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Storybrooke. The episode opens in August's room. He's still wooden, but he blinks those blue eyes, so we know he's alive, and that's all we're going to get of him, this week. Sorry, folks.
Since they now remember that they are Snow White's royal guard, the Seven Dwarfs venture out to the town line, to see what, if anything, happens to Storybrookers when they try to leave. Sneezy draws the short straw. When he crosses the border, he loses all memory of his original self. Once again, he is only Mr. Clark, Storybrooke pharmacist.
Back on the town common, Red, Blue and Jiminy staff a makeshift crisis center and help their fellow castaways (curseaways?) find housing (if their homes were wraith-wrecked), loved ones, and perhaps, their bearings. People are panicked. Whale is mostly panicking about whether or not the nuns are now datable.
Charming goes to Regina to get more information on the portal hat, but she lies that she can't remember where she got it. While it's an unsatisfying visit for our fair prince, it works for me. He tells Regina he knows her wallpaper trick must have been a magical anomaly (wow, it took me three tries to spell that -- my coffee, like the curse, is broken), because were she truly empowered, the town would already be toast. This, of course, lights a fire under Regina's butt. It was bad enough to be relatively powerless. It's worse now that one of her nemeses knows. On the flip side, he plants a seed of redemption in her (not a euphemism) when Charming tells our Evil Queen that if she uses magic to get keep Henry, she won't really have him.
Back in town, Charming is besieged by the townsfolk and it's getting him down. Henry tries to buck up Gramps by reminding him that in the book, things always look worse right before they get better. Just then, Team 7 tears into town, with Grumpy screaming, "Terrible news! Terrible news!" Things should clear up, any minute now. After snarking at Henry, Grumpy tells Charming what happened to Sneezy. Charming promises the Storybrookers he'll report back in two hours and fill them in on his plan. You know. Once he has one.
Regina goes to Rumpy and asks for her mother's grimoire. At first Rumpy is disinclined to deal, but when Regina realizes that she is no longer subject to Rumpy's magical "Please," she presses her case. She figures Rumpy has a vested interest in keeping the Storybrookers from realizing that their land still exists (we knew she was lying, last week), and that he's up to something that does not involve returning to the Enchanted Forest. Rumpy conjures up the grimoire, but cautions Regina that using straight-up spells can harm her. She doesn't care if they turn her green. Rumpy chuckles that while he once didn't see it, she now so resembles her mother.
Regina isn't the only Storybrooker who visits Rumpy's shop. After Henry shows Charming that the hat must belong to the Mad Hatter, Charming pays the golden one a visit, and asks for help in locating someone. Our prince plays his cards relatively close to the vest and is fairly careful in dealing with Rumpy. In exchange for a locating potion, he agrees not to interfere with Rumpy, provided Rumpy returns that courtesy. As Charming exits, he mentions that if Storybrookers leave town, they lose all memory of their original selves. Alone, an irate Rumpy raises cain -- and his cane -- with which he smashes the glass cases in his shop. I imagine his plan was to search for Bae, so I can't help but understand his tantrum.
While Charming uses the potion to locate Jefferson (he does, but it doesn't prove all that fruitful), Regina huffs some magic, terrorizes the townies, and drags Henry back home with her. When he tries to escape, she enchants a tree to ensnare him. Back inside, Regina tries to coerce Henry to the magical side, but our noble boy refuses. Perhaps I will go on about this in the recap, but I just want to stand and cheer for this development -- and I don't mean Henry's strong character. That's nothing new. I'm not even referring to the fact that Henry's refusal nudges Regina one step closer to redemption, although it surely does. No, this scene sows some longterm potential as well. This series is performing well. Let's say it goes five or seven seasons. Henry will have to flirt with the dark side at one point or another. He will have to be temptable. This one little scene is a wonderful investment in his future.
When Jefferson runs away from Charming, our prince gives chase, but is stopped by Red, who tells him that Regina has snagged Henry. Getting to the grandson he can save is the only thing that sways him from his quest to find his wife and daughter. Well, it's almost the only thing. Before he goes to Regina's, Charming stops a mass exodus, just at the town border. I don't fully buy the Storybrookers' motivation for leaving town. In his big, Live-Together-Die-Alone-ish speech, Charming says he understands they want to leave their bad memories behind, and I guess we're supposed to just accept that as their reason. I suppose they're frightened of Regina, too, but that's nothing new to them, although since the good guys have no fairy dust, I suppose she's more frightening to them. Still, Geppetto is one of the characters leaving, even though the last time we saw him, he was putting up "Missing" signs in hopes of locating his son. So, when he doesn't get any hits in a half hour (or even a half day), he just decides to give up and forget the boy ever existed. Um what? The whole scene feels largely contrived just to up the tension for Charming's big speech. Maybe it will work better for me upon re-watching. I don't matter, though; the Storybrookers do, and it works for them, seemingly because Charming explains that they are all now both their Enchanted selves, and...Mainers. Satisfied, the Storybrookers all smile at their prince, get back in their cars and return to town.
