‘Once Upon a Time’ season 3, episode 15 review: Who died in ‘Quiet Minds’?
Earlier this year, news broke out about a character dying during the spring portion of “Once Upon a Time” season 3. We were sad to hear that, but not nearly as sad as we were when it happened during “Quiet Minds.” (Obviously, there are some pretty MAJOR spoilers below.)
There are two very bizarre TV coincidences to talk about here right out of the gate. For one, isn’t it odd that the 15th episode of a season is like “death watch” for some of these shows right now? It was last week that we saw a major character death on “The Good Wife” at the same exact time. Also, why is it about Michael Raymond-James constantly having his characters die on things? Remember what happened on “True Blood”?
In all seriously, we know that there are going to be some enormous reverberations of what happened to Neal here. Much like Rumpelstiltskin at the end of the first half of last season, he died in order to protect someone else (in this case, his father). However, it doesn’t appear like there is any way to undo what happened to him here like there was with Rumple. You could say that this could lead to some Captain Swan romance possibilities in the future, but that’s not really what this was about. Instead, we see this as a little more of a terrible event that will keep Henry from ever knowing his dad if his memory never returns.
The only positive that came from this story, which was mostly all about how Zelena tricked Neal and Belle in the past and present to orchestrate this terrible sacrifice, was that Rumple was able to identify who the Wicked Witch truly is. This will cause the entire story to change the rest of the way, since the enemy is known among the residents of Storybrooke.
But nothing takes away the sting. Neal’s death will change Emma the rest of the series, and also raise the stakes higher than they have ever been when it comes to stopping this wicked witch. Grade: B+ (mostly because we still don’t fully understand Zelena’s motivation).
What did you think about “Quiet Minds,” and do you think there is any way at all that you are going to see him come back? Share your thoughts below.
Sher
April 1, 2014 @ 12:36 am
I don’t think they should kill off Neal if they aren’t going to leave Pan dead, if they bring Pan back Rumple should be able to trade Pan’s life for Baih’s (Neal). I don’t think Zelena should be Regina’s sister, she had to have Regina’s blood, that’s what the flying monkey brought back.
ritabug30
March 31, 2014 @ 4:46 am
I don’t think so because they said the death of the major character would be permanent, unlike the blue fairy and rumple
CC
March 31, 2014 @ 1:43 am
Well, over in Wonderland the laws of magic may be changing….so according to how close in time the two shows are could this see the return of characters from Once Upon a Time : )
Jilljill
March 31, 2014 @ 1:32 am
I am a huge swan fire shipper and I was so sad to see him go. My only beacon of hope was at the end of the episode, when Emma was talking to Henry, the camera zooms out and someone blurry runs in front of the camera. Could this be a sign that he’s still alive?