Once Upon a Time 3.02: Lost Girl

It’s an interesting parallel that this identity crisis that Emma’s been facing is very similar to Snow’s past struggle with her role as the leader of her father’s kingdom. So far it seems as though this trip to Neverland has been less about a rousing adventure and more about the journey and personal struggles that these characters will be facing while trying to save one of their own.

Last week it was all about the hostility that still plagues this little rescue team. Now that they’ve decided to shelve their indifferences – for now - we focus in on each of them individually. We’ve seen Emma face different levels of acceptance of who she really is, but this is the first time that it’s been something wholly negative. Even though her parents are back in her life, she still grew up alone and her parents are pretty much the same age as her; not normal familial circumstances.

It makes sense that Neverland would be where she finally comes clean about this loneliness she’s been feeling, and why she still can’t connect with Mary Margaret and David. Even though she’s accepted that, after a push from her mother, there’s still hope that their family can be brought back together. Mary Margaret made that much clear to Emma when she acknowledged that it’s her job to make Emma feel like part of a family.

It took her longer to accept her destiny as the leader of a kingdom, though. It’s been a while since we saw Snow make the declaration to reclaim her father’s land, and it’s nice to finally see what struggles she faced along the way. Like I said, there were some interesting parallels here between Snow and Emma’s individual struggles to come to grips with hard truths. Though being a strong leader isn’t as painful as accepting that you feel no connection with your family, it’s going to be a long road for Snow before she gets to that wedding day we saw in the pilot.

I’m happy with this personal approach that seems to be driving this Neverland plot, but at the same time there is a serious lack of excitement, and the show is paling in comparison to this time last season, where things were in overdrive. I think we need to step things up a notch, especially since we’re only getting started.

6/10

Plus

Looks like Hook has some past with Pan’s favoured henchman.

I know he meant well, but Charming manipulating Snow like that was a little sneaky, right?

Will we be learning more about Rumple’s father?

David’s been shot. How long has he left before he starts to show signs of dreamshade?

He Said, She Said

Peter: “It’s not about finding Henry, it’s about how you find him.”

Mary Margaret: “You were an orphan. It’s my job to change that.”

Hook: “Just who are you, Swan?”
Emma: “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Also posted at Doux Reviews and Nads Reviews.