KingOfHearts

Very good question. From what I've been told through the dialog and seen on screen, Rumple gives Belle a goal. She wanted to be a hero, and because of him she gets to be one. To her, she's making a sacrifice for everyone else by "curing" or "pacifying" the beast. This causes her to be on her best behavior. It's not good enough for me, but that seems to be what the show is going with.

I'm giving Robin a big benefit of a doubt here, but I don't think he'd be dating Regina if he knew she had killed Marian, like you said. I know he and Marian have different stories, but I don't think that means they don't line up. There's a few missing pieces there that S4 will probably fill out. At the end of the day it really doesn't matter how Marian died. Regina planned on killing her anyway. Regina said so herself, "Intent is everything." I don't know anyone who thinks murdering Gaston is True Love. If a villain kills a secondary character, I don't really care. The problem with Regina is that she's killed countless people, shown no remorse for it, and she's still labeled a "hero". Rumple isn't trying to fool anyone but Belle - he's still very much a villain.

The stampeding I mentioned was actually Simba's dad, haha. I also found Dumbo's mom being locked up in a cage to be an act of horror! With all the dark Disney movie stuff, I don't think Frozen fans over 10 will be too traumatized by Once.

Well, burning people at the stake, slaughtering villages, killing an entire army with an avalanche, stabbing someone in the lower back, sending a stampede to trample someone to death, eating a whole family of children, skinning puppies, letting someone die of hypothermia, and turning children into donkeys for slave work aren't exactly out of Disney's portfolio. I really hope Rumpbelle doesn't get their "love" strengthened by Frozen. That sends a very disturbing message.

My definition of a curse is a spell that is intended to hurt people. Curse 2 didn't directly hurt anyone directly, which is why it's such a joke.

Yeah I thought about that. Maybe Regina was paranoid about the fairy tale books.

I believe that was from 1x22, where Charming met Maleficent in her castle.

This is spoilery because of one major detail, but it's 95% speculation, so it's much more fitting in this thread.

I don't put too much pressure on the "He's all I have!" line because it was in the moment. Her son was dying, so it probably made her feel alone. In the grand scheme of things it was absolute crap. Not only because she was the one who got rid of her family, but because she wasn't alone. The Charmings all cared about her and were there for her, diluted or not. I'd say the Regrets Tree was totally on her though. That was a calculated speech about something her mind has been set on for literally years.

Lots of great points, Shanna Marie. Emma outlined this in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, when she said that it was Mayor Mills who was driving everyone away, not Sheriff Swan. If only we had the same Emma in the final scene of S3! I don't think it's that anyone cares if Regina whines or snarks, but the characters take it so seriously. The coddling has gotten worse ever since the Rise of Woegina in 2B. If she was whining back in the first season, Emma would have shut her up fast. Snow wouldn't have put her head on her shoulder. Henry would have told her the facts straight up. Now they're all cheerleaders.

I'd say they sort of did starting in S2.

I think everyone you've mentioned has paid a lot more than Regina has. Rumple died, then his son died. Cora got murdered. Snow has paid for using that magical candle with her massive guilt breakdown that lasted weeks. Killian's love got killed. What's different about Regina is anything she's paid (except her father), she's gotten back. Her price for ripping the curse, for example, was Henry, and one year later he's back. I was referring mostly to the regulars and main cast members. The people who do show anger about Regina, are treated as bad people or even villains. With Greg, Regina's "price" was short-lived. She was saved before anything permanent could happen, and she didn't have to do anything.

Why did Regina close the library?

Don't forget the awesome shot where Regina crashes through the clock tower and glass shatters! Oh, and it may not have to do with cameras and directing, but the Emerald City was easily one of the best CGI sets on the show!

Even when you put morals aside, there are consequences to hurting or killing people. People get angry when you hurt them or murder their loved ones - it's logical and natural. When victims don't show any feelings against Regina, it's not organic or feasible. They're like smiling robots in this way. Characters forget her actions after just one episode, if that.

Not at the time, but after the curse broke, they should have. Especially Emma - I don't buy it that she still doesn't believe Regina crushed his heart. My point is, Regina doesn't get consequences for her bad actions. Instead she gets comfort from the very people she hurts!

She didn't get them for killing Graham, but she got them despite killing Graham. At the time, no one (except Henry) suspected her of killing him. She was still admired by Kathryn, David, Sidney, and Dr. Whale, to name a few. Kathryn was her "dear friend" at the time, and in the literal sense of "hugs and kisses", was still giving her hugs. She got zero punishment for murdering Graham.

That print around Belle's waist... looks like it's from Arendelle. I bet her skirt or whatever is the giveaway that she's from there. If she was filming with Anna, then...

I'm wondering why Regina went for Sidney so suddenly in the first episode. Of all the weapons in her arsenal, she chooses him. What does he have special that she needs? I can understand if he's trying to orchestrate an "accident" for Marian or something like that, but I don't know why she's putting him back in the mirror.

Santa Claus is totally Season 10's Big Bad. "I'm not evil or wicked, I'm naughty."

Well from these pictures it does appear Marian has some guts. Though I'm also getting some "Poor Regina! Marian doesn't realize she's changed!" vibes. With all the Marian and Frozen photos, I find the one with Sidney looking at the book the most intriguing.

I concur with everything Mari said. It sums up my thoughts exactly. I'd like to add that screentime is a large part of it as well. When Regina gets upset over superficial stuff, there is zero character development. When we see her killing people back in EF, that doesn't move anything forward. Yet with these things in mind, the writers still devote more time to them than almost anything else on the show. What's more, characters that need development, like Emma or Rumple, have their screentime squandered in exchange for more Evil Queen scenes. If her redemption is what they're going for, then there is no sense in showing more wrong things Regina has done. The writers put in many lines claiming how "redeemed" Regina is, but then they write entire episodes about how bad she was/is. "You can't have everything, dearie!"

I'm pretty sure it's the honeymoon because it looks like Mr. Gold's house. It's definitely not the Enchanted Forest - just look at that gramophone! Can't exactly imagine Angela Lansbury singing about this "epic" love in the form of a teapot.

I wouldn't have either if it weren't so inconsistent. They had been all about forgiveness and looking the other way up to that point, then in a split second they rage on her. Coupled with the whole execution flashback, it felt very overplayed in the effort to victimize Regina. Those weren't real feelings - they were just put in there to suit the script. Right after they find out Regina was innocent, it was back to coddling. If they wanted to scream at her, they would've done it in Broken for all the horrible things Regina did in S1. (Like killing Graham, framing Mary Margaret, abducting Kathryn, seducing David, trying to kill Mary Margaret, trying to curse Emma, etc.) Why they didn't show hardly any anger at all is beyond me.

Well, this is a story issue. Her character is part of the main cast, so she can't be a Big Bad forever. If everyone wanted to kill her (which is natural), then her character wouldn't have anywhere to go. If she remains a villain, then there's the big question of why she hasn't been killed off. I can see why they wanted to redeem her, but the execution of the redemption is what has been messed up. If the main cast hated her, then she wouldn't stay relevant to them. I can see the Charmings forgiving her eventually just because story demands it, but the way the show has handled it has been very poor and shallow. They paint it over with victimization and manufactured tears, hoping the audience doesn't see. I totally understand the city wanting to kill her, and I'm surprised that dropped so quickly in S2. Honestly it should have been more like the nightmare sequence in An Apple Red as Blood. If they had given Regina a truer redemption in the second season, it wouldn't have been such a big pill to swallow.