The Finale of Once Upon a Time was on Sunday and I missed it, but I just caught up on Hulu. The third season's Peter Pan arc has been what feels like a meager attempt for the writer's to glean what's left of a faltering storyline. The first season there was this beautiful premise of a town locked under a curse by a wicked queen and now the inhabitants of Storybrooke can't remember who they are or where they came from. The first season was phenomenal to say the least, but then it did something unexpected and broke the curse right at the end of the season. The huge mistake at the end of the first season was that the inhabitants of Storybroke were still stuck in the town and were unable to return to their true land. While this may have been an interesting premise it had the writers scrambling for a new and very weak plot arc. The town is threatened by an outside source and Emma, who suddenly remembers she has magic, and Regina save the town and get their son back. The third season left the audience gasping for air as the story fumbled through the sweltering jungle Neverland Arc for one too many episodes and when the season at last took its first big gulp of air by returning to Storybrooke it felt like the show could be redeemed. Finally after an entire season it feels that the show can and will be saved. On the Finale of Once Upon a Time our heroes are struggling against Pan who plans to enact the same wretched curse that Regina put on the town in the first place, which was the same curse that was broken in the first season.
This idea of reenacting the curse felt like the writers weak attempt and ultimate way to clamber out of the huge hole they dug themselves into after two seasons, a way to end and reset everything. A way to return everything to the way it should be.
In the dramatic conclusion Pan sacrifices the heart of the thing he loves most and rips out the heart of his loyal friend creating a curse, that will not destroy memories, but instead kill everyone and all the inhabitants in Storybrooke. In a desperate attempt to save everyone Neal, Hook, and Tink go on a side quest to retrieve the black fairy's wand. Its mentioned the black fairy was this super evil woman and the Blue Fairy had to take away her wand and perhaps her wings to stop her. With the recent promo I'm assuming the Black Fairy is none other then the most notorious children's villain ever, the Wicked Witch of the West.
After a bout with Pan's shadow Tink believes in herself floats up catches the shadow in a magical coconut (not the best plot device ever, but I'll go with it) and redeems herself. She tosses the holy coconut and incinerates it into a holy fire. Taada the Blue fairy reveals she's not dead and somehow her shadow returned to her body. If this is true does this mean that Greg and Tamara are still alive? After this the Blue Fairy gives Tink her wings back.
They return to the shop and Rumple uses the Black Fairy's wand to expel Henry's soul from Pan's body. Everyone leaves Rumple alone with Pan because that's always the smart thing to do and they go in search of Henry. Pan wakes up back in his body with a magic bracer on his wrist so he can't use magic. Rumple confronts him and they have it out with angry words. Pan compares Rumple to a "wriggling pink worm" and then reveals he made the bracer. Whapow he blasts the bracer onto Rumple and renders him incapable of using his magic. Pan promises to let him suffer by watching everything he loves die.
Pan goes back to gang and freezes them confronting them in a slow dramatic twist promising them that they will all die as soon as the curse dissipates throughout the town. Just then Rumple comes back and Pan is somehow not threatened by him because let's face it Rumple doesn't have any powers so he is useless. Rumple reveals that he is finally willing to accept the prophecy and he doesn't need magic to defeat pan. Enter Rumple's shadow. The shadow throws Rumple the Dark One's dagger and Rumple embraces pan literally stabbing him in the back. I'm assuming the sword went through Pan's shoulder and into Rumple as well. Rumple sacrifices himself and the two burst into magical powdery dust. We know that Pan is dead, but we are not sure if Rumple is truly dead, he might be redeemed for performing a selfless act.
After this brave act of sacrifice everyone weeps and its very heart wrenching. Grumpy runs in and tells them the curse is closing in all sides of them. Regina tells Emma that Henry can't go to the magical land with them because he was born in our world and rules of magic state that he must stay in his world. Because Emma is the savior and she is of both worlds she can choose to go or stay with Henry. Regina is no longer the evil queen and she urges Emma to stay with their son and she explains that by returning to their world the town will cease to exist and therefore their memories of the town will be now more. Snow and Charming exclaim that right after they get their daughter they lose her again. Regina further explains that she will create new memories for them. They somehow make it to the border even though grumpy stated the curse was closing in on all sides. At the border Emma bids everyone goodbye. She climbs into her yellow bug Volkswagen and she drives off while Regina uses her magic. The green curse cloud of Pan turns purple and swallows the inhabitants of Storybrooke right as Emma's car crosses the boarder.
In Emma's new memories she decided to keep Henry after all and not give him up. They live a happy life in New York eating scrambled eggs, pancakes, and hot chocolate with cream and cinnamon on the top. It seems too perfect and right on cue there is a loud knock on the door. Emma opens it to find Hook and he tells her that her family is trouble assailed by a new threat. Emma tells him that her family is right here and Hook explains that he knew she wouldn't be able to remember so he hopes a kiss will help jog her memory. Emma knees him in the crotch and slams the door on his face. When she returns to Henry he asks if everything okay and Emma simply replies that someone must have left the door open downstairs and basically let all the crazies in.
