Once Upon a Time 2x21 "Second Star to the Right" Full Reaction
Added 2021-06-04 20:56:52 +0000 UTC
Comments
Greg and Tamara yes they are wrong but Greg I feel is only evil because of Regina. Everything he does to her she honestly deserves
Staton Chapman
2021-12-15 00:48:57 +0000 UTCSeason 2 is my favorite, personally, and I always loved the Neal/Emma storyline, I thought they were adorable together, but you do you.
CarlyCChapman
2021-06-07 19:17:14 +0000 UTCSecond Star to the Right- Another fun reaction for Once Upon a Time!! Thank you so much, Liam! Now... I have to admit, this episode isn't one of my favorites from this season. I enjoy it a lot and it's really good, but I also have a few issues with it as well, which I will come back to shortly... However, your reaction for this first half of the season finale is really great! First... I have to say that I never liked the idea of Emma and Neal getting back together again. While Emma's admittance that she loves Neal again is sweet, for me... it feels a bit too forced. I can understand why the creators and writers felt they could write this for their storyline, but Neal has moved on with Tamara enough to marry her, even though she has been truly a villain throughout their entire relationship. Neal didn't know this and he had asked her to marry him, which proves he loved her and moved on enough from Emma. In spite of still having some feelings for her. So for Neal to suddenly confess his love for Emma first feels even more forced than Emma saying she loves him back. I just don't feel that kind of chemistry between Emma and Neal any longer. I've always believed I was alone in feeling the same way, until recently with a few other reactors who also watch this show. So many people love Emma and Neal together. For me personally... I never really saw that Emma is still in love with Neal. Only that she simply still cares about him and is happy he can be a part of Henry's life in spite of what's happened between them. And when she tells Neal she loves him, I just don't feel she means that she is in love with him any longer. Just that she still loves him because of their connection from their past relationship. Also... Neal is extremely naïve and kind of an idiot in regards to his relationship with Tamara, which I really hate too. I get that Emma acts a bit foolish too, in her efforts to try to convince Neal of the truth without having proof of Tamara's treachery, but we know she is right and that there is no way she is going to ignore her instincts. This is one of the main reasons why I never really liked Neal. He's an okay character. And I really like his relationship with Henry, as well as his backstory between him and Rumple. I just don't like Neal's relationship with Emma, and I hate even more his relationship with Tamara. Emma and Neal have been through a lot, and for the most part, I feel that they've been through too much just to simply put everything behind them so they can get back together again and become the loves they used to be. I feel that their story together has been told for the most part. I hope this all of this makes sense. My other biggest nitpicks with this episode simply comes from my dislike of Greg and Tamara, and wishing to see them disappear from the show all together. I really couldn't care less about any of their scenes. Now that this is all out of the way... I really enjoy the overall backstory with Bae and the Darlings, and with the Shadow. I love most of all that we get to see what comes of Bae immediately after he lands in our world once he falls through the portal shown back in season one's episode... Desperate Souls. And like most of the characters seen throughout all of Once Upon a Time, Wendy, John, and Michael are all well casted and it is amazing to see old London, England become a part of the Once Upon a Time world. If you recall... Rumplestiltskin is well over two hundred years old, and so like him and Hook too, Bae is over two hundred years old as well in the present day timeline. This is why the setting of London is from an age within the 1800s. I'm so happy that they showed us so by having the carriage ride past when Bae first arrived from the Enchanted Forest. Especially given the time period that the Peter Pan story's time period is originally set in, as well as when it was originally written by J.M. Barrie. Also... Neal mentions in a previous episode... The Queen is Dead, while they're still in New York, that he knows Hook somehow and from how he talks about Hook then, it's clear Neal and Hook have a history together. So, this was a storyline that I was most definitely excited to learn about, along with Bae's time in Neverland. Now... I really like the idea of Pan possibly being a villain by how the Shadow behaves. Yet I have to admit, that I didn't like this idea at first because while Peter Pan is known to be a mischievous character and a bit darker in some versions of the Peter Pan fairytale, depending on the books you've read, or shows and moves you might have seen bringing this fairytale to life... like in the Disney movie... Peter Pan, in Hook with Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams, and in all other movie versions as well as play adaptations of Peter Pan, Peter Pan is still mostly seen as a hero. And it just took me some time to wrap my head around the idea that Peter Pan within Once Upon a Time might very well be a villain. However, I very quickly became used to the idea that Pan could be a villain because of all that's to come. Especially because of Hook and him being the villain he is as well. And while Hook is a villain, we also see a softer side to him, even in this episode when Hook could have stayed with Greg and Tamara to relish in torturing Regina and yet he doesn't. He certainly hates Regina and she's given him plenty of reason to. And yet I sense there's more to him choosing not to do so, than him simply being bored by Greg's and Tamara's plans. I sense there's a side to Hook that shows he's so much more than