Once Upon a Time (TV series)/Fridge

Fridge Brilliance

• Why did Regina lock up Belle? Belle, who is one of the few characters NOT to cross her? To make Gold miserable? That's probably a bonus. But the curse of Storybrooke can only be broken by true love's kiss, and it's pretty strongly suggested that Belle and Rumpelstiltskin would've had true love's kiss had he not rejected her. While we know that Emma's the savior who will break the curse, it's hinted that Regina doesn't know HOW it will be broken. Why not cover all the bases and make sure nobody who fits the criteria for True Love's Kiss is together in Storybrooke? It both makes them miserable AND is extra security that the curse will stay in effect.
• Why is Kathryn David's wife in the real world? Because the curse keeps everyone from having a happy ending. EVERYONE. Princess Abigail was in love with Frederick while the counterparts don't even know each other, and what could prevent some one from being happy more then keeping them from their true love and thinking their husband walked out on them?
• In "Snow Falls", Snow was able to keep up with/ outfox Charming... after "The Shepherd", it's clear why. He was a shepherd, not a trained knight.
• Henry explains that it was Graham's connection to Emma that enabled him to remember his fairytale persona. This would explain why Henry, (who, as Emma's son has the closest connection to her) is the one who knows so much about the curse and is so driven by instinct to break it, despite him having no concrete proof.
• The amusingly ruthless and undiplomatic way in which Regina tries to solve every problem in Storybrook (mostly all her goes at "Miss Swan, stay away from this, stay away from that" with which she just always makes it more difficult for herself) tended to baffle me, what with her supposedly being a politician and all, until "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" confirmed that she is not affected by the curse. She's just used to being a villain who makes everyone cower in fear with her every word, she never learned to be diplomatic.
  • Not to mention, it was pointed out that Regina pretty much has the town cowed, no one dares run against her for Mayor, no one seems to question her...she's never really been up against anyone she can't just glare into submission in this world, and it's clearly throwing her for a loop.
• Rumpelstiltskin was uncharacteristically quiet during the scene in "The Shepherd" when Shepherd and his mother are about to part. When "Desperate Souls" comes around, it's revealed that there's a reason for him to be sympathetic toward a parent losing her child.
• "Desperate Souls" also explains why Rump (in his magical form) would be notable for his spinning ability - it was something he did as a human. And why his favorite thing to ask for is your first born. When he gained his powers he lost (in the emotional sense) his first born so in order for him to use those powers for you he takes yours.
• Why is Rump so gloating back in episode 2, when he tells Regina she has to kill the one person she truly loves in order to make the curse work? Because it's the perfect payback for what she did to him and Belle!
• According to the queen, "true love's kiss can break any curse." That would explain why Graham regained his memories. Since Emma is the only one who had magic and she was his true love!
• Rumpel's power lies not in his magical abilities (he rarely seems to rely upon them in any sort of direct confrontation) but rather in his deal making. He's seen everyone's dark sides and knows their secrets and desires and weaknesses. This is how he's able to predict and control them without so much as lifting a finger. This is how he can wield so much influence even within a jail cell. And this is why he became the town landlord/loan shark in Storybrooke as opposed to simply a wealthy businessman or some such.
• Why Rumpelstiltskin and Belle are the Fan-Preferred Couple. Their true love has yet to overcome their external faults and conflicts, (Rumpel's a coward, and Belle will not love him while he's inflicted with a curse.), which leads to a romance that audiences can identify with as something more real and raw because despite our best intentions our personal demons and flaws can ruin our chances of romantic happiness and familial success.
• Rumpelstiltskin has a chance for redemption and becoming a good man through and through in Storybrooke with Belle being alive and well. Learning Regina not only knew she was alive but kept her from him in both worlds will make Mr. Gold want to give Emma any help she can to get rid of Regina. And like in Regina's other plans this will come back to bite her in the end.
• Lycanthropy seems to be very closely related to menstruation in this story. Red started transforming at age 13, right about the time most girls start having periods. For a double dose of SYMBOLISM!!!!1!1!!11!, Granny, who is pretty obviously post-menopausal, no longer transforms.
