GrhmLz

Agreed completely on this point.

To form a s1 analogy: We know Pinnochio|August was sent through the magic wardrobe with baby Emma. She was set up as the Savior to break Regina's curse. I would have been very annoyed if out of the blue August took center stage and suddenly Emma was side-lined while August found a way to defeat the curse instead. Sure, he was effected by the curse and could have had a role to play in helping Emma in such a scenario, but in the end, it had to be Emma going by the plot. That is how I see it here.

Zelena's whole backstory was about her jealousy of Regina and Rumple choosing her sister over her. How exactly does that center on Emma? With that said, I understand that there is more going on in the present, others like Emma and her family are effected, so yeah, I get that they will be involved in trying to stop Zelena. Emma would be helping Regina, that would make sense, but this episode concerned me because it appeared to be downplaying Regina's magic ability yet again, after already downplaying it with Zelena the episode before, only now in favor of Emma's novice abilities. How does this kind of story-telling indicate or setup that 'Evil' {aka. Regina} ultimately stands a chance in Evil v. Wicked at the end? Regina should ultimately bring her sister down, just like Emma ultimately broke Regina's curse of s1 otherwise this has no business being Evil v. Wicked if and when it will revert to Emma's magic being about bringing Zelena down. Heck, even the Neverland arc had Rumple as the one ultimately being the one to stop his father, Pan, by sacrificing himself, even though Pan's actions in the present were effecting Emma and the others too.

Of course, it does not mean it is positively going in such a direction. I mean, yes, it could just be about Regina doubting herself and hiding behind Emma's magic with her self-doubt; however, in the end, Regina will defeat her with Emma's help {and Rumple's if he is no longer under the witch's control by then}.

CityGal

And my point being, there is no indication they are not, "not allowing Regina" to do so. Perhaps your post was what you hope they do not do in the future. My post from what has occurred so far in the story your claims seem unfounded. More to ease your mind on where I see the story going.

Jewel Leigh

I think we will see something like this. We've seen no previous indication that "power" is the key to defeating villains. Rumple defeated Pan with no magic at all (well, he had the help of his magical shadow but no magic that he could wield himself). I know Zelena and probably Regina believes that raw power IS what matters and the one with the most power will always win.... but the entire story would fall if that actually turned out to be what matters. That just hasn't been true and would send a pretty awful message.

Anyway, I would be beyond shocked if we got no Evil/Wicked showdown. Zelena is messing with Emma's life too (Neal, the Snowing baby, Hook, threatening her entire family) and plus Emma is the main protagonist, so of course she will also be key. Not, however, so much that it takes away from Regina.

Nextract

I 100% agree with that. The entire show would fall over if that was the only defining factor, hell rumple could have ended the show in the pilot if that was the case given he originally set all these events in motion and created the curse, ultimately other people have to be given a shot to save the day, Im a Regina fan and I love that she has so much dark power, but if we are basing it on power rumple could end her next week, and emma... i mean currently she is learning and not much of a match to anybody. Wicked is really gonna need everybody working together to defeat, since regina cant do it alone and emma is a novice and rumple is sidelined, i think this season is about teamwork in one word. Power really doesnt make for great storytelling, we know who has all the power doesnt mean you want them cleaning everything up each week because that doesnt make for great storytelling.

scorpio_chick

Exactly, this.

My claims are not unfounded when the setup thus far allows for more than just one scenario. Once again, I'm not saying it's a forgone conclusion that Regina won't get to defeat Zelena. I'm saying that it isn't out of the realm of possibility, given that the writers have already told us that Regina is not as powerful as Zelena and that Zelena cannot actually kill Emma. Now perhaps as Jewel Leigh pointed out, we'll see that power isn't the end all be all. Perhaps superior wit and experience will prove more effective (as we saw in the first battle between Regina and Zelena). Or perhaps courage, or love...or all of the above. I'm not ruling anything out. That has been the basis of my argument from the start.

sasijaha

I think it's pretty standard for the hero of the storyline to worry that they are not strong enough to defeat the villain and are usually shown losing to them at some point. They also tend to have moments where they doubt whether or not they will be able to win. Sometimes, the hero believes that someone else would be the better choice to go up against the bad guy.

Personally, it feels to me as though they are following the standard hero storyline with Regina in relationship to the WW story.

Honestly, I think they are probably following their standard of storytelling by having one person/group defeat the big bad and then another person/group solving a different issue as a result ie Rumple defeats Pan while Regina saves them from his curse.

scorpio_chick

^^ I don't disagree with you. We'll see how it plays out.

Nextract

Im hoping tonight we will get Rumple back (no dagger control for zelena) and some serious action between the two sides, heres hoping!

GrhmLz

You are right, it does not have to mean 'magical power' is the key to defeating Zelena. Something like true love can simply prove to be the answer. Hopefully there is something to all this.

scififan2009

I don't see why it's Hook's fault if Ariel couldn't find Eric. He's not responsible for what happened to him. He honored the pirate's code and got Ariel the information she needed to go looking for him, in exchange for the information she gave him about who had his ship.

fox24

Like someone on a blog the situation is like if a mob boss asks you to sell your house to pay for a surgery for a dude you barely know plus how trust worhy was Blackbeard.

well in the evil won over wicked

CityGal

I enjoy a good sword fight and appreciate the nod to Disney/Hollywood's movie past with the behind the sail sword fight. Peter Pan and Captain Hook battle would have been better, but I liked it.

Nice creative touch. More sword fights with any of the men. Much better than a gun battle.

HazelEyes008

Lets not even forget how Blackbeard was dressed up like


This episode was needed for the whole journey of Hook and his state in the lost year and all that he was in season 3B and the lead up to the finale about his ship

fox24

It's funny how they dressed up like original Hook

CityGal

99 Episodes in 99 Days
Episode 3x17 | “The Jolly Roger” | #61

Written by: David H. Goodman
Directed by: Ernest Dickerson

Ariel returns to Storybrooke and pleads with Hook to help her find Prince Eric, who never returned to the town when the new curse was invoked. Emma agrees to let Regina teach her how to use magic so that she can help defeat Zelena, and Mary Margaret and David try to prove that they can be just as much fun as Hook is with Henry – who thinks they are boring. Meanwhile, in Fairy Tale Land during the past year, an angry Ariel confronts Hook over her missing Prince Eric, who she assumes was kidnapped and possibly killed by the swarthy pirate. But when Hook confesses that the Jolly Roger has been stolen and Eric is most likely the thief’s prisoner, Ariel unknowingly provides him with a clue as to who the culprit is, and Hook.