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.)

Favorite Characters: Snow White (Once Upon a Time)

 

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.