Once Upon a Time 2.14: Manhattan

Almost everything that happened in this episode was inevitable. As truths came pouring out, so did sudden shifts in perspectives, as characters realised that the people they loved may not be who they say they are. Amidst all of this, those hiding secrets had to have known what was going to happen once they were exposed. Isn’t that always the way; lying doesn’t hurt you, it hurts those around you.

Emma is the pillar of that example. I said before that I get why she lied to Henry; she was protecting him. For all she knew Neil was a lying cheat, who threw her under the bus to save his own skin. But now that she’s learned the truth she can see what hiding Neil from Henry has done to him, and to their relationship. She’s done exactly what Regina did, lied to her son. That’s a betrayal that he won’t be quick to let go of.

Neil/Bae won’t be so quick to let go of Rumple’s betrayal either. I’ve talked already about inevitabilities, and Bae smacking down Rumple’s open hand was definitely one of them. His father left him to rot somewhere he could never be reached, at least that’s how it looked to Bae. Now he’s going to try and give Henry what was missing from his life, he’s going to be a father to him.

Emma doesn’t feel as forgiving of Neil as Henry does. He put her in an awful position. He had his reasons, sure, but Emma didn’t know that. Just as Henry spent his life believing his father was dead, Emma spent the past 10 years thinking Neil was bad guy. In some ways, I guess he still is, and could still turn out to be, but there was a lot that changed when she ran into him again and it’s going to take some getting used to.

We learned in flashbacks this week about what led Rumple to abandon his post during the ogre war. I’m not going to say my opinion of him has changed, he still took the easy way out, but there’s definitely some part of him that showed selflessness. He didn’t just run away to save his own skin, he did it to make sure his son grew up with a father. Will he take more drastic action to stop the seer’s prophecy about Henry coming true?

‘Manhattan’ brought Once Upon a Time back to fighting state. It focused on the parts of the show that work; the characters themselves. As usual, it wasn’t all that surprising. Many of us had already guessed who Bae was, and what that meant for the show’s titular family, but it’s always satisfying to see this kind of thing play out.

7/10

Plus

Looks as though Cora has gotten used to life topside, check her out in her modern day threads! Hook doesn’t seem to feel the same way out fashion these days though, looks like he’s sticking to his signature jacket.

WHY did Regina feel the need to empty Belle’s bag like she did? Wouldn’t it have been easier to do it by hand, and less sloppy?

He Said, She Said

Neil: “I’ve spent a lifetime running form that man, I’m not gonna let him catch me.”

Emma: “You let me go to prison because Pinocchio told you to?!”

Also posted at Doux Reviews.

Follow @PandaTVReviews