Tonight’s Once Upon A Time opened the jar of answers we’ve all been waiting for: Doctor Whale is, in fact, the Frankenstein Doctor. Now that we know his identity, his StoryBrooke name makes sense: James Whale was the director of the movie, Frankenstein. The writers were able to throw us another clue many of us failed to follow through on, looking for obvious answers. You’d have thought we’d learned better than that by now. Since when has anything been remotely simple to puzzle out and get 100 percent correct? Not a darn thing going by my record book. The closest I’ve come is figuring out that it was Rumple who cost Hook his hand but it still wasn’t in the way I’d have hoped. That’s what makes the show truly exciting, though. As viewers, it’s essential that we get surprised and are often wrong otherwise, would we bother to tune in every week if we knew how the whole story played out? No, I didn’t think so either.
As tired as I am, I must have peeled my eyes and willed my ears open while watching the show this week because I caught a few interesting bits of dialogue. Normally I’d let the words just whistle about the gap between my ears, but this week I must have sprung a brain cell that managed to capture the right stuff. When Rumple and the Mad Hatter are in Rumple’s workshop, you hear Rumple say this, “What about the slippers?” which is answered by Hatters’, “They moved to another land.” Did I perceive wrong or is this evidence that we may be seeing some Oz characters coming up soon? Perhaps the Emerald City or Yellow Brick Road will make a cameo appearance. I’d be absolutely delighted if Peter Dinklage would appear in the Oz episodes: he’s one of my favorite actors (he’s fantastic as Tyrion Lannister.)
Moving on from a daydream, let’s talk about Cora and Hook. First and foremost: Can Hook be trusted? Personally, I don’t think Hook is to be trusted by anyone at this point. His motives have been too selfish and I doubt he’s changed. After all, he told Emma he was only sticking close to Cora to find Rumplestiltskin. I wonder what Hook’s true motive is for leading Emma and Snow to the Beanstalk? Going off on a small tangent, Hook isn’t the only character I have my doubts about for the moment. Last week I mentioned that we’d still not seen August anywhere in town, so I’m wondering why he disappeared. Now that the spell is broken and he was recovering, you’d have thought he’d went in search of either Giapetto or the Blue Fairy asking for help. Maybe next week’s episode will shed some light on his condition. Then we have the newly revealed Frankenstein doctor in town, Dr. Whale. Someone so eager to get back to his brother, his creation made from stitched together flesh, is not exactly trustworthy in my opinion. Look at how he deliberately fooled Regina at Rumple’s request. I want to know why Dr. Whale’s brother was so important that Whale couldn’t allow him to remain dead (and alone). Did anyone else notice the amount of hints being thrown around that Dr. Whale may also be the Wizard of Oz? I can’t wait to see the Once Upon A Time world of Oz. I love the dream-like quality they gave to Wonderland; it really fit the atmosphere associated with Wonderland.
One of the more prominent features in this episode is the glimpse into Regina’s development from a young, naïve girl into the regal queen she is today. The fact that Rumplestiltskin is responsible for her training makes me wonder if he taught her everything he knew. Knowing him, spilling all the secrets of magic would leave him with an equal and that’s not necessarily a good thing for him, so I doubt he taught her properly. Not to mention, it was revealed that Rumple had orchestrated the plan for Frankenstein to fail to revive Daniel. I’ve been feeling empathy for Regina since the start of the new season and this episode confirmed that she deserves happiness. Regina has been used, rejected, and mislead too many times. It’s no wonder she took revenge on all those who made her life hell. When Whale brought back Daniel, I was excited and hoping, despite knowing otherwise, that she might get her happy ending. I’m not sure Daniel’s second death could have been any less heartbreaking. Honestly, watching Regina kill the one man she tore worlds apart for was hard. I’m not going to be shy about it: I cried. When Regina spoke of Daniel, her whole face just lit up, and now she has to live with the burden of knowing his death was the work of her hands.
Next week’s episode looks like it should reveal a lot of answers and, as always, raise more questions. I’ve been hearing rumors that we’ll learn the identity of Henry’s father in this episode as well as see the mystery man again. Staying true to their Lost roots, it looks like the writers got everyone’s favorite Lost star, Jorge Garcia, to appear as the Giant next episode. I can’t wait to see how he goes from being the loveable Hurley to a livid Goliath. I’m sure we’re all in for a treat next week! Check out the Once Upon A Time Forum and author Dimples’ articles for more insight to the show. Tell me what you thought of the episode or this article in the comments section down below.
