Once Upon a Time S02E21: Second Star to the Right (Full Reaction)
Added 2021-04-10 13:00:05 +0000 UTC
Comments
Also, even though "Second Star to the right and straight on till morning" is, indeed, a Peter Pan phrase, so the two episode titles go together, they were actually released a week apart.
WarioLGP
2021-04-12 08:15:58 +0000 UTCYou're getting close to Season 3. Just so you know, during Seasons 3, 4 and 5, the show did "half-seasons", where each half of a season would be its own story arc with its own villian. And then, after some months hiatus, we'd see the next half-season. So, episodes 3x01-3x11 are what we call Season 3A, with the rest being Season 3B. Also, this is where Once Upon a Time In Wonderland, the one-season spin-off series will be staring. I hope you still have the release order of OUAT season 3 and Wonderland episodes that I've shared with you some time back, as I would still recommend watching these two shows simultaneously in release order.
WarioLGP
2021-04-12 08:10:19 +0000 UTCYou’re very welcome! :) Sincerely, Heidi
Heidi Elizabeth Marcum
2021-04-10 22:05:58 +0000 UTCThanks for the heads up. I appreciate it!
Reds Reactions
2021-04-10 20:57:21 +0000 UTCAnd just so that you're aware for the future seasons to come... every finale is a two part episode, with the final two episodes being connected to make up the season finales. Also... season four has another two part episode in the middle of the season as well... both episodes sharing the same title with the exception of one being part one and the other part two. But of course, you will discover this later on when you come to that point in the show. Of course I understand if you're unable to watch season two's two part finale together like I know you want to be able to do just like you've said in the beginning of your reaction. Don't feel pressured to do so if you can't watch the second half sooner than two weeks from now. I completely understand. Hopefully you will be able to watch each of the two part finales together in the future, as well as the extra two part episode within season four too. But if you can't...I understand. Life is busy and it can be crazy. I just wanted to give you a heads up is all. Thank you so much my friend!! Oh... and I do like your new set up with the new lighting and camera angle. So, nice work! And thank you! Until your next reactions for more Once Upon a Time, as well as more Person of Interest and Lucifer too... Sincerely, Heidi
Heidi Elizabeth Marcum
2021-04-10 19:43:02 +0000 UTCSecond Star to the Right- Another fun reaction for Once Upon a Time!! Thank you so much! I have to admit, this episode is once again not another one of my favorites from this season. I enjoy it and it's good, but I also have a few issues with it as well. However, your reaction for it is great! First... I have to say that I never liked the idea of Emma and Neal getting back together again. And I agree with you that Emma's admittance that she loves Neal again does feel a bit too forced. I don't feel that kind of chemistry between her and Neal either. I've always believed I was alone in feeling the same way, until recently with a few other reactors who also watch this show like you too. So many people love Emma and Neal together too. 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 like his relationship with Henry. I just don't like his 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 makes sense. Now that that's all out of the way... I 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... you are right in remembering that Neal mentions in a previous episode... in The Queen is Dead while they're still in New York, that he knows Hook somehow and from how he talks about Hook, it's clear Neal and Hook have a history together. So yes... you're absolutely right. 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... 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, he is still 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, over time I got used to the idea that Pan could be a villain. 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 had 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 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. 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. And I'm so excited for what's to come! :) As for Neal being shot and him falling through the portal to someplace unknown... this scene has its flaws. 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 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 much about this tragedy. I am not sad that Neal is possibly dead, in spite of Emma's belief that he is. Only sad for Emma 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 and to Neal. As for Regina giving in and telling Greg the truth about his father's death... I don't believe she told Greg simply because she was being tortured. Because Regina's shown strength the entire time. I think 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. And then... I really like that Mary Margaret does as she does to find and save Regina in spite of everything that's gone on between them. Because they 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... like you, I am still not a fan of the Rumple/Lacey storyline. I hate Lacey and this overall storyline between them is awful. 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. 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 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 throughout the season I think. As if the writers didn't know what to do with them for the time being. Overall... this episode has its flaws, but I still enjoy it. So thank you again, so much! I can't wait for you to see and react to the second part of season two's finale. It's so good, and another of my favorite episodes within season two!!! Until then... Sincerely, Heidi
Heidi Elizabeth Marcum
2021-04-10 19:34:40 +0000 UTC
