THE WALKING DEAD Ups the Game "Again"

Article originally published as THE WALKING DEAD Review "First Time Again" on Seat42F.

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes - The Walking Dead _ Season 6, Episode 1 - Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

The long wait is finally over, and THE WALKING DEAD has returned to AMC! In last night’s sixth season premiere, “First Time Again,” Rick (Andrew Lincoln) leads the people of Alexandria, including his own group, in corralling a giant herd of walkers. In flashback, the aftermath of last year’s finale is explored interspersed with the current crisis. There are tons of zombies, more than the show has ever shown before, there is death, and of course, things go horribly wrong.

The question of whether or not Rick will be accepted in Alexandria is laid to rest at the end of season five when Deanna (Tovah Feldshuh) lets Rick kill Pete. But just because Rick’s authority is now established, seemingly second only to Deanna’s, and barely so, doesn’t mean the townspeople will go along with it. In fact, if anything, “First Time Again” finds many of them rebelling much more openly than anything we’ve seen so far.

The rabble-rousers are led by Carter (Ethan Embry, Once Upon a Time), but he is just the face that gives voice to others’ concerns. As noted in the first year, Alexandria has not faced what others in the post-apocalyptic world have faced. Without being cognizant of the dangers, they are resistant to Rick’s ideas of violence and putting oneself out there. Carter would prefer to continue to hide behind his walls, not realizing how lucky he’s been and that it’s not sustainable.

“First Time Again” does explain the luck Alexandria has seen so far. A large group of walkers are trapped, and their noise has drawn others in the area to them. The walls of the settlement aren’t being beaten down because there’s a convenient trap keeping the menace off of their lawn. However, the trap is full, and those captured will soon escape. Meaning, Alexandria’s luck is about to run out, unless they listen to Rick, who has a plan to resolve the crisis.

All of this sets up an interesting problem for Rick. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone in order to save the town, but if he lets the people stay soft, they will endanger everyone. Rick tries to make Carter strong by letting him face walkers, but Morgan (Lennie James, now a main character), who has become a pacifist, steps in to protect Carter, ruining the lesson. By the time Carter does screw up, it’s an almost-disaster, with Rick having to silence him before he draws the herd off-course.

Morgan’s position, one in which he protects people, is a valid one, but it’s also dangerous, given what happens with Carter. I do think it’s good to have someone like Morgan around to balance out Rick and remind Rick what they’re fighting to protect, as Rick gets too brutal at times. Yet, as fans of THE WALKING DEAD know, there isn’t always room for compassion in this new, harsh reality, and protecting a group is far removed from protecting only oneself. I don’t think Morgan will make the same mistake again soon, but neither will Rick simply execute anyone anymore, as he avoids doing in the storeroom, as that is going too far.

It will be up to Rick as to which tactics, other than execution, to use, as Deanna doesn’t seem to be making too many decisions these days. Numb after losing her husband, she listens to the lawman more than she ever has, and gives him a large amount of leeway in what he does. This is what Rick wants, and I’m sure he’s capable of handling it, but it does swiftly change the dynamic of Alexandria, and gives rise to Carter and others’ negative feelings.

Thankfully, not everyone is rebelling. Nicholas (Michael Traynor) learns his lesson after Glenn (Steven Yeun) spares him and wants to help out, probably now a loyal friend. Heath (Corey Hawkins, Straight Outta Compton) just returns home and meets our group in “First Time Again,” but having been outside the walls, he immediately sees the wisdom in what Rick stands for. Tobin (Jason Douglas) and Aaron (Ross Marquand) have already gotten on board, and so has Jessie (Alexandra Breckenridge), even if she can’t be close to Rick as he’d like because of her teenage son, Ron (Austin Abrams), who understandably hates the former cop for killing his dad. So it’s not all bad.

Besides showing the herd, THE WALKING DEAD has black and white flashbacks to between seasons five and six, which is stylistic, but also interesting because it gives us chances for that character development that the show does so well. We see how Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) is no longer suicidal, Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Tara (Alanna Masterson) reluctantly accept Glenn’s decision to forgive Nicholas, and how Darly (Norman Reedus) disagrees with some of Rick’s decisions. This is all interesting stuff, and while not super important to the main plot, are the details that make the program so good.

