I was not expecting a new issue so soon after #5 was released, but I’m glad. If you remember, I felt #5 was a touch “slight.” It was a transition issue, to be sure, so it was probably wise to get the next one into hands more quickly.
CONCLUSION OF SKYWALKER STRIKES! Luke vs. Boba Fett! Han Solo in hot water! This is the comic book you’re looking for!
Warning, this will be a spoiler-laden review. Cuz things got a little crazy. And this crazy is now canon, so says Disney. So say we all.
First, Luke and Boba Fett meet, and fight, and Luke levels up. Jason Aaron is deftly transitioning Luke from the noob of A New Hope to the much more adept Force-wielder he becomes by The Empire Strikes Back. The fight with Fett starts with a flash bomb to blind Luke. This taps that same trust of feelings Luke had to develop in the sparring with the probe on the Falcon in A New Hope or the bombing of the exhaust shaft that makes the Death Star go boom. By being blind and more or less outgunned by Fett, Luke gets into a space where new powers open up to him. He wins the fight by knocking Fett out by telekinetically dropping the box Obi-Wan had left for him on Fett’s head. The Force push isn’t something we’ll see him do until Empire.
When Fett reports back to Darth Vader, he has to admit he lost the boy, but he does know his name: Skywalker. Vader’s response is wordless. His fists clench. He makes no more acknowledgement of Fett’s presence. Fett leaves, and Vader repeats the name: Skywalker. He cracks the plating of the window in his anger. Obi-Wan hid a son from him. If it wasn’t bad enough that he took appendages, he also took a son. Vader is not happy, and he wishes Kenobi were still alive so he could kill him again.
Of course, the real talking piece of this issue is the reveal of issue #4’s unknown bounty hunter looking for Han on Tatooine. Han has emergency landed Leia on a secret paradise planet perfect for the on-the-run seduction. There’s even a hidden stache of Corellian wine, which Leia throws back in his face upon realizing he’s taken this opportunity to put the moves on her, you know, when there’s important rebelling to be done. Then a ship that looks like a variation on the Falcon comes out of orbit and heads straight for them. Han recognizes the ship and tells Leia to run. The woman who disembarks is one Sana…Solo. She’s Han’s wife.
Hrrm. So that just happened.
On the one hand, it changes nothing. Han’s a scoundrel. Having a wife he’s been dodging fits the type. And after six issues of seeing how well Jason Aaron is handling these characters, how true he’s being to them, I’m leaning towards trusting him and seeing where he goes with all of this. There are plenty of ways this story could unfold that wouldn’t involve Han being a total jerkwad. But even if he’s a partial jerkwad, well, we kinda already knew that.
But on the other hand, unless the marriage was of some sort of convenience or coercion, the romantic in me is disappointed to see Han possibly once having been in love with another woman. Sure, I’m completely down with flings aplenty. But I like the idea that it took Leia to make him want to commit–in this case to a cause more than to a settled life.
Plus side, she’s a female character of color. Minus side, she’s relegated to wife.
Although it might be a bit contrived, I’d love to see her be related to Lando. A sister maybe? When we first saw her as a bounty hunter, she wore a helmet that was reminiscent of Lando’s disguise in Jabba’s palace in Return of the Jedi. Plus then she could be the “what you pulled” Lando nearly punches Han for, not the Falcon.
But truly, the biggest upset has nothing to do with Sana–it’s in the announcement that John Cassaday will no longer be doing the illustrations. I’m hooked enough on Aaron’s story to stick with it another few issues to see if the new artist can evoke the films and characters like Cassaday did.
THE GREATEST SPACE ADVENTURE OF ALL TIME CONTINUES! As Luke goes home in search of the truth about his late mentor… …Leia takes Han on a secret mission of vital importance to the Rebellion. Unfortunately, they both run into some unfriendly encounters.
Jason Aaron and John Cassaday continue their run filling in the gap between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. The writing and art stay true to the characters, and the pacing remains similar to that of the original trilogy films. We see more of everyone’s favorite bounty hunter as he attempts to track down the young Jedi now on Vader’s radar. Luke nearly repeats a mistake his father once made. And Han and Leia explore the hate part of their love-hate relationship. There are a few call-backs to deep fan knowledge–Luke gets referred to as “Wormie” by a Tatooine local.
As far as single issues go, this one is a bit of a let down. It’s clearly a transition installment, bridging the end of the first act and kicking off the start of the second. Reading it alone, it feels less substantial than the other issues. I imagine, however, that collected in trade paper back, this wouldn’t be a concern. It would just be one of those middle ones you blaze through on your way to the more climactic issues. Still, even in this regard, Aaron is true to the nature of this particular beast. It feels very much like the few scenes following the Battle of Hoth where our heroes split up to follow their various paths and the new narrative arcs get established–Luke going to Dagobah and Han and Leia attempting to lose their Imperial tail.
I’ve posted about Earthling Cinema’s funny and insightful short videos mock-analyzing films before, but recently they took on Star Wars: A New Hope and followed it up with their own sequel looking at The Empire Strikes Back. The results are pretty fantastic.