This new premise changes everything. This means that last three seasons haven't existed. If that's true then does that mean that Rumple never died? Basically the finale makes up for all the mistakes, hits the reset button, and sets everything back right where it should be with huge sacrifices involved proving that villains are only what we make them to be. So does this mean Regina is now a good queen or is she back to her old ways? In fact does she even remember or know that Storybrooke existed or are her memories reset as well?
Monday, December 16, 2013
1# Movie Review - The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug
![]() |
Courtesy of http://www.comingsoon.net |
I never thought that you could take a simple 300 page novel and make into three movies each averaging about three hours. I guess what Peter Jackson attempted to do was put 100 pages into each film, glean from the appendices and the Smiliron, and then add extra characters to fill in the gaps. The thing that Director Peter Jackson does best is giving us a sense of awe and wonder as he stands by his 48 fps. The second entry into the Hobbit films is a stunning visual and digital masterpiece. This is special effects at its best.
By far the greatest sequence of the film was the barrel ride. This barrel ride is ten times better and scarier than the River Run Rapids at Disneyland. The barrel ride is the quintessential action sequence for 2013. There has never been an action sequence like this before on screen, each moment is filled with nonstop action, an ever building tension with the constant threat of death. The scenes moves quick as the surging white water rapids and the horde of orcs pursuing the dwarves.
The other great scene in this movie would have to be Smaug. When we get our first glimpse at the massive treasure horde under the mountain it is absolutely breath taking, in fact it has been said they used up all the gold paint in Hollywood just make it look realistic. When we first see the treasure there is no sign of the dragon and Bilbo believes the dragon Smaug is no more until a pile of coins moves revealing Smaug's closed eye. More coins move and we are given an idea to the enormity of Smaug.
The next scene that follows is motion capture at its best and while the hobbit had the all too scary moment of Gollum and Baggins playing riddles, this scene had another element entirely. The first time Smaug spoke one of his best lines was, "You brought something with you, something gold, something that is precious to you." Smaug's deep smoldering voice can only describe as epic and how all dragons should sound. Bilbo and Smaug have a "heated" confrontation, which leads to the ultimate chase through the mines.
The other thing was Gandalf's side quest and while this does little to move the actual Hobbit story along, it tries its best to weave the Hobbit movies with the Lord of the Rings. Gandalf ultimately meets up with the necromancer a dark entity of lord Sauron himself imbued in the flames of the flaming red eye from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I felt this scene was an unnecessary scene, throughout the movie we are aware of Sauron's ever growing presences and we don't need to be reminded that he is the one looking for his all powerful ring.
Overall the best part about the movie has to be the fast paced barrel ride and the grand appearance of the Smaug, king under the mountain. It is a move defiantly worth seeing, much better than the slow paced first Hobbit film, but the two prequels live in the shadow of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and while it may never live up to the sheer grandeur of the original films it gives us insight into how the ring came to the shire and how the whole war started in the first place.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Baer's Golden Age
Fall is over, but its never to late to enjoy a beautiful picture |
Monday, November 25, 2013
Awkward Autistic Adventure #2 Making Conversation and Asking for Help
Big old Water Dog at Girl's Camp 2011 |
Fact of the Day: Beethoven wrote his ninth symphony while he was completely deaf. He only ever heard his symphony in his head.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Awkward Aspie Adventure #1: Driving Through the Snow
It snowed this morning and that means I get to wear my winter apparel and tug on my beartraps (yes that's why my boots are really called). The I put on my Gryffindor beanie and scarf, but too bad I'm not taking the Hogwarts express to a magical school. No I get to go on a less magical journey in a non-magical Carbecue. The Carbecue is infamously named because well in the summer the air conditioning panel does not work, but the side and floor vents work fine. When it gets to a hundred degrees in the summer it is no longer the Carbecue, but instead it has turned into Carmagedon. During the winter it is just the Tempo or the G-Ride since it originally belonged to my grandfather. After I got my stuff together it was time to go outside and freeze like the rest of the normal people, sometimes there are perks to liking the great indoors. It was the first the time I got to drive in the snow, which is a big deal considering that this is my first year driving. I had no desire to drive when I was 16 because I am one of those people who love to stare out the window and watch the world go by while taking in every detail I can. Besides nobody was really anxious to teach me, nerves I guess or maybe it was just because I didn't want to be taught. Eventually my sister-in-law Tiffany taught me in exchange for babysitting her kids off and on. Long story short I learned how to drive it just took time. Today I started on an entirely new adventure, but the roads weren't icy and it was just like driving in the rain, minus the wet windshield, plus it helped when the person in front of me was going 15 mph on a 30 mph road. Heck you don't see me panicking.