The most intriguing scene to me is when Morgan calls Carol (Melissa McBride) out on who she truly is. I don’t think the Alexandrians have noticed that Carol’s timid housewife is a front, but Morgan does. Carol is kind of Rick’s secret weapon, hiding in plain side and providing intelligence on the ground. If Morgan sees through her, though, others will as well, and I wonder how Carol’s neighbors will feel about her deception.

Then, at the end of the installment, a horn blares and screws up everything. Suddenly, this giant herd of zombies is heading right for the formerly safe little settlement, and there’s no way their laws will hold up to a hoard this big. It promises the intensity the producers seemed to sell for the premiere, but I’m glad they waited to deliver it because it gives us time to get to know the people here more before they have to change forever, as Rick predicted.

“First Time Again” is an excellent mix of a lot of things. There is danger and compelling human drama and foreshadowing and moral complexity. It gives us everything one could want from THE WALKING DEAD except for those who long for big zombie attacks, but I’m sure that they’ll get more than enough of that next week.

THE WALKING DEAD airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.

GRACE AND FRANKIE a Frank and Graceful Tale

Article originally written for Seat42F.

I cannot remember the last time my opinion of a show changed so drastically from the start to the finish of a pilot as it did for Netflix’s GRACE AND FRANKIE. The show, which launched all thirteen episodes of its freshman run yesterday, is the story of two women whose husbands come out as gay after forty years of marriage. The women hate one another, but they each may just be the only other person in the world who understands what the other is going through.

The first episode of GRACE AND FRANKIE, funnily enough entitled “The End,” begins with a corny theme song and a big, splashy announcement of the breakup at a double dinner date. While watching this scene, the situation seems incredibly cheesy and almost cliché, though the circumstances aren’t yet cliché at this point, and the characters feel flat and unrealistic. I was very tempted to turn it off.

As soon as you get past the opening of “The End,” though, the series immediately begins to deepen and improve. By the end of the half hour, viewers will not just understand how all of this happened the way it did, but feel like they’ve seen very raw performances from four actors at the very top of their craft. It’s not that the opening is bad, it is just not easy to understand until you get more from the characters. I cannot wait to go watch the other twelve installments.

GRACE AND FRANKIE stars Lily Tomlin (9 to 5, The West Wing) as Frankie, who is married to Sol (Sam Waterston, Law & Order, The Newsroom) at the start. They are a couple of spiritual hippies who are one another’s best friends. They have raised two sensitive sons (Brotherhood’s Ethan Embry and Fairly Legal’s Baron Vaughn), at least one of whom is adopted, and even after hearing the news, Frankie is the type who can’t bring herself to sleep in a different bed than Sol, at least not the first night.

GRACE AND FRANKIE also stars Jane Fonda (9 to 5, The Newsroom) as Grace, who is married to Robert (Martin Sheen, The Departed, The West Wing) at the start. They are an uptight, well-off couple who can’t stand one another very much. The poison in their relationship has led to a pair of judgmental daughters (Burning Love’s June Diane Raphael and Friends With Better Lives’ Brooklyn Decker) who are there for their mother, but also share her coldness a bit. She let herself be blinded to Robert’s tendencies because, even though their marriage wasn’t good, she thought this was normal.

Sol and Robert are in love and trying to spend their waning years happy. This is inherently selfish, as at least one of the wives points out, not leaving their spouses with a choice or much time to seek their own fulfillment. If the boys were going to do this, they should have done it twenty years ago, before life is almost over. Their last snatch at being who they want to be, finally something socially acceptable and their impending marriage legal, robs two other people of their own comfortable twilights.

Being able to see both sides of the guys’ decision, the one where they are finally doing what is right for themselves and the one where they are destroying a family, makes for quite a complex story. GRACE AND FRANKIE is easy to explain on the surface, but I was surprised and impressed by how deep it goes.

