Episode 11: The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree
To take a quote from "Muppet Treasure Island", "We had to put him in this episode SOMEHOW!"
0:15-We start off with Emma and Henry finding the playground castle in ruins after the big storm the town had. He's hid the storybook there, as he doesn't want Regina to find it.
1:10-Regina spoils the mood, and says she wants to tear down the damaged play castle, even though Emma says she could get Marco to fix it. And also accuses Emma of trying to find ways to get around her. (Which is really not news at this point...)
1:42-She talks about this to Mary Margaret while having breakfast at Granny's Diner, where Mary Margaret receives a text from David...
2:18-...and as she goes out the door, a very drunk Sidney tells Emma "I can grant your wish." (Subtle...) And she responds with, "You want a side of bacon with that whiskey?" He's become pretty upset after losing the sheriff election and getting fired from the paper. And now he wants to knock Regina down a few pegs.
3:05-And that "I can grant your wish" line sets up the fact he had been a genie in Fairytale Land, infinite power and itty-bitty living space. His lamp washes up on the shores of Snow White's castle, where her father, King Leopold, finds it. And if he looks familiar, that's Richard Schiff, most notably from "The West Wing", but fondly known here as Regan's dad from "Up All Night"-
3:45-HE'S FROM AGRABAH!!! No, I don't think he's Aladdin's genie (The cartoon series proved that there's some others around there), but I know Aladdin is supposed to show up sometime. :) Anyway, he pretty much runs the same spiel, very bored. (Coincidentally, a Princess Jasmine lookalike in a Scheherazade story appeared on a "Simpsons" episode that was running the same time...)
4:06-Fortunately, the King has no use for wishes, because he's quite happy with his kingdom and wants his subjects to be happy, too. The King sees the genie is unhappy, as all he wants is his freedom, so the King makes his first wish to grant the genie his freedom. :) And then turns his second wish over to the genie, to give that genie a wish for himself. (He then quotes from "1,001 Arabian Nights"...) He does not want to use it, as he wants to find the one thing he's wanted on his own-true love. The King then invites the genie to his castle.
6:12-The King introduces the genie to his family: his beloved daughter Snow White, and to a lesser extent, his second wife Queen Regina. And now the genie's fallen for her...
6:45-In the real world, the play castle is being torn down, and Henry can't find the storybook. :( This makes Emma furious, but Regina claims she's doing this for safety and doesn't miss her chance to get even more bitchy with her. This provokes Emma to call Sidney for his help.
7:51-David's text just happens to lead to a romantic picnic. Now at least he has WAY more class than the "Something Borrowed" guy...
8:40-Emma meets with Sidney, who tries to get her to play dirty...but she can't do that because she's the sheriff. She's going to have to figure out some way to do it and NOT compromise her integrity. But Emma asks him, "If you thought she was so terrifying, how did you allow yourself to end up in her pocket?" He replies, "I used to think she was a different person."
10:23-And with that, we go back to Fairytale Land, where King Leopold is having his birthday party. He has no need for gifts, as he feels his daughter is the best present he could ever ask for. And he also says she reminds him of her dear departed mother. Regina, however, is hurt by all of this. The genie notices her sneaking to the hallway, dejected.
11:42-He asks her what's wrong, and she tearfully admits that she doesn't feel the King loves her. That he still misses his first wife. The genie gives her his mirror, "So you can see yourself the way I see you." Someone has fallen in love...hard.
13:11-In the real world, Emma and Sidney are going through files, finding some evidence the mayor's embezzled money. Mary Margaret walks in, and approves of their plan to take down Regina. (That's not suspicious at all...) Emma is still adamant about not playing dirty, when Sidney points out they're doing this for a good reason, which Mary Margaret elaborates on. (Oh no, that's not suspicious at ALL!!!)
14:11-So they try to talk to Regina about this, and she brings up that mysterious fire from episode 8... However, Emma's planted a bug under Regina's desk...and she's turning to the dark side.
