Re: Poor Regina

@AntBee wrote:

I’m not really an expert on etiquette, but someone in the chat pointed out that it would have been wrong for Henry or any of the other Charmings to invite Regina because Ruby is the one that invited everyone. It wasn’t their place to invite her.

I love debating the finer points of etiquette, since Regina obviously doesn’t usually even abide by common decency, let alone curtesy. I suppose it really was up to Ruby, but it wouldn’t have been totally out of place for Emma to suggest extending an invite to Regina. I highly doubt Regina would’ve even accepted, but it least it would have made her feel like her former enemies were grateful to her for saving their lives. And yes, I know Henry and Emma both thanked her, but sometimes actions speak volumes louder than words.

Etiquette aside though, I don’t think it should fall on the Charmings and the others to help Regina from relapsing. She barely interacts with Ruby and the Dwarves, so they have no idea what is going on with her. All they know about her is that she’s the Evil Queen who kept trying to keep Snow and Charming apart, sent everyone to Storybrooke where they had a set of false memories, and then when that plan didn’t work, she used force on anyone that tried to keep her from her son, until he had to intervene and save everyone. They might know that she’s trying to change, but her past evil behavior is still pretty recent, and they’re probably very wary that she’ll eventually return to her old ways.

I don’t think it’s up to the Charmings to help Regina from relapsing either because imo it would be like asking a family that a murderer went after to help that person rehabilitate him/herself. I think that they’ve done more than enough in being nice to her, especially David, considering the circumstances. They didn’t have to protect her from the mob, but they did. They didn’t have to protect her from the Wraith, but they did. David didn’t have to let her be able to see Henry and even stay with Henry unsupervised, but he did.

It’s not up to Henry either because he’s only a child, and that’s too much responsibility for him to burden. It would be too much like Bae having the burden of his father being the Dark One and trying to change him.

I agree Regina does need a support system, and she has one in Archie, which is a start. She needs more than that, but right now I don’t think it should fall on any of the townspeople to be that for her because of all that she’s done to them in the past.

I know one major good act doesn’t cancel out a lifetime of evilness, but leaving Regina alone, high and dry, isn’t a very good long-term strategy either. It’s just not very smart on the Charmings’ behalf to leave Regina like a sitting duck unattended. There’s a proverb to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I’m not saying the Charmings need to invite her to Christmas dinner or have her join them on their family game nights. I just think Emma sitting down with Regina for a drink at Granny’s and talking about how they’re going to both be a part of Henry’s life would have been a really good strategy on how to manage Regina. It’s kind of like two divorced-parents putting aside their differences in order to preserve the best interests of the child. They must find a way to be civil.

While Regina going to therapy is an excellent first step on the road to recovery, it’s not going to be enough by itself. And really, a town-rehabilitation program for recovering magic-addicts is actually in everyone’s best long-term interests. No one, especially the Charmings, wants to see Regina go all haywire on them again. They know what she’s capable of when she starts using magic for evil. So, purely for the pragmatic reasoning of keeping Regina placated and on the no-magic bandwagon, she needs a support group ASAP, and there’s really no one else to help Regina. While it would make good sense for Archie to start a group-therapy session for recovering magic addicts, I think that group would be pretty small since Mr. Gold is the only other magician, but he has no real intention of giving up magic since he’s the one who brought it to SB. He’s also Regina’s enabler, as we saw him convince Regina to toy with words to con Henry. As Lana Parilla said recently, Rumplestiltskin is sort of the only one Regina has left to turn to (not a very good combination).

Yes, patience is definitely not a virtue that Regina possesses. I’m just glad that I was right that it seemed too easy for her up until now and that when Emma and Snow returned, so would her struggle because they do set off all her issues. I agree that it’s much more realistic that Regina is going to be really struggling with trying to be better, which is great because if and when she finally is able to deal with her anger and feelings in other ways besides turning to dark magic, it will be more rewarding for her and the audience.

Perhaps Snow and Emma aren’t her real issues at all; perhaps Regina’s real issues are with her twisted mother, Cora. While Snow and Regina may never be BFFs, we’ve just seen Regina risk even her mother’s return for the sake of saving Henry’s birth-mother and grandmother. They can find a way to coexist and to co-parent Henry, for his own sake. Regina’s bigger issue is how to deal with her mother. There’s no way she can handle that on her own and I have the horrible feeling that Cora is going to impersonate Archie, Regina's therapist and one confidant.