As one would expect from this series, they mix together some good-natured mockery of the films with some true insights about the philosophies, motifs, and themes of the films. For instance, Earthling Cinema taught me something new about Empire–that Luke hangs upside down three times in the film, each time using the Force, equating him with the tarot card The Hanged Man.
Also connections to Joseph Campbell, Akira Kurosawa, Taoism, fascism, and Carl Jung.
This isn’t the first time this idea has been done–the Disney Princesses welcoming into their ranks Princess Leia of the newly acquired Star Wars franchise–but it may be the best to date.
Girl Pants Productions gives us Leia’s welcoming as a princess tea party. Everyone’s there, although it doesn’t take long to see how the cliques have formed–the Classics, the Minorities, the Newbies. Leia doesn’t fit in, of course, and the comedy of the short derives largely from her rougher edges and less song-oriented ways.
We covered this one back in 4×03 “Rocky Road.” It’s more a less a reference to Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book and “Rikki-tikki-tavi.”
Then it was perfect. Here it’s funny. It’s both. Regina intitially chose because mongooses are fabled (operation) cobra killers.
Walt Disney
The opening scene literally occurs on the day of Walter Elias Disney’s death: December 15, 1966. The envelope Isaac receives from Star Publishing bears that date. This pretty much confirms that the “man named Walt” mentioned by August in 4×17 “Best Laid Plans” was the Author immediately prior to Isaac Heller.
Bonus: 1966 was the year color television really became a viable consumer option following an industry wide push to broadcast half of all programming in color and the introduction of General Electric’s Porta-Color.
Bonus: “When You Wish Upon A Star,” the Disney anthem is alluded to in the publishing company, showing that even though Isaac views himself as a non-hero, he too can make his dreams come true.
Alice in Wonderland
The Apprentice keeps repeating to Isaac, “The time has come…” which is also the starting line of a stanza in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland “The Walrus and the Carpenter.” Turns out our Apprentice also played the role of the Carpenter in SyFy’s Alice.
“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax–
Of cabbages–and kings–
And why the sea is boiling hot–
And whether pigs have wings.”
ABC
Their logo appears on the sales floor television screens.
Zenith Space Command 600
Yes, the first practical wireless television remote control was called the Space Command, because the days of future past were awesome. The 600 was designed for use with color televisions and allowed viewers to adjust hues by increments.
The television Isaac’s awkwardly trying to sell is not, however, and actual 1966 model Zenith Mareseille.
25th Infantry Division
The customer and the shop owner are veterans of the United States’ Pacific War during World War II. The 25th Infantry Division, “Tropic Lightning” was posted at Schofield Barracks on Oahu.
So it’s probably another Lost related reference. However, that particular unit was also the subejct of From Here to Eternity which ends at the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Shortly after this scene, Oliver Stone would would see combat in Vietnam with the unit, the same which inspired Platoon.
Bonus: Isaac’s boss was the White Knight in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.
Harry Potter
The Apprentice lays out five wands pens from which Isaac must choose. The scene is only somewhat reminiscent of Olivander’s, “The wand chooses the wizard.” However, Henry breaking the quill at the end mirrors Harry’s refusal of the Elder Wand.
Cosplayers
These are probably too numerous to account for, but there’s an obvious Cinderella in the front row at Isaac’s reading. There’s a brilliant Ursula. And there’s the mind boggling superfan cosplaying Regina cosplaying bandit Snow. Needless to say, I was delighted by that one.
Catch-22
Isaac’s surname is inspired by Joseph Heller, another famous Jewish author. The reference manifests in Henry’s role. As a being born in the real world, Isaac was unable to affect him. But it’s that very quality that allows him to track down the renegade Author and eventually save the day.
He’s the catch. All of the books on the rack are mock-ups. On the far right, you can see Shadow Precinct by Bill Burd. Burd is Once Upon a Time‘s property master.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Grumpy: Hi ho, boys, it’s off to work we go!
Obviously every episode is technically a reference to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and half a dozen other Disnified fairy tales, but it’s rare to get an actual line from the film. This was great.
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Henry instructs Killian to tell Emma’s guard that he’s escorting a prisoner from Kashyyyk. “The old wookie prisoner gag. Works every time.” Better yet, Hook’s our Hand Solo (forgive me.) And they’re rescuing Princess Leia!
Tangled
Emma’s locked in a tower by the queen, technically her mother, in Heroes and Villains, approaching the Rapunzel reference which they couldn’t do directly since the character’s already represented on the show. But what they did do is dress her following the rescue in Flynn Rider’s clothes! So Emma gets to be both of the protagonists of Tangled.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Killian: You’re telling me that in this other reality I’m an expert with such a weapon?
Emma: You’re a regular Jack Sparrow.
Erin’s Happy Shipper Moments
Rather than reusing the hackneyed true love’s kiss, all the real ships of worth had love-motivated sacrifices.
Captain Swan
Emma remembers the way things were before the rewrite, which is convenient for the plot but also gives the opportunity for lots of tasty dramatic irony. So, for instance, when Hook (a mere deckhand) and Henry rescue Emma from her tower, and she runs full on into Hook, there’s a moment where she clearly wants to kiss him. She’s so happy to see him again, she can hardly contain herself. But she knows he doesn’t remember her, even though its clear she makes a quick, deep romantic impression on him. It’s a dramatic reversal of him coming to New York to rescue her from her Storybrook amnesia. Though, of course, he does kiss her.
After defeating dragon Lily, Hook asks Emma why she trusted him with her life just now. She responds, “It’s complicated. Might take a while.” She ends up not telling him, but it gets Killian’s brain going in the right direction so that when they begin working on his fighting skills, and she’s playing the flirty mentor, he’s able to see clearly that in the world she’s trying to get back to, they were close. He comments that he’s rather jealous of this other Hook from her world, and echo of being jealous of the Hook she seduces at the end of Season 3.
Sadly, this is followed up by Killian’s sacrificial death giving Emma a chance to escape. Returning the trust, he figures if she manages her mission, his death here won’t mean anything. He’s right, but his death still deeply wounds Emma emotionally.
When later Emma attempts to convince Regina to go after Robin and her happiness, she explains, “I just watched the man I love die…The worst part is that I never told him I loved him. Not once. I was too scared. Too scared that somehow saying it would make it real and change everything.”
After Henry saves the day and returns everyone back to their original selves in Storybrooke, Emma makes a mad dash for the apartment to make sure Killian’s there. There’s a brief tease when we think he’s not, but he’s just up in the loft. She runs up to him and tackles him onto the bed. He’s happy to see her, of course, and tickled at her enthusiasm. She starts to come clean about her feelings, and his face shows he expects her to finally say it–he even has this adorable tiny smirk and a nervous swallow of the throat–but then she dodges into a thank you for saving her and Henry’s lives. Because he’s Killian, and he totally gets Emma, he simply responds it’s just another day in the life of a hero. But, of course, all of the Captain Swanners everywhere started throwing things at Emma on their televisions.
And finally, when Regina gets attacked by the Darkness and Emma decides to tether herself to it to save Regina, Hook begs her not to with tears in his eyes. She finally tells him she loves him before grabbing the dagger and sacrificing herself for Regina’s happy ending. That’s a three hanky ending, folks.
Rumpbelle
In Heroes and Villains, Rumple and Belle have a new baby and a happy marriage. But Rumple is keeping secrets about his first son from her, and Isaac uses that to manipulate Rumple into being villainous. Rumple attempts to talk to Belle about the dilemma in vague terms and ends up dropping his teacup in his nervousness, producing the infamous chipped cup that symbolizes their relationship.
When Henry returns the characters to where they were, Rumple is dying in the shop. Belle comes in looking for him, wanting to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else. But he knows these are his last moments, and when the man is gone, along with his ability to love, the Darkness will be the greatest danger the town has ever encountered. Faced with his impending death, Belle admits she doesn’t love Will (with the implication that she still loves Rumple) and won’t let Rumple die alone, but Rumple sends her for help to defend against the Darkness that is inside him.
Swan Queen
Emma encourages Regina to go after her happy ending, starting with going after Robin. “My happy ending isn’t a man,” Regina states, with the implication that it might, in fact, be a woman named Emma.
Emma becomes the Dark One to save Regina from being killed by the Darkness like the Apprentice was. Regina protests that there must be another way–she doesn’t want Emma to do this–but Emma doesn’t see one, not yet anyway. She trusts that her family will find a way to banish her darkness once again as heroes. (Mmm, redemptiony.)
Outlaw Queen
When Regina meets Robin after he rescues her from Evil Snow White, they share a drink at a pub, just as Henry suggested. Regina tries playing it cool, but Robin is all sincerity. He holds her hand to clean her wound in the age-old way of dowsing it in alcohol. She thought he’d be dirtier, but he’s always admired her skills. They’re clearly hitting it off, and Regina’s face becomes more and more open to the possibility that he really is her true love. He propositions her with taking his place as leader of the Merry Men. She asks what’s driving him out of the business, and he delivers a most romantic response, one that melts her very heart: “Have you ever met someone that you would change your entire world for? Someone whose eyes you just knew you were born to gaze into?” And as she gazes into his eyes, his words have struck a chord. Too damn bad he’s talking about Zelena.
And, of course, breaking the Isaac curse hinges on Regina stopping the wedding between Robin and Zelena and using true love’s kiss to undo the magic. She doesn’t manage it, though they do share an ambiguously sweet smile, instead sacrificing herself for Henry before he gets killed by Rumple. Robin and wedding party are leaving the chapel and see Regina. He runs to her. Zelena complains about getting blood on her dress, showing Robin what kind of false true love she really is. Robin promises that he won’t let Regina die alone.
