As the snow begins to trickle down here in New York, I am anxious for a relaxing day of TV watching. How about you? After watching ABC’s Once Upon a Time season 7 episode 9 last night, I am wondering just how many sleeping curses need to occur before someone finds a way of preventing this from happening in the first place. Please note spoilers are ahead if you have not gotten a chance to watch yet. In last night’s episode, we learn quite a lot about Lady Tremaine’s back-story, while Regina and Henry are still off in San Francisco. Jacinda is thrilled to have Lucy back in her life, but lets her emotions get the best of her when she falls onto Nick’s lips. Meanwhile, Ivy/Drizella continues to try to thwart her mother’s plan, while Rumpel reveals to Hook the reason behind his recent actions. My top 5 moments from Once Upon a Time season 7 episode 9 are:
5
Lady Tremaine is revealed to be Rapunzel. After we learned that Alice is Hook’s daughter, I wasn’t sure there would be any more surprises so soon, but Rapunzel’s story has been re-written quite a bit in the process. While I was very interested to find out more about Lady Tremaine and how she came to be this way, this revelation seemed slightly forced, however. In the Rapunzel fairy-tale, we don’t know very much about her other than that she was a baby paying for the mistakes of her parents who stole from the witch’s garden. Her identity is stifled by her circumstances, being trapped in a tower waiting for someone to rescue her. I did enjoy the twist of Rapunzel taking matters into her own hands to save herself, rather than waiting for a prince to appear to save the day. I am just not so sure that this connection between Lady Tremaine and Rapunzel is that convincing but I’m willing to keep an open mind.
4
Lady Tremaine makes a deal with Rumpel. Lady Tremaine lays all of her cards on the table and seeks out assistance from our favorite schemer, Rumpel. Rumpel doesn’t bother keeping up with appearances here, calling Lady Tremaine out as “Rapunzel” and agreeing to help her with Anastasia because Lady Tremaine has information on the guardian. We know that Rumpel is focused completely on finding his way back to Belle and the guardian is the key, but at what cost?
3
Hook does some investigating. Hook is tired of getting the run around and takes matters into his own hands to find out the truth. He shows off some Nancy Drew-like skills when he pulls the fire alarm so that the locked door will open. Hook finds files that Rumpel has on everyone, pulling at his curiosity even further. When he confronts Rumpel to get to the bottom of this, Rumpel reveals that everything he is doing is to try and find his wife. Hook empathizes with this and puts differences aside to help him find Lucy but to no avail.
2
Step-mother role reversal. While I was slightly disappointed that Lady Tremaine was Rapunzel, I thought it was very clever to switch up the roles to have Ella’s mother be the other woman stepping into her family’s lives to replace her. Traditionally, Lady Tremaine has always been very jealous of Cinderella because she had her father’s love and in this version, this jealousy is still very present but stemming from something else. Rapunzel gives into revenge and temptation and does send Ella’s mother away with black magic, but her husband still cares very much for his wife’s daughter, Ella. When Ella and Anastasia are playing on the ice, it tragically breaks and her husband can only save one. To Rapunzel’s horror, he saves Ella, but she is not to give up just yet. She tricks Gothel and promises Anastasia that she will find a way to be with her again. While Rapunzel makes it clear how important family is, this idea becomes distorted when she puts her family above the well-being of others and the greater good, refusing to apologize for it.
1
Lady Tremaine destroys Lucy’s innocence to free Anastasia. Lucy is thrilled to be reunited with her mother and when Lady Tremaine gives her back her fairy-tale book, it appears that she is trying to make amends. However, she demonstrates her wickedness by showing Lucy the video of Jacinda and Nick kissing, destroying Lucy’s idea of a perfect family with her, Jacinda, and Henry. Lucy’s belief is shattered at this point, leaving her questioning everything. When a tear is released, this is the key to waking up Anastasia. However, once Anastasia wakes up, Lucy immediately falls asleep taking her place. Hopefully it’s up to Regina, Henry, and Zelena to return and save the day. But are they are a match for the ruthlessness of Lady Tremaine?
I hope you enjoyed the list and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Once Upon a Time below. Happy viewing!
Best,
Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl
