The Dark Swan

After the shocking events of the season 4 finale now that Emma is the Dark One & Rumple is back to an ordinary man, we're now back with season 5 as we along with finally seeing the story of King Arthur & the kingdom of Camelot. Arthur (played by Liam Garrigan) discovers that half of Excalibur is missing after he takes it out of the stone & starts a quest to find it before he becomes king. And wouldn't you know it, the other half is part of the Dark One's dagger as we see directly after the season 4 finale as Emma's family & friends try to find a way to get to her with a little help from the not quite dead Apprentice via a deus ex machina wand & Zelena (who tries & fails to go back to Oz & only cares about her baby now). It turns out Emma's in Camelot as she's guided by the voice inside her head in the form of Rumple while trying to find Merlin to get rid of her curse & comes across Princess Merida (played by Amy Manson) while she's on her own quest to save her brothers. As everyone manages to reunite via a sending Granny's into a tornado, a cliffhanger reveals everyone back in Storybrooke 6 weeks later as it turns out Emma has cursed them (AGAIN), has fully embraced her dark side & now has the dagger that she originally gave to Regina for safekeeping.
This episode was an amazing way to kick-start this season for many reasons. Not only was it refreshing to FINALLY see Emma be given more development during her personal turmoil with her new powers & trying to avoiding succumbing to the darkness, but it was also fun to see more action from the rest of the main characters as they think of a solution to get to Emma despite their differing opinions (leading to some funny moments). Each one plays their own part & I loved seeing their strengths (and weaknesses courtesy of Hook's ineptitude) play out, with the actors (especially Lana) were clearly having fun with this new set-up. Speaking of, I loved seeing the new actors come mold into their roles, especially Amy Manson's headstrong Merida, who's easily a dead-ringer for her animated counterpart with her long red & curly wig & Scottish brogue (leading to a hilarious pot-hot from Rumple). And the best part is, none of the new cast members overshadow the main ones we know & love like in other seasons (as much as I loved the Frozen arc, I'd be lying if I didn't say it bothered me when they completely took over), giving them more development than we've seen in a while.
Another part I absolutely enjoyed was seeing more of the mythology of the Dark One & seeing a bit of it's connection to the King Arthur tale via the dagger & Excalibur without messing up the established continuity. That & seeing other small references here & there to either the original King Arthur tale or Disney were very nice touches, including The Sword & the Stone playing at the beginning & Belle's little subplot including the iconic rose as a timer for Rumple while she's gone (about bloody time it appeared)! However, despite all that, the special mention for me has to go to the cliffhanger. It's without a doubt the best one I've seen in the show yet thanks to the gorgeous new costume designs, Jennifer Morrison's deliciously creepy acting, the tone & new set-up with seeing the last 6 weeks leading up to Emma's inevitable corruption. It was the cherry on the top for such a wonderful episode making up for some of the mistakes in the past when it comes to setting up new story arcs.
If I had a few problems, it would be the use of yet ANOTHER memory wiping curse (seriously, it's gotten so repetitive after 5 seasons, Zelena staying for good (seriously, I was rooting for her to get away from everyone so she could be happy!), Hook being stupid & annoying as always (along with using Henry)! Seriously though, those are just small nit-picks compared to the rest of the episode!
However, with wonderful acting, fun writing, fantastic visuals, a top-notch cliffhanger & a great new set-up, this is without a doubt one of my favourite premieres yet!

Nice way to start acknowledging the Disney movie despite them doing their own version of King Arthur!

Wow, she REALLY looks like Jennifer!

Well, wouldn't a LOST reference!

Hmm, very mysterious (and HOT!!!) man who seems to know a lot! And let me guess, he's Merlin!

Hmm, curious over why Emma shouldn't pull out Excalibur!

Well, Arthur looks...handsome! Not that Bradley James wasn't in the BBC series!

Nice to see you again Lancelot (GOD, I've missed him so much!)

