User blog:Rena Charming/Miniview - Season 4

The lackluster season finale cemented the fact that season 4 is my least favorite season of the entire series so far; I have pointed many a time that it's the most uneven, rollercoaster-y season, with a fairly balanced division of good and bad episodes. It's a known fact that season 2 ended on a very negative note, but it had a very strong start and solid middle. Season 4 was shaky through beginning, middle and end. It had some of the best episodes of the entire series, with particular praise going to its midseason climax and the backstories of two of its highly-advertised Queens of Darkness, but as a whole it clunked. Below I analyze what worked (kinda) and what didn't work at all in season 4. I know you'll be nodding along through most of it. Not literally cos what are you, bobbleheads? And, well, to be honest, you're not gonna ready anything here you haven't already. I'll just... be repeating myself a lot, I'm sorry. :/ I just kinda needed to do this one last review to properly put the season behind me.

The Pros
Frost Bite

None of us were particularly excited about Frozen coming to the show; it just felt too desperate and gimmicky, and our anxieties were heightened when the creators explicitly stated that they wouldn't mess with the core characters of the movie, "darken" them up, out of fear of a fandom retaliation. Whusses. So basically we were getting the unofficial Frozen sequel with the same cutesy characters making references to the plot of the movie as though it were canon within the continuity of this universe. Sigh. That's exactly what we got, and we had to make due with it, overlook it. I'll try to focus on what did work, the positive things we got out of this arc. It got off to a really slow start - took me 5-7 episodes to be properly invested - but then it kicked into high gear and was a rather enjoyable ride. Ingrid's characterization was sketchy at best, a real prototype of "haven't been there nor done that" that wasn't very well thought out; her quest to find two magical sisters was, let's face it, rather silly, and the way she spoke about it made me sometimes doubt the performance by the grand Elizabeth Mitchell (silly me). It all worked out nicely in the end, for the ride was entertaining enough for us to suspend our disbelief, but it really is a bit much how their villains always seem to have ridiculous motives behind their endeavours. I am still a bit disappointed that Storybrooke didn't actually "freeze over" - I guess that would have been too expensive for this show. But we did get some very pretty visual effects (namely the curse of Shattered Sight), and I am thrilled with the way they incorporated the Snow Queen's story into the mythology of the show.

Having Disney property characters mash with the fairytale that originally inspired them was rather refreshing, something the show had never quite done, as it was always a mixture of both elements (traditional and commercial) within the same characters, and the fact that the demonic mirror was included in the arc was rather ingenious to me. I would not have thought of it. The story also absolutely felt like it had a starting point and a finish point, with every single bit being a part of something bigger, from Gerda's last-effort message in a bottle to the wishing star, from the dust remnants of Elsa's urn to, well, even the Sorcerer's hat. Continuity was well respected as a whole and although the story dragged for the first half and barely hit any truly high points, the climax was fun enough, the MVP guests got a satisfying send-off, and the contrived flashbacks actually led to some points that were quite alright, like how David acquired his swordfighting skills and how it was decided that Rumplestiltskin should be called upon to protect Maurice's land from the ogres. And then there was Emma...

The Savior

Emma coasted through most of season 3, despite calling herself the Savior and the leader of the Nevengers at every chance she got, and taking credit for defeating the villains even though she kinda never did anything about that. In season 4, however, the character, the definitive protagonist of the show, really was placed up front and center and got her chance to shine. Her backstory was explored to greater lengths than ever before and managed to be entertaining enough despite, well, not being very fairytale-ish. Particular praise must be given to Abby Ross, who made it impossible for us not to root for her in the role of young Emma: she just had so much chemistry with both Lily and Ingrid, and was adorable to a fault. We also know all too well that, well, Emma's backstory, the one we got this season, wasn't always planned from the get-go. Some people view Frozen as a detour. I would view it the same way if I actually believed that, as they produced season 3, they had season 4 planned out. No, during season 3, season 4 was a blank space, alright? Most of season 5 is now a blank space until they get together for summer camp or whatever those overpaid dorks do. Let's not give them more credit than they deserve, Emma's backstory in season 4 was created exclusively for season 4, they were just lucky enough to make it so that it worked.

It is a bit much to ask us to believe that every single person of note Emma ran into before her Storybrooke days is from a fairytale world, but if we bought all of the random pre-island character connections on Lost, we can buy this, and the explanations we were given about fate and what-not work well enough for me. Anyway, my point was, Emma was a very solid lead, and it's cool that four seasons into the show the character still feels like a work in progress, like there's so much more we have yet to see out of her. Black Swan (Dark Swan?) is a bit of an eye roller, but I am very excited to see the Dark One's history explored in further detail in the next season, and if Emma's in the midst of all that crap, well, so be it. She's supposed to be my favorite character anyway, and she's definitely been made interesting of late. Although, the hints we got of dark Emma in the next-to-last episodes made me wanna slap her in the mouth. And Emma is so fucking gay it's not even funny. She was OBSESSED with Regina all season long, especially in 4.14. I hate it to give it to Lily Sparks, but she's right, it's so beyond context anymore, the queerbaiting is beyond shameless and sometimes grating. I do enjoy the idea of Emma/Regina as BFF's, but they're made to connect so much more with one another than with their respective boyfriends (Outlaw Queen has zero sparks for me). Also, maybe parent your son some more, ladies? The parenting this season was kinda crappy for everyone.

