One of the most important running themes on 'Once Upon a Time' is the relationship between parents and their children. However, most of these relationships on the show so far have featured the relationship between fathers and their children: Regina and her father Henry, Rumpelstiltskin and his son Baelfire, Jefferson and his daughter Grace, and Prince James and his father.
An in-depth relationship between mother and child is something we haven't really seen on the show yet. We never got to see what Regina's relationship with her adopted son Henry was like pre- Emma, and Emma's relationship and interaction with Henry is complicated and spotty at best. In this week's episode, 'The Stable Boy,' we get a look at the complex relationship between Regina and her mother, as well as see what made Regina into the evil, heartless, curse-casting queen she is today.
Seeing a young, happy Regina was something that was a little weird at first, and then her mother, Cora, arrived on the scene and you immediately understand where she gets her cold-hearted and power hungry personality from later on. While the relationship between Regina and her father is loving, supportive, and selfless, it's the complete opposite between Regina and her mother. Cora is the typical type of mother who has had to work to overcome her impoverished beginnings as a miller's daughter (hmm, reminds me of a fairytale involving a miller's daughter and a certain baby-taking imp who made people guess his name...), has a great amount of power over people because of her magic and feels entitled to control those around her to make sure she can have the lifestyle she wants.
Cora manages to find the perfect opportunity to boost her family up the social ladder when King Leopold and his daughter Snow White are traveling through the area and Regina manages to save Snow from a runaway horse. King Leopold, being a lonely man with a small, motherless child, immediately proposes to Regina. However, there's the small problem that Regina is in love with her family's stable boy, Daniel, and she plans to runaway with him. Regina has to explain to the young Snow that what she and Daniel have is true love, so she can't marry her father and be her mother. She makes Snow swear to not tell anyone, especially her mother because she'd try and keep them apart.
However, Snow only being an eight-year-old girl and Cora being a master manipulator and sympathy winner (a skill Regina later picks up), she manages to weasel the information from the little girl. In a heartbreaking scene that has you feeling such strong sympathy for Regina that you struggle to remind yourself that this is the woman who has tormented hundreds of people in both worlds, Cora takes Daniel's heart and crushes it to smithereens in front of her daughter.
And thus, Regina suffers the ultimate curse of eventually becoming exactly like her mother. It also explains her life-long vendetta against Snow White, a little girl who was taken advantage of and didn't know any better. The evidence is stacked against Mary Margaret and Emma, and August's attempt to acquire evidence to acquit her failed miserably. It looks as if Regina will finally have her revenge against Snow White. However, the ending of the episode promises to throw a wrench in those plans with Kathryn being found alive and well in a back alley.
The next episode, 'The Return,' promises some serious consequences for Regina as well as the possible reveal of August's real identity. Tune in April 22 to see what happens next.
Regina accepts the harsh criticism of her coldhearted and ambitious mother, while her father silently supports her.
