The Thing You Love Most - Once Upon A Time Ep 2 Recap

Regina (aka The Evil Queen) is determined to get Emma to leave town. The more she pushes and schemes, the more Emma digs in. The town sheriff complies when told to arrest Emma on what are clearly trumped up charges. Is he Regina's lackey? Or is he a good guy? The British accent had me thinking "Sheriff of Nottingham" but he doesn't seem to have that personality. I'm perplexed. He's flirting a rather lot with Emma, so for her sake, I'm hoping it's the latter. Archie Hopper (aka Jiminy Cricket) helps Regina set Emma up. Doesn't that seem a bit out of character for Jiminy? Speaking of out of character, how does Emma, a professional bailbondsperson, not know that it's a breach of ethics (and probably also illegal) to read the therapist's files? Step up writers, if you want to keep this story believable.

I'm also having trouble with the Evil Queen. As Regina, Lana Parrilla makes me believe that she's a conniving, controlling woman who will do almost anything to hang onto her son and her place of power in the town. But as the Queen, Parrilla seems wooden and unemotional. Yes, there were real tears when she had to kill the Thing She Loves The Most, but not much in the way of anguish or heartbreak in her expression. And when she's angry and throwing around the Other Evil Queen, she comes off as whiny and petulant. I get that she's supposed to be conflicted and hurting. But if she's going to deliver lines like "Love is weakness, Maleficent. I thought you knew that." She needs to do so with a good deal more conviction.

On the other hand, Emma is growing on me. I can see her growing attachment to Henry and her desire to protect him feels like a natural outflow of their burgeoning relationship. Her exchanges with Regina were a bit less logical. One minute she's guarded, the next she's pouring her heart out to her adversary. And the next she's chopping down a tree. What? That came out of nowhere. Better is her friendship with Mary Margaret. You can see Emma weighing the possibility that she (as Snow White) could be her mother. And while it's weird that they're about the same age, there's a chemistry between the women that makes the mother-daughter concept plausible.

Best and most convincing thus far is Robert Carlyle's Rumplestiltskin/ Mr. Gold. Dude's a total Creeper. And I mean that in the best way. His Fairy Tale side practically sends shivers down my spine and as Gold he's equally creepy but without the grotestque drippiness. His exchange with Regina was one of the best in the episode.

I'm already looking forward to next week's episode, where we get to know Prince Charming a little better and see the backstory to his romance with Snow White. I'm a sucker for romance. I'm also hoping the show will lose the whiff of Desperate Housewives and embrace the fantasy genre full on. Guess we'll have to stay tuned to find out!