Skin Deep (Once Upon a Time)

"Skin Deep"
Once Upon a Time episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 12
Directed by	Milan Cheylov
Story by	Jane Espenson
Original air date	February 12, 2012
Guest appearance(s)
Emilie de Ravin as Belle/Patient Tim Phillipps as Sean Herman Jessy Schram as Ashley Boyd Beverly Elliott as Granny Eric Keenleyside as Sir Maurice/Moe French Meghan Ory as Ruby
Episode chronology
← Previous "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" Next → "What Happened to Frederick"
Once Upon a Time (season 1) List of Once Upon a Time episodes

"Skin Deep" is the twelfth episode of the American fairy tale/drama television series Once Upon a Time. The series takes place in the fictional seaside town of Storybrooke, Maine, in which the residents are actually characters from various fairy tales that were transported to the "real world" town by a powerful curse. In this episode, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) suspects Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) is planning to seek vigilante justice when a cat burglar (Eric Keenleyside) robs his house. Meanwhile, Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) plans a special girls' night out on Valentine's Day with Ruby (Meghan Ory) and Ashley (Jessy Schram), and a fateful deal made between Rumpelstiltskin (Carlyle) and Belle (Emilie de Ravin) is revealed – in which she gives up her freedom to save her village from the horrors of the Ogre Wars.

The episode was written by consulting producer Jane Espenson and directed by Milan Cheylov. It featured the first appearance of de Ravin, who was cast as Belle in November 2011 after being approached by series co-creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. Espenson created a love-themed episode; initially its main theme was to focus on Rumpelstiltskin choosing power over love, but during the writing process Espenson decided to make him instead believe that he was not worthy of love at all.

"Skin Deep" first aired in the United States on ABC on February 12, 2012. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics. Several reviewers felt that the Belle-Rumpelstiltskin relationship resembled and was not developed enough to make it believable. Others, however, praised the complex characterization of the episode's female characters, as well as Carlyle's performance. A novelization of "Skin Deep" was released in 2013.

A straw spinning wheel is shown in the forest.

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Wikipedia