Once Upon a Time Recap: Season 5 Episode 13

Season 5B continues its momentum this week. In today's outing, our focal point is Snow White and her History with Hercules. As it turns out, the two had a bit of a thing for eachother when they were children and it was, in fact, Hercules, who trained Snow White in how to use a bow, making her the badass fighter we've seen in all those flashbacks. We also finally see Hook, and he's clearly been through the ringer since he arrived in the Underworld, made all the worse when he runs afoul of Cerberus, the three-headed hell hound, and it seems for our heroes, the only way to Hook is through that monster, and for that they need Hercules. The problem, since, y'know, dying, in a fight against Cereberus I might ad, ol' Wonder Boy hasn't exactly been himself. Meanwhile, Henry sneaks into the mayor's office of this parallel only to find Cruella Deville waiting for him. It's here that it's implied that Henry may still be able to access the power of the Author. Cruella wants out of the Underworld and believes that Henry can make it happen, and if Cruella is restored to life, Emma's conscience is once again clean. Henry's decision whether or not to help her is left ambiguous but it's worth noting that he doesn't tell anyone that he ran into Cruella.

Anywho, this is a really strong episode with some great character work and some fun ideas. Cerberus is very impressive, and used well. Up until the end of the episode all we ever see of it is Shadows and six glowing red eyes. Obviously, if you know your mythology, you know what Cerberus looks like, but the show still does a good job leaving it's appearance vague up until the big reveal, most of the terror comes from the stories of the monster from its victims as well as it's distant roars, making it's reveal effective, despite the special effects looking less than stellar. Snow obviously gets to shine here, but the highlight of the episode actually goes to Regina, where she talks Snow into taking another chance at fighting Cerberus, stating how many times she thwarted her attempts at killing her in the past and even admitting that she and Snow are friends. It's an excellent scene and once again shows Regina's character growth from the cold-hearted bitch we saw back in season one. We see a lot more of Hades this week, and he is fantastic, played a lot like a more serious version of his Disney counterpart. He can be cruel, he can be condescending, and he knows how to get in your head, all in all, he's a great villain.

I suppose if I had to complain about something, it'd probably be Hercules himself. Look, I'm sure this kid is a fine actor and he did a good job in the role, but I just don't see Hercules when I look at him. I just see some pretty boy who's a little buff. When I think of Hercules, I think of a towering grizzled and battle harderened warrior with muscles harder than stone. You're telling me this kid is the man who slayed the mighty hydra and carried the heavens upon his shoulders. I'm sorry, like I said, the kid is a perfectly fine actor, but I don't buy it.

Next Week, we have a meeting of the minds between Rumple and Hades. Stay tuned and find out how that goes.