This is my first review, which I warn you will be ridiculously long (taking days to write for quite possibly a tiny audience consisting only of me, myself and I), so let's get to it!
Last Sunday night's Rumbelle-centric episode of Once Upon A Time was such a treat. After weeks of seeing my favorite couple together in only 20 second cameos, where their lunch dates and picnics were so rudely interrupted by various fairytale characters, Rumpel and Belle finally take center stage again!
While Belle tosses back a few at the tavern, she's joined by Dreamy. They overhear talk of a hunting party wanting a few recruits in defeating a fiery beast called the Yaoguai. Since Belle no longer has her own beast to tame, it doesn't take long for Dreamy to talk her into joining the men in their hunt.
But first, Dreamy has a little parting gift for her. A bag of sparkling fairy dust, which just might come in handy on her new-found adventure.
And for Belle, her adventure is pretty easy peasy thanks to a book on said creature and her smarts for understanding an ancient language. (Which looks remarkably similar to Chinese). After purposely leading her ride of annoying and boisterous hunters down the garden path, Belle finds the Yaoguai's cave faster than Rumpel chopped off Hook's hand.
But the Yaoguai doesn't like house guests, and has no reservations about killing girls donning perfectly arranged braids and red lipstick. Luckily for Belle, Mulan-the-bad-ass comes to her aid.
Mulan is not amused, and really doesn't care to stick around since Belle just cost her her hunt. Mulan had been tracking down the fearsome beast for weeks and Belle found it in just one day, thanks to her book... which probably had no pictures.
Rambling Note: See? Knowledge really IS POWER! That one Doctor Who episode (coincidentally with the same theme, only concerning a werewolf) and all those after school commercials weren't just engaging in lip service. Books really can be arsenal. How wonderfully nerdy is that?!
Fastforward a bit, and Mulan comes to Belle's rescue a second time. She rescues Belle from the aforementioned bullies trying to give her a good christening down a well. (Which in their simple minds she deserves, seeing how she led their gullible minds to believe that the Yaoguai prefers lake habitats to mountainous terrains. Those brutes, with all their boorishness and boasting, and let's face it... probably a lot of ungentlemanly farting and belching... learned the hard way never to trust a woman who could read and think for herself. Likewise, if she's wearing chain mail and carrying a sword, your ass is pretty much toast. I hope they learned their lesson).
Confession - As much as I've not enjoyed Mulan in this series, I loooved it when she fought the guys here. I was definitely cheering her on. Girl Power!!!!
Swallowing her pride, Mulan asks Belle to join her on her hunt. Together, they'd make a good team. Brains + Brawn = That Yaoguai is gonna be dead barbecue to feed to Mulan's entire village. It'd be like a big picnic!
But there's a problem. Mulan's leg is injured, and a la Disney's Gaston, Belle is gonna have to "KILL THE BEAST!"
And she does, figuratively speaking of course, because the fiery creature is in actual fact Aurora's boyfriend/Mulan's future loverboy Prince Phillip. That dragon lady Maleficient had cursed him! Thanks to Belle's keen interpretation of the beast's message (which he scrawls in the dirt), alongside Dreamy's bag of fairy dust, Phillip's curse is now broken.
Random Thought: Phillip explains that's he's been trying to tell the village people who he really is, but I guess loverboy's brains were a little fried (literally) because he should know aggressiveness and pillaging villages isn't exactly the way to get anyone to listen calmly. It's kinda hard to look deeper into a scenario when death is barreling towards you at 30mph.
Apparently, he tried writing a message - in fire - for help, but all the villagers knew was that their homes were being burned down by a monster that breathes fire and charges people like a lion on the kill. Even from a distant hilltop, I didn't see any message written on the grasses below. All I saw was one huge fiery doodle.
Then again, in Phillip's defense my acumen for dead languages are pretty much most definitely zippo and null.
Now for a little time traveling to Storybrooke.
In the hull of Captain Sexy's Hook's cloaked ship, Archie is being interrogated. Hook is threatening the cricket to spill the beans about where Rumpel's/The Dark One's precious dagger is. Learning that Archie truly doesn't know anything about this dagger, Hook gleans that Rumpel's most precious object is his son's cloak. (Rumpel has had success creating a magic potion that will allow him to cross the town line with his memory still intact. All it takes is one drop of this potion on the object he holds most dear, which is why Hook wants the cloak with all his evil heart. If you ask me, Hook really needs to dispense some of Archie's services for himself. Methinks Hook has a lot of issues that he really needs to let go of; mainly this vengeance crap with a man that could kill him without even touching a hair on his purty little head).
Quick Thought: I don't really know why he thinks he needs the town's shrink to help. What need does he have of Archie when he has his spy glass which can obviously see through an entire town of brick buildings? Does the brute not understand that he doesn't even need Archie when there's the shapeshifting Cora?
My personal opinion is that he just enjoys being a bully and parading around that shiny hook. I think he's become rather fond of his steampunk-ish hand.
But I digress.
Hook isn't only causing trouble for Archie. First, he breaks into Belle's library... but no worries. A shelf of books knocks him on his pretty ass, and after Belle's frantic phone call with really bad reception, Rumpel comes to her rescue. (All the while, back at Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop Smee steals the cloak for Hook. As Admiral Ackbar would say, it's a trap!)
Rumpel is pretty PO-ed. It's the same old relationship woes that we've witnessed with Rumbelle before. Rumpel wants to rip someone's heart out, but Belle can still see the good inside the beast. If anyone can reform The Dark One, it's Bookish Belle. (This would be a rather unhealthy relationship in real life, but since it's fiction I'll let it slide because I love these characters so much).
After Belle rescues Archie from the invisible ship... (those darn gulls resting in mid-air were a dead giveaway that Cora never thought of)... she searches for the cloak which Rumpel needs to find his son. (Like the American Express card, he can't leave Storybrooke without it). Unfortunate for Belle, she risked her life only to find a small chest of buried treasure.
Well, ya can't win 'em all.
Belle turns around to find Hook holding the cloak. While Belle has proven in this episode to be all bad@ss, she isn't quite quick enough to snatch back the pistol Rumpel gave her to protect herself from a particularly sexy and dastardly pirate.
I have to admit something here. Apart from Hook caressing Belle's face with a loaded gun, I was jealous of her in this scene. I don't know if it's because he's near-sighted or what, but Hook seems to be really fond of threatening his enemies with only about a half an inch between them.
All I could think during this scene was that the man put on his eyeliner a hell a lot smoother and better than I do, and that I really hope for Belle's sake that the man munches on breath mints throughout the day. Were I Belle, I could withstand Hook's threats if only he had fresh minty breath.
The importance of good oral hygiene aside, Belle learns of that little detail Rumpel left out about Milah's death. Belle was in denial for about 3 seconds, but in an instant her faith was renewed. She professes to Hook that Rumpel has changed and "his heart is true." (I think she read that in a few romance novels and liked it so much that she borrowed it for her real life. I'd do the same, so color me a little jealous again, nerdy-style). Belle then proceeds to take down Hook, who falls over like a ton of bricks. (He still manages to look all sexy when a girl in heels bests him). Bae's cloak in hand, Belle runs for her life.
But this is Hook we're talking about, and like a cheetah on the hunt he's up on the ship's deck before Belle is.
It looks like it's all over for our storybook heroine, but all that good karma from saving crickets, rescuing princes and hot dogs on the run is on her side... because behind Hook stands her lover whose heart is true!
And her lover-whose-heart-is-true proceeds to beat the everlasting hell and damnation out of Hook.
And deservedly so, I might add.
Next, we hear no whimperings from Hook. In fact, he's egging Rumpel on to rip his heart out like he did with Milah. Belle is understandably upset, not wanting to witness a murder and all, so after a little course correction she gets through to Rumpel whom let's Hook live.
Hooray!!!!!
After a heart to heart talk inside Rumpel's car, it's time for what they've all been waiting for. It's time for Rumpel to cross the town line and search for Baelfire.
But just as Rumbelle fans start to witness a smooch between the two fairytale characters, Hook gets his piece of the pie by shooting Belle.
Booooooo! You terrible and despicable rat bastard! Belle is only the #1 princess in all fairy tales! I hate you, hate you, H-A-T-E you! I'll feed you to the hungry crocodile myself!
Belle falls over the town line, losing all her memories. Hook, in that vengeful voice I can't help but be ashamed of falling in lust for, tells Rumpel that she'll live "but just won't remember who YOU are!"
A menacing cackle from Hook would have inserted itself well here, but instead we see Rumpel having a full-on nervous breakdown. Just as he begins to hurl a fireball at Hook, a car is speeding it's way INTO town.
By this point, I'm having a little breakdown of my own. I'm angry with the sexy pirate, feeling sorry for Rumbelle, but at the same time I'm relieved because finally an hour long mystery has just been solved. At last I understand why this episode was titled "The Outsider!"
So Hook gets hit by the car. I really don't care about that. It's the least he deserves after threatening innocent conscience's/crickets and bookworms.
- Is Hook dead? PLEASE, NO! I love to hate him and he's too sexy to die. Really, I just want to look at him. Is that too much to ask?
If still alive, will he still have his memory? I think he would, because the curse never affected him just as it didn't affect Emma.
- I never did speak of Snow and Charming! Snow wants to move out of her adorable shabby chic-ish cottage and spend a quiet life in Storybrooke, but Charming wants to fight, fight, FIGHT for their old home in FTL. Snow is tired of fighting, and I really can't blame her. All the same, my vote goes to Charming.
Charming 1 / Snow 0
- I'm glad the town now knows Archie is alive, but I want to know who Cora really killed.
- I'm happy for Pongo having his master back.
- Ruby and Archie totally need to hook up. Everytime I see them onscreen, I think they'd make a nice couple.
- Henry is one confused kid. One second, he's drawing up plans for an armory in his 20-something's grandmother's old room, to protect himself and Emma from the evils of Regina. Then fastforward two seconds and, learning that it was Cora that only shapeshifted as Regina to "kill" Archie... Henry tells his Mom "I knew it!" He knew all along that Regina was innocent.
Wuh-huh? Sure, kid. I'm glad Archie is back because you just might need someone to talk to about this. It's been one hell of a stressful week for you, and now you don't even have a dog.
Warning:
This is going to be one l-o-n-g and rambling post. This isn't exactly the norm for me, but I have to do something to pass the time. (Since I'm bored, spoiling Abby by letting her play outside. This post will take days to write). However, I promise there will be a reward once you reach the end of this post. Even if you cheat and just scroll down, you'll still receive your reward. I'm really not very picky, you see. Sometimes I'm just a fan of rambling... (thanks to either boredom, heat exhaustion, or all the caffeine I'm ingesting out here via delicious iced mochas)... and, as you'll discover in the next few minutes, an ever bigger fan of posting YouTube videos and Pinterest posters.
Mom and I went to Disney for her birthday. Mickey's-Not-So-Scary-Halloween-Party was on her actual birthday that year. It was a blast, and the first time we'd ever been to Disney in October.
It was our first trip there by ourselves, too. Ever since then, we've learned just how well we travel together. Come winning lottery time, we're gonna have a blast in Ireland, Scotland and Italy. Just you wait!
2. Hooray! It's a peek into just one episode, but that's fine.
"Yippie-kay-yay!!! The Doctor's in town, y'all.The celebrating's 'bout to start, so fetch them fancy fireworks out'er the distillery and get 'Ol Bill to tune this here dusty pian-er in the bar!"
3. I cannot get a post from one of my favorite blogs out of my head. It was posted several weeks ago, but it's still in the forefront of my mind because it's just so awesome and unique.
Click HERE to visit the Allure of Cinematography post on Megan's "Storybook Love Affair" blog.
Isn't that a catchy title?
