After the season premiere of Once Upon a Time fell flat, it is apparent the show is on a gradual incline toward a climactic episode.
Sunday’s episode, “A Bitter Draught,” intensifies the conflicts at hand as Regina (Lana Parrilla) comes face to face with the evil she thought she destroyed — the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla).
The episode opens in present day Storybrooke with the Evil Queen and Zelena walking through the cemetery to Regina’s vault. Regina’s protection spells don’t work because it is a blood spell. This means that blood relatives of the person who cast the spell can pass through its enchanting borders. The Evil Queen steals magical materials from the vault and tells Zelena that she wants to prove to Regina she can’t escape her evilness.
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In town, Regina and Henry (Jared Gilmore) go to Granny’s to help the people from the Land of Untold Stories get settled into Storybrooke. Regina gives a moving speech about everyone receiving a fresh start and that the new characters should not be afraid. When Regina is finished, Belle walks in. Everyone is surprised to see her because she is no longer in a coma-like slumber. Belle (Emilie de Ravin) seeks help from Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) for a place to live for the time being. Emma can’t help because she has an appointment with Archie (Raphael Sbarge), the town therapist. Hook takes a pregnant Belle to his ship, The Jolly Roger, where she will stay for the time being. I’m sure that will help with the nausea and morning sickness.
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Back at Granny’s, a strange guy walks in. Henry asks who he is in order to help him find his story in the magical storybook. When Henry looks away for two seconds, the guy disappears, leaving a note with an symbol emblazoned on it.
When Henry looks at the letter, there is a flashback to a palace of grandeur. There is a party happening, and the squawker announces the evening’s host, the Count of Monte Cristo (Craig Horner). When the Count walks in, it is the same guy that left a letter for Henry back in Storybook but in fancy clothing. The reason the Count is throwing the party is to avenge his fiancee’s death by killing the baron in attendance who did it and to retrieve the names of his accomplices. The baron does not tell him who else helped, but the Count kills him anyways. After everyone at the party flees, only one person remains — the Evil Queen. The Evil Queen has a list of names of everyone who wronged him, but in order to get the list, the Evil Queen wants his help getting her revenge.
Back in Storybrooke, Henry gives the letter to his grandparents, Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) the letter. They read it and wonder why the Count wants to meet with them. Regina comes waltzing out of Granny’s with the answers. She hired him many years ago, when she was the Evil Queen, to kill Snow and Charming.
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During Emma’s therapy session, she tells Archie about her visions of dying by the hands of a hooded figure. Archie suggests she tell her loved ones, but she doesn’t want to. If she tells them, they will make her take a step back from solving other people’s problems. Emma says she doesn’t know who she would be if she wasn’t the Savior. This leads Archie to think Emma is having an identity crisis.
In another flashback, Snow and Charming are on horseback when they come across a village that has been ransacked by the Evil Queen. They find one lone survivor, the Count, who is going by his real name, Edmon Dantes. Dantes is hurt and a nurse, Charlotte (Andrea Brooks), comes along to put salve on his wounds. The Count is taken aback by Charlotte’s eyes, as they remind him of his late fiancee. In order to help Dantes, Snow and Charming invite him back to their castle.
In the woods, Regina tries to tell the Count that he doesn’t have to kill Snow and Charming anymore. The Count doesn’t listen and tries to kill regina. Not too far away, Emma, Snow and Charming are in the Sheriff’s car. Emma gets a call from Regina and drives toward the town line to take her parents out of Storybrooke and keep them safe from the Count. When they reach the town line, a spell causes the car to hit an invisible force-field. When Regina arrives, she figures out the force-field is a protection spell made from the same ingredients located in her vault. Zelena shows up and is accused of stealing the supplies. Zelena disappears in a fit of rage, and Regina makes a stunning realization: “I’m starting to think the Count isn’t the only one we should be worried about.”
