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Rumplestilskin - Once Upon a Time Review
Outside of maybe one or two quibbles...rather enjoyed tonight's outing of Once Upon a Time.
My quibbles? Not entirely sure of the theme that Ms. Espenson and company were going for here? Do they really think avoiding war or fleeing a battlefield is cowardice? Have mixed feelings. Seemed to be condoning violence to resolve problems. Then again maybe not. Rather complicated episode, come to think of it. May need to ponder. Other quibble was...the evil queen is still a bit too evil. Every other character is layered but her. Need more layers. I keep hoping, because right now she's the weak cog in the story or the stray thread. And Henry is a bit too precious...this is the problem with kids in tv shows...they aren't old enough to be good actors and have a tendency to come across as bit too cutsy. Kids and animals, very hard to work with. Did you know WC Fields kept the baby he worked with drunk? Sad but true.
Violence a meter?
*Five to six guys killed with a knife, one got his neck broken
*Another guy killed with a knife
*Several women and children killed or quelled by magic
[But hey no persons of color or women.]
Not bad. Still little blood. And no gore. About a 2 on the old meter.
Rumplestilskin is the Brothers Grimm version of the age-old Trickster character. In some languages he goes by the name "Spindleshanks" and other's "Hobble Foot".
From Wiki:
In tonight's episode of Once Upon a Time written by Jane Espenson - we get a new version or back story for the age-old character that first popped on the scene as early as 1577, and in a fairy tale 1812.
Rumplestilskin is a desperate soul. When we first meet him, he appears to be a widower with a son.
The townspeople, male and female children are slowly being grabbed to fight in the bloody and endless ogre wars - allegedly trained. A dark power aids the Duke in their conscription to service.
Rumplestilskin, also known as Spindleshanks or Hob, has a reputation for fleeing from war. He was conscripted to service, wounded, and fled. His wife allegedly left him unable to bare his cowardice. He is crippled with fear - fear that he will lose his life or his son's. Mostly he fears losing his son. The Duke preys on this fear, belittles and bullies the man, and threatens to take the boy, who is 13 years of age.
As portrayed by the ever deft character actor Robert Carlyle...Rumplestilskin is layered and somewhat ambiguous. He's not a clear-cut coward - yes crippled by terror, but mainly because he has no power. He feels he has no choice. But he gives what little money he has to a beggar on the road, stopping long enough to be approached by the Duke's men. The beggar - turns out to be the Dark Lord, who is pursuing Rumple in the hopes of getting rid of the burden of his own power. To be freed of it. He manipulates Rumple into seeking it, freeing him from the Duke, and taking the power for himself - for Rumple fears trying to control the Dark One. (What did not quite work for me here - was if Rumple is afraid of the Dark One and trying to control it, why isn't he equally terrified of trying to kill the Dark One or for that matter taking the Dark power himself? You'd think that would be more terrifying? Certainly scared the kid more. While I understand desperation may blind him to the pitfalls, the mere act of stealing the knife from the Duke and using it to kill the Dark One - isn't exactly without peril. Actually it's more dangerous than going to war. )
Anyhow...the tale's main focus is once again on saving children. Rumple is trying to save his son.
He's attracted to Emma Swan's plight - because she is trying to save and connect with her son.
The son that he procured for the Queen. Both would do anything for the son. And both let their son's down and struggle with it.
Emma had her son in prison and lost him. While Rumple lost his by taking power. Stealing the power, which in turn corrupted him. As the Dark Lord states - power always has a price. But we all have choices.
Choice and power are recurring themes.
My quibble...and I am struggling with this...is the theme of cowardice. Not quite sure what the writers are saying here? Is it cowardly to back down from a fight? True. Mr. Gold challenges Emma in the beginning - to accept the role of Sheriff and to fight Regina for that job. He even states: "You don't appear to me, to be one that would back down from a fight." Then we jump to his back story and see that his tendency to back down from a fight is how he ended up where he is. Becoming a devil. In his back story - we're told he ran away from War. This is less black and white, and far less simple...it's not the same as Emma backing down from her fight with the Mayor. There's actual blood-shed involved. As he tells his son - you don't want to go to the War it will change you. You have to kill and watch others killed. He would like to use the power to pull children off the front lines. I'll use it for good.