• The story of Red Riding Hood takes on a different interpretation with the reveal. Red comes home as a young child to Granny starting to transform. This is also about when Red herself transforms for the first time. The woodsman (the wizard in Granny's telling) was near by and turned them back. Thus the wolf 'eating' granny is Red becoming like her while the cutting of the two from the belly of the wolf is about transforming them back.
• Ruby is friends with the mechanic. Who is apparently the woodcutter of Hansel and Gretel. There was supposed to be a woodcutter in her story too.
• After having taken the potion to forget Charming, Snow White begins to live up to her name a lot more; her skin is much paler and her lips - well, they aren't red, but they're still a darker pink than usual. Possibly a side effect (or an outright effect) of the potion - turning evil makes you look more peaky.
• Mary Margaret's sudden Destination Defenestration move to Jefferson is her subconscious Mama Bear Snow White kicking in because Jefferson was threatening her daughter, Emma.
• Combination of brilliance and horror, with the revelation of Regina's one true love having his heart ripped out by her mother before her eyes, the Evil Queen's fixation on taking hearts becomes not only (what she sees as) karmic (with her intent to take Snow's heart being a sick form of retribution), but a sign of psychological trauma and an inability to escape the cycle of abuse.
• Red being sexually aggressive/promiscuous becomes this. The first reason is perhaps a reflection of the original fairy tale as mentioned elsewhere in in these pages. The other is a reflection of her wolf instincts to hunt down people.
• Regina finds it hard to forgive Snow because she still sees Snow as a pawn of her mother (unwitting as it was but she doesn't know that). And not only that but part of being a pawn was the sadness and tears - so she also finds it difficult to take Snow's emotions as anything but fake. Not only that but Snow's intent was to ensure that Regina didn't lose her mother... but Cora was perhaps the one person Regina did want to lose.
• Combination of this and fridge logic. While much of what caused the fall of the Enchanted Forest was already in motion, the last three wishes that the magic lamp granted greatly helped the rise of the Evil Queen, the first 1001 are know to have caused problems, but the last 3 caused problems to everyone.
• Belle didn't know the battle she was actually fighting when the Queen told her that True Love would break Rumpelstitskin's power: forcing him to choose her or his son. That broken teacup holds more of Rumpel's sorrow than anyone knew.
• Mr. Gold's favor Emma owes him will be to find his son.
• More of a meta one but the scene where Rumpel and Baelfire get separated. What does Rump use to prevent being sucked into the portal? The knife. It's a symbolic gesture that he's clinging to the power of The Dark One and that it has control of him - it wants him to be miserable and evil.
  • And why his favorite thing to ask for is your first born. When he gained his powers he lost (in the emotional sense) his first born so in order for him to use those powers for you he takes yours.
• Why does Ruby (Little Red Riding Hood) work at a diner in Storybrooke? Because in the original story, she's known for bringing a picnic basket to her grandmother. Underscored in the series itself, when Red is shown bringing food to Snow White while Snow's in hiding.
  • Also on the topic of Red Riding Hood bringing Snow White food...one of the original fairy tales starred two sisters, Snow White and Rose Red.
• Rump as the beast in Beauty and the Beast? Now, that bell that rings whenever anyone enters Gold's store? That's nothing unusual for a store but: bell, Belle. Subtle.
• When Emma rescues Henry from the collapsed mine shaft, Regina greets him, not with a hug, but by stroking his face. It looks exactly as awkward as if she's imitating something from a movie. --it's Regina trying to get past her Lack of Empathy to show that she cares about her son.
• Debatable whether the writers had this in mind or not: Everything is Medieval Europe is because that they are eternally suspended in the Dark Ages because of "magic." There hasn't been scientific revolution nor an Age of Enlightenment because their hasn't been a need for it. Living in an enchanted land means they can rely on fairies and Rumplestiltskin to solve their problems. People aren't being "pushed" towards building a better civilization for themselves as a result. That's why everything is so crappy. But since humans do not normally have magic this creates a systems of haves and haves not. Notice people with magical power(Midas, Evil Queen, and Rumpelstiltskin) do economically and socially better than those who don't.
