Once Upon a Time - 5x5 "Dreamcatcher" Full Reaction
Added 2021-03-25 00:44:46 +0000 UTC
Comments
Man I can’t stand Henry Regina did all kinds of evil crap but he forgives the EVIL lady man miss me Henry.
John Walker Is That Dude
2021-07-05 18:12:42 +0000 UTCOne thing I really love about the end shot is it's filmed extremely similar to the moment Emma leaves Regina's house after dropping Henry off all the way back in the pilot: Emma walks toward the street then turns back and sees Henry in the window. Not to mention, rewatching the pilot scene and I think they play some very similar music in the scene as well. In the pilot, Henry looks down, turns away and then lights go off. Also Henry is in a different window then in the pilot.
Disney15ish
2021-03-26 17:10:29 +0000 UTCand emma and regina working together is always such a welcome treat, even if emma is being evil on the DL.
Kenney
2021-03-25 10:04:12 +0000 UTCthis arc takes some meanders, but when it get back on track it is PAINFUL. get ready for the midseason finale it hurts like hell
Kenney
2021-03-25 10:00:05 +0000 UTCDreamcatcher- Thank you once again for another fun reaction, Shelley! Overall... I enjoy this episode. I think it's one of the weaker episodes within the Camelot arc, but it's still really enjoyable. And my favorite scene within this episode doesn't actually have Hook in it, which is rare. But I'll come back to that in a bit... First... this episode begins with the same man we first saw come to young Emma in the movie theater within the very beginning of The Dark Swan, as we see him seeking out the Dark One with the dagger in hand. At this time, we still have yet to learn who this man is, but it's clear he is powerful and brave. And when he summons the Dark One with the dagger, he or she swiftly appears before him. Then, the man cries as he reveals the Dark One murdered the woman he loved. He then raises the dagger to try to kill the Dark One, only he can't bring himself to do so for reasons unknown. And when he drops the dagger, the Dark One then picks it up, then uses the man's tears upon the blade to turn him into a tree, revealing at last that this man is in fact Merlin, knowing that Merlin in the present storyline within Camelot is still a tree after so many years have passed. I love the eeriness of this scene and it's sad to see Merlin so weak, since we know just how powerful he's meant to be. And then... it's shown that Emma is watching this moment in Merlin's past played out through his memories caught within a dreamcatcher. And once again, I really like the transition from scene to scene here. Sometime later... Regina is walking through the forest with David and Mary Margaret, whom she doesn't know are currently trapped under Arthur's enchantment, as they have tricked Regina into showing them where the Dark One dagger is so they can steal it and bring it to Arthur for him. Luckily, Emma arrives in time to freeze her parents upon seeing through the dreamcatcher that they are under Arthur's spell. Emma and Regina then discuss how they might be able to free Merlin, through the use of dark magic, and I really like how Regina warns Emma of the slippery slope using dark magic could lead her down, even in using it for the smallest of tasks. I really like how Regina acts as a voice of reason throughout this episode on Emma's behalf. It's been rare up until this point to see these two characters act polar opposite from how they have been up until this point. But I also like how together they come to understand how they can finally free Merlin through Merlin's memory, as they must collect a tear of lost love. This leads Regina to force herself to watch her most painful memory of when her mother murdered her first love, Daniel... in the hope her tears from her memory of losing him will be powerful enough to help them. I like how Emma is able to see the memory as well, and apologizes to Regina for all her pain that caused her to hate Snow White and her family for so long, and to become a villain. Ad yet Emma also senses that this tear won't be strong enough to work, just as it is later revealed that her instincts were right. Unfortunately, they come to learn that Regina's tears of her lost love aren't powerful enough, because Regina has found love again with Robin. Because she's found love again. So instead, they then must find another way to collect the tears they need. Sadly, this leads Emma to commit one of the darkest acts she's ever committed in her life, as she uses Violet to break Henry's heart. While I understand why the creators and writers decided to write this storyline for Emma's character... I'm not sure I really like it. While Emma is the Dark One and we know how the darkness corrupts all of those possessed by it, having Emma rip out Violet's heart so she can break Henry's heart seems too much out of character for Emma, even is she has good intentions for doing so in spite of the darkness within her. And yet I do appreciate her reasonings for why she does this. There's a difference in what something she does later on, and what she does to Henry, which I will get into more when I come to my thoughts for the episodes later on. Needless to say, what she does to Henry isn't done out of love, but out of necessity. And I most definitely understand Emma's reasoning for doing so, just as I love how her act parallels perfectly to how Cora always acted supposedly to protect her daughter too. I'm just not sure if I really like it. Nonetheless... Regina is able to collect his tears while she tells Henry that he is a hero in their eyes for giving them the tears they need to free Merlin, then she and Emma use the tears and their potion to enact the spell that finally frees Merlin. This is my favorite moment throughout this episode. I love seeing Emma expel her powers from the light and dark magic, as well as from the potion in order to free Merlin from the tree at last. I love the music and the special effects. And I love how Merlin is all knowing when he stands to face Emma, as he reveals he's been waiting for her, then seeing him turn to Arthur demanding that Arthur and his men stand down. I also like how Merlin states simply that the broken sword that is Excalibur cannot hurt him, forcing Arthur and his knights to stand down and walk away. But before that... Arthur acts like a spoiled child as he whines about how Merlin sent him on impossible quests and how Merlin ruined his life. This is the point when Arthur really begins to get on my nerves within the Camelot storyline. And then within the Storybrooke storyline, it is a bit later that he gets on my nerves too, even after it's revealed he's a villain. I don't like the scene between Henry and Violet's father, Sir Morgan inside the stables at all. Sir Morgan treats Henry so cruelly and not like how I would expect a Knight of the Roundtable to act. However, in Storybrooke... Sir Morgan is so much kinder towards Henry and they strangely seem like two completely different people. I just don't like the differences of these scenes shown within this character that we hardly get to know. Now, as for the Storybrooke storyline... I like the continued scenes between Emma and Rumple down in the caves beneath her house's basement, as Rumple talks with Emma about how the darkness made him feel and pleads with her to resist the temptations. However, Emma brings Merida in and orders her to take Gold away to help him become brave enough so he can become the hero she needs in order to remove Excalibur from its stone like she's been trying to do since Siege Perilous. Later, Violet is upset because her horse has gone missing, and Henry assures her he will find it for her. He then goes to Emma for help in his search, and later it's revealed Henry has only gone to Emma so that Killian, Regina, Robin, and Belle can break into Emma's home in order to find out what she's been hiding from them. In doing so, they discover Excalibur within its stone, as Killian and Belle immediately recognize the blades designs matches those belonging to the Dark One dagger as well. I love the moment Hook reaches out in attempt to pull the sword, until Regina quickly stops him. I love their banter when she warns him he could be killed, as Hook is surprised that she cares, only for Regina to retort by saying he's useful-ish. Their banter is always hilarious to me. :) Hook then finds the dreamcatcher Emma leaves out on the table in her living room, which Regina and Robin take back to Regina's home to reveal what memories its captured within it. Unfortunately and sadly, Henry oversees Violet's stolen memories as Emma rips out her heart, and Henry is crushed by his mother's actions. Now I think Henry's reaction to this revelation is absolutely justified. Because Emma not only ripped out Violet's heart, which is a cruel act, but Emma also did so in order to break Henry's heart. When Emma never would have done so without the darkness inside of her, even without them needing to free Merlin out of necessity. And Emma sadly succeeds in doing so. I absolutely love the end conversation between Regina and Emma, as Regina warns Emma to stay away from Henry after seeing what Emma did to her son. And rightly so. I love how Regina stands up to Emma to defend Henry, finally getting Emma to let slip that they had managed to free Merlin when they were in Camelot, although Emma doesn't continue to explain what happened afterwards. This is just a great confrontation. In the meantime... Killian, David, and Mary Margaret are at the festival in town talking with Arthur, not yet knowing that he isn't the honorable man they believe him to be. I like how they talk to him seeking information about how and why Excalibur and the Dark One dagger bare the same markings. I like how he reveals to them the truth about the two blades being one long ago until it was broken into two pieces. Henry also has a sweet moment with Violet just before he becomes crushed by the reveal of Emma hurting her to hurt him. It's sweet how he comes riding into town on her horse and returns it to her. Meanwhile... Merida is working hard to toughen up Gold, finally using their chipped cup in order to force Gold to fight her. While this overall storyline is just okay, I like how Merida uses the chipped cup to try to make him stand up and fight to get it back. And it works momentarily, but Merida also knows that he'll need more to make him the hero Emma needs him to be. Overall... this episode is pretty good. I like far more than what I dislike, but both of the main storylines, or even the smaller storylines, aren't as strong for me as they are in other episodes. Thank you so much again for your reaction, Shelley! Until the next episode... Thank you!! Sincerely, Heidi
Heidi Elizabeth Marcum
2021-03-25 05:14:59 +0000 UTCIn regards to the sword thing with Henry, yeah David taught him a little bit but toy swords don’t entirely compare to the weight of a real sword.
Malachi Fuimaono
2021-03-25 04:37:33 +0000 UTCThe plot is getting ticker... I love this episode, I dont know, every episode that the creators of the show wrote, I just love everyone. I was just as confuse as you are, so much to fill in by now and what’s coming I never expected but in a good way, I promise the arc is so wholesome when it gets there, they did think things trough since the season started, can’t wait to see your reaction to that, its one of my fave storylines from the show. PS: you could see emma making the dreamcatchers in the back up story in Camelot last episode, when she heard the dagger calling for her.
Luis Nov
2021-03-25 04:37:23 +0000 UTC
