When 'Once Upon a Time' first started it was highly addictive and made the most of a truly great and creative premise. Really loved the idea of turning familiar fairy tales on their heads and putting own interpretations on them and the show early on clearly had clearly had a ball. Watched it without fail every time it came on and it was often a highlight of the week. Which was why it was sad when it ran out of ideas and lost its magic in the later seasons.
"The Crocodile" is another very good episode, a step up from "Lady of the Lake" but not as good as "Broken" and "We are Both". It is most notable for giving more development to Mr Gold/Rumpelstiltskin, his relationship with Belle was done with a lot of heartfelt emotion and tension and one feels sorry for the character. To me making him much more than a standard villain was a good thing, yes he did do it very well indeed and there are actually a couple of shades of it, and it gave meat to one of the show's already most interesting characters. Robert Carlyle does a wonderful job here.
It is also notable for introducing Killan Jones/Captain Hook. The first appearance of the ship was visually stunning and the suspenseful touch it had was a delight. The character is already one of the best written new characters in just his first appearance and it's like he's been in the show since it started, that's how good an effect he has. Colin O'Donaghue gives a rollicking debut as the character.
As to be expected, "The Crocodile" is a very handsomely mounted episode, with settings and costumes that are both colourful and atmospheric, not too dark or garish and never cookie-cutter. It is photographed beautifully and there were some make-up that suited the characters perfectly and pretty good effects work. The music is haunting, ethereal and cleverly used with a memorable main theme.
Humour, mysterious intrigue, charm and pathos are beautifully balanced, any signs of corniness that crept in here and there in the previous season are nowhere in sight here. The parallel of the two worlds is as ever seamlessly done. A lot is covered and not in a way that feels rushed, while also having time to build upon these different ideas without including extraneous padding scenes.
My only complaints are not enough of the regular/old characters and Emilie De Ravin's somewhat bland Belle.
Overall, a very good episode. 8/10 Bethany Cox