Upon returning to Storybrooke, Robin asks Regina about Zelena. She says still locked up and still pregnant, but we can deal with that. Robin then invites her on a long moonlit walk. Unfortunately, that never happens thanks to the release of the Darkness. Robin attempts to save Regina by running into the Darkness, but he just gets thrown backwards.
I love Annie Leibovitz’s photography. She’s a master at the craft. She can make almost subject look cool, attractive, provocative, and self-mocking all at the same time. The Vanity Fair with her The Force Awakens photo shoot hit shelves this week, and the photos are delicious.
First, the cover of the magazine, which features old crew Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) sitting in the Millenium Falcon’s cockpit alongside newcomers Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and BB-8.
Vanity Fair cover for June 2015. Star Wars. The Empire Reboots! Photo Credit: Annie Leibovitz.
Next, a debonair shot of Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron. Who doesn’t love a man in uniform, hanging off his craft, with the wind sweeping his hair?
The first look at Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren sans Sith mask. Unfortunately, he seems to be channeling some of the angsty anger of Anakin Skywalker. Hopefully he won’t hate snow.
The shiny trooper below is thought to be Gwendoline Christie’s Captain Phasma. I’m intrigued by how the helmet, breastplate, and torso plates have differing levels of shiny. What would make that happen that way?
Here’s J.J. Abrams directing Daisy Ridley’s Rey on set of the planet Jakku. I dig the costume of the foregrounded desert-dweller.
I have incredibly mixed feelings about Lupita Nyong’o’s character being a CGI motion-captured pirate named Maz Kanata. On the one hand, she’ll probably do a great job with it. On the other hand, I’d rather see a black woman as a black woman in the Star Wars Universe. And I want Abrams to avoid the aliens as ethnics troubles that George Lucas seemed more and more likely to fall into as he continued making the films.
Finally, we have a rogues gallery of scum and villainy. A beautiful throw-back touch is the droid that looks built off of the original design for C-3PO by Ralph McQuarrie. Compare below.
Earlier this week, StarWars.com featured a collection from the Hamill family archives–behind-the-scenes snapshots from when Mark Hamill’s wife and young child visited the set. They are simply precious. Imagine what it might have been like to, at the age of three, sit inside R2-D2 or meet actual Ewoks! Nathan Hamill was blessed.
But there are gems for all fans. Here are some highlights. The rest can be found here.
This is easily my favorite simply because it is so unexpected to see Emporer Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid, left) with such a broad, ingratiating smile. He’s such a cuddly fellow! I further love the very 1983 fall fashions sported by Ian, Mark, and Denis Lawson aka Wedge Antilles.
What if Luke had fallen to the Dark Side? This pose suits him well. He also appears to be channeling Mr. Burns.
Oh, Nathan Hamill, you are so adorable peeking out of R2-D2! “Can I live in here, Dada?”
The awesomeness in this one is all in the sidelong look and pinched chin that puppeteer Frank Oz is giving to Yoda. There is some sort of disapproving judgment implied. Perhaps Yoda senses a poopy diaper?
Look at the joy on that child’s face. Adult fans might malign the Ewoks for being glorified teddy bears to entice the kiddies, but, hey, it worked! He even got to meet a BABY Ewok. I am overwhelmed by the cute.
There’s almost too much of everything in this episode. Too many references to do them all. To many shipper moments to catch your breath.
Cassandra’s “Always… no, no… never… forget to check your references.”
Lily
The Flower symbolizes friendship and devotion. Which helps explain why every other word launced a ship. And ties in nicely to the Emma/Lilith relationship over time.
The opening scene is a smorgasbord.
Once Upon a Time “Best Laid Plans”
This scene picks up immediately after Isaac’s imprisonment.
Fantasia – “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”
As always, The Apprentice is accompanied by theme music based on the film.
Mickey The Apprentice traipses down the stairs to the Sorcerer’s… what is this place anyway?
According to The Disney Audio Archive and Sterling Holloway, “Once upon a time, in a deep dark cave way down underground, there lived a mighty sorcerer.” So that’s cannon anyway.
The Sword and the Stone
The Sorcerer finally manifests himself as blue smoke with white stars and red lights. It’d be an incredibly interesting coincidence if this weren’t intentional.
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
The Sorcerer sounds a lot like Palpatine, particularly with the diminutive, “my Apprentice.”
The Invisibles
Several works of fiction have dealt with authors entering into or getting trapped in their own stories, but few have dealt with them continuing to write inside. In Volume 2 of Grant Morrison’s magnum opus, the reader learns that Kay actually wrote herself into the story. A feat which required technology, magic, and time travel.
Being trapped inside might not be inherently bad; though Isaac doesn’t seem to have been too fond of it. Coincidentally, The Apprentice looks an awful lot like Tom’O’Bedlam, greatest sorcerer of his age.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Jennifer Morrison actually mentioned this title on Facebook and Twitter a couple weeks ago.
Gold: We won’t have what we need to rewrite the book, to secure our happy endings, until Ms. Swan has completed her journey.
We’d be forgiven for assuming he means only the dark path he mentions next. But in a sense, that’s just the latter phase(s) of the hero’s journey, dramatized below by Ryan Dunlavey in Action Philosophers.
