It’s time to go the distance.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
With Hades and the Underworld in the picture, it was only a matter of time before we got to Hercules. The character who went from zero to hero popped into “Labor of Love” both in the past and present. By no means do I want a Hercules theme to take over Once Upon a Time, but his and Megara’s stories were introduced and wrapped up in the blink of an eye. They had an effect upon the Storybrookers — especially when it came to Mary Margaret — but it felt like a waste of a character of Hercules’ caliber.
Before I dive into Hercules and his past with Snow, I want to briefly discuss Meg. She was barely in the episode and not even named until close to the end. So many questions were left unanswered about her. Why was she in hell? Why was she in prison in hell? And why the hell was her unfinished business being saved by Hercules? It seems particularly crappy to be stuck in the Underworld because someone failed at rescuing you and you’re part of his unfinished business. That’s unfair. I don’t know if any of these questions are particularly relevant to the overarching plot of saving Hook but thinking about them was enough to take me out of the episode.
Hercules’ primary role in the episode was to remind Mary Margaret about who she really was. The trip to the past added another item to the super overweight baggage between Regina and Snow. Their past is constantly brought up, but in this case, it gave depth to Snow. Bailee Madison has been playing young Snow White for years now, and besides being a miniature Ginnifer Goodwin as far as physical appearance, she embodies the character. She did a tremendous job balancing Snow’s frustrations, bravery, and uncertainty. Also, teen Snow and Herc were the cutest together.
Once Upon a Time: “Labor of Love” Photo Gallery:
Colin O’Donoghue on Once Upon a Time
Colin O’Donoghue on Once Upon a Time
Colin O’Donoghue on Once Upon a Time
Colin O’Donoghue on Once Upon a Time
Teach Grant on Once Upon a Time
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Jennifer Morrison, Jonathan Whitesell, Ginnifer Goodwin, Lana Parrilla on Once Upon a Time
Jonathan Whitesell on Once Upon a Time
Greg Germann on Once Upon a Time
Greg Germann on Once Upon a Time
Jennifer Morrison on Once Upon a Time
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Jennifer Morrison on Once Upon a Time
Jennifer Morrison on Once Upon a Time
Jonathan Whitesell, Ginnifer Goodwin on Once Upon a Time
Greg Germann on Once Upon a Time
Greg Germann on Once Upon a Time
In the present, Hercules again helped Snow. She realized she’s been timid for too long. I’m not saying Mary Margaret has to be like the more badass Snow to be interesting — it’s fine for someone to not be a risk-taker because diversity in personality types is neat. However, it’s as though Mary Margaret has been stifling her true self for ages. She hasn’t been the Snow we knew in the Enchanted Forest, and it’s always come across as a bit off and boring. But she took a big step forward and realized she needed to find herself again. Props to her (and the writers) for calling out her annoying speeches about hope.
Even with mentioning those cliches about optimism, the episode sure leaned into some corny comments about fear and being a hero. I realize it’s a series about fairy tales, and those sort of statements do come with the territory. They rang true, but there was some serious cheese happening.
The whole searching for Hook business didn’t get very far. I’m glad they at least established he’s aware Emma is in the Underworld. And yet another mission got folded into the mix with Cruella bringing up the Author business. While I’m not positive they need anything else to do in the bizarro Storybrooke, I’m happy the quill is back on the table. Henry giving up his power couldn’t have been as simple as breaking the quill, and I’m looking forward to seeing what sort of decisions he’ll have to make.
Finally, boy did Regina deliver with the nicknames. Her calling the Hansel and Gretel witch a “child muncher” was priceless.
Hercules got to carry around giant anchors and act in a generally adorable fashion, but this quick in-and-out story almost wasn’t worthy of the character. The guest role shouldn’t overtake the primary cast, but it could have been handled in a more interesting way and with less pieces of gooey, eye roll inducing advice. Still, it did serve one important and overdue advancement: Snow throwing aside her Mary Margaret-ness.
