Once Upon a Time - Manhattan

After last week's disappointing episode, we got an excellent and very character driven "BAAAUUUM" episode.

Neal (Henry's dad) is Baelfire. People guessed it from the first time Neal appeared in "Broken", and it came to pass here. A little predictable, sure, but I was still very satisfied with this outcome. I love Snow and Charming's lampshade hanging in regards to the bizarre family tree it made for a good comical moment amidst an episode of heavy feels. Also, one thing that I want to point out, though they don't mention it, Hook is Henry's step-grandfather on the paternal side so all of the villains and main heroes are related. Anyways, as opposed to the break-neck pace of the previous episode, this episode wisely moved at a slower pace, taking the time to show how Emma, Henry, Neal, and Gold all felt about the situation. Their charcterizations were consist and strong. I loved it. It was very emotionally compelling from all sides. Most of the episode was four people standing around talking in an apartment and it was the shit! You got to see how each character related to each other. I particularly loved Neal meeting Henry. It was a very touching moment that hit a soft spot in me.

The flashback with Rumple during the Ogre Wars was interesting but slightly under developed. I liked how it handled Rumple's desertion and tied it back into his limp. You really get the feeling that Baelfire was the only thing good in Rumple's life at that point so his struggle in the modern day became very real. I also liked how this episode addressed Rumple's power to see into the future and the uncertainty and danger that comes along with any form of divination. Milah was easily the weakest aspect of the flashback. She was just a straight up bitch back here. While she was a selfish bitch in "The Crocodile" as well, she had more depth back then and wasn't quite such a black and white bitch. Here, she was just straight up malicious. It makes it hard to sympathize with Hook when his lost lenore was such a malicious woman. But the prophecy regarding a young boy causing Rumple's downfall is very characteristic of Oedipus, and Rumple's desire to kill that boy makes for a complicated and frightening anticipation as to what will happen to Henry.

Considerably less happens in Storybrooke. The focus back in Storybrooke is what our Storybrooke Triple Threat is up to. Cora terminating their alliance with Hook was something that I strangely did not see coming. It's certainly in character for Cora, but it was definitely the thing that caused me to gasp the hardest during the episode. Although, I would have liked to have seen Regina and Hook getting closer. Tension is rising between Regina and Cora, though. I don't forsee their alliance lasting much longer. Cora's giant web of Batman Gambits is starting to come together, and we finally find out that her goal is to obtain Rumple's dagger. She claims that she wants it to help Regina get Henry back, but I'm sure that witch has her own agenda involving the magic beans. Greg seeing Regina do magic was an interesting development, but I'm, admittedly, not very interested in his story right now.

Overall, this episode was absolutely fabulous. I loved every minute of it. Also, fuck this Oscars because we have to wait two whole weeks for the next one. But, judging by the trailer, we're going to get Cora/Regina/Snow White conflict as well as Rumple/Hook conflict as well. I look forward to seeing how Neal reacts when Hook tells him that Rumple killed him mother. Now, I just have one question left: how the heck did Neal only age around twenty years when it took Rumple over 300 years to get to earth, and then 28 more to break the curse? How exactly does time flow in regards to other worlds in this universe?