Another week, another Once Upon a Time episode. This week was hailed as a Regina/Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) expose but it turned out to be a Sidney-centric episode. Sidney Glass (Giancarlo Esposito) is the Mirror (you know, Mirror, mirror on the wall) in Fairytaleland. He’s a minor character so you didn’t really expect much from this episode but if you watched it, you'd know that you were wrong. This was one of the best of the season. So strap in kiddies. It’s time for a recap of “The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree”.
Henry (Jared Gilmore) rides up on his bike to his castle play set in a rush bypassing his biological mom, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) as he rushes to find his book. That’s right. We’re talking about the “Once Upon A Time” storybook that tells the tale of Fairytaleland. He keeps it in a lockbox buried under the sand at the play set and he was worried that the storm (you remember that from last week, right? The storm that raged and trapped Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin, Snow White's counterpart) and David (Josh Dallas, Prince Charming's counterpart) in cabin together. That’s the one) might have destroyed his book. Fortunately for him, it didn’t. He hides it just quickly enough so that Regina doesn’t find it. Yet somehow you think she will because she found his secret castle playground and she didn’t know about that and he left a corner exposed when he was burying the book.
Henry leaves and Regina once again condescends Emma. Apparently everything is dangerous. The damaged playground castle is her focus of choice this time. The truth is that Regina thinks that Emma is dangerous which is why she’s always on her case. Make the person you think is dangerous feel that they are irresponsible and unworthy and you take the attention off of what’s really ailing you.
Emma goes to the coffeehouse to vent to Mary Margaret. Being the true friend that she is she leaves very quickly when she gets a text asking her to meet someone. Yeah, we all know it’s David. She leaves and a bitter and vengeful Sidney comes to her with a proposition. It seems that Sidney has been fired from the town newspaper, The Daily Mirror, since his loss in the election and now he has a bone to pick with Regina. Emma balks at his proposal but we all know what’s going to happen. There isn’t going to be an episode if she doesn’t take him up on his proposal.
Back in Fairytaleland, we’re introduced to the origins of The Mirror. Believe it or not he’s a freaking genie, Genie of Agrabah to be exact. (I know what you’re thinking. Where’s Aladdin in this story?) He meets a king who finds his lamp and turns down the 3 wishes that he is granted because he already has everything that he needs. But the King finds that the Genie is sad so he wishes him free and he gives him the 3rd wish to do as he pleases. The Genie knows how wishes turn out so he promises to never use the third wish. The only thing he desires is true love, which is something even the lamp can’t grant. So the noble King takes him to his palace and introduces him to his daughter, Snow and his wife Regina. Instantly the Genie gets the googly eyes over Regina. This can only be trouble.
Meanwhile in Storybrooke, Regina does what she does best which is ruin the happiness of others. She tears down the playground castle and then scolds Emma again. Henry stands in disbelief and learns that his book is gone. A vengeful Emma has had enough and gives Sidney a call. Told ya!
Sidney and Emma meet and they go to work to expose Regina. Sidney tells her that 50, 000 is missing in the town’s budget and that Regina is responsible. They have to find out what she used the money for so they confront Regina. Regina tells them that the money burned up in the fire that Mr. Gold set; the very same fire that helped Emma win the election and caused her to become sheriff. A frustrated Emma relaxes her high moral standards and plants a bug under Regina’s desk.
Back in Fairytaleland, Regina is feeling dejected because her husband regards his daughter and first wife more beautiful than Regina; a little insecurity going on there for poor Regina. You can’t blame her. If you were in the shadow of your husband’s first wife and his daughter from that marriage, you would have issues too.
In walks the Genie who presents Regina with a mirror so that she can see herself the way he sees her. (Not very subtle on the genie’s part. Plus, he’s totally wronging the person who helped him get where is.)
Apparently, Regina is so pleased by what he’s said that she writes what the Genie did in her diary, which the King finds. Lots of immoral behavior going on here. He admits that he doesn’t love Regina but commissions the Genie to find out who the other man is anyway. Irony!
Flashback to Storybrooke. Sidney finds a promising phone call from Regina who is arranging to meet someone in the woods to exchange cash. Sidney and Emma take off after Regina not so discreetly following behind her in a squad car. All Regina had to do was look in the rearview mirror and she would have seen them but apparently that didn’t matter because she already knew what they were planning. She cut the brakes earlier sending the cop car careening into a signpost. Emma and Sidney were unharmed and they were unexpectedly met by Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle, Rumpelstiltskin's counterpart). He was the person that Regina was meeting for the undisclosed transaction. He leaves them to their mess but cautions them that the path they were on to expose Regina was dangerous and morally questionable.
Emma ignores the sound advice from a questionable person and breaks into Regina’s office. Before Regina finds them, Emma finds a blueprint for land that Regina is planning on buying. Once caught breaking and entering, Emma lies saying that she was investigating the break in and that Sidney was the witness. Questionable morality.
In Fairytaleland, Henry, Regina’s father, gives the Genie a lockbox to give to Regina so that she can escape the King's grasp. The Genie presents the lockbox to Regina and inside are two poisonous Agrabah snakes. It seems that suicide is her only escape. The Genie, overwhelmed with love for Regina hatches a plan to kill the King, the man who freed him in the first place!
He takes the snakes and puts them in the King’s bed while he is sleeping and they kill him. Before the King dies, he says, “You’re right. I shouldn’t have made the wish.” Wow!
Back in Storybrooke, Emma and Sidney use the building plans that they found during the break in to expose Regina at a townhall meeting. Turns out she that was building a new playground resembling her castle in Fairytaleland for Henry and the children of Storybrooke. Burn!
As punishment, Regina bars Emma from seeing Henry. That’s what happens when you stoop to your enemy’s level.
A dejected Henry gives up on ever finding his book even as Emma promises she will find it. Turns out, the Stranger (Eion Bailey) has the book. The why is still a mystery.
In Fairytaleland, things are worse. The King is dead. The Genie is now free to be with Regina or so he thought. Regina informs him that the snakes have now been traced to his homeland and that he must flee to escape arrest. That’s when it clicks.
The genie realizes that Regina selected the snakes from his homeland to get him to kill the King and frame the Genie for the crime.
Too in love to give up, the genie makes his wish. He wishes to be by the Queen’s side forever. His wish is granted. He becomes the mirror. How ironic. He was wished free only to kill the person who freed him and put himself into another prison. Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.
That’s not even the kicker. Back in Storybrooke it turns out that Sidney was playing Emma the whole time. He was the one who cut her brakes and he got her on tape saying that they were allies and now Emma trusts him completely, never knowing that he was in Regina’s pocket the whole time.
All I can say is what a good episode. There were many predictable moments and even some surprises. The line between good and evil was blurred and poor Emma stooped to Regina’s level but it happens to the best of us.
In the end we know that Emma won’t become Regina even if they do have some similarities. Maybe the greatest lesson in this story is that sometimes even the good fall. They make bad choices when presented with questionable circumstances. It doesn’t make them bad. It makes them human and in the end that’s what we all are. No more. No less.
Come back February 12th for another recap. If you liked this article, please “like” me on facebook and follow me on twitter.
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