Once Upon a Time, Episode 1: "The Heart of the Truest Believer"
So, that's Peter Pan, eh? He is definitely not the Pan of our childhood, but I think we all knew that was going to be the case. Did you guys have any idea that the kid with Henry was actually Pan? I have to admit that I had no idea. I didn't think we'd be introduced to him for at least a few episodes. We also learned what Pan's plan for Henry was. We saw some dysfunctional family bonding on the Jolly Roger and checked in with Neal in the Enchanted Forest. It was a pretty jam packed episode, so let's get right to it.
We start out with a flashback to Emma giving birth to Henry. After he is born, Emma is visibly upset. The doctor reminds Ms. Swan that it isn't too late to keep him, but Emma is steadfast. She tells the doctor she can't be a mother.
Flashforward to the present, Emma, Hook, Snow, Charming, Rumplestiltskin and Regina are on the Jolly Roger that has just emerged from the whirlpool portal into Never Land. My, how things have changed.
Henry, Greg and Tamara have also landed in Never Land. They show up on the beach. Henry assumes they are in the Enchanted Forest, but the dastardly duo enlighten him. I'll admit that I've never been Henry's biggest fan. He comes off as too precious and earnest for me. I realize that is his schtick, but it still rubs my jaded butt the wrong way. He has definitely started to grow on me though and he has some great moments in this episode. Tamra and Greg keep talking about the "home office." Henry knows that they want to destroy magic, but it's obvious they haven't really thought all this through. Henry picks up on this and asks them, "Can they tell you how to get home after you destroy magic?" Pulling out their walkie talkie, their hopes deflate as they open up the back and find the batteries have turned to sand. "It's a good thing you guys don't ask any questions," Henry informs them. Good one, Hen!
Things aren't going so well on the Jolly Roger, either. It's pretty apparent that everyone is on edge. Whlie Hook and Regina are having a talk about whether or not villains get a happy ending, Snow and Emma are having a conversation I'm sort of surprised they haven't had before now. Snow is being her usual infuriatingly cheerful self and Emma snaps. She blames her parents for what happened and tells them she doesn't need advice from parents who are her age. I'm sort of surprised that this hasn't happened before now. I always thought it was weird that they never really had a heart to heart. Even when Snow and Emma got back from the Enchanted Forest. I guess there was a lot going on with all the familial revelations that were happening. Snow silences her daughter by telling her, "The minute I let go of the belief that things will get better is the minute I know they won't."
Rumpelstiltskin chooses this moment to return to the deck, all decked out in his Dark One duds, prompting Hook to mutter this gem, "That's a great use of our time, a wardrobe change." Rumpel ignores him and turns his ire to Emma. He unloads on her, telling her that she doesn't believe in her parents, herself or magic. She's never taken a leap of faith. He ends with the harshest line of all. After all this time, she is still just a bailbondsperson. Ouch. "Never Land is a place where imagination runs wild and, sadly, yours does not." The Dark One disappears leaving his cane banging against the deck of the Jolly Roger.
In the jungles of Never Land, Tamara is hyperventilating. A pretty natural reaction when you take a portal to a magical world with little information and no real plan on how to get out. Felix and the Lost Boys confront the norms and it turns out they are the home office that Greg and Tamara were referring to earlier. Greg decides to grow a pair and threaten them. Bad call Mark from Empire Records. Pan's shadow swoops in and yanks out Greg's shadow, not a pretty sight. Tamara tries to get away but all she gets is an arrow to the back for her trouble. Henry takes this oppurtunity to run like hell. He is helped out by a mysterious young man, who claims to be another escapee from the Lost Boys. He is wearing a vial of pixie dust around his neck. Very mysterious and convenient, no?
Back on the Jolly Roger, we are treated to some nice flirty back and forth banter between Emma and Hook. I know there are a lot of Emma and Hook 'shippers out there who were probably not pleased that all Emma seems to be thinking about is Neal. Hook proves that he is not a complete jerk and gives Emma Neal's sword from when he was on the Jolly Roger. One of my favorite things about the show and the character of Emma is that she isn't boy crazy. She's not Bella Swan-ing it, spending all her time mooning over all the boys who want her. She's focused on finding Henry and not really concerned with her love life. It's a nice change.
