Tag Archives: Captain Hook

May 16 2013
Leave a comment
ABC, Once Upon a Time, Recaps

once upon a time recapping: straight on ‘til morning

Previously on Once Upon a Time: Second Star to the Right.

This week on Once Upon a Time, it’s the SEASON FINALE! As the destruction of Storybrooke seems imminent, everyone must learn to work together in order to prevent disaster. In Storybrooke, there are new alliances, a few sacrifices, and the revelation of a new “Big Bad.” In Neverland, we catch up with where Hook and Baelfire left off last week.

Once Upon a Time, Hook and Baelfire

In Neverland, Hook and Smee speculate that Bae might belong to “him,” and wonder what they might receive as a rewarding for returning him. However, when Hook goes to question his captive, the revelation that he’s Milah’s son changes his mind. Smee panics as the Lost Ones arrive looking for Bae, but Hook is unwilling give up the key to his revenge. Luckily Bae remains hidden. During a sailing lesson they bond over being abandoned by their daddies, and Bae reveals his father is the Dark One and the dagger is the key to his demise. Later Bae discovers a drawing of his mother on Hook’s desk, and concludes Hook is the pirate that killed her. Hook quickly tells him the real story, but Bae still blames him for destroying his family and asks to be taken home. Hook offers Bae a place on the ship, but the boy is not convinced, claiming that the pirate only cares for himself. It’s enough to turn Hook back to revenge, and he gives up Bae to the Lost Ones. As they hit shore, the Lost Ones compare Bae to a drawing and realize he’s not the one “he” is looking for, but that “Peter Pan never fails.” The boy on the drawing? Henry.

Once Upon a Time, the Charmings

In Storybrooke, Rumple is clearly still worried about the Prophecy and is about to use magic to send his grandson flying from a swing into some convenient pointy rocks (what is it with the death trap playgrounds in this town?) when he’s interrupted by the arrival of the Charmings. As Emma breaks the bad news about Neal to Henry, her parents inform Rumple. They also ask for his help with the self-destruct device, but with his son gone, Rumple doesn’t mind dying. Meanwhile, Gremara take the device down to the mines and activate it. As the Charmings regroup at home, Regina offers to slow down the device to give them enough time to recover the magic beans and portal everyone safely to the Enchanted Forest. Hook arrives, gets punched in the face, and offers to help, since dying wasn’t part of his revenge plan. At Gold’s shop, the dwarves raid Sneezey’s stein since the Blue Fairy has conveniently created a potion (with a hair from Pinocchio’s head) that will restore a person’s memories if drunk out of an object that’s important to them. Leroy offers some to Rumple, since he owes Belle a favor. As the forest starts to reclaim the town, Rumple and Belle have an emotional reunion. Charming and Hook manage to snag one bean from Gremara; Regina prepares to sacrifice herself to save Storybrooke, begging Emma to “let her die as Regina,” not the Evil Queen. Everyone meets up at Granny’s and prepares to go, but Henry refuses to leave without Regina. Snow suggests sending the trigger through a portal like the wraith (since that worked so well the first time), instead of “building a future on Regina’s blood.” Of course, they go down to the mines to discover that Hook has double-crossed them and taken the bean. Convinced they’re doomed, Emma shares a tearful embrace with her parents, calling them “mom” and “dad” for the first time. (Hello emotional turmoil, I’ve missed you!) She then has a “holy crap I can do magic!” moment and combines her powers with Regina, saving everyone from horrible CGI destruction. During the confusion, Gremara kidnap Henry and take him through a portal to “him.” Hook arrives shortly afterward with the bean. Regina, the Charmings, and Rumple sail off to Neverland to rescue Henry, while Belle stays behind with a spell to cloak the town from further minions of the Big Bad.

Image from Once Upon a Fan

In the Enchanted Forest, Aurora, Philip, and Mulan discover a gravely wounded (but alive) Neal on the beach.

That’s it until the fall. Stay magical, my friends!

Thoughts/Theories
• Coming to the end of the season, I find myself a little disappointed. The latter half of season 2 just did not pack the same punch as the first half, nor did this season have the same sense of purpose that season 1 did. This fracturing of one plotline (break the curse) into multiple plotlines (Cora in Storybrooke, finding Baelfire, the magic beans, the Prophecy, Neverland, Greg and Tamara vs. Magic) has made the show feel convoluted and disjointed. With so much going on, the jump from plotline to plotline takes away from character development – i.e., the evolving nature of Emma and Snow’s bond in the first half of season 2 that we don’t really see upon their return to Storybrooke – and leaves a lot of plot holes.
• The rules of travel between realms are infinitely frustrating to me. Rumple’s implied scuffle with Peter Pan suggests that Rumple traveled to and from Neverland at least once, and it’s never explained how Hook returned to the Enchanted Forest, especially considering you can “never leave” Neverland. And the dynamic of the magic beans seem to vary: when Neal falls through the portal, it’s implied his destination is totally random, yet when Gremara and Hook use the beans, they have no issue choosing Neverland as their destination.
• Henry is subject of the prophecy, and also the objective of the “big bad,” Peter Pan. Considering we now know that both of his parents are magical, how much do you want to bet that Henry’s got some magic of his own? I have a feeling this will be one of the big storylines of season 3.
• New drinking game: very time Hook gets assaulted or double-crosses someone, take a shot.

