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In present-day Storybrooke, Charming is trying to keep Henry at a safe distance from his search for a portal to L'enchantement because magic always comes with a price. Henry is hurt, but not deterred from his goal of joining the quest to find Emma and Snow. First, he hits up Jefferson, but our Mad Hatter insists he can be of no use. Jefferson is so overcome with guilt for leaving Grace in order to help Regina that he can't even bring himself to face his own daughter, never mind help someone else's little boy. He suggests Henry ask Regina, and lets slip that Regina has magical objects hidden in a vault. Before leaving, Henry tries to persuade Jefferson that while it might be hard to face Grace, it will hurt her much more -- and for the rest of her life -- if he doesn't. After all, he's been left, too. He points out that Grace will spend her life wondering why Jefferson left. Not knowing is the worst. Anything is better than nothing. Pass the tissues, please.
Henry seemingly takes Jefferson's advice and makes a date to meet Regina at Granny's. It's just a diversion, though. Once Regina leaves her office, Henry sneaks in and steals her keyring. He finds the vault under Regina's father's grave and goes down to investigate. Regina's heart collection beats again, thanks, I guess, to the fact that magic has returned to town. Henry uses another key to open a box, but it contains the two-headed Agrabahn viper that killed his biological great-grandfather. But never fear, Charming swoops in and rescues his grandson. Redemption watch: it is thanks to Regina that Charming knows Henry has gone rogue.
Later, Henry sits in Emma's VW Bug and watches as Jefferson finally musters up the courage to approach Grace. Okay, so Jefferson looks more than a little creepy stalking a bus full of school children, but once he calls out Grace's name, it gets better. She turns, cries, "Papa" and rushes into his embrace. May I please have a tissue? Poor little Henry looks on, his happiness for them on makes his own loneliness more acute. But...YES! It's Charming to the rescue, again. Charming tells Henry he can't get Snow and Emma back without his grandson's help, so he's bought some play swords to can teach Henry how to fence. Oh heck, please pass the whole box of tissues. Across the way, King George Charles Widmore watches the man who refused to be his son training his grandson in the fine arts of heroic princery. Dun dun dun!
In the Enchanted Past, Charming, Snow, Red and crew want to take back the kingdom. Red, just back from scouting duty, reports that King George Charles Widmore has a new secret weapon -- they call him the Leviathan. The Leviathan turns out to be the now disgraced Sir Lancelot (Sinqa Walls, of Teen Wolf). When the King's men attack Charming's camp, Charming tells Snow to flee to the cabin where his mother is hidden. Since they're to be married, it's time she met Mama Ruth, anyhow. Lancelot captures Snow before she's even out of earshot and brings her to the King. The King gives a sob story about how his own wife was cursed to be barren, and now, because Charming humiliated the King by refusing to stand in for James, the King wants Charming to know the same pain he suffered. The drink he had Lancelot give Snow has cursed her with infertility.
When the King's men dump Snow on the side of the road, Lancelot finds her. He is horrified that the King used him toward such evil ends and wants to redeem himself. He will take her to meet Charming. Skeptical, Snow refuses, thinking Lancelot is just using her to find Charming. Lancelot tells her the King already knows that Charming is meeting his mother at her not-so-secret location and has men on the way -- to kill Ruth.
Charming is talking to his mother when he hears trouble approaching. He orders Ruth to go inside and bolt the door. Four knights are no match for our would-be Prince, but sadly, his mother doesn't know how to follow directions and during the scuffle is struck in the chest with an arrow. Snow and Lance arrive. Lance determines the arrow is poisoned. They decide to take Ruth to Lake Nostros in hopes that its magical waters will heal her. When they get there, the lake has dried up, and darn the luck, it's probably because Charming killed the Siren. Lance, who grew up near a lake, searches until he finds but a few drops of water in a shell. Charming gives it to his mother.
Although Charming doesn't know about the King cursing Snow to be infertile, Snow had earlier confessed it to Ruth. Ruth wants Snow to drink the water, but Snow refuses, so Ruth fakes drinking it. When she isn't immediately healed, they decide the water didn't work after all and she mentions that she wishes only that she could have lived long enough to see Charming marry Snow. Lancelot is a disgraced Knight of the Round Table, but still has marrying credentials, I guess, so he performs the ceremony, during which he has Snow and Charming drink from a cup. Of course thanks to a little sleight of hand from Ruth and Lance, Snow gets the healing water, and she's all fertile again. Tissues, please.
In the Enchanted present, Cora lies to Emma that she no longer has magic and claims she just wants to help Emma and Snow return to Storybrooke. Fortunately, Snow White regains consciousness and explains to Emma that Cora is Dr. Frankenstein to the monstrous Regina. Emma's not comfortable with Snow taking charge, and like her late paternal grandmother, needs to work on her listening skills. Soon, our ladies are summoned by the Haven's leader. It is Lancelot. He will allow Snow and Emma to leave the haven and return to Snow's castle, provided they accept Mulan as their escort.
