ONCE UPON A TIME “Murder Most Foul” Review

Becoming Better Men

Willingness to change for the better takes time. If we are honest, most of us aren’t immediately rushing out to be someone’s hero. That’s fine. We are not perfect. Like Robert, we stumble and fall to our vices. Sometimes it’s easier to be passive and let our failures haunt us. However, it doesn’t have to be the end of the story. Robert’s turnover happened during his last chapter, altering what his life story had been. After Robert gave James to Rumple in a deal, he lived with guilt by trying to drown it in alcohol for six years. It took a chance at redemption to move him towards change. Finding out that he could bring James home made him want to be the man his sons could look up to. He promised Ruth and Charming that he would get sober and start a new chapter of their lives by repairing the brokenness he caused, and he meant it. He found little James on Pleasure Island, running away from a life King George was imposing on him. He tried to bring his son home to his real family, turning down the temptations that stopped him before. Unfortunately, King George took back his adopted son by force, and then Robert eventually lost his life to an unreformed pirate. Robert was by no means father of the year, but in his final days he chose to shift towards becoming the father his sons deserved. Robert fought for his family and that creates a new legacy for Charming and his family.

We may not be guaranteed a single day, but when given that time, people grow, change, and often mature. While many of our favorite characters have developed wonderfully over the course of six seasons, we are reminded in this particular episode how much Killian Jones has changed. In a lifetime of 200 years, Killian Jones has been a lieutenant, a pirate, and a hero. His descent into darkness happened after he lost two people he cared about most in the world: Liam and Milah. It was during this period of darkness that he didn’t think twice after killing some man tied up to a wagon of the king’s riches. He was selfish, angry, and seeking his revenge on Rumpelstiltskin. It took centuries before anything could attempt to bring the light back in his life. Robert’s spark to change was his son; Killian’s spark to change was meeting Emma. Her presence in his life challenges him to be a better man, the man of honor he used to be. Love changes us and asks us to be the better versions of ourselves. Killian Jones redeemed himself through many acts of heroism and selflessness for the sake of Emma, her family, and her town. This once fearsome pirate feels remorse and guilt for his past actions and actually tries to make things right. Archie points it out to him; he has changed to the point that he has an engagement ring and wants to marry Emma. However, now that he pieced together that he did kill Charming’s father, he carries guilt and wants to do right by Charming and his family before he can move forward with Emma. He has come such a long way from showing little regard of human life to potentially laying down his happiness for the sake of doing what is honorable.

NEXT: FATHERS OF THE YEAR