Continuing its intriguing line of story from last week, Once Upon a Time‘s “The Thing You Love Most” reveals a bit more about the curse affecting the townsfolk of Storybrook and reveals a bit more about the motivations of the Queen/Mayor.
I have to believe that Lana Parrilla’s portrayal of the Evil Queen is a performance of the season so far. The pure soulless evil that she exhibits is both chilling and mesmerizing, the sign of a true sociopath. Cunningly arranging Emma’s false imprisonment and then arranging her to discredit Henry to his face were marks of pure apathy towards the feelings of both her son and Emma.
It’s surprising though how much she fights for Henry, despite the fact she continuously berates him and acts in a manner of disdain towards her son. But she is a woman whom has given up her heart in the quest for both power hand “happiness” though, one has to question has she gained either.
Meanwhile, we get plenty of flashbacks to the queens plotting and how she came to get the curse, which adds another dimension to the story. If it was Rumplestiltskin who created the curse, and then he who provided the Mayor with Henry for adoption, was it he himself who has planned all these events for decades in an attempt to both gain power and cast out the Queen at the same time?
Meanwhile, the rest of the residents of Storybrook continue to live in fear of the Mayor, leading to the idea that it’ll be impossible to trust anyone in the town in the long term. This will probably change as Emma converts more and more people over to her cause over the course of the show, starting with the unlikely Sherif Graham (Jamie Dornan), the Mayor’s most trusted official.
Overall, while I enjoy the story and the concept, I worry that this type of show requires a resolution. It took seven years for Lost to find it’s end, and I’m not sure if I, or the fans of this show, can tolerate that same timeframe without a clear defined path towards a final confrontation.
Other Observations
- Even Maleficent (Kristin Bauer) admits that the curse is “too evil.”
- Maleficent and the Queen are frenemies.
- The Queens father (whom she coldly brutally murders for her own happiness) was also named Henry.
- “It’s her wedding night, I doubt she’s suffering now.” – Maleficent on Snow White.
- “The only thing I care about is my happiness.” – The Evil Queen was about to be married before Snow White was born. Did Snow somehow cause the death of her beloved?
- “You must trust me, because if you don’t there are other ways”