With the Camelot/Dark Swan arc, at first I absolutely LOVED it because it looked like it was going to fix up problems involving the main characters & the formula of introducing new characters/lands per arc. It was actually making Emma feel like a more interesting character as she'd slowly be tempted to the dark side as we'd see all her family trying to help her in her situation along with the mythology of the Dark One being much more in depth than we've ever seen. They were so so SO close to actually succeeding this (despite Arthur being a pretty weak villain), but then one thing got in the way: Hook. It felt so sudden & out of nowhere that it made me scratch my head in disbelief they decided to make the last few episodes ALL about him along with them deciding to completely undermine Rumple's redemption/not being the Dark One arc by making everything go back to where they started with no foreshadowing instead of making the Dark Swan arc show the seriously high stakes it could have had. With the Underworld arc, I will say it did a bit better with the character development (even from Zelena of all people) & answering some questions to things that have happened in the past, but it felt like it dragged on & while Hades was a much better villain thanks to be goofiness yet threatening stance, the Underworld itself wasn't really that much special because it was pretty much Storybrooke with a red sky. Oh yeah, and Robin being killed off & Hook living was probably the worst use of Zeus I have EVER seen! And with all of this said...it has probably been the worst season I've seen so far next to season 2. I'm sorry, but that is how much the season underwhelmed me & to be honest, the only plots I really care about now are Belle's pregnancy & the Evil Queen returning for season 6, even if it looks like it does have more potential with the Land on Untold Stories coming into play and the announcement of the Aladdin characters appearing (FINALLY).
However, one of my rules is there has to be at least 1 good thing in all the bad. So unfortunately, unlike seasons 1, 3 and 4, this is going to be a Top 5 Best Episodes list instead of a Top 10 Best List to counteract the Top 5 Worst List. And when we get to the worst, oh boy, you're gonna be in for a treat! So, here we go, guys!
Best List
5) The Bear & the Bow. Now called me biased for loving Rumbelle centric episodes, but I genuinely enjoyed it regardless! Seeing Belle have her own little arc in the Camelot storyline was pretty fun as a breather from all the action going on with Emma as we see her go on an adventure with Merida. While admittedly, I didn't think the was as interesting as her past friendship episodes with Ariel & Anna, it was still good seeing their contrasting perspectives of how to handle the situation with saving Merida's brothers. The Storybrooke scenes I felt were more interesting thanks to all the action & character development from Rumple as he's forced into being the hero Emma needs to take Excalibur out of the stone through saving Belle from Bear!Merida. Seeing the banter between them throughout was great as they finally discuss their issues & having a more optimistic outlook by the end was pretty sweet after EVERYTHING that's happened between them. As a Rumbelle episode finally seeing them reunite post-coma, I don't think anyone expected that they'd have to bear with Bear!Merida (I know, terrible pun!)
4) Her Handsome Hero. Out of the 2 Belle centric episodes this season, I thought this one was more superior. Not only do we get even more development from Rumbelle as they try their best to save their child despite their conflicting views on using dark magic, but even plot development because of Hades . Even the flashbacks were good with seeing the start of Belle & Gaston's (awkward) engagement, making it very clear they're like chalk & cheese despite the latter's more human yet egotistical personality with getting to know her. And I must mention Wes Brown was a nice replacement for Sage Brockleback as Gaston & seeing Belle stand her guard with him in the Underworld was also great to see, even if her romanticized attitude comes to bite her by the end. Add in some funny yet sweet chemistry between Robert & Emilie, it's no surprise this episode shows that Rumple can be really Belle's handsome hero...even if he has to use dark magic to do it!
1) Devil's Due. This is without a doubt the best Rumple centric episode I've seen in such a long time. Not only does it give bring back his complexity after the undermining of his development in the first half, but it also manages to give him a new edge of doing the wrong things for the right reasons because of his new more human motivation. Not only that, but the episode managed to even add some humanity to Milah after being portrayed as a one dimensional bitch in past episodes & it was a breath of fresh air to actually see her genuinely regret abandoning her son. The way Emilie's pregnancy was incorporated was masterfully done both as a new piece of character development for Rumple and an interesting plot with the deal he had made years prior coming back to bite him in such a tragic way, also making Hades a much more threatening villain in the process by using his clever loopholes to make the contract. Add in yet another stellar performance from Robert, this episode has been LONG due for Rumple fans!Before we get into the worst of the worst, let's take a look at the honourable mention!
