Once Upon A Time Season 4 Episode 13 Darkness On The Edge Of Town

Darkness on the Edge of Town- Thank you very much for another fun and exciting reaction for my favorite show, Jay!!! I love, love, love how this show is able change up the feeling of each season and season arc... From the Neverland arc, the Wicked Witch arc, the Frozen arc, and now to the Queens of Darkness arc!! And they're all fabulous in so many ways!!! And I also love both Killian's and Regina's redemption arcs too, and I love, love, love them so very much!! And what a fun episode Darkness on the Edge of Town is! I cannot wait for many more episode reactions from you to come!!! :) First, in regards to Regina burning the bird painting inside her office... As you might remember, the painting belonged to Mary Margaret when she was briefly the town Mayor when Regina stepped down upon going through some heavy emotions after Marian arrived in Storybrooke when Emma and Killian accidentally bring them back from their time travel adventure. The bird painting is a very Snow White kind of painting and it did not fit Regina's office décor. Also... Regina noticed the painting in an earlier episode during this time period and disdainfully mocks it, saying how Mary Margaret had put it up in bad taste. So, in this episode she burns it, symbolizing her return to power. I hope this makes sense. Now... I love the overall backstory, that reveals to us how Rumplestiltskin, Maleficent, Cruella, and Ursula all first meets as Rumplestiltskin summoned them together for a secret meeting at the Forbidden Fortress where Maleficent lives!! And not only does Rumple convince the Queens of Darkness to trust him despite him lying to them about his true intentions in helping them as well, but we also learn how Rumple originally gains possession of the original dark curse, which we learn way back in the second episode of season one, titled... The Thing You Love Most, that he had given it to Regina so she could cast the curse for him, yet that she soon gave it pver to Maleficent, until Regina then steals it back from Maleficent sometime later. I always love great connections to past episodes, especially to episodes so early on. Later, Rumplestiltskin leads the villainesses to the cavern where the orb containing the dark curse is protected by three challenges, and the dangerous Chernabog which each one of the women must work together in order to break through it and to survive. Thankfully for them, they all succeed, and they do survive. However, Rumple tricks the Queens of Darkness and steals the dark curse away from them, then leaves them there to die, which started the women's even deeper distrust in the Dark One. I love how Ursula, Cruella, and Maleficent are all able to pass their tests because Rumplestiltskin brings them in to work with him specifically for their powers that match the tests. Now, as for the present day storyline inside Storybrooke... In the beginning we see the peace that's come over their town within the last six weeks due to Gold having been banished from Storybrooke. We see a brief montage that shows Regina back to being the Mayor, Snow teaching again while Granny babysits baby Neal for Snow, and it shows Emma meeting up with Killian as he has a coffee waiting for her. I love their little kiss, then seeing Killian kiss Emma on her forehead before she walks away and he follows Belle inside the library. So cute. Emma and Killian are absolutely adorable together!! I can't say it enough! :) Next... We have a beautiful scene between Killian and Belle inside the library where they're working together to find a way to free the fairies, as well as the Apprentice from the Sorcerer's hat. Killian's frustration in being unable to find anything for the last six weeks is completely understandable, as it comes more from his guilt over the very difficult situation he had been trapped in, that he really shouldn't feel badly about, except for him having agreed to help Gold imprison the old man within the hat as well, before Gold ripped out Killian's heart. And then... This conversation leads Killian to bring up how he had been a fool for allowing himself to fall for Gold's lies, while Belle feels the same way upon realizing how naïve she had been to trust in him as well. I love this conversation between them, as Killian has come to be a really good friend and confidant for Belle. And I love that while Killian still deeply hates Gold for all that he's done to him, and for what he nearly did to Emma, Killian is so kind to Belle and reminds her of just how much Gold did love her to try to offer her as much comfort as he can upon seeing her so sad. Beautiful moment between them. And it's one of my favorite scenes throughout the episode. Also... I love how Gold convinces Ursula and Cruella to help him in his dark plan, and seeing them come together, then arrive outside of Storybrooke, in Cruella's classic Panther De Ville with the license plate that spells out, "DEV IL" to show anyone who sees her car just who owns it. And boy is it a beautiful car! I don't know anything about classic cars, and I certainly don't have any kind of grand appreciation for them, but if I ever had money to buy such a car... I would absolutely love to buy myself a replica of Cruella's car. I love it!!! I love the villains' overall partnership and Gold's big plan that has barely begun, as they seek out to gain back their happy endings, in their own search for the Author. Meanwhile... The heroes are busy fighting and dealing with the Chernabog that we see was somehow also trapped within the Sorcerer's hat, no thanks to Gold once again because we find out that it was him who gave Belle the spell to free the fairies from the hat as he poses as a professor from Oxford who is talking within Belle through emails, having given