when Guenever rebuffs him in the cloister, he (largely) accepts it and goes away. It's imperfect, of course--Lancelot is, even in the end, flawed--but it is far, far better than it might be. It is far, far better than is usually recognized or acknowledged, and I have to wonder what it says about prevailing popular culture that it is so often elided.

It occurs to me, too, that Regina's work with the unicorn in the episode is...somewhat loaded. Disney's writers are aware of the association between unicorns and virginity, as noted here, and there's little reason to expect that the writers on the present series are ignorant of something that is made a significant point in another series. At the same time, Regina is long-established in the series as being not only sexually active, but illicitly so, conducting clandestine affairs that reek of abuse and openly attempting seduction. (There is some implication, too, that she was physically intimate with her beloved stable boy, although that remains implication, and "the old loue was not so" [Malory 18.25]) Assuming that Regina was virginal as she begins her studies with Rumpelstiltskin, the presence of the black unicorn marks a particular point in her character progression; she is clearly engaging with evil as evil--Rumpelstiltskin's presence marking it no less than the unicorn's color, the show engaging in both Manichean allegory and physiognomic fallacy--but has not gone over yet. If she is not, however, the symbolism becomes more fraught, and in ways that likely exceed what present discussion will bear... 

*As a Texan, and one connected with a long-time ranching family, I find myself pleased that the first lesson Henry gets about riding is taking care of the horse. There are some things the series gets right.

Once upon a Time Rewatch 2.4, "The Crocodile"

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

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2.4, "The Crocodile"

Written by David H. Goodman and Robert Hull
Directed by David Solomon

Synopsis

Gold attempts to woo Belle with fineries from his shop, offering to take her out on the town. Leroy interrupts, demanding the return of his axe and chiding Belle. Gold erupts in anger at the insult to Belle and assails Leroy, reverting briefly to his Rumpelstiltskin form--and prompting Belle to wake in the night and stalk through the house she and Gold share. Snooping about, she finds him spinning straw into gold, working magic.

Be it ever so humble...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Back in the past of the Enchanted Forest, Rumpelstiltskin returns to his home, calling for his wife, Milah, and son. The latter greets him, the former is absent, and Rumpelstiltskin takes Baelfire out to find her. She is carousing with pirates in a tavern, making mock of him until Baelfire's appearance shames her into returning home. There, she pushes Rumpelstiltskin to relocate, and he argues against it.

In Storybrooke, Gold and Belle confer about his magic use. She rebukes him for his lack of courage with her.

In the past, Rumpelstiltskin is summoned to the nearby docks, where the pirates are taking Milah. He proceeds there as swiftly as he may, only to be refused and ridiculed by the ship's captain, Kilian Jones.

In Storybrooke, the dwarves attempt to mine fairy dust, David aiding them. Their efforts are unproductive, and David proceeds to take on law enforcement duties. Gold tries to talk to Belle, finding her fled from his home. He goes in search of her, seeking her at her father's; he is, understandably, greeted unkindly. Gold challenges him for information, receiving none.

In the Enchanted Forest, the empowered Rumpelstiltskin meets with Smee, who offers a realm-jumping magic bean. After a tense exchange, the two reach an agreement, and Smee leaves--as Jones arrives, and Rumpelstiltskin purposes to observe him.

Good advice. When in doubt, to the library!
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In Storybrooke, Belle finds herself at the diner, and Ruby talks with her there. She offers to help find family, and the idea of Belle taking over the town library is raised. She heads there, inspecting it until confronted by Smee--who abducts her.

Rumpelstiltskin confronts Jones in the street, receiving the sobriquet "Crocodile" before challenging him about Milah. Jones notes Milah's long-ago death, and Rumpelstiltskin sets up a duel between them.

Gold calls on David, reporting the disappearance of Belle. David reluctantly agrees to help find her.

