Once Upon A Time "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" Review

Mirrors are the dominant motif in "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree." Sidney Glass, the former Mirror on the Wall in fairy tale world, is the central focus of this episode. The episode tracks how he became trapped in a mirror, as well as his undying devotion to Regina/The Evil Queen. Of course, there are problems with the episode: it is predictable and lazy, first and foremost. I feel like I've seen all the writers can do with the fairyback format as well. So far, the fairybacks have been origin stories entirely centered around the idea of love, be it romantic love, paternal love, or fraternal love. I'm okay with the consistent theme of love, but the execution of each story's similar, as if the beat sheets don't change except for settings and character names. I do not fancy this series, friends and well-wishers.

Once Upon A Time's laid it on strong since its pilot. OUAT is one of those shows where one feels the crew, and/or the ABC executives, perceive the audience as complete morons, unable to identify the themes of the episodes. Thus, "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" opens with a shot of Henry gazing into a mirror. Later, Sidney Glass repeats how he plans on showing the town who Regina really is. The fairyback contains several moments in which Regina, or the Genie (Sidney), looks into the mirror whilst sitting in front of a BIGGER mirror. I'm surprised no one looked at their reflection in a lake ala Narcissus and fell in. So this episode is about identity and cracks in the mirror, only the audience truly sees the clear reflections of the characters, because the actual characters aren't privy to all of the information.

Regina and Sidney Glass constantly manipulate their own identities in front of the townspeople. Regina's the noble and benevolent Storybrooke mayor, someone who spends $50,000 on a new playground for children, whereas Glass is the recently shamed ex-aide of the mayor, who seeks Emma out for some good old fashion revenge; however, Glass is still Regina's puppet, which ties into his origin story in the fairy tale world. Regina successfully manipulates him, Emma, and the whole damn town just as she manipulated the genie in that other life before the curse descended upon them all. Regina manipulated Sidney Glass because she's the only who remembers how devoted he once was to her, and how the natures of these characters haven't changed; the characters just don't remember why they feel the way they do.

Regina created a ruse for Sidney to execute. Regina's been jealous of Henry's biological mother since the day she decided to remain in Storybrooke. Sidney approached Emma about potentially devastating evidence to Regina's image. Apparently, Regina used $50,000 for personal use. Emma resisted the temptation to stoop to her level though, because she made a promise to her son. However, Glass showed her pictures of herself and Henry at the castle. Emma decided to attack. The attack failed though. Regina proved the money went towards a new playground. Regina then used Emma's actions to ban Emma from seeing her son. The episode concluded with a scene between Regina and Sidney; a reveal the two worked together the whole time. I saw the 'twist' coming from the first moment Sidney and Emma met under the bridge because Once Upon A Time is very predictable.

Sidney's a bad dude, too, though I'm indifferent towards the character. The fairyback told the story of his first months of freedom from life as a genie. The man wanted to find True Love. King Leopold used his three wishes to give the genie his freedom, as well as give the third wish to the genie, who later used the third wish to ALWAYS be by Regina's side. I've written about the old 'show and don't tell' rule before, but I'll reiterate it: SHOW and don't tell. The Evil Queen and The Genie's relationship happens off-screen. The only important part is, I suppose, the Genie's devotion to her because it informs his decision to betray the man who gave him his freedom; his love for her also reveals the true nature of The Evil Queen, or in other words, shows us that one lone incident didn't transform her into a soulless succubus but, rather, that she never had a soul; that her plan always involved the death of King Leopold, regardless of his affections for his first wife and how they made her feel. Most importantly, she used Genie/Sidney to achieve something entirely different from what he thought. The point: she's a manipulative bitch who disregards everyone but herself in both worlds.

There are questions to ponder. Obviously, the $50,000 for a playground defense is a load of shit. Regina's illegal doings were protected from the first frame of the episode. So, then, what is the $50,000 for? Our mysterious stranger, whose name escapes me, stole Henry's book. In addition to writing, he plans on doing "stuff" while in Storybrooke. Who is he really and what are his plans? Now, I'm not particularly interested in the answers to these questions, but these are the questions posed by the episode.

Other Thoughts:

-Emile de Ravin returns to our television screens in two weeks in Once Upon A Time's adaptation of Beauty & the Beast. ABC advertised her as LOST'S Emilie de Ravin. I adored Ms. de Ravin on LOST. That is all.

-Ian Goldberg & Andrew Chambliss wrote the episode. Bryan Spicer directed it.

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