Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: B+ | 116 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT PANdora's Box
By Cindy McLennan | Season 3 | Episode 10 | Aired on 12.08.2013
Anyhow, Grumpy enters and it's clear he's been eavesdropping, but he claims the masonry is thin. He is not so crazy about the idea of Snow and Charming honeymooning, while Queenie is on the warpath. He heard what Charming said, but he wants to know what Snow thinks. Snow's eyes twinkle with mischief as she tells her old friend that she thinks there is something at the summer palace that will help them defeat Regina once and for all. Oh Snow, you sly boots. We flash forward to...
Storybrooke. Charming loads Chekhov's gun by asking Gold what the deal is with the Shadow. Gold explains that it is sealed to the sail, and the only person who can free it is locked in Pandora's Box. Face meet palm.
Panry wanders over to Felix, who asks what he has in mind. Felix is worried someone will open the box and free the "real boy." His phrasing gives me unsatisfactory August flashbacks. Make it stop! Felix wants to know what their next step is. Panry says, "You need to be punished." All season, I've been trying to ignore the Pan story's pederast subtext, but sometimes, I cannot. Thankfully, I can report that Panry distracts me when he shouts out, "Hey mom, dad, what about Felix? He's still free." Emma, Neal, Regina and Charming approach. Regina says "Henry" is right. Charming drags tall, light, and lanky off to a cell. Emma tells "Henry" he's safe, now. We cut to...
Gold's Shop. Panry, Emma, Neal, Regina, and Belle look on, as Gold puts Pandora's Box in the secret compartment under the floor. The adults all try to reassure Panry that Pan is no longer a threat. Gold promises, "As long as I'm alive, that boy will never see the light of day." Commercial.
After the break, we return to Gold's shop. He's in his civvies, now, and Belle helps him straighten his tie. Their talk turns to the future, a future Gold never expected to have. Belle says neither the boy nor Pan proved to be his undoing, so now he can stop worrying about prophecies. I agree he should stop thinking about prophecies, but I still wish these two would consider other definitions of undoing. The future Gold wants is one where he and Belle are together. Belle tears up at that, and they kiss. We cut to...
Granny's Diner. In the midst of the "Welcome Home" shindig, Emma brings Panry "his" Once Upon A Time book. Since he's not actually Henry, Panry doesn't know how to react, and his strange reception of the book is not lost on Emma. When she asks if he's okay, he says, "Yeah, why?"