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
Gold (again): The savior has taken the first step down a dark path.
Led Zeppelin and Jack of Fables
Lily’s adoptive parents are James and Priscilla Page. They’re named page to tie in with all this author stuff, The first names are clever. Jimmy Page’s guitar could scream for Adam and Eddie as easily as Tolkien. But Priscilla Page is a bold move. Fables is an ongoing comic book series with a conceit similar to that of Once Upon a Time. Priscilla Page handles retrieval, capture, and return of Fables to the Golden Boughs Retirement Village.
Paradise Lost
With Lily explicitly noting the savior.anti-savior setup they have going, it’s probably safe to revisit one of the greatest stories of hubris in the Enlish language.
Regina: How about we make this the day we both beat fate?
Nether of them actually do, of course. Emma picks up an embodied nemesis and Regina finds Robin bound by his sense of honor to remain with Zelena.
Lost
Emma’s foster family serves Mr. Cluck’s Chicken Shack for dinner despite having a two thousand dollar espresso machine,
Once upon a Time in Wonderland
A chess board with the white pieces closest to the camera and more to the left than their black counterparts dominates the foreground while Belle says goodbye to Will, recalling the White King.
Scooby-Doo
Will: If you’ve come here to hurt me, you best get on with it. But I warn you, I’m scrappy.
Gold: All right, Scrappy.
Scrappy is the original Poochy, added to the ABC series Scooby-Doo in 1979 in an effort to bolster ratings. It worked, but oversaturation ultimately squandered fans’ goodwill. He’s a universally unpopular character and the trope namer for characters with hatedoms rather than fandoms.
However, the reference here is both to Will’s boxing style and his willingness, even eagerness, to begin a discussion with fisticuffs. The image is from 4×11 because even he knows punching the Dark One is silly.
Weekly World News – The World’s Only Reliable News
Once a supermarket checkout aisle staple, The Weekly World News published its last issue in 2007. Consisting of mostly fictional material, the tabloid occupied a sort of fairy tale space in American culture for nearly three decades. Pinocchio’s story would not have seemed out of place on the cover as “Toy Becomes a Real Boy.” And it would have ran without a disclaimer.
Maleficent
First things first. You cannot escape this car in a Volkswagon Beetle. Even if you’re the Antisaviour.
Other than that, we mostly want it for the license plate that connects Lily to Maleficent via the 2014 movie. Rhea Sylvia conceived Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome with the god Mars. She was a minor forest diety, a spirit of the forest, like the movie Mal.
Disney Descendants
Snow and Charming have a dateughter. And a son. The Evil Queen has a son. Maelficent has a daughter. Zelena’s pregnant. What does it all mean? Hopefully not this. (Although Kristin Chenoweth is always a delight.
Erin’s Happy Shipper Moments
Captain Swan
Although Hook himself isn’t in much of the episode, he and Emma have a key romantic scene. As Emma is saying her good-byes to the fam before she and Regina road trip it to New York, Killian gives her one last encouragement on how to keep from the dark side as a man who started as a hero, turned dark, and has had to work his way back. She asks him why he gave in to the dark path of revenge. “I had nothing to live for. You have your parents, Henry…” “You,” she supplies wryly. “Aye, me. And I you. That’s what’s kept me on my path now. Use whatever it takes to stay on yours.” If Emma does go dark, or on the brink of it, and all signs seem to point that way, I’m hoping Killian will be the one to bring her back.
Swan Queen
This is a Swan Queen episode if ever there was one. Regina is the one to comfort Emma when she finds her staring at the microfilm article about baby Lilith Page, empathizing about being fate’s plaything–Emma’s only friend may have been her darkside doppleganger, but Regina managed to adopt the Savior’s son. In the first half of the season, this role was being filled by Killian, but now Regina has stepped in. Regina suggests they road trip to New York. Emma says she doesn’t need a babysitter, but Regina responds by saying perhaps she needs Emma. “But maybe I need you. You lived in New York; I’ve barely been outside of Storybrooke. How ’bout it, Swan? How ’bout we make today the day we both beat fate?”
On the road trip, Regina attempts to find out more about the story of Emma and Lily, leading to the various flashbacks, although it doesn’t seem that Emma shares the information from those flashbacks with her. Instead, as Emma is challenged by her feelings of anger, fear, and aggression (the Dark Side of the Force are they), Regina is constantly trying to pull her back, make sure she’s okay and not crossing lines she can’t come back from. Most noteably this happens when Emma has Lily on her knees at a point of a gun and Regina talks her back from killing her. What’s at stake for Emma: Lily knows the whole story and wants revenge against Emma’s parents. By killing Lily, Emma would be protecting her family. This was the Cruella justification. But this time, Emma knows Lily can’t kill anyone, at least not at the moment. There is time for other options. Regina points this out and makes it clear that if she crosses this line, the path back is not easy. “Your parents need a hero, not a murderer…Cruella was an accident. But if you cross this line, the journey back isn’t easy. Trust me. I know.” And Regina reaches her.
