Relationship Spotlight: Prince Charming & Snow White (Once Upon a Time)

The usual Once Upon a Time disclaimers – the writing can be all over the place, and there have been times when Snow and Charming, separately or together, have simply not cut it.  But when these two are on point, they’re so lovely that I don’t mind their cheesy Disney-ness one bit.  This is what an Enchanted Forest power-couple looks like.

As with Snow herself (and Charming, though he doesn’t have his own write-up yet,) part of my love for this relationship is simply that it surprised me so much.  Going into the show, I thought, “Fairy tale deconstruction!  Sweet!  …Oh – it centers around Snow White and Prince Charming?  *grumble, grumble*”  When Henry talks about their universally-beloved love story, my eyes want to roll.  Obviously, Disney isn’t the be-all-end-all of this story, but it’s the best-known version, and let’s be real – their actual relationship is hardly the stuff on which stories are made.  (It doesn’t help that I can’t stand Snow White in it, and Prince Charming is a total non-entity.)

Fortunately, the show gets this, and when Henry waxes poetic on Snow and Charming’s story, he means the story from The Book, ie, the one that only he knows but he acts like it’s common knowledge (right up there with Rumpelstiltskin being the Beast to Belle’s Beauty.)  And The Book’s version is way better.  Even before we get into their history, our first glance of them – the happily ever after, in which Charming wakes Snow from the sleeping curse – is just miles ahead of the movie.  The second she wakes, they’re playfully teasingly each other and tossing out a little gallows humor.  Clearly, these are two people that know each other, and each gets how the other ticks.  They’re strong individuals who, having just escaped death, heartbreak, and dark magic, can take a moment to be a little silly and enjoy one another’s company.

(On a related note, I love that when Snow finds Charming injured at the end of the pilot, the first thing she does is kiss him with this optimistic look on her face.  It really nails what kind of world their relationship exists in; past precedent has shown that, when they’re in dire straits, their love is literally tough enough to pull them out of it, and it makes total sense that Snow would try it.)

And then, with their backstory, they just get more awesome.  The nuts and bolts are fairly basic – a from-different-worlds meet-cute, slowly-developing interest in and respect for each other, being badasses, saving each other’s lives, realizing that neither is what they seem at first, and then obstacles, obstacles, obstacles until the season 1 finale – but the execution is superb.  Both are just ridiculously likeable and click instantly, and it’s obvious from the start how they bring each other up.  Each is immediately a stronger, brighter, truer person in the other’s company, and despite the litany of roadblocks that crop up, you know that nothing is going to keep them apart.

I’m a fan of action duos, and these two bring it like bosses.  Over the years, they’ve occasionally kept secrets from each other or boxed one another out of their plans, but they’re undeniably best when they’re working together, and they do that a lot.  They fight alongside each other, they go on quests together, they rule the kingdom as a team, and they’re both quick to rush to the other’s aid, even though each has total faith in the other’s ability to take care of themselves, just because they want to be there.  (As I’ve said, I also like that Charming has no qualms about Snow being a kickass warrior.  The whole “Woe is me!  My girlfriend is too strong, and I feel emasculated!” angle is so depressing and used way too often, and it delights me that it’s never an issue here.)