Once Upon a Time Recap: Season 5 Episode 17

I briefly mentioned last week that Belle was dragged to the Underworld along with Zalena, but I didn't elaborate upon it as it wasn't relevant to the rest of the episode. However, this week, that dynamic takes center-stage, so let's lay it all out there. Last week, Belle became fully aware that A. She's with child, B. Rumple is the dark one once again, and C. Rumple once made a deal to give up his second born and, thanks to some clever manipulations, that now means that Hades will get Belle's baby. Belle, naturally reacts with anger, but if she hasn't given up on Rumple by now, she never will. I'll elaborate upon what I mean by that at the end. Belle is still mad at her husband, but right now she's thinking practically, and she says the priority must now be to find a way to defeat Hades. Sounds like a plan, Rumple was planning that anyway. However, Belle's sole condition is that Rumple not use dark magic. That, might be a problem, especially since Hades is putting together his own plan of action, one that involves Gaston. The flashback this week shows how Belle and Gaston first met, long before she came to be with Rumple. While he's still clearly a jerk, it seems his reputation as a vain womanizer has been greatly exaggerated. Now normallyI enjoy it when this show subverts expectations, but here, I don't really care for it. Gaston was an entraining and memorable character precisely because he was a sexist and self-absorbed pig. He was basically Zapp Branigan before there was a Zapp Branigan. Take those qualities away, and what were left with is someone who is just a generic jackass bad guy of the week.

Anywho, Hades wants Gaston to take care of Rumple for him, and while Rumple is more than willing to end him outright, Belle stops him, thinking she can talk him down. Ultimately however, Belle is the one who ends up accidentally killing Gaston, playing right into Hades hand... somehow. There's an explanation for it, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, at least not yet. Meanwhile there's a subplot about Emma having a dream in which Snow is killed by a Monster that seems to be coming true. It's nothing to write home about, but the significance comes when we reveal that the monster is, in fact, Ruby, aka, Little Red Riding Hood.

This is a pretty decent episode but not without it's flaws. Let's discuss the negatives first. While I've been praising Hades in previous articles, my patience has been wearing more and more thin as the season has progressed. There's good ideas present within this character (wanting to be with Zalena notwithstanding) but the problem is Greg Germann's delivery just flat out sucks. Take James Woods in Disney's Hercules. When Woods played Hades, he played it like a used car salesman or a Hollywood producer, talking really fast and to throw his opponent off, and always trying to smooth talk his way into turning the situation to his benefit, and James Woods had the natural charisma to pull that off. Greg Germann is clearly trying to emulate that, but, well let's just say he's no James Woods. Instead, what we have are line deliveries that sounds like a slowed down Dr. Cox but devoid of any charisma or likability. What's more, his motivation still isn't fully defined and is proving more and more confusing each week. However, what I want to talk about is Rumple and Belle's relationship, which is the focus and the highlight of this episode. Emilie De Ravin and Robert Carlyle have always worked well together, but this episode is the first time they've really felt like a legitimate married couple. When I said Belle wasn't giving up on Rumple, I didn't mean that in a "She has Stockholm syndrome" kind of way as one would often think when the tale of Beauty and the Beast is discussed, but rather in a way that says, "This man may have done me wrong, but he is my husband, and I am willing to what it takes to work through whatever problems we may have." And, it's also interesting to look at this from Rumple's perspective as well. Here is a man who is torn between the two things he loves most, power and Belle, and he's desperately trying to have his cake and eat it too. You can even say his assertion of "Turning darkness into light is impossible, but using darkness for light is doable" is actually a pretty good point. Belle's unwillingness to use dark magic isn't necessarily right. My favorite moment in the episode comes when Belle, who is always willing to find alternatives to murder and bloodshed, inadvertently kills Gaston. Rumple immediately comforts her seeing how the act has torn her apart. Rumple, the same man who was willing to end Gaston without a moment's hesitation or regret, now comforts Belle for the same thing. Even though he either doesn't care about the corruption of his own soul, or believes it is simply to late for him, he never wanted to see Belle's soul become as tainted as his own. As I said, the two genuinely come off like a married couple in this episode. They have they're problems to be sure, but they are willing to work through them because of their love for one another. Next time, we find out just why the heck Ruby is in the Underworld.