Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: A+ | 379 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT PANic And PANcakes
By Cindy McLennan | Season 3 | Episode 11 | Aired on 12.15.2013
Emma says, "You would do that?" Regina says, "When I stop Pan's curse and you cross that town line, you will have the life you always wanted." Emma sounds like a little girl when she says, "But it won't be real." Regina says, "Your past won't, but your future will. Now go. There isn't much time left and the curse will be here, any minute." Henry hugs Regina. She kisses his forehead. Emma looks at her parents. Snow lets go of her husband's hand and walks to their daughter. Why doesn't he follow? What is up with the blocking? Ugh. Anyhow Snow takes Emma's face in her hand and kisses her baby on the forehead. She smiles a brave smile. Tears spill down Emma's cheeks. She nods and then Emma and Henry get in the car.
Hook looks gutted as he watches the scene. Charming nods bravely, but his face crumples. Snow stares after her daughter and grandson. Neal, who is a bit behind her, watches the rest of his family leave him. Regina looks down at the scroll. Pan's green curse closes. Regina peels the curse apart from the scroll, then tears it out at the end. The parchment and the scroll glow with purple magic. Henry turns back and watches through the rear windshield.
Regina crumples up the now activated scroll and presses the whole wad between her gloved hands until they crackle with glowing, purple magic. She turns away from the car to face the crowd -- to face Pan's curse. Once she raises her hands, purple magic flows from them and forms its own cloud of smoke. As the purple smoke hits the green, thunder claps. Emma puts the car in gear and drives off. The purple smoke overwhelms the green. Hook, Charming, Snow, and Regina are the only figures still visible. The Yellow VW Bug crosses the town line. The purple magic cannot. From the other side of the line, the Storybrooke side of the road looks empty. The orange line the Dwarfs painted across the road is all that is left, when Henry looks back, he is not sure why.
Back on the other side of the line, we see only Regina, who watches Emma drives Henry off into his new life. We cut to Emma's rearview mirror, in which we can see her eyes. She looks lost in thought, until she turns toward Henry. Even though we can't see her lips, her eyes are clearly smiling.
In Downtown Storybrooke, the purple smoke that marks the undoing of the Dark Curse rolls through town, over and past the clock tower, covering everything in sight. Inside Henry's abandoned bedroom, we watch as it approaches. Finally, the smoke billows in his open window. The Once Upon A Time book lies on Henry's unmade bed. The smoke surrounds it before it consumes it.