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In the Enchanted Past, Peter Pan -- with his pan flute -- comes to the Enchanted Forest as the Pied Piper. Baelfire, whose relationship with his father is already strained, follows him. Rumpy finds Pan and it's soon clear the two have history. Later it's revealed they knew each other as boys, but then Pan took off for Neverland, leaving Rumpy abandoned again. Pan tells Rumpy to ask Baelfire if he wants to come home with him. If the boy agrees to go with his father, Pan won't interfere. Rumpy realizes he doesn't need to make a deal to retrieve his son and magics the boy back home. Bae is incensed, in part because his father didn't give him a choice, but also because Pan got into his head before Rumpy arrived and told him that if his father didn't offer him a choice, he isn't to be trusted.
Now, in Neverland, Operation Henry plans their invasion of Pan's camp. Emma thinks they're good to go, until Tink asks what their exit strategy is. Once the fairy learns they currently have no way back to their own world, she backs out. Showing them Tamara's watch (and telling them of Tamara and Greg's fate), she makes the point that this is how Pan treats the people he employs and asks how they think they'll fare with him while still stuck on his island. She tells them to call her once they've bought a clue.
Hook leads Emma and crew to a cave once occupied by Baelfire. In addition to his drawings (I like that bit of characterization) Bae made a secret map out of a coconut and a candle. What? It's a thing, okay? He cut a coconut in two, scooped it out and poked holes (corresponding to stars) in the top half. Emma lights the candle that's in the bottom half, puts the top back on and the cave ceiling is illuminated by the map. The problem is that Hook is the one who taught Bae cartography and he says every decent pirate's map is in code, so that only the pirate can read it. Emma finally has an overt reaction to Neal's death. She's pissed at him! She loved him for all those years and he didn't tell her he loved her until it was too late. And now he's the only one who knows how to get off this God forsaken island and he has the temerity to be dead. Don't forget about he had you imprisoned for his crimes, girl.
Speaking of Neal, Felix captures him but Neal frees himself and knocks out Felix, who just looks like he needs a good thwack on the head, right? He runs into Rumpy who, with the aid of magic, of course, has just knocked out two of Pan's sentries. Believing his son to be dead, Rumpy thinks Nealfire is just an illusion and nearly stabs him with a Dreamshade poisoned spear before he realizes the truth. The problem is that now that Rumpy knows his son is alive, he has something to live for, which means he once again cares that Henry will be his undoing.
Neal and Rumpy do manage to get an unconscious Henry away from Pan, temporarily, but Pan tells Neal that Rumpy will never truly help him get his son because of the prophecy. Neal knows nothing of the prophecy, so Rumpy tells him all about the Seer and how the boy who led him to his son will be his undoing. Still no one (not even illusion Belle who has scenes with Rumpy which are pretty much retreads of her appearances) proposes an alternate interpretation of the word undoing, which is driving me slightly nuts. I'm not throwing my shoes at the TV yet, but I do have one in hand.
There's a certain squid's ink which disables magical creatures. Neal and Rumpy used it on Pan. Now Neal uses it on Rumpy. He carries the still unconscious Henry through the forest and stumbles upon the last camp Operation Henry occupied before they retreated to his cave. Neal can tell that Emma was there. By then, Rumpy's magic has worn off and the Lost Boys are conscious again (I don't know why Henry isn't, because that's what knocked him out, too) and the squid ink has lost its effectiveness on Pan. They quickly retrieve Henry and drag Neal off to parts unknown.
Before Henry and the Lost Boys were knocked out, Pan was trying to get Henry to join in the revelry and even played him a tune on his magical pan flute. The problem is that only Lost Boys can hear the music. Henry is very much loved and wanted by his plethora of relatives, so he doesn't hear a note. After his unconscious travels with his dad, Henry wakes up back in Pan's camp, none the wiser. He tells Pan he thought he heard his father's voice, but that can't be, because his father is dead. Pan encourages Henry to labor under this false premise. Henry starts to feel lost and abandoned (and I think I take issue with this, but I'll hit that in the recap), and he now can hear the music. Dun dun dun.
"Nasty Habits" is a dark episode and not without its flaws. The CGI work in the Enchanted Forest town jumps off the screen and slaps you in the face. The Neverland sets, too, have felt a little claustrophobic. Also, while I love Charming, I'm tired of his insistence that he and Hook keep his poisoning a secret. So much so, in fact, that I may have yelled, "If you're not going to tell your family, then just die, already."
On the upside, it's good to see Emma expressing herself. Also, I'm enjoying this less cartoonish version of Captain Hook. Likewise, I'm so glad to see that Regina has a deep respect for Emma's presumed loss of Neal. Lana plays it just right. When her love was taken from her… well, we all know what happened. Regina knows, too, and you can see that bubbling under the surface. You can see that she both empathizes with Emma and maybe even fears her, or at least her pain. I think the high point of the episode, though, must be Rumpy telling Nealfire that he is his happy ending. Robert Carlyle brings so much to it.
I'll be back with the full recap, ASAP. In the meantime, please join us on the boards, where we're hunting for pixie dust to just cure Charming, already.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously, on Once Upon A Time, Emma meets Peter Pan. Operation Henry meets Tinker Bell, whom Regina -- of course -- pissed off, Once Upon A Time. Charming shows his arrow wound to Hook, who says our prince only has days or weeks, at most, to live. Henry says he doesn't belong in Neverland. Peter tells Henry he was created for a reason, and Pan can help him find that reason. Rumpy lets Baelfire fall into the portal to a world without magic. Rumpy, ready to sail off in search of Henry, tells Belle he has to risk not returning, in order to honor Baelfire. Neal figures out how to get to Neverland. He uses a toddler as bait and hijacks the Shadow. When he lands, Felix welcomes him home.
Now on, Once Upon A Time, we open on Felix leading Neal through the Neverland jungle. Well, actually, Neal's in front, but his hands are bound and Felix, who is armed, is bringing up the rear. Is it always night (or at least twilight) in our Neverland scenes, or is the jungle so thick that it always looks like it? I'm trying to remember a daylight scene, and can't (although that doesn't mean it doesn't exist).
Anyhow, Felix tells Bae he never thought he'd see him (and like some factions of fandom, he'd hoped to never see him) again. When Neal says he's there to get Henry, Felix scoffs and asks if Neal seriously thinks Pan will give up the heart of the truest believer, which he has coveted for so very long. Neal says, "Maybe, if I ask nicely." Heh. I enjoy wiseacre Neal, who, all the while, has been loosening the rope that binds his hands. When Felix snickers that Baelfire has grown up stupid, Neal smiles. "I have grown up. I don't know if I'm stupid or not, but I do know I know how to tie an overhand knot." By the time the last word passes his lips, Neal's hands are free, and he's giving snotty Felix a deeply needed punch in the kisser. Over Felix's unconscious form, Neal takes a moment to gloat as he takes off his coat. "I'm not a boy anymore, Felix, and I sure as hell ain't lost. He drops the coat to the rope and runs off into the ever-present night. The title card features Henry dancing around a fire.
Enchanted Past. Baelfire is drawing, when Rumpy returns to their hovel and presents Bae with a knife he can use to sharpen his (drawing) coal. Instead of being overjoyed, Baelfire looks slightly nauseated as he examines the knife and wonders from which tortured victim Papa stole it. When Rumpy asks the boy what would make him happy, Bae answers, "Leaving this place. I'm tired of staying in this hovel all the time." Rumpy offers to build his son a castle, but Bae just wants to be allowed to go outside and have some friends. Rumpy says that because he has so many enemies, he fears for Bae's safety. Bae says, "Maybe what you're really worried about, is -- if I leave, I might never come back." Just like Mama. Rumpy insists he's worried about Bae's safety and says home is the best place for him. In a softer voice he adds, "I don't know what I'd do, if I ever lost you." Oh, you need to catch up on my recaps, Rump.
Presently, in Neverland, Rumpy makes and applies some warpaint on the righthand side of his face. He dips three fingers in the paint and drags them from mid-forehead, over his eyelid (which make ms worry he'll get the paint in his eye, which makes me cringe and squint) and down his cheek. Oh, Rumpy, you don't need to look any crazier.
Illusion Belle appears and comments that Rumpy has always felt more comfortable behind a mask. He says she is the only one who could ever see past to monster to man beneath. He's putting it back on now, because it's the only way he can save Henry. Belle reminds him of the "Undoing" prophecy, but I'm so frigging frustrated that Rumpy and Belle (illusion or not) haven't offered various interpretations of "undoing" that I can barely cover this scene. When Rumpy suggests Belle isn't confident he can do what needs to be done, she reminds him that he his centuries of craven self-interest is the nasty habit he's never overcome. Rumpy says the difference is that now he has nothing to live for. Belle asks, "What about me," but he points out that she's not real. When he said goodbye to her, she should have let go of him. He believes that even if he were able to return to her, eventually she would leave him, because she can see him for what he really is. "You think you see a good man, but in time, you'd see the monster. My son is dead. The only way I can redeem myself is by saving his son and giving my life."
Over at Camp Operation Henry, Emma's created a makeshift map of Pan's compound using sticks and stones. As she presents their strategy, she has to reference Tinker Bell, but can only get out an, "...according to um..." The Fairy offers, "Tinker Bell." Emma says, "Yeah, I know. It's still weird to say." Tinker Bell assures her, "Tink is fine." Emma says, "Not sure that's any better," and then goes on to point out sentry positions, and the best point of entry. Regina is confident they can handle any Lost Boys and their pointy sticks. To beat us over the head with Charming's self-made conundrum, Tink clarifies that it's not the sticks they have to worry about, but the poison in which they're dipped. Hook raises a brow in Charming's direction. Snow says they already know about Dreamshade, but Tink wants to stress the danger. The whole conversation is making Charming squirm, so he rises and interrupts it by asking when they can set out on their mission.
Tink is good to go, as soon as she hears the exit strategy. The problem is, there is no exit strategy. If you'll recall, Tink only signed on, for a chance to leave Neverland. She's not buying into the Charming family motto that good will win out. As a visual aid, she shows them a watch and explains it was Tamara's. She tells them the fate of Henry's original kidnappers and makes the point that this is how Pan treats the people he employs and asks how they think they'll fare with him while still stuck on his island. When they figure out an actual plan, they know where to find her.
Charming wants to go after Tink, but Emma stops him, because she knows Tink is right. "You never break in somewhere, unless you know the way out." In her usual snarky form, Regina asks if she learned that in "bail bonds person school." Emma's face is defiant when she says, "Neal taught me that." As I mentioned in the recaplet, Regina's silent response conveys so much. She knows what it's like to lose a love. She knows what it's done to her. She fears Emma's pain and I love it. Kudos to Lana Parrilla.
Changing the subject yet again, Charming asks Hook how he got off the island before. Hook said he left via his ship, but he had to get the portal-creating magic from Peter Pan, "...in a deal I don't think he's ready to repeat." Hook says only one person has ever left Neverland without Pan's permission -- Neal. Emma asks how he did it. Hook doesn't know but thinks they might be able to find out. We cut to...
Another spot in the jungle. Rumpy approaches two of Pan's sentries and magically knocks them out. He grabs a spear from one and is examining it, when he's startled by the sound of someone running through the jungle, as that someone enters the clearing, Rumpy is ready to chuck the spear at him, until he sees that it's his son, who isn't so dead after all. Of course, since Rumpy's main Neverland companion has been Illusion Belle, he thinks he's seeing an illusion of his son.
