#aang was a plot device
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urm. How do you watch the series and say he didn’t play an active part. I am baffled. How was he not as involved for 60+ episodes as the rest of his friends? He is always fighting with them. And that is a very tunnel visioned perspective to say it wasn’t ‘practical’ for him. He accepted to sacrifice one of the most sacred values of his people. It’s a huge thing. You know, the whole genocide and wiped out culture and everything which might be pretty important. 🤷🏾♀️
Narratively speaking, Aang's only purpose was to move the plot forward. His major contributions (such as they were) were either failures (like DoBS ) or the result of some more powerful beings' intervention (Like La, the Lionturtle and the Rock of Destiny, and the past Avatars). Other people put in the actual work of discovery (Sokka), self-improvement (Zuko) or heroically putting themselves on the line for the greater good (Katara). If you remove Aang from the story, you don't lose the over all plot. While the Avatar is an important feature in the plot, Aang himself does very little to effect the story. He's a McGuffin, not a protagonist. He could really be replaced by a good boat and a half-way reliable map without changing the story much. Or get rid of him and keep Appa.
As for the Air Nomads, their loss is an in universe tragedy, but it hardly ever comes into play in the actual story. I know the loss of the Air Nomads is tragic because the story sometimes tells me it is and I have real world, historical context for what that tragedy means. The story itself doesn't really make it personal, though. It's something that happened and it was bad, but Aang seems mostly fine with it, so why should I be emotionally invested? It doesn't really motivate Aang to end the war. It doesn't make him more sensitive to the injustices happening around him. He barely brings up their loss even when it would be poignant or a way for him to empathize with the people around him (like in TSR). His grief over their loss is hardly touched on at all unless it's convenient to the plot of an episode. At most, he throws in some out of context quotes from them as if they're supposed to mean something to the people around him. He was more affected by the temporary loss of Appa than by the death of his culture.
Compare that to how the loss of her mother motivates Katara. Kya's death is an indelible mark on Katara and it's an unbroken thread in her character development. Once you understand how Kya's death impacted Katara, her entire character makes sense. Kya's death is the lense through which Katara views her power; it's how she connects with people; it's the reason why she is so driven to help when it's within her power. Frankly, Katara was the real protagonist of the show, not Aang.
#atla#anti aang#katara#master katara#katara deserved better#aang was a plot device#katara was the hero of the story#but for real ALL the other characters were more necessary to the story than aang#that's what happens when you hobble your character's growth
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Princess Yue - Netflix Edition
Yue's character concept is so cool, but in the animated series, like Suki, she was a cool concept that really just became a plot device rather than a full character.
The live-action fleshes her out as a young woman put in a position of authority over a tribe not just as a princess, but as someone with a part of the moon spirit within her, so she chooses to use that to be a spiritual leader of her people as well. She shares how she serves them, not just as a bride to be married off like in the animated series, but as someone who helps make desserts and councils them on spiritual matters. Yue has stuff going on outside getting married to Hahn and it makes her feel like a real person rather than a plot device. She has likes and hobbies and struggles like a whole character - ya know, stuff she can also talk to Sokka about to create a connection rather than just…thinking he's cute, I guess?
I love the additions the live-action gave her due to her having a part of the moon spirit within her! Being able to pop over into the Spirit Realm in her dreams was a wonderful touch and having her meet Sokka there added to their connection - she saw him as he was, not as someone trying to impress a princess. It also makes total sense that she's a waterbender - she has a piece of the moon spirit in her, the first waterbender - why would she not also have that ability? It was a great way also, to show subtly in the finale that her giving her life back to the moon would bring back waterbending as she bends even when the moon is 'gone'.
Her and Sokka's relationship, though still rushed, feels a lot more organic and understandable in the live-action. They bond over being in positions of authority and sometimes wishing they could just be 'regular people' so they both understand at least partially what the other is going through. It's beautiful that Yue falls for Sokka not because of his battle prowess or status as the warrior of his village, but because of his heart - his first words when she meets him are of concern for his friends.
In the battle, Yue takes an active role with Sokka - not to fight, but to help get people to safety - showing that there are many ways to help during a crisis other than being a master in combat. She shows Sokka the hidden oasis not to stand by while Aang meditates, but to heal someone who'd been hurt - even if that someone was 'just a pet'.
Finally, I love giving her the agency to realize that she is the one who can bring back the moon spirit. In the animated series, Iroh is the one who prompts her, but in the live-action, she comes to that conclusion herself. It's just her and Sokka in the end and she makes her sacrifice.
I couldn't tell you what animated Yue enjoys doing, what she values in a person, or what she did in service to her people. But I could tell you all those things and more about the live-action Yue. Even though she's only in 2 episodes, she's a full person and you know exactly how her loss will affect her people: the Grans will miss the princess coming in to the kitchens and helping with dessert, the people will miss getting advice from her, but hopefully, a silver fox will still be able to roam the Spirit Realm.
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Why the endgame couples in A:TLA weren’t necessary: a frustrated ramble
Listen I’m a Zutara shipper through and through (developed after my second rewatch in 2013) but by Tui Agni and La am I glad that it never happened in canon?? Like Kataang and Maiko themselves already felt so rushed and almost out-of-nowhere and their canonisation added like nothing to the plot. Aang’s crush on Katara is a plot device; Zuko’s relationship with Mai at the start of S3 is a plot device. I can barely fathom how Zutara would’ve turned out and I also kinda don’t want to. Imagine Zuko and Katara kissing at the end of the series: it feels completely out of left field, doesn’t it? Knowing that who-ends-up-with-who was an argument in the writer’s room for almost all three seasons means that it could’ve happened.
It shouldn’t have. I don’t think the Kataang kiss or the Maiko romance-reunion should’ve happened either. It’s unnecessary to add—there’s just no need for it, and my nagging here isn’t because I like Zutara and I don’t like how Maiko and Kataang turned out. It’s because the ships and couples and whatever the fuck else are NOT, and should not, be the point of A:TLA—and the ‘couple gets together in the very last scene and all is well :)’ shot suggests that it is.
A:TLA, to me, tried to show the horrifying nature of war and all its victims: the harrowing poverty, the deep-rooted trauma, the bloody violence. I interpreted the most prominent message of A:TLA to be that what was happening during those 100 years is wrong, that war is wrong—it affects the humanity within people, affects what point we offer empathy and kindness, because horrific trauma and needless violence muddies it all up. Why would you hold out a hand for someone who would’ve murdered you if they had the chance? Why would you physically support someone who hurt you and those you care about deeply? Those of the other nations can barely scrounge up empathy for someone from the Fire Nation, because those of the Fire Nation present themselves as inhuman. Those of the Fire Nation can barely scrounge up empathy for someone from any of the other nations, because the Fire Nation presents them as inhuman. And A:TLA shows that all these people are human, good and bad and all of that in between, because that’s just what humanity is. Varied and morally grey.
THAT’S what the GAang learns. That’s what the people around them learn. It’s what Iroh, a war criminal in his own right, tries to teach every child and teen who he interacts with: not in a preachy way, but in a vague way that implies he’d rather have them figure it out themselves lest they interpret his direct teachings wrong. He got indoctrinated into this terrorising, imperialist regime from the day he was born and onwards and it took a personal loss — the death of his son during a siege Iroh himself was leading, a siege in which Iroh and Lu Ten were the aggressors — for him to start thinking that maybe it’s all wrong. Maybe what he was taught is wrong. And he doesn’t want these children to take as long as he did.
The GAang and their (teenage) enemies and small antagonists have all been touched by war, almost to the point of no return. None of the need for violence, the calm in the face of battle and death, the willingness to sacrifice innocents for a sliver of retribution, the extensive knowledge of How To Fight A Battle And Win—none these qualities that these children (!!) may or may not portray are ‘normal’ teenage behaviours. They simply have to have them, or they die or freeze. Their childhoods were stopped in their tracks early because of experiences no child should ever experience. Such is the reality of war. And yet, in spite of the hurt and harm, the GAang is still capable of kindness and empathy. That’s what it’s about.
To end the series with explicit romance — Sokka/Suki doesn’t count, their relationship is not as in-your-face as The Scenes — just feels wrong. Maybe with another season of development it could’ve worked far better (and less unexpected, especially since the previous one-on-one Kataang interaction was Katara getting cross with Aang for kissing her when she was confused; and the previous one-on-one Maiko interaction was Zuko locking Mai in a cell/out of the way and then leaving without looking back). But with the three seasons that we got, it feels odd that the romance is highlighted at the end—especially when Zuko was miserable with Mai (with her being the human representation of ‘close your eyes and pretend everything’s fine’), and there ALSO was a perfectly good ending scene with the GAang bickering right there. Right before the ending kiss.
Why end it like that, when the series isn’t about romance, but about familial and platonic love and love for humanity instead? Why not just hint towards getting (back) together? What’s the point of these confirmations other than ‘the hero gets the girl’ in both instances?
#atla critical#avatar: the last airbender#kataang critical#maiko critical#anti kataang#anti maiko#just to be safe#they should’ve been developed way more imo#they just felt rushed idk what to say#the gaang#atla#LOVE zutara. am endlessly glad it isn’t canon#atla meta#i suppose??#long post
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How come people complain more about Aang not teaching Kya or Bumi about Air Culture than they do about how Katara didn’t teach Tenzin or Bumi about Water Culture?