Where opposites attract for the men, they repel for the women, who know one another because their husbands are too close not to involve them, but have no desire to spend any time together. That the couples invested in a beach house together, the natural retreat for both females, provides a convenient way to force continued exposure. The show does manage not to fall into familiar tropes in which they
quickly become pals. As much as I want them to stay in scenes together, it must be authentic. “The End” gives me hope that it will be.

This series is also funny. Conflict breeds humor, and GRACE AND FRANKIE has conflict in spades. From a semi-inappropriate chair to the effects of a bitter tea, there is plenty of opportunity to be amused, too, even if it’s with a sad kind of laugh.

The acting in this program is excellent, as one would expect from this cast, many of whom have worked together in the past. It tickles me that both women have played major roles in shows that the other’s TV spouse starred in. These four are all people who have had a heyday some time ago, and yet prove their careers are not over by any stretch of the word. I’m glad their talents are not being wasted in their later years, as they are clearly still young and vibrant enough to put them to good use for an appreciative audience.

GRACE AND FRANKIE is on Netflix now.

ONCE UPON A TIME Has "Heart"

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Recap Season 3 Episode 1 The Heart of the Truest Believer on Seat42F.

ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME returns for a third go-round with “The Heart of the Truest Believer.” Six people are on the Jolly Roger, come to Neverland to find the missing Henry (Jared Gilmore). But when they get there, they discover Neverland is not quite what they expect. This goes double for the duo that kidnapped Henry, soon learning the Home Office hasn’t been entirely truthful with them.

The Home Office is, apparently, Peter Pan (Robbie Kay) and the Lost Boys. Pan needs “The Heart of the Truest Believer” for some unknown purpose, and for anyone who has ever watched even a little bit ONCE UPON A TIME, you will know immediately that said heart belongs to Henry. Henry has always held the faith that fairy tales are true and good win will, even when others falter. Now the question is, can Henry keep his heart in his chest, and what does Pan want with it?

The twist in “The Heart of the Truest Believer” is a pretty predictable one. Given the nature of the Neverland jungle and the ease at which the boys move around in it, I assumed immediately that the “turned” lost boy was none other than Pan. I wasn’t sure about his motives, but it makes sense that Pan would want to confirm Henry really is whom Pan is seeking before doing anything more to the boy.

I’m surprised to see Greg (Ethan Embry) and Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green) meet their fates so swiftly. True, Martin-Green has a full-time gig on The Walking Dead, but considering that the pair were the villains for much of season two, one expects there to be more to their tale than being cut down by boys in the woods. However, ONCE UPON A TIME is moving into a new chapter, so I suppose it’s appropriate that the bad guys are new, too. Plus, I like the way this episode ties into last year and makes the viewer rethink things seen previously.

Actually, the Lost Boys don’t straight up kill Tamara; she hangs around just long enough for Rumple (Robert Carlyle), who has magically left the Jolly Roger, to find her and extract a little information. This is the cruel side of Rumple, returned in full force. We see that Rumple is determined to save Henry at the end of last season, willing to sacrifice himself, but apparently he doesn’t mind dipping back into his old bag of tricks to do, as reformed as her might have seemed.

Neverland seems the perfect place for Rumple, extremely well versed as he is in all things magic. Neverland is bursting at the seams with magic, much more so than the Enchanted Forrest, so it makes sense that the character who flourished with the element should have better command of it than the others. This prompts Rumple to ditch them, whether that’s because he thinks they’ll slow him down or he just doesn’t care about them, he’s at home here.

But Rumple has a weakness, too, and that’s his family. An old straw doll is enough to stop him in his tracks and bring him to tears. We don’t know why, as “The Heart of the Truest Believer” breaks format and abstains from doing a full flashback story, but assumedly we’ll get to that soon enough, and Rumple has been to Neverland before.

Of course, this weakness leads Rumple to dabble in blood magic, which provides a way for Neal (Michael Raymond-James), stuck in the Enchanted Forrest with Mulan (Jamie Chung) and Robin Hood (Sean Maguire, recast from Robin’s previous appearance), to locate Emma. He’ll need more help than just them, and Aurora (Sarah Bloger) and Phillip (Julian Morris), to reunite with his loved ones.

I like very much that Neal’s assistance comes in the form of familiar faces. These characters were seen quite a bit early last season, then disappeared. ONCE UPON A TIME does have quite a few people to serve, but it’s satisfying that it’s beginning to reuse those that haven’t been fully explored, rather than just continuing to add new ones all the time. The quartet Neal gets involved with deserve the screen time, and I look forward to seeing how they can help him next, as well as to how long they will stick around this time.

The more help Neal can bring with the better, as Neverland is full of dangers, a reflection of the erratic children who run the land, left to their own devices without guidance or structure, which Emma, Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin), Charming (Josh Dallas), Hook (Colin O’Donoghue), and Regina (Lana Parrilla) soon find out. They are beset by mermaids and drive them off, only to be further threatened by their hostage (Natasha Wilson) with a rough storm. It’s too bad Rumple leaves them, as they could sure use his help!

It’s really cool how the storm is mirroring the discord within this group, feeding off of them and ramping up their hostility at the same time. It may be an obvious metaphor, but it’s an effective one, making for a tense scene.

Emma is the one that saves the day. In all of this, Emma has remained the most neutral, and she is able to do that because she exits outside of the Enchanted Forrest web of relationships, not having lived in that place. Emma and Charming want to be her parents, and so love her as mothers and fathers do, but not having grown up with them, Emma is hesitant to let them in, still holding onto anger towards them. Emma saves Regina so Regina respects her, but they feud over Henry, so they won’t be buddies anytime soon. And Hook takes a fancy to Emma, even giving her Neal’s sword, but Emma isn’t about to hop into bed with a known scalawag.

When Emma jumps in the ocean, though, they all work together to save her. I think they realize that Emma is their best chance at getting what they want, whether it’s family or sex or a way to get back to one’s world. Emma is a powerful force, as is Henry, and they are driving factors in this show.

The one flashback we do see is Emma (Jennifer Morrison) giving birth to Henry. It’s telling that this moment is chosen, as the episode is not about Emma’s relationship with Henry. I believe this means Henry’s origin story and how he came to Storybrooke, as well as what his destiny is, it vital to the plot this fall.

“The Heart of the Truest Believer” isn’t just an exciting story and the beginning of fresh plots in a new world; it’s also reestablishing the role both Emma and Henry play in the show, as leads. It reorders the relationships, Emma taking command over the other four on the ship. It reminds us of what the show is about and why it works in the first place. In short, it’s pretty much the best season premiere one could ask for from the show.

ONCE UPON A TIME airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Morning Dawns On Once Upon a Time

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME RECAP Season 2 Episode 22 And Straight On 'Til Morning on Seat42F.

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.

Once Upon a Time Takes The "Second Star to the Right"

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Review Season 2 Episode 21 Second Star to the Right on Seat42F.

Grade: 98%

ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME begins its two-part sophomore finale this week with “Second Star to the Right.” A young Bae (Dylan Schmid) falls through the portal in fairytale land and ends up in London, England. There, he meets the Darling family, who take him in, give him a bed and food, and treat him as one of their own. But when a mysterious shadow threatens the family, Bae must sacrifice himself to keep magic from destroying their home, like it did his.

The flashback events of “Second Star to the Right” pick up just after we see Rumple (Robert Carlyle) lose Bae through the portal in a previous episode, but thank goodness there is then a six month time jump, since Schmid has definitely aged a bit. He has also grown into a fine young performer, who does a terrific job in this installment.

London itself look good, and ONCE UPON A TIME strikes the perfect balance between making sure it seems like the plot is set in the real world, but including the trademark Peter Pan elements that make the tale so familiar, such as the striking image of Big Ben, the large bedroom window, Nana the dog, the beautiful house, Michael’s (Benjamin Cook) teddy bear, and John’s (William Ainschough) glasses and umbrella.

Yet, there’s also something very sinister that one may not perceive in the classic tale. Peter’s shadow is a scary CGI creation that looks more demonic than playful. And after a visit to Neverland, Wendy (Freya Tingley, Hemlock Grove) remembers it as a sad prison for lost boys, rather than the magical place to have an adventure. This actually makes sense in the context of the larger story, even as it differs drastically from the animated Disney version.

