Once Upon a Time, Ep 6: The Shepherd

In this week’s episode we return to Prince Charming, and see what happened to him right before that first encounter with Snow White. Turns out… he’s not actually the prince, but the prince’s twin brother. The prince was given to the king by Rumpelstiltskin when the prince was just a baby, and Thomas’s parents desperately needed the money. Then he’s killed in battle, and the king gets Rumpelstiltskin to bring the other boy to him so he can slay King Midas’s dragon and bring untold riches to his land. Thomas actually DOES slay the dragon (in a rather lame battle), and Midas wants him to marry his daughter, the very woman we saw riding in the carriage with him when Snow first ambushed him. He has to leave his beloved mother (played by the wonderful Canadian character actress, Gabrielle Rose) and go be with her instead or his “dad” will destroy everything he loves.

Meanwhile, in Storybrooke, it’s a Henry-lite week where John Doe (actually David Nolan) comes home, but he doesn’t know his wife Kathryn or anything about this life. Nothing feels right except for Mary, and so he leaves his wife and tells Mary to meet him at the toll bridge so they can begin a new life together. Mary tries to convince herself not to do it, but she’s so drawn to him she goes down there. He, on the other hand, is ambushed by the Mayor and Mr. Gold, and they make him remember his previous life and the fact he actually did love Kathryn.

Did he really remember his real life? Or … is it possible that David has a twin brother in this world, too? Could Kathryn have actually been married to the twin, which is how it doesn’t feel right to David no matter how sure Kathryn is of him? Could he have memories of his twin’s? (You know that whole telepathy thing twins claim they have?) Or is he really meant to be with Kathryn? And how will things play out between Thomas and his betrothed? She looked about as thrilled to be with him as he was with her. Will she gladly be on her way so he can be with Snow?

Lost References:
• Widmore!! Charles returns as yet another powerful father, and while he seems kinder at the beginning, turns out he’s just as ruthless and cunning as the other one. And what would an episode with Widmore be without…
• McCutcheon whisky! If a mouthful of that is worth more than Desmond makes in a month, how the HELL Mary Margaret could afford it is beyond me.

Did You Notice?:
• I meant to mention this earlier, but the opening credits on Once Upon a Time are a lot like the ones on Lost. They alternate sides of the screen, and are in the same font. And I LOVE the end logo, with the little Space Invaders guy shooting the Kitsis/Horowitz names. ;)
• In the Nolan house, they have flowers on the walls but no trees.
• “The love I lost, there’s no bringing him back.” That sentence was vague enough that I think it once again suggests she lost a child.
• When Mary’s reading the newspaper, the headline is “Welcome home, John Doe!” and it reads: The as yet unidentified man in his early 30s who has become known only bye the moniker, John Doe, has finally gone home directly to a house right here in Storybrooke. “It is truly a miracle that he had survived at all,” said hospital volunteer and local schoolteacher, Mary Margaret Blanchard, on the day of his initial admittance to the Storybrooke Hospital. “It has been interesting nursing him back to health and we at [sic] all so glad he has pulled through. It is incredible to think how far he has progressed. Not only is he conscious, but he now he [sic] has a whole new life to live.” Two problems with that story (aside from the typos): Was Mary really at the hospital when he was first admitted? And how would they have had a quote from her from that long ago? Hasn’t he been there a bazillion years? And also, why does it say he’s “as yet unidentified?” He was identified as David Nolan as soon as he woke up.
• The stories across the top are: Comet Marley Makes Debut Appearance; Destinations (with a pic of what appears to be Notre Dame), Lyme Disease: A New Understanding; Capsaicin. I wonder if these will have any meaning in future episodes (capsaicin is the component in chili peppers that creates the burning sensation when you eat them). The other headline beside the John Doe one is “Remnants of Seventeeth Century Colonial Settlement Uncovered at Harestock Bridge.”
• The walls of Mary’s classroom are different than they were when we first saw them. They have trees, too, but they’re all dead with no foliage on them.
• The CGI in this episode isn’t as good as it’s been in previous episodes – when the giant falls at the beginning at Thomas’s twin’s hand, you can see he’s not even with the ground. When Midas’s daughter walks up to join him, you can see the green screen shimmer around her head as she takes his hand.
• The ring that Thomas’s mother gives him is the one he went to the troll bridge with Snow White to find.

Ruby Red: More red in this episode:
• Thomas’s father wears a scarlet velvet robe.
• Thomas’s blood on the sword.
• The places at the round table.
• Mary’s sweater when she’s at Granny’s diner.
• Regina’s blouse under her jacket.

Any Questions?:
• Why didn’t the dragon breathe fire on Thomas when he cornered it and it couldn’t reach him?
• Why would you ask someone to meet you for a romantic rendezvous at a place if you didn’t know its location?! David’s a bit of a dumbass.
• Will the unicorn mobile make its way into the fairytale stories? Was it the Evil Queen’s mobile for her baby? Or did a bunch of unicorns get turned into glass?
• Did you guys check out that VERY spoilery preview for next week?? Now I know who the sheriff was, and I’m assuming that’s supposed to be a big reveal next week.