Once Upon a Time Recap: “Skin Deep”

by Tracy Ladd:

Once Upon a Time Recap: “Skin Deep”
Original Air Date (ABC): Sunday February 12, 2012
Season 1 Episode 12

This week we get to see a twist on Beauty and the Beast, which is one of my two favorite Disney movies.  I was looking forward to this episode, yet remained a tad apprehensive about it because I knew the writers would put a spin on it that differs from what I know and love.  Lost’s Emilie de Ravin stars as Belle with Rumpelstiltskin filling the role of the Beast.  It’s an interesting twist to cast him in that role, and one that left me wondering how it would play out.

This recap will read a bit differently than my others so just bear with me.  The interplay between FTL and Storybrooke wasn’t as prominent as it has been in past episodes so each universe is recapped separately.

Fairytale Land

In FTL, Belle is not the awkward bookworm that we all know.  Instead she’s the daughter of a king whose kingdom is at war with the Ogres.  Knowing that they can’t win and their future is threatened, Rumpelstiltskin has been summoned.  He arrives in the nick of time and tells the king that he’ll make sure they win the war, but his price isn’t gold, which is what the king was offering.  Instead he wants Belle to act as his servant at his monstrous estate.  The terms are forever.  The king, and Belle’s finacé, Gaston, refuse Rump’s offer, but Belle, seeing this as the only option to save their kingdom, agrees and leaves with him.

At his castle, he shows Belle to her room, which is more like a cell.  Over time she’s able to roam the castle but she’s still nervous in his presence.  It shows as she makes him a cup of tea and drops the cup, chipping it in the process but Rumpelstiltskin surprises her by not blowing a gasket over the cup.

One day as he’s sitting at his spinning wheel, Belle toodles about trying to take down the curtains that cover every window.  She’s finally able to pull them loose, but ends up falling off the ladder….and into Rumpelstiltskin’s arms.  There’s a moment where eye contact is made, but he then puts her down and goes about his business.  The attraction seems to happen rather fast and it kind of makes Belle seem to fall for him rather easy.  I remember Belle being a little more stubborn but perhaps I’m just getting a bit nit-picky.

Rumpelstiltskin later asks Belle to head into town to get him more straw.  She’s shocked that he’s going to let her out, and he tells her honestly that he doesn’t expect her to return but tells her if she does, he’ll promise to tell her about his son.  While walking down the road, Bell has to move aside for the Evil Queen’s carriage.  EQ stops and decides at that moment she needs to walk a bit.  How convenient.  She must know who Belle is because she immediately starts talking about how she would never suggest laying a wet on a master blah blah blah.  But she also tells Belle that true love’s kiss is the only thing that will break any spell.  Food for thought apparently.

Much to Rumpelstiltskin’s surprise, Belle returns with the straw and plops down to hear the story of his son.  One thing leads to another and she kisses him and sees that EQ was right.  When she expresses her excitement, he immediately becomes suspicious and knows that EQ is behind her actions.  What he doesn’t realize however is that Belle’s motives were innocent.  He throws her in her cell and goes on a violence bender, smashing anything and everything he can.

Rumpelstiltskin lets Belle go, telling her that he doesn’t need her anymore.  She’s confused and can’t understand why he won’t allow himself any happiness, but he tells her that he values his power more than he values her.  She tells him that he’s made his choice, but it’s the wrong one.  She also tells him that all he’ll be left with is an empty heart and a chipped cup (no worries, that comes in to play later).  She then leaves his castle and he’s left mourning the loss.

EQ pays him a visit later on and the two quibble back and forth about Belle.  EQ tells him that she wasn’t responsible for “that tragedy”.  Rumpelstiltskin asks her what she means and she tells him that after Belle left his service, she was shunned by her father and everyone else and was sent to live in the tower.  She also told him how Belle pitched herself out a window to escape her horrible life.  The news has the desired affect and EQ leaves with a parting, snarky remark about how his castle is dusty and how he needs to get a new girl.

Storybrooke

In Storybrooke we see a florist unloading flowers out of his truck in preparation for Valentine’s Day.  Mr. Gold shows up with a henchman to repo the van because the florist (who happens to be Belle’s daddy in FTL) hasn’t made the payment.  Mr. Gold shows his ruthlessness and has his henchman take the truck regardless of the man’s pleas.

