‘Once Upon A Time’ Review: We Are Both

It’s that time of the week again! The hour long period of jaws dropping, screaming at our TVs, and the inevitable single tear. This week was no different! Although it didn’t have as many heartbreaking moments, more in the realm of “Holy sh!t! Did that really just happen?” moments. Nonetheless, ‘We Are Both’ was definitely an amazing episode! Some major plot twists and game changers came into play! Question is, how will this change our story’s ending?

The Fairytale World (Enchanted Forest):

“Power is freedom.” -Cora (Barbara Hershey)

Cora, Regina’s evil mother, is back… In more ways than one! We start off with seeing a flashback of Regina, prior to her Evil Queen days, trying to escape. Oops, but her evil mother uses magic to stop her, forcing her to stay for her inevitable wedding day. Regina’s hatred is building up, and not just for her mother, but for everyone. She also starts to notice the change, which leads her to ask her father about it. He just explains that Cora wasn’t always the way she was, until she met a man who changed her perspective on everything. Cue Rumplestiltskin. He ends up giving Regina the same book (and a mirror) that he gave to Cora years before, being the push start to Regina’s downfall. Hours before her wedding, Cora pushed Regina a bit too far, and Regina ends up pushing Cora a bit too far… Bad pun. Regina uses magic, for the first time, to throw Cora into a magic mirror which could lead to anywhere. With Cora gone, Regina is free to leave… But because of the persuasion of Rumplestiltskin, she decides to stay… And learn more about magic.

Meanwhile in the present! Mulan (Jamie Chung) and Aurora (Sarah Bolger) lead Snow and Emma, forcefully, to an area with the Enchanted Forest’s last survivors. Of course, they try to escape, which leads Mulan to do some ninja type thing, and hit Snow in the spine! Snow is out, and Emma can’t really do anything… So they’re thrown in jail. Oh, but not alone. Inside this prison cell is an unlikely person. Cora. Things just got a bit more interesting!

Storybrooke:

“We are both!” – Prince Charming

There has always been a consequence for anyone who tries to leave Storybrooke. During this episode, it is revealed that whoever crosses the line out of Storybrooke will lose all memory of their fairytale self. This immediately forces all of the town to go into panic. Although, they have a powerful person on their side. Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) takes on the task of leading the town, while also trying to find a way to get Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Emma (Jennifer Morrison) back. Meanwhile, Regina (Lana Parrilla) tries to find a way to bring her magic back full force… And she succeeds. Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) gives her a very powerful spell book, in exchange for Regina’s silence on her knowledge that the Enchanted Forest still exists. She uses this new found power to scare Henry (Jared Gilmore), and the rest of the town, back into her clutches. It definitely backfires, though, because she soon realizes that what she’s doing is wrong. Leading Regina to set Henry free, and give him over to Charming (As well as information that will lead Charming on a dangerous path.) One thing’s for sure, Charming has a lot on his plate. He must convince the Madhatter to get on his side, find the Enchanted Forest, find his wife and daughter, lead the town, AND take care of Henry. I’m exhausted just typing that.

Such an intense episode! Absolutely loved every bit of it, especially the game changing ending. Cora is back, and I’m not entirely sure what that means for our fairytale characters! Many questions and theories arise with this plot twist. Does Cora still have her magic? Is she stronger than Regina? When she sees Regina, and I’m positive she will, what will happen? It’s all up in the air from here! Not only that, but the fact that Regina is seeking redemption, but won’t give up her magic book… It’s obvious that the writers are leaving a lot of wide possibilities for this season, and I absolutely love it! Speculation is one of my favorite things.

So the question is, Fanbolters, what are your speculations? Comment below!

Rating:
A+

Responses

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  1. I do not agree with this review. I thought the first episode was much better. This one left me with no “WOW” moments and for the first time since the show aired I was actually bored. I hope it gets back to normal next week.

  2. Emma and Bia, I totally agree! Absolutely LOVE Rumple! I love Charming and Rumple as a duo! Hoping for MANY more scenes between them! 🙂 Rapunzel, I totally get where you’re coming from. Some episodes aren’t going to be a hit with everyone. I, for one, loved it… Anything to do with Regina and Rumple makes a great episode. Can’t wait to see more Cora as well! 🙂

  3. I look forward to seeing more Cora as well. I wonder if all the time tucked away has made her more evil – or if she has come over to the light side…. Or maybe will join Emma and Snow just long enough to get in a position where she can hurt Regina…. Can’t wait to see where that goes!