‘Once Upon A Time’ 6.02 “A Bitter Draught” Review: How To Exact Revenge

The Count of Monte Cristo: Past

We open the flashback story of the Count of Monty Cristo this week with a feud betweenThe Baron and the Count. The rehash their history, basically the Baron ruined the Count’s life by killing his fiancé. Oops. In order to exact his revenge, the Count spent ten years to get to the place where he could be in a position to kill the Baron, which he promptly does.

The Evil Queen enters exclaiming there is “nothing like your first kill” and now that he has a thirst for it she can quench it; by giving him a list of all of the people that have wronged him and his fiancé.  Of course, in return she has a list of her own for him to attend to. She has her sights narrowed on Charming and Snow – who she cannot kill because of Rumple’s protective spell.  But she can hire someone to do her dirty work!

In order to get close to the Charming’s, the Count poses as a villager named Edmund who was injured due to the Queen ransacking and destroying his village. Since Snow and Charming trust everyone they run into, they promptly invite him INTO THEIR HOME and make him their wine steward.  The Count/Edmund is stopped dead in his tracks by Snow’s random hand maiden, Charlotte, and remarks about her eyes. Creepy…

With The Count/Edmund successfully infiltrating the Charming residence, the Evil Queen gives him poison to finish the job.  Of course, it isn’t that easy.  The dinner appears to be just for Snow and Charming, but Charlotte appears (those eyes!) and a third place setting is put down. He must now pour Charlotte a glass of wine from the same poisoned flask. He was already starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with his revenge and Charlotte and her eyes just made it worse.  He quickly halts their toasting before the glasses can hit their lips and he states that an occasion like this deserves a finer wine.  Not suspicious at all.

Oh dearie – here is where things get interesting. Rumple and the Evil Queen have a confrontation that is slightly flirty and uncomfortable where he tells her he needs Snow and Charming alive and procreating so to not test him.  Rumple then appears to the Count/Edmund and produces a poisoned Charlotte.  We learn that Charlotte’s eyes are strikingly similar to his fiancé’s causing the guilt to eat away at him. Rumple tells him that he can save her if he just leaves to the Land of Untold Stories and never return. If he returns, the poison will resume its wrath on Charlotte’s body and she will die. He promptly leaves. We know what is to come…