Because it's Halloween, Once Upon A Time may not have raised the eyebrows of any casual channel-surfers last night, but we knew. We knew "The Thing You Love Most" was no holiday special: witches with their eyes sewn shut and baby unicorns are just how Once Upon a Time rolls. While I couldn't help but giggle over the fairyland villain club, I got completely caught up in the episode's fairy- and real-world storylines, which were both carefully constructed and emotionally plausible.
"The Thing You Love Most," impressed me with Emma's explanation of why she was still in town, and how well it set up the necessity of her playing along with Henry's fairytale theory. If I had a biological 10-year-old son who'd crossed state lines on his own to find me, and then his adopted mom threatened to destroy me after I found him the SECOND time he ran away, I would want to know everything about the loopy chick in charge of my DNA nugget, too. Plausible!
We found out a lot about Regina this week: She is complicated! And exactly how much does she remember from the fairytale world? I had assumed she was aware of the curse, as she clearly has the town in her clutches and hates Margaret Blanchard, but she looked genuinely confused while poring over the story book. She apparently did not know Henry's connection to Snow White when she adopted him (which I had also assumed was the case). Rumpelstilskin arranged things so that baby Henry was the child she adopted. That's a fascinating twist. The Evil Queen's beef with Snow White is not who is fairer, but a true vendetta: Somehow Snow White was responsible for the death of the person she loved most. That makes both characters much more interesting to me.
The show also took the opportunity this week to cement its relationship to the Disney versions of these familiar fairytales, by specifically naming Sleeping Beauty's evil queen Maleficent. How glamorous and awesome was Pam, a.k.a. Kristin Bauer? After years of seeing her in vampire makeup, she was shockingly gorgeous with just her natural skin tone, and while the conversation by the fire didn't further the plot much, it did further the smile on my face.
Emma's insistence on staying in Storybrooke meant a battle between her and the Mayor—Regina got the town newspaper, The Mirror (helmed by Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito! Do you think he's also the town pixie dust/meth lord?), to run a smear campaign, set up Emma to be arrested for having Henry's psych files, and also put a boot on her car. Emma, in a laugh-out-loud moment, took a chainsaw to Regina's apple tree. Apparently Storybrooke's Ye Olde Chainsaw Rental Shoppe doesn't ask too many questions.
Regina's escalated efforts to remove Emma only entrenched her further in the small community: Margaret bailed Emma out, and there was some flirtation with the Sheriff, who seems on her side as well. (He is so obviously the Wolf. Money on the table: I'm calling it.)
Lana Parrilla gave a stellar performance as Regina/the Evil Queen—she has the face of a 1950s Coca-Cola ad, but there's so much going on in her eyes, and she can bring the rage with just a twist of an eyebrow. Ultimately the show cemented Regina as a true villain, because she is willing to hurt the ones she loves to get what she wants. We know this because she pretty much said it directly to the camera, yes, but it was also illustrated both by her killing her own father to set off the curse that has everyone locked in the present day, and by her setting up Henry to overhear Emma call his fairytale belief system "Crazy." The connection between the two betrayals was underlined by the reveal that she named Henry for her father, the one she'd just killed. Henry is not safe, you guys! Sleep with one eye open, Henry.
Emma's moment of setting things right with Henry completely solidified the show's premise. She convinced him that she believes in his theory and had to call him crazy to throw Regina off.
I can't commend the writers enough for providing us with a solid reason for why she would encourage Henry and stick around to engage in his curse theory. Having a believable, solid logic behind the "real world" and the emotional justice of the show makes the lace wiglets, angry gnomes, and poisoned apples of the fairytale world a lot less ridiculous.
QUESTIONS:
… Does Regina remember the fairytale world? Did she set up the basic tenets of the world and then erase her own memory, or what? Rumpelstilskin made some knowing statements about "You know who she is," but aren't we assuming every character deep down kind of senses his/her old personality? Could that be what he's referring to?
… The Sheriff is clearly the love interest, but what will happen when his work visa runs out? Isn't he like Scottish or something? Is that legal? Could I go be a "Bobby" in London?
… Who got the worst costume this episode: Eyes-Sewn-Shut Witch, Angry Acne Gnome, Daddy Henry, or all the ladies having to deal with those big-ass false eyelashes?
… Rumpelstilskin: Good guy or bad guy?
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I may be way off base here, but isn't the movie coming soon....Snow white and the huntsman?? That twilight girl is the snowwhite.....
Anyways.....love this show....hope the show goes on and on and on and........for long time.
Love this show! Very cute way of summing up the show so far, lol.
The actor playing the hunky sheriff is irish.
The Sheriff is definately the Huntsman, but is he good or bad??? Only time will tell...
I may be way off base here, but I'm thinking the sheriff may be the Sheriff of Nottingham.
I think you're off on that one. Sheriff of Nottingham is from a completely different set of "fairy tales" than Snow White, Prince Charming, et al. I think that he may be the Huntsman. Possibly the wolf, but that would be too close to Fables for comfort. ;)
I am thinking the huntsman, too, but will wait and see.
