Thursday, May 3, 2018

The Home That She Denied Me (Octopus's Garden, Ringo Starr)

Man In Black: I have to go.
Mother: Why?
Man In Black: Because I don't belong here.
- Across the Sea

This is a sort of companion piece to This Island Is My Home in which the Man in Black is daydreaming about leaving the Island and trying to figure out how to convince Jacob to go with him.


The Home That She Denied Me 

I’d like to be across the sea
In the home that She denied me as a babe.
I'd watch my twin grow thicker skin
In the home that She denied me as a babe.

We’d see how wide the world could be;
Why doesn’t Jacob want to join me?
I’d like to be across the sea
In the home that She denied me as a babe.

Don’t be alarmed; I’d do no harm
On our journey to reclaim the home I crave.
I would create and innovate,
And our liberty would make my brother brave.

Independence would abound.
No Mother there to boss us ‘round!
I’d like to be across the sea
In the home that She denied me as a babe.

Should I shout that I want out?
Perhaps I should stomp and rant and rave.
(Would it help to rant and rave?)
Need a ploy to sway that Mama’s Boy
Trapped in that suffocating cave.
(What a stifling cave!)

Him and me, at last we would be free,
Basking in the life we never knew.
I’d like to be across the sea
In the home that She denied to us two.

In the home that She denied to us two.
In the home that She denied to us two…



Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Little Ben (Run For Your Life, John Lennon / Paul McCartney)

Little Ben: I really hate it here.  If I let you out... will you take me with you, to your people?
Sayid: Yes, Ben, I will.  That's why I'm here.
- He's Our You

I've been trying to find my way back into filking, and the other day, I heard the Beatles' Run For Your Life for the first time.  It got stuck so firmly in my head that it became my natural starting point.  Here's Sayid coaxing Little Ben into trusting him in season five; the words all seem soothing, but there's a sinister undertone as he has ulterior motives.  

Little Ben

Well, your father’s in your head, Little Ben.
He’s a hard and unfeeling man.
Ignore the things he said, Little Ben.
Now’s the time to take a stand.

You haven’t much of a life with this clan, Little Ben.
I’m the key to your plan, Little Ben.
Put your future in the hands
Of a friend, Little Ben.

Well, I admit, at first I wondered why
I ended up here to be confined.
But purpose now has filled my mind.
How could I have been so blind?

You haven’t much of a life with this clan, Little Ben.
I’m the key to your plan, Little Ben.
Put your future in the hands
Of a friend, Little Ben.

Will your father squirm,
Or will he write you off for dead?
You may never learn;
You’ll find a Hostile home instead.

You haven’t much of a life with this clan, Little Ben.
I’m the key to your plan, Little Ben.
Put your future in the hands
Of a friend, Little Ben.

Your father’s in your head, Little Ben,
He’s a hard and unfeeling man.
Ignore the things he said, Little Ben.
Now’s the time to take a stand.

You haven’t much of a life with this clan, Little Ben.
I’m the key to your plan, Little Ben.
Put your future in the hands
Of a friend, Little Ben.

Little Ben, Little Ben, Little Ben…

Monday, November 14, 2016

Farewell to You, My Brother (Farewell to Nova Scotia)

Jack: Desmond, you've done enough. You wanna do something? Go home and be with your wife and son.
Desmond: What about you, Jack?
Jack: I'll see you in another life, brother.
- The End

Farewell to Nova Scotia is one of the most achingly melancholy songs I have ever heard.  It came to mind again after a recent Facebook conversation with my friend Gail, and though I knew the song through the Irish Rovers, when I stumbled upon a live performance by Gordon Lightfoot from 1972, I was utterly mesmerized by the exquisitely elegiac quality of both his voice and face.  It then lodged itself firmly in my brain, and when I'm in filking mode, that means it's about to become my next victim.  I thought this moment was appropriately mournful, with just the right hint of beauty.

