Once Upon a Time Recap: House of Wolves

41 Comments

1. 1
   iwantadventure
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 2:10 pm

   Huzzahhhhh!!! It’s here and I’m baaaccckkk!!! I may or may not have been sitting at work refreshing the page waiting for this!!! Okay now I’ll read the recap and come back with my many thoughts!!! Yayyyy!!!

2. 2
   missmaria
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 2:36 pm

   They killed Gus Gus! YOU BASTARDS! *shakes fist towards the sky*

3. 3
   iwantadventure
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 3:17 pm

   Excellent recap PottyMouth!!! This episode was chock full of goodness to discuss! I’m disappointed we don’t get a new episode this week but that just means more theorizing for us! I’m trying to see the positive while I wonder what I’ll do at 8 on Sunday this weekend :-/

   Now I had a huge response in the last recap because I had two episodes to cover. Luckily my wishes came true last Sunday our electricity came back on that afternoon, I fully enjoy and appreciate flipping a light switch. But enough of that!

   First, I’d like to address something from the previous recap.

   @Hot Cawfee: I haven’t read On The Road but your explanation made me Google Neal Cassady…His Paternal grandmother’s name was Cora…Coincidence? Connection? Completely meaningless piece of information? Even more interesting he served 11 months of a one year prison sentence for stolen property…I know I’m repeating stuff that’s probably already known but I’m typing and reading at the same time and it’s sooo interesting! He married a 15 year old and moved to NY

   Our Neal is a writer in NY and we know he travels. He looked at the postcard so curiously. I don’t think he had much contact with August, if any. It wouldn’t have helped…I’ve heard a few theories that he might be the writer of Henry’s book but I really don’t understand why that’s relevant. I feel like that was just something that came with Storybrooke with the curse.

   I’ll discuss this further in a bit but I want to get to the meet of this episode.

   Now I’m going to warn you…Throughout the last 10 minutes I was singing (okay shouting) the beginning of “Kill The Beast”:
   The beast will make off with your children, he’ll come after them in the night!

   I love that Belle and Red are BFF
   And when Snow returns they can be the Three Musketeers!

   Love is such a major theme but I really enjoy who they’re developing the different kinds of love. Every girls NEEDS girlfriends! Girls stick together! Especially when it’s that time of the month…Or moon

   Regina should break her no magic rule and rough up King George! The many is a sociopath, no wonder he lost everything, he has no remorse for his actions just hatred and spite. I LIKE IT! He’s a true baddie!

   I LOVED Rumpel in this episode! He was sooo nice! It was really sweet! I bet he knows that Henry is his grandson. He’s got to be, Rumpel is never that nice. Or like PottyMouth suggested he’s up to something…But he was keeping track of Emma. He may know who Neal is. It’s just a matter of finding WHERE he is now.

   I mean Rumpel and Henry have a little history because Rumpel obviously helped Henry find Emma but still, Rumpel isn’t that nice to Emma and she was in love with Bae!
   (Possibly).

   Right now Emma is the only direct connection Rumpel has because was Henry was lied to about his father. You’d think Rumpel would be a little more tender toward her…Apparently his debt to him is going to come into play, I think Rumpel is going to ask Emma to cross the border and bring back Bae, who is Neal, which would be really hard for her, but she owes him!

   More importantly it’s a bit ironic that Rumpel is good with children…I love how they subtly play on such defining character traits. Keeps it very canon while at the same time creating it’s own.

   The dwarves do good work. I was so happy they found the diamonds for fairy dust. I’m glad they’re really moving the entire plot forward and not lingering. Not that they need to. There’s plenty of plots going on. Also, the dwarves look like a fun lot to party with!

   So they’ve been stressing the Charming is actually a Shepard. I get that’s important, which is why I won’t let go of my him being Jack theory. I just can’t think who else he would be otherwise…The only other Shepards I’ve come up with have been biblical but I can’t see the writers going there…yet. I really think it’s more likely Charming, like Emma, made a deal with the last surviving giant and fled down the beanstalk leaving his glory behind because despite what others think he’s not after any kind of glory. They just make such a big of him being a Shepard. It’s the super hero complex “With great power, comes great responsibility”…I wouldn’t be surprised if they twisted the story and Jack destroyed all the beans except for three…The one that got Bae out of FairyTale Land and the one that got Hook to Neverland and maybe the third was used by Charming for some reason like to get back home…And if he’s not Jack then who is he?! His name is David and people often refer to him as either name…So why is David important and how is that our clue…Hmmm I need to give this more thought because I’m stuck on that one theory.

   I’ve missed Regina so I’m glad she was around this episode. It’ll be easier when Snow and Emma are back in Storybrooke and we can see her the entire time.

   The plane Henry and Aurora are on is a side effect that means that Snow has the same dreams…I don’t think the sleeping curse would put different people on different planes especially considering Henry’s side effect is from the same poisoned apple as Snow’s. It’ll be interesting to see how they figure out how to use the dreams. I happen to like Henry and I want to see him help bring Snow and Emma home. He deserves to be a part of it!

   I feel like they over stressed the “I know who you are!” with Ruby. It was just a little repetitive. Though now that I’m thinking about it I did solidify who Red really considered family in FairyTale Land and that Charming wasn’t going to make the same mistakes…Again I want to comment on the excellent use of platonic love in this show. Red and Charming are really close but you can tell it would never go beyond that and not just because Snow is in the picture (also that would be really upsetting!)

