100 Reviews: 60

[jedi_of_urth]

Finally getting back to this, and am more likely to do them on a semi-regular basis now that I don’t have so much in the way of new shows to watch for the summer. Anyway, we come back to a fairly good episode that I do understand why wigbee71583 wanted me to revisit.

OUaT: 1x07: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

I do think this is a pretty good episode, but I think it lacks some of the punch with me that it’s supposed to have, and even less now than it ever did. I was just never all that attached to Graham beyond the eye candy element which there’s enough of on the show that I don’t have to mourn it.

I think the first time through the episode does some good things for the story, or at least seems to. Showing how the effects of undoing the curse might matter, hinting that there are issues with the fake identities if people stop to examine their lives, and showing that there’s danger in what Henry is trying to make happen here. All of this was good, especially at the time, but suffers a little bit in hindsight as a lot of it doesn’t matter much in the long term.

Which was always kind of my problem with it, even early on. The first hint of actually breaking through the curse (Mary Margaret and David tried to sneak past it but eventually got snapped back too) and it happens in such a way that it doesn’t actually change anything; and I’ve watched enough TV in my life/recent years not to be surprised when little came of these events, but that doesn’t mean I don’t roll my eyes a little.

So yeah, I think the episode suffers from its full context (we haven’t really gotten to know Graham well enough and we won’t be given any more reason to care) but it is a pretty good episode. Being able to connect the FTL stuff with the Storybrooke stuff does wonders for making things feel like one episode rather than two half-finished plots like it does so often (I do think the flashbacks served a purpose in s1, I just think filling that purpose caused complications in the writing that never evened out). And by doing it, it did allow Graham to actually be at the center of the episode, allowing another perspective on how this all works because he was actually trying to figure things out. All of which elevated this to a pretty good episode.

A few spare notes:
-You know, I usually don’t mind the kid playing Henry, but I really don’t think he sold it here.
-Did we ever find out what Gold was doing out in the forest when Graham ran into him. Speaking of, Gold’s suit plus apron combo amuses me, especially since I end up imagining Elijah doing the same thing, and then I imagine how awesome a Gold and Elijah meeting would be and how many twist and turns their deals would make.
-Regina’s attitude this episode does make a little more sense knowing her history with Snow, but it also makes it more eye-rolling at its pettiness. And I say this as someone who generally likes Regina.
-I feel like the Snow stuff would have worked better if she’d come off a little younger. I do think in show canon she should be in her late teens at this point so they shouldn’t need to cast a younger actress, but something in the writing/performance/ make-up didn’t quite come together to place her correctly in her arc.

I guess that’ll about cover it. I like this episode okay, but I don’t have much to say on the subject.


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