Subtext Recap: Once Upon a Time 3.4 – Nasty Habits

When the troupe spends two-thirds of the episode in the same cave, and the episode is Bae-Neal/Rumple-centric, there simply isn’t much to see. Unless you totally adore a constantly righteous, self-sacrificing youth as a character. Not that I’m saying that’s Baelfire. That’s just how he’s being written.

Now, while I enjoy the fact that Regina has been a bucket of snark ever since they sailed into Neverland, even that’s getting a wee bit tiresome. We get it, Lovely, you are cranky and sexy without a full-length mirror. Times are tough all over.

For example, even with my thickest specs, I could pluck only a single instance of subtext/pleasure from this entire episode, and it wasn’t really subtext so much as a camera-nod of solidarity.

It happened like this –

Emma declares, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, you never break in somewhere unless you know the way out.”

“And where’d you get that?” Regina snarks. “In bail bondsperson* school?”

“Neal taught me that,” Emma responds.

Then, the shot goes back to and lingers on Regina, who says nothing.

So, in two episodes, Regina apologized for potentially hurting Emma and then refused to do it again. Call that what you will, but I call it “building a solid foundation for a maintext marriage friendship”.

Also, I am so tired of Snow White and her mothering. Like, exhausted.

*WordPress does not recognize “bondsperson”. It also does not recognize “bondswoman”. It makes violent red squiggles beneath them like they don’t exist. It is perfectly accepting, however, of “bondsman”. So, there’s that.