- Title: Once Upon a Time – Beauty
- wiki: link
“Beauty” has two main purposes. First, the flashbacks allow the show to say goodbye to fan-favorite Belle (Emilie de Ravin) while filling in a bit of Rumpelstiltskin‘s (Robert Carlyle) past prior to his arrival in Hyperions Heights. While awkward, the scenes do allow for a nice farewell to the character. Although we only see glimpses, it’s obviously a good life the two of them shared while suggesting that perhaps Rumpelstiltskin may finally be the hero Belle always knew he could be (or at least heroic-ish). The other piece of the episode explains the purpose of Tilly (Rose Reynolds), whose mad ravings help prod the good detective’s past providing the kind of kick in the ass the character, and the season, need. With his memories (and powers?) restored, I’m wondering just what Rumpelstiltskin’s plans might entail.
The episode’s B-story having Henry (Andrew J. West) spending some time with Ivy (Adelaide Kane) looking for Lucy (Alison Fernandez), who ran off while trick-or-treating, actually turns out to be pretty good. The pair have a nice on-screen dynamic, one could argue better than we’ve seen between our hero and Cinderella (Dania Ramirez) so far, opening the door to a possible love triangle when memories are later restored. While the show still hasn’t sold me on its new villain, “Beauty” makes a pretty good argument why we should keep our eyes on Tilly and Ivy in the weeks to come.