Real Life Problems

One of the best and most interesting aspects going into this show is seeing fairytale characters existing in this crazy world of ours. Can we just all admit that one of the BEST scenes of the ENTIRE season was that pointless little "mommy and me" class with three Disney princesses and their irrelevant babies? What a joy! We are all biased towards Cinderella and Aurora for some darn reason, and this scene, as short as it might have been, was just so cute and I am so glad we got it. This season we got to see Robin Hood riding a horse through the busy streets of NYC, Rumple and the Queens of Darkness hitting up a fast food drive-through and... Maleficent dressing up like a mob boss? Whatever. Having an entire season set in the real world as opposed to sending everyone to some magical far-off land was reminiscent of season 1 and made us enjoy these characters with their real life problems a lot more. Zelena being pregnant is straight out of a soap opera. I was meh about it at first, now I love it.

The Dark One

Rumplestiltskin was quite possibly the most interesting character all season long, if not for Emma. Certainly better than Regina, who usually takes the crown. The character finally admitted to being a true villain and embraced it as opposed to his usual one-step-forward-two-steps-backwards dance routine of the previous seasons, and I hopped along for the entertaining ride, viewing him as someone I truly loved to hate. As a matter of fact, the only times I hated Rumplestiltskin in season 4 were whenever he was supposedly "good", like when he gave Belle her heart back. There is something about this character you can't help but love; he's so hard to decode, due to his confusing mixture of honesty and deceit, so much so that you never really know where he is coming from, and his dependence on magic serving as a metaphor for the afflicting addictions one can come across in this world is one of the smartest and actually most subtle stories the show has ever concocted, whether knowingly or not. And you can't help but sympathize with him whenever he is candidly honest, like when he told Emma in 4.08 that he wouldn't step in the room behind her for anything in the world, and how he feared Belle was wrong about him being good, or how he told Regina in 4.11 that he did wish her the best, but in 4.17 retracted that, because his esteem for her only goes so far. Rumple wins over anyone and everyone, be it his son, grandson, wife, protegés... And he's just so terribly alone, I wanna give him a hug. This character somehow manages to be a far more compelling villain than Regina ever was but we don't give him enough praise because... well, prolly cos he's a dude. Rumple is an addict, guys. Addicts do all sorts of horrible things to sustain their addictions. He's also a control freak, and, well, someone who has been literally consumed by darkness through the years. Let's face it, what's Regina's excuse for massacring hundreds? PMS? Rumple's journey through the season was always interesting to watch, and as unlikable as he was at times, there was only one moment when he truly was disgusting to me: when he grinned, in Hook's guise, after deceiving Belle. It's not the deceit itself, that's Rumple 101, it's that he seemed to enjoy fooling her. Maybe it was Colin O'Donoghue's decision to work that in, but I'd much rather have seen Gold feeling guilty over being forced to bring himself to do that. Or maybe he was just a little butt-hurt over her exiling him and hooking up with an extra.

Coherence As I've mentioned before, the season's halves were thematically connected by an overarching story, Operation Cobra 2.0 (its actual name SUCKS), and several shared elements, plot points and characters, such as the Sorcerer's hat and Lily. Wise decision on the writers' part, and an m.o. I hope they keep for season 5, since they have every intention of continuing to do 11-episode arcs.

The Pros and Cons, Having Babies
Queens of Darkness

As the case is with just about anything OUaT does, I had my reservations about the Queens of Darkness arc. Turns out the arc didn't even focus that much on them: Ursula missed the last 6 episodes, Cruella missed the last 4, Maleficent missed the last 2. Notice a pattern there? The idea to mash up these three characters felt as random as the idea to mash up Aurora and Mulan in season 2, but at least these ladies got to have their stories properly told before being written off, as opposed to entering character limbo after a shortage of backstory. And the episodes we got for Cruella and Ursula were among the best of the season, if not the series. Both characters were amusing enough and the roles well cast, and I am now beyond glad the series did tackle them, two characters I was anxious about, not just before this arc, but whenever the possibility of them being included was brought up. Kudos on a fine job, OUaT. Now let's talk Maleficent. What the actual fuck?! We waited YEARS for this character to get some focus, for a wide variety of reasons: because we wanted to see the tale of "sleeping beauty" told, because we wanted a kickass new villain that would be even more evil than Regina, and because, well, we kinda needed Kristin Bauer to grow on us. The only thing we got was the last bit. Bauer did bring depth to a role that was kinda clunky and uneven, but mostly just boring. Aurora was barely used (same with Ariel and Archie/Pongo for the other two, but watcha gonna do), even though we all presumed the very reason why she was in Storybrooke these days was so that she could interact with the villain from her tale in the present, but nope, no such luck. Maleficent was featured in flashbacks in four consecutive episodes, something that's actually rare on the show, especially post-season 1, and yet only has one shared centric to her name, she's never done anything noteworthy as a villain, her feud with Aurora's family has only been tangentially touched upon, and she never even did anything to the Charmings. I do love the resolution she came to in "Mother", but before that, God, what a terrible waste this character was. Lily's apparently sticking around for season 5 and Maleficent has yet to be written off, so I hope to see more of the two of them and Aurora next fall, but I'm not holding my breath for something particularly exciting. Also, how and when the fuck did Cruella get to the Enchanted Forest?...

