Explore the Dual Personalities on CASTLE, BEING HUMAN and ONCE UPON A TIME

This week’s topic: Duality or “I’m schizophrenic… and so am I!” We’ll be exploring this in examples from this week’s episodes of Castle, Being Human, Once Upon a Time and Pretty Little Liars.

I noticed a very obvious theme to this week’s shows I was watching and catching up on: Duality. It started while watching Once Upon a Time and laughing at the obviously deluded-yet-sweet Snow White who goes from humming sweetly with a little blue bird to trying to kill it with her broom and screaming about getting rid of vermin in the next breath. It continued as Snow in the faery tale world went from sweet and innocent to evil and black as heart as she went after the Evil Queen with a vengeance. Even Prince Charming couldn’t stop this new version of Snow except by extreme measures including his own near death.

Speaking of dual personalities, Why is Charming so “charming” in the faery tale world and yet so obviously weak and shiftless in the real world? Is it part of the curse or a part of his personality we didn’t see until now?

Moving from the land of fantasy to another fictional world, Being Human has the ultimate in duality as we meet the three main characters doing all they can to NOT let their baser natures take over. Aiden has gone back to live feeding but is still feeling the guilt of doing so, his little bit of humanity taking over despite the need to survive. Josh fights with a choice between ex-fiancee and ex-girlfriend both out of his reach as he decides what to do about his werewolf and how it affects his life in general. Is he simple a hapless character unable to effectively move forward and commit or is it more than that?

Sally is the most dual personality of all three characters. The Reaper has been destroying the world she came to think of as safe and reliable until it’s discovered who he really is. Zoe, the ghost emissary, is brought in to assist as it’s discovered not only is there no Reaper but somehow Sally has formed a new personality that threatens to destroy not only her but her friends as it traps them all in the brownstone. The ghost deludes herself with an alternate reality in her “dreams” but Zoe brings her back despite finding out that Sally killed Nick and the true natures of Aiden and Josh.

On the tale end of our tour of duality this week is Castle. A dancer is found dead in her dressing room, questions of who she really was floating around as Beckett and Castle look into her past. Was she really the poor little heiress who had changed because of a train wreck or was she a whole other person entirely. Meanwhile Riley fights with the fact he’s devoted to his wife but still wants the attention of other women to prove he’s still got it if he ever had it at all. Esposito tries to help him with his conflict of interest between married man and wanting female attentions with comical results.

Has anyone else noticed this theme permeating within any other shows on television this week? My own series palette is rather limited at the moment but I’m curious how duality has spread to other popular shows. Please leave your comments. Thanks!

Editor’s Note: Pretty Little Liars has dual personalities in a big way, with Mona, Ali, and everyone with secret lives.

Elle Deegee, @j3nnee