Can you tell me where I might find the Hydra?
The emotional agony one carries around can spread like a cancer. It makes you sick- emotionally, mentally and physically. It can ruin careers, friendships and families. The mind is a very powerful source of energy. Our mind creates a reality by the thoughts, ideas and emotions we believe to be true. The mind can make you believe the most ridiculous things, yet also the most miraculous things. It can harm you, trick you and lead you astray. It can cause scared little boys and girls to have an overactive imagination and issues with reality; and on the other hand it can give a child wings to fly by believing in magic, dreams coming true, and give them hope- believing in self. The mind is also the powerful source of your own clarity and your own healing.
The power to do many things already lives inside each one of us. That power can enable us to imagine a sleeping dragon and awaken it. We can picture ourselves riding across the beautiful sky on a friendly dragon, or we can see ourselves not being brave enough to fight a fearsome dragon, or then again, we can imagine that we do indeed have the strength to beat the dragon. But if we're not careful, we can become the dragon. It all depends on what you perceive the dragon to be and who you believe yourself to be.
August has been bearing the weight of guilt, of the selfish, untruthful and cowardice life he's lived, so he punishes himself by turning to wood. August believes that The Dragon can cure what ails him. We learn that The Dragon creates something/a magical potion not from this world because the people who need his help suffer from afflictions that science cannot treat. He understands the way to reach and heal the suffering person, and it just may be on a whole other level entirely.
With the coaxing of The Dragon we see August literally letting go of the string that attaches him to his past emotions and he's given a chance to try again. Starting over isn't an automatic pass, it is still a learning process. He will get a do-over and hopefully learn the lesson. In life it seems you will be presented with a particular lesson over and over until you "get it."
August believes that The Dragon can fix him, until he has a moment of clarity, an awakening, realizing that August himself is the only one who truly holds the power to make better choices, to forgive, to change, to heal, to fix, to be redeemed, to let go and begin anew. His old self died to enable his new-self to be reborn. We are happy to see August returned to his pre-cursed Fairy Tale Land boyhood image, and is given a chance for a "do-over" and a life with Marco. Hopefully he's learned a few lessons from his past and is free to make better choices with his rebirth.
But we still must ask... Who/what is the Dragon, really?
Return to you what was once lost
... with a little help from the magic well and its water.
There are consequences to the choices we make and the walls we put up. Mary Margaret takes the advice she heard Emma give to David, and instead of hiding herself away she heads out and ends up encouraging August with his situation. At times when she speaks with August it sounds like she's talking to herself; in that its advice she herself needs to take. But it is also words and advice Emma needs to hear too. They all have to take the step in forgiving themselves and forgiving others. In a way they are inadvertently helping and teaching each other this new way of life.
It's exciting to hear that the bean field might have a crop soon. They planted the seed, growth is happening and once it has matured and is ready, then they can go home.
A few things that I seem to be thinking about:
1). The Dragon says to August- "For someone who spent his entire life running you should be in better shape." Hmm... August spent his entire life running? Okay, metaphorically he's been running from himself and for himself, or looking for something, I get that, but otherwise, who/what was he running from? I thought he was traveling the world just having a good time.
2). I still feel like there's more to the August and Neal story, like these two know more than we're aware of. Also, I can't let go of the fact that we've seen August with Henry's fairy tale book (Henry got it from Mary Margaret) and I still wonder if he's manipulated any parts of it because he just wanted the curse to be broken for his own selfish needs, or, perhaps he just deeply cares for Emma and Henry and just wanted to fix the book with his story. We do know in the episode The Stranger, Henry tells Emma someone changed it; there's a new story in the book and the story isn't finished. Plus I still think about the time he tried to get the dagger from the Dark One.
3). I want to note that when the residents say the name Tamara, and they are indeed pronouncing it correctly, I can't help but hear the word "tomorrow." LOL.
☸ ☰ ☱ ☲ ☳ ☴ ☵ ☶ ☷ ☸
I wonder if the Dharma Initiative, the Hanso Foundation, Widmore Enterprises, Paik Industries or any of the other familiar LOST organizations will come to play a role in this tale.
Things to Note...Questions to Ask...
๑ Animate- bring to life. Life. Death. Rebirth. Another chance to try again
๑ August and his motorcycle
๑ August physically reacts to Tamara
๑ Again, we see that this transformation can only be seen by people who "believe"
๑ Joan Jett and the Blackhearts: Bad Reputation
๑ Hook got out of the storage room in N.Y., so where the heck is he?
๑ Hospital
๑ On October 24th, 2011 August awakes in Phuket and claims he has to go to the hospital- We see him in October, 2011 in a Hong Kong hospital. When/what date is this, and did he have to travel that far for a medical center?
