Reply To: Charming's lie

When is it right to lie and when is it not? Generally, honesty is the best policy. Yet, what if a lie protected people from a greater evil? Would it be right to go against that general rule of never tell a lie? I think the answer has to be yes.

For example, if a person of integrity knew that he could either quietly go about his life in an unobtrusive way while living in 1939 Germany or to lie to the Nazi system by harboring Jews, what would be the more moral thing to do? Would it be better to live under a system of evil, or would it be better to counter that corrupt government by lying (even to family and friends) to protect innocent people?

I see Charming as doing the latter. First, he tried to convince Snow not to let Regina win, and when words weren’t enough to bolster her confidence, he told a white lie to help Snow realize her own sense of duty to protect her people. She didn’t need a magic sword to confront Regina, just her own confidence to draw blood. Charming’s tactic, while a bit shady, did help Snow become a great leader and protector of her people. (Of course, no one, except for Rumple, could’ve predicted that Regina would cast the dark curse).