User blog:Rena Charming/Miniview - "Sympathy for the De Vil"

Going into the second half of the current season, Cruella De Vil was arguably the Queen of Darkness I was the most excited/curious/anxious about. We all have, at some point, indulged in coming up with stories for our favorite iconic characters that could be used on the show, whether the characters have or not been featured already, and Cruella was someone we kind of always wanted to see but also someone we never fully pictured "working" on the series. I really wondered just how they would make her be a part of the cast, whether it would be seamless or not, particularly because I personally could not come up with an idea as to how she could fit in myself. So I was always awaiting this episode, but when it got closer I looked upon it with some dread, preparing myself for an eventual letdown. It seemed that the story was far too original/made up, that it catered to the ongoing Author-centric arc (I so miss random stories), and that, yet again, the villain would have suffered from parental issues. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. The story serviced the character remarkably well, its association with the ongoing arc was ingenious and rewarding (I loved the explanation of the story realms, it's not elaborate, but it's satisfying), and, my my, was I over the moon with the fact that Cruella herself was the problem, not mommy dearest. Cruella's a psycho, there. Love, love, love it. Love everything about it. The show had been in sore need of someone who was evil just because, especially since the explanations they always provide for the characters being villainous are usually, well, shallow and random.

Anyway, this episode sure was a step in the right direction. It was a little confusing and too peculiar at first, I was honestly underwhelmed during the first two acts and almost found myself screaming "WTF am I watching?" at the screen. But the pace soon picked up, the flashbacks proved to be some of the most captivating in a while, and whereas I personally felt no sympathy for the De Vil, I had a heck of a good time watching her be fabulous.

Now, here's the thing: it's old news that I was not excited about Patrick Fischler joining the cast in such a key role - he just has an odd face, okay? This episode gave his character a lot of focus, and it did nothing to make me appreciate him more, much to the contrary: rewatching the episode, I was appalled by how much of a lackluster actor he is. Pay close enough attention to the way he delivers his lines when he first meets Cruella's mother in their home, there is no emotion to them, no hint of surprise here or there, when he asks "Relatives?" (regarding the paintings) it barely sounds like he's asking a question at all, more like he's just stating it as if he knows. I hate to hear him speaking, I hate to look at him, this is to me the worst casting decision the show has ever done.

Speaking of poor acting... um, JenMo, girl, what are you doing? Those facial expressions, d'oh. Did you miss having your facial weirdness become GIFs online? Is that it? Another prolonged close-up of someone's face at the end of an episode, I'm detecting a pattern of suckiness here. Mark my words, 4.19 ends with an everlasting close-up of Lily looking evil after she says something villainous, or something like that. Emma also sounded so much like a spoiled brat throughout this episode, it was grating. "Yes, I'm still upset." Listen to the way she says this. Lol?

So I guess we now have confirmation that the Charmings were not made to pull the Lily maneuver by a writing of the Author, he really did only get them on the path to do it. Maybe he still made the Apprentice say and do those things, though? Just... I'm worried, I honestly am, CAN the Charmings be redeemed? Cos, Snow said in this episode that it was WORTH IT, due to Emma being good. Sigh. Snow you stupid fat bitch, I wanna slap and shake you.

Regina controlling Belle was a lot of win, as was Cruella playing "Angry Birds". But the biggest victory of this episode goes to its unsung performer: Pongo. Yes. God, yes. I guessed last week that Pongo would be wasted in this episode, and you could rub in my nose how wrong I was, but believe me, I wanted to be wrong, and am glad I was. Pongo was wonderfully used, and whether or not he was portrayed by Cinder again, he was wonderfully acted. Damn, those dalmatians do look scary when they're angry.

In the short time when Cruella was pretending to be nice to gain the Author's trust, she was so convincing I actually shipped those two. Oh well. Cruella turned out to be a very entertaining villain all throughout, and I'm sad to see her go relatively soon. Probably the most upset I've been by a character dying on this show, to be honest. Because fuck you Neal, why were you always shouting?

Stray Observations
 * This is also old news and there's no point in beating a dead horse, but young Cruella being Alice's daughter is an abortion and anyone who is okay with it is my enemy.
 * Much like Maleficent being named Maleficent in the Disney movie, I don't understand why Cruella was always called Cruella. If your name obviously derives from something that basically means "evil", you can't be set up for much else in life. I'd much rather she was called Gertrude and took on the Cruella name after fully embracing darkness.
 * Regina, Emma and Hook would not shut up about the Charmings and what they did when finding an endangered Henry should have been the pressing matter. Like Snow and Regina having girl-talk when Emma was about to be stripped of her powers. Or the countless days of hanging about not accomplishing much of anything in Neverland when Henry was Pan's captive. Heroes: learn to prioritize, okay? Get stuff done first, chit-chat later.
 * How the hell did Cruella get to the Enchanted Forest? How did she get her damn CAR to the Enchanted Forest? I suppose much like Tink getting to Neverland or even Phillip getting his soul back, that's an awesome, thrilling story we get to make up in our own heads.
 * Cruella said she'd meet the Author at the hotel. So, her mother just barges in at a hotel with two dalmatians in tow? What the hell kinda rank joint was that?

Rating the Episode
 * Flashback story - 5 out of 5 stars. Odd at first, turned around wonderfully at the end. I'm very happy with it.
 * Present-day action - 3 out of 5 stars. Seems like one of those episodes in which the flashbacks take up most of the screentime, and it probably is, which, good, cos the flashback story was actually way better. Henry getting kidnapped again was too yolo for my taste and I didn't understand its ultimate goal: did Cruella simply want the Author dead out of vengeance and nothing else, or did she expect to be able to kill once he died? Cos, Rumple said if the Author died his role would just be taken up by someone else, and I doubt that the stories he's already written down and even changed would be altered, right? Or would it be like anytime someone dies and their magic is undone? Except the Snow Queen, it seems... I... I'm so confused, should all this crap perhaps go in the "Writing" section?
 * Usage of cast - 4 out of 5 stars. I guess. Henry was well used which is rare this season, the Charmings likewise, Emma and Regina and Rumple were fine, Belle appeared briefly but awesomely, Hook... should have been absent again, please, and no Will. Meh, Cruella more than made up for all of these shortcomings. She was fab.
 * Writing - 4 out of 5 stars. Save for the flubs I can't make sense of addressed in the PD section, the episode was quite well written. The dialogue was good (albeit badly delivered by some sub-par actors), the explanations satisfying, the story gripping. Kudos.

Overall rating: 16/20. This episode joins the honor roll of the season. I already like it better than, say, 405 or 409, which got the same and a higher rating respectively, though. Keep in mind the ratings are somewhat objective. Somewhat. I try, okay?