Is Staying Good Good For Snow?

Once Upon A Time, S02E15

Snow discovered Regina and Kora's plan, and she and David rushed to find Rumpelstiltskin's dagger first.  In the past, Snow tried to find a way to save her ill mother and fought the urge to use dark magic to achieve that.  In New York, Rumpelstiltskin asked Emma to convince Neal to come to Storybrooke with them and tried to endure Henry's anger.  They had to make hurried plans back to Storybrooke when Hook unexpectedly showed up and attacked Rumpelstiltskin.

I thought maybe Regina and Kora so openly talking about their plan to get control of Rumpelstiltskin was incredibly foolish until I realized they must have wanted their plan revealed in order to have Snow and David lead them right to it.  I mean, they shouldn't be doing anything supsicious in town, at least not together if they can help it.  I don't know why else they would risk being overheard when there's no guarantee that no one would see them out in the open like that.  I'd just like to believe that they are sneakier than they look, rather than careless.

I don't know if it was the best idea for Snow to confront Regina about the truth and appeal to her distrust of her mother.  If anything, it seemed to convince Regina to continue with her mother's plan rather than bother to win over the townspeople who would probably take a hundred years to honestly forgive her crimes.  I mean, Regina did seem a little doubtful of her mother's intentions when she heard that there was a beef between Snow's mother and her own, but so far it doesn't look like Snow's words really reached Regina at all.  I'm sure there will come a time where Snow will prove to be right (I totally agree that Kora would kill Henry in a second if he got in her way), but I think Regina will have to see her mother betray her first before she realizes that.

It was horrible that we got to see someone who played a mother-like figure for Snow get killed so easily during that dagger exchange.  I sort of wanted Snow to hold onto the dagger and let Johanna go, even if that would be cruel to an innocent woman.  The things that Regina and Kora could do with Rump in their power would be far worse than one old woman dying.  But Snow being the Snow who wouldn't even execute Regina, handed over the dagger in the end.  And her reward for doing the "right" thing was that Johanna got her heart back only to be pushed out of the window to her death.  Kora is not playing around!  She seems much more frightening now that it's clear that she has an axe to grind with Snow as well.

In the past, I didn't care too much about the Queen's illness as much as I did the meeting between Snow and the "Blue Fairy."  Even though I knew that Snow's mother died, I felt a little afraid she was going to sacrifice someone's life with that candle and it would turn out not to work at all (letting two people die).  Instead, Snow followed her mother's wish to stay good and stayed away from black magic.  It was a surprise to find out the whole thing was just a plot by Kora to get Snow to go to the dark side.  It was a little disturbing to see Kora hovering over the Queen's dead body, gloating about how she was going to corrupt Snow one day.  What in the world did Snow's mom do to Kora?  Did she just hate her because Kora was a miller's daughter and Snow's mother happened to be royalty?  There's got to be more to that story than that.

I feel a bit disappointed that Snow is deciding to stray from the path of good and dip her toe into the dark side.  Sure, I'm all for killing Kora--that bitch needs to die--but I'd hate to see Kora win by tainting Snow and getting revenge on her mother as well.  Charming tried (and I'm sure will keep trying) to tell her about this, but Snow rationalized that all of her seemingly good choices had led to bad endings.  I can't argue with her there, but almost all of that was due to someone else wanting to do her harm.  You can't beat evil with evil--it doesn't work that way.  I really hope once Emma comes back she might be able to convince her mother that being a cold-blooded murderer isn't the best decision.

Speaking of Emma, I hate that she has to put up with Henry's attitude.  I really wanted to punch him in his face when he talked about how the pizza didn't lie to him.  Shut the hell up, Henry!  How is Emma supposed to make up for her lies when Henry keeps throwing it in her face?  I'm starting to wish that Rump would kill Henry for whatever reason he needs to.

I really liked, though, when Henry asked Rump if he should call him "Grandpa" now.  Rump casually told him to call him whatever he liked.  It's funny that Rump doesn't really seem to care all that much that Henry is related to him now.  I mean, he's not thrilled or anything.  I think he likes better that Emma is sort of connected to him and he can get her to help with Bae a little bit by using Henry.  Can't blame him for that.  His son barely wants anything to do with him, so he's got to use whatever method he can.

The biggest surprise in this episode was when Hook attacked Rump seemingly out of nowhere!  One moment he was in Storybrooke reclaiming his hook, and the next he was stabbing Rump through the chest.  That was crazy!  Later, they explained that he used he boat to travel so quickly, but it still feels like he teleported or something.  I was just so shocked that Hook showed up that I couldn't pay attention to the mortal wound that Rump had been given.  I felt like he was going to be okay (even though he was poisoned) because he was well enough to yell at Henry to stay away and blame him for everything.

I can't believe that Neal once lived in Neverland.  That's the only explanation of how he knows Hook and isn't much older than he should be.  If they reveal he's freaking Peter Pan too, I'm going to be pissed.  That's too much for one character to be.  Come on.  But at least it allows Neal to be able to navigate a boat that could get them back to Storybrooke quickly (although how the hell will they find the boat?).  I'm about ready for them to get back and have them deal with this dagger business.

Speaking of that dagger, which Rump had hidden in a pretty clever place, I guess it wasn't the best idea for him to entrust the location to Emma and the others.  Snow and Charming had that thing for like two minutes before it was in the hands of enemies.  But I guess Rump can't really worry about that at the moment.  He could be dead before he even reaches Storybrooke, so having power over him would be moot.

Neal's fiancee...  Well, I saw that coming.  I hate that I sort of feel bad for Emma, despite that she and Neal are through at this point.  But I think that Rump is right in that she sort of hoped that they might work things out.  I don't know if I want them to right now.  I'm still a fan of Emma and Graham.  I know he's dead, but he was still my favorite for her so far.

In the next episode, I'm most looking forward to Emma and company coming back to Storybrooke with a still alive Rumpelstiltskin.  Fans would riot if he died, so I know he'll make it, but brushing that close to death might have a bigger effect on him than expected.  Of course, once they do return, it'll become clearer whether Kora is playing Regina for a fool or really sticking to her word.  Either way, Rump will get controlled and Snow and Charming's family will be in danger.  I doubt that the new Snow "Black" will be able to do any better in protecting her family, but we'll see how her new attitude will play out against Kora and Regina.  I guess after failing to save Johanna, Snow should at least be better motivated not to let one more person die she loves and perhaps release a little more whoop-ass on her enemies.

Regina Repeats History

Once Upon A Time, S02E02

Storybrooke began to panic when they found out they would lose memory of themselves if they left and were concerned about what the Queen would do to them with her power back.  The Queen got her mother's book of magic from Rumpelstiltskin so that she could use magic to return Henry to her side.  Her past with magic was also revealed.  Charming tried to lead the townspeople while using some magic from Rumpelstiltskin to find someone who might know how to use the hat that sent Emma and Snow away.

One thing that is interesting to me is how I've sort of forgotten about Charming being David ever since he started acting like his former self. I mean, it's like David totally disappeared, but at the end when he was making a grand speech about the townspeople being both their magic and non-magical self, I sort of remembered him again.  I could see everyone else accepting their other self, but not him--David was a mess.  But I suppose if he embraces the bad parts of himself, he can try harder not to let himself ever be that sort of person again.

Charming is pretty restless, though.  I mean, I know that the town has gone through an emergency situation, but they could go look to someone else for answers.  He was running around like a chicken without a head trying to chase down Hatter and calm the people down so they wouldn't riot or run out of town to their doom.  So it was no surprise that Red sort of made him choose priorities and focus on the most foremost problem.  I don't think it's quite fair that he as to take care of that, but I guess a prince has to overlook his own wishes for the greater good of his people.  And if he hadn't, everyone was just going to run out of town (are they idiots??), and he'd be alone with probably only the most unreliable people left (like Rump).

Charming probably will be okay even though Hatter ran away from him because no one's really leaving town, and Storybrooke's not that big.  So eventually, he'll run into him again and can question him about getting his magical hat to work again.  Unless things just never settle down again.

Onto the Queen.  I was rather interested in her whole thing with that book of magic.  It once belonged to her mother who had gotten it from Rump.  Apparently, Rump has had his eye on Regina for the longest time and was the one who taught her about magic in the first place.  He even mentioned they were back where they belonged--together.  What does all that mean?  Regina eventually became his rival, so I don't know if Rump planned for her to be more useful to him in the future and she turned out to be an enemy, but it's very curious.

It's also curious how history repeats itself.  Regina's mother used magic to trap Regina when she was younger and Regina fought to not use magic in an attempt to not be her mother.  Similarly, when Regina used magic to take Henry back and keep him in their house, Henry wanted nothing to do with her magic in an attempt to not be Regina.  I'm certain that Regina, although giving Henry back to his grandfather (don't you love it when Henry calls Charming "Gramps," by the way?), isn't done using magic to force people and things to her will.  If she was, she might have burned that book of magic from Rump.  That's a good sign that she's just waiting until someone threatens her enough that she needs to take out her bag of tricks again.  And I can't blame her because those townspeople would have totally killed her by now if it wasn't for Henry.

On another story, I wonder why Rump is so angered by the fact that they can't leave Storybrooke?  I know he wanted the curse broken eventually, but why does it surprise and irritate him so that the curse isn't entirely gone?  I thought he was the one controlling everything, so something must have gone wrong.  Maybe he wanted to leave to look for his son?  After all, his son was sent to the real world somewhere outside of Storybrooke.

Emma and Snow seemed to be screwed since Mulan is treating them as hostile and they've ran into Regina's mother.  That can only mean something even worse is going to happen to them.  I don't know why no one has no idea about who Snow is yet.  I thought she was famous enough that the entire magic world would know her.  But perhaps not.  Still, I can't wait until someone does recognize her and she can tell them about what's been going down in Storybrooke (though I doubt anyone will really believe her).

Lots of things going on, as usual in this show, so it's hard to really comment about everything little thing (which I wish I could do).  I'm just loving watching this show again and still find that it is the thing that I look forward to most in the week.  Really interested to know what will be revealed and resolved next time.

The Wraith

Once Upon A Time, S02E01

Although Emma, Snow, and Charming took a small group of friends to stop the rest of the town from killing Queen Regina, Rumpelstiltskin marked the Queen as a target for a wraith.  Emma and the others tried to honor Henry's wishes to keep her alive.  In the other world, Prince Phillip woke up Princess Aurora, but he was marked by a wraith and had to keep it from harming his princess and her friend Mulan.

It was nice to see everyone embracing each other after a whole season of being in the dark about their identities, but it didn't last for long because the town soon stormed Regina's "castle."  As much as Mayor Bitch was annoying, I wasn't ready to see her go for some reason, so I was glad that Henry respected her right to life.  I didn't think the town mob would be so easily swayed by Charming and Snow, but I guess that those people are used to listening to them (as if they were the supreme rulers of the other world).  My favorite part of that scene was when Regina coolly opened her door as if it were another day and asked "Can I help you?"  That, plus the time when she made a motion to subdue them with her failing magic, was pretty funny.

Rump was pretty funny, too, in this episode, getting to both confront the Queen about locking away Belle for all those years and setting off a wraith upon her despite telling Belle that he wouldn't kill her.  It's just funny that he explained that he hadn't lied to her because technically if the Queen died, the wraith would have done it, not him.  He's so bad.  But the best scene he had was when Emma and her parents came to complain about double-crossing them and question what the purple haze was.  I just loved when Emma, still angry that Rump had put Henry in danger threatened Rump:

Maybe I don't need answers.  Maybe I just need to punch you in the face.

That was quite a good line from Emma.  Of course, Rump tried to play himself off as a hero since he still made everything happen that she wanted:  Henry was saved, the curse was broken, and her parents were found.  Points for Rump for being able to spin the truth like that.  He is a master.  No surprise, though, that Belle heard his conversation and couldn't take him acting like the scum of the earth.  He was lucky that she came back in the end to save him from becoming a full-blown monster again (not sure if Rump can really change his ways).

In the other world, we were introduced to Prince Phillip, Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), and Mulan.  Mulan threw me for a loop because that was the last person I'd expect to pop up.  She just seemed so random, but whatever.  I couldn't understand why we were watching their story, nor why a wraith suddenly popped up to attack them until practically the end.  Apparently some parts of the magic world hadn't been destroyed by the curse and were frozen in time until Emma had broken it.  I don't care much for the death of Phillip (as his role was short-lived), but I wonder what Mulan and Aurora will do with Snow and Emma.  That part left me quite interested for the next episode.

I'm concerned about what Regina will do with her powers back--she already tried to kill Charming.  The thing I most wonder about is who was the man at the beginning of the episode.  I thought he was Phillip, but that can't be.  I just hope he's not someone stupid.

I waited for this premiere and I wasn't much disappointed!  Things are moving a little slower than I'd like, but I think they are off to a good start.  It'll be interesting to see Emma adapt to a magic world, and it'll be interesting to see how Charming and Henry get along together.  With Regina's magic back and Rump with his own, which of them will cause the most trouble in town while Emma and Snow are gone?  Can't wait for next week!

The Mastermind, Mr. Gold

Once Upon A Time, S01E22

Emma finally believed in magic once Henry was in a coma after eating the poisoned turnover.  She confronted the Queen about her actions and asked her to fix the situation, but Regina couldn't do anything without magic.  The two went to Mr. Gold for help, who gave Emma a sword and told her where to find the last bit of magic snuck into the Storybrooke world.  The magic was in an egg, which was hidden in the belly of a dragon held in secret underground  location by the Queen.  Emma managed to reduce the beast to ash and get the egg, but Mr. Gold tricked her into handing the egg over to him.  Emma and the Queen didn't have the time to take it back from him because the hospital called with news about Henry.  When it looked like Henry was dead, Emma gave him a kiss that cured him and removed the curse.  All around town, everyone remembered their original lives.  However, Gold used the last bit of magic in a well that can bring back lost things.  We also saw the story of how Charming saved Snow from her own poison apple and how they were engaged.

As much as I wanted Emma to believe in Henry, I was just a little disappointed in the way that she realized that the stories were true and who the Mayor really was.  It just seemed so simple that she would hold the fairy tale book once again and only at that moment would the truth be revealed to her.  Then again, August did say that Emma was only seeing what she wanted to see, so I guess if she had even the faintest desire to want to see past the illusion of the curse, that was when she would come to her "senses."  I got over this disappointment when Emma took the Mayor into a closet and was throwing her around.  It was funny and it was nice to see that after all the crap that the Mayor had pulled.  Most of all, it was nice to see the Mayor defeated by her own game and Emma the one calling the shots.  Of course, since Emma is new to the game, she had no idea what to do to help Henry (since the Queen was useless then), but I knew that Mr. Gold would be able to help.

You gotta love how Gold was putting the Queen in the corner when Emma went to him for help.  He basically told her to shut up and let Emma handle everything.  Made me laugh.  Gold wasn't surprised that Emma had realized the curse was real and already had her father's sword prepared for her to take.  This man really was just sitting around until things just fell into place for him.  It doesn't surprise me at all that he managed to hoard some magic into their current world, but it did surprise me that it was in a dragon that existed in both worlds.

The scene where Charming puts the egg into the dragon and Emma is trying to retrieve it were so similar that I got irritated that they kept switching back and forth.  I like when the stories from both worlds blend, but this was too much.  What was good about those scenes was seeing Kristin Bauer as Maleficent again.  She doesn't have much of a role on this show, but I think she plays a witch quite well.  It's too bad she had to be a dragon in both worlds.  How is it that she remained a beast in the other world as well?  I suppose that everyone was reborn in the way that the Queen saw fit and that was how she chose to keep her.  Still, Gold must have really been scheming well to know that the Queen would bring her to Storybrooke in that form so that he would have a way to get his egg back.

Unlike her father, Emma was not an impressive dragon slayer (not that he was there to kill it).  She thought it would be a better idea to shoot at the dragon before she used the sword that Gold (someone who freaking knows how the magic world works) gave her to use.  But I'll give Emma a break because it's not common knowledge on how one should defeat a dragon.  I wasn't too impressed that one random throw of the sword landed in the dragon's belly and destroyed it.  Emma basically ran around for a little bit and threw the sword one time and won.  I wanted her to work a little more for it.  It was supposed to be the cure for Henry's condition anyway.

I loved that Mr. Gold so easily stole the egg from Emma and had the Queen tied up.  Everything he does is so simple, yet it is very smart.  I mean, he didn't have to hide the egg himself in the magic world, nor did he have to do the work to get it back in the other world.  The Queen was a fool not to buddy up with Gold better; he's the one with the smarts to make everything move according to his own wishes.

Since a kiss worked on Snow before, it was not too surprising that Henry came back to life from Emma's kiss.  I expected more of a big reaction from the townspeople as they regained their memories and less of Regina's easy retreat back to her empty mansion.  I would have at least loved to see someone throw some old fruit at her for all the crap she's done!  But the biggest fireworks from the curse being lifted were Snow and Charming embracing each other in the middle of the street.  I wish that it moved me as much as it should.  I was still unable to forget about Charming as David, the weasel.  But I'm sure that Snow has no intentions of ever holding that against him.  At least "David" as we know it is gone.  I will miss, MM, though.

I think I was more moved by Belle finding Gold and their reunion.  It was even sweeter when Belle realized who she was and they both said that they loved each other.  Of course, that moment was diminished by the fact that Rump seemed to be bringing back magic to their world for nefarious reasons.  There was something very sinister about that purple smoke rolling over the town.  It looked more like a new curse than Rump simply bringing back magic to their lives.  However, it must have been just that because the Queen looked upon the fog with satisfaction.  Nothing good can come out of her having her powers back.

I wonder what will happen to Jefferson after he arranged for Belle to escape and sent word to Gold that the Queen was behind her being locked up (and seeming to be dead)?  The curse has been lifted, so he should go back to being with his daughter, but surely the Queen won't let him get away.  He also seemed to have something to do with Henry taking a turn for the worst before Emma saved him.  I hate that he needed to get at Henry to punish the Queen, but he is a little obligated after the way she used him as she did.

Lastly, I just wanted to say that I expected a little more emotion when Charming awoke Snow from her kiss.  Snow woke up so casually, and Charming just as casually responded to her being alive again.  Neither of them knew that would happen!  Why weren't they more shocked??  And Charming should have shown a little more joy and appreciation, rather than be almost cocky about curing her curse.  Maybe it was just me, but I was bothered by that scene.

I wish that the season finale was twice as long because they were just starting to get into some new drama!  We knew that Henry would be saved, but it took nearly the whole episode to see him cured.  I wanted to know more about Rump's ultimate plan and what he has in store now that the curse is lifted.  He has Belle back at his side, but he surely doesn't look like a man who is going to kick back and enjoy his happily ever after.  There was little shown of everyone's reactions to their memories being returned, and I desperately wanted to see what they thought about how they had conducted their lives for the last 28 years.  And of course, I wanted to see the Queen pay more for her crimes beyond losing Henry.  I simply can't wait to see what Gold has up his sleeve and what the Queen will do to try to regain her position on top.  It was a good finale, but they left me wanting for a lot more!

Damnit, That Is A Scary-Ass Robot!

Family Guy, S10E16

This episode was mostly about Peter and Chris going to a fat camp where some of the boys were strangled to death by a mysterious killer, but the Stewie and Brian sidestory was the stronger of the two for me.  Although, unlike most episodes lately, I thought this one was funny overall.  And best of all, the end sort of tied the two stories together.  I don't mind if these kinds of stories run parallel to each other without intersecting, but I like them better when the writers think of a way they can connect in some way.

I didn't expect Peter to make Chris enter the hot dog contest (nor for him to win--I mean, they didn't really train or anything), but I guess a story with Chris in it was overdue.  The best thing is that they addressed that Peter was just as overweight as his son, and he joined Chris at the fat camp for teenagers.  But did anyone else notice that Barry from American Dad was there too?  I asked my sister if that was him, and she just thought it was my imagination, but if you listen to the voice, it's the same guy.

I don't know how I felt about Patrick coming back.  Since this wasn't the first time I have ever watched this show, I knew it couldn't be that easy that he was the killer they were looking for.  It was funny that when Peter was suggesting Patrick might be the killer, he mentioned his role in some musicals, and they showed how bad he was at patter singing (which I didn't know what that style was called--I always learn things from this show).  Even though the murders had nothing to do with Patrick, he disappears at the end for some reason.  Did he run off to kill more fat guys?  Will he show up in another episode?  Hopefully his next appearance will more exciting than last Sunday's.

I didn't have a clue who the killer was until they noticed that the kids getting killed looked like Chris.  I guess I totally forgot about Yamamoto, the only person it could be.  Glad it wasn't someone random, but not someone so obvious that they were practically yelling it (like him leaving hotdogs behind each time he killed--that would have been cheesy).

Now, about Stewie's very rational fear of the Queen album cover.  Oh, my God!  That is one freaky robot!!  I'm not a fan of Queen, so it was the first time I was seeing it too.  I'm sure if that album was laying around somewhere, I would turn it over so I wouldn't have to look at it.  This made the fact that Stewie nearly crapping his diaper each time Brian brought it out even funnier because I understood his fear.  Apparently, Seth MacFarlane had been disturbed by this robot back in the day (according to his twitter).  I can't believe how far Brian went to scare Stewie, though.  I never thought he would manage to get the image inside of the lotto ticket.  Man, those writers are clever.  The jack-in-the-box one was a little more predictable because there was no way those writers were going to do what you expected (thus the lotto ticket) and have the scary thing inside of the box.  That would be too easy.  Overall, I thought Brian did an excellent job of screwing around with Stewie.

I even thought it was funny that Stewie was almost going to kill himself because he was so afraid of that robot coming to get him.  Luckily, Brian stopped him before we had to see baby brains on the walls and gets Stewie to realize that it's just some art, not some kind of message of the future.  Finally, things came full circle when Stewie was able to use the album cover to give Yamamoto a heart attack and save Chris.  However, I didn't like how the actual robot gave Stewie a thumbs up.  Eww--that thing is so unsettling!  But I applaud Family Guy for recognizing this and exaggerating it in a humorous way.

Oh, yeah.  I almost forgot about my favorite cutaway.  Peter was talking about understanding scary teens.  At first it looks like he might reveal that scary teens just want love, but once the boy shows his vulnerable side, Peter beats the crap out of him.  Whatever I might say about this show, it is genius in throwing out violence when I least expect it.

This might be my favorite episode yet this season.  Although, I can't remember all of the others, so I might have to contradict myself later if I take the time to look at the older ones.

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.