Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: A- | 7 USERS: B YOU GRADE IT Freaks and Geeks
By Cindy McLennan | Season 2 | Episode 18 | Aired on 03.24.2013
Looking down at dead August, Henry mutters, "Brave, truthful, unselfish." Looking up at Emma and his grandparents, he repeats the line, and tells them that August has finally become what Pinocchio was supposed to be. "There's still hope. We need the Blue Fairy." Well, you're in luck, Henry, because the script has her arriving on the scene, just this very second. People were mocking this, but I like to think she's tied to Pinocchio, and maybe the guardian fairy of little boys in general, so her sudden appearance works for me.
Blue says she was able to turn Pinocchio into a real boy after he sacrificed his life for his father's. "If his actions were indeed brave, truthful and unselfish, there's a chance I can do it, again." Marco begs her to try. Blue pulls out her glowing blue wand and waves it over Pinocchio's um...corpse? He's enveloped by white, glowing magic. When it disappears, the wooden man is gone, and the little ginger haired boy (with brown eyes, yes, I know, let's just pretend August got color contact lenses to score chicks, okay?), still dressed in his goofy outfit, is lying in Marco's arms. The boy opens his eyes and says, "Father," which sounds all wrong because even grown-ass August was calling him, "Papa." Marco cries and marvels at his little son's human hands. Pinocchio jumps up and says, "I'm a real boy. I'm a real boy." He's hugging his papa when Tamara arrives on the scene.
Neal is surprised to see his intended. Tamara whispers, "It's...it's true." Blue leans down and tells Pinocchio to do better this time. Tamara raises her eyebrows and looks at Neal. "Pinocchio. That's..." Emma kneels down in front of Pinocchio and says she has to ask him a question. "I need you to think real hard, okay. Before you turned into a little boy, you were trying to tell us something very important. Do you remember? You were trying to warn us about something." Pinocchio stammers, "I--I don't remember. If I did, I would be truthful. I would. I promise." Emma nods, leaves the child be and heads toward Snow and Charming. Henry is on her heels and the four of them hug each other, and walk off together.
Alone with Tamara, Neal turns to her and says, "If you want to head back to New York, I wouldn't blame you. I know this isn't what you signed up for." Tamara says she signed up for Neal. "I love you." Neal says, "I can't believe how lucky I was to have met you." After Tamara insists they were both lucky, we flash back to...
New York City. November, 2011. August is sitting on his parked motorcycle. Neal is on the sidewalk, facing him and says, "That must have been a hell of a flight from Hong Kong. You've looked, better." August tells Neal he's turning back to wood, which must mean Emma is in Storybrooke. He has to go there and get her to break the curse, "...to stop what's happening to me." To you, August? You got that poor girl locked up, pregnant, for someone else's crimes. Ugh. I'm glad you're dead. Neal is worried that if Emma breaks the curse, his father will come looking for him. I wonder why he thinks that? I mean, it's true, but his father let him slip away, hundreds of years ago. Maybe August knows not only that Regina cast the curse, but that Rumpy designed it specifically to take him to the world without magic, so that he could find Baelfire. And maybe August told Neal that, Once Upon A Time, but with August dead, I doubt we'll ever get much satisfaction on this point, so I'll let it go. August says, "On the flip side, you get to see Emma again." When Neal says he's not sure Emma would want to see him, August smarms, "You never know." He tells Neal that when the curse is broken, he'll send him a postcard.