Once upon a Time Rewatch 1.18, "The Stable Boy"

Read the previous entry in the series here.
Read the next entry in the series here.

There should probably be a content warning re: abuse on this one.

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1.18, "The Stable Boy"

Written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz
Directed by Dean White

Synopsis

After a recapitulation of the series's premise and the title card, the episode opens with Regina contemplating a ring until interrupted by Gold, who asks her for a favor; he asks for charges against him to be dropped in exchange for his assistance with Mary Margaret--in the form of plotting the murder of Kathryn and arranging for Mary Margaret's escape.

He's no Burrich, certainly.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In the Enchanted Forest, a young Regina takes riding lessons, putting her horse through its paces. She is interrupted in them by the arrival of her mother, who comments aspersively on her excesses and her current unmarried status. The stablehand present attempts to intervene, drawing ire as he attempts to smooth things over. He takes the horse in hand as Regina confronts her mother for her interference and is subjected to her magics and abuse. Regina runs off as soon as she can, conferring with the stable hand, Daniel. They kiss, clearly enamored each of the other.

In Storybrooke, David confers with Emma regarding Mary Margaret. Emma rebukes him and drives off; Regina, meanwhile, presses Mary Margaret to confess to the murder of Kathryn. She refuses and is badgered about it. And the source of Regina's hatred for Mary Margaret begins to be revealed. Her Enchanted Forest assignations with Daniel proceed and run into the problem of Regina's mother, interrupted by a runaway horse carrying a young Snow White. Regina rushes off to the rescue, saving the girl.

Well, this isn't a set-up for a pattern...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In Storybrooke, Gold presses Mary Margaret to sit for questioning; Emma resists the idea. Gold pushes for a sympathy plea until Sidney interrupts--with a poor report. Mary Margaret agrees to the interview, and the district attorney--the counterpart to Charming's adopted father, George--arrives to conduct it. The interview proceeds, and it goes poorly for her.

In the Enchanted Forest, Regina's mother works upon her, preparing her for an audience with Snow White's father, King Leopold. He greets her graciously in thanks for her actions, and he asks to marry her; Regina's mother accepts on her behalf, despite her father's silent advice against it. In the night, Regina rushes to Daniel, reporting events and pressing him to marry her swiftly. She realizes that flight is the only option for the two of them to be together; Daniel advises her to accept the offer the king has made, and she refuses in his favor. An impromptu betrothal follows, which Snow White observes. Regina gives chase to the fleeing child, swearing her to secrecy when she catches up to her.

It's a serious talk.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Emma reviews Henry's book until confronted by August. They confer about Mary Margaret, and he offers such comfort as he can. He frames advice in terms of working through writing problems, and she follows up on the lead thus generates, heading to the location where the heart had been discovered. August is pained, clearly, but he continues to work to advise Emma. She finds a shard from a shovel, thinking it is Regina's; she makes to verify the hypothesis as Henry feigns sleep and guides her searches. They reveal the damaged shovel in Regina's toolshed.

In the Enchanted Forest, Regina's mother confronts Snow White, pressing her for information when she unwittingly reveals tension surrounding Regina. Snow White childishly lets slip the secret she has sworn to keep, and Regina's mother acts swiftly upon the knowledge.

Emma presents Regina with a search warrant for her tool shed, only to find that the offending shovel has been repaired or replaced. A confrontation ensues, and Emma again gets the worse of the exchange. She confronts August afterward, and he rebuffs her rebuke; she rebukes him in turn. Regina visits the weeping Mary Margaret in jail, mocking her for her imminent conviction. Mary Margaret pleads for forgiveness, and Regina admits her knowledge that Mary Margaret is not the killer.

Might not be the best time...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In the Enchanted Forest, Regina meets with Daniel in preparation to flee. Regina's mother confronts them, halting their escape and killing Daniel. Not long after, she is fitted for her wedding dress, and the learns that Snow White has spoken the secret; her hatred blossoms in that moment, though she quashes its outward expression swiftly as she steels herself to face her marriage to Leopold. Regina's mother commends her on the performance, and Regina susses out that she has arranged the whole affair.

Regina muses on her lost love, exulting in her impending vengeance as Mary Margaret is conducted to court in restraints, and Gold proposes to make matters right. Emma lashes out and finds that her office has been bugged; events fall into place in her mind, and she apologizes to August for her earlier rebuke of him. A scream interrupts their conversation, and the body of Kathryn Nolan is found--alive.

Discussion

I am struck once again by the costuming at work in the episode; frankly, the women depicted do not dress as would be expected, as makes sense, for outdoor activities and clandestine assignations (for the most part; Regina's riding habit is sensible for that activity, at least, but she usually gets the most sumptuous and varied costuming in the series). And while it might be the case that people in lower socioeconomic strata might not have the ability to change clothes to suit the day's tasks, Regina is very much not among the lower socioeconomic strata, even before becoming the king's fiancée. Her mother might have been a miller's daughter, but she is not. Then again, it is Disney, and the princesses aren't exactly noted for dressing sensibly.

I'm struck, too, by the overt parental abuse at work in the episode. There is a clear purpose, of course; establishing just how bad Regina's mother is is such a purpose, and the callous treatment of her child--as her father looks on, impotent--accomplishes that purpose handily. It also speaks to a Freudian excuse for Regina's actions, even before the childhood folly that results in Daniel's death occurs--but it also falls into some decidedly uncomfortably antifeminist tropes that are already too often bruited about. I should not be surprised, really; Disney's not exactly noted for depicting healthy maternal relationships, and the present series has already shown that it doesn't do much to repudiate a number of problems it really ought to address...