The Evil Queen disguises herself to track down Snow White, but Snow saves her so Regina cannot follow through with killing her. In Storybrooke, Emma and Henry spy on Tamara, while Regina and Hook succumb to Tamara and Greg’s plan. Here is a recap and review of “The Evil Queen.”
Recap:
The Evil Queen and her knights scour a town where Snow White used to hide. When no villagers provide her whereabouts, Regina has them all killed. To go undercover, Rumple changes Regina’s appearance, but she cannot control magic in the meantime. In disguise as a peasant, Regina wanders into a festival where she speaks up for the queen and the villagers try to behead her. Snow White saves her and takes her to a tent in the forest, where Snow nurtures her wounds unaware of her true identity.
Snow arms Regina with a sword when they leave the tent. Regina inquires about Snow’s opinion of the Queen. Snow believes that there is still good in her, until they find the slaughtered village, when Snow takes back everything positive she said about Regina. Snow figures out that her companion is Regina and pulls an arrow on her, but does not chase after Regina when she runs. Rumple reinstates Regina appearance, and she vows to continue in her evil ways.
David informs Mary Margaret that they will either lock Regina up in Rumplestiltskin’s cell or leave her behind when everyone else returns to the Enchanted Forest. Regina, disguised as a fisherman, overhears this. She then attempts to persuade Henry into siding with her plan to activate the failsafe in the curse, which would reset time with the beans she is growing. Regina and Henry would return to the Enchanted Forest, but everyone in Storybrooke would die. Henry disapproves, and she wipes his memory.
When Emma bumps into Tamara, she loses trust in Tamara’s good intentions. Henry creates Operation Praying Mantis to spy on Tamara. Henry keeps watch as Emma breaks into Tamara’s room. Neal catches them before Emma finds anything. David, Mary Margaret, and Leroy return to the bean field to find that all the beans are gone.
Tamara and Greg, who can control magic, send Hook to make a deal with Regina to find Greg’s father. Regina takes Hook underneath the library to use him as a distraction for Maleficent while she retrieves a pouch hiding the curse’s failsafe. Along the way, Hook gives her a bracelet that belonged to her mother but was given to him by Tamara and Greg and takes away Regina’s ability to do magic. Tamara and Greg capture Regina.
Review:
“The Evil Queen” revisited the ever so complicated relationship between Regina and Snow White in a new and intriguing manner and delivered a defining moment in the Evil Queen’s road to wickedness. Aside from the bonding between Emma and Henry, the rest of the storylines fell flat in comparison. But, overall, the episode was stronger than the past two.
Given that there have been several episodes focusing on Snow White and the Evil Queen, it has become increasingly difficult to keep their place in the continuity in mind while watching the newest installment. Each one seems almost better suited as a standalone. Nevertheless, these stories have consistently been some of the best of the show and most pristine examples of who these characters truly are.
While the fact that the Evil Queen was disguised allowed Snow to speak freely about her, it would be within the realm of Snow’s character to say the same positive things about Regina straight to her face, so the disguise was not necessary in this aspect. That being said, I approve of the disguise for the purpose of seeing Regina be so influenced by the kind words Snow spoke about her. The tear rolling down her cheek while listening to Snow tell the story of how a “stranger” saved her from a runaway horse revealed much about Regina’s timidity to accept any good that may be in her.
Having Snow to so quickly turn against Regina when she found the field of bodies at first seemed unrealistic, but was the best example of Regina’s pure and twisted evilness. It is no wonder that Snow would see this act as such. In the moment in which Snow lost faith in Regina, Regina lost faith in herself and that once again speaks volumes to Regina’s ultimate desire to be accepted and loved.
The way that Regina went about trying to bond with Henry in this episode was not as well-thought-out of a plan as Regina usually has. Why did she expect Henry to jump on board with a plan that would kill everyone he grew up loving? While mind-wiping him was a shocking move, and as twisted as it sounds, it may have been the only way for Regina to still have someone who holds faith in her ability to be redeemed.
Emma and Henry’s bonding is always appreciated. There is almost an even distribution of power between the two since they respect each other equally, and that is a refreshing bond to see between a parent and child on television. Also, I appreciate that Emma’s “superpower” of detecting lies has been mentioned every now and again to recall her past before Storybrooke as a bail bondsperson.
Greg and Tamara have become increasingly irritating (for lack of a better word) as new additions. They do not come off with the same amount of threatening quality to the audience as they do to the characters, so this disconnect contributes to the ineffectiveness of the storyline. In addition, their motivations having yet to be revealed makes their threat even less bothersome. At this point, I have lost interest in them entirely.
Being so close to the season finale, you start wondering what the big reveal or cliffhanger will be. Since the last finale actually broke the curse after spending the season building up to it, perhaps this finale will indeed return our heroes to the Enchanted Forest. The drama that that would entail with the characters readjusting could sustain (a potential) season three for a while, but taking away the Storybrooke counterparts would speed up the pace of everything and become too uniform in a show that has been so diverse in settings.