She lives in Australia, ya know. I wish I were in Australia right now. It's nearing winter there, while here it's miserable summer.
4. I think my weird, aka "deep," dreams have returned. One did last night anyway.
It was Christmastime, and I was at my grandmother's house. I was younger in this dream; a teenager. The house Grandma lived in wasn't anything grand, but I loved it. It was a small white house in some neighborhood in Chappell Hill. The house was overcrowded since everyone was gathered there for Christmas.
There was one particular family there I didn't know... (in all honesty, this part feels like two different dreams bleeding together and just combining into one)... and they had no manners. The youngest child in the family was around 4 years old. In front of this boy's family, I got all preachy. I stooped down to the boy's height, and stressed to him how important it is that he not behave in the same fashion as his family. I told him he had to be kind to animals and people, always.
Blah, Blah, Blah... I really went on and on and was quite repetitive because this boy was so young and I feared what I was saying was going to go through one ear and out the other.
A lot like my voice does in reality when speaking to my pets.
But I knew that if he didn't hear it from me, he wasn't ever going to hear it from anyone. Finally, I got through to him because he liked it when I said that he comported himself as being much smarter and more mature than his older siblings and even his parents. Probably too deep for a 3 or 4 year old kid, but hey... it's a nonsensical dream.
After playing preacher to the little boy, my parents and I are walking through the house to leave. I was speaking to one of my grandmother's friends, Debbie. (Debbie really does exist. I remember her from my childhood. For some reason I always giggled while in her presence.To this day I have no idea why that was. It's a mystery).
This next part gets a little fuzzy because we were talking about some gray cat that my grandmother had. I was telling Debbie that I can't imagine Grandma keeping the cat, as I've never seen her as a cat person. (In reality, Grandma doesn't have any pets). Debbie then reminded me that Grandma had already found a few really nice homes for the cat, only she hadn't chosen between them yet.
At this point we pass by a little library/office room of sorts. It's on my right hand side, as I'm walking towards the front door. There were lots of white shelves filled with encyclopedias and books. There were rows and rows of these shelves, just like you'd see in a real library, only they were about waist height. They weren't very tidy either. To my left is a mahogany mirror on the wall strung with garland at the top.
Finally, I'm out the door with my parents. It's nighttime and I am just so giddy! Normally, I would have been acting all calm and normal... and I almost did just that... but then I reminded myself of exactly WHERE I was and that things aren't the same anymore.
And this is the part where it gets a little strange. I hadn't told anyone, and I wasn't planning to because they'd think I was as nutty as a granola bar, but the truth was that I had traveled back in time, only to some parallel universe! I'm not even sure I had any siblings there.
So here I was walking down the street... in a flippin' parallel universe but back in time as well... with my parents. It's nighttime at Christmas, and I was just so thrilled to be young again. I was so happy that as I walked ahead of my parents, I threw caution to the wind and just spun in circles with my arms open wide and my face looking up at the sky.
It was impossible containing my excitement, and quite frankly I thought it was incredibly stupid to pretend those feelings of giddiness and joy and relief weren't there. I told my parents that I was young. That I was only a 16 year old.
After that, I woke up but I would imagine that if that dream had continued, my parents would have thought I had been sampling the special holiday punch.
I'm pretty certain that this dream exemplifies just how much age and myself are mortal enemies... hence why I loathe birthdays so much. If I could have one-on-one combat with Aging, I'm 100% certain that I'd be victorious in kicking her @ss. That's how much I dislike her.
5. Playing outside is exhausting work, don’t ya know?
We really have been spending a lot of time out back. (Abby wouldn’t have it any other way). But yesterday it was just too darn hot.
Summer weather around here is wicked, I tell you. W-I-C-K-E-D! I only wish it didn’t last so miserably long. That's the only thing I dislike about Texas. The heat/humidity and hurricane aftermaths.
After Hurricane Ike, we had no electricity for 15 days. Yes siree. Two weeks and one day with no AC during the day. Gas was hard to find, so we could only use our noisy generator at night. Because of all the generators, it was one noisy neighborhood for all those weeks. The heat was the worst part though.
Even in a blizzard people can find ways to warm up, but try cooling off in our summer heat with no air conditioning, no fans, no ice. Even all the food gets spoiled.
Okay, I just realized how off topic I just got. Moving on....
6. Apparently, not everything about my birthday last week was entirely evil. (Now that it's over, I can finally talk about it).
First, I received a whopping $25 gift card from McDonald’s to feed my iced mocha addiction. (Already, I only have something like $11 left. I believe this is proof positive that I need an intervention of some sort).
Then in the mail this weekend I received a $50 gift card to feed my other addiction.
7. I loved seeing this from the 4 minute mark. I loved it because he was showing Glamis Castle in Scotland!
A photograph of Glamis Castle is what I blame for the existence of my (sadly unagented) story. (I posted a short excerpt from it here once, but I think I ended up deleting it). It was kind of surreal because the second I saw it, I knew that that's how I was going to see Dunscrathe while writing my book.
Well, the outside anyway. That long drive and the castle itself. The interior and the castle's history isn't the same at all.
Interesting (to me) Random Coincidence:
I just realized that this episode aired on Doomsday my birthday.
8. Lovin' these songs again lately.
I have this music on my incredibly-neglected-but-I-really-don't-give-a-flying-frack Dreams website. It's great music to an equally fantastic movie.
My mother refuses to watch the movie. She thinks it's depressing. Some people think it's a little too complicated and cerebral, but that's what I love about it! I think the storyline is what YOU make of it. It's all about interpretation, and oftentimes your viewpoint on what's really going on changes with each viewing. It's my brain and ear candy flick.
Gosh, I love this movie! I need to watch it again. It's been a long time. I used to watch it religiously, but I finally stopped myself because I didn't want to ruin it by over-watching.
Which is precisely what I did with "The Lion King," don't ya know?
Insert Regretful Sigh...
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From the 5 minute mark, is that not the most perfect music for a kick@ss, epic sword fight in a movie? I was so excited when I heard this song in the last OUAT trailer.
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And here's more that I love.
9. The first season of "Once Upon A Time" is over. Sad, but nevertheless true.
However will I cope with the stress? Being addicted to a tv series is new to me. (Unless you count "Doctor Who").
If you haven't yet seen this series but plan to sometime in the future, I beg you not to read any further or watch the videos. Don't spoil it for yourself, please. It's a wonderful show and I will be posting spoilers from this season.
The finale was a little predictable and hokey in parts, but it also had some great scenes. My favorite line now is Emma's "storming" comment. Everyone loved that!
I loved loved LOVED the scene where everyone remembered who they were. It was awesome to see, but now I love Snow/Charming's reunion even more because I had forgotten that the last time she saw him she had thought he was dead.
And FINALLY we don't have to see "David" being all stupid and the opposite of charming. I understand why he didn't believe Mary Margaret about Katherine, seeing as his past life/real self really did see Snow behaving like a madwoman, but it still bugged me that he didn't support her.
While there were a lot of questions answered in the finale, and some endings tied with a neat little bow, we were also left with new mysteries to solve. What I want to know is:
- What happens to August/Pinocchio now? (Surprisingly, I ended up loving his story). How does the broken curse affect him, or does it? After all, he did turn back into wood before Emma broke the curse.
- Since Jiminy/Archie's parents were in a similar situation to Pinocchio's, what happens to them? Are they alive and human again?
- Will Archie turn back into Jiminy Cricket? I understand that the curse being broken didn't change his human form since he's still in Storybrooke and not the FT world, but what happened to him after Gold brought magic to Storybrooke?
I need to know this!!!
- WHO THE HECK IS DOCTOR WHALE?! We still don't know! How could they do this to me?
A pox on you writers!
Rumor has it that we'll know his identity by Season 2, and that it'll be a jaw dropping moment. It'd better be after all this waiting.
I've also read that, due to rights, Peter Pan and Captain Hook won't be in next season's episodes so I guess this means he isn't either one of those particular characters.
