Article originally published as ONCE UPON A TIME Review "Siege Perilous" on Seat42F.
This week’s ONCE UPON A TIME, “Siege Perilous,” finds several characters dealing with sneaky types. David (Josh Dallas) bonds with Arthur (Liam Garrigan) while on a quest, but is the bromance mutual? Emma (Jennifer Morrison) seeks to reignite her relationship with Hook (Colin O’Donoghue), but he’s reluctant to get involved with the Dark One. And Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) finds himself facing the darkness once inside of him.
This week’s ONCE UPON A TIME, “Siege Perilous,” finds several characters dealing with sneaky types. David (Josh Dallas) bonds with Arthur (Liam Garrigan) while on a quest, but is the bromance mutual? Emma (Jennifer Morrison) seeks to reignite her relationship with Hook (Colin O’Donoghue), but he’s reluctant to get involved with the Dark One. And Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) finds himself facing the darkness once inside of him.
You can tell Jane Espenson wrote this
episode because even where the larger arcs don’t quite make sense, she
makes it work by getting into the complexity of the characters. I often
complain about ONCE UPON A TIME failing to follow through or taking
short cuts with stories, and some of that is present in “Siege
Perilous.” But Jane, always talented and with an extraordinary strong
grasp of the players, seems to reign it in the craziness, remarkably
managing to make some of the weak spots gel, and deliver an overall
enjoyable episode. Any flaws present are likely not her fault, and the
solid performances absolve the cast of wrong-doing, as well.
The story in which David accepts not only a seat at Arthur’s Round Table, but the
primary seat, for the knight of purest heart, could easily be hokey.
After all, David is a hero who has been through a lot and should see
through such a blatant ploy. And the fact that Lancelot (Sinqua Walls),
whose rumors of death have been greatly exaggerated, tells Snow Mary
Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) the truth means that Arthur won’t trick the
couple for long, making the ploy meaningless.
However, the way “Siege Perilous”
approaches things is to play up David’s best qualities and show he he
longs to be something more than just a charming face. This David is
insecure as to who he is, so Arthur nudges him perfectly in order to
manipulate his emotions. Arthur presents himself as a like-minded
individual to David from a similar background, so David assumes Arthur
is like him and immediately trusts the king.
All of which makes Arthur a great
villain, especially scary as he forces a loyal aide to drink poison.
ONCE UPON A TIME hasn’t really targeted David for quite awhile, and by
making him the one easily fooled by Arthur, it sets David up to be the
hero of the season. I think he can rise to the occasion, and Arthur is a
worthy adversary, clearly smart and capable. I’m not sure what is
behind Arthur’s motivations, but at least it feels surprising and
interesting to have David go up against him. And how about that scene
with David in the truck? Pretty cool, eh?
The other bad guy this season is Emma,
of course. She tries to pretend she’s not all bad towards Hook. Rumple’s
affections for Belle (Emilie de Ravin) always shone through when he was
the dark one, so it’s believable that Emma would still want the former
pirate.
One might wonder why Hook doesn’t go for
Dark One Emma, given his villainous past. The only reason he seems to
change is for Emma, so why not change back when she turns? The thing is,
though, Hook fell for Savior Emma, not Dark Emma. He knows Savior Emma
is in there somewhere and considers her in need of a rescue. In that
context, it makes sense for Hook to resist this woman.
The plot in which Emma intends to make
Gold pure enough to pull the sword from the stone is very intriguing.
Gold has been a poorly-handled character for awhile now, but the removal
of the Dark One gives him a chance for a complete reset. For him to
become a hero now would not be earned, as it was before his character
was ruined, but it could still be a rich way to play him. If nothing
else, Belle will finally get the man she deserves, but might she loose
interest a bit if Rumple is back to being a coward without an edge?
I am impressed by the way things fall
into place in “Siege Perilous.” As I’ve said, I think it would be super
easy for certain elements, such as Arthur’s reveal, to not make sense
and feel cheap. Yet, in this script, they work, and I came away feeling
pretty good about this installment.
ONCE UPON A TIME airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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