The duel between Rumpelstiltskin and Jones begins and is swiftly concluded, Jones getting the worse of the exchange. Milah, whose death had been falsely reported, calls for Rumpelstiltskin to stop before killing Jones.

Smee delivers Belle to her father, and the two are happily reunited. They exchange news, and Belle's father challenges her about Gold and his depredations; when she refuses to cut ties with Gold, her father has Smee take her away again. Meanwhile, David continues to search for Belle, fruitlessly. He also advises Gold that hard work and honesty support love, discoursing on the difference between precise wording and "honesty of the heart."

Rumpelstiltskin confronts Milah about Jones and her abandonment of her husband and son. She notes having fallen in love with Jones, and she offers Smee's bean in exchange for Jones's life and hers.

Forth, the Three Hunters?
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

David asks Ruby after Belle, disbelieving her denial of information about her. She relents and notes that Belle's interest in the library. She also notes her ability to track by scent, and moves off in pursuit, accompanied by Gold and David. They have to give off pursuit, Ruby discommoded by the flower shop Belle's father runs (and which puns off of Martin's series for its name). Gold confronts Belle's father again, and he notes her safety will be secured by sending her across the town line, with its concomitant memory loss. David realizes she will be sent out through the mines, and the three speed thence.

Rumpelstiltskin confronts Jones and Milah aboard their ship, where she shows him the bean. He mocks them and upbraids her for leaving Baelfire. He kills her and takes Jones's hand. Jones tries to kill him, in turn, failing and swearing vengeance. He takes up a hook after Rumpelstiltskin departs.

Smee sends a restrained Belle down the mineshaft, and she attempts escape without success. Gold's magic saves her from passing the town line and forgetting all. She thanks Gold but does not agree to return to him. Nor yet does she return to her father, citing his misdeeds. Later, Belle and Ruby confer again, and Belle takes lodgings at Granny's inn, receiving the key to the library, which she soon moves to use. Entering the library, she finds Gold, who admits his cowardice to her and reports his failures and his need and inability to leave to find Baelfire. His magic use is an attempt to allow himself to leave Storybrooke, and Belle offer a possibility of reconciliation.

Rumpelstiltskin finds Jones's hand empty, the pirate having retained the magic bean for himself as he sails away and Milah is buried at sea. Smee is conscripted into Jones's service, and they make for another realm: Neverland.

Gold returns to his basement, where Smee is restrained. He presses him for information about Jones--who is with Cora, the two conferring about how to proceed to Storybrooke, where they will find Regina and Gold.

Discussion

Hooray, anachronism!

As the effective introduction to the series of Captain Hook, the present episode necessarily makes much of stereotypical depictions of eighteenth-century pirates. I've noted on several occasions and in relation to several properties--including others from Disney--that the collapse and compression of the pre-modern (and I'll admit to using a fuzzy definition of "modern," here, but periodization is slippery at best, as I've noted) tends to attract a lot of attention to the putative Age of Piracy. Like the medieval, or conceptions of it, "traditional" piracy is easily and often romanticized (something I've touched on in other writing I've done), a seemingly removed and far-away thing onto which much can be projected. And there is some justification, certainly; I recall readings and lectures that associated the early modern English privateers with neochivalric movements occurring in the late Tudor and early Stuart courts, among others, and the clear parallels between eighteenth-century piracy and the Viking raids of a millennium before are, well, there. What purpose is served, what effect achieved, is less clear to me, although that may well just be me--but I think it's another example of the overall compression of all that came before. It remains a dangerous thing, a pernicious one, but how to address it...I do not know.

Once upon a Time Rewatch 2.3, "Lady of the Lake"

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

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2.3, "Lady of the Lake"

Written by Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg
Directed by Milan Cheylov

Synopsis

That's a face that says "Don't be stupid." It's surprisingly rare.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

After a recapitulation of series events, the episode begins with Red racing to report incoming attack to Snow White, Charming, and others as they confer. She is not much ahead of the attack, and battle is joined. Snow White's escape is noted and interdicted--by Lancelot, who notes that he is no longer of the Round Table before taking Snow White captive.

Mary Margaret awakes in captivity, tended by Cora as Emma looks on. They confer about their respective situations, and Emma learns that Cora is Regina's mother. Mary Margaret wakes and warns Emma against Cora. They are summoned out.

In Storybrooke, David and Henry confer about the work to retrieve Mary Margaret and Emma. David tries to dissuade Henry from assisting him, and Henry voices agreement--but does otherwise at the earliest opportunity.

I'm not entirely sure on the optics of this...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In the Enchanted Forest, Mary Margaret and Emma are brought before Lancelot, who leads the refugees. They meet warmly, and introductions are made. Aurora and Mulan look on, Aurora thirsting for revenge for the slain Phillip and Mulan urging caution. The urging is in vain as Lancelot confers with Mary Margaret and Emma. He notes the return of the ogres and asks Mary Margaret and Emma to remain. Mary Margaret notes a possible way out, but she refuses to elaborate, citing caution about Cora; Lancelot accedes to their request to depart, although he obliges them to take Mulan along as protection.

Some of Snow White and Lancelot's earlier interactions are detailed. Lancelot is in the service of George, who strides around a round table and confers with her about his losses and his purpose for her--the infliction of an infertility curse. And in the present,  Emma and Snow White are armed for their journey out. Mulan warns them against the threats that face them. Snow White notes to her daughter that their destination is her old home.

In Storybrooke, Henry confronts Jefferson, beseeching his aid. Jefferson notes the existence of Regina's vault, and Henry tries to offer comfort. He later calls Regina, who is at work packing up her office; they agree to lunch together, and Regina rushes off gratefully--the victim of a ruse by which Henry purloins her skeleton keys.

Party!
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Emma, Snow, and Mulan make camp, Emma querying about their situation. Snow and Mulan grow exasperated with the ignorant Emma, and Snow recalls being turned loose by George after her cursing. Lancelot comes upon her shortly after, warning her that Charming is about to come under attack. The attack comes, Charming finding himself surrounded, and melee ensues. Charming fights ably, killing and incapacitating his assailants but failing to save his mother, Ruth, who is shot in the breast by a crossbow bolt. Snow White and Lancelot arrive at that point, and greetings are tearfully exchanged.

Aurora attacks Snow White in the night, and Mary Margaret subdues her swiftly. Emma attempts to protect her mother, her gunfire attracting the ogres, who hunt by sound. The four flee, separating, and Emma trips, accosted by one of them. Snow White slays the assailing ogre, and the two proceed along their way.

Lancelot aids Snow and Charming in taking Ruth to receive aid. Along the way, Lancelot's exile from Arthur's court is glossed. Also along the way, Snow and Charming's mother confer, the latter expressing her wishes for her future children. Snow White's inflicted infertility is voiced, but hope for relief is noted.

I've said it before: always pay your contractors.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Snow White, Emma, Mulan, and Aurora arrive at Snow White's old castle, which is in ruins. In the past, Snow White, Charming, Lancelot, and Ruth arrive at the lake whose waters had promised hope, finding it dried up. And in Storybrooke, Henry breaches Regina's vault, finding her stores of hearts under her father's tomb, as well as other magical caskets. One contains a two-headed snake, from which David saves the boy, having followed him. Henry notes his dissatisfaction, and David reaffirms their shared heritage.

Charming notes his fault in drying the lake, but Lancelot uncovers a small bit of water, offering a prayer over it. It is enough for one one dose, which Ruth insists Snow White take. Snow White demurs, and Charming, knowing nothing of Snow White's condition, insists that she drink. She feigns doing so, and dies with her son in attendance--but not before seeing Lancelot officiate a wedding ceremony for Charming and Snow White.

Emma's party searches through the castle, Emma recognizing things from her son's book. Snow White reminisces about what she had had and what was lost for her daughter. The wardrobe that had transported Emma to the world of Storybrooke is present, and plans for taking it back to Lancelot's camp are discussed--with the sudden appearance of the knight occasioning surprise. The disclosure of an accurate but unmentioned detail lets Snow White know Lancelot is an impostor, Cora in disguise. Regina's mother notes having long slain Lancelot, and she acts against Snow White and Emma. Mulan and Aurora intervene, and Cora flees, but not before the wardrobe is burned.

Charming buries his mother, and he confers with Snow White and Lancelot. She moves to confess the infliction of the curse upon her, but receives a sign of its being broken. She confronts Lancelot about it after Charming trots off, but the knight does not openly admit to the ruse he and Ruth had carried out; she had feigned taking the water, and Lancelot had put it in the cup Snow and Charming had shared. His passage is mourned, and plans for how to proceed are begun, with Mulan and Aurora affirming their desire to help Snow and Emma, and Snow and Emma confer privately. After they leave, though, Cora returns to collect the ashes of the wardrobe, power still in them.

In Storybrooke, Jefferson approaches his daughter. They are reunited, and Henry looks on in sorrow. David offers to begin teaching him swordplay, and George looks on as they begin...

Discussion

Okay, so this one's got some...interesting Arthurian--thus medieval/ist--stuff going one. Aside from retconning--something in which the series indulges fairly often, moving forward, and which itself is something medieval legends tended to do through syncretism and agglutination--there is the obvious (and lampshaded) incorporation of Lancelot into the narrative, and that as a figure of Arthurian legend. In the dominant English-language tradition, Malory's, Lancelot does depart from the fellowship of the Round Table, facing opprobrium. It's not something that comes up in many folks' understanding of Arthurian legend, if the surprise on the faces of students I had is anything to go by, but it is recorded on the pages. (There is also the note that Lancelot was raised by a lake--the "du Lac" that accompanies his name in medieval legend does so for a reason--as well as reference to the Grail.) So there's that.

There're also the expected problems with the episode. The casual racism at work in the property emerges again, not only in an abusive term for the Romani / Roma / Romany* being used casually and in line with stereotypes surrounding them, but also in the portrayal of Lancelot--whose disgrace centers on "a woman"--as Black. It is good that characters be depicted as more diverse than is commonly understood because that diversity more accurately reflects the reality of the medieval that such series as the present one attempt to evoke, but that the depiction key in on stereotypes is far, far less so. Tokenism isn't exactly an improvement, after all.

*I'm trying to use the best term here, albeit with limited knowledge. If I have it wrong, please let me know, and I'll correct things.

Once upon a Time Rewatch 2.2, "We Are Both"

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

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2.2, "We Are Both"

Written by Jane Espenson
Directed by Dean White

Synopsis

Drawing straws should differ for dwarves.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

After a recapitulation of series events, the episode begins with the seven dwarves determining what happens if someone leaves Storybrooke, something noted as problematic early on in the series. Meanwhile, Storybrooke works to clean up after the attack of the wraith, and its people begin to search out their loved ones from the Enchanted Forest, there being much to do in both regards. Relief efforts begin to be organized, largely under Ruby. David confronts Regina, questioning her about Jefferson's hat and pressing her about her lack of access to the present magic.

In the Enchanted Forest, Regina rides down carefully tended roads, fleeing unsuccessfully from her mother and her magics. Regina is magically constrained to remain in particular proximity to Snow White's father, and she complains to her mother about it.

Terrible news, indeed: he sells drugs.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

David returns to the town square, searching out the Blue Fairy for information, and he is immediately inundated by requests for direction and assistance. Henry notes that there is hope, and the dwarves arrive in haste to report what they have found about the town border; crossing it strips people of their memories of the Enchanted Forest, although they retain their "real world" identities. The announcement occasions tumult, and David finds himself pressed into leadership and manages to buy himself two hours to determine a course of action. Meanwhile, Regina attempts to work magic, finding it frustratingly difficult to do so, and she attempts to stalk off. She is confronted by Hopper and leaves.