Aurora says she wants justice for Phillip's death, but she really wants vengeance. Mulan's attempts to reason with her fall on deaf ears. Aurora follows Snow, Emma and Mulan and tries to slit Snow's throat. Snow gets the best of her, but it freaks out Emma, who fires a warning shot, which alerts the nearby ogres to our party's presence. Snow saves Emma from an ogre and gains some respect from her prickly daughter.
At the castle, Emma and Snow find the wardrobe is still in Emma's nursery -- which now lies in ruin. They determine it no longer has any magic, without even getting in and giving a shot. Lancelot arrives. He heard of the ogre attack and wanted to make sure they were okay, but when he mistakenly mentions getting Snow and Emma back home to Henry, the jig is up. Emma only mentioned Henry's name to Cora. Snow puts herself between her daughter and the knight, who morphs back into the witch. Emma sets the wardrobe afire. Mulan rushes in to the rescue, so Cora poofs away, which, given her power, seems silly. I'll hit that in the full recap.
Our time in L'enchantement ends with Emma confessing her years of resentment. But her time at the castle has helped her realize how much Snow sacrificed for her and continues to do so. She sobs that she's not used to someone putting her first. Snow hugs her and tells her to get used to it. As they leave the castle, Snow takes one last look at the nursery and in her mind's eye, sees it in its former glory. She weeps for what could never be, then takes her leave. My heart breaks, but I don't have time to wallow because Cora returns and scoops up ashes from the once-magical wardrobe. Dun dun dun!
What a beautiful, painful episode. I've only watched once so far, but I'm tempted to say it's the best of the first three. This series is strongest when it wears its heart on its sleeve, and I am a sucker for heart. 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 we're trying to learn how to be the grandchildren of a prince.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously, on Once Upon A Time, magic returns to Storybrooke. It's different there, though. The Charmings chase the Chintz Monster into Jefferson's hat, but Chintzy grabs Emma on his way down. Unwilling to lose her daughter again, Snow jumps in after. Charming tells Henry he will find the ladies. (He will always find them.) Mulan and Aurora capture Snow and Emma and bring them to L'enchantement's haven (possibly Neverland) and throw them down into a pit, where Regina's evil mother, Cora, lies in wait. Currently, on Once Upon A Time, we open on the...
Enchanted Past. Night. Red races to Charming's camp. She finds him and Snow and their War Council, in his tent. They are strategizing, and Charming is babbling about King George Charles Widmore and his forces. Red: "We have to move camp. They're coming for us." Charming: "No. We will not run. We said we were going to take the kingdom back, and we can't do that with our tails between our legs." Charming takes a beat and looks sheepishly at Red. "No offense." Heh.
Red tells him things are worse than they know. Charles Widmore has a new general -- the Leviathan. "They say he attacks like a monster, striking from the depths of the sea. You never see him coming, and you never survive." So he's a toddler, then? As soon Snow ask how close his army is, an arrow lands smack dab in the middle of Charming's map table. Someone get me a trajectory report, because I just don't buy how that happened. They're in a tent. Sure, the flap is open, but the arrow's arc just seems impossible. Cool visuals are only cool if they don't make the viewer scratch his or her head and say, "Wait a gosh darned moment..." I love this episode. What I don't love is being taken out of it even before the title card.
Anyhow, outside, there's general chaos (digression: I covered How I Met Your Mother for a couple of seasons, so right now, Robin and Ted are saluting General Chaos, in my head). Snow suggests they all split up and divide Widmore's forces. Charming agrees and gives his warriors their orders, then tells Snow to run. In two days time, they'll meet at the cabin in which his mother is hiding. Snow's a little worried about meeting Ruth, but Charming notes it's high time, since they're engaged and all. I should say so! My parents would have been so hurt if I got engaged to someone they'd never even met. Let's hope Ruth takes it better.
Snow isn't out of earshot, before she's captured by General Chaos, er... I mean the Leviathan, who rolls his eyes at that nickname, by the way, and reveals he is actually Lancelot (Sinqua Wells). Snow is all, "Of the Round Table?" Lance: "Not anymore." Okay, he is a disgraced Lancelot, then. Very well. Title card.
L'enchantement. Present. Day. Emma and Cora kneel over a still unconscious Snow. Cora assures Emma that Snow will be fine and then blahs about how what's left of the world is dangerous. She claims she's only in the pit because the Dark Curse which ravaged their land was cast by her daughter. Emma knows that daughter must be Regina. Cora: "You have nothing to fear from me. The apple fell very far from the tree." Ha! Also, liar! But mostly ha.
As Cora tries to pump Emma for information (about being from "over there" and how she and Snow managed to return to L'enchantement) Snow wakes. And here's where I give more kudos to casting (and to Ginny), because even though Young-Snow (Bailee Madison) isn't in this episode, when Adult-Snow looks at a Cora, you see that same innocent, scared young girl who was manipulated by this Mother of all Witches.
Cora tries to pretend she's the same kindly maternal type she always pretended to be, but if we include the cursed 28 years, Snow is 30+ years older and wiser than that little girl of long ago and far away. She tells Emma, "As bad as you think Regina is, this one is worse." Emma gives Snow a patronizing look, while Cora pleads with Snow to believe her. "Whatever she (Regina) told you isn't true. I just want to help you."
Snow has her resolve-face on. Over her shoulder, Emma whispers, "Let's hear her out." Snow will not be moved. Her, "Emma," is firm. Emma says, "Right now, we are at the bottom of a hole with no other options, and Henry is back in Storybrooke, with Regina." When Cora asks who Henry is, Emma replies, "My son. I kind of share him with Regina. It's complicated." Raise your hand if you want Emma and Regina to update their Facebook relationship status.
Snow rounds on Emma, grabs her arms and orders her not to talk to Cora. They're interrupted by a man who shouts down, "Enough! Our leader requests an audience." He drops a rope for Emma and Snow to climb, and all I can think is that, despite the helpful climbing knots, I'd be stuck in that hole for the rest of my days. Angel, our chief editor and athlete extraordinaire could definitely do that (and might be able to leap it in a single bound, for all I know), but not I. If any of my past Phys. Ed. teachers are reading, don't give yourself whiplash, nodding in agreement. Witches.
Downtown Storybrooke. Day. Charming and Henry walk down the street, left worse for the wear thanks to the Chintz Monster's paper-blowing tantrum. When Henry asks what's on the agenda for "Operation Scorpion," Charming asks what he means. Henry explains: "The code name for our mission to find Emma and Snow. Do you prefer Viper? That was my second choice." Charming: "Henry, we need to talk." Henry: "Yeah, Scorpion is better." I think I could watch an entire episode of these two, just being the cutest grandson and ultra-young Grandpa in the world, provided there were occasional tears, interspersed with sword fighting.
The bottom line: Charming doesn't want Henry to come with him, because restoring the hat requires magic, and magic always comes with a price. Charming asks Henry to go to school. When Henry agrees, Charming takes him at his word. While it's a rookie mistake, I can't blame Charming, really. He's not only new at grand-parenting, he never even got the chance to be a parent. Henry walks to the school bus, but once Gramps turns away, the boy bolts. If my kids are reading this, please know what Henry does is bad, very bad, also forbidden. If my kids aren't reading this: run, Henry. Run! We flash sideways to the...
Enchanted Present. Snow and Emma bicker as they make their way to the Haven's leader. Snow wants Emma to listen more closely to her instructions. Emma wonders why Snow can't just trust her; she just wants to find a way back to Henry. Snow scoffs at Emma's insistence that she could have handled the Mother of all Evil. "Cora? Don't be so sure. I've lived here, Emma. I know this world and its dangers." Emma's face is grim when she asks Snow if she followed her because she thought she'd be helpless. Snow: "No. I came through to be with you." Aww, moms are always doing stuff like that. Let's hear it for your mom!
When Haven's leader emerges from his quarters, Snow's eyes grow wide. "Lancelot?" The two embrace and he apologizes for locking the ladies away. Emma can't believe she's meeting Lancelot.
Across the way, Aurora is appalled that Lance is embracing one of the women she holds responsible for Phillip's "death." (Since we could hear the souls of those who Chintzy devoured, I'm not ready to declare Phillip completely dead.) Mulan says that since Phillip trusted Lance, they should too, but Aurora wants justice. Mulan: "Tread carefully. It's dangerous to confuse vengeance with justice." That makes me almost like Mulan, but then she adds, "Do you understand me?" She's so condescending. I hope she gets likable soon -- particularly if we're going to have to spend much more time with her. I'm pretty sure Aurora feels the same way, because she looks away from Mulan. Mulan notices too, rises to her feet, and gets in Aurora's grill. "Do you understand me?" Aurora's mouth says, "Yes," but her eyes say something less than princess-y, so I'm not going to spell it out. Once Mulan walks off, Aurora gives Snow and Emma her best stabby stabby kill kill eyes, then turning away, she draws a dagger out from under her wrap. Commercial.
Lance offers our ladies a repast featuring chimera (part lion, part serpent, part goat). Go for the goat meat, Emma. She ignores me and asks nobody in particular, "Like turducken?" Heh. My Writey Sense (think Spidey Sense) was already on high alert after all that vengeance versus justice business, so I rewind to the credits to see if Jane Espenson wrote this episode, but no -- it was written by Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg. Well played, gentlemen. Well played.
Snow says, "I don't understand. We were told this land didn't even exist anymore." Think about that for a tick, oh Fairest of them all. Who told you it didn't exist? Could it have been a lying liar who lies. Snow ignores me and continues. "How did you all escape the curse?" Lance says it's a mystery. Some of them in that region were left behind. They know neither how nor why. Finding the Haven involved spilling some blood, but he assures the ladies they're safe there. Snow explains that they have to get back to her husband and Emma's son. She wants to find a portal, but Lance says leaving is unwise; the ogres have returned. Emma: "Ogres? As in fee-fi-fo-fum?" I cringe for Emma, as does Snow. "Those would be giants." Chagrinned, Emma shuts up. Lance mansplains about ogres being far worse. He tells Snow there are no portals left and asks her to stay there.
Snow thinks she knows of a portal, but when Lance asks where, she says she's not comfortable revealing it, with Cora nearby. Lance assures her that Cora is powerless now, but Snow -- as sharp as ever -- demurs. She again asks leave to... well, to leave. Lance will allow it on the condition that she allow Mulan to accompany and defend them. Emma: "We can defend ourselves." Snow ignores her and tells Lance it's a deal. She thanks Lance for always looking out for her and we flash back to...
Enchanted Past. Lancelot brings Snow to Charles Widmore. My mother doesn't care for past-Snow's costume in this episode -- she thinks the high collar is too queenish (as opposed to princess-y) and from a distance, she keeps confusing past-Snow with past-Regina. I point out how past-Regina isn't even in this episode, and that Snow typically wears white, while Regina's wardrobe palette tends to feature black and occasionally dark purples and reds. Mum doesn't care. I disagree. I love Snow's costume this week, and this is my recap, so neener neener, Mum.
When Lance takes the hood off Snow's head, she immediately yells at Widmore that she'll never tell him where Charming is. Widmore pretends to be cordial and instructs Lance to get Snow some water. There's some verbal volleying, during which Snow tells Widmore that all he knows about pain is how to inflict it. As she drinks her water, Widmore declares her wrong. He talks about James' death, and how he offered Charming the chance to step into James' shoes but, "He rejected me. He humiliated me in front of my kingdom, all for the sake of true love." Those last two words are a sneer. Snow sneers back that Widmore knows nothing of true love. He begs to differ. His own true love and he were blissful, but then, "She became cursed. She drank a vile potion that made it impossible for us to conceive a child. Family is everything, my dear. Losing all hope of having one -- there is no greater misery. Charming could have been that hope for me, but instead he made my suffering worse. For that -- death is too good for him. First, he must know pain -- my pain." Lance, standing behind Snow, narrows his eyes at Widmore. Snow looks down at the goblet in her hand. When she sees her reflection staring back from the dregs left in the cup, she cries, "No." Lance: "You poisoned her!" Widmore: "I cursed her. She will never bear a child." We flash forward to the...
Haven. Present. Mulan opens a weapon chest and tells Emma and Snow to choose wisely. Snow grabs a sword. Emma grabs a dagger and asks for her gun. Mulan pulls it out and wonders if it's magic. Emma: "Depends on who's pulling the trigger." As Snow grabs a bow and a quiver full of arrows, Mulan says, "Follow my lead. Step where I step. Do exactly as I say and you might survive." When Emma scoffs that they'll be okay because she just killed a dragon last week, Snow's eyes flash with concern at her girl's hubris. Mulan asks if she's ever seen an ogre. Emma: "Pretty sure I've dated a few." Mulan ignores her and says, "Legend has it that when they kill you, the last thing you see is yourself dying, in the reflection in their eyes."
Following behind Mulan, Snow assures Emma that she won't let anything happen to her. Emma wants to know Snow's plan. It boils down to the enchanted wardrobe. If it survived the curse, they'll see about making it work again. When Emma asks where it is, Snow says, "My place. Want to see where you're from, Emma? That's right. We're going home." Yippee! Commercial.
Storybrooke waterfront. Jefferson is sitting on a bench, looking at a hand-drawn "Have You Seen..." poster featuring himself, or "Papa" as the description notes. Henry knows Jefferson is the Mad Hatter and begs for his help. Jefferson says he can't do anything. He's the wrong person to talk to. Magic isn't his thing. Henry should try his mother (Regina). "Maybe she's got something in that vault of hers..." Henry can't believe the vault is there in Storybrooke, but Jefferson won't give him more information. "It's none of my business. Talk to her." I know he's probably a little afraid of Regina, but given how angry he is at her, and given the similarity of Henry's circumstances to his own, I'm a little disappointed in our milliner. Henry is too, but he's also more sympathetic than I. He notices the picture Jefferson is holding and asks what it is. The man folds the picture and stuffs it inside his coat, but says nothing. Henry tells him he knows his story and points out that Grace probably wants to see her Papa. At this, Jefferson becomes hostile and tries to leave, but Henry is nothing if not persistent. When he asks why Jefferson isn't trying to find his girl, Jefferson grabs Henry's shoulders and yells, "Because I left her!" His voice drops to a whisper as he adds, "And she'll hate me."
Undeterred, Henry says, "How do you know that?" Jefferson shrugs and mutters about how fate has reminded him he shouldn't. I think "fate" here equals the Chintz Monster overturning his car and leaving him stuck. It doesn't matter. What matters is Henry who insists that Jefferson should find Grace. While it might be hard to face her, it will hurt her much more -- and for the rest of her life -- if he doesn't. After all, he's been left, too. He points out that Grace will spend her life wondering why Jefferson left. Anything is better than nothing. Not knowing is the worst. Ouch. I love this kid.
Regina is packing up her office when the phone rings. From only her side of the conversation, we learn that it's Henry. After she reveals she's gotten the boot from Office, she happily agrees to have lunch with Henry at Granny's in ten minutes. Regina grabs her bag and walks right out. Once she's gone, Henry enters from a different door. He hustles to her file cabinet and takes out the key ring. We flash sideways to...
L'enchantement. Present. Afternoon. Mulan wants to set up camp for the night. They'll have to get water and firewood. Poor Emma is still used to being the strategic thinker, so she suggests it's foolhardy to start a fire if they're trying to hide from ogres. Snow sets her straight: ogres are blind; they hunt by sound, alone. Emma mutters, "Right, because that's something everyone would know about ogres." Um yeah, Em, in their world, they would and do. Think of this as Fairy Tale University, honey. The first lesson? You need to accept you're not always going to be the smartest kid in any class, and the sooner you do that, the better it will go for you. It's not going to go well, is it?
Snow tries to cut Emma some slack for being out of her element and suggests she hang tight, while she (Snow) and Mulan go find wood and water. Mulan almost looks embarrassed for Emma, as Snow insists her daughter wait for them. We flash back to...
The Enchanted Past. Widmore's men dump Snow off at the ruins of Charming's campsite. As she rises to her feet, she hears Lancelot approaching on horseback, so she grabs a pole and hides behind a tree. When Lance reaches her, she knocks him off his mount. Before our fierce princess can brain him, he explains that he wants to help. He regrets his unwitting part in Widmore cursing away her fertility and wants to help. He will take her to meet Charming. Skeptical, Snow refuses, thinking Lancelot is just using her to find Charming. Lancelot tells her the King already knows that Charming is meeting his mother at her not so secret location and has men on the way -- to kill Ruth. Snow looks off in the distance, unable to mask her worry. "Charming's at the cabin, too."
Cabin. Exterior. Charming finds Ruth gathering flowers, and tells her the place is already beautiful. Ruth laughs him off. She's about to meet the girl he's going to marry. Everything must be perfect. When her son doesn't understand, she's lady enough not to womansplain it to him. But hark! Who goes there? Something wicked this way comes. Charming draws his sword and orders Ruth to return to the cabin and bolt the door. "Whatever happens, stay inside."
Charming runs toward the approaching sounds and soon finds himself surrounded by a handful of Widmore's knights. One of the knights who is on foot raises his crossbow and shoots an arrow at our would be Prince. When Charming ducks, the arrow flies over his head and lands squarely in the chest of one of the mounted knights. I am not your action recapper. Suffice it to say Charming handily defeats all of his assailants, but his last kill is the coolest. He snaps a knight's neck with only his bare hands. Alas, his mother refused to follow directions. During the scuffle, she was struck in the chest with an arrow. Charming races to her and catches her just before she collapses. "I told you to stay inside." Ruth apologizes, but she thought he was hurt. Isn't that just like a mother, too?
As Charming lies to Ruth that everything will be okay, Snow and Lance arrive. Falling on her knees beside Charming, Snow says, "I'm so sorry. We came as quickly as we could." Ruth: "Is this... Snow?" Charming nods and looks to Snow, who takes in the reality of the situation. We flash back to...
L'enchantement. Past. Night. As Snow tries to light a fire, Aurora sneaks up behind her, grabs her, and holds a knife to her throat. "Don't move. Phillip's gone, because of you." Snow, no delicate hothouse flower, flips Aurora, then disarms and straddles her. "You listen to me, Princess. You think I don't know what it's like to be separated from the people I love? What happened to Phillip was not our fault, so I suggest that you find another way to channel your anger."
Mulan pulls Snow off Aurora. "Don't talk to her like that." Snow: "She tried to kill me." Mulan grabs Aurora's knife and tells Snow, "I will deal with her." Just then, Emma fires a warning shot into the air. And I can't decide if I like this, or if it feels too contrived. Wait. I'm getting ahead of myself. So, Emma fires the warning shot. Snow whispers, "Emma, what are you doing?" Ignoring Snow's volume cue, Emma's voice is strong as she says, "Protecting you," and then tells Mulan to drop her weapon.
Snow looks at her daughter, horrified. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?" In the distance, an ogre roars. Emma peers over her shoulder -- her eyes as round as saucers. "Ogres?" Snow screams, "RUN!" All four women race toward the woods. Emma is the cliché victim of the week -- the pretty blonde who falls when running from a monster, but it works here, because she's not one of the princesses, but rather the tough, streetwise cop. An ogre is soon upon Emma. He disarms her and crushes her gun, which is good, because those things don't belong in fairy tales. As the ogre tries to subdue the already downed Emma with a hurricane force blast of nasty ogre breath (I'm thinking anchovies, onions, and death), we cut to commercial.
Sidebar. Okay, it seems not only that Snow had Aurora well in hand, but that Mulan was no threat to Snow, so I'm not sure why Emma fired her gun. Was she too far away to hear what Mulan was saying? It didn't look like it to me, so on one hand, it feels like she just shot the gun because the writers needed her to be the one who is so out of her element that she is stupid enough to fire a gun and attract the ogres. On the other, very fickle hand, I like that she's so out of her element. Since I'd rather be happy, I'm going to chalk the warning shot up to Emma's nerves and let this go.
