Once Upon a Time S2 E10

[frayadjacent]

I was SO PLEASED they showed the party after Emma and Snow returned.  And Emma invited Regina!  That whole first act was fantastic.  Though Emma's reaction to Regina asking for Henry to stay with her sometimes was weird.  First off, Henry's old enough that he should have some say in the matter.  Second, I guess it's hard for me to wrap my head around Emma suddenly being his mother FOR REAL.  (I don't mean biologically.) It just was never a foregone conclusion in my mind, even after the curse was broken.  I guess because they never really had time together where they were fully mother/son -- almost as soon as the curse was broken Emma went through that portal.  So it was a little strange still to see the balance of power so shifted, that Regina was asking Emma for permission to see Henry, instead of the other way around. 

The basic episode structure, in which thematic and character developments unfold in tandem in the two worlds and build off each other, is still working great.  It's a formula, but it totally works.

Another pleasing thing: when Cora told Hook to go see "who" was in the hold of his ship, I was sure it'd be Belle, kidnapped AGAIN.  And not getting to flirt with Ruby!  So I was delighted when it was Jiminy!  And also because they didn't fridge him. I like him.

I wonder who Cora *did* kill?  I'm trying to think of who I saw in the episode after that scene.  I know I saw all my favorite ladies: Ruby, Belle, Emma and Snow of course.  I don't think I saw Grumpy.  :(  Lol, watch it'll be Amy Acker's character.

Comments

[beccatoria]

Yes - I loved that Emma invited Regina too.

I didn't find her concern about Henry staying with her too weird, I mean, not entirely justified but I thought it was understandable. I think she's fighting against wanting to be the bigger person and wanting to believe Regina and wanting what's best for Henry and feeling proprietary over Henry and the fact that Regina is, well, a murderer. Like, as Snow says, "Emma, she tried to kill us. Yesterday." She's framed people for murder and I imagine Emma's begun to suspect what really happened to Graham. For all Emma believes that Regina is trying to change, I also think that Emma probably has some like, legit concerns about handing Henry off to her unsupervised, when she's basically a recovering drug addict, known to murder people while high. Even if she has no concerns about Henry's physical safety (and I agree - Regina would never deliberately hurt him), Henry's already been accidentally hurt by Regina's magic, near-fatally, and watching his Mom kill or hurt people in front of him, woudl probably screw him up epicly.

I think a better response would have been, "I'll talk to Henry about it," or, "Maybe in a few weeks if things are still going well," rather than, "I DON'T THINK SO, LADY." But I also think that her concerns are...probably like 70% based in genuine fear of how it could go wrong? IDK, my take anyway.

I agree about the formula. Sometimes it annoys me, but mostly it works really well; particularly here because it reminds me of something I love about this series. The way Regina has such intricate, complex, but different relationships with the other two leading ladies. And also, it mirrors not just Emma and Snow taking their turns to offer Regina a chance at redemption - which was then rejected or stolen, but also Henry and Snow as the children who desperately want to believe their (step) mother can change, and loves them; Regina can't make herself change for Snow, but can for Henry. That's gotta be a weird place for Snow to be in. But then, I love how complicated Ginnifer Goodwin lets her face get when she's quietly watching Regina while David and Emma fight over what to do with her. She did the same thing back in the season premiere.

BUT GAH THEY BETTER NOT HAVE KILLED SOMEONE I CARE ABOUT. DON'T EVEN JOKE ABOUT IT BEING GRUMPY! D:

[frayadjacent]

Yeah, I probably didn't say that very clearly. It's not so much that I thought Emma was being unfair as that I was surprised to see/remember that she was in any position to be saying ABSOLUTELY NOT to Regina seeing Henry. And then I was sort of wincing at how sharply she rejected the request, but I probably am giving Regina more sympathy than she deserves.

she's basically a recovering drug addict, known to murder people while high

Did I forget something? Or are you interpreting the magic as a drug? I guess they have sort of implied that, but I hadn't really thought about it that way.

Henry and Snow as the children who desperately want to believe their (step) mother can change, and loves them
Wow, I never made that connection between Henry and Snow before! Excellent point.

Agreed on Goodwin's performance! I didn't notice the connection with the season premiere, nice catch.

[beccatoria]

Aaaah, right, yes, that makes a lot of sense and I see now where I misread your original post - apologies. I definitely see our point and agree with it. It is an unsettling turnaround and...I don't know, I mean, I adore Regina too. I think what makes that scene work so well is the way you do have so much sympathy for Regina, the way she's so obviously in pain and hurting and paying a price in a very real, personal way. The way we felt hurt for Emma when Regina wouldn't let her see Henry? There was something so...desperate and, I don't know, humbled but rageful about Lana Parilla's performance.

As to the magic, yeah, sorry I was just babbling and being a little loose with my metaphors. I made the connection both because of the way she sorta...inhales the magic as it rises from the book, with her eyes going all weird, which is often scifi/fantasy code for "Look out! Magic drugs!" and the way she was talking with her psychiatrist about how difficult it was to stop using it and how ultimately she couldn't destroy her mother's book. I think it's certainly been portrayed that she's...potentially addicted to it, but given the positive uses (although counterpoint: all magic comes with a price), I'm not sure it's totally fair to equate magic with drugs. I was, as I said, mostly being hyperbolic and casual with my comparison! :)

I do wonder if the show will ever explicitly talk about Snow and Henry's very different experiences of Regina's parenting? I thin it'd be really interesting if it did...

[frayadjacent]

No need to apologize on either front! Yes, good points about the magic=drugs thing. I think I was so soured on that trope by BtVS that I try to forget it is a Thing. But you're right, Regina talking about trying to give up magic does liken it to an addiction. Which is kind of strange, because didn't she go 28 years without doing magic? Or at least very, very little.

I do wonder if the show will ever explicitly talk about Snow and Henry's very different experiences of Regina's parenting?
That would be interesting. I'd like to see more of their time together after Daniel was killed but before Regina went totally evil. (They haven't even shown us at what point she married the King, have they?) I'd also really like to know how Henry ended up with Regina, but that's a separate thing, mostly.

Also, I love your icon!