‘Once Upon A Time’ 2.16 Episode Recap and Review: The Miller’s Daughter

A deadly battle between good and evil takes a shocking turn during this week’s episode of Once Upon A Time. Emma, Mr. Gold, Neal, and Henry finally make it back to Storybrooke, but are thrown amidst a dangerous battle for Gold’s dark powers. To top it off, a life changing decision that will inevitably change the course of the rest of the season is given to Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin).

The Enchanted Forest:

The miller’s daughter, turned powerful queen? We are blasted into the past, before Regina (Lana Parrilla) was even a thought. Cora (Rose McGowan, Barbara Hershey), a poor miller’s daughter, makes a trip to the kingdom to deliver flour, but unfortunately ends up being humiliated by the king. This prompts her to attend a ball, in hopes of impressing the prince. As her masked appearance is figured out, an outrageous claim that she can spin straw into gold puts her life on the line. Cue Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle)! Finally, a story that he’s meant to be in! With the promise of her first born, and a twist in the deal, Rumple teaches Cora how to spin straw into gold. This scene was jaw-dropping. The acting, the subtle touch, the chemistry… Everything was perfect! Moving on… Cora completes the task and is proposed to by the prince. Yet there is another twist… She has fallen in love with Rumplestiltskin! The audience was led to believe that Belle (Emilie de Ravin) was the only person to ever love Rumple, but that’s apparently not the case. Regardless, the two make a plan to run away together and to have a child… Changing the deal to Rumple having his own child. Things don’t turn out as planned, when Cora tricks Rumple into teaching her to rip out hearts, only to rip out her own. Now Cora has turned into the woman that the audience has come to know. The heartless, evil, and power-hungry person uncapable of love.

Storybrooke:

I’ll just jump right to the interesting part. Emma (Jennifer Morrison) uses a bit of magic that proves to not help in the slightest, but still… Good on her! Regardless, Gold gives Snow a choice between letting Cora live or die. He reveals that, by using the candle that could have saved Snow’s mother, and by whispering Cora’s name over her heart, that happens to be in Regina’s chamber… She can, not only get her revenge, but also stop Cora from becoming the all powerful dark one. Once Cora and Regina break into Rumple’s store, Snow makes a run for it, in hopes to find Cora’s heart. A pretty lackluster fight ensues, eliminating Charming from the battle immediately, as well as Regina as she tries to see who is trying to take Cora’s heart. Cora uses magic to make Emma and Neal disappear, and finally it’s a one-on-one between her and her old flame. Rumple asks the question that was probably on everyone’s mind. Did Cora really love him? And it turns out, in a heartfelt (no pun intended) confession that Rumple was her only weakness. Jump back to Snow and Regina. Snow does the deed and tricks Regina into thinking that, by putting the heart back in Cora, she’ll finally receive the loving family that she’s been wanting for the longest time. As she rushes back to the store, and forces the heart back inside Cora, she is greeted by a glimpse of true love from her mother… Only to have it taken away in the blink of an eye. Now Cora is dead, Gold is back to his superior state, and Regina is out for blood!

Definitely one of the best episodes this season! Not only is the audience given an interesting backstory that enhances our views on one of the most evil characters on the show, but OUAT also threw in a total game-changer for all of the characters, especially Snow. Although this episode was heavy hearted, the writer’s still managed to bring in a view quips and possibly unintentionally hilarious scenes. (Like when Cora made Neal and Emma disappear? I couldn’t stop laughing!) ‘The Miller’s Daughter’ provided a lot of backstory, as well as all around golden, heartfelt scenes. One thing’s for sure, I cannot express how excited I am for the next episode!

Rating:
A+

Questions:

  • Do you feel sorry for Regina?
  • With Cora gone, how will Regina (and Snow) react?
  • Mr. Gold gave an incredible heartfelt speech to Belle (and Bae), now that he’s going to live, will that change anything?

Responses

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  1. Liked the episode and where its about to send the characters… Snow is no longer pure, Regina has yet 1 more reason to hate that family, that family just keeps growing….hey Henry…heres your dad and grandpa. Gold gets his son back/ his life saved and plants a seed for Belle to see that maybe she does really love him…. the series is getting nothing but better.

  2. Overall great episode. It’s always interesting to learn the character’s backstory. Can’t wait to see the next episode!

  3. # Do you feel sorry for Regina?
    When it is revealed that something awful happened that lead her to being mean – yes for a moment because that is no excuse. She has been given kindness and bite that hand.

    # With Cora gone, how will Regina (and Snow) react?
    To keep it interesting…badly.

    # Mr. Gold gave an incredible heartfelt speech to Belle (and Bae), now that he’s going to live, will that change anything?

    Not a thing. Gold is his name and call to fame and power. Love is second to GOLD.