I’m not denying that it was wrong for Aang to do that and Kya’s + Bumi’s feelings were valid. But Both Katara and Aang did the same crime. Katara wasn’t forced to do/not do anything, She made her own decisions. Plus The practice of only focusing on one culture had continued years after Aang died.
well, for starters: katara didn't take kya on solo vacations while leaving her other children at home with her husband. katara didn't forget to mention that she has non-waterbending children to the rest of the southern water tribe. bumi didn't feel the need to apologize to katara for not being a waterbender. tenzin and bumi didn't hold resentment towards katara well into their fifties.
i think that's a pretty clear indication of why people might complain more about aang's canonical treatment of his non-airbending children than katara's supposed neglect of her non-waterbending kids.
besides, how can we assume that katara didn't teach tenzin or bumi about water tribe culture? maybe she did. maybe she tried, at the very least. but that's the real issue: we don't know. we aren't told. and that's why it's impossible to say that katara and aang committed the same crime, because there is a stark disparity in how much information we are given regarding their respective relationships with their kids: we know something about aang's dynamic with his kids, flawed and dysfunctional as it may be, but we know next to nothing at all (at least within lok) about the intricacies of katara's relationship with her children. they visit, she loves them, they love her... and that's it. that's pretty much all we get.
and that comes back to the heart of the problem with the kat.aang relationship: katara always comes secondary to a.ang. katara exists in the legend of korra as the arbiter of aang's legacy, not her own. tenzin and bumi display no connection to their water tribe heritage not because katara doesn't care, but because the narrative doesn't. exploring the mixed heritage of the kat.aang kids with equal attention paid to both their parents' cultures would require an active investment in katara's character, and that's not something the story of lok is interested in. she's a NPC, an exposition machine, a plot device, nostalgia bait... but certainly not a character with agency and autonomy of her own. the kat.aang kids' swt ancestry is made irrelevant within lok largely because katara herself is.
but if you're looking for a watsonian explanation for why katara might not have taught tenzin and bumi about her - and their - heritage, all you have to do is look at a.ang's own treatment of water tribe culture within atla to find a far more disturbing answer. though likely unintended, there are some very troubling implications there, and the characterization of the kat.aang family within lok only worsens them.
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The qrts on this are literally people getting mad and going "WOW way to MISS THE POINT" which, I agree with! But this is the same studio that made the opla, and this is the exact same thing they did to Luffy, by making Luffy care more about finding the grand line map than wanting adventure and a crew!
Tomorrow Studios is literally incapable of having a free flowing plot without an in your face exposition device. You can shorten down a story without removing natural elements of narrative or character. Both Luffy AND Aang's main personality of character is loving the adventure and the freedom of their lives. This studio is taking both of these go-with-the-flow characters and stripping them of their personality because... they're easier to write when they're put in a box, I guess?
I'm not sure why anyone is surprised at this point when Tomorrow Studios keeps doing this, but I suppose that's the difference when you use the original creator's name as a safety net for one and not the other!
Edit: my bad Tomorrow Studios is not actually making this one it's being developed by Rideback. Got my wires crossed due to the Netflix workers overlap. Either way, nice to see Netflix seems to be the rooted problem here, as it tends to be 😭
#sorry for that it's just the backlash for this is insane when??? THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO ONE PIECE#but because Oda's name was attached to it and they marketed it like CRAZY people ate it up#I'm BEGGING everyone to realise Tomorrow Studios does NOT care about the art of adaptation they ONLY care about taking successful products#and cashing in on it#melon speaks#oplatalks#i love atla so hearing they were also adapting atla made my tear my hair out LMAO#like they genuinely do not care about the original property and especially not animation to me#or if they do?? they're sure really bad at trying to adapt it!
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Random thought about Korra’s responsibility ending the Avatar cycle.
IT WASN’T HER FAULT. She was a teenager that was manipulated by a family member who was also a world leader and was also apart of a secret terrorist group that she trusted not to lead her astray. He used her to start a civil war and open the spirit portals so HE could release 10,000 years of darkness on the world. Once Korra realized her role in the plan she tried to correct the actions that led to the conflict that Unalaq had planned probably for years. We saw how conniving he was when he convinced his father-The Chief of the Northern Water Tribe- to exile Tonraq for treason.
Let’s also not forget that Unalaq and Vaatu tried to kill Korra by crushing her in the ground and that they literally ripped Raava from Korra’s body THROUGH HER MOUTH (which was probably excruciatingly painful) and beat Raava within an inch of her life while Korra could do nothing except watch because the avatar spirit was forcibly removed from her.
Korra didn’t end the Avatar cycle. Unavaatu did. And even though when I first watched Book 2 I disliked it as much as everyone else, I guess I just realized today why it grinds my gears. (Also I appreciate book 2 more than I did when it first aired)
Saying it’s Korra’s fault that the avatar cycle ended is vicious victim blaming especially when you consider that only months before this fight she tried to end her life because Amon took her bending.
All of Korra’s villains stole pieces of her identity and essence which is why no matter how cool conceptually her villains are, I will never say I like them or support them. The emotional scars they all left Korra broke her. So for anyone to say that it was her fault is not only wrong, it’s cruel.
Especially since Korra *DID* blame herself for every perceived failure she had including the ending of the avatar cycle.
Losing the Avatar cycle wasn’t shown in a positive light. It was grieved and situated as a plot device to start over because just like in real life, sometimes we lose everything and have to move forward with whatever pieces we have and forge our own way.
The fandom is so ridiculous about Korra and the reasons they don’t like her. Especially since the main reason people don’t like her is because she isn’t Aang.
#legend of korra commentary#lok#korra#avatar cycle#unalaq#vaatu#raava#victim blaming#cptsd recovery#legend of korra#mental health#manipulation#wlw#queer characters
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A Yue Stan's Thoughts on Yue's Character in NATLA
As much as I appreciated what NATLA was trying to do and think it is worth a rewatch, can I just say as an unapolagetic Yue stan that they completely ruined her, and Yukka by extension.
And say whatever you want about her scenes leading up to the sacrifice (which did make me cry, I'll admit, her speech about living was actually a nice addition), but it was actually this line that left me absolutely seething and in my opinion proves that the writers completely misunderstood what made the sacrifice so powerful:
I actually had to pause the television and collect myself after this one because holy fuck is this the stupidest thing I've ever heard. The entire point in the animated show was that she didn't get to make her own choices before this point. She didn't get to choose who to marry, she didn't get to choose her role in society, she didn't get to choose basically anything about her life besides maybe how to style her hair or something. Yue was a character who was extremely dutiful, but also extremely boxed in by her duty. It was both her greatest strength and her greatest weakness, a parody of itself, just as her mere existence was a parody: while she was saved by the moon spirit as a child and allowed to live on, it was that very reason that she eventually gave up her life. And the very fact that she was given these choices in the first place in the LA seriously undermined the idea of her sacrifice. Yue was told her entire life what to do, and although she did manage to find a bit of freedom through her brief romance with Sokka, ultimately, she still didn't get to publicly be with him or reject Hahn or anything similar. Her sacrifice was what she saw as her duty, yes, but her sacrifice for her people was also a way of standing up for herself and finally resolving to make her own choices. In that moment, she not only saved her people, but she finally made a decision for herself instead of doing something someone else told her to, even going against Sokka's wishes to do what she thought was necessary. So in the LA, with her having a place of influence in her community, with her being able to call off her engagement, with her being told that she could one day be chief, to that stupid fucking line implying that she was in no way ever repressed and free to make her own decisions the entire time, removing all of her character growth and any character significance to her actions, it was all basically pointless. It made Yue into a plot device for Sokka to bond with and to move the Aang-and-Kuruk plotline forward. In the animated series, Yue was not a plot device, and she was extremely well written, whereas in NATLA, her character fell completely flat. She talks about responsibility and pressure in her first scene with Sokka, but other than that, she has no depth. In other words, she has no depth besides her relationship to him.
Anyway, I hope we can all agree that her characterization and a lot of the decisions made in the last two episodes of NATLA were nothing but a pile of bulshit. From Iroh killing Zhao to Yukka having zero chemistry to Katara just magically becoming a master to Zuko being shelved to the plotline about Aang not feeling like he belonged having absolutely no buildup beyond a throwaway line in the second episode to everything about Yue I spelled out above, I would go as far to call it just plain bad. Again, I'm glad it got renewed, and I'll be the first to say a lot of other episodes get unnecessary hate, as well as that we are working with slightly different characters (especially Azula) in this version than the first, but I was really disappointed with seeing Yue in LA for a second time.
#natla#yue#yue meta#yukka#avatar the last airbender#anti natla#sokka#arnook#natla episode 7#natla episode 8#consider this part of my natla debrief series#which wont be continued at all#emmie babbles
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I Only Sink Deeper the Deeper I Sink
Read now on Ao3 at
https://ift.tt/l2vaXkP
by AccioPav
One year after the end of the war, a celebration is held in Caldera City to mark the first full year of peace. As a way to continue this peace, Fire Lord Zuko invites each nation to send a representative to show the Fire Nation's dedication to a united world. As the son of a chief, Sokka jumps at the opportunity to spend time with his boyfriend and goes in his father's stead. Unbeknownst to them both, others seek to take advantage of this opportunity and Sokka soon finds himself caught up in a political plot against the Fire Lord. As Zuko attempts to balance his duties and secret relationship, old friends step in to help unravel the culprit behind Sokka's disappearance. Sokka, meanwhile, must also deal with conflicting feelings about his birth he once thought he was over.
Continuation of a one-shot retelling the Southern Raiders episode, set in an AU where Sokka and Katara are half-siblings, as Sokka's blood father is Yon Rha.
