Hook was GREAT-- a fabulous addition to the cast, and a great origin story for him. Rumple being "the Crocodile" was a nice twist. It's also good that we got an explanation for the fact that Hook hasn't aged since losing his hand--he went to Neverland. I guess we'll have to wait and see how he made it back the the FairyTale world--not liking that he's in cohoots with Cora, though. And it was strange to have a whole ep without Snow, Emma, and Regina.
As for Whale, yep it looks like he's Frankenstein. I guess that could be good if done well, but I hope the writers don't stray too far from the fairytales the show was originally based on--there's still plenty of those we haven't seen.
Anyway, here's a Hook character vid I made for his ep that just aired. Enjoy it!