Magic sand fixes everything
Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.
The idea of Arthur being a villain was interesting when it was introduced last week but seeing his motivation in this week’s Once Upon a Time made it less appealing. He’s obsessed with repairing the broken kingdom of Camelot, and while it’s a worthy enough goal, it wasn’t fleshed out. We needed to learn more about why Camelot was broken and why that’s bad in order to understand why Arthur is so obsessed. Were the subjects starving? How were they suffering? As it stands, it felt hollow. Arthur appeared to be driven by only selfish reasons, and it made him boring.
There was a hint of him desiring power with the flashback to his childhood, but he didn’t seem like the ambitious type who only acted in order to be in charge. He got swept up in Merlin’s prophecy. He didn’t really show a passion for Camelot independent of being what Merlin told him he would be. Villains work best when there’s a tiny part the audience can relate to, and we get inside Arthur’s head enough to grab onto anything. However, he is acting so cruelly that it is at least fun to dislike him.
Once Upon a Time: “The Broken Kingdom” Photo Gallery:
Once Upon a Time: “The Broken Kingdom” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Broken Kingdom” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Broken Kingdom” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Broken Kingdom” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Broken Kingdom” Photos
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Once Upon a Time: “The Broken Kingdom” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Broken Kingdom” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Broken Kingdom” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Broken Kingdom” Photos
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Guinevere’s story had promise. The Guinevere and Lancelot saga is so well known and universal in ways other characters on Once aren’t that it’s a tricky one to alter. Not enough of Guinevere and Lancelot’s interactions were shown to make the first kiss quite what it should have been, but their love for each other was believable. But, it was severely disappointing to learn Guinevere is merely a puppet at Arthur’s side because her ability to choose for herself was taken away by him. The only plus of all the magic sand business was Lancelot instantly recognizing Guinevere was under its influence. That storytelling decision saved a whole lot of annoying and unnecessary angst.
Arthur’s not so subtle actions briefly made David and Mary Margaret more interesting. Their argument was out of left field, but it was fantastic to see Mary Margaret call David out for taking the seat at the round table and question why he wanted it. And hey, at least he did finally realize it was sort of weird for Arthur to bestow the honor so quickly. David and Mary Margaret’s double cross was deftly constructed, and I was surprised by Mary Margaret bringing a fake dagger to the party and tricking Arthur.
Emma and Hook got to be the most adorable in this episode. The scene with them embracing among the flowers was beautifully framed, shot, and performed. In Camelot, Hook is so supportive and serves as Emma’s tether to the good side of herself. That’s compelling for a couple reasons. First of all, Emma was once an anchor for Hook, and now their roles are reversed. Hook has unique perspective to offer since he’s been a villain before. Secondly, Hook’s behavior in Camelot is in stark contrast to how Hook is behaving in Storybrooke with Dark Swan.
Though the Camelot arc isn’t the most compelling yet, the Storybrooke crew is fitting into it nicely. Arthur’s story isn’t taking over, and the Excalibur and Dark One’s dagger connection means Emma and co. are thoroughly involved. The introduction of the sand from Avalon and seeing Arthur’s true nature is opening the door to understanding why Emma embraced evil. They’re doing a suitable job of planting those seeds; there’s just enough information to start theorizing about Emma’s decision.
