Character Rant: Regina Mills/The Evil Queen

I was watching the "Regina's Nightmare" scene from the second-to-last episode and read through the comments (silly of me, I know). So I said that they were just as evil as her if they didn't believe in forgiveness. Then someone responded to me that "she is an evil murderer, who's hurt and attempted to kill the majority of them, this is about defeating evil, not siding with it". Despite the fact that I never said I sided with Regina, the other person got two thumbs up and I got none, though one person did say I was right.
Such is the way of Youtube.
There are two camps when it comes to the main antagonist; those who love her and those who hate her. No middle ground. Those who love her point out how messed up her past is and how much she loves Henry; those who hate her point out everyone she's killed/tried to hurt and claim that she doesn't love Henry. As I've stated before, I come from the camp of loving Regina, because I love me a good villain and good heroes are even more rare.
I do admit most of this is because of Lana Parrilla; every single dang scene she brings her A game. Her facial expressions are beyond compare, and she switches from evil to human flawlessly. Here is a picture from ABC's website of her listening to her iPod to get into character. Now THAT'S an actress.

Though you gotta wonder what kind of Evil Queen playlist she's got...
But back to the character herself... She's interesting. I've always thought that she loved Henry ever since the pilot, even if she's probably the worst parent in the world. She's too busy running Storybrooke and keeping anyone from wondering "hey, none of us ever age or remember past a few years ago, what's up with that?". But even terrible parents can genuinely love their kids, and I think this is the case. Even though she's been broken, I think she still has the ability to love.
Regina's had a rough go, as one look at Cora can show. And sometimes it's hard to rationalize that Snow White was just a kid trying to make her happy, because the girl was at the age WHERE SHE SHOULD KNOW HOW TO KEEP A FRIGGIN' SECRET! Forced into a loveless marriage after her power-hungry mother murders her true love, everyone in love with the girl who stole her happiness... Yeah, I can see where Regina might be cranky. I'm not sure where she learned how to screw her lovers over, but everything evil else came from Cora.
Life sucked in Fairytale Land, so why not kill her father (who obviously did nothing to save her from marrying a guy she didn't know) and make a curse so she can have a do-over in another world? Sounds like perfect logic for a self-obsessed woman like Regina.
Am I saying this woman's perfect? Heck no. Am I even saying she's rational and sane? Hell no. Do I think she deserves to be tortured to death slowly and painfully? No. The ends do not justify the means; anyone who would do the same thing as her are just as evil. Besides, this isn't real life; we can afford to have a villain of this caliber, and without an antagonist that's a little off her rocker there'll be nothing interesting to watch.
I don't approve of her methods. Snow White and Mary Margaret both beg to know what they've done to make her so angry. Regina takes an aloof attitude, gets all mysterious, and drops vague "oh you know" like statements. Come on; if she hasn't gotten it by now she's not going to. Just tell her. Though I do appreciate that the Evil Queen finally took her to Daniel's tomb, and Snow White's all like "...the frick? He's dead".
Pretty much Snow White's entire argument is based on her ignorance, so that makes her side less interesting.
As for the "reason she hates Snow White"...I don't think we're quite done yet. Yes, this is cotton-pickin' awful already, but I feel more is on the way. For awhile I've thought that Snow White's Evil Queen has been based in part on "Snow White: A Tale of Terror", especially with the scene where all attention is focused on Snow White while the stepmother stands off to one side, ignored. In that movie (go watch it now it's awesome), the stepmother keeps trying with Snow White, but Snow White is bitter towards her, still remembering her own mother. The final straw is when the stepmother, heavily pregnant, shows off her singing during a feast, all of the audience focused on her. The audience turns when Snow White enters, looking like her mother in her gown. Her father dances with her and the stepmother is haunted, either by the fact he'll always love Snow more than her or how it looks so much like he's dancing with his dead wife. The stepmother loses the baby and blames Snow White.
A miscarriage might be a little heavy for an ABC family show, but it would explain her obsessiveness with Henry. It would add a very thick layer onto the hate cake of Snow White/Mary Margaret. But perhaps her obsession with Henry is due to the fact that he represents her fresh start and happy ending. I'm still holding to my miscarriage idea.
Regina's also interesting because there is precious little she won't do. She killed her own father, locked away her closest companion in the real world's true love in a basement, seduced in order to use the genie/Graham, backstab someone over fine print (Jefferson) etc. When you have a villain without limits, then they are unpredictable. She acts mostly on her emotions, striking out like a cobra trapped in a corner. She's desperate, pretty much, which makes her tragic and interesting at the same time.
As for the whole "showdown of Rumple and Evil Queen" that's bound to happen next season... My money's on Rumple, but I'm positive Regina's got a trick or two up her sleeve so she isn't completely pwned.

