[S4E18] I Heart NY

Maybe our mistakes are what make our fate. Without them, what would shape our lives? Perhaps if we never veered off course we wouldn't fall in love, or have babies, or be who we are. After all, seasons change. So do cites. People come into your life and people go. But it's comforting to know that the ones you love are always in your heart. And if you're very lucky, a plane ride away.

[S4E18] I Heart NY

I got to thinking about fate. That crazy concept that we're not really responsible for the course our lives take. That it's all predestined, written in the stars. Maybe that explains why, if you live in a city, where you can't even see the stars, your love life tends to feel a little more random. And even if our every man, every kiss, every heartache, is pre-ordered from some cosmic catalogue, can we still take a wrong step and wander off our own personal milky way? I couldn't help but wonder, can you make a mistake and miss your fate?

Salutes to New York have been arriving in waves since Sept. 11, surely all of them sincere and heartfelt testimonials to the character, backbone and resilience of the wounded metropolis and its residents.

It's autumn in New York and Carrie's yearning for some company. She invites herself over to Big's apartment, finding it filled with shipping boxes. Big tells her that he's moving to Napa, California where he bought a vineyard. Dazed and confused, Carrie joins him in a glass of wine and a slow dance to Big's parents' favorite song, "Moon River." Samantha is also feeling abandoned as Richard is late for their rendezvous. Although she's suspicious of his excuses, she gives him a token of love: a framed picture of hearts. At the girls' next get-together, Carrie breaks the news about Big's impending departure and wonders if she should sleep with him one last time. Samantha tells the girls that she's a 'love-a-holic' and is worried as she's sure relationships never work. Carrie starts thinking about fate and wonders: Can you make a mistake and miss your fate?Meanwhile, while leading a tour at the Museum of Modern Art, Charlotte is asked out by one of the visitors. At first she's resistant but when she spots Trey and Bunny wandering through the museum, she says yes to the potential date, Eric.Samantha is increasingly concerned about her 'relationship' as Richard isn't reacting to her sexual advances. She asks him if he's sleeping with another woman and he denies it. She decides to spy on him.Charlotte's date with Eric is going well. Both recent divorcees, they seem to have a lot in common. However, when he sees her luxurious Park Avenue abode, he goes on a rampage about her being a 'rich girl.' She shows him the door and gets rid of him quick.Carrie gets all glammed up for her last night with Big. In a carriage ride through Central Park, Big tells her he'll miss her very much. They start to kiss but are interrupted by a call from Miranda who's in labor. The horses pick up their gait and Carrie dismounts at the hospital. Big gives her his classic wink goodbye.Carrie keeps Miranda sane as she gives birth to a healthy baby boy. Miranda tells an exuberant Steve that she wants to name their child, Brady, Brady Hobbes. Samantha's in a different kind of labor of love as she follows Richard incognito in a wig and dark glasses. She catches him in bed with another woman and proceeds to smash the heart painting she had given him.Carrie rushes off to try to catch Big before his plane takes off, but it's too late. In the apartment she finds the 'Moon River' record with a note reading "If you ever feel lonely" and a plane ticket to Napa with a note reading, "If I ever feel lonely."

Grissom visits Doc Robbins in the morgue once again, this time to find out about Walter. The doc tells Grissom that Walter's cause of death wasn't from police force. Instead, it was a cardiac arrhythmia that did him in; he had no visible prior conditions that could've led to this. The only slightly abnormal thing about Walter was that he had a slightly enlarged heart. Grissom notes that Walter's temperature was 103 degrees and that he was pumped up before his fight. Doc Robbins says that the tox report is pending, but Walter's body showed no signs of drug abuse. As of right now, there was nothing physically wrong with Walter. The doc remarks that some people just run hot.

Catherine and Grissom know that Marissa didn't sign the note she wrote to Sean and it's unlikely that Walter wrote it. Beth tells them that she found Walter's suitcase and found the photo of Sean and Marissa inside of it. She admits to writing the note so that the father (Sean) didn't have to suffer. Beth tells Catherine that Walter giving her the baby was the only good thing he ever did, and that he surely didn't do it out of the goodness of his heart.

Although it's been five years since she met him and their relationship has seen multiple incarnations at this point, Carrie is forced to question whether Big has really changed in this sixth-season episode. She's shocked to find out he's in New York for a heart operation, and even moreso when he's (temporarily) vulnerable and romantic with her following his procedure.

It's a bittersweet moment as Carrie realizes she can't hold out for Big's heart to open up permanently, and it's the pair's last encounter before Carrie launches into her whirlwind romance with Petrovsky.

Although the series finale has Big spending more time with Carrie's girlfriends than with Carrie herself, it occupies a special place in many Carrie fans' hearts. Carrie's sudden move to Paris (something that she wishes Big had offered her back in season two) is not turning out nearly as she expected, and Petrovsky is not the companion she'd hoped for.

