OUAT: Season 5A Wrap Up

So, the first half of season 5 is over. How was it?

Overall, not bad. There were many good episodes in fact. But at the same time, it was a bit of a letdown. I don’t think this storyline fit the half-season arcs they’ve been doing. The Dark Swan deserved a full season.

Why? Let’s count the ways:

Character development

We got a lot of character development…for Hook. Over eleven episodes, he fought for Emma and then had to fight for his very soul. He sunk to his darkest as the Dark One and nearly did in every hero on the show. But then his love for Emma and his desire to be a better man for her won out. He sacrificed himself for her and her family, dying a hero.


But this was supposed to be Emma’s half season. This was supposed to be a time where we delved into her psyche, to see the darkness that probably always lurked somewhere inside her. We could’ve seen how truly broken Lost Girl Emma might have been. Seen an Emma free of her moral code, of everyone’s expectations of the Savior. She was supposed to be our worst villain yet and…she wasn’t. Not by a longshot, not after the Queens of Darkness. Hell, not even after Ingrid.

And Emma could’ve been the worst villain yet. She’s always had the capacity for it. Early on, she showed how bad she could be—she knows everyone’s weakness. She was able to play on Regina’s self-doubt and nearly sabotaged her chances of saving Robin. And she took Violet’s heart, even after watching how painful reliving the memory of Daniel’s death was for Regina. Emma was the one who wondered if using darkness for good things still made them good.

As for everyone else…eh? Regina got a lot of good development early in the season and then it tapered off. We saw her be self-conscious and unsure about being thrust into the role of hero now that Emma was the villain. She found support in Robin, Snow, Charming, Henry and even Leroy and therefore found the confidence in herself. And she kept it, growing on it. She also stayed a hero, though she still had her moments. Which makes sense. It wouldn’t be believable if Regina was all sunshine and unicorn stickers. That’s Snow, not Regina. Of course she still fights the darkness inside her. But it’s easier with the support system she has now…unlike Emma, who isolated herself.

I could go on and on about Regina. She’s my favorite character. But let’s move on.

Henry got some development. Which is good as the writers haven’t been sure what to do with him since Neverland. He’s growing up. (Now if only they would let Henry actually catch up with Jared. We need a time jump soon. Maybe season 6?) And he had a love interest that the writers just…forgot? We saw the fallout between Swan Believer after Henry learned Emma pulled out Violet’s heart and made her break his. But we never saw Violet again. Did she learn what Emma did? Did someone give her her heart back? Someone? Anyone? He’s growing more confident and feeling more and more like one of the heroes he’s surrounded by. I can’t wait to see him grow up some more.

Belle got a little more development this go around as well. She still cares about Gold and made that quite clear early on. But she’s also been hurt a lot over the past couple seasons. So Belle made the wise decision to step back from her relationship with Gold, re-evaluate everything and find herself. (And then went back to him, not knowing that he had taken the darkness into himself again).

Gold could’ve had a very interesting arc. He was no longer the Dark One. How would that affect him? Would he struggle with trying to be good? Would he be tempted to seek other ways to get magic? Or would he attempt to be good for Belle’s sake? So many ways to take him…And in some ways, they did explore a few of these questions. I just didn’t think deciding he was the only hero who could pull Excalibur out of the stone was the right way to go. Not in a town full of established heroes.
But it was nice for Gold to realize how important Belle was to him. And to see that he didn’t have to be a coward. I just wish we struggled with not having magic a bit more.

David got some focus as well. More focus than he’s gotten in awhile. And it was nice. He feels a bit useless, not like the prince he was. Arthur gave him a chance to reclaim that feeling, even if he deceived David in the process. We saw some of leader!David again, something we haven’t really seen since Season 2. I hope we see more of him soon.

And more Mary Margaret/Snow White. Please. She is one of the leads, after all, and she’s been sidelined a bit lately. Even in Season 4B, when she was trying to protect her secret. I know Ginny’s pregnancy may limit what they can do now, but I’m sure they can work in a bit more action!Snow. She’s awesome.

Robin…remained sadly underdeveloped. And now that Sean is a regular, I was hoping for more. We got some, mostly around the baby. And at least they gave him back his bow. I’ve missed it. But let’s see more of him. He’s no longer a thief…so what is he doing? Is he living with his men or in the Charming loft or in the mansion? Do something more with him!

Relationships

This arc had great potential to expand on the relationships we have in the show. And in some ways, it started out doing that. The writers even remembered that Belle and Grumpy were friends! Even if for a brief moment in “The Price.” It was nice to see.

We also got the start of Captain Hood. And then that went nowhere. Which is a shame because Colin and Sean are good friends in real life. It would be great to harness that chemistry. Hook and Robin make sense too as friends. One’s a reformed pirate, the other a reformed thief. We’ve seen Hook’s past darkness and the show has hinted at Robin’s. And they are in love with two very powerful women. They’ve also lost a previous love. Neither were a part of the first curse and are adjusting to the land without magic. It’s a match made in heaven! Too bad we only saw it in one episode.

Dark!Emma could’ve been so good for exploring her relationships as well. The Charmings worked to keep her from going dark. While we saw how her turning affected them, we hardly saw Dark!Emma with them. She usually spent time with Hook, Henry and then Regina. Not with her parents, not until the end. Why keep them so separate? Dark!Emma still has her issues from being abandoned. If they didn’t explore them with Shattered Sight (since Emma was immune), then no would’ve been another time to explore them.

(Of course, I continue to insist that Emma never really went dark. Maybe putting her with the Charmings would’ve highlighted that a bit more).

I could probably rant and rant about Outlaw Queen. It’s my ship. And I want so much for it. But I don’t watch Once just for OQ. Still, it’s nice to have more than mere morsels. They were handed a plotline that sucked but could be juicy if handled properly. And nothing was done with it. All the good conversations supposedly happened off-screen. We would’ve loved one scene between them, even if it was a screaming match. Just something. Please.

Henry and Violet’s romance was forgotten after episode 5. I mean, we know Emma took her heart but things were going well in Storybrooke. What happened? Did someone tell her about her missing heart? Or her father? Is he keeping her from Henry? Or is Henry just busy with other things? What will happen with Violet? Is this romance over or just on hold?

Answers, s’il vous plait.

Rumbelle was its usual rollercoaster. I admire Rumbelle shippers. You lot stick through it despite all the angst. And this half-season was no different. Belle was concerned about Rumpel and wanted to help him, but was too burnt to resume a relationship with him right away. Which was a good choice. I wish she had stuck to her guns because now we have to deal with another Belle-was-betrayed-by-Rumpel plot. Poor Belle.

Most of us fell in love with this show because of the relationships. Let’s focus on them a bit more again, okay?

Please?

Plot

There were some plot holes. Mostly because of dropped plots. This would’ve definitely been better served by a yearlong plot rather than half a season. Everything could’ve been developed better. Maybe the Merida episode could’ve come at a better time and not stopped the plot cold. We could’ve gotten resolution over the Guinevere is under magic dust plot that went nowhere. (I’m still running my Save Guin 2k16! campaign). Lancelot could’ve come back a few more times.

Merida could’ve had more of a plot as well. Or been better integrated into the plot. Maybe they could’ve held off on her for another story arc, her own.

As I ranted about earlier, we could’ve gotten so much more for Outlaw Queen out of that godforsaken pregnancy storyline. How it affected them together, how they were going to raise the baby, etc. Or if the pregnancy caused friction. That could’ve worked as well, though it would’ve brought more angst to us OQers. But it would’ve been more than what we got!

I’m going to restrain myself. Or else we could be here forever. I’ll just say that the accelerated pregnancy storyline wasn’t great.

Anyway, a yearlong plot might’ve also served with teasing that Hook was a Dark One a bit longer. Dropped some hints. Made us suspicious, making us debate “Is he or nah?”

Just…something.

Conclusion

I need to wrap this up. Or else I’ll be writing this after the midseason premiere!

So, what’s my final verdict? The season started off well, with good plots and character development. Unfortunately, the fact it wasn’t a full season arc caused it to suffer on both those fronts. If only the writers had decided to stretch it out and given their good plot ideas more time to grow and develop.
Anyway, we’re now a month away from Season 5B and Hell. Let’s see what happens then!

See everyone when my Once recaps resume!