Who knew there would be two fairy tale shows on this fall and both would be really fun to watch?
So, you like Grimm too, wish it was not up against my regular faves Fringe and Supernatural . Surprised ABC has not put their good stuff on Fridays now. lol Hope i did not just jinx it.
I don't think Regina remembers, but she does have an agenda other than just being evil. I don't believe she just adopted Henry to replace her beloved father. I think she needs him for something. Also, why did she want to keep such a close eye on Charming, and why keep him hidden from his wife? If that's who she really is. The explanation about him saying her name was obviously a lie. If Rumpelstiltskin doesn't remember, then why did he arrange for Regina to raise Snow White's grandson? And what's with the apples? Between the clock, and Charming suddenly waking up, and nobody really remembering their past, shouldn't Emma be starting to actually wonder if there is more to this story? I thought this show would be silly, but the way it's slowly giving use breadcrumbs (see what I did there) plus the great cast, has really grabbed my interest!moreless
He's Northern Irish not Scottish that's a Belfast accent
id put money on the sheriff being a huntsman
I am really liking this show. I did not think I would, but I heard all the good reviews and decided to check it out. It's kind of cheesy, but it works. Also, like LOST, the show is very good at slowly revealing secrets and making you more interested. The most interesting parts of the show are finding out which fairytale character each person is based on clues, and also the whole business with Rumplestiltskin. Obviously, he remembers the curse, but why would he bring Henry to the queen? Does he want the curse broken, or is he just messing with everybody for fun?
Rumple actor is from Stargate SGU.
And also, I am one of the ones that thinks that Regina doesn't remember. But Rumplestiltskin does.
I think Regina remembers everything but she didn't know that the child was saved.... She's scared that Rumpelsomething is saying tricky things almost like he's remembering stuff. For her plan to continue no one can know the true.
"What will happen when his work visa runs out?" ROFLMAO! I was totally wondering the exact same thing! I like the Sheriff but yeah isn't he from over the pond? How does that work with him being a copper like that and if that is the case than I want to head over to London and be one of those guards outside of the Palace! : )
I'm curious as to "who" the Sheriff is supposed to be in the fairytales. They haven't shown him in the fairytales or eluded to anything like they do with the other characters. Makes me wonder if he's an outsider and if so...how did that come about? Interesting.
I love Emma and when she chainsawed the tree I was in stitches. Neither lady is willing to let up so things will definitely be interesting. I also like Rumplestilskin...he's a villian but then he isn't...it's good stuff.moreless
Sheriff might replace Grey's Mcdreamy soon eh. lol Is he on that wine ad dancing with the gypsy girl and French music? [Not Patrick]
Its pretty obvious who the sheriff is...Pinochio. He would only be about 5 years older than emma. jepedo is even his janitor.
except that everyone is the same age as they were before the curse, so that would mean that Pinochio would be 5 in storybrooke too.
I like this show a lot better than Grimm. Some of the actors need to work on their acting, but the storyline is interesting, the actors in this show put more depth into their character and the actor who plays Rumpelstiltskin is fabulous! I love how it plays that character. And the actor shows that he got skills. I watch the show just to watch that actor play his character. Rumpelstiltskin is my favorite character.
Isn't Robert Carlisle great as Rumple, he was from Stargate SGU on SYFY.
The stories are just SO intriguing! I find this show to be one of the best in the Fall season, as I feel that a lot of shows don't really have a story.
P.S: I really thought that these flashbacks would come later in the story.
Confusing, irritating, utterly without a drop of suspense or anything resembling an interesting premise. Go Rumpy. He's the only good actor/vaguely creepy character in the whole yucky cauldron of dreckitude.
If this confused you, I'd suggest you go back to watching reruns of Friends.
Aw really? Did you see the first one?!
What a brilliantly put together show! On top of the great characters and stories, I am loving the segues and symbolic links between the two worlds, like the statue of the dwarf pointing--he has a second life as a garden gnome after being petrified by the Evil Queen! Or playing around with the apples--it was such a great moment when Emma takes up a chainsaw! I just love how they are using the fairy tale material in such fun and creative ways. Grimm, the other show using fairy tales, is really dull and dour and uninspired and predictable by comparison. Big bad wolves go after little girls in red hoods--who would've guess it?
Not as bad as I thought - in fact very entertaining and fun to look at !
Rumpelstiltskins agenda is pretty clear to me and not THAT evil : total control over Emma, the daughter of Snow White. He achieved that by playing masterfully Evil Queen, Snow White and the Prince.
And thank you all for pointing out : Giancarlo is the Mirror, I totally missed that and wondered who he is.
Rumpelstiltskin is just misunderstood... there are no bad child-stealing fairy-tale monsters, just misunderstood ones.
Is he supposed to be a Troll, don't care either way-also my fave next to Ginnifer and Jennifer.