In an effort to convince his father he's real, Neal says, "It's me." Gesturing to his torso he adds, "I got shot." Is it me, or is there no bullet hole in his shirt? Is he wearing one of Phillip's shirts or something? It's rumpled, so it's hard to tell, but to me, it looks like a standard, modern day work shirt -- not terribly different from the one found on the other end of this link.
With his free hand, Rumpy throttles Neal, pushes him up against a tree, and menaces him with the undoubtedly poisoned spear. "My son is dead. You're just here to remind me of my failure." I'm not sure why he thinks he can throttle an illusion, but I think he's had some physical contact with Illusion Belle, and this is Neverland and who the hell knows what goes on Rumpy's head anyhow. Witness his refusal to think of the various ways to interpret undoing, for crying out loud. Neal continues to try to break through to his father, but Rumpy is too agitated. As he squeezes his son's throat, the old man says, "I will sacrifice my life for Henry and nothing will stand in my way." It's only when Neal chokes out a quiet, "Please Papa," that he is able to get to Rumpy. He says, "Bae, is that really you?" Neal says it is. He relaxes his grip on his son's throat, drops his spear and caresses Neal's cheek with his now free hand. "I thought I'd lost you, forever."
In the Enchanted Past, Rumpy returns to his hovel. "Only a king should live in a castle, so why don't you try this on for size." At that, he produces an enormous, heavy crown. The thing is, he's working an empty room. Baelfire is gone.
In the village of Hamelin, the people are trying to organize search parties, when the Dark One arrives. He accuses them of hiding his son, and makes all the threats and accusations you'd expect by now. Finally, a man manages to explain the situation. Many of their children went missing. They were lured from their beds by pipe music only children could hear. So how do the adults know? Well, our voluntary spokesman explains that some children tried to tell their parents about it, but no one would believe them. I like it when the show answers my questions before I can type them. Well played. The man explains the children were all sent back to bed, but in the morning, they were gone. Rumpy asks who was playing the pipe. Our spokesman says no one saw his face -- only his pied cloak. He led the children from their homes and into the forest. Well shit, if someone saw that, why didn't they alert everyone at the time? No one's getting another "well played" in this paragraph. At any rate, the spokesman manages to convince Rumpy that Bae must be with the other children. Rumpy swears the piper has played his last note. We flash forward to...
Neverland. Rumpy wonders how it's possible Neal survived and ended up in Neverland. Neal says, "It's kind of a long story. Let's just say that the debt Robin Hood owes you has been repaid." I still itch at the idea that Robin Hood owes diddly to Rumpelstiltskin. How about you? Rumpy is surprised to learn Bae was back in their land. Neal says all that matters is helping Emma save Henry, and asks his father where she is.
Rumpy says he left them behind on Hook's ship, because none of them have the stomach to do what's required to save Henry. Neal walks towards the unconscious sentries. "Like what you did to these boys." Rumpy assures him they're only sleeping, not dead, "...for now." Neal asks that they leave it that way. I don't know. So far, the Lost Boys have been nasty baggages. I'm sure I'll learn their tragic tales and regret writing that, but right now, I regret nothing. As Neal grabs one of the boys weapons, Rumpy says he doubts Neal has the stomach to do what needs to be done either. Neal says he'll do what he must, but they can do it without killing Lost Boys. "So, I take it you have plan -- that the whole 'sacrifice your life' thing was just you being dramatic." Rumpy insists it's the only way. "Pan is too powerful. You can only beat him if you're willing to die -- which I am." Neal asks, "What if I told you there was another way." We cut to the...
Waterfront. Neal squats down and picks up a conch shell. Blowing into it, he summons a giant squid. As the beast approaches, we get a glimpse of Rumpy's inner coward. Backing up, he asks Neal what he's done. Neal ignores his father's nerves and asks for the spear, which he then hurls at the creature. Now, there's a rope (or chain -- some sort of lead) on the end of the spear, I don't know if it was always there, or what. Once the spear hits its target, Neal and Rumpy use the rope to pull the squid ashore.
Since Rumpy's still all, "A squid?" Neal says, "I believe you know how to extract ink from one of these bad boys." Neal points out that squid ink can immobilize magical creatures for a while. "Even Pan." Rumpy nods, and admits he has some experience with it. Some fans have been wondering how Neal knows about the squid ink. Well, first of all, he did spend time in Neverland. Secondly, he's spent some time poring over Henry's Once Upon A Time book. I take no issue with his knowledge in general. What's more, I am really liking competent Neal. I like seeing him in his element. This suits him far better than either NYC or Storybrooke. Rumpy asks how Neal plans to get close enough to use the ink. Neal says he doesn't need to. Picking up the Lost Boy's bow he adds, "All I need is one clean shot to get Henry back." Rumpy nods. "Well, leave that to me."
Hook leads Team Henry to a big rock. He asks Emma for some help, but in typical daddy form, Charming insists he'll help. He and Hook approach the rock and pull on a rope or vine hanging from it. When Hook whispers that Charming doesn't look so hot, Charming says, "It's a hundred degrees in this damned jungle." He waits a beat, then adds: "And I'm plenty hot." Poor David. it must be hard to have the strongest challenger to your Fairest In the Land status in your face, and sniffing around your daughter. Charming nudges Hook away from the rope and finishes pulling it on his own.
Why are these tools pulling on some rope attached to a rock anyhow? Well, because doing so opens a secret door. This is not just a rock, but a cave. At Hook's, "Ladies first," the women enter, but Hook stops Charming at the door. "How much longer do you think you can keep up this charade? Don't you think your family deserves to know you're going to die." When Charming asks why he cares, Hook says, "Why don't you?" Hook is right here, so I don't really feel like presenting Charming's reasons in detail. It all boils down to his not wanting to distract the team from Operation Henry. And I can see his point, but what if he keels over in the middle of the mission? How would that not be a greater distraction than a confession while he's still on his feet? What's kind of cool is that Hook is the one to remind Charming about having hope. But when Charming asks if there is some hidden hope to curing him -- something Hook hasn't told him about, Hook affirms that there's no way Charming is getting off the island alive. That said, I think Hook is keeping something back. I also have a theory, so let's go to a...
Sidebar. What's one of the main things we all associate with Peter Pan? It's the idea that you have to believe in magic in order for magic to work, right? And in Once Upon A Time canon, we've watched Emma's slow acceptance of the magic inside herself. That's what's helped her harness it (not counting that first time that Cora tried to rip out her heart). I'm wondering if the key to defeating Pan is believing that you can. Maybe you have to stop thinking of him as a powerful demon and just think of him as a kid, or something. With the exception of the time Hook and his crew spent in Neverland, Pan hasn't had to deal with a lot of adults. Now he's got a bunch of them, there. Even though these adults have all seen magic work, their leader is Emma, who, unlike the rest of them, didn't grow up in a world with magic. On the other hand, we have Henry, the truest believer, so I'm wondering if believing that you can leave Neverland is how you leave Neverland. And with all this talk about people dying there (i.e. Rumpy and Charming) I'm also wondering if, when someone dies in Neverland, they end up back where they belong. These are idle thoughts, but they're here for you to chew over, should you wish.
Inside the cave, once Hook struggles to light a match off his Hook. Still needing to prove his virility, Charming walks up, flicks a lighter, and sets the torch ablaze. Team Henry finds the walls littered with drawings. Emma guesses and Hook confirms that this is where Neal made his home in Neverland. Hopefully, he's left behind some clue as to how he escaped, so the team can do likewise once they've successfully completed Operation Henry. We flash back to the...
