Tag Archives: Mulan

Nov 26 2012
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ABC, Once Upon a Time

once upon a time recapping: into the deep

Previously on Once Upon a Time: Child of the Moon.

My fellow OUaTers, I’ve missed you! A big thank you to the lovely TVDM Editor Nicole for covering my recaps when life pulled me into a land without magic. This week on Once Upon a Time, with Jefferson’s hat destroyed, Henry and Aurora’s netherworld connection may be the only way Snow and Emma can get home. In Storybrooke, Charming makes a sacrifice for a chance to see Snow again. In the Enchanted Forest, Cora remains one step ahead of our heroes.

Once Upon a Time, Captain Hook

In present day Enchanted Forest, we catch up with Hook as he escapes the beanstalk. Cora catches up with him also, and is none too pleased he is missing the compass. Her plan is to use heart-controlled “zombies” to get it back. Meanwhile, Snow and Emma realize they can use Aurora’s dreams to communicate with Henry, and through him, that master of all things magic: Rumpelstiltskin. When Aurora goes back under, she is unable to learn anything more – especially since the zombies attack mid-dream, and she gets captured. Aurora refuses to bargain with Cora and gets knocked out for her trouble. Our heroes only have until sundown to save her, but Emma won’t give up the compass. Since Snow has been under a sleeping curse before, she offers to go back to get the information they need. However, she requires a sleeping potion, and the poppies they need to make it are hard to find (of course). In the meantime, Hook rouses Aurora and frees her, since what hurts Cora helps him. In the netherworld, Snow is surprised to meet Charming. He tells her what she needs to know but her kiss won’t revive him. Snow wakes up in a panic about Charming, and Mulan is missing with the amulet too. Cora is not pleased to find Hook instead of Aurora, but he offers a gift. Emma and Snow catch up with Mulan, but Aurora appears before the encounter gets too violent. She sings Hook’s praises, explaining how he rescued her and only wants to help. We cut to Cora using Aurora’s heart, stolen by Hook, to spin these lies and get the pirate back into Emma’s good graces, and closer to the compass.

Once Upon a Time, Emma and Snow

In Storybrooke, Henry connects to Aurora through his dreams and brings Charming and Regina the unfortunate news that Cora plans to visit Storybrooke. The threat of Cora is enough to get Gold on their side. Henry is eager for his chance to be a hero and return to the netherworld. Gold informs him that a supply of the ink used in the magic quill that defeated him remains in his old cell, and should be enough to stop Cora. Unfortunately Henry is unable to get this across before Aurora disappears, and his encounter with the netherworld leaves him badly burned. Neither Regina nor Charming are willing to send him back to try again. With Aurora gone, Charming believes Snow will be there in the netherworld to meet him, and offers to undergo a sleeping curse to reach her. The only catch is he may never wake up (though he believes Snow’s kiss will revive him) and that as first-time curse sufferer, he will have to navigate the netherworld to find the burning room himself. As Regina prepares the curse, Henry remarks he is proud she’s using her magic for good, and they share a moment. Charming goes under, and finds the burning room, but breaks the amulet in the process. He tells Snow what she needs to know but her kiss won’t revive him. Henry frets over the still-sleeping Charming, but the outcome doesn’t look good.

Once Upon a Time, Snow and Charming

Next week, mid-season finale!

Thoughts/Theories
• Point of interest: Philip may not be dead (yay!). According to Cora, the wraith merely transported his soul to another realm.
• Just when we thought Hook was a rogue with a heart of gold, he turns out to be a rogue that steals hearts. I still love him though.
• I am really into Regina’s redemption arc. Her drive to prove herself to Henry just kills me. Love when they have those mother/son moments.

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 out her tumblr.

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Oct 14 2012
1 Comment
ABC, Once Upon a Time

once upon a time recapping: lady of the lake

Previously on Once Upon a Time: We Are Both.