Did we really need a brief source of conflict given that EVERYBODY knows Arthur is the true king?

Well, that was an epic fail!

Wait...what?!

Very nice transition shot & avoiding a side-plot involving a mystery surrounding where the missing part of Excalibur is when it was painfully obvious!

Wait, where did Henry come from?! Last I remember he was in the shop when Rumple was put in his coma!

Haha! 'It's not like she was taken by a unicorn. She got sucked up by a vortex of evil!' Nice to know Regina still has her sass even during a life-altering crisis!

Stop it, Hook! You're wasting your breath!

Pretty sad Emma doesn't have the scaly skin like past Dark Ones...

So the only way they could show Rumple outside of his coma was to make him the voice inside Emma's head...really? Still a cool idea though! Just shows what was going on through Rumple's head for all those years!

A freaking Gorgon was the Dark One?! Now THAT is badass!

Wait, I thought he died in the last episode! Well, at least it was nice of him to give everyone a deus ex machina wand before passing for good!

So Regina can't use it because she's 'gone soft?!' Well, I guess it makes sense now given all the development despite her brief lapses! By the way, am I the only one who noticed Rumple in the background left on the floor?! Which reminds me, how the hell did Belle drag him in there?!

Well, that was quick using a Darth Vadar chokehold despite saying literally a few minutes ago that she wouldn't use Dark Magic...

AWW! Bless her...kinda funny given that literally the day before she was still mad at him over the AU situation!

FINALLY! It's about bloody time the rose was in the show!

UGH, I still can't believe they promoted Zelena to a regular (although I LOVE Bex) even if her snarky moments are funny!

HAHA! 'I said DON'T USE MAGIC!' 'I didn't, dearie. You did! Congratulations on your first magical transportation.' 'You tricked me...' 'Of course I did, I'm a Dark One!'

Hmm, interesting to see something from a Pixar movie for once!

Thank you Robin for calling Zelena out over the rape by fraud (yep, she actually did that!) Rather unusual though that she seems to care about the baby rather than using it as a weapon to tear Robin & Regina apart...

Well, well, well! Didn't expect to this archery wielding red-head lass!

How nice of you Hook trying to use Henry's power for your own benefit! Too bad he broke the quill (AKA the right thing to do unlike what he convinces Henry to do!)

Wait, I thought the clans all agreed with the decree to abolish the marriage law in the movie & let them control their own fate...bit weird going back on character development (and why did they have to kill Fergus off?!)!

'Dark Ones don't need sleep!' Well, that explains why Rumple randomly stayed in his basement practicing magic at night without showing signs of fatigue!

Well, at least Merida isn't as naive as she seemed!

So not only was Henry born at 8:15, his birthday is also 15th August (the password Regina put in 1x12 was 0815!)?!

So after 5 bloody seasons, we finally learn the Severe Nurse's name is Nurse Ratchet?! Why didn't they just say in the first place?! And interesting distraction tactic rather than the Wookie prisoner gag in the season 4 finale...

Wait, Hook just happened to have the potion to enchant his hook to rip Zelena's heart out since season 2?! Really?!

Thank you Zelena (NEVER thought I'd say that!)

EWW!!!

Thank you Regina for calling Hook out on his stupidity! And regardless of whether he was doing something to get to Emma, that didn't help whatsoever!

Thank you Mary Margaret for talking some sense into everyone over what really matters!

Funny that he could tell Regina was Zelena just from kissing her...bit stupid he couldn't during her Marian disguise!

Is it weird I'm actually rooting for Zelena to get what she wants just so she can be out of everyone's hair? Seriously, she'd be ruling Oz with her child by her side & no one would have to see her again! Everyone wins!

'You see there's one thing that our family does sis, and that's exploit pain'...badass line & all, but come on! You'd never be bothered by your crazy sister again!

Rather good recreation of the stones from the movie!

'What's she saying? Her accent's a bit much, no?' Bit hypocritical, huh Rumple?

OK, that's pretty funny!

Nice to see Emma's baby blanket again!

Aww, sweet seeing Henry protecting Roland!

Nice to see the dwarves finally stop being on the sidelines given they equally care about Emma!

Hmm, pretty decent special effects (even if it looks better on the inside)!

OK, THAT is badass!

VERY lucky timing, there!

*Sighs* I can't help but find it stupid they're reunited immediately yet other certain couples are separated far longer during a crisis like this!

So Emma trusts Regina over her freaking parents, son & 'boyfriend' with the dagger?! Well, I guess she owes Emma a favor after the last episode...

Feels so weird seeing Granny's in a different location...

So Merlin prophecised that they'd arrive in Camelot...? Makes sense!

Must say, looks very magestic!

Certainly didn't expect Sneezy to act as sheriff while the others were gone!

Gotta say, the costumes here are a massive upgrade!

OK, despite the white hair & weird make-up, I kinda like this (even if it's nothing compared to Rumple!) & LOVE Jennifer's acting!

Pretty over the top reaction, Emma!

OK...how did she get the dagger?!

'Why are you doing this?' 'Because...I'm the Dark One.' At least she didn't make a pun like the title!

The Legend of Barney Thomson Review

I thought I'd do something a bit different for this blog post as I had been waiting for this film for a while and I managed to get a ticket to it's premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival! What is it you may ask? Robert Carlyle's feature directorial debut, The Legend of Barney Thomson (not his VERY first since he directed an episode of Stargate Universe).

Glaswegian Barney Thomson (played by Robert Carlyle) is a meek barber with a monotonous life at risk of losing his job due to his behaviour with customers, but after he accidentally kills his boss (played by Stephen McCole) during an argument, he goes to his brash & eccentric mother Cemolina (played by Emma Thomspon) for help over the situation. But after his victim's disappearance arouses suspicion in the local area, the police investigate including Cockney Inspector Holdall (played by Ray Winstone) & Detective June Robertson (played by Ashley Jensen), as they believe that this is connected to another case involving a murderer mailing chopped up body parts to the victims' family/friends in a similar area, which also doesn't help as Barney ends up killing colleague & rival barber Chris (played by Martin Compston) after he discovers the truth and is blackmailed by his friend Charlie (played by Brian Pettifer). But as his life & mind spirals out of control due to the dark secrets he's keeping from everyone & the police aggressively pursuing him, Barney discovers some more twists & turns as he inadvertantly becomes a serial killer.

Going into this with little to no knowledge of the source material the film was based on (the book The Long Midnight of Barney Thomson by Douglas Lindsay) other than the basic premise of a barber turned serial killer, I was expecting something along the lines of a modernized Sweeney Todd (which is ironically referenced in this film). Although that is true in the most basic way possible, the way they handle it is different in that the serial killing is really reduced to 2 people which both occur unintentionally and most of the film deals with the consequences of Barney's actions as the police aggressively pursue him along with his mother assisting him & having to hide the truth from his colleagues. The side plot involving the murders was also an interesting one due to the absurdity of it & how the police deal with it along with persuing Barney. The humour in this is also very well done & executed thanks to the witty dialogue, execution and acting as it managed to make me go hysterical in my seat, including sequences where Barney tries to come up with a cover story for his murder in a flat in London but finding many setbacks when trying to dispose the chopped up body parts and Barney discovering his mother had left the body in her fridge chopped up while her friends from bingo are in her flat. One issue I do have however, is the ending (which I won't say for spoilers) as it admittedly felt a bit redundant after all of the events that occur along with a subplot over Barney's father coming out of nowhere in the final act and some of it feeling predictable. I will say it's not the worst ending ever & it definitely didn't ruin the experience for me as the film is more character driven than plot driven.