So in the summer its the Carbecue, in the winter...the icebox? |
After I got to school I did my usual wandering around the library and I get plenty of strange looks from the Librarians. They probably wonder why I come in each day and never bother to check out a book, its great to have a mind that can remember little facts about things. After sauntering around the library for a bit I went to Fiction Writing class and got in 2,000 words for Nanowrimo. Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month and its a month where the very brave few decide to write 50,000 words (that's two hundred pages) for fun and its worth 500 points of our grade. Nobody takes Fiction Writing Class because its easy, but because its a heck of a lot of fun. After Fiction Writing Class I headed up to Humanities Medieval to Modern.
We end with our fact of the day with something I learned in Humanities: I've always known what the Night Aria is, but I never understood its importance because let's face it opera is beautiful, but very difficult to understand and its got a lot of high pitch sound that I think only autistic people can hear. Our teacher explained that the Nigh Aria has the highest notes ever to be sung in an opera. The high notes that he spoke of start at 2 minutes and 50 seconds in and ends at 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Let's admit it she's very scary and kind of freaky as the Queen of the Night. She rocks to the rhythm a bit, with her torso arched slightly forward to hit those kind of notes. In order to hit those notes you have to be a very special kind of soprano, you have to be a coloratura soprano they are defined by greats runs and leaps in pitch. Diana Damrau is one of I think eight people since the time of Mozart that can sing the Night Aria. If you can perform the Night Aria then you are automatically locked in to play the Queen of the Night until retirement. Diana Darmau is currently locked in to play the Queen of the Night for 15 productions. That's pretty incredible.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Graphite is in my blood
Dysgiraffeia |
At the age of four, I was running up the stairs with a pencil and tripped. I impaled my left hand (not all the way through) and once the graphite hit my blood I guess, it never left. I dreamed of becoming a
writer, but as I went through elementary school, my teachers all had a similar complaint: my handwriting was terrible. Writing became something I hated ever
since my 3rd grade cursive drills, all those swirls and loops
is bound to make anyone seasick (they should have had a life preserver listed
as things required for the class). My teachers told me that I should never
pursue writing. After the fourth grade, low and behold, I was diagnosed with
Dysgraphia and I thought the social worker said dysgiraffeia.
Dysgiraffeia is probably a very special giraffe with violet spots, an eye patch, and two wooden legs. Dysgraphia however is another beast entirely. Dysgraphia is this invisible bolt of pain that starts in the thumbs and slowly inches its way up your arms into your elbow, only if you write too much (thank goodness for typing). The tremors are constant, so when I hold a pen in my hand and pause to think, you would swear that some was taping out Morse code to a covert agent across the room. After being diagnosed, I was considered “special” even though I can communicate just fine. Somehow, I ended up in the Special Ed Trailer out on the sweltering asphalt my first day of middle school. I thought it was a mistake, but I do not believe in coincidences and it was there that my unusual fate was sealed. We had a teacher, but she was unfortunately transferred and replaced by a man that I swear looked like a werewolf with a very angular face and these deep cold cobalt blue eyes. The first thing he asked us to do was write an essay and I refused.
Dysgiraffeia is probably a very special giraffe with violet spots, an eye patch, and two wooden legs. Dysgraphia however is another beast entirely. Dysgraphia is this invisible bolt of pain that starts in the thumbs and slowly inches its way up your arms into your elbow, only if you write too much (thank goodness for typing). The tremors are constant, so when I hold a pen in my hand and pause to think, you would swear that some was taping out Morse code to a covert agent across the room. After being diagnosed, I was considered “special” even though I can communicate just fine. Somehow, I ended up in the Special Ed Trailer out on the sweltering asphalt my first day of middle school. I thought it was a mistake, but I do not believe in coincidences and it was there that my unusual fate was sealed. We had a teacher, but she was unfortunately transferred and replaced by a man that I swear looked like a werewolf with a very angular face and these deep cold cobalt blue eyes. The first thing he asked us to do was write an essay and I refused.
Its funny because I can read my normal handwriting just fine, but when it comes to cursive I'm at a lose for words |
During an epic
battle of wits, he was on the ropes. After several negotiation attempts failed
he asked, “How do know that you don’t like writing if you haven’t tried
it? Just pick up the pencil and try. I don't care what you write, just
write.” I also imagine that he secretly whispered, “There are pirates in the
pages.” Although I’m pretty, sure that was a figment of my imagination. He
handed my first wide ruled cherry red notebook and forced a pencil in my left
hand. I looked down at the small barely distinguishable dent in my hand where the pencil made contact so many years ago. I
took the pencil and began to write. My teacher taught me all the basics and told
me to run with it. I don’t mean to boast, but 27 short stories and a 300-page
novel later (worst book I ever wrote) I became prolific in writing. After my
worst attempts, I began to develop my writing and continued to soar. Writing to me is a
challenge that I enjoy because it is about overcoming obstacles, coming into
your own, strengthening your skills, developing characters, and discovering who
you are.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
The Awkward Adventures of an Aspie
This is my first official post for Autisdom! What does Autisdom mean? Autism + Wisdom = Autisdom, abnormal is the new awesome. I am Diana Baer 21 years old college and honor student of Phi Theta Kappa, prolific writer, connoisseur of bizarre facts, and master of trivial knowledge.
This blog will be about the Awkward Adventures of an Aspie.
Three questions you probably already have, but I will answer:
Number 1 What is an Aspie? An Aspie is short for someone with Asperger Syndrome. We have limited social interactions, sometimes repetitive speech, repetitive speech, repetitive speech...sorry what was I saying...oh yes...difficulty picking up on nonverbal cues, they tend to focus on themselves then the needs of others (not true its all circumstantial), struggle with eye contact, have obsessions with a specific subject, awkward movements, and if they have too much social interaction can lead to a breakdown (well sometimes, it really depends).
Number 2 What counts a phenomenal aspie adventure? Pirates, swords mostly, and maybe a little of fun, No, anything ordinary from as simple as getting groceries at the store or checking out a book at the library. I like the new and everyday its what keeps life interesting and new...maybe. What may seem to be the everyday normal is my new everyday challenge. There will be quick quips, funny stories, and a daily fact that you might not know.
Number 3 If you have Asperger Syndrome how on earth are you going to communicate with us if you lack social skills? Good I'm glad you asked that invisible audience I have yet to acquire. After my diagnosis I made an effort to communicate ended up in drama all through high school while taking social skills classes during three long summers. I'm much better at communicating now then I was ever before
Final point: Above All I'm a literalist with obsessions mostly in writing, with a side of movies, a dash of
musical, a little bit of peculiar facts, and a broad range of history in-between. My main obsession is writing and I have been writing ever since the 6th grade, yes that's "write" (sorry I'm very literal) I've been writing for almost ten years now years. I wrote my first 300 page unpublished novel in the seventh grade, the sequel in the 8th grade, and the third book in the 9th grade. Looking back on them I realized how terrible they were, but I was only new to writing then so I try not to be too critical on myself. I continued to write new novels through highschool. This blog will focus on helping you the audience understand what its like to be in the shoes of a person with Asperger Syndrome, help you see through my eye as I attempt to brooch daily social situations (I'm much better at it). It will also focus yes on my obsessions film reviews, art, architecture, animals, history, and a little bit of everything in-between.
Feel free to check out my boards on pintesest via this link
-> pinterest http://pinterest.com/baercub/
Fact of the day: Monogolians wore the first high heels so their feet coul easily slide out of the stirrup and Egyptian butchers invented high heels so they would not step in offal (I'll let you decide what "offal" means) ;)
This blog will be about the Awkward Adventures of an Aspie.
Three questions you probably already have, but I will answer:
Number 1 What is an Aspie? An Aspie is short for someone with Asperger Syndrome. We have limited social interactions, sometimes repetitive speech, repetitive speech, repetitive speech...sorry what was I saying...oh yes...difficulty picking up on nonverbal cues, they tend to focus on themselves then the needs of others (not true its all circumstantial), struggle with eye contact, have obsessions with a specific subject, awkward movements, and if they have too much social interaction can lead to a breakdown (well sometimes, it really depends).
Number 2 What counts a phenomenal aspie adventure? Pirates, swords mostly, and maybe a little of fun, No, anything ordinary from as simple as getting groceries at the store or checking out a book at the library. I like the new and everyday its what keeps life interesting and new...maybe. What may seem to be the everyday normal is my new everyday challenge. There will be quick quips, funny stories, and a daily fact that you might not know.
Number 3 If you have Asperger Syndrome how on earth are you going to communicate with us if you lack social skills? Good I'm glad you asked that invisible audience I have yet to acquire. After my diagnosis I made an effort to communicate ended up in drama all through high school while taking social skills classes during three long summers. I'm much better at communicating now then I was ever before
Final point: Above All I'm a literalist with obsessions mostly in writing, with a side of movies, a dash of
![]() |
So Let the Awkward Aspie Adventures begin, I will be your guide |
Feel free to check out my boards on pintesest via this link
-> pinterest http://pinterest.com/baercub/
Fact of the day: Monogolians wore the first high heels so their feet coul easily slide out of the stirrup and Egyptian butchers invented high heels so they would not step in offal (I'll let you decide what "offal" means) ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)