In the Enchanted Forest, Regina tends to an adolescent Snow White, who asks after jewelry she had received from Daniel. Regina imagines rebuking Snow White for her indiscretion again, fatally, and she complains to her father about her mother, Cora, and purposes to flee. He offers such counsel and comfort as he can, and he explains some of the history involved with Cora's turn to magic, citing a book.

Regina calls in at Gold's shop, looking through the books he has on display. He confronts her about her lack of power, chiding her and making to send her away. She notes their shared secret, that the Enchanted Forest remains, and he provides the requested book--and a warning.

Someone's not a happy camper.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In the Enchanted Forest, Regina purloins Cora's book, rifling through its pages and summoning Rumpelstiltskin. The two confer, Rumpelstiltskin implying that he has long known her, and Regina mulls over the text in Storybrooke again as Charming tries to determine how to proceed. Henry notes the provenance of Jefferson's hat, and David stalks off to see to things, leaving Henry and proceeding to confront Gold and asking to purchase a detection spell and teasing Gold somewhat as he dickers for the spell. They agree not to interfere with one another, and David notes the effects of leaving the town, which news Gold takes poorly.

In the Enchanted Forest, Rumpelstiltskin continues to confer with Regina. He offers to teach her magic, and she demurs. He presents her a portal to another realm, one to which Regina can condemn Cora with but "a little push."

In Storybrooke, Regina opens the book and begins to draw power from it, while David attempts to locate Jefferson via magic. He is drawn through town to a crushed vehicle, from which he extricates Jefferson and missing the meeting. Regina does not miss it, however, and announces the resumption of her power emphatically. Henry volunteers to accompany her if she will leave the rest alone, and the two depart. David confers with Jefferson about his hat, to be met with Jefferson's psychic torment. As David gives chase to a fleeing Jefferson, Ruby interdicts him with news of events and a warning that matters are degrading.

Henry attempts to flee as soon as he arrives at Regina's home, but her magic interdicts him just as she had been interdicted by Cora before. As they confer, Henry upbraids and rebukes Regina for her conduct towards him and others, and Regina tries to woo him with magical power, unsuccessfully.

In the Enchanted Forest, Cora confronts Regina in anticipation of her wedding. They talk together, Cora's words speaking to her machinations. Regina gives Cora the aforementioned push, sending her into the mirror, which shatters.

Well, this imagery's certainly saying...something.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

David interdicts the in-process exodus from Storybrooke. Giving a stirring speech, he persuades the people to remain and attempt to integrate their original and curse-made personalities.

Regina rides out again, Rumpelstiltskin confronting her. He asks her about her use of magic, and she confesses having enjoyed doing so. He offers to teach her to use magic, and she agrees to his terms.

No whistling this time...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

David confronts Regina again, demanding to see Henry. Regina sends him home with David, acknowledging her error and apologizing for her failures. As Henry moves to retrieve his goods, David presses her about the continued existence of the Enchanted Forest; she acknowledges that it does, and David purposes to travel there to retrieve his loved ones. They leave Regina alone, and life in Storybrooke begins to return to normal--a new normal. Some reconnect who had been long parted, while others long for the resumed connection...and other reconnections are foreshadowed ominously.

In the Enchanted Forest, Emma and Mary Margaret languish as Aurora and Mulan's prisoners, taken to a rough village. They attempt escape without success and are imprisoned more straitly--where they encounter Cora.

