Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: B+ | 106 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT PANorama
By Cindy McLennan | Season 3 | Episode 2 | Aired on 10.06.2013
Regina alights from her carriage, dressed all in black leather gown. She looks fabulous, but I preferred her crimson gown from earlier. "Well, dear. Have you packed your bags?" Snow says she considered Regina's offer, and while everything she said was true, and she could have a wonderful life in exile, alongside Charming and the Dwarfs, "...I can't leave my people. Not. With. You."
Regina says, "Well, in that case..." then stretches out her arm and magics Grumpy (by the throat) up into the air. As he chokes, his brothers try to help him, so Regina magics them to the ground. Charming encourages Snow, who finds her strength, and screams, "Let him go," as she charges at her wicked stepmother. Regina poofs in a cloud of purple, but Snow is on her toes, so she turns around and slashes Regina in the cheek, before she's even sure the queen is behind her. Grumpy is free to fall to the ground. Charming and the other Dwarfs rush to his aid.
Snow, stunned by her own power, stares Regina right in the eye. Regina's hand travels to the wound on her face. She looks down at the blood on her fingertips. Snow says, "You told me to stop denying who I really am. Well, that's exactly what I'm doing. This is MY kingdom. And I WILL fight for it." Regina says, "Then I'll see you on the battlefield." Snow's voice is strong when she answers, "We'll be ready." Regina disappears in purple smoke. The Dwarfs celebrate. Charming comes to Snow. We flash forward to...
Neverland. Snow and Charming try to give Emma a pep talk to keep up her confidence as she stares at the map. She says, "Not now," and walks off. Charming starts to follow, but Snow pulls him back and goes to their daughter, alone. After a little arguing, Snow says, "Maybe who you think you are isn't who you really are. [...] Sometimes, we think we know ourselves, but we need a push to show us the reality. That boy with the knife -- you stopped fighting him. Why?" Emma says, "He was just a boy." Snow is sure she saw something else in Emma's eyes, and asks again why Emma stopped. Finally, Emma answers, "Because when I looked in his face, I saw me. [...] That look in his eyes... the despair. I had it back when I was in the foster system -- just a lost little girl who didn't matter, and didn't think she ever would. A little girl who cried herself to sleep at night because she wanted her parents so bad, and could never understand why they gave her up." Emma's tears flow down her cheek. Snow blinks back her own and says, "And then you found us. It was too late." Sometimes it is, Snow. Sometimes, it is. Emma says, "It's just... on this island, I don't feel like a hero or a savior. I just feel like what I've always been. An orphan."