Once Upon A Time SEASON 4 EPISODE 15 FULL LENGTH REACTION

Enter the Dragon- That's right... August is back!!! And I love it! Thank you so much for another fun reaction, Timothee! Overall... I enjoy this episode, mostly for the storyline between Gold upon disguising himself as Hook, and his storyline with Belle, as well as the backstory with Maleficent and a younger Regina when Regina helps Maleficent gain back her fire so she can become the phenomenal villainess we all know her to be. Out of all the Disney movies and their villains, Maleficent has always been one of my favorites, and I absolutely love Kristin Bauer Van Straten as Maleficent here in Once Upon a Time too!! She is definitely one of my favorite villainesses within this show. Plus... I absolutely love her new look in Storybrooke. She reminds me of an old Hollywood actress in the classic black and white detective movies. Or a woman within the old gangster movies set within the 20s and 30s. She's just beautiful. As for Enter the Dragon... Like I said above, my favorite scenes are between Belle and Hook, who we later learn to actually be Gold in disguise so that he can get his hands back on his dagger. I didn't see this twist coming the first time I watched this episode, in spite of the subtle, or maybe not so subtle hints I realized were throughout these scenes after watching this episode for a second time. I especially love the moment Belle attempts to summon Gold to her on the beach as she commands him to come and face her per Hook's, or Gold's suggestion upon Belle admitting her fear of Gold possibly returning. I didn't notice it the first time I watched, but in this moment, she commands that Rumple comes to face her, and so Hook literally turns his head towards her to face her. Because Gold is already standing with Belle, he doesn't have to appear before her in a cloud of smoke. I love, love, love how literal the words must be when someone commands the Dark One with his dagger! Plus... I love the smug look on Hook's face as Belle is driving away, then when Gold suddenly transforms back into his true form once she's gone. And I really love how we come to realize that is actually Gold who comes to speak with Belle when he sits down in the booth at Granny's next to Will, and taunts him too. If you remember back to the beginning of Hook's rivalry with Will, shown throughout the Frozen arc, Gold had already begun to get into Hook's mind and manipulate him, then as their rivalry continued, Gold had taken Hook's heart at a certain point, so Gold came to know about his and Will's rivalry too. So, to Belle... She would easily believe it was Hook who was treating Will so cruelly because Hook is known to have had trouble with Will too, in case she might have ever questioned anyone else like Emma about why Hook seemed to be acting so strangely towards Will. Even though Killian really is better than Gold believes him to be, and he wouldn't be so cruel towards Will any longer in spite of their awkward bitterness towards one another. Killian is more forgiving than even he believes himself to be. Nonetheless... Gold knows Hook better than he knows almost everyone because of his own long time rivalry with Hook. This is why Gold is able to pretend to be Hook so perfectly. Now, as for Maleficent's backstory... I love how young Regina finds her weakened, depressed, and without her fire, as Regina seeks Maleficent out for her help to become more powerful. And I love how Regina helps her to regain her fire so she can once again become who she really is. It is interesting to see brief scenes that give us a little bit more from the Sleeping Beauty story we all know and love from the Disney movie and fairy tale, as we get to meet King Stefan and to see Aurora again when Maleficent puts her under a sleeping curse, then casts a separate curse on Prince Phillip in hope of keeping them apart so Phillip couldn't give her True Love's Kiss, like we knew Maleficent had done back in Aurora's storyline throughout season two, as Phillip had been turned into a lion like fire creature known as the Yaoguai. Oh... And in regards the timeline of the backstory... This storyline takes place long before Maleficent loses her child due to what Snow and Charming do to her. Regina at this point in time is still young and naïve, while Snow is still a teenager at this point. Long before she evens meets Prince Charming. Maleficent loses her power and confidence in herself at this point in time, because she failed to make Aurora's parents suffer, because Stefan had awakened Briar Rose (Aurora's mother) from the same sleeping curse she later puts Aurora under too, through True Love's Kiss. Maleficent hates Aurora and Phillip, because she initially hated her parents. And yes... This is for reasons that are sadly unknown. However, from what I understand from this revelation that Maleficent had once cursed Aurora's mother before she cursed Aurora in the same way... I believe we are meant to believe that the fairy tale we know and love from Sleeping Beauty, is actually revealed to be Aurora's mother's story instead. That Briar Rose had been the child born whom Maleficent cursed to fall into a death like sleep when she turned sixteen, until she too was awakened by True Love's Kiss from King Stefan. As for the rest of the episode's storyline in regards Regina pretending to go back to her evil ways so she can learn of the Queens of Darkness' plans... I love Lana Parrilla's acting throughout this episode. And I like how her pretense leads to them kidnapping poor Pinocchio and Gold bringing back August, which I absolutely love. However, I don't really care much for the overall idea of Regina pretending to be a villainess again, because I just don't believe that Maleficent, Cruella, Ursula, and especially Gold would ever actually believe she has turned against the heroes again so suddenly. At least it is somewhat indicated that none of the villains do fully believe Regina's turn, as Gold later states that whether she has or she hasn't turned back into a villain... come the end, Regina will have to choose a side once the villains enact their war against the heroes. So... Depending on the outcome of their plan and whether or not the villains succeed, it's possible Regina might take their side after all. Plus... The villainess's previous tests for Regina before having her kidnap Pinocchio, are very silly too. I really don't understand the point of them. Oh... And I love the scene between Regina and the other heroes in the library when Regina comes to them to tell them what little she's learned from the Queens of Darkness so far. I love Regina's sarcastic side as she mocks them and calls Hook their pirate mascot. So funny! :) Overall... I enjoy this episode. It's not one of my favorites from this arc, but it's still really enjoyable. Thank you again so much, Tim! And until your next reactions for Once Upon a Time... Sincerely, Heidi

Heidi Elizabeth Marcum