Summary and random comments on Once Upon a Time's 3/10/13 episode, "The Miller's Daughter." Spoilers follow. You have been warned.
Summary: Wicked imp Mr. Gold / Rumplestilken is saved from Captain Hook's previous poisonous attack by exchanging his death for that of wicked witch Cora, just as she was about to gain big-time magical power by killing Rumplestilken with his own enchanted dagger. Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory by her own daughter, wicked witch Regina…who had been duped by the uncharacteristic emotional manipulations of goodie-two-shoes Mary Margaret / Snow White. In flashback, we learn that Cora was originally a bitter and jealous miller's daughter who was rescued from her own hubris by Rumplestilken, and ultimate chose ruthless pursuit of temporal power over a chance at love and dark power with Rumplestilsken. Just before her death, Cora reveals that she did originally love Rumple, and that if she'd only kept her heart, she would've been satisfied by her daughter's love.
So Cora's now dead, leaving a newly embittered Regina retake the mantle of big villain. Poor Regina. She's not very bright. But very desperate. You and your mother are about to gain ultimate power with which to smite the entire town, and you blindly accept a last-minute gift from your nemesis? Even considering Snow White's reputation for honesty, this was a dumb moment to set aside habitual cynicism. It's tragic that Snow's purported proposition proved to be the best immediate option -- forcibly returning Cora's heart would've ended her villainous threat, returned Regina to her path of redemption, and killed the unpredictable and still dangerous Rumplestilsken. Not dramatically satisfying, but tactically correct. Too bad Snow had to give in to her fear and curse the heart fatally. I don't see any chance to recover Regina after this. :(
While Regina continues down her dark path, Rumplestilsken shows signs of humanity during his deathbed call to amnesic girlfriend Belle. He spent his last moments not pleading from selfishness, but offering Belle a gift -- a positive portrait of her own lost identity. This in turn triggers a rapprochement with his abandoned and estranged son, further dragging the character into respectability. Even if he did tempt Snow White into abandoning her principles so he could save his life.
Of incidental interest, in no particular order…
In flashback, Rumplestilsken teaches young Cora to make magic using strong, evil emotion. In the present, Rumplestilsken teaches Emma to make magic using strong, good emotion. I've often wondered why this show has no good wizards, but this does explain the limits on fairy magic. The fairies aren't waiting for good wishes to fulfill; they can only work magic using good wishes -- without someone making a wish, they don't have much power (for example, Blue's feeble attempt to stop the repowered Regina). But if Emma can work good magic, why can't others? Maybe Rumple is conveniently skipping over his previous mantra: "Magic always comes with a price." Season 1 maintained that power required grievous cost, while Season 2 seems to have forgotten. Hopefully, we'll see more of this.
If Rumplestilsken's magic is powered (or at least evoked) using evil emotion, that casts a new light on a flashback exchange with Belle, when he claimed that spinning straw into gold helped him forget. I originally thought he was either blanking out his mind (dropping into a "flow" state) or recalling pleasant memories from his mortal life. But if he was reliving the moment of mortification that set him on the path to dark power…then Belle really was creating goodness where none existed. Still, my recollection of that scene convey the softer interpretation; Rumple seemed wistful, gentle, and vulnerable. No sign of evil emotion. Curious.
In flashback, Prince Henry's unnamed father presents us with another callous royal and another impoverished kingdom (as with King George). What's going on in fantasyland? Are these harsh economic times due to the Ogre Wars, or are too many royals suffering from a lack of modern accounting practices? We can have some sympathy for royals trying desperately to preserve their kingdoms, even sacrificing the few for the good of the many…but King George forgot about his kingdom in favor of a grudge, and this new king is a fan of social darwinism (thinking young Cora is not worth even courtesy until she starts spinning straw into gold).
David / Prince Charming yet again underwhelms. Despite swatting fireballs out of the air, he has no real power to protect his family, yet he keeps promising that he won't let anything happen to them.
And speaking of which, the show's drastic power imbalance continues. When Cora and Regina attack Mr. Gold's pawnshop, it's clear that no mundane power can hope to delay them, let alone defeat them. With the teleport trick alone, Cora could slaughter the town -- sending victims half a mile straight up…. Mr. Gold / Rumplestilsken is the only physical force keeping Regina and Cora in check. Regina's also been limited by her desire for Henry's good opinion, but that leash may fray under the weight of these new betrayals and losses.
So Cora was a bad mother to Regina because Cora had removed her heart, and so couldn't love (see previous problems with Sheriff Graham / Huntsman). But Regina was a bad mother to Henry because she was just repeating what she'd experienced from Cora. Sounds as if Regina is the worse person, as she has no magical excuse for her bad behavior (and is modeling her behavior on someone who is magically crippled).
Regina insists that Mary Margaret / Snow White has "no right" to be in the family crypt. That's rich. What "rights" have justified most of Regina's actions? She's largely been running on magically empowered emotional reaction. Woman, you're scheming to use black magic to enslave or wipe out the town and you're shocked (shocked!) that the opposition might trespass?!? Again, Regina comes off as not at all bright. If only someone could point out just how silly she sounds.
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