After the break, Snow is fierce and seemingly fearless in saving her daughter. She whistles to distract it, then shouts, "Back away from my daughter!" As the ogre approaches the Fairest of them All, she aims her bow and shoots the beast right in the eye. Once the ogre dies, she explains to Emma that hitting them in the eye is key. Emma is impressed with her mother's aim, and with her bravery. "How did you know you could hit that?" Snow: "I didn't." When Emma looks at her, Snow adds, "time, listen to me." When Emma looks down at her crumpled up gun, Snow adds, "That kind of thing isn't going to work, here." Emma gets that, now. She follows Snow after taking a moment to stare at the dead ogre and try to bring herself to terms with the fact that she's in a land where fairy tales, and their monsters, are real.
Enchanted Past. Lance removes the arrow from Ruth's chest, sniffs it and declares it's been poisoned. Charming says they'll find an antidote. Snow suggests the fairies could help. Apparently Lance believes in fairies (maybe Merlin wizardsplained them), but regardless, he says it's going to take something stronger than fairy dust. Charming tells his companions about the restorative waters of Lake Nostros.
On the road, Charming tries to get Lancelot to talk about his past. Lance, a man of few words, only says he fell from grace in, "...the same way you ended up running from King George. A woman." Now mind you, it's about a day's journey to Lake Nostros, but Lance and Charming are on foot, leading a horse-drawn cart. Ruth is lying in the cart -- BLEEDING TO DEATH, THE POISON WORKING ALL THE WHILE. Snow walks beside the cart. I can understand not wanting to jostle Ruth, but this group is strolling like they're on the way to a picnic. Charming stops the horse and tells Snow and Ruth that he and Lance are going to scout ahead. He says they won't be long. I'm not sure he knows what the word means.
Alone, Snow tends to Ruth who, despite dying, is a pretty Chatty Cathy. She groans in pain but then manages to blabber on about how Charming always dreamt of having a wife and a son. When the recently cursed Snow winces at this, Ruth takes it the wrong way and adds, "Fret not. It could be a daughter, but trust me, all that matters is that it's healthy." She then removes her necklace and explains that it was "spelled" by a "gypsy" (my apologies, Romani) to predict the sex of one's firstborn, even if that child hasn't yet been conceived. If it swings north to south, the child will be a boy, and east to west means it will be a girl. Snow tries to refuse, but Ruth says, "Indulge an old woman. It will help take my mind off...well, you know." DYING. Snow nods and agrees. Ruth holds the necklace over Snow's outstretched palm. It doesn't move. Ruth tries to assure Snow that it's just silly superstition, but Snow explains that Widmore cursed her to be infertile. Ruth suggests that if the waters of Lake Nostros can heal her, perhaps they can reverse Widmore's curse. Snow beams with hope. Ruth looks up at her. "You are going to be a wonderful mother." Eventually.
Enchanted Present. As the women make their way through the forest, Mulan jumps on Aurora to keep up. Aurora notes she's not exactly dressed for this expedition. Mulan snarks that she should have stayed behind. When Emma realizes Aurora is cold, she offers up her leather jacket. Aurora is taken aback by this kindness and notes she tried to kill Emma's friend. Emma, who doesn't seem to be cold in her tank top (look at her arms -- I covet them) explains that Snow is her mother and Emma is getting the feeling that Snow can, "...take care of herself. And I get it. You're not the only one who's been screwing up, lately." When Emma walks ahead, Aurora stares at the strange garment in her hands. "What kind of corset is this?" Hee. Okay, that was a cheap laugh, because it's not like Aurora's male contemporaries didn't wear coats. And she saw it on Emma. She watched Emma take it off. Still, that line will never not work for me. I'm easy (but not cheap). Eventually, Snow's castle comes into view. The woman look at it, bathed in moonlight. Emma: "Is that it?" Snow: "Yeah. That's our home."
Enchanted Past. When Charming and crew get to Lake Nostros, they find it has dried up -- and probably because Charming killed the siren. Ain't that always the way? Commercial.
Storybrooke. Outside the crypt, Henry takes a moment to review his book before entering. Inside, he sees the casket (or the vault that contains the casket -- I'm having a little aphasia, I think). There are fresh flowers on top, but it's the name plaque that catches Henry's eye, because it reads, as you know, Henry Mills and underneath, Beloved Father. I wonder how much that will mess with this kid's head -- especially once he learns what Regina did to that Henry. Noticing the scuff marks on the floor, the kid figures out he's got to move the vault. He pushes with all his might to reveal the staircase, hidden below. Descending, he comes upon Regina's wall full of mini-vaults. I need a new word for all these things, but you watch the show. You know what I mean. The hearts within beat once again, now that magic has come to town. Henry shakes this off and enters the main chamber. In a cubby, he finds a chest and pulls it out. Using Regina's keys, he opens it. The two-headed Agrabahn viper that killed his biological great-grandfather (King Leopold) rises up and tries to strike Henry, but Charming swoops in out of nowhere, slams the chest shut, and says, "Maybe we should have gone with Operation Viper."
