Once Upon A Time 1.19

‘I have broken one deal in my life, and it certainly wasn’t this one’

Last week it seemed that Once Upon A Time needed to step up, and step up they did with an intense last few minutes of this episode! We were taken from a tear jerking reunion to shocking surprises, all of which set the stage for what is sure to be a fabulous season finale.

This episode provided us with the story of Mr Gold (Robert Carlyle) and his son (Dylan Schmid) – one which was potentially dull but proved moving and riveting. Unlike last week, it was the young actors who stood out for all the right reasons. Dylan Schmid portrayed a son who just wanted his Father to be the best person he could be very strongly. By labelling Rumplestiltskin a coward as he was passing into a different world took the actor to a different level as he showed great desperation and emotion.  Similarly, the only scene between two young actors so far in the season was also touching and a highlight of this episode.

Once again Robert Carlyle played the villain for a lot of the episode. The fact that August (Eion Bailey) was going to come out as the Storybrooke version of Baelfire was predictable but the fact that he was actually just impersonating him came as a complete surprise – something Once Upon A Time has become expert in providing over the last few weeks. We were taken to the point of hating Gold, being disappointed in him to actually having sympathy for him all with much credit to Carlyle. He has left us impatiently wondering and highly anticipating what the character is going to do next.

Emma (Jennifer Morrison), finally deciding to fight for Henry (Jared Gilmore) has provided a strong foundation for the final episodes of the season, which i’m sure the audience are eagerly anticipating. This truly gripping episode was a great improvement from last week with fascinating storylines and strong performances, particularly from the younger members of the cast.

Aired 5/08/12 Channel 5