Skin Deep (Once Upon a Time)

"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) of planning to seek vigilante justice when a cat burglar, Moe French (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). In the Enchanted Forest flashbacks, a fateful deal is made between Rumpelstiltskin (Carlyle) and Belle (Emilie de Ravin), 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 be Rumpelstiltskin choosing power over love, but during the writing process Espenson decided instead to make the character believe that he was not worthy of love at all.

"Skin Deep" first aired in the United States on ABC on February 12, 2012. A novelization of "Skin Deep" was released in 2013.