‘Once Upon a Time’ 6×05 review: A whole familiar world

Once Upon a Time season 6, episode 5, "Street Rats," delivers another way to cut yourself in two! Who says you can't defy fate every now and then?

Aladdin and Jafar face off in Once Upon a Time season 6, episode 5, "Street Rats." Alright, face off is a bit of a stretch. We did learn about the connection between the Savior and the inevitability of their fate.

Once Upon a Time returns to its roots with Aladdin and Jasmine's introduction. Opting for dozens of winks at the original Disney film, the story is as lively as the crypt. "Street Rats" sticks that dusty VHS on fast-forward and stops just in time to let you in on a few key secrets from Aladdin's untold story.

Over the past few seasons, having a title is something that causes great burden rather than great power. "The Evil Queen," "The Dark One," "The Savior," even "Hero" and "Villain," raise different issues for different people living under the name.

Savior: a title that conveniently presents itself in a book when a town is in need of assistance. In Storybrooke, Henry discovers the tale in his story book. In Agrabah, the story is in one of the bored princess' books.

In this episode it appears at first that Emma and Aladdin are in the same boat. Emma is currently in a position where she examines what her life could be like if she were not the Savior. Unfortunately, she is not in a position of seeing a way out of her current life. We meet Aladdin in the midst of a similar identity crisis.

However, Aladdin does not need to grapple with his fate for too long. Jafar, whose recasting I highly approve of, comes in and cuts the snakes head off right at the start. In the Cave of Wonders, Jafar introduces Aladdin to a bit of Greek mythology and the story of the Fates.

The Once Upon a Time team cashes in on the missed opportunity to bring the Fates into the Underworld/Hades arc, by introducing their magical scissors here. Instead of cutting one's thread of life, the scissors are laced with magic that allows a person to cut ties with their fate. Convenient, eh?

Aladdin is an opportunist. In the movie he takes the easy way out, letting the Genie do all the heavy lifting while he rode around on carpets and rode an elephant. When push came to shove he stepped up to the plate and eventually earned a place in the palace.

The story unfolds similarly here, after saving Jasmine, he is not feeling the visions of blood rivers, skulls, and a job that is 24/7 with no paid vacations. So, Aladdin cuts ties and retreats to the Enchanted Forest while Agrabah falls into the hands of Jafar. I guess we now know why Jasmine might not be thrilled that he is still around.

There are quite a few holes in Jasmine's untold story at this point. For instance, we still do not know the circumstances surrounding her displacement to the Land of Untold Stories. Something about her identity made her a liability with Hyde kicking around town.

We are aware that Aladdin made it out of Agrabah before the first curse and has been living in Storybrooke the entire time. [record scratch]

Hold on. You're telling me, that Aladdin, an old Savior not only lives in Storybrooke presently, but has for an incredibly long time. He is just now coming out of the shadows? Did it really take a teenage to make him realize it is appropriate to step up and explain a few things?

I can accept a lot of Once Upon a Time's stories and plot holes. In fact, my suspension of disbelief for Once is so large, that I almost appreciate the convenient plots more than the ones that are complex.

Sometimes those good and bad storylines go hand in hand. For example, now that Emma's family knows all about her visions she seeks acceptance from her parents once again. The conversation between Snow and Emma is set up and resolved in one quick scene. Now that leaves us room to explore the tear this revelation leaves in Hook and Emma's relationship.

It sets up an interesting predicament at the close of the episode where Emma entrusts Hook to get rid of the scissors that fall in her possession. Choosing to hold onto them, rather than toss them out to sea, literally signals that he is still keeping his feelings close to his heart.

These two need a few sessions on Archie's couch. Or their own couch without Archie. Maybe they just need to release some tension.

I wish Once Upon a Time dedicated more time to Regina and Emma experiencing a fall out due to the visions than Hook and Emma. It's another place where the two female leads have a much more interesting scenario to explore. Hopefully, this season will recognize the potential here and unpack it as they move forward.

Stray Observations

• What is the long game with Regina and Zelena? At this point the show keeps turning down the same road even though it is littered with "Dead End" signs.

• That said, the spa scene featuring sister-to-sister gossip about bedding the Dark One and his new hair cut was a stroke of genius.

• So. Many. Aladdin. Easter. Eggs.

Watch Once Upon a Time season 6, episode 6, "Dark Waters," Sunday, October 30 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.

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