Once Upon a Time 1x8-1x13

[oyceter]

Hrm, did not realize so many episodes had passed since the last time I wrote things up. Overall, I continue to enjoy the show for the multitude of female characters as regulars, guests, and one-offs. On the minus side, the show continues to succumb to its Magical Negro thing.

I am still laughing to myself about the fridging of the old sheriff to give Emma and Regina angst AND to provide space in the town for Emma to become sheriff. I just... I so rarely see this treatment for a white straight cis male character. I'm a bit irritated that they shoved in the new guy on the motorcycle so that Emma will continue to have a scruffy hetero love interest, but whatever. Clearly her relationships with Mary Margaret and Regina and Henry are still much more important.

The show keeps continuing the "yay biological family" thread that bugs me with the Hansel and Gretel episode. My main reaction was that if the father didn't want his kids, it was probably best for everyone involved that he not be strongarmed into taking them.

I was a bit ambivalent about the turns the David and Mary Margaret relationship was taking, largely because I liked that Mary Margaret told him to make a choice and was sad that she backed off a bit and started with the affair. On the other hand, I like how they have been handling the situation with Katherine, which I had been very worried about. It's refreshing to have Mary Margaret tell David to be honest with his wife, and David's hedging to save Katherine from hurt made me headdesk. I am SO GLAD he was called on that, because that is one of those things that drives me up the wall re: break ups, both in real life and in fiction. And I am so happy that Katherine got to keep her dignity and not come off as a terrible shrew (Hi Glee S1, this is partially why I stopped watching you!). I'm very much hoping that her disappearance will mean seeing more of her as a character and not her being fridged, and given how the show has been treating all the women so far, I trust them with the storyline.

... it is so rare when I get to say that, sigh.

I also think the characterization of Abigail was a bit retconned, unless you go with her playing the ditz precisely so James would be put off by her, but I don't care, because I am happy she got her happy ending and that once again, James gets rescued by assorted women.

I'm still not quite sure what to think about the extended Rumpelstiltskin backstory. I think it's one of the few instances in which biological parents hurt their children (the other being Jiminy Cricket iirc), and I find it interesting that it's in the light of Rumpelstiltskin wanting to help his son out. On the other hand, I was very disappointed with the Beauty and the Beast take, since a) that is one of my favorite fairy tales, b) it is my favorite Disney Princess movie, and c) I really don't care that much about developing sympathy for Rumpelstiltskin.

I don't think it's an accident that the Rumpelstiltskin storyline is basically the one in which we have one of the most passive heroines in a fairy tale retelling. I do like that Belle chooses to go with him, but she doesn't get much development after that save "idealistic heroine." (And, as a side note, I know the show is mostly going for the Disney fairy tale take, but wow this one had a lot of it. And, as a completely minor and unimportant note, I was a bit miffed that they went down the Disney line with Gaston and Chip and etc. and didn't make Belle a reader!!)

I think developing Rumpelstiltskin as a more sympathetic character also doesn't quite work because of how he plays off of Regina. Alas, much as I love Evil Queens, Lana Parilla really hasn't impressed me, and it's mostly having her more personally-driven evilness contrasted with Rumpelstiltskin's malice that has lent more depth and nuance to her character. But... we'll see how they run with the storyline.

Annnnddd on the big minus side: OH WRITERS NO. Really, Arabian Nights is the only way we can get POC into fairy tales? Because you know, there weren't any in Europe ever. And it's not like there aren't things like fairy tale archetypes across cultures. Plus the entire Magical Negro thing, and Sidney basically being the pawn of white women/there to help white women, and just... SIGH. I AM DISAPPOINT. I am also trying not to go on rants about how we can have shows that put women front and center, but only if the main character is blonde and there are no POC in sight anywhere, and hi Joss Whedon, I love Buffy, I do, but I also want more.

Comments

[meganbmoore]

The Rumples thing is what's bugging me the most with the show right now, especially since he's increasingly woobified (while still going nonstop with the using and manipulating of women) while Regina is increasingly one-note EEEEEEEVIL. I was mostly creeped out with the Beauty and the Beast part, and have been "..."-ing over the response to it.

In the earlier episodes, I assumed that Abigail was bored/annoyed and just going along with it because she didn't really have a choice (and I figured she probably thought fake!James was along the lines of an empty headed jock?) so it made since to me when she was all "Oh, don't worry, I DON'T WANT YOU EITHER!!!"

(Also, is it just me, or does Frederick kind of look like Riley Finn?)

Ditto on the bio-families thing and Magical Negros. (Also, while it hard more than it's share of problems, I way prefered the mirror/genie bit in the Kristen Kreuk Snow White movie.

