Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME RECAP Season 2 Episode 22 And Straight On 'Til Morning on Seat42F.
Grade: 99%
Grade: 99%
ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME ended their
freshman run with a completely unexpected development which completely
changed the focus of the series. This week’s sophomore season finale,
“And Straight on ‘Til Morning,” does much the same thing, switching the
rules again, and moving both the setting and missions for season three.
Early in the episode, Greg (Ethan Embry)
and Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green) activate the trigger that will
destroy Storybrooke, killing all of its fairy-tale-land-born
inhabitants. From there, it’s a race against time to either escape this
realm or stop the catastrophe from happening.
But as pressing an issue as the trigger
may be, the story, as usual, all comes down to character development.
Regina (Lana Parrilla) created the trigger, so she decides to sacrifice
herself, slowing the trigger enough for everyone else to escape. She
knows she isn’t accepted by anyone in town, and this final act might
make up for some of the bad stuff she’s down, as well as redeem herself
in Henry’s (Jared Gilmore) eyes. It’s sad that she feels this is the
only thing she can do, but she’s right, and her actions earn her
forgiveness from everyone in town.
It’s weird to see the fairy tale folk
jump to Regina’s defense, Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) being the lone hold
out. None of these people like her, and she has caused such irreparable
harm to their lives. Even if she does the right thing in the end, it
would test the level of forgiveness of any sane person to be able to
look past Regina’s spells and feel bad for her. I guess it proves just
how good-natured and heroic the main characters are to be able to do
this.
This pays off for Regina because Emma
(Jennifer Morrison), David (Josh Dallas), Mary Margaret (Ginnifer
Goodwin), and Henry try to come to her rescue, negating the sacrifice,
but it’s the thought that counts, right? They refuse to leave her
behind, no matter how tempting that might be. This is the satisfying
culmination of Regina’s road towards trying to be good.
I’m not saying Regina will always be on
the right side from here on out. Every tale needs conflict, and Regina
is a wonderful source of said tension for ONCE UPON A TIME. But by
taking her so far onto the positive side of the line, she is bound to
keep working with her former foes, who are her family, for the
foreseeable future. She’s earned her place in their eyes, and that
should have lasting effect.
Sadly, the plan to save Regina almost
fails because of Hook’s betrayal, and Emma has to step in with her own
power. Together, Regina and Emma cancel out the trigger, thus proving
just how strong they are when working in concert. I have a feeling this
team up will be important again soon enough, as they will face huge
challenges in the future.
While everyone is distracted with
stopping the trigger, Greg and Tamara kidnap Henry and jump through a
portal into Neverland. Apparently, they work for “Him,” who has been
searching for Henry, and thus the trigger is not their end game. These
are smart villains who manage to trick our heroes, and that makes them
all the more dangerous.
Thankfully, this means they will have to
stick around the series in some capacity, Martin-Green’s availability
permitting, now that she’s full-time on The Walking Dead. And we still
don’t know why Henry has been singled out, or what their intentions with
him are, so there’s lots to ponder this summer.
We get a little glimpse of Neverland in
“And Straight on ‘Til Morning” as Bae (Dylan Schmid), in flashback,
sails on Hook’s ship among the crew. It looks like a terrible place,
with the pirates (except for Hook) afraid of the sinister Lost Ones, led
by Peter Pan. Peter Pan is not the Big Bad, it seems, but is in service
of “Him.” This is a very dark world, and not one anyone would be
anxious to venture into it.
Again, what we are shown of Neverland is
secondary to a character-driven story, this one focusing on Hook. Hook
is a scoundrel, but he has the capacity for good. He protects Bae for
his own selfish reasons, out of love for the departed Milah (Rachel
Shelley), but then softens towards him. Then he hands Bae over to the
Lost Ones. In the present day, Hook betrays Emma, but then comes back
and lends his ship and his services to the protagonists.
Is Hook good or is he evil? He
definitely realizes that a life bent on revenge is not a life
well-lived, but it almost seems like he doesn’t quite know how to be
good. Like Regina, he has a bad childhood, mentioned in “And Straight on
‘Til Morning,” and thus finds it hard to make the right choices. But
also like Regina, he comes through in the end, making him not completely
despicable. It will be interesting to see how he continues to evolve
next year, now firmly ensconced with the principal cast.
Unfortunately, or fortunately for an
interesting story’s sake, Neverland, with all of its unknown threats,
including mermaid curses, will be a major setting next season. This
installment ends not only with Greg, Tamara, and Henry going there, but
with Hook, Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Regina, and Gold (Robert Carlyle)
following in pursuit.
Gold, too, learns to turn his back on
his darker nature when he not only spares Henry, whom he considers
killing early in the hour, but also sets aside his differences with
Hook. It seems Neal’s apparent demise has the desired effect, making
Gold questions his priorities and make the right decisions. Yes, there
is still a hint of threat in Gold talking to Hook, but they are going to
be working together, and Gold is definitely not trying to kill Henry
anymore. This is where fans want his character to be.
However, I and many others are very
disappointed that Belle (Emilie de Ravin), memory restored through an
act of kindness by Grumpy (Lee Arenberg), doesn’t get on the Jolly Roger
with the rest, Gold leaving her in charge of protecting the town.. It’s
clear that the story of ONCE UPON A TIME is leaving Storybrooke next
year, with the entire core contingent departing. This likely means Belle
will be downgraded back to recurring player, and won’t have more scenes
with Gold anytime soon.
The same can likely be said for Ruby
(Meghan Ory), who has been absent from the past few episodes, including
the season finale, and has a pilot just picked up by CBS. I hate that
ONCE UPON A TIME so frequently dispenses with main characters, even if
they aren’t vital to the continued tale, and Ruby and Belle seem to be
the latest casualties of this trend.
Neal (Michael Raymond-James) could still
be promoted to series lead, though, because, as we find out at the end
of “And Straight on ‘Til Morning,” he’s still alive and in fairy tale
land with Aurora (Sarah Bolger), Mulan (Jamie Chung), and Phillip
(Julian Morris). None of these three are principal players, but Neal is
so pivotal to the larger arcs that his latest adventure could steal some
screen time away from the rest of the leads. I welcome that.
ONCE UPON A TIME delivers a fantastic
finale, with some major developments, unexpected twists, and wonderfully
written and performed roles, with Parrilla and O’Donoghue sharing the
MVP title for the hour. I am super excited about what will come next,
and anxiously await its return next fall, as it has been renewed.
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