What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)
Once Upon a Time – the Musical Episode
Young Emma sings into a tape recorder. Her sister makes fun of her. She says that Emma is just like everybody else – all alone.
Moving forward, Snow has found her old wedding gown, and asks Emma if she wants to wear it. Snow never thought they’d have a moment like this. Kelly Clarkson appears and…just kidding.
Back in the day, Snow says there’s no way they can stop the Evil Queen. Charming tells her that they will, and she needs some rest. On the balcony, she wishes for a happy ending, and a star glows brightly.
Bluebirds, well, really a parakeet, wake Snow. She’s surprised to find herself singing. Charming comes in, singing that someone has cast a spell or curse, because he can’t stop singing in verse. Snow sings that it’s because of her wish, and they’ll defeat the Evil Queen. They sing about love being the most powerful magic of all. This is pretty cool, and I’m already impressed with the sets and costumes. And the lyrics actually aren’t awful. Surprisingly, the cast can also sing. Although there is the magic that is autotune.
In Storybrooke, Snow brings her dress back from the cleaners, but it turns black when Emma holds it up. The Black Fairy pops in, poof! in a cloud of black smoke. She says she was never a fan of white weddings, and light and dark must have their reckonings. Unless Emma wants to give over her heart now. She says deep down, Emma is still the lonely little girl she always was, and the final battle is coming, whether they want it to or not.
The Black Fairy plans on separating the friends with a curse. When the clock strikes six – at the time Emma and Hook are to be married – it will be released. Regina says she ruined Snow’s wedding, the least she can do is help Emma have hers.
Way back when, the Evil Queen and her mirror sing a duet about the spell that’s been cast. The mirror tells her that her curse might not succeed. We see the Seven Dwarves, Pinocchio, and the others singing happily in every mirror the queen passes. It makes her go ballistic. The queen sings about love being a waste of time, how it can’t match her power, and doesn’t stand a chance. BTW, Lana Parrilla (Regina) has a great voice. I’d love to see her on Broadway. The Evil Queen breaks into everyone else’s happy scenes, dancing on the tables and kicking things over.
Right now, Hook looks at his white suit, and asks David if he thinks Emma would be disappointed if he doesn’t wear it. Emma comes in, and tells him about the Black Fairy’s curse. She says she has to fight the final battle alone. She tells him not to worry; she’ll be at the wedding on time. He says that’s not it; he knows she’s come to say good-by. She tells him she loves him, and jets.
Back in the day, Snow and Charming go to a tavern to find Hook. Charming wants him to take them to the Evil Queen. They’re prepared to pay handsomely. Hook sings about revenge, and how it’s worth more than anything else. When Snow asks revenge on who, he tells her to wait for the second verse. I’m liking these songs. Is the soundtrack available? Hook sings about how the crocodile ruined his life. He sings about the Dark One, and Charming says he’s in their dungeon. Snow tells him that if he can help them, he has himself a crocodile. Colin O’Donoghue (Hook) can definitely co-star in my Broadway show.
In the present, Hook goes to Gold’s shop. He says Gold betrayed all of them, but Gold says he did what he needed to do to keep his family together. Hook shoots him with a dart. He wants to knock him out long enough to get his mother. The Black Fairy appears, and says her son isn’t the only one looking out for his family.
Emma is in her office, gathering some pictures. Henry tells Emma that she’s doing the right thing. The final battle is what brought her there in the first place, and he knows she’ll win. He hits play on the cassette player on her desk, but Emma turns it off, saying it was nothing. She has to hurry, and hugs Henry good-by.
Regina can’t find anything, but Zelena says there must be something she used back then that she can use this time. Regina says the first curse stopped time, so maybe there is something.
The Evil Queen visits Rumpelstiltskin in his cell. She says Snow and Charming are using a singing spell to break her curse, and he’s going to help stop them. He says he didn’t teach her to come crying to him at the first sign of trouble. If she wants to prove that he chose the right one, fix it herself.
Zelena sings about Rumpel choosing the wrong witch. She thinks the future is looking more appealing now. She’s happy things aren’t working out for Regina. She sings about how wicked always wins, while terrorizing some stray Munchkins. She wonders why just revel in her demise, when she can use it to her advantage? When Regina wins, she’ll swoop in, and Rumpel will realize his mistake. She stirs her cauldron, singing that the happy ending will be hers.
Fast forwarding, Regina shows the group a vial. She says it’s the secret to stopping the curse. Regina wonders what their teacher would say. Rumpel appears, and says, how about thank you, and magically snatches the vial back.
Emma visits the Black Fairy. She asks if Emma is going to give up. The Black Fairy says she was going to separate Emma from her friends, but they did it for her. Some grey smoke clears, and everyone is standing there, frozen. The Black Fairy says she’s been watching Emma for a long time, and plays the tape Emma made as a child. The fairy says she went to sleep to sounds of misery like that every night in the mines. She tells Emma that she can’t do this alone.
