Every now and then a television show or movie comes around that moves you in ways you never thought possible. Sometimes the least likely of sources are exactly what you need to get over a bump in the road on your life journey. Once Upon a Time, and more specifically the Evil Queen/Regina Mills, was exactly that source for me.
I started watching this show when it premiered and instantly developed a fondness for a certain villain, but watching her grow and redeem herself has been more rewarding than I ever could have imagined. Watching her finally come to terms with all her flaws and embrace herself, love herself completely was a moment I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. The emotions that went through her as she finally came to terms with the fact that she no longer hated herself was easily felt through the screen. This is a feeling that most people have felt at some point or another. Everyone has something about themselves that they don’t like. Learning to accept yourself, flaws and all is hard. Watching her finally come to terms with this gives hope to the rest of us that it is possible.
The Queen couldn’t allow herself to love or be loved until she finally decided to love herself. This message is so imperative. We build walls as we go through life to protect ourselves, walls that can easily become our own source of heartache. It’s natural to want to protect yourself from getting attached to something that may or may not stick around; I’ve been there, we all have.
It’s easy to close yourself off and harden your heart. If you never let anyone in, you won’t get hurt. It’s hard to open up. If we don’t love ourselves and accept ourselves for everything that we are, how can we accept someone else to? Self love is the most important kind of love there is. It’s easier to love someone else than it is to love yourself, half the time. However, you’ll never find true happiness through another person. Happiness is an innate quality and the only way to find it is within.
Seeing Regina come to terms with this over the seasons has been beneficial in more ways than one. Not only do you find yourself rooting for the Evil Queen and hoping she can get through it, you can also see yourself in her shoes. It’s very easy to link things you’ve done over the years and realize that yeah maybe there’s somethings you need to work on to love yourself more. That maybe before focusing on other people you have to give yourself time and be kind to yourself. As a woman, constantly seeing one thing or another that tells you how to look, how to act, etc. it’s hard to put all that aside and accept who you are but when you do, nothing can break you. When you love yourself truly, you can let other’s in and know that if they leave you’ll still be standing strong.
This message that this show has played out, via Regina Mills, is so vital these days for kids and adults. Instead of trying to change who you are, you need to accept yourself to really get to that place of complete serenity.
None of this would have been as moving if the actress portraying Regina Mills didn’t give it her all and really amp up the emotional aspects of the scenes. Lana Parrilla is an exceptional actress and her talents are out of this world. She played off the scene with herself, playing up the emotions for not only Regina but her doppelganger as she found a way to love herself was perfectly executed. This isn’t something that’s easily done; getting these emotions across when you’re acting off of another person is hard enough and she did it by herself, I don’t know how she does it. One thing for sure is Lana’s love for this character is clearly evident and a big reason why this character is so well received. Her message of hope still resonates with me everyday.
You are where you need to be, just take a deep breath. - Lana Parrilla
Lana, thank you for giving Regina your all and showing us her journey. She was the one that got me through some of my darkest times and for that I will forever be grateful. I’m not alone when I say you’ve been a big motivation to follow my dreams and never give up at the shortcomings. You were the light at the end of the tunnel when I needed it most. Even Evil Queens can be the voice of reason and you’ve turned Regina into just that for fans everywhere. Thank you for everything.
