Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: B+ | 4 USERS: B YOU GRADE IT Take Heart
By Cindy McLennan | Season 2 | Episode 16 | Aired on 03.10.2013
Storybrooke. Gold's shop. Cora looks down at the dagger and watches the letters disappear, then redoubles her efforts at breaking the protective barrier. We cut to the...
Cemetery. Time for a little more self-plagiarism. David finds Snow outside the vault she's clutching her head in her hands. Telling David he was right, she says, "This isn't me." Oh, Snow. No it isn't. "The Miller's Daughter" is full of strong acting, but Ginnifer Goodwin's performance in this small scene just blows me away. We cut to...
Gold's shop. Cora breaks the barrier, and magics Neal and Emma into the woods. Once Cora and Gold are alone, he wants to know if she ever loved him. Cora says that's why she had to rip out her own heart. "You were my weakness." She strokes his face as she says he's the only man she ever truly loved." Rising, she raises the dagger in the air, but before she can strike, Regina shoves Cora's heart back in her chest. When she drops the dagger, Rumpy looks instantly healthier. It's the change in Cora that is most astonishing, though. She glows. With her eyes bright, she looks at Regina for the first time, through the eyes of love. We flash back to...
Random Kingdom. King Xavier tells Cora to announce the baby's name. As impudent as ever, Cora, fifth in line to the throne, holds her girl child before the people. "Her name is Regina, for one day she will be Queen." Okay, is it just me, or does the flooring look like it's been repurposed from an old dock? We flash forward to...
Storybrooke. Gold's Shop. Regina is bursting with joy as she finally faces a mother who loves her, but her happiness is short lived. As Cora falters, Rumpy rips oven his chest and sees his wound is gone. Regina cradles Cora and asks her what is wrong. Cora's dying words are, "This...would have been enough. You...you would have been enough." Regina begs her mother not to leave her, but it's too late. When Rumpy says, "Your mother did you no favors," Regina shouts at him to shut up. "You stole her life. You cast some spell." Rumpy says he did nothing. No longer the Fastest, Snow rushes in the back room, yelling, "REGINA! STOP!" When she takes in the scene before her, Snow is horrified by what's she's done. Regina looks up at her and hisses, "You did this." Dun dun dun!
I will be back with coverage of "Welcome To Storybrooke," for which I am ridiculously excited. Seriously. I have to calm down or I'm bound to be disappointed. In the meantime, please grade the episode at the top of the page and then come on over to the forum, where we promise we won't post in invisible magic chalk.