Once Upon A Time SEASON 2 EPISODE 19 FULL LENGTH REACTION

Lacey- Hook is back!!! Yay!!! I was so happy and excited to see him come back into the show when I first watched this episode, and again tonight as I re-watched it with you. It's one of my favorite moments throughout this entire episode, even though we only see him for a brief few seconds before the episode ends. But I still just love seeing Hook again. I am definitely jumping up and down now that he's back in the main storyline. :) Fantastic!! But I will get back to this shortly... Now... I do definitely enjoy this episode overall. However, it is probably another one of my least favorite episodes throughout season two, as well as throughout the entire show too. At least in regards to the present day storyline. The backstory within this episode is great, and I really love going back to see more from Belle's and Rumple's beginnings. This for me is by far the better storyline throughout this episode. And I also love that Robin Hood has been brought into Once Upon a Time because I just love all legends and stories about him. But again, I will come back to this backstory shortly... Now... Like I mentioned, I do enjoy this episode for the most part. I really love going back to see more from Belle's and Rumple's beginnings. I love that Robin Hood has been brought into Once Upon a Time! And I absolutely love that Tom Ellis plays Robin Hood throughout this episode. I know Tom Ellis and love for his role as Lucifer Morningstar in another great show I really enjoy, titled... Lucifer. I just love him! Tom Ellis isn't who I would expect to play Robin Hood, but he does a pretty great job, nonetheless. Although... I do wish his role in this episode was a little bigger. :) Tom Ellis goes on to play Lucifer about three years after this episode is filmed and first aired on television, so I think this role as Robin, along with a few other short lived roles, really helped to jump start his acting career. So... Yay!!! As for the Storybrooke storyline for Gold and Belle, who is now Lacey... In all honesty, I really hate Lacey's character. It is certainly interesting to see who Belle would have been had she been in season one more while she was cursed like everyone else. Back then, it was never revealed who she believed herself to be. Except that she was a mental patient locked away in the mental ward of the hospital. So, I like this about Lacey. And Emilie de Ravin's acting as Lacey is really good, as is Robert Carlyle's role when they both act as their dark selves. I just hate seeing any version of Belle become turned on by Gold's dark side. It is messed up. From a story perspective... Having Belle become Lacey, the complete opposite of who she truly is, is brilliant writing. I just hate seeing her as Lacey because I love Belle so much. And now to be perfectly honest... I really hate all of the scenes with the Sheriff of Nottingham. It's not just because the actor who plays him, in my opinion, is just really bad, but I also feel like his character in this episode is so weak and he is a pig. Granted... He always faces off with Rumplestiltskin and Gold, so he doesn't stand much of a chance, but I feel like his parts in the storylines throughout this episode just don't add anything to the story for me. He annoys me far more than anything else. For the most part... I think the casting throughout this entire show is very well done and I love all of the actors chosen to play their characters that come into Once Upon a Time. However, there are a few rare characters whose actors I really do not like at all, and I think that they are badly casted. And the Sheriff of Nottingham, played by Wil Traval, is definitely one of them. They could have gotten anyone else, and he would have been a better character, I think. I can imagine the actor is better in other roles, but as the Sheriff, I think he's terrible. And it's also partly how his character is written too. It's not all the actor's fault. But... Oh well. All in all... I do really love Robin Hood's storyline as he breaks into Rumplestiltskin's castle to steal a wand we learn later to be because he hopes to use it to save his dying wife and unborn child. I also love that he carries a bow that has the magic to allow any arrow shot from it to always hit its target. Also, in case you don't remember... This is the same bow that Rumplestiltskin gives to Snow White after she drinks the potion and becomes dark herself back in season one's episode... Heart of Darkness. The same bow which Snow uses to try to kill the Evil Queen, until Charming jumps in between the arrow to save Snow. This episode... Lacey, reveals to us how it is that Rumplestiltskin comes into possession of this bow, after he steals it away from Robin Hood in order to use it against him until Belle changes his mind from seeking revenge against this famous thief. I really love it when certain artifacts from past episodes are brought back later on in order to show us their origins, sometimes as much as I love seeing old characters brought back as well. I love how Belle