Once Upon A Time - 4x16 “Best Laid Plans” FULL REACTION
Added 2020-06-15 20:21:14 +0000 UTCEnjoy!
Comments
I was reading Heidi’s comment and was going to say the same thing about Maleficent’s reaction to Snow and David taking her child. She didn’t want to somehow hurt her own child as it was in the crossfire of Snow & David, so I can understand how she reacts, despite it being strange. Also, love that August goes on to explain Authors from our LITERAL HISTORY! Walt Disney, an author?! Maybe that’s why we see movies about these people! And it goes on to even explain why Disney movies aren’t the same as to how Once Upon a Time does. Walt Disney probably just recorded the stories instead of MANIPULATING them like we learned that the most current author did to be trapped in the book. And that’s probably where Walt gained his inspiration! Add his own little twist to the stories, idk, I really like this explanation from August because it can mean so many things about how we see the world.
Miguelito
2020-06-16 03:03:01 +0000 UTCI loved August's implication that previous authors included Plato, Shakespeare, and Walt Disney!
Paul Fisher
2020-06-16 00:07:23 +0000 UTCBest Laid Plans- Yay! Another fantastic reaction for a great episode! Thank you so much!!! I enjoy this episode a lot. It's not another of my favorites and to be perfectly honest... my heart hurt a little after watching this one because I felt the bitter disappointment in Snow/Mary Margaret and Charming/David, who I have loved so much since the beginning. I felt about them as I did back in season one, when David and Mary Margaret were cheating on poor Kathryn under the curse. In fact... I feel worse about them now than I did even then because at least then, they were all cursed. In this storyline... they have no such excuse for their actions. And I agree with you that they were a bit naïve to believe that they weren't harming a real child, just because she might be born in dragon form. Ugh... And as for Maleficent not putting up much of a fight for her child... I think it's most likely because she was afraid of her baby getting hurt if she were to attack the Charmings any more than she did. So while her reactions to them stealing her child felt strange, I can understand it too. However, first and foremost... one of my favorite moments throughout this entire episode, is the moment inside the Charmings' loft when Killian comes to the Charmings to warn them about what Ursula told him of Gold's plans for Emma. I love how fearful Killian is for Emma when he tells her, her parents, and Henry that Gold plans to darken Emma's heart, then how Emma assures Killian that no one can decide her fate but her, especially not Gold or some Author. I love seeing Emma comfort Killian. It's just a beautiful and tender moment between them. I love it. :) As for the present day storyline... aside from this moment, I also like all of the scenes between each of the villains as they're still working together to find the page after Regina shows them a picture of it on her phone. I love how quickly Gold is able to sense Regina's deceptions, then eventually just gets fed up with her continuous lies and asks Maleficent to put her to sleep as well. It's not good, but I still love seeing the villains working together. I also really love another moment between Emma and Killian, as Killian shows a slight bit of jealousy over Emma's friendship with August, because a part of him worries she might have feelings for him as well, like Emma also once felt for Neal. I love how Killian calls August a "wooden man child" and how Emma assures Killian that she and August are simply good friends like she wished she had been with Lily. A very cute moment. I love how it's shown that Henry, David, and Mary Margaret are all immune to Maleficent's sleeping spell because each of them had once been trapped under a sleeping curse. Very clever idea. And I just love that Henry is smart enough to take the page and the storybook to the mansion where he could keep the page and the book safe. Unfortunately, everyone else including Emma and Killian were put to sleep though, and that's not good. In regards to Maleficent putting everyone to sleep, and the confusion a lot of fans of this show has had upon thinking that everyone would find their way into the black room above the room on fire like David did shown back in season two's episode, Into the Deep... Maleficent only puts everyone to sleep through a sleeping spell, where they are all actually simply asleep. A sleeping spell is different from a sleeping curse, which is what Snow, Charming, Henry, and Aurora were all once trapped under. A sleeping curse puts them into a much deeper sleep where they show all signs of being dead, but while they're trapped within the black room until True Love's Kiss awakens them, after which they dream of the room on fire. True Love's Kiss is required for a person to be awakened from a sleeping curse, whereas a sleeping spell eventually wears off over time. I hope this makes sense. Next... I love that Henry understood Regina's meaning behind her look she gave him once she, Ursula, and Cruella arrived at the mansion to take the page, which Henry then switches with Emma's forgery knowing that the villainesses wouldn't be clever enough to know it was a fake until Gold got his hands on it. And unfortunately for Regina, he does know right away. I also like how Henry is able to discover and find the key within the desk at the mansion, upon seeing a light shine from behind the door within the page, as it shines upon the drawer with the key hidden inside, showing us that the Author is trying to get Henry's attention in the hope that he or someone will finally let him out. As for David's and Mary Margaret's constant lying throughout the episode, and seeing David get angry with Henry... while this part of their story is necessary in order to show the