What did you think of episode 2×03 “Lady of the Lake”?

16 responses to “What did you think of episode 2×03 “Lady of the Lake”?”

1. Valerie David | October 14, 2012 at 9:21 pm | Reply

   I dunno…I wasn’t a fan of this one so much. They seem to be having a little trouble with meshing the dark and fairy-tale-light in this one. Charming’s mom is dying and they’re just taking a casual stroll to the lake to try and save her. Then when Snow figures out that she died so Snow could be cured, she seems a little too happy after learning that someone sacrificed themselves that way.

   I did like that there were a lot of scenes where it was all women, and that Snow was a total badass with the ogre…hah. It’s interesting how if the scene had four guys in it you wouldn’t think anything of it, but if it’s four women it still stands out.

   What did you think?

2. Micheline | October 14, 2012 at 9:44 pm | Reply

   I preferred this episode to season 2 premier which was pretty weak.

3. jo | October 14, 2012 at 10:01 pm | Reply

   I nearly cried!! The scene between Emma and Snow was darling. Emma’s confession of how nobody ever put her first and Snow saying well get use to it! James losing his mom was so sad. James and Henry bonding. Ahhh!!! And then Cora just totally fooling my ass but she couldn’t fool SNOW!

4. Ms Terri | October 15, 2012 at 12:41 am | Reply

   I just saw it. I agree with Valerie. I did like badass Mary Margaret/Snow and the all-female Ogre-fighting brigade but thought there was something off about the tone of the episode, as if the writers couldn’t decide whether to be serious or flip.

   The highlight for me was the scene that Jo mentioned, where Snow tells Emma to get used to being first — though I’m having some trouble getting past the way that Emma looks older than her Mom.

   So far, for me, the best episode of the season was last week’s, by a mile. There was a psychological depth to it that I found largely missing from both the premiere and from tonight’s episode.

   Nice ironic twist, though, that the lady of the lake was Charming’s mother.

   I wonder if one reason this episode felt weak was because it had very little of Lana Parrilla and nothing of Robert Carlyle.

5. Lisa | October 15, 2012 at 8:18 pm | Reply

   I wouldn’t characterize this episode as weak but I still feel as if the storytelling is moving too quickly—-the writers seem to be cramming too much into each episode instead of taking their time to tell this fantastical story. Some of these moments are profound(Snow seeing the remains of Emma’s nursery for instance) but aren’t given the time they deserve. The Charmings are my weakness so I loved the fact that this episode focused on Snow & Charming and Snow/Mary Margaret and Emma. I only wish that the “moments” of them that I’ll cherish lasted a bit longer.

   With the appearance of Cora I didn’t really miss Rumple(but a little more juxtaposition between Regina and Cora would have been appropriate) and in a way am glad that the writers aren’t putting every character into every episode whether they belong there are not. The previews for next Sunday’s episode seem to revolve around Rumple and Captain Hook so we may not see much of Snow, Charming or Emma and I’ll miss seeing them but that’s okay. Every character deserves their due.

   • Ms Terri | October 16, 2012 at 11:25 am | Reply

     I agree that the moment Snow saw the remains of the nursery could have been very poignant if there had been more of a pause to let it sink in. Also, before that, when they first saw the castle from across the lake, and it was in ruins — I would have expected that moment to have more impact. That was their whole world! Gone!

6. Riles | October 15, 2012 at 9:48 pm | Reply

   I agree that this episode was a little weak. I most definitely agree with Lisa that they are cramming too much information into one episode.
   In my opinion, when that happens, alot of things get missed and seem rushed. I brought this up last season. The season finale was overkill.
   If they took their time to tell the story, missing pieces would be much fewer.

   IMO pros/cons for this episode:

   Pros:
   –Loved the dialogue between Emma and Snow. The anger Emma carried with her and finally the realization that Snow put her first. Snow did what she thought was best for Emma and now that action is understood.
   –The ‘mystery’ of why one corner of the land survived. I highly suspect Cora somehow protected it. Ironic how Cora wasn’t affected by the curse. It’s my belief she somehow concocted a protection spell.
   –Emmas sarcastic modern day humor is enjoyable.
   Mulan – Follow my lead, do what I say….step where I step and we might
   survive.
   Emma – Thanks for the pep talk. I think we’ll be ok, I just killed a dragon
   last week
   Mulan – Have you ever seen an ogre?
   Emma – No, but I’m pretty sure I dated a few.
   –Lancelot was Cora in present day. That twist was AWESOME.

   Cons:
   –The beginning battle scene when King George’s men found Snow/Charming’s camp. When the dialogue between the main characters was happening, fighting was taking place in the background. It was awful. The extras were just lazily slapping swords together. Looked like they were handling fly swatters. There was no movement. They just stood there in one spot and went through slow motion movements. It drew my attention away from the dialogue because it was so bad. I felt no sense of danger for the main characters. Awful.
   –The ogre looked ok, but his bark was worse than his bite. The ogre waled alot. That’s about it. It didn’t touch Emma or Snow. Ok, it knocked the gun out of Emma’s hand. The scene was HUGE. Out of all of that you would think the ogre could have knocked the cr#$ of a couple people…..even just one person. That scene was awful.
   –When Henry opened the box of snakes, he was facing a wall. The entrance was behind him. Then Charming/David comes up IN FRONT of henry and shuts the box. Well, wouldn’t Henry have seen David come in before he opened the box? It was so bad I noticed it right away. The first thing I thought was..”Hey, where did he come from?”. Badly done placement.

   The writers need to slow things down and fill in gaping inexplicable holes in their stories. There are WAY TOO MANY to list here. I understand the “suspension of disbelief”. I totally get it. That’s not what I’m talking about here. It’s the lack of explanation that’s killing them, especially when they build a story around it. Just give an explanation…that’s all…especially when you build around a point. Don’t just leave it there for people to say…”Hey, that’s not right”.
   For example:
   First if was…
   “There’s no magic here”. Umm ok, then how is the curse working? This is the whole plot in the first season. I think an explanation is in order…and no once again I’m not talking about the suspension of disbelief.
   …then….
   “Magic is different here”. Really? How? They brought it up like 5 times. After you bring it up that much, I think you need to elaborate.

   They need more action…ALOT more action. Come on people, this is a story of heroes heroines and villains. I don’t mean they need to put in gory massive bloody scenes but at least give it more kick.
   IMHO, if they slowed down the storytelling and added more action, the action would offset the slowness of the storytelling. I’m not an expert (by any stretch of the imagination) but if it’s written and acted correctly, the audience would be very entertained. I think the writers have chosen a bad path to tell the story too fast just to keep people watching, that they are missing way too many finer points. Most people I talk too tell me things aren’t very well thought out. I have to agree with them. I already have 2 friends that have lost interest. I don’t want to see this series cancelled. The ideas and concepts are awesome which is why I like it. I hope the writers are listening to their fans.

   .

7. Monica | October 15, 2012 at 11:59 pm | Reply

   I liked the ending. So where has Charming’s “father” been hiding? Now that he remembers will he be causing trouble for David?
   I liked that Jackson got back with his daughter. Kinda weak that he didn’t go after her right away. I mean last season it seemed that was all he wanted.
   So when do you think Cora came back from Wonderland? If indeed that was where Regina pushed her too.
   I was excited when Henry went to the vault. There is some magic there. All those hearts.
   Looking forward to next week. I always love when Rumple is on.

8. Sassy | October 16, 2012 at 12:28 pm | Reply

   I wonder if King George was the man in the big city who got the note ‘broken’…and what is the story behind that?!
   And where is Pinocchio ? I’m dying to know.
   I love that Jefferson is back with his daughter, but I want that whole story too!
   Yep…I’m one of those who just wants the secrets revealed.

9. Sassy | October 16, 2012 at 12:49 pm | Reply

   I just read a comment about the mystery man possibly being Henry’s dad…oh my gosh…what if King George is Henry’s dad?!!! He wanted a child of his own…that awful pig. He found Emma, so his child would be 100% FairyTale. Uugh sickening. Finally I don’t want Henry’s dad and Bae to be the same person…always have before.

   • Ms Terri | October 16, 2012 at 1:07 pm | Reply

     I don’t think King George is Henry’s dad. His Storybrooke identity is the District Attorney. He showed up last season, briefly, when Mary Margaret was in jail, and he showed up again — significantly — at the end of this last episode (and now that he recognizes Charming, he’s sure to hatch up some evil plot against him).

     I don’t remember if Emma interacted with the DA during his brief previous scene — but she would have to know him because she’s the police chief and would have to work with him. So if he was Henry’s father, she would have recognized him (unless she lost her memory or something like that).

     I think that Henry’s dad is going to be someone who we will like, and there will be a good explanation for whatever it was that he did that made Emma not want to see him.

10. Sassy | October 16, 2012 at 1:17 pm | Reply

    Dang. And all obvious – sorry I missed all that and thanks for setting me straight!

11. Riles | October 16, 2012 at 9:46 pm | Reply

    Ok, I have a working theory:
    What if Cora was King George’s wife that couldn’t have kids because she drank the ‘vile potion’……a bad deal gone more wrong with Rumpelstiltskin at the helm…. of course….maybe?
    King George banished Cora because she did such a thing.
    Cora wanted power back, and once again trusted Rumpelstiltskin. She wanted power so she got the book of magic if, in turn, she raised Regina as her own and saw to it that Regina would one day be queen and belong to Rumpel.
    Thoughts?

    • Ms Terri | October 16, 2012 at 11:30 pm | Reply

      Wow, I think that’s possible. Cora, as the Miller’s Daughter, would have married a king — and there’s no reason I can see it couldn’t have been King George. And you’re right — any time there’s a vile potion, we should be looking around for Rumpelstiltskin.

      Very interesting theory!

      It makes a lot of sense. Rumpel would increase his power by controlling Regina the Queen. Cora would increase her power by getting to use magic. Everyone wins, except for Regina, who in this scenario would be a pawn of Rumpel and Cora.

      And it would explain why Cora went to such great lengths to make sure that Regina did not marry Daniel. It wasn’t just that Cora was a social climber — a motive that seemed kind of weak considering what she did to Daniel — but that she had made a deal with Rumpel, and the consequences of breaking that deal would have been dire.

      It would also explain Cora’s bitterness about how love doesn’t last.

      But if Regina is not Cora’s biological daughter, then whose daughter is she?

      • Riles | October 17, 2012 at 12:10 am | Reply

        My thoughts exactly. Cora could be the Millers daughter…with a twist. What we think we know about fairy tales and fables differs with the way things really went down.
        Cora was no longer able to spin gold (so to speak), and she made a very bad decision indeed.
        Once she was gone, the kingdom was in very bad need of assets ….right?
        Also, King George wanted his son to marry King Midas’ daughter. Remember that?.
        George’s kingdom seems to be the “needy kingdom”, and the marriage to Midas’ daughter would ensure their survival. They seem to have problems with sustaining their realm.
        Seems like a fit to me.
        The true identity of Regina remains to be seen. Who’s daughter is she?
        That is a good question. Maybe she is Cora’a daughter…but that’s just too easy.

        • Riles | October 17, 2012 at 12:12 am | Reply

          Also, the family name ‘Mills’…that’s a little hint there.