Once Upon a Time Round Table: Finding Love in Oz
Christine Orlando
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Snow left the Underworld... Belle took the sleeping curse... and Ruby found love in Oz on Once Upon a Time Season 5 Episode 18.
Below, TV Fanatics Allison Nichols, Christine Laskodi and Jim Garner are joined by Gareth from Once Upon a Fan to debate Zelena’s feelings for Hades, the show's version of Dorothy and whether they’ll miss Snow or Belle after "Ruby Slippers."
Is Zelena falling for Hades or does she have another plan?
Allison: I'm hoping that she has another plan. She went to him after her meeting with Belle, so maybe Zelena is getting close to Hades to try to help Belle out as much as she can.
Christine: I'm also hoping she has a bigger plan. I think it would be terrible growth if she stepped right back in with Hades after such an emotional turn in giving up her daughter. I think turning on Hades will be the thing that truly redeems her.
Gareth: I think Zelena is genuinely torn at the moment. She's fighting the dark impulses of her nature constantly. I think she has feelings for Hades but she is also starting to see the possibility of redemption, just like her sister. Interested to see which way she goes.
Jim: I hope she has another plan. Actually, Christine's idea above has strong merit to it, maybe we will get lucky and it work out.
Did you enjoy this version of Dorothy?
Allison: I guess? We didn't really spend enough time with her for me to really decide how I feel about her. I didn't hate her, so that's a good sign. I enjoyed her scenes with Ruby. They were cute.
Christine: I liked the chemistry between her and Ruby and I really loved that they built a love story into it. Those are two wandering characters who fit well together, so I'm glad to see that they can get a "happily ever after" moment with each other.
Gareth: Not really. The actress who played her seemed very wooden and I just couldn't relate to her. The whole relationship with Ruby felt very rushed and cobbled together rather than anything genuinely meaningful.
Jim: While we didn't get to see much of Dorothy this time around, maybe we will get lucky and she and Ruby will now be able to come to Storybrooke and we will get a chance to grow to love her as much as we love Ruby.
It appears that both Snow and Belle will be off screen for a while. Who will you miss more?
Allison: Snow, definitely. Belle's storyline has been an endless cycle of her trying to change Rumple or somehow getting dragged into his drama. Snow was a more entertaining and useful character.
Christine: Is it bad that I won't miss either? I feel like there's too much going on with too many characters. Taking a few out of the mix is just fine for a while. I want them to hone in on Hades and focus more on Emma, Hook, and Rumple without anything buzzing around them.
Gareth: Neither to be honest. They are both quite annoying at times. Probably my least favorite characters on the show so having them both lay low for a bit is a good thing in my book.
Jim: I'm kinda with Gareth on this one. Snow is ok, but Belle lately has really bugged the snot out of me. Wouldn't it be ironic if Belle's father _isn't_ her true love's kiss?
Were you surprised that Belle told Rumple to do whatever he had to to wake her up once he broke the contract with Hades?
Allison: Not really. I'm just glad she realized that he can't give her true love's kiss. I considered applauding at her moment of clarity. Belle told him to do whatever it took to get her to her father, which isn't that shocking. I mean I doubt she took it as her telling him to kill people to get it done.
Christine: I TOTALLY agree with Allison. I wanted to slow clap for her for realizing that Rumple couldn't do true love's kiss. I want Belle to stay feisty when she gets back. I like honest, eyes wide open Belle. But I could see Rumple doing something unspeakable to wake her up, and then she gets mad about it after. She's got to know when she says "anything" that it could mean murder. It's Rumple, for crying out loud.
Gareth: As she clearly demonstrated, Belle will do anything to protect her child. I think she has accepted that Rumple is both beast and man much more now. When it comes to family, family comes first and she's prepared to let him make his own choices finally rather than giving him ultimatums.
Jim: Nope, she just pushed her old fiancee into the river styx to save her baby, telling Rumple to do whatever it takes really isn't much of a stretch now.
Was there anything in “Ruby Slippers” that disappointed you?
Allison: While I'll admit that Dorothy and Ruby had a cute moment, the jump to them being each other's true love was a bit much. Maybe in the world of fairytales you can spend an hour or two with someone and realize that it's true love, but in the real world, that's crazy. It was just too much of a jump for me.
Christine: I mainly just feel like there hasn't been enough focus on Emma and Hook, and even Henry's, story in a while. I get that there's all these souls in the Underworld, and all that, but I want them to get to business and get to fighting Hades. This episode was just a bit slow for me on that front.
Gareth: Probably the LGBT aspect of the episode. It just seemed poorly conceived. But maybe I've been spoiled with the amazing range of LGBT characters that have appeared on British TV over the years. Gay characters that are full of depth, warmth, humor and genuine human frailties, none of which I applied to Dorothy.
Jim: I would have liked to have seen this be a full Ruby/Dorothy episode if they were going to have them become true love of each other. We had so many different stories going on it just felt like it was third or fourth on the list of things they wanted to do, even though the episode was a great pun on the slippers from the movie (that was referenced I might add)
What was your favorite quote or scene from the episode?
Allison: I loved the conversation between Zelena and Regina where Regina tells her sister that she can come back from this. There's no one act that will doom Zelena to being a villain forever, and Regina's there to make sure her sister knows that. Regina's in her sister's corner, and I'm glad someone still has faith in Zelena. Their relationship has been nicely developed this season, and I'm actually enjoying watching the two of them interact.
Christine: Yeah, again, I agree with Allison. She's in my brain. That scene between Zelena and Regina was perfect. One sister who has been through the redemption process sharing that strength from experience with the other. It was lovely. That's why I can't see Zelena turning on them again with Hades.
Gareth: Bit of a non event this episode. Feels like we are just treading water until the finale. I'm really starting to think the half season arcs are not working anymore for OUAT. Maybe shorter 4-5 episode story arcs are the way to go.
Jim: I'm a die-hard sap, so I really enjoyed Ruby waking Dorothy up and telling her "I'll always come for you", which was a great twist on the Charming's "I'll always find you" that we've learned is how they express their true love.
Check back with us on Sunday for our review of Once Upon a Time Season 5 Episode 19 and if you want to see more magic you can watch Once Upon a Time online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