15:19-In Fairytale Land, the King calls the genie after finding entries in the Queen's diary, mentioning another man. He's not named, but it's clear it's the genie. The King doesn't know this, and wants the genie to find him. Oh no.
17:41-Emma and Sidney have been listening in on the mayor (There's a call with Ms. Ginger, who has been dissatisfied with the air temperature...took me a while to get that...), and it seems like they're going nowhere until they find another call about a money drop-off in the woods. Except they don't know who it's with.
18:23-So they go to the woods, but her brakes in the squad car have been cut! And Sidney thinks Regina must be on to them. Now they'll never know who Regina made that deal with...or will they?
19:30-And to no one's surprise, it happens to be Mr. Gold! He sold some of his land to her, but what it's being used for is unclear. This also brings me back to wondering what the hell he was doing in Ep. 7 when he claimed he was 'gardening'. In the woods. And we probably won't know until the season 1 DVD is released as there was a Fairytale Land scene shot that must've explained this... Anyways, he warns the two that "Emotional entanglements can lead one down dangerous paths."
20:31-Regina's father has come to the genie with a locked box. Inside is the only thing that could free her from the loveless marriage she says she's in...
21:45-In the real world, Emma and Sidney try to break into the office. With a rock. Emma figures they have six minutes to find something, and find documents they print off from the computer, but...
22:48-...happen to find a load of skeleton keys. Could those be linked to that chamber with the hearts the mayor has stashed away?
22:55-She also suspects Regina has the storybook, but end up face to face with Regina, who's wondering why the sheriff and Sidney are in the office. So Emma lies her ass off about some kids breaking in and Sidney noticing it. (Bra-vo. -sarcastic clapping-)
24:06-In Fairytale Land, the genie finds out what's in the box-Agrabahan vipers. And that they'll be used as a murder weapon. The genie is willing to go that far for her.
26:45-At the diner, Henry's trying to write down what was in the storybook when the Stranger comes by. And Henry is suspicious of this writer...
27:27-Emma and Sidney deduce from the files that the mayor must be building a second home...but Emma feels incredibly guilty about playing dirty. And then finds the surveillance photos of her and Henry that Sidney had taken...oh no.
28:55-Regina is conducting the city council meeting, when Emma exposes what they found out about the second home...but she's proven wrong as those funds were being used for a new playground.
30:42-With a play castle that resembles one she saw in the storybook. That looks just like her fortress in Fairytale Land...
31:28-Looks like someone was right about their emotions leading them down the wrong path...
31:39-In Fairytale Land, the genie unleashes the deadly snakes on the King while he sleeps. Now this is the ultimate betrayal, as the genie admits everything, hoping for the King's forgiveness. But he regrets making any wishes in the first place.
34:05-In the real world, Mr. Gold is all "I told you so". And still wants to be her ally, but of course, turns him down. There's still that favor he has...
34:22-As for Regina, she's had it with Emma and forbids her from seeing Henry. And Emma's going to have to do as she says this time.
35:43-But, at the new playground, she's still able to talk with Henry over walkie-talkies from her car. She's going to figure some way to get around this, so for now, they have to be apart. :( But she promises she'll find the storybook, even though Henry's lost all hope and figures it's in the wrong hands. :(
37:04-But we find out who has those hands...and we're not sure if they're the wrong hands just yet...
37:29-Emma's feeling low about the whole situation and joins Sidney for a beer. They REALLY messed up. But he's certain Regina has more to hide, and the two become allies.
38:23-In Fairytale Land, the genie finds out Regina's real intention for the snakes...and specifically chose those as they could be traced back to him. Which then has him realize she just used him to get rid of the King. He uses his last wish to stay with her, but it ends with him trapped in the mirror, and we all know what happened next.
41:09-In the real world, it turns out Emma had been Keyser Soyze'd by Sidney. This had been planned by Regina from the start, and as the old adage goes, "Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer." Uh oh.
So that will be it until next month as ABC has wisely pre-emptied it next week due to the Super Bowl. As for the next episode, it has a very mismatched couple, but then again, you're talking to someone that thinks Leezar and Rapunzel make better sense as a couple....