The Return
- Episode aired Apr 22, 2012
- TV-PG
- 45m
Regina's plan for Mary Margaret is thwarted following Kathryn's sudden re-appearance and Gold becomes wary of August, as flashbacks show what happened to Baelfire after Rumplestiltskin becam... Read allRegina's plan for Mary Margaret is thwarted following Kathryn's sudden re-appearance and Gold becomes wary of August, as flashbacks show what happened to Baelfire after Rumplestiltskin became the Dark One.Regina's plan for Mary Margaret is thwarted following Kathryn's sudden re-appearance and Gold becomes wary of August, as flashbacks show what happened to Baelfire after Rumplestiltskin became the Dark One.
- Henry Mills
- (as Jared S. Gilmore)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRumplestiltskin's son's name is Baelfire. At one point he speaks to his friend, a young woman in blue named "Morraine." These are possibly connections to Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series of novels. "Balefire" is a powerful magic weapon, and one of the first users of the weapon is a young woman "Moiraine," who is known for wearing blue.
- GoofsWhen August gets on his motorcycle and drives off, there is a man crossing the road, but when the shot changes, the man disappears.
- Quotes
Emma Swan: Was it you?
Mr. Gold: Was what me?
Emma Swan: Did you make Kathryn suddenly materialize? 'Cause it sure played that way to me. Was that the "magic" you were going to work? Because if you kidnapped that poor, innocent woman just to let her go...
Mr. Gold: Are you proposing I'm working with Regina, or against her?
Emma Swan: I don't know, maybe... diagonally.
- Crazy creditsThe opening sequence shows August Booth riding his motorcycle.
"The Return" is a very good, solid episode, if not quite one of the best of the first season. To me the Rumpelstiltskin/Baelfire story fared better than that for Mr Gold/August. The latter was a good opportunity to give more development to Mr Gold, a just as juicy if not quite as interesting character as Rumpelstiltskin, and it does do a very good job on that front. Gold seemed to have more chemistry with the other characters, namely Regina, than with August and the big revelation with August didn't have the emotional punch or shock power it should have done, to me it was too foreseeable too early.
On the other hand, the scenes with Rumpelstiltskin and Baelfire resonated far more. It had more warmth and heart, the chemistry between the two characters was stronger and one totally understands Baelfire's feelings while not passing a negative judgement on Rumpelstiltskin.
Meanwhile the other subplots are handled equally as well. The outcome of the Mary Margaret subplot was surprising and suspenseful, while the charms of Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas together and individually helped give weight and depth to their scenes. Seeing fairy tale business intersected in the real-life/present day Storybrooke scenes was a fascinating touch.
Visually "The Return" is a very handsomely mounted episode, settings and costumes that are both colourful and atmospheric, not too dark or garish and never cookie-cutter. The effects are also above average, not exceptional but not bad. It is photographed beautifully and there is some make-up that suited the characters perfectly. The music is haunting, ethereal and cleverly used with a memorable main theme.
Regarding the writing, "The Return" shows that it really has come on a long way. There is far less corn and instead the humour, emotional and tense elements and the balance between them are getting stronger. The story is absorbing.
A large part of why the episode works as well as it does is the 24-carat gold performance of Robert Carlyle. He is always a high point of 'Once Upon a Time' but up to this early point in the show this episode in particular gives him a lot of juice to work with and it shows in his performance.
In summation, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jan 2, 2018
Details
- Runtime45 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD