Emma takes on a case to help Ashley (Cinderella), a young, pregnant maid, escape from Mr. Gold, who demands her unborn child as payment for a deal. In flashbacks to the Enchanted Forest, we see Cinderella’s pact with Rumplestiltskin, in which she unknowingly agrees to surrender her firstborn child. Meanwhile, in Storybrooke, Emma intervenes to help Ashley regain control of her life and make her own choices.
This episode offers intriguing parallels to the circumstances surrounding Henry’s birth and adoption. Ashley’s struggle to keep her child mirrors the emotional turmoil Emma must have felt when she was pregnant in prison, with few options for herself or her son. While Emma willingly gave Henry up, Ashley’s journey to regain her child might reflect Emma’s subconscious regrets about her own decision and the feeling that Henry’s adoption was a choice made under difficult circumstances.
The recurring theme of deals with Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold suggests a complex, potentially exploitative system of power, with echoes of what Emma may feel toward the adoption system or society’s pressures on young mothers. Ashley’s fierce desire to keep her child might mirror a repressed part of Emma’s psyche, longing to keep Henry yet understanding why she had to let him go.
As Ashley fights for her child, we see hints of Emma’s own pain regarding Henry’s adoption. Ashley’s struggle for independence and control over her life could represent Emma’s resentment of how her circumstances limited her choices. This could reflect a broader critique of the societal pressures on young, single mothers to relinquish control over their futures.
Emma’s empathy toward Ashley reveals her deep-seated fear of abandonment—a recurring theme that has defined her life since childhood. Just as Emma was abandoned and then later had to give up Henry, Ashley’s potential loss of her child could be an unconscious reminder to Emma of the trauma she endured in her own childhood and the painful decision to place Henry for adoption.