Charming arrives at Regina's, his sword drawn -- well, a sword. I'll have to watch the finale and see if Emma brought his sword back, after she got the true love egg out of Dragon Maleficent. Anyhow, he demands that the Queen return his grandson, and vows to fight any evil she conjures. Regina says that's not necessary. She summons Henry and admits she can't force or magic him into loving her. She wants to redeem herself in his eyes and tells him he is free to leave with Gramps. Does she mean that redemption malarky? Kind of. Once she is alone, Regina actually contemplates burning the grimoire, but c'mon, if the commoners are amalgams of their original selves and their Storybrooke selves, Regina is an even bigger pile of mushed up personae. In the end, she compromises her one, fetal principle, and locks up the grimoire, just in case.
Meanwhile, Henry and Charming talk at the diner, where Charming assures the boy that he knows Snow and Emma survived their trip to wherever they are, because he can feel it. For a young man, Mr. Dallas gives a fabulous, sincere crinkly-eyed-grampa smile. There's a lovely visual of the two taking physically identical swigs of their soda, that I could just watch over and over. Meanwhile, the dwarfs (save Sneezy) arm themselves with pickaxes. They're headed to the mines, to see if they can dig up some fairy dust. Grumpy: "It's off to work we go." Heigh Ho!
Enchanted Flashback. This week's back story is all how Regina went from mild, mourning maiden to magic addict psycho. There's a revelation about Regina's early childhood that I'll save for the recap. Rumpy's attempts to corrupt Regina begins shortly before she is to wed Leopold. Rumpy, of course, takes advantage of Regina's desire to escape Cora's clutches, in order to seduce her to learning (and getting hooked on using) the dark arts. Regina shoves her mother through an enchanted looking glass portal (supplied by Rumpy, naturally). Cora disappears from the Enchanted Forest, and into what Rumpy calls "an annoying, useless little world." As she rides out of Leopold's land (Knifingham Palace looms in the background) Regina returns the grimoire to Rumpy. She doesn't want it, but Rumpy does a little digging and gets Regina to admit that she doesn't want to use magic again because she loves it. He convinces her she can do so much now, if only she'll let him show her how. In return, someday she'll do something for him. Regina wants reassurance that she won't become like her mother, so Rumpy says, "That, dearie, is entirely up to you."
Enchanted Sideways. Finally! In the last two minutes of the episode, Mulan and Aurora lead the bound Emma and Snow White down a beach littered with old ship timbers, and to their "home" (it's got to be Neverland, right?). Once they reach the little village, Snow knees Aurora in the gut (unnecessarily, I think, because Aurora doesn't seem to be holding onto Snow by then), runs, and commands Emma to do the same. Emma does, but Mulan grabs a slingshot and strikes Snow with a rock. She's down for the count. Taking a page out of Ana Lucia's book, Mulan orders her minions to throw our princesses in the pit. Yeah, I already didn't like you Mulan. Now I don't even want to watch you. Down in said pit, as Emma tries to wake her mother, another mother emerges from the shadows and asks Emma if she wants help. It's Cora. Quick, Snow, wake up and save your girl from making a horrible mistake!
Storybrooke. I almost forgot this part. Geppetto enters August's room. Our living puppet is no longer there, but when Geppetto finds his Pinocchio's hat, he knows he has identified his long lost son.
This episode is chock full of action, characterization and some mythology, too. 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, if you try to leave us, you'll forget who you truly are.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously, on Once Upon A Time, the curse is broken. Rumplestiltskin (sic Sic SIC!) brings magic to town, but the Storybrookers are not transported back to their world. Rumpy summons a wraith a.k.a. the Chintz Monster, who not only blows out all the lights in town (except for when he doesn't) but also doubles down and besieges our heroes by...blowing paper through the streets. There are touching reunions, which are necessarily brief because the Charming family can't allow this wraith to waste paper like that, even though they're in Maine. Also, they've promised Henry that they won't let Chintzy suck out Regina's soul, like she has one, or something.
Emma jump-starts Regina's magic, enabling her to use Jefferson's hat to open a portal to their old, enchanted world, the one Regina totally swears no longer exists -- so we know it does. The good guys chase the wraith into the portal. The wraith grabs Emma and drags her in after him. Snow White won't lose her daughter again, so she jumps in after them. Charming follows suit, but the portal closes and he plants his pretty face right on the floor, which still has me cackling days later.
In the Enchanted Forest...wait. I need a new name for it. I mean Charming uses the term "Enchanted Forest" a lot this week, but it's clearly its own reality, full of lots of kingdoms and such and they're not all forests. Lots of people refer to it as Fairy Tale Land, but that leads to the abbreviation FTL, and I watched Battlestar Galactica, so when I read FTL, I think someone is about to spool up the FTL drives in preparation for a jump. Let's call it L'enchantement. Yeah. I like that. So anyhow, back in L'enchantement, Mulan and Aurora find Emma and Snow White, lying under a pile of rubble, created when the Charmings shooed Chintzy into Jefferson's hat. Mulan concludes that our girls are responsible for bringing Chintzy to town and killing Prince Phillip.
Currently, on Once Upon A Time, we open during the day at the town line. Grumpy spray paints an orange line across the road. They must investigate what happens if someone crosses the line. His fellow dwarfs, who are the Royal Guard loyal to Snow White, are...well, frankly they're chicken. Grumpy, clearly the drill sergeant, barks that they must prove themselves to their Prince (Charming). Sneezy draws the short straw. When he hesitates to cross, Grumpy gives him a little nudge. Is it too early for a quick family anecdote? My Dad, one of four boys, was an identical twin. They grew up in a second floor apartment. When they were little, his twin would refuse to go down the stairs -- to go out and play. As my Nana told the story, she'd hear Dad tell his brother to go down. My uncle would refuse. The thing she'd hear is thumpity thump thump bump, then the front door slamming. Sometimes, you need a little nudge, is what I'm saying. Once Sneezy is across the line, he's surrounded by magic. It pulses all over him. His brothers yell to him, but he can't answer over the title card.
Downtown Storybrooke is a mess of paper, overturned cars, downed telephone poles and the like. After Red puts the "closed" sign in front of Granny's Diner, we cut to August's (Pinocchio's) room. He's fully wooden now, but manages to blink his blue eyes. Over on the town common, Geppetto (Marco) pins up a missing poster, containing a sketch of his son -- the little boy he remembers. Red and Jiminy (Dr. Hopper) take charge, instructing people where to go if they're looking for family members, or are in need of counseling, or temporary shelter. There doesn't appear to be a triage booth for papers cuts, though. The Blue Fairy (Mother Superior Boobs, henceforth known as Blue) worries that everyone is in a panic. I don't want to knock Red, because overall, she's pretty competent, but her response amounts to a reminder that they just need people to stay calm, which...duh, I'm pretty sure that was Blue's point in mentioning the panic. Red is confident, because she just knows their Prince must be working on a solution, right now.
Mayoral Manse. Regina opens the door to Charming's insistent bangs. He stalks in without an invitation, and demands to know about August's hat. Regina changes the subject and notes her surprise that Charming isn't accompanied by an armed Guard. Charming: "Don't need 'em. We both know if you step outside, there's a line a mile long for your head." Regina sneers at the idea that anyone would risk coming at her. Charming isn't just a pretty face. He's a decent strategic thinker. "Take your chances, then. I think that little wallpaper trick was an anomaly. If you had your abilities back, this town would be charcoal by now. You're having problems with magic, aren't you? Right now, the only thing keeping you alive is that Henry wishes it." He turns the conversation back to the hat. Regina lies that she's long since forgotten where she got it, and tells him he ought to be worried about taking care of her son. When Charming snarks that she sure took great care of the boy, Regina says, "I will not listen to childcare lectures from a man who put his daughter in a box and shipped her to Maine." Hee.
Charming cuts to the chase. There's magic in town now. There must be a way for him to follow his family. Regina maintains that Snow and Emma followed the wraith into oblivion. There's some more verbal volleying, until Regina warns him that while she currently has neither magic nor her son, when she gets one, she'll get the other -- and our Prince will not want to be around when that happens. Charming: "If you have to use magic to keep your son, you don't really have him." Regina watches him leave, frustrated, because part of her knows he's right. And...
Sidebar: I sort of feel like I just got spoiled for the entire series -- at least Regina's arc. What do we know about magic? There are always consequences, sure, but true love is good, so if it's used lovingly for good motivations, the consequences should be, too. What else do we know? We know that true love is the most powerful magic of all. Regina says when she has one (magic), she will have the other (her son). She's completely right, but so wrongheaded that she cannot see it. Henry's most persistent problem with Regina isn't that she's his adoptive mother -- it's that she's not capable of love... at least any love that isn't selfish. The only reason Storybrooke exists is that she's overrun by hatred and a thirst for vengeance. If she had love -- the most powerful magic of all -- she would indeed have her son. Adopted children who are well and truly loved by their families don't stop loving those families if/when they meet their biological families. Love doesn't subtract from love; it begets it. Were Henry an ordinary adoptee, he might want a relationship with his bio-mom too, but if he'd been loved right for the first ten years of his life (and if his bio-mom's and grandparents' lives hadn't been compromised by his adoptive mom), his relationship with Regina would be solid. Her only chance at motherhood -- at redemption -- is learning to love.
L'enchantement, prior to Regina and King Leopold's wedding. On horseback, Regina races away from Knifingham Palace. She's grabbed right off her horse by magical tree limbs that hold her suspended over the road. Her mother Cora (Barbara Hershey) appears. She tells her daughter she thought they were done with all this nonsense. When Regina asks what evil her mother has conjured, Cora chuckles that it's just a barrier spell. Open grimoire in hand, she blows magic off the pages and toward her daughter. The trees release their hold on Regina and she falls to the ground. Cora will not allow her daughter to leave without the King. They're to be married in two days, after which Regina will be free to do as she will. Regina doesn't want to marry Leopold. Cora speculates she's just frightened of all that power, but Regina doesn't want power. She wants freedom. Cora says they're the same thing. "Don't worry. I'm here to show you." I'd tell Regina to run, but when your control-freak mother can magic up the trees, there's really no point. [Note: How badly did you want Regina to pull a Cersei and prove that power is power? -- Rachel.]
