The episode, though in many respects very gratifying, leaves much to be desired in terms of helping the show out of its tangled knot this season, as it painfully points out some of the ongoing problems Once has faced this year.
For starters, many of the characters and their emotional believability are being sacrificed for the sake of the plot twists - never a good sign. For example, in this episode Emma, Neal, and even David are made to look much stupider than they have been portrayed up to this point, apparently because Henry needs a reason to be angry with them. In an unlikely turn of events, Emma and David decide that Henry should be told nothing of what is happening to Mary Margaret or with Regina, even though one of these events directly concerns him. Emma's continued thick-headedness about lying to Henry seems unbelievable at this point in the show, as she intends to stay with Henry and her family and there is no more reason to prevaricate or hedge her bets. But this is made even clearer when contrasted with Flynn's behavior toward Owen, who, though looking quite a bit younger than Henry, is treated by Flynn like a mature human being throughout the episode, being left to rescue himself, depend on himself, and take care of himself with his father's encouragement. Henry, on the other hand, continues to be treated (and acts like) a spoiled toddler (it must be noted that much of Gilmore's acting was wooden in this episode as well, in very stark contrast to Benjamin Stockham).
Likewise, Gold and Regina have also taken hits as they appear to be caught in a perpetual pendulum swinging between old habits and reformation. Though there are many touching (or meant to be touching) scenes, neither character has progressed emotionally, as Regina still inexplicably chooses revenge against Mary Margaret (never having had a solid motive to begin with) and Gold, though a bit kinder at times, still easily sacrifices others whenever it suits him. It is becoming difficult, at least for this viewer, to willingly identify with either character.
Mary Margaret's reaction to Cora's death is probably the most bizarre reaction to Cora's death (though none of the reactions seemed very realistic). Though she tortured and nearly decapitated one of the Queen's guards, killed countless soldiers of King George, and almost murdered Regina, she seems unable to deal with the death of Cora indirectly by her hand. Is this because she is now a denizen of the real world where character deaths seem, for some reason, to have greater significance? Is it her unspoken rule that no one should ever be motherless? Mary Margaret, whose mother Cora murdered (and whose father was murdered by Regina), has the strongest and most believable (and arguably justifiable) motive for revenge of any of the characters on the show, and yet she is the one who can't live with herself? This seems difficult to swallow, and makes Regina's bid for revenge seem positively petty, and, what's worse, highly doubtful in terms of emotional truthfulness. It reveals one of the major weaknesses of the plot to date: Regina's motivation for being the Evil Queen.
Regina, in spite of Lana Parilla's truly remarkable attempts to make her seem so, is lacking an emotionally truthful motivation for evil. The revenge plot typically goes stale very quickly, and Once has let this happen with almost all its major villains. Thankfully, Rumpelstiltskin's motivation was deeper, more complex, and more emotionally satisfying. In contrast to this, watching Hook, Regina, and Cora kill, scheme, and flaunt their ways to evil because they have been insulted (in Cora's case), or had their true loves murdered, seems silly. Regina's motivation might have made sense, but only if Snow White had clearly been directly responsible for Daniel's death. Instead, we are left to wonder well into the second season why Regina, who loves children, would blame Snow White when Cora had abused Regina from the very beginning and then ripped Daniel's heart out in front of her. Hook's true love for Milah (and hers for him) might have been more believable had the characters ever been shown as something more than selfish opportunists. Hook may have had a lasting passion worthy of so relentless (and tiresome) a revenge, but since his character's emotional depth is never explored this seems highly doubtful and difficult to believe.
Perhaps the main thing that this episode highlights is that the plotting of the first season was much tighter and emotionally satisfying than that of the second season. Rather than making me excited about the next episode, "Welcome to Storybrooke" made me long for Season One, for cursed Storybrooke, when the writers depended less on plot twists (well, a bit less) or action sequences, and more on simple emotional problems without easy solutions. The other crucial detail that is missing from Season Two is the wonderful dramatic irony that the the viewers enjoyed in Season One. When we knew the back stories of the characters, but still were able to watch them unknowingly living their lives, there was more structural tension to the plot, and more anticipation. With a plot that has so far relied heavily on action instead of emotion, the Second Season is turning out to be, in this viewer's opinion, a gosh-awful mess. There have been definite highlights to the year, but even more plot holes and some threads that have vanished entirely (Mulan? Phillip? Aurora? Hook?). While some of these disappearances are no doubt due to actor commitments, perhaps it would be better for the show's producers to think on a smaller scale. As many have pointed out, there are some "regulars" who have featured more like guest stars, while entire episodes have been devoted to fun characters (Anton & Cora), but ultimately pointless character development.
There is an argument that those who criticize shows should hold their tongues since, if they don't like the show, they should stop watching it. I would argue that those of us who do point to problems in Once Upon a Time do so because we enjoy the show so much. Perhaps this is arrogant to say, but with such a talented cast and crew, Once deserves a bit more attention paid to it.
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