Belle the spell to free the fairies, but also one that would free the Chernabog as well in order to unleash havoc on the town. In order to create trouble for the heroes so that he could use the beast as a way to convince the heroes to let Cruella and Ursula into Storybrooke. I didn't expect this twist, and I love this whole brilliant idea!! And thanks to Ursula and Cruella, the heroes learn that the Chernabog goes after the person with the most potential in their heart for darkness just like it had once gone after Maleficent in their past together, but thankfully Regina and Emma figure out for themselves that the only way to defeat it is to force the magical creature over the town line, outside of Storybrooke where no magic exists. And after quite the exciting battle as they race in Emma's yellow bug to the town line, they succeed as Regina surrenders herself to the creature as she thinks she's the one the creature is after due to her heart still being black, in order to protect Emma, only to duck just in time as Emma slams on her breaks so that the Chernabog goes flying over the town line and dispels. So exciting! Again... I love it! Most fans of this show don't think that Ursula and Cruella do a whole lot to help the heroes defeat the Chernabog, but they do reveal what, or rather who this beast is after, which is really important. Because the heroes wouldn't have known this, and even though Emma would have come up with her plan to destroy the beast, they wouldn't have known who they could have used as bait as far as they believe the right person to be, in order to draw away the Chernabog with knowing who it's after. I hope this makes sense. In regards to the inspiration for the Chernabog... This creature is also from the Disney animated movie... Fantasia, from way back in 1940. Just like where the walking broomstick, the Sorcerer's hat that the Apprentice is charged to protect by the Sorcerer, the Apprentice himself, who is in fact a human version of Mickey Mouse in Fantasia and who actually is ironically turned into a mouse by Rumple in the fourth episode this season, tilted... The Apprentice, and much of the music played throughout some episodes this season. The Chernabog is a creature shown in one of this movie's many music sequences, and I love that another character from Fantasia comes in!!! You are actually the first reactor watching Once Upon a Time I've seen, to actually guess where this Chernabog comes from and what this creature is, Jay! I'm very impressed and so happy you knew this dark winged creature straight away!! :) Unfortunately, but brilliantly... We later learn through Gold as he explains this to the two Queens of Darkness, that this creature wasn't actually after Regina like she and everyone else would have expected for it to be, but Emma Swan. Because Emma appears to have the heart with the greatest potential for darkness. possibly on account of just how powerful she is as the Savior. Yikes!! I love all the mystery within these storylines!! The Author storyline, Emma's heart with the great potential for darkness storyline, the Queens of Darkness' storylines, the villains' search for their own happy endings storyline, and more! Such phenomenal mysteries that are so intriguing. Love it!! :) Also... I love how Regina is able to finally free the fairies from the hat after she casts the spell so she can release them, then seeing Killian continuing to feel guilty at their celebration inside Granny's afterwards, until Emma comes out to assure him he doesn't deserve to keep feeling so guilty, since it was Gold's control over Killian's heart that forced him to do so. This is my other favorite moment in this episode!! I love how Emma attempts to lighten his mood as she talks about going to "buckle some swash", then how she assures Killian that to her, he has a well deserved "mark in the hero column". Such a cute moment between them. I love it! And I am so happy that Killian's storyline from the Frozen arc is carried through into this new arc with him now feeling the guilt coming from his actions. And I love all the more that Emma doesn't blame him for his actions even from before he lost his heart... Back when he was forced to make a deal with Gold to get him to remove his hand again upon it supposedly being cursed. I appreciate Emma's growth, because in the past I feel she most definitely would have been angry with him. And it's wonderful seeing just how much Killian has grown as well. He absolutely is far more harsh towards himself than he deserves to be, but thankfully Emma is there for him and to remind him that he is a hero. I love it! Oh... And through the Blue Fairy, Regina and Henry learn a little more about the Author, and that somehow, for some reason the Sorcerer was in the possession of all of the Author's storybooks. I love the mystery behind the Author and the heroes', as well as the villains' searches for him or her too. And now we also know through the Blue Fairy, that the Author and the Sorcerer are in fact two very different people. I also really love the scene in the beginning between Emma and Regina just before Killian and Belle come running into Regina's office to reveal that they discovered how to free the fairies. I love how Emma continues to assure Regina that they will find the Author to help Regina gain her happy ending, and that Emma soon finds the new Page 23 from the storybook, which we see all taped back together after Regina clearly had turned back to collect the pieces after having torn the page into pieces and let go of them in the previous episode, titled... Heroes and Villains, just after Robin crosses the town line with Marian and Roland. Very nice. Later on... In spite of Mary Margaret's and Charming's protests, both Emma and Regina agree to let Cruella and Ursula into Storybrooke