Nicole N. decided to justify the countless hours she spends watching television by writing about it here. She is currently watching Call the Midwife and crying into her tea each Sunday. For more tv-centric musings, check out her tumblr.

Tagged , , , , , , ,
Apr 30 2013
1 Comment
ABC, Once Upon a Time, Recaps

once upon a time recapping: the evil queen

Previously on Once Upon a Time: Lacey.

This week on Once Upon a Time, everyone has conflicting ideas about the fate of our favorite magical town. In Storybrooke, Regina begins work on her escape plan, but Greg and Tamara have other ideas. Meanwhile, Emma remains conflicted about leaving and instead focuses her energy on Tamara and “Operation Preying Mantis.” In the Enchanted Forest, we see more of Regina’s inner struggle to choose between good and evil.

Once Upon a Time, Snow and Regina

In the Enchanted Forest, Queen Regina is confused why people seem to hate her so much, even as she executes an entire village for refusing to give up the location of the “bandit” Snow White. Fed up with her incompetent minions, she decides to go after Snow herself. With Rumpelstiltskin’s help (and the price of cutting off trade with King George), she transforms into a peasant. The only catch is she doesn’t control the spell, nor can she use magic when it’s active. A disguised Regina comes across some villagers trying to burn and effigy of herself and tries to stop them, only to be blamed for it and sentenced to death. She is saved by none other than Snow White. A feverish Regina awakens to find herself hidden in the woods, tended to by her nemesis. As Snow cleans her wound, she tells of the time a stranger saved her from a charging horse and inspired her to be good. They head out and Regina uses the opportunity to inquire about Snow’s feelings, and is surprised to learn that Snow would forgive the Queen and be a family again if given the chance. This abruptly changes the moment they come across the slaughtered village. Regina pleads with Snow to remember the Queen who saved her from the horse – and gives herself away. She flees and returns to Rumpelstiltskin, prepared to embrace her title of the Evil Queen.

Once Upon a Time, Hook, Greg, and Tamara

In Storybrooke, Tamara and Greg inform Hook that Rumpelstiltskin is very much alive, and offer him a deal: a way to kill magical creatures in exchange for his help in finding someone. Meanwhile, Snow and Charming decide that Regina’s options are to be left behind, or to return to the Enchanted Forest and live out her life in a cell. Overhearing this, Regina decides on a third option: escaping to the Enchanted Forest with Henry via stolen magic bean and then enacting a “failsafe” in the Curse that will destroy Storybrooke. She communicates this to Henry, but he has a problem with the “killing everyone in Storybrooke” part of the plan, so she wipes his memory. At Granny’s, Emma literately bumps into Tamara and discovers a fairy tale cheat sheet in her purse. This, combined with her superpower, leads her to believe that Tamara is the “she” August was trying to warn them about. Snow dismisses her fears, but Henry is all about “Operation Preying Mantis.” Emma explicitly states she’s not getting back together with his father, despite accidentally letting slip about the magic beans and the potential return to the Enchanted Forest. Emma and Henry break into Tamara’s room and are discovered by Neal, who gave Tamara the cheat sheet. They find nothing and Emma slinks away looking like a crazy ex. Hook goes to Regina and offers to help with the self-destruct plan, if it means Rumpelstiltskin will be collateral damage. Regina and Hook go to the vault under the library. Regina reclaims her mother’s bracer from Hook, then pushes him off a ledge (seriously, how has he not broken every bone in his body?) to deal with the tender mercies of a spectral Maleficent while she retrieves the failsafe from Snow’s glass coffin. Regina returns to the library to discover a pissed-off Hook and his new friends Greg and Tamara. She tries to use magic, but the bracer she reclaimed is suppressing her powers – powered by “science” and the “toughest machinery and metals known to man.” Elsewhere, Snow, Charming, and Leroy discover the bean crop has been burned to the ground.

Once Upon a Time, Emma and Tamara

Next week, NEVERLAND!

Thoughts/Theories

  • I understand that a lot of this show focuses on the battle of good vs. evil, and I applaud the fact that many of the characters operate in a “grey area,” the sometimes extreme flips between the two are a little tiring.
  • Is it just me, or was Neal acting a little shady this episode? Considering he’s the mastermind con artist, it’s a little hard for me to believe that Tamara was capable of pulling one over on him, especially considering how collected she’s being over the “fairy tales are real” scenario.
  • I’m curious to see how the “science vs. magic” scenario is going to develop. I wonder if Greg and Tamara’s science operates in a similar way to Dr.Whale/Frankenstein’s.