fights against Rumplestiltskin to protect Robin Hood once he is captured, by setting him free from his imprisonment, then later continuously pleads with Rumple to let Robin go. It's thanks to her pleas that Rumple eventually finds a little good within himself to do so, especially after seeing that Maid Marian is pregnant. And I love that he spares Robin's life because he remembers in this moment his own son thanks to Belle. Also... I especially love how funny Rumple is as he denies he spared Robin's life because there is more good in him than he wanted. And in this moment... Another spark between Rumplestiltskin and Belle is born, showing us the first moment when Belle comes to see there really is good in him, as small as the good in him might be. Also, in case you're not sure... This backstory takes place in the middle of the events within the backstory throughout season one's episode... Skin Deep. Fabulous! I always love seeing more of the good in Belle's and Rumple's love story. I also really love the last scene between them as Rumple shows Belle his library, which is another beautiful nod to Disney's... Beauty and the Beast, when the Beast shows Belle his library and gives it to her to show her that he's more than just a beast. So sweet. :) I feel that the dialogue throughout this show is absolutely beautiful and has a lot to do with why Once Upon a Time is my all time favorite show. I absolutely love the dialogue written within every episode. Back in Storybrooke... We see Anton, or Tiny again, as the giant and the dwarfs are busy in the fields growing a crop of magic beans with the hope of going back home to the Enchanted Forest. And now, even Mary Margaret wishes to leave so she can get a fresh start with her husband, daughter, and grandson. However, Emma is still apprehensive and with good reasons. Emma may have been born in the Enchanted Forest, but she was immediately transported to the Land Without Magic moments afterwards and so our world is the only life she knows, aside from her brief time spent in the Enchanted Forest in the beginning of this season. And that wasn't exactly a grand adventure with good memories for her. So, I appreciate seeing Emma's apprehension and worry about her future with her family and what's to come for them all. Unfortunately, Regina comes to sense that Emma is lying in a brief talk they have with one another and later uses magic to discover the hidden crop despite the fairies' magic. Emma didn't mean her slip to be anything more than a figure of speech, even though in the back of her mind she might have been thinking it might not be long before they all leave Storybrooke for good without Regina. But Emma should have been a bit smarter than that by being more careful with what she said to Regina. Not good. I also love once again seeing the banter between Gold and Regina within their scenes together, especially when Gold reveals that Neal is Henry's father, and then Regina realizes that he is Henry's Grandfather. Very funny! I love Gold's words about fate having a sense of humor. Too true! :) And then... I love how Rumple seeks out David's help and even offers to owe him a favor in return for David helping him to bring Belle back to him after Regina curses Belle's memories. And Rumple is genuine at first because not only does he love Belle, but he knows she is the one person who can help bring out the good in him. Unfortunately, that intention to find the good in himself now appears to be no more. Nonetheless... I love the moments between Rumple and David. And now, Gold also owes David a favor for a change, which is nice. Oh... And I love how David jokingly brings up Don Juan by way of mocking Gold when talking with him, and how Gold then states with all seriousness that Don Juan was nothing before he had made a deal some time back with Rumple. And lastly... This is a good episode, but certainly not one of my favorites by any means. Like I said above, I am most excited about seeing Hook again, and I am so excited for what's to come! I hate that Hook has been written to have become captured and taken hostage by Greg and Tamara, because Hook is so much better than them and so much stronger and smarter than they are. Another reason why I struggle with this second half of the season. It has so many things about it that annoys me far more than I'd like. Unfortunately, Colin O'Donoghue, who plays Hook, had broken his leg pretty badly during the filming of a previous episode, and therefore he had to take some time off to recover, which is why Hook has been absent for the last few episodes. But I am so, so, so happy to see him back!! :) The final three episodes from this season are so, so good... Even though we still have to bare with seeing Greg/Owen and Tamara. Like I've mentioned... I just really don't like either of them at all because I think their overall story arc and their characters are really boring and kind of stupid. But... C'est la vie! Onto the final three episodes!! I can't wait!!! Thank you so much for this reaction, Tim!! Sincerely, Heidi

Heidi Elizabeth Marcum