consequences from what's seen throughout the backstory, I really am disappointed in David and Mary Margaret like I mentioned above. While I like their overall storyline that shows us the terrible mistakes they made that only helped to darken Mary Margaret's heart as was shown back in season two's episode, Welcome to Storybrooke... I still hate feeling that disappointment in two of my favorite characters. Thankfully, Mary Margaret finally does see sense and tells David that they have to finally tell Emma the truth about what they've done to Maleficent and her child, all for Emma's sake. And yes... Emma is angry. Beyond angry. In fact... this is the angriest with her parents that she has ever been and you can absolutely see the anger and disappointment on her face and in her eyes. And Emma's line to her mother after this conversation, as Mary Margaret pleads with Emma not to go and that she's her mother, to which Emma darkly states, "I don't care." Ooh... not good. Could this be the beginning of a big turn in Emma? An interesting detail about Jennifer Morrison... the actress suffers from severe migraines and has for many years. But during the filming of this Queens of Darkness arc, Jennifer really suffered from them a lot more for whatever reasons were for her migraines worsening. This is why she looks so ill, or red eyed throughout her scenes since this arc has begun, especially in this episode in particular. And strangely enough... her looking so ill actually works, because you can really see the anger towards her parents in Emma's eyes, as well as the potential for darkness beginning to come out. So, her illness... as tragic as it is because I certainly feel terrible for her that she suffered so much from her migraines, actually works in her favor to help bring out the look of darkness and anger within her face and her expressions. Now... I also really love the moment when Killian comes to Emma afterwards to comfort her, and pulls Emma close to him to hold her. It's really beautiful, and one more reason why I love them. Why they're my absolute favorite True Love couple. :) And then... we have another revelation, as we learn that Maleficent's daughter within the real world, is Emma's old friend, Lily. I didn't see that coming at all even though I should have, and I love that this episode brings back a number of nearly forgotten storylines we might not have thought to be so important at the time. Very clever. Onto the backstory... I also really enjoy the slow building revelation of how it was Snow and Charming had wronged Maleficent so terribly. It's tragic and I hate what they did to her and Lily, but I really do like the storyline a lot. I love that we get to know more about the Sorcerer's Apprentice and how he made it possible for Snow and Charming to ensure Emma was pure and good. Tragically, they cursed Maleficent's child with all of Emma's potential darkness, then caused for the child to be forced into another world where she can't be a threat to anyone... the Land Without Magic, or our world. And I love that we also learn how both Ursula and Cruella came to be trapped in our world as well, after they both fell through the portal in trying to protect Maleficent's baby for her. Brilliant! Also... I really love the scene towards the end between Snow and Charming in spite of all they've done, as Snow later shares with Charming that the unicorn mobile we've seen in past episodes hanging above Emma's crib is a reminder to them of what they've done, but that it also is there to remind them to be better and to offer hope and strength to everyone around them, as they strive to become the heroes we know and love them to be. And lastly... we have another of my favorite moments within the very end, as we finally get to meet the Author, who turns out to have been the peddler we were introduced to earlier on within the backstory, who led Snow and Charming to the Apprentice. I love that in spite of her parents plea with her to not free him just yet, that Emma does so anyways, and I love the look of shock on the Charmings' faces when they realize who he is. But most of all... I love learning through August just how much power the Author has and just how much it was he had manipulated the Charmings, as well as the Apprentice too, into harming Maleficent's child, simply because according to him, it makes for a better story. I love that the Author has the power to change anyone's story through his power and the storybooks that he writes, instead of simply recording history like he was meant to do, and that sadly... this Author has chosen to use his gift for his own gain. I love seeing the moment when the Apprentice traps him inside the page. And on top of it all... I absolutely love how August explains that the Author is a title that is passed down from person to person and that it has been the Sorcerer and his Apprentice who appoints the new Authors. Then August shares that the Author has been a number of people from poets, to playwrights... which could possibly mean he was indicating that great writers throughout history such as William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens might have been Authors who were chosen. However, another of my favorite things about this episode is the moment August shares that one Author was a man named Walt... meaning that Walt Disney himself had been a former Author, which is why the world knows all of these fairytales through his stories shown in his movies. Absolutely brilliant!!! I love how this show's creators and writers have been able to tie Walt Disney and his beautiful imagination and creativity, into Once Upon a Time, by making him a character in his own right. I love it!!! Overall... I really enjoy this episode. Thank you again, so much for your reaction, Liam! I can't wait for more like always!! Until your next reaction...
Heidi Elizabeth Marcum
2020-06-15 21:52:44 +0000 UTC