Honourable Mention:
Souls of the Departed. OK, I knew coming into this post that this had to be mentioned SOMEWHERE given that it is the 100th episode after all! With the high expectations that come with this milestone, this was a pretty good effort. Seeing so many beloved (dead) characters returning after quite a while was wonderful to see, especially the surprise appearance of Neal, Pan & to an extent Cora. But that's not really the main focus of this episode. It centres around Regina's development & relationship with her father both past & present as he manages to let go of his unfinished business & prove that she can truly be happy. However, I had a few issues because it uses the same formula of Regina trying to kill Snow which is yet again pointless & it just didn't have that epicness that's expected for much a milestone of an episode. But even with that, I'm not saying it's bad at all, it's just that it could have been a LOT more! But after 5 seasons, it was still a massive feat for the show to reach this far!Given I thought there was another equally significant episode this season, I thought it be best to give out a second honourable mention:
Ruby Slippers. If I were to have made a top 10 best list, this probably would have been somewhere around 8 or 7. What I liked in this was the much better team up of Ruby, Mulan & Dorothy in the flashbacks & Ruby being so determined to save the latter from her sleeping curse in the Underworld. And obviously, the real reason why this is an honourable mention is because of the LGBT romance between Ruby & Dorothy. Yes, there are (pretty big) problems surrounding the romance itself with the lack of pacing or development are still there, but the fact that not only does it depict an LGBT couple in a fantasy series aimed at families, but a TV series from DISNEY of all things is a step in the right direction. Oh yeah, and the Sleeping Curse on Belle (and her odd decision to trust Zelena over her husband) was probably the weakest way of taking Emilie out of the show for maternity leave, that's another important reason why this isn't on the best list! But anyway, rather it be 2 men, a man & woman or 2 women, this episode shows in Once Upon a Time, True Love will ALWAYS win no matter who it's with!Now we have that out of the way, let me introduce to you my personal worst season 5 episodes!
Worst List
5) The Broken Kingdom. The best way to describe this episode is convoluted. Not only does it slow the action of the Dark Swan arc down, but it also felt way too cramped & therefore felt like it didn't know which plot to focus on. It doesn't really help that the present Camelot scenes ended up being uninteresting because of pointless bickering with David & Mary Margaret & the change of Arthur being a villain because of his obsession with putting Excalibur back together left him feeling ridiculously anticlimactic. Along with the subplot involving Hook trying to comfort Emma by riding her off into a forest of flowers to get rid of Mind!Rumple was pointless & annoyingly schmaltzy solely used as fanservice. Forget about fixing a broken kingdom, maybe the writers should've focused on fixing their broken writing with this episode!
4) Birth. This is definitely when the Camelot arc (and the whole season) really went downhill for me. Why? Well, as the title suggests, this would feature the birth of Zelena's daughter thanks to magical onion rings (no, really) thus continuing probably the absolute stupidest plot in the show. But that's not the true reason why, it's because they decided to make Emma selfish & annoying by forcing Hook to become another Dark One against his wishes & giving a giant middle finger to the other people who love her that went out of their way to save her! It doesn't really help that Emma's real plan in Storybrooke completely undermines her 'corruption', so she wasn't really that evil to begin with despite the entire arc leading up her downfall! So, not only was this the birth of Zelena's baby, this was also the birth of probably the stupidest twist next to Zelena's pregnancy I have ever seen in the show thus far!
Now, for my number one this time round, it's actually for more than just 'it's so bad'. And the weirdest part of all of this is...it's a tie! There were two episodes this season that I thought were equally as awful & disgusting to watch, I had to put them together & they're oddly for the same flaws! I know it may be cheating, but when watching them back to back, I simply could not make my mind up over which one was worse. So in no particular order, my number one worst OUAT Season 5 Episodes are...
1) Swan Song. While there are such strong emotions behind them, I really feel that they are disgustingly wasted because of the situation going on. Hook It doesn't really help that the flashbacks were some of the most pointless ones I had ever seen that the 'theme' surrounding them felt so shoehorned & it felt unecessary to see Hook's backstory with his father when he's just a one dimensional douche! His 'change' after reveling in wanting to kill Emma & her family felt like it came right out of nowhere & it felt disgusting seeing him portrayed as a martyr 'sacrificing' himself which was so dragged out despite being freaking obvious his death wasn't going to stick because the continuity of the show just needs to be changed for him & to further make Emma a selfish bitch who only thinks about her boyfriend! And I must not forget the most idiotic twist with undermining Rumple's redemption arc by making him go back to right where he started as the Dark One for no reason whatsoever other than to benefit Hook. It was just reprehensible because it feels like he's learned absolutely NOTHING after nearly freaking dying because of his horrible things he's done (well, thank fuck 5B made him morally ambiguous again). And no, Rumbelle baby-making sex does not make up for it in this episode! But do you REALLY want to know why this is the worst? It had SO much potential to be better. It felt frustrating to think throughout this 'I could be watching something better...and it's this!' Well, I don't need to explain anymore about why I loathe this episode because this really was the swan song for the worst in the Camelot arc!
1) Last Rites. Like Swan Song, this also has very strong emotions behind them & very strong acting to complement it (ESPECIALLY from Lana). However, I also found this equally as atrocious as the former for 2 reasons: Robin's death. Not only did Robin's death leave his character being insultingly wasted when we could have seen so much more of his backstory, but even the fact he felt useless throughout the season was more of an insult to Sean Maguire given that he was promoted to a regular for this only to be killed off for stupid drama! Even Emma really annoyed me with her ways of grieving for Hook & his side plot with Arthur in the Underworld was just boring with stupid loopholes & exposition. But without a doubt what makes it worse is that Hook is brought back to life thanks to a Zeus Ex Machina because all the writers care about is Hook & Emma while needlessly screwing Regina over yet again! Sure, Zelena may have FINALLY done something useful for once by killing Hades, but this episode really changed my thoughts on CaptainSwan from an infuriatingly callous couple to an evil couple!And that's my list for the best and worst Season 5 episodes! Sure, it may have been...underwhelming for the most part, but the good things that came out of it were REALLY well done. But with season 6 coming just round the corner, I really hope it will be an improvement compared to this mess! And by the looks of from what I've seen as mentioned before, it really does have A LOT more potential to be interesting!
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