It was good to have a Gothel-centric episode, to see a long awaited back-story that furthered her character and moved events forward. For much of Season 7, she played a big role in a plot-line regarding The Coven, which generally should have been more compelling than it turned out to be. So basically she was a good, well-played character that should have been better used while this plot line and the Candy Killer subplot were going on.
"Flower Child" does a great job with her and she is the most interesting she was all season, it also makes for overall one of her more interesting and meatier episodes. For all its flaws, of which there are quite a few, "Flower Child" is one of the better-faring episodes of a generally disappointing seventh and final season. Everything outside of Gothel's backstory/plot-line is sadly significantly less good, which brings down what had potential to be a great episode badly.
There are a good number of things done well, more so than what is done disappointingly (despite the disappointing elements being quite major and jarring). Gothel is very well written here and her origin story has tension and emotion, finally providing answers to questions crying out to be answered for the whole second half of Season 7. Emma Booth's performance is sinister and moving, her best performance of the show.
Also found Tilly a very well written and easy to relate to character, she was always a breath of fresh air in her appearances regardless of the rest of the material and that's the case in "Flower Child" too. Rose Reynolds portrays her beautifully. "Flower Child" is at least not as rushed or as over-stuffed as most of the season's other episodes, the big twist is intriguing and one of not many of the season to be surprising and not confuse. It looks good, is fittingly scored and with one exception the cast do admirably with what they have. Booth and Reynolds being in a different league in a good way.
However, too much of the dialogue (especially with Henry, Jacinda and Lucy) made me cringe and it is a great thing that the Gothel story was so well done because elsewhere "Flower Child" didn't really grab me all that much, much of the drama is rather soapy, is quite dreary pace-wise and betrays a running out of ideas recycled feel. Only Gothel and Tilly are properly compelling here, outside of them the episode lacks a character as strong as Regina, Rumpelstiltskin and Zelena.
Furthermore, and this was the episode's main undoing in my view, there is too much of the Henry, Jacinda and Lucy subplot, which was pretty disconnected from everything else and was a real waste of derivative, badly dragged out drama. The pace is leaden in their scenes, the dialogue is trite, Henry continues to be used poorly and both Lucy and especially Jacinda are grating. While Samdi/Facilier's motives are less vague than before, his role feels shoehorned in.
On the whole, great origins story and two great characters but lacking in the other story elements, with one over-exposed subplot enough to ruin the episode. 6/10
"Flower Child" does a great job with her and she is the most interesting she was all season, it also makes for overall one of her more interesting and meatier episodes. For all its flaws, of which there are quite a few, "Flower Child" is one of the better-faring episodes of a generally disappointing seventh and final season. Everything outside of Gothel's backstory/plot-line is sadly significantly less good, which brings down what had potential to be a great episode badly.
There are a good number of things done well, more so than what is done disappointingly (despite the disappointing elements being quite major and jarring). Gothel is very well written here and her origin story has tension and emotion, finally providing answers to questions crying out to be answered for the whole second half of Season 7. Emma Booth's performance is sinister and moving, her best performance of the show.
Also found Tilly a very well written and easy to relate to character, she was always a breath of fresh air in her appearances regardless of the rest of the material and that's the case in "Flower Child" too. Rose Reynolds portrays her beautifully. "Flower Child" is at least not as rushed or as over-stuffed as most of the season's other episodes, the big twist is intriguing and one of not many of the season to be surprising and not confuse. It looks good, is fittingly scored and with one exception the cast do admirably with what they have. Booth and Reynolds being in a different league in a good way.
However, too much of the dialogue (especially with Henry, Jacinda and Lucy) made me cringe and it is a great thing that the Gothel story was so well done because elsewhere "Flower Child" didn't really grab me all that much, much of the drama is rather soapy, is quite dreary pace-wise and betrays a running out of ideas recycled feel. Only Gothel and Tilly are properly compelling here, outside of them the episode lacks a character as strong as Regina, Rumpelstiltskin and Zelena.
Furthermore, and this was the episode's main undoing in my view, there is too much of the Henry, Jacinda and Lucy subplot, which was pretty disconnected from everything else and was a real waste of derivative, badly dragged out drama. The pace is leaden in their scenes, the dialogue is trite, Henry continues to be used poorly and both Lucy and especially Jacinda are grating. While Samdi/Facilier's motives are less vague than before, his role feels shoehorned in.
On the whole, great origins story and two great characters but lacking in the other story elements, with one over-exposed subplot enough to ruin the episode. 6/10
