This show was never advertised as as show for children or families, and containing characters from iconic fairy tales doesn't make it a kid's show or a family show. From the beginning of the series, the show has put its own unique twist on fairy tales; this episode is no different. While Dorothy and Little Red Riding Hood have previously not been portrayed as homosexuals, neither has Robin Hood been portrayed as being a father or in love with an evil queen, nor has Belle traditionally been in love with Rumplestiltskin, nor have Hades or the Wicked Witch traditionally been in love. In the second episode of the series, Regina murders her own father, and it was only one of many, many violent encounters on the show. I'm not sure why people would be perfectly happy letting their children watch all that violence, but get angry about depictions of love. We've also seen plenty of passionate kisses and implications that characters have had sex (see Regina and Graham in season one). If people saw all that and still said this was a great show for kids, they must have been deluding themselves. The only thing that was different in this episode was that the kiss was between two people of the same gender. It may be truly bothersome to homophobic people, but lesbians exist in the world, so there's no reason why they shouldn't be seen on television. That's reality. The only real problem with this episode was the decision not to send Robin and his daughter back to Storybrooke with Snow White, and the statement that without the phonebooths to call their loved ones, they have no way to know what's going on in Storybrooke; they had no way of knowing that even with the phones because the phones only deliver messages. I'm not entirely sure why they needed Snow out of the underworld but that was a poor way to achieve it.
Review of Ruby Slippers
