What a great episode! This week we learned the fairy tale back story of Sydney Glass, who we already know is the Magic Mirror. And we see the death of another fairy tale character, although this death was not unexpected.
Sydney is angry at Regina for getting him fired from his job, and he's ready for revenge. Who else to bring into his plans but Emma, who also has many reasons to want to bring Regina down? Sydney tells Emma that he has dirt on Regina, and he needs her help to prove it. Emma is happy to try to get some dirt on Regina, and joins Sydney in his plot to ruin the Mayor. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.
When we first meet Sydney in Fairy Tale Land, he is looking in a mirror, which is not unexpected. But then we see where he is, and what he is, which was unexpected for me. He's a Genie in a bottle, well, in a lamp. More specifically, Genie of Agrabah. So, this character is taken out of One Thousand and One Nights. We’re mixing genres again. Oh, Disney, what are you doing to Once Upon a Time? I have got to learn to accept these "Disney add-ins" I suppose, because I'm sure there will be more as the season progresses.
Snow's father, the King, rescues Genie from his lamp, and the generous King gives Genie his freedom as his first wish. As his second wish he gives Genie the third wish, which Genie says he won’t ever use. However, how long can you go through life without saying, “I wish”? Think about it. The only thing Genie wants is true love, but he can't wish for someone to fall in love with him, or bring the dead back to life. (Okay, that second one is from Aladdin.) If he had been able to wish for someone to fall in love with him, this episode would have turned out a whole lot differently. Genie's sarcastic attitude as he's naming off the caveats of the wishes was funny, but it seemed out of place with the tone of the show. I guess they thought the character needed to be funny, because this is the Genie of Agrabah (hello, Robin Williams).
Genie meets and falls in love with Regina (how come she gets to keep her own name from Fairy Tale Land, and no one else does – generator of the curse makes the rules, I guess), who is unhappy in her life as the Queen. You see, the King told everyone at his birthday banquet that Snow is his greatest gift and that she, like her mother, is the fairest in all the land. You almost feel sorry for her, sitting all by herself at the banquet, until you remember that this is Regina, and things aren't always as they seem with her. After Regina convinces Genie that she’s willing to kill herself because of her unhappiness, Genie decides that the only way to make her happy is to kill the King. Talk about ungratefulness. Someone gives you your freedom AND one of their wishes, and you kill them?
Regina, of course, had the whole thing planned. Get someone else to kill the King for her. And Genie fell right into her trap. Genie should have paid attention to the King’s final words, “You’re right, I never should have made a wish.” But Genie does make that last wish, which is to stay with Regina always and to look upon her face. Everyone says be careful what you wish for, and Genie shouldn’t have been so hasty. The wish makes him “the man in mirror.” (“I’m starting with the man in the mirror, I’m asking him to change his ways” – sorry, I just couldn’t help it. It’s so apropos here.) Now, Genie is there every time Regina looks in a mirror, and that’s an awful lot. He’s with her always.
I don’t think Regina had magical powers at that point, so it will be interesting to find out when and how she gets them. I’m sad that Regina’s father is in on Regina’s plot (or so it looked like). He seemed like a nice old man. I wonder if we’ll ever get the back story of what made Regina evil. Something had to make her that way. We learned what happened to Rumplestiltskin – now it Regina’s turn.
In Storybrooke, the Mayor confesses to stealing $50,000 from the town, but she stole it to build a playground for Henry and the other children of Storybrooke ( and boy did it get built fast). So, that makes it okay to steal $50,000? I don’t get that one.
I also don’t get the fact that the children probably haven’t been growing up in 28 years (remember Hansel and Gretel). So, they stay the same age, but Henry is growing up because he’s not from Fairy Tale Land. Is that what made Henry suspicious, not the book?
Back to Sidney. Well, Sydney was working for the Mayor all the time, and now Emma trusts him. He turned on the King in Fairy Tale Land, and he turned on Emma in Storybrooke. Emma just doesn’t know it yet.
In other news: Henry has lost his story book, and who do you suppose has it? That’s right, it’s the Stranger. So, what does the Stranger know about the book, and who is he? If we knew his name, we’d probably be able to figure it out. Maybe that’s why we haven’t learned his name yet.
David and Mary Margaret meet for a little picnic, and a lot of smooching. I’m glad that they're showing how much they love each other, but I still can’t forget that David is supposed to be married (and they both can’t forget it either). I know, I know, Snow and Charming were married in Fairy Tale Land, so David and Mary Margaret are really married, but it looks bad, you know.
So, in the next episode we meet Beauty (or Belle, as I’m sure she’ll be called). This one looks interesting. Making Rumplestiltskin the beast is an interesting twist. Not Disneyfied at all. Except I’m sure she’ll be an avid book reader. The city librarian maybe?
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