6 Reasons Regina’s Journey is the Most Transcendent on Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time focuses heavily on heroes and villains. The heroes are the ones who brave the pain of the world around them and triumph (Ex. Snow White & Prince Charming), and villains are the ones who spread cruelty and strife among the masses (Ex. Regina & Rumpelstilskin). In season one, this was the formula that we all followed to see where everyone stood, who we would back, who we would cheer for. Because we all cheer for the hero don’t we?

Then Regina, the Evil Queen, had to step into our TV screens and shake everything up.

Suddenly, there was this incredibly smart, self centered, beautiful, and complicated woman who was more than just the bad guy. Sure, the first season was more about pegging her as the ‘traditional villain.’ But Season 2, 3, and 4 pulled back those layers and showed us that there was more to the sleek and extravagantly dressed killer Queen.

She surpassed the concept of what we knew of a fantasy show antagonist. She became someone exceptional and original who knew the love of a mother, the pain of loss, and the freedom of joy and happiness. And she has sought out the one thing that all human beings seek in life — to find her happy ending.

Regina became someone transcendent.

Below are the 6 reasons why The Evil Queen’s journey has been the most transcendent on Once Upon a Time. Let’s begin!

1. She Stays, Even When It’s Hard

After the curse was broken, Regina tried to reassure Henry, her son, that she still loved him, that he was safe, and that she would do anything for him (S2, E1 “Broken”). But her saying that she loved Henry wasn’t enough according to him. She had to prove that she was willing to fight for him, to change for him. Regina could have run off, left the hurricane of pain she had created behind, but she didn’t.

She stayed.

Even though it was hard, even though everyone doubted her, and even though she teetered between being good and evil constantly…Regina stayed and thrived. She stayed when it mattered even though ‘the heroes’ questioned, doubted, and patronized her (Ex. When she joined on the rescue mission to save Henry from the clutches of Peter Pan in Season 3). She also stayed when she didn’t have to (Ex. Season 4 Finale where she sacrificed her life for a son she didn’t even remember or know).

The point is that she doesn’t run. She fights for what is hers, and as time passed, she learned to fight not only for herself, but also for her loved ones and what she believed was right.

2. She is Two Sides of One Coin

Regina showed us that there was more than one side to a villain. She is multifaceted, and with each season, she is more complicated than we’d thought before. As the villain, it was easy to show us that she knew hate, revenge, loathing, and jealousy for her subjects and the people in her way.

But that wasn’t JUST what she was. There was another side to the Evil Queen that took only a couple episodes to see, but seasons to understand. She knew compassion, affection and love for her fiancee, her mother, her father, her son and, one day, even the people she swore to destroy.

3. She Begins as the Villain, Then Becomes the Hero

Regina started as the person you hated each week. You cheered for Emma ‘the savior’ to thwart her evil plans and for Regina to fall on her ‘Evil Queen’ face (not that I want anyone to harm her beautiful face). You just couldn’t understand week after week why she did the things she did. But before we knew it, the layers started to get peeled back and chances were being presented to her. We saw Regina had an opportunity to be good, to fix what she had broken in others and herself.

Surprisingly enough, Regina took that chance.

She worked on finding a way to get Emma and Mary Margaret back from the Enchanted Forest, gained the town’s trust (partially), fought her inner demons, and didn’t kill Snow White. And that’s only in Season 2! In Season 3 she pushed it even further by saving the town and letting go of Henry, knowing that she’d never see him again (S3, Ep11 “Going Home”). She proved herself with every courageous and (not always) selfless act of love.

No longer was she the ‘Evil Queen’ in our heads. She was Regina.

4. Her Actions Led Her to Her Happy Ending (or Beginning) 

This is by far the craziest thing to accept when it comes to Regina’s journey (especially when you’re trying to explain to a friend who’s never seen an episode). She murdered dozens, and she terrorized and destroyed countless other lives. You wouldn’t think that would get her a happy ending, right? Yet somehow, she still ended up making the path to her own happiness.

By placing the dark curse on the people of the Enchanted Forest she set the stage for everything that she would gain in her life. Her actions led her to her son. Led her to Robin. Led her to her new family. Led her to the happy ending/inner peace that she had always sought but had always slipped through her fingers.

We can argue for days on whether this was fate or just a crazy coincidence of the lives of the magical folk of the Enchanted Forest. But I for one, believe it was fate.

5. She’s Friends (Even Family) with the People She Vowed to Destroy

“Shattered Sight” (S4, Ep11) was like taking a step back into the past. We had Regina and her ultimate nemesis, Snow White, duking it out after the Snow Queen’s evil curse stripped them of all the progress they’d made together as allies, friends, and family. We saw Regina for the person she used to be before she started her journey of redemption, change, and growth.

And what was truly amazing about this episode is that when the curse was lifted, Regina, Mary Margaret, and David all started laughing. They even pointed out Regina’s outfit, asking what she was wearing like it was the most casual thing.

This right here shows how far Regina has come in learning how to understand and forgive the people that she has sought revenge against for so long.

6. The Professed Hero Sacrificed Herself for the Professed Villain

Honestly, one of the most shocking moments of Once Upon a Time to date (spoiler if you haven’t caught up with Season 4) is when Emma sacrificed herself for Regina. In a world where everything started as black and white, heroes and villains, the professed hero stood up and said ‘no.’ Emma told Regina that she wasn’t going to let all the hard work she had done to be happy, to be good, to be a hero… be destroyed, to be snuffed out by the darkness of the ‘Dark Ones’ dagger. The ‘hero’ sacrificed herself for the ‘villain.’

This right here shows how far others have come in understanding, loving, and forgiving Regina for what she has done in her past.

This right here was the final thing to tie off Regina’s journey (for the moment) as the most transcendent of characters/stories on Once Upon a Time.

So What About Season 5?

Her journey’s not done. Not by a long shot, because she’s probably pissed off a boat load of people out there who want revenge against her and her own. But things are different now.

Regina is a hero who used to be a villain.

She has become a person armed with the cunning, cutthroat skills to protect her new family while still doing what’s right and saving the day. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see, and cheer on for whatever comes next in this reformed villains journey come Season 5!

Hate her? Love her? Throw us some of your thoughts, comments, praise about the lovely Regina in the comments section below!

Once Upon a Time returns Sunday, September 27th on ABC.