7:15 am Questions
Jan. 24th, 2012 09:10 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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abc_onceuponWhile writing up my review about 7:15 am on my journal, I had some questions and comments about the episode that I thought would be good to post here for discussion.
1. Was that the shortest, most focused storm ever or what? Lots of build-up with the weather report and everyone talking about it and then, eh. David and Mary barely had to take shelter from it before it was over! I wonder how many storms Storybrooke had pre-Emma. Storms can change things (destroy buildings, wash out roads) and nothing could change before. I get the feeling that Storybrooke is much more of the world than it used to be and not just in strangers visiting.
2. Regina reads Fantastic Four? Or was she just hiding behind it as she did her daily 'spy on Mary Margaret' routine?
3. We have a new rule of magic! Previously: all curses can be broken no matter how powerful they are, all magic has a price, and no bringing anyone back from the dead. Now we know that magic can't make anyone love you. Once again Rumpel is very clear on what he can and cannot do. The question is, what did he want with her hair and how is that going to come back and bite her? This scene also makes it even more obvious that Ella's deal was different from all the rest we've seen.
4. So the box contains a typewriter and, not just a typewriter, a REALLY OLD typewriter. Hmmmm. Is he just pretentious or does this particular typewriter have some significance? And what is his connection to the town? Theories I've heard - Rumpel's son, a member of the Grimm family, a connection to another chronicler of fairytales (such as Hans Christian Andersen), the writer of Henry's book, someone Mr. Gold called into town, the Big Bad Wolf, the boy who found Emma? (Many of these are not mutually exclusive so it could be a combo.) Or someone else entirely? And how meta is he going to be?
He does say (What's in the box is) something I need to do what I came here for. and I find this place provides inspiration.
5. What did Snow do for Red that no one else would? Help with the Wolf perhaps? And, is it just me, or did Red look particularly lovely in the flashback scenes?
6. Another dwarf! That does explain why they had room in their house for her. It's too bad he didn't quite live up to his name. *sniff* I do hope we see more of him in older, dwarf-centric flashbacks.
7. We seriously need some more Abigail so we can understand what she wants, since we know it isn't Charming anymore than he wants her. By the way, King Uncharming is seriously pushy. It's not enough that he go through with the wedding, no his HEART needs to be in it. Which is amusing since the king is just about as down on love as Rumpel.
8. And that's another thing I'm wondering. Was Rumpel's speech about the destructiveness of love all manipulation to get Snow to make a deal, or about his (dead? lost?) wife and son, or does he have a post-Dark One romance that ends badly?
9. Oooh! One more thing! Mary and David finally give into their passion right in front of the Storybrooke Real Estate Office and that has me thinking about the curse. Since nothing could change, no one could move or change jobs, and, therefore, the real estate agent could NEVER sell a house. (As far as we know.) But they also couldn't get any richer or poorer (since that would be a change), so how did they make money? Side business like the diner/bar and the B&B? Or did their bank account magically reset itself each month? If that's the case it must have been REALLY annoying for Mr. Gold. *g* Unless he had regular outside contacts and could make money and deals that way.
I think that's enough for now. Anyone have any ideas? Questions of their own?
1. Was that the shortest, most focused storm ever or what? Lots of build-up with the weather report and everyone talking about it and then, eh. David and Mary barely had to take shelter from it before it was over! I wonder how many storms Storybrooke had pre-Emma. Storms can change things (destroy buildings, wash out roads) and nothing could change before. I get the feeling that Storybrooke is much more of the world than it used to be and not just in strangers visiting.
2. Regina reads Fantastic Four? Or was she just hiding behind it as she did her daily 'spy on Mary Margaret' routine?
3. We have a new rule of magic! Previously: all curses can be broken no matter how powerful they are, all magic has a price, and no bringing anyone back from the dead. Now we know that magic can't make anyone love you. Once again Rumpel is very clear on what he can and cannot do. The question is, what did he want with her hair and how is that going to come back and bite her? This scene also makes it even more obvious that Ella's deal was different from all the rest we've seen.