Discussion

I note that the horse upon which Regina flees is named Rocinante--and there's some neomedievalist movement in that. Those who know, or who perform a quick Google search, will find that Rocinante as a horse is a reference to Don Quixote; it is the name of the titular Don's horse, in fact, an underfed and overworked beast that is dragged into the characters delusions of chivalry that derive from excessive reading of romances and books of arms--from what amounts to obsession with the medieval if not an early instantiation of medieval studies. (I am aware of the irony of my pointing this out, given my doctoral work in Malory and my ongoing attention to medieval studies despite being a lapsed or expatriate academic.) Admittedly, de Cervantes is not a medieval writer, though he is a medievalist one, looking back to accounts of the medieval for his inspiration; reference to him is therefore a more explicitly neomedievalist gesture--which is, admittedly, wholly in keeping with how the series operates. It doesn't look back to the medieval, but to later presentations and idealizations of the medieval--although the recourse to de Cervantes is an interesting and unusual move.

Once upon a Time Rewatch 2.1, "Broken"

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

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2.1, "Broken"

Written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz
Directed by Ralph Hemecker

Synopsis

Seems a flighty delivery service.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The episode opens near Central Park in New York City, following a scruffy-looking man as he returns to his apartment. After he loses his cell phone through an open window, he receives a message via pigeon, one summoning him to Storybrooke.

Elsewhere, two riders track across hot scrubland in some haste, making for an onion-domed castle and breaching it. Therein, one of the riders comes across a sleeping woman; the other joins him as he makes to kiss her, and they plot to withhold knowledge from the sleeper. The first rider kisses her, sending a telltale wave through the area, marking the breaking of a curse, and the sleeper--Aurora-- wakes happy to see who kissed her--Phillip. The other rider looks aside, and they move to find safety from "new dangers."

The effects of Gold's working move through Storybrooke, and Charming and Snow White proceed to investigate events. Happy reunions with people whose memories have been restored ensue, and Emma begins to integrate raggedly into the community. The complicated family relationships revealed begin to be subjects of discussion, as do the continued effects of the curse and the renewed presence of magic in the area. Complications are noted, as well.

Gold and Belle confer, Belle reporting her confinement to him. Gold's rage begins to build, and Belle tries to dissuade him from revenge on Regina. He promises not to kill Regina--and Emma stalks off, followed by her parents and their companions, to confront him about events. They are interrupted by a mob moving on Regina in revenge; Emma and the rest move to interdict the mob.

Ooh. Shiny.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Back at the onion-domed palace, the second rider investigates the area, mistrusting the quiet. The mistrust is soon justified by the sudden emergence of a spectral figure that attacks briefly and is repelled. It leaves a peculiar token behind as it flees.

Gold and Belle return to Gold's shop, Gold seeing about finding her some decent clothing and delving into his stores for the same token that had been dropped at the onion-domed palace.

Meanwhile, the angry mob breaks upon Regina's home. She meets them angrily and haughtily, thinking her powers have been restored. When it is shown that her magic has not returned, the mob surges forward, only to be interdicted by Emma and the others. Regina is taken into custody, noting that the Enchanted Forest is gone, and Emma and the others make for Gold. He slips into the prison and confronts Regina while they pursue him, noting Belle's release and pressing the token into her hand, marking her for its owner.

Back at the onion-domed palace, Phillip pockets the token, and the second rider, Mulan, notes the nature of the spectral figure--a wraith. Phillip praises Mulan's assistance to him in the past, and Mulan explicates the peril the wraith poses. She pushes them to press on, and Phillip notices that he has been marked by the wraith's token.

Gold performs a working to summon the wraith into the world of Storybrooke, and Regina starts awake, seeing the mark upon her as the wraith enters the world. Emma sends Henry off with Ruby, and Mary Margaret presses Emma to talk. She reluctantly agrees, and Emma notes her reservations and hesitancy about the reunion after decades of separation.

Mulan, Aurora, and Phillip make camp for the night. Aurora notes her hesitancy about sleep and marks the strangeness of Phillip's behavior. He goes off to gather firewood, knowing he is doomed.

Emma, Snow White, and Charming confront Gold. He evades their answers as Storybooke is shaken by the attack of the wraith. Gold reminds Emma that she remains indebted to him, smirking as she and the others go to handle the wraith. Belle emerges and rebukes Gold for his exact-words promises and stalks off in anger.