Storybrooke Common. Charming arrives on the chaotic scene. He finds Henry poring over his book, and asks where Blue is. They're interrupted by Red wondering where Rumpy is. Jiminy asks if Regina still has power, and Geppetto is looking for his son. Charming tries to hurry off, but he's stopped by Dr. Whale. "Let me ask you something. Are the nuns still nuns, or can they, you know... date?" Heh. Charming shakes all this off and calls out to Blue. He asks if there could be a tree on this side, considering how they sent Emma through as a baby. Blue says without fairy dust to guide them, finding such a thing would be hopeless. Henry reminds the adults that in the book everything looks worse just before it gets better. On cue, Grumpy leads his brothers to the center of action, shouting, "Terrible news! Terrible news!" Grumpy shows them that Sneezy now only thinks he's Tom Clark, town pharmacist. If you cross the town border, you lose all memory of your original life. Jiminy: "And coming back doesn't fix it?" Grumpy: "If it did, would I have come in yelling, 'Terrible news'? If we leave, our cursed selves become our only selves." As the crowd takes this in, we cut to commercial. I can't help but wonder -- if the curse is truly broken, then what magic is keeping them from returning to L'enchantement, and what's erasing their memories when they leave town?
After the break, the town continues to freak. Charming makes his way through the crowd but they follow him, so he tells them to meet him back in front of Town Hall in two hours, when he'll tell them his plan to fix everything. When only Charming and Henry remain, Red asks what the plan is. Charming: "I don't know, but I've got two hours to figure it out."
Mayoral Mansion. Regina tries to light a candle with her mind, but has only a flicker of success. When she storms out of her house, she's confronted by Jiminy, who asks if she might like to talk. She's in no mood for Mr. Conscience, but Jiminy persists. He knows she must have a lot of pain and thinks it might help to talk. It might help her discover who she truly is. Regina leans in. Her voice is low, but stern. "I know who I am." And with that, we flash back to...
L'enchantement. Night. Inside Knifingham Palace, young Regina puts the finishing touches on little Snow White's (Bailee Madison -- the best casting find of any century) hair and asks her what she thinks. Breathless, Snow says it looks beautiful. Regina corrects her. "No, you look beautiful." Snow opens a small jewelry box on a nearby table and taking out a ring on a chain, she asks Regina what it is. When Regina explains it's the ring that her late love Daniel gave to her, Snow remembers. "The stable boy. The one who left you." Regina says, "He didn't leave me. He was killed. He was killed because you couldn't keep a secret from my mother." Snow protests that Cora said she was going to help them, but Regina won't hear it. "My mother corrupts young souls." Word. She then strangles Snow with the chain. "If you were stronger, none of this would have happened." Just before Snow dies, Regina snaps out of her rage-filled reverie. Snow, still happy, healthy and completely innocent to her almost stepmother's hatred, declares the necklace pretty and asks Regina where she got it. Regina lies, "I don't remember."
Outside, the day, Regina confides to her father that Cora is making her crazy. Instead of offering his daughter a way out, the elder Henry explains that Cora always wanted a certain kind of life and is just trying to secure it for Regina. Regina doesn't want it; she wants her own life. When she wonders how her mother got this way, Henry explains that years before, Cora met a man who introduced her to magic and gave her a grimoire. When Regina asks who, Henry says he doesn't know his name. "Cora won't even say it." So Cora it seems, might be the miller's daughter from our Rumpelstiltskin (no sic) tale. Nice.
Storybrooke, present. Gold's Shop. Gold catches Regina scouring his book collection in search of the grimoire and says, "The library is beneath the clock tower. You closed it, remember, when you still had power." Regina wants her mother's book. She needs to get back her son. Rumpy taunts her for needing mommy's help, and for needing the, "smell of the written word, to get the magic flowing again [...] Maybe if you relaxed, it would just happen." Regina says she doesn't have time. She needs a shortcut. Rumpy doesn't have time for this either and says, "Leave. Please." Regina is momentarily delighted when she realizes that now that the curse has been broken, Rumpy's please is no longer his magic word. When she rubs that in, Rumpy tries to brush it off because after all, jumpstarting her powers isn't in his best interest. Regina points out that it's also not in his best interest for the Storybrookers to learn that the Enchanted Forest still exists and that she and Rumpy are keeping that secret. She tries to open Rumpy's nearby suitcase. "You're up to something, and it doesn't involve going back home." Rumpy slams the case shut and magics up the grimoire, in a puff of purple smoke. "Careful, dearie. These are straight up spells. Rough on the system." Grabbing the book, Regina replies that she doesn't care if they turn her green. She's getting her son back. Rumpy chuckles. "Oh, my. [...] Holding that... I told you once you didn't look like her. Now? Now I can see it." Regina sneers at him, but her eyes fill with tears. She slams out of the shop and into commercial.
