Of the
three characters I’m writing about this week (why only three? Because nothing interrupts the Sunday Who review,) Snow White has received the
shortest end of the stick. Despite a
fabulous start, the writing for Snow has floundered since the middle of season
2; a lot of her character’s coolness has been sacrificed, first for the sake of
Regina’s ongoing redemption arc and later for an across-the-board IQ reduction
for many of the heroes in order to prolong the central villain story at the
tail end of season 3. So in terms of
characterization, the latter episodes have squandered a lot of what made me
love her, but since those original qualities are excellent enough that I’ve
mentioned Snow every time I’ve written about this show, today’s post celebrates
all that I like about her.
I’ve
already said that this Snow White does not
resemble the baby-voiced wilting flower of the Disney movie. She has a steep learning curve when she’s on
the run after the unfortunate stepmother-tries-to-have-her-heart-cut-out
incident, but she quickly builds the skills she needs to survive. Soon, she’s climbing trees and shooting
arrows like a pro, breaking into castles for daring rescue missions, and
holding her own against unsavory trolls.
She’s a woman with an incredibly powerful adversary (both magically and
politically,) and she’s still standing:
not bad.
And,
like my favorite Strong Women, she does more than kick butt and take
names. She’s needed to have tremendous
emotional strength to deal with all the crap she’s been through, she believes
in True Love and the ultimate victory of good over evil, and she fights
fiercest for the people she loves. With
Charming at her side, she’s been the benevolent ruler of a kingdom, and even
when pursued by a vindictive sorceress, she takes time to make friends and help
others. (I realize that sounds
super-Disney, and it is, but I actually like that about her. Though I’m all for darker characters like
Walter White or Frank Underwood, it’s nice sometimes to see good people just
trying to do the right thing.)
The
love story between Snow and Charming is emblematic of why I love her. In the movie, Snow White idles in a walled
garden, singing “One Day My Prince Will Come,” and sure enough, her prince
catches sight of her and falls head over heels.
To the best of my memory, they never actually speak, and the next time
he sees her, she’s in a coffin and he saves his dead girl whose name he quite
possibly doesn’t know with a well-planted True Love’s Kiss. By contrast, while Snow and Charming are
immediately taken with each other in
the show, it’s a fascination born out of the spark of their personalities, and
over the course of an adventure, they gradually fall for each other. True Love develops as they get to know one
another – what they’re about, what struggles they’ve had, what they can
do. Their connection leaps off the
screen, and it’s the best kind of fairytale, because they love each other rather than simply each other’s
faces.
And
yes, she eats the apple, she needs True Love’s Kiss to wake her, and Charming
comes riding to the rescue. But even
when she’s a victim, she retains her strength of character, and she’s more than
just a prop in her own story. Plus, Charming
needs to be rescued sometimes, too, and she’s happy to oblige. More than that, she fights, vanquishes, and
rules alongside him, taking more of the lead if anything. After my years-long hatred of the simpering
Disney princess, I was flabbergasted by this superb, vibrant character, and it’s
disappointed see how she’s paled over the years. Here’s hoping the new season returns her to the
fantastic character she can be.
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