Words: 2398, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English
Series: Part 2 of This Is All Your Own Battle To Win
Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender (Cartoon 2005)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Categories: M/M, F/F
Characters: Sokka (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Yon Rha (Avatar), Original Male Character(s), Mai (Avatar), Suki (Avatar), Kyoshi Warriors (Avatar), Ty Lee (Avatar), Katara (Avatar), Aang (Avatar)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Mai & Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Suki (Avatar)
Additional Tags: Sokka-centric (Avatar), Fire Nation Sokka, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Protective Zuko (Avatar), Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Minor Violence, Swearing, Fire Nation Politics (Avatar), Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Featuring Sozin's homophobic laws as a minor plot device, Kidnapping, Established Relationship, Secret Relationship, Post-100 Year War (Avatar TV), Not Compliant with Avatar Comics
Read it on Ao3 at https://ift.tt/l2vaXkP
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personal opinion I don't think Zuko would have hired an assassin to go after the gaang. Zuko is all about honor. If Zuko wanted to kill someone he would go out and done it himself. If anything he would have hired someone to keep an eye on the gaang to pin their where abouts. And if their close by, gone off as the blue spirt and kill Aang/them himself. Though would he go through with it(no. Hell no.)? Actually that would have been more intriguing to see.
That’s a really good point, I never thought about the role honor would play but that makes a lot of sense. Even in Book 1, Zuko was never afraid to get his hands dirty.
From a writing standpoint, I can see why the writers put in that plot point. It a) provides an easy way to show Zuko’s fear and desperation (I personally thought the bedroom scene did a better job of that, but it is ultimately a kids show so they probably wanted something more obvious) and b) sets up a throwaway villain for the protagonists to deal with during the first half of Book 3 since Azula is no longer in that role.
As for being in character? It’s really hard to say. Book 3 honestly had pretty rushed writing and I think this arc wasn’t really given enough time to fit in with the rest of Zuko’s character. I do think he was extremely desperate and afraid when he did that and likely wouldn’t have been able to actually kill a child, but they didn’t really develop that much. The show ended up glossing over the whole thing which leads me to believe it was ultimately a plot device to give the heroes somebody to fight while Zuko and Azula were busy having family drama.
Again I know this is a kids show so dialogue/character interactions can’t drive things as much as a show for an older audience, but personally I would have liked to see more interactions between Zuko and Ozai during Book 3. I think that would have been much more effective at characterizing Zuko’s discomfort being in the Fire Nation and the fear he’s still feeling then.
Idk just my thoughts though 🤷♀️
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Review: Avatar: The Last Airbender Live Action
First, some context: I started watching A:TLA when book 2 was airing. Since then, I watched it at least 10 times. Half of it in German and half of it in English. The last time was in 2020. I know a lot of lines by heart—yes in both languages. Zuko was my fist teenage crush and Oncle Iroh’s quotes helped my through a lot of dark times in my life. I might be biased because I love the original series a lot. But I try to reason everything carefully.
The Good
I loved it visually! Bending looked so cool and never felt out of place or weird. All of the shown places could be recognized in a blink. It was beautiful to see this world adapted in a realistic way.
The casting was mostly done perfect. A lot of the characters looked a lot like I would have imagine them.
The Kiyoshi Warriors were really awesome. Especially Suki—even though she didn’t got a name at all?!
I loved the addition with the 41st devision. It gave Zuko‘s crew actually a reason the respect him and fitted to his character and backstory.
Zuko and Iroh give the same energy as in the original. Usually this wouldn’t be something to mention, since I would expect this from and adaption. But due to issues you can read further below, I have to mention it. Zuko and Iroh might be one of the few characters that never felt out of character. I’m happy we got those two true to original at least.
The Bad
Since there is so much, I structure it even further into story, production and costumes.
Story:
I didn’t liked any of the story changes. I don’t even understand why they had to tangle all the storylines. The original book 1 is 20 episodes each about 20-25 minutes—which results in 400-500 minutes in total. The live action had 8 episodes each about 45 minutes to an hour—let’s say about 400-450 minutes in total. So basically, they could have taken the timeline as is is. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t advocate for a 1:1 adaption here. I just don’t get why they saw the need to tangle storylines, pull in things from later seasons and leave out important scenes, places, character traits and even whole characters. Each and every story change felt out of place, out of character and over all pointless. Nothing added anything that made sense. Just like it was changed because they had to change something.
Aang didn’t even learn water bending!!! Like what is the whole season even about if the main character doesn’t have a real character arc? All he does is having guilt over disappearing for 100 years. Yes that’s also a thing he has to overcome. But it is just half of it. And he even doesn’t really get over it. He has none of his childish fun moments like he does in the original.
Why did Sokka have SOOO much screen time?!?! Sometimes it felt like he‘s the protagonist of the series. Especially with Aang not even learning water bending.
Momo in contrast had like 0 screen time. But than in the last episode when he became important as plot device Sokka was weirdly attached to him.
Katara being her own master made it pointless to actually go to the northern water tribe. Yes there was Aang's vision. But in the original the plot is not mainly driven by what the fire nation does, but by what team avatar needs to do. Like… Aang learning bending!!!
We didn’t get the epic intro we could have. It felt like they tried to make up for it in the first episode. But having three different versions of the epic lines and finally Gran Gran dropping the original ones was actually the worst. It felt forced and as if she would read them out.
Everything regarding Azula was sooo off for me. She felt like a completely different character with other motivations and struggles. I wish she would not have been so present in the first season.
Uncle Iroh drank not enough tea. Lol. This is maybe a personal one and I cannot reason it to be honest.
I‘m disappointed by the Lu Ten moment. Fist of all, why did it need to be in season one?! But also: It was a bonding moment for Zuko and Iroh. It didn’t payed any respect for Lu Ten in my opinion. And leaves from the wine was barely noticeable and didn’t make feel anything.
Katara never lost her necklace. Which I don’t mind. But it made a huge plot hole for the headhunter Zuko hired. They tried to cover it with randomly finding a piece of fabric. But how did they know this belonged to the Avatar? This change feels similar to the one with the water bending scroll. Important things just become meaningless.
Agni Kai was once mentioned but never explained. If I didn’t know what an Agni Kai is from the original series, this would probably be either the most missed or confusing thing.
Hei Bai was never healed!!! Yeah sure, Aang saved the villagers. But what about the forest and spirit?! And why was there no winter solstice? And in general why did everything in the spirit world was so all over the place?
The siege of the Nothern water tribe being a distraction for Omashu is stupid. It would take them way too long to hear about it. So they would not be able to send troops there by time and it would not weaken them in any way.
The world feels super flat and boring. Because they tangled so many story lines, they got rid of a lot of places. No fire nation prison in the earth kingdom, no nothern air temple, almost no villages. You never get a change to explore the world and learn about the ordinary people.
Production:
The directing felt bad. A lot of people say, the acting was bad. But I don’t agree. First of all, a lot of the cast were children. I think it is not fair to judge them so easily and hard. In my opinion the directing wasn’t good. And you could tell because even the older and more experienced actors were really stiff.
The dialogs were almost always awkward. This adds to the previous point and is another sign that the acting isn’t the problem. The lines were sometimes random, jokes felt forced and original lines never made the same impact as in the animated series.
Some of the CGI green screen backgrounds were awful. They reminded you that this is a show which really pulled me out of the immersion.
Costumes:
The costumes felt lifeless. They could have added so much details to the garments and accessories. But of all things they decided to stick to the original with the costume design?! I expected the outfits to be a lot more toned down in brightness too. That’s something you need in an animated series, but not in a live action. So much missed potential.
Why could they not cast old people for old characters? All of them looked so stale, emotionless and almost uncanny.
I was sooo disappointed by Yue! Maybe I’m biased here, because she was one of my favorite characters of book one. But somehow she was the only character that didn’t felt casted perfectly. And especially her hair was awful and looked like a cheap wig.
Conclusion
Overall, I‘m disappointed. Again, I didn’t expected a 1:1 adaptation. But I don’t see that the same care was put into it like it was for the original. I would have wanted to have something that creates similar emotions and an overall known feeling. But it doesn’t. It’s confusing, flat and carelessly made. I can definitely see why the original creators stepped back from it.
If you think about watching it, I would recommend you the original. Especially because it is not that much longer. So better invest your time wisely.
#avatar#atla#netflix avatar#avatar netflix#netflix atla#atla netflix#avatar the last airbender#animation#review
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So I've decided to write as I go and not after watching the episode. Here are the thoughts on episode 5 of NATLA. Honestly, I'm dreading the time whenever I to watch it for some reason? Lol.
• That could make a SOLID YTP moment. Soldier shoots fire and Katara falls off the cliff.
• So THAT'S why you shouldn't date female guards.
• At least we saw Katara comforting Aang a weee bit.
• TSAMINAMINA AY AY WAKKA WAKKA AY AY
• Him telling them his son's name sounded so dumb. Like that one scene in Oshi No Ko when that one guy in the hospital suddenly blurts out, "Hey, what if I died now and got reborn as an idol's child!!?" Forced plot device.
• Zamn ya'll weren't lying about Jee x Zuko tension. We didn't get the dilf atleast we can make do with toxic yaoi.
• Ozai favours Zuko for some reason... Okay I know it was a little bit of that in the original show in the pirates episode a wanted poster of Zuko called him "the heir to the throne". But Ozai... umm.. manipulated Azula? Also she was the representation of gifted kids. Trying hard to get validation from her dad but it goes to her sibling? That's just a tamer Zuko.
• Am I running low on sleep or did Aang's reply to "You sounded more confident before." make no fucking sense at all???
• Oh so Katara's in it too? .....okay.
• MILF MILF MILF MILF MILF
• I feel like we won't have Bato of the Water Tribe... WHY DO YOU NOT WANT AANG AND SOKKA TO DEVELOP THEIR FRIENDHIP??????
• WAN SHI TONG?????!!!!!!! WHERE'S OHM???? WHERE'S MAH CRANKY BABOOOON??
