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"Sympathy for the De Vil"
Episode Review
Once did it again! "Sympathy for the De Vil" completely blew me away with the ending twist! At last we received some Cruella spotlight, something I'd been waiting for. Of the three villains she stood out to me just because her character twist would have to be so different from the original animated film, and just because of her sassiness and over-the-top glitziness. Who knew that behind the furs and diamonds was a cold-blooded killer - just for the mere "fun" of it?
To start with, having Cruella's story in 1920's London was just fantastic and fun. It was a nice change of pace from the norm, and seeing the flapper dress and bouncy music was a blast. I LOVED the Cruella song included! Even the author reminded me somehow of Gene Kelly, like I was watching a delicious musical. We still don't know how Cruella got to the Enchanted Forest (I'm assuming the Author has transportation between realms from the Sorcerer) but hopefully that will be cleared up eventually. And how hilarious was it to see that her car, her first set of diamonds, and her first taste of gin all came from the author?
The beginning was chillingly well done, with baby Cruella running through the foggy woods in slow motion, with slow growling and barking following her. We spend the entire episode assuming that her mother is nothing more than a controlling mother and husband killer, ruining her daughter's life. I liked the Rapunzel-like reference of an evil mother keeping her daughter imprisoned in a tower, only to be let out by a kind young man. In a way it was also like Cinderella, with the abused girl getting out to go to the ball. Isaac and Cruella had fantastic chemistry, in surprisingly what felt like one of the most magical backstories in this season half, despite being set in London. The Author was just adorable to watch as he fell in love with Cruella right before our eyes. It seems that he began as a pretty nice guy - but falling in love with a murderer would have it's effects on you. Perhaps she was his inspiration for manipulating endings. At least the little man had the brains to make her basically harmless. Even her control of animals just puts them to sleep. I had to feel bad for him though. Poor Isaac.
There have only been a couple of people who have been completely evil all the way through, and Cruella is one of them. The writers were right - what an incredibly dark past from the character that seemed the most harmless! Poisoning three men, including her own father? Sending dogs to tear her mother apart, and at the end making her weapons into a coat to wear? It was chilling, and something I wasn't at all expecting. A mentally disturbed villain who kills for fun - and even makes it her happy ending? It was fantastic. Having an extreme character is something that once in a while can be a lot of fun, and Victoria Smurfit is fantastic. Not many people could pull off innocent flapper to cold-blooded villain dressed in puppies with that much ease.
In Storybrooke, I was so glad to see Regina and Hook call Emma to task about her major grudge against her parents. And they're right; she is behaving like a spoiled brat. YES they did a bad thing - but they were manipulated, have apologized, and have done nothing but bend over backwards to protect Emma since day one, even when it meant losing their own happy ending. I don't see that Emma's killing Cruella is a sign that her heart is going dark, because what parent wouldn't take action when an insane woman had a gun to her son's head? She had no way of knowing the truth about Cruella's harmlessness, just as Snow and Charming had no way of knowing Maleficent child wasn't a dragon, or that she would be sent into our world. I'm hoping that this will show her that parents do just about anything do protect their children, just as Snow and Charming did for her. But I hope the childishness will end soon. And I hope this isn't the end of Cruella or Ursula- we've hardly gotten to see them.
I was majorly bummed that the Rumbelle moment was fake, though. I'm surprised Rumple didn't cast some major protection spell over her long ago - she's literally the only way people have of getting to him. We all saw what happened to Neal, after all. Even if Belle was being controlled though, I was very glad to see Rumple tell her the truth, a welcome switch. He even apologized, as if he doesn't have much choice in his decisions. He obviously wants her back, and the writers have promised that we'll be seeing the chipped cup again. It's been such a long time since Belle and Rumple had a nice moment that it was kind of heartbreaking to see that it was all Regina. His curse brings up an interesting possibility, however. I'm glad to see that he won't die literally, but that he will be completely evil, with no ability to love anymore. It's a deeper curse than most others we've seen, a good move on the writers' part. It gives me comfort to see a storyline that you know can't ever come to pass (like Rumple getting full control over his dagger) so I'm thinking that somehow Belle will have to bring light back into his heart. Perhaps love and goodness can reverse the process. It's an interesting thought.
I give this episode a 9/10. The backstory was a fun and yet a chilling surprise, and I was so happy to see Rumple and Belle together, telling the truth, although it would have been more fun had it been real. I'm still missing August though - bring the poor guy back! Tune in on Sunday for "Lily," and Emma and Regina's road trip to find her!