4. So the box contains a typewriter and, not just a typewriter, a REALLY OLD typewriter. Hmmmm. Is he just pretentious or does this particular typewriter have some significance? And what is his connection to the town? Theories I've heard - Rumpel's son, a member of the Grimm family, a connection to another chronicler of fairytales (such as Hans Christian Andersen), the writer of Henry's book, someone Mr. Gold called into town, the Big Bad Wolf, the boy who found Emma? (Many of these are not mutually exclusive so it could be a combo.) Or someone else entirely? And how meta is he going to be?
He does say (What's in the box is) something I need to do what I came here for. and I find this place provides inspiration.
5. What did Snow do for Red that no one else would? Help with the Wolf perhaps? And, is it just me, or did Red look particularly lovely in the flashback scenes?
6. Another dwarf! That does explain why they had room in their house for her. It's too bad he didn't quite live up to his name. *sniff* I do hope we see more of him in older, dwarf-centric flashbacks.
7. We seriously need some more Abigail so we can understand what she wants, since we know it isn't Charming anymore than he wants her. By the way, King Uncharming is seriously pushy. It's not enough that he go through with the wedding, no his HEART needs to be in it. Which is amusing since the king is just about as down on love as Rumpel.
8. And that's another thing I'm wondering. Was Rumpel's speech about the destructiveness of love all manipulation to get Snow to make a deal, or about his (dead? lost?) wife and son, or does he have a post-Dark One romance that ends badly?
9. Oooh! One more thing! Mary and David finally give into their passion right in front of the Storybrooke Real Estate Office and that has me thinking about the curse. Since nothing could change, no one could move or change jobs, and, therefore, the real estate agent could NEVER sell a house. (As far as we know.) But they also couldn't get any richer or poorer (since that would be a change), so how did they make money? Side business like the diner/bar and the B&B? Or did their bank account magically reset itself each month? If that's the case it must have been REALLY annoying for Mr. Gold. *g* Unless he had regular outside contacts and could make money and deals that way.
I think that's enough for now. Anyone have any ideas? Questions of their own?
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Date: 2012-01-25 02:31 am (UTC)2= think that's for Henry since he likes comics.
5= Red really did look lovely!
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Date: 2012-01-25 02:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-25 02:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-25 03:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-25 04:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-25 02:58 am (UTC)2. That is probably true. But she still seemed to be hiding behind it. She's so sneaky. :D
5. She was radiant!
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Date: 2012-01-25 03:01 am (UTC)haha or she buys them for "Henry" *cough*herself*cough*
truly was so gorgeous!
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Date: 2012-01-25 03:35 am (UTC)3 - I'm so curious about that as well. I get the feeling that it might have something to do with Regina's magic apple. Rumpel makes it clear that all spells need to be specific to the person they're directed towards/made for, so the Queen might have a need of that hair
5 - Not just you. I like her outfit in the modern world, but I think she looks so much better without all that makeup
8 - It seemed to me that Rumpel was referring to something that happened with his son, possibly even the curse of the Dark One that he brought on himself trying to protect him. Love, in that sense, destroyed him
9 - I think it's all about the curse making them oblivious to the weirdness of their world. They probably don't even notice that they're not making any money. Either that, or people can move in town, but not out of town?
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Date: 2012-01-25 03:50 am (UTC)3. Oooh! Good idea! I was thinking about a memory restoring spell - for a price of course. But I like the apple idea.
9. It's not so much them not noticing I'm talking about. It's more about how the curse self corrects. It doesn't matter how much or little money you make - your bank account always has to stay about the same. I wonder how that works.
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Date: 2012-01-26 03:53 am (UTC)So, he'll do a deal with the Evil Queen next. He's always one step ahead. Always knowing what his next move will be and what his next deal will be.
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Date: 2012-01-25 11:54 am (UTC)Maybe we are looking too much in the meaning of the typewriter when it comes to the stranger's identity. Maybe he got it for Gold because of some deal they made. And getting the typewriter was the price? Of course he would have needed to leave the town for that so maybe not. Idk, just thinking out loud.
and
I definitely think there is something special about the typewriter. They have given it so much focus already it ~has to be more than just any old typewriter. What if the stranger isn't a fairytale character at all? What if he really is someone from the outside who sometimes does (secret) jobs for Gold? Maybe that's why he looked familiar to Regina, but she couldn't really place him? I know Henry said strangers never came to town, but Henry himself got into town somehow. If Gold can't leave just like every other fairytale character, he will need people on the outside, right? So maybe the stranger is one of them and Gold asked him to deliver the typewriter and to possibly do more things (since he got a room at Granny's). Gold's had 28 years to figure out where to get whatever is needed to break the curse and now he's setting things into motion.