Sidebar: Lana Parrilla and Roberty Carlyle are the dream team, are they not? They bring everything to every scene and leave me breathless. Of course the writing deserves credit too, but that these two miserable wretches sometimes have me rooting for them, or at least understanding their deplorable acts -- it just blows my mind. They have such chemistry, too. Okay, gush over. I just feel every single word and glance between them, right in my gut.
L'enchantement. Night. Knifingham Palace. Young Regina sneaks into a sleeping Cora's chamber and steals the grimoire out from under mommy's pillow. Back in her own quarters, she encants, "Rumple...Rumple-schiltzkin, I summon thee." Rumpy apparates and mocks her muddling of his name. He introduces himself and when she returns the favor, he reveals he already knows her name. She knows of his past association with her mother and assumes he knew who she was because she resembles Cora. Rumpy shakes her off. "I don't really see it." He knows her because he knew her long ago. "It's been some time, but I knew this day would come. I've been waiting for it, and I'm so happy we're back where we belong." Regina: "Where's that?" Rumpy: "Together."
Storybrooke. On a bench outside Town Hall, Regina holds the still-closed grimoire in her hands. Inside Mary's hovel, Charming practices his speech, but he quits in frustration. When Henry tells him he was onto something, Charming disagrees. "I did the fighting. Snow did the talking." Snow did some fighting herself, if I recall, correctly. Sexist. Charming pulls out Jefferson's hat. Henry asks for it and then flips through his Once Upon A Time book, until he finds the Mad Hatter's chapter. While Prince Charming never met the Mad Hatter, memories of Alice In Wonderland were implanted in his mind as a detail from David Nolan's childhood. Henry doesn't know who the Hatter is in Storybrooke, but suggests they can look for him after Charming's speech. Charming has bigger ideas than speech rehearsal and rushes out the door. Henry follows after him. "Gramps, you've got to use me. Come on. The curse was broken 'cause of me. Let me help." Charming is gone. Henry: "Or maybe not."
Gold's Shop. When Charming arrives, Rumpy offers the appropriate sympathies over Snow and Emma's disappearance, but says portal jumping is outside his wheelhouse. Would they have to portal jump? I mean, I don't expect Rumpy to offer the truth, but can't they just go down the library elevator shaft or down into the mines? Anyhow, Rumpy asks what all the commotion is out in the town. Charming refers to problems crossing the town line, but doesn't explain them, and I hope for a moment that Rumpy tries to cross and lose his memory, but it's not to be. Charming is looking for magical help in finding someone, and he's not telling who. Rumpy asks if Charming has an object belonging to the missing person. Charming admits that he does, but when Rumpy asks if he can see it, our Prince wisely refuses. Rumpy opens a case full of magical doodads and produces a bottle of potion. "Pour this on the object and then follow it. So simple, even David Nolan could do it." Burn. In exchange, Rumpy asks for peace. "Leave me alone." Our Prince laughs that Rumpy is concerned over what David Nolan might do. Rumpy corrects him. "No, it's Charming I worry about. I'd like a little non-interference guarantee." Charming agrees, provided Rumpy returns the courtesy. It's a deal.
Before Charming can exit the shop, Rumpy asks what happens to people who cross the border. I wish Charming would continue with his not telling strategy, but since Rumpy is perhaps the only Storybrooker who knows how to access magic, perhaps Charming's answer is the wiser course. He explains about the loss of old-life memory. "It looks like we're stuck here." Alone, Rumpy has himself a bit of a temper tantrum, and smashes his glass cases with his cane. I hope you still have all your magic, Rumpy, because otherwise that's going to be a beast to clean up.
L'enchantement. Knifingham Palace. Night. Young Regina is still getting acquainted with Rumpy. He crows that he knows everything about her. He held her in her arms when she was younger and more portable (so...a baby?). There's much history between her family and him. Rumpy: "Both in the past and in the future." He's so tricksy. When Regina wants his help, Rumpy knows that she seeks power and speculates that she needs it for the death of her enemy, or perhaps a friend. Horrified, Regina says she doesn't want to hurt anyone. Rumpy: "Hard to believe you're from the same family." I think that about people all the time, but often, those people are from my family. Ahem. He caresses her cheeks as he raves about how kind and gentle she is, but then he feels it and with a fey little pop says, "So powerful! You could do so much, if you'd just let yourself." Regina shakes her head and walks toward the balcony, sad that she doesn't know how. Rumpy says he can show her the way.
He produces a big mirror (it's covered) and says magic is the answer. Having lived with what magic did to Cora, Regina wants no part of it, but our evil imp is seductive, after a fashion. He claims the beauty of his gift is that she doesn't have to do anything that might lead her end up like her mother. The gift will do the dirty work for her. He explains that his gift is a portal to a "Specific, annoying little world -- useless to me, but for your purposes, a-perfect. You're unlikely ever to see her, again. All she needs is a little push. The question is: can you do it?" Regina's face is solemn as she contemplates the choice before her. Bob the Builder doesn't seem to be from L'enchantement, but I still hear his, "Yes we can!"
