User blog:Rena Charming/Miniview Mash-Up 1

Since I only started doing miniviews with episode 4.07, and haven't bothered with them from 4.09 to 4.15, I figured I'd do a mash-up of episode ratings for the other episodes of season 4 I have left, just to see what grade I would end up giving each of them.

A Tale of Two Sisters

 * Flashback story - 2 out of 5 stars. It was pretty tame by season premiere standards, and although it did a fine job of introducing the Frozen characters, well, we didn't really want them to begin with and this episode did very little to change that. Anna was mostly a joy to watch, but the story itself was so low-key and it became apparent from then on that they really wouldn't put much of a dark twist on the characters, just like they said they wouldn't.
 * Present-day action - 2 out of 5 stars. Not much to go with here either. Elsa was in Storybrooke, but no one was a wiser, and wouldn't be till the very next episode, which kinda just made this all seem like a drag. And, of course, Zelena retcon aside, the Robin/Regina/Marian story totally did not go in the direction I hoped it would.
 * Usage of cast - 2 out of 5 stars. Is it hypocritical of me to slam the second half of the season for not using enough guest stars and yet have this entire ratings subsection devoted exclusively to how well the main cast is handled? Perhaps. Do I care? No, I do not. Consistency, I lack it, and we all know it. Will Scarlet was not introduced in this episode, and, let's face it, he could have been, wouldn't have made a lick of difference. Henry, Snow and Charming, one half of the show's original core characters, were criminally underused, and it being a season premiere, that's just unacceptable. Hook kinda coasted and Belle didn't do much either.
 * Writing - 2 out of 5 stars. Sigh. Robin said ALL the wrong things, Rumple did his usual one-step-forward-five-steps-back routine, and the characters reminded us that they talk about the same things over and over and over again, and, in forcing us to complain about that, so do we. Anna was quite enjoyable as were her lines, setting the tone for what would be a thoroughly entertaining character throughout the arc, but mostly the Frozen stuff was dull and unamusing.

Overall rating: 8/20. Now, now, doesn't that seem just about right?

White Out

 * Flashback story - 4 out of 5 stars. As far as forced backstory goes, this one works quite well: it was dubious how well Charming could handle a sword in his original "The Prince and the Pauper" routine, and thusly it works when we finally get to see him learning how to be a swordsman in flashbacks that predate that time. Anna was a joy as usual, it was great seeing Ruth again (who, strangely yet not strangely at all, looked older than she did in her latter-day flashbacks), and also Bo Peep was awesome!!
 * Present-day action - 3 out of 5 stars. The action also drags a bit in this filler-ish episode, but it's nice to watch anyway. We get to see another fairytale character in Storybrooke (though, much like all of the last ones, she gets no new name), Mary Margaret's C-plot is fun and Emma and Elsa's bonding time was cool, pun totally intended. David more than held his own as the episode's lead, and there was something very rewarding about our dear Elizabeth Mitchell licking ice cream at the end.
 * Usage of cast - 3 out of 5 stars. Alas, not a very high grade either, but better than the last. Will was still to be brought in, Belle LOL, Regina had one scene, Rumple was barely featured as well and Hook piggy-backed off of Charming.
 * Writing - 4 out of 5 stars. Sharp for the most part, funny when it's supposed to be, everything you can expect out of a Jane Espenson episode.

Overall rating: 14/20. All in all, a very generous rating for a filler episode.

Rocky Road

 * Flashback story - 1 out of 5 stars. I'm sorry, but nothing about this was even remotely interesting to me. Kristoff was a very shallow and unfunny character, and this episode's focus on him did the role no favor. The references to the movie were annoying for reasons I've pointed out more than once and the Snow Queen's introduction in Elsa's past was a bit clunky.
 * Present-day action - 2 out of 5 stars. Will finally made his debut, and that random, dumb introduction was perhaps the highlight of this lackluster episode. I did not much care for the Snow Queen's attempts at villainizing Elsa and Marian beind sidelined right away was a horrible writing choice.
 * Usage of cast - 4 out of 5 stars. Surprisingly, this is where the episode wins: the only truly underused character was Belle.
 * Writing - 2 out of 5 stars. I remember being unimpressed by the Snow Queen's dialogue, and since this episode made its living out of referencing the Disney movie, it's a loser in my book.

Overall rating: 9/20. Yep. Seems about right.

The Apprentice

 * Flashback story - 4 out of 5 stars. As usual, Anna steals the show with her zaniness and kind heart, and although I am quite fed up with Disney property being used on this show, there is something fantastically alluring about the Sorcerer's Apprentice story from Fantasia being used, it just seems to fit in with the show's mythology very well. I liked the cameo by the former Dark One, and was surprised at how Anna was back in Arendelle by the end of the episode.
 * Present-day action - 3 out of 5 stars. As filler as a filler episode can be, however, I did appreciate what they did with Hook. With magic being all around him, it did seem nonsensical that the character would be one-handed for so long, but it's not like any of us wanted him to get his old hand back and lose his charm, not at least until the series finale. So what they did, giving him the hand back and taking it away and thus restoring the status quo by episode's end was as big of a wash as the entire story in 3.04 was, but it worked better. Hook dating Emma was kinda cute too.
 * Usage of cast - 3 out of 5 stars. Snow and Charming coasted, Regina just sat in her vault all episode long, Belle DOUBLE LOL, Henry was also underused, but then Will was brought to the forefront (boy, did that not last), Hook and Rumple also stole the show and Emma was a solid lead throughout, as she has been for all of season 4.
 * Writing - 3 out of 5 stars. Can't complain. Don't remember a lot of clunky stuff, no solid, great moments either.

Overall rating: 13/20. Wow, I am quite content with how these ratings are turning out.