ONCE UPON A TIME REVIEW: It’s Not Easy Being the Savior

By Meredith Loftus

Once’s The Price was an excellent follow-up to the premiere episode.

It intrigued with the current storyline, romance, and character growth. It also reminded the audience of the fundamental rule of magic set forth in Season 1: all magic comes with a price.

Whether that is paid immediately or later on, there is a price that must be paid. We question this for ourselves as well as wonder what one of our characters is willing to pay in order to get what they want.

Regardless, we are hooked on this arc and ready for more.

In Camelot, the Storybrooke heroes are welcomed as guests in King Arthur’s court and treated to a ball in their honor. They also discover that Merlin is stuck in a tree and it’s up to the Savior to free him. In order to keep Emma’s true identity a secret, Regina tells Arthur that she’s the Savior. Because of this new title, she is treated as the guest of honor and receives a necklace from Sir Percival, one of Arthur’s loyal knights.

Romance is in the air as Snow and Charming, Emma and Hook, and Regina and Robin dance the night away; even Henry gets swept up in the love when he talks with Violet, a teenage girl from court. However, the night takes a turn for the deadly when Sir Percival attempts to kill Regina for the destruction she caused to his village when she was the Evil Queen. Charming kills Percival, but not before Percival mortally wounds Robin. Because the wound was made with a sword with the intentions to kill Regina, she can’t use her magic to save Robin. In fear of losing her love again, Regina asks Emma to use her dark magic to save his life. Emma reluctantly agrees and in the process her fondness for her dark magic and power grows. However, all magic comes with a price, and it demands payment.

Back in Storybrooke, the heroes discover that the curse brought over the people of Camelot as well; they’ve also had their memories of the past six weeks erased. Arthur is told the truth about Emma’s current state, which he doesn’t take well but promises not to attack her yet. Also Excalibur is missing. While Storybrooke is trying to help their new guests, they are looking for a new leader to keep hope in the midst of this new dark time. Many don’t believe Regina has what it takes to fill in the Savior role; and it doesn’t help when a Fury comes and takes Robin away. The Fury is a magic collector that comes to collect live payments for magic used; these payments are taken to the underworld. Emma reminds Regina that it is her price to pay; therefore it’s her problem to face alone. The only way to save Robin is to sacrifice another to take his place. Regina, Snow, Charming, Grumpy, and Arthur find the Fury before it transports Robin to the underworld. Regina sacrifices herself for the sake of her true love; however Snow and Charming won’t let her face this alone so they link together, along with Grumpy and Arthur, to disperse the Fury’s magic and make it disappear. In the eyes of the heroes, Regina is capable of stepping up to the challenge of protecting Storybrooke from the Dark One.