Dr. Frankenstein’s past and his relationship with his brother are explored, while Dr. Whale must decide whether or not to save the man who drove into town. Here is a recap and review of “The Name of the Brother.”
Recap:
Rumple pays a visit to Dr. Viktor Frankenstein, offering to pay Viktor much gold to continue his work on reviving the dead. Viktor digs up a body, but is interrupted by Gerhardt, his brother, who is shot and killed. Viktor vows to bring him back, and to do so, Rumple offers to lead Viktor to Regina’s stash of hearts. Gerhardt is brought back to life, but he is aloof, mute, and violent, beating his father to death. Viktor desires to save his brother, but Gerhardt looks less than pleased about it.
Gold heals Belle’s wound when Emma, Mary Margaret, and David arrive at the town line and take Belle, Hook, and the Outsider to the E.R. Dr. Whale says Greg, the man who drove into the town, won’t be leaving anytime soon, implying that they should let him die from his injuries. The townspeople strongly oppose and urge Whale to save him, but he runs away from the hospital. Ruby tracks him to the pier, where she talks him into saving Greg, and he does. Greg tells Emma, as sheriff, that he saw nothing, but later calls “Her” to say she won’t believe what he saw.
Cora offers Gold a way to find Baelfire, a magical globe, in return for reconnecting with Regina. Henry goes to Regina’s underground crypt and she brings him into her secret room, but Henry then turns into Cora. Cora rambles about how Henry will never be Regina’s as long as Emma is around. Rumple attempts to make Belle remember her life, but she gets outraged and runs him out. He uses the magical globe to locate Baelfire and cashes in the favor that Emma owes him: she will journey with him. Henry says Frankenstein wasn’t in the book, which means the curse went to other lands with other stories.
Review:
“The Name of the Brother” introduced the town of Storybrooke to the threat of exposure from the outside world, which many viewers were probably wondering about since the curse was broken. As necessary as this storyline was, the episode itself fluctuated between ups and downs.
As is common on Once Upon A Time, nothing is ever as easy as it appears. Greg’s arrival and false admission that he did not see anything may prove to be interesting, watching how the townspeople explain their strange little world once they realize he lied. If he had truly seen nothing, that would have been a severe let down given the opportunities this story entails. But, shouldn’t Emma have picked up on his fib with her “superpower?”
The blue color scheme used in Dr. Frankenstein’s flashbacks, contrasted with Rumple’s red cloak and gold coins, set a rightly ominous tone. Even though these scenes provided new information on Viktor’s first successful reanimation, that of his brother, there was something too familiar about them, being too close of a copy of the Doctor bringing Daniel back to life earlier this season. However, Dr. Whale’s struggle to save Greg was a realistic way to show his difference from the others in Storybrooke – a sign that maybe he does not belong there. As Henry mentions, Frankenstein comes from a different world, which brings up numerous questions. Did Regina’s curse go wrong or did Rumple simply have more plans for it? Just how interconnected are all these worlds? How long before they go searching for Atlantis? That last one is only half a joke. What are the possibilities from now on?
The relationship between Belle and Gold, as hard as the writers try to make it seem like true love, continually falls flat. Up until this point, Belle has been making a stupendously stronger effort than Gold to fix this relationship with no success. Their chemistry has never erupted on screen, making Belle appear more obligated to saving him from darkness than loving him. Now that Belle does not remember who he is, the chances of her falling in love with him again seem more minimal, especially considering the extremes to which Gold will likely go to jog her memory – extremes that will involve magic Belle disapproves of. Gold bringing Belle her chipped teacup, the singing Chip, recalled her friend from the classic fairytale and was a fitting attempt to make her remember, if Gold wasn’t so frightening and forceful at this point.
Having Greg’s ringtone be a theme from Star Wars was a humorous note, but it would have been more effective at showing the separation between Storybrooke and the outside world if Leroy had not mentioned his knowledge of pop-culture alien movies. Also, I don’t know how much I buy Cora wanting to reconnect with Regina. Cora has been established as a master manipulator so her genuineness is always in question. Although it was appropriate to hear her relate her journey to reconnect with her daughter to Gold’s desire to find Baelfire, both parents being consumed by magic which caused them to drive away their children.
