Once Upon A Time "The Price of Gold" Review

"The Price of Gold" is a potentially series-killing episode for me. The twists were evident from the opening of each individual act. The beats were obvious and lazy. The storytelling really, really sucked. I asked a friend, as I watched the episode, about the degree of lameness whenever Disney adapts a fairy tale. One might argue that Once Upon a Time isn't Disney, and I'll accuse that person of being drunk on dreamwine because ABC is a Disney company, and Kitsis and Horowitz's adaptation of Cinderella was atrocious. If David H. Goodman, the credited screenwriter, deserves the blame then I'll be glad to direct blame his way. Until then, the creators and EPs earn the criticism. The great David Solomon directed the episode and, sadly, managed to salvage it from dreadful storytelling mistakes.

I'm prepared to declare "The Price of Gold" the worst episode of television in the young 2011-2012 season. I'm not sure where it wrong. Perhaps I reacted badly to the sudden introduction of Cinderella/Ashley, her needlessly stupid back story with Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold, as well as Emma's investment in the story because she once made all of the bad decisions Ella/Ashley's about to make. Additionally, Henry kept pestering his biological mother about the importance of knowing one another's code names. Henry didn't actually care about code names, though; the boy just wanted to call his biological mother by the name 'mom' because he loves her. My heart's not made of stone because I thought Henry's nickname insistence was sweet and natural; however, I thought the character development of Emma was forced and unnecessary, the motivations of Mr. Gold cartoonish and nonsensical, the back story of Cinderlla poorly plotted and developed.

I imagine the writers viewed the episode as a Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin episode than a Cinderella one because "The Price of Gold" is clearly about the man who never met a deal he didn't like or make. The story follows the basic structure of the original. Rumplestiltskin makes a deal, wants the newborn of a princess, and reacts badly when he learns the princess won't honor her end of the deal. Of course, the series weaved the story of Cinderella into Rumplestiltskin for some reason. Well, the reason's clear enough. In an episode about one's ability to change him or herself without the assistance of someone else, Cinderella's the best character to use because her circumstances were changed overnight by her fairy godmother. In Once's fairy tale world, though, Rumplestiltskin murdered Cinderella's fairy godmother just as she was about to transform her into a gorgeous princess-to-be. The only catch would've been the midnight nonsense. Rumplestiltskin saw an opportunity and took it.

Cinderella overcame the death of her fairy godmother quickly and wheeled and dealed with the man whose face was awash in glitter. Now, I'd think someone wouldn't be so trusting of a man who just murdered an innocent fairy godmother before his or her own very eyes. Cinderella's more eager to change her life, regardless of the quality of person who's offering a sudden transformation along with an embarrassment of riches. Rumple tricks her into thinking her debt will involve gold or jewels, unaware that he plans on taking her first child. Ella and her husband, along with Charming and Snow White, conspire to send Rumple to prison in hopes that Ella's debt is never repaid. Rumplestiltskin deals in magic, though, so every deal has a price. When he's arrested, he vows never to allow Ella a visitation with her husband until her new born babe's in his possession.

Mr. Gold loves deals as much as his fairy tale self. Ashley signed a contract to give her baby up once she had it because she's 19 and unable to raise the child herself. Of course, Rumplestiltskin made threats in fairy tale world to take her baby in whatever world or life Ella found herself in. Whether or not Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold is aware of the two worlds, Once's own Desmond Hume as it were, is unknown. However, his desire for Ashley's child isn't coincidence. Emma agrees to help find the missing girl when she flees town. Along the journey, she imparts valuable wisdom she herself never heard or learned when she was with child and all alone. Emma's experiences help Ashley so much so that she refuses to allow Mr. Gold to gain custody of the child. Mr. Gold, though, is difficult to negotiate with. Emma agrees to a deal with Mr. Gold so that he forgets and destroys the deal he made with Ashley. The deal between Mr. Gold and Emma's only a simple favor, and how harmful could that be?

I don't think many characters have a strong voice yet. The only characters with a clear, strong voice are Emma, Regina and Henry. I suppose Mr. Gold's voice is strong and identifiable. An ensemble series is always a daring endeavor because of the number of characters. I'll argue LOST knew their characters' voices early in the series. Joss Whedon's Firefly pilot is a masterpiece because of the life each character is given in the 88 minutes. Kitsis, Horowitz and the room have the benefit of using characters known throughout the ages yet the majority of the characterization is lacking. Characters have already been ignored in episodes and we haven't reached the fifth one yet. The narrative seems scattered and fractured. Nothing unites the characters except the small town. Even then, characters barely see or interact with each other.

I'm tired of writing about "The Price of Gold." It was a miserable episode, full of unoriginal act breaks and tropes, and the promise that the series might not get any better. Uh-oh. The next new episode will air on November 27.

David H. Goodman wrote the episode. David Solomon directed it.

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