Regina and Rumple have sent Ariel off to Storybrooke to find the magic object that Rumple needs to defeat Pan. She is told to find Belle and give her a sand dollar, which contains a message from Rumple. In Storybrooke, we flash back to just after Hook's ship went to Neverland, and we see that Rumple has given Belle a concealment spell for the town. She and some of our other favorite Storybrooke characters go down to the mines, where Belle enacts the spell by sending it through a line of fairy dust. The spell works, enclosing Storybrooke from future prying eyes, but not before a car carrying two passengers manages to sneak in.
Ariel shows up on the beach and delivers Rumple's message to Belle. Belle goes to the magic shop and, using their special broken teacup, unlocks a secret chamber. She pulls out Pandora's Box, which apparently will help Rumple to defeat Pan. But... the two mysterious strangers show up and pull a gun on the girls. They are tied up, and the two men take Pandora's Box away. Using Ariel's fins, Ariel and Belle manage to escape, and they find the two men, about ready to smash Pandora's Box down in the mines. Belle stops them. It turns out, these men are working for Pan, and Pan wants to know what exactly Ariel is fetching for Rumple. But wait - there's more to the story than just that! Apparently, these two men don't want to serve Pan, but he has their sister held captive. They then reveal themselves to be Michael and John Darling, desperately trying to reunite with their sister Wendy. Belle and Ariel promise that they have a way to defeat Pan, so the boys relinquish Pandora's Box and Ariel takes it back to Neverland. When she arrives, she gets her reward from Regina: her magic bracelet will now change her from mermaid to human whenever she wants. Ariel also delivers a message from Belle: she asks Rumple to do everything he can to save Wendy.
Pros - Ariel is still a delightful character, and I loved seeing Belle again. The two girls were in fine form, and their relationship was really endearing. Belle's character in particular was really great here. She was very determined and she took care of herself, succeeding in Rumple's task. I also liked seeing some of these other Storybrooke characters again, such as the dwarves, and Jiminy Cricket. The best part about this plot line was the twist. In all honesty, it should have been really obvious that Pan was keeping Wendy prisoner, and I should have picked up on it the minute I saw two British guys, one wearing glasses, but for whatever reason I remained entirely oblivious. That is, until they said that Pan had their sister held captive. Then I knew what was going on, and I was totally surprised. This was an amazing idea, and I'm glad they're reintroducing Wendy and her brothers. I'm also glad that Ariel is headed back to find her true love. Even if Eric was really boring in last week's episode, I would love to see more Ariel in the future.
Cons - Okay, first of all, are you seriously telling me that this whole season thus far has taken place in five days? That really threw me for a loop. I figured they'd been out there in Neverland's woods for weeks and weeks. I think it just broke my suspension of disbelief, because a lot has happened for such a short period of time. Secondly, the concealment spell was pretty silly. I thought it was a touch too easy, and it was cheesy as hell that all Belle had to do was "believe in herself" for it to work. I wish maybe that the spell had taken some sort of clever thinking, or that the town had to work together in some way. Also, the elaborate way in which Belle retrieved Pandora's Box was really silly. I know Rumple is pretty good, but it seems pretty unbelievable that he'd plan an elaborate hiding place using a symbol of his love for Belle, and that Belle would be able to put the clue together that easily. Or that all it takes is putting the cup on the saucer for it to open. Someone could have done that by accident. Maybe I'm nitpicking, but a lot of things about this Storybrooke plot line just felt too easy, like all the pieces were clicking together with no real struggle.
Now let's turn to the Neverland plots, of which there are two. First of all, we've got Pan starting to speed things along in his plans for Henry. He uses Felix to lure Henry to a tree house, where Wendy is lying in a bed. She says she's ill, and that she'll die soon along with everyone else on the island unless magic is restored. Henry talks to Pan, and agrees to do what needs to be done to save Wendy. The two of them then go to Skull Rock, where apparently Henry, who has the "heart of the truest believer," must go to restore magic.
Pros - Pan is still a very menacing villain, so I'm enjoying that. And like I said, I think the decision to bring Wendy back into the story is a great one. It was just the twist the show needed to keep me interested in the story of our villain.
Cons - Henry is apparently an idiot. When Felix was walking through the woods, and Henry was following, you could tell the poor kid believed he was being sneaky. But he was following on the direct path, just a few yards behind Felix! Seriously, Henry? Also, the whole thing was so obviously a setup. Henry has been shown to be a pretty bright kid. How did he not know that Felix was luring him there on purpose? Also, poor dear little Jared S. Gilmore is not much of an actor. He's not abysmal, but I've seen child actors do a lot better, and while normally it's not noticeable, in this episode he had some weightier material, and he did not pull it off, unfortunately. I also thought Wendy might have tried to give Henry some clue that it was a trick... she played her part so well I'm half convinced she wanted to help Pan. Maybe that's a nitpick, though.