This is random, but I love how Emma, Henry, and Margaret Blanchard all have the same eye color. Just something random that I happened to notice while watching
We don't know that Regina named Henry "knowingly" for her father, because we don't know if she remembers anything about the fairytale world.
Regina, I think she does. I think she knows that she is the evil queen, and doesn't want to admit it, because it would ruin her plans. Hence, why she is annoyed with Emma being around, And why she gets up set that her step son can see right through. I know Rumpelstiltskin knows the truth, because he trick the queen where the curse wouldn't affect him.
Gave this show a a chance and watched it for the first time and THOUGHT IT WAS AWEFUL!
I really enjoyed the second episode. One of the things that i found interesting was the way both Henry and Rumpelstilstkin tossed the apple blindly over there shoulders. Not sure what it meant if anything but i assume is was shown for a reason.
I can't believe how i love this show. This is my best one for this year.
Don't tell ABC You like a show or they will yank it like SYFY and Fox do. lol
Well ... I'm not convinced. It all seems so obvious. All so simple. Haven't seen any layers in the real world that would confound the Queen. Some twists that she wasn't expecting when she loosed the curse on everyone. This is all just a big soap opera. In fact, Queeny looks like she'd be just as comfortable on Wisteria Lane as she does in Storybrooke. And the fairytale sequences are rather poorly done. There's just no epic quality to them. They need to pay a little more for their CGI. Also, everyone behaves and sounds the same way in the fairytale world as they do in the real world. There really should be a difference. I mean, look at the wedding scene in the pilot. Prince Charming stops the cackling Queen with a hearty "Hey!"???? I'm not asking for a "Meet your doom, Black Witch!", but the fairytale world should be bold and bright and writ large. Instead it's as drab as the real world. And the producers, or the property guys, know nothing about Honey Crisp apples. It looks like the Queen is growing Rome apples, and those are very different from Honey Crisp. At least the director (2nd ep) knows how to take full effect of a languid shot of the lovely Ms. Morrison (lying down in her hotel room reading the psych reports). Nicely done. Too bad the director of the pilot didn't know how to do same with Ms. Morrison's restaurant entrance scene.moreless
Rumpelstilstkin is hard to pin as a good guy or bad guy. I think he just does what he wants, whether that means helping Emma or Regina, he has his own ideas/agenda.
Worst costume: eyes sewn shut witch. At least the false eye lashes could see! and didn't have to act blind.
I'm so confused about whether Regina or Rumpelstilstkin know anything. Sometimes it seems like they do and sometimes they just look confused (especially Regina). I really can't make up my mind on the matter.
I think he is neither, he just who he is. A Trickster.
I also loved Emma's realization that Margaret Blanchard is her mother, Snow White. It was a nice moment.
the thing I learned from this week's episode was that Rumpelstiltskin is one evil bastard. Both his fairytale land and real world alter egos are evil and conniving. I can't wait to see what happens next with his storyline! He seems to have better control over the people in the town than the mayor, who believes she has everyone under her thumb.
Another show I honestly didn't expect to like but after reading all the comments and loosely 98% positive feedback :P I had to check it out and I'm really loving it so far. I still love my badass cable shows most, Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, etc. etc. But you can't help liking this show. So fun and different. Not to mention a clever, well thought out (so far), serialized drama on network television. A rare thing indeed. Carlyle is especially great, as is the queen. And Gus is the mirror lol. Great show!!
I think Rumpelstilskin is the only one remembering since it is originally his curse. So maybe the only one that wasn't affected by the curse is the creator.. feel like the storybook Rumpel to give away a curse that would also affect the person casting it.
Rumpelstilskin: Good guy or bad guy? Neither? I guess he's on his own side. At least he strikes me as that kind of character.
Anyway, I got another question: How does Henry know who (in the real world) is supposed to be who (from the fairy tales)?
Rem when Henry was talking to the therapist, he said something about Henry thinking he was Jimmy Cricket because of his favorite umbrella. Henry has probably pieced it together or guessed like we are doing...
In the first episode, Henry explained that after he was given the Fairy-Tale book, he was able to recognize who was who from the descriptions in the stories. In addition, he wasn't born yet when the curse was cast, nor was he born under the curse. His mother, Emma, had been protected from the curse when she was born, and not only was Henry protected because of that, but also because he wouldn't have been born in Storybrooke, so he was born into the "real" world and recognize that things in Storybrooke are just a bit "off."
im guessing that since he wasnt apart of the original curse he can some how figure it out, just like how no one can leave Storybrooke but Henry managed to.
Good question, been wondering that myself. Along with who remembers the fairy world. Seems like just Rumpelstilskin and the evil queen....maybe.
I'm guessing that we are going to find out that Rumpelstilskin is the person that gave the book to Henry to start the battle he was looking forward to.
actually Rumpelstilskin didnt give Henry the book, Margaret Blanchard or Snow White gave it to him