So I finished season 2 a couple of days ago, and I have mixed feelings about it. I thought it started out strong, perhaps better then season 1, and was going well until they killed [BLACKOUT]Cora[/BLACKOUT]. Then things got extremely annoying and extremely stupid.
What I liked:
- Rumple continues to be awesome. Even when the writing seems to be missing the mark, Carlyle makes it work in context. Far more layered and complex then anyone on the show. My highlight of the season was his flashback with Belle. He had three extremely good one liners.
- Mama bear Snow.
- Emma not being "thrilled" to have finally found her family.
- Cora was rough in patches, especially her past imo. But, overall, she was a great villain. I loved the twist on her intentions with Regina.
- The entire giant situation, especially Jack.
- Ruby, when she got time, was fantastic this season imo.
- While it was convoluted, I feel like they handled the Emma, Baelfire, Rumple and Henry situation rather well.
- Charming is a huge improvment over his first season counterpart. I was totally digging him this season, especially in grand dad mode.
- Depressed Snow was adorable.
- Emma being scarred by her parents was great.
- Sarah Bolger as Aurora and Jamie Chung as Mulan.
- Regina's first days in Storybrooke.
- I hated Lacey, in a good way.
What I dislike:
- Regina is a poor character. One that is written in a horrible manner. She is a horrible person. Horrible. She killed people and continues to kill people. Yet we are suppose to sympathize with her? Her reasoning is horrible, her actions worse and yet, we keep her alive. She helped her mother murder someone in cold blood right in front of them, but it doesn't matter. On the same show as Rumple, she is all kinds of bad.
- Henry's strange 180 on Regina that started last season.
- Henry blaming magic for Regina being a horrible person. No, that is just a her thing.
- Black hearted Snow White. WTH? I have seen plenty of worse people, lose their hearts. Yet, never seen the black heart. But Snow does one questionable thing, that wasn't all that questionable to me, and she is black spotted? Beyond stupid.
- What is with the morality on killing on this show? I have seen Snow and Charming kill with impunity in the past, and yet now suddenly slicing off Hook, Regina or Cora's head would be a problem? WTH?
- Captain Hook is almost as bad as Regina as a character. The same goes with his odd plot armor. Both he and Regina should be dead by now.
- The "kill magic" storyline was atrocious. It felt extremely tacked on, with bad villains and just a whole lot of bad.
- Way, way too many characters started disappearing. Where did Ruby go in the second half of the season?
