Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: A+ | 23 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT Lost
By Cindy McLennan | Season 2 | Episode 22 | Aired on 05.12.2013
Enchanted Past. Jolly Roger. Smee nags Hook. He wants his captain to surrender Baelfire to Him. Him. Him. Hook hollers about how he's the captain. Those who disobey can walk the plank and pray the mermaids take pity on their souls. During all the hubbub, Bae appears out of nowhere, slashes at Hook with a sword and says, "Face me, villain." Bae found the sketch of Milah on Hook's desk, and asks how he got a picture of his mother. He fingers Hook as the pirate who killed her. Hook sets him straight. Sure he stole Milah from Rumpy and Bae, and broke up their "happy" home, but it was Daddy Dearest who ripped out her heart and crushed it to bits.
Hook blathers about his thirst for revenge, but Bae would really like to revisit the part where he was abandoned by his own mother. Hook says, "Not a single day passed when your mother didn't regret leaving you, Baelfire. We talked about going back for you when you were old enough." Whoopty fricking doo. When Hook starts blabbing about fate and forming a new family, Bae shouts him into silence. "No. Stay back. You used me. You wanted to kill my father. [...] You tore apart my family, as sure as if you ripped her heart out yourself." When Hook tries to calm the tearful son of his dead love, Bae says, "Take me back to my real family -- the Darlings." Hook stammers that he can't, since it's not possible to leave Neverland. He offers Bae the chance to remain there, under his protection. Bae says he'd rather fend for himself than stay with Hook. "I want off this ship, Pirate." As Hook stares out of the sea, we flash forward to...
Storybrooke. Mines. Regina asks Henry, Emma, Snow and Charming what they're doing there. Henry says, "You were willing to die to save us. That makes you a hero. And now we're going to be heroes." I've seen a lot of objections to this -- as if the show is now deeming Regina a bona fide hero. Take a deep breath. I know how muddled things have been with Regina, but we don't have to accept Henry as a reliable narrator any more than we have to buy Snow's self-assessment that she has the blackest heart in all the realms. In this particular episode, Regina's actions are selfless and heroic. It's also one of the first times she's shown any meaningful self-awareness or remorse.
Charming explains the plan to open a portal and throw the trigger in it. Regina says it might not work, but Snow insists they try. Wonder flickers across Regina's face. As Charming tells everyone to step aside, Emma takes a few steps and opens the pouch. When she seems frozen, Charming calls to his daughter. She turns and says, "It's empty." She takes a beat and adds, "Hook." We cut to the...