‘Once Upon a Time’ season 4, episode 12 review: Emma’s potential; Snow and Charming’s secret
After months off the air, “Once Upon a Time” returned Sunday night with a simple reminder that the Queens of Darkness are the focus of the story, and one episode in, we could not be happier with that. We got rid of some of the “Frozen” flair, and it was replaced with an episode that was heavy on character development, fun moments (Regina questioning Emma’s yellow car), and also backstory.
Also, let’s talk for a moment about what had to be one of the more awesome moments of the entire season so far: Regina and Emma teaming up in order to stop a demon who had suddenly arrived in Storybrooke. This was a consequence of the fairies being freed, and there were connections also in here to Cruella, Ursula, and Maleficent. After all, these three had fought this demon before!
What was interesting about the arrival of some of these queens was that it was not actually due to magic at all that Ursula and Cruella made it in. Instead, it was all about a plan concocted by Rumpelstiltskin to convince the others that they had changed, and appeal to the redemptive side in Regina’s personality. Since she had changed, it was therefore possible to think that they had, as well. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case in the slightest.
Now, let’s talk big reveals: It seems that Emma has the potential to be an even greater villain than Regina, and she was who the demon was after. Also, Snow and Charming have a history with these two Queens of Darkness … and it isn’t pretty.
This episode was a whole lot of fun to watch. It reminded us why we enjoy “Once Upon a Time”; while it may not have stunned us, it took the greatest elements of the series without some of the bad. Grade: B+.
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