But power...corrupts. The temptation is too much. Rumplestilskin becomes a bully with it.
And a deal-maker. As the Dark Lord/Beggar Man states...you took on something you didn't understand, you won't do that again. You'll become well-versed in the art of the deal, and you'll look for, as I did, a desperate soul and recognize one. As he does in Emma Swan. Emma reminds Rumple of himself - someone who lost everything because of another's dark power. They are in a way
echoes of each other.
Rumple also states what can bring them together is a common enemy. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Queen is a bit of an idiot. Seriously. Doesn't she realize all she's doing is alienating Henry? If her aim is to be closer to her son, everything she does is sort of countering that. Emma didn't see the Sheriff's death as Regina's fault, Henry does. And publishing the bit about Emma in the paper - made Henry hate Regina and see Regina as even more of a monster. I can see why the people in the town are more afraid of Mr. Gold than Regina.
Gold/Rumple is bright. He knew that he had to show that Emma Swan could stand up to both him and the Mayor to get elected. Which she does. The people in the town, he states, may fear Regina's control, but they are terrified of him. He scares them more. Because he is a bit like the devil, hanging them on their own choices. Charismatic. But still about choice. And he helps Emma, in part, because she owes him a favor. He has power over her. Not a lot. But enough, to have leverage.
And she may get him what he wants.
But was he cowardly in how he got that power? Is his fatal flaw his own fear? And is that why he uses fear to control others?
Rumplestilskin in the literature was always an odd character - he gave the heroine's in the story, choices. Many choices. Was constantly brokering deals. And often children sat at the root of those deals. Give me your child and I'll give you power. Just as Rumple...loses his child, keeps him safe, but loses him too...for power. A trade. He's now more alone than ever before. And he takes on the role - the role of the devil. This trope has been told quite a bit. Where a desperate man makes a deal with a demon, and final price is he becomes or takes on the demon's role. He takes that job. Because someone has to. In the story - the Grimm Fairy Tale - Rumple gives her three tries to guess his name - once she gets it right, he loses and disappears in a puff of smoke or dies, screaming in fury. But why did he give her the choices? Arrogance? He makes deals. As he does here. What do you want? He asks. What do you wish for? What choice will you make? Much like the Beggar/Dark Lord who manipulated him did - "you have a choice, we all do".
Emma in the story makes choices too. And Rumple unbeknowest to Emma, manages to manipulate them.
He uses her desire to be a hero to her son. She tells Snow/Mary Margaret that she wants to be hero for him. To show him that you can win by doing good. But Rumple has set her up. He knows she'll do the right thing, and plays her. And she does. She gets the sheriff's position and her son's hope and admiration.
It's odd the identification between Rumple and Emma, a counter-balance between Emma and Regina.
Which also echos Snow and Prince Charming. Emma has taken on Prince Charming's role with Henry.
And echoes in some respects Rumpel's desires for his kid. It's the traditional male role. Actually everything about Emma is traditionally the male role and the traditional male response. How she dresses, how she handles Regina, how she handles Rumple. Which is interesting to me - because it flips the expectation.
Still not quite sure where this show is heading. But it is interesting in how it plays with established gender tropes and themes. The women being taken to be soliders for example.
And women having power. Snow White as a thief. Prince Charming as a bit of a damsel in the Storybrook world.
Next week? I think Emma Caulfield is playing the witch in the Hansel and Gretle tale. Which is sort of amusing (if you were a Buffy fan). Wonder if Jane Espenson pushed for that casting?
Off to bed. I did see Revenge this week. Was quite good. But not a lot to say on it.
My quibbles? Not entirely sure of the theme that Ms. Espenson and company were going for here? Do they really think avoiding war or fleeing a battlefield is cowardice? Have mixed feelings. Seemed to be condoning violence to resolve problems. Then again maybe not. Rather complicated episode, come to think of it. May need to ponder. Other quibble was...the evil queen is still a bit too evil. Every other character is layered but her. Need more layers. I keep hoping, because right now she's the weak cog in the story or the stray thread. And Henry is a bit too precious...this is the problem with kids in tv shows...they aren't old enough to be good actors and have a tendency to come across as bit too cutsy. Kids and animals, very hard to work with. Did you know WC Fields kept the baby he worked with drunk? Sad but true.
Violence a meter?
*Five to six guys killed with a knife, one got his neck broken
*Another guy killed with a knife
*Several women and children killed or quelled by magic
[But hey no persons of color or women.]
Not bad. Still little blood. And no gore. About a 2 on the old meter.
Rumplestilskin is the Brothers Grimm version of the age-old Trickster character. In some languages he goes by the name "Spindleshanks" and other's "Hobble Foot".
From Wiki:
The name Rumpelstilzchen in German means literally "little rattle stilt". (A stilt is a post or pole which provides support for a structure.) A rumpelstilt or rumpelstilz was the name of a type of goblin, also called a pophart or poppart that makes noises by rattling posts and rapping on planks. The meaning is similar to rumpelgeist ("rattle ghost") or poltergeist, a mischievous spirit that clatters and moves household objects. (Other related concepts are mummarts or boggarts and hobs that are mischievous household spirits that disguise themselves.) The ending -chen is a German diminutive and designates something as 'little' or 'dear,' depending on context.
The earliest known mention of Rumpelstiltskin occurs in Johann Fischart's Geschichtklitterung, or Gargantua of 1577 (a loose adaptation of Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel) which refers to an "amusement" for children named "Rumpele stilt or the Poppart".
In tonight's episode of Once Upon a Time written by Jane Espenson - we get a new version or back story for the age-old character that first popped on the scene as early as 1577, and in a fairy tale 1812.
Rumplestilskin is a desperate soul. When we first meet him, he appears to be a widower with a son.
The townspeople, male and female children are slowly being grabbed to fight in the bloody and endless ogre wars - allegedly trained. A dark power aids the Duke in their conscription to service.
Rumplestilskin, also known as Spindleshanks or Hob, has a reputation for fleeing from war. He was conscripted to service, wounded, and fled. His wife allegedly left him unable to bare his cowardice. He is crippled with fear - fear that he will lose his life or his son's. Mostly he fears losing his son. The Duke preys on this fear, belittles and bullies the man, and threatens to take the boy, who is 13 years of age.
As portrayed by the ever deft character actor Robert Carlyle...Rumplestilskin is layered and somewhat ambiguous. He's not a clear-cut coward - yes crippled by terror, but mainly because he has no power. He feels he has no choice. But he gives what little money he has to a beggar on the road, stopping long enough to be approached by the Duke's men. The beggar - turns out to be the Dark Lord, who is pursuing Rumple in the hopes of getting rid of the burden of his own power. To be freed of it. He manipulates Rumple into seeking it, freeing him from the Duke, and taking the power for himself - for Rumple fears trying to control the Dark One. (What did not quite work for me here - was if Rumple is afraid of the Dark One and trying to control it, why isn't he equally terrified of trying to kill the Dark One or for that matter taking the Dark power himself? You'd think that would be more terrifying? Certainly scared the kid more. While I understand desperation may blind him to the pitfalls, the mere act of stealing the knife from the Duke and using it to kill the Dark One - isn't exactly without peril. Actually it's more dangerous than going to war. )
Anyhow...the tale's main focus is once again on saving children. Rumple is trying to save his son.
He's attracted to Emma Swan's plight - because she is trying to save and connect with her son.
The son that he procured for the Queen. Both would do anything for the son. And both let their son's down and struggle with it.
Emma had her son in prison and lost him. While Rumple lost his by taking power. Stealing the power, which in turn corrupted him. As the Dark Lord states - power always has a price. But we all have choices.
Choice and power are recurring themes.
