I am not merely judging by real world standards (there is plenty of ficion out there questioning the one and only love concept as well), that is not what I said. I said in OUaT Fairy Tales, and should add in the way they have been mostly perceived, have to face a world without magic, without the wondrous ways happy endings seem to be guaranteed (at least for some). In OUaT fairy tales have to face our world where one has to work hard for happiness and happy endings might not happen, or should have said a world alike our real world, because very sure I know that is not a documentary of our world. It’s fiction, of course.
The fantastic element in fiction is not there to deny our reality but to play with it, to offer different and eventually new ways of seeing life. Beyond all fantastic elements, fantasy has at its core human behavior, human psyche.
So far I haven’t perceived OUaT as stating, there is just one true love in life, they leave it open for interpretation. I am glad they do, because it makes in my opinion a way more interesting story telling and offers characters to identify with, their search, their struggles, them finding answers to questions we all have without claiming it’s the only ever possible answer. I am not denying that for individuals it might be possible that there is just one true love they ever will find and have in their lives, but I question the concept to be true in general for everybody, be it in fiction or in real life, as a rule of nature, fate, destiny, whatever.
Lana said on that panel in 2012, one has only one true love in Fairy Tale Lands – and that was something she assumed to explain to herself, make it accessible for herself why Regina reacted so full of hate to young Snow. It’s an interpretation.
Red192 – Kitsis&Horowitz talked about it in the podcast after episode 2×08 “Skin Deep” (podcast chapter 11, at about minute 15:00). It was an answer to a question via twitter, if there is only one true love. Their answer was: it’s a great question, and “a theme that we’re probably going to explore at some point on the show. Wether or not somebody can have true love I think depends on the circumstances.” (Eddy Kitsis) They explicitly talked then about Regina, and Eddy said: “I would hate to live in a world without the hope that you could fall in love again if you lost someone you loved already.” Adam Horowitz added that they like to explore the nature of love on the show and not just the romantic kind.
And because I have the feeling I have to make that very, very clear: It’s the concept of ONE true love I am questioning, not the idea of true love. Subtle big difference.
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