Nicole N. decided to justify the countless hours she spends watching television by writing about it here. She is currently terrified of Stanley’s oddly-shaped head on Project Runway. For more tv-centric musings, check out her tumblr.

Tagged , , , ,
Oct 21 2012
3 Comments
ABC, Once Upon a Time

once upon a time recapping: the crocodile

Previously on Once Upon a Time: Lady of the Lake.

This week on Once Upon a Time, we are introduced to the delectable Captain Hook and filled in some of the gaps of Rumpelstiltskin’s backstory. In the Enchanted Forest, Rumpelstiltskin loses his wife and gains an enemy. In Storybrooke, Belle starts to doubt Mr. Gold’s willingness to give up his dark ways. When she goes missing, Mr. Gold and Charming must join forces to save her before it is too late.

Once Upon a Time, Captain Hook and Milah

In the pre-curse Enchanted Forest, we start with a pre-Dark One Rumpelstiltskin, who is too cowardly to rescue his wife Milah (played by Rachel Shelley of The L Word) via a duel with Captain Killian Jones (played by Colin O’Donoghue of The Tudors). Next, we catch up with a Rumpelstiltskin that has gained the powers of the Dark One but lost Baelfire. He is at a tavern attempting to trade with an unnamed man for a magic bean that grants the ability to cross realms when Jones walks in. Rumpelstiltskin makes a point of running into the Captain, who calls him a “crocodile” before realizing who he is and informing him of his wife’s death. Rumpelstiltskin challenges him to duel, defeats him easily, and is about to rip out his heart when Milah appears. She makes a deal – the magic bean in exchange for their lives. Only when Rumpelstiltskin arrives on the ship to collect, he flies into a rage at Milah’s abandonment of Baelfire, and rips out her heart, killing her. When Jones tries to retaliate, Rumpelstiltskin cuts off his hand (which was holding the bean) before disappearing – only to learn later that and he was tricked and the bean is still in the Captain’s possession. Later, Captain Jones replaces his lost hand with a hook, and makes a deal with the man from the tavern, William Smee: the magic bean for his life, and passage to a land where they never grow old. Captain Hook uses the bean to create a portal to Neverland.

Once Upon a Time, Charming and Mr. Gold

In Storybrooke, Belle doubts Mr. Gold’s willingness to give up his dark side, especially when she catches him practicing magic in the basement. When she confronts him, his evasiveness is the final straw and she leaves the next morning. At Granny’s, Belle befriends Red, who suggests she try for a job at the library. Belle goes to peak in the library windows, only to be snatched by William (Smee). He brings Belle to her father, Moe Finch, who tries to convince her to leave Mr. Gold. When she refuses, he insists that she will forget him. A worried Mr. Gold goes to acting sheriff Charming for help finding Belle. Along the way, Mr. Gold asks for relationship advice and Charming suggests “honesty of the heart” is the way to go. They try Granny’s, and Red eventually agrees to use her newly returned sense of smell to lead them to the Game of Thorns (HA! Still funny) flower shop and Moe Finch. They learn Moe intends to send Belle across the Storybrooke barrier – thus making her forget everything – via the mines.

Mr. Gold uses magic to save her in the nick of time, but Belle wants nothing to do with him or her father, insisting she make her own way. The next day, she’s gifted the key to the library. Mr. Gold meets her inside, saying the caretaker’s apartment is hers if she wants it. He then reveals everything: that he’s always been a coward and magic is the only thing that makes him feel powerful; that he created the curse to reach this realm and Baelfire, and that he brought back magic because it’s his “crutch,” but now he can’t reach his son (…and tears for me again). Belle is moved, and invites him to lunch. Later, Mr. Gold asks William about the Captain, but he never appeared in Storybrooke.

In the Enchanted Forest, Captain Hook appears to have his eye on Haven. Cora appears with her dust from the wardrobe, suggesting they may be able to cross over. Hook is pleased with the news, since he has a “crocodile to skin.”

Next week, Regina tries to bring Daniel back to life…and Whale is involved in some way. Can’t wait!

Thoughts/Theories
• OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS! NEXT WEEK! IS WHALE’S IDENTITY REVEALED?
• So, I’m still a little unclear on this – when the curse was “broken,” was it Mr. Gold’s use of magic that caused the memory erasing barrier to appear? Or would that have happened either way? What do you all think?

Nicole N. decided to justify the countless hours she spends watching television by writing about it here. She is currently indulging her addiction to medical dramas by rewatching all of Grey’s Anatomy. Follow her on twitter @nicolemnelson and check our her tumblr.

Tagged , , , , , , ,
%d bloggers like this: