In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.
I'll be standing in for your regular recapper this week and, boy, what a week it is. Evil plots are coming to light and motives are becoming clearer. Here are the basics until the full recap:
In Storybrooke, Mr. Gold grows increasingly suspicious of August's true identity and reason for coming to town, especially after he finds August snooping around his office. August lies (badly) about mistaking Gold's office for part of the shop, so Gold does a little snooping of his own. He finds a drawing of the Rumpel killin dagger among August's belongings and realizes who the mysterious stranger might really be. In a scene that's a little bit funny and a little bit sad, Gold pours out his heart to Archie. August, he believes, is his long-lost son. He's come to town to kill his father.
Flashbacks to Fairy Tale Land make this seem pretty likely. As Rumpelstiltskin's magical prowess grows, so does his son Baelfire's fear that he's losing his father. Rumpy kills a man he thinks has caused Bae to hurt himself, even as Bae pleads with his father for mercy. Bae begs his father to give up magic. Bae strikes a deal with him: If he can find a way for his father to safely rid himself of the magic, then they'll go back to their normal lives. Rumpy, feeling quite confident that such a thing is impossible, shakes on it.
Bae eventually finds the only thing powerful enough to grant his wish. It's the Blue Fairy, and she gives him the last magical bean in existence. While it won't rid Rumpy of his magic, it will take them to a place where magic doesn't exist. Bae's excitement is short-lived, however, as he tosses the bean to the ground and his father refuses to follow him into the resulting interdimensional vortex to Mundanesville. Bae realizes his father has betrayed him by going back on their deal. It's his last thought as he and the vortex disappear. Rumpy immediately regrets his decision and begs the Blue Fairy to let him be with his son. Alas, without any more magic beans, the only way to get to the magic-free world is to work some crazy huge magic and Rumpy isn't powerful enough. Yet. So all his myriad machinations and deal with the Queen were to get him into a position to create Storybrooke. That is one helluva long con.
Back in Storybrooke, Gold confronts August and begs for his forgiveness. They have a tearful reunion and decide to dig up the Rumpelskillin' dagger together. He asks his son to destroy the dagger, but August tries to use it to gain magical power over him. That's when Gold realizes August isn't really his son, and is also maybe not super bright, since he should have realized magic doesn't work here. Gold threatens to kill him, but August confesses he's dying already. Gold lets him live because it suits his plans.
In other Storybrooke news, the townsfolk are glad Mary Margaret has turned out not to be a murderer. David tries to apologize for not believing in her, but she's not having it. Emma finally starts catching on to Sidney and Regina's plans. Maybe there is a little magic in town, after all. Stay tuned for the full recap.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Morning dawns on Storybrooke. August, sleeping in his bed, is suddenly overtaken by a terrible case of Restless Leg Syndrome. He wakes up, grabs his twitching legs and then flops out of bed and onto the floor. He stumbles over to the phone and dials. "Hey, are you there?" he asks. The mysterious recipient of his call apparently answers in the affirmative. "This is taking too long," August goes on. "We need to accelerate the plan."
thing you know, he's lurking behind a stack of building materials somewhere in town. "It's almost 9," he says to someone just out of frame. "You all set? You know what to do?" He looks down -- way down -- at the co-conspirator he's summoned for this meeting. It's little Henry Mills and he's thrilled to be embarking on the phase of Operation Cobra. But he's a little confused: "I don't understand what this has to with getting Emma to believe." August explains that other priorities have "asserted themselves." Henry, despite being almost annoyingly curious most of the time, doesn't push the issue. "Can you handle a little improvisation?" August asks him. "Sure, can you?" Henry asks right back. When they're done with Operation, they can join the Groundlings.
Henry scampers across the street toward Mr. Gold's shop while August heads for the back entrance. Inside, Henry greets Mr. Gold cheerfully. He improvs that he'd like to get Miss Blanchard a gift since she's not a murderer and all. Mr. Gold seems a little charmed by this. While the two are discussing gift options (including a bell that Henry finds shockingly expensive), August sneaks his way into Gold's office. He's not terribly good at being sneaky and clomps around in his heavy boots while perusing the shelves of dusty miscellanea. Mr. Gold and several deaf people two states over hear him. "May I help you?" Gold asks, regarding the intruder with more than a little suspicion. August improvs that he's looking for some maps and didn't realize he'd taken the office entrance. Gold doesn't believe him in the least, but politely directs him toward the shop proper.
Storybrooke General Hospital. Dr. Whale is at Kathryn's bedside when Emma comes in to ask her a few questions. Kathryn remembers being in the car accident, the airbags going off and then waking up in a basement somewhere. She guesses she was drugged, which Dr. Whale confirms. She says she woke up at the edge of town and started walking. Emma asks her if she heard a voice, or remembers a perfume or cologne. It's all a blank. Kathryn has a question of her own, about why everyone thought she was dead. Emma tells her about the heart and the DNA match and Kathryn's resulting "WTF?" face is really awesome. Dr. Whale assures them that they're questioning everyone in the lab to find out who doctored the DNA test. Emma explains that someone was trying to frame Mary Margaret. "Who would do something like that?" Kathryn asks. Dramatic music plays. Emma and Dr. Whale exchange serious looks.
We the viewers at home get the answer in the form of a scene change to Regina at Mr. Gold's shop. "You broke our deal," she says to Gold. "I broke one deal in my life, dear," he says, "and it certainly wasn't this one." They kind of have the same haircut, except Regina spends a little more time in front of the mirror every morning. She fusses because Kathryn was supposed to die and Mary Margaret was supposed to get the blame. Gold points out that murder seems much worse here: "You can't just turn someone into a snail and then step on them, can you?" He seems quite pleased with himself as Regina's annoyance grows. "You didn't say 'kill' her," he reminds her. You'd think that as long as she's known him, she would know to be more specific with the legalese. They had agreed, he goes on, that something tragic would happen to Kathryn. "Abduction is tragic," he says. She tries to argue technicalities with him, but his good mood vanishes as palpably as a cold wind blowing out a fire. For a moment, Regina seems a little bit afraid of him. She drops the argument, but points out that the situation will raise questions about who took her and faked the tests. Also, Gold put Regina's key in Mary Margaret's cell, which he mentions with the scariest hint of a smile. Regina pales. "It's all going to lead to me, isn't it?" she asks. "You bastard!" But she's a little bit confused, because they've been working together from the start. He scoffs at that idea. Methinks Rumpy's been working for himself from the start, lady. She asks him why he would have created the curse that brought them all here. He gets all up in her grill and says, very quietly, "You're a smart woman, Your Majesty. Figure it out." It is on.
Fairy Tale Land. In a muddy little farming village, groups of children play together. One boy, alone, bounces a ball off the side of a house. When the ball goes astray, the boy chases after it and falls headlong into the road. He narrowly avoids being run over by a donkey-drawn cart full of chickens. "Hey!" says the angry chicken farmer holding the donkey's reins. "What are you doing in the middle of the road?" The boy tries to hobble away from him, but the man follows. "I'm sorry," the boy says, turning his mop-top head to look at the farmer. It's Baelfire. The farmer, now recognizing him, can't apologize quickly enough. He blames the near-accident on the donkey. Ass. Baelfire's like, "No, no, it was all me! I couldn't see where I was going through my sheepdog bangs!" By then, the rest of the village folk have gathered around. Rumplestiltskin walks towards them, asking, "What's going on?" Again the farmer tries to take the blame, but Rumplestiltskin doesn't look convinced. "I'm fine, Papa, really," Baelfire says, stepping between his father and the doomed farmer. That's when Rumplestiltskin notices the bloody scrape on his son's knee and loses his magical shit. With a wave of his purple, glowing hand, he transforms the farmer into a snail. Baelfire pleads with his father, but it's no use. Rumplestiltskin squashes the snail beneath the heel of his boot. The villagers gasp and scurry away. Baelfire looks sad. What's going to become of the donkey and chickens?
Storybrooke. David pays Kathryn a visit while she's snoozing in her hospital bed. He puckers up and leans down close to her. She wakes with a start and David pulls back, foiled in his attempt at a princely buss. He apologizes. "What are you doing?" she asks. "I was trying to kiss you on your forehead," he says, a little embarrassed. "It was meant to be sweet." She laughs a little and says it's good to see him. He tells her he's sorry for lying to her and cheating on her. She's very understanding. Whatever they had wasn't "it" for either of them. "I can't blame you for just being the first one to see it," she says. Yeah, I think he did a little more than just see it, lady, but whatever. He looks like a big weight's been lifted off him. "You're kind of amazing," he says. "Yeah, I am," she says without ego. They share a little laugh and he gets to deliver that forehead kiss, after all.
