Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: A | 4 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Mother Knows Best
By Cindy McLennan | Season 2 | Episode 9 | Aired on 12.02.2012
As the trio stares silently at the well, one hand reaches up out of it, then the next. Emma pulls herself up into view. Henry says, "Mom?" Snow appears from the well, next. Emma yells her son's name and rushes to him. They hug and it's not long before Snow embraces them both. Gold appears touched by the reunion, but not enough to refrain from giving Regina the stink eye as he takes his leave.
As Regina rises to her feet, Snow looks from her to Gold and then asks what happened. Henry says, "She saved you. She saved both of you." Regaining consciousness, Red runs toward the scene and asks if they're okay. She and Snow hug like the dear old friends they are. Snow only indulges for a moment though, before saying, "Where's my husband? I need to find him!"
Red and Snow rush off. Emma, who is still hugging Henry, approaches Regina. "Um, your mom. She's uh -- she's a piece of work, you know." Regina nods. "Indeed I do." Summoning whatever generosity of spirit she didn't kill over the years, she smiles at Emma. "Welcome back." Still breathless, Emma returns the smile as holds onto Henry, as she whispers, "Thanks."
Gold's shop. Snow rushes in. She finds the dwarfs watching over Charming as he sleeps. Sitting on his bed, she leans over and kisses him. True love -- indeed the most powerful magic of all -- emanates from them. Charming wakes. Looking up at Snow he says, "You. You did it." Holding his face in her hands, Snow asks, "Did you ever doubt I would?" Charming says, "No," and kisses her again as he rises to a sitting position. Someone needs to tell these two to get a room, or at least move to a dark corner of the shop where their daughter, grandson, BFF, six dwarfs, and mortal enemy aren't looking on. When their lips part, Charming adds, "...'though the burning red room did give me pause." Oh, Show. That's so like you, and I adore you for it.
Emma finds Rumpy in the public area of the shop and tells him they need to talk. When he says apologies are in order, Emma says that's not necessary. She understands why he wanted to keep Cora out of Storybrooke. Gold says to remind him not to bet against her in the future. Emma: "It's not really a bet when the game is rigged, is it?" She tells him about finding the scroll covered in her name. He says he just wanted "it" (the memory of her name, I figure) to stick. Emma says that since the ink was there the whole time, he could have gotten out. Rumpy assures her he was right here he wanted to be. She needed to find it, so all this could occur.