there's more than one way to rip out a heart

[intrikate88]

Can I just keen SHOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWSSSSSSSSS COME BACK TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE until January? Because I'm considering it. That is WEEKS to wait, guys, I need more NOW.

I was disappointed not to see more of Belle in this ep cause I expected that everybody would pop through the portal in fifteen minutes and then all the drama would be in Storybrook, but it didn't happen that way and ensemble casts, what can you do. There's only so much time per week.

Damn, Belle, you've got like three years' worth of tally marks on the wall. Which fits the timeline well, and by this point Rumpelstiltskin was also probably in his cell. I'm kind of curious to know what kind of relationship Regina and Belle had; imprisonment is bad, but it looked like Belle had something comfortable on, and a bed, and space to move around- it was no tiny underground cell. I wonder if Regina just occasionally walked in to terrify Belle, or if they were at all friendly; if there was any more scheming behind the scenes than just using Belle as a pawn. Because Regina and Gold have been throwing chess terminology around a lot with regards to Belle, and honestly both of them always have a little more up their sleeve. (Well. Rumple has bigger sleeves, but the point stands.) I mean, was there a backup plan for Belle if dangling her as a hostage at the right time didn't work out? Just overall I think there's been a lot told but not a lot shown when it comes to Regina and Belle. Aaaaaaaaand also we have the small matter of Hook knowing who Belle is and that she loves Rumple, so if that doesn't turn into a thrilling kidnapping I will be gravely disappointed in the narrative quality of this show.

As for Aurora and Mulan, OMFG JUST MAKE OUT ALREADY. The heart replacement scene was the gayest thing I've seen on TV in awhile and those ladies need to wake up and realize they're in love.

Cora is the absolutely motherfucking scariest person on the show. All the other people on the dark side know that they're not shining examples of goodness but they have a life that they want and they're trying to get it. It's not an excuse for doing terrible things, but they're aware of their choices. Cora, on the other hand, believes she's Right. That she is a Good Mother and as a reward for claiming her daughter when she was a child now owns Regina's life. She doesn't think she's done anything wrong. And she purposefully decides to wait until Regina is weak and disappointed to swoop in and be all Regina has and control her. Because Mother knows best, and she's only doing it out of love for her daughter, why is her daughter putting up so many boundaries?

Also omfg Regina, I just, she is trying her goddamn hardest, Gold knows how to manipulate her (and I'm pretty sure he knew that Regina wouldn't go through with his idea and had some reason for  wanting her to see what happens when she tries to do the right thing) but she decided to put herself at risk for Henry and him believing in her, put her life on the line and nearly got killed to save the woman she hates and her competition, and she gets a 'thank you!' and a confirmation that she will always be second best to Henry, and then is LITERALLY left behind. With Gold of all people being more understanding than all the people who she saved even though it would have been far easier to get rid of them. OUCH.

I'm just saying I want some recognition for her, I want Henry to stand up for her, I want some encouragement for her because for all the shit she's done, nobody has EVER given her the idea that being good is a good thing and being bad brings pain, if she's evil everyone hates her and if she tries to be good she gets zero acknowledgment. I want somebody to point out that for better or worse or epic grudgematch, she IS part of the Charming family. And she's never really had a family that has room in it for her before.

Of course, I guess that's what Cora's counting on.

I mean, I guess it would have been a horribly awkward dinner and the dwarfs would have been glaring the whole time and Regina and Mary Margaret have exactly zero interest in reconciling, but dammit. Nobody except maybe David will accept her if she reaches out; only Emma can offer that olive branch, and I don't even know if she realizes how necessary it is. But Regina is hurt, and alone, and when Cora gets back, if she offers what Emma doesn't, then everybody will have a problem on their hands.

And Snow and Charming, the cheesiest most adorable couple. They are such PARENTS, as andi_horton said. Seriously though they could not be cuter. "The red fiery room did give me pause," he says. But everyone is just as happy to see the tropes reversed, to see the princess kiss the cursed prince awake, because they're partners and their story belongs to both of them. :D

Only objection was Emma's Magical Heart-Grabbing-Repellent powers. Where did that come from? It was such a duex ex machina and I wish it hadn't been done like that. I DID however like the examination of being a 'Chosen One', which is such a common trope in fantasy and often not thoroughly examined. Where is free will? Where is identity and personal growth? If someone's destiny is planned out, what kind of life can they have? Emma is completely right to resent having a destiny if she got used and abused and abandoned just for the sake of someone else's magical plan. Her life has been shit and if her choices meant nothing because she was always coming to break the curse, then that's even worse. I don't believe Gold entirely because he's a lying liar who lies; he said he merely took advantage of her nature/existence to make the curse, but all her choices were her own. But that's not really the case, is it ,if she's really the Savior? If she had the choice then she also could have NOT broken the curse. Somebody else could have stepped up and chosen to do it instead. It's a complicated issue and I hope that there's more examination in the show of what such a role means.


Revenge. Oh, everybody. Victoria, always getting yet another sting from reality and stinging right back. Daniel not having any clue of the depth he's being manipulated. I don't really care all that much about Jack's storyline, but that's sad that he can't even get a family and a bar without it turning out to be an organized crime revenge shitshow.

Oh, Marco, I see you causing more trouble in the future. He just keeps making it clearer than Nolan's idea of love is loyalty- you stand by someone no matter what. And Marco's still demanding honesty, which he is certainly right to, but now it's embittered and I see him going down in Nolan's trojan horse scheme. Because his unwillingness to trust that Nolan had a good reason for giving half a billion dollars to David Clarke's daughter really affected Nolan, and I think even now Marco doesn't get it at all, what happened that night Nolan fired him.

Nolan, however, just OBLITERATED what was left of my heart after Regina pulled it out last night. Nolcorp is him. He's put his whole life into that company. He is the Nolan Ross because of the company and it is so much of his identity and he just writes it off. Because he has to. Because he knew it was coming, and he prepared for it, and he has booby-trapped it, but god it just hurts to watch him. He wouldn't change a thing, if he had to do it over again, and Emily knows it and she knows what he's giving up. But it doesn't make a bit of difference, because The Nolan Ross has to stop existing for everything else to continue, and he is on this mission of revenge too.

And apparently Dexter is going to kill me too when I watch it. I CAN'T CONTAIN SO MANY FEELINGS

Comments

[trickseybird.livejournal.com]

the femmeslash with Mulan/Aurora was adorable. I just want Emma and Regina to live in a big house together with Henry

More Belle!!