I started this series with Emma's apartment, so it seems appropriate to finish with Mary Margaret's.
The
main symbolic use of the location is to represent home/family, where it
works alongside Snow's role as matriarch. Over the course of 3 1/2
seasons, the apartment has steadily accumulated people as Snow's
shattered family reconstitutes itself. Season 1 brought Emma, all
unknowing.
Season 2 added Charming and Henry (and briefly Pongo), and the first suggestion that perhaps the place was getting crowded.
Season
3 brought baby Neal. Season 4 had Emma's "sister" Elsa as a guest, and
strong foreshadowing that the nuclear nest will be breaking up soon.
Emma has found her home and is secure with her family; she doesn't need
to stay under the same roof to reinforce that. Her life doesn't fit in a
couple of boxes anymore.
It
would be exhausting to compile a list of all of the times it's been
used -- I could, that's what the note cards are for, but it would be
kinda dull to read. Next time you do a rewatch, count how many times
someone refers to "home" and they cut to the apartment.
There
is one moment in particular that I want to call out from S2. When they
rescued Regina, they didn't take her to her own house, or to the
hospital. They took her to the apartment, where she could be looked
after by the Blue Fairy. Out of all of the interactions among this
group, I consider this completely unremarked moment the most strongly
indicative of the fact that after everything, Snow still thinks of
Regina as family.
The space itself is obviously designed as
the opposite of Regina's strictly modern aesthetic. Mary Margaret's
space is open-plan; areas merge into one another freely. The lines are
soft and rounded, largely composed of antiques, and idiosyncratic in
their combination. There is distressed paint and mismatched chairs, a
wood-burning stove and a general air of things that have been made by
hand. Family photos appear as the seasons go on. Even the quilts are
simple, and look as if they were actually made as a thrifty means of
recycling old fabric rather than showpieces.
For a contrast, just look at their kitchens.
And
of course at the general lack of mirrors. There are birds everywhere,
those being Snow White's primary symbol. They appear as pillows,
figurines, and the BLACKBIRD ghost sign on the wall. The place is not
messy, but it looks very lived in. The other obvious contrast is to
Emma's empty apartment in Boston. There is no TV. (The only set in the
entire bunch that includes a visible TV is Neal's apartment, and it's in
the bedroom.)
We had to wait until S4 to see the upstairs, and I'm still not sure how there's room for everyone.
So
that's it (for now). When I started this project, I thought that it
might be vaguely useful to have some kind of set catalog, for fic
reference and so forth.
Umpteen hours later.... There are a few locations I didn't get to, and I
might continue adding to this as the series goes on.
I appreciate the thoughtful comments I've gotten from so many thoughtful fans along the way.
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