Oh look, I have finally finished my review for Tiny! \o/ Now I can spend the next couple of days focusing on my increasing excitement for Manhattan.
This episode reminded me A LOT of Dreamy. And that was even before Tiny was inducted as an honorary dwarf. *g* We have a non-human race. An episode, at least partially, focused on world building as opposed to plot. (As with the dwarfs it's interesting to know more about giants but not terribly pertinent at the moment.) And an episode which is mostly filler. Which is to say that it was an okay episode but not going to make my top 10 of the season.
However, as with Dreamy, the show seems to be giving us a focus on FTL's seamy underbelly. We've seen it in many small ways throughout the series: 14-year-old's being drafted, arranged marriages, old kings snagging up young brides, the complete shock that Cinderella could better herself, and any number of other plot points, but I think that the stories of Grumpy and Tiny show it even more clearly. (I would like to note that, yes, all these things would be fairly normal if we go back to the middle ages. However, FTL is NOT our middle ages. It is a completely different world not bound by our rules or our past.)
Dwarves are so definitely a slave race that it could not be any more obvious to me. They are born - hatched - to work! They almost never leave the mines! They are not even considered capable of True Love! For that matter they are all male - so no distractions! And now we have Giants. Not a slave race but instead a peaceful, vegetarian race which has hidden itself from humans out of self-preservation. It turns out they were exactly right to hide since the moment they became known humans came and committed genocide.
There is something rotten in FTL and I would not be surprised if the curse has purposes beyond Rumpelstiltskin's interests. In fact I would be surprised if it didn't. Just look at the scene with Tiny in the diner. We have werewolves, dwarves, a giant, and humans all together. There are certainly other ways to get to our world (among other ways we now know the giants had continued to grow the beans - all Rumpel needed was a desperate giant with one bean), so why the curse? It's as though other avenues were deliberately closed off against him. Someone wanted that curse even more than Rumpel did.
Moving onto the plot moving parts of the episode, I'll start with Regina. After the episode aired there were many theories running about that this was really Cora. (In fact those theories started before the episode, based on promos.) It was confirmed in the podcast that this WAS Regina. However, I can see where those theories come from. This is not Evil Queen Regina or Mayor Regina or Trying to Be Good Regina. Or any other forms of Regina we are familiar with. This Regina is still torn. She is not sure who she is anymore or who she wants to be. A deep, strongly held part of herself wants to be Cora's daughter and have her approval. But there is also another strong part of herself who loves Henry and wants to be his mother. Though there are plot reasons to separate them now (first the murder accusation and then Regina still missing when Emma had to leave town), this is also important for character reasons. If Henry was there in front of her, she would not be going down this dark path again. Right now it's easy. She is angry at the Charmings. Her mother is right with her whispering encouragement. And Henry is out of town. All too much for her fledgling course of abstinence. The interesting part of this story will happen when he comes back. Just as her quest for redemption is very fragile and now, his ability to trust that she wishes to be a good person is also fragile.
And then there is Rumpel. The man only had a few minutes in the episode and he nearly killed me from the sheer amount of anxiety flowing off of him. This is what he has been moving towards for centuries! But it's easier to plan and plan and keep one's power around one while never finishing than it is to move forward into uncertainty. Into a strange, new world which he may have curse implanted knowledge of but which he has never actually experienced. It was one thing to remain at the middle of his web knowing that magic was on its way last season and quite another to leave magic behind to confront a son who is likely to be none too happy to see him. It is not surprising that he had a panic attack about it!
• I know Jack was killed in the episode and we saw her bones later in the timeline (with Emma), but I hope they go back to her adventure with the Jabberwock some time. There is more story to tell in Wonderland.
• Okay, I know they had not gotten much sleep before bringing Hook out to his ship, but still, they manage to lose both Hook and Tiny within a few minutes stepping on board.
• I do ♥ Grumpy's snark. The conversation they had about Charming's name while running from the giant was too funny!
• And...the answer is David. Yep, completely obvious actually. It is only a surprise since no one else kept their birth names. A shepherd whose mother's name is Ruth? Got to be named David!
• What is going on with Belle?? Having her chain sedated and lied to is how they are going to 'take care of her' while Gold is gone? For that matter, she completely physically healthy! Why wasn't Red there to check her out and bring her to the inn or her apartment or anywhere but the hospital? She doesn't even really have amnesia!
• I'm rather wondering if this Belle can read. Or if she even has a name. She hasn't declared one yet (which is the common reaction to having people call you the wrong name) and she seemed to throw the book aside in frustration.
• I've been thinking about why (within the story) Gold would drive to Logan and then fly to NYC instead of flying out of Portland or driving to NYC. And Boston was THE city in the curse. Any time anyone had to reference the outside it was always Boston. Gold may remember who he is now but he knowledge of our world is still curse driven.
• I think we had better hope this excursion to NYC doesn't take long. If Gold can't take the shawl off, how is he going to shower? No, I certainly wasn't considering the matter...
• It's nice to FINALLY get some in-show confirmation that Gold does indeed have curse memories. I think it's been made clear this season already (him staring at the town line, smashing things when he found out, and needing a potion all seem to indicate curse memories) but sometimes people need things stated outright.
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This episode reminded me A LOT of Dreamy. And that was even before Tiny was inducted as an honorary dwarf. *g* We have a non-human race. An episode, at least partially, focused on world building as opposed to plot. (As with the dwarfs it's interesting to know more about giants but not terribly pertinent at the moment.) And an episode which is mostly filler. Which is to say that it was an okay episode but not going to make my top 10 of the season.
However, as with Dreamy, the show seems to be giving us a focus on FTL's seamy underbelly. We've seen it in many small ways throughout the series: 14-year-old's being drafted, arranged marriages, old kings snagging up young brides, the complete shock that Cinderella could better herself, and any number of other plot points, but I think that the stories of Grumpy and Tiny show it even more clearly. (I would like to note that, yes, all these things would be fairly normal if we go back to the middle ages. However, FTL is NOT our middle ages. It is a completely different world not bound by our rules or our past.)
Dwarves are so definitely a slave race that it could not be any more obvious to me. They are born - hatched - to work! They almost never leave the mines! They are not even considered capable of True Love! For that matter they are all male - so no distractions! And now we have Giants. Not a slave race but instead a peaceful, vegetarian race which has hidden itself from humans out of self-preservation. It turns out they were exactly right to hide since the moment they became known humans came and committed genocide.
There is something rotten in FTL and I would not be surprised if the curse has purposes beyond Rumpelstiltskin's interests. In fact I would be surprised if it didn't. Just look at the scene with Tiny in the diner. We have werewolves, dwarves, a giant, and humans all together. There are certainly other ways to get to our world (among other ways we now know the giants had continued to grow the beans - all Rumpel needed was a desperate giant with one bean), so why the curse? It's as though other avenues were deliberately closed off against him. Someone wanted that curse even more than Rumpel did.
Moving onto the plot moving parts of the episode, I'll start with Regina. After the episode aired there were many theories running about that this was really Cora. (In fact those theories started before the episode, based on promos.) It was confirmed in the podcast that this WAS Regina. However, I can see where those theories come from. This is not Evil Queen Regina or Mayor Regina or Trying to Be Good Regina. Or any other forms of Regina we are familiar with. This Regina is still torn. She is not sure who she is anymore or who she wants to be. A deep, strongly held part of herself wants to be Cora's daughter and have her approval. But there is also another strong part of herself who loves Henry and wants to be his mother. Though there are plot reasons to separate them now (first the murder accusation and then Regina still missing when Emma had to leave town), this is also important for character reasons. If Henry was there in front of her, she would not be going down this dark path again. Right now it's easy. She is angry at the Charmings. Her mother is right with her whispering encouragement. And Henry is out of town. All too much for her fledgling course of abstinence. The interesting part of this story will happen when he comes back. Just as her quest for redemption is very fragile and now, his ability to trust that she wishes to be a good person is also fragile.
And then there is Rumpel. The man only had a few minutes in the episode and he nearly killed me from the sheer amount of anxiety flowing off of him. This is what he has been moving towards for centuries! But it's easier to plan and plan and keep one's power around one while never finishing than it is to move forward into uncertainty. Into a strange, new world which he may have curse implanted knowledge of but which he has never actually experienced. It was one thing to remain at the middle of his web knowing that magic was on its way last season and quite another to leave magic behind to confront a son who is likely to be none too happy to see him. It is not surprising that he had a panic attack about it!
• I know Jack was killed in the episode and we saw her bones later in the timeline (with Emma), but I hope they go back to her adventure with the Jabberwock some time. There is more story to tell in Wonderland.
• Okay, I know they had not gotten much sleep before bringing Hook out to his ship, but still, they manage to lose both Hook and Tiny within a few minutes stepping on board.
• I do ♥ Grumpy's snark. The conversation they had about Charming's name while running from the giant was too funny!
• And...the answer is David. Yep, completely obvious actually. It is only a surprise since no one else kept their birth names. A shepherd whose mother's name is Ruth? Got to be named David!
• What is going on with Belle?? Having her chain sedated and lied to is how they are going to 'take care of her' while Gold is gone? For that matter, she completely physically healthy! Why wasn't Red there to check her out and bring her to the inn or her apartment or anywhere but the hospital? She doesn't even really have amnesia!
• I'm rather wondering if this Belle can read. Or if she even has a name. She hasn't declared one yet (which is the common reaction to having people call you the wrong name) and she seemed to throw the book aside in frustration.
• I've been thinking about why (within the story) Gold would drive to Logan and then fly to NYC instead of flying out of Portland or driving to NYC. And Boston was THE city in the curse. Any time anyone had to reference the outside it was always Boston. Gold may remember who he is now but he knowledge of our world is still curse driven.
• I think we had better hope this excursion to NYC doesn't take long. If Gold can't take the shawl off, how is he going to shower? No, I certainly wasn't considering the matter...
• It's nice to FINALLY get some in-show confirmation that Gold does indeed have curse memories. I think it's been made clear this season already (him staring at the town line, smashing things when he found out, and needing a potion all seem to indicate curse memories) but sometimes people need things stated outright.
This entry was originally posted here and has
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