So the gang lost the author and Mary Margaret and David
reveal the past they have with the guy who manipulated them into banishing
Lillith, Maleficent’s daughter. Emma doesn’t give a damn about them being
manipulated – they did what they did and then they LIED
ZOMG THE LIES! THE TERRIBAD LIES!
ZOMG THE LIES! THE TERRIBAD LIES!
Can we get away from this bizarre moral code that puts “lying”
above child experimentation and kidnapping? Please?
Emma seems to get that… kind of. Because she then is
heartbroken that she became the Saviour at the expense of someone else’s soul (still
kind of an “all about me” pity fest more than pity for the victim, but better
than the ZOMG LIES, I guess). David makes more excuses (“we’re human.” Yes
because child kidnap is something lots of humans do) and Emma won’t hear it
because if he keeps talking we’ll have to form an orderly queue to slap David.
They follow the Author who is trying to make a new magic
quill, which he can’t do because, as Gold points out, none of the trees in Storybrooke
are enchanted. Gold has one… of course.
Gold also has Regina captive but has a far more powerful
way of controlling her – something has happened to Robin. This calls for a
flashback
9 weeks ago
When Robin and family left Storybrooke and Robin showed
his undying love for Regina in front of his wife and their child. They move to New
York planning to move into Baelfire/Neal’s old place. They don’t adapt that
well. They are, after all, Storybrooke characters with no alias, so no
experience of the modern world.
Marianne angsts because it’s all her fault and Robin does
actually love Regina more. Angst session is interrupted because Gold (back
before the return) also decided to use Baelfire’s old flat – since it’s his son’s
home and all. They bicker – and Gold seems to have a heart attack
When he wakes in hospital, Gold decides it’s not a
conventional heart attack – it’s a moral heart attack because he’s such a bad
person that he’s poisoned his heart and he has no magic to protect himself
And another flashback:
Sherwood Forest, Many Years Ago
Robin and Marianne have started a new life running a bar –
but Little John wants to recruit Robin back to thievery. He refuses – except he’s
behind on his taxes and the Sheriff of Nottingham is now looking to collect or
take everything and throw Robin in debtor’s prison (I do like that Marianna
refuses to let Robin speak in her defence or on her behalf – she can speak up
herself thank you very much).
Who do the desperate turn to in their hour of need? Good
ol’ Rumplestiltskin shows up with an offer Robin can’t refuse: steal an Elixir
of the Wounded Heart from a king for him (Personally, I think Rumple could do
his own thieving.) This involves going to Oz.
In Oz Robin finds and inadvertently rescues the Knave,
Will Scarlett. I’m not even going to ask how Will got to Oz or how he dances
through a bazillion realms because it’s Will and I love him
Helpful smoke allows him to steal from Zelina (and a
nifty always-hits-bow) without her turning him into a winged simian. But he
tells Will he failed to get the Elixir – Will wanted some because of his epic
heartache over Anastasia. Poor Will. How can you say no to those so-sad eyes? I
take it back, child kidnapping isn’t the worst crime, saying no to Will Scarlet’s
puppy-face is clearly the worst sin.
Will does end up with at least some of the potion – Robin
gave it to him.
This does teach Robin about stealing from the rick and
giving to the poor – which is how he becomes Robin Hood. Including his plan on
evading Rumple (since he broke his deal) with the “Sixth Leaf Clover of Oz”
which he stole while in Oz and allows you to become anyone.
New York 9 weeks ago
The Elixir of the Wounded Heart is just what Gold needs
now. Happily there may be some in New York – since the Wizard of Oz is set up there
(under the business name “wizard of Oak”) under the instruction of Zelina to
keep an eye on Emma while she was there. He’s decided to hang round and Gold
bets he’ll have woo-woo.
Robin breaks in – and the greatest thief doesn’t really
know anything about modern alarm systems. Though he manages to escape with the
potion.
Marianne isn’t exactly happy with him though, risking his
freedom for the sake of Gold (and a nebulous code of honour that means you have
to commit crimes in the name of your enemies). Marianne agrees with me and
thinks the greater good would be to let Gold die – Robin is not impressed by
this shift from honour and morality to common sense and not being a bloody
fool.
Robin gives Gold the elixir in exchange for him not
contesting their ownership of Baelfire’s flat. Robin leaves but Gold is
horrified to find the elixir didn’t work. Why? Because Marianne switched it to
make sure Gold dies, as she explains in a villainous gloat over his death bed;
except it’s actually Zelena in disguise, using the Sixth Leaf Clover of Oz, not
Marianne.
This also means Zelena didn’t actually die
when Gold stabbed her. Her essence followed Emma through
the time portal and ended up with them in the Enchanted forest in the past.
There she killed Marianne and took her place. All to ruin Regina’s happiness.
She then mocks’ Gold on his sick bed and has a look of utter glee when it seems
to turn into a death bed.
He doesn’t die – modern technology is awesome like that. This lets Zelena exposition her plan a little more; she wanted to steal Regina’s true love but it didn’t work, which she (not very subtly) puts down to the while good-guys-always-win thing. And to undo that, she needs the Author. Which means she’s making a deal with Gold, in exchange for the Elixir of Heart-Breaking he doesn’t seek her death and he works her Happy Ending into his plans for the Author.
He accepts it – and Robin is waiting for Gold to hand
over Neal’s things because he’s almost sickeningly decent. Gold doesn’t want it
because relics of Neal/Baelfire in New York are just a reminder of how he
failed his son and that failure caused Balefire to grow up there alone. Robin
decides to also talk about how Marianne is a stranger to him now – and Gold
gently pokes Robin towards Regina and true happiness.
To add to the angst, Marianne/Zelena finds Regina’s
number on Robin’s phone. She pushes Robin to make a choice – and she chooses
Marianne in the name of when she once gave up everything to be with him as
bandit in the forest. He deletes Regina’s number.
Which brings us back to the present and Regina calling Robin’s number – and have Zelena answer.
Which is Gold’s leverage over Regina. Making her choose between Robin and Emma
Gold’s evil heart attack is not something I’m running
with – link disease and disability to morality only ever leads to unpleasant
places. He could have just been ACUALLY poisoned by the ACTUAL dark magic he’s
been using and now can’t defend himself from – rather than “moral consequence.”
Ok I am glad that Regina’s Happy ending is now much more
open. And I’m really glad to see that Zelena is back because she was a pretty
awesome villain. But retroactively killing Marianne – one of the very very few
WOC on this show? No, this is not the way I wanted any of this to happen. Noooo
don’t do this. Of all the ways of doing these things, why do this? WHYYY? There
are so few POC on this show, to just not only kill someone but to backdate it
to make the whole character completely non-existent – to retroactivity remove
her.
It also removes so much of the complexity of this
storyline. The whole drama was that Marianne wasn’t evil and who Robin still
feels affection for. It’s complicated BECAUSE there are no villains, because
there are only innocent victims here. Because this is the kind of mature
conflict that adult relationships can actually face without the simplistic
fairy-tale good/evil binary.
I’m torn. There is a lot of good that come out of this
but it comes at a terrible cost