๑ Note when we're given a month and year but no day/date
๑ Who is Neal's fiancée Tamara really and what is she up to with Greg?
๑ Lots of laundry hanging around
๑ Neal's phone I.D's Tamara as "Her" and Neal says it's "Her" when she texts him.
๑ Arrow
๑ Bar. Liquor
๑ Winnie's Pub (Could this be a nod to Winnie the Pooh?)
๑ August calls Marco Papa and Grace calls Jefferson Papa in Hat Trick
๑ Hansel and Gretel must find their father in True North
๑ The Return
๑ The Stranger
๑ Broken
๑ Sleep- Wake up
๑ Time
๑ "I wish" - August
๑ Who are you?
- Who is he?
- Does she know who you are?
- Do you/she know where you come from?
- Is there anybody in here?
๑ The Dragon is a short story by author Ray Bradbury. The story concerns two men, a moor, and a full blown dragon. The story begins with two knights, who, we are told, have a mission to go and slay a dragon. The dragon as they described, is huge, fire-breathing, horrific, and only has one eye. They charge at the dragon, and they fail. Presumably they died from the attempt. Readers find out that the 'dragon' is actually a train, a modern-age steam train. And the dragon's single eye is, in fact, the train's head light.
๑ Qu'on: Contradiction Quon: suggests "quon" as a generic term for a quantum object. Guan, a Chinese family name rendered in Cantonese as Kwan, or also in English as Quan or Quon. Ascension.
๑ The Isra and Mi'raj are the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islamic tradition, the Islamic prophet Muhammad took during a single night around the year 621. It has been described as both a physical and spiritual journey
๑ Ensō: Chinese word meaning Circle and a concept strongly associated with Zen. Japanese calligraphy that symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe, and the void. In Zen Buddhist painting, ensō symbolizes a moment when the mind is free to simply let the body/spirit create.
๑ Five Elements in Japanese Philosophy: in ascending order of power, Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Void.
1). Chi, meaning "World", represents the hard, solid objects of the earth. The most basic example of chi is in a stone. Stones are highly resistant to movement or change, as is anything heavily influenced by chi. In people, the bones, muscles and tissues are represented by chi. Emotionally, chi is predominantly associated with stubbornness, collectiveness, stability, physicality, and gravity. It is a desire to have things remain as they are; a resistance to change. In the mind, it is confidence. When under the influence of this chi mode or "mood", we are aware of our own physicality and sureness of action.
2). Sui or mizu, meaning "Water", represents the fluid, flowing, formless things in the world. Besides rivers/water, blood and other bodily fluids are represented by sui, as are mental or emotional tendencies towards adaptation and change. Sui can be associated with emotion, defensiveness, adaptability, flexibility, suppleness, and magnetism.
3). Ka or hi, meaning "Fire", represents the energetic, forceful, moving things in the world. Bodily, ka represents our metabolism and body heat, and in the mental and emotional realms, it represents drive and passion.
4). Fū or kaze, meaning "Wind", represents things that grow, expand, and enjoy freedom of movement. Aside from air, smoke, and the like, fū can in some ways be best represented by the human mind. As we grow physically, we learn and expand mentally as well, in terms of our knowledge, our experiences, and our personalities. Mentally and emotionally it represents an "open-minded" attitude and carefree feeling.
5). Kū or sora, most often translated as "Void", but also meaning "sky" or "Heaven", represents those things beyond our everyday experience, particularly those things composed of pure energy. Kū is of particular importance as the highest of the elements.
๑ SoHo: Lower Manhattan and SoHo, Hong Kong, and the West End of London, and other places.
* I want to note: Artemis Fowl is a series of eight science fiction fantasy novels written by Irish author Eoin Colfer. Artemis captures a Fairy, Holly Short, in the first book and holds her for ransom to exploit the magical Fairy People and restore his family's fortune.
✈ 815, 8
✈ "I wish"
✈ In Stranger in a Strange Land Jack visits Phuket to find himself
✈ Tricia Tanaka is Dead- Hurley discovers an old abandoned DHARMA Initiative van in the woods.
✈ Late. Morning. Life, Death, Rebirth
✈ (Arrow) Station
✈ Eggs
✈ In There's No Place Like Home: Part 2- Locke tells Jack that he's going to have to lie, as it's the only way to protect the island.
