It's Tuesday! Are you ready to discuss?
Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 13: What Happened to Frederick
I just need to tell you out of the gate that I'm struggling with knowing how to discuss this episode. Prepare your rotten tomatoes for throwing, but I'm saying it anyway: I was a little bored with this one. I think this is mostly because last week's was SO fascinating. I don't know. But there are some things we definitely must cover:
1) Juxtaposition
I think this is the one element of this episode that stood out for me. The Enchanted Forest scenes were actually pretty great and provide some more insights into the Real Lives of our main characters. I loved the conversation at the beginning between James and Abigail when he tells her he won't marry someone he does not love, and she responds "And you're willing to lay down your life? How charming."
And see, that's the thing. In the Enchanted Forest, James IS willing to lay down his life to escape his Fake Father's demand that he marry Abigail. Dying would be a preferable choice, but he nobly offers to help Abigail release her own true love from his curse. And then in the end, we see him gallantly racing off (Red Riding Hood in tow) to find Snow White. He will always find her, he says.
Now.
Compare that Charming to David's actions in Storybrooke: has to be persuaded by Mary Margaret to tell Kathryn the truth, then he doesn't, then he lies to MM about it, and basically just acts like the complete opposite of noble and brave.
I guess, if anything, this stark juxtaposition serves to show us how powerful the curse is on the people it is affecting. Not only are the trapped in time with only fuzzy memories of their own pasts and no true memories of who they are, not only can no one leave Storybrooke, not only are they all destined to unhappy ever after ... they also seem compelled to act in ways that are entirely uncharacteristic.
Well, except for Regina. She's exempt.
2) Returning what was lost
So we have the mythical, mystical Lake Gnostos. (apparently gnostos is a form of the Greek for knowledge, or knowing) It is guarded by a siren-esque creature who woos those who would draw from its waters to death by taking on the form of the thing they want most. But, the magic of the water is that it has the power to return to you what was lost.
Mystery Man/August (we'll get to him in a moment) waxes on to Emma that all water is inherently powerful, and if you think about it, he's right. Most major religions draw upon water in some way, shape, or form.
In the Enchanted Forest, the water from the lake returns Abigail's love - Frederick - to her. It seems to return to Emma Henry's lost book. And so what will it return to August?
3) August Wayne Booth
So, we finally get to know the name of our handsome Mystery Man. What to make of his name? Knowing what I know of these writers from LOST, very few names are randomly chosen. I did a little digging to throw out some theories to you:
August: Latin for majestic, or venerable, it's a name often associated with royalty. I'm not 100% sure there are any noteworthy literary characters named August, but Edgar Allen Poe did have a detective named Auguste Dupin, so that could be interesting.
Perhaps the most fascinating discovery, for me, is the Wayne Booth part. It's just too intentional for me, so a little light Googling and I happened upon Wayne C. Booth. Booth was a notable literary critic who wrote extensively on rhetoric. I though this line from the wikipedia page was quite telling:
Booth claimed that it is impossible to talk about a text without talking about an author, because the existence of the text implies the existence of an author.
Booth argued not only that it does not matter whether an author—as distinct from the narrator—intrudes directly in a work, since readers will always infer the existence of an author behind any text they encounter ... However impersonal he may try to be, his readers will inevitably construct a picture of the official scribe who writes in this manner -- and of course that official scribe will never be neutral toward all values.
So. Think on that a little bit and then let's talk about - what was he doing with the book?
Was he simply restoring the book? (Remember, Henry ripped out a section of the book to hide from Regina)
Was he putting the missing section back in?
Or was he re-writing the book?
Is he the author?
Is he related to the author?
Is he possibly Baelfire (Rumpel's son)?
I need to turn it over in my head a bit more. I feel like I'm on the cusp of a theory, but not quite there.
So tell me - what were YOUR thoughts on What Happened to Frederick? (Because there is OHSOMUCH I didn't even begin to cover here ... the town's treatment of MM, Kathryn trying to leave Storybrooke, only to disappear, Regina burning the letter .... Okay. Maybe it was a better episode than I gave it credit for!)
For those who prefer reflections on real life over dissecting fiction, make sure to check out February's featured sponsor: Any Day a Beautiful Change by Katherine Willis Pershey. Use code SortaFeb for 30% off retail!






