- Mr. Gold mentioned the love potion as having the power "to bring back what one has lost." Is he speaking of Bae, or something else we're not privy to yet?
- Magic has come to Storybrooke, but how is that going to be? They are still in the real world.
Okay... I meant to say they live "in A real world," as Jefferson/The Mad Hatter reminds us. The citizens of Storybrooke weren't transported back to the FT World, and magic existing in this world isn't natural. I'm really curious to see how the new Storybrooke will be. Will it look any different?
- Was the Fairytale World completely destroyed when the curse was enacted? Does it still exist? If so, why didn't they return? Will they ever?
I personally think it still exists. My guess is that Mr Gold/Rumpel just doesn't want to return. He knows his son is in a land without magic, so why go back? I also think Rumpel brought magic to Storybrooke because it will assist him in finding his son somehow. As he told Belle, "Magic is power."
While I believe part of that logic is the same old power trip, I also think Rumpel believes his recent actions will assist him in finding Bae.
- There has got to be a bigger story there with Jefferson and Evil Queen/Regina's relationship. Regina knows Jefferson far too well, and he knew what Regina did to Belle.
I've read one theory suggesting that they could actually be stepsister and stepbrother. Seems plausible to me.
- Who is Henry's father?
If he ends up being Dr Whale somehow I might just puke.
- Please oh please tell me that Rumpel is through with that darn helium voice. I far prefer the accent and darker, calm voice he used for Mr. Gold.
- What's with that Blue Fairy in the nightmarish jellyfish-like dress? I don't trust her.
- How will Gold/Rumpel get back at Regina for what she did to Belle? I cannot wait to see that!
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This isn't from the finale, but I loved this scene. I like August's relationship with Henry, and how could I not fall for him even more when he said with that cocksure grin: "I'm changing back because I haven't exactly been a good boy."
Marry me?
I cannot believe I've fallen for Pinocchio.
10. I’ve been so remiss in keeping up with GB news. He could have been on tv all this time, or there could have been new movies of his released in the stores and I wouldn't know it.
Maybe I’m not as pathetic a fan girl as I originally thought?
Must remedy this, because honestly...
Just look at him!
AND he comes with a Scottish soundtrack. The man might as well have jumped out of the pages of a romance novel set in The Highlands.
Which isn't that far fetched actually. There have been several petitions made, trying to get him to play the role of Jamie Fraser from Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. There has also been a lot of people saying he'd make a great Jericho Barrons from Karen Moning's Fever series.
Myself, I think he has the spirit of Jamie. Actually, it's safe to say that this is fact. In so many ways he IS Jamie Fraser. But personally, I'd rather see him as Barrons.
It's those eyes and that energy he sends out that’s very sensual. (Gerry’s eyes have always been able to convey emotion very well. The man doesn’t even have to open his mouth to have something to say). He already has the Scottish accent, is tall and big, can actually act, and possesses this quiet intensity that just comes naturally. The man can even brood sexy! He also gives off this vibe of being an old soul, which Barrons most definitely is. Gerry won’t necessarily have to “act” to play Barrons. Ooh, and then there are the hands. The man's hands are huge and can swallow a woman's face. Very, very sexy IMO. And Gerry naturally has that hard edge to him, just like JZB. Very rough around the edges and mysterious. There's nothing the pretty boy about him.
I'll always envision JB in the pictures below, and maybe even the one above. (No, not the smiley face but the other one. Lol! The sexy one). I see it the most in the first two photos.
-- (Click on Thumbnails)
But having said all that, I'd be content with any actor so long as he had that magnetism through the eyes and with his body language.
All right, I am really sorry for babbling.
11. Anyone see the solar eclipse yesterday?
Unfortunately, I missed out. I would have loved to have seen it, but... no special glasses. Where do people get those things anyway?
12. It's all about perspective, folks.
Well, alrighty then. I promised a reward if you managed to reach the end of this post, and so here it is!
It's virtual, but what did you expect?
I didn't title my blog "Stuff and Nonsense" for nothing.