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Date: 2012-01-25 06:16 pm (UTC)And I would not be surprised if Gold has been making all sorts of outside deals. He had to do something while he was waiting.
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Date: 2012-01-25 01:21 pm (UTC)1. One moment Mary was soaking wet, then next moment she and David were completely dry. If it was a movie, I'd think there was a deleted scene or something.
3. I agree with the above that Red needs a makeup intervention. And perhaps a clothing one too. We get that she's not a little girl. Okay, but she can be quietly pretty.
9. Storybrooke reminds of the town in Groundhog's Day. Even though the years past they don't need to worry about money or anything because it's like time isn't really passing. No one has aged except Emma. Ooh, and Henry. I don't know about the other children in that school. I need a guidebook about rules about Storybrooke. And how does Mr. Gold not get bored there?
:-)
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Date: 2012-01-25 06:32 pm (UTC)1. Yes they certainly dried off very quickly didn't they?
3. I quite like Ruby and she sure knows how to work those little outfits but she is gorgeous as Red.
9. Time may not be passing but don't they need to eat and buy supplies? Or did everyone always remember eating a little while ago and never actually ate? As for children - the Hansel and Gretal story made it clear that they didn't age either. And I figure Mr. Gold had outside contacts and kept busy that way. Or that he spent much of the 28 years napping.
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Date: 2012-01-26 02:06 am (UTC)Except for Regina and Mr. Gold.
Does that mean Cinderella/Ashley was pregnant for 28 years? *head splodey*
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Date: 2012-01-26 02:59 am (UTC)Yes! No pregnancy could progress until time restarted. Also, if you had an infant when you arrived, you still have an infant. Luckily no one could remember that or they would have been even more unhappy than they were!
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Date: 2012-01-25 09:07 pm (UTC)My feeling is that The Stranger is a reincarnation of Graham, and I think I can back it up fairly decently. I actually have a list. The typewriter? Bait.
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Date: 2012-01-26 03:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-26 04:06 am (UTC)There are so many things ...
The Stranger's rather striking resemblance to Graham … older, rougher around the edges, but similar in dress and appearance. He has the bearing of a predator, edgy, dangerous (Huntsman, much?). He seems completely sure of himself, and as if he carries a secret that amuses him. He gives Emma the once over, as if somehow knows her.
He is an outsider, and outsiders never come to Storybrooke, other than Henry and Emma. The Stranger – if he is a reincarnation of Graham – could enter Storybrooke either because he was killed, and the laws of the borders don’t apply to him anymore, or he would have free access by virtue of the fact that he is/was a citizen of Storybrooke himself all this time.
He didn’t give Emma his name, just like he hadn’t given the Evil Queen his name when she asked him in FTL. And – this is all just me – I swear that there was the teeniest, tiniest bit of an Irish lilt to the way he told Emma “That’s because I didn’t give it.”
Graham’s jacket hanging up in the Sheriff’s office again, and Mr. Gold telling Emma that he thought she might want to have it anyway, after she’d told him she didn’t want it. This is one of my favorites. Mr. Gold doesn't box it up and have it delivered to her house, or put it in a bag on her desk ... he hangs the jacket up in the office. Absolutely freaky.
Regina is alarmed by the fact that an outsider has managed to find his way into Storybrooke, because the magic of the boundaries didn’t work on him? She says there's something familiar about him.
The Stranger is sitting in the diner, drinking coffee, when Emma confronts him much as she confronted Graham in an earlier episode when she thought that he’d bought her hot chocolate. Ah, deja vu.
Graham had bribed Emma with a box of donuts, telling her that the cliches were sometimes true. When Emma confronts him, asks him what he's doing there, he tells her that he's drinking coffee. She says that she thinks he's suspicious. He says something to the effect that he wonders what hell would have been unleashed if he'd ordered a donut. He uses the cliche of her being a sheriff (cop) and donuts.
The box, with the old, vintage typewriter (like something found in a pawnshop). He's a writer, why doesn't the man have a laptop, lol? Nobody uses a typewriter anymore. Is he old school?