Farewell to You, My Brother

You doused the light, and I'm impressed.
You did your job; now it's time to flee.
We're almost at the end of our quest,
So go, and leave the rest to me.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

Believe me, Desmond, I understand.
You grieve to leave - to let me go.
But life never seems to work out the way we planned,
And it's better to accept what you can't control.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

A doctor's pledge is to first do no harm.
I won't survive; I have to stay.
So farewell, farewell.  I'll take you by the arm
And then Hurley's gonna raise you to the bright light of day.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

It took three years, but I passed Jacob's test.
I found my faith, and I am blessed.
When I met you, I'd failed so terribly,
But you helped me 'lift it up,' and now at last, I'm free.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

Farewell to Nova Scotia

Saturday, November 12, 2016

We're Staying With Jack (It's Not Over By Half, Joan Shelley)

Bernard: You said you'd never leave the Island, if you wanna go with Locke, I'll be right behind you.
Rose: I'm not going anywhere with that man.
- The Beginning of the End

I'm dipping my toes back into filking with Rose and Bernard, who might be my favorite couple on LOST but who have far too little time in the spotlight.  Joan Shelley's gently transcendent vocals and the sense of serene hope that pervades her beautiful ballad felt fitting for Rose's deeply spiritual nature and the way she acknowledges the darkness without letting it overtake her.

We're Staying With Jack

You took your shot, a guard with a gun.
The Others were scattered with your ammo.
And you've forgotten my mantra for you, hon.
You're a dentist, and you are not Rambo.

Oh, sweetie, why must you always do and not be?
For now I am healthy, and for now we are free.
Hurley's in pain, and he gave a good speech,
But if you ask me, he's made a big blunder.

Bernard, we're staying with Jack
'Cause the look in Locke's eyes makes me think he's a quack.
We follow him and we're on the wrong track.
No, we're not going; we're staying with Jack.

At Niagara Falls, with a timid grin,
You promised to love me through thick and through thin.
So although I had cancer, my heart sang a hymn
Thanking God that He got your attention.

Bernard, we're staying with Jack
'Cause the look in Locke's eyes makes me think he's a quack.
We follow him and we're on the wrong track.
No, we're not going; we're staying with Jack.

Here on this Island, I'm happy with you,
But rescue will bring us serenity, too.
Remission reversal may well ensue;
It won't matter, 'cause we'll be together.

Bernard, we're staying with Jack
'Cause the look in Locke's eyes makes me think he's a quack.
We follow him and we're on the wrong track.
No, we're not going; we're staying with Jack.

It's Not Over By Half

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Hope (Be Still, Isaac Slade)

Rose: It's a fine line between denial and faith. It's much better on my side.
Charlie: Help me.
Rose: Baby, I'm not the one that can help you...
- Whatever the Case May Be

Once I finally started writing LOST songs again, Dad started sending me song suggestions, and this is one of those.  I was especially touched when I read the story behind this gentle song of encouragement; the songwriter's brother called him in the middle of the night, unable to sleep, and after their conversation, this song came to him organically as a response.

It made me think of Rose's efforts to motivate and comfort Charlie in Whatever the Case May Be, some of my favorite scenes in the series.  While she is there for him, she points him in the direction of a higher help he seems to have given up on...


Hope

I still have hope, and you can, too.
I still have hope Bernard is near.
I still have hope, and you can, too.
Things aren’t that bad, you know.

A monster came upon you.
Though Claire is gone, you’re not to blame.
I still have hope, and you can, too.
Just call upon God’s name.

You almost wish that you were dead.
You’ve never felt this low.
But don’t give in to gloom and dread.
Things aren’t that bad, you know.

This isn’t the finale.
Though the story may get darker still,
The Lord of Light will help you see.
He will, He will, He will.

Reach out for help, and faith will grow.
Before your life began,
The Lord was preparing to guide you.
He always has a plan.

I still have hope, and you can, too.
He always has a plan.



Monday, March 2, 2015

Bad Month (Bad Day, Daniel Powter)


"You're havin' a bad month." - John to Walt, Pilot, Part 2

"Vincent - I tethered him to a tree just over there. I know that Walt lost his mom. I thought that you should be the one to bring his dog back to him."- John to Michael, Tabula Rasa

For some reason, Michael and Walt are two characters I've neglected somewhat, but I love John's interaction with Walt in the pilot and his facilitation of his reunion with Vincent in Tabula Rasa.  I would imagine that, given how poorly he was parented, he is especially hopeful that Michael will give Walt the kind of love and guidance he himself so sorely needed.

Bad Month

Michael, I know what he’s missing the most,
And would you believe that I found what he lost?
I tethered his Lab up to that tree,
But credit for that won’t go to me.
It should be you who brings his dog.

You feel like your boy’s just a kid you don’t know;
As long as you try, you will learn as you go.
He needs a good dad, and you’ll do fine.
You’ll manage to make up for lost time.
It should be you who brings his dog

‘Cause he’s had a bad month.  He’s gotta feel down,
But he can stay strong since he has you around.
As long as he knows his dad’s on his side,
Your wandering child’s gonna take it in stride.
He’s had a bad month.  He watched his mom die.
Los Angeles bound, he was thrown from the sky.
He’s had a bad month.  He’s had a bad month.

Before he wakes up, just slip away.
Get Vincent and brighten up his day.
It should be you who brings his dog.

He’s had a bad month.  He’s gotta feel down,
But he can stay strong since he has you around.
As long as he knows his dad’s on his side,
Your wandering child’s gonna take it in stride.
He’s had a bad month.  He watched his mom die.
Los Angeles bound, he was thrown from the sky.
He’s had a bad month.  Oh, what a lousy month!

Sadly, a son can struggle and sink
If a parent he trusts is gone.
Before you make it back to L.A.,
He ought to know that you’re the one
He can count on.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

So hurry and go, and I swear I won’t boast.
Just you and I
Will know how you found what was hopelessly lost.

‘Cause he’s had a bad month.  He’s gotta feel down,
But he can stay strong since he has you around.
As long as he knows his dad’s on his side,
Your wandering child’s gonna take it in stride.
He’s had a bad month.  He watched his mom die.
He met you and thought, “Who’s this guy?”
He’s had a bad month.  He had a bad month.

Had a bad month.  Had a bad month.  Had a bad month…

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Runaway Annie (Mail Order Annie, Harry Chapin)


"My wife died 8 months ago Wednesday. She left me with too many chores and a hell of a mortgage. If you help me with the first one, I'll give you a fair wage and a place to stay." - Ray, Tabula Rasa

We just rewatched Tabula Rasa, and I realized I don't have a single filksong associated with that episode.  That definitely needs amending, and when I decided to start with Kate's backstory, Harry Chapin's gently wistful song popped into my head...

Runaway Annie

My first thought was to turn my gun on you,
A winsome vagabond asleep in my pen.
But seems to me you’re on the run from somethin’, yeah, yeah.
I could use a farmhand; you could use a friend.

Runaway Annie, aren’t you tired of walkin’?
The chores are a strain since I lost my wife.
Runaway Annie, maybe fate is knockin’.
I think we'll help each other here.
We are entitled to start again in life.

You know, it is a pity you’ve evaded me
And kept your weekly wage in that tin can.
Don’t tell me you can’t wait until the mornin’, no, no.
I’ll drive you to the station like a decent, honest man.

Runaway Annie, aren’t you tired of walkin’?
I understand pain since I lost my wife.
Runaway Annie, maybe fate is knockin’.
I think that I could help you here.
You are entitled to start again in life.

I know it’s not my business what you’re runnin’ from;
You store your stash of secrets like the money in that wad.
But Annie, after three long months of labor,
Not saying a goodbye would be odd.

You know about my dirty plan; we’re not headed for the train.
My mortgage isn’t pretty; I can’t manage it alone.
And I hope you know how much I hate betrayin’ you,
But you run away, Annie, and I will lose my home.

Runaway Annie, aren’t you tired of walkin’?
The bills are insane since I lost my wife.
Runaway Annie, maybe fate is knockin’.
I think that you could help me here.
I am entitled to start again in life.


Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Counting to Five (Stayin' Alive, Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb)

Jack: Well, fear's sort of an odd thing. When I was in residency, my first solo procedure was a spinal surgery on a 16-year-old kid, a girl. And at the end, after 13 hours, I was closing her up and I, I accidentally ripped her dural sac. Shredded the base of the spine where all the nerves come together, membrane as thin as tissue. And so it ripped open. And the nerves just spilled out of her like angel hair pasta, spinal fluid flowing out of her and I … And the terror was just so … crazy. So real. And I knew I had to deal with it. So I just made a choice. I'd let the fear in, let it take over, let it do its thing, but only for five seconds, that's all I was going to give it. So I started to count: One, two, three, four, five. Then it was gone. I went back to work, sewed her up and she was fine.
Kate: If that had been me, I think I would have run for the door.
Jack: No, I don't think that's true. You're not running now.
- Pilot, Part 1

I was rewatching the first episode of LOST with will, and I was struck by the fact that as iconic as this scene is, I never devoted a song to it.  I decided I needed to do something about that, and this, my first LOST song in four and a half years, is the result.  Hopefully it will be the first in a new filking srreak!