It must be incredibly hard for Bae to give himself up for Wendy and the rest of the Darlings. As noble as he is, he has already lost so much. It’s understandable he would want to keep them from suffering as he has, but to give up the good life he has just fallen into would be so, so difficult. Bae is a hero, through and through, and just as he will eventually, as an adult, give up the love of his life for her own good, he turns his back on a comfortable existence for others now.

I’m a little disappointed we won’t see any of the traditional telling of Peter Pan, with the fun side of Neverland readily apparent before the darkness sets in. And I do want to know where Tinkerbell may be hiding. But the ending, where Bae escapes the shadow and ends up on the deck of Hook’s (Colin O’Donoghue) ship, the Jolly Roger, is an intriguing set up for the last hour of the season.

In Storybrooke, adult Bae (Michael Raymond-James) is faced with yet another unhappy situation. He may have his son, Henry (Jared S. Gilmore), around now, and doesn’t intend to lose him, but he has yet to connect with his own dad, Gold, who is flitting around with bad influence Lacey (Emilie de Ravin), whom encourages Gold to be a bully and get rid of Henry. To make matters worse, Emma (Jennifer Morrison), whom Bae sees as a jealous ex, doesn’t seem to be letting go of her suspicions about Bae’s current fiancé, Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green).

I’m kind of glad that Tamara is evil, as this clears the way for Bae and Emma to be together now, instead of having to wait around for closure and healing. It’s true, Bae may need some time to get over being betrayed by the woman he loves, finding out his entire relationship is a lie. But it will be easier on him than if she is innocent.

It’s surprising that “Second Star to the Right” has Bae and Emma confess their love for one another. Many series would stretch out such a relationship for years before allowing any culmination of happiness. Bae has only really been in the last part of this season, and is still not a main character. Yet, the couple has expressed their feelings, setting them up for a happy ending.

Except, Tamara shoots Bae, and then he falls through a portal into another world. I don’t think Bae is dead, no matter how dire it looks for him, as he is too pivotal a player in this saga. To see him taken out so easily and quickly, especially as vital as he is to a number of the central characters, just won’t do. It could be awhile before we see him again, but with luck ONCE UPON A TIME will keep his tale going, signing him on full-time next year, even if it takes part of, or all, the next season for Emma to find him again.

Emma is such a pessimist! She holds out no hope Bae has survived, telling her parents, Snow and Charming (Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas), that Bae is dead. Even for one who has had such a depressing life, as Emma has, to give up hope so quickly for the man she loves is not cool. Emma still has a ways to go before growing into a true hero, of course, but that is no excuse for declaring Bae dead immediately, and not even attempting to find him. This is disappointing.

The upside of Emma believing and telling others that Bae is dead is that this might finally shake Gold out of his misbehavior. Clearly, Bae’s angry words aren’t enough to make Gold realize that he’s on the wrong path, but perhaps losing his son again will. I don’t think Gold will just accept, without proof, Bae is dead, and could even be the instrument by which Bae is found again. But it might be enough for him to shake off hanging with the ill-tempered Lacey and try a different approach to get his lady love, and son, back, and will allow Henry to survive.

If not, we’re in quite a bit of trouble, as Lacey now knows that Gold can do magic, and she definitely does not have kind plans for the use of his power.

The final arc addressed in “Second Star to the Right” is Greg’s (Ethan Embry) torture of Regina (Lana Parrilla) as he searches for his long-missing father. What Greg does to Regina, no matter what she has done, makes him seem like the villain. He is cold and causes Regina great pain. In the end, this allows him to find his dad’s body (despite internet rumors, I do believe he is dead), but it also costs Greg whatever bit of a soul he has left.

Which means Greg is now extremely dangerous. And he has the tool to carry out his vengeance. He and Tamara have Regina’s trigger that can wipe out Storybrooke and everything in it, and thanks to their mysterious “home office” (next season’s story?), they know what it is. Destroying the town, including the magic and inhabitants within, is their plan anyway, and now they have a convenient way to do so. There is nothing to stop them from trying.

What might stop them from succeeding is a Regina / Snow / Charming team-up. Snow doesn’t make up for killing Regina’s mother, of course, and with all the bad blood between them, there likely never will be familial peace. Thankfully, though, at least one side sees the value of kinship, no matter what has happened, which allows Snow to save Regina from Greg. This provides some promise that they might find some common ground to work together and save everyone. It’s an unlikely and temporary alliance, but one that could prove crucial at the right moment.

“Second Star to the Right” is a wonderful, nearly (but not quite) flawless installment, and a great set up for the season finale. ONCE UPON A TIME’s second season (there will be a third) ends next Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Once Upon a Time There Was "The Evil Queen"

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Review Season 2 Episode 20 The Evil Queen on Seat42F.

Grade: 97%

As ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME builds towards its sophomore finale, “The Evil Queen” takes a moment to examine what it means to be evil. In Fairy Tale Land, we see Regina (Lana Parrilla) order the death of a village full of people because they won’t help her find Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin). Yet, when she disguises herself as a peasant, she is surprised to hear her subjects refer to her as “The Evil Queen,” as that is not how she sees herself.

We know Regina doesn’t think ill of herself, usually, but it’s quite a shocker to see her do something so bad and then trying to justify it. She doesn’t see anything wrong with slaughtering the villagers because, in her eyes, they deserve it for not obeying their rules. She feels she is right in doling out such a punishment, and maybe even that fear will breed more respect from them.

Regina couldn’t be more wrong, of course. It’s a rude awakening for her. Speaking out for the queen as an anonymous subject, it doesn’t take long for her to end up on the chopping block for execution, powerless in the disguise Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) puts her in.

Snow happens to be the one that rescues Regina, not realizing who she is, and they have a very sweet heart-to-heart. Snow is willing to forgive Regina and be a family again, something Regina clearly wants. We know Regina has bitterness in her heart against Snow, but she is so desperate for love, especially feeling vulnerable after hearing of her reputation, that she fully intends to make up with Snow. That is, until Snow finds out about the massacre and changes her mind about being able to forgive Regina.

Regina and Snow would never have had a happy ever after in the castle, whether Snow found the village or not. Regina is insecure by nature, and combats that by making others bend to her will. Even if Snow came home, something else is bound to happen sooner or later that would put them at odds again. The kind woman that saved Snow on the horse is gone and is not coming back.

The resolution is somewhat startling. Once Regina realizes it is not in her power to change the hearts and minds of her subjects, she decides to embrace her villainous moniker. It’s likely a power play, unable to just accept that she needs to change, and wanting to reassert her dominance. In her mind, if the people think she is evil, then they deserve to be led by an evil queen. This is a turning point for the character, and one she won’t soon come back from.

The one thing that bothers me just a bit about this story is that Rumple is willing to let Regina be killed, not coming when she calls for him. Isn’t she part of his multi-step master plan? Does he really know she’ll be OK and is just toying with her, or does he put his whole mission in jeopardy? If the latter, why?

Regina’s justifications and lack of understanding carry over into the modern day Storybrooke. Regina wants to take Henry (Jared Gilmore) with her back to the Enchanted Forrest and kill everyone in Storybrooke once she hears that Snow / Mary Margaret and David (Josh Dallas) have no intention of taking her back with everyone else unless she’s in a cell. To get even, Regina destroys their bean crop, making sure she is the only one with the magic plant that can get them home.

Once more, Regina thinks she is in the right, her enemies deserving to die because they are plotting against her. She’s so convinced that she is on the correct side that she tells Henry everything, only to wipe his memory when he doesn’t take it well. This shows just how out of touch with reality Regina is, and that she hasn’t learned her lesson. As much as we may want her to be redeemed, at this point, it’s not possible.

The same thing is reinforced when she takes Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) down to Maleficent’s lair, intending to use him only as bait for the creature so that Regina can get something she needs. Hook hasn’t wronged her, but he is a pawn in her game, and Regina thinks it’s acceptable to sacrifice him to meet her goals. This is the kind of attitude that makes people turn on her.

And turn on her they do. Hook is working with Greg (Ethan Embry) and Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green), who trick Regina, by her own hubris, into losing her magic. Now she is powerless to stand up to them, or anyone in town. Regina is the only one that knows what these bad guys are up to, but can’t stop them, nor warn anyone else. She’s in a bad spot.

Do Greg and Tamara hate all magic? Will they make exceptions in their plot for those who bring good into the world? Something tells me they want to destroy all the fairy tale characters, and will not judge any as being better than the others.

Hook understands evil better than anyone. He freely admits that once he kills Rumple, his life will be empty, as revenge is an ending, not a beginning. He is OK with this. This self-awareness is interesting, and makes him a more layered and quite intriguing, even as it means he may be even farther from redemption than anyone.

Parrilla continues to deliver a fantastic performance this season. As much as one sometimes wants to hate Regina, Parrilla makes her sympathetic, or at least understandable, even at her darkest. It’s to the actress’s credit that Regina’s tale comes across as tragic, rather than just one to root against.

Regina’s best hope lies in Emma (Jennifer Morrison), again. Just as Emma has to step in and fix Regina’s mistake last year when she accidentally poisons Henry, Emma is now the only one who is suspicious of Tamara. She has no evidence to support her theories, which is why Neal (Michael Raymond-James) thinks Emma is just acting like a jealous ex. But to Emma, there is something that isn’t quite adding up, and she will have to be the one to put the pieces together.

I absolutely love when Neal catches Henry guarding the door for Emma and immediately recognizes a tactic that he himself taught Emma in Henry’s behavior. It’s such a great connection to their past, and will give fans of a Neal / Emma pairing hope that there is still something between the pair.

“The Evil Queen” shows a side of Henry that isn’t usually obvious – he’s just a kid. He often seems so much wiser than many of the adults around him, partially because he is instrumental in breaking the curse in Storybrooke. But this week, we see the vulnerable child who just wants his parents to get back together. He helps Emma investigate Tamara not because he really is concerned about what Tamara might do to the town, but because he wants Neal to be free to be with Emma. Poor kid.

“The Evil Queen” is a fascinating look at one of ONCE UPON A TIME’s most compelling characters. It sets up the finale a bit, but also takes time to delve into the depth of a blackened soul. It’s another excellent installment in the exciting series.

ONCE UPON A TIME airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Lacey Begins a New Once Upon a Time

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Review Season 2 Episode 19 Lacey on Seat42F.

Grade:  94%

ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME breaks a long hiatus this week with “Lacey.” Regina (Lana Parrilla) helps Belle (Emilie de Ravin) get her memories back, but not her fairy tale ones. Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) is not too happy with Lacey, Belle’s new persona, who is somewhat the opposite of the girl he loves. Will they be able to find each other again, as true love’s kiss is needed to break Regina’s spell?

“Lacey” gives us another piece of the Rumplestilskin / Belle back story. We see them living together when they aren’t getting along. This is the part of the Beauty and the Beast story where things are unhappy, and ultimately culminates in the library / “there may be something there that wasn’t there before” bit. Yet, even in their most miserable times, Belle sees something in Rumple that gives her hope.

A young man named Robin Hood (Tom Ellis, Miranda) ventures into Rumple’s home to steal a magic wand. Rumple captures and tortures Robin Hood, intending to set an example for anyone else that might think to steal from him. Belle can’t stand to hear the suffering, and allows Robin to escape when Rumple isn’t looking.

I feel like these scenes in “Lacey” take Rumple in a darker direction than we’ve seen him before. Yes, we have witnessed him kill out of revenge, and use magic to manipulate and get what he wants. But we haven’t seen him being cruel, inflicting physical pain, without good reason. It’s not like he even knows Robin; Robin is just a man willing to break the rules to save the woman that he loves, with no personal beef.

It’s a little strange that Belle sticks by Rumple at this point. I mean, I get that she thinks she can save him, and sees the inner part of him that isn’t bad. But as Rumple is hurting Robin, making her wash his aprons full of blood, there should be more outrage here. Belle should be disgusted and turned off, maybe even trying to run away, despite her duty, or take down Rumple. How does she keep from judging him, even as she begs Rumple to show mercy, which he eventually does, sparing Robin’s life in the end.

