Monday, March 12, 2018

Once Upon A Time 7x12 Review: “A Taste of the Heights” (The Bayou) [Contributor: Julia Siegel]


“A Taste of the Heights”
Original Airdate: March 9, 2018

It’s another The Princess and the Frog episode in the latest Once Upon A Time. Interestingly, the flashbacks were the only really compelling scenes. There’s some set-up for future storylines within the episode, but at this point, I really don’t know what they are going for. Honestly with only a handful of episodes left in the series, it seems rather dumb that each episode is so different and doesn’t continue the same plot. New twists keep getting introduced before the previous ones are resolved, so what is with the tangled web the show is creating?


PRINCE NAVEEN FINALLY ARRIVES


Like I previously mentioned, the best parts of this episode are the flashbacks to the day that Tiana is to be crowned queen of her realm. The always untrustworthy Dr. Facilier shows up at the castle and warns Tiana of a monster that she needs to confront to save her people. Of course, Tiana blindly trusts the insane guy who has wronged her before and decides to go out into the woods with Hook and Ella in tow. When they find an injured man, the group bumps into none other than Prince Naveen. It’s about time he showed up, considering this season has spent some time developing the whole Princess and the Frog thing.

Naveen and Tiana then go off to find an alligator that is terrorizing people and also killed Naveen’s brother. Jeff Pierre and Mekia Cox, who play Naveen and Tiana respectively, have great chemistry and played well off each other. Cox has been the best actor on the show this season and has been ridiculously underused. Tiana is also arguably the most interesting and developed character and deserves way more screen time and stories. So, having an episode dedicated around her was pretty refreshing. In the flashbacks, Tiana and Naveen find the gator, and Naveen is nearly killed by the animal. And, you guessed it, Facilier shows up — he takes some random necklace and saves Naveen at Tiana’s request. Facilier is a shady guy, so he also makes Naveen disappear. Maybe we will get another episode of Tiana trying to find him.

Back in Seattle, Tiana and Naveen meet up and are old friends who went to cooking school together. Both are showcasing their food trucks at an event, but Naveen is still mixed up with Facilier in this world. Tiana’s truck gets shut down by the police, only to have Naveen go back to his princely ways and join up with Tiana so her truck can stay open. Their Seattle storyline was pretty boring and useless, except for the fact that Facilier is back in the real world and is clearly trying to wreak havoc.

DR. FACILIER IS BACK, SHOCKER


Did you really think Once Upon A Time would introduce a big bad villain early in the season only to never bring him back again? Well, Facilier makes a grand appearance again and is probably around to stay for a few episodes. Not only does he cause trouble for Tiana and Naveen in the flashbacks, but it is revealed that he has a secret connection with Regina. At the end of the flashbacks, Facilier and Regina have an odd conversation that suggests they have a long, romantic history. The necklace he got earlier once belonged to formerly-evil Regina. Of course, we don’t get to learn what the necklace does or what crazy powers it holds. The most interesting part of the talk is that it ends with a kiss. Could Regina be pulled back into the darkness by Facilier?

In Seattle, Facilier shows up at Regina’s bar posing as an investor. Regina and Zelena are onto him and feel that he is awake. They try to pull a fast one on him by switching names to see if they can trip him up, but the conman doesn’t slip. Regina sees through the innocent act and somehow tracks down his home. Her visit confirms that Facilier is awake and knows everything that is going on, and Regina decides to go inside his apartment anyway. At this point, who knows what Regina is doing because she is clearly making a big mistake. Considering the show has been jumping around so much, we may not get to see what happens next for a few episodes. Or, maybe we will be lucky and get consecutive episodes that follow the same exact plot.

WHO'S KILLING WITCHES?


Speaking of non-linear storylines, one random plot point from the last episode actually impacts this episode. The doctor who was killed at the end of the previous episode is one of the focuses of Hook and Rumple in this one. Rumple figures out that the doctor was a witch and a member of that mysterious coven that is forming in Seattle. The two then find a blind witch baker half-dead, which leads Rumple to the conclusion that someone is killing the coven witches.

It can’t be a bad thing that there is a secret ally somewhere trying to take down the bad guys in town, yet Rumple is a bit concerned. However, he isn’t shaken enough to wake Hook up, who has honestly become a liability at this point. Rumple entrusts Regina and Zelena with the case and asks for their help. What could go wrong when three former baddies team up to find a witch killer? Hopefully this leads to a good episode in the near future because I really want this series to end on a good note. With tons of subpar and mediocre episodes this season, we are due to have a stretch of great episodes to end it properly.

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