Counting to Five

Jack: Well, I can tell by the way you stand and gawk
That you’re traumatized and still in shock.
Though you see my skin is torn,
You are treating my request with scorn.
Despite the drapes that you once made,
To stitch me up makes you afraid.
But don’t say “can’t;” I know you can.
I hope you’ll help a wounded man.

What can help prepare you when situations scare you?
Try counting to five.  Counting to five.
Let the panic fill you but never let it kill you.
Just try counting to five.  Counting to five.
One, two, three, four, counting to five.  Counting to five.
One, two, three, four.  Counting to five…

Well, now, fear is odd.  I’ll tell you why
I come across as such a fearless guy.
As a spinal surgeon, I refuse
To let small mistakes mean patients lose.
I nicked a poor girl’s dural sac;
I didn’t beat the terror back.
Once I used this trick of mine,
I sewed her up and she was fine.

What can help prepare you when situations scare you?
Try counting to five.  Counting to five.
Let the panic fill you but never let it kill you.
Just try counting to five.  Counting to five.
One, two, three, four, counting to five.  Counting to five.
One, two, three, four.  Counting to five…

Kate: If I had been there,
I would have bolted, just bolted for the door.
Jack: No, I don’t think so.  Your kindness moves you more.
Counting to five…

Jack: Well, I could tell by the way you stood and gawked
You were traumatized and still in shock.
Though you saw my skin was torn,
You were treating my request with scorn.
Despite the drapes that you once made,
To stitch me up made you afraid.
But no more “can’t;” you proved you can.
You bravely helped a wounded man.

What can help prepare you when situations scare you?
Try counting to five.  Counting to five.
Let the panic fill you but never let it kill you.
Just try counting to five.  Counting to five.
One, two, three, four, counting to five.  Counting to five.
One, two, three, four.  Counting to five…

Kate: If I had been there,
I would have bolted, just bolted for the door.
Jack: No, I don’t think so.  Your kindness moves you more.
Kate: I’m counting to five.

Kate: If I had been there,
I would have bolted, just bolted for the door.
Jack: No, I don’t think so.  Your kindness moves you more.
Kate: I’m counting to five…

Jack: Fear can’t defeat you.  Your kindness moves you more.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Once Upon a Time: Mothers and Fathers

I got really behind in my recapping again, so this is going to be another multi-episode post as I cover The Stable Boy, The Stranger and The Return. These were episodes that dealt very heavily with parent-child relationships. Of course, there was some romance thrown into the mix, mainly with The Stable Boy as we finally got to see that Regina did actually experience True Love in her life. The other two episodes didn’t deal with romance much, aside from her trying to seduce David. I was surprised that he was so open to her manipulation up until the end there, but I guess he hasn’t really seen Regina at her worst yet.

Generally speaking, Regina’s behavior throughout the series has been deplorable even though so much of what she does is done with a smile and a cool demeanor. Still, I wasn’t surprised that if we went back far enough, we would find something to truly rouse our sympathy. As Sr. Mary Lou Kownacki said, “There isn’t anyone you couldn’t love once you heard their story.” Regina’s is a doozy. She came across as a perfectly pleasant person in the flashback, just frustrated by her mother’s machinations. She was a bit of a tomboy, and she demonstrated her bravery by saving Snow White and her independent spirit by plotting to run away with her secret love.

Bailee Madison, the young girl chosen to portray Snow White, was a perfect match for Ginnifer Goodwin. I was very impressed with the casting there. The look was exactly right, and she perfectly conveyed that innate sweetness that is so key to Snow White’s character. I had been very curious to see what Snow could have done that would have merited that kind of wrath without totally condemning her. I figured it must have been some kind of accident, or at least something that happened early enough in childhood that she wasn’t entirely responsible for it. This explanation satisfied me. Snow’s decision to confide in Regina’s mother, however well-intentioned, was partly responsible for the death of the man she loved.

