by Julia Lawson
ONCE is famous for chopping up and reassembling fairytales so that the level of character cross over is akin to a complex game of fairytale story Tetris. In this episode it was Ursula’s turn, enlightening us with a story of mermaids, pirates, sea kings and stolen voices. In Storybrooke the kidnapping interrogation took a turn for the worse as a certain wooden puppet told more lies than his nose could handle…
ONCE is famous for chopping up and reassembling fairytales so that the level of character cross over is akin to a complex game of fairytale story Tetris. In this episode it was Ursula’s turn, enlightening us with a story of mermaids, pirates, sea kings and stolen voices. In Storybrooke the kidnapping interrogation took a turn for the worse as a certain wooden puppet told more lies than his nose could handle…
Ursula, the famed Sea Witch with two hands and eight legs/tentacles was once a mermaid; at her father’s behest her voice led ships and sailors to their deaths on the rocks. Luckily for Captain Hook and the Jolly Roger she was not as bloodthirsty and revenge-orientated as her father. As ONCE stories are wont to do the two characters made a deal – Hook to get revenge on the Dark One and Ursula to leave her past on the sea and pursue a singing career. But it all went wrong, leading Hook to trap her voice in a shell and Ursula to transform her tail into tentacles and swim away in a huff.
In order to find out more about the villains plan, present-day Hook tried to repair this relationship. Ursula’s happy ending involved a reunion with her father and her voice back, which in turn involved removing the Jolly Roger from a glass bottle, Will Scarlett and some Wonderland-class magic mushrooms, and the original little mermaid, Ariel (who had been trapped in the bottle with the Jolly Roger).
In order to find out more about the villains plan, present-day Hook tried to repair this relationship. Ursula’s happy ending involved a reunion with her father and her voice back, which in turn involved removing the Jolly Roger from a glass bottle, Will Scarlett and some Wonderland-class magic mushrooms, and the original little mermaid, Ariel (who had been trapped in the bottle with the Jolly Roger).
August, formerly Pinocchio, was having a bad time surrounded by five villains who wanted answers; Rumplestiltskin force-fed him a lie-detecter potion which turned him back to wood and made his nose grow. He had to reveal that the author was trapped behind a door by the Sorcerer, which is now somewhere in Storybrooke. Furthermore, after being rescued and becoming the hero of Operation Mongoose, he explained to Henry, Emma and Regina that the author is actually trapped inside the STORYBOOK.
To date, exploring the back stories of the multiple villains in the ONCE portfolio, all started their reign of villainy thanks to a life changing event or significant loss. As Hook said in this episode, it is easy to fall back into the darkness and you will always live in fear of losing your happy ending, in his case Emma. We learnt that as long as there is a saviour, the author cant give the villains what they want. So Rumple plans to fill her heart with darkness forever, which would fulfil the warning from the Tree of Knowledge. After Emma has learnt to trust herself, her powers and those around her, it could be a crippling blow, particularly through the lies and hidden truths of this season. While there is no doubt it will be exciting to see ‘Dark’ Emma, what will it do to Storybrooke, Operation Mongoose and ONCE as we know it?
To date, exploring the back stories of the multiple villains in the ONCE portfolio, all started their reign of villainy thanks to a life changing event or significant loss. As Hook said in this episode, it is easy to fall back into the darkness and you will always live in fear of losing your happy ending, in his case Emma. We learnt that as long as there is a saviour, the author cant give the villains what they want. So Rumple plans to fill her heart with darkness forever, which would fulfil the warning from the Tree of Knowledge. After Emma has learnt to trust herself, her powers and those around her, it could be a crippling blow, particularly through the lies and hidden truths of this season. While there is no doubt it will be exciting to see ‘Dark’ Emma, what will it do to Storybrooke, Operation Mongoose and ONCE as we know it?
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