At the diner Mary Margaret sits at a table, while David sits at a booth.  They’re there together, but separately.  Emma comes in and sits with MM, and the two are soon joined by Ashley (aka Cinderella).  Ashley is trying to get a life now that she has a baby, but since her man, Sean, is always at work, she doesn’t get a chance.  Ruby shows up and suggests they have a girls night out for Valentine’s Day.  MM and Ashley are both game but Emma declines, and leaves to respond to a call from the station.

Mr. Gold arrives home to find that his house has been broken in to.  He enters, and pulls a gun to search the house.  Emma responds to a call made by his neighbor and he tells her that he knows exactly what was taken and who took it.  She tries to get more info from him, but he’s not very forthcoming.  So Mr. Gold does what anyone would do.  He goes to the drugstore to buy duct tape and rope.  He also runs into David, who’s there buying Valentine’s Day cards for his wife and his mistress.  That’s got disaster-waiting-to-happen written all over it.

Mr. Gold uses his new purchase on the florist and takes him to that cabin that everyone seems to use, but happens to be deserted and proceeds to beat the ever living shit out of him with his cane.  As he’s laying the smack-down, he keeps saying how she’s gone forever and “it’s all your fault” etc.  Luckily Emma shows up and puts a stop to it.  The florist is hauled away by an ambulance, and Mr. Gold is hauled away by Emma and thrown in the clink.

Meanwhile at Girls Night Out, Ruby, Mary Margaret and Ashley all get their drink on.  Ruby leaves the table to hit on some guys at the bar while Ashley and MM commiserate over difficult relationships.  Ashley gets up to leave, only to be stopped by Sean, who’s there on his 20 minute break to give her flowers.  He also proposes in front of everyone and MM leaves, feeling a bit shitty.  She runs into David outside who tries to give her the Valentine’s Day card he picked out, but hands her the one meant for Kathryn instead.  Oops.  Of course this has its repercussions and now their on-again-off-again relationship is off again.

At the station Emma and Mr. Gold go back and forth until Regina walks in with Henry.  She tells Emma that she’s allowing the two to spend 30 minutes together while she has a chat with Mr. Gold.  Emma is reluctant but takes advantage of the time and leaves with Henry.  This scene happens to be the strongest of the episode.  Mr. Gold wields his power by saying please (I love it that she has to do relent to him like that) and it’s confirmed that both of them know about FTL.  Regina asks him what his name is.  He responds by telling her that for all of his time on Earth, his name has always been Mr. Gold.  She then asks about his name in other worlds.  A-HA!  He knows that Regina was behind the florist robbing his house and in order to get back the stolen item, he tells Regina his real name.  Rumpelstiltskin.  She looks a bit floored by this info and I’m a bit surprised she didn’t know that already but whatever.  He tells her that he has more power than her and he demands the item.  She returns it to him and it happens to be the chipped tea cup.

The episode ends with Regina going into a secret part of the hospital and peering in at a patient…who happens to be Belle!

Sidebar:

I was wondering why the main character in FTL wasn’t popping up in Storybrooke.  At the end it was revealed why.  What is Regina’s game here?  If she thinks she can pull one over on Mr. Gold she’s got another thing coming….especially if all he has to do is say please.  It would be so easy to get rid of her.  “Eat a bullet…..please.”  Done.  Nice and easy.  I guess that would defeat the purpose of Emma then.

What was with the name of the flower shop?  Game of Thorns???  Seriously?

This show has shown that when it wants to waste a character they won’t waste anytime (i.e. Graham) and the same was shown with Gaston.  Not that he was any big loss.

DarkMedia contributor Tracy Ladd has been writing about film since her days on the her high school newspaper. Even though she took a decade or two off to explore other things, she’s back to doing what she loves. She also bakes, can knit a pretty nifty scarf and makes lightsaber sounds with her knitting needles. Or chopsticks. Especially with the lightsaber chopsticks.

You can find her on Facebook, on Twitter @ReelGoddess, and on her website The Reel Goddess.