By Julia Lawson
A pirate ship in the night cuts through the still waters like a knife; her sails still in the tense night air as a small boat paddles up to the side. Cloaked figures, their faces masked by large hoods, board the ship demanding ‘the boy’ as the pirates cower. The Lost Ones have arrived to claim the young Baelfire (Dylan Schmid), bearing Pan-related threats of ‘shadow removal.’ Riiiiiiiiiiiiiip!
Once Upon a Time has taken a chilling turn to the tales of our leading cast members and filling in even more of the blanks to the fairy tale pasts. Think chilling mists, chilling stories and… well, just focus on the word chilling, it puts you in the right place as we sail into Season 3.
A pirate ship in the night cuts through the still waters like a knife; her sails still in the tense night air as a small boat paddles up to the side. Cloaked figures, their faces masked by large hoods, board the ship demanding ‘the boy’ as the pirates cower. The Lost Ones have arrived to claim the young Baelfire (Dylan Schmid), bearing Pan-related threats of ‘shadow removal.’ Riiiiiiiiiiiiiip!
Once Upon a Time has taken a chilling turn to the tales of our leading cast members and filling in even more of the blanks to the fairy tale pasts. Think chilling mists, chilling stories and… well, just focus on the word chilling, it puts you in the right place as we sail into Season 3.
After his flight over London, and unceremonious dumping in the Neverland sea by Pan’s shadow, Baelfire finds himself at the centre of an exchange: his life for the pirates’ safety from Pan and the Lost Ones. “It’s a pirate’s life for you, lad”. I would really like to see a Once Upon a Time cover of the Disney classic ‘Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirate’s Life for Me’; if they can do it on Pirates of the Carribean with Johnny Depp, I’m sure Colin O’Donoghue (as Hook) can give it a go! Can’t be as bad as ‘shadow removal’ which is apparently very painful… perhaps explaining why our dear Peter Pan could endure the stitching of his rebellious shadow to his feet time after time.
Back in Storybrooke we are reminded of Mr Gold (Robert Carlyle) and his new favourite pastime – fantasising about killing Henry (Jared Gilmore). This time, Henry was on a swing in very close proximity to a convenient cluster of sharp rocks and with each pass the rope gave way little by little… He was interrupted by the news of Neal’s sudden departure from Storybrooke – by bullet and bean.
The ‘magic has a price’ speech is walked out again, and he refuses to help stop the self-destruct. This is bad timing indeed as Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green), Greg (Ethan Embry), and Hook are already in the mines preparing for the big boom. What’s worse is they don’t know who they are working for in the first place, they just believe in what they are doing… which sounds a bit fishy to me… *cough* brainwashing *cough*. And based on their ‘intel’ from the ‘outside’ they are going to use a dwarf’s axe to set it off!
The ‘magic has a price’ speech is walked out again, and he refuses to help stop the self-destruct. This is bad timing indeed as Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green), Greg (Ethan Embry), and Hook are already in the mines preparing for the big boom. What’s worse is they don’t know who they are working for in the first place, they just believe in what they are doing… which sounds a bit fishy to me… *cough* brainwashing *cough*. And based on their ‘intel’ from the ‘outside’ they are going to use a dwarf’s axe to set it off!
They don’t even have the decency to politely ask the dwarf in question if he wouldn’t mind if they just borrow his axe to destroy the town. But I suppose to be fair, he shouldn’t have left it down in the mines in the first place…
As unusual a self-destruct activation sequence that this already is, the ground begins shaking and giant roots and brambles begin to take over the town sprouting from the clock tower. Unusual place to have a weed infestation problem… unusual indeed.
As unusual a self-destruct activation sequence that this already is, the ground begins shaking and giant roots and brambles begin to take over the town sprouting from the clock tower. Unusual place to have a weed infestation problem… unusual indeed.
Now I could give you an extended evaluation of the following events of ‘how they stop the imminent destruction of Storybrooke’ but it’s pretty self-explanatory. And there is a heavy involvement of beans, which is why they should stock magic beans at the local supermarket. Despite the retail odds being against him, Hook managed to ‘snag’ a bean. Lovely word, ‘snag’; it works well when the impending doomsday revolves around brambles and thorns.
But equally, never trust a pirate not to steal back said bean and prevent the plan of portal production. Yes Hook pulled a fast one on them, Jack Sparrow style.
But equally, never trust a pirate not to steal back said bean and prevent the plan of portal production. Yes Hook pulled a fast one on them, Jack Sparrow style.
Never trust a pirate not to steal your beans, baked or otherwise.
Saviours, however, are more reliable and Emma (Jennifer Morrison) steps in to save the day, joining with Regina (Lana Parilla) to cancel the self-destruct; the family are reunited and the doom-filled greenery recedes.
But lo, what is this? Where is Henry? Remind me never to book Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming (Josh Dallas) as babysitters! Somehow Henry allowed himself to be kidnapped by Greg and Tamara, the three are chased through the streets of Storybrooke before throwing their bean into the sea and escape into a different dimension;
But lo, what is this? Where is Henry? Remind me never to book Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming (Josh Dallas) as babysitters! Somehow Henry allowed himself to be kidnapped by Greg and Tamara, the three are chased through the streets of Storybrooke before throwing their bean into the sea and escape into a different dimension;
These out-of-towners are more organised than they look!
Something else which is ‘convenient’ is how the Blue Fairy (Keegan Connor Tracy) has SUDDENLY discovered the cure for the town line induced memory loss - and it’s blue WKD aka ‘a potion’. For it to work the subject must drink the potion from a treasured item associated with their past, but oh no, Lacey (Emilie de Ravin) smashed the treasured chipped cup in a fit of pique and it was never repaired. Ah well, nothing a purple cloud of magic can fix, deary! I usually use superglue myself….
This was in perfect time for her (Belle) to be handed the responsibility of cloaking the town when the hero family, including Gold, Regina and Hook, go in search of Henry. And we are left with many a cliffhanger as they board the ship and are sucked in to a whirlpool of portal swirliness:
- Everyone is en route to Neverland.
- Henry will be Rumplestiltskin’s undoing yet, as Baelfire’s son, he has an obligation to save him – his own destiny forfeit.
- Neal (Michael Raymond-James), alive but bullet-holed, washes up in the Magic Kingdom with Aurora (Sarah Bolger), Phillip (Julian Morris) and Mulan (Jamie Chung).
- And in the flashback to Baelfire’s past, he is rejected by the Lost Ones as he is not the one Pan wants….
It’s Henry.
NB// As heroic as all this bean travel is, I can’t help but fear for the Moomins, Smurfs and other beloved characters who may inhabit the surrounding lands; considered how little any of us know about inter-reality travel and portal jumping is it really the best plan of action? And how many other ‘familiar’ faces will we meet in Season 3? Not long to find out…
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