The strongest aspect of this film for me is most definitely the cast, all of whom are absolutely fantastic as they all suit their parts perfectly partly thanks to Carlyle's direction. Although the part of the title character may not be as well written/developed or as over the top as his previous works, Robert's performance is of course perfect! While he may be more restrained in this, he does have moments with making the character sympathetic despite his actions along with many comedic due to his character's personality & the contrast while interacting with Winstone & Thompson's part and comedic timing. Emma Thompson as Barney's mother Cemolina is easily the most entertaining out of all the cast as she dons a Pat Butcher-style wardrobe with a thick Scottish brogue and brash personality, although I will say that it was admittedly hard for me to be convinced that her & Carlyle were acting as mother & son given that there's only a one year age gap between the actors despite the heavy prosthetics used for the former to appear much older and the funny chemistry between them. Ray Winstone's Cockney Inspector Holdall also gets laughs thanks to his fish-out-of-water moments in Glasgow and displeasure of being located there along with his rivalry & banter with Ashley Jensen's driven Detective Robertson & it does feel refreshing as none of the main female characters serve to be love interests in this. Others from the supporting cast like James Cosmo as James Henderson, Tom Courtenay as Superintendant McMananan and Martin Compston as Chris all suited their parts very well and also managed to get laughs out of me.

The visual style of the film is also a massive praise I must give, as it goes for the indie/art-house style similar to works by Quentin Tarantino or Wes Andersen, including the motif of the colour red, the heavy use of dark lighting along with the setting of the east-end of Glasgow giving it a very distinct & gritty look. The editing & camera-work including numerous wide angle lense shots, dutch angles, slow motion, time-lapses and dolly zooms also manage to create a rather amusing yet rather unsettling atmosphere as more revelations come into play and Barney's life gets more and more out of control.

 

As his directorial debut, the Legend of Barney Thomson is a solid one for Mr Carlyle. With an exceptional cast, many humourous moments, interesting twists, quirky visuals and a nostalgic soundtrack, this black comedy will take you by surprise for the most part!
Rating: ****
And believe it or not, I actually got to meet Robert himself! If I can be perfectly honest, I'm still in shock that I've met the actor who plays my absolute favourite Once Upon A Time character (who also happens to be my favourite actor of all time) and he is such a nice man (and I did get a kiss from him)!

The Legend of Barney Thomson will be released in cinemas on July 24th.

Top 10 Best and Top 5 Worst Season 4 Episodes!

With the fourth season, although it has completely different types of arcs, I actually surprisingly enjoyed both in different ways. The first half (the Frozen one) was actually pretty good thanks to the characters old & new with a nice fairytale tone & the interesting story incorporating the original Snow Queen story, but I had a few issues, in particular with the way they handled Rumple's character (before the second half managed to save it) & the Disney references being excessive, while the second half did a great job with focusing on the core characters, containing good continuity with callbacks to previous episodes & plot threads tying together along with bringing back lots of memorable characters like August, Maleficent, Ariel & even more, even if it kinda slowed down in the middle to explain more goings-on before getting back on track with Lily returning! So yeah, I thought it was actually pretty good & my only 'problem' for the whole season was how they handled Will Scarlet's involvement in the plot (especially being Belle's rebound while we've had no closure over what happened to Anastasia), along with Zelena being alive & Rumbelle angst (AGAIN). Despite those problems it doesn't mean that episodes individually were bad! In fact, there aren't any that I genuinely hated and the episodes not included on either list are a case of liking them & I do like to watch them in my spare time!

Best
10) Mother. Following the revelation of Zelena's pregnancy, the way they handled & resolved it (along with the other plots) was surprisingly good! The flashbacks involving Regina & Cora were surprsingly emotionally deep even if they didn't have much impact on the story itself & Regina developing after slowly slipping into evil in this was also nice to see. And of course there's plenty of heartwarming moments like Lily and Maleficent finally reuniting & Emma reconciling with her parents along with a pretty interesting cliffhanger as Isaac & Rumple finally get to work over the villains getting their happy endings. Add in some great acting & if this doesn't want to make you hug your mum after watching it, then your heart must be as black as Rumple's (before his curse got broken)!

