Episode Discussion 2x19: Lacey

[jadestrick.livejournal.com]

Episode Discussion 2x19: Lacey

Mr. Gold enlists the aid of David to help him try to jog Belle's now cursed memories and get her to love him again; and when it is revealed that the magic beans Anton and the dwarves have been harvesting have begun to grow and could possibly transport everybody home, Emma is torn over whether she would want to live in fairytale land or stay in our world. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, Rumplestiltskin forces Belle to accompany him on a hunt to kill a thief, whom she had freed in the name of mercy.

Comments

[mahmfic.livejournal.com]

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

I always did think there was something a little dysfunctional about their relationship . . .

[puppetmaker40.livejournal.com]

So we are gong bad boy with Rumple?

Does change the status quo.

[mahmfic.livejournal.com]

but the status is not quo...
sorry couldn't resist.

[puppetmaker40.livejournal.com]

No problem. I put it out there.

I was thinking about the episode this morning and what I said.

If one thinks about it chaos is the status quo for Fairytale Land.

Regina created order with the curse and the fact that magic didn't exist.

Regina created order but it was a repetitive order and once the curse was broken things went back to chaos.

[maidenjedi]

Meh. It was less than interesting. Felt like the fairyback was out of order (Belle was still terrified of Rumplestiltskin after that - we know from the original introduction) and wish this had been more of a game-changer. So Gold's going bad (again) and Regina is plotting (still).

Honestly, after the build up about Robin Hood, I expected something a bit better than that.

[puppetmaker40.livejournal.com]

I have a feeling that Robin Hood will be back. That was not a one off and it will make more sense then.

[limbomonkey.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty new to the show, so maybe the answers to my questions are obvious, but here goes.

What happened to "Lacey" during the curse? I know she was locked up in the hospital, but who did she think she was? I assumed she had no memory and was a mental patient, and I'm just trying to figure out why and how she got there. Obviously the real answer is "Regina put her there," but why did anyone else think she was there? And why did "Lacey," after the memories were recovered, think she had been there? (Or did she even know?)

That aside, I'm actually really excited by this episode. In addition to just having a huge crush on Gold (and seriously going all Lacey-like "you are dark!" whenever he beats someone up), I'm excited by where this episode can lead in terms of, should Belle recover her memories, how will she react to having encouraged that behavior? One of my complaints about the show has been that there seems to be no moral middle ground. I was really annoyed when Mary Margret was all brooding after killing Cora (and saving everyone's lives!!!). Rumpel/Gold I like so much because he seems to be the only morally ambiguous character. I think Belle having to face what she encouraged will be interesting to watch.

[ramasi.livejournal.com]

Hey! Sorry, this is a late response, but I only just saw this episode (haven't seen the next one yet, so if you reply, no spoilers please!) and was looking through discussion about it, so I thoughts I'd reply.

I don't think they really fully explained what happened to Belle and what Lacey thinks; but the way I understand it, Regina made a curse self for her (had to, perhaps), but didn't give her those memories, so Belle, during the curse and during her later amnesia, simply had no idea and no concept of who she was. We're not told what other people think about Belle during the curse; I figure no-one asked, because that's the kind of power Regina has at the time? She'd have to have kept her well-hidden to keep even Gold from finding out; Jefferson knew, but Jefferson wasn't suched by the curse like the others.
Lacey, or amnesiac Belle before that, can't be remembering her time being locked up; else I feel her escape, her being told Regina locked her up and going to Gold for help would have been mentioned at some point; she forgot that whole part of her life, same as her fairy-tale self and her whole post-curse Storybrooke life.

I loved this episode; I'm enjoying Lacey; and I think if the two of them don't go too far now, this might be good for them: I figure that this is a part of Belle that always existed, she just choose to repress it, and maybe they can have a relationship based on a more truthful basis in the future? :/
I think we're getting a little more morally grey lately; I think Snow is brooding because this isn't the person she wants to be, because she has a very black-and-white view of morality, not necessarily because it fits reality (and while it's weird for her to be like this about killing Cora, if only because she's killed people before, the way she did it was pretty damn creepy).

[limbomonkey.livejournal.com]

I have two thoughts on Lacey/Belle:

1) A huge elaborate back story. Lacey was institutionalized by her dad Moe French for alcohol/drug dependency, which manifested in her symptoms similar to mental illness. She was pumped full of drugs, so she forgot who she was. When she "remembered" (with the help of Regina), she went back to her dad's to yell at him and get some clothes.

2) Since Rumple was the one who designed the curse, maybe Belle didn't have a separate identity because he thought she was dead. And "Lacey" was thus purely a later creation by Regina.

As for everything else, *nods* I'm hoping that they go into moral ambiguity too, and I had thought that too about Belle, that she had a dark side as well but chose to be good. Maybe this is something that makes her more compassionate, because she knows that there is good and bad in everyone and that everyone can make a choice. And yeah, I should give Snow more credit or whatever for her brooding. It was a pretty awesome/horrible trick. (But still, all the other brooding, no don't execute Regina from earlier. Ugh!)

[ramasi.livejournal.com]

1) I can't imagine Gold wouldn't have found out about her if anyone had curse memories of her. But she could be remember it that way; that might be awkward when she interacts with those people, but so is just being in Storybrooke, and the curse is designed to make people not notice weirdness. :/
2) I never thought of that – maybe? Perhaps Regina could have corrected it – I figure she does have more control over the specifics –, but was happier that way.

Maybe this is something that makes her more compassionate, because she knows that there is good and bad in everyone and that everyone can make a choice
I really like that idea! That it's not naivety or simply boundless optimism, but that she might know from experience what's possible.

[limbomonkey.livejournal.com]

I rewatched the Lacey episode, and here is the relevant exchange between Regina and Gold:

Regina: Oh, you mean she has her memories back.
Gold: Not her memories. Her curse memories.
Regina: From the curse you gave me. See all I did was jog things back in place.

I don't know. It could kind of go either way in terms of who made those "memories" (Regina or Gold)? Jefferson talked about his house and whatever, but maybe he just didn't know that Regina got the curse from Gold?

When did the curse break for Gold? I got the impression that it was as soon as Gold heard Emma's name (the first episode) though I'm not sure why. But because of that, I think it is possible that other people had "memories" of Lacey but Gold wouldn't have found out. If he was working under the assumption that she was dead and never went to the Rabbit Hole, then it's possible that in that roughly one year period it never came up.

On the other hand, when Gold was beating up Mr. French (is it wrong that I was so turned on by that scene?) he was shouting about "you're her father" or something. It does make me wonder why he didn't say anything about Lacey then if he did have "memories" of her.