JACK- "It's an island, John. No one needs to protect it."
LOCKE- "It's not an island. It's a place where miracles happen. And...and...if you...if you don't believe that, Jack, if you can't believe that, just wait till you see what I'm about to do." Ultimately telling Jack- "Lie to them, Jack. If you do it half as well as you lie to yourself, they'll believe you."
✈ Jin and Sun Kwon, Seoul, Korea
✈ In The Moth- Give something to the island/Locke and the island will give you something in return
✈ Boone Carlyle.
- Penelope "Penny" (Widmore, Hume, Milton) Wanted Desmond to travel with her to Carlisle to deliver the crates of wine.
✈ Ab Aeterno
✈ Whatever Happened, Happened
✈ Important Episodes about "Second Chance":
Tabula Rasa
The Moth
Some like it HOTH
The Substitute
✈ Characters who physically punishes themselves for their past: Hurley, Richard and John Locke
✈ Juliet uses an electroshock Taser/stun gun/zapper in A Tale of Two Cities and Zoe in The Package
Enough of my rambling... Here's your episode recap! Enjoy!
Mary Margaret knows "going back" home won't erase her getting Regina to kill her own mother. She asks David to give her time.
"August?"
"Who is he?" asks August.
"They call him the Dragon," the helpful man replies. {August makes a facial expression like 'come on, really?'}
Mary Margaret tries to encourage him by letting him know there are people (his father) in Storybrooke who care about him. His papa misses him. "But I can't let him see me like this- or Emma," claims August.
Mary Margaret also shares that the people in Storybrooke could use him back, as so much has been going on. "Henry's father returned- Emma found him..."
August interrupts, "Wait. Emma and Neal... they're back together again?" Nope. Neal's engaged to someone he met in New York.
"I was hoping... that's my problem," August begins, "Hoping- Hoping that things can still work out. Hoping that I can find redemption for the mistakes that I've made. But maybe some things you just don't come back from."
Mary Margaret feels no matter what you've done, you deserve a second chance. August feels that's easy for her to say. "You never had to worry about forgiveness- redemption. You've never needed it." Mary Margaret tells him it's time to stop feeling sorry for himself, "Come back to town with me. We'll find Marco..." August doesn't want to face him like that; a wood pile of failure. He just wants Mary Margaret to leave and don't tell anyone she saw him, that's the only way she can help him.
Over bagels and coffee, Henry asks Neal and his fiancée how they met. Neal doesn't answer, but Tamara does. "Well, I was super late to work, rushin' like crazy, guzzling my giant coffee when this guy (Neal) crashed into me. Haha. My coffee soaked my blouse. There was no time to change, so Neal gave him his scarf to help hide the stains. And he said that I can keep it or call him if I wanted to return it. I decided to call and... Well, we've been together ever since."
Emma decides it sounds like Fate. As she and Henry ready to leave, Henry tells Neal to hold on to the fairy tale book.
Tamara feels Henry's a great kid and has Neal's spirit. Neal decides the time is right to tell Tamara some back story.
"I'm not from here. I'm from a place called The Enchanted Forest. I'm being serious." He gives her the book to look through, as if it's a family photo album.
Neal- "And they're real. Uh, they're more than real, they're history- they're my history." He shows her the picture of a little boy in the book, "That's me."
{Note three items in front of window.}
Greg Mendel sits in a booth at Granny's eating a piece of pie. Regina Mills walks over to him, introduces herself as Mayor of Storybrooke, also Henry's mother; the pie's on her. Greg recalls the cute little kid who was wandering through the woods. Regina thanks him for the call about Henry. Greg admits having a soft spot for little kids in trouble. Regina's fairly certain they haven't met before but notes he seems oddly familiar. Greg doesn't see how that's possible, unless she spent a lot of time in Carlisle, Pennsylvania- which she hasn't. Regina's gracious telling him "If there's anything you need during your stay here, please don't hesitate to ask." On her way out she runs into Mary Margaret coming in. Regina suggests she try the fish special, "Its right up your alley. Blackened Sole"
Mary Margaret hurries to the counter to tell Emma and Marco that she's found August. He's alive but completely wooden and living in an abandoned trailer down by the Toll Bridge. She thinks Mother Superior (the Blue Fairy) may be able to help him. Marco agrees and they head out. We see that Tamara is sitting at the opposite end of the counter.
