Can a villain (or villainess) ever change their evil ways? Probably not, if Once Upon a Time‘s being honest with us. Everyone’s got their lies to tell, their secrets to hide, and their stories to spin – chief among them being David and Mary Margaret like the terrible liars they usually are. Their not-so-truth-detecting daughter aside, Unforgiven‘s sealed lips sank much bigger ships than anyone could predict and we got ourselves another Queen of Darkness in the process to show for it.
Some Spoilers Follow
It was incredibly frustrating to see them pull back from telling Emma what happened and possibly more frustrating to know Emma didn’t see through them. She caught onto Hook acting weird in a second, but let her parents off the hook (ha!) when they were behaving more strangely? None of that aspect of the story felt right, but I was pleasantly surprised that we got to learn the secret. It seemed like Mary Margaret was going to lean in and tell only Regina rather than the audience. The mere idea of her turning to Regina in her time of need says so much.
There’s a Grand Canyon of distance that the two of them have come since the series’ premiere so many seasons ago and it’s refreshing how naturally they’ve kept their distance, unlike Regina and Emma. The last thing I want is to see Regina being tempted by evil again, but this looks like it could be a way to keep the regular cast more involved with the current theme. If Regina’s side by side with the Queens of Darkness, at least we’ll see her (and Rumple) at the forefront.
As far as Mary Margaret and David’s secret, it doesn’t sound good, but how directly involved could they have been? They clearly feel guilty about it, but I’m dying to know the details now. If whatever’s got Maleficent in a state about them is as bad as it sounds, I have to wonder why, seasons ago, we never saw a big ‘old dark spot on Snow’s heart. You could argue that it was, but it sure took this long for the Charmings to be not-so-charming.
Then there’s the question of this alleged “darkness” in Emma that I can’t begin to take seriously. As far as I can tell, there haven’t been any times where we’ve seen anything remotely evil about Emma. Without a history, maybe it’ll take one or two big deaths in the family to drive her into the Queens’s arms or maybe they’ll just control her with a spell or potion in a big cop out.
Maleficent’s resurrection definitely gave the girls an edge this episode and they’re proving to be quite the fun additions. Cruella’s just silly good, but Ursula’s just a spare tentacle. The little things they do with Cruella’s character are rather amusing – her dalmatian print phone case and parking violations included, despite my thinking she’s hardly enchanted enough for the Enchanted Forest flashbacks, but that’s just this series for you. Kristin Bauer van Straten’s Maleficent is predictably vicious, but I’m doubtful whether a maternal grudge will make her motives more interesting than Zelina’s sisterly angst was.
Elsewhere, Regina seemed to enjoy getting her cranky on – even uncharacteristically so given how “good” she’s tried to be lately. Nevertheless, it did net her a sweet moment with Geppetto/Marco regarding another blatantly obvious clue about the series elusive fairy tale “author” stashed away amidst the show’s literal pile of forgotten plot devices.
I’m not sure if the show makers ever intended Regina’s characterization to be her struggling not to call out her friends on their crap the stupider they seem to get, but it’s working awfully well. Lana Parrilla conveys the role with the nuance and heart her peers desperately need and that she gets the best lines is well deserved by now. Case in point: “Should have known fish sticks and pound puppy were here for more than a second chance.”
While David and Mary Margaret continue to be the most confusing couple in the series, Unforgiven took great strides in stepping up our Queens of Darkness arc and plotting out some interesting new story threads. The show’s last-minute, window-side glimpse at Belle’s renewed love-life’s got me eager to revisit Rumplestiltskin as soon as possible. It’s the more the merrier by this point and for once in Once Upon a Time, I’m feeling like the sky (and Emma’s faulty lie-detector) is the limit to where this half-season can go.
Once Upon a Time airs Sunday nights on ABC at 8/7 Central. Catch all the latest episodes at ABC.com and all the latest reviews here at BagoGames.