I know I haven't been on here for a very long time, but now I'm back to review more OUAT and I am so excited for season 3 to be coming out in less than 2 weeks! So to celebrate, I'll be going over my Top 5 Best & Worst OUAT season 2 episodes!
5) (best) The Outsider! Honestly, this was a toss up between this episode and Lacey, but I thought this was a bit better, so this is why Lacey isn't on the list! It would be number 6 if it was a top 10 Best & Worst List! I know, it's a Rumbelle episode, but I love seeing Belle's journey to the character we wanted to see in her flashbacks and she proves she can be strong by herself! The present day scenes are also done well and I love seeing Belle getting things done herself instead of doing nothing while Hook is in town wanting revenge! By the way, love the adorableness between Gold and Belle, as well as their poignant and serious moments like the car scene before he goes across the town line. I only have 2 issues: the ending with Belle losing her memories & the scenes with David, Emma, Mary Margaret, Greg & Tamara didn't interest me. Still, this episode is good enough to be on the best list!
4) (best) Broken! A great start to an almost great season (I don't think it's bad, just a bit underwhelming) Plenty of romance, action, suspense and of course, magic! I loved every reunion (especially Rumbelle's) and seeing another fairytale brought to life through the show, even if a Chinese legend somehow was mixed into it! I also liked the Wraith being introduced which would be part of an important plot for season 2 with Emma and Mary Margaret being sent to a protected part of Fairytale Land, as well as Neal being introduced who would end up being (SPOILERS) both Henry's father and Baelfire! Overall, a great episode with the curse finally being broken!
3) Second Star To The Right! Out of the two part finale episodes, Second Star To The Right was the better one for me! It explained what happened to Baelfire after The Return, Baelfire's interaction with the Darling family was well done and I loved the introduction of the Shadow which would be an important plot point for the upcoming season 3! I also loved the CGI of Baelfire flying over London which really impressed me, and I can't wait to see more of Neverland! The Storybrooke scenes were good, like Mary Margaret wanting to help Regina despite everything, and Emma and Neal finally revealing their true feelings for each other, with the acting being superb, especially from Jennifer Morrison! By the way, say goodbye to Lacey cos this is the final full episode she's in!
2) The Crocodile! I love this episode because not only does it introduce the hot as hell Hook, but it shows more of Rumple's past, introducing us to his wife Milah, who turned out to be a selfish bitch and left Rumple for Hook! I loved the Storybrooke scenes with Belle and Gold which were so cute, as well as the budding friendship of Ruby and Belle, and now I hate Belle's father! It kept me engaged the whole way through, loved the sword fighting scene between Rumple and Hook, and what I loved most was it introduced one of the biggest plots for season 2 which would be Gold looking for his son! By the way, it had one of the funniest scenes from the show with Gold asking David for dating advice, leading to the famous Rumbelle hamburger quote! Overall, like a pirate, this episode stole my heart!
1) Manhattan. Everything about this episode is just perfect. The acting, writing, pacing, emotions, suspense, just wow! Robert's performance was incredible, as always, and despite everyone knowing Baelfire would be Henry's father since the first episode, the way it was executed was done well. The CGI has improved and I loved the Seer, she was just so creepy with her eyes in her hands! Honestly, I don't have any gripes with it, except for Henry's annoyance which can easily be glanced over because of how amazing everything else is! Every time I watch it, this always makes me cry, especially during the scenes where Rumple meets Baelfire for the first time and when he injures himself to avoid the prophecy which would end up being self-fulfilled! Overall, my personal best episode of Season 2, just perfect in every way!
Before we look at the worst list, let's take a look at the honourable mention:
The Miller's Daughter. The reaction to this episode amazes me! I find that people either love or hate this episode and all of it centres around Cora's flashbacks and her relationship with Rumple! While I don't like the scenes of them interacting, I will give it credit that we finally get to see the actual fairytale and the twists with it are pretty good, like we finally know Regina isn't Rumple's daughter and that he's the one who taught Cora magic! The acting is great, the visuals are great, the emotions are great, but I feel like the advertising tried to make it the Holy Grail of season 2 because someone dies and Snow going all dark. My biggest problem with it is I think the way Snow kills Cora is way too out of character and way too mean spirited! But, I love the phone call between Belle and Rumple, which is actually my favourite Rumbelle scene from season 2! It may not be as good as the others, but at least it's better than the worst list!
5) (worst) The Cricket Game! What I don't like in this episode is how spiteful the Charmings are towards Regina, like at the party and when Emma confronts her about killing Archie (who turns out to be alive). I also didn't like Charming being horrible about not letting Regina die at her execution, Cora framing her own daughter for murder, and of course, Rumbelle being interrupted for the second time! By they way, why didn't they jsut extract Regina's memories to prove her innocence? However, I did like the Rumbelle scene, despite how short it was and Rumple's scenes in the flashbacks and the Snowing interruption at the beginning were pretty funny!
4) (worst) Lady of The Lake! What could've been a great episode just disappointed me! They wasted a perfect opportunity for an interesting new character, Lancelot, by just killing him off in one episode, which unfortunately became a thing for season 2, killing off the character after one episode. That's not the only problem I have with the episode, the flashbacks are pointless, the logic in them make no sense (like Charming could've just broken Snow's pointless barren curse with True Love's Kiss) and the CGI is awful like the obvious green screen and the giant ogre. However, I will give it credit
that the scenes with Emma and Mary Margaret are done well and it did make me well up!
3) (worst) Tiny! Possibly the equivalent to Dreamy, except not as disgusting or annoying! It all seemed too childish with Anton's plot pretty much being a copy The Little Mermaid except with giants and no happy ending! Anton was just too naive for my taste (you can't blame him though, poor guy and Jorge does a good job), Cassidy Freeman as Jack was forgettable, the Storybrooke scenes weren't interesting and I thought David was such an asshole suggesting they leave Emma behind if he and Mary Margaret go back to the Enchanted Forest! The CGI was bad with the effects on the giants and none of the giants are given any development so we could've felt for them when they died! I also didn't like how they handled Belle in the hospital constantly being sedated when she had a little tantrum! However, the subplot with Emma, Henry and Gold at the airport was pretty funny and was what kept me watching the episode!
2) (worst) In The Name of Brother! What causes this episode to be a disappointment is the lackluster writing, the boring and unecessary flashbacks with Frankenstein's story because I don't like that they're going into classic literature in a show about fairytales. I didn't like the way they treated Belle losing her memories and breaking the cup was a step too far for me, I hated the scene with Cora kissing Gold (even though I liked that he gave her a death stare afterwards), the fact they were thinking of letting someone die was just too bleak! The only good thing I can say is that Lana's acting was amazing with Regina and Cora's reunion! Otherwise, this would've been number one on the list!
1) (worst) Selfless, Brave and True! The most pointless episode in season 2, or even in the show! The flashbacks were boring and uninteresting, they wasted an interesting character who they could've delved into more and Tamara being revealed as a villain was pointless and obvious. (what made her think she could dominate someone's life after being in Storybrooke for only five minutes?) We don't see any of The Enchanted Forest at all, Eion's acting was bad and it seemed like he wanted to just get it over with, the CGI wood and smokewas awful, Gold doesn't appear at all (supposedly getting his Cadillac at the airport in Boston), and, by the way, WOOD DOESN'T CONDUCT ELECTRICITY! There were loads of plot holes, the characters were out of character (seriously, Mary Margaret slapping Marco, just no!) and it made no sense!