And then on to the final plot. The gang is getting closer to their goal. Neal tells them that their way off of the island is with Pan's shadow. He says he has an apparatus that can catch the shadow, and so Neal, Hook, and Emma go off to try and catch it. Things become uncomfortable when Hook tells Neal about the kiss, assuming he already knew. When in the "Dark Hollow," the two men attempt to light a candle to attract Pan's shadow, but they are bickering too much to do so. Pan's shadow shows up, and it looks like trouble for the trio, until Emma uses magic to light the flame and suck in Pan's shadow. The three of them reunite with Mary Margaret and David, who have just fetched Tinker Bell, after finally talking about David keeping such a big secret. It looks like they will work it out, although Mary Margaret was certainly not happy with her husband.
Pros - Emma using magic. That was pretty cool, I'm glad they're continuing to develop this aspect of her character. I also loved the scene between Hook and Emma... basically, he says he is going to win her heart, but he also makes it very clear that he understands that her priority is Henry. He really believes in her, and knows she'll succeed in getting her son back, which for my money is just another reason to support the Captain Swan ship. When the three of them were getting attacked by Pan's shadow and its evil friends, I really loved Emma's agonized scream of "Hook!" Also, the fact that both Neal and Hook told her to run and save herself was really sweet. Most of all, I love that Emma calls the two of them out on their squabbling crap. She makes it very clear that she doesn't have time for anything but Henry at the moment, and I think that's very admirable. This episode really pushes the "save Henry" plot forward, which can only be a good thing at this point.
Cons - Much like the Storybrooke plot, there were some things that felt too convenient. Catching Pan's shadow was ultimately very easy. Given what a scary villain he's supposed to be, this feels a bit unbelievable. While I liked most of the stuff with Neal, Hook, and Emma, I cringed when I watched them fighting over the lighter. It was a bit too on the nose for such an otherwise complex situation. Mary Margaret and David's conversation was very touching, but it was a tad cheesy, and I felt very annoyed that neither of them mentioned Emma or Henry when they discussed staying in Neverland forever.
In all, however, I think the good of this episode outweighed the bad. My main problem was with the pacing. A lot of this stuff happened too quickly and too easily. If we had started these threads a few episodes ago and drawn them through more carefully, we could have had a bit more depth. For what it was, however, I still had a lot of fun watching this episode, and I'm eagerly awaiting what comes next.
7.5/10
And then on to the final plot. The gang is getting closer to their goal. Neal tells them that their way off of the island is with Pan's shadow. He says he has an apparatus that can catch the shadow, and so Neal, Hook, and Emma go off to try and catch it. Things become uncomfortable when Hook tells Neal about the kiss, assuming he already knew. When in the "Dark Hollow," the two men attempt to light a candle to attract Pan's shadow, but they are bickering too much to do so. Pan's shadow shows up, and it looks like trouble for the trio, until Emma uses magic to light the flame and suck in Pan's shadow. The three of them reunite with Mary Margaret and David, who have just fetched Tinker Bell, after finally talking about David keeping such a big secret. It looks like they will work it out, although Mary Margaret was certainly not happy with her husband.
Pros - Emma using magic. That was pretty cool, I'm glad they're continuing to develop this aspect of her character. I also loved the scene between Hook and Emma... basically, he says he is going to win her heart, but he also makes it very clear that he understands that her priority is Henry. He really believes in her, and knows she'll succeed in getting her son back, which for my money is just another reason to support the Captain Swan ship. When the three of them were getting attacked by Pan's shadow and its evil friends, I really loved Emma's agonized scream of "Hook!" Also, the fact that both Neal and Hook told her to run and save herself was really sweet. Most of all, I love that Emma calls the two of them out on their squabbling crap. She makes it very clear that she doesn't have time for anything but Henry at the moment, and I think that's very admirable. This episode really pushes the "save Henry" plot forward, which can only be a good thing at this point.
Cons - Much like the Storybrooke plot, there were some things that felt too convenient. Catching Pan's shadow was ultimately very easy. Given what a scary villain he's supposed to be, this feels a bit unbelievable. While I liked most of the stuff with Neal, Hook, and Emma, I cringed when I watched them fighting over the lighter. It was a bit too on the nose for such an otherwise complex situation. Mary Margaret and David's conversation was very touching, but it was a tad cheesy, and I felt very annoyed that neither of them mentioned Emma or Henry when they discussed staying in Neverland forever.
In all, however, I think the good of this episode outweighed the bad. My main problem was with the pacing. A lot of this stuff happened too quickly and too easily. If we had started these threads a few episodes ago and drawn them through more carefully, we could have had a bit more depth. For what it was, however, I still had a lot of fun watching this episode, and I'm eagerly awaiting what comes next.
7.5/10
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