   Poor GusGus!!!
   Bye Quinn, we hardly knew you! Mostly that whole thing of killing those two off made me miss Graham! The only relyaion is that OUAT likes to kill off the hotties! They need to stop killing off potential love interests for Red! Hmmm who would be a good match for her?

   Granny is so badass! I love that we got to see her with the bow and arrow again and her sense of humor has so much bite (pun intended!)…I was giggling when she said that wolf hearing doesn’t come in handy when you run a hotel.

   Red’s mother took the term bitch a bit too literally. I disliked her from the start and I’m glad they didn’t keep her around. Red learned what she needed to and that was helpful but her mother was just too extreme. It’s an interesting discussion though, if you’re werewolf which rules do you follow those of the wolves or those of the humans.

   I’ve also noticed we’re getting a lot of commentary on the cruelty of humans…The giants didn’t fair well against them and the wolves were driven underground and basically picked off or run out of the kingdom. I know this plays right into the prejudice of people but other than ogres who are an unreasonable bunch (even trolls can be talked down or manipulated) we have only seen compassion from our characters. I guess it’s people like King George that are behind such behavior and that’s the distinction.

   That point brings me back to Jack though was he a giant killer to protect his people or was he really a prejudice guy who just decided to pick on the giants because he wanted their treasure…I do think it still matters who Jack is…I mean they were just too casual about his story. And also I need something new to focus on since Whale is no longer a mystery and we just don’t know enough about Neal yet.

   That showdown between Charming and King George was intense but in the sense that I was totally egging Charming on! And when he started crying!

   I’m mostly curious how Aurora’s character is going to develop since she also gets to be a sort if savior too.

   Was that a zombie army I saw in the previews?!

4. 4
   iwantadventure
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 4:09 pm

   THEY HIRED AN ACTOR FOR DR. WHALE’S BROTHER!!!
   (Ahem Frankenstein’s monster!!!)

5. 5
   WendyBird
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 5:18 pm

   Firstly, let us mourn the tragic passing of our beloved, Gus Gus.

   Alright, Onto the commentary! At least we now know that all animal characters were definitely turned human with the curse.

   Can I just say how happy I am that they made Ruby a showrunner and that her hair is a lot better this season than the really harsh black/red thing she had early last season.

   Also, I’m super annoyed that there’s no Once this week and its an award show.

   I was cheering when they found the pixie dust at the beginning! That was really great and Regina being human is always a treat. I really love how most of the Villains so far have all these layers of depth. The only one that seems truly evil to the very core is Cora, but we may get more on her later.

   At first I thought Red’s mom was the one staging the killing in Storybrooke to get back at Red for leaving her, but then she died….Which I was glad about, woman was straight up cold.

   Rumpy with Henry was just perfect, he is so wonderful with kids and it really brings out his humanity! I think in someways Henry reminds him of Bae.

   I was disappointed with the hat being destroyed, I realize why but I wanted to smack Charming and say \DIDNT THE BLUE FAIRY SAY TO LOCK THAT UP SOMEWHERE SAFE?!!?!\ Hopefully King George will be soundly locked up somewhere the vile man….

   Henry’s found Aurora which means contact has been made in the Red Room.

   Adventure: YAY! You’re back full time!!!!

   I think part of Rumpy is always calculating things but I also think he was really interested in helping Henry as well. Wether he knows about Neal or not, is to be interestingly determined!

   David’s a tough one. I really liked your Jack theory but with them making the extra point to show Jack’s dead body and sword makes me wonder if he really isn’t, if he’s going to be obscure and unexpected like Whale being Doctor Frankenstein. Oh, sidenote, that reminds me, You were wondering what character Whale’s brother is, I think he’s just Frankenstein’s Monster. Back to David….We know he’s the pauper from the prince and the pauper and that he was a shepard…..I’m going digging through my fairytale books this week. Perhaps that can be what we toy around with for the next week and half waiting for the new episode!

   I love Henry…I know some in our group find Henry to be super annoying but I love the little whippersnapper. I’m also a sucker for most kids in general…..

   I agree about the \I know who you are\ thing with Red being overstressed, but I can see why. Not only did we get it in the flashbacks of her figuring herself out but we had to watch her go through all her self doubt and partial self loathing all over again now that its been 28 years.

   THAT WAS A ZOMBIE ARMY! AHHHHHHHHHH!!! Yay!

   Oops, okay ignore my thing about Frankenstein above….I got sidetracked on keeping up with the end of the last recap and must have missed some back and forth….

6. 6
   WendyBird
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 5:24 pm

   Another thought, I’d really like to see some previous character’s we’ve learned about pop up, even briefly.

   Cinderella and her prince (and the baby!) sitting at the diner, Hansel and Gretel’s dad dropping them off at school, Nova bringing the dwarves some food down in the mines.

   I really want a Nova/Grumpy reunion, I loved that story last season!

   I wonder how JackJack is going to take it with GusGus gone…

   Does this also mean Figaro (Geppetto’s cat) could be human? How many animal characters from tales are human and how are they coping now? Inquiring minds need to know!

7. 7
   sagittariuskim
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 8:25 pm

   I think Rumpy has a soft spot for Henry. And agree with Wendy that Henry reminds him of Bae.

   I wonder if we’ll see anymore werewolves.

   I’m sad they killed Gus, I was hoping he would become Red’s love interest.

8. 8
   iwantadventure
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 8:30 pm

   @Wendy: I don’t think all animals are human. Pongo is a dog and that would be so odd for a pet to see their owner…I don’t really think that sort of relationship works because it’s a combination of master/servant and best friend. I do think that animals that were at one point human or otherwise are human in Storybrooke. The mice became footmen so the curse made them human permanently.