9) Heroes & Villains. For a midseason finale, while I didn't think it was as good as last year's, this one was a nice one to end the Frozen arc. It felt pretty sad seeing the characters leaving, especially after seeing Emma & Elsa's friendship blossom throughout, but at least Emma & Regina's remained intact after everything between them (including her losing Robin again) & it was so sweet seeing the Frozen characters get their happiness again! The twists i.e. Belle banishing Rumple, the Queens of Darkness & Operation Mongoose getting more progression were pretty good, but not really as groundbreaking as last year's. Still, it's a pretty good midseason finale nonetheless & it's still good enough to make it on the list!

8) Unforgiven. Directed by Adam Horowitz, the first part of Snow & Charming's big secret 2 episode arc was actually pretty good, mostly thanks to the execution of it. While initially thinking it was going to be pointless, the twists it brought over Emma's potential for darkness and Maleficent's pregnancy were what saved it for me as it'd be a very important plot for the arc. The Storybrooke scenes (even with that stupid plot of Belle & Will being a couple) were also interesting thanks to Mary Margaret & David's attempts to hide their secret despite it backfiring through Maleficent's revival and asking Regina to go undercover to get some dirt on the villains' plans. Oh yeah, & this also managed to make me sympathize with Maleficent in a much more natural way unlike the 2014 film!

7) Lily. After the revelation that Lily was the one given the darkness intended for Emma, this one was rather interesting! The way they show that through her constant lying along with deceiving Emma both in past & present as she ruined her chance to be with a loving family also gave me more sympathy for Emma & is fully aware of Storybrooke thanks to the Apprentice out for revenge. The road trip scenes with Emma & Regina were also fun to watch thanks to the banter between them and I loved that the plot got going again even with Zelena back (yes, that twist of her being pregnant bothers me, but still!) Also, seeing Rumple's side plot of getting Belle's heart back with Will's help was pretty fun to see, even if he lets go of Belle, giving him more likeability despite the heartbreak surrounding it. Overall, an interesting episode where it shows that maybe naming your adoptive daughter 'Lilith' isn't the brightest idea (google it)!

6) Shattered Sight. After the build-up to the spell ever since Family Business, this has got to be one of the most quotable & funniest episodes in the show so far! While the spell was for the most part comedic, I didn't mind because it kept me entertained seeing almost everyone bicker along with some hilarious acting (especially from Ginnifer & Lana clearly having a ball) Not only that, but the resolution with Ingrid was very well done, if not tragic thanks to Elizabeth Mitchell's amazing acting & some great writing as I always knew a part of her could be redeemed thanks to her family right in front of her. The flashbacks involving her relationship with Emma were also very nice to see as they were surprisingly heartwarming as they could've been the family she wanted them to be if she hadn't screwed up. This just shows that maybe a horrible spell that makes everyone kill each other can have a light-hearted edge to it!

5) Family Business. As the first proper Belle centric episode we've had in quite a while, this one felt so refreshing! It felt nice to see her play a much more active role and being her own character (along with finally seeing her mother Colette) and making mistakes in both the flashbacks and Storybrooke scenes (i.e. using the 'dagger' to control Rumple to help her) along with her sweet friendship with Anna in the past. Also, I loved seeing Ingrid's mirror being properly introduced along with the plot progression involving Emma's past with her, Regina letting Robin go to save Marian and most importantly, the spell of Shattered Sight & the prophecy involving Emma & Elsa. Add in a stand-out performance from Emilie de Ravin, this episode really shows how Belle can be used to her full potential!

4) Breaking Glass. When I first heard that there was going to be an episode showing Emma's past, I was so excited & I must say, it did not disappoint! Even if it was a quieter episode as it's mostly all set in one night in Storybrooke, it was nice to see much more of Emma & Regina interacting & how much the former admires the latter, along with the funny yet heartwarming side plot with Mary Margaret tracking Will down & feeling more like herself again! It was also nice to see plot progression with the twist at the end involving The Snow Queen's connection to Emma & Elsa. But easily the best part was seeing more of Emma's past, and her friendship with Lily was so nice to watch (even if it backfired horribly in the second half) as it paralleled nicely with her & Regina in the Storybrooke scenes. Overall, this is definitely an episode worth watching, especially if you're a SwanQueen shipper!

3) Operation Mongoose! Given that there was so much speculation over what the Author would do to give the villains happy endings, the alternate universe created really was worth it! Seeing almost everyone switching roles was so much fun as they would give their own interpretations of their characters, especially from Ginnifer as Evil Queen Snow & Robert as the valiant knight Rumple (along with finally seeing a Rumbelle baby). Not only that, but seeing Henry play a huge role throughout having to save everyone made him much more interesting as a character to me along with being the new Author as being a rather satisfying move for him. And the huge resolutions were also well done, like Rumple's curse FINALLY being broken (despite the method even if he & Belle have kind of reconciled) and the huge cliffhanger of Emma becoming the new Dark One really is a massive game-changer. Now I really am intrigued to potentially see Camelot play a huge role along with Emma fully embracing the dark side!

2) A Tale of Two Sisters. For the first episode in the season & introducing the Frozen arc, this really was a great way to do it making it a sequel rather than an adaptation. The acting from Georgina Haig, Scott Michael Foster and especially Elizabeth Lail also really shined for me along with the way they handled the Frozen characters thanks to some great writing. Not only that, but the other characters we know and love are still the same as we get to see more development including Regina deciding not to kill 'Marian' & the introduction to The Sorcerer's Apprentice via the hat. Of course Belle & Rumple's honeymoon that was easily my favourite part & it was so so sweet finally seeing them do the iconic dance from the movie! Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that this has some of the best CGI in the show so far! For starting the Frozen plot, this really came out with a bang & if you don't like it...just let it go!

1) Best Laid Plans. Finally revealing the identity of the Author and what Snow and Charming did to Maleficent's child, this really did not disappoint! Not only is it smartly written & emotionally engaging, but the character development was also very well done from Mary Margaret and David throughout as they try to make up for their past mistakes in order to be better parents for Emma. The flashbacks showing Snow & Charming be the villains of Maleficent's story were  also well done as they don't paint their actions as being a good thing despite them being heroes, which was a great choice done by the writers. The plot progressions with the reveal of Lily being Maleficent's daughter, a tease of Rumple's heart condition & the mythology of the Author were also very interesting to see & they actually managed to make sense & not feel contrived despite them all connecting together somehow. As the first (and only) collaboration for Jane Espenson & Kalinda Vazquez (who is sadly leaving), this really does not disappoint as they bring the best of both worlds for a very intriguing & amazingly written episode with great emotional stakes & character development!

Since there's a lot of episodes I liked in this season, I thought this time round I'd do an honourable mention from each arc instead of just one like the last few years!

Honourable mention 1:

Smash The Mirror! I'm not gonna lie, this was so so close to getting on the best list, but I could only put 10 on! Despite being 2 hours, the pacing was great, there was plenty of heartwarming moments and character development from Emma along with very interesting plot progression with the Author & how Elsa ended up in the urn & Ingrid in our world. So with all of that said, why isn't this on the best list? One answer: Rumple! This was easily when he was at his worst when turning back into evil & it completely ruined his character for me after all of his development (thank God 4B changed him back) But still, it's definitely not bad & I do like to watch it if I'm in the mood for an extra hour of the show without it being a finale!

Honourable mention 2:

Poor Unfortunate Soul! Despite kind of being a Hook centric episode, what saves it for me is that Ursula's backstory, while being a bit too similar to The Little Mermaid was interesting & fun to watch! It was nice to have that fairytale feeling back into the flashbacks, including many musical & plot references to the Disney classic. The Storybrooke scenes were also enjoyable thanks to August's role after returning and the plot progression with the Author being trapped inside the page and Ursula managing to get her happiness with no help from the Author at all! Add in standout performances by Merrin Dungey and special guest star Ernie Hudson as Poseidon, this really is a fun episode if you want to take a voyage under the sea!

