Review by Panda
Exposition was the name of the game this week, but the information overload was softened by focusing on the history of one character and the effect it has had on one of the show’s most complex relationships.
Cora has complicated Snow and Regina’s relationship even more than they first realized. I liked that this episode uncovered Ava as being not so perfect, someone who would be quick to rat someone out. I think that it’s better that she grew into someone as loving and caring as she was when she was Snow’s mother.
Cora’s past was explored last season, and this second trip back into her history in the Enchanted Forest tied in well with what we learned about her in The Miller’s Daughter. As an outsider desperate to be more than a miller’s daughter she made a few questionable choices to further her quest to power. They were all choices that made sense of the complex and harsh woman we knew Cora was, and like I said in my review of that episode, she always had that susceptibility to power, so her cheating her way into the castle makes sense.
The effect those decisions had on her daughter and Snow is still making both of their lives difficult. Regina ruined Snow’s happy ending and Snow is responsible for taking away the most important things in Regina’s life, so its been understandably difficult for them to let it all go. Bleeding Through was the first episode to show that both women are capable of moving beyond the betrayal and heartbreak that still exists between then and starting to help each other, especially given all that’s been happening in Storybrooke.
Zelena’s plan was already hinted to us a couple of weeks ago, but now that everyone knows what she’s up to, everything that’s at risk has been made clear. Half of the primary cast will cease to exist if Zelena succeeds in her goal of changing the past and forcing Cora to keep her. Obviously that’s not going to happen, but it does make everyone’s involvement necessary.
Plus
Rose McGowan was pretty good in her second Once jaunt, though there were a few moments when her tendency to gasp through her lines distracted me.
Emma seems to be coming into her power quite well, doesn’t she?
He Said, She Said
Cora: “As long as I have you, I can never be anything more than a miller’s daughter.”
Conclusion
The arc is really starting to build towards the finale now, with a grand plan in action and an impending piece of the puzzle (Snow’s baby) that will put everything into motion. It’s tied in so many of the central characters into the story, and the memories and relationships they’ve developed. That’s one easy way to invest an audience. The other is how they bring this story to a climax. Given how much Once has improved, I’m hopeful that I won’t be let down in a few weeks time.
Panda Rating
B+
Previously posted at PandaTV.
Very good episode.