Get WOKE

Article first published as TV Review: WOKE on Seat42F.

Premiering on Hulu next week is WOKE. The dramedy follows cartoonist Keef Knight, whose career is just about take off when he finds himself pushed into becoming a social justice warrior. That is exactly the opposite personality from the one Keef has carefully crafted his entire life, determined to blend in with white people and not make waves or be the slightest bit controversial. But after a traumatic run-in with the police, he begins hallucinating talking objects who won’t leave him alone until he finally speaks his mind – very loudly and publicly.

Lest you think this is one of those dumb, weird comedies about a man going crazy, WOKE is not that. The talking objects are never more present than they are at the beginning, later used sparingly and with care, not a constant gag that you have to struggle through if you’re not into it. WOKE is much more focused on the emotional and mental turmoil that Keef is experiencing as he tries to pull himself out of the hole he digs into and find a new normal. This series was so compelling,  I couldn’t stop until I’d blazed through all right episodes in a single day.

Lamorne Morris, best known as goofy sidekick Winston in New Girl, shines as Keef in WOKE, perfectly balancing an everyman quality with someone who can be serious and inspiring. He carriers this show on his back, as its almost entirely from his perspective, and he does it with excellence. I hope this show runs for many years because I can’t wait to see him play more of this character, or any character, really, after this.

He is supported by an amazing and varied ensemble, all there for how they relate to Keef, but complex characters on their own. Keef’s roommates are Clovis (comedian and writer T. Muph) and Gunther (Blake Anderson, Workaholics). Gunther is the super-woke white guy who seems to fight more for racial justice than the Black characters that surround him, even at times telling them how to act concerning sensitive issues. Yet, he stops short of being too annoying and patronizing, and displays a huge heart at all times. Clovis, meanwhile, is a player who lies to women constantly, and yet is somewhat good to his friends. One wonders what his backstory is that has made him this way, as his charm makes him difficult to hate, even as his actions are despicable.

Sasheer Zamata (Saturday Night Live) is introduced as a journalist who has strong morals, though further episodes reveal just how far from perfectly noble she is. Rose McIver (iZombie) is Keef’s fellow artist love interest, and they struggle with their interracial relationship and personal drama as they come together during a very disruptive time for Keef.

The subject matter is timely, though definitely written before recent events. Still, the conversation is more than relevant. Who really needs to watch this show is the Blue Lives Matter crowd. This will humanize the other side of the debate in a way that is badly needed in this hyper-partisan time, and in the tradition of great television shows, will foster understanding. But who is more likely to watch it are those already in support of Black Lives Matter and the series will preach to the crowd.

Apart from that, though, WOKE is an extremely well-made series, no matter what issues its tackling. It has terrific characters, is beautifully set in San Francisco, and expertly balances itself well between smart writing and really funny stuff, simultaneously being a true exploration of society at large and individual personalities, shining a light on so much that needs it. A koala subsplot is particularly insightful, in my opinion. This show is excellent, and season two can’t come soon enough.

WOKE premieres on Hulu on September 9th.

iZombie Lives

Article originally published as iZombie Review on Seat42F.

iZombie Malcolm Goodwin as Clive Babineaux and Rose McIver as Olivia "Liv" Moore

The CW’s newest drama, premiering this week, is called iZombie. The show begins when Liv Moore (Rose McIver, Masters of Sex, Once Upon a Time) is accidentally turned into one of the undead at a party-gone-wrong. Not knowing if there’s anyone else like her out there, she decides to hide what she’s become from her family and friends, who just think she’s grown lazy and pale, and even break off her engagement. Blurting out a special gift she finds in front of the wrong person, though, may just give her a new purpose.

The first thing that strikes me about iZombie is that is feels remarkably similar to Veronica Mars. This isn’t surprising, given that the series is created by Mars’ Rob Thomas, but everything from the snarky main female who gives voiceover, to the types of guest characters that pop up, to the tone and music, are nearly cloned from Veronica. This is strange, given that iZombie is based on a comic book and not Thomas’ original creation, but his influence is felt very heavily throughout.

Now, I do not observe this as a complaint. As a big fan of Veronica Mars, one who misses it frequently and can’t get enough of the new books and movie, also by Thomas, that continue the story, I am happy to have a show just like it back on television. The format, one in which Liv helps the police department solve cases, is similar to Veronica’s role as a private investigator, so that makes sense, too.

The major difference, at least in the pilot, is that iZombie is far more procedural. While Veronica spends a season looking into a case, Liv helps Detective Clive Babineaux (Malcolm Goodwin, Breakout Kings) catch the killer in a single hour. This is a disappointing departure, with the structure of the crime laid out in a predictable fashion. Liv’s ability to absorb skills and memories from the brains she eats, stolen from the victims in the morgue, could certainly help Clive with more cases. Should iZombie do this week after week, rather than developing any larger arcs, iZombie will quickly grow stale and lose its season pass status on my TiVo.

There are a few signs that iZombie could be serial. Liv lives with a roommate, Peyton (Aly Michalka, Hellcats), who wants to ‘fix’ Liv since she quit being a doctor to work in a morgue. Liv’s ex-fiancé, Major (Robert Buckley, One Tree Hill), is still in her life. Her boss, Ravi (Rahul Kohli), quickly figures out her secret and is dedicated to investigating the medical side of her situation. The man that made Liv who she is, Blaine (David Anders, Alias, The Vampire Diaries), is still out there and may have some answers. Each of these provide possible tales that can be explored in extended fashion.

I also like iZombie’s homage to its comic roots and its take on zombies. Liv is not like any other undead character I’ve ever seen, thus meaning viewers won’t immediately know what’s happening to her. The brain-eating aspect is not unique, but what happens to her after the meal is. She seems able to live a relatively normal life, as long as she consumes brains periodically, and her diet is light enough to not draw too much suspicion. The choice to make her condition a virus, which could one day be cured, makes sense and gives her motivation. I love The Walking Dead dearly, but I’m glad this is not that.

In short, iZombie seems poised to be one of the best made, most entertaining, boring procedurals out there. Hopefully it embraces its Thomas-DNA more fully and casts off the strict structure. If it does, I’m prepared to like it a lot.

iZombie premieres this Tuesday on the CW.

PETALS ON THE WIND Review

Article first published as PETALS ON THE WIND Review on Seat42F.

This weekend, Lifetime presents PETALS ON THE WIND, a television movie that serves as a sequel to last year’s Flowers in the Attic. It’s been ten years and the Dollanganger children are still trying to escape the secrets of their past. Their family is full of horrors that they haven’t shaken themselves of yet, and as the tale unfolds, they are drawn deeper into the web of incest and betrayal.

Each of the three surviving siblings have a large role to play in PETALS ON THE WIND, weaving three separate stories, even though they remain close, having been taken in by a kindly old man who has passed away as the film begins. Their current stories are built off of what came before, personalities shaped by neglect, abuse, and imprisonment, damaged people who will probably never be whole again.

All three kids have been recast, which makes sense, given their age differences in the two productions, while the adult actors reprise their roles. It’s a little weird at first to adjust, as there are very few through lines between the two, making the characters seem like completely different people. Then again, kids change a lot from teenagers into their twenties or childhood to teens, so I guess it makes sense that the newbies only bear a passing resemblance to the old.

The story this time around doesn’t feel as intense or moving as the first movie. I think a lot of this is because of the sprawling setting. In Flowers in the Attic, the children are confined to one place, with tension building over time. This is effective storytelling, and that element is now removed, the Dollangangers going out into the world. As such, I don’t feel that PETALS ON THE WIND is as effective as its predecessor.

That being said, there is a continued theme of being trapped. While no longer physically imprisoned, none of the three has been able to find their freedom. They are hemmed in, emotionally, sexually, and morally, by their mother, Corrine (Heather Graham), and grandmother, Olivia (Ellen Burstyn), even if they don’t see them. In this, there is a continuation of arrested development that is intriguing, even if the overall presentation is more melodramatic and less compelling.

Near the start, Cathy (Rose McIver, Once Upon a Time, Masters of Sex) moves to New York with new beau Julian Marquet (Will Kemp) to become a professional ballerina, only to find a life much departed from young girls’ fantasies of such. Of course, she keeps being drawn back to her siblings and her home. Cathy is the one most like Corrine and Olivia, I believe, which will be seen as the story plays out. It is up to the individual viewer to judge whether she is applying the harsh life lessons she learned justly or continuing a cycle of cruelty. I believe there is a case to be made for both.

Meanwhile, Christopher (Wyatt Nash, Hollywood Heights) is finishing medical school. His boss, Dr. Reeves (Nick Searcy, Justified), has a daughter, Sarah (Whitney Hoy, The Final), who is quite taken with Christopher, a good looking, intelligent young man. In the Reeves family, Christopher has the chance to leave his past behind and build a normal existence, with a respectable wife and kids. Can he get over his illicit feelings for Cathy and do it?

Then there’s Carrie (Bailey Buntain, a veteran of Bunheads, though she doesn’t play the dancer in this one), who was too young for personality in Flowers in the Attic, but is now being tormented at high school and feeling left out of her older siblings’ bond. She is desperate for attention from just about anyone, including her mother, and yet, her thread is the least developed of the three, sadly, as there is something interesting going on here.

I do feel like PETALS ON THE WIND needs more time to really get its message across. The pacing zooms through two years and it bounces between the three characters, never serving any of them enough to make it seem like there’s much depth. We see their actions, but missing are the scenes of self-doubt and struggling with damaged minds. This story has great potential, and perhaps should have been a two-night miniseries, rather than a quick TV movie.

It’s also regrettable that we get so much less of Graham and Burstyn this time. Burstyn, in particular, is a great actress, and while she does a lot with the little she’s given, she doesn’t really have her own plot in the sequel. With limited time, it makes sense to focus on the next generation, but I’d really like to see more of Corrine’s continued struggle against Olivia, as well as the chasm between the two women because of their shared misdeeds.

Overall, PETALS ON THE WIND is enjoyable, a bit better than most of what I’ve seen from Lifetime, but several steps below its potential. I don’t know if the network plans to continue making the other three books in the series, but I kind of hope so, provided they take steps to better care for the material the next time around.

PETALS ON THE WIND airs Monday at 9 p. m. ET on Lifetime.

ONCE UPON A TIME is "Going Home" Happy

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Review Season 3 Episode 11 Going Home at Seat42F.

ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME is “Going Home” in the midseason finale. Pan (Robbie Kay) unleashes his curse on Storybrooke, which will wipe everyone’s memories and allow him to build a town full of people suffering at his hand. As the others race to stop him, it soon becomes clear that the magic required to defeat the villain will come with a very steep price, and the sacrifices must be made by those who, in the past, have seemed least likely to put others first.

It’s a surprise when Pan kills Felix (Parker Croft). It shouldn’t be, as we’ve seen that Regina (Lana Parrilla) had to murder her own father to enact the first curse. But for some reason, it comes as a minor shock, perhaps because Pan doesn’t telegraph it all. Nor does Pan seem to love Felix, which makes him feel like an unworthy sacrifice, but since Pan loves no one, I guess Felix is the closest person in the world to him. Which means Pan would rule the new Storybrooke completely alone. I wonder if he would cope with it better than Regina did? Probably.

Not that Pan gets the chance to find out. Rumple (Robert Carlyle) has a semi-complicated plan. They must get the black fairy’s wand (who is she and why haven’t we seen this character before?) to switch Henry (Jared Gilmore) and Pan back to their bodies, then Henry can bring the curse scroll to Regina to destroy. No one worries that Henry will suddenly be by evil Felix’s side when the swap occurs (thankfully, Felix is dead by that point, but they don’t know that), and not a single character asks Rumple ahead of time what the price may be, even as Rumple warns them about the cost (why not?).

The wand proves difficult to come by as Pan’s shadow guards it and hovers above where Neal (Michael Raymond-James) can use his coconut to nab it. Cue Tink (Rose McIver) believing in herself enough to reactive the pixie dust and fly up. It’s a simple solution that seems a little too easy, but it’s a story point that has to happen for Tink, so that’s excusable. Then Tink kills the shadow, which seems a little out of character, since up until now, we haven’t seen our heroes execute the bad guys, though Tink isn’t exactly the pure moral soul that Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) is.

Somehow, killing the shadow brings Blue (Keegan Connor Tracy) back from the dead. Does that mean others the shadow has murdered are alive again, too? Will there be any implications from this (probably not)? We have to have Blue remain in the show because she ties into everything and gets to give Tink back her more-than-earned wings. But I’m not completely clear on this plot point.

Then, Rumple uses the wand to make the body switch, putting the magic-blocking cuff on Pan. This proves ineffective, as after everyone leaves Rumple around with his father, Pan wakes up, declares he made the cuff and is thus immune to it, and slaps it on Rumple. Rumple is a very smart man, and while we know Pan is devious to be steps ahead, does Rumple really think it’s enough precaution just to put a cuff on Pan, with no other back up? No wonder Rumple gets his butt kicked.

However, right after that we get the most emotional scene in “Going Home.” With a frozen Bae, Belle (Emilie de Ravin), and others, including the entire main cast, looking on, Rumple has his shadow return the Dark One’s dagger to him and uses it to kill both himself and his father. It’s the ultimate act of redemption, a hero’s death, and everyone is affected by it, even Hook (Colin O’Donoghue). And thank goodness Rumple doesn’t cut off his arm, which is what his first though appears to be after being cuffed.

Many fans think that Rumple is not really dead, and that could be; he disappears in a puff of smoke. But if he is alive, does that mean his father, Pan, now reverted to the older form of Colin (Stephen Lord), is alive, too, to cause more trouble? And if somehow only Rumple survives, is he no longer the Dark One? And how will his friends and family see him differently, since he sacrificed himself for them? Whatever happens, whether Rumple is dead or alive, this teary scene should definitely have ripples later in the story.

With Pan gone, the only thing to do now is to stop the curse. Regina reveals that means everyone is “Going Home” to the Enchanted Forrest, with Storybrooke never having existed, including in Henry’s memories. See, Henry was born in the real world, so even though his parents both hail from fairy tale land, he can’t go back with them, nor remember Storybrooke at all. (So he’s an anchor baby? That doesn’t quite add up to me). Emma (Jennifer Morrison), being the Savior, is a loophole in the curse, so she can stay with Henry under the same restrictions (OK, this does make sense). Regina offers them nice, false memories of a happy life together to fill the gap.

This is almost as big a moment of redemption for Regina as Rumple’s scene is for him. She has to give up the thing she loves most – Henry – sacrificing her own happiness. However, she does it directly for her child, so one could argue a small bit of selfishness, too. Still, it’s awfully nice words that Regina says to Emma upon their departure, and it solidifies the change that ONCE UPON A TIME no longer has a villain in the main cast, no matter what Regina and Rumple call themselves in the end.

The goodbyes for everyone, who have time to gather and walk to the town line, even though Grumpy (Lee Arenberg) already told them the curse was coming from all sides in a panic-stricken tone, are heartfelt and sad. Emma is losing the family she always wanted, and even though she gets to keep Henry, it’s not enough. At least Snow, Charming, and the others will remember Emma, but it’s not a two way street. Neal pledges to find them again, and of course, someone must, or the series would cease to be what it is.

But it’s not Neal who shows up at Henry and Emma’s door in New York (why not Boston?) one year later. It’s Hook. Since Emma doesn’t remember him, and she’s not in love with him so his unwanted half-kiss does nothing to bring back her memories, he definitely has a hard task ahead. That’ll be for the back half of the season, though, so nothing to do now but wait for February.

“Going Home” has flashbacks, as most other episodes do, but instead of telling a complete tale, each scene follows a different character. All of them except the one where Snow gives Henry the fairy tale book give a little insight and are nice. My problem with the Henry one is where did the book come from and why does Henry see Mary Margaret as Snow immediately and how come he immediately leaves town to find Emma that very same month? It doesn’t take him any time at all to figure things out?

As you may be able to tell from my review, there are plenty of holes that can be poked in the plot of “Going Home.” Yet, while watching, it’s a highly enjoyable episode. ONCE UPON A TIME hits the emotional beats right, it just doesn’t always deliver the most cohesive story, with things not quite making sense. If only they would think through the scripts a bit more to eliminate some of those flaws, that would raise this show from a pretty good one to one of the best. It’s just not there yet, and after two and a half years of very slow improvement, it probably always will be B-level, never A.

I still like it a lot, though. There are great questions left to ponder over the break. Will Hook be in a better position to capture Emma’s heart if he’s the one that ultimately leads her back to her family, setting aside their false start? How will the Storybrooke residents adjust to being home? How long will there be two separate settings? Did the writers lie about the Storybrooke / Enchanted Forrest format (seems so, and that’s fine)? Can Emma please recover her memories quickly once reunited instead of another long adjustment period where she doesn’t believe what’s happening (though now that she’s had the love of Henry, she may not be so jaded)? And how does new-baddie the Wicked Witch (Rebecca Mader, Lost) and her land of Oz come into play?

ONCE UPON A TIME returns in a couple of months and will air without reruns through the spring.

"New" ONCE UPON A TIME Builds To Climax

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Review Season 3 Episode 10 The New Neverland at Seat42F.

In last night’s installment of ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME, our intrepid heroes return to Storybrooke, seemingly triumphant. Warm reunions abound as everyone is glad to find their loved ones safely returned. But all this threatens to unravel when it becomes clear that Pan (Robbie Kay) is not trapped in Pandora’s Box, as they believe, and has a very terrible plan to make “The New Neverland.”

The hugging scene on the dock is a little cheesy, but it’s been earned after the long absence. Rumple (Robert Carlyle) gets to be back with Belle (Emilie de Ravin), and that alone calls for a little schmaltz. Ariel (JoAnna Farcia Swisher) finds Eric (Gil McKinney) in what looks like a close of their story, and similarly, Wendy (Freya Tingley) is back with her brothers.

The one completely inexcusable thing about this sequence is that no one keeps an eye on Felix (Parker Croft). They know he’s bad, and sure enough when “Henry” (Jared Gilmore) asks the grownups what should be done with Felix, they toss him in a cell. Why isn’t he bound or guarded before this? There is ample opportunity for him to slip off into the crowd, which Felix doesn’t do because he’s waiting on orders from Pan, but no one else knows this, or even wonders why Felix doesn’t flee.

No one is happy to see Regina (Lana Parrilla). Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) makes sure to publicly note Regina’s help, as relations between Regina and the main characters have thawed a bit, but that doesn’t send the townspeople into her arms. Regina is alone, which is why Pan (as Henry) finds it so easy to fool Regina, playing upon that sense of isolation and telling her exactly what she wants to hear  –  that she is loved by the boy she raised.

Now, the real Henry does care about Regina, and after hearing of her doubts late in the hour, he gives her a hug, proving that Pan’s lie isn’t without a grain of truth. But Henry also has Emma (Jennifer Morrison), Neal (Michael Raymond-James), and assorted grandparents. Will there be enough room for Regina in his life to satisfy her, especially when she has no one else?

It’s time for Regina to find love. I don’t think she’ll go evil again, nor will Henry turn his back on her once more, but she will not be able to move forward without someone else. This will most likely be a romantic partner, though it doesn’t necessary have to be. But it’s definitely time for Regina to be truly appreciated and valued. She deserves it.

The Henry-shaped Pan tricks Regina because she has all the magic, which is the power he needs to enact his plan of reviving the curse, wiping everyone in Storybrooke’s memories and creating himself a new place to rule over. Pan finds Regina’s weakness and exploits it, which actually makes it seem a bad thing that Regina isn’t cold any more. Luckily, this should be a temporary viewpoint.

Pan’s biggest enemies in Storybrooke are anyone that can do magic. This list would include Regina, Rumple, Emma, and Blue (Keegan Connor Tracy). He can’t take them all out at once, and doesn’t need to. Subduing Regina, he is able to get away with what he needs from her vault. He also kills Blue, perhaps because she always seems to know what is going on, and in doing so, stops the one person who can restore Tink’s (Rose McIvers) wings, an occurrence that would give Pan yet another enemy with magic.

Blue’s death is very anticlimactic and not nearly important enough for someone who has been such a vital character. Though never a member of the main cast, Blue is involved in most characters’ stories in one way or another. She should not be able to be taken out so easily, as logical as her demise would seem for Pan’s plan. Which is why I won’t be convinced she’s really permanently dead unless she remains so after next week’s episode. Or unless McIvers signs a deal to stick around for awhile, effectively replacing Blue. (Personally, I feel those room for both in the story).

I assume Tink will be instrumental in saving the day in next week’s fall finale. Otherwise, why bring up her lack of belief in herself or her inability to make the pixie dust glow again in “The New Neverland?” Presumably, she is being set up to find her way on her own, and she’ll be able to step up and lend a hand. ONCE UPON A TIME wouldn’t let a recurring character be the ultimate savior, that’s Emma job, but she should be helpful at a key moment.

In flashback, we see Snow just after her wedding. As much as Charming (Josh Dallas) begs her to just appreciate their moment of happiness, Snow cannot bring herself to do so, worried that the Evil Queen will attack. Charming points out that there will always be danger and they just have to live in the moment, but Snow resists. That is, until a close brush with death at the hands of Medusa opens her eyes.

This may seem like a weird time to visit the seemingly unconnected back story, but it does have an important connection to the present day events in “The New Neverland.” Emma is a like her mother, something we don’t get a lot of chance to see, but is very evident with this bit. Neal is trying to get back together with Emma, but Emma resists because she feels she can’t take the time to just be happy. Hopefully, she will soon learn the same lesson Snow did.

And what of Hook (Colin O’Donoghue)? Many will surely be disappointed when Hook promises Neal to back off of Emma. Yet, he’s clearly still into Emma, and even tries to use Tink to make Emma jealous. Will those Hook / Emma shipper fans get a chance to see the two together? Signs point to yes, at least for a little bit.

While I do have a couple of small plot complaints above, what I am most disappointed in is the way Kay plays Henry and Gilmore plays Pan. I can tell they’re trying, but, for me at least, I’m just not seeing the actors in the other characters’ shoes. They still seem a lot like their own parts, just with different dialogue and an extra face or two. Kay, in particular, maintains some of Pan’s mannerisms. Now, this can all be explained away as muscle memory or something in the bodi, but I really wish this particular element came through better.

Next week, excitement will definitely build as the final showdown with Peter Pan plays out, with the very fate of Storybrooke on the line! ONCE UPON A TIME airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

"Common" Installment of ONCE UPON A TIME

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Recap Season 3 Episode 3 Quite a Common Fairy on Seat42F.

This week’s episode of ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME is called “Quite a Common Fairy.” The Operation: Save Henry team in Neverland search for Tinker Bell (Rose McIver, The Lovely Bones), hoping she can help them gain access to where Henry (Jared Gilmore) is being held. Unfortunately, Regina (Lana Parrilla) has a past with Tinker Bell, and that may make the fairy pretty unmotivated to help.

