Once Upon a Time - 2x12 "In the Name of the Brother" Full Reaction

Hello! Thank you so much once again for another reaction for Once Upon a Time!! As always, I really enjoyed your reaction for this episode. There were some issues I had with this episode, especially within the flashback scenes. But they're mostly with the acting of Victor Frankenstein's father. For the most part, I enjoyed the backstory. First... I love that we got to explore more of the Land Without Color and Whale's backstory with him being Victor Frankenstein. I really appreciated seeing all the scars across Victor's brother's body, showing us that he is indeed Frankenstein's monster. However, a part of me felt that this storyline was also a bit rushed. Now... I love the scenes between Whale and Ruby. I heard some time ago that it was the creators' plan to originally put Ruby and Whale in a relationship and honestly, I could ship them. :) But sadly, they quickly changed their mind after this episode was already filmed. It's too bad this never happened because I actually like the idea of Ruby and Whale together. It may be an odd pairing, but in a weird way, they also make sense together. Especially since they can both relate to being called and seen as monsters. So if you saw more than just a friendship brewing between them in this episode, that's why. I also really appreciate that Ruby is the one to talk Whale down to save him from killing himself, as she encourages him that he has a chance at a new life there in Storybrooke and at being the man he wants to be. This is another popular and strong theme shown throughout the series... having the heroes encouraging those struggling to fight to be who they really want to be despite the pressure on them through those fighting against them. And I absolutely love this. Back to the backstory... As I said above that it was interesting, what I love most about it is that we see a new twist on the tale of Victor Frankenstein and Frankenstein's monster. However, it just wasn't always executed well. Which is too bad, because after such a strong episode like The Doctor, it could have and should have been so much better. But with that being said... I love seeing Rumple come into his story, showing how the events we saw back in episode five, The Doctor... in which Rumple brought Jefferson and Regina into the storyline, came about. Also... Victor's brother sadly killed their father, who was a real piece of work and I was quite happy to see him to get killed. I felt sorry for Victor's brother, while Victor himself didn't stop him from killing their father. You can see that he clearly didn't care if his father died. And after the way their father treated his oldest son... I can't blame him. Next... the actor who plays the father... Gregory Itzin, was weak in this show. I agree with you again. Which to me is strange because he's always been a strong actor for the most part in other shows I've seen him in and always really evil. This actor scares me in a few of his other roles. Now, as far as the Storybrooke storyline goes... I love the brief scenes between Hook and Emma both in the beginning on the street just before she and David saves Hook from getting killed again by Gold, and then again in the hospital as Hook continues to show his bravado despite his pain. He's very smug. And I really love it. :) Now, as for Cora... I do believe she is genuine in wanting a relationship with her daughter. However, her motivations are twisted and she is nothing but manipulative. She doesn't understand why her daughter doesn't see that she loves her, and I really hate that about Cora's character. Cora doesn't care if she has to hurt her daughter, in order to get what she wants for her and from her. Cora wants everything for Regina, but only for herself because a relationship with her adds to her advantage in gaining power over everyone else. Unfortunately, Regina falls for Cora's lies so quickly and accepts her back into her life just like that, after everything, because right now, she is extremely vulnerable and broken just like you mentioned. However, a part of me still doesn't understand why Regina can seriously believe a word her mother says, after everything she's been through with her mother. Especially since Regina was willing to kill her mother more than once for all the pain she's caused her. Their relationship is so twisted and I just don't like it at all. Oh... and as for Cora and Rumple being together in the past as this episode implied... Yuck! I do not like the idea of them being together. Not in the slightest. Next... I really like that Gold has finally brought up the favor Emma's owes him at this point in the storyline at last. We've been waiting for it since the fourth episode of season one, so it's been a long time coming. And now, he is one step closer to finding his son. It's getting tense and there's lots of trouble going on in Storybrooke. And lastly... Greg Mendell, the outsider... yep, he saw something all right. And somehow, Emma's superpower once again didn't pick up the lie. But he was pretty convincing. Besides, who would admit to a crime, even one as small as texting while driving? Trouble's coming. Oh... And I also really love the moral choice and argument placed before the heroes as they struggle with deciding what to do with the outsider... to let him die, or to save his life. What a horrible choice to have to make, but what a dilemma. Thank goodness they all made the right decision in spite of the trouble. Overall... this episode was pretty good. I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed your reaction to it. So thank you again, very much! I look forward to the next reaction. Until next time...

Heidi Elizabeth Marcum