I tend to be more engaged in the backstory than the present-day story, and that was particularly the case with The Stable Boy since I was so curious about this particular origin story. It was sweet to see the genuine bond between the young Regina and her cowed father, though of course it was sad as well, knowing what she would end up doing to him. Her mother was positively poisonous, and Barbara Hershey played that to the hilt. I really did feel completely sorry for Regina. It seemed fairly obvious to me following that conversation with Snow what was going to happen, but I still kept hoping that he would simply flee on his own rather than stick around to get murdered.

The whole situation with the king was very sad. Once again, he came across like a decent guy and certainly a very devoted father, but to just propose to a woman you’ve never met in hopes that she will take over the role of mother for your daughter… It’s just not the way to do things. Regina and Snow hit it off right away, and they could have been great pals if not for the small matter of Snow accidentally ruining her life. The king obviously didn’t have any romantic interest in her; he admired her bravery, but he wanted her for what she could do for Snow. Maybe he should’ve just hired her as a governess. At first, I thought Snow, feeling betrayed and disappointed, was just going to run off and snitch after finding out about Regina’s plans, but after her talk with Regina, it became clear that Snow was prepared to be self-sacrificing even at such a young age. It just all went horribly sour.

If Snow hadn’t told Regina about breaking her confidence, would she have found out, or might she have gone on for years without realizing that Snow told her secret? At what point did Snow come to realize the consequences of her actions? One would presume that she figured it out eventually, since she told James that she did ruin Regina’s life, though she may have simply been thinking about having lost control of the horse, which started all the trouble, though that wasn’t her fault. Really, her confession to Regina’s mother was barely her fault either. Can you truly blame a child that young for being coerced into giving information, especially when her reasons for doing so are so pure?

I guess what I’m wondering is how their relationship might have been different if Regina hadn’t realized that Snow broke her word. It seems to me that what’s mostly at play is misdirected anger. Regina is furious with herself because her decisions led to Daniel’s death every bit as much as Snow’s did, but Snow is an outward target. That’s how revenge seems to work; a person seems to get the twisted idea that removing the cause of their pain will remove the pain, almost as though it were a magic spell that could undo the tragic event. One would presume that at some point in the next few years, Regina killed her mother, but at the time of her marriage, she didn’t have the power to do that, so she focused all of her wrath on Snow, though it would seem that she kept it well hidden until after her husband’s death. She must have treated her with kindness during those years; was there genuine affection mingled in with the veiled malice?

I also wonder if Regina completely snapped at that moment or if it took several years for her to truly become the evil figure we see today. My guess is the latter, though that seed of bitterness took root right away. She had planned her life around the love of this one person, and with that anchor gone, she needed something else to live for. Unfortunately, instead of finding renewed purpose in what could have been the healing work of mothering Snow White, she seems to have played right into her mother’s hand and decided to focus on accumulating as much power as possible, though the power was more a means to an end than an actual goal. It was all in the service of revenge, which never provides any genuine satisfaction and has a way of festering and completely eating away at a person’s soul. Just look what happened to Sawyer and Ben. Lust for revenge almost destroyed them both. Regina is further gone than either of them, but could she still be brought back? Might Snow’s insistence on grace and forgiveness eventually crack that destructive shell?

After Regina, it was another Rumple episode, and I again got to marvel at Robert Carlyle’s brilliance and how exceptionally well the character is written. This week, we got a peek at how his relationship with his son Baelfire began to turn in the aftermath of the acquisition of his magical power. It reminded me very much, first off, of Lord of the Rings, same as his first centric episode did. I thought his son even looked a lot like a hobbit running around in the woods in that long cloak. Mainly, though, it was a demonstration of the evil effect that this power was having on him, even as he used it for worthy purposes. It was going to his head, and his desperation to protect his son was actually driving him away, much as Michael’s murderous act caused Walt to stop speaking to him. Instead of shunning him, however, Rumple’s son was determined to do whatever he could to get his old father back.

The scene in the beginning was tense and terrifying, and I was horrified with Rumple for turning that man into a snail and then crushing him, though it didn’t surprise me much, particularly given his conversation with Regina in Storybrooke. Baelfire seemed like a very upstanding youth, just as he did the first time, an innocent lad with a strong sense of honor. He hated to see his father inflicting pain on other people. Plus, everyone was avoiding him because of it. We’ve seen several situations here in which a parent is trying to do what’s best for a child and winds up making things much worse.