At the office, Emma’s hand shakes, and Henry asks what the Black Fairy did. He tells Emma that even if she froze their family, she’s not alone. Emma says that the fairy reminded her of a time when she was on her own, and when something big came along, she ran. She says she wasn’t brave enough to keep him, but Henry says that was a long time ago, and she’s changed. Emma says that’s because he came into her life. He says she’s the Savior, and she can still beat the Black Fairy and save them. Emma thinks maybe she’s supposed to give the Black Fairy her heart. He says that’s not the way the story ends, but Emma says at least he’ll still have the family.
In the past, the Evil Queen appears, and Charming suggests she come with him and Snow. She makes a fireball, and is about to lob it at them, and they start singing. She misses them, and sings about her own magic and how love doesn’t stand a chance. They have a song duel. The Evil Queen sings that the spell will still be broken. She opens a box and sucks their singing into it. She tells them that she’s won. She didn’t just take their song; she took everyone’s. She says it proves love isn’t the strongest magic, and tells them to enjoy what time they have left. They disappear, poof! in a puff of purple smoke.
Snow and Charming stand on the balcony. The Blue Fairy appears. Snow says it was Blue who granted the wish. Charming tells Blue that the Evil Queen took the song. Blue says it’s still inside all of them, but it wasn’t meant to conquer the Evil Queen; it was for Emma. With everyone’s song in her heart, she’ll have a happy ending. One day she’ll face a battle that no one has faced before, and she’ll have to face it alone. Their songs will be inside her, and they have to hope they’’ll come out when she needs them the most.
In the here and now, Henry says there has to be a different ending to the story. He sees a page from the book he hasn’t seen before. It’s Blue, giving Snow the songs for Emma. Henry says that Emma’s not alone and never was.
Emma tells the Black Fairy she can have what she came for – Emma’s heart. The Black Fairy says it’s a deal. Emma tells the frozen Hook that she’s sorry, but it’s the only way. The Black Fairy says at least one of them is getting a happy ending, and takes Emma’s heart. She wonders why Emma won’t die. Henry walks in, saying that Emma’s heart is stronger than the Black Fairy thinks. He plays the song that Emma sang as a child, and says it’s been in her the whole time. It’s not her weakness; it’s her strength. Emma sings about once living in darkness. As she sings, her heart returns to her. She sings that the song in her heart is more powerful than the Black Fairy. She knows what she’s living for; all along the answer was inside her. As she sings, everyone comes back to life. She tells the Black Fairy she’s not alone any more. The Black Fairy says her curse is still coming, and the final battle will be worse than they can imagine. She disappears, poof! in a puff of slate smoke.
Emma says that Snow and David were always with her. Suddenly, we’re at the wedding.
Floral arches abound, and Archie is officiating. Hook wears black, and Emma looks like Grace Kelly, in a beautiful old-fashioned, high collared wedding gown, with lots of tiny buttons and lace. We go right to the vows. Hook says when they met he had a heart of revenge, but now it’s full of love. He says a captain’s heart belongs to his ship, but with this ring, it now belongs to her. She tells him that she spent so much of her life on her own, but Henry found her and helped her find the rest of them. She didn’t believe she’d ever find true love, but thanks to him, she has. They exchange rings and I dos. Archie pronounces them husband and wife. Much applause. Hook says they did it; a happy ending. Emma says it’s something else – a happy beginning.
They sing about happily ever after as they dance their first dance. The others join them, singing that if they stand strong together, there’s no way they can fall. They sing about happy beginnings, and there’s much dancing on the rooftop. Where’s Pongo?
They look to the sky. The clock in the tower explodes. The Black Fairy’s curse is here. Like humongous octopus tentacles, black smoke snakes out of the clocktower and envelops them.
Next time, the two-hour season finale. A final curse is cast, all the realms will be destroyed, and Snow tells Hook to make Emma believe again.
🐎 Tonight, on Return to Amish, we learned Mary’s story. I nearly went out of my mind when Abe and Mary went on a road trip, and she insisted on stopping at an abandoned amusement park. That’s one of my dream trips, visiting abandoned places. It turns out that Mary had a boyfriend who worked a Ferris wheel, and she told us about how she ran away with the carnival, and got pregnant the first time. She also has a secret car, and finally got her license. Mary is full of surprises. I think we could all learn a lot from Mary. Next time, she does some line and pole dancing.
🍑 I’ll be checking out part four of the Atlanta Housewives reunion later. It’s imperative that I see Kandi crying out about the lies! the lies! while Kenya looks on like the Cheshire Cat. I like Kenya. I think she’s made some poor choices due to her need for attention. but given her family life, that’s understandable. She certainly got more than she could handle with Matt this season. If anyone deserves to sit back and watch Phaedra and Porsha sink themselves, it’s Kenya.
🐦 🐝 Because I grew up Mennonite, the first time I learned about sex was when I had sex. – Sabrina, Return to Amish
🎶 And yes, the soundtrack is already available:
What I Watched - TV With Theresa 