Once Upon a Time: Murder Most Foul (6x12)

Oh no! I'm so upset! Gahhhhh.

Cons:

The bulk of this episode was taken up with the main plot between David and Killian, and that was very successful. Regina and AU!Robin had a subplot that was also, for the most part, successful, but... I do have my complaints. First of all, there's this horrible little moment where Zelena shows up out of the blue, yells at Regina that this new Robin has no rights to his daughter, and then leaves again. It felt like an awkward, shoe-horned cameo. I just kept picturing the actress being called onto the set so she could be on screen for about thirty seconds of the episode. It was weird and forced.

Beyond that, there's a more serious problem with what's going on with Regina here. She brings AU!Robin to her vault and tells her about his, or rather original Robin's, children. She also tells him to resist revenge on the Sheriff of Nottingham. He should try to be a better person.

Okay, that's all well and good, but AU!Robin rightfully points out that Regina is a filthy hypocrite. She's surrounded by objects of dark magic and by the hearts of her enemies. Are you telling me Regina still has boxes of hearts lying around? Shouldn't she give those back?! The problem I had here is that Regina is a hypocrite, bar none. And she comes across as a pretty awful person when she goes on and on about how she's changed, when the evidence would suggest she hasn't really learned much of anything at all. I guess this reason this is getting under my skin so much is because the other plot thread of the night does the same sort of thing in examining a redeemed villain, but it's much more successful. By contrast, this part of the episode was doing no favors in making Regina seem sympathetic.

Pros:

There were good things about the Regina/Robin plot, though. Namely the fact that Robin is a more interesting character as this mysterious not-Robin guy than he ever was originally. I love that he and Regina aren't clicking. They actually share a kiss, but as Regina confides to Snow, it didn't feel like anything. Robin is a darker, edgier guy now. He seems utterly uninterested in the fact that he sort of has kids, and seems much more interested in stealing Regina's powerful objects for unknown purposes. I'm actually quite intrigued.

But we should spend the bulk of our time talking about the main plot. It can be stated pretty simply: David asks for Hook's help in discovering the identity of his father's killer. Through flashbacks, and some helpful information from August, David discovers that the king who raised his evil twin brother was responsible for ordering his father's death. Hook tries to stop him from going after revenge, and eventually succeeds in getting David to stop. David is at peace, having discovered the truth about his father - he wasn't a drunken loser, but was rather a brave man trying to get James back.

Hook has spent the whole episode trying to show David that he's changed, that he's a good person now, all because he wants to ask David's blessing to ask Emma for her hand in marriage. In the end, Hook asks, and David says of course he has his blessing. We then get the twist - August finds the pages from Henry's storybook that he had ripped out so long ago, and Hook sees a picture of David's father for the first time. He suddenly realizes, to his horror, that he recognizes this man. Hook was the one to kill David's dad. Dun, dun, dunnnnn...

First of all, David was a fall-down mess for a lot of this episode, and I really enjoyed it. There's been this subtle buildup ever since the sleeping curse, where you can see just how hard it is for David to function without Snow. And here, it comes to a head. He starts seeing his father's ghost, and he becomes maniacally obsessed with revenge. Fantastic acting from Josh Dallas here, particularly in the scene when he finally loses it - he asks Hook, tears in his eyes, what he's supposed to think after learning the truth about his father. He always assumed his dad was just a drunk, but no. His dad did the right thing. He fought for his family. And it still wasn't good enough. He still died. This is a heartbreaking moment, because it undermines a lot of the common fairy tale narratives that we're used to seeing. If you're a good person, good things happen to you. As long as you try your hardest, you will succeed. But that's not the case here!

Meanwhile, poor Hook is trying to be a supportive friend by helping David, but he's also trying to discourage David from his mission of vengeance. If anybody knows what a corrupting influence vengeance can be, it's Hook. He's also trying to gear up to ask David for his blessing to marry Emma, and it doesn't help that he's convinced David only sees him as the same bloody pirate he's always been. I love the scene where Hook goes to Archie and asks for his advice. First of all, Archie is a delightful character, and it was fun to see him. Secondly, the look on his face when Hook shows him the ring he got for Emma is just precious. Thirdly, and most importantly, Hook going to Archie is such a great sign of character growth. He wants to do right by the people he cares for, and he takes it very seriously.

The moment when Hook asks for David's blessing is really sweet. David makes Hook wait a loooong time for an answer, and he's really sweating it. And the way Hook asks is just precious. He basically asks to be a part of David's family, saying that one way for him not to lose his family is for him to let it grow. That's too precious for words.

Before I get to that twist at the end, a brief shout-out to August. I'm so happy he's in another episode! And he was actually helpful! The flashback in Pleasure Island was a lot of fun. That place has a definite sinister vibe to it, and I'd be totally curious to learn more. Seeing wooden Pinocchio was also a special treat.

So, now for the twist. What I think is so fascinating and kind of brilliant about this is that it's sort of the story of redemption but in reverse. Ever since we've met Hook, we've been told he was a villain. But nothing we've ever seen him do seemed to match up to the horror of Regina or Rumple's actions, for example. He was introduced from the very beginning as a guy who was eventually going to be a love interest to our protagonist, so in a way this made sense. But beyond killing random, unnamed people, beyond once hitting Belle - something he's apologized for and been forgiven for - beyond killing his father who was shown to be a total jerk, we haven't actually seen him do anything all that bad. This changes that. This puts a face to the evil of Killian's past. This makes his redemption, his guilt and true repentance, a lot stronger. And they didn't pull any punches with it, either. It's not that Killian was ordered to kill David's father for plotty reasons, or that Killian was forced to kill an innocent man to get something he needed. No. Killian just straight up saw an opportunity to get some gold, and slaughtered a husband and a father for it. That's evil. That's interesting.

And now we have a dilemma. Hook has to tell David and Emma the truth, right? I mean, he just has to. But he's already reformed. He's already gotten better, and fought hard to be a good man. This is going to crush all of that, when there's nothing he can do to fix it or go back and make it right. This is the kind of conflict that invites good growth for our characters, and I'm beyond excited to see how it plays out.

Emma didn't have much to do this week, but she and Hook do share a lovely kiss as Hook shares his feelings with her about her near death. And she takes Henry out on a boat trip, which is adorable. Mother-son bonding time for the win!

I guess I'll stop there. This episode was really, really strong. I love Hook, and this episode only made him more interesting. I love David, and this episode really pulled on the heartstrings. This hasn't been the best season ever of Once Upon a Time, but a few more episodes like this could really help in shaping things up!

9/10