Once Upon a Time: Revenge of the Count

First Aired October 2nd, 2016.

The Evil Queen (played by Lana Parrilla) and Zelena/The Wicked Witch (played by Rebecca Mader) break into Regina’s vault to steal supplies. Meanwhile, Regina holds a welcoming party for people from the Land of Untold Stories and tells them they can have a fresh start in Storybrooke.

Henry (played by Jared Gilmore) is given an envelope by a man (played by Craig Horner) revealed to be the Count of Monte Cristo. Regina reveals she hired him to kill Mary Margaret/Snow White (played by Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming/David (played by Josh Dallas). Flashbacks show the Count killing the man who killed his fiancée and who wrongfully imprisoned him. Regina/The Evil Queen is impressed and offers to help him track down the others who wronged him if he will help her kill Snow and Charming. He pretends to be an injured villager and Snow and Charming give him a place to stay. Emma (played by Jennifer Morrison) goes to therapy with Archie/Jiminy Cricket (played by Raphael Sbarge) to help with her tremors and visions of her death. Regina finds the Count and tries to call him off, but he is intent on killing Mary Margaret and David. Emma attempts to get them out of Storybrooke but a spell blocks them from crossing the town line, unknown to them put there by the Evil Queen. Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold (played by Robert Carlyle) is visited by the Evil Queen and gives her an enchanted coin.

In the season premiere, the people from the Land of Untold Stories looked like ghouls, but they cleaned up nicely. It’s hilarious that Regina has tried so many ways to kill Mary Margaret and David that she can’t even remember them all. The Count of Monte Cristo is a story that had an ending, but Once is known for twisting these stories around. So, we can probably expect other known characters who fled to the Land of Untold Stories to escape the outcome of their stories. This is great because, initially, it seemed we would have unknown characters from there. But, now, at least with characters we’re culturally familiar with, we can form some kind of opinion or attachment. Henry’s frustration about figuring out people’s stories is the same one I have about his lack of relevance to any storylines. There were a lot of side stories in this episode that felt shoehorned into the action which was disappointing after the cohesive season premiere.

Flashbacks show the Count attempt to poison Snow and Charming but he’s forced to back off when their servant Charlotte (played by Andrea Brooks), whom he’s smitten with, nearly drinks it too. Rumple poisons Charlotte and offers to send the Count and Charlotte to the Land of Untold Stories. The poison will be kept from killing her as long as they remain there and Rumple will ensure the Count never tries to kill Snow or Charming again—as he needs them. In the present, The Evil Queen appears to Regina and reveals she is controlling the Count’s heart to force him to kill Mary Margaret and David. The Count attacks Mary Margaret and David and nearly kills them when Regina appears and tries to get him to fight the Evil Queen’s influence. Regina is forced to kill the Count to save Mary Margaret and David and she’s devastated at having to kill an innocent man. The Evil Queen shows up to gloat and reveals she orchestrated everything to make Regina kill him and prove she’s truly a villain.

True love conquers all. We’ve heard that spiel since the pilot; but why does it always have to be the solution to everything? Sure, it’s one of the show’s central themes, but having it shoved down our throats in nearly every episode gets repetitive. The Evil Queen controlling the Count’s heart made the whole situation work, because, until then, it wasn’t plausible the Count would still be after Mary Margaret and David. It’s worth noting that they were very quick to believe Regina was back to her evil ways. It seems, even after everything, they don’t fully trust her yet. The Evil Queen tries the argument that Regina killed the Count because she is still evil, but the other heroes have killed when the time called for it. Regina just has a lot more practice. It’s the complex nature of these characters that make them so relatable. If they didn’t have a little darkness in them it wouldn’t be any fun.

The Evil Queen hints that the people from the Land of Untold Stories aren’t the only ones who have stories they don’t want played out and hints they will soon turn on each other. She later visits David and insinuates the cart accident that killed his father may have been deliberate. Emma later visits Archie and voices her concern that Regina could be the person in her visions who kills her. Someone may have killed David’s father and made it look like an accident. It’s a little soap opera but it’s good drama. Emma is so worried Regina may be the one to kill her, but she doesn’t remember the Evil Queen is in town. It’s more likely the person who looks like Regina but is actually evil is the one in the dream.

Quotes/Thoughts

“We’ll find a way to stop her. We always do.”

People who leave town aren’t supposed to be able to come back. After everything Mary Margaret and David went through, they were going to leave everything behind because of a guy with a sword.

“No matter what you do, the darkness will always be inside. That tiny bit of darkness I awakened today will only grow.”

Emma should probably be seeing someone whose credentials are better than being a helpful talking cricket.

If you enjoyed Manny’s review, you can find the rest of his work right HERE on Sci-Fi Bloggers. You can also follow him on Twitter @KN_Manny.

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