• This the fog of lost souls ain't it
• Okay das was sad. 😢
• Okay so I'm guessing this isn't Sokka's worst memory but his worst fear. Since he didn't age regress like Katara and Hakoda left before he could be of age.
• GORDON DON'T CRY I CRY TOO 😭😭😭
• Called it
• FINALLY someone tells Aang it's not his fault I'M FUCKING CRYING FINALLY!! 😭💔
• y u keep separating da gaang?
• Pretty solid episode. They made some changes. Though I can't make up my mind on whether it's good change or bad change. There wasn't much Zuko so it felt lackluster. (Since he's probably one of the only characters the writers wanna write.)
• I heard the next episode is a zukaang episode? So I'm excited for that.
#atla#avatar the last airbender#my post#natla#natla spoilers#aang#katara#sokka#zuko#iroh#june atla#jee#azula#ozai
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Episodes 5 and 6 formally introduce us to the spiritual side of Avatar. I admit, I'm surprised to see this here. It's the sort of thing that adaptations typically sweep under the rug.
Hei Bei is here and looking good. Bringing peace to the forest spirit is the ATLA plot that forms the basis for episode 5. But, as we've come to expect, the show has some other stuff it wants to slip into the remix. In this case, an unexpected appearance from the brand's most popular spirits, Wan Shi Tong and Koh the Face Stealer.
They even manage to rope the Mother of Faces in while they're at it; Appearing not in person, but in effigy.
And they name-drop the Fog of Lost Souls. These episodes are eager to let you know how much Avatar lore they know.
Despite Hei Bei providing the inciting incident of the episode, Koh more or less steals the show. In fact, he steals the entire plot. The opening of the episode features Aang going in search of the town's missing villagers and finding Hei Bei's destroyed shrine. It even makes a point to show us that the scars on Hei Bei's totem mirror scars on his body.
But once Koh enters the picture, Hei Bei drops out of the plot entirely. He's revealed to have been a complete red herring, as it's actually Koh menacing that town. The burnt shrine and scarred bear spirit are just. Like. An unrelated thing happening nearby, I guess.
...
Okay. Weirdass choice to make, making Hei Bei a glorified cameo in his own plot.
This abrupt shift in focus is super distracting and makes episode 5 feel like a nonsense festival.
Episode 6, however, makes wonderful artistic use of Koh as the framing device to set up a conversation about the faces we wear. As Aang races to save Katara and Sokka from the Face-Stealer, the show chooses now to adapt both the story of the Blue Spirit and to relay the story of Zuko and Ozai's Agni Kai.
This is a clever set of elements to juxtapose against one another and weave into a single narrative. Episode 5 is a mess for trying to juggle like half of the spiritual elements ever introduced in the franchise as a whole, but once it settles on Koh as its talking point, episode 6 makes great use of him to lend some philosophy to Zuko's journey.
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I’m not obsessively following Xiran on every social platform but I don’t remember them being a proshitter, and their anime they compared to their book is Yu Gi Oh. (Granted I never watched Yu Gi Oh, I only know there are cards in it and Blue eyes white dragon.) They compared their book to it because it has a similar battling system that Yu Gi Oh has, only with some chinese emperors and mythological creatures in it. If you know more about them being a proshipper then please enlighten me.
There's several sources, specifically called out by one Chinese user multiple times who reiterates that Xiran ships incest, and its specifically from a Chinese historical show. I think Xiran at one point decided to justify this by saying they're not "actually brothers" & that this is a Westerners' misunderstanding, but my mutual insisted that, no, that isn't the case & this is still incest. You can find those discussions here (its all from my reblogs of the original posts bc my mootie was deactivated by staff):
One
Two
Three
Four
The fourth link also talking about some iffy tweets Xiran was making about "fandom" & being purposely vague about it, but I believe the tweet/s have been deleted (curiously) so I don't have the screenshots for the original tweets themselves, but the screenshot of the discord messages talking about it show the link to the original tweets BEFORE they were deleted.
One anon also told me that they had followed Xiran & looked through their following list, & saw Xiran was mutuals woth multiple users who shipped batfam (so, incest). Of course that's just word of mouth, but I'm sure someone whos familiar with the Batman comics scene on Twitter would be able to sniff this out & confirm whether or not this was true, but I can't.
As I said, Xiran also compared something in their book to the anime "Darling in the Franxx', which sexualizes minors & has them pilot a mech in a way that looks like a sexual position, and this is what they compared it to in their book, which ALSO features a 2-person-pilot mech device (but this is also weird because how it's actually described in Xiran's book is more just like a normal piloting situation in a fighter jet cockpit with one person ahead of the other, but sitting in the same chair & hugging).
Xiran also talks about their disappointment with said anime but not for the sexualization and fanservice of teenager characters in it (in fact they praise it for this) or the handling of the themes with said needless sexualization, but just that the plot didn't go in the direction they wanted it to. I know Xiran also made a sex joke about Aang & Katara from ATLA in one of their videos, who are 12 & 14 respectively.
Xiran also apparently hangs out with Lindsay Ell/is who, as we know, is a racist white feminist, who made a slavery joke about Harriet Tubman, and also hangs out with racist proshitter Jenny Nichol/son & famed antisemite Contrapoint/s.
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RIP Wingman Aang and what could have been
Another incidental casualty of the terrible ATLA canon relationships: The Zutara fandom understandably reckons with the KA relationship by regularly making it one-sided in fanon, and we all lose out on AANG JOINING THE SCHEMES TO GET ZUKO AND KATARA TOGETHER.
Like yes, Aang as jealous admirer/jilted ex is often a great plot device for ZK fics--I am certainly guilty of this--but WINGMAN AANG would be so much more fun.
*insert Drake meme here bc I'm too lazy to make it*
Aang mooning over his mother figure? Boooooo, hisssss.
Aang inciting Parent Trap-esque shenanigans with Toph to get Mom and Dad together? Yessssss.
Bonus: Aang officiating the ZK wedding!
#zutara#zuko x katara#aang#katara#toph#atla critical#wingman aang#i mean he IS an airbender#anti kataang
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Please don't take this as me being judgmental, I'm really genuinely curious, but do you still enjoy the show if you dislike Aang so much? Did you dislike him the first time you watched the show or is it more recent?
Also, just wanted to say I love your writing and they inspired me to write a couple zk pieces myself ❤
Always glad to hear another writer is writing! Maybe I've read some of your work.
I still like the show (even though I can't watch anything after the Agni Kai). Not liking the main character of a show isn't that unusual. I don't particularly care for Ted Mosby, but I still like HIMYM. I've never seen The Vampire Diaries or True Blood, but from what I understand a lot of fans don't like the mains on those shows either. The good thing about ATLA is that the other characters are so well done that I can more or less ignore Aang (tbh, I feel like he's useless to the story. He's more of a plot device than a character). I didn't always hate Aang (a lot of my stronger feelings came after finding out how awful he continued being after the show), but he was never the reason I was tuning in, either.
#atla#anti aang#at his best aang inspires indifference in me#he was a mcguffin#THE YEAR OF CONTENT!!!!
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OUAT rewatch: Season 5
Overall thoughts:
Season 5 is (both literally and figuratively) the darkest season of the show, and it feels the least "normal" in terms of the characters' day-to-day lives. In both halves of the season, they are stuck in a prolonged crisis. They don’t have time to relax, yet they don’t have much urgency about what they need to do. The most happy and “normal” moments are those stolen during their time in Camelot.
I think the storyline would have done much better if the Camelot storyline and Emma’s descent into darkness happened in the present day, rather than being presented as flashbacks after a time skip. Using the Dark Curse over and over again makes it feel like a cheap plot device rather than the life-changing tragedy it was at the start of the series.
One of the biggest problems I have with this season is the way they treat “darkness” as a kind of entity in itself, and the ambiguity about whether individuals struggling with darkness (Emma, Hook, Gold, and Regina) are truly in control of themselves. My other problem is that Emma’s motives and actions simply don’t match up, and so much of her behavior is out of character. It’s hard to figure out how much of her words and actions are sincere and how much are a manipulation. Is she simply pretending to be evil in order to lead them on?
With that being said, here are my thoughts on each episode:
Episode 5x01 “The Dark Swan”
~ Regina immediately reverts to her snarkiest self. I wonder if it is partly because she is so upset about what happened to Emma. Is she hurt that after she worked so hard to protect Emma from going dark, Emma took on the darkness willingly? Or does she have survivor’s guilt, since Emma saved her from becoming the Dark One?
~ Hook’s capacity for darkness is immediately on display. He hasn’t appeared this dangerously angry since season 2.
~ How is Henry suddenly there and aware of what happened? Did he see the whole thing? How does he feel about his birth mother sacrificing herself for the sake of his adoptive mother?
~ Rumplestiltskin presents himself as the Roku to Emma’s Aang. It’s an interesting move, and a way to keep Robert Carlyle in the cast while Gold is in a coma. But it’s a bit confusing with regard to Emma’s psychology.
~ Ironically, embracing one’s power is usually the goal of a protagonist, but in Emma’s case it’s what she wants to avoid at all costs.
~ Hook and Regina haven’t had such direct or intense interaction in a long time, and it’s great to see!
~ Emma’s “first taste of darkness” seems similar to when Hook regained his hand and thought it was acting outside of his control.
~ Merida’s casting is PERFECT.
~ What is the definition of a witch in this show? What makes Zelena a witch, but not other female wielders of magic like Regina and Emma?
~ Merida and Emma’s scene is great, but the turnaround from enemies to traveling companions is a bit rushed.
~ Why is Henry just leisurely reading a book at Granny’s? Shouldn’t he be poring over the storybook or something else useful in the search for Emma?