August waits to see the Dragon. Tamara comes out from behind the beaded curtain and tells August "He said to send you in. Good luck."
August lifts his right pant leg and smugly asks "You see that?" The Dragon does not, because he knows the problem is with his other leg. This amuses August. When August reveals his other leg the Dragon declares "You're turning to wood, Pinocchio." August is curious.
"How the hell do you know my name? Who are you? Are you from my land?"
The Dragon advises the in pain August he shouldn't waste his energy on him, but on his affliction. "All you need to worry about is whether can I help you, and the answer is indeed I can." There are however, conditions. The Dragon needs an item of great value to August. No, not money, that comes later. He needs something close to Augusts' heart- something that cannot be replaced. Pointing to August, he's addressing the whale pendant he wears on a black string. August feels the pendant is worthless, but the Dragon says it's the string his father used to animate him as a freshly carved puppet. "In a way, it first gave you life- it will serve as payment from your soul." Perhaps this will work. August rips the string off of his neck and hands it over. Of course, as any vendor from this world, the Dragon will also need payment from Augusts' wallet. 10,000 American dollars. "Bring the money tonight and you shall never turn to wood again."
"Are you sure this can cure me?" August asks.
"What's in this bottle will stop you from turning to wood, yes, but that's just a symptom. Only you can cure yourself." August makes the purchase with the cash he stole.
 |
| NOTE CHANGES |
"You can see me? You believe?" August asks her.
Tamara admits "Do you think I would have chased someone called the Dragon, if I didn't?"
August wonders how it's even possible that she's in Storybrooke. But that doesn't concern August; she needs him to do something, and after what he pulled in Hong Kong he owes her. Her simple request is for him to leave. August wants her to explain. "Did you follow me? Are you like me?"
Tamara isn't magical- she's quite human. She feels August should be wondering how she's there. After all her cancer was a death sentence, but the bottle the Dragon provided cured her and it can cure him too. "I still have some of it left. The bottle's in my apartment in New York. You can go get it. All I ask is that you leave Storybrooke now and never return." Looking at her diamond engagement ring, August realizes she's Neal's fiancée. "Are you and Neal here for the magic? Are you two trying to take the magic from Storybrooke?"
"Neal has nothing to do with any of this," Tamara replies, "He knows as much as you do. Actually now you know a lot more. So do we have a deal?"
August won't leave until he knows what she's doing there, but Tamara disagrees, as he's the same man she left in a Hong Kong gutter. "A man willing to do anything to save himself. And that's what I'm offering, August, salvation," she holds a ring of keys out in front of him.
Greg uses the key (he has the loop key chain his father gave him) to open door number 7 of Granny's little motel, but is surprised by a woman already in his room facing out the window. He's all set on towels (if that's why she's there) adding "I air dry."
The woman is Regina. She is there because she's realized this man is Owen.
"I'm looking for my father."
Regina seems stunned, stating his father left shortly after he did and she never saw him again. Owen doesn't believe her. "People just don't disappear, Regina."
Regina feels "Scared little boys tend to have an overactive imaginations." But Owen isn't a scared little boy anymore. "It's taken him a long time to get back here... Not leaving without my father."
Regina's afraid he is "Because he's not here. I'll let Granny know that you'll be checking out tomorrow." Regina feels contrary to what he thinks "People can just disappear."
On their trek through the woods to see August in the abandoned trailer, Marco claims this is all his fault. Mary Margaret feels "Children make their own decisions, Marco, you can't blame yourself for anything that's happened." But Marco can and he feels she should blame him too. He comes clean about the wardrobe he built and transported Emma to this world- "She did not go alone." He admits the wardrobe was able to transport more than one person, contrary to what the rest of them were told by the Blue Fairy. It was a lie he made the Blue Fairy tell her. "It has enough magic to transport two- and it did. Your daughter and my son... Pinocchio."
"I could have gone with her? With Emma?" Mary Margaret sadly asks. Marco knows there is no apology he could give that could ever make up for what he did. "But I am so sorry." Mary Margaret slaps the man and this troubles Emma because Marco was apologizing. Marco feels it's okay, "I deserved that."
"No, that wasn't me," claims Mary Margaret, "Marco, I am so sorry. I'm not myself. You just made a mistake- I would have done the same thing for my child. I forgive you you were protecting your son."
"No, I burdened him with a weight no child should have to bear and called it love," confesses Marco.
Mary Margaret notices the trailer. They trio enter it to find August isn't there.
The Dragon explains what he creates is not from this world, "Because the people who need my help suffer from afflictions that science cannot treat. People like the man you stole that from." Tamara paid for what is in that bottle and now that she has it she can't risk anyone else finding him. So, she attempts to harm him with an electroshock stun gun.
The Dragon begins a (Orange-reddish) transformation. "You haven't met me. At least not the real me." As he ascends higher off the ground Tamara shocks him with her Taser, takes her photo and leaves.
At the sheriff's office he calls out for Emma. "Hello! Is anyone here?!" He calls Emma from the rotary phone to her cell. "...listen to me. I have to warn you..." Tamara pulls the wire disconnecting his call.
"Warn me? Warn me about what?" Emma anxiously asks.
Tamara is disappointed with August.
Tamara feels August should have left; she was counting on him to want to save himself.
Maybe that's what August is trying to do. "I've lived a life of selfishness, cowardice, and dishonesty- and only I can cure that- not magic, not science- just me. I care about the people in this town, and if you wanted the Dragon's little bit of magic well you have hit the mother-load here and you are not going to harm anyone to get it. I'm going to warn them."
"No, you're not," Tamara shocks August with the electricity of her Taser and he falls.
David determines if August is still at the station he's not picking up. Just then they see August dramatically exit the Town Hall and fall to the ground. Marco is upset for his boy and asks August "What happened to you?" August apologizes to his Papa. But Marco feels there's nothing to apologize for. "Everything is gonna be alright."
August tries to tell Emma "She's... she's..." But he never gets the words out. Marco cries, "Not again," as he holds August in his arms. Neal shows up. "August?"
Mary Margaret feels it can't end this way, he was supposed to get a second chance. Emma tells Neal someone killed him from stopping him from telling us something. He used his last dying breathe to warn them. Emma won't let that be in vein.
Henry has a revelation that Brave, Truthful and Unselfish- It means... that's what Pinocchio was supposed to be- there's still hope! They need the Blue Fairy. Well, she's right there! She tells the group that she was able to turn Pinocchio into a real boy after he sacrificed his life to save Marco's. "If his actions today were indeed brave, truthful and unselfish, then you're right. There's a chance I can do it again." Marco begs her to try. The Blue Fairy uses her magic wand and turns dead wooden August into a live, breathing little boy. The little boy is happy. "I'm a real boy!" Father and son hug.
"Pinocchio? That's?..." Tamara asks Neal. Neal nods 'yes'.
Emma asks Pinocchio if he remembers what he was trying to warn them about something before he became a real boy. Pinocchio doesn't remember, but if he does he promises to be truthful.
Neal tells Tamara he wouldn't blame her if she wants to head back to New York, as this isn't what she signed up for. But Tamara says she signed up for him and she loves him. Neal can't believe how lucky he was to have met her. Tamara says they were both lucky.
FLASH to their meeting in New York City, November 2011.
August {on his motorcycle} flew in from Hong Kong. He tells Neal he's turning back into wood, which means Emma's in Storybrooke and he's going there to get her to break the curse to stop what's happening to him.
"If she breaks the curse my father's gonna remember who he is and come looking for me," mentions Neal. August feels there's a flip-side, "You get to see Emma again." But Neal's not sure Emma wants to see him.
August gets ready to ride. "When the curse is broken I'll send you a postcard."
Tamara purposely bumps into Neal causing their intended connection.
Emma and the family return to the apartment in Storybrooke. Emma sits on the stairs and apologizes to Henry for lying about his dad and promises never to lie to him again. "Just don't push me away."
Henry won't and they hug tightly.
"...Are you out of your mind?!" exclaims David. He promised not to get mad; he knows Regina could have killed her. But that's why Mary Margaret went there; she could barely breathe with the guilt she felt over what she did with Cora. She shares that Regina ripped out her heart. "And when she took it out... my heart, David, it had started to blacken because of what I did." She didn't tell David because telling him makes things real, and she needed to believe it wasn't- that she could find a way to stop it- that redemption was possible. David feels it is possible, "Look at August."
Mary Margaret feels,"But it cost him everything." David hugs her tightly. "You are not him, Mary Margaret. And you sure as hell aren't Regina. Which means those are not the only two options. We'll find another way, I know it." And he's sure literally because of (Places her hand on) her heart, "And I know better than anyone."
Greg and Tamara are a couple in lust... or love... or cahoots... or whatever.
Thank you for your kind words and for the info on the flower :)
ReplyDelete-Karen