   But yes let us acknowledge the loss of the man that was once a mouse but was so much more, fare the well GusGus, you were a brave little solider!

   I noticed the hair too. I actually love when a show gets a little older and going back and seeing the exaggerated hair and makeup. It’s been pretty consistent but still funny to notice. Snow’s pixie cut looks a lot better than when the show first started(though I may be biased as I recently cut my hair short because it needed to rejuvenate itself and I feel a lot like Snow, except hers might be a bit shorter).

   Cora is evil and we don’t know her reasoning. I get King George. He fell in love, he had no biological children. James was a dream child and he was taken too soon, right in front of George’s eyes. George tried to literally replace James with his twin but Charming was not James and could not get along with George who viewed everything as a business venture. George can’t stand to see anyone happy if he’s miserable, which is what drives people like him and Regina to create curses that they think will fill the falling hole in their hearts. George, however has no redeeming qualities, whereas Regina wasn’t always so cold and calculating. I think once we get some Cora background we’ll understand her motives better too. The difference is it doesn’t bother her to crush human life between her fingers. George just want to crush Charming’s joy and hope.

   Henry does remind him of Bae and that’s sweet. It occurred to me. Rumpel brought Henry to Storybrooke but who ACTUALLY brought him into Storybrooke. No social worker or adoption lawyer is going to leave a baby on the border of a road or ship him there no matter how much you pay them. Maybe that’s how we’ll see a human Storybrooke, in a flashback…Awww baby Henry!!!

   I knew something was going to happen to the hat. They may twist the stories but there are some formulas you have to follow and if you mention to lock something up it’s obviously going to be destroyed. I think I also wrote it off as a way to get Snow and Emma because of the dreams with Henry and Aurora.

   It just occurred to me, Regina is no longer interested in doing magic and Rumpel doesn’t need her as an apprentice any longer. But Emma has displayed possible magical abilities and I’m sure Henry can do magic too…Perhaps Rumpel wants to tape into this magic(perhaps it’s more pure and won’t have dark consequences)as a way to get to Bae or even better understand magic in Storybrooke/break the barrier spell…I typed this as the thought came into being, I hope it makes sense.

   So after you mentioned The Prince And The Pauper it got me thinking…Could Charming(Who I really thought I knew!) be another literary character? He starts a revolution…Perhaps he’s a version of Sydney Carton of A Tale of Two Cities? The only thing stopping me from truly grasping this theory is there wouldn’t be another Sydney…And Charles Darnay doesn’t do it for me even though he got Lucie in the end…I’d say Mr. Darcy but he came from money. Something tells me that Charming is definitely a character from FairyTale Land…Ugh! This is definitely going to be what occupies me this week.

   Frankenstein’s Monster is being played by Chad Michael Collins. It’s quite obvious who got the brains and who got the looks in that family. I wait can’t find out what the circumstances are that we get to meet Frankenstein’s Monster!!!

   I’m a sucker for kids too but I really enjoy Henry. I like that he doesn’t know what he wants with Regina yet, she did raise him. I’m excited for his day as a little prince to come! He was motivated to find Emma because he isn’t the book, that makes what he does completely new territory and I really enjoy the possibilities of that!

   I just feel like that point with Red got distracting and by the end I was feeling like, yes yes we all know who she is, sheesh! I do love her character and I’m glad she’s been so prominent but the poor girl needs a break…She and August would be cute, he’s a wooden guy, she’s a werewolf, it could work!

   GusGus wasn’t the only guy killed. I imagine all those mechanics were previously mice so JackJack and GusGus are probably together…Sad!

   I agree I want to see other characters that we’ve met. However, I remind myself that the greater purpose of those episodes were what happened with Emma and what we learned about Regina. They have a bit to cover before we can see these seemingly normal moments(I would love to see Cathryn and Snow and Charming run into each other now)

   I know we’ve discussed August’s disappearance but I’d also like to see Sydney. Is he stuck in the mirror?

   They are definitely holding out on us with these reunions. I mean Grace and Jefferson was worth it even if it was for a second! I want an August/Gapetto moment, especially since we got a brief moment with Gapetto and Jiminy! And of course I want Grumpy and Nova to find each other again too. That was one of my favorite episodes last scene. However, Grumpy has work ethic and he wants to help Sneezy regain his memory. We’ve only been dealing with the Blue Fairy lately but I’m sure it won’t be long. Grumpy helped with the candles. He’ll want to do what he can for the fairy dust cultivation.

   I know the show couldn’t get the rights to Robin Hood when they were filming because that’s who Graham might also have been before they decided on the Huntsman. So Charming isn’t Robin Hood(they expect to get the rights at some point)…Hmmm…Veterinary Assistant, twin, shepherd, mother’s name is Ruth. We don’t know who his father is(perhaps that’s Jack)…Grrr! I’m like waiting for some sort of great epiphany but nothing makes enough sense…*Shakes fist* Whhhyyyy did they have to insert doubt in my theory with “Tallahassee”…This really seemed like a non issue!

9. 9
   iwantadventure
   Posted November 14, 2012 at 8:59 pm

   Okay I’m not apologizing for so much posting! Consider it making up for lost time!!! Anyway, I’m sticking to my Jack theory and I’ll tell you why!

   Ready?!

   It doesn’t matter I’m going to tell you anyway.

   David is the clue for David and Goliath, he was a shepherd!

   Charming has his own sword, Emma used it to kill Maleficent…David killed Goliath with the stones from his sling shot that’s the only hitch but I don’t care, that makes the most sense!

   Of course I’m open to other theories, the discussion is almost more entertaining than the big reveal.

10. 10
    April
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 6:06 am

    Yeah as much as I love how this show coincides with Disney movies I love, watching the death of Gus Gus about traumatized me. I was running around the house screaming to my husband about it. WTF!? My son just watched that movie 3 days ago!

    Love Ruby. She is easily my favorite and most prettiest character on this show. I prefer natural her to the retro lots of make up look she has.

11. 11
    April
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 6:12 am

    I also am desperately waiting for a Grumpy Nova reunion.

12. 12
    ellemck1
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 10:45 am

    I’ll comment the rest later, but does it make me bad that I’m kind of relieved there’s no new episode? Choosing between this and my beloved Ravens playing the steelers at the same time would have been tough.

    And yes!!! Grumpy and Nova need to have another moment!

13. 13
    WendyBird
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 11:07 am

    Adventure: Hrm…That’s an interesting theory that they have to have been a human at some point…But that doesn’t explain the White Rabbit, he’s always been a rabbit! Maybe it’s because he was an anthropomorphic rabbit instead of like a regular pet? If Jack Jack is dead too he’s going to have a very upset lady friend somewhere in Storybrooke with Suzy. No word on if Perla is grieving Gus Gus. Did you guys know Gus Gus’ real name is Octavius?

    Now if only they can fix Emma’s hair! It’s still too Blonde, which makes little sense considering Snow has black hair and Charming’s seems to be a sandy dark blonde hue. I realize they didn’t give her black hair so she and Snow would stand out but the bright blonde is washing her out something bad.

    I’m wondering if there is something in Cora’s background, or if she could possibly be the ultimate incarnate of evil. All we know is that she was a farm girl who wanted power, and that’s how she got magic. But so far we’ve shown her having no emotions of care or love to anyone, even her husband! The only thing she uses emotions for is manipulation!

    I still think the human in Storybrooke is sadly going to be Neal, even though I don’t want to let him go as being Bae, the writers seemed to make a big deal of the postcard and Neal wanting to go find Emma once she had finished her destiny in Tallahasse.

    I knew the hat had to be dealt with somewhere along the line. No way they were going to undo an third string this early.

    I thought about David and Goliath and I was glad to see you did too! But I wonder, will they go into biblical stories? Or is that muddling the waters too much? Still, it’s as good a theory as any going forward. We can’t cross anyone out now!

    I too am glad for more Henry incorporation. Even though he’s the entire catalyst, it wasn’t until the end of the season where he felt important. Otherwise he seemed like a sidekick or a pawn between Emma and Regina. Now he’s finally seeming like he’s going to be very important in his own right!

    I think I just want to see they’re still around, at this point, the character we’ve met haven’t shown up, they weren’t even in townspeople scenes or at the town hall when everyone was looking for others. It would have been nice to see Ashley and her prince see each other and embrace, or maybe his father, who actually likes Cinderella in reality, apologize to her. Just brief little things.

    I’m going to guess Sydney isn’t in the mirror since no one reverted to their original states (except August but that’s not cause of the curse), but he’s probably hiding out because he knows the town, knows he was Regina’s henchman and that he’s back to feeling the guilt and grief he felt because of what he did for Regina in the past.

    Charming’s name is apparently really important, the writers keep mentioning why it’s so important but the only fairytale I can think of where names are important is Rumpy’s lil ol’ tale.

    Never apologize for posting….especially considering we have no new material this week…

14. 14
    iwantadventure
    Posted November 15, 2012 at 3:53 pm

    @Wendy: Okay that’s where the human/animal thing falls short. Wonderland is fair game for anything especially since it was more what the White Rabbit represented than the fact that he was an actual rabbit.

    Meeee! I knew Gus’ real name!!!

    I agree, though I think the point is to have Emma’s hair so distinctly blonde because it is a dye job, it was a rebellion thing, without knowing who her parents are.

    Magic turned Cora into the horrid person she is. Rumpel uses it as a crutch, Regina was just addicted. But in all three instances it has been the magic that has corrupted them. Cora is bad to the core. In Regina’s case she completely forgot herself because she was shrouded by the loss of Daniel. Rumpel needed magic to rise up but remained guided by his cowardice. But there are circumstances that also drove Cora to that point of pure evil too. It’s probably part of the consequences of magic (I keep thinking of like Harry Potter and the horcruxes), the dark magic Cora has used has divided her soul so many times she can’t feel. She is the magic.

    I wonder what Hook is going to do, he double-crossed Cora and Emma crossed him. But no man can be an island…And Emma is a better partner than Cora.

    The thing is Neal can’t just walk up to Emma and apologize. She’d probably deck him! I think he’s glad to see the postcard but New York to Maine isn’t that far and I feel like it just doesn’t make sense for him to stride over the border. Emma certainly wouldn’t want to see him and explaining that to Henry would be complicated. I just feel like Henry’s father can’t be just a human.

    I don’t think they’re going to bring in biblical stories yet…Or ever…I mean there are some that would be great to see but that can also get complicated. However, I think that the connection is more like Whale. Whale was a nod at James Whale, so with that logic, Charming is Jack and the nod to “Jack the Giant Killer” is David. Also if Charming stopped being Jack he may have asked to be referred to as David like Snow did when she said her name was Mary Margaret.

    Henry also deserves this glory. I mean it’s funny because he brought Emma to Storybrooke to break the curse and now he’s going to help bring her back but then he’s going to be really upset with her when he finds out she lied about Neal. It’s going to be the reverse of those situations when a child does something dangerous and the parent hugs them and then reprimands them!

