Once Upon a Time - Season 3 Finale
Let's talk about this finale! Honestly, I was kind of underwhelmed by it. After such a great episode last week, I was really hoping that this week's episode wasn't just one giant set up for next year's big bad.
OK, yes, it was nice to see Emma realize that she really belonged in Storybrooke because she actually realized how much she needed Snow and Charming by going into the past and helping them find their way back together after she ruined it at the beginning. And there were some nice moments in the Enchanted Forest, but really, this two-hour finale was basically a re-tread of the entirety of Season 1's storyline, except inserting Emma and Hook into that story. Which is fine, but the only thing it did was give Emma some bit of closure to her storyline about wanting to find a home. That's all well and good, but I totally don't watch this show for Emma. I know I'm probably in the minority there, but if you've been reading my reactions to episodes at all this season, you know that that's true.
I was also a little surprised that the Rumple/Belle wedding was such a non-event. I would have thought that their nuptials would have rated a little higher on the lavish category, and the guest category for that matter. Wouldn't she have invited someone else, besides her father?
And since when is Dr. Hopper able to perform wedding ceremonies? I thought he was a psychiatrist, not a minister. I mean, yes, in this day and age, one just has to go online to become an ordained minister, but that was just weird.
Honestly, what really interested me about the episode, was the last 5-10 minutes. The reveal that the woman that Emma and Hook brought back is Maid Marian was kind of wild. I totally did not expect that. Though I will say that I did call that Regina wouldn't get a happy ending. I just didn't think it would be because Emma brought back the other love of Robin's life, thereby ruining Regina's love life. Like mother, like daughter, eh? In this case, though, I think Regina has more of a right to be angry with Emma than she did with Snow. Granted, Emma didn't know, so it's not like she did this maliciously, or anything. But still, there is more of a rationality there for Regina.
I can't help but wonder why Maid Marian was in the Enchanted Forest. Shouldn't she have been in Sherwood Forest? And why was Regina going to execute her? It can't be only because she was part of the village that Snow White was part of, can it? And why was she part of that village? There are lots of unanswered questions here, and I'm almost positive that we're not going to get any answers. Sigh.
Also, really, Once Upon a Time has just minted itself as a glorified soap opera. There is *nothing* more soapy than a loved one coming back from the dead. Specifically a former spouse. OK, maybe an evil twin would be more soapy, but Marian being alive comes really, really, really close. And yes, she wasn't really dead in the sense that people are on most soaps. The time travel element makes it slightly fresher. But really? This is a soap cliche, and you will not convince me otherwise.
The other reveal is that Elsa is apparently going to be the new big bad next year. Perhaps she won't be named Elsa, but probably she will since ABC is owned by Disney. Or the other way around. Disney is certainly getting the bang for their buck with Frozen, isn't it? I'm not really sure how this is going to work, since Elsa wasn't a bad guy in Frozen. I did a little research and discovered that the story that Frozen was based upon, The Snow Queen, had Elsa (my research was cursory and didn't include seeing a name for the Snow Queen, so I'm going to call her Elsa) as the bad guy, so maybe that's where the writers are going with this. I do worry that it's going to be a misfire, though, since people are still fairly obsessed with Frozen and won't really like to see Elsa portrayed as a baddie. However, maybe this character will have some redeemable qualities and we'll get a nice redemption arc for her, just like we did for Regina. I'm willing to give the show the benefit of the doubt, though, and will wait to pass judgement until I see what next season brings.
I have to say, the line of dialogue from Regina, "Here's hoping you didn't bring anything else back with you," which might be a slight paraphrase, was about the clunkiest foreshadowing I've heard in a long time. Maybe foreshadowing isn't the appropriate term, though, since the very next scene showed the urn that Elsa's liquid form was in (what is she, a T-1000?) popping its cap and letting her out. But it was still pretty clunky.
Other minor thoughts/questions I have about the episode:
- Emma calling herself Princess Leia. Oh, Emma. You were a bail bondsperson earlier in life. I thought you'd be a little bit quicker on your feet coming up with a fake name for yourself.
- Grumpy saying "Ding dong" during the first scene at Granny's. I really had hoped they would go all the way with that, but maybe it's copyrighted?
- Present!Hook punching out Past!Hook was kind of hot. And now I want a lot of slashy fic to be written about that combination. Mmmm....
- Seeing Red/Ruby was so nice. I hope we see her a bit more again next season. I heard she had a show currently running, but maybe the two shows can work some sort of agreement out?
- I saw a glimpse of Aurora, but no Phillip. Or maybe it was so brief that if my mind wandered for the slightest bit, I wouldn't have seen him. But it was nice to see them again. And it would be nice for them to maybe have some sort of story next season.
- I know Jamie Chung is on a different show, but Mulan not being anywhere is weird. I kind of hope we see her again next season. The cast is pretty huge, though, so if we don't, it might not be a bad thing.
- Blue knowing that Emma wasn't who she said she was was interesting. I'm trying to replay scenes between them in previous episodes to see if there was some sort of foreshadowing going on there, but I can't think of any. Foreshadowing, that is. And really, I don't know if Blue would have been able to see through Rumple's glamour, so maybe this mental exercise isn't worth using brain cells.
- Will we have a musical episode next season? I mean, we have Elsa, and we know that in Frozen she sings, so it is not out of the realm of possibility, really.
- Will Anna also show up? And will that be the redemption arc for Elsa?
- Is Regina going to backslide in her redemption because she's losing another love? Or will she be part of a triangle? I really like her and Robin together, and I will be bummed if she doesn't get some happiness.
- Will we see Jefferson again? (No, I'm not giving up on that. Yes, I know it's been a season and a half since we've seen him. But he's hot, and he's a great character, and I just want to have some story for him.)
- I have a feeling that Belle will eventually find out about the fake dagger she has. What will she do when she finds out?
And now we wait for next season. I may try to write about some other shows that I'm catching up on during the summer. Any requests can be put in the comments. Also, feel free to add your thoughts to the comments, too. I'm intrigued to know if anyone else was as underwhelmed by the episode as I was.