Once Upon a Time season 6, episode 8, “I’ll Be your Mirror,” tests Cora’s theory that love is weakness. Does it prove to be true?
The great lesson that Cora passes along to her daughter is that love is weakness. Once Upon a Time season 6, episode 8 dives into the family ethos of Regina, Emma and Henry’s unconventional family tree.
One is the product of true love. Another the descendent of a woman who thought that ultimate power over your enemy is the only way to find happiness. The youngest, a descendent of the Enchanted Forest’s most famous couple and its most reviled villain. What we have is a combination of ambition, good will, and a working experiment of nature versus nurture.
Henry gets a storyline
The Evil Queen, to her credit, does have a point. Henry is never the hero of the story. He is, at best, a background character who is there to make Emma and Regina feel like they are fighting for something. However, I believe that Henry is more than the little boy who believes in hope and sees the good in everyone.
Finally, Once agrees! When the Evil Queen flips the tables and traps Emma and Regina in the mirror universe, Henry picks up on the charade. He immediately sets a plan in motion to ditch the Evil Queen and get through to his mothers. he is strong and brave and refuses to give in to darkness.
He reminds me of the boy we first met six years ago asking Emma to come visit his home in Maine. Only now he has grown into the young man capable of handling life or death scenarios.
Emma and Regina finally have their moment
It’s nice to see the duo take a moment to appreciate the role each other plays in Henry’s life. In between curses and monsters and time travel adventures, one or the other kept Henry on their radar. But Henry is not the only common thread the two have linking them together.
Regina and Emma are both suffering a great deal. Half of Regina is terrorizing Storybrooke and manipulating her son. Emma is coming to terms with the fact her life will end in order to fulfill her role as the Savior. Plus, their family dynamic with Henry never quite settled.
What happens if both of them die? Sure, Henry has a ton of family to fall back on, but it will not be the same as having his mother there. On the one hand, Regina’s sacrifice would put an end to the Evil Queen. But on the other, Emma’s destined to die anyway. Their sacrifice face-off quickly reaches a standstill.
What they do learn in their trip to another dimension is that together they raised a strong, independent hero without realizing it. They need to work together to continue setting the example they always left for Henry to follow– hope and love will always win over darkness and greed.
A little Greek mythology
The Underworld and Hades were a bust. However, Once Upon a Time is not done tempting fate with the Greek gods quite yet. Another object, the Hammer of Hephaestus, hails the blacksmith to the almighty residents of Olympus.
The Evil Queen bargains an alliance with Rumpel through thick and thin in order to get control of the hammer. Unfortunately, the hammer falls into Henry’s hands and he uses it to break Emma and Regina free from the mirror universe. Thus, the Evil Queen is left without a son by her side and a bargaining chip in Rumpel’s hand.
That chip comes with a hefty price tag and turns out to be a favor worse than anything the Evil Queen could imagine — the death of Zelena. Apparently, when Zelena saved Rumpel’s life all those years ago in New York, she slipped a little something in his IV. He cannot cause her harm without the heart attack returning to take his life.
Killian enjoys a nice beach vacation!
Okay, that is not exactly what I had in mind. I definitely had some pineapple slices and black swim trunks in my vision. He does, however, get to threaten the Evil Queen and tell her to shove off!
Though Killian has not seen much action (wording intended) this season, he does know Emma better than most people. He, like Henry, tunes into people and does not take everything at face value. We’ve made great progress with Henry, now let’s see more of Killian’s usefulness!
Aladdin is finally useful
Okay, he stole a wand, no need to send out a parade. But the ex-Savior does move his and Jasmine’s story along a little bit. Not only did he walk away with the Sorcerer’s wand, but the lamp, too! There is a cheap throw away line about the genie from Wonderland relocating or going on vacation or some nonsense that we won’t pay much mind.
What we will focus on is the fact there is someone in the lamp who might be able to help them. I don’t see how that is possible since the lamp was in Wonderland for all those years and now it is in Storybrooke. But if this person will get us back to the Agrahbah story then do your worst, Once Upon a Time.
Stray Observations:
• Now we know what Sidney was up to during his captivity! Is he actually creating Legend of the Hidden Temple style challenges?
• Henry’s movie nights send Violet into her own identity crisis!
• Belle and Rumpel’s back and forth may FINALLY reach an unforgivable breaking point. For me, their romance is so far beyond a breaking point already. But given the horror of Rumpel’s advancing attacks in the promo, maybe it will actually take more than fine gold jewelry for Belle to see the devil inside of him.
• CGI DRAGON! That’s where the budget money went, huh?
Vote for your favorite ‘Once Upon a Time’ villain and hero of the week!
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Watch Once Upon a Time season 6, episode 9, “The Changelings,” Sunday, November 27 at 10:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
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