Compared to last episode's climactic conclusion, "Welcome to Storybrooke" doesn't seem to cover much ground. There's a mini-crisis in the present, but most of the episode's substance comes from a flashback to the very first few days of the great curse. Unfortunately, the result felt flat.
Spoilers follow.
Wicked witch Regina conveniently finds a spell that will let her kill her hated enemy Mary Margaret / Snow White without alienating her adopted son (and Mary Margaret's grandson) Henry, by mind-controlling the kid into loving her. But she's held off by Mr. Gold / Rumplestilskin, who is repaying his life debt to Mary Margaret / Snow White. Meanwhile, Henry plans to save Regina from the heroes' lethal plans by taking away her magic (and everyone else's) by dynamiting the wishing well. Regina easily foils Henry's plan (by magicking the dynamite away), but begrudgingly destroys her own spell to reduce the risk of Henry being hurt by the heroes' efforts to stop her.
Mary Margaret / Snow White pretty much sits out this episode, moping in bed over last episode's flirtation with evil. She finally offers her life to Regina, hoping that will settle the witch down. Regina does take her heart, but then gives it back after finding it now has a black spot -- a bit of evil corruption, which Regina claims will eventually devour Mary Margaret / Snow White's soul and drive Henry back to Regina.
In the flashback, we see that Regina's delight in finally winning lasts only a few days, until she finds herself bored by magically enforced dominance. She finds brief hope in the form of a mundane man and child, who were camping nearby when the great curse hit and now wander the bizarre world of Storybrooke. Regina is touched by the child's fragile emotional state (he'd recently lost his mother) and decides she wants to play mother. Father doesn't like this plan, so Regina typically mis-employs force. The child escapes to the mundane world, but the father is left in Regina's clutches. To the surprise of absolutely no one, we learn that this traumatized child has grown up to be the suspicious outsider Greg. Greg's returned to Storybrooke to rescue his father!
Looking over the synopsis, one would think this would be an exciting episode, but it doesn't actually deliver. I'm not sure why. I think I simply felt that too many people were being too stupid. Mary Margaret / Snow White mopes in bed, while Regina threatens her family? Regina completely ignores Mr. Gold / Rumplestilskin's advice on vendettas? Regina almost immediately realized that forcing people to do what she wants doesn't make her happy, so she then tries the same trick on new victims in the past, and presently accepts the limits of mind-control love as better than nothing? Mary Margaret / Snow White thinks her self-sacrifice will make Regina play nice? Henry criticizes the heroes for wanting to kill the wicked witch, because that's not what heroes do??? What stories has he been reading?
Very frustrating.
Random thoughts:
Henry's third-way plan has some hypothetical merit, but is still iffy. Yes, the heroes are only considering Regina's death because her magic makes her such a threat. If she lost magic, no one would have to kill her. And magic did enter the mundane world through the wishing well, so if Storybrooke is being continually fed magic through the wishing well, destroying the well might shut it off. IF Storybrooke is being continually fed magic. This show hasn't really discussed magical metaphysics, such as the origin of magic. It's equally possible that Storybrooke has become independently magical, and that dynamiting the wishing well would have no effect. But even destroying the well stopped the flow of magic, any residual amount of magic could supply Regina with enough power for a panicked, last-ditch attack to destroy all her enemies before she becomes powerless. While I don't expect a child to think this all the way through, it would be nice if someone were smart enough to try explaining the risks. Oh, wait…there isn't anyone smart enough (except Mr. Gold / Rumplestilskin, and he's not sure Henry's on his side).
Regina's claim that Mary Margaret / Snow White's small corruption will inevitably lead to her complete corruption is utterly unreliable. Regina's hardly an expert on anything (except losing) and her own weakness of character makes it look as if corruption is a one-way process. But other characters argue otherwise, such as Dr. Hopper / Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio, both of whom atoned for their sins. I'm not even convinced that the black spot is new; back when Snow White forgot Prince Charming, she turned into a very dark character and was willing to assassinate Regina. Again, no one in the show is smart enough to realize this is just one aspect of Snow White's true character, and not the kiss of moral death. Furthermore, Regina's even dumber than she seems if she thinks Mary Margaret / Snow White's corruption will drive Henry back home. Henry still has ties to his real mother, Emma, and to David / Prince Charming…not to mention a commitment to being good. An evil Snow White would be a tragedy, but would likely just bind Henry more closely to the heroes.
The nature of Mary Margaret / Snow White's sin is fairly complex. I hope to eventually write up a closer examination of it, and what it might say about the show's morality.
This episode establishes that Mr. Gold did not remember he was Rumplestilskin when the great curse hit. He was as much a victim as the rest.
This episode also establishes that Storybrooke was protected from mundanes -- they couldn't perceive it, and might have been mentally influenced to stay away. But now that the curse is broken, mundanes are presumably free to enter. Outsider Greg certainly could, although he's not a fair test, since he was inside Storybrooke at the curse's start. The barrier did keep him out after he left, but I'd still like to see it tested against a completely untouched mundane.
I'm disappointed that Regina so quickly tired of Storybrooke -- in only a few days! If it's so immediately obvious that forcing your will on people doesn't make you happy, why stick to that plan? Regina looks really dumb, but that's partly a flaw of the episode's immediate juxtaposition of past and present. In plot time, Regina's been stuck in Storybrooke for 28 years, so she probably grew to accept her less-than-satisfactory life. She did eventually adopt a child from the outside world.
And speaking of which, Regina seems to have a strong maternal desire. She tried to play mommy to Hansel and Gretel, then to mundane child Owen, and finally to adopted son Henry. I'd almost say it was a character-defining trait, except that Disney's influence has made EVERY character fixated on family.
-- John
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