• Red Handed isn't just a pun on Red's name; it's a not quite title drop - after all, Granny and Snow did catch her red handed in the act!
• How did they even know that the prints were Mary Margaret's? Because she's a teacher. It's a requirement in many states to be fingerprinted as part of the certification.
• Regina burns down the playground, tried to destroyed the book of fairy tales, and what's her way of "making it up" to Henry? A video game.
• Belle didn't know the battle she was actually fighting when the Queen told her that True Love would break Rumplestitskin's power: forcing him to choose her or his son. That broken teacup holds more of Rumple's sorrow than anyone knew.
• Now that it's revealed that August is Pinnochio, there's one thing that stumped this troper. August has dark hair while Pinnochio's is red. Then it was pointed out to me that wood darkens with age.
• In "What Happened to Frederick" a shrine is seen dedicated to the Siren. We see a hoplite (Ancient Greek soldier) helm. Midas himself is a character from Classical mythology so it's no surprise to see remnants of that ancient culture. Also, the offerings at the shrine do more than beg for the creature's mercy. They are sacrifices functioning as a trade of sort. A person can not take from a deity's belongings without giving something in return or the deity will perserve an insult . Anyone who has read the Classical Mythos knows not paying resprect to the supernatural and spirits will screw you over. So when Charming waltz right in without leaving an offering it's no surprise the Siren appears to kill him. But instead of being killed by the temptress he kills the monster. Classical heroes were little more than badasses of masculine virtue than the archetypical and romantic figures we view them as today. In this scene Charming displays the attitudes of both, one resisting female evils and preferring romantic love over lust (Heroic Willpower). He's placing the emotion of love, something spiritual, as something higher than carnal desires. But by Classical standards killing monster shows he's "the man" for lack of a better term because he conquers the monsters/supernatural instead of sumbitting (sacrificing) too them proves he's a badass many man. However he only prevailed by applying to a higher virtue, "true love." This scene reinforces how powerful true love is in the FTW. It allows a person to become both a badass and a hero at once, it transforms you into something more than you once were and are. It also fits into what the writers are trying to convey with their idea of true love; it can overcome everything.
  • And it also might explains why Rumpelstiltskin and Belle are the Fan-Preferred Couple. Their true love has yet to overcome their external faults and conflicts, (Rumpel's a coward, and Belle will not love him while he's inflicted with a curse.), which leads to a romance that audiences can identify with as something more real and raw because despite our best intentions our personal demons and flaws can ruin our chances of romantic happiness and familial success.
• So why adopt Henry if he is not going to be subject to the curse, and age while everyone else doesn't? One, it makes sure you have leverage over The Chosen One (there was a conversation early on revealing that Regina cut a deal with Rumps to get Henry). Two, she's doing with Henry what Cora did to her, trying to shape a perfect little extension of herself. Three, if he came of age, he would be in the best position to not owe Rumps anything, giving Regina an agent she could use that Gold would have no hold over. Yeah, she's trying to fill the hole in her heart, or so she says, but the rest would make the kid very useful if she succeeded where Cora had failed.
  • Sorry, no. Regina has no idea that Emma is The Chosen One. Rumpel is the one playing her by getting her a kid who would lure Emma to town.
    • Hmph. Henry was keeping Emma's savior status secret from Regina but in "An Apple Red as Blood" she somehow knew. Regardless, her conversation with Gold in a previous episode, asking about his obtaining of Henry for her, made it clear she didn't know there was anything special about Henry when she got him.
    • Agreed. Regina wanted a child and Mr. Gold provided one. As part of his Chess Master behavior, he looked around and found the child of Emma as the perfect child to bring to Regina as it will bring Emma to town and more than likely take Regina down.
• Mr. Gold is Bored with Insanity. We have no clue how long ago Rumpelstiltskin came into being, though it looks like it happened several centuries if not a millennium before Snow and Regina came around. And through that time, he only acted loopy to keep people unnerved when in truth, he had been done with his insanity not too long (a few decades) after Bael left him. This is why as Mr. Gold, he can be so normal and Jefferson ... isn't. He simply doesn't care about his various memories.
• Why is Snow White a teacher in Storybrooke? The Evil Queen wants her to suffer, due to the connection of teachers and apples, and we all know why Snow White doesn't like apples...
• Henry has a lot of Tron swag, but it makes sense when you think about it. The curse brought everybody into Storybrooke in 1984, when Flynn and ENCOM would have been marketing the TRON game (in-universe, assuming it's the same world as Tron: Legacy) for all it was worth. Also, what's the plot of TRON? A self-interested man falls into a world not his own and teams up with a noble, faith-based hero to defeat evil and return home. A perfect story for Henry to identify with!
  • It's also a massive middle finger when it comes to Regina's idea to get him hooked on video games so that he doesn't pay attention to fairy tales. TRON's an Internet Age fairy-tale.
• Henry's Genre Savvy might just save him when it comes to the (poisoned) apple turnovers. The sleep of living death traps the victim with their regrets. Henry's a kid and has a conscience that's clearer than anyone's on the show. He hasn't got a lot to regret at all.
• Running away from your responsibilities to an island of pleasures, only to be abruptly and horrifyingly transformed? Don't you know what they say about what happens to people who don't learn from their mistakes, August?
  • They make a jackass of themselves...again.
• August is a writer. Writers tell stories. "Telling stories" is often used as another way to say "lying." What is Pinocchio famous for?
• Massive brilliance from the season 1 finally. Gold explains to Emma that he hid his last bit of bottled True Love in "the belly of a beast", and Regina adds that it's an old friend trapped in a different form. I wondered who it could be, but a cut over to Fairy Tale Land quickly lead me to put two and two together. Maleficent is the version of the villain from Sleeping Beauty used because of the added bonus she comes with - she can turn into a dragon (a beast).
  • Maleficent being trapped under Storybrooke explains all the rumblings from the abandoned mines and why Regina was so adamant about sealing it away; a naturally unsafe mine also housing a really pissed off dragon is bad news for everyone. Fridge Horror when you realize that if Henry had proceeded further, he would have found not just Snow White's coffin, but also Maleficent.
  • Also, Emma being Charming's daughter and fighting a her to save someone she loves fits in perfectly with Charming himself fighting her to save someone she loves.

Fridge Horror

• Jiminy was told by the Blue Fairy that he would live for as long as he needed in order to help Gepetto. What happens when Gepetto dies, does he die too?
  • Fridge Brilliance : Jiminy is probably aware of that, and perfectly fine with it. Service to Gepetto is how he's burning off karma from a (reluctant) life of crime and the terrible mistake he made. As a cricket, he'll die free, at least.
  • The Blue Fairy also never said anything about death. For all we know, Jiminy will earn the right to become a man - a free man - after his service is finished.
  • Jiminy was an adult when Gepetto was a child. That means he would die a very old man... cricket.
  • The simplest way it could turn out is that at some point Jiminy will perform a Heroic Sacrifice that will ensure Gepetto's future happiness.
• Speaking of Geppetto, his becoming a toymaker/puppeteer has taken a SERIOUSLY darker meaning...
  • Well, yes and no. But it also explains why he was wishing for his puppets to become people - he was wishing for his parents to turn back into people. Still pretty dark though since, knowing his past, one wonders why Jiminy became his conscience rather than a helper...
• The town has been frozen in time, which means that Cinderella has been pregnant for 28 years!!!
• Henry grew up in Storybrooke. Presumably, he grew up normally... while everyone else was frozen in time, not aging.
  • Including the other children in town (the Hatter's daughter, Hansel and Gretel, etc)! He'd have different classmates every year because he'd get older and they wouldn't...
  • Fridge Brilliance: That very well could have triggered the kid's BS detector and tipped him off to how strange that place really is.
    • Confirmed by Word of God as of the Paleyfest 2012 Once Upon A Time panel discussion.
  • Also since Henry is the only person aging there, what would have happened if the Queen's plan actually continued for all eternity. And how exactly would Regina explain why Henry's aging and no one else is, and what would happen if Henry shares this fact with the world?
• Think of where Evil Queen Regina keeps the Magic Mirror/Sydney. He most likely would have witnessed her repeatedly raping the Huntsman.
• Um...even worse. That book of Henry's probably isn't subject to Disneyfication. That kid probably learned more than he ever wanted to about his adopted mama, including the part about keeping the Huntsman as a Sex Slave.
  • That might go over Henry's head at ten.
    • Seems almost certain it does. Consider Henry's shocked and horrified reaction when he realized that Graham had kissed Emma, and imagine how he would have reacted if he knew what Graham was up to with his OTHER mother. Likely Henry assumed she had the Huntsman taken to her bed chamber so he could do her laundry or something. I hope.
• Belle has been imprisoned in a psych ward for up to 28 years.
  • It was said somewhere that she remembers her past, and presumably was thought to be a lunatic because of that and that's why she was locked up.
    • Though the season 1 finale confirms that Belle did NOT remember her past, so that's not the case. It's still pretty sad, though.
• In a combination of horror & brilliance, the curse is most focused on making Snow White miserable. So no wonder everyone is ganging up on her alone for the affair- it's what will make her most miserable. And it seems to be working...
• Red having Granny as her only living relative. We hear that Red's mother was the 2nd Big Bad Wolf. We can only guess what might have happened to her father...
  • Granny was bitten by the first Wolf when she was young, and the more you really think about it, there's only one way that Granny had a daughter at all.
  • According to Jane Espenson, who wrote the episode, Granny was actually married to the werewolf that was Red's grandfather. In Jane's mind, at least.
• Snow's relationship with Regina. Imagine as a child you are saved by a kind and gentle person who you really like and connect with. And then, over time, due to something you know nothing about you watch said person become horrible and terrible and hate you and nothing you do seems to fix things. That has to be kind of painful as a child and person.
  • It Gets Worse. Regina has been working to make Mary Margaret's life a living hell. So, framing her for murder is just cinching things, as far as Regina is concerned. This leads to some big Fridge Horror for Mary Margaret herself, when Regina practically tells her that yes, she is actively trying to frame Mary Margaret for murder, and that Mary "deserves it". Topping this off is the fact that Mary Margaret remembers nothing of her life as Snow White, so couldn't even begin to guess what Regina would be holding such a deep grudge for.
  • And then later, we learn that initially, Regina told Snow that Daniel had run away to spare Snow's feelings. It's clear that at that point in time, she still had some decency in her and wanted to protect Snow. But by the time we (and Snow) learn of this, Regina's past the point of no return.
• Rumpelstiltskin asked for Cinderella's firstborn in his deal. He also is trying to find his firstborn. Magic bargains tend to value the younger...
  • No they don't. The youngest child may be the luckiest in some tales, but bargains tend to ask for the firstborn.
• In universe horror for Emma during the season finale: Regina tells her that Mr. Gold is Rumplestiltskin. Emma has read Henry's book enough to know who Rumple is as far as fairy tales go, and she's made a deal with Gold in the past.
• With the curse removed (at least, to the extent that everyone has their old memories back), Grace presumably finally remembers everything and gets to be with her father, Jefferson. Awww, a happy ending for the both of them. But wait, Grace has been raised by another family this whole time. I can't imagine what it would be like for any of them involved: for Grace to realize that she's been kept from her father this whole time and raised by people that aren't her real parents; for her Storybrooke parents to realize that Grace isn't their daughter; and for Jefferson to finally get to see his daughter again, except with tons of memories of a fake family. I imagine that it would be hard for Grace to leave her Storybrooke parents for her real father, and it'll be just as hard for them to lose someone they thought was their daughter, even if they have their real memories back.
  • We also don't know who her new family is. Perhaps the family is the ones who took her in after her father vanished into Wonderland and couldn't get out. She may still be angry with Jefferson about breaking his promise and leaving her.

Fridge Logic

On the Headscratchers page.