Back to the beginning of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter episode ... Emma's outside, stalking away, basically telling him she doesn't care about his private life and he says "If that were true you'd be sitting with me at the bar, having a drink." Did he ask if he could buy her a drink? No, but it seems it was on his mind as something he wanted to do. Now, The Stranger tells her that he won't show her what's in the box, and she'll wonder and the mystery will eat at her. Or, he'll let her know what's in the box if she lets him buy her a drink. "You want to buy me a drink?" "Yes." Oh, his face.
He baited her with the box, and got what he wanted.
Is he a writer? Maybe. He says he is.
Two minutes of remembering his life, getting to kiss the girl, and Regina squeezes him to death. That's his happy ending that Emma brings?
And Mr. Gold’s “gardening” – what’s up with that? That shovel …
Of course, it's all speculation, but it's so much fun.
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Date: 2012-01-28 04:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-25 10:34 pm (UTC)At the very end Snow took the potion to forget Charming afterall.
Then why, when he kisses her to save her from the poison apple, does she remember and say "You found me" She shouldn't remember him!
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Date: 2012-01-26 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-26 03:24 am (UTC)Of course it didn't break the curse of Storybrooke!
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Date: 2012-01-27 08:00 am (UTC)#3: I agree, he's going to use her hair for another magic spell, probably on behalf of Regina, although in the original Grimm version, she creates the poisoned apple herself through witchcraft. Anyway, using a lock of someone's hair, fingernail clippings, etc., is part of traditional magic. We can only speculate on what spell he's planning to cast with it (or is it just a form of insurance?).
#4: I haven't figured out the answer to that question, but I'm one of the ones whose first instinct as to who the Stranger might be was Rummpel's son. (Rumpel obviously has access to the outside world. And we don't know yet where his son went after Rumpel was cursed.)
#5: I didn't even recognize Red as the same girl from the diner!
#8: I got the impression Rumpel was speaking from experience. (I kept hearing Nazareth singing "Love Hurts" in the background as he was talking!) I'm a big Rumpel fan, so I'd like to think he can be released from his own curse and find true love and happiness someday. Before the Dark One's curse fell on him, he seemed like a well-meaning, good-hearted person, and I'm sure there's still some of that in him, and I get the feeling there are certain people, particularly Mary Margaret/David, Emma, and Henry, whom he likes and wants to help and others he would clearly like to thwart (Regina). I also think in a way, he's testing people when he makes his deals with them to see how far they'll go to get what they want and whether what they want is worth his asking price. For example, I think "Ella" was much to quick to sign on the, ahem, dotted line just for a chance to go to the ball (I think she said something along the lines of "I'll give anything"), and so I don't think he had as much respect for her as he did for Snow White wanting to save her child's life above her own.
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Date: 2012-01-27 09:44 am (UTC)I think that "the kiss" that Prince Charming gives her after she's eaten the poisoned apple (which we see in the pilot) is what will ultimately clear her "fog" from the potion that made her forget him.
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Date: 2012-01-27 09:12 pm (UTC)Oh yeah, right! Hmm, maybe she forgot who Abigail was? ;)
"I think that "the kiss" that Prince Charming gives her after she's eaten the poisoned apple (which we see in the pilot) is what will ultimately clear her "fog" from the potion that made her forget him."
Yup, I agree!
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Date: 2012-01-28 04:49 am (UTC)#4 The biggest issue I have with him being Baelfire is that Rumpel would have had to send him to our world long before the curse was unleashed. Not that it couldn't work but my first instinct is that Bae has been dead for a good, long time. I just hope they don't leave us hanging too long!
#8 If this were a fairytale, he would find his true love while under the curse and achieving that would help break it. *g* However, I think (if they are going for a Rumpel who is trying to get out from under the curse) things are going to be a bit more complicated than that. Meanwhile we get to enjoy him making deals (he does love it when people will do ANYTHING) and doing his best to move the pieces around the chess board to his design.
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Date: 2012-01-28 05:43 am (UTC)#3 I agree, he almost certainly has a plan for it. (As Ben Linus once said, "How many times do I have to tell you? I always have a plan.") And also as you've said, he's 20 moves ahead of everyone in the chess match. (An even more highly evolved version of Ben!) So, while it may not be "insurance" for a rainy day, exactly, it may be part of a longer-term plan. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he went to the pier looking for her, even had Red tell her where to find him. (Hopefully this show will last long enough so we can go back and watch four years worth of episodes and witness his ingenious plan unfolding with the benefit of hindsight!)
