So now we know what it was that made the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) so…evil. As they say, evil isn't born, it's made.
This week's Once Upon a Time opens with Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) still in prison, now awaiting her trial for murdering David's (Josh Dallas) wife Kathryn. Regina knows Mary Margaret is innocent of course, and has engineered the entire thing with the dubious help of the ever-one-step-ahead Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle). Regina doesn't care if Mary Margaret knows it or not (and in fact confesses her knowledge of Mary Margaret's innocence!)
We still don't know Rumple's game. He always honors his deals, as his motto claims, yet I can't help but think a big double cross is on the way. Rumple, as he said a couple of weeks ago is "invested" in Mary Margaret's future. If she's disappeared, then what?
The episode opens with a flashback. As Regina, reflects on something from her past, Mr. Gold enters hoping that Mayor Regina intervene and get the battery charges dropped against him (for beating the florist—and Belle's father—senseless a few weeks ago). In exchange, he offers an idea for Regina to rid herself of her "Mary Margaret problem" once and for all. Engineer a tragedy to befall Kathryn, blame Mary Margaret and run her out of town. And as both Regina and Mr. Gold know, no one ever leaves Storybrooke and comes to a good end!
Regina likes the suggestion, and so the plot is hatched—and Gold, with his own agenda, has won this battle. The battery charges are dropped. He, of course has no intention of helping Regina rid herself of the Mary Margaret problem. On the other hand, he does reassure Regina that she should trust him because "I always honor my agreements." But I have to wonder if Rumple's actions are part of a larger deal, made with Snow White and Prince Charming long before this day in Storybrooke—because this is one deal that Rumple will not keep.
And by the end of the episode, when Emma (Jennifer Morrison) believes she can't trust him, and that her faith had been misplaced by believing that Gold could prevail against Regina, Kathryn turns up, making the murder charge moot. "There's still time," Gold explains to Emma.
"Time for what?"
"Time for me to work a little magic."
Has Mr. Gold used magic to bring back Kathryn? Has he used the "please" word with Regina and "persuaded" her to release her? Or has he directly brought her back? Either way, I think Gold has double crossed Regina—for his own agenda.
.jpg?t=20130517094513)
Article comments
1 - Sylkie
I read every Google Alert of Once Upon a Time and Robert Carlyle, having discovered him in Canada in Hamish Macbeth in 1995. Your blog is the most thoughtful and intelligent review of OUAT I have seen. Have bookmarked you. Thanks very much - I missed the Miller's Daughter connection.
2 - Barbara Barnett
Hi Sylkie (love the name and reference to Celtic mythology--The Great Sylkie of Sule Skerry was my signature performance song for years).
Glad you found my little corner of the Internet!
3 - Pixie Michele
Bravo again Barbara! I heartily agree on Rumple and the love point. I remember at the end of Belle's episode when he replaced the big golden chalice (I think) with Belle's chipped cup in a place of prominence. To me, that action reveals what he prizes most.
I see where you're going with August too and his connection to Rumple. That stumble August took sure did hurt. The writing team redrafting Rumple's Grimm tale perhaps?
4 - mahnvee
The next episode is called The Return and many are saying that August is actually Rumple's son Baelfire. I guess we'll find out what happened to him.
By the way, loved your insight on this episode!
5 - Barbara Barnett
Thanks! You could be right about Baelfire and August, and if that's true, then Rumple may have set the entire thing up ages earlier.
6 - Action Kate
Quick typo fix: Regina does not (at least in this episode) say "Power endures"; her mother Cora does.
We rewound to see what Mr. Gold "agreed" to do for Madame Mayor. He doesn't actually agree to anything, does he? He says that Regina will plant a key and MM will run, "and we all know what happens when someone tries to leave town"... but he never actually says "I will do X." "A trial is messy" is not "I will prevent a trial." He does say, "Do we have an agreement?" but I don't know what he agreed to do for Regina. "MM will be ruined" is not "MM and David will not be together."
Were we the only ones staggered by how much Bailey Madison looks like Ginnifer Goodwin, particularly when she smiles? I would swear that child was her daughter. (Fun fact: Madison also played Lucy, the precociously calm 6YO with cancer, on House in "Act Your Age." She and Jennifer Morrison must have had a fun moment catching up. Or maybe Morrison got her the job.)
7 - barbara barnett
Good catch. Thanks Action Kate :)