Changelings 

In the Enchanted Forest, Rumplestiltskin steals Jack and Jill's newborn child in order to contact a powerful fairy, while in Storybrooke he uses fast-aging magic to send a message to Belle regarding their son. Meanwhile, The Evil Queen attempts to kill Zelena to earn Gold's favor and Jasmine discovers a magical lamp.

Director:

Mairzee Almas

Writers:

Edward Kitsis (created by), Adam Horowitz (created by)

Stars:

Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Ginnifer Goodwin	...	Mary Margaret Blanchard
Jennifer Morrison	...	Emma Swan
Lana Parrilla	...	Evil Queen / Regina Mills
Josh Dallas	...	David Nolan (credit only)
Emilie de Ravin	...	Belle French
Colin O'Donoghue	...	Captain Killian 'Hook' Jones
Jared Gilmore	...	Henry Mills (as Jared S. Gilmore)
Rebecca Mader	...	Zelena
Robert Carlyle	...	Mr. Gold / Rumplestiltskin
Deniz Akdeniz	...	Aladdin
Karen David	...	Jasmine
Beverley Elliott	...	Granny Lucas
Giles Matthey	...	Gideon
Jaime Murray	...	Fiona / Black Fairy
Keegan Connor Tracy	...	Mother Superior / Blue Fairy

Storyline

In a Fairy Tale Land flashback, Rumple collects Jack and Jill's son as bait to lure a powerful being to him. Back in Storybrooke, Gold tells the Evil Queen that she must kill Zelena, and the EQ makes a decision that will change her relationship with her sister forever. When Belle discovers Gold's plans for their son, she convinces Hook and Emma to help her steal squid ink that can immobilize him, and, as a result, Belle is left to make a sacrifice that will affect the lives of everyone in Storybrooke. Meanwhile, Jasmine finds a genie-less lamp that she hopes to use to save Agrabah, and Aladdin finds a way to be her hero.

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Plot Keywords:

aladdin character | princess jasmine character | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 November 2016 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kitsis/Horowitz, ABC Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

43 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the first time Josh Dallas has been absent from an episode since the first season.

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Quotes

Rumplestiltskin: [to the Black Fairy] You steal babies. Steal them from their mothers' arms. So, why, of all the babies, in all of the realms, why did you abandon the one child who was actually yours?

User Reviews

Changing lives

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 fairy tales on their heads and putting own interpretations on them and the show early on clearly had a ball. Watched it without fail everytime 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.

Season 6 to me started off very well with three very good to great first three episodes. Was more mixed on "Strange Case" and the next three episodes "Street Rats", "Dark Waters" and "Heartless" underwhelmed. "I'll Be Your Mirror" was a vast improvement, but unfortunately it has gone backwards again with "Changelings". It is not a terrible episode by all means, but there is not enough of what makes the show so good when it's on form and it is a good example of the run out of ideas and lost the magic criticisms. Something that can be seen in the decreasing ratings and the relatively mild critical opinions.

There are definitely good things about "Changelings". As is always the case with 'Once Upon a Time' it is a visually handsome episode, it's photographed beautifully and the settings have colour and atmosphere without being too dreary or garish. The costumes are fine. The music is haunting, ethereal and cleverly used with a memorable theme tune.

From personal opinion, the cast mostly do very well with what they had to work with. Robert Carlyle and Lana Parrilla, especially the former which was important as he features very heavily here, are splendid.

Parts of the story engage. The Rumplestiltskin storyline, despite making Rumplestiltskin a less complex character than he was in the earlier seasons (instead of a conflicted character he comes over as a villain cliché now) is intriguing and has promise. Just as successful is with the Evil Queen and Zelena, that had some tension and emotion and the Evil Queen is an interesting character.

However, most of the storytelling is again messy and there is definitely a sense that the show has run out of ideas. Too over-stuffed and rather rushed, meaning things don't make as much sense as they ought to and too many things are glossed over. Cannot invest in Belle and Gold relationship, not because of Gold but because of Belle being dull and the relationship itself feeling like it's gone beyond its sell by date. The Jasmine and co. subplot belongs in another episode because it felt like a completely different episode with its inclusion.

Other episodes do a much better job at character, development has gone backwards rather than forward excepting the Evil Queen and plot advancing. Plus it is very disjointed, feeling like multiple separate storylines in one episode that don't connect together. The characters have also been more compelling elsewhere and the writers seem to have forgotten what made them great in the first place, when you compare some of them from the earlier seasons to now they are unrecognisable and it's not for the better and the inconsistencies are numerous and glaring. The writing is far too camp and often very melodramatic (especially with Belle and Gold), Belle shows little personality, her relationship with Gold feels very tired and over-stretched here. Was not really impressed with Emilie DeRavin and it is too early days for the Black Fairy to be properly compelling.

"Changelings" on the whole wasn't terrible but it was underwhelming. 5/10 Bethany Cox