Little Stan's Cute To Me

Cougar Town, S03E13

Jules decided to hold Thanksgiving out of season since they didn't get to celebrate it last year together.  Ellie wanted Jules to use Little Stan as her ring bearer and had to face the truth that her son is somewhat of a nightmare.  Jules asked to hear Grayson's vows and he asked of her the same.  However, Jules struggled to express her feelings for him and got Travis to do it for her, and he got Laurie and Bobby to help him.  Andy had trouble preparing for the pizza toss event, his first major publicity event for his mayoral campaign.

It's funny that the gang celebrating Thanksgiving in the spring referred to the fact that this show had a huge break before it was picked up again.  They also made a lot of comments that referred to that fact that they were getting moved from ABC (to TBS next season).  I like that they joke about this in a not so subtle way.  But I can understand why ABC might have been reluctant to bring back CT, and it doesn't shock me that a different network picked it up.  The opening credits also made a comment about the uncertain future of this show with a line: "Are we still on TV?"  For now they are.  But I don't see why TBS would cancel them prematurely.  Hopefully the move will help this show rather than hinder it.

What I liked better than the commentary on CT's unstable broadcasting status was the story about Little Stan and Ellie.  I forget how old he is, but that kid is incredibly mischievous for such a little boy.  Grayson got really upset that Stan tagged his garage, especially when he asked Ellie why she would buy paint for her son at all (even if it was washable).  Throughout the episode, you continued to see Stan's tags on random things in town.  Apparently, he can get around on a bus already.  Damn.  What is that kid going to be capable of once he starts getting his education?  I really thought that Ellie just thought he was funny and that was why she dismissed him, but it was nice to see that she's not that nonchalant about her son's misdeeds and just wanted him to be adorable like a normal child.

I happen to think that Stan is already adorable.  I loved when Jules made a little obstacle course out of cushions and such to see if Stan could make it through without getting distracted by things like hammers and markers.  Ellie was cheering him on like a show dog at the finish line, while Jules was trying to stop him by throwing uncooked rice at his head.  They are so nuts!  But that was really cute.   I think that was cuter than him bringing in the turkey at the end.  Sure that was sweet, but he did that because Jules paid him in spray paint.

 I also liked that Stan destroyed Big Carl.  Not that I had anything against her having an over-sized glass (and I knew he'd be replaced in no time), but having a little boy destroy something Jules loved (probably more than Grayson) was a good way to see her explode with anger.  Otherwise, I think she would have stayed in denial about Ellie's parenting until the bitter end.  

It's a good thing that Grayson is a bit of a moron because it should have been obvious that the vows Jules read for him were about inanimate object and not him (especially since Travis and crew didn't bother to edit her Big Carl speech that much).  I think it would have been helpful for him to know that his future wife values wine drinking more than she does her husband.  But then again, Grayson has to know that already with the way that she is constantly making "pounding grape" a priority.

The most interesting thing about Andy's story was the way that Grayson felt it necessary to cheer him on (unlike anyone else was really).  He seems to be smart enough to know that if he doesn't get an ally to help him against his wife and her best friend, he is going to be subjected to a lot worse things than a Fakesgiving.  Still, I don't know what Grayson thinks he and Andy can achieve together that no one else hasn't tried.  If Jules has Ellie backing her up, no one is going to oppose them.  Point in case, no one was brave enough to say no to Ellie when she decided they were all going to join Jules for Thanksgiving after all.  Maybe their union is pointless, but at least Grayson prevented Andy from giving up.  I'd like to see him become mayor soon (and be more useful than Bobby's personal ass kisser).

This episode was definitely better than the other one.  I think their jokes about the show being on the air were really good, even if I'm not entirely overjoyed that CT will leave ABC and go to TBS (This show is just really something to watch on Tuesday).  I'm glad that they had another Little Stan story because I think that he's my favorite character (which says a lot about the other ones).  Who else but a "devil baby" like him could destroy Big Carl and live to see the day?  I'm looking forward to how he really does behave as the ring bearer.  It would be great if he could cause one of the many problems I foresee occurring that day.

Bobby Sees His Racist Side

Cougar Town, S03E10

Jules wanted Andy to run for Mayor so that he could get her a permit to have her wedding on the beach, which wasn't allowed.  Ellie despised the idea of her husband being in public officer since it would force her to interact with people more.  After making a comment to an Asian man, Bobby worried that he was racist, and Laurie put together a panel to help him.  Travis made out with Holly, and he and Grayson tried to teach Jules a lesson about cutting Holly a bit of slack.

Even though Jules suggested Andy run for Mayor for her own selfish reasons, I think she was right that he would be a good candidate (as least out of the people she knows).  I would be interested in seeing him win that position, although I doubt it will be very easy for him.  I'd condemn Jules further for making Ellie unhappy with her plan to get Andy to be mayor, but Ellie's reasons against it were too funny.  She really is a woman after my own heart.  I would be annoyed too by the idea of having to deal with more people than the few I can tolerate.  The best thing about her opposition of Andy running for mayor was when she told Andy in the car about her opinion on the matter.  Andy said he wouldn't be mad, but he purposely ran over a speed bump quickly so that her coffee would splash in her face.  It's great seeing Ellie on the receiving end of a joke at her expense.  I almost wish that she hadn't come to her senses and realized how selfish she was being to her husband.  I would have preferred to see how she could have gotten him back, though.

Bobby's realization of his racist nature was probably the funniest thing in this episode.  I just can't believe how stupid he was to tell that guy he would probably love a giant camera around his neck.  But you knew that he had no malice behind his words--only ignorance.  So when the guy got upset and Laurie looked at him with horror, it was really funny.  He also thought that all black guys could dunk and asked a man if he could in a later scene.  Bobby's too much of a bonehead for anyone to take his racist remarks seriously.  Plus, like Andy said, the fact that he was so bothered by the racial implications of his words and thoughts, made Bobby a decent guy with the potential to one day to realize when he was using stereotypes to make judgments about people.

It was also nice to see that in Laurie's panel she had included her boyfriend, Wade.  I wasn't sure if he would ever be mentioned again.  According to their routine of getting naked for each other on Skype calls, I would say that their relationship is still going on strong.  That means it's still possible he would visit Laurie once he's done with his service in Iraq.  I'm sure that would make for some really entertaining scenes, knowing how hyper Laurie is.

I never pictured Holly getting together with Travis, but when he later explained that he was just taking advantage of a woman, that made a lot of sense.  The only way Travis could go from small talk at a coffee shop to heavy making out had to be due to him being with a vulnerable woman.  Travis is a bit of a loser with no swagger to speak of, so a girl like Holly is probably his best bet.  I'll admit it's a little weird since she has had a baby with his future stepdad, though.  More than the baby, I would think that he would be a little disturbed by locking lips with someone that Grayson had once done the same.  I wouldn't even eat a piece of bread that he had eaten from.  Eww.  But I'm not sure if Travis really has any feelings for Holly or if he was just messing with Jules to make a point.  Someone as self-centered as Jules needed such an extreme measure to teach her to stop judging people.

I liked the Bobby story enough that I think this was a good episode overall.  I definitely laughed more times than I have compared to other episodes.  I hope that next time we get to see some of Andy's campaign ideas.  I could see the possibility of that being funny, especially if Bobby was his manager.  Almost anything that will take away the focus from Jules' wedding is welcome to me.  I already know that it's not going to be the dream wedding she wants, even if she does get to have it on the beach.

He's Pinocchio? That's Kinda Disappointing

Once Upon A Time, S01E20

Emma wanted to move forward with her custody battle against Regina, but Mr. Gold wouldn't help her.  She went to August for help, who said that he would show her the big picture that would help her defeat Regina.  However, Emma failed to believe that August was from the magic world, even though he proved to her that he was the little boy that saved her as an abandoned baby.  August's past life as Pinocchio was revealed, and we learned that his passage to the other world with Emma was conditional that he be the one to guide Emma to believe in the existence of magic and the world where fairy tales are true.  Regina also tried to snatch up David with a story about fate and a good dinner, but he wanted to just stay friends with her.

Finding out that August's illness was actually him turning back to wood (no doubt for all the things he failed to do that he promised) was less interesting than I was hoping his ailment would be.  It does explain why he looked like he was too stiff to get out of bed in another episode.  What was better about knowing his identity was that Mr. Gold had already figured it out and was rubbing the fact that he hadn't reconnected with his father in this world yet.  You have to enjoy that a little bit after the crap that August pulled in the previous episode.  I felt bad for the old man who did everything to protect his child, but his kid turned out to be August, rather than feeling for August who saw his father for the first time in about 28 years but couldn't exactly have the family reunion he wanted.  I just don't know why August hadn't found him before.  He's had plenty of time to look around town (I assume Storybrooke is not that big) and see everyone.

I don't know if I was too impressed by the fact that Pinocchio was the one who got to come with Emma in the magic wardrobe to the non-magic world.  I think it was a little pointless, really, that he did come because he didn't stay by her side long enough at all.  You can't blame a boy that young for wanting to escape a horrible place so he could have a chance at a better life instead of guarding a baby for 20 plus years.  That's a lot of responsibility for a boy that came to be from a damn piece of wood.  I did feel bad for Emma, left on her own, when she could have had someone always out there to take care of her.  If August had tried any time before Emma had entered Storybrooke to checkup on her or do the task he had been entrusted, I might have forgiven him.  But instead he waited until he started feeling his limbs turning back into wood to run to her side.  What a useless piece of wood he is!  Almost anyone (besides the Queen) would have been a better traveling companion for Emma.

I half wanted Emma to believe August in the woods, but I half wanted her to regard him as a nutcase because I just don't care to see him end up happy.  I don't know what the best way would have been for anyone to get Emma to believe at that point, but I don't think that showing her the tree that they exited out of to another world, was the best approach.  I did like that Emma figured out that August was the one who tampered with Henry's book.  Of course, that only made him look even less credible in her eyes.  I did expect, a little, that if Emma touched that tree she would get some kind vision of the magic world and start to believe.  Then again, Emma has no memories of that world since she was only there for a few minutes before they sent her away.  I guess she can't remember her mother's face or anything like that.

MM had a brilliant scene with Mayor Bitch, where she forgave her and both pitied her for her sad existence that only meant anything to herself through making others' suffer.  She totally detailed how pathetic and empty the Mayor's life is, and Mayor Bitch just had to stand there and listen.  Points for you, MM!  Later, when the Mayor was trying to get David in her clutches (no doubt to take a stab at MM), she was easily turned down.  All of the pity and talk of how it was fate that brought her to save him that cold night ain't gonna make him want her.  I hate David, but I give him credit for not being so stupid that he would think the universe wanted him to be with the Mayor.  Although, the misery she could have brought to his life could have been a good punishment for him.  Huh...  No, I wouldn't want MM to have to see Mayor Bitch being smug about having David when she couldn't.  It's better this way.  The Mayor might try some other scheme involving David later that might harm him.  That would be good.  Maybe if he almost dies, I might be happier that he's still living and still scum.

Emma started to drive off with Henry to leave Storybrooke!  Um...can Henry leave the town safely?  Also, that's pretty illegal, and I'm sure she'll be charged with kidnapping if they make it out of town.  If Emma thinks this is a good idea to get back at Mayor Bitch, she's crazier than she thinks August is.  I groaned when I saw her driving away.  This is going to blow up in her face so badly.

I think this episode was a little disappointing.  I wanted to see more of Mr. Gold getting August back for that crap he did last week, but he only seems to be teasing him more than anything.  August can frankly turn into a piece of wood right now and float away in a river.  He's just below David as my least favorite characters right now.  I think that Emma is going to be in a world of trouble if she manages to escape Storybrooke with Henry.  It disappoints me even more that she would resort to running instead of fighting at this point.  Something better get in her way as she tries to flee because I can't foresee her decision ending well for her or Henry.

I Knew I Liked Gold. And I Knew I Hated August

Once Upon A Time, S01E19

With Kathryn's return, Mary-Margaret was free, but she had no desire to get back with David.  Mr. Gold thought his long-lost son was August, but quickly realized he had been had.  August was revealed to be another person from the other world who was hoping that Emma's powers to change things might cure his illness.  Rumpelstiltskin's past with his son Baelfire was further explained, shedding light on certain things about Mr. Gold.  Emma thought that she would soon have evidence that the Mayor was behind Kathryn's disappearance, but Sidney confessed to it all.  Emma got tired of the Mayor playing around with others' lives for her own goals and told her that she was going to attack her by reclaiming Henry as her son.

I think one of the best things about MM being lifted of all her crimes is the party where she mentions that there were a lot of people celebrating her freedom, but just the other day it was like no one was her friend.  Man, true dat!  If it was me, the party would consist of me drinking and demanding that everyone apologize to me!  It was also good that she wouldn't even let David in.  I thought he might try to smooth things over, and I was worried that MM might try to take him back.  Thank God she is listening to the signs of the universe.  David's one of my least favorite people on the show.  I know that the Mayor is trying to keep them apart, but maybe with good reason this time.  David needs to do something so incredibly wonderful for MM that I can forget that he's failed her so many times.  Not sure what would be good enough.  Possibly if he made a time machine and went back and fixed his mistakes.  That might be a good place to start.

Emma didn't have a lot of screen time in this episode, but she had a great scene at the end with the Mayor.  I expected that Sidney wouldn't want to stop being Regina's bitch, but I still was pissed that he came into the station and played the role of the Mayor's scapegoat.  Good thing that Emma was just as pissed as me because she set Mayor Bitch straight and told her that things were no longer going to just go any way that she wanted from then on.  I loved when the Mayor tried to interject and Emma was like "uh-uh--I'm talking!"  Not quite sure how someone like Emma would get custody of Henry with her history and the Mayor's seemingly sparkling clean one.  Still, it would be nice if the Mayor started sweating a bit.

Speaking of making the Mayor sweat, Mr. Gold was on fire in this episode.  While the Mayor complained that he had broken their deal, he let her know that he had done everything that he had promised (which wasn't killing anyone).  She then wondered why he had brought her the curse in the first place if Gold was going to be her enemy.  Mr. Gold told her smart ass to figure it out for herself.  I hadn't thought about that issue either, so I started to wonder why he would want to go to Storybrooke in the first place.

We found out the answer after looking into Rump's past again.  I was worried that Baelfire would get killed for some reason, and that's why Rump is seen son-less later on.  But I guess that was a stupid concern because Rump turned a man into a snail and crushed him just for making Baelfire scrape his knee.  There's no way that he wouldn't have been able to use his magic to keep one measly son alive.  What happened was worse than him being killed--Rump basically abandoned him and lost faith in him.  He let his son fall into a mysterious, glowing hole in the ground by himself.  After he disappeared, Baelfire might as well have been dead at that point because who knows what would happen to him in the other world?  Especially as a boy with no parents and no knowledge of the workings of the new world?  Terrible.  At least, Rump realized his horrible mistake immediately after he had no son left to protect.  Too little, too late, though.

One of the interesting things about Baelfire's disappearance and Rump's obsession to get him back was when he spoke to the Blue Fairy.  She was the one that gave Baelfire the idea that he could get to the other world by using a curse since there were no more magic beans left to use.  The Blue Fairy told him that it would never work, but he tried to smack her (Ha!) and swore that he would get it to work.  Now it makes sense that he hates the nuns in the other world.  They're all fairies.  I hadn't thought about why he was such a nun-hating miser since that story about Grumpy, but I'm glad they explained that.  I'm surprised he hasn't evicted the nuns already (or worse).

Another interesting thing is that Rump has always been plotting for this.  He has never wanted to help the Queen, but just wanted to get to the other world so that he could be reunited with his son once again.  Obviously, it hasn't happened yet, but I bet that he needs Emma's power or something for his happy ending (assuming that Baelfire will forgive him) to come true.  As much of an unsavory character that Mr. Gold portrays himself to be, I felt for him when he was pouring his heart out to Archie and when he thought that he had found his son in August.  Who would have thought he would have a tearful hug with someone?  It was nice to see, but I was highly skeptical of August.

August didn't betray my mistrust of him.  What an asshole to pretend to be Gold's son!  Mr. Gold has never shown such a vulnerable side and this guy strolls into town and manages to get him to act like a human being.  I enjoyed Mr. Gold sharing a fake, but sweet moment, but no one could enjoy August toying with people's emotions like he did.  I don't care if he wanted to use Rump's powers to cure his illness--you don't do that to people!  Of course, Mr. Gold would have never agreed to help him in the first place no matter what he told him, but it still doesn't give him the right to use such a sneaky method.  I loved when Mr. Gold had the knife on him.  I really wish he had sliced his head off.  I'm so over August and his mysterious presence.  But Gold has something in mind for him before he kicks the bucket.  Not sure how he'll be useful to him, but we'll see in good time.  August may kick the bucket any soon, so we don't have to wait too long for him to die.  If Mr. Gold still did have his Rump powers, August would so have been a snail underneath his shoe.

So where is Baelfire?  Is he in town already but just doesn't realize Gold is his father?  No.  I doubt that.  The Storybrooke people are cursed and can't leave.  Baelfire could be anywhere in the world.  The world that Mr. Gold can't even get to if Emma doesn't break the curse.  I wonder if Emma is going to start believing in magic soon, so that she can actually make it happen.  Perhaps that's what Mr. Gold intends to use August for before he dies.  Maybe if the two work together, they may get Emma to become a believer.

Also, when is MM going to confront the Mayor about her grudge against her?  After the initial joy of being free wears off, she should definitely address that again.  She has to think that the Mayor is nuts and needs to be locked away.  Perhaps she'll just start helping Emma bring her down.  She doesn't have David to distract anymore (at least for a while, anyway).

Man, this show is so good!  I'm going to be super sad when the season ends!  There's just so much that I want to know and so little time to see all the stories before the summer.  It would be nice, though, to have Emma make some progress bringing down the Mayor.  If that and nothing else is achieved, I can be a little more content to wait until next fall.

Snow And Her Big Mouth

Once Upon A Time, S01E18

We finally got to learn what horrible thing Snow did to the Queen to make her the romance-hating, scheming monster that she has become.  Turns out that before she became the Queen, Regina was just an innocent lady who wanted to marry her stable boy of a boyfriend against her magic-wielding, social-climbing mother's wishes.  This all might have happened if it weren't for little Snow believing that Regina's mother would understand her daughter's wish for happiness and blabbing about their secret love.  Instead, Regina's mother killed him, Regina had to marry Snow's father, and Regina began to hold the longest grudge in history (OK, maybe not, but get over it, lady!).  In Storybrooke, Emma tried to find evidence that would help incriminate the Mayor, but her plan fell flat.  MM tried to show her innocence to the DA, but only dug her hole a little deeper.  We also learned that framing MM was Mr. Gold's idea all along, but we can't be certain that his plan is truly to help the Queen or not.

I loved Regina's back story.  It was a little hard adjusting myself to a kinder, hopeful Regina, especially when they kept cutting back to Storybrooke where she was still being a witch.  But it was nice to have a scene where the biggest witch around wasn't Regina, but her mother, in fact.  No wonder the Queen became who she was.  She didn't think more of her daughter than a device to become royalty.  Regina really never had a chance at a happy life (unless she grew up wanting to be an evil queen).

Regina picked a really stupid love.  I mean, he thought they could escape from her mother??  True love would just conquer all??  His naivety guaranteed me that he would be dead before the episode was done.  I just wasn't sure how, of course, but he seemed to be screaming "I'll be crumpled to the ground lifeless soon!"

When little Snow came into the picture, we had one piece of the puzzle.  At first I didn't see how her being indebted to Regina for her life was going to destroy their love affair, which was good because I didn't want it to be too obvious.  It was clear as soon as the King came and proposed to Regina, though.  You didn't need to be a genius to know that Snow would rat out about Regina being in love with someone else.

I couldn't blame a little girl for believing that the evil mother was worried about Regina (considering Snow thought losing a mother was the worst thing in the world), but I have to admit that little Snow wasn't the most pleasant girl I've seen on TV.  I could  easily see how someone could hate her, the way she was complaining about Regina not wanting to be her mother.  True, she was too young to understand about adult relationships, but I still didn't like her selfish attitude at first.  Then she didn't take too much responsibility for breaking her promise.  As long as she got a mother in the end and Regina wasn't mad (guess Snow wasn't advanced enough to realize anger when it's staring her red-eyed in the face), Snow was happy and didn't have to really apologize. It's not a hatred to justify ruining everyone's happiness that you possibly can, but I think it makes me understand why she wouldn't so simply forgive Snow and let her slide just for being a child.

In Storybrooke, MM was found to be crying in her cell and the Mayor was so confident that she had won that she told MM her true delight in seeing her suffer.  MM, who has no idea what things her she's done in the other world, apologized anyway, but the Mayor told her nothing.  Wow.  At least if you're going to rub in your victory, don't leave MM in the dark.  What a crazy (but funny) thing to do.  I felt bad for MM even more so because she's in the dark, but being punished anyway.

Someone I didn't feel bad for was Emma, who was thinking she was going to get the jump on the Mayor with the whole shovel thing.  I can't believe she thought for even a minute that when she came back to find the shovel that it would be there.  The Mayor ain't playing around--of course, it would be gone!  Granted, her office being bugged was a great factor in the Mayor quickly covering her tracks, but I still think the same thing would have happened anyway somehow.  If Emma really wanted to get her, she should haven't gone through the proper legal courses.  Good job, Emma.  Lucky for you that Kathryn had shown up at the end.  Guess MM might have a chance after all, even with Emma's failure.

More than what's happened to Kathryn (I actually don't even care at this point), I wonder what Gold's angle is.  I would have never guessed that making Kathryn disappear was all his idea so that the Mayor would feel inclined to help his battery charges disappear.  He surely can't be that worried about going to jail (he has to have enough money to buy his way out of those charges)--he's gotta be setting her up. If he's not, I'm gonna be mad at him.  She's his rival.  Unless the whole plan is to make himself trustworthy enough to stab her in the back later.  And maybe even Kathryn coming back is all part of his plan.  I don't know how he would be able to do it, but it would be great if everyone was just a puppet in his play.  Why not?  I'm tired of everything having the Mayor behind it.  I'd like everyone to be playing in Mr. Gold's hand for a change (not that he hasn't done that a few times already).

Great episode.  I gained a little sympathy for Mayor Bitch (she's hardly excused), and one of the mysteries of the show has been answered.  MM's still not out of hot water yet, but it doesn't look like she'll be definitely heading to death row any time soon.  Really hope that Mr. Gold is the mastermind I inspire him to be, and he establishes himself as the Mayor's rival as he's supposed to be.

MM Needs That Memory Wipe Potion For David

Once Upon A Time, S01E16

Last Sunday, we returned to the story about Snow and Charming after Snow had taken the potion to make her forget her love.   I had forgotten for a moment about that story since we had taken a little detour with the other stories, but I see how they tie in a little to that story seeing as Grumpy and Red are friends of Snow that help her, but we didn't know much about them before.  While the love story between Charming and Snow is gaining momentum, it's a different story in Storybrooke where I'm wondering what it's going to take for MM to send David to the curb for real.  If I thought I didn't like David before, I had no idea how much I'd wish that it had been his heart in that box and not Kathyrn's (as much as I didn't care for her).

I'll start off with the story in the other world.  It was great to see Snow almost act like a stereotypical Disney-esq princess, complete with blue bird to sing with, until she started attacking it with a broom.  That was really unexpected.  I like her transformation from a sweet girl into an angry back-talking bitch.  Better than her attacking the bird was when she attacked all her dwarf friends during Jiminy Cricket's intervention.  I forget which of them complained that she broke his mug, but her response to that ("you're lucky it's not that mug you call a face"--damn) was so funny!  The only thing that lame intervention achieved besides laughter from me was Snow's determination to get deadly revenge against the Queen.

Overlooking that the Queen deserves to be killed, I like a version of Snow White where Snow is not just hiding all the time while taking care of little men in a house.  Why not have her take the preemptive strike and take care of the Queen herself before that witch tries to poison her with an apple??  I mean, the Queen did kill her father and drive her out of her home.  I say go get that bitch!  

However, Grumpy (who might need to be renamed "All Up In Others' Business") stops her reign of terror against unsuspecting knights in the woods and takes her to Rumpelstiltskin.  Oh, yeah, Ol' Rumple will be sure to cure her.  Not only can he not do anything to change her back to her old self, the goblin gives her a bow and arrow and a map so that she can murder the Queen while she's traveling.  Sweet.  He doesn't ask for anything because he is "invested in her future."  Um, I wonder if Snow would be more curious to know the details of that if she wasn't so blinded by her revenge.

It gets even better when Rumple has another guest later.  Charming nearly takes off his head to get information about Snow's wheareabouts.  Rumple gives him the information upon the condition that he give him his cloak.  Before he had taken a string of Snow's hair, so it was safe to assume that he wanted Charming's hair too.  Why, this wasn't clear until later he put the two hairs together and seemed to have created the potion for true love.  Huh.  What the hell is going to do with that?  He surely isn't going to use it on himself since he already booted his love out of his life and out of hers ultimately.  The thing that was really good about Charming showing up wasn't the mystery of Rumple collecting hairs, it was the sort of scolding he gave Charming for hurting Snow in the first place and forcing her to drink the potion.  As underhanded as the little man is (he's pretty short), he's damn right.  You can't blame Rumple too much for Snow wanting  end her pain over losing Charming.

It was pretty hilarious that Charming thought that he could simply just grab Snow and kiss her without even making her remember him and think that would break the spell.  I wouldn't have expected anything less of Snow when she punched him out.  However, it didn't really take very much (if you consider a serious wound nothing) for Charming to win her over.  He simply had to jump in the way of her arrow aimed at the Queen and declare that he would die for her.  Snow stupidly asks, "You would die for me?"  The man had a freaking arrow sticking out of his arm.  If he had leaped in a different way that damn arrow could have easily pierced an organ that would have killed him.  Come on now, Snow.  I also find it funny that they were having a makeout session after their true love kiss broke the spell (I was little more happy to see them reconnect than I had thought) while that arrow was still sticking out of him.  I wondered when the hell his wound was going to be important enough to take care of.

I didn't get to find this out since King George's men showed up (I thought they were the Queen's men at first) and took Charming away.  But I liked that it turned the tables and now Snow has to go save him.  Of course, now that she's not a bitch anymore, her dwarf friends are more than happy to help her out.  Thank goodness.  Snow is pretty brave, but I doubt she could do it on her own.

Now back to Storybrooke where MM is sinking deeper and deeper into the case of Kathryn's disappearance.  Through some questioning by Emma, which is observed by Mayor Bitch, we find out that the box with the heart in it is MM's jewelry box.  That's just too convenient for it not to be a setup.  And how dare the mayor suggest that the dark place she was sent to when the old sheriff humiliated her was the same as MM and David's situation.  Lady, please!  She further urged Emma to accept MM was a killer by saying such heartbreak and betrayal can make someone do unspeakable things.  Yeah, you would know, Mayor Bitch--you crushed a man's heart and killed him because he dumped you!  Ridiculous.  She was basically on a role of pointing the fingers at herself for setting up MM; she later tells Emma that MM had to have taken the jewelry box out to the bridge herself because there were no signs of a break-in.  Bitch, we all know you have a key to every damn thing in the whole town.

However, Emma had no idea about this and her investigation of their apartment only ended up revealing another item that could incriminate MM.  I just now realized that the mayor intentionally brought up the idea of a break-in to Emma so that she would purposely find that knife in the heating vent!  I can't believe I didn't notice that before.  That bitch is slick.  Thankfully, Henry steals Mayor Bitch's many keys and finds that one of them can indeed open their apartment.  I'm just worried that she'll notice the keys are missing before Henry can put them back, letting her know that Emma is on to her.

One of my favorite scenes in the Storybrooke world is when Mr. Gold appears out of nowhere to offer his lawyer services to MM.  Well, he is the devil, but with him handling her case, MM should get off with little problem.  The only problem will be her having to pay off the debt she owes to him.  However, I'm pretty sure that Mr. Gold is only concerned with knocking the Queen off her throne and establishing himself as the dominant power.  So perhaps he will be true to his word about only being "invested in her future."  If they have to have both him and his fairy tale counterpart say that, it's gotta be important.

You would think MM went through enough with all the evidence piling up against her and having to take help from the most suspicious and crooked man in town, but David came to the "rescue."  He thought he could help her by finding evidence of his own guilt in Kathyrn's death (which slightly redeemed him in my eyes a moment) by clearing up some of the blackouts he had recently.  Instead of being helpful, he only remembers a bit from his life as Charming when Snow declares she will kill the Queen.  He doesn't even take much time to consider if the memory is real or not and visits MM, not with hope, but with an obvious accusation that she murdered Kathryn.  David, are you really in love with MM or are you finding pleasure in betraying her at every opportunity?  For real.  What the hell??  MM has really gone beyond what any sane woman would for someone like him, defending his innocence, while he can't even manage to have a fraction of reciprocal faith.  You asshole!  You could have at least pretended you found out you were the killer and protected her!  Why not just take the blame when it's all your damn fault anyway??  Snow may have not needed that potion Rumple gave her, but MM sure as hell does.  I hope something happens that she hits her head or something and his face is wiped clean from her brain.

I'm worried, though, about MM flying off the handle now that David has seemed to give up on her.  Emma sure hasn't, but I feel like MM wasn't honest that she had faith in her, not just because she used that key she found to escape from her cell.  That key looks an awful lot like one of Mayor Bitch's, so I hope it's not another setup to show that she's fleeing out of guilt of her crime.  I wonder how Emma will react when she finds out that MM is gone?

In the next episode, I hope things will be a little better for MM even though it's not looking good for her at all.  David sure as hell better get his ass kicked or something of equal unpleasantness to punish him for his lack of faith.  I don't feel great about Emma aligning herself with Mr. Gold either, but at least it's better than her facing Mayor Bitch on her own.  She might have a chance to get that whore before she gets MM in line to be executed or something.  Also, since MM is free from the jail she best be out to get the mayor like Snow was out to get the Queen.  MM is way past due to take a vacation from her sweet and loving personality and be a vengeful warrior taking numbers as she kicks ass.

Grannie Says Wear Yo Hood!

Once Upon A Time, S01E15

This week we got a little look into Red Riding Hood's past, aka Ruby from the diner.  I had been curious as to how Red and Snow knew each other.  The one thing I hadn't been curious about was her red hood.  It only began to be curious when her grandmother told us that the red in the hood kept wolves away.  That struck me as odd because through some kind of education (ha) about wolves, I was under the impression that red attracted wolves.  At least it did if were talking about Grimm and that very first episode.  Red's Grannie just seemed suspicious all around, but I wasn't entirely sure if she was hiding the fact that she was the wolf or not.

Thanks to the encouragement of Snow, who goes by the name "Mary" to protect herself, Red decides that she needs to go out and kill the wolf so she would be free to travel around with her love Peter.  It wasn't quite the idea that Snow had in mind, but these two fearless girls go ahead and track down a wolf that killed about five men and spilled enough blood that the well water was red.  Even though Red thinks they'll be safe since the wolf will be sleeping in the daytime, I just imagined they were going to get all those flowy cloaks they were wearing torn to shreds and painted with blood.  Instead, they think that Peter is the wolf.  It totally reminded me of that Red Riding Hood movie that came out not too long ago.  In that movie, Red's love interest was looking like the most likely candidate for the wolf too.

Red was really fearless, though.  Not only did she go wolf hunting on her own, but she also decided to stay by Peter's side if he did indeed turned into the wolf that night.  Unfortunately, she turned out to be the wolf, and Peter had no defense against her while he was chained up.  Oops.  Grannie had neglected to tell Red about the family history and the magical powers of her hood.  Lady, did you really think just yelling at your granddaughter all the time to "wear your hood!" was the best way to ensure that she stopped changing into a wolf?  She could have come up with a better lie, if she was going to lie at all.  After she killed someone, it probably would have been a good time to stop protecting her and let her know what the hell was going on with her body.  Wear your hood, indeed.

Now, back in Storybrooke, I was a little disappointed that Ruby's story didn't parallel as well.  I mean, she did try to ditch Grannie and live her own life, but there was nothing that reflected that wolf side she had in the other world.  Actually, before they showed that Red was the wolf, I kept thinking that the wolf might be that doctor, just because he was in the episode randomly (and this is no random in this show).  Perhaps they have already told us who he was in the other world, but I don't remember.  Anyway, I wanted some kind of call to her wolf nature besides that she seems to have good hearing (she found David really quickly) and instincts (finding that box with the heart in it).

I was also disappointed that Red went back to the diner.  Finding that heart was too much for her to handle.  Well, dang.  I thought it would be cool if Emma had a partner of some sorts.  Someone who could have her back when Mayor Bitch appears to tell Emma she's doing a shitty job (Lady, will you shut the hell up??).  I guess that would mess with the flow of the show?

I'm confused why David was wandering through the forest in a trance.  He was kinda doing that sort of thing when he didn't have his memories, but this is almost as if someone drugged him (maybe it was that doctor or the Mayor herself).  Still, I wish that MM didn't care about him so much and just would leave him to get arrested on his own.  Even though with MM's prints on the box in question, it looks like she will be sitting in jail instead.  Are you kidding me??  You're telling me that MM has to get into more shit again because of David.  Yes, I will still blame him even if that box was planted by the Mayor.  If David hadn't been such an asshole before, they wouldn't have set Kathryn up to disappear in the first place.

But let's be real--a heart in a box?  That has the Mayor written all over it.  Let us not forget when she took the old Sheriff's (how I miss him!) heart out of her collection and crushed it.  I mean, it's practically her hobby.  There's no other explanation.

And speaking of Mayor Bitch.  God, how I wish Emma would have slapped her, at least, when she barged into the hospital accusing Emma left and right about things.  And of course, she got in another "Hey, you haven't done your job yet and found Kathryn."  Listen, Lady, you want your "friend" back so badly, you find her!  Emma is only one woman in a town that doesn't have the best sources in the country, I'm sure.

I think I still liked last week's episode better because I can't be that invested in what might happen to David and MM.  I mean, I want MM to be okay, and I'm not sure how Emma will be able to work around the evidence, but this story at its heart is about David and MM being together, and I don't want to see that.  I don't want David to come to her rescue, nor for them to bond over one of them going to jail or worse.  No!  Just let David disappear or something!  Like he needs to go for a while, so I can care about him again (if ever).  On another note, looking forward to whose backstory they do next time.  It's amazing that they can make these episodes interesting even for those who are simply background characters (at least at this point).

Rumpelstiltskin Is Kinda A Bad-Ass

Really depending on whose backstory they are going to reveal on Once Upon A Time, this show is a hit or miss each time.  This week we got to learn more about Rumpelstiltskin.  I like him more as Mr. Gold than his former self, but that's not saying much.  I just think he's a necessary character, but not one I'm particularly enthralled to see on the screen.  I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed last night's episode.

Rumpel (gonna shorten his name) strikes another deal with some desperate people.  I soon found out that this tale was not the Rumpelstiltskin tale that we know, but rather a new take on Beauty and the Beast where Rumpel is the beast.  What?  It took me a bit of time to get over that.  It also took me a while to get used to having to look at Rumpel's ugly face while he and Belle built up a romance.  That was kinda gross to me, but we got to see his softer side, despite he was a conniving monster.

Back in Storybrook, Mr. Gold's house is robbed after a disgruntled businessman loses his truck to him.  Emma finds the majority of his stolen goods, but Mr. Gold is still missing the most important item, so he takes matters into his own hands.  I love the scene where he is in the drug store or whatever and is buying rope and duct tape.  I knew that there could be no other use than to abduct someone.  Sure enough, he has the ex-florist tied up in the repo-ed van.  LOL.  But this isn't even the best part.  He takes the man back to a secluded cabin of some sorts and starts beating the man with his cane.  This is the first time we see Mr. Gold so openly violent.  He was always seen from the shadows, manipulating people with a smile on his face.  This week's Mr. Gold was kicking ass and taking numbers.  Wonderful.  Emma shows up before he murders the guy, and they take him away in an ambulance.  I kept yelling that Mr. Gold needed to be arrested but Emma was just asking him about what was so important that he had to resort to assault and kidnapping.  He refuses to tell Emma, so then she finally decides to arrest him.  Yes!  Not only does she finally show a little power, but Mr. Gold doesn't get to do whatever the hell he wants without consequences.

Later, Emma is tempting Mr. Gold with a sandwich.  How I loved this scene!  She says that he could get half if he used the favor she owed him, but Mr. Gold ominously tells her that the price of that favor is going to be well over a cheap sandwich.  Ooo...  Unfortunately Mayor Bitch comes and interrupts this wonderful alone time between them.  Damn her.  Emma takes Henry for a little bit, while the two chat.  It turns out that the Mayor told the businessman to go after Mr. Gold and steal his most valued item.  He wants it back, obviously, but the Mayor's price is that he tell her his "real name."  So, Mr. Gold does know who he was in the other world!  He tells her he is indeed Rumpel and the Mayor reveals she is the Queen.  Now that that's out of the way, they both come clean that they will fight each other for the most powerful position.  Oh, snap!  Rumple-Queen throwdown!  I'm rooting for Mr. Gold now.  I've become a fan through this episode.

Going back to the other world story, it all turns out badly, thanks to the Queen.  She tells Belle how to break Rumpel's curse, but Rumpel isn't happy about becoming a real man again.  Instead, he becomes furious and accuses Belle of scheming to destroy him through the Queen's order.  Aww.  The stupid thing is that he refused to believe that anyone could love him, but they both saw that when Belle and he kissed, the spell upon him was starting to weaken.  So he was basically being a paranoid moron.  Well, we knew that things couldn't end well for Rumpel.  He's a lost cause.  To make matters worse, after Rumpel throws Belle out, Belle ends up throwing herself from a tower and dying.  Damn, did we need all that?

However, it is revealed that in Storybrook, Belle's counterpart is being held in a mental facility that no one knows about, save for the Mayor.  Damn her and her need to keep everyone apart from their loves!  Lady, are you seriously going to spend an eternity making everyone else's lives miserable?  Can't wait for Emma to take that bitch down.

Two funny things in the episode I failed to comment about.  Gaston comes to Rumpel's castle and is promptly turned into a rose with a snap of Rumpel's fingers.  That was great!  And Belle was none the wiser.  That incident did end up sealing Belle's fate when she returned to her village, but at the time, I loved it.  The second thing was when Mr. Gold was in jail and Emma takes Henry for ice cream.  He refused her sandwich, but he was like "Bring me back a cone?"  He's pretty damn funny.  He may not be much to look at, but he's got a nice sense of humor.

I was bothered by the fact that Belle sounded Australian.  Maybe it's my imagination.  Mr. Gold sounds like he's Scottish or whatever, and I've overlooked that.  It just seems weird to me.

Well, now I have a favorite character on this show.  I can't wait to see Mr. Gold cause more trouble in the future.  And he best bring that damn Queen to her knees.  I'm glad that this show is picking up again.  I had been noticing a bit of lag, so it's great that they've made things even more interesting.