    Honestly, I agree that we should see the other characters we’ve met but that’s a logistical thing with the actors and probably not as possible as we would hope. Though it is worth noting that the writers just might be holding on us to show us the characters we’ve met reuniting/together in one giant cry-fest episode!

    Sydney certainly owes some apologies and he does’t have Henry to beg for his protection. Still would be fun to see him get mistreated.

    Names are always important. The interesting thing that has been nagging me is that when Rumpel asked for dating advice Charming said honesty. So Snow knows who he is(I could make a Red joke with that sentence but I’m so sick of hearing it won’t lol!). The most telling thing is when he was standing on the truck trying to prevent everyone from leaving Storybrooke he spoke about the distinctions between Charming and David. but he still is referred by either of those names whereas mostly everyone has reverted back to their FairyTale names.

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    iwantadventure
    Posted November 16, 2012 at 9:38 am

    So it’s beginning to look like I’m talking to myself but I would like to revise my previous comment and say I was mistaken, no other mechanics were killed. I had somehow missed the fact(or didn’t want to believe it)that Gus was so violently killed and then strewn about. In which case JackJack is going to be very upset!

16. 16
    Mimo
    Posted November 16, 2012 at 9:57 am

    I read! I read! My mind just doesn’t seem to work like you guys (how do you come up with these theories?) so I usually don’t have anything pertinent to add. But, I love reading your comments.

17. 17
    Pikey578
    Posted November 16, 2012 at 12:47 pm

    One of my favourite episodes yet! Will miss not seeing it on Sunday but if I can make it through an entire summer then I can do so for one week… Loved your recap, as always! And I really enjoy the resulting comments.

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    Andrea
    Posted November 17, 2012 at 12:43 am

    I laughed at how easily Red believed everything in this episode….sure, I’ll follow a stranger into a weird sunken castle. Oh, you’re my mom? Okay then, no need to try to prove it to me. I mean, she looked similar to her, but I think I would have my doubts.

    So upsetting that GusGus was the one to be killed..he was quite the hottie.

    I agree that it’s too bad some of the characters can’t be seen in the background, or pop up from time to time, but we can hardly fault them for enhancing their careers. Last Resort just got canceled though, so maybe we’ll see Cinderella soon! Perhaps in mourning at the loss of little Gus.

    I agree with Mimo, I can’t come up with theories like you guys can. I like the idea of Charming being Jack, that seems to fit well with what we know about him. So does David and Goliath, but I doubt they’ll go with a biblical story. Maybe hint at it, but can you imagine the outrage of retelling a passage? It just doesn’t seem like the payoff would be worth all the backlash it’d be sure to get. But that’s just my two cents.

19. 19
    hot cawfee
    Posted November 17, 2012 at 5:31 am

    Babies– have not read posts recently but I have to head out in a few minutes and need to toss this out for thought—

    We have said that there are no coincidences in the show–firmly believing that I am. And so we really have to dig into the names–I think we are getting something Biblical-owing to the names Ruth, James and David (all from the same FT family). I see where you are going with it I WANT–and I’d like to see the writers be a little bold. We are all broad minded enough in here I think to posit the idea of the Bible as a literary work–one of my grad school profs did. And many authors borrow from other sources (yeah JK Rowlings-looking at you…..and helping you count your money-lol) so why couldnt the story of “the weak overcoming the strong” reference both Bible and Fairy Tale?????

    OH– and the name Anita for Red’s mom–meh…The song from West Side Story kept running thru my head “A boy like that who killed your brother/Forget that boy and find another/Stay with your own kind…” It was a little vampire-ish and I wasn’t feeling Anna Beth Gish.
    And when the sleeping curse came where did all the werewolves go??????

20. 20
    WendyBird
    Posted November 17, 2012 at 11:08 am

    Oh Adventure, You’re not talking to yourself silly, Im here! I just had a looooong work day yesterday and I think my brain broke.

    I’m just going to have to keep track of animals vs. humans and who got transformed. If all animals are fair game for transformation then the original speculation that Whale could be Monstro would have been validated.

    I wonder if they’re going to give her a back story to show us that we’ll feel sorry for Cora too in the end but she’s too far gone to be saved, or that she had a simple life as a farm girl and because she wanted to be more (maybe spurned by wealthy men) she turned to magic and gave herself over. So greedy, but not evil until she gets the magic? Barbra Hershey plays evil so well.

    I have a feeling Hook is going to go back to Cora. As much as he’d prefer Emma and the gang, he knows that Cora needs an ally in Storybrooke and Cora wont ditch him going there. Of course if Emma and the gang outsmart Cora (Which I don’t think will happen, I think that they’ll all end up in Storybrooke together because of an accident), Hook could switch sides again. Maybe he goes back to Cora and gets her to give him the ash from the wardrobe and then when Emma and Snow show up, he can give it to them to prove loyalty?

    I do think the writers are going for the layering affect and I love the really subtle nods, like in the case of Doctor Whale. But I agree that I don’t think they’ll go full biblical, I feel like it’d be too messy and could cause some uproar to count the bible among fictional tales. I agree though with Hot Cawfee below that they’re alluding to something with the bible references. I don’t think they’ll ever come out with it blatantly but perhaps theres some folklore to dig into that has biblical ties.

    I think the thing with the dual names and MM and Charming asking to be called by those names is much like everyone else in town. They’ve been those people for so long and everyone’s dealing with the now split memories. I think it goes back to what GusGus said to Red, \I know Ruby but I want to get to know Red\.