I liked the inclusion of the Blue Fairy and the magic bean, which did not grow into a beanstalk but instead created a magic vortex. Rumple very reluctantly agreed to leave the world of magic behind him, but when push came to shove, he couldn’t do it, and his son was left to face that unknown world on his own. When he resurfaces, I wonder how old he will be. Actually, you would think he wouldn’t be around anymore, since Rumple was on his own when Geppetto was a boy, and who knows how long that was after his own son left? If Mr. Gold knows so much, why couldn’t he see that? Then again, maybe it didn’t quite work that way.

The episode certainly encouraged us to think that August and Baelfire were one and the same. I fell for it just as fully as Rumple did, and I wanted it to be true because the depth of his remorse was so apparent and I figured this reunion could be just what was needed to bring back the good man buried inside that malevolence. Alas, however, it was not to be. I was left wondering whether August was “one of the good guys” or a villain somehow worse than Rumple. Either way, I felt very sorry for the Scottish baddie, and I certainly hope that a reunion, if not with his son than with a descendant, can be accomplished. Perhaps it could be rather like Ebenezer Scrooge embracing Fred. In any case, an outstanding episode all around, and I loved that Archie had a moment in the spotlight. It was nice to see Rumple actually reaching out for that kind of help and Archie so gently giving it.

Naturally, as soon as we found out who August wasn’t, we wanted to know who he was, and the show answered that question surprisingly quickly. I thought the flashback in The Stranger was centric to August, but actually, it was the flackback in The Return. Granted, Pinocchio was very young, and the flashbacks were largely more about Geppetto, but the boy was the focus. He was a sweet child, mischievous but really wanting to do the right thing. He called foul on Geppetto’s plan to send him through the cabinet first, but he wasn’t forceful enough to convince him it was the wrong course of action. Geppetto was too focused on saving his son to consider the greater ramifications.

How would things have been different if James and a pregnant Snow had entered the cabinet as planned? What if it had been Snow and Emma? That would have made a reunion between Snow and David more complicated since there would have been 30 years separating them, or if they’d found each other sooner, she would have aged while he stayed the same age. However, that wouldn’t have necessarily been a major problem. How might Emma have fared if she’d been prepared for this role from birth? She would have been loved and nurtured, and what seems fantastical to her now would instead seem quite believable. However, perhaps she would not have been equipped to face this nemesis if she hadn’t had the hard-luck childhood she did.

As for Pinocchio, it was certainly a lot to ask of such a young child to look after a newborn in a strange new world, but he seemed to take the responsibility very seriously, so it’s a shame he ended up leaving her to face life alone. Understandable, but sad nonetheless. Incidentally, I love that when he came out of the cabinet, he saw a plane overhead and he fell on the ground. It reminded me a lot of Jack in the pilot episode just after Oceanic 815 crashed. Meanwhile, he reminded me of John later as he tried to be the Man of Faith to Emma’s Man of Science, to no avail. It was very much the argument from the beginning of season two, and while Emma seems to be entertaining the possibility that it could be true, she does not feel up to the task that has been set for her. With only two episodes left in the season, will that change?

I found the relationship between Pinocchio and Geppetto very sweet, particularly at the end when they reconnected, and I loved the brotherly care Pinocchio demonstrated for Emma. I wanted to shake Geppetto during the flashbacks, since he seemed to be putting the whole realm at risk by refusing to accommodate the Blue Fairy’s wishes, and sending a small boy out on his own in the world doesn’t seem very good for him, either. It certainly did not show a lot of faith, and it seems the man devising a means by which the realm’s inhabitants might be saved ought to have a stronger belief than that. But everybody panics now and then, and he did have valid reasons for his trepidation. It’s hard to fault a father for wanting to do all he can to protect his son. Rumple and Geppetto have a point of commonality there.

I thought all three episodes were great, and I loved the parental theme that tied them together. Now Emma wants to take matters into her own hands and reclaim Henry, though kidnapping him and high-tailing it out of town does not seem like a good plan and certainly isn’t likely to help her in a custody battle. Maybe she half-believes Henry’s warning that nobody can leave Storybrooke – except the two of them (and August). Maybe she figured if they leave town, nobody can follow them. But I don’t think it would be that simple, and anyway, she would be evading her destiny, and look how miserable that made Jack. No, if Emma leaves Storybrooke, she and Henry won’t be gone for long. An epic battle is heating up…