Sure, this was one example of Carrie "getting to thinking" about something in more convoluted terms than necessary. But pondering fate brings us to an important realization: If we don't let ourselves get hung up on something as fantastical as fate, you open your mind and heart to possibilities not dictated by fairytales, the kinds of possibilities we can grab for ourselves. Knowing you're in charge of your own life is empowerment at its best.

Welcome to Storybrooke, Book Six: Cheaper By the Coven, Chapter Seven: Maid Marian in Manhattan, Max and Tina discuss Once Upon a Time Season 4, Episode 18: Heart of Gold in which Robin travels to what the writers think is New York, Rumple's heart shrunk three sizes that day, and ding dong the witch isn't dead.

Regina wakes up and discovers Rumple is holding her hostage. He tells her if she wants Robin to stay safe she will do whatever he wants. She asks what happened to Robin, and he hands her a phone telling her to call him herself. Nine weeks ago, Regina says goodbye to Robin and sends them away. Arrving in New York, they are scared and someone steals Marian's purse. Robin steals a horse and rescues it from the thief. He tells Marian they have keys to Rumple's son's apartment. Marian mentions that he was also from the Enchanted Forest and survived there for many years so they can too. They are trying to adjust to life in the city when Rumplestitlskin opens the door to the apartment and asks what they are doing there. After verbally arguing about who really belongs there, Rumple clutches his chest and falls to the ground. At the hospital, Rumple tells Robin that all his dark deeds poisoned his heart. He was able to use magic to protect himself but without it in this land he will die. He tells Robin to retrieve some of the elixir of a wounded heart which he was sent to get in Oz in the past. Robin asks him "and why would I help you?" and Rumple tells him it's because he is an honorable person with a code to live by. Marian tries to convince Robin to let Rumple die but he tells her he cannot and that she is different than who he remembers. She reminds him everything is different now. Robin breaks into Walsh's furniture shop and steals the elixir; he gets away just as the police arrive. He brings it to Rumple and tells him they own the apartment now and he never wants to see him again. Rumple drinks it but says it isn't working. Marian comes in and tells him it's because it isn't real magic but rather a cold and flu medicine. Rumple asks her why she switched it as he caused her no harm. "That's not exactly true," she says. She pulls out a necklace which glows green and reveals it is Zelena. Rumple asks how it is possible since he killed her. She explains that when he stabbed her in the jail cell her life force left her body before it shattered and she went through the portal with Emma and Hook. She killed Marian and assumed her form to come back and steal Regina's happy ending and that no one has been the wiser. She then taunts Rumple in reminding him that because she is still alive he never avenged his son's death. Rumple's heart fails and they resuscitate him. Zelena tells him she will give him the elixir if he finds the author, forces him to write her a happy ending and stops trying to kill her. He reluctantly agrees. Nine weeks later, in Storybrooke, Rumple finds the author, shows him a magic quill and convinces him to come with him. Regina calls Robin's phone and discovers Zelena is alive and acting as Robin's wife. Rumple tells her if she doesn't help him turn Emma dark he will call Zelena and tell her to kill Robin.

In the Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood owns and operates a tavern. Little John wants him to return to thieving with him but he explains that is no longer who he is after marrying Marian. The Sheriff of Nottingham enters and tells him his taxes are overdue. He says he will give Robin Hood two days or he will shut down the tavern and put Robin in jail. The Dark One enters later and tells Robin if he goes to Oz and steals the Elixir of a Wounded Heart, which can cure hearts physically and emotionally, he will take care of his tax problems. Robin enters through a door to Oz and meets Will Scarlet, who is tied up on the road. He releases him and Will tells Robin if he brings back some of the Elixir for him he will keep his mouth shut and not tell the guard. Robin Hood agrees and dresses as an Ozian guard. In the Emerald City, Robin is trying to find the elixir in the vault. He also finds a set of ornaments bearing a six-leaf clover and steals one, then puts some of the elixir in a vial and is finishing filling another vial when he hears a voice say "What are you doing?" He looks in the mirror and sees the Wicked Witch. He tries to hail her but she knows he is not a guard because he spoke to her, and they are not supposed to; Robin then spots a nearby bow with set of arrows and takes them, trying to take the Wicked Witch hostage, only to find that she's cast an illusionary spell and now there's three of them. She asks him why Rumplestiltskin sent him because she knows he is the only one bold enough to steal from her. She throws a fireball at him and he shoots an arrow towards a pillar and smoke hisses out. While she is coughing in the fog, he escapes. Back at the door, he lies and tells Will it was a trap and he got none of the elixir. Will explains he wanted it for him because his sister died and he wanted the hurt to go away. He tells Robin his wife will understand. Robin goes through the door and Will walks away. Will discovers Robin left the vile of the elixir in his pocket. The Sheriff comes to arrest Robin Hood but Robin's men prevent that from happening. Robin explains he understands being a thief with honor is to steal from those who have too much and give to those who have too little and he takes the Sheriff's bag of gold pieces. 041b061a72