It’s amazing when a show can sustain a mystery for nearly four seasons, only to provide a resolution that is not only logical but deceptively simple. I can’t say that the origins/nature of the Observers is particularly shocking, since it was one of the many theories that has been tossed around since the beginning, but I love how it fits so perfectly with what we have seen.
“Once Upon A Time” has been stuck in a rut for a while now. And as that channel gets deeper, it’s harder and harder for the wheels to jump out of the track. In “Whatever Happened To Frederick”, for every sign of traction on the fairy-tale side, it was brought crashing back by uninspired storytelling and some really atrocious dialogue back in Storybrooke.
"Lamia" is highly reminiscent of so many past "Merlin" monster-of-the-week episodes. There's a nice, spooky feel to the episode, and what it might lack in actual scares, it makes up for to a certain degree in atmosphere (especially near the end), except during one particular scene. I do love a good swashbuckling fight scene, but this one sticks out like a sore thumb in what is otherwise a straightforward chiller. Thankfully, this is only a minor distraction from the foreboding atmosphere.