"Sympathy for the De Vil" is the eighteenth episode of the fourth season of the American fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time, which aired on April 19, 2015.
Fast forward to several years later, and that a reporter, who is revealed to be the Author but is using an alias by the name of Isaac, is paying a visit to the home pretending to seek out a story after having seen Cruella from the attic, only to have Madeline warning him to stay away.
As Maleficent transforms into a dragon, Cruella uses her breath to exhale green smoke and puts her frenemy to sleep, then comes up with a plan to go after the Author.
As a terrified Henry cries in his mother's arms, Emma's face has changed to a sinister look, implying that her heart is going dark.
The backstory we'd been given so far about Cruella de Vil—that once upon a time, she was an innocent, wide-eyed blonde completely at the mercy of her wicked, ultra-controlling mother—just seemed a little, well, familiar.
Give or take a flapper dress and a pair of Dalmatians, her past looked remarkably like Regina's and Ursula's, for that matter.
"[2] Amy Ratcliffe of IGN said of the episode, "Overall, this week's Once Upon a Time made Cruella a stronger villain by giving her a twisted backstory.
Though there were clunky aspects in the episode, they expanded the mythology of the world and the Author's role as well as adding another layer to Rumplestiltskin's motivations.
One of the things that occasionally bugs me about the narrative for this season, and which "Sympathy for the De Vil" happily corrects, is this idea that every villain has a kernel of goodness in them.