ONCE UPON A TIME frequently takes license in putting its own spin on the traditional telling of a familiar tale. However, I am not sure how Tinker Bell fits into the current understanding. She is in the Enchanted Forest realm when the Blue Fairy (Keegan Connor Tracy) takes away her powers and wings, then is seen as a normal human in Neverland. So has Tinker Bell never been a fairy in Neverland? Or, is the Enchanted Forest the second chance the Blue Fairy spoke of, and Tinker Bell was a fairy in Neverland earlier before screwing up somehow? Maybe by trusting Pan (Robbie Kay) when she shouldn’t have? We know Tinker Bell has a complex to save those who have gone bad, based on this episode. This definitely begs further exploration, even if Tinker Bell is not a major character, only putting in her first appearance here.

It’s pretty cool that Tinker Bell is tied into the existing fairy world, though. Viewers have gotten to know the Blue Fairy fairly well, and we’ve seen her interact with others of her species. It makes since for Neverland’s famous fairy to not only be running in that social circle, but also to not quite fit in, given her isolation and separation from the group. This is very well handled.

Tinker Bell wants a home. She has been abandoned by many, and not found her place. Snow and Charming (Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas, who recently got engaged off screen) offer her this in exchange for her help. It’s kind of fun to see the pair take in yet another stray, but it seems to be their specialty, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have a fairy or ex-fairy on their side. I just wonder how the Blue Fairy would react if Tinker Bell goes to Storybrooke…

Once more, we’re treated to a backstory of how Regina makes wrong choices. Tinker Bell, seeking to save Regina’s soul, tries to provide Regina with the key to happiness, leading Regina to a man she could be content with. Regina decides against approaching the man, choosing the wrong path yet again, though she doesn’t fully realize it until, late in “Quite a Common Fairy,” Tinker Bell points out Regina is selfish by depriving the man of his happy ending, too.

There’s a lot to dissect in this sequence. For one thing, Regina doesn’t often think about others. However, clearly that has changed, as Tink’s last words about being selfish wound her. Regina also has found happiness in raising Henry, even naming her mission in Neverland as Henry would, which is why she is able to throw herself at Tink’s mercy, risking her own heart and life to try to save Henry. She has changed.

It is revealed that the man Tink leads Regina to is none other than Robin Hood (Sean Maguire). Now, Robin already has had love and has a son, Roland (Raphael Alejandro). Maid Marion doesn’t seem to be currently around (maybe I missed that explanation?), but does this mean that, despite the trouble Robin goes through for Marion, they aren’t destined to be one another’s soul mates? Might Regina really belong in this relationship? At least she’d finally have a son to dote on who might appreciate her.

Those who make ONCE UPON A TIME have promised more of Robin Hood in the back half of the season, so I wonder if this is the direction the show will take. Season three seems awfully early to redeem Regina and let her find a happy ending, and yet, after how far she’s come and all she’s been through, it’s hard not to root for her to find her man and child. Maybe this season could be the end of Regina’s story, which would be sad, but it would be a very satisfying exit for her.

Speaking of being with the wrong person, Mulan (Jamie Chung) is ready to confess her love to Princess Aurora (Sarah Bolger), only to stop short when she finds out Aurora is pregnant. So Mulan joins Robin’s band of Merry Men instead.

Unfortunately, this probably won’t be resolved anytime soon. With Neal (Michael Raymond-James) making his way to Neverland, only recurring characters, no main ones, are left in the Enchanted Forest. ONCE UPON A TIME tends to only follow those guest stars when the central cast is around, so we probably won’t see any more development with them this fall.

With all of these new people introduced, there could be room for a few characters to exit the story, and the cast to be expanded again. Fairy tales are all about a finite journey with a happy ending.  What if we’re nearing the conclusion for more than just Regina? Might ONCE consider moving the story in completely different directions with new protagonists? It’s an interesting concept to ponder, though one that seems unlikely to occur.

“Quite a Common Fairy” does an excellent job of really developing more minor players, not serving too many of the main ones very much, but still an enjoyable hour. It isn’t perfect, with Mulan’s plan seeming too neat both before and after it is enacted, and the CGI still a few years away from being truly great on a television budget. But it mostly works, and I’m very interested to see the things that happen in other installments because of occurrences in this episode, of which there should be plenty.

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