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In the past, at the Evil Queen’s castle, the Count and the queen are training together. When they’re done, the Queen gives him venom from a viper that can kill Snow and Charming: “A bitter draft — slow and painful.” When the Count leaves, Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) comes in as the Dark One. Rumple put a protection spell on Snow and Charming so Regina can’t kill them unless she enacts a curse that takes them to a place she can. Rumple doesn’t want Snow and Charming dead — not yet, at least.
In Storybrooke, at Rumple’s pawn shop, Rumple walks in and notices something is stolen — a coin. Behind him is the Evil Queen, and he tells her to give it back. This is very elementary-like dialogue. Rumple says he will let the queen keep it as long as she keeps Belle and his unborn son out of her mischief.
In the final flashback of the episode, the Count is shown at Snow and Charming’s castle. He is putting the draught in the dinner wine. The Count thought it was only going to be the three of them for dinner, but Charlotte shows up. The Count doesn’t have the heart to kill Charlotte so he suggests they all drink something else. In the wine cellar, Rumple shows up to talk to the Count and wants to know why he didn’t kill them. The Count says he never wanted, nor ever wants, to kill them. When he says this, there is a thump, as if something had fallen to the ground. It is Charlotte whose body has been succumbed by the venomous poison. Rumple tells the Count that if he goes to the Land of Untold Stories the poison will stop, and he won’t have to fear the Evil Queen. The Count accepts the offer and travels through the portal.
In the present day, Henry and Regina are walking through the forest when they stumble across a body lying on the ground — it’s Charlotte. Regina reaches down to touch her, but a spell pushes her hand back. The Evil Queen stands behind them, and she is not happy. Regina’s magic isn’t working because the queen dampened it with the spell she put on Charlotte’s poisoned body. Regina is in awe because she thought she got rid of her evil half. She then realizes why the Count won’t listen to her — the Evil Queen has the Count’s heart so she controls him.
At the docks in Storybrooke, the Count has Snow and Charming cornered and ready to kill them, but it’s two against one. Snow and Charming try to talk him down while protecting themselves. The Count knows what he is doing is wrong, but he can’t help it. He reveals to Snow and Charming that the Evil Queen has his heart. He really doesn’t want to kill them: “This isn’t the ending I wished for any of us.” The Count ends up cutting the rope to cargo, and it swings down, knocking Snow and Charming unconscious. Regina shows up before the Count can kill them. Regina is determined to save him but fails when she realizes he is out of her control. When the Count goes to kill Snow and Charming again, Regina throws her sword and kills him. The Evil Queen shows up and tries to convince Regina that she is still evil: “No matter what you do, the darkness will always be inside. And that tiny bit of weakness inside will grow.” The Evil Queen says she won’t be the one to destroy the happy endings — Regina will. The Evil Queen says everyone’s untold stories will be played out, and she is “going to watch it tear (them) all apart.”
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This scene showcases Lana Parrilla’s ability to play to completely opposite roles. Even though she played these opposites since the first season of Once Upon a Time, it is different seeing the role as two separate entities. It will be interesting to see how this dynamic plays out during the rest of the season.
At Granny’s, Regina is still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she killed the Count. Emma has another episode. Hook and Charming walk in and talk to Henry. Henry isn’t satisfied with how the Count’s story ended. Charming sees an envelope on the stool next to him. In it is the coin the Evil Queen retrieved from Rumple’s shop. Charming walks out of Granny’s and sees the Evil Queen standing in the street. Charming knew the coin was from her, but that the gift won’t phase him. Evidently the coin was around his father’s wrist when he got into a cart accident that killed him. The Evil Queen offers up her own story, “What if it wasn’t an accident?”
In the final scene of the episode, Emma goes back to Archie’s office. Emma is worried that the person in the hood is Regina, and she doesn’t think it is the Evil Queen.
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The second episode of the sixth season was better than last week’s premiere, but it is still far from excellent. The audience was introduced to some of the conflicts the characters will face this season, but it feels as if we are overwhelmed with conflict. The characters are all facing separate problems, creating a lot of confusion on how these stories will come together. The star of the show so far this season is Parilla, who is doing a great job at playing two personalities. Hopefully the rest of the season will be better than the first two episodes.