Meanwhile, a party is underway at Mary Margaret and Emma's apartment. The roomies ladle up some punch for their guests. "All of these people, just to welcome me home," Mary Margaret says, looking out over room. There are maybe ten people. She acts like it's New Year's Rockin' Eve. (Miss you, Dick Clark!) Mr. Gold wanders around. Who in the heck would have invited him? Henry, sitting at the table with August, notices him. "How bad was it?" he asks August. "Getting caught in his office?" August asks. "Not bad. I played it off." Henry, clearly delighted with the continuing air of espionage, is eager for more details. "What were you looking for? Did you find it?" August leans across the table and tells his co-conspirator, "Nope, but I have a feeling it's gonna find me."
Henry gets up to give Mary Margaret his gifts, which consist of a card from his classmates ("We're so glad you didn't kill Mrs. Nolan!") and the bell he bought from Mr. Gold's shop. I hope August chipped in for that thing. Emma comes along to take Henry home before, as she says, his mother can find out he's gone. Regina should just stop believing he's ever at home. Even if he's standing in the living room with her, she should still call Emma and be all, "Where are you and Henry right now?!" Anyway, as Emma throws opens the door, she finds David standing there, poised to knock. Emma casts a questioning glance over at Mary Margaret. Off Mary Margaret's expression of displeasure, Emma doesn't invite David inside. "She's kind of tired," she says. "I think if you just give it some time." David tries to explain, but Emma quickly volunteers him to take Henry home.
As Emma heads back into the party, she finds herself face to face with Mr. Gold. "Hard to let him go, isn't it?" he asks. "Yeah, pretty much the hardest thing," she agrees. "Speaking of things we weren't talking about..." She segues into asking Gold if he's the one who took Kathryn and just to her back. Instead of answering her, he points out the flaw in her line of questioning: "Are you proposing that I'm working with Regina, or against her?" She stumbles a bit. "I don't know... Maybe diagonally!" Heh. He invites her to keep working on that and asks her about August. He tells her about finding August poking around the shop earlier. He thinks "August Wayne Booth" is a false name and knows from false names. Nonetheless, Emma says she trusts August, at least more than she trusts Gold.
Fairy Tale Land. Rumplestiltskin and Baelfire return home. A young woman is tidying up the modest cottage and stops when they walk inside. "Thank you, Onora," Rumplestiltskin says to her. "You can fetch our supper now, dearie." She leaves the house. Is she getting takeout? "You killed that man," Baelfire says. "You were hurt," Rumplestiltskin says. "Speaking of which -" He raises his hand to work some mojo on Baelfire's scrape, but Baelfire gently pushes his hand away and fetches a medieval first-aid kit. Rumplestiltskin gives in to the boy. "You've changed," Baelfire says while his father tends his wound the old-fashioned way. "You see it, don't you? You hurt people all the time." Rumpy looks genuinely hurt by this. He tries to explain about stopping the Ogre's War and saving all the children. "Surely a man who's saved a thousand lives -" "- is done," Baelfire finishes for him. He makes an impassioned plea to his father, but Rumpy's not hearing him. He wants more power, not less, and tries to convince Baelfire (and himself) that's all to protect him. Baelfire points out that he wouldn't need to be protected in the first place if his father didn't have power.
Rumplestiltskin tries a different tack: "Well, I can't get rid of it!" But kids always have a follow-up question: "Have you tried?" Rumplestiltskin pulls out his special knife and shows it to Baelfire. "If someone kills me with this, then they gain the power," he exposits. "Now, you know that, Bae." Then why are you telling him again? Also, it doesn't exactly answer the boy's question. Onora walks back in with supper, just in time to hear something she wasn't meant to hear. It just got all Downton Abbey up in here. Rumpy tucks the knife back into his coat and waves Onora away. Baelfire is still pressing the matter. "If I find a way for you to get rid of the power - a way that doesn't kill you or hurt me - will you do it?" Rumpy insists it's not possible, but Bae is persistent, even when his father offers to conjure up anything his heart desires. What Bae wants is his father, or what his father used to be. Rumplestiltskin softens. "If you find a way, I'll do it," he says. Bae brightens and extends his hand to seal the deal. Rumplestiltskin stares at his son's hand for a moment before shaking it. "The deal is struck," Baelfire says with a grin. "Struck," Rumplestiltskin agrees.
Storybrooke. Mr. Gold breaks into August's room. Even with a cane and a wonky leg, he's quieter than August was. He noses around August's desk and notices a stack of papers to an old typewriter. On top of this stack is a paperweight that looks like a little donkey. Gold picks this up and considers it for a while before turning his attention to the papers. Oh, looky there! There's a drawing of Rumpy's old knife, complete with the show's iffy spelling of his name. Dun, dun, DUN!