Right now, I'm mostly excited that we'll be getting more Red/Ruby in the near future, because I have a fondness for both versions that somewhat exceeds what is warranted by the amount of screentime/development she's had.

[oyceter]

I am very excited to get more of Red/Ruby! I've been wanting to see what they do with Red Riding Hood. I also really like how Snow White has so many female friends, and now I am wondering a bit if Abigail shows up at their wedding!

I am guessing general fannish reaction has been very "Awww Rumpelstiltskin" then? Heh...

[meganbmoore]

Take your "Aww Rumpelstiltskin" and multiply it by about 50 with lots of "I ship it foreverandever it is so awesome and epic!"

It kind of gives me the "Did we watch the same episode?" feeling.

I HOPE ABIGAIL WAS AT THE WEDDING! Also, I spent the episode trying to remember if we'd ever seen anyone touch her skin yet and was worried she'd accidentally turn Frederick into gold again when they kissed.


And I'm pretty sure Kathryn isn't fridged? I think/hope it's going to be another Snow/Charming::Mary Margaret/David situation where who saves who gets reversed in the different worlds. I think the main theory is that Regina locked her up in the ward where Belle is (in which case, they should escape together!!) or that you get sent somehwhere when you actually leave town, since I think Kathyn would be the first FTL person to leave if she actually did reach the city limits. (Though maybe Rumples got around it? He did somehow acquire Henry for Regina.)

[oyceter]

Oh huh does Abigail have the Midas touch too? My impression was that Frederick got turned into gold trying to save the king but I don't really remember...

I am pretty sure Kathryn isn't fridged either, just because the show has had really good credentials on that part (except the woman of color SIIIGH), and am really looking forward to how that storyline unfolds. Which is not what I'd normally say, except the writers earned a lot of points with me with the Abigail/Kathryn thing.

[meganbmoore]

No, I don'tthink Abigail has the Midas touch, but I spent the whole episode thinking that she would have developed it in the last few years and they'd make him human and she'd accidentally recurse the poor guy.

So far the Abigail/Kathryn points largely balance out the Regina demerits (which would be fewer in number if they weren't working in conjunction with woobifying Rumples) but that might change while she's gone.

Also, wasn't fake!James/David/whoever found in a car on the outskirts of town, and the pretext (which likely never happened, but is what most characters believe) was that he and Kathryn had a fight and he took off (which is why she never looked for him, because she thought he'd left-though no doubt the curse helped with that)? So Kathryn could be off in a coma somewhere now, despite not having been on the receiving end of a sword.

[phi]

OMG the genie in a bottle thing made me SO MAD. And just in general, yes to everything you've said.

[oyceter]

OMG I was headdesking through the entire episode! And to top it all off, his being in love with the queen was kind of underdeveloped to me, given the amount of sacrifices he was prepared to make!

[copracat]

I like that theory that the Storybrooke curse is affecting people's ability to make decisions. James is decisive and open-hearted but David is making rubbish decisions. Same with Ashleigh/Cinderella's prince and Hansel and Gretel's father being deadbeat dads in Storybrooke until Emma - the cursebreaker? -interfered.

[oyceter]

Yeah, I really like that theory too! Also am wondering, if that's the case, if Kathryn's curse was basically broken somehow, like Graham's, in a way that's related to Emma that we don't quite know about?

[ranalore]

I really like the remixy aspects of mingling various fairy tales, and I actually like the blend of Rumpelstiltskin and Beauty and the Beast. However, I sort of want to shake fandom and remind them that he chose to push her away, to lock her up and then send her away with no protection, and so he is not the character in that scenario that deserves sympathy and woobifying.

Also, while I like the idea of the Evil Queen's lover becoming the mirror, I hate the way Sidney's been handled. He's the only COC we've seen, and not only is he evil and double-crossing, he's thoroughly Regina's pawn.

I hadn't considered Vera's theory that the curse interferes with the decision-making abilities of the princes/fathers, but that makes more sense to me than that they all had complete personality transplants and are really, genuinely all tools now. I would just like to see more of them shaking free of that, kthnx, because no matter how interesting it might be as a plotpoint, it's really annoying to watch, especially in David's case.

[oyceter]

Haha, I know, I think I would be better with the Beauty and the Beast episode if I hadn't immediately been all "Oh man, everyone is going to be rooting for Belle redeeming Rumpelstiltskin with the power of luuuuurve."

I really hate the handling of Sidney all around =(. I think the storyline of the lover being the mirror could have been good if it hadn't been the only COC! SIGH.