Lily Swan
Of course, the other major ship that got play this episode was Lily Swan. All of the talk of fated, entangled lives. All the discussion of Lily being in darkness and life being lighter when Emma is around. All of that can easily be read as soul-crossed lovers stuff. Among the best of these lines: “Emma was the first person who really understood me. You know, like we were meant to come into each other’s lives.”
But also: “My life is filled with darkness. When you’re around, things are brighter.”
And the set designers are fine leaving the ambiguity there. When Emma and Regina enter Lily’s mobile home, there is a colorful banner hanging over her couch. It’s one of those multicolored prayer banners with the many different religious symbols to guide a person to enlightenment–clearly a character-building detail–but it also reads as a gay pride banner to anyone looking for clues of that sort.
Dragon Queen
Regina looks truly excited and impressed when Malificent crashes the family meeting to get Emma on the case of finding her daughter. “I knew Gold couldn’t keep the dragon on her leash for long.”
Rumpbelle
Gold enlists Will’s help to retrieve Belle’s heart. But the banter that opens the deal is priceless. While Will certainly doesn’t want to work with Gold, he does want Belle to have her heart.
The mission is a success, and Rumple gives back Belle’s heart while also seemingly bowing out of the love triangle. Gold: “We [he and Will] share one thing in common–we both care for you… I’m not asking for forgiveness. I spent every day of our marriage deceiving you when I shoulda been trying to make you happy. Now it’s too late. My heart is nearly black. If I continue hurting you, then there’s no hope for me. I’m going to return this [her heart] to you, Belle. But he’s [Will] the one who is going to protect it, because I’ve proven unworthy.” When he leaves, she turns to go after him or say something at least. Will tries to take her hand but she pulls it away. Now, on the one hand, this could be sincere change in Rumple, a move that deserves Belle cracking her heart open to let him back in. But, on the other hand, this could be a calculated move to sully Will in her eyes by teaming up with him, magnanimously giving back her heart, both literally and figuratively, and showing repentance and a lack of jealousy.
Scarlet Beauty
The same scenes that play into the Rumpbelle fandom play here, but less well. The scene opens with Belle and Will kissing before Belle goes off to babysit for a bit. Will, when originally approached by Gold, readies himself for a fight. Although he doesn’t trust Gold, he cares enough about Belle to take a chance to get her heart back.
But why does he back up so when Rumple gives her heart back? Rumple gives a line that might be a clue to another twist in this story: “But he’s the one who is going to protect it, because I’ve proven unworthy.” At face value, it would seem Rumple is talking about Will making her happy. But there’s another option, a more literal one. Perhaps Rumple put Belle’s heart in Will’s body and Will’s heart in Belle’s body. Thus he would literally be protecting her heart, and the one in her chest, the one that Regina might seek to remove again for leverage, would actually be Will’s. He would take the chance rather than her. It’s a bit convoluted, but not outside of the range of plausibility.
Outlaw Queen
Good grief. Where to start? This story line went from bad to worse in the span of five minutes. But let’s begin at the good. Regina travels to New York to save her love Robin Hood from her insane sister. I like the twist of the normal trope here–the princess needing to be rescued from the evil king.
The bad. Then, at the end of the episode, she finally makes it to New York, gets reunited with Robin, tells him Marian is actually Zelena, and (conveniently) it was Zelena who killed Marian (not her). She can’t understand why Robin is so reticent to believe her, to grab Roland and make a run for it.
The ugly. Then Marian returns home, and all hell breaks loose. First, Zelena attempts to play Marian and get Robin on her side. This works for a while, until Regina makes a move to find the magical artifact allowing Zelena to look like Marian and Zelena brings down the illusion to reveal to Robin the truth. Robin is aghast. Zelena is pregnant. He can’t leave her.
Why is this ending so ugly? Because Robin was raped (or merely sexually assaulted by some state’s definitions). It’s bad enough for OQ shippers that he would consent to sex with Marian, and certainly that is one of the implications of Zelena’s pregnancy. But the fact that he was consenting to sex with Marian, not Zelena, means that Zelena raped him. The ugliness of this is that the show runners won’t likely treat it as such. Already, he means to stay with Zelena out of honor. I understand him wanting to make sure the baby is healthy and protected, but the whole turn of events, besides being needlessly soap-operatic, is likely going to do little justice to telling a story of male rape. And that’s a damned shame. Treat it respectfully, or find another way to challenge the Regina/Robin relationship.
It’s good to see Jason Aaron perfectly following the pacing of the original films. In the first three issues he presented the opening mini-mission, quick on the action, pulling the reader into the story and establishing the story’s tension. In this case, the Rebel Alliance trying to seize their advantage after the destruction of the first Death Star and the realization in Luke that he’s not quite the Jedi he imagines himself to be.
