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Sunday 26 August 2012

Once Upon A Time 1.22 "A Land Without Magic" Review

Charming (Josh Dallas) attempts to free himself from prison, uttering the words he will "always find you."  Meaning Snow. That's become their tagline, though they keep going round in circles with it.  He's taken to be executed and is saved by the Huntsman (Jamie Dornan) of course.  But he can't go with Charming cos he gave his heart to the Queen  (Lara Parrilla) to save Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin).  Hey Charming had stubble whilst in his prison cell, but when he's in the woods his face is clearer.  Huntsman: "don't let that sacrifice be in vain - find her."  Sounds like something someone should be telling Emma (Jennifer Morrison).

Dr Whale (David Anders) so who's he meant to be (aside from Cutty Sark from Alias) can't find what's wrong with Henry (Jared S Gilmore) and it's not the turnover as he's not displaying any symptoms of poisoning.  Emma finds his book and there are flashes to the past.  Emma rages at Regina who screams the apple was intended for her.  Henry will never be hers as long as she's alive, well even if she's not alive, Henry still won't be hers.  The apple was the last of the magic but she doesn't know what will happen to Henry.  "Magic here is unpredictable,"  that sounded like a warning for the end of the episode and for next season!

Gold (Robert Carlyle) is the only other one who knows.  Rumpelstiltskin, or Rumples as I call him, waits for Charming in the forest with his mother's ring.  It will shine brightly when he's close to Snow, but first there's a deal to be made.  He wants Snow and Charming to be together, so along will come Emma.

David tells Mary Margaret he doesn't know why he didn't believe her and he's leaving for Boston.  She can't give him a reason to stay.  Rumples has bottled true love and put it in the 'belly of the beast.'  Gold tells Emma true love is the only magic powerful enough to save Henry.  He made it from the strands of her parent's hair and placed a single drop on the parchment where he wrote the curse, as a safety valve.  He saved some for a rainy day.  Emma must be the one to retrieve it.  Regina: "don't trust him."  She can talk.
Regina hid it in the basement.  Emma will need her father's sword.

Emma talks to Henry before she leaves saying she should have believed him about the curse.  Well took her long enough.

Jefferson (Sebastian Stan) wants Grace back but Regina goes back on her word since the apple was meant for Emma, not Henry.  He can't kill her cos it's not in him.  Emma turns to August (Eion Bailey) now that it's too late for him and he can't help her.  How would he have helped her anyway it's up to her not him.  Conveniently he now turns to wood in front of her, when she starts believing.  She must break the curse and save them all.

Maleficent (Kristen Bauer) is in the basement of the library and is the beast/dragon - who Charming fought to put the egg inside of her and whom Emma must now fight to retrieve it.  Regina "trapped her in a different form."  Yes Emma you can really use a gun, cos it's magic isn't it.

Mary Margaret reads to Henry who worsens.  Jefferson breaks out Belle (Emilie de Ravin). S Glass is seen on one of the doors in the hospital, surely Regina's got Sidney in there.  Belle must find Gold and tell him Regina locked her up.  Oh now look what you've done Jefferson.

Rumples tells Charming he will find her with the ring and transforms his clothes.  "I'm a fan of true love and more importantly what it creates."  Looking back, should have known he'd be behind the curse since it's not within Regina's powers to have created something like that.

Charming finds Snow and wakes her, that's where we came in, in the Pilot.  They need to take back the kingdom together.  Gold has Regina tied, oh that was easy overpowering her and tells Emma she sabotaged the lift.  Silly Emma gives him the egg so he can run off with it.  SO which one doesn't want the curse broken anyway.  Belle finds Gold and they declare their love for each other.

Oh hurry up and kiss Henry Emma.  She breaks the curse when she does and Henry returns.  The Blue Fairy  (Keegan Connor Tracy)  remarks that was "true love's kiss."  Belle remembers Rumples now and he takes her to the well which has the "power to return that which once was lost."  They notice they haven't gone back, which will another mystery. Gold brings back magic to the town cos "magic is power."  The clock goes back to 8.15.  Now Regina will have power too and all the town's people remember who they really are.  Charming finds Snow, who just seemed to be walking around in a daze.

How come magic was what Gold wanted more than his son.  Does Jefferson also get Grace back now and will his hat work?

Well they couldn't have gone another season without remembering.  Still no sign of Bae.  David getting saved when he's about to leave town.  He had to find Snow to show they always find each other.

Were the writers wrong in breaking the curse so early on?  How will this affect season 2 and the show?  Magic is now found in a realm where it has no place and this was the reason Bae came here and was meant to bring Rumples with him.  Ironically, his father has succeeded in bringing magic to Storybrooke with the use of the true love potion and some clever manipulation that no one saw coming.  Not even Regina - all she could do was to warn Emma not to trust him.  Well she can't be trusted either.

One thing about magic being brought to Storybrooke is that Storybrooke was always, or always existed as a town/land within itself anyway and had very little to do with the outside world.  Visitors did come in since it was only those who belonged here or were somehow connected to Storybrooke, as far as we know.  But no one could leave cos they didn't belong in the 'outside' world.  (Aside from them only being fairytale characters.)

It's not certain if magic being around now will change the dynamic of not being able to leave without suffering consequences.  August left: though he wasn't a real boy and that's why he turned to wood, aside from not being good.  He knew he had to return here.

There was a clue of sorts to the curse being spread or re-surfacing as it was seen in the opening title credits this episode.  That's why those little 'gimmiks' are shown as that's what the ep will be about.

If the clock has gone back to 8.15 - does this mean the curse has returned.  In a way Gold could have enough time to be the one who has magic and then make everyone forget again with the curse in place once more.  But that'd just be reverting back to the beginning and don't think that would make for an interesting season 2.  Besides Regina was happy at the end when she saw the purple smoke.  There was green smoke in the Pilot which signified the curse and that Regina was meant to be behind it.  Here the smoke was purple. maybe cos the potion in the bottle was also purple. Also did you notice purple is one of Gold's colours too.  His purple shirt and tie he wears.  The colour of magic, or the colour of his curse.  For some reason he chose not to wear that colour this ep!  Hey purple is my fave colour.

Gold also said magic has consequences/comes at a price and will this be his son? Or something different as far as the others are concerned.

Jefferson told Emma in Hat Trick that not all worlds have magic and it's needed here.  Not only for him to get Grace back, but is there another more sinister reason why it's needed.  If Jefferson knew about Belle, which he probably did, as he was always lurking and spying, why'd he wait so long to release her, also other than wanting the curse broken.  This was his way of getting back at Regina.  Instead of killing her.

Regina was actually physically crying for Henry, wouldn't have expected that of her. Dr Whale seemed to be the only one genuinely shocked at what was happening, so who's he meant to be then, which is what I asked when we first saw him.  He can't be the whale from Pinocchio.

Oh well no season 2 for most of us 'til next year!

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