Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: A- | 689 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT The Unstable Girl
By Cindy McLennan | Season 1 | Episode 18 | Aired on 2012.04.01
Regina tells Snow that King Leopold is a kind and fair man but she doesn't love him. Snow asks why not. Regina says love doesn't work that way. True love is magic -- not just any magic, the most powerful magic of all. It creates happiness. Snow realizes Regina loves Daniel. Regina replies, "With all my heart." Enchanted, Snow beams as she says then Regina must marry her true love. She offers to tell her father. Regina stops her. Snow insists Leopold will understand. Regina understands he might but she knows Cora will not. The only way their love can survive is if they run away together. She asks Snow to keep her secret.
Regina: You must keep it a secret. Can you do that?
Snow: I think so.
Regina: I need you to be certain. You can never speak of this, and above all, you mustn't tell my mother. Will you do that for me?
Snow: Yes. I promise.
Recapper: Oh Regina, 12 -year-old girls can't keep secrets. This may be your undoing but it's also your own damned fault.
Storybrooke waterfront. August finds Emma is sitting on a bench, reading Henry's Once Upon A Time book. They discuss Mary's case. Emma's doubting her instincts and "superpower." August compares her predicament to a case of writer's block. When he's blocked he rereads what he's written and sometimes finds a little nugget of inspiration left behind. Emma's afraid this means starting over. August clarifies that when he starts writing he has one idea. He'll get another idea in the middle and things are different. Emma says the perspective changes. August asks what the investigation was first about. Emma says it was about a missing person. August recaps that it next became a murder investigation then a cover-up. If she knew that back then she might have approached things differently. Emma rises and starts to leave. She's returning to the scene of the crime. Since Emma hasn't slept in days, August insists on driving. I'm really enjoying these two together. I don't know if I feel a romantic vibe, but I like what I'm seeing.
TRoll Bridge. Emma leads August down the bank toward the spot where Ruby found the heart in the jewelry box. About halfway down, August steps over a large rock. He winces. There's a funny noise, and maybe a little puff of smoke (magical smoke) near his leg. Emma notices he's in pain and offers to take a look at his leg. He refuses and insists it's just a shin-splint. I know shin-splints are a real medical condition but the first time I watched this, my mind went straight to Pinocchio. Reading our episode thread and other OUAT discussions made it clear I'm not alone in this. August tells Emma he knows this must be hard on her because aside from Henry, Mary Margaret seems to be the closest thing to family that Emma has. Keep planting those seeds, August!