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Storybrooke: August is Pinocchio and spends his time trying to prove to Emma that she is the savior, but she can't even deal, because she's spending her time prepping for a custody battle, or a kidnapping. Whichever. For the sake of all the Enchanted Forestians, I sure hope it's not her judgment that is supposed to save them. August goes so far as to take Emma to the spot where he "found" her, when they were transported from the Enchanted Forest to Our World. He also shows her how he's starting to revert to his not-as-real boy wooden self, but Emma is so deep in denial that she cannot see it. She doesn't want to be the savior and tells August that if she is, everyone is screwed. Meanwhile, Regina puts the moves on David and even cooks him lasagna, but he's a two-woman man, and she's not one of his two.
Enchanted Forest: August is Pinocchio. Yeah, that's about it. Well, there is a little more. When the Blue Fairy commissions the Savior-saving wardrobe from Geppetto, she means it to save two people. Geppetto's down with that, provided his recently real real-boy son is one of those two. Blue resists at first, but finally agrees. And then she basically lies to Snow and Charming's war council that it can only save one. I'm glad none of her body parts grow when she forsakes the truth. I mean, how much strain can one corset withstand, even if it's magical?
I'll be back with the whole story, in the full recap. In the meantime, please grade the episode at the top of the page and then come on over to the forum, where there are no strings on me.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Before I start, I just want to thank the lovely and talented Tippi Blevins for covering last week's episode. I desperately needed the week off and I got the bonus of laughing my way through her recap too. Thank you, Tippi!
"The Stranger" is one of those... well, strange episodes in that I thoroughly enjoyed it even though I expected it would play out nearly exactly how it did. I'm not disappointed by the lack of surprises, but it leaves me wondering what there is to say about it. Let's find out. You ready? Okay.
Storybrooke, Mary Margaret's Hovel. August installs a medieval looking lock on Mary Margaret's door. They hope it will keep the place Regina-free. Talk turns to Emma's threat that she would take Henry from Regina. Emma reveals she's asking Mr. Gold to help her mount a custody battle. Cautious Mary asks Emma if she's ready to be a mom and smiles when Emma confirms she is. Just then, Henry contacts Emma over his walkie-talkie and summons her to Granny's diner for a Code Red Operation Cobra meeting. August follows Emma out the door and notes that he didn't think Emma believed in Operation Cobra. She doesn't, but it's a way to connect with Henry. August tells Emma she needs to take a day off to look at the big picture and consider if a custody battle against Regina is a wise course to take. He wants to take her somewhere, but admits if he told her where that is she would never come. Emma's pace quickens. From behind, August calls out to her and asks to take a leap of faith. Emma: "My kid needs me. I don't have time for faith." That pretty much sums up every action Emma will take in this episode, although sometimes, you might want to take out "faith" and sub in "think."
Granny's Diner. Henry has chosen this public venue for a private meeting because he's a ten year old boy and he's hungry, which is pretty cute. He shows Emma that someone has changed his book. A Pinocchio story has been added, which is strange enough on its own, but the kicker is that it's unfinished. Henry figures that whoever added it is trying to tell them something new about the curse, but he can't decide what. Emma only indulges this conversation for a minute or so and then tells Henry he's going to be late for school. She is ready to be a mom! As Henry stares at the illustration of a raft sailing stormy seas, we cut to...
Enchanted Forest, Stormy Sea, Night. Geppetto and a still wooden Pinocchio are on a raft that is no match for the waves. Geppetto wants Pinocchio to take the life preserver. Pinocchio points out that since he's wooden, he'll float. He insists his father take it. Geppetto refuses to risk losing his little toy son, so Pinocchio jumps off the raft and into the sea. As Monstro the whale swims up behind the raft -- mouth open wider than a chewing toddler's, we cut to...
Enchanted Forest, Shore, Day. Geppetto wakes and calls out for his son. He chuckles to himself that the boy saved him, but his laughter turns to tears as he finds Pinocchio face down in a puddle. All right, this is dumb. How does a wooden boy drown? Whatever, here comes the Blue Fairy and her boobs to save the day. She wiggles her wand and Pinocchio becomes a real boy. Father and son marvel at this miracle. Blue giggles. Geppetto doesn't know how he can ever repay her. This is all he ever wanted. Blue tells them to go live their lives together as a family, which when you think about it is really this show's theme. Before the guys leave, Blue tells Pinocchio to remember to be brave, truthful and unselfish. Remember how I said I thoroughly enjoyed this episode? Well, while that was true on first viewing, I am already bored to tears on second watch. Is anyone with me? We cut from a shot of Geppetto putting Pino's dumb hat back on his dumb head to...
Storybrooke, August's Room. We open on the hat and zoom out to see August, who I am not at all surprised to learn is Pinocchio. I'm not upset he's Pinocchio. I've been speculating about this for a while, but I don't know. Maybe I'm dead inside. August dials up Mr. Gold on an actual rotary telephone. Have you kids ever even used one? This one is gorgeous. It seems to be made of copper. Bravo, props department -- what a beautiful find. Anyhow, August tells Gold they have to meet about Emma. "There's a problem." There sure is. As August starts to leave his room, he reels back in pain. He stumbles to a wicker chest at the end of his bed, sits down and pulls up his left pant leg to reveal his left leg is made of wood. Commercial.
Do any of my fellow Lost fans prematurely stop rewinding through the commercials when you see David S. Lee in that Velveeta Cheesy Skillets commercial? It's tricked me at least 3 times in as many episodes. Some of it's the lighting, but mostly it's because we already have older Charles Widmore (Alan Dale, King George) on the show, so I think the brain cells that were taken over by Lost fully expect this commercial to instead be an Enchanted Forest flashback to sometime in King George's youth. Yes, that show broke me. There's no use trying to fix me either. Let's just continue.
Storybrooke School, Exterior. Regina approaches Mary and says something insincere, then explains that Henry forgot his lunch. She asks Mary if she's seen him. Mary smiles. "He's with his mother." There's your spunk, Snow. Regina asks Mary if there's a problem. Mary says not at all. Someone went to a lot of trouble to make her look guilty, but they failed. Regina blames Sidney, which seems like a waste of time considering that when Mary was still in jail, Regina told her she knew she didn't kill Kathryn, but deserved the punishment anyhow. Mary makes it clear she doesn't buy Sidney's confession. Regina: "Are you insinuating something?" Mary: "Yes I am. But I forgive you. Even if you can't admit what you did, I forgive you anyway. Your life must be filled with such incredible loneliness if your only joy comes from destroying everyone else's happiness. It's so sad, Mayor Mills, because despite what you think, it won't make you happy. It's only going to leave a giant hole in your heart." As Mary walks off, she adds, "There's Henry now."
Regina gives Henry his lunch and tells him she thinks it's time to transfer him to a new class. Showing the same spunk his ridiculously young grandmother just did, he asks Regina if she wants him out of Miss Blanchard's class because she framed that very same Miss Blanchard. When Regina asks if he thinks she capable of doing something so horrible, Henry jerks his hand away from her clutches and says, "Of course. You're the Evil Queen." When Regina complains about Mary giving Henry the Once Upon a Time book and mutters that she should have her fired, Henry rises to his feet. "Go ahead and try. It won't work. No matter what you do, Snow White will have her happy ending. She and Prince Charming will be together. The curse will end. Good will win. And? I'm not transferring classes."
Mr. Gold's Shop. August walks in to find Marco (Geppetto) looking at an antique clock. Gold realizes right away that August recognizes his father. Marco will take the clock to his shop to repair it. He tips his hat at a frozen August as he leaves the shop. Gold mocks August for not saying hello to his own father. August tells him to mind his own beeswax, so Gold changes the subject to Emma and points out that while August claims he's the one who can get her to believe, he doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry considering he's dying and all. August says it's Emma's fault. She's too distracted by her desire to get custody of Henry and plans to ask Gold for legal advice. Gold realizes August wants him to steer Emma toward August. August is sure he can get her to believe and tells Gold, "Trust me." Gold laughs at this. "I'm sorry, it's just that knowing who you are, and your nature -- trust is a big ask. Fear not. A gentle nudge I shall provide."
Enchanted Forest, Geppetto's Shop. Geppetto tells Pinocchio how to fix the very same clock we just saw Marco with back in Storybrooke. When the work is done, the cuckoo bird pops out but poor Jiminy Cricket is tied to it. Geppetto releases him and scolds Pinocchio. Jiminy insists the boy meant no harm. Just then the Blue Fairy flies into the shop. Pinocchio apologizes. "I'm sorry! I meant to be good." She's not there for him. She has some bad news. Pinocchio and Jiminy head upstairs to give Blue and Geppetto some privacy. She tells Geppetto about the curse and that Snow White is pregnant with the Savior. She tells him all about the tree and making the wardrobe and blah blee bloo. Geppetto is mostly concerned with saving Pinocchio. Blue tells him to build the wardrobe and save them all.
Storybrooke, Gold's Shop. Emma wants his help in pursuing custody of Henry. She can't believe Gold refuses, since he knows what she did. He points out they can't prove it. The proceedings would be futile. Why put Henry through all that? Emma can't leave her boy with that sociopath. She tries not to take no for an answer, but Gold won't budge. He will nudge though and says, "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I'm simply not the man to help you beat Mayor Mills." Emma: "No, you're not." We cut to...
August's Room. August lets Emma in. She says, "You told me to beat Regina, I have to see the big picture. Show it to me." Commercial.
Downtown Storybrooke. Regina feigns car trouble. David rescues her and her groceries. He insists upon driving her home. At the Mayoral Manse, Regina thanks him for being her knight in shining armor and invites him to dinner (Lost fans like her house number, 108). She's making lasagna. David begs off, but carries the groceries in. Regina heads to the dining room table and picks up a note labeled, "Mom." It's empty, but she puts on her boo-boo face and tells David that apparently Henry is having supper with Archie after their session. She pouts that Henry spends less and less time with her, then thanks him for his help and lies something about not wanting to burden him. David decides to stay for dinner. Let's hope the meat in the lasagna doesn't turn out to be made of minced amnesiac Prince. It's a little gamey.
Enchanted Forest. Blue brings Geppetto, Pinocchio and Jiminy to the magical tree and blahs about the Queen's determination to destroy Snow and Charming's happiness. They must stop at nothing to undo her curse. Contrary to what we learned in the pilot, the tree (the last of its kind) contains enough magic to protect two people from the curse, not just one. Before it strikes, Snow and Charming will enter the wardrobe and travel to a distant magic-free land, where Snow will give birth. When the child turns 28, she will begin the battle to defeat Queenie. Since Pinocchio wasn't always a real boy, Geppetto is concerned that the curse will turn him back to wood. He will build the wardrobe, but only if Pinocchio can take the second spot in it. Jiminy tries to act as Geppetto's conscience, but Geppetto has no problem reminding Jiminy what he did to Geppetto's parents. Geppetto tells the Blue that she should tell Snow and the Prince that there's only enough magic for one. If she doesn't do it his way and allow him to save Pinocchio, he will not make the wardrobe. Are there no other woodworkers in your whole world, Blue?
Snow and Charming's Castle, War Room. Blue lies about the tree only having enough magic for one. Geppetto tells the council he and Pinocchio will build the wardrobe. Jiminy looks on disapprovingly.
Storybrooke. When August stops his motorcycle, Emma asks how any of this is going to help her defeat Regina. August says they're going on a trip, so he can tell her someone's story -- his. They drive past the "Leaving Storybrooke" sign and right into a really bad commercial for the Droid Razr. See, when people leave Storybrooke bad stuff happens.
Mayoral Mansion. David tells Regina hers is the best lasagna he's ever had. He asks how she found him, when he was unconscious. She says she was working late that night. On the way home, she realized she left her phone at the office. Something inside her told her to turn around and get it. That's when she saw him. What an amazing coincidence. David agrees. "It's almost like the universe wanted you to find me." Regina takes this as a come-on and moves in for a kiss. David narrowly avoids it. He apologizes, on account of only being a two-woman man. Or actually, he says they have a great friendship and he doesn't want to screw it up. Regina lets her eyes water for maximum effect, but come on Mayor. Crying is David's superpower. After he thanks Regina for dinner and leaves, she takes a sip of her wine and then hurls her glass at the mirror. Both it and the wine glass break. Oh, the wine-manity!
Enchanted Forest: Snow is in labor. The curse is rolling in. Blue tells Geppetto that circumstances have changed. Snow has gone into labor early. She has to accompany the baby to the new world or all will be lost. Geppetto is all, "We had a deal." Blue says there's no time to argue. She's got to return to the other fairies and make the final preparations. She instructs Geppetto to tell Snow what she just told him. After she's gone, Geppetto tells Pino that they won't tell Snow the truth. Jiminy tries to persuade Geppetto to do the right thing, but Geppetto says Pino can watch out for the baby and teach her about her destiny. Pino doesn't want to lie, but Geppetto insists. He then makes the boy promise to make sure that in 28 years, their Savior will believe. Pino promises. Jiminy reminds the boy to remain brave, truthful and unselfish in the new world. Geppetto puts the boy in the wardrobe and shuts the door. When he opens it, Pinocchio is gone.
Maine, off the I-95 Night. August pulls up in front of a diner. Emma seems to recognize it. She is agitated as she asks August, "What the hell is this?" She's not a character in one of his books and wants no more screwing around. "What the hell are we doing here?" August looks at her. "I think you know." It's the diner she was brought to, when she was first found. He shows her a newspaper clipping about her. When she says she thought the trip was supposed to be about him, he says it is. It's his story and her story. "That seven year old boy that found you? That was me." Commercial.
Maine, 28 Years Ago, Day. Magic blows a hole through the trunk of a big tree. Inside is Pinocchio. He hops out and takes a look around. In a lovely visual callback to Lost, a plane flies overhead. Of course Pinocchio is from the Enchanted Forest, so he cowers in terror. When he tries to climb back in the tree, magic knocks him unconscious, so unlike us, he doesn't have to suffer through a flashback of the last scene between him and Geppetto, you know -- the one we just saw a few minutes ago. When Pino regains consciousness, he rises to his feet. Magic whooshes all around him. When it's gone, a squalling Emma is in the tree. Pino takes her out and tries to hush her cries.
Maine Woods, Night. Emma says August can't be the guy who found her, because she wasn't found in the woods -- she was found on the side of the highway. August says he lied about where he found her. Emma says he's lying to her about everything. She says she's done listening and starts to walk off, so August tells her about the blanket she was wrapped in when he found her. Emma gives him a chance to explain why he lied about where he found her. August: "I lied to protect you." Emma: "From what?" August points at the tree and says, "That." He knows she's read Henry's book and knows about the curse and her role in it. He tells her he's Pinocchio and that they both came into this world through the tree. She laughs at the liar claiming to be Pinocchio, but of course he's telling the truth. She realizes he's the one who added the story to Henry's book and notes he's not a very good liar, since he didn't even bother to finish the story he added. August: "This is the ending and we're writing it, right now." Emma: "And how does this story end?" August: "With you believing." Emma tells him that's not going to happen.
This time when Emma storms off, August chases after he. He soon falls and moans in pain. Emma asks what's wrong with his leg. August says he failed and that it doesn't matter, because she doesn't believe. He's not screwing around here. Whether or not she believes, this is real and he is sick. Emma agrees he's sick -- a sick crazy lying liar who lies. August wants to shout out to the Lost fans too, so he asks Emma if she's ever been to Phuket. That's where he was she decided to stay in Storybrooke. Emma asks how he knows when she decided to stay. August isn't done with the Lost easter eggs so he says, "Because at 8:15 in the morning, I woke up with a shooting pain in my leg. That's 8:15 at night, in Storybrooke. Sound familiar? That's when time there started to move forward again. I was supposed to be there for you and I wasn't. Because I was halfway around the world, I got a painful reminder of how far I'd strayed. If that tree won't make you believe, maybe this will." He pulls up his pant leg to reveal his wooden leg. He sees it. I see it. You see it. We all see it, except for Emma. She sees an ordinary hairy, pasty white leg and asks how that proves anything. August realizes her denial is powerful. "It's preventing you from seeing the truth. [...] You don't want to believe -- after everything you've seen, why can't you just do it." Emma asks why it's so important to him. August says everyone needs her to. Emma's in tears, now. "I don't want them to need me. [...] You're saying that I am responsible for everyone's happiness. That is crap. I didn't ask for that. I don't want it." August counters that she didn't want Henry at first either and now she's fighting like hell for him. Fighting for Henry is all she can handle right now. She wants nothing to do with this. When August tells her she's their only hope, Emma says, "Then you're all screwed."
