Once Upon a Time - The Miller's Daughter

[shadowkat]

Another Rumplestilskin centric episode - so of course it was quite good and well-paced.
Also we finally got our twist on the Rumplestilskin story, which was intriguing. Particularly if you know the original - go here:http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Rum.shtml. I won't retell it - I already posted on it last year.



* The twist is that the Miller's Daughter and Rumplestilskin bond over their issues and fall deeply in love. But Rumple and the Miller's Daughter/Cora are both so twisted with their desire for power - that it can't work. She's twisted by the her husband, Henry's father, who is power hungry and tells her a heart and love are weakness. She has a choice she can either marry Henry, rule, be Queen with everyone at her feet, or run off with her ugly magical imp.
She chooses the former, and rips out her own heart. As she tells Rumple - he's her weakness, he was the only man she ever loved, so she ripped out her own heart so she wouldn't give in to her weakness. Also he doesn't get Regina, since they amended they agreement - he only gets his own child.

Ah the ironies...

Without a heart, she is unable to truly love. And unable to love, Cora never has Regina either. And realizes too late that the love of her child would have been enough.

It's all so tragic. Except both Regina and Cora more or less made their own bed.
Weirdly, Rumplestilskin is more sympathetic in this episode than the Miller's daughter. Although when I read the Annotated Grimm's version - I didn't like the Miller's daughter or the King all that much - they came across as greedy and manipulative. I felt sorry for Rumple in the original tale. So this version weirdly aligns with that one.

Here, don't like either Regina or Cora. What Snow decides to do is ironically set in motion by both Cora and Regina, and merely aided by Rumplestilskin. Snow regrets it, but to be fair, I'm not sure Cora, Regina and Rumple give her much choice. Regina's choice to take vengeance on Eva, who cruelly tripped her as a spoiled child...leads her to lose her own child and her own life.

She chose power over love and died...barely ever knowing the love of a parent for her own child. She got that at the very end. Rumplestilskin was a tad wiser, he never removed his heart...and he tells her over and over again - power is empty, you'll have nothing.

* Turns out Regina inadvertently is the one to kill her mother - but it isn't intentional. She was attempting to give her mother back her heart, obtaining love. What she didn't know is Snow cursed it first. Poor baby. Not quite the way I wanted it to turn out - mainly because we are right back to Regina wanting to destroy everyone's lives so she can kill Snow, who of course is to blame for every bad thing that ever happened to Regina, because it just can't be Regina or Mama or Rumple's fault...it has to be Snow White's.

* Rumplestilskin was interesting in this episode...he gives everyone choices and manipulates everyone, but really does nothing himself. He manipulates Emma into performing magic - except unlike Regina and Cora - he has Emma do it out of love not hate. Rumple and Regina and Cora practice magic out of hate and vengeance. Rumple seems to get the difference.
He's wiser and a lot smarter than either Regina or Cora, which makes him a more interesting and more complicated villain. Not to mention more ambiguous one. Plus less predictable.
Regina and Cora are predictable, dumb, and a bit one-note in their villainery - because they don't appear to have any self-awareness. And are easily manipulated by others.

Snow was more interesting in this episode than Regina or Cora, because Snow wrestles with her choices and feels remorse. I have yet to see remorse from either Regina or Cora. Cora doesn't really show it at the end...she merely states with awe, that Regina would have been enough ...and she didn't need the power after all. But I don't see any regret or remorse, just surprise. And Regina shows no remorse, she just feels vindicated for hating Snow and regrets trusting her to give her back her Mom - so she can take Henry from them.
Which I found difficult to buy - I mean hello, Regina, just last week you killed Snow's substitute Mom, Johanna, Snow found out Cora killed her Mom, and you are currently threatening to kill Snow's entire family? Do you really think Snow will help you out of the kindness of her heart? You're not exactly endearing anyone to your cause at the moment, dearie. Rumple right now is more sympathetic than you are.

Also, the Cora/Regina finale scene felt very karmic. It was the inevitable result of both characters choices. Cora's in killing Snow white's mother and setting Regina up to hate and destroy Snow, and Regina's in destroying Snow's life. If they'd left well-enough alone, they both would have had the happiness they desired. Their desire for power and revenge on those they felt hurt or disenfranchised them destroyed everything worth having. Unfortunately, unlike Rumplestilskin, neither obtained the wisdom to see that and were doomed to lose each other. If you can't see yourself for who you are...you can't learn or change and you can't be redeemed. Self-awareness is 90% of the battle. At this point, I can see Rumplestilskin reaching some sense of balance or redemption, not so sure about Regina.

* I can see why Snow followed Rumple's instructions - from her perspective there really was no other option. She couldn't let Cora get the dagger. Also Cora and Regina had killed Snow's entire family - her father, her mother, and her substitute Mom - Johanna. Plus Regina separated Snow from her own daughter for 28 years. Regina and Cora had a butt-load of bad karma headed in their direction. And I'm not even counting all the other innocent lives they destroyed en-route to their goals - power and control. Rumplestilskin equally has a butt-load of bad karma headed his way, although to be fair, he's already most of his - he's lost every woman he's loved - two ripped out their hearts. Actually Cora was karmic justice for Millah, the one woman who understood him and could love him for what he was - ripped out her own heart to become just like him and gave him up to do it. If that isn't irony, I don't know what is. And the only one who saw the good in him, can't remember him. Then of course there's the son that he's been separated from for an eternity. Now he's faced with some of the same ironic choices that Cora and Regina were faced with - he can either love and protect his new family or act to destroy it.

Snow followed the dark path, but being Snow instantly regretted it and set out to undo it.
She was right and wrong at the same time. She was right in returning Cora's heart to her, but wrong in trading Cora's life for Rumple's. I knew she would -because it is in a way a karmic reflection on what happened with her own mother, EVA. Cora poisoned Eva in much the same way that Hook poisoned Rumple. Cora gave Snow the same choice that Rumple gives her - use the candle to exchange one life for another. So Snow exchanges Cora's life for Rumple's.
If she'd not done that and just given Cora back her heart - would it have gone better?
I doubt it - just because Cora can now love Regina, doesn't mean she wouldn't take down Rumple and attempt to take Henry away from Emma and Snow. If anything she'd be even more motivated. So from that perspective I'm not sure Snow had any other choice - Regina and Cora sort of pushed her to it.

Morally it was wrong. But, you have to admit it was ultimately practical. Her only mistake was not taking out Regina too. Snow, darling, if you leave one evil magic user standing...you still have a problem.

* After rewatching several episodes from S1 today, it occurs to me that if the real world comes to Storybrook - Dr. Hopper has a point, Regina may lose Henry legally. Magic may cost her Henry on legal grounds alone. As Rumple has warned her in the past on numerous occasions, magic always comes with a price and well, it works differently in this world than it did in the old one. Also she's grossly underestimating Emma and has from the beginning.
Emma is not only brighter than she is, but she's also a bit more capable of taking care of things without magic. All Emma has to do is take Henry out of Storybrook or send him off with Baelfire and Regina will never see Henry ever again. If I were Regina I'd learn how to get on Emma's good side and give up my kill Snow White hobby, particularly since it hasn't gotten me anywhere to date and appears to be more trouble than it's worth. Snow White is a bit like the road-runner, she can't be killed. Give up already.

* Show stop teasing me about killing off one of the lead regulars - I know you aren't going to do it. Snow White, Charming, Rumple, Emma, Henry, and Regina are pretty much safe. Why do tv shows do this? We all know they aren't killing these characters off. There would be no tv show. Now, supporting characters are another story - Star Trek made that much clear ages ago.

I knew Cora was going to get it sooner or later, she was too Bwahhahha evil not to. Plus killing her...advances or allegedly advances Regina's arc. Personally, I think it just set it back a season. The only arc it appears to have advanced is Snow White's.

* Michael Raymond James/Baelfire you need to stop mumbling. I shouldn't have to turn on the close-captioning to figure out what you are saying. I love you, but speak clearly please and not in your mustache. Not much of him in this episode, and I feel gypped of Peter Pan references regarding the sailing of Hook's ship. Has Emma figured out how he knows Hook?
Will that get referenced? They better not just drop it. I'll be annoyed.

Overall - good episode. But I would have preferred more Bae and Emma, or Bae and Charming, or Henry and Emma, and a lot less Cora and Regina and Snow. The Regina/Snow conflic is getting old. This needs to be resolved soon. Right now it is rinse and repeat. You can't sustain that forever people. We do require closer sooner or later.

Comments

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Emma just locked him up in one of the rooms at Bae's apartment building and left him there. She keeps locking him up and leaving Hook places. It's hilarious.

We've decided there's a Regina/Hook relationship on the horizon. They have a common enemy after-all - Rumplestilskin. Plus - their hook up would be ironic, considering they are in a way both evil step-parents. Hook to Bae, Regina to Snow.

I think the poison was the reason he couldn't heal himself?

Of course, it's probably worth noting that since he was almost dead, his power was mostly gone, and he was likely the closest to his "actual self" that he'd been in hundreds of years, without the corrupting influence of the Dark One's magic.

Good point. I hadn't thought of that. But I think this is mostly true. Although in Manhattan, when he had no magic - the nasty Rumplestilskin raised its' nasty head. So the show is doing a good job of showing that it's not the magic, it's him - his own dark side that he has to overcome.

[masqthephlsphr.livejournal.com]

Nasty Rumplestiltskin in Manhattan was mostly just nasty to Henry, and that's because he finally realized he's the Boy of the prophecy that will be Rumplestiltskin's "undoing."

I definitely think Hook added a poison to his hook that wasn't going to be that easy to just wipe away with the wave of a hand. He's too smart to underestimate Rumplestiltskin.

Which is why I think he's Regina's best bet. Actually, at this point, she's alienated everyone, so he's her only bet.

[flameraven.livejournal.com]

I don't know, Rumplestilskin spent the entire time since leaving Storybrooke basically being completely freaked out. He's never had to deal with the real world before, he doesn't have any magic so he considers himself helpless, he seems to think he could lose his memories at any time without that shawl, and of course he's about to encounter his estranged son. So I think he was lashing out and being especially harsh to cover up his nervousness.


I'm not sure why Rumple can reattach an arm but can't heal some poison... whatever. It was clearly plot poison so I guess I'm fine with it.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Some things you just have to handwave as tv writer logic. Actually applying logic to anything in our world is a bit silly I've begun to realize. TV Shows, Movies, Books, government agencies and organizations sort of defy it.