Can everyone say, “Aw….?” Or maybe it is “Ah!”
This week Once Upon a Time focused on the Beauty and the Beast Story, but with a classic Once Upon a Time Twist. Can I call it classic when it is still a newish show? Lately, Once Upon a Time has been more focused with these little vignettes of well-known fairy tales instead of moving the overall plot along.
I have mixed feelings about this. One the one hand, I am getting so tired of the Mary Margaret/James storyline, as it seems to be going nowhere. It even had the cliched Valentine card switch that the actors themselves seemed to be embarrassed by as they rushed through it. On the other hand, getting more backstory on one of my favorite characters, Rumpelstiltskin, is priceless. Plus, I’ve always been a sucker for the Beauty and the Beast story.
So, here we have Belle, strong, brave Belle, who sacrifices herself for the protection of her people in the ogre wars, set to be the “caretaker” at Rumpelstiltskin’s home and to never leave. Inevitably, they begin to have some tenderness for each other, although Rumpie’s beastly ways have a tendency to put a crimp in things.
Belle finds out, from Regina of course, that there is a way to break the curse. All she has to do is kiss him. If it is true love, the spell will be broken (and Regina, of course will be the only one with real power in the land).
Rumpelstiltskin starts to transform into an ordinary man, but Belle couldn’t keep quiet about Regina, so now he sees the trap for what it is, a way to drain him of power. Does he really want the power more than he wants Belle, or is he simply unable to believe that someone would love him truly for who he is inside? Should we feel sorry for him or disdain him? Misunderstood or monster? I think the teacup holds the answer to that one. Of course, in the real world, there is a nice little revenge scene that has us guessing once again. Quite disturbing, really.
We also learn what we have always suspected: Mr. Gold indeed knows all about what is really going on. And now Regina knows that he knows. He vows that he will always have more power than she does. but what is this? There is someone special she is keeping down in the dungeon, I mean annex of the hospital.
By the way, did you notice the name of the florist Shop? Game of Thorns.
Related Articles:
Once Upon a Time Recap: Fruit of the Poisonous Tree
Once Upon a Time Recap: A Deadly Disease
Once Upon a Time Recap: Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide