Welcome to another Fandom Friday. Today I interviewed two fans of Barbara Hershey . We talked specificly about her role as Cora Mills/ The Queen of Hearts on Once Upon a Time.
1. Why do you think Cora is popular with Once fans?
Johanna- Actually I think because she actually lives the American dream in a magical way- she becomes something better than her start in the family she was born in.
AJ- Cora is popular because she began as a delicious, heartless villain who helped mold Regina into the Evil Queen. Even when we saw Cora's background as the miller's daughter, she's always seemed firmly entrenched in that " women with agendas are evil" trope. It wasn't until she got her heart back that a lot of people saw the potential of a non-evil Cora, and I think that made her a bit more relatable and popular.
2.In your mind is Cora a Hero or a Villain?
Johanna-I think she's really both at the same time
AJ- As much as I'd like to say Cora with her heart could work through a redemption path toward being a hero like Regina, it's just not a viable option, and she'd be a more tragic hero than even Regina. No, Cora was and will always be a tragic villain, which I find more fascinating in the long run. One note villains, with no depth are boring and commonplace. Cora and her story offer options that everything isn't black and white, but filled with the nuances of grey.
3. Snow once said that Regina loves deeply even without her heart do you think that's the same for Cora?
Johanna- No, actually don't think so. With Cora, you never know whether she means what she says. The actual only true and deeply honest moment is the one where she is dying. There you can really see her true love for Regina. ( It's by the way the most incredible acting scene from Barbara, besides Shy People!)
AJ- I think Cora could love very deeply, if she allowed herself to. But she's trained herself to believe that love is weakness, so she fights it with every fiber of her being. And yet, she clearly loves Regina [ and Zelena, though that isn't obvious until the end of her arc], so I think there are things that she was able to teach her daughter about true love.
4. Who was Cora's true love?
Johanna- Rumpelstiltskin
AJ- The easy answers are either Rumpelstiltskin or power, but I think her daughters really were. If she didn't have that strong love for her daughters, her ability to transition to a better place from the Underworld wouldn't be possible. It just took her a long time to really realize it.
5. What do you think Cora regrets most?
Johanna- Good question. Difficult to say. The question maybe is " Does she regret anything of what she has done?" But I think what she regrets most of all is not having raised her two daughters the way she maybe should have done as a mother.
AJ- I think there are two answers here, depending on where in her timeline you ask. If it's in her arc, she'd regret all of Regina's bad decisions as a queen, which we kind of saw in canon. But later in her arc, once she has her heart again, I think her deepest regret is not knowing her daughters well enough or loving them enough.
6. Do you think Cora was a beloved queen in Wonderland or ruled with an iron fist?
Johanna- As I have first seen her in ' Once Upon a Time in Wonderland", I was really surprised to find out that she is so extremely cruel in " Once Upon a Time". Actually I expected someone much more nice. So yes, I think she was beloved and really different in Wonderland. Maybe because she was really far away from where she came from, away from her family, maybe that's the reason why she is different in Wonderland.
AJ- Heartless Cora was never a beloved anything. The only way she'd have been a beloved queen in Wonderland was if she'd had possession of everyone's hearts and forced them to consider her beloved.
https://youtu.be/GF5PduqexVA
7. Favorite Cora episode?
Johanna- 5x19 " Sisters"
AJ- This is like asking me which of my furkids is my favorite. It's impossible to choose. But if I had to choose, I'd say either " The Stable Boy", for sentimental reasons , or " Sisters" for the Mills women bonding and that gorgeous sendoff.
https://youtu.be/qbGklpp6TwE
8. How would the Once story change had Cora not been forced to give up Zelena?
Johanna- I think it would have been especially different for Regina and Zelena as sisters. Even more than for Cora. I think they would have been best friends already during their childhood.
AJ- See, that's speculation that is hard to suss out. My gut reaction is that if she had kept Zelena, whether married to Leopold or not, she wouldn't have sought out Henry or become Rumpel's student. No Rumpel , no curse. No Henry , no Regina. Or she and Rumpel would have groomed Zelena for the curse, and things likely would have turned out similarly to what we saw unfold with Regina.
9. Had Cora not moved on to a better place where would her story have gone/
Johanna- I think she would not have changed that much if she hadn't gone to another place. I think she would have moved on like she always did.
