Once Upon a Time Review: The World Comes to Storybrooke

at .

Belle was terrified; Rumple's heart was broken ;and Cora returned to cause more havoc.

But "In the Name of the Brother" may have found Storybrooke's worst trouble yet in the eyes of a stranger.

Belle and Mary Margaret

Back in the Fairy Tale World… First off, Henry was right. Dr. Frankenstein's Monster is not a fairy tale. I've always considered it more of a horror story. I know some will disagree, but I've never been thrilled that they've incorporated this story into the show.

The one I felt true sorrow for was Dr. Frankenstein's brother. All Gerhardt did was try to help his sibling. For his trouble he was shot, turned into a monster and even when he begged to be put out of his misery his brother turned him down. I couldn't quite be sure if he swore to save him out of love, hope or ego.

In Storybrooke, our favorite characters contemplated murder. Even though Dr. Whale was happy to let them off the hook and say that letting the stranger (aka Greg) succumb to his injuries was not technically murder, it sure sounded close enough to it to make me cringe.

But I loved the conversation about what letting Greg go could bring to Storybrooke. Rumple worried that tour buses looking for magic would suddenly be riding down main street and Leroy worried that they'd be inundated with fearful onlookers causing trouble like in movies E.T. and Splash.

Of course having your surgeon drinking while on shift could have been enough to off the poor guy without even trying.

Greg wasn't the only accident victim. Hook was laid up with broken ribs after getting punted by that car. He tried to sound cocky and in control even while flat on his back but Emma was quick to point out the flaws in his logic in this great Once Upon a Time quote

        Keep smiling buddy. You're chained down. He's on his feet, immortal, has magic, and you hurt his girl. If I were to pick dead guy of the year. I'd pick you. | permalink

So very true. I was surprised Rumple hadn't found a way to get to Hook despite the guarded room but he did have other things on his mind.

Belle was terrified... of her one true love and that broke Rumple's heart. Nothing was sadder than seeing her shatter their beloved tea cup that started it all. 

Cora showing her face made for some scenes that made me shiver. First, she was much too humble when she approached Rumple and simpered, "I only know what you taught me." Then watching her snoop through Regina's home and sniff her clothes was just weird. 

I really thought that was Henry searching for him mother and had no doubt that Regina would open the door for him. For all she's done, she truly loves her son.  Unfortunately, Cora's a quick study. It only took one little hand print ornament to tell her how to get inside Regina's heart.

I was proud of Regina for standing up for the townspeople and realizing that Cora's frame up was air tight. Why wouldn't they believe it?

But Cora was quick to play on Regina's insecurities and fear of Emma stealing Henry away from her forever. I can only hope Regina is smart enough to realize her mother is manipulating her once again.

This episode gave us lots of wonderful small moments…

  • Any idea that starts with we just need a body, is almost always a bad one.
  • Ruby telling Whale, how Regina underestimated "how much crap we wanted to forget."
  • Mary Margaret uttering "Has anyone noticed he's drunk off his ass?"  
  • Star Wars finding it's way to Storybrooke…in the form of a ringtone.

As Emma takes off with Rumple to find Baelfire, can anyone help Belle regain her memories?  Will Cora actually confess about "killing" Archie and how will Henry factor in to her evil plan? And now that the word about magic is out there, will Storybrooke ever be the same?

In the Name of the Brother Review

Editor Rating: 4.6 / 5.0
  • 4.6 / 5.0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
User Rating:

Rating: 4.3 / 5.0 (123 Votes)

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.

Show Comments
Tags: ,