Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
With no Once Upon a Time airing this week, anticipation is high for next week’s February Sweeps episode “Skin Deep.” According to ABC’s press release, Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) finds that his house has been robbed and he’s out of a bit of vigilante justice. Valentine’s Day is celebrated with a ladies’ night out by Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin), Ruby (Meghan Ory, also playing Red), and Ashley (Jessy Schram, who is also Cinderella).
Back in the fairy tale land, Belle (of Beauty and the Beast fame, played by Lost’s Emilie de Ravin) makes a deal to save her village from the terrors of the Ogre war. And, of course, whenever there are deals to be made, it’s a pretty fair bet that Rumpelstiltskin isn’t too far away.
The episode was penned by Once Upon a Time writer/producer Jane Espenson, who wrote last November’s “Still, Small Voice” and the recently aired “Desperate Souls,” another episode diving into Rumple’s backstory. Jane told me that the episode “tackles a classic story that we haven’t touched on before, crossing that story with Rumplestiltskin in an unexpected way. And it will reveal a little something about Gold in Storybrooke — just how much does he know?”
Jane will be joining us here at Blogcritics’ Once Upon a Time feature next Sunday evening after the episode airs on the East Coast (9:00 p.m. ET) for a LiveChat. Jane has worked on so many acclaimed series, it’s hard to list them all; she’s written for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, Torchwood, Firefly and Game of Thrones. Last year, Jane launched her own Web series Husbands, a unique take on newlywed comedies. It’s been a great success.
For those that joined us for the Blogcritics LiveChat with House writer Kath Lingenfelter, we’re going to follow a slightly different format this time. For the first 15 minutes or so, I’ll interview Jane about “Skin Deep” via LiveChat before opening it up to everyone else, so be patient if your comments don’t get posted immediately at the beginning.
Helping out with the festivities, will be Gareth Hughes, mastermind behind the Once Upon a Fan site in the U.K. He’ll be hosting a fan chat on his site during the episode’s airing, so if you can’t wait to discuss the episode, head over to Once Upon a Fan during “Skin Deep” before coming heading to Blogcritics at 9:00 p.m. ET. But be sure to request a reminder in the chat interface so you don’t miss a minute.
