Stability And Surprise

Another wonderful episode.  The story and suspense are building, and it makes me long for more.  There are only four new episodes left in the season, so the roller coaster is almost to the top. 

Mr. Gold came to Regina with the deal to frame Mary Margaret, but what Regina, and most others fail to realize, is that he is very literal, and semantics are everything to him.  He honors his deals, but the deal may not be what you think it is.  Mr. Gold is a great character, and I can't help but be drawn to him.  No one knows for sure whether he's good or evil, but I don't see him as either, really.  No matter his deal, he will get the better end of it.  Details, details.  I don't think for a minute though, that he is on Regina's side. 

It was nice to see Regina as a girl, before she became angry and bitter, and more of Lana Parilla's niceness was evident.  At first I thought they had altered her voice for the young Regina but, after research, I discovered she actually deepens her voice to play the Evil Queen.  While not a proper riding jacket, I can't help but like her jacket.  I'm not crazy into fashion, but I do love the costumes on the show, and how perfectly they help to define each character.  (Former costumer in college stage productions, I can't help it.)

Remember last week when Henry was outside the sheriff's office, reading the book, and had a puzzled look on his face?  I think most of us thought the picture he was looking at was of Alice, from Wonderland, but I wondered why her hair was so dark.  On my third time watching this week's episode, when Snow was telling Cora about Regina loving someone else, I realized, young Snow was the girl in the picture in the book, not Alice.  Go back and look again and you'll see what I mean.

It's sad that Regina became so much like her mother, the person she despised most (even though she probably loved her).  There has been speculation as to whether having Daniel killed in front of her was the cause, or if some time after Daniel was killed that Regina killed her mother, and by taking the life of the hateful mother, she became what she killed.  While I think this is a valid theory, I think Cora may still be alive somewhere in the world.  I can't help but wonder if Cora is the Queen of Hearts.  Perhaps one day we will find out. 

We finally discovered why Regina hates Snow so much, and that Regina does know exactly who Mary is in Storybrooke.  Whose identities does she know?  We probably can assume she knows David's, and perhaps Sidney's, but who else?  It's sad that she hates Snow for telling Cora the truth about Daniel, and that her anger is misplaced, and should be directed at her mother, not a child who was obviously manipulated.  But that's how fairy tales are.  There has to be a protagonist and an antagonist, or there wouldn't be a story.  Regina, you should have known better than to tell your secret to a 10 year old (or 12, however old she is).

Emma should have known better than to trust Sidney, and many of us were frustrated by her lack of mistrust in someone who has been so obviously misleading her.  As soon as Sidney showed up with the flowers, I knew it had a bug in it, but at least this time, Emma found it and now knows who not to trust.

As soon as District Attorney Spencer walked in, I just thought, "Oh no!"  The person who hates Snow almost as much as Regina does.

For those of you who watched the preview, listed on another post earlier this week, I told you this was going to be a good episode.  When Regina told Mary she knew Mary hadn't murdered anyone, I think it shocked all of us!  I think the only bigger shock was when Kathryn turned up alive.  Wow.  Game changer.

I like that August was helping Emma.  When they went to the bridge and he got the shin splint, I knew it was odd, but didn't get the meaning right away.  For those who are readers of the official show chat or other blogs, as you know, there has been much speculation as to August's identity.  We know he is special, and integral to the story, but who is he?  The most common theories are:  Baelfire (Rumpelstiltskin's son); Pinocchio; the writer of the book; or one of the Grimms (either one of the brothers or a descendant).  There are other theories, and some are quite entertaining, but these are the most common.

At first, I had no clue who he was, but I soon began to wonder about him being the writer of the book, which we now know is true.  But he also seems to be someone else.  I wondered if he could be Baelfire, but I wasn't convinced.  His age was wrong, although with Fairy Tale and magic, and fuzzy timeflow, I still considered it.  A Grimm?  I just didn't buy it.  The original Grimms were hundreds of years ago, and a descendent didn't seem right to me. 

I believe August is Pinocchio.  I didn't come to this conclusion alone, though.  I read what others on the official chat say and form my own conclusions from a combination of ideas.  Shin splints, as in splinters, as in made of wood.  And he never lies.  As several others have stated, because Pinocchio was made of wood, he could have been hidden in the tree cabinet that brought baby Emma into our world.  I find this intriguing.  The boy who found Emma on the side of the road was seven years old, and Pinocchio, as we saw him in the first episodes, was around that age.  Because he was from Fairy Tale, he could come into Storybrooke, just as Emma did.  Of course, he would have been adopted or put into foster care, just as Emma was, and so his name would have been changed.

After seeing the preview for the next episode, I am even more certain of August's identity.  He was apparently going after Mr. Gold, or Rumpelstiltskin, and there are very good and valid reasons why.  Rumpelstiltskin gave to Jiminy the potion that turned Geppetto's parents into puppets (or are they marionettes?)  And I wonder if they are going to make the fairy from Pinocchio the same fairy as Cinderella's fairy godmother, whom Rumpelstiltskin killed.  Food for thought. 

A nice bonus:
Here is a great hour-long interview with the cast and creators of the show from March 4, 2012.  They give a few clues but nothing concrete, so don't worry about spoiling the surprise of the new episodes. http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi4049445145/

No new episodes until April 22, so unless I have an epiphany, I may not post again until that one airs.  Happy Easter!