    Henry is going to be extremely upset with Emma when he finds out about his dad, though I wonder how he might find out. Will Neal show up? Or will someone like Gold tell him? Maybe August? And like I’ve said every week \WHERE IS AUGUST?!\ Did he fall in the woods and get mistaken for a log, is he embarrassed he’s a wooden doll and doesn’t want to disappoint Gepetto? If thats the case, poppycock because Gepetto would just be happy to see his son. *sob*

    It’s totally a nitpicky thing, me wanting to see other characters pop up again and I’m sure they will, I’m just really curious to see how those characters are reacting to everything.

    I don’t think everyone has gone back to their Fairytale names, Red still goes by Ruby to some and she calls Charming, Charming. I think everyone is just dealing with the dual personalities. It must be really awkward having two sets of memories in your head and like Charming said, he’s not proud of who David was and now he has to live with it!

    Mimo: Well I’m glad we’re not just clogging up the comments! I’ve been obsessed with fairytales since I was little and most of my college work focused on them. I also have an extremely overactive imagination! It’s nice to have a place to hash it out with others.

    Pikey: I just HATE award show season when we loose out on Sunday night programming.

    Andrea: I agree! I think Granny kept Red really sheltered and she was so lost after discovering she was a wolf, she was really vulnerable.

    I don’t think they can touch the bible more than in passing terms, but I like the idea of it being used as themes woven throughout the stories.

    Hot Cawfee: I think we’re all broad minded enough to accept the bible as a potential fictional work for Storybrooke but I think there are a lot of people out there who would get extremely offended and cause quite the fuss if Once did that. I think they’re going to keep using some biblical sentiment to help tie in overall themes kind of like the nod to Frankenstein’s director with Whale’s name.

    As for werewolves, I’m going to guess that without Anita they were either hunted and killed to extinction by the royal guards and other people, or, like Ruby they are hiding out in town and kept quiet in the woods. My last theory would be that they moved their pack and got stuck behind in the curse.

    Oops…Super Long Post of Doom.

21. 21
    iwantadventure
    Posted November 17, 2012 at 12:05 pm

    @Cawfee: Yayyy! Any comment is a good thing. I have taken several classes where the professor has used the Bible as the literature and OUAT would be able to get away with it. The stories are fairytales in their own right! So with that in mind let us dig in!

    -Ruth has her own book in the Bible, hooray for her!
    -In some interpretations she is considered the Great Grandmother of David.
    -Ruth was told she is a “woman of noble character”
    -Ruth puts others before herself.

    Our Ruth is an excellent reinterpretation of the biblical Ruth. She also made a deal with Rumpel to help pay for the farm and in payment gave up one of her twin boys, James.

    James is of the New Testament. But I think the most prominent similarity is the fact that many read the King James version of the bible seeing as James was in line to be King. In this case I think it’s the name and situation that are more important than the actually story. Especially given the idea that the day we met James he was killed and we know enough about his personality that he kills for sport and was a spoiled, gloating asshole.

    And then of course there’s David…Who has risen up from shepherd to hero but despite the empty threats of outing him for the fake Prince he is seems unfazed.

    @Wendy: I want Cora backstory but I’m not sure it’ll make us feel bad for her. I believe it might just reaffirm who she is and how she got that way. She stepped on a lot of people to get where she is and her coldness to her own daughter just shows that whatever corrupted her could not be broken by the love of a child. Regina is relatable and it makes sense why she wanted Henry but Cora seemed to hope Regina would be an apprentice of sorts and does not view her as her own child but an object so use against others.

    There is definitely going to be an accident that brings them all to Storybrooke. Hook would be better to stay away from Cora, she would be most displeased to find out Emma has the compass and how would Hook explain that since he had the magical cuff that helped Emma get up there. I do like the idea that Hook manages to get the magical wardrobe ash and uses it to show his loyalty to Emma, that would separate him from Neal in her mind and perfectly set up Hook for the assumed love interest he is going to be.

    I understand that they are coming to terms with the dual lives but I was considering actually in FairyTale Land when Snow met Red for the first time she said her name was Mary Margaret until she was sure Red was trustworthy and that’s the name she had in Storybrooke. So similarly David was Jack but to escape the glory of Jack said he would prefer to be called David and that’s the name he got in Storybrooke.

    I find it very interesting who calls who by what name. Regina calls him David but Grumpy calls him Charming. Ruth only referred to him as, “my son” to the best of my memory.

    I don’t think Henry would believe it even if Neal showed up. It would have to come from Emma.

    August couldn’t have gone far. He can’t exactly walk around outside of Storybrooke…Perhaps he’s hiding out until the fairy dust can make him human again.

    I also have an over active imagination and love that there’s a place to sort out all my thoughts.

    While we’re at it are there any other names we should be dissecting?

22. 22
    maryedith
    Posted November 19, 2012 at 6:26 pm

    King David is a pretty iconic Biblical figure to take on. The forerunner of Christ? The harp-playing, psalm-composing, most important King of Israel? How would they fit Saul into Charming’s backstory? What about Jonathan? And where is Jesse, seeing as David apparently has no dad? David’s story is known from start to finish; there’s no “happily ever after” stopping point. The show seems to be making oblique references to the Biblical David, without being direct about it, and I don’t see how they can be without fitting all the stuff I’ve just mentioned in. And I don’t see how they can do that.