Mulan attempts to get a fire started as the wraith approaches, and the absence of Phillip is noted. Mulan realizes that Phillip, marked for death, is diverting the wraith, and she goes to assist him, leaving Aurora behind.

Much dark. So glow. Wow.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The wraith makes an attempt on the imprisoned Regina. Emma, Snow White, and Charming intervene, driving the creature off with difficulty and saving Regina. Regina notes the difficulty of stopping the wraith and the certainty of her own demise. Emma notes being bound by a promise to Henry, and council for how to address the issue is taken. They purpose to send the wraith to a place where it cannot harm others, using Jefferson's hat; the absent Enchanted Forest is selected as its destination as the wraith attacks again.

Aurora catches up to Mulan, who rebukes her for her inadequacy. Aurora notes Mulan's love for Phillip, which she denies, and the wraith proceeds against him as against Regina. She attempts to work the hat, initially to no avail, and Phillip attempts to provoke the wraith as Aurora and Mulan approach. He attempts to send them off, but Mulan offers to take the mark and draw it off. He refuses, and the wraith takes him, returning to its token. Emma's encouragement enables Regina to work the hat, and it draws in the wraith--along with Emma and Snow White. 

Back at the onion-domed palace, Aurora and Mulan tend to the body of Phillip, taking stock of what they will do. Mulan surrenders the wraith's token to Aurora. In Storybrooke, Charming weeps at the loss of his wife and daughter, railing at Regina--whose powers seem to have returned. Henry's arrival stops her from killing Charming, but he turns away from her, charging her with retrieving Emma and Snow White as he leaves with Charming.

Belle returns to Gold as he sits at his spinning wheel. They talk tenderly together, and Gold makes to send her away; she refuses. Charming and Henry return to Snow White and Emma's apartment, considering their losses; Charming avers that he will find them. Aurora mourns her lost love, and she and Mulan make to leave the onion-domed palace; Mulan notes the changes to the area that have transpired in the wake of Regina's curse. Emma and Snow White emerge unconscious into their presence, having followed the wraith back into the world of the Enchanted Forest.

Discussion

There's a lot going on in the episode...

I mean, really, you don't get these with premodern equipment.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

I note once again the peculiarly regular paths in place in the Enchanted Forest's world. Once. Again. I don't know why, but it grates on me more this time than  previously. Perhaps it is because it's clear that the show is filming on other locations than British Columbia; it wouldn't have been too hard to find a stretch of land that had either less clearly marked paths or none at all, something that would have seemed more in line with the (typically amalgamated) neo/medievalist milieu in which the series still purports to work.

More right than most would note, I think.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

I note once again, too, the architecture in place in the episode. In this case, the onion-domed palace attracts attention. It is clearly modeled on Islamic architecture, even to my untrained eye, and while the series does have problems with Orientalism such as Said describes, the present example frustrates it somewhat. The palace is described (and depicted, really) as being that which Aurora has more or less by right, which would normally fix it as a decidedly European thing. (Indeed, Kavita Mudan Finn opines on the source material, pointing out the problematic neomedievalism of it, among others.) While some might seek to argue that the assignment of such a construction to such a character is "woke" "social justice" pandering (and they would be in the wrong who argue such, as 1) it's all fiction and 2) justice ought damned well to be sought), they would be in error. After all, as Finn notes, there is an antecedent or parallel to the version from which Disney pulls in some versions of the Arabian Nights. Too, Europe in the Middle Ages had ample contact with Islamic cultures, both in the Crusades and more peacefully; as is typical, the truth--even in the mediated forms of its attestation in commentaries of the time--is more nuanced and complicated than is often recognized.

Disney typically--again, as Finn attests, among others--flattens things and compresses them. There are reasons, of course, and some of them are actually decent ones. Here, though, at least, it seems to be moving against that tendency towards a more authentic and nuanced depiction, and that is a welcome thing to see.