The Guest Stars

I have yet to make my peace with the fact that I will never get as much out of the supporting characters I've grown to like over the years as I have in the past. Seasons 1 and 2 did a fine job of using those characters and I didn't appreciate that enough, and as the years go by they get more and more sidelined in favor of the ever-changing roll of MVP guests. There is just no room for the likes of Granny and the Blue Fairy to thrive in this ensemble anymore, the writers very simply do not care, and unfortunately, neither do the fans. No one wants to see Granny leading an episode, they want their true love's kisses and chipped cup moments. We are the odd ones out, and when it comes to certain characters, that's not even true for all members of our community. The show has actually proven time and time again that it is SO good at bringing back guest stars and former regulars, just not very good at using them properly. I mean, let's take a look at who we got to see again in season 4: Sidney Glass; Ruth; Archie; Zoso; Maurice; Aurora; Cinderella (and Alexandra); Blue; Black Beard; Maleficent; Geppetto; Pinocchio AND August; Mr. Smee; Ariel; Zelena; Nottingham; Cora and Henry Sr.; the severe nurse; Granny and all 7 dwarfs. We got ALL of these guest stars coming back for the season, yet not one of them, not even Mal, was properly used. And how can we make due with the fact that Ruby wasn't even so much as mentioned all season long? It's hard to. It honestly makes me quite sad.

The Cons
WTF: Will the Fuck-up

Nothing. How is this even possible? How could we get through an entire season, 23 broadcast hours, and get nothing on this character, who was the second lead on the show that originated him? Socha's promotion to the main cast of the mother show was something awaited by many, dreaded by many others. I, for one, was ecstatic about it, it felt to me like the Wonderland story wasn't just gonna be swept under the rug despite the show's less-than-stellar reception, that one of its funniest and most interesting characters was gonna liven up the original story, that we'd get some more information on Will that the spin-off couldn't cover, like why was he even in Storybrooke to begin with? We got nothing. His introduction in the season took place in episode 3, it could have happened sooner or later and it wouldn't have made a difference. We got a brief allusion to his track record in 404, and I actually got a kick out of seeing how the character interacted with the core regulars of the show through his appearances without ever affecting the main story much. It was fun and refreshing. Then it got old, really old. I figured we would be treated to precisely that throughout the first arc, as a means of slowly yet assuredly making him fit in, get people to notice and wonder about him, but the character kept popping up as a glorified extra, playing second banana to Robin Hood, and we got absolutely no hint as to why he was around in the winter finale. Then I figured, second half's bound to save him, right? The creators implied - no, no, they explicitly said - he would become more relevant, that he would have a connection to a season 1 character, that we'd get more hints and that they were hoping to feature Ana in the season. He got even less screentime than in the first half, the only character from season 1 he connected with was, well, Belle, the only clue we got was confusing as hell (he's from Oz?!) and then they admitted that they couldn't feature Ana because there was simply no room for her, hopefully next year. Fuck you, Adam and Eddy. Will Scarlet actually IS a character we like and root for, or used to anyway. He's someone we're invested and interested in, way more so than your shitty OTPs. And Michael Socha is a genuinely funny, talented and charismatic actor, one whose talent you're flushing down the drain. Maybe this is all part of a super long con, you guys really do have something awesome backed up and you're just messing with us, but enough is enough. Scarlet Beauty didn't even... Ugh. Sigh. Bah. I can't. Lower your heads in shame, you are just really bad at your jobs.

The Bad Episodes

...There's just... so many of them... "A Tale of Two Sisters"... "Rocky Road"... "Family Business"... "Unforgiven"... "Lily..." And then the mediocre ones, which we enjoyed slightly, but let's face it, they're not so great. "White Out"... "The Apprentice"... "Smash the Mirror" (DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THIS 2-HOUR ABORTION!)... "Enter the Dragon"... "Best Laid Plans"... "Heart of Gold"... and that boring season finale. Season 4 was riddled with bad episodes, frustratingly tepid flashback stories, questionable creative decisions, full-on slaps in my fucking face (Zelenarian, fuck off), that more than counterbalanced its cohesive story and, well, the good ones. Season 4B was so tonally askew, so much was going on, whereas 4A got off to such a slow start. Season 4 was just a big fail, can we all agree on that?

Robin/Regina/Marian/Zelena/Motherfucking Roland I'm not gonna again.