~ Hook’s reaction to Henry’s news that he broke the Author’s pen is perfect. He does not get angry with Henry, and in fact seems to understand and respect the decision, but you can tell he wishes that the members of this family weren’t always so noble.
~ They are so not subtle with the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest allusions! Are the nurse and mopper really supposed to be from that story?
~ Regina didn’t give Hook a commodified portable spell; she enchanted his hook herself.
~ Why are Robin & Roland staying at the Charmings’ loft? Wouldn’t Regina’s house make more sense?
~ The idea of Robin Hood reading Goodnight Moon to his son is adorable! I wonder if he discovered the children’s section of the town library and set out to read Roland all of this world’s classics.
~ Who is Floyd?
~ “Secure the condiments!” might be my new favorite line!
~ Why would they bring Zelena with them? I can understand Regina and Robin wanting to keep tabs on her and the baby, but wouldn’t it be safer for their quest to leave her in jail?
~ Of course Leroy arrives announcing bad news! His speech to Mary Margaret is both endearing and hilariously self-aware about the fact that the dwarves have been missing from the action so much over the last couple seasons.
~ Rumple is just like Darth Vader and Palpatine, egging on the hero to “Use your anger.”
~ “When has that ever stopped me before?” So true: Hook has crossed worlds and time for Emma on multiple occasions!
~ Two seasons ago, Emma was the one making a motivational speech in the season premiere, convincing the heroes and villains to work together. Now Hook is presenting that to her as proof of what she’s capable of.
~ “Of course someone’s going to get a punch to the gut for putting me through this, then mercy.” That’s funny and in-character for Merida, but also a significant statement about the role of justice alongside mercy.
~ Does Emma expect Regina to kill her if she gets out of control? That would just make Regina the new Dark One. Emma wouldn’t wish that fate on her.
~ “Terrible news: no onion rings!”
~ How long does the journey to Camelot take? Geography in this world is as ambiguous as in the Galaxy Far, Far Away: distance only ever matters for plot reasons.
~ Sneezy wears a red leather jacket like Emma’s while filling in as sheriff! My only question is, who put the remaining dwarves in charge of the sheriff’s department?
Episode 5x02 “The Price”
~ Did everyone get new clothes from their hosts, or did Regina conjure them with magic like she does for herself?
~ Regina not knowing how to dance really doesn’t make sense. I’m sure Cora and Henry would have made sure she learned when she was growing up, especially before marrying her off to a king.
~ “Why can’t anyone accept that?” Maybe because you cursed and threatened them?
~ Maybe Emma’s words to Regina were a warning, not a threat. That would make more sense.
Emma wouldn’t want Regina to die.
~ Why did everyone in the present day switch back to the outfits they were wearing when they left?
~ I love seeing Belle have such great friendships with Hook and Grumpy/Leroy. She both gives and receives encouragement in this episode.
~ “It’s far easier to hate a Dark One than it is to love one.” That rings true even in real life.
~ Why is Regina’s leadership capability important now? She moved back into the mayor’s office weeks earlier and no one commented on it. Then again, how did that transition of power take place? Did they hold an election, or did Snow abdicate the role to her?
~ How much of Emma’s “new look” is involuntary? Can’t she control things like her hair, makeup, and wardrobe?
~ I don’t like that Robin has basically just become a plot device in Regina’s storylines, particularly in the role of “damsel in distress.”
~ Mary Margaret and Emma’s ballgowns are gorgeous! And even Granny has beautiful ball attire!
~ Why does Mary Margaret use that name instead of Snow White in Camelot? Why don’t she and David reveal themselves as royalty of their own kingdom? Do people there not know of them?
~ David, Henry, and Violet are like Hermes, Orpheus and Eurydice in Hadestown.
~ “Are you a knight?” “Better. I’m a writer.”
~ That ball montage is lovely! In such a dark episode and season, it’s nice to see the characters have a few moments of fun and happiness.
~ It’s nice to see David fight in Regina’s defense, but how can he just kill her assailant? What happened to “Heroes don’t kill”? They make such a big deal about it regarding enemies like Zelena and Cruella, but apparently not for random attackers?
~ Emma’s musical theme starts to play but then takes a dark turn!
~ Why did Emma choose that moment to kiss Hook? Did the idea of True Love’s Kiss only occur to her then?
~ Why/how were they able to fend off the Fury? They didn’t give a life as it demanded. Was it something about love defeating death, or love fulfilling the price?
~ How can David and Mary Margaret talk about winning or losing “this fight” when Emma hasn’t even said what she wants?
~ That montage at the end is so beautiful! Love Regina freeing Sneezy (though, why didn’t she do that earlier?) and Hook and Belle toasting to not giving up on love.
Episode 5x03 “Siege Perilous”
~ Have the dwarves been mining fairy dust regularly throughout these past few seasons? I thought it was just during Season 2 as part of the effort to bring Emma and Mary Margaret home.
~ It’s nice to have an episode focused on David as an individual, since he doesn’t have many! And this one shows the continuity of his motives and feelings. He has always done everything he could to protect/save his children, and had a lot of angst about his perceived failures and limitations in Season 3. His frustrations here are much the same.
~ Does Arthur wear his full armor all the time?
~ Arthur is out to flatter David from the very first moment he appears. He is very quick to suggest that he and David should consider themselves brothers.
~ Leroy is right that the dwarves, and the townsfolk in general, swallow a lot because of the royal family. But his threat is completely contrary to the loyalty he and the others have always shown.
~ I wonder if David’s red leather tunic is an homage to Emma’s red leather jacket!
~ “A leader does what needs to be done.” That might be Arthur’s philosophy in a nutshell.
~ Why does David feel the need—or the justification—to use deception? He did it when he made Snow think she’d pulled Excalibur, and he does it with the supposed “Chalice of Vengeance” now.
~ I don’t know what’s funnier: King Arthur driving a truck, or turning a car chase into a joust!
~ Those empty suits of armor try to drown David like the Inferi Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
~ Seeing Hook and Emma together, yet so distant and strange, is heartbreaking. Emma keeps changing tactics: since Hook didn’t go for her coy seductress act in the previous episode, she switches to the innocent look she had on their first date. They’ve basically switched places from where they began, as she is now asking him to trust her rather than the other way around.
~ It is confirmed that Hook told Emma the full story of what happened between him, Milah, and Rumplestiltskin. It is satisfying to hear Hook repent of his actions and acknowledge that he was originally the villain of that situation. He can now see that he created the crocodile as much as the crocodile created Captain Hook.
~ Arthur keeps Excalibur sheathed when knighting David, so no one can see that the sword is incomplete.
~ Baby Neal crying during his father’s induction to the Knights of the Round Table is the most realistic thing he has done since he was born. Too much of the time, the writers and characters just gloss over the fact that David, Snow, and Robin are raising young children. They just get pushed to the side while their parents go on adventures and deal with drama.
~ Lancelot tells Snow to “trust your eyes,” but then says Camelot is not what it seems. Mixed messages much?
~ Arthur and Grif’s scene is so chilling, like a cult leader pressuring their disciple to become a martyr.
~ When did Robin decide to put his thieving days behind him? And when did Hook decide he was no longer a pirate?
~ Was the whole date just so Emma could get something that touched Rumple? If she knew there was something on the ship that would qualify, couldn’t she have just taken it?
~ I don’t understand why Emma fixates on making Gold into a hero. Why not just get one of the many heroes in town to draw Excalibur?
Episode 5x04: “The Broken Kingdom”
~ Young Arthur and Guinevere are very well cast!
~ Why and how did Emma start making dreamcatchers? Did she request materials from the palace staff, or were there already some available that she decided to take advantage of?
~ “You’re the Savior. Save yourself.” Was that a direct allusion to Jesus on the cross?!
~ I don’t like the use of captions for every time and place in this episode. “Five years later,” “Five years earlier,” again and again. And those years don’t add up with Lancelot being banished and meeting Snow and David roughly thirty years earlier.
~ It’s nice to see Guinevere being proactive and having an arc, but it seems to be at the expense of Lancelot being an active character. He mostly just follows her and reacts to her.
~ Hook’s facial expressions throughout the scene with Henry and Violet are priceless! He is so pleased, proud, and amused.
~ I like that Hook gives an explanation for how he was able to cope with his trauma and demons. Being near the ocean is extremely therapeutic.
~ Guinevere’s ultimatum to Arthur seems to come out of nowhere. It would mean more if we saw them struggle more in their relationship.
~ When in his life did Hook have the opportunity to learn how to ride a horse? Is it difficult with only one hand?
~ Odd to hear Rumplestiltskin allude to Milah. Even more so considering he was the reason it didn’t end well for her.
~ As good a twist as it was, David and Snow’s ruse doesn’t entirely make sense. They put their cards on the Round Table.
~ This episode shows how unnecessary the six-week timeskip was for telling the story of this half-season. The entire episode takes place in the past, jumping between two different points in time, except for the final two scenes.
Episode 5x05 “Dreamcatcher”
~ When Hook offers to give Henry dating tips, I think that may be the first time Regina realizes that he is becoming a parental figure/role model to her son, and how disastrous that could be!
~ Did Belle take the time to change outfits after discovering Gold had disappeared?
~ Finding a girl’s missing horse isn’t restoring a happy ending, it’s just doing a good deed.
~ How can Emma and Regina let Henry continue to go around unsupervised and unprotected after what happened to Snow and David?
~ You can actually see the moment when Emma gets the idea to do to Violet what Cora did to Daniel, minus the killing.
~ That is a pretty easy way to cheat a protection spell!
~ Henry trying to set up a date is soooo cute!
~ The magic stuff is weird, but visually, it’s cool to see Emma using both light and dark magic! When she’s done, Emma looks so proud of herself, tossing her head back a little.
~ Regina is a bit of a hypocrite in this episode: she just recently took Belle’s heart in order to blackmail Gold, but gets mad at Emma for taking Violet’s heart to deceive Henry. Does her anger lie in the fact that Emma did that to a young girl, or the fact that she deliberately hurt Henry?
~ Merlin’s question to Emma, about whether she is truly ready to be free of the darkness, has some real-life parallels. People may subconsciously cling to the sins, addictions, and bad habits that (they say) they want to be rid of.
~ The final shot of Emma against Regina’s house conveys more isolation and devastation than any of her other Dark One scenes. Their situation is so similar yet different to Season 1, when Emma was trying to connect with Henry and Regina wanted to keep them apart. Now Emma, not Regina, is the one hurting Henry in the name of protecting him.
~ This episode has the most mentions of Baelfire/Neal without him being a protagonist or plot device. Apparently he told Henry about how he won Emma’s heart, and Emma told Hook some things about her relationship with Neal, such as his gift of a dreamcatcher to her.
Episode 5x06 “The Bow and the Bear”
~ I don’t mind Belle having a side quest with Merida, but the way it happens is just weird. Why would Merida expect someone she kidnapped to agree to help her if she does not have any leverage over her?
~ Gold uses the same trick to escape Emma that Emma used to escape Jefferson, breaking a teacup in order to cut through their bonds.
~ Does Emma really not care whether Belle lives, or is she confident in Gold’s ability to protect her? Either way, seeing her be so callous about Belle, who has helped her family so many times, and even saved Hook’s life, feels so wrong.
~ Interesting that Emma says she doesn’t believe some things can’t be forgiven. If she truly believes that, why would she wipe everyone’s memories?
~ Interesting that even when the tables have turned, Emma and Gold are still nemeses.
Episode 5x07 “Nimue”
~ They never explain what the Holy Grail is or where it actually came from. In Athurian legend, it’s a Christian relic, and in OUAT it is decorated with crosses; but the characters talk about it as if it’s a gift from a pantheon of gods.
~ Why would Merlin expect a different outcome from touching the Grail after his companion died trying?
~ Couldn’t Merlin and Emma just teleport close to their destination?
~ Merlin and Nimue are very much like Jesse and Winnie in Tuck Everlasting. A magical drink gives immortality to one, and the other has to decide whether they also want to be immortal, or live a normal mortal life.
~ A battle plan drawn on a Granny’s Diner menu is like the epitome of this show’s style.
~ The shot of Nimue passing the Grail to Merlin in front of the fire is beautiful.
~ Emma clutches Hook’s ring when she is afraid!
~ Nimue’s hair ends up in a style like Emma’s after embracing the darkness! But why doesn’t Emma’s skin turn crocodile-like the way Rumplestiltskin and Nimue’s did?
~ Emma’s declaration about her self-worth is awesome! She used to think she was an orphan who didn’t matter and never would; now she knows better!
~ Emma passing her test would feel more meaningful if the audience didn’t know about her going dark later on.
~ How can it be that easy to “tether” someone so powerful to an object?
Episode 5x08 “Birth”
~ I wish there were more scenes of Prince Charming, Captain Hook, and Robin Hood working as a trio! They’re the romantic partners of this show’s three main protagonists, and they’re some of the best examples of healthy masculinity in the whole show.
~ How can Mary Margaret voice doubt about Emma still existing? She’s always the voice of hope and love!
~ Hook’s hair has been longer and messier throughout this season, and his facial hair more pronounced. I wonder if he’s neglected his appearance out of worry for Emma, and/or if it is a costume choice meant to make him look darker.
~ Why is Dr. Whale so weird and awful? And have there really not been any babies born in Storybrooke in the months since Neal’s birth?
~ Why couldn’t Regina use magic to free herself?
~ You can barely see the moment when Hook is injured.
~ Emma and Regina’s conversation about the allure of darkness is actually one of the better ones on the topic. It’s the first time someone talks to Emma about it with sympathy, without trying to tempt her to embrace it.
~ Hook must be so tired of Emma chaining him up! How many times has it been since they met?
~ Emma and Hook’s love literally ignites a flame!
~ If tethering Hook turned him into a Dark One, why didn’t Merlin become one?
~ Jennifer Morrison’s acting during Hook’s “death” scene is amazing!
~ The title of this episode had a double (or perhaps triple) meaning: Zelena and Robin’s baby is born, and both Emma and Hook are reborn as Dark Ones.
Episode 5x09 “The Bear King”
~ The casting for Eleanor, Fergus, and the Witch is fantastic!
~ This is another episode that switches between two timelines in the past, showing how unnecessary the six-week timeskip was.
~ Ruby says the last time she saw Philip and Aurora, at baby Neal’s coronation party they were about to have a child. But Aurora was pregnant at least a few weeks before Mary Margaret was, and Leroy implied that she had given birth before Neal’s coronation party, so presumably Aurora must have had her baby before or at the same time as Mary Margaret had Neal.
~ If Ruby and Tiny managed to produce a bean, they ought to have given others the chance to go back to the Enchanted Forest too.
~ This is the first time a full-on battle between opposing armies has taken place onscreen in this show.
~ “Your magic is never very direct, is it?” from Eleanor to the Witch is hilarious!
~ I love the Celtic-inspired music in this episode!
~ This might be the first episode in which Emma does not make a single appearance!
Episode 5x10 “Broken Heart”
~ The dark version of Hook’s musical theme!
~ Hook’s transformation into the Dark One is so painful to see onscreen. It seems like a reminder that birth in itself is a traumatizing experience. Given that, it makes sense that such a rebirth, as he refers to it, would be full of trauma.
~ Interesting that once he emerges as a Dark One, Hook changes his costume for the one he used to wear in Seasons 2 and 3, rather than the fancier one he wore in Camelot.
~ What I just cannot buy about Hook becoming the Dark One: A) that he did not sense anything different about himself after returning to Storybrooke, and B) his sudden and absolute plunge into the darkness after regaining his memories. He had grown past his desire for revenge and recognized that it would not bring him fulfillment.
~ Hook acting like Rumplestiltskin is so weird and creepy!
~ So apparently there are Dark One chronicles just readily available? Did Hook read them during the years he spent plotting his revenge?
~ Why would Gold accept Emma’s offer of protection after what she did to him? What is she thinking?
~ Weird that Emma and Henry talk about him forgiving Gold, and Henry says Gold showed that he changed. Is he talking about how Gold saved Belle and became a hero worthy of Excalibur?
~ I was wondering where Lancelot has been since his breakout! And the Lady of the Lake is his mother? Was that already known? What happens to Lancelot after this?
~ I’m glad Mary Margaret defends Emma’s decision to save Hook! Everyone seemed to gang up on Emma telling her that she ought not try it.
~ Hook is right about Emma pushing away the people she wants to protect, but wasn’t that already covered during Season 4’s Frozen arc?
~ Do Dark Ones really need to worry about things like scouting a path and finding water? Couldn’t they just teleport and conjure the things they need? And splitting up right after finding each other is pretty bad strategy, especially if Emma is afraid of what Hook might do.
~ I like that Regina and Robin are giving Zelena a chance with clear boundaries in place; but what assurance do they have that she won’t simply disappear with the baby?
~ “Operation Cobra Part 2” isn’t a very original name! Plus, their current mission doesn’t have much to do with the first. “Operation Dreamcatcher” or “Operation Dark Hook” would be more fitting.
~ For all their intensity, Emma and Hook’s flashback conversations are a bit repetitive.
~ The part of Hook’s fall that is believable is his desire to never be controlled again. As is revealed in the next episode, he grew up basically a slave; then he was manipulated into doing a corrupt king’s dirty work; and Gold controlled him by taking his heart. As a pirate and a former slave, he places an extremely high value on freedom.
~ If they are both Dark Ones, with equal amounts of power, how can Emma simply knock Hook out with a wave of her hand?
Episode 5x11 “Swan Song”
~ This is the first episode of the season whose flashbacks have nothing to do with the Camelot arc, and instead add backstory from further in the past to the context of a character’s actions in the present day.
~ The casting for Brennan and young Killian is great! Young Killian has amazingly good facial expressions as he thinks over his father’s question and decides on his answer.
~ What was the point of Rumple and Hook’s meeting on the road? Why does Hook let him keep Excalibur?
~ Why would Zelena show up and tell Regina and Robin what she plans to do? And what does Robin expect his arrows to do against the resurrected Dark Ones?
~ It’s such a reversal to see Hook having more magical prowess than Regina!
~ Why would Regina need to rendezvous with Hook outside the palace after recruiting him? And her outfit and the slinky way she comes out of her carriage are really over the top!
~ I get Mary Margaret’s point about wanting to spend her last moments well, but saying it might be a fight they can’t win is so OOC!
~ So, Belle didn’t get marked, and no one told her about the impending threat to the others? And she just blithely accepts Gold’s random offer of an opportunity to travel, while knowing that Hook and Emma are still Dark Ones? That’s insulting to her intelligence and integrity.
~ If you pause at the right moment, you can read what Emma wrote in the note she left for her family, and it’s heartbreaking!
~ There are way more Dark Ones than people who got marked.
~ You can see how guilty Hook feels as soon as he kills his father.
~ Even though her life was not in danger, seeing Emma in pain finally snaps Hook out of his fixation on revenge.
~ Hook is basically doing the same thing Ingrid the Snow Queen did last season, sacrificing themselves to save everyone from the very threat that they created.
~ Even after she’s no longer the Dark One, Emma still talks with the same strange accent/cadence she adopted when she was.
~ “How does one get to the Underworld?” There’s a whole song about it in Hadestown!
~ The weirdest thing about the Underworld arc is that there is no conversation about who will and won’t go. The parents leave their babies behind, and Regina lets Henry make the dangerous journey, without any argument or explanation. There is no stirring moment of everyone deciding that Hook is worth it and that they want to help Emma.
Season 5x12 “Souls of the Departed”
~ This is one of the biggest episodes about Regina. I’m pleased that they did something they rarely do, filling in a gap in the characters’ larger story—in this case, how Henry Senior ended up Cora’s miniature prisoner.
~ I’m guessing Emma’s dream/vision takes place in the amusement park that she and Neal broke into. I wonder if the name of the ride, The Revelation, is symbolic!
~ The idea of the Underworld looking identical to Storybrooke … really seems like they’re just looking for any way to keep using the same sets and locations, even when the characters go to different worlds.
~ Regina’s father’s words are true, but should have been spoken to her years earlier, before she ascended to Evil Queen!
~ I don’t like how childish Regina is in the flashbacks.
~ While I love that the two Henrys got to meet, I find it hard to believe Regina would bring Henry along for a confrontation with Cora.
~ The clock beginning to move the same way it did in the pilot episode is a fantastic callback—and interestingly, Regina’s reaction is the precise opposite of what it was then!
~ The revelation of Hades feels a little predictable, with all of this show’s homages to the Disney versions of classic tales. Personally I find the actor underwhelming for the God of the Dead, and the blue fire hair just doesn’t work; it’s enough of an homage to have blue flames when he teleports.
Episode 5x13 “Labor of Love”
~ That is one intense teaser, and shows so much of Hook’s character. Even after being tortured, he refuses to give up, at least when Emma is involved. He insists on helping his fellow prisoner escape, and holds off Cerberus so she can do so, trusting her with the task of finding Emma.
~ David using the name “Bandit Snow” feels a little too much like an awareness of the fandom’s nicknames for characters.
~ Young Snow running through the woods and falling into a pit feels like the scene in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves when she gets lost in the woods.
~ Hercules’ casting is great: he’s young, as most demigod heroes probably were; he’s handsome, making him a believable first love interest for teenage Snow; and he has a strong physique to go with his godlike strength.
~ I wish there were more scenes with Henry and Robin Hood! Henry is already the son of two former thieves, he would probably get along really well with Robin!
~ Hercules and young Snow basically have the same storyline as Anna and David last season, with the newcomer giving the future hero a one-day crash course in fighting so they can defeat their extorting enemy. Anna and Hercules impart practically the same lesson about trying what seems impossible. While the premise is repetitive and a little flimsy, what I find interesting in this case is that Hercules does not offer himself as the hero to solve Snow’s problems; instead he offers to teach her so that she can solve her problems.
~ The music when Hercules talks about his labors seems reminiscent of “Go the Distance”!
~ It must warm Hercules’ heart to see Snow carrying a bow and arrow when they reunite!
~ How does Robin Hood known about air ventilation ducts? Has he learned how to carry out heists in the Land Without Magic?
~ Regina calls Herc “Wonder Boy”!
~ Young Snow basically experiences the humiliation that Hercules experienced in the movie when he first came to Thebes.
~ It’s interesting and quite plausible that Regina worked behind the scenes to undermine Snow even before killing her father and trying to kill her.
~ Cruella says “We hear it all down here.” Just how much do the Underworld residents know about what happens in the land(s) of the living?
~ Regina being the one to give Snow White a pep talk really does seem like a “when Hell freezes over” kind of moment!
~ Why didn’t young Snow change into that more practical outfit before confronting the bandits?
~ Did David and Hercules ever get a proper introduction? That would have been great to see!
~ Meg does not seem at all like her Disney movie counterpart. But, I like that Hercules does the same for her as he did for Snow by equipping her to defeat her fearsome enemy.
~ There are still many unanswered questions: Why/how did Meg end up in Cerberus’ path in the first place? And why did Hades imprison her? And why did he torture Hook?
~ As weird as it is to see Snow have a romantic interest other than David, her relationship with Hercules is pretty believable for the kind of people they are and the stage of life they were in when they met.
~ What Snow/Mary Margaret says about forgetting who she was, and reclaiming her identity as Snow White, is interesting for character, but seems like the kind of thing she should have said earlier in the show. It would have made more sense in Season 2, when the curse had just broken and everyone in Storybrooke had to reconcile their two identities. It would have been great to see Snow struggle to return to her old self, instead of immediately bouncing back.
~ Who are the guards working for Hades? Are they supposed to be Pain and Panic?
~ Hook seems a lot like Westley in The Princess Bride during his final scene, in terms of both the torture he endures and the nature of his threat against Hades (basically “to the pain,” since he can’t kill him).
~ This episode’s title is excellent, as it refers to Emma’s quest, Hercules’ labors, Snow’s efforts to protect her people, and the fact that Hercules finds love with young Snow and Meg.
Episode 5x14 “Devil’s Due”
~ Is the eye an homage to the three Fates/Gorgons who shared an eye?
~ Looks like Belle is hanging out with Grumpy/Leroy at Granny’s!
~ Milah kills a snake to save her son, like Mother Mary stepping on the serpent to save her children!
~ Milah seems at least somewhat aware of who Emma is, but still has to ask for clarification about her relationships. I appreciate that she doesn’t give Emma a hard time about either Hook or Neal; she simply asks to make sure she understands.
~ Putting Emma’s nursery furniture in her house is creepy as … well, Hell!
~ Why does Milah insist that Rumple be the one to kill Fendrake and steal the cure? Why not do it herself, since she’s braver and has the use of both legs?
~ Young Killian knocks out Milah’s assailant with his left hand!
~ Milah and Killian’s first meeting explains so much about them and their relationship. He is a foil to pre-Dark One Rumple. He stands up for Milah, showing bravery and physical strength, even though she is a stranger to him. Meanwhile her husband is reluctant to fight for her and her son.
~ It’s kind of amazing that Snow is the one to accompany Regina to find Daniel’s grave, since she was the one Regina blamed for his death.
~ Milah and Rumple’s relationship is wonderfully complex. Neither of them is completely innocent, yet neither is entirely to blame for how things turned out. They each caused each other to change for the worse.
~ Gold didn’t need to kill Milah; surely he could have just used a memory charm to make her forget that she had seen Hades appear. Or would that not work because she is dead?
~ I’ll never forgive the writers for deciding that Milah couldn’t be reunited with Hook or Neal. Rumple, at least, seems to feel a little guilty for betraying her, but believes it necessary to save his child.
~ Regina healing an injured horse is interesting, and fitting since she used to love them so much. I totally thought it was going to be a horse that belonged to her.
~ How does Robin know that the friend was a “her,” and that she meant something to Gold? Did he tell them all that Milah was the one they were going to enlist for help?
~ “She made me who I am” is true, and sounds like a compliment, but I doubt Gold means it that way.
~ It’s so heartbreakingly ironic that after all the times Gold has pressed people into bad deals and even threatened to take away their children, he is now at the bad end of a deal that could cost him his child.
~ Hades chose the three central characters to stay in the Underworld. Emma, Regina, and Snow have been the main foci of the show since its beginning.
~ The characters seem to use idioms with the word “hell” in them more than ever now that they are in the Underworld!
Episode 5x15 “The Brothers Jones”
~ I’m glad that Henry acknowledges how hard it was for him to see Hook die.
~ I like that Hook is dealing with the weight of what he did, and is not immediately on board with Emma’s plan/desire to bring him back to life.
~ It’s sad to think of Liam waiting for Killian to die so they could be reunited, only for Killian’s life to continue for centuries.
~ The flashbacks seem to indicate that Killian always had doubts about his self-worth.
~ “If you served an honorable king, it would change you.” This seems to have come true, as Hook changed while serving the Charmings!
~ They totally robbed us of an emotional reunion hug between Killian and Liam! Why’d they have to cut from their first look to when they’ve settled down with drinks and apparently caught up a bit already?
~ This episode adds a bit more nuance to Hook’s relationship with rum. Apparently young Killian used it as a coping mechanism while working as a deckhand, and it cost him his opportunity to escape from slavery. When he then enters the king’s navy, he scolds a sailor under his command for possession of alcohol, saying it leads to bad form; now we know he was speaking from experience!
~ I like the wording of Liam’s declaration, but the delivery comes off kind of wooden, like he’s making a show of nobility rather than acting on real conviction.
~ Apparently the mayor and the sheriff having an affair is something Storybrooke and “Underbrooke” have in common.
~ I’m curious when exactly Regina forgave herself for her wrongdoings. In Season 2, she asserts that she might actually be good, and that the title “evil” was given to her by her enemies. In Season 3, she says that she has no regrets about the horrible things she did because they all led to her adopting Henry. At what point did she come to understand that what she did was wrong? And once she repented, when did she forgive herself?
~ Regina says she tore out the pages of Henry’s storybook about herself so he wouldn’t figure out she was the Evil Queen, but I don’t remember that, and he did figure it out. Emma was the one who tore about the pages about herself.
~ Hades really plays the part of the devil, with limited power in this world, but enough promises of worldly power to tempt people to evil.
~ What would the point of a mutiny be if the new captain maintained the exact same course as the old captain?
~ With Emma being so protective of Hook and afraid to lose him, how could he be abducted from right under her nose?
~ So much of the dialogue in this episode comes across cheesy, but Hook’s line about the bar being so high he could only fail is great. That dynamic between the two brothers makes sense.
Episode 5x16 “Our Decay”
~ Dorothy has grown up a lot since the last time Zelena saw her! The scared little girl is now a powerful woman … but no explanation is given of how that happened.
