Once Upon a Time S05E04: The Broken Kingdom (Full Reaction)

The Broken Kingdom- Thank you so much for this reaction, my dear friend! I enjoy this episode! First... I can absolutely understand this show's viewers' frustrations in regards to how most fans are always so frustrated with David throughout this episode, until it's revealed that he and Mary Margaret are playing Arthur the whole time. Nonetheless... I really enjoy this episode for the most part. I love that this episode brings a twist to the King Arthur Legends as it delves further into Merlin's prophecy meant for King Arthur. As I'm sure you now know to expect from me... My favorite moments throughout this episode are those between Killian and Emma!! While I appreciate the dark twist on the Arthurian Legends, I was still trying to get used to the idea that Arthur was a villain back when I saw this episode for the first time when it first aired, and even though I've now long since gotten used to Arthur as a villain and even like this twist in some ways, a number of other scenes throughout this episode, outshine those that focus on Arthur and Guinevere. I absolutely love, love, love the sad moment between Killian and Emma in the beginning while Emma struggles to shut out Rumplestiltskin in her head when he taunts her, and then Emma suddenly fires a burst of magic from her hands out of her room, only for Killian to arrive just in time and having to dodge the blast. I love how Killian is there for Emma to try to offer her comfort like he always does, as he pulls her close and holds her in his arms. He's so gentle and understanding. And like he states later on in the episode, Killian understands the struggle with the demons in his head better than anyone. I absolutely love, loe, love this moment!!! :) I also really love how Killian and Emma go with Henry to the barn so they can get away from the castle for a while. I love the scene inside the barn as Killian is happy and excited for Henry when he mentions he's met a girl he likes, and I love seeing Killian's and Emma's faces while they're hiding from Violet for Henry like he asks them to do once Violet walks inside, to find Henry supposedly alone. I love, love, love how once Henry and Violet leave, Killian and Emma share another tender moment when Killian shares with Emma his struggles to quell the voices in his head after they briefly talk about Henry keeping his crush on Violet a secret. I love how Killian states that his nights on the seas and waves once calmed him, and how Emma wishes for him that he could have the Jolly Roger shrunk within his pocket, until Killian suddenly gets the idea for them to ride a horse as Violet suggested to get Henry's heart racing, in order to help Emma in another way. And then... Another of my favorite moments between them is as Killian explains Emma must help the horse to know she's no threat, only for the horse to suddenly become scared as Emma approaches it because the horse senses the evil inside of her. Most of all, I love, love, love how Killian asks Emma to put her faith in him and then assures her he won't ever stop fighting for them when she asks if he truly believes they can still have their future together like they both long for!! So, so beautiful. I love seeing them racing through the forest on horseback until they come upon the field of middlemist flowers, where Killian helps Emma to discover that by putting her trust in him as she had, that the darkness within her mind vanished, leaving her and Killian alone. I love, love, love how Killian picks a single rose and gives it to her, and then seeing them kiss. And the shot of them standing together in the field of middlemist flowers while they're kissing as the camera pans out, is absolutely beautiful and it makes for one of this entire show's most beautiful screenshots. I truly love it! :) Then... It's fantastic how the scene fades to return back to the present day storyline, as Dark Swan is holding tightly to the very same middlemist flower Killian picked for her in Camelot, which Emma must have enchanted with her magic in order to keep it alive. It's a fantastic transition from one scene to another in order to bring us back to the present. Now, back to the Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot storyline... First, there is definitely more to come in regards to Merlin, and why Arthur, Guinevere, and the people believe in him and in the prophecy. But in regards to why Arthur becomes so obsessed with finding Excalibur and with making it whole with the Dark One dagger... It's been explained that Arthur needs Excalibur whole in order to unite and build their kingdom, because for many years, Camelot has been known to be a broken kingdom, and Merlin has prophesied that it is Arthur's duty to unite a broken kingdom. So, Arthur becomes obsessed with finding the two pieces of this powerful sword because fulfilling his quest isn't as easy as he initially believed. And in all of his frustrations that stem from failing time and time again, he's grown hungry for more power. Which makes complete sense for this version of the story for King Arthur Once Upon a Time wishes to tell. So, I have come to at least appreciate this dark and twisted version of King Arthur, in spite of him becoming a villain instead of the hero I have loved for many, many years. And while most fans of this show really hate Arthur's character, I actually somewhat like him. I like and understand him as a villain in the same way that I like and understand Cora as a villain. They are both characters I hate and become frustrated by quite often, and yet whom I like as villains. I doubt this makes much sense, but... There it is. Arthur isn't one of the strongest villains throughout this show by any means. Not even close. However, he certainly isn't the worst villain by any means either. Arthur is a villain I like to hate. And while I do appreciate the changes from the legends we know so well upon learning that Arthur is destined to repair a broken kingdom more than I initially did, I really don't like how this episode handles the backstory between Guinevere and Lancelot. Again... This version of their love story told throughout the legends makes sense for this show's story they're telling. And for the first time in any version of their love story... I actually do want to see Guinevere end up with Lancelot because I kind of like Lancelot as a character here in Once Upon a Time. Whereas in any other version of the Arthurian Legends, I always, always prefer to see Guinevere with Arthur, and hate this love affair. I've never really liked any version of Guinevere's and Lancelot's love story, and Once Upon a Time's take on it is really no different, but for the story this show is telling us... I do actually prefer Guinevere with Lancelot. And I do understand why this storyline within this episode is necessary to the main story arc throughout the Camelot arc. I understand why Guinevere falls in love with Lancelot in this show's storyline for their characters, on account of Arthur becoming more obsessed with uniting the sword than with keeping his marriage together. However, I can't help but feel that all of the affair storyline could have been taken out of this episode and it would have been that much better for me. I don't really like how Guinevere and Lancelot quests for the dagger and finds the Dark Ones Vault when Arthur couldn't, and I don't like how Guinevere saves Lancelot from the Darkness so easily, or how weird Lancelot seems to act after Guinevere saves him from being consumed by the Darkness, even though my initial worry that he might have become possessed or changed by the Darkness that nearly had consumed him has turned out to be nothing. Regarding the Darkness that nearly consumes Lancelot... Another reason for me not really caring too much for this storyline, is that the creators and writers don't do a good enough job with explaining the Dark One Vault... The dark place Guinevere and Lancelot enter and walk down into in search of the dagger. Given that they enter the Dark One Vault, where it is explained in the first episode of this season that all Dark Ones are born here like we see Emma become born as the newest Dark One and emerge from this vault, As well as Rumple in season three's episode, titled... Quiet Minds, when Neal resurrects his father after being tricked by Zelena to come here to bring back Rumplestiltskin for her. With this being said... I suspect that small fragments, or at least some of the Darkness that may still be free, remains down within the vault. Ready and waiting for unwilling victims to consume should anyone try to enter its domain. Because the Darkness, as we knew from season one, is a dark, living entity. I hope my thoughts make some sense regarding how some of the Darkness nearly consumed Lancelot inside the Dark One Vault, Reds. This is definitely confusing, I know. I do certainly wish it all had been explained better than it is. But I hope my explanation helps you to understand a little better, my friend. And yet, I really do enjoy the moment between Guinevere, Lancelot, and Rumplestiltskin, when they make a deal with him, and take the Enchanted Sands of Avalon, in spite of this timeline being a bit wonky. Rumplestiltskin like always is great!! Regarding this wonky timeline within the backstory of this episode... The caption says that this storyline, and therefore this moment between Lancelot, Guinevere, and Rumplestiltskin, is set five years earlier. However, it couldn't have been if you think about the timeline logically, because Rumplestiltskin was still cursed in Storybrooke five years earlier. And therefore... He couldn't have been in Camelot, or in the Enchanted Forest then. Which is why I suspect that this caption means this storyline takes place five years before Regina casts the original dark curse over everyone. This is the only way the timeline makes any sense. Yes... The timelines all throughout this episode are most certainly wonky and confusing for sure. As for the Sands of Avalon... The sands work to make a person's greatest desire appear whole. Guinevere accepts Rumplestiltskin's deal with the hope of using the sands to help Arthur, by making him believe Excalibur is whole so that he will therefore stop obsessing over finding the dagger. However, when Arthur cruelly uses the sands on Guinevere instead when she refuses to trick him because she does still love him, the sands then make her believe their marriage is fixed and is as perfect as it first was. And when he throws the sands over all of Camelot, their kingdom then appears to be whole once more, and the people therefore have all come to believe their King has succeeded in repairing their broken kingdom, and has made them believe Arthur is a good and righteous King. And everyone has remained trapped under the sands' enchantment since then, and into the present day. I hope this helps to explain how the sands work, in case you might be confused, Reds. And the sands therefore make both David and Mary Margaret believe the same about Arthur being a good King when they too become enchanted by the sands as well. I really like the idea of the sands having the power to make something appear whole in the eyes of whoever becomes cursed. And I think it's clever of the creators and writers to have Arthur use the sands against his entire kingdom as he does. As tragic and abusive as it may be. I also really love the shot of seeing Arthur's castle become fully built upon seeing the sands fall over the kingdom too. Do I hate Arthur for taking away Guinevere's freewill upon her telling him she would follow her heart to Lancelot if he refused to give up his quest for the dagger? Absolutely! I do hate him for this, because it is incredibly cruel and so wrong. And I feel so bad for Guinevere, as well as for Lancelot and for the rest of their kingdom. But for me, it's also the best part of this overall storyline for Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot too. Because so much more of the present day timeline makes sense now. Details of their storyline that didn't really make too much sense beforehand. And yes... I absolutely feel badly for Lancelot too. While I don't care for his and Guinevere's love story in general in any version of the Arthurian Legends, because I hate people having affairs... I do believe that Once Upon a Time does the best take on it out of any version, because there are actually good reasons for why things in Camelot are as they are, and it doesn't feel so much just like another lame love triangle. Next... I absolutely love the scene when it's revealed that David and Mary Margaret have tricked Arthur into believing they were on opposite sides, and therefore tricks him into believing he briefly had the real dagger in order to get him to reveal his true colors. I'm happy they were both able to put their differences aside so they could get to the bottom of who was really deceiving them and to protect their daughter. And I really appreciate that Lancelot really is a good man in spite of Snow's worry that he might have been the one who was lying. And again... Your reaction to this revelation is priceless. :) And lastly... I also really like the end scene between Dark Swan and Gold as Emma tells him he's needed to pull the sword from the stone. I just really love the lines and the tenseness between these two characters with Emma being the current Dark One and Gold having been a former Dark One. And it all leads into Emma enlisting Merida, who is also revealed to have been brought to Storybrooke in the curse, as Emma rips out her heart once again in order to force her to force Gold to find courage in spite of his cowardice. Very smart. Thank you so much for another great reaction, for a pretty good episode, dear friend! Sincerely, Heidi

Heidi Elizabeth Marcum