23. 23
    iwantadventure
    Posted November 19, 2012 at 7:57 pm

    @Maryedith: That’s what I’ve been saying, he’s not David. In fact, the David of Storybrooke is the opposite of the biblical David. David is just Charming’s Storybrooke name. It’s a parallel to Jack of Jack and the Beanstalk because of the giant killing thing. Besides if you juxtapose David with Charming, as Charming pointed out, himself, they’re completely different people. Charming’s got the backbone that David lacks and the point is to figure out where he got that strength. What is his name?! Bring in biblical stories would alienate audiences(I happen to have faith that the show could do it brilliantly). David is just a clue like Whale was. To help us piece the puzzle together and throw us off course at the same time. They threw a wrench in the Jack theory with the skeleton. In which case who is Charming in FairyTale Land?

24. 24
    sagittariuskim
    Posted November 21, 2012 at 6:41 pm

    I know someone mentioned how we wouldn’t see Bluebeard, because it would be hard for them to do. That’s not the only fairy tale we probable won’t be seeing.

    http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/5-grimm-fairy-tales-you-should-only-read-to-kids-you-hate/

25. 25
    iwantadventure
    Posted November 21, 2012 at 9:00 pm

    Despite the fact that I am basically every other comment this time around I was doing some Internet perusing and I came across an interesting tidbit that I thought you might like to know. They are making a movie called Jack the Giant Slayer. Perhaps this will be the next big trend? In which case it would be in the show’s best interest to have an actual Jack. But who actually owns the rights? And again if that’s not the case who could Charming be?!

    @Sagi: That site was really funny and also true! Those stories would be terrible to tell!

    Has anyone ever seen The 10th Kingdom? It was a three part miniseries that aired in like 2000 and was also about Fairytales. From what I remember it was actually rather gory. I can’t remember what channel it was on but it wasn’t like HBO…Anyway, I bring it up because that like OUAT was a reimagining of fairytales. If OUAT wants to do Bluebeard they’ll figure out how to do it. I think with bringing in Frankenstein and doing it rather well for that matter the show can go anywhere! Grimm was trying to teach naughty children what could happen to them. OUAT has a different moral belief and with that stories like Bluebeard don’t have the same significance, I mean how would they really fit his story into a story about love? It’s not like the girl rescued by her brothers would really feel remorse for Bluebeard. Plus we have our pirate in Hook! Does anyone really compare to him except for for Captain Jack?

    I’m beginning to think Charming has a secret…The honesty stuff is nagging me!

    Also for this week’s episode (Yayyy!) Rumpel and Regina put Charming’s life in danger so he can communicate with Snow…Scary but fun!!!

26. 26
    WendyBird
    Posted November 22, 2012 at 12:58 am

    What a busy week…I don’t even have time to think of something right now, I have to go to bed to get up in 3 hours to go set up christmas stuff at work and then drive two hours to my brothers to help him cook Thanksgiving dinner and then go to sleep again to drive back 2 hours and work until close on Black Friday.

    I may not make it to sunday….

27. 27
    ellemck1
    Posted November 23, 2012 at 6:44 pm

    I kept meaning to comment, but boy everything just got crazy from last week on. But I’m glad I got a few questions answered, and sad that we met and lost Quinn in one episode, not to mention our Gus Gus! I always remember “Gus Gus take Lucify, and *punching/ripping noise*” from the Cinderella movie.

    Oh Spencer you terrible man! Why did Charming have to be the good guy and not kill him before? And why did he not put the hat somewhere safe?! Come on, bro!

    I wonder if maybe Neal will somehow have a part in getting Emma and Snow back to Storybrooke, causing the slightest bit of an opening for him to talk to her again. It will be interesting to see what happens between the two of them.

    Can’t wait till next episode. Today I picked up Alice in Wonderland at Barnes and Noble for $7 (along with some other Lewis Carroll stories in the volume) and Monday I’m going to try to get the Brothers Grimm collection on Amazon (cyber Monday). I’m also slightly excited that the guy they cast for Frankenstein’s Monster shares my birthday, I get excited over silly stuff like that (or in the case of Tom Felton, shout “I share a birthday with Draco? Whyyy?”)

    I love reading everyone’s comments when I’m on a quick study break. I actually printed the comments out this time, since I didn’t have much time to read everything in one sitting, so I could know where I left off. You guys bring up such great points!

    Hope you make it to Sunday WendyBird! Sounds like a nap would be a wonderful thing.

28. 28
    ellemck1
    Posted November 23, 2012 at 7:47 pm

    Also, idk if anyone else has seen this, but it’s awesome. Especially about the part where Rumple’s over in the corner going “Dance puppets, dance!”: http://magicalstorybrooke.tumblr.com/image/29991253570

29. 29
    iwantadventure
    Posted November 23, 2012 at 9:31 pm

    @Wendy: Hooe you hold up okay during this Black Friday madness!

    @Elle: I love finding out that such and such person shares my birthday! That’s interesting about Neal…Episode 11 this season is called The Outsider, lots we can speculate about that episode! Though I’m pretty sure Emma and Snow get home soon. And that link was hilarious! I loved that Whale has an arrow to Ruby because he thinks she’s a hot piece of ass!

30. 30
    sagittariuskim
    Posted November 23, 2012 at 10:36 pm

    @Wendy I’m sorry. That sucks. My sister works at Banana Republic and she had to work from 9pm-6am last night. Then she went back this evening and just got home a little while ago. I feel bad for her cause from the stories she tells they already get a bunch on crazies on normal days. I can’t imagine how many they go today. The best part is that according to my sister the only sales they were having, were the same ones they’ve had all week.

    Speaking of birthdays, my birthday is Monday!

31. 31
    sagittariuskim
    Posted November 25, 2012 at 6:09 pm

    Ugh, I hate that most of y’all aren’t on central time!