But that mini-mission concluded at the end of #3, and in #4 we pick up with the character-building second act. Han and Chewie rebuilding the Falcon, Leia negotiating with Ackbar and Mothma about resources to continue striking out at the Empire even as the Rebels are on the run, and Luke dealing with the volatile teammate he is as he attempts to grow and learn to control his use of the Force. Aaron, with Cassaday’s evocative art and spot-on likenesses, develops what fans already know about these characters while also adding new insights, especially with Leia’s role in the Rebellion and Luke’s Jedi growing pains.
But that’s not all! Issue #4 also brings together two villains–Vader, now doing the Emporer’s resource-gathering negotiating, and Jabba the Hutt. Their interaction is largely humorous thanks to the personality clash and the off-kilter observances of the Hutt, who loves the smell of freshly slain Bantha in the morning. And we get a mysterious new player on the scene in Tatooine and the surprise appearance of an old favorite.
The young woman working at my local comic book store on Wednesday reported that every person who had come in that and bought comics had picked up the new Star Wars. Here’s why: issue #4 continues to deliver the characterization, pacing, and tone of the original trilogy films we love so dearly. I thank Aaron and Cassaday for filling in this time period between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back with deep insights and a light touch.
We learn that sympathy for De Vil is misplaced. Or is it? The writers appear to be doing some deep literary work. And a fan favorite ship is upturned.
Cassandra’s “Always… no, no… never… forget to check your references.”
“Sympathy for the Devil”
The first track on Beggar’s Banquet, 1968, from The Rolling Stones. While the song doesn’t actually generate any sympathy for Lucifer, this episode goes out of its way to empathize with the baddies. Rumple gets played pretty hard. Cruella’s story is structured so that her nature only becomes clear at the end. And the Author’s heart gets broken.
He also stands in for the tempter in several cases. Setting Snow and Charming on the path that lead to Lily’s exile. Giving Cruella her magic. And who knows what else?
But what’s puzzling you Is the nature of my game
Isaac: Why? Cruella: That’s the question on everybody’s mind, isn’t it? I wish I had an answer.
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
The title card featured the running dalmatians from the movie integrated into the standard forest scene. More and more appeared as they ran.
Cruella’s magic, the ability to control animals, manifested as green smoke; an homage to the orginal animated feature and the perpetual cloud surrounding the character.
Cruella: With one whistle I can send a hundred snarling dogs after you.
In this version of the story, Cruella gets the dalmatian coat. In fact, she sews it herself.
Wicked
It’s not much, but Zelena’s inspiration and tagline gets a quick mention.
Regina: I can handle one wicked sister.
Cinderella
Isaac calls Cruella’s life “a classic Cinderella story.” While that title belongs to Storybrooke’s Ashley back in the Enchanted Forest, it not only makes sense that multiple realms would mean multiple iterations of the same story, it fits with how we classify folktales. Cruella’s an Aarne-Thompson 510A, “The Persecuted Heroine.” She’s got the missing father, the female antagonist, the confinement, and escaping for a magical date. The variation, of course, is that she’s a psychopath.
Murray’s Night Club
Cruella and Isaac went to a real place. Well, a place based on a place that actually existed.
Murray’s Night Club opened in London in 1913. While both its format and ownership changed over the years, it remained a durable Beak Street fixture until 1975.
The stand-in in the episode looks almost nothing like existing drawings or photographs, but it’s nonetheless a nice touch. If you’re interested, you can read more here.
Ernest Hemingway / Henry David Thoreaux
Isaac isn’t exactly impressed with Gold’s cabin, first mocking the antlers and then trying to recover with, “makes me feel like Hemingway; or Thoreau.” Both the intensely masculine Hemingway and the anti-establishment Thoreau might have been at home in such a place, writing the Nick Jones stories or Walden.
The Great Gatsby
Makes sense. An Author reading the classics. But it really informs the flashback scenes. The Great Gatsby is the quintessential Jazz Age novel. And he was a contemporary and friend of the aforementioned Hemingway. The text on the Introduction places the edition between 2010 and 2013, which is an eerie detail since it also places it before Frozen. I’m impressed they bothered to note when the season takes place like that.
Isaac and Ishmael
Something’s missing when you drop Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Thoreau without a fourth name. Another American Romantic or Renaissance writer. I can’t shake the feeling that the Author’s name is Isaac because that missing author, Melville, began his masterwork, Moby Dick, with, “Call me Ishmael.”
Angry Birds
Because she’s not actually going to kill Henry, Cruella sits on her hood and plays the hottest new game app. It’s one of two game references. The logo would have looked like this at the time.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
In the 2003 XBox game, in game choices affected your characters position on a spectrum between the light side of the Force and the dark side. Jedi were hale and healthy, tanned and bright eyed. But as Sith slipped toward the dark side, or splashed in and had fun, their skin paled and cracked while their eyes sunk and rimmed with red. That’s pretty much what’s been going on with Emma.
Bonus! Return of the Jedi
I can’t call this one an actual reference because the irreverence would be unusual, but the resemblance is uncanny. Rumple’s heart looks a bit like Boushh’s thermal detonator during the confrontation with Jabba the Hutt. It’s even in a similar position.
Erin’s Happy Shipper Moments
Rumpbelle
I’d thought I’d lead with Rumpbelle, because they got the biggest high and then the biggest drop kick to the groin.
Regina visits Belle to help her make sure that Gold won’t be a threat to her trip to NYC to save Robin from Zelena. Belle asks what she can do to help. “I’m so glad you asked that.” Cut to next scene. When we return to Belle, she is calling Rumpelstiltskin to the wishing well in the woods. They have a moment of remembrance about what he said to her there–that she had chased the darkness out of him. Well, not quite. She asks why he’s back, what he’s after. Her? Gold pulls his heart out of his chest to show the blackened heart with only a small dot of beating red light in the middle. He explains that centuries of dark deeds take their toll. “Will you die?” she asks. Rumple answers, “In a manner of speaking, yes. I will lose any ability to love, and that goodness you saw inside of me will be gone forever.” Only the Author can reverse the process. “I don’t expect you to understand, of course.” Belle counters, “But I, I do understand.” “You do?” “Sometimes I worry I threw out the chipped tea cup too soon.” THEY KISS. Rumpbelle fans everywhere shout, “OTP!” and throw their hands up in victory.
But then the kiss breaks and Belle continues, “You know what the problem is though…Will is just such a better kisser than you are.” “What?” Rumple asks (as do the Rumpbelle fans who had just been cheering). “You are pathetic. Watching you come grovelling back to me is like a dog begging for scraps.” “Why are you saying this? This isn’t like you, Belle.” (The Rumpbelle contingent nod their heads energetically in agreement.) “But it is so like me,” Regina interrupts from off-screen. The cut to her reveals that Regina has taken Belle’s heart and has been controlling her this whole time. Regina tells Belle to forget this ever happened and scamper off before making her demands clear to Gold, who pretty much just got his black heart run through the cheese grater.
By the way, there’s an upside down ship hanging from the ceiling in Gold’s shop. Symbolic much?
Swan Queen
Emma worries about Regina heading into NYC alone. And since Regina refuses to let Emma join her in NYC, Emma gives her her gun to protect her. (Because giving a gun to a person who has probably never used one before is a good idea. Headcanon fills in that since these two are in a committed relationship, Emma’s certainly taken her out to the woods and shown her how to shoot.)
But wait! Cruella has kidnapped Henry! The two watch their video message together and then share a very intimate, serious look. It reminds me of the look on Ripley’s face in Aliens: “Get away from her, you bitch!”
Making plans to rescue Henry, Regina comments that it’ll be far more satisfying to kill Cruella rather than the Author. When Snow is taken aback by the comment, Regina retorts, “It’s Emma’s heart we’re trying to save, not mine.”
Later, Emma splits the Henry Rescue Posse into two groups: 1) her parents, and 2) everyone else, showing that she trusts Regina and Hook while she doesn’t trust her parents. “So you’re not angry with me for keeping your parents’ secret?” Regina asks. Nah, Emma’s soft spot for Regina foists the blame solely onto her parents. Regina then teams up with Hook to coach Emma into forgiving her parents. Emma points out that while the two of them have been bad guys in the past, they’ve never lied about it and played themselves off as heroes. (And I begin wondering if there’s a name for this OT3. Captain Swan Queen?) The two attempt to reason with Emma using empathy. “Even heroes make mistakes, love,” Hook points out. It’s a cool little switcheroo and also heavy foreshadowing. But Emma doesn’t go for it. She continues her petulant little child act by saying, “You two understand them so well you forgive them.”
Outlaw Queen
Regina makes plans to rescue Robin. She manipulates and endangers Belle to do it. I’m not sure Robin would approve, exactly, but it certainly shows her commitment to her man.
Captain Swan
Other than the OT3 moment mentioned above, there’s just not much overt Captain Swan material in this episode. Hook is always in the background of Emma’s scenes (except when she gives the gun to Regina) and he’s always showing concern and support for her. That’s pretty sweet of him.
But the fact that he’s the one that says, “Even heroes make mistakes, love,” right before she goes off and makes a pretty big mistake foreshadows that he’ll be crucial to keeping her from going full-on darkside or at least bringing her back.
I was not expecting a new issue so soon after #5 was released, but I’m glad. If you remember, I felt #5 was a touch “slight.” It was a transition issue, to be sure, so it was probably wise to get the next one into hands more quickly.
The Apprentice keeps repeating to Isaac, “The time has come…” which is also the starting line of a stanza in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland “The Walrus and the Carpenter.” Turns out our Apprentice also played the role of the Carpenter in SyFy’s Alice.
Several works of fiction have dealt with authors entering into or getting trapped in their own stories, but few have dealt with them continuing to write inside. In Volume 2 of Grant Morrison’s magnum opus, the reader learns that Kay actually wrote herself into the story. A feat which required technology, magic, and time travel.
you best get on with it. But I warn you, I’m scrappy.
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d featured the running dalmatians from the movie integrated into the standard forest scene. More and more appeared as they ran.
The Dinglehopper 