Once Upon a Time- Episode 3.13 "Witch Hunt" Review- Sister, Sister!

Regina and The Wicked Witch (Zelena) are sisters. After Regina said no one could break her blood magic I already came to suspect as much, but I wasn’t any less delighted by the deliver, and it’s just that both Rebecca Mader and Lana Parrilla have such an incredible chemistry on screen that I was just delighted. The fact that they are related on the show means we’ll see more interactions between the two of them and that makes me extremely happy. The interaction of Regina and Zelena was probably one of the highlights of an episode I fairly enjoyed.

Last week’s episode biggest flaw was how it was sacrificing the character insight to fast-forward plot progression. This week we get more character insight than plot progression, but I would say it is way more balanced.

I can’t deny through the episode I was worried the show would take some twists and turns that I wouldn’t like, for instance at the town meeting I was worried that the show wanted to restore Regina’s status as a villain, but then it was revealed it was all for show, as she and Emma were planning on misleading whoever casted this curse. Now that’s interesting.

Seeing Regina working alongside the good guys is one of my favorite things in the episode, wherever it is in The Enchanted Forest or Storybrooke, because we get to see a side of her that was kept hidden until she had the chance to be on the “good side”.

On Storybrooke we get to see how Regina works with Emma, and it starts with her thanking Emma for trusting her; I believe this is the first time we get to see Regina being grateful and through the episode you can see how the two of them start bonding and slowly having moments similar to those of a true friendship. When both of them were in the car waiting for whomever casted the curse they start chatting, Regina asks Emma if Henry had friends and she says yes that he was actually happy living the life Regina gave them. You can see in Regina’s eyes that she is happy to have made such a good deed for once and somehow one can notice that she feels safe talking to Emma and I’m sure she’s grateful that Emma asked if she wanted to meet Henry even when she blew it off. It’s a very sweet little moment that show how far Regina has come through and how these two character can become over time really close friends.

On The Enchanted Forest we get to see Regina’s dynamic with Robin Hood when they sneak inside her castle to break the protection spell. Regina is used to get things done by herself, so she doesn’t really appreciate the company at first, but then there’s the unintentional chemistry she can’t escape. She tries to push him away and not very subtly, but Hood keeps going and little by little Regina opens up and as Hood tells him about how he lost people Regina lets him know that she has lost people too. And by the time Regina a start making the sleeping curse Hood is already convinced that she doesn’t have to go through it that she will find a second chance, and that’s because Hood can see himself in Regina.

Regina is stubborn as hell, so she doesn’t listen and once she takes down the protection spell she is ready to put herself to sleep. But wait! The Wicked Witch appears and the standoff begins. Only good things can come when you put two magnificent actresses on screen and as I said above. I already suspected that they were actually sisters (and I’m pretty sure Rumple is Zelena’s father) and the confirmation only made me happy. By the time Zelena leaves the castle you can see Regina is over the moon, she has found a new objective: someone to destroy. This should be really fun.

On the less impressive aspects of the episodes (pretty much the non-Regina related), as Henry doesn’t have his memory back everyone has to pretend they don’t know anything about it, and seeing how everyone is such a bad liar (yes, even Regina) is painful. They go through such a hard time to make excuses that it comes across as stalling more than actually lying.

The whole subplot with disappearing people turning into Zelena’s flying monkey wasn’t nearly as interesting as it should have as it mostly ended up being for story progression purposes and rising up the stakes a little bit. Oh, and also it works to keep everyone inside Storybrooke, yay?

But seriously, all of that are just little details that bother me, the one thing that really tipped me off was Snow being so gullible as to believe in the words of a complete stranger when she knows whomever casted the curse is running around wild and it’s probably not someone she knows. I know, I know, Snow is supposed to believe in the goodness of people, but still! In the situation they are in she should be wary, and Snow has already learnt to be by all what she has been through. Besides, she claims she missed the first curse, how convenient.

Anyway, the episode ends with Zelena going into a basement where she keeps Rumplestiltskin. I guess no one was really surprised that he is alive, but it's always good to know that Robert Carlyle will be kept on the show. What is actually surprising is his state of mind; while captive he seems to be reverting to the way he was before the first curse, we can tell by the way he speaks (“you feed the madness and it feeds on you!”) laughs and look.


Overall the episode is pretty solid, it builds from the storytelling of last week’s episode while exploring whole new faces of Regina (which is always welcomed), but it does struggle with pacing at times and there and there we have scenes that feel irrelevant. Still, for most of the episode I had a blast.

Grade: B+

Stray Observations:

-Red/Ruby actually shows up again! She was seen in the background last week, but for the first time this season she speaks! I wonder how they got Meghan Ory back after she decided to leave the show.

-When Belle starts talking about Oz Regina looks her puzzled as if she was about to say “how do you know about this?”

-Regina saving Robin Hood’s kid? Not the best scene in the world, but I did love how she turned the monkey into a plushy toy and gave it to him, it’s almost like giving him the head of an enemy, but you know… plushier.

-Snow: “She has flying monkeys, who knows what else?”
Regina: “I don’t care if the lollipop guild is protecting her”.
Oh my god! This line is just so brilliant!
On a side note to that, I like how Snow decides to trust Regina when she says she can handle it alone and how Regina is unable to believe she is being trusted.

-Henry spends most of the episode on his phone, like every single kid these days. A little bit sad to watch, but not less true.

-American baby, a book not suited for Snow White.

-Regina throwing her potion bottle at a wall.
Emma: “Either that wall did something to you in the past year or do I say it didn’t work?”
OUAT has some good ways to point out the obvious.

-Flying monkey escaped.
Charming: “What the hell was that thing?”
Dr. Whale: “Don’t look at me, I’m a doctor not a vet.”
Sure, my vet would be completely able to identify that Flying Monkey.

About the Author - Pablo

I'm currently studying Psychology while also writing fantasy books (one already published in my home country, Chile, you can check it out on the facebook icon). I watch many different types of shows, including my favorites Revenge, Game of Thrones, Once Upon a Time and about 23 more. Currently writing reviews for Once Upon a Time, How I Met Your Mother and Community