Natural segue alert! Neal wakes up being nursed by Mulan, Phillip and Aurora. Mulan is super suspicious of Neal, even though he gives them an explanation. He was thinking about home when he fell in the portal and this is where he ended up. Due to their time with Emma and Snow, Aurora realizes right away who Neal is. I was happy that they didn't try to play the whole "Who is this guy, we should question him a lot and fight for no reason" card. Neal is only concerned with Emma. Aurora tells him that she will try to find her in the dream world and deliver a message for him. All Neal wants to tell Emma is that he is alve and that he loves her. All together now: Awwwwww.
Back in Never Land, mermaids are attacking the Jolly Roger. It turns out that Never Land mermaids are not the singing, using a fork for a hairbrush, best friends with a flounder type that we are used to. (Don't worry, friends. The Once EPs have assured us that Ariel is not a Never Land mermaid.) Charming is not his usual gallant self. His first reaction is trying to harpoon one. Once he realizes that Regina is all about his course of action, he reconsiders. Regina doesn't. She tosses fireballs into the ocean. Fireballs? Into the ocean? I guess, magical fireballs work in water? Snow and Emma are able to net one of the mermaids and Regina uses magic to bring her aboard.
In the jungles of Never Land, Rumple stumbles on the bodies of Greg and Tamara. Tamara is clinging to life. Rumple removes the arrow and heals Tamara so she can tell him what happened to Henry. Mr. Gold listens and it looks like he might be merciful to his son's villainous ex-fiancée. Right. This is the Dark One we're talking about here. Once Tam gets her story out, he rips out her heart and crushes it dust while she watches. Sorry, Dearie.
He is confronted by Felix. You can tell that Felix is not intimitdated by our diablolical deal maker. The each make some half hearted threats. Rumple makes it known that he will kill as many Lost Boys as he can before Pan eventually takes him out. Felix, smug as smug can be, tosses a straw doll in the shape of a boy at Rumplestiltskin's feet. Once he sees it, Gold is reduced to tears. Felix takes his leave with a sarcastic, "See you around, Dark One." What is this doll? Have we seen it before and I'm just not remembering? What could be behind it's meaning? It must be important to get that reaction out of Gold. Theories?
Back in the Enchanted Forest, Aurora is unable to reach Emma through her dreams. Neal is undeterred. He decides to go to his dad's castle, knowing that he will have left some sort of magical item to help them. Mulan accompanies him. On their way, Neal talks to Mulan about his feelings for Emma and how his biggest regret is letting his fear of rejection overpower his love for her. This speaks directly to Mulan who is still harboring her own secret lovey dovey feelings for Phillip. He also mentions to Mulan that there was a pretty good movie made about her. Love this! I like the meta aspect and I hope that it gets mentioned more in the show. I also loved the throwaway line later about how he couldn't explain what a movie was to her.
At Rumpelstiltskin's castle, Neal and Mulan are confronted by Robin Hood. The man in tights quickly accepts that Neal is Baelfire, because who would lie about being the Dark One's son? Sound logic, my manly friend. After Robin tells them that the castle has been picked clean, Neal picks up one of Gold's discarded canes. After performing some Rumplestiltskin worthy twirls, it reveals a secret cupboard full of magical items. He grabs a crystal ball and tries to use it to find Emma, but it doesn't work. Mulan suggests instead of thinking about a place, he should think about a person. Once he thinks about Emma, he sees her in Never Land and becomes more determined to get to her.
The rest of Henry's dysfunctional family on the Jolly Roger are of two minds on what to do with their captured mermaid who is being kind of a bitch. Mermaid blows a conch shell, telling them it's a warning to her mermaid buddies. It seems to bring up a heavy storm out of nowhere. Regina wants to "filet the bitch," while Mary Margaret wants to keep her safe as a show of respect to the other mermaids. "You'll win her over with your rainbow kisses and unicorn stickers," Regina sneers. Hey, shouts Lisa Frank. Regina turns the mermaid to wood. There! Not so fast, Your Evilness. The crew of the boat devolves into infighting and eventual fisticuffs as Snow and Regina come to blows. As the discontent grows, so does the storm. Emma quickly makes the connection and attempts to get everyone's attention. Emma jumps overboard, presumably to get everyone to band together. A good plan, but once in the water Emma gets knocked out by some broken rigging. Emma's plan works and everyone stops fighting to save her. Once she is back onboard, the storm dissipates.
The still bickering band reach the shores of Never Land and Emma has had it. She gives a rousing speech, saying that in order to get through this they need to put aside any bad blood and work together. When Regina points out that Emma is a norm, she says her super power is that she is a mother. She's always been one, but now she accepts it.
Henry and his new buddy are trying to find their way to the Echo Caves. When they hit the edge of a cliff, new friend is ready to throw in the towe. He doesn't know Henry. Seriously, this kid makes Snow look like a jaded, callous, glass half empty pessimist. He tosses some pixie dust on them, grabs ahold of his new friend and takes a pretty literal leap of faith. When they land, his new friend is smiling, but there is something about that smile. It's more sinister than friendly. When he calls Henry by name, we know something is up. Meet Peter Pan. This season's big bad may only be a teen, but he is a scary teen. His words to Henry drip with malice. Pan has been looking for the person who owns the heart the episode title refers to and when Henry used the pixie dust, he knew he'd found it. What does he want with it and what does it mean for Henry? Nothing good. The episode ends with Pan calling out the Lost Boys to play.
So, what did you guys think? Great premiere? Any theories on Gold's emotional outburst? Can Henry's family put aside their differences long enough to rescue him? What did you think of Pan's casting? Let me know in the comments.
Rumpelstiltskin chooses this moment to return to the deck, all decked out in his Dark One duds, prompting Hook to mutter this gem, "That's a great use of our time, a wardrobe change." Rumpel ignores him and turns his ire to Emma. He unloads on her, telling her that she doesn't believe in her parents, herself or magic. She's never taken a leap of faith. He ends with the harshest line of all. After all this time, she is still just a bailbondsperson. Ouch. "Never Land is a place where imagination runs wild and, sadly, yours does not." The Dark One disappears leaving his cane banging against the deck of the Jolly Roger.
In the jungles of Never Land, Tamara is hyperventilating. A pretty natural reaction when you take a portal to a magical world with little information and no real plan on how to get out. Felix and the Lost Boys confront the norms and it turns out they are the home office that Greg and Tamara were referring to earlier. Greg decides to grow a pair and threaten them. Bad call Mark from Empire Records. Pan's shadow swoops in and yanks out Greg's shadow, not a pretty sight. Tamara tries to get away but all she gets is an arrow to the back for her trouble. Henry takes this oppurtunity to run like hell. He is helped out by a mysterious young man, who claims to be another escapee from the Lost Boys. He is wearing a vial of pixie dust around his neck. Very mysterious and convenient, no?
Back on the Jolly Roger, we are treated to some nice flirty back and forth banter between Emma and Hook. I know there are a lot of Emma and Hook 'shippers out there who were probably not pleased that all Emma seems to be thinking about is Neal. Hook proves that he is not a complete jerk and gives Emma Neal's sword from when he was on the Jolly Roger. One of my favorite things about the show and the character of Emma is that she isn't boy crazy. She's not Bella Swan-ing it, spending all her time mooning over all the boys who want her. She's focused on finding Henry and not really concerned with her love life. It's a nice change.
Natural segue alert! Neal wakes up being nursed by Mulan, Phillip and Aurora. Mulan is super suspicious of Neal, even though he gives them an explanation. He was thinking about home when he fell in the portal and this is where he ended up. Due to their time with Emma and Snow, Aurora realizes right away who Neal is. I was happy that they didn't try to play the whole "Who is this guy, we should question him a lot and fight for no reason" card. Neal is only concerned with Emma. Aurora tells him that she will try to find her in the dream world and deliver a message for him. All Neal wants to tell Emma is that he is alve and that he loves her. All together now: Awwwwww.
Back in Never Land, mermaids are attacking the Jolly Roger. It turns out that Never Land mermaids are not the singing, using a fork for a hairbrush, best friends with a flounder type that we are used to. (Don't worry, friends. The Once EPs have assured us that Ariel is not a Never Land mermaid.) Charming is not his usual gallant self. His first reaction is trying to harpoon one. Once he realizes that Regina is all about his course of action, he reconsiders. Regina doesn't. She tosses fireballs into the ocean. Fireballs? Into the ocean? I guess, magical fireballs work in water? Snow and Emma are able to net one of the mermaids and Regina uses magic to bring her aboard.
In the jungles of Never Land, Rumple stumbles on the bodies of Greg and Tamara. Tamara is clinging to life. Rumple removes the arrow and heals Tamara so she can tell him what happened to Henry. Mr. Gold listens and it looks like he might be merciful to his son's villainous ex-fiancée. Right. This is the Dark One we're talking about here. Once Tam gets her story out, he rips out her heart and crushes it dust while she watches. Sorry, Dearie.
He is confronted by Felix. You can tell that Felix is not intimitdated by our diablolical deal maker. The each make some half hearted threats. Rumple makes it known that he will kill as many Lost Boys as he can before Pan eventually takes him out. Felix, smug as smug can be, tosses a straw doll in the shape of a boy at Rumplestiltskin's feet. Once he sees it, Gold is reduced to tears. Felix takes his leave with a sarcastic, "See you around, Dark One." What is this doll? Have we seen it before and I'm just not remembering? What could be behind it's meaning? It must be important to get that reaction out of Gold. Theories?
Back in the Enchanted Forest, Aurora is unable to reach Emma through her dreams. Neal is undeterred. He decides to go to his dad's castle, knowing that he will have left some sort of magical item to help them. Mulan accompanies him. On their way, Neal talks to Mulan about his feelings for Emma and how his biggest regret is letting his fear of rejection overpower his love for her. This speaks directly to Mulan who is still harboring her own secret lovey dovey feelings for Phillip. He also mentions to Mulan that there was a pretty good movie made about her. Love this! I like the meta aspect and I hope that it gets mentioned more in the show. I also loved the throwaway line later about how he couldn't explain what a movie was to her.
At Rumpelstiltskin's castle, Neal and Mulan are confronted by Robin Hood. The man in tights quickly accepts that Neal is Baelfire, because who would lie about being the Dark One's son? Sound logic, my manly friend. After Robin tells them that the castle has been picked clean, Neal picks up one of Gold's discarded canes. After performing some Rumplestiltskin worthy twirls, it reveals a secret cupboard full of magical items. He grabs a crystal ball and tries to use it to find Emma, but it doesn't work. Mulan suggests instead of thinking about a place, he should think about a person. Once he thinks about Emma, he sees her in Never Land and becomes more determined to get to her.
The rest of Henry's dysfunctional family on the Jolly Roger are of two minds on what to do with their captured mermaid who is being kind of a bitch. Mermaid blows a conch shell, telling them it's a warning to her mermaid buddies. It seems to bring up a heavy storm out of nowhere. Regina wants to "filet the bitch," while Mary Margaret wants to keep her safe as a show of respect to the other mermaids. "You'll win her over with your rainbow kisses and unicorn stickers," Regina sneers. Hey, shouts Lisa Frank. Regina turns the mermaid to wood. There! Not so fast, Your Evilness. The crew of the boat devolves into infighting and eventual fisticuffs as Snow and Regina come to blows. As the discontent grows, so does the storm. Emma quickly makes the connection and attempts to get everyone's attention. Emma jumps overboard, presumably to get everyone to band together. A good plan, but once in the water Emma gets knocked out by some broken rigging. Emma's plan works and everyone stops fighting to save her. Once she is back onboard, the storm dissipates.
The still bickering band reach the shores of Never Land and Emma has had it. She gives a rousing speech, saying that in order to get through this they need to put aside any bad blood and work together. When Regina points out that Emma is a norm, she says her super power is that she is a mother. She's always been one, but now she accepts it.
Henry and his new buddy are trying to find their way to the Echo Caves. When they hit the edge of a cliff, new friend is ready to throw in the towe. He doesn't know Henry. Seriously, this kid makes Snow look like a jaded, callous, glass half empty pessimist. He tosses some pixie dust on them, grabs ahold of his new friend and takes a pretty literal leap of faith. When they land, his new friend is smiling, but there is something about that smile. It's more sinister than friendly. When he calls Henry by name, we know something is up. Meet Peter Pan. This season's big bad may only be a teen, but he is a scary teen. His words to Henry drip with malice. Pan has been looking for the person who owns the heart the episode title refers to and when Henry used the pixie dust, he knew he'd found it. What does he want with it and what does it mean for Henry? Nothing good. The episode ends with Pan calling out the Lost Boys to play.
So, what did you guys think? Great premiere? Any theories on Gold's emotional outburst? Can Henry's family put aside their differences long enough to rescue him? What did you think of Pan's casting? Let me know in the comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment