Once Upon a Time: The Miller's Daughter (2x16)

Okay, this episode was amazing. It showcased why Once Upon a Time is, at the end of the day, fantastic television. It had a few problems, but they were small ones, and over-all, everything was stunning. I'll start by listing the few small problems I had with the episode, so I can finish off by gushing about everything that it did right.

So. Problems. For one, I thought it was nice that they were keeping up with the thread of Emma having magic, but it felt really underused and sort of... well... useless, in this episode, since Regina and Cora undid Emma's magic so quickly. I just thought that it could have been employed better.

Another thing I didn't love was the recycled plot point of Charming telling Snow that revenge is bad, blah blah blah, and it will change her for the worst. Haven't we seen this before? Oh well. It wasn't the worst thing ever, especially because the actors handle it pretty well. 

I wasn't thrilled about the Cora/Rumple romance angle, either. This could have been really cool, but it fell a bit flat for me, especially the moment when Rumple realizes he's been tricked because he revised the contract. It felt forced and strange for both characters. If the show had known all along that there was a romance between them, they could have seeded some interesting things in there about Rumple's relationship to Regina (as Cora's daughter, and the child he would have received had he not changed the contract). As is, it felt like it came out of nowhere and had little purpose.

Those things mentioned, this episode was AWESOME. It had some great pay-offs and some amazing acting. This show doesn't often boast of truly spectacular acting moments, but this week had them in spades.

To start with, there were a lot of really funny moments. I loved it when Cora told Regina that she didn't like what "the enchanted box" was saying. In reality, it was Snow talking on the telephone. It was a funny way to remind us that Cora doesn't have any real world know-how. When asked if Cora was using the knife to control Rumple, Rumple replied with a menacing but darkly humorous: "You'd know, because most of you would be dead by now." The idea of Rumple without control of himself is a very dark one indeed.

Let's give some acting accolades to the following individuals: Lana Parrilla as Regina. She was amazing this week. Her relationship to her mother is so interesting, because while she is normally such a strong woman, when Cora is around, she is reduced to a little girl, pleading for her "mother." Parrilla did a fantastic job with that dynamic. Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin. Well, holy mother of God did this episode deliver, or what? We got to see creepy scaly Rumple, and a dramatically dying Mr. Gold. His phone conversation with Belle was so touching I thought I was going to cry. The shots of Emma's reactions as she listed to Gold talk on the phone... that really nearly did me in. I didn't think we could squeeze any more sadness out of Gold dying when... all of a sudden, like a bolt out of the freakin' blue, we get Michael Raymond-James as Bae/Neal. Oh my God. I started crying during his scene with Rumple. You know you've got a talented actor when we get real weight placed on a relationship that has really only been established by these actors in two episodes. Seriously. They've probably spent less than a cumulative 15 minutes on screen together, and their connection was beautiful. Serious props to these actors.

I loved the concept they introduced in this episode about magic coming from emotion. We saw how early-days Rumple used the emotion of extreme anger to fuel his powers, but later we see him teaching Emma to use her familial love and loyalty to make magic. It was a nice shift in his character and introduced a new concept about magic.

Another stellar part of this episode was the bit with the candle. I didn't really think much of this plot thread during last week's episode, because it felt sort of obvious that it was Cora disguised as the Blue Fairy, yadda yadda, but my goodness! What a pay-off! I did not expect that at all. Rumple asking Snow to save him? The two of them shared only one small scene in this episode, but they stayed connected throughout all of it. Pretty insane.

There are a million other things I can praise about this episode, but I'll try and keep it brief. I liked that David was pretty much useless in the fight. I liked that Neal stepped in to help. I liked Snow and Regina's chilling conversation in the crypt. I loved that I was somehow a bit sad when Cora died. Must have something to do with Parrilla's acting chops. "Mother!"

Great episode. I hope we can get back to some old dropped plot threads in the coming weeks, though. I would love to check in on Mulan and Aurora at some point! Where was Hook this week? And, hey, who did Cora kill and bury in place of Doctor Hopper? Does anyone care? Oh, and this is a big one for me, and I'm constantly complaining about it to my friends: Where's August? I miss him! Ah well. Can't wait for next week.

9/10