who he appears, just as I've felt ever since he was first introduced back in episode four... The Crocodile, and especially in the sixth episode... Tallahassee, where Hook and Emma climb the beanstalk together to seek out the compass. I have always gotten the sense that Hook is a man who wears a mask of smugness, pride, and conceit to hide his true pain and how he truly feels, especially towards himself. There's so much more to him than meets the eye. And for the most part, Once Upon a Time is phenomenal with the development of all their characters, especially those who we all have known and loved since we were children. And I have always loved Hook from all the movies and books I've read about him and Peter Pan. However, Hook in Once Upon a Time is so much more complex and we have come to grow and understand why he is the man and villain he is, and will continue to do so as the show continues onward. This is why I love his character so, so much. Also... I do like that Bae gives himself over to the Shadow to protect Wendy, John, and Michael so that their family wouldn't be split apart and broken like his is. And more so... I love that Bae manages to escape from the Shadow, and that he lands in the ocean beyond the shores of Neverland, so that Hook could find him and bring him aboard the Jolly Roger. I love this moment in the episode, as it is my absolute favorite moment throughout this episode in spite of it being so short. I was so happy for the prospect of getting more of Hook's past storyline. :) As for Neal being shot and him falling through the portal to someplace unknown... this scene has a few technical flaws as well. If Neal had grabbed hold of Emma, then immediately stepped back with her away from the portal, or if Emma had just backed away from the portal as it began to open instead of her jumping up to grab hold of something above the portal making it so that Neal had to help her down, then Neal never would have fallen through. But I get the reasons for what came about in this scene. And I do really like the parallels with Neal to Bae shown back in season one's episode... Desperate Souls too. I also feel so sad for Emma. I can really feel the emotion coming from her feeling her loss when he falls through after Tamara shot him. Jennifer Morrison is amazing with showing her emotions, and I've always been able to feel for her, and feel like we're meant to feel from her. But because I feel about Neal as I do, I can't help not feeling too heartbroken by this possible tragedy. Especially since we don't know that Neal is actually dead. I am really only sad for Emma, for Rumple, and for Henry. Again... I'm petty much alone with how I feel towards this moment, but c'est la vie. Next... I don't care much for Greg's storyline at all like I've said before a number of times, and I don't care that Greg's father turned out dead despite it being sad. That for me was pretty much a given from the get go and I certainly wasn't surprised that this was the big revelation for Kurt Flynn's character. And I hate these three characters, so it doesn't really matter to me. Same goes for Tamara's storyline, even in this episode. However, I am glad that Emma never stopped believing she was a villain and that the truth has finally been revealed to her, Neal, and everyone else. Even though no one apologizes to Emma for doubting her. As for Regina giving in and telling Greg the truth about his father's death... I love this moment for her too. I don't believe she told Greg the truth simply because she was being tortured. Because Regina's shown strength the entire time. Like you, I believe that she only tells Greg the truth about his father being dead and buried out at their campsite because she wanted him to feel some of the pain he has been inflicting upon her. She tells him the truth out of spite and to be cruel. Not because of the torture. It's a great moment. I agree. And then... I really love that Mary Margaret does as she does to find and save Regina in spite of everything that's gone on between them. Because she and David both have hope that in saving Regina, it will help to rid Snow's heart of some of the darkness she's feeling guilty from. And I love that Mary Margaret and David find Regina and bring her home so that Blue can heal Regina and remove the cuff so Regina can regain her magic again in time. And lastly... I am still not a fan of the Rumple/Lacey storyline. It annoys me to see Belle/Lacey encouraging Rumple to be bad. Especially in the moments she encourages Gold to get rid of Henry because he is standing in the way of him gaining more power, and when Lacey asks Gold for the magic to become immortal like him. I just really don't like this part of their storyline at all. I understand it from a writer's point of view as being good storytelling, but I just don't care too much for it nonetheless. But at least Gold has helped Mary Margaret and David so they could save Regina. And I love the idea of magic being created from one of Regina's tears and one of Mary Margaret's tears, and that this magic he creates allows for Mary Margaret to see and feel everything Regina does too. Very cool. While I really love season two overall, especially for its introduction to Hook and seeing his developing storyline, as well as for the first half of the season that I very much love... I feel that season two is the weakest season of the entire show. Not only does this season, especially the second half of this season, bring in three major characters I really hate (Cora, Greg, and Tamara), and another character who's just okay (Neal), but it also focuses so much on them, that it becomes a bit annoying to me. Plus... even some of the characters I love like Regina and Henry are written poorly at times too, I think. As if the writers didn't know what to do with them for the time being. Overall... for me, this episode has its flaws, but I still really do enjoy it. So thank you again, so much, Liam!!! Sincerely, Heidi
Heidi Elizabeth Marcum
2021-06-04 22:53:47 +0000 UTC
