Once Upon a Time Review: Who Do You Think You Are?

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Stop denying who you really are and all will become clear.

That turned out to be quite a challenge for the "Lost Girl" and her team as they wandered through the jungle in search of their lost boy on Once Upon a Time this week.

Peter Pan gave Emma the tools she needed to find Henry. Why not just show her Henry? Because this is all a giant game to him, and they need to play it by his rules. 

Emma's Given a Map

But when Emma struggled with figuring out who she really was, I couldn't really blame Regina for resorting to magic to light their way. If it were my child, I'm not sure I could hold back either. Of course it didn't work. There always seems to be consequences when it comes to using magic.

Eventually Snow was able to help Emma look deep within herself and come up with the answer. In her heart, Emma has always felt like an orphan. As she shared with Snow in this Once Upon a Time quote

Emma: Just a lost little girl who didn't matter and didn't think she ever would. | permalink

That explained a lot about why she's found it so hard to embrace her role as the savior, even when everything around her says it's true. It also gave some insight into why she has such trouble calling Snow mom even though she'd done it in the past. For Snow it must hurt even more having Emma say it and now withhold it once again.

I really loved how Hook had Emma's back throughout this leg of the adventure. He was quick to point out that although Peter may look like a little boy, he's really a "bloody demon."

And when Emma finally had her breakthrough and the map became clear…

Hook: Excellent show of patience love. And that's what defeats a nasty little boy. | permalink

Let's hope so.

In other parts of Neverland,  Rumpelstiltskin was left wandering the jungle... without his shadow. Somehow he separated his shadow, used the dagger cut it off at his feet and then told the magical shadow to hide it in a place where no one would find it, not even him. Now what do you think that's all about?

But if Rumpel was feeling lonely, at least he had a friend to talk to. When Belle first popped up I thought it was Pan's magic at work. Turned out it was Rumpel's own subconscious bringing him what he craved most and even in this small moment, it was good to see the two together again.

As for that little doll... the damn thing just wouldn't go away. How sad that his own father left him and the doll was a part of that memory? I was proud of Rumpel with he threw it off the cliff.

Of course nothing on Neverland is easy. And when it dropped out of the sky at his feet, I had the same thought as Rumpel. Burn it. But apparently magic is stronger than fire and he's stuck with that thing, perhaps until he admits who he truly is. 

The flashbacks of the Fairy Tale World showed a time when Snow didn't know who she was and didn't believe in her destiny. Of course, no one other than Charming and the dwarves really believed she could defeat the Evil Queen either. 

I loved her impassioned plea to her people. They were all cheering her on until she asked, "Who's ready to stand beside me and fight for what's rightfully ours?"

Crickets…

I was surprised that Charming used Rumpel's magic to trick Snow. Obviously it worked but when she stormed up and gave him the dreaded We need to talk line, I was quite surprised when that conversation ended with a kiss.

There were plenty of characters absent this week. No Henry. No Neal and no Storybrooke. But with a cast this large and a story this sprawling I suppose we'll have to deal with that in some episodes this season.

Will Pan be able to turn Henry against Emma? Did Charming do the right thing by hiding his wound? And is that the start of Peter Pan's prediction that Emma will soon be an orphan once again? 


Review

Editor Rating: 4.6 / 5.0
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C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.

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Once Upon a Time Quotes

It's time for a world up is down, where villains can have happy endings.

The Author

I've yet to see you fail and when you do succeed, well that's when the fun begins.

Hook