With the Premier of Once Upon a Time's third season rapidly approaching, like a - purple - curse-filled storm of anticipation, a review of the grand finale of Season 2 should wet your appetites for what we hope will be an explosive start.
Last week we saw our mayor, and resident Evil Queen, Regina (Lana Parilla) sacked. Literally – a sack thrown over her well-styled head. The culprits were the suspicious newbies Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Greg (Ethan Embry), noted in my book as ‘suspicious’ for a growing list of reasons: they drove into town with a one-handed pirate captain in the boot, trying to get by in Storybrooke with just a list of names and the past murdering of a red dragon.
Also Emma’s (Jennifer Morrison) superpower appears to be wavering, clouded by emotion and too many trips to Granny’s with Henry I’d guess, blinding her to the worrying reality of a worldwide ‘cleansing’ of magic from an organisation outside of Storybrooke. A group of people, responsible for Tamara and Greg, who are pro-electric torture when searching for magical information from Evil Queens for example… Still her New York days of bounty hunting have left her with an observative nature and skill set, not just limited to walking into doors, but taking in all the evidence to hand. In this case noticing that the remnants of sand left by Tamara’s trainers rather than the characteristic soil, fern and dog muck usually found after a run through the forest… Neal (Michael Raymond-James) was a bit preoccupied after tearing his father, Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle), away from a town beating so wasn’t paying much attention.
He learns of a suspicious shadow that visits the children nightly filling their heads with tales of Neverland, mythical creatures and pirates, and after his own negative experience with magic he is understandably wary. Although promising to never leave the bedroom with the shadow, Wendy’s off... returning in the morning with a chilling revelation:
"Once you’ve set foot on Neverland’s soil, you can never leave…"
So it turns out that Peter Pan or more specifically his shadow, which was formerly known for its mischievous tendencies and need to be sewn to the soles of Peter’s shoes, now has a more sinister habit for stealing little boys and listening to them cry. Nice…
After finding a happy new family Baelfire doesn’t want to see magic destroy another one, so he and the Darlings prepare for a long night awaiting the shadow’s return. The lamps are snuffed with the shadows arrival and the children retreat to the coal hole (love a rhyme in a tense situation)… but of course one is a bit slow on the uptake causing Baelfire to take his place, dragged out of the window and across the London skyline in the dead of the night. I have to say this scene was spectacular, with the high-speed flight and London landmarks standing out in full glory – Big Ben was a personal favourite. And from London to the seas surrounding Neverland, Baelfire finds himself dragged along helpless… or so we thought! Hearing the sobs of the lost boys he whips out a box of matches, repelling the shadow and leaving him to fall in to the deep sea. He finds himself saved by our infamous pirate captain... Pugwash? No, silly! Hook (Colin O’Donoghue)!
And to make matters worse, back in Storybrooke, Regina has had an electric beat-up from Greg, desperate to find his father. Just before the final blow she tells him she buried his body at their old camp site. So his dad is dead?! After all that?! But I’m not completely taken in… yes he digs up a skull a bit later but that could be anyone really… I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out he’s living in Neverland as one of the pirates with the twists and turns this show takes. Any takers for two-handed Bart, who has his hands on backwards? What about ….? Well, with Series 3 just around the corner I’m going to be keeping an eye out just to be sure.
Next thing we know a bean has been thrown into the equation and Emma and Neal find themselves hanging on the edge of a portal to a whole new dimension. Can’t say this show isn’t dramatic. They appreciate the scene by admitting that they do actually love each other FINALLY! Not like we were all drowning our sorrows at their denial for about 5 episodes or anything…oh just me…? (Ahem…)
These beans have more publicity than the Heinz baked variety at the moment and although their field was torched beyond saving from green fingered dwarves they keep appearing more than you’d think. And beans aren’t the only hot commodity of the moment – the trigger and failsafe to the curse is in the hands of Greg and Tamara. Hold onto your seats my little Once Upon a Timers, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.