To Regina's credit, the only way Charming knew where to find Henry is because Regina called Charming and told him that the boy stood her up for lunch. When she realized her keys were missing, Regina figured he might be there, and she figured he would be far more amenable to Charming retrieving him. Charming crouches down (which I always feel is a little condescending to kids who are older than four). "Henry, what were you thinking?" Henry: "I just want them back. It wasn't supposed to be this way. I should be over there, with them, riding horses, learning how to sword fight..." Me too, kid. Me too. Charming: "I know. I know. It's okay, because we are going to do this together. Come on, now. You've gotta get to school, and I've gotta make sure no one else finds this place." School, really? Hey, I'm pro-school, but it was lunch time when the kid called Regina. Surely, school is almost out, and besides, with Snow in L'enchantement, he's only missing a substitute. What kind of Grandpa are you, Charming? Also? How are you going to make sure no one else finds that place? How? These are the things that keep me up at night.
Enchanted Past. It's when Charming finds the Siren's headpiece that he realizes it's probably his fault the Lake is gone, but I think I already mentioned that. I hate so much about the things I choose to be. Lance, who grew up near a lake, searches until he finds a scant mouthful of water in a shell. On his knees, the disgraced knight prays, "God in his mercy, lend her grace." Charming rushes to Lance and the two kill time, discussing whether or not it's enough to heal Ruth. Urgency doesn't exist in L'enchantement. Charming hands Lance a little flask. Lance pours the water in it, which seems wasteful, because whenever you decant liquid, some moisture remains in the original container. Wouldn't it be more expedient to let Ruth drink from the shell? Well no, you sillies, because this is a set up, or soon shall be.
The wagon is a bit away from the men. Ruth grabs Snow's hand and tells her she should drink the water to break the curse. Snow won't hear of it. She won't let Ruth give her life for this. Ruth says, "That's what parents do. They put their children first. Someday, you will understand." Snow shakes her head. "No. Maybe it's for the best. I was raised without a mother. I wouldn't even know how to be one. This water was meant for you." After much artificial delay, Charming rushes to Ruth's side. He hands her the flask and she drinks or pretends to, then turns to Snow and tells her, "Have faith. We'll find another way."
Enchanted Present. Palace. Emma is overwhelmed. She recognizes the place from Henry's book. Mulan and Aurora leave to stand watch outside. Snow finds the wardrobe in Emma's nursery -- which now lies in ruin. Emma: "I lived here?" Snow: "You never even got to spend one night." Snow picks up a long forgotten teddy bear and looks around. "This is the life I wanted you to have. I was going to teach you how to walk in here. How to talk. How to dress for your first ball. You never got to do any of it. We never got to be a family." Sob. Emma walls off her emotions with the magic of pragmatism. "We have a family in Storybrooke, and right now, they need us to get back there." Looking at the wardrobe, she asks Snow how they get it to work.
Enchanted Past. The water is not healing Ruth. Charming wants to find more water, but Ruth calls him back. She says there's no magic left there, and she doesn't want to spend her last moments this way. When he apologizes, she brushes it off and says, "For your happiness, I would gladly give my life." She only wishes she could see Charming marry his true love. Snow whispers to Ruth that she will and then turns to her new friend. "Lancelot, does a disgraced member of the Round Table still have the power to perform a wedding?" Wow, way to dig him while asking for a favor, Snow. Lance doesn't notice. Instead he just smiles and says, "It would be my honor." Ruth smiles.
And then, Lance is standing before an arch decorated with flowers. No. They didn't leave the dead lake. The flowers must have just bloomed out of Snow and Charming's true love -- the most powerful magic of all -- which also created the arch, right? Right? Because tell me they did not waste this dying woman's time creating an arch, searching for flowers and decorating. Right? RIGHT? Anyhow, Lance takes his canteen and pours water into a cup. "In my kingdom, there is legend of a cup that has the power to grant eternal life, and so may the love between you always be strong, true, and eternal." He hands the cup to Snow, first. She drinks and looks at Ruth, who smiles, and SHEESH, couldn't they have wheeled the cart right up to the arch, so a poor dying lady could see what was going on a little better? Snow passes the cup to Charming. who also drinks. The young lovers smile, kiss, and turn to Ruth, who is now dead -- with a smile on her face. Charming lays a bouquet of wild flowers on his mother's corpse and whispers goodbye. He cries, because that's what Charming does best. Snow lays her head on her beloved's shoulder. We cut to...
Enchanted Present. Snow opens the wardrobe. Emma: "Where's the on switch?" Snow says it's a little more complicated than that and determines the wardrobe no longer has any magic, without even getting in and giving a shot. I mean, climb in and try, ladies. But no. Snow says they'll have to go back to the island Haven and see if anyone there has enough magic to jump start it. Emma: "How are we going to carry this thing?" Lancelot appears out of the blue and answers, "With the help of an old friend." He explains that he heard of the ogre attack and wanted to make sure they were okay, but when he mistakenly mentions getting Snow and Emma back home to Henry, the jig is up. Emma only mentioned Henry's name to Cora. Drawing her sword, Snow puts herself between her daughter and the knight, who morphs back into the witch. Cora killed Lancelot long ago and has been posing as him, ever since. She uses her power to pin Snow to a wall. Commercial.
