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Be Careful What You Wish
"Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" introduces us to one of the most interesting backstories of the show, and gives its first use of a person playing double. This is Sidney's story, and the explanation for his puppet-like ways. He began as the Genie of Agrabah, centuries old and weary of his small prison. He yearns to be free and find the one thing he has always been denied: true love. On the shore he is discovered by Snow White's kind and benevolent father, King Leopold. Because he is completely content, the king gives the genie his freedom, using his second wish to give his final wish to the genie himself. He leads him home to the castle, where Sidney first lays eyes on Regina, the king's beautiful but unhappy young wife. He is instantly smitten by her well-portrayed kindness, and gives her a mirror to see herself as the fairest in the land, a title the king had bestowed on his daughter at a banquet that evening.
The king later finds an entry in the queen's diary talking about a man who gave her a mirror and stole her heart. He requests that the genie find this man and bring him to the king. Sidney goes to Regina, where she is about to end her own misery by inviting a poisonous viper bite. But he stops her, choosing instead to use the snakes on the king and freeing the queen. When the deed is done, the genie returns to a much different Regina: cold and calculating, with no hint of the sweet girl he believed her to be. Suddenly the truth comes to him, and he realizes that the queen had been spinning a web of deceit all along; she never loved him. His sole purpose was to be a scapegoat for the king's murder, thereby freeing the queen and giving her control over the kingdom. But despite the facts, the genie is unable to put aside his blind and wild feelings for the queen, and uses his last wish: to be at the her side always. But wishes also come with a price, and although the genie's wish is granted, he is placed in a prison of his own making: the queen's mirror.
"Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" introduces us to one of the most interesting backstories of the show, and gives its first use of a person playing double. This is Sidney's story, and the explanation for his puppet-like ways. He began as the Genie of Agrabah, centuries old and weary of his small prison. He yearns to be free and find the one thing he has always been denied: true love. On the shore he is discovered by Snow White's kind and benevolent father, King Leopold. Because he is completely content, the king gives the genie his freedom, using his second wish to give his final wish to the genie himself. He leads him home to the castle, where Sidney first lays eyes on Regina, the king's beautiful but unhappy young wife. He is instantly smitten by her well-portrayed kindness, and gives her a mirror to see herself as the fairest in the land, a title the king had bestowed on his daughter at a banquet that evening.
The king later finds an entry in the queen's diary talking about a man who gave her a mirror and stole her heart. He requests that the genie find this man and bring him to the king. Sidney goes to Regina, where she is about to end her own misery by inviting a poisonous viper bite. But he stops her, choosing instead to use the snakes on the king and freeing the queen. When the deed is done, the genie returns to a much different Regina: cold and calculating, with no hint of the sweet girl he believed her to be. Suddenly the truth comes to him, and he realizes that the queen had been spinning a web of deceit all along; she never loved him. His sole purpose was to be a scapegoat for the king's murder, thereby freeing the queen and giving her control over the kingdom. But despite the facts, the genie is unable to put aside his blind and wild feelings for the queen, and uses his last wish: to be at the her side always. But wishes also come with a price, and although the genie's wish is granted, he is placed in a prison of his own making: the queen's mirror.
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A Crooked Ally
In a similar vein, Emma also allows her emotions to cloud her judgment and lead her down the wrong path. After Regina demolishes Henry's castle when it was hit by a bad storm, Emma and Sidney team up to expose Regina for underhanded dealings. At the start Emma tries to play by the book, but grows increasingly angered by the mayor's actions (prompted of course by Sidney.) She decides to pull out all the stops, and bugs Regina's office, finding her plans to build a large structure in the woods. On the way to the payoff, she finds that her brakes were cut, instantly blaming Regina. She finds that the mayor bought a large tract of land from Mr. Gold, and her emotions inflame to the boiling point.
The next day at a city council meeting when Emma accuses Regina of thievery, the mayor calmly announces that she used the funds to build the children a safe place to play. Regina is a clever game player, and would never leave such obvious tracks. Back at her office we see that Sidney had been working for the mayor the entire time, duping Emma into a one-sided partnership with a traitor. It was he who showed the photos of the castle to Regina; it was he who tampered with Emma's car brakes. Be careful of what you wish, and of whom you trust!
In a similar vein, Emma also allows her emotions to cloud her judgment and lead her down the wrong path. After Regina demolishes Henry's castle when it was hit by a bad storm, Emma and Sidney team up to expose Regina for underhanded dealings. At the start Emma tries to play by the book, but grows increasingly angered by the mayor's actions (prompted of course by Sidney.) She decides to pull out all the stops, and bugs Regina's office, finding her plans to build a large structure in the woods. On the way to the payoff, she finds that her brakes were cut, instantly blaming Regina. She finds that the mayor bought a large tract of land from Mr. Gold, and her emotions inflame to the boiling point.
The next day at a city council meeting when Emma accuses Regina of thievery, the mayor calmly announces that she used the funds to build the children a safe place to play. Regina is a clever game player, and would never leave such obvious tracks. Back at her office we see that Sidney had been working for the mayor the entire time, duping Emma into a one-sided partnership with a traitor. It was he who showed the photos of the castle to Regina; it was he who tampered with Emma's car brakes. Be careful of what you wish, and of whom you trust!