Storybrooke. Sidney's enjoying a nice cuppa at the cafe when Emma drops into the chair opposite him. He looks like he just pooped himself a little. He tries to pretend like he's happy to see her, and happy about how things have turned out for Mary Margaret, but Emma's not in the market for a big pile of crap. She shows him the bug she found. "You fooled me, you spied on me and you reported it all back to that sick, crazy woman." He drops the facade. Emma thinks Regina must be blackmailing Sidney in some way, but then he starts going on about what a good mayor and amazing woman she is. Emma realizes he's actually in love with Regina. She chokes back a little barf nugget and presses on. "Here's the thing: Before you know it, I will have that evidence, and you need to think long and hard. You can either help me and help yourself, or you're gonna go down with her, too." Instead of arresting him or even just bringing him in for questioning, she gets up and leaves him to stew in his lovelorn juices.
Meanwhile, August gets on his motorcycle and sets off for parts unknown. Mr. Gold, waiting in his land boat of a car, follows him.
Fairy Tale Land. Boys play at sword fighting with sticks. The surrounding forest is so green and lush that I expect creepy little Ewoks to start popping up. Rumplestiltskin and Bae walk by. Rumpy encourages his son to go play. "I have some business nearby that would bore you," he says. Bae is all too happy to join the other boys, but they get one look at him and scatter in fear. Rumpy walks toward a hut in the woods while Bae, forlorn, sits by a stream. He's soon joined by Morraine. "Careful, you don't want to be seen with me," he grumps. "I'm dangerous." She says she's not worried. She knows he wouldn't let his father hurt her. If I had a crushed snail for every time I heard that... They talk a little bit about Rumpy stopping the war, which has earned him a lot of credit with Morraine. Bae tells her about wanting to find a way to help his father change back. Morraine thinks for a bit and then says, "Reul Ghorm!" She heard about it from the other soldiers in the trenches. "Reul Ghorm is an ancient being that rules the night -- the original power," she says. Bae gets his hopes up. "Bigger than Papa? Worse than Papa?" he asks. "Bigger than anything," she says.
She leaves as Rumplestiltskin returns. Rumpy doesn't understand why everyone's so afraid of him. That's when Bae looks down and notices something. "You have stains on your boots," he says. They're streaked with red. Rumpy looks a bit sheepish. "Ah, yes, that... We need a new maid!" Bae is horrified to realize his father has killed Onora. Rumpy explains she heard them talking about the knife. Bae is even more horrified. "She was mute! She couldn't have told anyone!" Rumpy shrugs that off. "Even mutes can draw a picture," he says.
Storybrooke. Convent. Mr. Gold watches from a distance as August talks with Mother Superior. Their conversation is muffled, but it sounds like she tells him not to do anything rash. After August leaves, Gold approaches his least favorite nun. She's got a decent amount of eye shadow for a nun. Gold asks her about August. When she's less than forthcoming, he threatens to double her rent. She finally tells him that August told her he'd come to town looking for his father and that he'd found him. He wanted her advice. Mr. Gold tries to make his face all casual and mostly succeeds. Then she tells him that August hasn't yet talked with his father because they parted on bad terms. Mr. Gold looks a little gut-punched and doesn't really try to hide it.
Fairy Tale Land. At night, Baelfire goes back to the forests of Endor. "Reul Ghorm? Are you there? If you can help me, please make yourself known to me." He closes his eyes. When he opens them again, the Blue Fairy flits down in her horrible parade float of a dress. She says she can help him. He doesn't know if he can trust her, so she says there's good magic and dark magic. "I'm on the right side," she says, rather nonspecifically. He tells her about his father being the Dark One and all. Unfortunately, she can't change him back to who he was before. She offers to send them someplace where his father can't use his powers. Baelfire is worried this place is some kind of jail, but she assures him it's just another world where there's no magic. She gives him a magic bean -- the last magic bean. "You just use it wisely and follow wherever it leads you," she says. "It will save you both."
Storybrooke. Night out on the streets. Mary Margaret heads for her parked car. David, obviously waiting around for her, follows her. "We need to talk," he says. "So talk," she says, not really wanting to. He starts to apologize for not believing in her. She stops and looks up at him. "You know, I will never forget that moment when the world sort of blows you backwards, and the one person you thought would always be there to catch you... he isn't there." What, exactly, was it about him in this existence that made her think he was that reliable? He ain't Prince Charming here, by a long shot. "Look at what was going on," he says. "It was your jewelry box! Your fingerprints! Knife in your apartment!" Man, he is really sucking at this apology. Mary Margaret reminds him it was a setup. He apologizes for being human. "But we have to move forward," he says. She says they can't: "It's like something in this world doesn't want us together." He says he loves her, but that just makes her sadder.
Fairy Tale Land. Rumplestiltskin is spinning up some gold when Baelfire returns home with the good news. "Papa, I found a way for things to be like they were!" Rumpy grimaces and keeps on spinning right up until Bae mentions the Reul Ghorm. Rumpy recognizes that as the Blue Star, also known as the Blue Fairy. Bae says she can send them to a place without magic. Rumpy gets up and paces. "I'd be powerless! Weak." Bae reminds him they have a deal. "Are you backing out?" he asks. Rumpy thinks for a bit and then finally: "No."
Storybrooke. Mr. Gold knocks twice on Archie's office door, then thinks better of it and walks away. The door opens and Archie peers out, surprised to see him. "Mr. Gold? Are you here for the rent?" he asks. "Why does everyone always ask that?" Gold wonders. Archie gawks at him for a bit and then realizes Gold is there to talk. He invites him inside.
thing you know, they're already in mid-conversation. "A son?" Archie asks in response to the revelation we didn't witness. Everything about this meeting is a surprise to Archie, starting with the fact that they're even having it. He shakes himself out a bit. "I didn't know you had a son. How old is he?" Gold bypasses that: "Let's start with something easier." Gold confesses that his son may have come to town looking for him, but that he hasn't yet been approached. Gold doesn't know if this is actually his son or wishful thinking. He explains there was "conflict" between them, which Archie takes to mean Gold is angry at his son. Gold says it's the other way around. "Anger between a parent and a child is the most natural thing in the world," Archie says. "I think he might be here to try to kill me," Gold says. Archie: "That's... not." Heh. Gold tells him about letting go of his son and trying to fix things ever since and admits he doesn't know what to do now that his son might be here. Archie advises him to be honest and ask for forgiveness.
Gold confronts August in the dark and misty woods. "I know who you are, and I know what you're looking for," he says. August, who'd been skulking around a bit in the shadows, comes out to face him. "Well, then, I guess all the lying can stop, Papa."
But not before a commercial break and another trip to Fairy Tale Land, where Baelfire is leading Rumplestiltskin through the woods. Rumpy is having second thoughts about going to a world without magic. Bae tosses the bean to the ground. For a moment, nothing happens. Then, before Bae can run off to find some Miracle-Gro, the bean begins to glitter. A vortex of green light opens up in the soil. Rumpy freaks out. "My Gods, boy! It's like a tornado!" He backs away, stuttering about how it's a trick that will tear them apart. Bae takes his hand and pulls him toward the edge of the vortex. The ground starts to crumble beneath them. Bae slips. He dangles over the swirling chasm, his father's grip on his arm the only thing keeping him from falling through. Rumpy digs his knife into the earth to anchor himself. Bae pleads with him, but he just keeps saying "I can't, I can't." Bae screams at him, pleads with him not to break their deal, but Rumplestiltskin says he has to, and lets go of Bae's arm to get a better hold of his anchoring knife.
Bae slips down into the vortex, which seals behind him, leaving no trace in the earth. Rumplestiltskin is left lying there, clutching his knife, staring at the spot where his son vanished. It takes a few moments for the reality of it to settle in and then he's scrambling around in the soil, digging with his bare hands. "I'm sorry, Bae, I want to come with you!" He digs and digs, but it's no use. Meanwhile, in Our World, some people are probably pretty confused as to why Frodo just materialized out of nowhere.
Storybrooke. "You were right, Bae," Gold says to August. "You were always right." August looks away. Gold goes on: "I was a coward, and I never should have let you go." Gold tearfully tells August he's spent every waking moment since then looking for him. Gold asks for forgiveness. He breaks down crying. "I'm so sorry, Bae." August resists, but then gives the old man a hug. They cry and hug and I think I got a little fairy dust in my eye or something. They get around to the topic of the knife. August admits he was looking for it. "I thought if you still had it, it would mean that you hadn't changed."
They dig up the knife together. Gold buried it after Emma came to town so that Regina couldn't find it. Gold hands it over for August to destroy. "I found you and I don't need it anymore," he says. "I chose it once -- now I choose you." But August looks strangely awed, and not by Gold's gesture of faith. It's the knife itself that impresses him. He acts like it's the first time he's seen it. Indeed, instead of destroying it, he points it at Gold. "By the power of the Darkness, I command thee, Dark one." Gold frowns at him. "You're trying to control me?" August ignores him. He shouts, "I command thee, Dark One!" If Eion Bailey got through that line without cracking up, my hat is off to him. Gold realizes August isn't his son.
August tries to bluff his way through it, but we've already established his improvisational skills are not that great. "My son would never try to use me," Gold says. Gold also points out that the knife won't work because there's no magic in this world, which doesn't seem to be entirely true, but whatever. He snatches back the knife. August went through the whole deception as a means to make Gold believe he was his son. If he hadn't had to "work for it," as August says, he wouldn't have ignored the obvious. "Do I even look at him at all?" he asks. Actually, yes, you kind of do. But what do I know? I used to recap Smallville, where we were supposed to believe that Jor-El started out looking like Tom Welling and somehow turned into Julian Sands. Anyway, Gold decides that August must be from the other world. He shoves August up against a tree and presses the knife to his throat. "Who told you about me and the knife?" he asks. "A little fairy," August says. Ooh, someone's gonna get their rent doubled now. Gold gets all up in August's face and wonders why he would have taken the risk to get the knife. When August says he's dying, Gold backs off a little. It seems more a reflex born of confusion than mercy. August says he needs magic to cure him. He was going to get the "Savior" to believe, but doesn't think he'll live long enough. Nonetheless, Gold sees an opportunity. He remembers that Emma trusts August. "Try again," he says in quite the scary little whisper. When August is surprised to find himself still alive, Gold explains: "You'll die either way -- this way, I might get something out of it." August slumps down to the ground, and probably not from relief.
Fairy Tale Land. Rumplestiltskin stands alone in the forest and bellows for the Blue Fairy. There's no real reason she should answer him, but she shows up anyway so she can give away too much information. He wants to follow his son, but Blue is fresh out of magic beans. He lists off other possibilities: "A realm-jumper? A time tunnel? A mage? A curse?" She's quick to answer in the negative after each one, until he gets to that last. When she hesitates, he knows he's found the answer. She insists it can't be done: "Not without a great price." She says he would have to sacrifice this world, but it's beyond his abilities... for now. But she's given him everything he needs to know, so at least he knows where to start this very long con. "I will do nothing else, I will love nothing else, but I will find a way," he promises. "You took my son, but I will get him back." When she tries to point out that she didn't take his son, he lunges at her with the knife. She flits away while he's still ranting and raving.
Storybrooke. When Emma returns to her office, she finds Regina waiting for her. "Congratulations, Sheriff Swan, there's about to be a big break in your case." Regina's sitting on a desk like it's a piano and she's about to break into torch songs. Emma looks wary. "You just got yourself a confession," Regina goes on. Emma thinks Regina's about to spill the beans (the non-magical, figurative kind) but instead calls Sidney into the room. Sidney slinks over to them from where he'd been waiting in the stairwell. "Tell her what you told me," Regina prompts. "It was me," he says. "I confess." With quavering voice and shifty eyes, he tells Emma that he's the one who abducted Kathryn, planted the evidence against Mary Margaret and then stole Regina's skeleton keys. Regina deadpans about how "personally violated" she feels about that last one. Emma, clearly not believing him, asks why he would do this. He says he was going to play the big hero and get his job back. "The man has obviously suffered some kind of mental break," Regina says with faux sympathy. "He clearly hasn't been himself for a while." Round about 28 years, wouldn't you say?
Furious, Emma summons Regina into the hallway for a private confab. "Well, that's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard," Emma says. Regina: "I'm pretty sure that's not true." Heh. Emma rails at Regina for being behind everything and goes on about Regina setting up the game so nobody else can win. "But," she says, "I am about to start playing an entirely different game." Emma threatens to take Henry away from Regina. "You tried to take away someone I love, and now? I'm gonna take away someone you love." She has genuine reasons for wanting Henry away from Regina, but she doesn't really make her case very well. The little flavor of revenge there makes her sound a little bit crazy herself, frankly. That's where the episode ends, so we don't get to see Regina's reaction. She's probably a little bit amused that Emma would tip her hand like that. Maybe we'll find out week, when your regular recapper will be back on duty.