using the Snow Queen's scroll to do so, because they had kept up their end of their deal and helped them to defeat the Chernabog. And they do so, which leads to the Queens of Darkness later letting Gold into Storybrooke as well. Not good. It is absolutely strange that no one would take back the scroll from these villains. I agree, Jay. Unless of course, the villainesses have stolen it again. Which certainly wouldn't surprise me at all. However, it's a flaw I can overlook since I love this episode overall so much! I love the idea of our characters using the Snow Queen's scroll in order to let Ursula and Cruella into Storybrooke actually! I think it's a very clever idea because we really didn't see a whole lot of use of the scroll when the Snow Queen herself used it to get into Storybrooke, or when the Apprentice gives it to her. And besides... It is a way to bring our characters into Storybrooke again, without having to take any time away from the rest of this season arc's stories in order to show an all new way of solving this dilemma. It may be a bit too much of a convenience that that our heroes and villains have already and almost immediately found a way to get other characters back into Storybrooke in spite of the magic that's protecting the town at the town line, but I really don't care. I love it!! It just saves time. Time that is very limited to tell the story they truly wish to tell. And I can certainly understand and even appreciate this. Also... I really love the moment Cruella and Ursula let Gold back into Storybrooke when they toss the scroll out to him, and I absolutely love the moment Gold transitions from being a cripple out in the outside world, to when he suddenly can walk perfectly well without his cane as he tosses it away the moment he steps across the town line. And his clothes change from a worn out and dirty suit, into a very fancy and clean suit. Brilliant! Then... We are reminded in the end of this episode that the reason why Maleficent isn't with the two other Queens of Darkness and Rumple within the present storyline, is because she had been killed. As was shown back in part two of season one's two part finale, titled... A Land Without Magic, when we see Emma fighting against Maleficent in her dragon form down in the caves beneath the library and clock tower. At the end of this battle, Emma succeeds in killing Maleficent by throwing her father's sword directly into the dragon's chest just as she is about to blow her fire, and Maleficent suddenly bursts into flames and ash, leaving a pile of her ash on the rocks. Then, later in season two's episode, titled... The Evil Queen, Hook is shown fighting against Maleficent in her newly mummified form, revealing that she's dead, but not completely as dead as she would be, were it not for the magic casted over her when the curse brought Maleficent over in the dark curse as well. Now... Somehow Gold has a plan to bring her back so that the Queens of Darkness will all become reunited once more. Phenomenal!!! I absolutely love this storyline, and I'm so excited for you to see all that's to come!!! :) And lastly... We have one final conversation between Mary Margaret, David, Ursula, and Cruella somewhere within the forest as they come together in the dark and rain for a secret meeting. And in this moment, it's revealed the four of them have a past together, along with Maleficent. A past that Snow and Charming do not want to anyone to learn about, especially their daughter. And hearing Mary Margaret threaten to rip out the villainess' hearts is so scary. So unlike Snow White. I love it, although it's also a little sad too. There's so much more to come and I can't wait!! Such a fantastic overarching storyline! Overall... A brilliant episode and I really love it! I absolutely love Maleficent, Cruella, and Ursula, and seeing them come to work together in both the present and the past! If the heroes all work together, it's one of the reasons why they are always able to defeat the villains. So, to see these villains come to work together as well... it's incredible, and dangerous. :) The actresses chosen to play all three of these powerful women are prefect, and even Cruella has magic too, which she doesn't have in her movies... 101 Dalmatians, both the Disney animated one, or in the two live-action movies with Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil. And I really love this twist given to her character for the sake of making Cruella just as big of a threat as the rest of these powerful villainesses too. The power of persuasion and influence over all animals and creatures. This is amazing!! And when I first watched this episode when it first aired on television, I was so excited for the reveal as to how it is Cruella has come to have magic too!! Just you wait to see why! I love Kristin Bauer Van Straten (Maleficent), Victoria Smurfit (Cruella) and Merrin Dungey (Ursula)! And I love seeing three villains like Cruella De Vil, Ursula, and Rumplestiltskin going through the drive thru at some chicken fast food restaurant. Very funny! :) Oh... And I know that you are a big fan of the show... Lost, so you might be interested to know that the voice coming through the drive thru voice box... is Daniel Dae Kim, who is also from Lost. There are a ton of Lost references all throughout Once Upon a Time. I don't watch Lost and never have, but I know Daniel Dae Kim plays one of the show's main characters, just like the Snow Queen played by Elizabeth Mitchell, King George played by Alan Dale, and Tiny played by Jorge Garcia... All of whom are major characters from Lost too. Thank you so much again for your amazing reaction for Darkness on the Edge of Town, Jay! I'm so excited for more to come!!! So, until your next reaction... Thank you!!! Sincerely, Heidi

Heidi Elizabeth Marcum