Once Upon a Fangirl...: Skin Deep

Remember when I said 1x11 was underwhelming? Well, this episode is my favourite one in the entire season! I'm not joking, I absolutely love it! Why? Well, I'll tell you after the summary! This episode introduces Belle (guest star Emilie de Ravin) and how she sacrifices herself for her kingdom when the ogres invade, through a deal made by Rumplestiltskin. Even though they pretty much completely different at the start, slowly they start to fall in love, but it doesn't end well when Rumple thinks Belle is working for Regina after she suggests True Love's Kiss when taking advantage of Belle's love for him to make him powerless. Even if it ends pretty bad, it's clear they still love and care for one another (just watch 2x11 to see what I mean) and I have to say, it is superb! The way it's told is just beautiful and the story of Beauty and the Beast is my personal favourite. The reveal of Rumple as the beast really helps with his character development and we get to see such a sweet side to him, which is adorable and Robert Carlyle is just incredible (I know I said that for 1x08, but he performs it here with such commitment) The romance is just perfect, I know people complained about the 20 year age gap between the actors, but I didn't personally care! They have such wonderful chemistry onscreen and you really believe that these two are in love through those tiny little gestures which really help progress their romance. Well, how's Belle, the love interest? I love her! Belle was always my favourite Disney princess and I'm so glad with how Emilie brought her to life! She just does an incredible performance in this episode! I think what I love about it is she manages to keep the same qualities as the Disney Belle, but makes the character her own without being too different. She's kind, smart, brave and doesn't give a shit on what anyone says! This character and love story would be so popular, she'd be promoted to series regular from season 2 onwards!
Well, how are the Storybrooke scenes compared to the Enchanted Forest scenes?...Eh! I mean, the main focus, other than Ruby, Mary Margaret and Ashley going on a girl's night out while Ashley complains about her boyfriend always working and not being able to spend time with him, is Mr Gold being robbed by Moe French, who happens to be the Storybrooke counterpart of Belle's father. As revenge, he kidnaps and beats him, but it's mostly because he thinks Moe abused Belle (who at this point, thinks she's dead) and clearly thinks Moe should get his just desserts for what he apparently did. This leads to getting him arrested and finally revealing that he has his memories of his past life when he finds out Regina took his beloved chipped cup which was the only thing he had as a keepsake to remind him of his love for Belle. I loved Robert as Mr Gold, he, like his performance as Rumple is his episode, just makes us feel sorry for him even though he can come across as cruel. And the girl'd night out...I thought it was OK. Didn't really progress anything except for when David and Mary Margaret were doing the repetitive 'we can't be together because something is keeping us apart' stuff and David being a jerk by giving Mary Margaret the wrong Valentine and her suggesting that he should go and see poor Kathryn (yeah, I feel sorry for her!) Didn'tt interest me but that's just nitpicking because this is still my favourite episode