Once Upon a Time Round Table: "Nasty Habits"

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Once Upon a Time spent another week in Neverland Sunday, as our intrepid crew tried to battle their own "Nasty Habits" in order to save Henry. Unfortunately, it didn't work out the way they had hoped.

Below, TV Fanatics Carla Day, Jim Garner, Nick McHatton and Christine Orlando are joined by Gareth from Once Upon a Fan to decide if Neal made the right call and to debate which is the scariest fairy tale. Join in the debate now!

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What was your favorite scene or line from this Once Upon a Time Season 3 episode?

Carla: I liked when Emma found Bae's light map. She knows him well, even from back before they met. Plus, the interactions between the others was interesting too. I love the Charmings, Hook and Regina all working together.

Gareth: So many great moments in this episode. What a dark turn this season is taking. Loved all the scenes between Robbie Kay and Robert Carlyle. Not many young actors could go head to head with Robert and pull it off. Brilliantly done. The scenes between Rumple and Neal were great as well.

Jim: I liked Neal showing Rumple how to call a squid so they could get the ink. It was a great seeing him teach Rumple something.

Nick: Regina's "am I supposed to be impressed you made a night light?"

Christine:  Snow: Maybe it's a tiny collander. Regina: Yes, because pre-teen Baelfire probably made lots of pasta. As much as I like Snow, I think I like it even better when Regina needles her.

Should Neal have trusted his father?

Carla:  Yes. His decision to not trust his father made sense, but if Neal had time to think things through he would have realized that his father was telling the truth. Rumple admitted he was willing to sacrifice himself to Neal before he realized it was really his son. Given the tension and time sensitive nature though, Neal trust his guts and his priority to save Henry came first.

Gareth: He's been let down so many times by Rumple. I can totally understand his reasoning for leaving him behind. He's witnessed first hand what happens when his father gives in to his darker side.

Jim: Even if he didn't fully trust him, he should have given him a chance. Better to keep him close and see him slip that assume he would and not know when or where.

Nick: His decision to leave is well-justified, but quite honestly it would be better if they stayed together. Safety in numbers against Pan is the better idea.

Christine: I understand why he didn't but when Rumpel pleaded with him that his redemption was his happy ending, it broke my heart that Neal didn't give him the chance.

Which of our heroes will figure out how to take down Peter Pan?

Carla: Take down? As in permanently? I'm not sure. They will be able to find a way to overcome Pan, save Henry and get out of Neverland. It won't happen for a while, but the combination of villains and heroes working together they will find a way to win.

Gareth: I'm hoping Rumple will take him down but at a huge price. In every fantasy story there is always a character that falls into darkness and is then reborn stronger and with a clearer sense of purpose. Whether that character will be Rumple remains to be seen but I would bet good money on it.

Jim: Henry. Henry will be the one who foils Pan in the end. I suspect that will be part of "bringing magic back" is to fully reset Neverland.

Nick: I think it will be a combination of Neal, Henry, and Emma. This story is focusing on them and reuniting their family, and ultimately they'll probably be the ones to win against his games.

Christine:  I agree that Henry will probably be involved, but much like Gareth I'm hoping that Rumpel gets to take down Pan and start a whole new story arc.

Peter Pan Sneers

Almost everyone on this show has loved and lost. Who do you think has suffered the most?

Carla: I've never thought about this question before, but I'm shocked at my answer. It's Regina. She was a good person until her mother killed Daniel and at first she didn't blame Snow. And, then due to her mother's actions and Rumple's manipulations she became the Evil Queen.

Gareth: I was going to say Regina but Emma has also had a pretty terrible life so far. She lost her home, her parents, her lover, went to jail, had to give up Henry. Add to that what she must have endured in the foster system, you can understand why Emma is so guarded. She's carrying around a lot of emotional baggage.

Jim: My vote is for Emma. While Snow did lose her mom and became an outlaw, she had the dwarves looking out for her. Emma was all alone for a very long time.

Nick: Quite a lot of people have lost a lot, and Emma and Regina are right up there at the top. For a little variety in the answers, though, I'll go with Neal. He's had a very rough childhood, and his father grew so focused on attaining power that he literally wanted to, and did, run away. Every time Neal thought he found happiness his situation ended up being another time of loss. His past is slowing catching up to him now, but his happy ending is still not within reach.

Christine: Although Regina and Emma top my list, I'll go with Rumpel. His father abandoned him. His wife left him for Hook. He became the Dark One because he felt powerless and cowardly otherwise and then he lost his son…and there's still so much we don't know about him.

Do you think Belle is simply a vision in Rumpel's head or something more?

Carla: I don't know. Her appearance in Neverland whether in his head or in actuality through magic is my least favorite part of the season so far. It takes away from what's happening in Neverland. I'd rather see more about that and less about Rumple's inner struggle and maybe-fake-Belle.

Gareth: I still think Belle is an expression of Rumple's subconscious, or perhaps Rumple's shadow is his subconscious and now has a means to take form on Neverland.

Jim: Yes to both, I think she is a vision, but is being created by something more than him just thinking about her.

Nick: I always wonder if this is part of the protection spell he gave to her at the end of last season. I believe he truly went there without any intention of coming back, so he wanted to talk to Belle for guidance and companionship while in Neverland. No matter what Belle is - a vision, a hallucination - her scenes with Rump bring a softness to him that's not around very often.

Christine: I think she's just a vision but I'm glad she appears. There's been too much build up to let the RumBelle story disappear because they're in Neverland…but it does beg the question of what's happening in Storybrooke while everyone is gone.

Which is the scariest fairy tale?

Carla: I'll have to pass.

Gareth: Hansel and Gretel used to scare me as a kid. The whole idea of a witch fattening children up to eat them. Very creepy and disturbing.

Jim: I always thought "The Pied Piper" was pretty damn scary, but then again, MOST of Grimm Fairy Tales are actually really dark too.

Nick: Hansel and Gretel can be scary. Abandoned children who are to be eaten by a witch? That can run wild in the heads of little ones.

Christine: You're right, Jim. Almost all of the original versions of Grimm's Fairy Tales are damn scary. Rumpelstiltskin always gave me nightmares, which makes it weird that he's one of my favorite characters on this show.

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