Enchanted Past. In Hamelin or another CGI village like it, Rumpy watches from a rooftop as boys sneak out of their homes and down the road. He follows them to a clearing in the woods, where masked boys dance and whoop around a fire. He calls out for Bae and even grabs some boys to try to look at the faces beneath their disguises, but he has no luck. Finally, he spies the hooded figure playing the pan flute. Grabbing the flute, he breaks it in two. "Where's my son, Piper?"
With bowed head, the hooded figure asks, "Is that what they're calling me?" He then straightens up, throws back his hood and says, "We both know who I really am." Rumpy takes a couple of steps back. Peter Pan says, "Been a long time, laddie. Glad you could make the show." Commercial.
After the break, Pan says, "Look at who's all grown up and become the Dark One. Good for you." When Rumpy asks what he's doing there, Pan says he gets lonely in Neverland. His only friends are children who visit in their dreams; they can't stay. "The boys I take back with me will stay." Rumpy says, "You're here for my son." After Pan confirms this, Rumpy tells him it will take more than a magic pipe to take his son. Pan explains that the only thing magic about the pipe is that only boys who feel unloved or lost can hear it. "I guess that's why you can hear it, Rumple. Isn't it?" Rumpy says, "Don't pretend to know me. You don't. Not anymore." Pan mocks Rumpy's hunger for power, and calls him a lonely, lost boy, then decides to keep that last bit as a name for his new "friends." Let's jump to a...
Sidebar. This is creepy as hell. It's also impressive. Eighteen year old Robbie Kay holds his own, beat for beat, with the incredible Robert Carlyle. I've seen some people contrast Kay's skill with that of Jared Gilmore. I don't think that's a fair comparison. Kay has five years on Gilmore, and when you're only 13, five years is a huge chunk of your life. It's still a significant chunk at 18. Besides which, Kay is playing a cooler character, one that has captivated imaginations for about a century. That's a big challenge for an actor, because the audience has some hefty expectations. The plus side of it is, starting out, he has more than words on a page, and a director's guidance, with which to work. Now, I'm not saying young Mr. Gilmore could, right now, do what Kay is doing with Pan. Kay's presence is undeniable. I'm just saying that I think Gilmore brings everything he needs to the very different role of Henry. All right, look. I'm a mom. Stop picking on a little kid, you guys. Let's have another...
Sidebar. So, is Peter Pan Rumpy's deadbeat dad? I mean, clearly Pan has known Rumpy since he was a boy. He must be a relative or former friend. But I'm really liking him for the dad. We don't know much about Papa Stiltskin, except that he was a coward and abandoned Rumpy. At least -- that's all I remember about him. In adults, cowardice is, among other things, a childish trait, right? Maybe Rumpy's father couldn't face [whatever], ran away from his situation (and family) and became a boy again, either as a consequence, or as the result of an active choice. Henry has already told us that when you believe, anything is possible. Maybe this is. What do you believe?
At any rate, Pan knows his foe's issues, so he says he knows Rumpy isn't so afraid Bae will be taken as that he will leaving willingly. He tells Rumpy to ask Baelfire if he wants to stay in Neverland, or go home, again. If the boy agrees to stay with his father, Pan says he'll leave and never return. "Deal?" Rumpy says, "I don't have to make any deals with you." Pan asks, "Why wouldn't you -- if you're so sure he'll stay?" We flash forward to...
Neverland. Henry sits off to the side, while around the campfire, the Lost Boys are dancing and whooping it up. Pan tries to get Henry to join the festivities, but our boy refuses since he has nothing to celebrate. Pan says Henry is the reason to celebrate, since he'll save the magic. Henry says he's not like Pan and the Lost Boys. Pan assures him he is and lifts his magical pan flute to his lips. "Maybe a song will get you on your feet." Henry, like us, cannot hear the music. Pan tells him that it's an enchanted pipe that can only be heard by certain children. Henry asks, "Like who?" but just then, Felix enters the camp and motions to Pan. Pan promises Henry that he'll find out soon enough, then leaves him, in order to talk to Felix.
