ONCE UPON A TIME: “Desperate Souls” and Bad Deals

Once Upon a Time returned from the holiday hiatus with a solid episode focusing on how Rumplestiltskin came to be Rumplestiltskin. The theme of this week’s show was the lengths a parent will go for their child, and the results in both universes were surprising.

In Storybrooke, it’s been two weeks since Graham’s death, and Mr. Gold informs Acting Sheriff Emma that according to the town charter, she’s now automatically promoted to the position of Sheriff. Ah, but Madam Mayor has other plans. Also acting on (her interpretation of) the town charter, Regina appoints Sydney Glass as Sheriff. When Mr. Gold learns of this, he reveals that she only has the authority to appoint a candidate for the position, and that an election is required. He also makes a deal to back Emma’s campaign. Clearly there’s a power struggle between Mr. Gold and the Mayor, one we’ve seen hints of a few times in the past.

Regina launches the first attack, accessing Emma’s juvenile records so Sydney can publish a front page story about how she gave birth to Henry in jail. Henry assures Emma that he’s not scarred for life, but he doesn’t have faith that Emma can win. “Good never wins. Evil doesn’t play fair, but good has to.” An astute if depressing observation. When Emma confronts Regina about the story and how it hurts Henry more than her, someone firebombs the Mayors house, trapping both of them inside. Emma rescues Regina and is quickly dubbed a hero. Emma isn’t a private investigator for nothing, though. She quickly realizes that Mr. Gold was behind the attack and confronts him about it. Maybe Emma’s campaign slogan should have been “Emma Swan – confrontation is my life!”

Mr. Gold won’t openly acknowledge his role in the incident, of course, but does point out that it gave her a chance to be the hero which boosted her profile considerably. This doesn’t sit well with Emma who wants to show Henry that the good can win by playing fair. So, at the debate between Sydney and Emma, she exposes Mr. Gold’s crime and apologizes for letting everyone think she was a hero. But really, if she didn’t know what he was up to, and she saved Regina, she’s still a hero, so she shouldn’t apologize for that. Fortunately, the townspeople see her standing up to Mr. Gold as even braver than rescuing someone from a fire, and Sheriff Emma Swan receives her badge from a reluctant Regina.

“You didn’t pick a good friend in Mr. Gold, Miss Stone,” Regina tells her, “but he does make a superlative enemy.” Did that give anyone else the shivers? Emma gets a visit from the man himself as she moves into her new office, and, wouldn’t you know, his plan went deeper than anyone suspected. Mr. Gold claims that he knew Emma wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she didn’t admit what he did, and he knew that while the people of Storybrooke are scared of Regina, they are even more afraid of him. By giving her the opportunity to defy him, he guaranteed that Emma would win the election. And now that she’s Sheriff, she’s in a much better position for him to collect on the favor she owes him from several weeks ago. That is one clever man. He’s also a sad man. In the midst of all this subtle powermongering are a few seemingly throwaway comments about the importance of spending time with your children before they’re gone. Curious.

In Mary Margaret and David news, the pair have a “meet cute” while putting up competing campaign posters. David has a new job at the animal shelter, making him even more appealing, but as soon as he mentions his wife, the spell is broken and Mary Margaret takes off.

In the Fairytale Land, we meet a very different Rumplestiltskin than we’ve seen before. Timid and pathetic, he’s a wool spinner and father of a 13 year old boy. The age is relevant because when children turn 14, they are pressed into service in the war against the ogres. Just two days away from that fateful birthday, the Rumple tries to hide his son, Baelfire, to keep him from being taken. Instead, when they set out in the night, they encounter the Duke’s knight, Hordor, who remembers Rumple from a battle. Hordor gleefully tells his men, and Baelfire, that he ran when the tide of battle turned in the ogres’ favor. He proceeds to humiliate Rumple to the point that it’s nearly unbearable to watch. This is where we are meant learn sympathy for the monster we’ve seen so far, and I’ll admit, it’s effective. Left beaten on the road, a Beggar finds Rumple and Baelfire and offers to be their benefactor.

What can a Beggar offer them? Knowledge. The kingdom has a secret weapon, the Dark One, who wields tremendous power (but apparently not enough to help with the ogre problem?), and the Beggar (played by Lord of the Rings‘ Brad Dourif) knows how to take his power. He convinces Rumple to go to the castle and steal the dagger that controls the Dark One, telling him offhandedly that if it’s used to kill him, then he’ll have full control of the magic.

“I can use it for good,” he tells Baelfire in a way that tells the viewer he’s been completely hoodwinked. “I can save all the children on the front line.” Rumple sets fire to the castle to get in and steal the dagger, then summons the Dark One. The cloaked and hooded figure asks what Rumple would have him do, now that he controls the magic. Rumple doesn’t wish to simply control the magic via a conduit, though, and kills the Dark One, who turns out to be the Beggar. Yeah, that wasn’t a surprise, but I still had a sense of dread as it happened.

“You made a deal you didn’t understand. You won’t make that mistake again,” the dying Beggar/Dark One says as the  magic overtakes Rumple. Back at his shack, Rumple meets Hordor who has come to take the now 14-year-old Baelfire and put him on the front lines. It doesn’t end well for Hordor. It doesn’t end well for Rumple, either, whose appearance is already being altered by the dark magic and scares Baelfire. In the end Rumplestiltskin has sacrificed his soul to protect his son. Makes his madness and quest for power a little more understandable now, doesn’t it? We’ll see more of him post-dark magic acquisition in a few weeks.

Next week: the story of Hansel and Gretel

Once Upon a Time airs Sundays at 8/7c on ABC.