User blog:Rena Charming/Miniview - "Lily"

Hmmm... so this episode was a bit meh, wasn't it? The sad news is it doesn't so much constitute a lull in the season as it simply fits in perfectly with its pattern of good ep/bad ep. Season 4 has been that way from the very start, and if we found ourselves enjoying Cruella's story last week, the odds weren't in our favor for this one. That could mean next week's is a great episode, but then... what does that say for the upcoming finale? Be afraid, be very afraid.

First of all, let's discuss Lily, as in, the character. The Internet is up in arms about the fact that young Latina Lily morphed into a white adult. I too fail to see the resemblance between Nicole Muñoz and Agnes Bruckner and find myself scratching my head with this casting decision. OUaT is usually pretty spot on when it comes to casting younger/older versions of previously established characters, and this one feels like a misstep. No disrespect whatsoever to Ms. Bruckner who did a fine job of portraying Lily - perhaps too fine a job, as it seems to me like older Lily had more of a Latin accent than young Lily did. :P We've had situations similar to this before, where an adult actor doesn't seem to resemble the younger one who originated the role, but tbf, Pinocchio's identity was supposed to remain a mystery, and Neal... whatever. Hmmm... now that I think about it, did Malcolm even look like Pan? I guess OUaT is really good at casting younger versions of characters, not so much the other way around. Maybe. Whatever. Maybe Lily changed her skin to hide from the mob.

Anyway, I am still undecided about this whole thing with Lily being Maleficent's daughter. The fact that the character was introduced in 4.05 and is now being made so relevant in this second half really makes for a season that is more cohesive and well structured, so that's a plus. Besides, I really did like Lily in her first appearance and wanted to see more of her, although I figured she was a one-off guest serving a means to an end, that end being the eventual connection between Emma and her foster mother, the Snow Queen. Making sure that Lily has more of a purpose is a better call. But then comes the first con: despite all the talk about the power of fate, pushing people together - of which we'd already seen plenty, with Emma having a baby from the son of the Dark One, the Evil Queen adopting said baby, yadda yadda - doesn't it seem like complete and utter bullcrap, not to mention overkill, that everyone of relevance that Emma's ever been in contact with comes from a story realm? Like... Jesus Christ. It's not like it's much of an issue with me, I'm fine with it, and the show has required us to suspend way more disbelief than this aspect, but really, OUaT? And another thing: Maleficent is LAME. God, she is really, really lame. They've made the Mistress of All Evil so passive with this mommy storyline. I've made my point before about what a ridiculous turn of events it is to make the Charmings the horrendous babysnatchers and to make the noted villainess be the victim, so I won't dwell in that any further, but it's still such a questionable creative decision.

And so much of what drives this story forward relies on confusing messages and mixed morale. We've already had the contrived crap of Emma having the potential for great darkness or great goodness (again, you have to emphasize the word "great", otherwise it's just a retarded shiz), I still can't make much sense of what it is that Rumplestiltskin actually wants out of his happy ending, and now so much relevance has been atributed to the power of fate. Despite Regina's mention that our actions are our own, fate was given such a key role in this episode that it really could send the wrong message to the kids watching this show, that if we screw up in life, oh well, we were predestined to. I am a firm believer in fate, that some things ARE meant to be, but to give it so much importance just makes for unbalanced, irresponsible human beings. I fear for what kind of morale the writers of this show might shove down our throats next season. That rape doesn't count if one of the people involved consents to it? Prolly.

I also fear giving this show too much crap based on my own feelings regarding its morality and life lessons because I have a shaky perspective on such matters, and I am usually proven wrong regarding said opinions with subsequent episodes or other people schooling me, so forgive me if I am being too preachy and perhaps dumb.

Now, let's talk about the other things that went wrong with this episode. The writing wasn't very sharp. I just could not be arsed with the fact that they bothered trying to fool us with the old "the character you've been looking for is dead oh wait I guess not" routine. Here's the thing, if Emma just stumbled upon Lily it would've been too convenient, true. But you know what else was effing convenient? Lily already having the 411 on all things fairytale and babysnatching. She knew EVERYTHING! WTF?! I really had a big issue with that and I can't even put my finger on why that is, because I sure as hell would not have wanted them to spend an eternity trying to convince a skeptical Lily of the truth. Basically, as is usually the case with this show, I just don't know what I want. It has defied my expectations and slapped me in my tan face so much already I can't chow down on what they give me and I can't hope for anything better either. I just can't, okay?

What else was bad? Flashbacks were kinda boring, I think that's something we can all agree on. This episode was missing the usual dose of fairytale pizzazz. The first time OUaT provided us with a real-world Emma-centric flashback, it balanced it out by having Emma climb up the iconic beanstalk to reach a castle in the clouds. This showed us Emma in the real world in both timelines, and she didn't do anything nearly as awesome as Robin riding a horse through NYC. Just... Jesus, Emma, couldn't you, like, blow down a house made of straw to get to Lily? Something? Anything? If someone who had never watched the show before sat down to casually view this episode, they would have no idea what its main theme is. This usual change of universe wasn't so much refreshing as it was dull. The flashbacks added next to nothing to the Emma story - she could have last seen Lily in 4.05 and it wouldn't have made a difference -, I was disappointed that the family she was with wasn't the Swan family even though it's been pointed out to me that that wouldn't have made sense anyway, and Lily was kinda creepy as hell in the flashbacks practically worshipping Emma at the dinner table, around her dorky family.

But the worst thing about this episode was undoubtedly the C-plot with Rumple, Belle and Will. It DISGUSTED me. Everything about it hit all the wrong notes. First, we have Will's apparent complete lack of interest in being with Belle, like the character himself knows this is forced and not meant to last. Notice how when she leaves him at the pawn shop to go look after baby Neal (lol) he doesn't even say anything to her. Much like when she told him he had to try the chocolate cake and he remained a mute. Why does he always have a look of confusion on his face whenever Belle is sweet with him, like he has no idea what is going on? Is it meant to reflect how we the audience feel? Then, of course, we have Rumple coming in and demanding that Will steal Belle's heart back, actually pushing him against a wall. Classy. Then, there was Maleficent being a total doormat as usual while the heart is being taken behind her back - she didn't even flick her wrist to maybe cast any sort of spell Will's way when she spotted him at the window. Then, we pretty much got confirmation that Belle really has no clue that Regina took her heart - even though she is quick to deduce that the heart Will is holding is hers, which is so unlike Belle, she is usually so slow-witted. Now, doesn't this anger you beyond belief? I think we all presumed that Regina asked for Belle's heart last week and the beauty willingly gave it to her, for the greater purpose of keeping her psycho ex at arm's length. We know Regina got Belle to forget everything that transpired in the woods, logically - this episode now begs the question, did Belle just forget EVERYTHING altogether? Or did Regina just yank out the heart without asking her? Cos that's a major step back, even though I could sort of get it in the grand scheme of things - basically, it was Rumple's true love or hers. I was confused enough when Belle apparently neglected to tell Will she was currently heartless, but now this... I really hope everything is clarified next week because if they really tried to shove down our throats the moment of Rumple giving her the heart as some sort of selfless act I will be physically sick. Do not insult my intelligence, OUaT! You've already given me a doctorate degree in retardation by having me accept the Zelenarian twist! Rumple is not sefless and will never be selfless, okay?! For heaven's sake, five episodes ago he was deceiving Belle for the nth time in order to regain his precious power, the very reason she kicked him out of town to begin with. And yet in this episode he took advantage of Regina's action, which she only took on because he had threatened her with the potential death of someone she loved, and made himself out to be the hero. If he truly wanted Belle to simply be whole, he would have let Will give her the heart without taking credit for it. Selfless people don't expect or crave recognition. Rumple is a selfish, self-serving bastard and anyone who "aw"s at what he does is as much of a fool as Belle is. Her letting go of Will's hand was a slap in my face, and no, I'm not an idiot, not only do I not ship or really give a crap about Scarlet Beauty, I am also well aware that Rumbelle is endgame and will end up together. But Jesus, I expected a natural progression to that (ha, silly me), not this bullcrap. If they end up together by the time season 4 wraps up I will be very sore. Their relationship is toxic.

As a final, positive note, kudos to Abby Ross for actually making us sympathize with the character of Emma in an episode of late, cos adult Emma is just really grinding our gears these days.

Another cast note: Jonathan Adams, former Bones regular and DH guest star, is the listed actor for the voice of the Sorcerer. Like... is he meant to take on the role for real? Will they cast another actor? Will they cast anyone at all, I mean, will the Sorcerer ever take on a physical form? Guess we will learn eventually.

Also Zelena's pregnant. Whatever. Cute that finding Lily took precedence over saving Robin's life, again with these heroes not being able to properly prioritize.

Rating the Episode:
 * Flashback story - 2 out of 5 stars. There were no real stakes, no relevant new information. I half expected Emma to at least run into Lily's boyfriend and be in trouble at that home. Also, how selfish of Emma to just abandon that family and never come, but, then again, why didn't anyone follow after her?
 * Present-day action - 3 out of 5 stars. I guess. Kinda forced all around and not that interesting. Dark Emma is irritating and the anti-Savior is kinda lame.
 * Usage of cast - 3 out of 5 stars. Whereas the entire main cast appeared and Will was well used for a change, Henry and Hook were barely featured, the Charmings coasted and Belle didn't do that much either.
 * Writing - 3 out of 5 stars. Way too much talk and exposition on fate and Emma and Lily's journeys, some questionable directions the story took (Mal being so passive, Rumbelle's possible reconciliation, Lily just straight-up knowing everything), and the dialogue was confusing sometimes (the Sorcerer talking to the Apprentice, Emma scolding Lily at the bus stop).

Overall rating: 11/20. Seems very fair, this episode isn't really all that bad despite my complaints and it's a rather important one in the history of the show, it was just so, so boring.