Felix reports that Baelfire escaped, and he hasn't been able to get him back. He found two of their sentries knocked out by a sleeping spell. Pan looks afraid for but a moment, then he smiles and says, "The Dark One. It looks like father and son have been reunited." Felix suggests moving Henry somewhere safer. Pan says, "Not now, Felix. Where's your sense of adventure? We can't end the party when the real fun is about to begin." We cut to...
Baelfire's Cave. As Emma studies the cave drawings, Hook tells her he got his skill from his mother. I wonder if Milah drew that sketch of herself -- the one teen Bae found on the Jolly Roger. That would be such a Milah think to do. They team is looking for clues or a map -- something useful. Emma asks her father to hand her a nearby candle, that's nestled inside have of a jagged-cut coconut shell. Charming lights it with his very nice cigarette lighter. I keep wondering why he has one, because heaven knows Prince Charming can't be a smoker. The Contrivance Fairy answers, "You have me to thank for that."
Hook can't find any significance in the drawings. He and Emma talk a little about Hook's time with the then Baelfire, but nothing significant is said. Still, it's clear the thought of Neal is painful to Emma. She turns to her parents and asks if they've found anything. They're looking at come cups and bowls Neal fashioned. Charming picks up another jagged-cut coconut half and says it wouldn't make a great cup, since it's full of holes. Snow suggests it's a tiny colander. Regina sneers. "Yes, because preteen Baelfire probably made lots of pasta." Heh. Regina is so much more enjoyable when she's snarking, than when she's whinging about her so-called victimhood.
While everyone has been talking, Emma has been studying not-colander. She notices that the jagged edges match up and gets an idea. At her request, Emma asks Hook to snuff out the torch. She carefully fits the not-colander atop her candleholder. The candlelight beams through the holes. Regina asks, "Am I supposed to be impressed he made a nightlight?" Emma looks from the candle to the cave's ceiling and tells the team, "Look up." Snow says, "Stars." Hook realizes what he's seeing. "It's a map." Charming asks to wear. With a soft smile and softer voice, Emma says, "Home." We cut to...
Pan's Camp. A breeze blows through, extinguishing the fire and torches. Henry and every other Lost Boy, save Pan, is knocked unconscious. Pan rises and says, "We have a guest -- no doubt someone who knows how much I like guessing games. Who could it be? I guess..." Pan pauses to relight the campfire with a flick of his wrist then turns to face Rumpy, and says, "The Dark One. Come to save Henry, have you, laddie?" Neal, meanwhile, is creepy through the brush to get into position. "How exciting, the Dark One ready to sacrifice his life for his family. Speaking of family..." Pan flicks his fingers and lights a torch. "You can come out now, Baelfire."
Neal reveals himself. With his crossbow at the ready, he says, "My name's Neal, now." Thank you, Neal. I like calling the kid Bae (or Baelfire) and the man Neal, because you're so different. Pan crows about how heartwarming it is to see father and son working together, "...especially after you abandoned him, Rumple." His smile does nothing to dissuade me from speculating that there aren't three family members (including unconscious Henry) in that camp, but rather four. Pan pronounces this a "...real family reunion," then his smile turns into a sneer. Rumpy whispers to Neal, "What are you waiting for." Neal says, "I've got this." He fires an arrow, which Pan catches just before it hits his throat. Pan says Neal is clever, but they've been through this before. "Have you remembered nothing?" Neal says he remembers plenty. "That's why I didn't coat the tip." Atta boy, Neal. You put the ink on the arrow's shaft. If you keep up this competence streak, I'm going to start to forget how much I hated Emma telling you she loved you in last season's finale.