#4 Somehow (don't ask me how!), I had the impression that he may have left the kingdom entirely and come to our world. But you're right, in that case, he most certainly would have aged and died by now. On the other hand, if he ran away from Rumpel after that incident, as I suspect he did, he could have ended up in some other kingdom, though the Queen's curse could have affected him and brought him to our world, no? Maybe? And he's only now found out where his dad's been living? (OK, maybe I'm grasping at [gold] straws here. I just want everything to be about Rumpel, lol.)
#8 *daydreams about Rumpel finding his true love, Mary Sue, breaking the curse and spinning off into Rumpel's Happily Ever After Hour* LOL. He may love it when people will do ANYTHING, but why does he love it so much? Because he gets to have more fun at their expense? Still, am I wrong in sensing that he has a tender spot for Snow White, Emma, and Henry? (Or are they just pawns to him in his quest to defeat the Queen?)
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Date: 2012-01-28 05:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 01:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 02:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 03:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 03:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 04:02 am (UTC)Second of all, everyone is written into roles in Storybrooke. No one in the whole town (other than Regina and most likely Gold) has made any free choices from the moment they woke up there until Emma came to town. And, even with Emma, her influence is so far limited.
Ruby didn't choose her clothing or life - they were chosen for her by the curse. Archie didn't choose to be weak and indecisive - the curse did. Mary didn't choose to be colorless and meek - once again it was the curse. The curse chose for everyone and is actively making sure that no one is happy with their lives. The curse also made sure that Regina was on top so no one could ever conceive of crossing her until now.
Rumpel may be my favorite but I love all the characters!
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Date: 2012-01-29 04:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 04:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 05:12 am (UTC)If only Robert didn't look so hot in his nice suits (and no scary makeup) in Storybrooke, I kind of wish they would just end the curse already and stick with the fairy tales, filling in all the backstories that the Grimms left out and tying them together. I thought Rumpel's backstory was really good compared to most of the others; in fact, watching it again, I can't understand why people are more afraid of Mr. Gold than Regina. (Sadly, I'm afraid the only way he's going to get out of his "Dark One" curse is the same way the previous one did--to die. And that'll be the end of the series. I can't be afraid of him because he's the ultimate tragic character, the exemplification of how good loses because evil doesn't play fair.) Anyway, that's the kind of show I was hoping to see "from the writers of Lost." Then again, Kitsis and Horowitz may have been writers on Lost, but they were not the masterminds/storykeepers behind the plot. (And even Lost lost its way for a while in the second and third seasons.)
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Date: 2012-01-29 08:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 01:10 am (UTC)#3 Oooh! I like the idea of him SETTING it up and not just turning the encounter in his interest. Though (if he did) I would expect him to be subtle about it. He does have foresight so a hint or a casual comment at the right point could be all he needs to do to move things along.
#4 It would still be possible if he went through while still a young man AND there was time travel involved so he came out into our world at about the same time Emma did even though he left earlier. The thing is that Desperate Souls took place at least 60 years before the curse based on Geppetto - Rumpel was already firmly established as the Dark One when Geppetto was a boy and now he is 60-70 years old. And that's why I'm expecting Rumpel's GRANDCHILD to be in the present story and not his son.
#8 Heh. We can all enjoy our own versions of those daydreams if we wish.
Maybe he loves it so much because it feeds the dark curse inside him? It seems as though the darkness LOVES desperation and needs it in some way. Also, it may have a need to possess and acquire and when someone will do anything he can get more.
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Date: 2012-01-29 08:26 am (UTC)#4 How does everyone know that Desperate Souls took place 60 years before the curse? I don't remember seeing Gepetto as a boy? I miss so much not being able to go back and rewatch the earlier episodes. (And be all Grumpy about it when I notice all the plot holes.)
#8 I still can't get past the idea that there's a battle going on between the darkness and the light inside Mr. Gold. (After all, Gold is shiny and bright!) Not after seeing his true self in Desperate Souls. Then again, I'm so blinded by his charm, if I were a character on the show, I would be total putty in his hands!
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Date: 2012-01-29 01:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 07:14 am (UTC)