Quick side musing: might Robin’s never-missing bow, which Rumple ends up with, be the same one that Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) eventually owns?

The Storybrooke versions of the characters are different than their fairy tale personas, and yet there is a thread connecting them. Lacey is nothing but dark, loving alcohol and violence. At first, this is confusing, because Rumple has always regarded Belle as a sweet, pure innocent. But I think “Lacey” shows us that his view is simplistic and wrong.

Lacey urges Gold to keep beating on the Keith, a.k.a. the Sheriff of Nottingham (Wil Traval, All Saints), in Storybrooke, delighting in the dark side it brings out of him. This can’t come out of nowhere. I think the purpose of the “Lacey” back story is to show us that Belle doesn’t flinch at darkness, and may even be attracted to it. Yes, she encourages Rumple / Gold to act good, but perhaps she also likes knowing that, deep down inside, he is bad. Or she likes the influence she has over this part of him, making her feel powerful to be able to control someone like that, even if it comes across as her encouraging Rumple to better himself.

It’s a sobering and depressing turn. It reveals the more complex nature of Belle, but it also shows us something about her that we won’t like. This kind of changes the game, giving us a new understanding of a pivotal character that could have long reaching affects.

There is an immediate consequence in “Lacey,” and that’s that Gold is now embracing the evil nature he fights to overcome. He is in love with Belle, or Lacey, or whoever she is. He is going to do what makes her happy, even if it’s what the old version of her wouldn’t have wanted, at least, so he thinks. The fact that she eggs him on when he is beating Keith, and so Gold keeps going, is a bad sign for where the character of Rumple may go in the last few episodes of the season to impress his gal.

See, “Lacey” opens with a powerful scene in which Rumple murders Henry (Jared Gilmore), his own grandson, because Henry has been foretold to be the instrument of Rumple’s destruction. At the beginning of the hour, Rumple is deeply bothered by this vision, and clearly is not comfortable carrying it out, hoping Belle might remember who she is and help him overcome these desires. However, if Lacey wants him to be bad, we’ve seen how easily Rumple can get caught up in that darkness. His behavior late in the installment is bad news for Henry.

Which means Regina has screwed up again. By manipulating Belle to be Lacey, thinking she is just going to hurt Gold, she actually puts Henry is danger. This is similar to last year’s late arc, in which Regina tries to poison Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Henry ends up the one in the coma. Clearly, Regina has not learned her lesson.

Regina is also causing trouble in another way. She secretly investigates what the dwarves and Anton (Jorge Garcia) have been doing, and discovers their beanstalks. The question is, what will she do about it?

She doesn’t immediately burn the fields, so maybe she wants to go home. It seems the Charmings have no intention of taking her with them, based on a line Emma lets slip, probably a good move considering the threat Regina poses in the past in fairy tale land. But this now means they can’t just escape her. Which, they couldn’t have anyway. The disappearance of many, if not all, of the townsfolk would have eventually raised her suspicion, and she would have found them. Now, though, she may threaten them leaving in the first place.

It is doubtful that Regina will team up with Gold, considering she doesn’t trust him. Regina only finds out this week that Gold is Henry’s grandfather, and considering that he arranges her adoption of the boy in the first place, she doesn’t believe that he didn’t know who Henry is ahead of time. Might the two baddies battle each other, rather than the heroes?

Even if they do, the end of “Lacey” triples the threat count when Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Greg / Owen (Ethan Embry) bring Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) back to town. He is their prisoner, but surely he will have no objection to causing trouble for their enemies. Plus, Hook arrives along with quite a few boxes. What is in all of those?

“Lacey” is very much setting up some big end-of-the-season plots, and is interesting, if a bit depressing, in its own right. For every amusing scene of David (Josh Dallas) giving Gold dating advice, we get one of Lacey ditching Gold during dinner, balancing the enjoyable with the story elements that cause dread. The next three hours should be very exciting.

ONCE UPON A TIME airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET. on ABC.