~ They give Dorothy basically the same dynamic with Zelena as Snow did with Regina, a rogue heroine beloved by the people.
~ How does the Scarecrow have a brain now, if he didn’t go on that quest with Dorothy to get one from the wizard?
~ It’s cool that they lean into Hades’ jealousy of Zeus, but to bring out the parallels with Zelena, it would make more sense to stick with Zeus being the younger brother, not older.
~ How can Hades steer the bike with Zelena’s hat blocking his vision?
~ I’m surprised that Gold, who has spent so long hiding secrets from Belle, comes clean to her as soon as he sees her.
~ Gold’s little speech to Belle sounds like a conversation they should have had earlier in the show, perhaps in Season 2.
~ Zelena has never been as emotionally or psychologically complex as she in this episode. It’s refreshing to see!
~ If Hades’ heart was stopped, how can he claim to love?
Episode 5x17 “Her Handsome Hero”
~ Hades finding a flower in the Underworld and recognizing it as a sign of hope … should be a nod to Persephone, but of course they wouldn’t let her be his love interest in this story.
~ “I don’t have any issues.” The looks that the others give her = Emma is so in denial!
~ It’s good that they explore what is going on with Emma, since she has not been the focus for the last several episodes; but it feels like more telling than showing.
~ The toxicity of Belle and Rumple/Gold’s relationship is on full display in this episode. They both betray each other.
~ How did Belle get the dagger? Why would Gold part with it after saying how much he loves it?
Episode 5x18 “Ruby Slippers”
~ “It’s hard to be a Savior when no one wants you to save them.” That’s actually a good line, but it would have meant a lot more at some other point in the series, when Emma is in the midst of playing that role for her people.
~ I love that Hook and David talked, and that they work together to help Snow! They acknowledge the fact that everyone came to the Underworld to save Hook, and that it wasn’t just for Emma’s sake. And the one thing they have most in common is that they’ll do whatever it takes to help/protect the women they love. It’s great to see Hook help David to help his wife and son.
~ Ruby and Snow’s conversation about love has a lot of wisdom in it. I wish Snow had given that kind of encouragement to Emma when she was trying to figure out her feelings and relationship with Hook. Aside from the first season when everyone was cursed, they’ve never really talked about dating!
~ The way Hades kills Auntie Em demonstrates one of the biggest and most frequently recurring plot holes in fantasy fiction: if the villain is powerful enough to kill people so easily, why doesn’t he just kill the protagonists, instead of drawing out the conflict for so long?
Episode 5x19 “Sisters”
~ The song choice at the beginning of the episode and the wording of Hades’ proposal make me think of Loki. I wonder if those writers took inspiration from OUAT, or if there were any writers in common between the two shows.
~ “Because he’s a villain” really doesn’t make sense coming from Regina, of all people.
~ Interesting to have Hook and Cora reunite! I was not expecting that, and it went pretty well for both of them, considering that the last time they saw each other, they were getting in the way of each other’s plans.
~ The parallels between Zelena & Regina and David & James!!!
~ How is Robin able to take care of a baby by himself in the woods? I know it’s not his first time caring for a child, but logistically, how is that working out? Where/how is he getting milk for her?
~ Cora, Zelena, and Regina’s reconciliation is amazing! Barbara Hersey is one of the best actors on this entire show, and she knocks it out of the park; as melodramatic as they are, none of her scenes are cheesy or saccharine. And Cora being redeemed at the end was beautiful; I seriously wondered if she would go on to the worse place, after harming and destroying so many lives, but instead of consuming her, the fire seemed to purify her, like purgatory, before allowing her to move on to the better place.
~ David throwing his brother into the River of Souls just doesn’t sit right. It’s dissonant with both David’s character and the show’s theme of redemption.
Episode 5x20 “Firebird”
~ This is the first episode in quite a while that focuses on Emma in both past and present, and explores her relationship with Hook.
~ If Emma went looking for answers about her past in Maine, at the diner where she was found, she must have realized how close she was when Henry brought her to Storybrooke.
~ Emma was on the receiving end of a bail bondsperson! And learned her tricks from her!
~ So apparently Emma only worked as a bail bondsperson for a year or so before Henry found her. What did she do during the decade after her imprisonment? Did she live as a thief all that time?
~ It seems weird that Emma continued to look for her parents even after placing her own son for adoption.
~ Hades’ explanation for why Emma and Hook’s heart split wouldn’t work makes sense. Emma’s plan always had that flaw: she would not have been sharing her heart with Hook’s physical body, only with his Underworld counterpart.
~ It makes sense for Peter Pan of Neverland to be one of the few people to say “tick tock,” the others being Rumple and Hook.
~ Robin has good reason to be suspicious of Regina trusting Zelena: there could be any number of magical deceptions at work, such as controlling her heart.
~ Emma and Hook’s first adventure was ascending a beanstalk into the sky; now, on what seems to be their final adventure, they have to descend to the deepest place underground.
~ STEALTHY! I hope he and Snow had a reunion at some point!
~ Emma looks back as she leaves the Underworld, just like Orpheus in the myth!
Episode 5x21 “Last Rites”
~ Hades kind of causes his own downfall by killing Arthur, giving him the opportunity to help Hook.
~ Hook knows the names of the stages of grief! That’s pretty funny, considering how long it took for him to move on from losing Liam and Milah.
~ Like when they first met, Robin and Regina are once again in a secret tunnel breaking into her own seat of power!
~ I would expect Hook, a pirate, to know well enough where someone would hide their treasure.
~ Even in death, Hook does everything he can to help Emma!
~ It’s cool to see Hook and Arthur both having moments when they decide to do the heroic thing.
~ It’s nice that Zelena reaches out to comfort Regina, but Regina should have tried to comfort Zelena as soon as she killed Hades, not turned to Robin’s dead body.
~ Emma, Regina, and Zelena all lose the men they love in roughly the same day.
~ Someone finally pronounced “prophesied” correctly! I wonder if King Arthur’s actor pointed out that characters had been saying it wrong.
~ Zeus is totally miscast. He looks completely unimpressive and underwhelming, not like a god or a king. They could have at least given him a decent haircut.
~ The fact that Hook already has a grave in the Storybrooke cemetery raises many questions: Who buried him? Was he buried with his hook, or did someone save it and give it to Emma? Did he leave behind a will and testament? Did ownership of the Jolly Roger pass on to Emma?
~ Everyone putting arrows on Robin Hood’s coffin is a beautiful, fitting tribute.
~ I have mixed feelings about Hook coming back. On the one hand, it’s fitting that he was only able to return after he and Emma were willing to let him move on; that kind of paradox makes sense. But for him to come back when Robin cannot is just weird, and it undermines the character growth Emma has been struggling with, learning to love despite the fear of loss and let go of those who cannot stay with her.
~ I would expect Regina to get rid of Hades’ ashes as quickly as possible, not let them lie in her office.
Episode 5x22 “Only You”
~ Roland joins the Merry Men’s toast with what looks like chocolate milk!
~ If Gold wanted to obtain all of Storybrooke’s magic, wouldn’t the well be the better place? That was where he brought magic to Storybrooke in the first place.
~ Emma uses the same arguments on Regina that the others were using on Emma in the previous episode, saying that she should take a break to deal with her grief.
~ This is not the first time Henry expresses the idea that all magic is bad and should be destroyed. But he has also expressed wistfulness about Emma and Regina’s magic, which has the capacity for good. And he himself uses magic for good as the Author. There could have been more, better buildup to him coming to the decision to destroy magic.
~ Why would Gold appear to the heroes and tell them what Henry is doing? The only plausible reason would be if he wants them to find Henry for him. They should realize that!
~ I’m guessing Guinevere returns to Camelot with the other inhabitants, but does anyone console her about Arthur’s death or tell her about the role he played in defeating Hades?
~ Roland’s final scene is sweet, but it’s strange to see Little John so at ease with the witch who turned him into a flying monkey. And Roland’s relationship with Zelena is so weird at this point: they lived together for several weeks, so they must have bonded while she was pretending to be his mother, but she killed his actual mother, and Regina and Robin made him forget about the period of time when they lived together.
~ The scene of Emma and Regina in the apartment (which has now been inhabited by both of their dead lovers) is unusually long, and amazingly deep. Regina finally talks about the tension between good and evil inside her, and what motivates her from moment to moment. I only wish this had been explored or explained earlier in the series; but maybe she did not have the words to explain it, or enough trust in Emma to be vulnerable about it with her.
~ Henry is acting more like his father than ever, breaking the library’s exhibit and stealing an artifact.
~ I knew Gold would be behind the doors!
~ Gold choosing to save the Olympian Crystal rather than Belle from the portal is almost predictable at this point. Did he learn nothing from his centuries of regret over not choosing Baelfire over his magic?
~ I have mixed feelings about the new context they give to Baelfire/Neal. On the one hand, I’m glad they gave some explanation for what he did during those years apart from Emma, and his apparent hatred of magic resonates with the attitude he expressed to Hook and the Darlings. On the other hand, doing research to destroy magic goes against what he said about trying to forget about the Enchanted Forest.
Episode 5x23 “An Untold Story”
~ Overall, I don't like that this show treats works of science fiction like Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as if they were fairy tales, because they're categorically different. That being said, the steampunk-like landscape of the Land of Untold Stories is quite interesting!
~ Gold seems to change his tune to Regina throughout this episode: in one scene he tells her that she’s gone soft, in the next he tells her that the Evil Queen is who she truly is.
~ Henry seems to both teach and learn a lesson about the “willing suspension of disbelief.”
~ I’m a little disappointed that Emma and Hook did not get more screentime during this finale, after everything they went through this season in their struggle to be together. But I’m glad they finally had a moment and professed their love when they were not in danger.
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