Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-5305135-20131016220319/@comment-26255666-20150329051953

TNOandXadric wrote: OUaT fairies are so cool and I desperately want to know more about them.

I think Blue is, if not outright villainous, certainly not nice.

I think the difference between these two introductions to the character as a helper archetype has mainly to do with time and the way mythologies mutate over time (in the same way that original fairytales were dark, twisted morality tales, but today we tell versions of them to kids as fluffy fun). There is a bit of language shift implied—we go from "Blue Fairy" in Gaelic to "Blue Fairy" in English, which would help the corruption of old tales into something new along as well.

That qualification of "BENEVOLENT" fairy really caught my attention the first time I watched that episode, because it comes with the implication that there are enough evil/malignant fairies out there for a benevolent one to be an exception and worth pointing out (or, if all fairies were good, calling one in particular benevolent would be superfluous).

I have a theory that, in Bae's time, fairies were considered more of a chaotic neutral force—they might help you, they might not, and it'll probably come with a price if they do lend you a hand (similar to how Rumpel operates in Snow's time). Over time, Blue pushed for the fairies to become more and more helpful and to either divert the costs elsewhere or outright state what they would be, so people seeking their help could make an informed decision rather than hoping for the best as they must with Rumpel.

So Blue's group of fairies started to become more and more of a reliably "good" force rather than an unpredictable either/or one, and folklore being what it was, Blue got put on higher and higher pedestals until she only helped the "pure of heart," and everything she did was considered to be just, which is why it's acceptable for Blue to propagate the total enslavement of the dwarves (as we see in "Dreamy") and deny help to a miserable, helpless young woman (Regina in "Quite a Common Fairy") without any apparent repercussions to herself; she's managed to convince people that she's an absolute moral authority (and I'm fairly certain she believes it herself: "There is good magic and dark magic, and I'm on the right side.")

I don't think that she's flat-out evil (though I would not, honestly, be that  surprised if she got set up as a villainous character later), but I think she definitely has some  agenda going on.

This is so enlightened! I love everything you said, about the transformation of mythology as well as fairy tales. I, too, wish that we could get some more information and understanding of the Fairy situation in Once Upon A Time.

In Disney's Sleeping Beauty film, Flora Fauna and Merryweather are introduced as "the three good fairies" and Maleficent is spoken about like she is a dark/bad fairy. Clearly the show's writers have already informed us that Maleficent is not a dark fairy (but I guess somehow Chernabog is though). I LOVE what you had to say about the fairies in Baelfire's time in the Enchanted Forest being more of a neutral power source that evolved into being more true and heroic than Rumplestiltskin. "All magic comes at a price, whether it be good or bad." There doesn't seem to be much distinction between a fairy's role and powers versus a "sorcerer's" or "witch/wizard's" role and powers so there's no real distinction made about whether or not fairies are supposed to be heroes, villains, or indifferent. (Although making their real life counterparts be nuns, it seems like they were going for the pure heroes route.)

I don't know if it has ever been explained why Blue Fairy is a brunette with darker skin when in Disney's Pinocchio she was clearly a blonde and very pale-skinned. This has always made me question whether or not she is supposed to be the real Blue Fairy as we know it. Especially since all other casting has been more true to their Disney counterparts. Furthermore, the Disney version of Blue Fairy was much more altruistic and kind and feminine and soft and nurturing etc. The Disney version seemed to be more likely to want to give second chances if possible whereas the show version seems way more suspect of giving any second chances. I think that is the main reason why the show's Blue Fairy sticks out so much as a potential villain. Afterall, Once Upon A Time did make Peter Pan a villain, Bo Peep a villain, and Cinderella's fairy godmother was actually Rumple (a villain).

Also, to anyone who says anything about the Blue Fairy not intervening when Cora impersonated her, they actually showed that when Snow White turned to the Blue Fairy and said "don't worry I kept your secret" or something like that, that Blue Fairy had no idea what in the world she was talking about. I don't think that she knew Cora had impersonated her which leads me to wonder why Ursula would know about Regina's impersonation but not Blue Fairy about Cora. Perhaps it has to do with a tapped dark power that light power beings don't have?