Jefferson's Houses

Jefferson is and (barring any disastrous falling out between Mr Stan and Marvel) likely to remain a mysterious figure. He appears to possess a rare ability, one that can't be easily learned by other magic-users (Regina can operate the hat, but doesn't seem comfortable with it).

At one point he used this power in a mercenary fashion, taking commissions from Rumplestiltskin to collect magic items. This employment somehow led to his wife's death. After Regina leaves his house, the camera lingers on what appears to be a memorial.

 

 

Granny's Diner/B&B

Original post title: Where Everybody Knows Your Name (originally posted 24 Feb 2015)

We come into the home stretch of the hiatus with one of the most forthright uses of place as symbol in OUaT, with the result that this one is going to be short. Granny's might just as well have been called The Community Diner. Scenes are generally set there to highlight issues that pertain to group belonging.

We see this as early as 1.04, when Regina sits down to tell Emma that, "People don't change, they only fool themselves into believing they do" and that Emma is the sort of person who will never put down roots. It is here that Emma meets Ashley, the first person besides Henry who involves her in Storybrooke affairs. In S2, Mary Margaret and David argue about whether to return "home" to the Enchanted Forest in the diner, not their own dwelling.