Once Upon A Time "The Stable Boy" Review

Once Upon a Time is a show more suited for a thirteen episode order than a twenty-two episode order. The rise of cable in recent years sparked the conversation about the pros and cons of the amount of production on network shows. Production of a 22-24 episode season of television is taxing on everyone. Writers who left network TV for cable gush about the differences between both models, in particular the creative differences, where he or she isn't stressing to produce a script every two weeks. Anyway, the story behind Regina's disdain for Snow White caused me to figuratively throw up my hands in exasperation. Once again, Kitsis and Horowitz told the same damn love story but with different characters. Yes, the curse took away everyone's happy ending, and the happy ending is about love, the queen will never have her happy ending, so he decided to act like a kid who had blocks taken away and destroy everyone else's fun. I got this months ago.

The lone surprising aspect of the Snow White-Regina backstory is how young Snow was when they met. Snow White is just a little girl when she meets the future Queen of Fairy-Tale land. One day, a horse went wild with Snow on it and Regina rode to the rescue. Pre-Queen Regina is as fresh and happy as a spring morning, wearing light blue colors and a smile on her face. The fallen Snow White is hesitant to ever climb a horse again to which Regina smiles and encourages her to overcome the fall and ride again. Snow White smiles, already in love with Regina. King Leopold is grateful, so grateful in fact that he proposes marriage to the woman who saved his daughter's life. Regina's mother, portrayed by Barbara Hershey, is overjoyed to hear the news. Cora worries her daughter will lead a peasant existence with her stable boy boyfriend. Regina doesn't care about absolute power or ripping one's beating heart out of one's chest. Indeed, Regina just wants to wile away the days with her beloved stable boy. Cora agrees to the proposal, which causes Regina to despair.

Daniel, the stable boy, and Regina, meet in the stables after the engagement became official. They discussed running away together. The lovers kissed, and Snow White happened to see them kiss, which could be problematic for all. Regina chases after Snow to explain things. I should point out that the scene took place at night, Snow came into the stables to ride a horse (?!?); that's the best the writers could come up with. Anyway, Snow is non-plussed, nearly mad that her perfect mother-figure would betray her father so. Regina explains the importance of her love for Daniel. Snow then becomes a Daniel-Regina shipper. Snow insists Leopold will understand the reasons for Regina's reluctance to marry. Regina simply wants Snow to keep her mouth shut. Snow is a child though. Children can be coaxed into saying anything with enough prodding by an adult. Cora gets the truth of Regina and Daniel from Snow's mouth. Cora uses the information to kill Daniel, thus solidifying her daughter's union with Leopold. Regina learns what happened from Snow White and instantly transforms into the vindictive bitch she's been all season. It's a curious decision to make Snow so young, but it should make the audience despise Regina for attacking a child as opposed to her mother. Henceforth, she vowed to destroy Snow's life.

Mary reaches an emotional crux in "The Stable Boy." Alone in prison for a crime she didn't commit, bullied by the mayor and the District Attorney, she breaks down alone. Regina watches her and then even admits she knows of Mary's innocence, but all the same she deserves what she's going to get. Regina and Gold hatched the plan to ruin Mary together. Regina can't help but smile and rub her hands together as the ruin of Mary nears. I don't think any of backstory worked to explain the present tense story. No one would blame a child for what Snow did. Regina is just evil and her evil can't be explained away or partially sympathized with because she has a piece of shit mother. Regina isn't written with any more depth than the many Disney villains--it's all black and white. I need to stop expecting the show to be any more than a family drama with a fairy tale element.

Elsewhere, Emma and August worked together to clear Mary's name. Emma hit dead-end after dead-end, accused August of being untrustworthy, only to be disappointed when she learned of Sidney's untrustworthiness. August needs to be integrated into the action more. He and Emma had good chemistry. Mr. Gold came through to clear Mary's name by releasing Kathryn from wherever she was. No one knows he had her but one can connect the dots. The wheels of the central plot continue to spin. I don't have much to add beyond that.

Once Upon a Time won't be new until April 22. Thank goodness.

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