By Julia Lawson
Who needs 3D when your TV show has magic beans and fairytale flashbacks – one not (necessarily) caused by the other…
A Regina-focused episode meant there was a lot in the costume department. In fact we were treated to a unique dose of Once Upon a Time fancy dress this week with the Queen (Lana Parrilla) leaving her snappy dressing at the castle and opting for the Bohemian ‘nearly-headless’ peasant garb. Served its purpose well, convincing Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) via sight and smell that she needed a helping hand.
Perfect timing for the crafty unveiling of a poisoned apple, you cry! But yes they’ve already done that. Or rather they will have already done that following what they have already soon to do in Season 1. Yes? There is a lot to be said for the chronological, old school happily ever afters.
Who needs 3D when your TV show has magic beans and fairytale flashbacks – one not (necessarily) caused by the other…
A Regina-focused episode meant there was a lot in the costume department. In fact we were treated to a unique dose of Once Upon a Time fancy dress this week with the Queen (Lana Parrilla) leaving her snappy dressing at the castle and opting for the Bohemian ‘nearly-headless’ peasant garb. Served its purpose well, convincing Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) via sight and smell that she needed a helping hand.
Perfect timing for the crafty unveiling of a poisoned apple, you cry! But yes they’ve already done that. Or rather they will have already done that following what they have already soon to do in Season 1. Yes? There is a lot to be said for the chronological, old school happily ever afters.
In The Enchanted Forest the Queen hates Snow White so much that she slaughters an entire village via evil-knight-army. Feeling disheartened when no one shares her revenge and bloodlust she calls upon our reliable and selfless friend* Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) to completely transform her into rags and remodel her face.
Arriving at the village (one complete with un-slaughtered peasants) our Queen is shocked to discover she is in fact Guy Fawkes. Well when it’s a burning effigy made out of potato sacks, only recognisable by the bold lipstick choice, is easy to get confused. She then stands up for her sack-self to the village and the guards, remembering all too late that they can’t recognise her with her new face and ragged appearance. So onto the conveniently placed chopping block goes her disguised Queen head only to be saved by Snow White.
Arriving at the village (one complete with un-slaughtered peasants) our Queen is shocked to discover she is in fact Guy Fawkes. Well when it’s a burning effigy made out of potato sacks, only recognisable by the bold lipstick choice, is easy to get confused. She then stands up for her sack-self to the village and the guards, remembering all too late that they can’t recognise her with her new face and ragged appearance. So onto the conveniently placed chopping block goes her disguised Queen head only to be saved by Snow White.
You never know what to expect with a re-write of a classic - that’s why we love them. Especially when we get a historic fairytale twist in the Evil Queen and Snow White becoming friends (post father-murdering plot that is) until they accidentally walk in on…
A woodland floor of dead peasants….
Puts a bit of a downer on the budding friendship doesn’t it?
A woodland floor of dead peasants….
Puts a bit of a downer on the budding friendship doesn’t it?
It goes without saying she wasn’t overjoyed, despite being in safe proximity to her head for the foreseeable future. And although you’d think you could swallow your pride after all that she still plots away after gaining Snow’s trust. Until that is they bond over ‘the rescue of the bolting horse’ and the evil mellows… until that pesky field of lifeless peasants crops up again causing Regina to flee when Snow recognises her.
Although we don’t see much after Regina vows to punish everyone and fully become the Evil Queen I’m sure there was a lot more peasant slaughtering and shouting at guards. Life as an evil queen isn’t easy – 24/7 effort.
Although we don’t see much after Regina vows to punish everyone and fully become the Evil Queen I’m sure there was a lot more peasant slaughtering and shouting at guards. Life as an evil queen isn’t easy – 24/7 effort.
So back in Storybrook we are treated to plotting, plotting and manipulation. And Regina is running around the plots like an eager beaver! She plans to use the curse fail-safe as a last resort to win Henry (Jared Gilmore) she enlists the help of a pirate and she may have had a hand in some bean burning.
Now it’s clear her love for Henry is what keeps her going and balances out her murderous instincts for his grandma, Snow White, who is incidentally her step-daughter and may equally explain her conflict in these family matters. Henry magically forgot her cunning plan to remove the problem (a.k.a. his family and the rest of the town) and so continues with Operation Cobra with reckless abandon, stalking Neal (Michael Raymond-James) and Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green) to discover why she has a list of Fairy tale characters on a scrap of paper. To be fair a family tree may be just as helpful with all these inbred fairytale characters left right and centre! I also learnt that the New York spying tricks don’t necessarily work as well in a Storybrook setting, i.e. craftily walking into a door to alert the person inside that someone’s coming. Please, I do that all the time and I don’t need to alert anyone of anything… or do I...?
Now it’s clear her love for Henry is what keeps her going and balances out her murderous instincts for his grandma, Snow White, who is incidentally her step-daughter and may equally explain her conflict in these family matters. Henry magically forgot her cunning plan to remove the problem (a.k.a. his family and the rest of the town) and so continues with Operation Cobra with reckless abandon, stalking Neal (Michael Raymond-James) and Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green) to discover why she has a list of Fairy tale characters on a scrap of paper. To be fair a family tree may be just as helpful with all these inbred fairytale characters left right and centre! I also learnt that the New York spying tricks don’t necessarily work as well in a Storybrook setting, i.e. craftily walking into a door to alert the person inside that someone’s coming. Please, I do that all the time and I don’t need to alert anyone of anything… or do I...?
Now I was always taught to never trust a pirate but Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) is told the plan (without magically forgetting…). He ‘reluctantly’ returns her mother’s cuff bracelet, unbeknownst to her magicked to remove magic. Down the dodgy library elevator they go to meet yet another of her ‘friends’ who is guarding yet another magical item of great importance. And after pushing him off a moderately sided cliff to distract her friend (‘friend’ eh?) locates the fail-safe, dashes back only to be confronted by the dashing pirate in the library with a pair of conspirators. Greg (Ethan Embry) and Tamara seem very tense about everything and would most likely benefit from a yoga retreat. Maybe that’s their plan?
The episode ends with Regina being bagged and put into storage ‘til next week. Wraps it off nicely if you don’t mind a sack-related cliffhanger…
* Rumplestilskin is not always a reliable and selfless friend. Take caution when calling upon his services.
* Rumplestilskin is not always a reliable and selfless friend. Take caution when calling upon his services.
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