AJ- Well, by the Underworld rules as we saw laid out, she'd have gone to Tartarus [ or whatever Once would have called it]. The way I understand it, once you go for judgment , that's it. It would have taken an act of Zeus most likely to reverse her final destination, good or bad.
10. Is there a part of Cora's story we haven't seen that you would like to see?
Johanna- I'd like to see more of her family background, from where she came from. Maybe it's not just that she grew up poor wearing rags etc., maybe there is something more. Something like ( sexual) violence or so. I think it's very likely if you look what she has become during her life.
AJ- I'm actually curious about her childhood and her mother. most people wouldn't care, choosing to leave her a black-and-white villain, but I like seeing the whole character arc, as it opens up avenues of interpretation and nuance into the character. And I'd really like that for Cora, since her story is so influential to Regina's
11. Cora is gone but would you like to see Barbara Hershey return for flashbacks?
Johanna- Yes, that would be really nice. Maybe also to learn more about Cora's youth and childhood, the family background etc., as I said before.
AJ- I would be thrilled for Cora flashback scenes to see Barbara as Cora again. There are so many options from her backstory and Regina's that we can still explore.
12. Anything we can learn from Cora?
Johanna- Perhaps that it's human and ( I actually hate that word) " normal" to become the way she has become regarding her family background and situation. I mean, first of all, if you care about yourself, even just a tiny bit, especially as a woman, you just don't want to wear rags. I mean it really harms your self-confidence, doesn't it? So maybe, we can learn that we shouldn't judge anyone without knowing about his or her reasons and background, where he/she comes from! People really judge each other too much without asking and knowing anything about each other. So Cora maybe a start to change that and first look at the cause of somebody who is strange or "evil' or not "normal" ( whatever that is, as Barbara said once...) or whatever.
AJ- You may think that love is weakness, but eventually you will learn that it is also strength and can heal wounds you never thought you could.
13. We saw Cora place yellow roses on Daniel's grave was she celebrating he's gone or does she regret she killed him?
Johanna- Subconsciously, I think it's regret. but she isn't aware of it, I think it's mainly celebrating it and regretting is just subconsciously.
AJ- I have always seen yellow as a sign of good wishes, friendship, and familial love. In that respect, particularly in the scene in question, I believe Cora's intent with the yellow rose was conciliatory and based in her love for Regina. She was attempting to broker a peace with her daughter, and what better place and color of rose than what we saw? I honestly don't think she ever celebrated Daniel's death; his death was a means to an and of Regina becoming a queen. He meant nothing to Cora, particularly after so many years, so she wouldn't have been celebrating it that many years later.
14. When Cora made it to Storybrooke did she want to make it up to Regina or was her plan to be the dark one all along?
Johanna- That's really difficult to say. Cora is a perfect manipulator and you actually ( almost) never know if she's pretending or being honest. I really don't know.
AJ- I think it was a combination of the two. She wanted the power of the Dark One at her disposal, no matter how she got, but she also likely missed her daughter and wanted to reconcile with her somehow. Cora's motivations have never been solely of the black-and-white, good-versus-evil variety. Even back in her first appearance, there were nuances to her choices.
15. If Cora had made it over with the first curse what would her Storybrooke occupation be?
Johanna- Maybe she'd become more honest and she'd be a better mother. I think especially concerning Regina. Their relationship could really change for the better if they had more time together. But it could also develop with Zelena for the better. Maybe, she could learn to use her magic in order to help others.
AJ- Given that Regina gave everyone their occupations, and given her conflicted feelings for her mother, I could honestly see Cora working in the stables. Perhaps not doing the hard labor of it, but running the stables. Something that would give Regina that sense of " satisfaction" and revenge on her mother for Daniel's death. Regina might regret it down the line, but I think in the moment of creating her mother's persona, this would be high on her list, given how much Daniel's death motivated everything she did regarding the curse.
I want to thank AJ and Johanna for letting me interview you about everyone's favorite Queen of Hearts Cora!!! Personally "Sisters" is such a beautiful episode it is by far the best episode of Once Upon A Time. I always thought if Cora was in Storybrooke with the first curse she would be a cardiologist that way she would be ripping hearts out for a living and get payed to do it lol. Hope everyone has a great weekend.
