Once Upon A Time -- I Shouldn't Have Made That Wish

In Storybrooke, Sydney Glass approaches Emma about exposing Regina for what she is to the entire town. It seems the not-so-good Mayor of Storybrooke has got Sydney fired from The Mirror because he failed to win the election for sheriff against Emma. After Regina tears down Henry's secret castle where he would meet Emma and steals his fairytale book, Emma gets on board with Sydney. He says Regina has stolen funds from the city and when Emma goes to check it out to see what she's using it for, the paper work is missing.

Emma bugs Regina's office and hears her arranging to meet someone. It sounds like a pay-off of some kind. While following Regina, Emma's brakes on her car go out, and she believes Regina had her brakes cut. In the woods they meet up with Gold who says Regina was paying him money for his land. He also seems to try and give a vague warning about treading carefully, which Emma totally disregards since it's coming from Gold. It's a warning she should have heeded, as she tries to expose Regina at a council meeting and ends up looking like a fool, because Regina reveals she's building a playground for the children. And because of the stunt, Regina forbids Emma to have any contact with Henry.

Sydney says next time they'll be more clever and Emma agrees to be his partner in getting Regina, not knowing she's just clinked glasses with a traitor. Sydney set Emma up for Regina and they celebrate their success afterwards. Emma should have heeded Gold's warning and she should have picked Gold as her partner, because while Gold exacts a high price for his cooperation, he's at least loyal to you and you can trust him. Now Emma is in bed figuratively with Regina's stooge, Sydney, so anything she tells him he'll go blabbing back to her.

In Fairy Tale Land we learn that Sydney was the genie in Aladdin's lamp before getting himself trapped inside the mirror. Snow's father, King Leopold, finds it and rubs it and Genie pops out granting him three wishes. Leopold, not a greedy man and feeling sorry for Genie when he explains he's trapped in service to the lamp, uses his second wish to set Genie free and bring him home. He also gives Genie his last wish.

Once again we're warned about the price of magic. It's not just Rump extorting some high price to help you. Genie even warns of the dangers of making a magical wish. After being released from the lamp, Genie seems to have no magical power, so it must have been the lamp that gave him his magic. Of course, the question is how did Genie get trapped as servant to the lamp? Also, like when Rump took over the Dark One's magic, did someone else end up getting trapped in service of the lamp?

Even though kind though Leopold may be, he's also pretty insensitive, as he gives a glowing love letter toast to his daughter Snow and his dead wife, while current wife Regina is sitting there feeling like a pile of dog doo. This seems to be a kinder and gentler Regina and Genie's heart is stolen by her. He gives her a mirror telling her she's the fairest of them all.

Regina writes in her diary that she's in love with the man who gave her a mirror, and Leopold reads it. Okay, Leopold is coming off as a big crap bag of a husband. First, he's insensitive and now he's reading Regina's diary. And what does he do in retaliation for what he read in her diary? He imprisons her in her room. You can kind of get why Regina wanted to kill him.

Granted, King Leopold isn't as vile as King Charlie Widmore but he's kind of a deluded old fool that thinks he should have his wife's undying devotion even though he publicly disses her in public and invades her privacy in private. Really, dude, you've gotta give it to get it.

Regina's father Henry comes to Genie with a book he claims will set Regina free. In it is two really nasty looking green cobra's with nasty sharp fangs to rival any vampires. Regina claims she's going to kill herself by letting the snakes bite her. Okay, in retrospect, and not being sucked into the story, Regina and Henry obviously were setting the lovesick Genie up to do their dirty work. No way would a father blithely plan his child's death like that. Regina obviously put him up to it, and certainly not one as devoted to Regina as Henry was.

Anyway, Genie buys it hook, line and sinker. He goes to Leopold and unleashes the nasty looking green snakes on him. Leopold's dying word are that he shouldn't have made his wish. Sorry, Leo, it wasn't the wish that is the blame. You shouldn't have brought Genie home with you and everything would have been fine.

Of course, afterwards Regina shows her true colors and reveals she duped the Genie and that she doesn't love him. Of course, the lovesick fool doesn't learn his lesson and he makes a wish so he can always be near Regina. His wish traps him in the mirror. So every time she looks in a mirror, Regina will find herself staring at the lovesick Genie. She'll never be free of him.

The lamp had it's revenge on Genie for escaping his duty to serve it. It trapped him some place else that was far worse than being trapped in the lamp. And you can't say Genie didn't deserve it. He repaid Leopold's kindness with treachery so he definitely got what he deserved.

Of course, one question is when did Regina get her own magical power. In the Hansel and Gretel story Regina seems to be a powerful witch. She's also pretty tarted up and not dressing like a refined lady the way Leopold had her dress. So it seems like Regina came into her power after Leopold died.

Of course, the goings on in Fairy Tale Land seemed to mirror what was happening in Storybrooke, only Emma was Regina's dupe in Storybrooke with the help of Sydney the lovesick fool who hasn't learned anything, apparently. While Genie continued to want to be Regina's dupe in FTL Emma unknowingly is, not ever realizing she was set up by the person she's continuing to trust.

In other Storybrooke news, unless that's a copy, it seems The Stranger has got Henry's fairy tale book.