I'm not gonna lie, given that NONE of the episodes this season were 'bad' or that I genuinely hated any of them despite having problems with some of the plots as a whole, the ones here are at worst 'OK'. So I guess we can call this the 'OK/Worst-ish' list!

'Worst'
5) Fall. OK, this one shouldn't even be on a bad list let alone this worst one! The only real problems I had with this were the slow pacing, Rumple continuing to be a massive douchebag & the flashbacks not really being AS interesting as the more recent episodes at that time. There was still great emotional stakes, ESPECIALLY when Anna and Elsa finally reunite and when the Shattered Sight spell takes over the town. Seriously, just go and watch it if you want because this is easily a case of being a filler spot since I couldn't even think of 5 'bad' episodes & I had more problems with this than the other ones that didn't make it!

4) Rocky Road. I'm not saying that this episode is bad, it's just really a case of not really caring about it as much as the others in the first half! Despite Ingrid playing a more active role, it wasn't really as much as I had wanted it to be & it felt pretty strange looking back at this that she wanted to frame Elsa for Marian's freezing. And the fact that Hans was easily defeated doesn't help (well, until Fall). Not only that, but Hook blackmailing Rumple was annoying (along with Rumple being evil again which was unforgiveable after all the development he went through in season 3) There was still some good things like Will returning (even if he was poorly used throughout despite being a regular), the reveal of Ingrid knowing Emma, more development from Regina & the start of Operation Mongoose! Well, I suppose this really fits the title, it's a pretty rocky episode to say the least.

3) Heart of Gold. While this episode showed Robin being in New York along with Rumple's situation over his heart finally being explained, it contains one of the worst twists ever: Zelena being alive! It just felt like a pathetic excuse for her to return when she should've stayed dead! The fact it added in more complexities including Zelena causing Rumple to blackmail Regina doesn't really help either & it slowed the action down compared to the last episode! But like I said in my review, I still enjoyed seeing more of Robin in New York and his past in the Enchanted Forest, all anchored by a solid performance from Sean Maguire and Rumple being given more complexity & likeability as a character again! It may seem like it's the worst one judging my criticisms, but the praises I gave in my review sort of counteract them.

2) Enter The Dragon. Although the flashbacks aren't as pointless as the traditional Snowing season 2 flashbacks, they still drag this episode down for me. While we finally got more insight to the show's Sleeping Beauty story and the origins of Maleficent & Regina's friendship, the framing device with Regina learning a lesson over patience just made it feel pretty redundant. The Storybrooke scenes fared better with Regina going undercover while retaining her friendships with Maleficent & Emma and Rumple properly beginning his quest through bringing August back being interesting to see (despite deceiving Belle to get the dagger back), even if the rest admittedly wasn't as! This just felt pretty disappointing despite the good stuff, but at least Maleficent is still the same scary dragon bitch we know her as!

1) White Out. While there's definitely some good things in this one (Emma & Elsa's friendship, Mary Margaret growing a backbone & Elizabeth Mitchell's debut), this one compared to the others in this season was definitely the weakest. The problems I really had mostly involved the pointless flashbacks, ESPECIALLY with the odd choice of adding Bo Peep & making her one of the worst villains in the show & forgettable, out of place & absolutely ridiculous! And despite Josh Dallas' good acting (even with his long wig) & the sweet friendship with Anna, the tone felt really out of place & campy compared to the other episodes. Hook bothered me, but that's mostly because as you know I'm not a fan of CaptainSwan but I'm just leaving it at that cos I'm trying to be more open minded and Regina, Rumple and Belle (who had a pretty short honeymoon by the way) barely had any screen time ! Anyway, while it's not 'bad' per se, I definitely consider this the weakest episode in the whole of season 4!