"Enter the Dragon"
Episode Review
One of the things I'm enjoying most about this season half is the revisiting of season one plots, and the answers to mysteries unsolved. At last we got the backstory between Regina and Maleficent! But it was not the story I was expecting; Mal's baby was not addressed, as this took place previously in the complex OUAT timeline. This was the beginning of what I expect will be a three-fold tale between the Queens of Darkness. As I expect we will see with each one, this episode showed Maleficent at her lowest, completely defeated and surrendered to her unhappiness. I loved seeing her unkempt and tipsy, with her castle and powers in disarray. Truly this is when Maleficent has lost everything, because of something Briar Rose (Aurora's mother) did to her. At last that storyline is being picked up, having laid dormant since the start of season two. What exactly happened between them we will no doubt be seeing, but it's nice to see that the details haven't been forgotten.
And the beginnings of the Evil Queen is always an interesting phase to visit. This is before Regina's full-blown evil stage, with her innocent voice and her hair pulled back, but it's also the start of her descent to darkness. Already she despises Snow White, although not to the point of murderous jealousy yet. I love watching how Rumplestiltskin works in these early queen days, saying just the right things to either encourage her or get under her skin. He urges his impatient pupil to be patient in her revenge, as she is not ready or experienced enough to cast the curse and fulfill his plans. For that he needs a woman fully committed to evil, one who is willing to crush her father's heart to get her revenge. Rather than arguing with her, he lets her go on her quest to visit Maleficent, knowing full well that she'll return, recognizing his excellent teaching as a necessity for her happy ending. He is wise, knowing that patience is the only way to get what you want.
It was an interesting angle to have Regina kind of be the making of Maleficent. Just as the dragon lady was about to give up and live the rest of her life as a defeated monster, Regina urges her to take her happy ending, thereby proving that Regina herself can do the same. The storyline introduces us to the creation of Maleficent's sleeping curse, as well as her casting the same curse on Aurora. Having the two villains become friends explains why Maleficent seems more willing to accept Regina into the queens' circle.
A Regina-centered episode in both the flashback and modern story is always promising, and this one definitely paid off. Lana Parrilla is excellent at juggling the phases of her character's life, and we got to see her stretch her legs as she settled comfortably back in the Evil Queen mode. And as much as I love seeing her as a hero, there's nothing more fun to watch than seeing her go full-blown evil, And while I'm glad it's undercover, as I'd hate to see her lose all progress, I'm glad that we're getting a chance to see the sizzling wickedness again. I was also glad to see that Emma's superpower hasn't been abandoned, and that we're getting a chance to see its accuracy again. It's nice to see her sticking by Regina, showing us just how far these two have come since season one.
As far as Hook goes, I was surprised to see that he was being played by Rumple. Although it made complete sense after he asked for the dagger, I don't know that we've ever actually seen the Dark One shape-shift. That was usually Cora's department. As convincing as his deceit was, I was kind of shocked that Belle didn't at least suspect. After all, Hook was acting more than a little interested in her newfound friendship with Will. I was a little disappointed to see Rumple lie to Belle again, particularly after he should have learned his lesson the first time. Deceit will never win her back, as she mentioned herself when talking about what a relief it was to have a person who is truthful in her life. It seems that Rumple really hasn't learned his lesson yet. He can't have everything; nobody can. We already knew it was going to take quite a lot to win back Belle's trust, and this was yet another step backward. Rumple is going to have to choose what his happy ending is in the end, and I honestly believe that he won't be able to win Belle back until he truly loves his wife more than his power. Although I think he'll retain his magic, it can't come first. I think he will have to be truly brought to nothing before he realizes it, something that will probably take until the end of the season. We may have to wait longer than I thought to see Beauty and the Beast reunited! But I was glad to see some shred of humanity in him. I believe that he truly loves Belle, and seeing him tortured over the thought of losing her to someone else was a nice switch from his power-hungry motives. Plus I'm glad to see the dagger back in his possession; I just hope he hides it and can't be controlled with it anymore. But I think he's going to learn the hard way that he's going to have to really change to get his wife back this time. Only honesty and goodness are going to work.
But the best part of the episode was seeing Rumple's secret weapon: Pinocchio. I literally cheered when the little boy was replaced with August. I. Can't. Wait. I would have liked to see more of him, but that's for next week.
This episode had a strong backstory that tied in well with both the present storyline and previous season flashbacks. We're slowing making progress on the author, and I enjoyed seeing Regina risk her life to help Snow, keeping her secret as she promised. This episode also brought in the Aurora storyline again, as we actually haven't seen her and Maleficent together until today. It was nice to see Gold with Belle (even if he was disguised) and seeing that he is brokenhearted without her. And I'm glad that she admitted that she'll never be over Rumple, but that honesty is all she'll accept. So far this season has done an excellent job of showing us new characters without taking over, something that was definitely missing last fall. Our main characters are getting the big storylines, and the queens are only fitting in to explain the core group stories. Keep that up, writers!
I give this episode an 8/10. It moved the plot forward, took time for some answers, and focused on Regina - always a good combination. But I need a little more Rumple time, as well as some hope for him. But next week is a heavy August storyline, and I'm betting author time also. Can't wait!