Once Upon A Time #2.3 “Lady of the Lake” Recap & Review

While Henry proposes a new operation, Mary Margaret and Emma search for a way back to Storybrooke, running across a familiar knight in the process. Snow White’s backstory with this knight is revealed. Here is a recap and review of “Lady of the Lake.”

Recap:

Deep in the enchanted forest, Prince Charming organizes a crew to take back the land from King George. To protect Snow from harm, Charming tells her to meet him at his mother’s cabin. Lancelot, the king’s new general, captures Snow and brings her to King George. The King tells her about his love who was cursed to never bear children. He slips Snow the same potion, then releases her. Lancelot follows Snow and warns her that the king’s men are headed to the cabin. In the crossfire, Charming’s mother, Ruth, is severely wounded. To heal her, they travel to Lake Nostos, which is almost dried up. Lancelot finds a small amount of water, but Ruth only pretends to drink it so that Lancelot can give it to Snow while he performs her and Charming’s impromptu wedding.

In present day fairytale land, Emma and Mary Margaret are released from the pit and Mary Margaret has a joyful reunion with the leader, Lancelot. The women go off in search of their return portal: the wardrobe that Emma was sent through as a baby. Along the way, Emma accidentally summons an ogre, which Mary Margaret kills with an arrow through the eye. They arrive at the castle, and Lancelot shows up, but Mary Margaret realizes that he is actually Cora in disguise. In a magic showdown, Emma sets the wardrobe ablaze to prevent Cora from going after Henry. Cora later returns to the castle and with an evil smirk on her face, takes some of the ashes.

David tells Henry not to help him revive Jefferson’s hat because dangerous magic is involved. Henry seeks out Jefferson and encourages him to reunite with his daughter, which Jefferson does, receiving a warm embrace from her. From a car, David’s father watches David and Henry playing with swords.

Review:

Snow White and Prince Charming centric episodes are among my favorite, and “Lady of the Lake” was no exception. In my opinion, it surpassed the first two of this season, and even though it skipped through three storylines, it seemed to find cohesive focus. Snow’s relationship with Lancelot nicely played out alongside her current encounter with him, while Mary Margaret and Emma’s journey to return home matched up with David and Henry working to bring them back as well.

Emma has provided some much needed and enjoyable comedy in fairytale land. Her lack of knowledge of the creatures and way of life there practically makes her an audience member; she is just as in awe of the land as we are. It was a big question throughout season one when Emma would ever return to the fairytale world and we finally see that in a fitting and believable manner. But now, I am interested in seeing an alternate reality type of episode where Emma had grown up in the Enchanted Forest. Would she be a stereotypical princess and taken the regal temperament of her father or still have been the slightly rebellious and bold woman she is now?

Emma’s speech to Mary Margaret at the end of the episode, where Emma finally understands what it means to put your child before yourself, was a nice solidification to their mother-daughter bond. Up until now, they’ve been more of friends than family, but Emma’s vulnerability and Mary Margaret’s warm acceptance make the right familial combination. This scene is one of the best of the series, on par with the scene from episode 1.20, “The Stranger,” where Emma, bursting in tears, yells at August that she doesn’t want to be the town’s savior. It is nice to see Emma finally willing to accept a parent in this emotion-filled culmination to the scene in the beginning of the episode when Mary Margaret saying she jumped through the portal to be with Emma gives Emma a quick smile across her face.

Have I mentioned how perfect Ginnifer Goodwin is as Snow White? Because it can’t be said enough. The scene in which Ruth asks her to use the amulet to see which gender her first born will be is a perfect example. As Snow is telling Ruth see cannot have children, you can see Snow’s heartbreak and want to be sad and angry for Snow to make up for how calmly she is taking it. She bears the bad news with an occasional interrupting smile and retains that classic innocent Snow White twinkle in her eye. It’s hard not to be astounded by Goodwin’s talent here. As gentle and warm as Snow is, she also pulls of the warrior side incredibly well and has that the best “mama bear” vibe.

We saw in the beginning of season one that Cinderella had an elaborate palace wedding, but Snow and Charming’s spur-of-the-moment marriage was much more beautiful because it was much more meaningful. It was a better expression of true love than a decorated, planned wedding because it was what they wanted in that moment and didn’t care about appearance as long as they were together and honoring Charming’s mother. Snow and Charming’s love seems so grounded and realistic and this little, personal ceremony encapsulated that.

I would have loved the poetry if Emma and Mary Margaret were able to return to Storybrooke through the wardrobe. Not that I fault Snow and Charming for sending Emma through as a baby, but it would have given Mary Margaret an understanding of how Emma, as an adult, lives with knowing she was sent into the middle of nowhere. Also, it would have Emma closure to re-live and be able to remember the journey, seeing that she was lucky to have Pinocchio with her. We do see a bit of Emma’s closure upon her realizing that her homeland was utterly destroyed and her being sent away was a chance at a good life. As a side note, they lived in the Enchanted Forest with magical fairies and were not able to make a fireproof wardrobe?

Since the first episode of this season, I have been trying to put my finger on exactly what feels off about the new characters, namely Princess Aurora and Mulan. It seems almost as if these characters are there for name’s sake instead of to embody their fairytale counterparts. I still do not have a sense of their personalities nor do I immediately think of them as who they are supposed to be, but they just kind of exist within the story. However, I’m still giving their characters time to grow.

Next week: CAPTAIN HOOK.

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