Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: A+ | 210 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself
By Cindy McLennan | Season 3 | Episode 13 | Aired on 03.16.2014
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close."Witch Hunt" may just the best episode of Once Upon A Time, ever. Okay, let's remove the finales, so this is a fair game. There. Now, do you see what I mean? The fairy tale enchanted (sorry) me. The Storybrooke scenes overwhelmed me. I loved every little little bit.
In the recently Enchanted Past, Green (the Wicked Witch, i.e. Zelena) is Regina's sister, um -- elder half sister -- and her greenliness is pissed that her queenliness received so much attention from Cora and Rumpy. Is Rumpy Zelena's pater -- possibly, but we're not getting there this week, so I'm not going there, yet. (Still, let's not forget her complexion.)
Regina (with an assist from Robin) finally achieves an initial confrontation with her/their foe. However, Zelena then flies away on her broomstick, because FLYING BROOMSTICK! There are things to mention here, like sleeping curses and Roland, but I'm still all BROOMSTICK! FLYING!
Presently, most of the Storybrookers (naturally) suspect that Regina cast the current curse under which they're laboring. She didn't of course, and thank goodness Emma already realizes this, so Henry's moms work together to smoke out the villain of the day/week/half season. I just want to kiss every frame of this episode, yet I suspect my bussing is better left for the full write up.
I'll be back with the recap, ASAP. In the meantime, please grade the episode up top, and then join us on the boards, where everyone understands I have flying monkeys and am not afraid to use them. I even have a sign on my desk that says so. No, really. My kids gave it to me, years ago, long before I covered this show.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously on Once Upon A Time Regina finds herself mystically locked out of her palace and grounds. Snow wonders who is in there. Cut to Zelena (Rebecca Mader) who says, "The Queen may be evil, but I'm wicked, and wicked always wins."
We open a year ago, in the Enchanted Forest. At Knifingham Palace, Zelena gets a gander at Regina's chamber. "Look at all her things. Onyx, black pearl, diamonds." She holds a diamond and ruby earring up to her ear and admires herself in the mirror. "A family could live off of what this is worth. She just left it all behind. Ha." Oh tone it down, Zelena. I don't mean your coos and scoffs. I mean the greenness of your skin. Sure, "Witch Hunt" aired the night before St. Patrick's Day, but even the Kellys are like, "That's a bit much, cailín".
A frigging flying monkey flaps his wings and squawks in response. These monkeys are so well done and hideously creepy. Pawing through Regina's wardrobe, Zelena continues to carp about Regina. "Such pretty things, all wasted on her." She pulls out a grey gown with black accents, and in a puff of green smoke, she's wearing it. That is not what I would have lifted from Regina's closet, especially if I was a Kelly green-skinned ginger and didn't have Sebastian Stan as an accessory. Zelena disagrees with me, as she admires herself in yet another mirror. "Now, that's how you wear a dress." When the monkey again squawks in approval, Zelena says, "I know I look lovely. Now go find the Evil Queen, and let her know that I'm here. And no, there's no need to be gentle." I already love her.
We cut to the traveling party of returnees. Ruby is back, live and in ever-loving, living color! Here, I owe you some clarification. In last week's recaplet of "New York City Serenade," I said Red/Ruby was "photoshopped" into the return scene, this is because my technical knowledge is zilch. Similarly, in the recap, I called her CGRuby or similar. Both of those references were meant as quips, not as technical explanations. I could tell Meghan Ory wasn't on scene with the rest of the actors, which is all I was trying to highlight. Adam Horowitz later told me Ory wasn't photoshopped in; they shot her so she is moving. He added, "We shot it out of sequence and did composite it into the existing footage but it wasn't a still photo."