‘Once Upon a Time’ season 2, episode 12 review: Dr. Frankenstein starts over

Here’s the trouble with the curse on “Once Upon a Time”: it was actually better for some of the residents of Storybrooke when it was still activated. Why? Now that these characters know who they truly are, they have to deal with some of the emotional baggage that comes from their days in other worlds.

After seeing the mysterious visitor make his way into Storybrooke this week, Dr. Whale struggled with the idea of being able to bring someone back to life. Why? The last couple of times he tried it, he ended up turning them (in Daniel and his own brother Gerhardt) into monsters. Who’s to say that he would know the difference between being a doctor and a mad scientist now?

While we enjoyed Dr. Whale’s story thoroughly (in particular the subtle hints that there could be a romance in the works between him and Red), the other stunner worth noting this week was seeing Regina suddenly teaming up with her mother Cora … or at least pretending to do so. We really have a hard time believing that the former Evil Queen would be so naive as to listen to someone who has basically tried to ruin who her life, and it may at the moment just be until she can find a better way to win Henry back on her own.

The big reveal this week revolved around Whale’s story, and it simply involved trying to figure out just who the mysterious man was who arrived in the town. While he did not see anything upon his arrival into Storybrooke, there still had to be a reason for him be there … right? As it turns out, this man saw far more than meets the eyes, and he could be some pretty major trouble for all of the town’s residents moving forward. We suspected that he was Rumpelstiltskin’s son, but that may not be the case. Instead, Rumple has just hired Emma to go on a search with him to try to find Baelfire, which could help to add to the evidence that it is actually Neal.

If you want to see some more news when it comes to this episode, be sure to head on over to the link here.

Photo: ABC