During Season 1 we were all too familiar with the Rumpel’s/Gold’s Deals, Emma’s favor she owed Gold, the boundaries the Town Charter brought to Regina, and not to mention the power of the ultimate “Magic Word,” that Gold uses on Regina, Please.

Season 2 brings a new edge to it all.

As with any interesting story, the next Season (or Chapter) brings a fresh look at characters we thought we already knew (especially since Magic was brought back to change things substantially), and the same is happening to Once Upon a Time.

I have discussed the power of love that Belle wields against Gold, which is powerful unto itself, but with that power also comes promises and commitment with unconditional love.

Belle makes Gold promise not to kill Regina (I’ll also through in the urging she gave him to not give in to his hate). Belle exemplifies the sense of forgiveness that is not shown too often by our baddies in OUAT. Even after Belle was kidnapped and locked up for 28 years, she felt that being released to find the man she loved was enough to let Regina off the hook. The norm of Gold of enacting revenge to continue the cycle of constant back and forth that never ends. From a point of mercy and forgiveness, Belle urges Gold to promise, hopefully to get him to change, but even in Gold’s tearful promise, his mind was still racing to find “another” way to keep his promise and satisfy his revenge. Once Belle realizes that even though Gold promises, it is a murky promise with many loopholes and wiggle room reinterpreting words and situations to end at the same goal, but taking a longer route.

Belle, as many people realize that her yearning to change a person isn’t enough to enact the change. Gold realizes as he did before in Fairy Tale Land that his love for Belle wasn’t enough to actually get him to change. In the exchange (in “Broken”) he said that the (Wraith) monster was gone, but Regina lives and (giving Belle the out) urging Belle to leave. Again Belle showing unconditional love and (maybe unrealistic goals by staying in a relationship to model, love and change someone) choices to stay.

We will see how the goodness, kindness, forgiveness and unconditional love plays out in her relationship with Gold, or will Gold end up affecting Belle the other way?

Henry also uses the power of the promise and unconditional love, as well.

With the mob scene and the freedom of a broken curse, as people head to Regina’s house to enact revenge for the dark curse, Henry asks them to not kill her, because Regina is his other Mother. Later, Regina seems surprised that Henry asked Emma to protect her. Emma leads the charge of Henry’s promise, as well as Snow’s realization that killing Regina will do nothing to better the uncursed inhabitants of Storybrooke. James follows the mandate, but struggles with it.

Ultimately, when Henry interrupts Regina almost un-hearting James, it is Henry that is the powerful one to back her away from her power and vengeance play. Regina’s love for Henry and Henry’s goodness (now for James). The final speech that Henry gives to Regina is the line in the sand (and the story arc of Season 2, I’ll bet) that unless Regina can bring back Emma and Snow that she will leave Henry and everyone alone. To add salt to the wound and power to the promise he will live with James. We will see if Regina holds exactly to the promise, or if she finds wiggle room like Gold does.

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