Storybrooke. With the still black and rotted apples hanging off her prized tree (but wait, isn't the tree in the backyard of the Mayoral Manse, not the Town Hall), Regina sits on the bench, grimoire in hand. After a few deep breaths, she opens to the middle of the book. On the left hand page is some runic-like script. On the right is an illustration of a tree, surrounded by more runes. Regina inclines her head and blows on the pages. An orange, smoky mist blows off the pages. She inhales, deeply. Her eyes turn violet, which, for a moment, gives me Mary Sue jitters, but they soon return to normal. The apples overhead are restored to their lustrous red. Regina doesn't look up and see this, but she doesn't need to. As she smiles and rises, a crow caws in the distance.
Across town, Charming takes out Jefferson's hat and places it on the hood of his truck. Once he douses it with Rumpy's locator potion, the hat shimmies, shakes and then wafts off through town. It leads Charming to a car wreck. Jefferson is trapped inside. A stuffed rabbit and play tea set lie nearby. Charming frees Jefferson from the wreck and says they need to talk.
Inside Town Hall, Henry is trying to get "Gramps" (and yes, it will never not be fun to think of Josh Dallas as a grandfather) to answer his phone, as Red is trying to get the Storybrookers to settle down and wait patiently for Charming. When she sees Granny holding her trusty crossbow, Red suggests it's unnecessary, but Granny isn't budging. "We've got a lawless town, Ruby. Damn right I need it." As Red encourages Henry to keep calling Charming, Regina magics open the doors and sneers at her unwilling subjects. "My, what a nice turnout." As she swans through the crowd to the front of the room, Jiminy and Grumpy both try to stop her, but she uses magic to toss them across the room. Granny shoots an arrow at her but Regina catches it in her hand and turns it into a fireball, which she tosses at the crowd. The fireball ricochets around the room until it lands on the Town Seal behind Regina and sets it ablaze. Red steps forward to face their tormentor. "What do you want?" Before Regina can answer, Henry rises to his feet. "Me. She wants me." He walks toward his mother. "Okay, I'll come with you, just leave them alone." Regina gently touches his chin, but there is no real or true love in her eyes as she says, "That's my boy." Commercial.
Charming presents Jefferson with the remains of his hat and asks if he can help Charming travel through, get back Emma and Snow or at least get the hat to work. Jefferson may now be free, but he's still mad. His giggles give him away. "If you only knew." Charming noticed the tea set and the rabbit, so he figures Jefferson has a daughter he loves and appeals to him on those grounds. He's missing his own daughter and wife. "They're out there somewhere -- in the Enchanted Forest or a void. I don't even know, but I'm going to get them back." Jefferson: "They're in the Enchanted Forest, that's for sure. I just can't get there." Charming: "It still exists?" Jefferson: "It exists. I don't know if that matters, since we can't go there. [...] I'm a portal jumper. You destroyed my portal, so you're out of luck." Charming grabs Jefferson by his scarf and threatens to lock him in a cell. Jefferson: "Then all we'll do is both sit...stuck. Two lives in our heads. Cursed worse than ever." When Charming releases his hold on Jefferson, the latter sinks back into his seat but continues to talk. "Two lives forever at odds. Double the pain. Double the suffering." As Charming mulls over this dire prediction, Jefferson upends the cafe table between them and takes off.
Charming gives chase but is stopped by Red. "David, stop." Charming tells her to get out of his way. Red: "Regina has Henry!" Charming: "But he has the way." Red: "But she has Henry. She's threatening everyone." After Red fills him in on Regina's empowered appearance at the Town Hall, she informs him that everyone is panicking because Regina has her magic back. "They want to leave town. They're going to lose everything." Charming insists that he has to chase after Jefferson first, since he's the only hope of getting Emma and Snow back. God (or good fairies) help you, Charming, if Emma and Snow return to find you've let Regina take back Henry. Red is on my side. "Back to what? This town is about to come apart. You've got to do something." She sounds particularly Canadian there, eh?
Sidebar: Okay, the above exchange, which didn't come to mind when I was writing the recaplet (linked atop page one of this recap) alleviates some of my concern about the Storybrookers' sudden exit from town, but I still don't fully understand their motivation. Well, I guess I understand it, but I don't like it. I especially don't like it where Geppetto is concerned. He's ready to forget he even has a son -- this soon? Meh. I'm sure I'll have more to say about this when it's time to discuss Charming's big speech, so for now, I'll stop.
Mayoral Manse. Regina tries to talk to Henry but he rushes up to his room. Underneath his bed, he's stashed a handmade escape ladder -- bed sheets knotted together. He tethers one end to the radiator, then tosses it out the window and begins his descent. He's caught, not by Regina, but rather by a tree she has enchanted to ensnare him, just the way Cora snagged her, another lifetime ago. As Henry struggles Regina says, "Don't fight it. Honey. You'll get a sliver."
Back inside Henry's room, the two sit on the boy's bed. He asks, "How long am I in prison -- until I grow up?" Regina claims she "rescued" him because she loves him. He points out that keeping someone a prisoner because you love them isn't exactly fair. Oh, remember when you were a kid and you thought the world was fair? Regina doesn't and says as much. "You know where I come from. That was really not fair. Of all the places I've seen, this is the fairest of them all." Nice dialogue. Henry's not impressed though and points out that she's ruined lives and has sent away Emma and "Mary Margaret." Regina says that was an accident. Henry: "The way you treated me wasn't an accident. You made it so no one believed me." Great evocation of the abuser/survivor threads in this relationship. Wow. "You made me feel like I was crazy." Regina assures him that's all going to change now, as abusers are wont to do. She says he can know all the secrets and live in a house with magic. She conjures up a giant rainbow cupcake and paints a portrait of their lives together as...well, as enchanted, with friends coming over whenever they like -- friends he can impress with his book and the magic she'll teach him. Henry says no one will want to come over. They're too scared of her. Regina's voice rises and sharpens. "You can make them not be scared." She modulates her tone. "You can make them love you." Henry doesn't want that. He doesn't want to be Regina and tells her so. When he leaves his room, Regina thinks back on her life in...
L'enchantement. Cora watches Regina dress for her wedding to Leopold. When she asks Regina what the big gift is, Regina says she doesn't know. Cora speculates that it's a portrait, uncovers it and, working her evilest mommy magic that requires no actual magic except the perversion of love, sighs in mock disappointment. "Oh, a looking glass. Not nearly as personal. I wonder sometimes if the people really love you." Regina cringes as she says she's doing her best. Cora apologizes (but in that way you can tell she's totally not sorry), then leads her beautiful daughter toward the mirror. She starts crowing about the life Regina will be able to lead. "The king's not a strong man. The kingdom will be yours. Raise the tributes. Form a personal guard. Let everyone know where the true power lies, and you will hold the hearts of your people in your hands." Literally. (Come back, Graham!) Regina turns her back to Cora. "Is that what you would do, mother?" That's exactly what Cora would do. Regina explains she doesn't want to be Cora and tries to rush at her mother. Cora casts some sort of containment spell around her daughter and demands to know what she's doing. Cora says she's not that easy to get rid of, but as she taunts her daughter about being stuck with her forever, Rumpy appears in the mirror behind Cora and makes shoving motions. Regina summons her inner strength and breaks free of Cora's spell. She again rushes her mother and shoves her right into the mirror. Once Cora disappears, the looking glass returns to normal but for a second, then shatters all over Regina's chamber. Regina looks at her own white gloved hands in horror. We flash forward to...
Storybrooke. Charming passes the caravan of exiting cars and blocks the road with his truck. Jiminy gets out of his car and hollers at Charming to get out of their way. "We have a right to go." Standing on the bed of his truck, Charming asks the crowd to listen to him. "If you cross that line, you're going to be lost. Everyone who loves you will lose you. But there's something worse. You'll lose yourself. Look, I get wanting to leave here. I do. And I get that it's easier to let go of bad memories, but even bad memories are part of us. David -- Storybrooke David was...is...weak, confused, and he hurt the woman I love. I wouldn't give up Charming just to be him. But you know what? I wouldn't make the other trade, either." Why the hell not? He was weak, confused and hurt the woman you love?
Digression: I actually like that these uncursed characters are a combination of their Enchanted and Storybrooke selves. I just don't like that line of dialogue, but I shouldn't be interrupted royalty, so continue, Charming....
Charming: "Because that David reminds me not only of whom I lost, but of who I want to be. My weaknesses and my strengths." Okay, that resonates with me a little more personally than I'm going to share. Ouch. He continues. He is, "David and the Prince. I am both. Just like you. You are both. The town is both. We are both. Stay here and every choice is open to you. Live in the woods if you want to. Hell, live in a shoe if you want." The crowd chuckles. "Or eat frozen burritos and write software." Um, no, I didn't make that up. "Let's open Granny's. The school. And get back to work. I will protect you. She won't be able to hurt any of us, not as long as I'm alive -- not as long as we all come together, as we did before -- as we shall do again." The crowd is silent for a moment and then Jiminy nods. The crowd mutters agreeably. Geppetto tips his hat to Charming. Blue smiles. She was gonna leave town, too? Seriously? Anyhow, as the townspeople get back in their vehicles, Red looks up at Charming and smiles. Commercial.
L'enchantement, day. Knifingham Palace looms behind her as Regina rides out of Leopold's kingdom. She meets Rumpy on the road and returns the grimoire to him. She doesn't want it, but Rumpy does a little digging and gets Regina to admit that she doesn't want to use magic again because she loves it. Rumpy coos that she has discovered who she is. He convinces her she can do so much now, if only she'll let him show her how. Yes, he sing-song rhymes that, too. In return, someday she'll do him a solid. He asks to guide her on this journey. Regina wants reassurance that she won't become like her mother, so Rumpy chirrups, "That, dearie, is entirely up to you." Don't believe him, Reggie!
Storybrooke. Mayoral Manse. I went way long in the recaplet, so please allow me to plagiarize myself here and there. Thank you. You're too kind. Charming arrives at Regina's, his sword drawn -- well, a sword. I'll have to watch the finale and see if Emma brought his sword back, after she got the true love egg out of Dragon Maleficent. Anyhow, he demands that the Queen return his grandson, and vows to fight any evil she conjures. Regina says that's not necessary. She summons Henry and admits she can't force or magic him into loving her. She knows holding on too tightly isn't going to make him love her and earworms me with 38 Special. She apologizes for lying to him. She wants him there only because he wants to be there -- and not as a result of force or magic. She wants to redeem herself in his eyes and tells him he is free to leave with Gramps. Charming tells her to prove her aim is true by answering one question. "Does it exist? [...] The Enchanted Forest. Our land. Does it still exist?" Regina steps toward her nemesis and, eyes shiny with tears answers, "Yes." Oh, the truth. I'm surprised her lips didn't fall off. Then she adds, "But I have no idea how to get back there." Is that also the truth? Who can say? Regina looks at the wordless Charming. "I can see I just launched you on a heroic quest. Just also make sure you take care of my son." Charming nods. "That I can do." He and Henry leave, sword and backpack slung over their respective right shoulders.
Out in the town, the Storybrookers set to work. Hansel and Gretel's father opens the Marine Garage. A woman opens a shop. A cobbler hangs a "Coming Soon" sign in his shop window. Meanwhile, six of the Dwarfs exit what must be a hardware store, pickaxes at the ready. They run into Sneezy Tom Clark who asks what they're doing. Rumpy: "Don't worry, brother. You've lost something. It's going to take fairy dust to get it back, so we're gonna do what we do best." He looks over his shoulder at his other brothers and says, "Come on, boys. It's off to work we go." Whee!
Diner. Henry and Charming enter. When Henry sees Geppetto at the counter, he whispers something in his ear. Geppetto smiles and nods. We cut to August's room at Granny's. His wooden self is no longer on the bed. Geppetto enters the room and finds Pinocchio's distinctive hat. He lifts it up and strokes it tenderly.
Rumpy has parked his black Cadillac at the edge of town. He stands at the line and stares off in the distance.
Mayoral Manse. It's only once Henry and Charming are gone that we can ask if Regina means that redemption malarky, luckily, we have a scene to help us puzzle it out. (Note to those of you who watched the V.P. debate -- I totally used malarky in the recaplet, days before the debate, but somehow, I don't think V.P. Biden was giving me a shout-out; I just want to note I'm not aping him.) So yeah, does she mean what she says? Kind of. At least part of her wants to mean it. She is a politician after all. Once she is alone, Regina actually contemplates burning the grimoire, but c'mon, if the commoners are amalgams of their original selves and their Storybrooke selves, Regina is an even bigger pile of mushed up personae. In the end, she compromises her one, fetal principle, and locks up the grimoire, just in case.
Back at the diner, Henry stares longingly at his book. Charming calls him out of his daydream and informs him the Enchanted Forest still exists -- it's still out there. Henry: "And so are they." Charming: "Yeah." Henry wants to know how they can be sure the ladies survived the trip there. Charming: "Because I can feel it." He gives his boy a squeeze on the shoulder and a great, crinkly-eyed grandpa smile. There's a lovely visual of the two taking physically identical swigs of their soda that I could just watch over and over. And now, we leave Storybrooke and flash sideways to a...
Specific, annoying little world (and a little more plagiarism). Mulan and Aurora lead the bound Emma and Snow White down a beach littered with old ship timbers, and to their "home" (it's got to be Neverland, right). Once they reach the little village, Snow knees Aurora in the gut (unnecessarily, I think, because Aurora doesn't seem to be holding onto Snow by then), runs, and commands Emma to do the same. Emma does, but Mulan grabs a slingshot and strikes Snow with a rock. She's down for the count. Taking a page out of Ana Lucia's book, Mulan orders her minions to throw our princesses in the pit. Yeah, I already didn't like you Mulan. Now I don't even want to watch you. Down in said pit, as Emma tries to wake her mother, another mother emerges from the shadows and asks Emma if she wants help. It's Cora. Quick, Snow, wake up and save your girl from making a horrible mistake!
I'm almost out of words. (I have to go huff some books.) I did want to just mention that I'm struck (again) by what a visually beautiful show this is. That last scene of the four women traveling the coast stuck out, but really, everything about this show is beautiful. Regina and Young Snow's costumes were particularly well done, and I love how the pleats (vents?) on their puffed sleeves echo the sleeves on Disney's Snow White's gown. That beautiful moment with Charming and Henry mirroring each other's movements was well blocked, executed and shot, too. I love all the loving care that goes into all of the worlds on this show.
I'll be back Monday morning with coverage of "Lady of the Lake." In the meantime, please grade the episode at the top of the page and then come on over to the forum, where, if you try to leave us, you'll forget who you truly are.