I am not saying that it isn’t a possibility that the AU Regina is still the Evil Queen. Except Regina could not be the Evil Queen, she could just be Snow’s stepmother. I could totally see the writers having a scene very like the pilot just to trick the audience when the AU Regina ends up being just a welcome guest.
I would say it could go either way. I think Regina looks like she is smiling in the second picture. Like the first is the trick and the second is a smile.
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