32. 32
    iwantadventure
    Posted November 25, 2012 at 6:19 pm

    WOW!

    I would like to leave myself a reminder here that I was right very early on about certain characters being otherwise detained, which would pave the way for some epic battle to be discussed when everyone has seen the episode (so I can gloat properly ;-P). I would also like to note…WTF happened between Cora and Rumpel…Okay I won’t say anymore and I promise everything I just said didn’t give anything away…Sooo eager to discuss this episode!!!

    Happy Birthday tomorrow, Sagi!

33. 33
    WendyBird
    Posted November 25, 2012 at 8:15 pm

    IM ALIVE!!!

    I work at Nordstrom so we don’t actually do Black Friday. No opening crazy early, no sale at all. So mostly, I just had to deal with people stomping around the department asking why nothing was marked down and then having to explain to them we don’t do black friday. It was exhausting to say the least. By the end of the day I was telling my manager I was going to throw myself into a table of shoes if one more person asked me about our sale.

    I wish I could have kept up the conversation but I’ve spent today sleeping for the first time in 5 days. IT WAS GLORIOUS!

    I’m currently watching the new episode and squeaking with joy, I cant wait for the next recap to hash out ideas with you all.

    And a very Happy birthday Sagi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

34. 34
    sagittariuskim
    Posted November 25, 2012 at 10:13 pm

    Aurora and Mulan have reversed roles for me. I started liking Aurora this episode and now I hate Mulan.

    Next week Hook is suppose to meet the Queen of Hearts. I’m so excited! But I can’t believe they’re going on hiatus already!

    Thank You, Wendy and Adventure! I’m now 23! It sucks that my birthday is the first day back after Thanksgiving break. But at least my mom sent me back with a delicious chocolate cake.

35. 35
    WendyBird
    Posted November 25, 2012 at 11:14 pm

    My sentiments are shared about Aurora and Mulan, but I haven’t been too hot on Mulan since the beginning….

    Winter hiatus is going to make me cry in a corner… Wahhh!

    Welcome to the 23 club! It’s….okay its not very eventful. But yayyyyyy cake!

36. 36
    iwantadventure
    Posted November 26, 2012 at 12:58 am

    Nobody likes you when you’re 23 lol!

    Honestly I don’t really like either Mulan or Aurora…Aurora tried to be helpful with Henry and the dreams but she just came across as still very fragile and Mulan needs to sort out her feelings for Phillip or take a chill pill. The two of them this episode were ridiculous. And now Aurora isn’t even her own person because Cora is controlling her heart.

    I do wonder if it’s true what Cora said about retrieving a soul…I had guessed as much…Which is the perfect lead in to me gloating! This will only take a minute! YAYYY ME!!! Done lol! I knew Dnow had been there and it’s not a big thing to be right about but I was right that Charming would be otherwise detained and Rumpel and Regina would he compromised in some way soon and that would leave Henry unwatched and rip to use as a pawn, he’s certainly Regina’s weakness! So yay for predicting the ever obvious battle this season has been setting up! Oh, and someone lock up King George before he kills Charming while he’s under the sleeping curse. Let’s learn from the hat fiasco

    @Wendy: The queen of hearts you say? How intriguing! Is that where he learned to take hearts? I assumed he figured out how to do it after seeing Rumpel do it to Milah. I read somewhere that we’re also going to find out how Hook was able to stay in FairyTale Land…Perhaps it’s all related? I just hope the Queen of Hearts isn’t some big let down…I hope it’s not Cora, it’s too obvious!

    Speaking of Cora what was that about Regina seeing her body? Did she follow her into the Looking Glass? The plot thickens…

    My relationship with this show and it’s hiatus are a lot like Snow and Charming’s relationship, we find each other and then we get snatched away…Trying to have faith through the seperation is hard…What will we do until it comes back? There are no more Charming name clues to discuss and with him sleeping there’s not a lot of chance of getting any revelations about it…I suppose we could discuss the contents of August’s box?! But I get ahead of myself, we still have this episode to discuss and there is a new one next week so we’ll cross that bridge of no show for a few weeks when we get to it :-/

37. 37
    sagittariuskim
    Posted November 26, 2012 at 12:29 pm

    @Wendy Yeah I know, but it’s always nice having a day off on your birthday.

    @Adventure I felt like we were starting to see Aurora become stronger which was nice compared to before. And that’s why I found myself starting like her up until she got her heart ripped out.

38. 38
    iwantadventure
    Posted November 26, 2012 at 3:00 pm

    @Sagi: I hope you’re enjoying your birthday! I did find it interesting that Aurora is hoping to go to Storybrooke, however I’m not so sure she’ll make out of FairyTale Land alive now.

    Poor Emma she’s going to get hurt all over again!

39. 39
    ellemck1
    Posted November 27, 2012 at 10:09 am

    Happy (belated) birthday sagi!

    Are we really this close to the winter finale?! Unacceptable! I need much more OUAT!

    This was an interesting episode, but I’m going to have to rewatch it to collect my thoughts on it. Except, I did wonder if Charming and Snow would really be there or not, because the ease of her just kissing him in the fire room seemed a tad too easy…

40. 40
    sagittariuskim
    Posted November 27, 2012 at 5:20 pm

    @ellemck1 Thank You! And yeah next week is the last episode.

    @Adventure I did enjoy it.

41. 41
    Finnegan
    Posted December 2, 2012 at 3:23 pm

    i wish this epi had been on hbo. i was hoping for some sideboob/tush/leg visuals during the inevitable scene where charming throws the cloak over red, but alas, it was not to be.