‘Once Upon A Time’ Review: Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

Ever wonder how the magic mirror came to be? Well, we finally got the answer in this week’s Once Upon A Time! Let me just start by saying, I didn’t really like this episode. It seemed somehow detached from the rest of the series. Usually the show is interesting, and the relationships are killer, but this episode? It ultimately fell flat. The relationships came off as forced, and overall, it was boring. But I have to admit, it did have a few magical moments.

The Fairytale World:

“I wish to be with you forever, to look upon your face always. To never leave your side.” -Magic Mirror (Giancarlo Esposito)

It all started with three wishes. OUAT has emphasized numerous times that all magic comes with a price. In this case, King Leopold (Richard Schiff) paid with his life. After finding a magical lamp, King Leopold was granted three wishes. All of his wishes were selfless, he even granted the genie his freedom and gave him his last wish. How does the genie repay him? By stealing his wife, and unleashing two poisonous snakes into his bed. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the genie decided to use his last wish on the Evil Queen. He wished to be with her forever, ultimately turning into her personal Magic Mirror. Let me just say, the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) and the Magic Mirror having a fling is worse than the Regina and Graham (Jamie Dornan) pairing. No chemistry whatsoever, but it makes sense. By the end of the episode, it is revealed that the Evil Queen tricked the genie/Magic Mirror into loving her. In reality, she never had feelings for him. Not surprising.

One thing that disappointed me so much about this episode, was the fact that the Fairytale story wasn’t that interesting. Usually, the Fairytale side of the story is what I look forward to most, but this one didn’t capture my interest. The acting was superb, although the dialogue seemed a bit jumbled. Truth be told, I just wasn’t feeling the fairytale side at all.

Storybrooke:

“Everything she does. Everywhere she goes, you’ll know about it.” -Sidney Glass

Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Sidney team up to take down Madame Mayor! An attempt that ended as a fail among epic proportions. After Regina tears down Henry’s (Jared Gilmore) secret spot, Emma takes it into her own hands to deal with Regina. Clouded by anger, she recklessly, and illegally, goes to insane lengths to prove to the town that Madame Mayor isn’t who she claims to be. Bugging her office, following her into the woods, breaking into her home– You would think that one of these actions would have gotten them somewhere. All it did was make Regina look even better in front of the public, and give her grounds to have Emma stay away from Henry. OUAT has proven in past episodes that Regina is always one step ahead. This episode was no different.

I felt as though this episode could have gone so much further than it did. Like I said before, it didn’t keep my interest. I found myself bored throughout various parts of the episode. Usually I’m in love with all things Once Upon A Time, but last night? Not so much. The best part was a small appearance by Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) and David (Josh Dallas). Although I’m not liking them sneaking around, they have turned into my favorite part of the series. Along with Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle). All in all, I liked the episode, but it wasn’t an episode where I’m in absolute shock by its brilliance. That may just be the bad part about ONCE. It has had so many amazing episodes to the point where one bad one is monumentally disappointing.

Rating:
B

Questions:

• The Stranger and the book?
• Regina and Mr. Gold secretly meeting in the forest?
• What are your thoughts on Mary and David sneaking around?