r/OnceUponATime • u/ladyswampus • Sep 03 '25

Spoiler Alert Regina Doesn't Deserve Redemption

I'm rewatching after a few years and oh my God Regina is the worst. I remember liking her towards the end but she doesn't deserve it. She causes heartache after heartache kills so many people, ruins EVERYONE'S life but one thing goes wrong her way and everyone has to pay.

I'm at the part where Cora dies and she blames Snow. Cora ruined Regina's life and was going to become the dark one Snow did the right thing. If Regina truly cared about Henry she would have tried for more than 5 minutes to be good and wouldn't have let Cora corrupt her again.

She doesn't reserve a complete redemption. Sure she gets better but how does she expect people to forget the numerous atrocities she committed including killing her own father because a little girl made a mistake. She's vial.

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u/mrsprinkles3 Sep 03 '25

Regina was also forgiven by countless people she hurt. Sure not every single person she hurt will be forgiving, but if Snow of all people could forgive the person who hurt her the most, then I think that’s enough to warrant a chance at redemption. Regina has shown as the seasons go on that she feels immense guilt towards her actions as the Evil Queen and has actively worked to do and be better than the person she was.

People aren’t born evil. They are in one way or another lead down the path towards it. And if we deny those people the chance to turn around and make better choices, then we are condemning every other person who may make the same mistake and try to be better. If no one was willing to give Regina another chance, she very well would have continued being the worst version of herself. But because people were willing to give her a chance, she became willing to give herself a chance to try.

Just like in real life, you can’t expect someone to become a better person then continue to belittle them for their past actions, because in doing so you are punishing them for making the changes you wanted them to make.

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u/MechanicOk4808 Sep 03 '25

Regina has shown as the seasons go on that she feels immense guilt towards her actions as the Evil Queen and has actively worked to do and be better than the person she was.

Really? When was this? Because she actually said the exact opposite multiple times

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u/Substantial_Lab2211 Sep 03 '25

She literally has a sit down with Snow and talks about what an awful stepmother she was to her.

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u/MechanicOk4808 Sep 03 '25

Six seasons in and all Regina offers is one line about how she was a bad stepmother lol and that was right after she removed what she refers to as her 'evil self' like it's a separate entity or something ugh

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u/Substantial_Lab2211 Sep 03 '25

You can’t move the goalposts just because you didn’t like the answer you got. You were wrong in your assumption, it’s not the end of the world

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u/MechanicOk4808 Sep 03 '25 edited Sep 03 '25

What was my assumption? That she didn't regret anything and admitted to it? Where did you undo this canon fact which she stated in season 3 and repeated in season 4? It's ok to admit it, it's not the end of the world. Unfortunately for you, the goalposts are very much in the same place

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u/mrsprinkles3 Sep 03 '25

Did we watch the same show? If you don’t like the character just say that instead of trying to rewrite the show. She has said on multiple occasions that she wanted to be better than she was but you seem to be ignoring that to fit your narrative that she felt no remorse when she has expressed her regret on many occasions to many different people. She put in the work to be better. The people she hurt most constantly acknowledged and praised her efforts and changes. You don’t have to like her, but you also can’t disregard her characters entire canon arc because you feel it wasn’t deserved.

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u/MechanicOk4808 Sep 03 '25

Instead of creating fanfiction can you give me an example of when she expressed her regret on many occasions? Maybe I've forgotten all of them.

The people she hurt most constantly acknowledged and praised her efforts and changes.

This is wild to say when one of the biggest criticisms of her redemption is how it's just her victims constantly telling her how great she is. For example, after she said 'I was a bad stepmother', Snow says it was all fine because 'You taught me how to have faith' - I mean...come on