Can the Evil Queen ever take the place of the Savior? Regina Mills is certainly willing to try on tonight’s Once Upon a Time season 5, episode 2, “The Price.”
Stolen love, murder and mayhem in her wake, and a poor track record when it comes to flaring hands and tempers, Regina Mills is not the first person Storybrooke turns to when they have a problem. After four seasons ruling with fear, Regina’s journey to the side of the heroes is perhaps the most interesting arc of the Once Upon a Time series.
Tonight’s episode, “The Price,” dives even deeper into Regina’s narrative as she and Emma push the limits of their role reversal and control. Let’s let Regina’s fireballs do the talking as we rank the most rage inducing moments from tonight’s episode.
‘Once Upon a Time’s’ fieriest moments
‘Who is going to save us if we stay?’
Without any disaster, natural or otherwise, what would Leroy do outside of Storybrooke? He certainly is willing to find out when he packs up the dwarves and heads to the town line to try life on the other side. His main reasoning is simple — he doesn’t trust Regina to restore order to Storybrooke. Regina’s not the Evil Queen anymore, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is willing to accept her as the new Savior.
This is a downer on two fronts. First, the town will crumble without leadership. Second, Regina takes a huge blow to her self-confidence. What does she have to do to show these people that she can truly change for the better? Watching Regina succumb to the passing insults of the town never gets any easier. In their eyes she is the archetype villain. However, for us at home, Regina is a human who has made her fair share of mistakes and has yet to stop paying for them.
Give the woman in the sensible pant suit a chance!
Rage meter: 4 fireballs
Merlin is in a tree, the sword is back in the stone
We love a good mystery on Once Upon a Time. With five weeks and six days left to fill in, the mysterious circumstances surrounding Merlin’s capture and the return of Excalibur not only to Storybrooke, but to the stone as well, are two prominent tales set to unfold over the course of the season. While it is frustrating that Merlin is sprouting flowers for the moment, at least his prophecy from episode one echoes louder as Emma contemplates removing the sword from the stone.
Rage meter: 1 fireball
True love versus true lust
Young romance is budding (with actual ear buds!), new love is taking a spin on the dance floor, and one couple is testing the limits of true love’s kiss. Hook’s anxiety is infectious. Fighting for centuries to bring an end to the Dark One through death now turns to bringing about an end with the power of love. But Emma’s darkness is not as sloppy as Rumple’s desire for power. Emma is calculating, resourceful, and best/worst of all, she knows how the town operates.
Of course Hook would attempt to break through to Emma’s lighter side with his kiss. But she is two steps ahead making their story go from true love to her desire for his fulfillment of her lust. Rumpel, for all the pain and suffering he put Belle through, the love always remained at least partially on the surface. Emma buried everything deep, deep down. Will it resurface?
Rage meter: 2 fireballs
Emma uses her dark magic
How many times have we heard the phrase, “All magic has a cost,” on Once Upon a Time? Not enough for the characters to need a reminder or three. Not only do we understand that Emma’s magic comes at a cost to those who request it, but as with any deal involving the Dark One, the cost typically outweighs the benefits. In this case, the cost for saving Robin’s life is payment of another due on the part of Regina.
Emma did not make the rules. They came with the territory. A debt is a debt and without payment, Emma is likely to be pushed too far to protect her friends.
Rage meter: 3 fireballs
‘Something a little less evil’
An important part of Regina’s return to the Enchanted Forest and Camelot is her past life catching up to her. Percival is the latest to recognize the former Evil Queen for who he believes she is by sneaking an enchanted necklace to her as a gift. Able to see everything she says and does, Percival comes to learn that not only is Regina not the Savior, but she just learned to dance about five minutes before the ball. After a quick lesson from David and a wardrobe lift from Mary Margaret, Regina felt a bit more in the mood for a party.
Beating the audience over the head with the theme that Regina truly cares how the world perceives her, even when she is putting on a show, made us wish she showed up in her spiked regal gown. Own your true self, Regina. Whoever she may be!
Rage meter: 2 fireballs
The hottest moment of the night
Did you believe for a second that Regina was about to slip back into her old ways? The dagger yields a great deal of power for those who control it. Regina may be having a bit of fun with it at times, but when it comes down to getting Emma to trust her, Regina is nothing but serious. As the controller of the dagger, Regina takes the initiative to step up as the Savior so that Emma did not have to use her dark magic.
Regina is not about to take any of her battles lying down. Anyone can feel inferior due to someone else’s words. She’s human. Regina proves over and over again that she is the person you want in your corner at the end of the day.
For all the growth Regina, and the town experienced in tonight’s episode, her visit to Gold stole the show.
Don’t believe us? Watch it again!
Source
Watch Once Upon a Time season 5, episode 3, “Siege Perilous,” Sunday, October 11 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
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