Was Daniel part of Cora’s plan all along for shaping Regina’s outlook? Cora spooked a horse to put a girl in danger to get Regina to rescue the girl to get the girl’s father to marry Regina, and some have speculated that Cora was involved even earlier with the death of Leopold’s first wife. Cora’s goal in this elaborate plot was to boost her family’s status, but she also wanted Regina to think like her. Cora would not hesitate to manufacture emotional trauma if she thought it would “help”: hire a handsome stable boy about the same age as Regina, let them grow close, then rip them apart at the crucial moment.