But, as Rumple has come to show us in previous Once episodes, magic is something not be trifled with—and comes with (and often steep) price. He has also warned that deals are tricky things, and in the end you better know in advance what you’re getting yourself into. This lesson comes hard for Rumple. Very hard.
Succeeding in stealing the dagger, he summons the dark power of Zoso. (Zoso is a magical symbol, closely associate with Led Zeppelin’s legendary Jimmy Page. Double Hmmm.) He learns that The Dark One is none other than the beggar, who has engineered the entire situation. He wants only to die, and in Rumple, he’s found a way out—a way to pass the torch to another desperate soul who's stumbled into a bad bargain without reading the fine print.
In the end, Rumple loses himself—and the son he fought so hard and at such great cost to protect. He comes out of this bargain as the new incarnation of The Dark One. It is a fall with great ramifications, most of which we’ve not yet experienced (but which I’m sure form many excellent bits of future Once Upon a Time narrative).
Back in Storybrooke, with Graham now dead, the town needs a new sheriff. Although Emma (Jennifer Morrison) has been serving as deputy, the mayor (Lana Parrilla) pulls rank and fires her, only to put in place her own man—the politics writer for The Storybrooke Mirror. His name? Sidney Glass (Giancarlo Esposito), a man who only wants to reflect well on the town. (Okay, enough with the bad puns.) But Emma doesn’t take this lightly.
Despite Henry’s (Jared Gilmore) admonition that good never prevails because it has to play fair, while evil can do whatever it wants, Emma is determined to win the mayoral race without resorting to political chicanery. However, Emma has a benefactor, who is equally determined to use whatever means necessary to win—and defeat Madame the Mayor. That, of course is Mr. Gold.
Apparently a master chess player, Mr. Gold plays Emma like a burnished knight, anticipating her moves and everyone else’s. In the end, Emma wins by defying him—all part of the plan. A greater good forged by underhanded means and a strategy that would make Niccolo Machiavelli proud.
I loved this episode. We learn a lot about what makes Rumple (and Mr. Gold) tick. Rumple is quite insane when we first meet him in the pilot episode; he bears no resemblance to the desperate soul we meet in "Desperate Souls." The deal he’s made with The Dark One has cost him everything. He says early in the episode that if he loses his son, he will have nothing. He will truly be “dust.” And perhaps that is what he's become.
Article comments
1 - AlexisAwake
"How does it all tie in, then to Rumple’s decision to help Snow White hide the infant Emmaâ€"and Mr. Gold’s connection to Henry? And what are Mr. Gold’s motivations in helping Emma?"
I think Rumple/Gold DOES want all of this to end, and I agree with your speculation that his ultimate endgame may be reuniting with his son. It seems clear that he is engineering all of this towards something, and I wondered why at first - after all, he has a good life in Storybrooke. He owns the town. Even the mayor must do his bidding. What could be missing for him other than his son? I think Emma is ultimately going to do much more than just break the Queen's curse. There is more to Rumple's power than just the dagger, and that dagger had to come from somewhere - perhaps this is all leading towards the real source of dark magic.
"Will her ascension to sheriff (with its accompnaying increase of power) weaken the curse further?"
I believe Emma's election as sheriff proves that the curse is continuing to weaken further. The mayor is losing her grip, and I'm so curious as to how she is going to retaliate for this.
Thanks for another superb review, Barbara! You always give so much to think about!
2 - Barbara Barnett
Thanks Alexis. I really like this show. It's complexity sort of grows in subtle moves. It started from a simple place and continues to evolve with more and more layers, more questions, few answers.
3 - JuliaJager
I think he helps Snow White, because they made a deal. And that deal was that he would know the name of the child.
I can't help but think that he knew that he would also forget everything in the next world, and that upon hearing the name "Emma" he would awaken.
Or, because he knew the name "Emma" he could find her son in this other life, and bring her son, Henry, to Regina.
So he definitely wants Emma to be in town and I also think he wants her to win, but what will the bigger price be?
Emma owes him now, and I don't think it will do her any good. Because making deals with Mr. Gold/Rumple didn't do anybody any good.
I'm so looking forward to more episodes!
4 - BrBa
How did Giancarlo Esposito's name not get dropped in this review...
5 - Barbara Barnett
BrBa--complete oversight. It's been corrected and Mr. Esposito name is cited refelctivly as Sidney Glass