When Cora taunts Snow, Emma charges at her, but the witch uses magic to trap Emma's feet with a carpet. She then blathers to Snow about how she wants to see Regina. "It's been too long. And you know -- I would love to meet my grandson, Henry." Emma bangs out the contents of a bullet, sets the wardrobe afire, and yells, "No you won't." Cora magically pulls a fireball from Emma's fire, but the wardrobe still burns. Cora flings the fireball at Emma, but Mulan rushes in to the rescue, so Cora says, "We're not done," and then poofs away, which, given her power, seems silly. Seriously, she had no problem magically restraining Emma and Snow. Suddenly, one more person is too much for her? Blah. Anyhow, with Cora gone, Snow is released from her magical bonds and slumps to the floor. Emma asks where Cora is. Snow says gone. Emma looks at the wardrobe and says, "So's our ride home."
Enchanted Past. Charming buries Ruth and sets a lit candle on her grave. I guess Smokey the Bear doesn't exist in their world. Snow says, "I'm sorry. She was all the family you have left." But Charming says, "No, I still have you." He looks forward to starting their new family with her. He then takes out Ruth's necklace, bent on determining the sex of their first child. Snow stops him and tries to explain Widmore's curse, but before she can get the words out, the necklace starts to swing. Snow: "We're going to have a child!" Charming mistakes her meaning. "Is there something I need to know?" I certainly hope not! Snow's smile is as wide as the world. "I mean someday." Charming laughs, "Of course we are. What's it say it's going to be? It's going to be a boy, right? I can never remember which direction means what." Snow stops him. "It's a surprise." Charming is going to signal the army to regroup. "We are going to take back the kingdom, Snow, and we are going to do it as a family." He kisses his bride and rushes off. It's only once he's gone that Snow realizes she was hoodwinked into drinking the Nostros water she meant for Ruth. She turns to Lancelot. Walking over to him she says, "This is because of you, isn't it? Ruth only pretended to drink the water. She had you put it in the wedding chalice so I would drink it. That's how King George's curse was broken, wasn't it?" Lance smiles. "I have no idea what you're talking about." I smile too, because while exposition sometimes annoys me, without this exposition, it would look like Lancelot killed an old woman to salve his guilty conscience. He asks Snow what their child will be. Snow checks to make sure Charming is out of earshot then says, "A girl." Her eyes well with tears, proving she's truly a member of the Charming family, now.
Enchanted Present. Snow tells Emma that Lancelot was one of the most noble knights she ever knew. Mulan berates herself for being so blind as to not realize it was Cora, all along. Emma reminds her that shapeshifting is pretty tricksy as tricks go. Mulan frets about what they'll tell the other survivors, back on the island. Snow says, "The truth -- that Lancelot was cut down by a terrible villain. He died an honorable death." Mulan says, "Cora is still out there. We need to find her. We need to defend what's left of the kingdom." Aurora: "Who's going to lead us -- you?" Mulan turns toward Snow. "No. Her." Snow is speechless for a moment. She's honored, but reminds them she and Emma still need to find a way back to Storybrooke. Mulan pledges to help them and enlists Aurora's cooperation. Aurora says, "Yes. Perhaps it will help me channel my anger." Mulan starts out of the room. "Come." Aurora follows.
Emma and Snow hang back, for a moment. Emma apologizes for burning the wardrobe, but Snow understands. "You had to put Henry first." Getting in touch with her Charming roots, Emma's eyes fill up as she looks at her mother, as if for the first time. Her voice choked, she says, "I was angry at you for so long -- wondering how you could choose to let me grow up without you. Just seeing all this -- you gave up everything for me, and you're still doing it. Sorry. I'm not good at this. I guess I'm just...I'm not used to someone putting me first." I'm not sure that "you gave up everything" line makes a lot of sense, but it's still effective.
Snow goes to her and takes Emma in her arms. "Oh. Well get used to it." Emma ugly-cries. Her mascara flows from her eyes. She squeezes Snow tight before pulling away. When Snow wipes away her daughter's tears, Emma laughs awkwardly and walks out. Like Lot's wife, Snow turns back to survey the nursery one last time. In her mind's eye, she sees it in its former glory. She imagines her baby's laughter -- laughter she never heard. Poor Snow weeps for what could never be, then takes her leave. My heart breaks, but I don't have time to wallow because Cora returns and scoops up ashes from the remains of the once magical wardrobe. A small fire seems to burn within the vial. Cora smiles. Dun dun dun!
Storybrooke and self-plagiarism. Henry sits in Emma's VW Bug and watches as Jefferson finally musters up the courage to approach Grace. Okay, so Jefferson looks more than a little creepy stalking a bus full of school children, but once he calls out Grace's name, it gets better. She turns, cries, "Papa" and rushes into his embrace. May I please have a tissue? Poor little Henry looks on, his happiness for them on makes his own loneliness more acute. But...YES! It's Charming to the rescue, again. Charming tells Henry he can't get Snow and Emma back without his grandson's help, so he's bought some play swords, so he can teach Henry how to fence. Oh heck, please pass the whole box of tissues. Across the way, King George Charles Widmore watches the man who refused to be his son training his grandson in the fine arts of heroic princery. Hurrah!
I'll be back morning with coverage of "The Crocodile," which I think means you-know-who is coming to our lovely show. In the meantime, please grade the episode at the top of the page and then come on over to the forum, where we're trying to learn how to be the grandchildren of a prince.