Foster Home, 28 Years Ago. Pinocchio stands by Emma's crib and makes funny faces and noises to get her to stop crying. Once she's happy (what a cute baby), Pino returns to the tool box lying to the crib. He's fixing it as the foster father walks in and barks at him for using the tools. When the boy explains that he didn't want Emma to get hurt by the broken crib, the man grabs Pino's arm and tells him not to touch anything in the house ever again. Pino says, "Yes, Mr. Raskind." When the man is gone an older boy shows Pino a wad of cash and says the other kids are all running away. Pino asks if Emma can come. The older boy says they can't take care of a baby and walks off. Pino thinks about remaining in that home and then apologizes to baby Emma, but he is so outta there. I'd delve into this show's major issues with foster and adoptive parents, but my doctor has suggested I cut down on rage blackouts.
Storybrooke, Night. August walks up to Geppetto's garage where the older man is trying to fix the clock. August repeats the suggestion his father gave him long ago in a land far, far away. The clock works. Only a cuckoo bird pops out this time, though. Geppetto asks who taught him. August says, "My father." Geppetto says his father must be very proud. August doubts it. He doesn't think he's become the man his father wanted him to be. He made his father a promise a long time ago. He's trying to fulfill it now, but he thinks it's too late. Geppetto: "But you kept your promise. You realized your mistake and you tried to fix it. That's important. If I had a son that would be enough for me."
August looks around the garage and notices the wooden whale he had with him, back in the Castle War Room. He asks Geppetto if he would consider taking him on as an assistant. When Geppetto tells him he can't afford to pay him, August says, "That's okay. I just feel like fixing things." Geppetto invites his son in the garage and shows him around.
Mayoral Mansion, Henry's Room, 11:00PM. Henry sleeps with the walkie-talkie under his pillow, so Emma's "Code red" wakes him right up. She needs to talk to him, but not about Operation Cobra -- about them. She tells him to meet her downstairs. In her car, Henry reminds Emma that if Regina sees him out there talking to her, she's going to get mad. Emma has taken complete leave of her senses, so she says, "Henry, I need to ask you something very important. Do you want to get away from Regina? Do you want to come and live with me?" Henry: "More than anything." Emma: "Okay, then buckle up. You ready?" Henry: "Why? Where are we going?" Emma: "We're leaving Storybrooke."
I'm kind of bummed I covered this episode, because I liked it quite well the first time I watched. Rewatching sort of did me in. Even this recap feels flat to me. I suspect it might be my mood rather than the show, so I'm going to refrain from grading it this week. Emma is crazy right now, but since she knows what Regina did to Mary Margaret, I do understand her urgent need to get that poor little boy out of that house. Still, this is the sheriff. I think she'd be smarter and maybe call another lawyer, one who doesn't use his legal degree to run a pawn shop and trick teen mothers into giving away their babies. I'm pleased that August is Pinocchio, although I get tired of typing Pinocchio (and Geppetto, for that matter). I'm curious to see if Emma will come to believe by the end of the finale. I hope so. I'm not sure I can put up with much more of her willful blindness. If she hadn't had the whole incident with Jefferson (Mad Hatter), I could be more patient with her refusal to believe August's story.
I'll be back soon with coverage of episode 1-21, "An Apple Red As Blood." In the meantime, please grade the episode at the top of the page and then come on over to the forum, where there are no strings on me.
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