netgirl_y2k (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
netgirl_y2k) wrote2013-01-14 08:36 pm
netgirl_y2k) wrote2013-01-14 08:36 pm
Entry tags:
OUaT 2x11
I have to admit the last episode of Once Upon a Time conflicted me somewhat because there was a lot of awesome in it. Basically everything about Belle. I loved her getting an adventure of her own, I loved her adventure get up (those clothes! that hair! that ass!) I loved her bookishness (enjoy the lake!) and the way it was framed as just a different sort of competence. I adored her meeting up with Mulan, and my favourite thing about this show continues to be how they can throw seemingly random female characters together and make it work. I love that she saved Philip, who I find the most adorable of the not!Charmings, and that little bit of backstory about how Mulan and Philip met.
But I am increasingly unsure how I am supposed to view her relationship with Rumpelstiltskin. Like, I actually liked their origin story in Fairytale Land, mostly because the show seemed to know that after you strip away all the Disney stuff the basic Beauty & the Beast story is kind of... disturbing. Probably my favourite moment of S1 is Regina's line about not advising young women to kiss men who're holding them prisoner, I thought that was nicely meta and self-aware. And I liked that not only did Rumple let Belle go, but that Belle went.
And I actually liked them in-- was it The Crocodile? with Belle leaving until Rumple changed. But now, now it seems like he's not changing and she's not leaving.
I mean, Regina's redemption arc hasn't been perfect, it's at times been akin to watching a drunk fawn try to take her first steps, but at least you've been able to see her trying. Rumple's seems to start and stop at Belle insisting she can see the good in him. And, I dunno, maybe they aren't trying to write a similar journey for Rumple, maybe he's still meant to be the Machiavellian puppet-master, but even so Belle's blind faith shows a certain amount of willful ignorance, and does nothing to convince me that their original relationship wasn't, you know, the fairytale version of Stockholm Syndrome.
And it might actually work better for me after Belle's lost her memories and she can get to know Gold and decide for herself without all that baggage. We'll see, I guess.
And it's not that I dislike Rumpelstilskin (I'm not that interested in him, but there's really no one on this show I dislike) but Hook, Hook, of all people! had a point when he found out Rumple was trying to get back to his son; he's still essentially the same man that Bae was so desperate to change/escape from all those years ago.
I'm actually fascinated by how true love is supposed to work in this world. I mean, it works with Snow and Charming because you can see why they love each other and why they're better together than apart. But, does everyone have a true love? And if you do are you stuck with that person forever, no matter how dysfunction the relationship is?
It's also why Belle screaming I will always fight for him when Regina captured her bugged me; one, because I can see it becoming the new I will always find you, and, please, no, and two, because what I liked about them was that Belle loved him but was only prepared to be with him if he changed, and now-- not so much.
Anyway, those are my massively disjointed thoughts on Belle/Rumpelstiltskin; I am old and and crabbit and refuse to learn this fandom's ship names.
But I am increasingly unsure how I am supposed to view her relationship with Rumpelstiltskin. Like, I actually liked their origin story in Fairytale Land, mostly because the show seemed to know that after you strip away all the Disney stuff the basic Beauty & the Beast story is kind of... disturbing. Probably my favourite moment of S1 is Regina's line about not advising young women to kiss men who're holding them prisoner, I thought that was nicely meta and self-aware. And I liked that not only did Rumple let Belle go, but that Belle went.
And I actually liked them in-- was it The Crocodile? with Belle leaving until Rumple changed. But now, now it seems like he's not changing and she's not leaving.
I mean, Regina's redemption arc hasn't been perfect, it's at times been akin to watching a drunk fawn try to take her first steps, but at least you've been able to see her trying. Rumple's seems to start and stop at Belle insisting she can see the good in him. And, I dunno, maybe they aren't trying to write a similar journey for Rumple, maybe he's still meant to be the Machiavellian puppet-master, but even so Belle's blind faith shows a certain amount of willful ignorance, and does nothing to convince me that their original relationship wasn't, you know, the fairytale version of Stockholm Syndrome.
And it might actually work better for me after Belle's lost her memories and she can get to know Gold and decide for herself without all that baggage. We'll see, I guess.
And it's not that I dislike Rumpelstilskin (I'm not that interested in him, but there's really no one on this show I dislike) but Hook, Hook, of all people! had a point when he found out Rumple was trying to get back to his son; he's still essentially the same man that Bae was so desperate to change/escape from all those years ago.
I'm actually fascinated by how true love is supposed to work in this world. I mean, it works with Snow and Charming because you can see why they love each other and why they're better together than apart. But, does everyone have a true love? And if you do are you stuck with that person forever, no matter how dysfunction the relationship is?
It's also why Belle screaming I will always fight for him when Regina captured her bugged me; one, because I can see it becoming the new I will always find you, and, please, no, and two, because what I liked about them was that Belle loved him but was only prepared to be with him if he changed, and now-- not so much.
Anyway, those are my massively disjointed thoughts on Belle/Rumpelstiltskin; I am old and and crabbit and refuse to learn this fandom's ship names.
no subject
I'm not the biggest fan of Regina's Daniel backstory (I only like it a tiny bit because I am a huge fan of Lana Parrilla's kicked puppy face) but I have to admit to handwaving it somewhat; I think we all do that to a certain extent with our particular favourites, adding things that didn't happen on screen and ignoring others to make them make sense in our heads. So I've been assuming that it wasn't just Daniel's death that sent Regina over the edge, it was her borderline abusive upbringing by Cora and being married off unwillingly to some guy twice her age who she didn't even like, Daniel was just the straw that broke the camel's back. But, yeah, that's all headcanon, and I admit, much as I love her, Regina in Evil Queen mode became less interesting to me as a villainess when it became clear that her main motivation was a blood feud against an eight year old.
It's interesting you mention Rumple's love of Belle being largely paternal, especially with the way they met in Storybrooke being a helpless Belle being sent to Gold for protection, and with Belle now having lost her memory. Which is, actually, another thing-- does Belle even have a Storybrooke persona to remember, given that she was Regina's prisoner for the entirety of the curse, or is she a blank slate now?
It was why I liked Belle's burgeoning friendship with Ruby so much, it was part of her becoming less dependent of Rumple, which I liked a lot.
no subject
I wish there was a little more backstory on Cora besides "learned magic/became social climber" or whatever. If there's a relationship that tortured, I want a good reason why or imma make one up
because of my obsession with older women and the fact that Cora is hotone day. I mean pleasing this woman clearly meant a lot to young Regina; there's a depth of feeling there that makes the issues between them interesting. I really like misplaced and misguided love plots.Belle/Ruby! I could definitely go for that pairing. It's sad that what little Belle development we've gotten is now gone because of the memory thing.