My quibble...and I am struggling with this...is the theme of cowardice. Not quite sure what the writers are saying here? Is it cowardly to back down from a fight? True. Mr. Gold challenges Emma in the beginning - to accept the role of Sheriff and to fight Regina for that job. He even states: "You don't appear to me, to be one that would back down from a fight." Then we jump to his back story and see that his tendency to back down from a fight is how he ended up where he is. Becoming a devil. In his back story - we're told he ran away from War. This is less black and white, and far less simple...it's not the same as Emma backing down from her fight with the Mayor. There's actual blood-shed involved. As he tells his son - you don't want to go to the War it will change you. You have to kill and watch others killed. He would like to use the power to pull children off the front lines. I'll use it for good.
But power...corrupts. The temptation is too much. Rumplestilskin becomes a bully with it.
And a deal-maker. As the Dark Lord/Beggar Man states...you took on something you didn't understand, you won't do that again. You'll become well-versed in the art of the deal, and you'll look for, as I did, a desperate soul and recognize one. As he does in Emma Swan. Emma reminds Rumple of himself - someone who lost everything because of another's dark power. They are in a way
echoes of each other.
Rumple also states what can bring them together is a common enemy. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Queen is a bit of an idiot. Seriously. Doesn't she realize all she's doing is alienating Henry? If her aim is to be closer to her son, everything she does is sort of countering that. Emma didn't see the Sheriff's death as Regina's fault, Henry does. And publishing the bit about Emma in the paper - made Henry hate Regina and see Regina as even more of a monster. I can see why the people in the town are more afraid of Mr. Gold than Regina.
Gold/Rumple is bright. He knew that he had to show that Emma Swan could stand up to both him and the Mayor to get elected. Which she does. The people in the town, he states, may fear Regina's control, but they are terrified of him. He scares them more. Because he is a bit like the devil, hanging them on their own choices. Charismatic. But still about choice. And he helps Emma, in part, because she owes him a favor. He has power over her. Not a lot. But enough, to have leverage.
And she may get him what he wants.
But was he cowardly in how he got that power? Is his fatal flaw his own fear? And is that why he uses fear to control others?
Rumplestilskin in the literature was always an odd character - he gave the heroine's in the story, choices. Many choices. Was constantly brokering deals. And often children sat at the root of those deals. Give me your child and I'll give you power. Just as Rumple...loses his child, keeps him safe, but loses him too...for power. A trade. He's now more alone than ever before. And he takes on the role - the role of the devil. This trope has been told quite a bit. Where a desperate man makes a deal with a demon, and final price is he becomes or takes on the demon's role. He takes that job. Because someone has to. In the story - the Grimm Fairy Tale - Rumple gives her three tries to guess his name - once she gets it right, he loses and disappears in a puff of smoke or dies, screaming in fury. But why did he give her the choices? Arrogance? He makes deals. As he does here. What do you want? He asks. What do you wish for? What choice will you make? Much like the Beggar/Dark Lord who manipulated him did - "you have a choice, we all do".
Emma in the story makes choices too. And Rumple unbeknowest to Emma, manages to manipulate them.
He uses her desire to be a hero to her son. She tells Snow/Mary Margaret that she wants to be hero for him. To show him that you can win by doing good. But Rumple has set her up. He knows she'll do the right thing, and plays her. And she does. She gets the sheriff's position and her son's hope and admiration.
It's odd the identification between Rumple and Emma, a counter-balance between Emma and Regina.
Which also echos Snow and Prince Charming. Emma has taken on Prince Charming's role with Henry.
And echoes in some respects Rumpel's desires for his kid. It's the traditional male role. Actually everything about Emma is traditionally the male role and the traditional male response. How she dresses, how she handles Regina, how she handles Rumple. Which is interesting to me - because it flips the expectation.
Still not quite sure where this show is heading. But it is interesting in how it plays with established gender tropes and themes. The women being taken to be soliders for example.
And women having power. Snow White as a thief. Prince Charming as a bit of a damsel in the Storybrook world.
Next week? I think Emma Caulfield is playing the witch in the Hansel and Gretle tale. Which is sort of amusing (if you were a Buffy fan). Wonder if Jane Espenson pushed for that casting?
Off to bed. I did see Revenge this week. Was quite good. But not a lot to say on it.