This week on Once Upon a Time, Charming continues to look for a way to find Snow and Emma, while Henry starts an “operation” of his own. Meanwhile, Snow and Emma navigate through the dangers of the Enchanted Forest and some difficult emotions. In the pre-curse Enchanted Forest, Snow and Charming learn that the road to saving the kingdom requires some sacrifice.

In pre-curse Enchanted Forest, Snow and Charming have their hands full with fending off King George’s men. During an attack, they split up. Charming heads to his mother’s cabin, but Snow is captured by the disgraced Sir Lancelot (played by Sinqua Walls, who fans of teen shows will know from Teen Wolf, Secret Life of the American Teenager and Friday Night Lights) and brought to King George, who curses her with infertility. His men dump her in the woods. She comes across Lancelot, who left the King’s service after his treatment of Snow, and warns her that men are on the way to Charming and the cabin. They arrive too late – Charming defeats the soldiers but his mother Ruth (played by Gabrielle Rose) is mortally wounded. The only thing that could help her are the magical waters of Lake Nostros. On the journey to the lake, Ruth tries to give Snow an amulet that indicates the gender of her future child, but she admits to Ruth that she’s been cursed. The lake is dry save for one sip – and Snow insists Ruth drink it. Her health doesn’t improve so Snow and Charming grant her dying wish of a wedding, with Lancelot officiating. As they lay Ruth to rest, Snow attempts to break the news of her infertility  to Charming, but the amulet indicates she will have a child, and Snow realizes that Lancelot put the enchanted water in the wedding chalice.

Once Upon a Time, Jefferson and Henry

In Storybrooke, Henry wants his grandfather’s help on “Operation Scorpion,” but Charming insists that Jefferson was a dead end and would rather Henry stay far away from magic as possible. Henry seeks out Jefferson on his own, but he has nothing to offer and instead suggests there might be something in Regina’s vault. When Henry notices Jefferson holding a flyer drawn by his daughter, he insists that they should be reunited so she’s not left wondering. Afterwards, Henry tricks Regina into leaving her office so he can steal her skeleton keys and break into her vault. The magical objects down there prove to be dangerous, but Charming arrives just in time to prevent Henry from being hurt. Charming promises Henry that they’ll get Emma and Snow back together. Later, Jefferson tearfully reunites with Grace. Charming offers to train Henry with a wooden practice sword as D.A. Albert Spencer (aka King George) watches ominously from a parked car.

Once Upon a Time, Lancelot and Mulan

In the Enchanted Forest/Haven, the minute Snow regains consciousness and sees Cora she freaks the hell out. Emma lets slip that she and Regina “share” Henry before Emma and Snow are taken to meet the leader of the camp, Lancelot. Snow asks for permission to go in search of a possible portal, but refuses to elaborate. He sends them off with Mulan, but Aurora is not happy that Philip’s “killers” are walking free. When they stop to make camp Aurora unsuccessfully tries to kill Snow and Emma accidentally draws out an ogre, which Snow defeats. The four women soon arrive at the old palace in hopes of finding the wardrobe that sent Emma to Storybrooke. The wardrobe is intact but powerless, so they decide to take it back to Haven – and Lancelot suspiciously appears to help them to do just that. Turns out that Cora killed the real Lancelot and has been posing as him. They fight, but after Emma torches the wardrobe and Mulan joins the fight, Cora makes a hasty retreat. With Lancelot gone, Mulan dubs Snow the leader of Haven. Emma apologies for destroying the wardrobe to protect Henry, and finally realizes how much Snow gave up to send her away, tearfully admitting, “I’m not used to anyone putting me first.” They hug, and cry, and I cry too (3 for 3 so far this season, damn!). After they leave, Cora reappears to collect some ashes from the wardrobe, which appear to retain some power.

Next episode, Captian Hook appears!

Thoughts/Theories
• I wonder if Cora is the reason that Haven and the surrounding land were spared from the curse? Did her magic nullify Regina’s?
• Once again, I continue to be perplexed by the heart vault and its connection to magic. Did it go dormant when Regina lost her powers? Is back now that she has magic? I’m hoping more will come of it this season.

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.

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Sep 30 2012
3 Comments
ABC, Once Upon a Time, Recaps

once upon a time recapping: broken

Previously on Once Upon a Time: A Land Without Magic.

This week on Once Upon a Time, magic is here! This curse is broken, the citizens of Storybrooke remember who they are, and Mr. Gold’s strange brand of magic is unleashed upon the town. As Emma and the others try to decide what to do with Regina, Mr. Gold sets his own revenge plans in motion – with unexpected results. Meanwhile, we are introduced to some new faces in the Enchanted Forest, where everything is not as it seems.

In New York, a mysterious man (played by Michael Raymond James) returns to his apartment. A dove flies to his window with a postcard from Storybrooke bearing one word – broken.

Once Upon a Time, Emma and Regina

In Storybrooke, the ominous cloud unleashed by Mr. Gold washes over the town, though no one seems negatively affected. Charming and Snow tearfully embrace their daughter for the first time in 28 years and I’m already reaching for the tissues. Before they can even begin to untangle their emotions, the Mother Superior informs them that magic has returned, and Archie warns them that Dr. Whale is leading an angry mob to Regina’s. Emma and her parents arrive just in time to rescue a powerless Regina from the mob’s wrath and drag her to jail. Meanwhile, Belle tells Mr. Gold of her imprisonment at Regina’s hands and makes him promise not to kill her. He takes this promise literately and instead summons a wraith to do his dirty work for him.

Ms. Blanchard wants to get to know her daughter, but Emma is struggling with her own feelings of abandonment. They confront Mr. Gold about the magic he released, but he argues that he’s done nothing wrong. Before they can glean anything more from him, the wraith makes its presence known in Storybrooke. Emma insists they’re not done; Mr. Gold reminds her she owes him a favor. Belle expresses her disappointment in Mr. Gold’s lie, though she stays with him in the hope he’ll become a better man. Emma, Ms. Blanchard, and David fend off the wraith attacking Regina, but the only way to stop it is to send it elsewhere, via Jefferson’s hat. They set a trap for the wraith, but Emma gets sucked in too. Unwilling to lose her daughter again, Ms. Blanchard follows her in but David is too late. Upon learning what happened, Henry refuses to talk to Regina until she brings them back. David takes his grandson takes his grandson home and promises to find them.

Once Upon a Time David and Henry

In the Enchanted Forest, a prince and a masked warrior ride through a barren wasteland. They reach a crumbling palace, where Princess Aurora (played by the incredibly gorgeous Sarah Bolger of The Tudors fame) lays sleeping. Prince Philip promises to tell his beloved “the truth” upon her awakening. His kiss breaks the curse, but before he can share the whole story they are attacked by a dark creature. They fend it off, and in the aftermath the warrior reveals her identity – Mulan (played by Jamie Chung of Real World fame). She explains that they were attacked by a wraith, a soul-sucking creature that marks its victims. Though they appear to be unscathed, Philip hides a mark on his hand. When the three stop for the night, Philip sneaks off to meet his fate. The women realize the truth and head after him. They reach him just in time to watch him fall victim to the wraith. The two lay Philip to rest at the palace, and Mulan reveals the whole truth – that a curse swept almost everyone away 28 years ago, except for a small corner of the land where they remained frozen until recently, when the curse weakened. Before the two leave for the safe haven, they hear a crash and discover Emma and Ms. Blanchard.

The two worlds collide!

Thoughts/Theories
• Just when we thought everyone was going to be brought together, they’re torn apart yet again. I commend the writers for keeping the two storylines relevant and interconnected now that curse is broken, plus Ms. Blanchard and Emma need some time one on one to work their feelings out, but at the same time – ARGH!
• The mysterious man from the beginning of the episode has to be Baelfire, right?
• Interesting that Regina’s magic didn’t seem to work until Emma touched her. Wondering what the significance of that is.
• WHO IS WHALE? No one seems to know. There was an intriguing undercurrent to his interaction with Regina this episode, and I want to know more. The mystery is killing me.

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 out her tumblr.

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