Review/Recap of Once Upon A Time Episode 6.02 - "A Bitter Draught" SPOILERS!
Before we start, this is necessary -
Once takes on The Count of Monte Cristo... kind of.
As with any new story that Once brings to Storybrooke, it's typically a mish-mash of what was in the original, but with Rumple/The Evil Queen/Zelena/Hades/Villainous-Flavor-Of-The-Week mucking things up.
It's like - yeah, these are characters from the Land of Untold Stories, but even bringing them into Storybrooke... their stories don't get told very well.
(Aside - Might I highly recommend you either read The Count of Monte Cristo or, at the very least, watch the movie version with Jim Caviezel, which is what the clip above is from.)
I gotta admit - I thought it was kind of a missed-opportunity to throw away the Count like that. Making him a pawn between Rumple and Evil Queen - it's kind of annoying. The character is so much cooler and more complex than just some punk who gets tossed around between two irredeemable blights on humanity having a pissing contest. Throw in a token nod to Snow and Charming's kindness(tm) and... it seems a shame.
Also - we never found out what the Edmund's deal was with Charlotte. I thought that she was probably supposed to be his daughter (which was a shift from the original story), but I guess we'll never find out.
What I did like about this episode were some of the small moments. Moments like Belle finally admitting that Rumple's never going to change. Hook asking Belle's forgiveness for the awful things he'd done to her over the years - and Belle actually accepting his remorse (quite fitting for an episode featuring the Count of Monte Cristo).
Though... he flirting between the Evil Queen and Rumple/Mr. Gold was just... weird. Tell me I'm not the only one who thinks so.
In other news - THANK YOU for not dragging out this whole "Regina's the Evil Queen," like I thought they were going to for a while. With Snow and Charming misunderstanding Edmund's revelation that the Evil Queen had his heart, I thought they were going to lead some ridiculous crusade against Regina, while the Evil Queen rages in secret. THAT would have been annoying.
Poor Communication Kills, people.
Other things I liked:
- Emma: "Errol Flynn is not backing down." Oh, Emma's snark - how I've missed you.
- Why hasn't Hook had a movie marathon with Emma and Henry?
- Granny's joke about Monte Cristo sandwiches.
- Zelena not ratting out the Evil Queen... but then maybe having second thoughts about her alliance with her "sister"? I'm still on the fence on how I feel about them bringing back Evil!Regina... but it's not really Regina. However, putting Zelena in the middle of it might make it palatable, at the very least.
Pro-tip, guys: Evil!Regina's quip about "The Lesser of Two Evils" was stupid. I know it's an election year and that's the theme of the moment, but as far as puns go - it wasn't your best effort.
All in all, a middling episode. Not earth-shattering - I still feel like there's stuff missing. But a fairly decent entry into the canon. Just wish there'd been... more.
Here's the promo for next time -
Huh. Cinderella on the prowl. I'm intrigued. (Points for the look of the Stepmother. That's actually really impressive!)
But... why are they teasing the Aladdin entry for later? Do they not have enough confidence in the next episode that it'll keep people's attention? They have to say "WAIT! DON'T LEAVE! That thing we kept telling you coming IS actually coming! WE PROMISE!!!"
Guys, seriously - chill out. If I had totally given up on this show, I wouldn't even be watching it, let alone blogging about it. Sheesh... get a grip.
Before we start, this is necessary -
Once takes on The Count of Monte Cristo... kind of.
As with any new story that Once brings to Storybrooke, it's typically a mish-mash of what was in the original, but with Rumple/The Evil Queen/Zelena/Hades/Villainous-Flavor-Of-The-Week mucking things up.
It's like - yeah, these are characters from the Land of Untold Stories, but even bringing them into Storybrooke... their stories don't get told very well.
(Aside - Might I highly recommend you either read The Count of Monte Cristo or, at the very least, watch the movie version with Jim Caviezel, which is what the clip above is from.)
I gotta admit - I thought it was kind of a missed-opportunity to throw away the Count like that. Making him a pawn between Rumple and Evil Queen - it's kind of annoying. The character is so much cooler and more complex than just some punk who gets tossed around between two irredeemable blights on humanity having a pissing contest. Throw in a token nod to Snow and Charming's kindness(tm) and... it seems a shame.
Also - we never found out what the Edmund's deal was with Charlotte. I thought that she was probably supposed to be his daughter (which was a shift from the original story), but I guess we'll never find out.
What I did like about this episode were some of the small moments. Moments like Belle finally admitting that Rumple's never going to change. Hook asking Belle's forgiveness for the awful things he'd done to her over the years - and Belle actually accepting his remorse (quite fitting for an episode featuring the Count of Monte Cristo).
Though... he flirting between the Evil Queen and Rumple/Mr. Gold was just... weird. Tell me I'm not the only one who thinks so.
In other news - THANK YOU for not dragging out this whole "Regina's the Evil Queen," like I thought they were going to for a while. With Snow and Charming misunderstanding Edmund's revelation that the Evil Queen had his heart, I thought they were going to lead some ridiculous crusade against Regina, while the Evil Queen rages in secret. THAT would have been annoying.
Poor Communication Kills, people.
Other things I liked:
- Emma: "Errol Flynn is not backing down." Oh, Emma's snark - how I've missed you.
- Why hasn't Hook had a movie marathon with Emma and Henry?
- Granny's joke about Monte Cristo sandwiches.
- Zelena not ratting out the Evil Queen... but then maybe having second thoughts about her alliance with her "sister"? I'm still on the fence on how I feel about them bringing back Evil!Regina... but it's not really Regina. However, putting Zelena in the middle of it might make it palatable, at the very least.
Pro-tip, guys: Evil!Regina's quip about "The Lesser of Two Evils" was stupid. I know it's an election year and that's the theme of the moment, but as far as puns go - it wasn't your best effort.
All in all, a middling episode. Not earth-shattering - I still feel like there's stuff missing. But a fairly decent entry into the canon. Just wish there'd been... more.
Here's the promo for next time -
Huh. Cinderella on the prowl. I'm intrigued. (Points for the look of the Stepmother. That's actually really impressive!)
But... why are they teasing the Aladdin entry for later? Do they not have enough confidence in the next episode that it'll keep people's attention? They have to say "WAIT! DON'T LEAVE! That thing we kept telling you coming IS actually coming! WE PROMISE!!!"
Guys, seriously - chill out. If I had totally given up on this show, I wouldn't even be watching it, let alone blogging about it. Sheesh... get a grip.
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