My One True OUAT Pairing: Rumpbelle

I thought I'd start ranting about characters and why I like/dislike them...but then I started rewatching the season finale scenes with Belle and Mr. Gold. And I decided I'm not going to sleep tonight until I write this up.
Saying that you ship Rumpelstiltskin with Belle from "Beauty and the Beast" is going to grant you strange looks, and it's impossible to explain without showing the episode "Skin Deep". I think it's one half awesome writing, one half awesome acting that makes this couple so popular; I have yet to see an anti-Rumpbelle statement. I'm sure I will, but just saying.
It's the same set-up as "Beauty and the Beast", only instead of saving her father in exchange for her freedom Belle's exchanging her freedom to stop an entire war. Warning: This Belle's even more BA than Disney's version. Rumpelstiltskin spares Belle his usual power trip-ness initially, and in exchange Belle cares about him. Belle, though, will not take any of his crap, much like Baelfire. Everything goes to heck in a hand basket when they kiss and Rumpel starts to become human again. He freaks out and insists that he loves power more than her, and that no one could ever love him. He sets her free, and Belle gives the best break-up speech to a man who doesn't want to get too close that I've ever heard (granted, I haven't heard a lot). Most notably, she says that he could've had happiness if he had only let himself believe someone could want him, and that now all he'll have is an empty heart and a chipped cup.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqXkJdYPGcE
Rumpelstiltskin goes on a smashing rampage, but cannot bring himself to smash the cup that Belle chipped. He replaces a golden goblet with it, which is more jampacked with metaphors and allegory than I can analyze. Basically all of the wealth he has means nothing in comparison to an imperfection his true love gave him.
To add angst on top of all of this, Regina stops by to tell Rumpel that his girl was not accepted because of her time with him, and killed herself due to being hated and treated like she was possessed. This is also Regina, so it's been hinted by fans that we should take it with a grain of salt. Though why Regina would risk him finding out is beyond me.
The couple is adorable just from the fairy tale land story, but it's Mr. Gold in Storybrooke that really makes this pairing shine. Mr. Gold goes batcrap crazy on a guy because a possession was stolen. Like, beating the guy with his cane crazy (using the same tactic as during his tantrum on his stuff back in fairy tale land...hmmm). Go figure, Regina has the item. What is it?
The chipped cup.
Besides making me wonder how the bad guys had time to pack before the curse set in, it hurts. We already know it's his prized possession, and most people wouldn't go that crazy over a cup. So for around twenty-eight years, Mr. Gold has kept this cup, dwelling on his lost true love. Going back to the cane beating, we have also gotten the connection between the florist in the real world and Belle's father in the fairy tale world (it's so handy that they use the same actor for each persona). As Mr. Gold continues to beat Mr. French, he shouts that it's "your fault" that Belle is gone. The first time I watched the scene, I thought that Mr. Gold was just projecting his own feelings about himself onto Mr. French. The second time, I realize that it might be a bit more literal. Evil Queen Regina said that Belle's father cast her out, so perhaps Mr. Gold blames Mr. Belle's father for her death. Either way, it's an emotional scene.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/KZOId396y9c
Meanwhile, Regina has had Belle's real world counterpart locked up in the hospital. Jefferson, in the most awesome twist I might have ever seen, sets her free and tells her to find Mr. Gold. Somehow, she does find the pawn shop, and the acting speaks for itself.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/hxfSGk5cURM
After twenty-eight years of no son, no lover, and no magic, Belle comes into his pawn shop in a shaggy coat and tells him that Regina locked her up. Much to viewer displeasure, he doesn't flip out about the whole Regina thing, instead squeezing her to make sure she's real. Then he agrees to protect her, and hugs her, while she sits there confused. He doesn't go all angsty when she asks if she knows him, just says "no, but you will".
They go for a walk in the woods while Emma's off breaking the curse and Belle stops, telling Mr. Gold to wait. Thinking she's just being a wimp, Mr. Gold insists they're close, but then she uses his fairy tale name. She states that she remembers, and then says "I love you". Not "I loved you", present tense. Mr. Gold waits a manly amount of time, before saying he loves her too, and they embrace. Most were disappointed that they didn't kiss...but after what the first kiss did, it's no wonder they're holding off.
In short, it's a complicated love. They have problems, and a love triangle with power. Rumpelstiltskin might be held back by needing to find Bae, or even residual feelings for Bae's mother. Belle hangs out with Rumpel, but she stands her ground when he goes all power mad and evil. It will be interesting to see the fall-out in their relationship from the stunt of bringing magic back to Storybrooke (though he totally did it so he can find Bae). But they love each other, in a deeper way than most couples nowadays are portrayed in books and movies. They don't run around making out and declaring their love every other sentence (looking at you, Snow and James). It's the little things, like turning her ex-fiance into a rose to give to her, that show that they love each other in their own unperfect, chipped cup way.

P.S. Almost all the clips are available on Youtube, if you search hard enough.

Welcome!

So it has been about two-ish weeks since the season one finale of "Once Upon a Time", a finale which dashed a lot of my fanfiction plans. But I can't stop thinking about it. So what am I going to do about this little obsession? Well start a blog, of course!

First, my personal story of "Once Upon a Time". I watched the pilot the night it aired because hey, I love fantasy and fairy tales. I thought it was really interesting, however my mother was in the room and kept announcing how much Rumplestiltskin "freaked her out". Since I have no control over the television, I just stopped watching it. Then my friend Sherilyn was all like "it's so awesome, we (her mother and her) watch it every Sunday, you should catch up and then we can watch it together!". So I got on Hulu and within two days had watched seventeen episodes. I was hooked.

It's corny. Its CGI could use a bigger budget. Some episodes I just roll my eyes and gripe during. But it struck that little magic cord in me, the one that makes me excited to go to Disneyland and get sucked into movies and books I'm too old for. There's a small part of my heart reserved for corny true love tales and sandwiched between "Enchanted" and "The Princess Bride" lies "Once Upon a Time".

Anyway, as a metaphorical ice breaker I shall put out my list, as a warning to my biases. Please note I may occasionally separate real world personas from fairy tale personas.

Characters I Love

• Regina Mills, AKA The Evil Queen: I have a soft spot for bad guys, and Lana Parrilla is just amazing. Remember kids, evil's not born, it's created.
• Mr. Gold: You probably guessed this due to the blog name. I love me some Mister Gold, the perfect line walker between good and evil, with a sexy accent. Robert Carlyle is equally awesome and sexy. 
• Red/Ruby: Okay, so I hate both of her names, but I have a weakness for Red Riding Hood redux in almost any form. She's the nice kind of ditzy, and means well.
• Belle/Rose: Yesyesyes. She is a strong heroine who can call Rumplestiltskin on his crap yet be all lovey dovey towards him. Can't wait for their relationship to develop.
• Jefferson/Mad Hatter: Oh gawd yes. He's crazy in a sane way and soooo fine. Plus, getting back at Regina was just perfect.
• Grumpy/Leroy: You're heartless if you don't love Grumpy. Just sayin'. 
• Granny/Granny: Kick ass old woman. Gotta love that.
• Graham: WHY DO THE HOT DIE YOUNG!?!?!?! Also, I'm a sucker for the huntsman in Snow White, the more fleshed out the better.
• Mary Margaret: I like her 99% of the time. But really, MM? You're better than moping around for David.
• Gaston: It's nice to see Gaston as a good guy.
• Maleficent: Didn't get enough screen time, in my opinion. 
• Blind Witch of the North: So intriguing...and yet she's already axed. Sad.
• Frederick: I don't care if he's had, like, two minutes of screen time. I love him already.
• Wolf: I love wolves, and it was such a good dog!

Characters I Hate

• Snow White: God. I hate this whiny little be-otch with a fiery passion. And no, it's not because of the stable boy episode; I just hate her. She's always whining about something, and is not kick butt enough to be awesome (they tried with the thieving...it did not persuade me).
• David: I've always hated cheating and adultery; do not understand it. But he's a coward, trying to hold onto both women because he doesn't know who he loves. 
• Geppetto/Marco: Lying to your king and queen so your disobedient son doesn't turn to wood again? Douche move, G.
• Sidney Glass/Genie: I thought he was alright...until we got his back story and he turned out to be a double agent on both sides to save his hide.
• Cora: If you've seen her episode, I do not even need to explain myself.
• King Leopold: Forced marriage? Not good.

Characters I Love and Hate or Just Don't Care About

• Emma: Bounty hunter in a red leather jacket who attacks the apple tree that represents evil Regina in the second episode? Yes please. But come on, hon: it took you forever to believe in the curse and we were all smashing our heads against the nearest object for at least eight episodes. Disbelief is good...but for the sake of the audience get with the magical conspiracy theory program.
• Henry: Meh. I can take the kid or leave him. Sometimes Operation Cobra's enduring...other times it's annoying.  
• Rumplestiltskin: Okay so he looks like a shiny lizard, so I can't say he's exactly sexy. His exterior is a lot harder and more sinister than his real life counterpart, but you can't beat that laugh.
• August/Pinocchio: I enjoy the fact he's a writer. I enjoy the fact he was almost clever enough to trick Gold. I do not enjoy it when he gets all "you have to beliiiiiiiiieve" on Emma. 
• Prince James: Sometimes he's pretty cool...but he still feels two-dimensional.
• Archie/Jiminy Cricket: So this is Sherilyn's favorite character but honestly, he's just alright to me. 
• Blue Fairy: Do not care about.
• Nova: Do not care about. Slight disdain for. 
• Kathryn/Abigail: Do not care about.
• Cinderella/Ashley: She seems nice...still don't care.
• Dr. Whale: He seems okay, but his actor is John Gilbert from the Vampire Diaries, so I'm a little suspicious.
• King Midas: Jury's still out on him.

If they aren't listed, I either forgot them or I don't care enough about them to make a decision. I hope you stick around for more!