‘Once Upon a Time’ season 2, episode 19 review: Belle, Rumpelstiltskin, Gold, and Lacey
If you are a “Rumbelle” shipper, watching Sunday night’s “Once Upon a Time” was almost like wading through paradise. The entire episode was geared largely around their story, and how Mr. Gold would try to find a way to turn things around for himself and Belle after Regina pulled a very dirty trick on him and placed an entirely different personality in her brain.
With that in mind, Belle quickly became Lacey, a woman that possessed a completely different sort of energy. She was flirtatious, smart, and daring, and also had a penchant for booze along with the hangout known as the Rabbit Hole. This story quickly turned tragic when his efforts to get her to remember him turned futile, despite doing almost everything that David told him to do (which is a rare favor that Gold now owes someone else).
The wonderful thing about this story is that it really puts Gold in a vulnerable place, and one where he has to genuinely fight for something good rather than just resorting to the evil and obvious option. It’s clear that Belle is still within Lacey … but he may not be patient enough to figure it out. Near the end of the episode, he resorted once again to his evil ways, which included him engaging in some violent behavior. The most unfortunate thing about this was that it creates an unfortunate situation moving forward: As soon as Lacey saw the evil part of Mr. Gold, she liked it … and the pendulum swings. Will we actually see both of these two embark on a reign of terror? Only time will tell.
As for what happened in the Fairytale Land, this was a rather sweet story of how Rumple first showed the hint of good within him as he decided to spare the life of a man (in Robin Hood!) who stole from him, even though he had an ample opportunity to take his life.
Away from this story, the only major thing worth noting is that Anton and the dwarves are starting to inch closer to creating a portal between Storybrooke and the Fairytale Land, but with Regina finding it, you have to ask the question: Is she going to keep these people once again from returning to their home? As for Tamara and Greg, we know that they are bringing a “package” into town that is rather terrible, and goes by the name of Hook.
What did you think about this “Once Upon a Time” episode, and are you thrilled to see all of this Rumpelstiltskin / Belle story play out? If you want to read some more content related to this hour, you can do so over at the link here.
Photo: ABC