Monday, January 14, 2013

Once Upon A Time: The Outsider


We started this week’s episode at the faux cricket funeral, which was hard on all of us, and then we saw Smee vaporized, which was probably harder on me that it was on you (I happen to be a big Disney Smee fan). We ended the episode with a stranger possibly running down and killing my second favorite character…Hook. Oh dear! 
You can find a comprehensive recap here. I am more interested in commentary, which you can find below. If you haven’t watched the episode yet, come back after you have.
Here’s what I liked about this episode:                                              
1)      We saw strong women characters: Mulan goes after the new fire lion thingy. Belle goes after the new fire lion thingy. Mary Margaret told David they might not want the same things.


2)      Books are weapons: Belle used books to take down Hook the first time this episode – a whole rack of them. She uses information from a book to track the monster. Most librarians I know are more worried about how to handle e-book borrowing rights and making sure there are enough terminals for the free Internet access. But as Belle re-opens the Storybrooke library, she also has to worry about the handsome Hook trying to kill her. I will ask my librarian friends which problem they would rather have. I think I know the answer.


3)      Pongo has made an excellent addition to the cast and Jiminy/Archie is alive and Emma and Henry know it.

4)      Hook referred to Rumple as "the Croc" which makes sense since the Croc took Hook's hand in the J.M.Barrie and Disney tales, and Rumple took Hook's hand here. It also means Rumple has three fairytale identities which really opens things up for the writers.


Here’s what I didn’t like about this episode:
1)      Despite all of her bookish learning and obvious intelligence, Belle still is chasing after Rumple. She needs to check out a few psychiatry books out of her own library. This relationship is unhealthy with a capital U. Belle’s back story of saving the cursed Phillip is not really helping me buy into this. Sorry.


2)      Rumple turned Smee into a rat. Smee is a pawn. Rumple is supposed to be changing. Don’t talk about a guy’s mother, play with his precious red stocking cap and then turn him into a rat, right after you use him as a human guinea pig. Hello? This is really bad behavior. Baelfire is probably super glad you haven’t found him yet, whether or not he knows that you killed his mother.


3)      Regina didn’t appear at all in this episode except for next week’s previews. I expect Evil Queen story lines in every episode, and I don’t mean 35 seconds of backstory.


4)      Everyone else in Storybrooke thinks Archie is still dead. This is kinda mean and unnecessary.
Ok, there is one more thing. The ending seemed to come out of nowhere, despite the Smee border scene or having Grumpy talking about the big bad world coming into Storybrooke, it still seemed random to me. This strange car, with the Pennsylvania license plate, 2KFL138  (I’m guessing from the close up, that it’s important) comes screeching from out of nowhere and runs down our favorite bad-boy.


Is Hook dead? I think not. Is Belle dead? I think not. Is Rumple leaving Storybrooke? I think not. Who’s the guy in the car? Not Baelfire. That would be too easy.  And I don’t have any answers yet.
If the license plate is important, I don’t know what it means, do you? You have to wonder here if "The Outsider" in the title is the guy in the car or Rumple. My vote is Rumple. 
Lots of questions this week, and very few answers. 


************* Update: June 14, 3:33pm *************

Now that I have had time to think about our license plate, I have developed my own wacky theory....2KFL138 is not that far from THX1138 (a movie about androids from George Lucas). Since, according to the previews, the next episode if about Frankenstein, I wonder if the guy in the car is his monster - some kind of next stage android/human hybrid. That's my best guess right now. 




10 comments:

  1. Technically Mr. Gold has at least 3 fairytale persona's, "Rumplestiltskin" from "Rumplestiltskin", "The Beast" from "Beauty and the Beast" & "The Crocodile" from "Peter Pan".

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for catching that error. You are quite right. I have amended the post to reflect this. Thank you for pointing it out.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hmm this is the first time I've read any of these blogs, and overall I didn't like the way you write (not trying to be offensive or anything), but here is some constructive criticism/comments that might clear things up.
    Rumpelstiltskin being revealed as the "crocodile" was actually in the episode Hook was introduced, entitle "The Crocodile", which was quite a few episodes ago. He's been referring to Rumpel as a crocodile ever since, because of his scaly skin (when he was in FTL).
    Even though Regina is an important character, she doesn't have to be in every episode just because you like her. The writers have to cater to all the fans and we all have our favorite characters.
    I like your input on the strong female roles and the use of books as a source of power. I thought it was pretty cool too.
    Finally, about the car at the end. I don't think you can rule out Baelfire just because it's "too easy". What I've learned from the show and its writers is that things can be easy to figure out. For example, when Pinocchio (aka August W Booth) came into Storybrooke, he mentioned several times that he doesn't lie. I figured out he was Pinocchio quite a few episodes before it was actually revealed that he was.
    A theory I have is Emma's (ex)boyfriend is Peter Pan and Baelfire. I'm not sure if this is the guy in the car, but it is a possibility. The fact that he could be Peter Pan and Baelfire makes a lot of sense, especially now, since the Hook/Crocodile thing is reaching its climax. Being a character in Peter Pan while also having a close connection with Rumpel fits very well in the story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for taking the time to comment. These are really just my opinions and I do prefer when Regina is in. I don't expect the writers to change this for me.

      I think your Baelfire theory is a good one. One of the reasons I love the show is the guessing and theory development. Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  4. I missed Regina too! In last week's episode she was wrongly accused of murder and saw her son turned against her--plus we know Cora is lurking in the shadows, anxious to begin a whole new era of evil for the residents of Storybrooke. Regina's central to the story and I'm sure many fans of the show are wondering what she's going to do next.

    Becky

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Becky:
      Thank you for comment. I also enjoyed reading your post on this week's episode at Lighthearted Librarian. It was very comprehensive.
      Deb

      Delete
  5. Take 2KFL 138 and turn it backwards you get 831LFK2 = BEILFK2 = Bealfire? My 2 cents

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment. It's an interesting theory. We know from the previews that next week's episode is back to Dr. Whale and is called, "In the Name of the Brother". Since Philly is the city of brotherly love, maybe it has more to do with that than Baelfire, but I don't know. The Dr. Whale hint itself was very obscure link to Frankenstein (the 1931 movie was directed by James Whale. Not a piece of information most people have stored in their memories.)
      I'm still thinking about this one.

      Delete
  6. I learned more here than in any of the shows. Of course..I tend to get lost in Charming's eyes so....hey...great stuff

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Paul: Thanks for stopping by. Charming does have beautiful eyes. Thank you for your comment.

      Delete