Pan drops the arrow and inspects his hand, the palm of which is glowing with magic. As Neal and Rumpy run to grab their boy, the magic raps around and imprisons Pan. Pan admits he's impressed, but asks, "Bae," if what he's doing will really save Henry. Neal asks, "What could be worse than leaving him here with you?" Pan tells him to ask his father. After some back and forth between Neal and Rumpy, Pan realizes father hasn't told son about the "Undoing" prophecy that no one will spend two seconds parsing. Argh! Pan mentions the prophecy and says Neal has been tricked. "Your father isn't here to rescue your son. He's here to murder him." Commercial.
After the break, Rumpy, Neal, and a still unconscious Henry are on the other side of the island. Neal demands to know what Pan was talking about. Rumpy deflects the question by saying Pan plays mind games. Neal tries to wake Henry, but Rumpy says he can't hear him. It's safer to let him wake naturally than to magically wake him. If that's the case, Neal wants an explanation of the prophecy. Rumpy keeps evading the question, and refers to his son as Baelfire. Neal yells, "It's Neal. Now stop dodging and tell me what's going on." Rumpy finally acquiesces. He tells Neal about the Seer and her prophecy -- that the boy who would help him reunite with his son would be his undoing. He didn't know it would be his own grandson. Neal realizes Rumpy would do anything to thwart fate and get around the prophecy. Why don't either of these guys realize you can't get around a prophecy? Neal pronounces his father a cold-blooded son of a bitch. "You were going to kill him." To his credit, Rumpy answers, "Yes." When Neal screams at him to get away from the boy, Rumpy adds, "That was then. Things have changed. I didn't come here to Neverland to hurt Henry. I came here to save him." He admits that self-preservation has been his lifelong, nasty habit. "...but I came here to break it -- to do the right thing and to save your son, even if that meant sacrificing my own life. You have to trust me." Neal takes a step back. "How can I?" We flash back to the...
Enchanted Past. The Dark One is still on the outskirts of Hamelin, watching Pan's Lost Boys whoop it up. Pan taunts Rumple about not recognizing his son, not because of his mask, but because he's out in the world, playing with other boys. Finally, Rumpy finds his son and removes his mask. Bae asks his father why he's there. Rumpy says, "I know you don't think I care about you son, but I do. And I'm here to prove it." When Bae asks how, Pan says, "Go ahead, Rumple." Rumple hesitates, then goes another route. He grabs Bae by the arms. The boy asks what he's doing. Father says he's protecting his son, and with a flick of his wrist, he envelops Bae in a swirling cloud of thick, dark, red magic. Pan shouts, "You're going to regret not taking my deal, Rumple," and then the two are gone. We cut to...
Rumpy's Hovel. When Bae and Rumpy materialize back in their home, Bae is furious. He says the piper is friend, but Rumpy insists he would have hurt the boy. Bae assumes the piper is yet another person Rumpy has abused with his power. Rumpy's expression further solidifies my earlier speculation about his relationship with Pan. And I don't think his words do anything to DQ it. You be the judge. "His name is Peter Pan. I've known him since I was a boy. Growing up, we were incredibly close. [...] He wasn't always [immortal]. He went to a place called Neverland. He betrayed me, Bae. He can't be trusted." When Bae and I want to know what Pan did, Rumpy doesn't give us the details, darn the luck. "All that matters is that he fooled me for a long time, before I finally seen (sic) his true nature. And it is darker and more repulsive than you should ever be exposed to." Bae thinks Pan can't be worse than Rumpy. Rumpy insists he had to protect Bae and had no choice but to magic him back home. Bae knows otherwise, because Pan told him the deal he'd offer Rumpy. "...all you had to do was ask me if I wanted to come home. [...] he said that way, I'd know if you really trusted me -- if you really cared. [...] You didn't need to. I would have chosen to come home. I would have chosen you." Oh, so no harm done, then? Not so much. Bae runs out of the cottage, leaving Rumpy at a loss. We flash forward to...
Neverland. Rumpy asks Neal how he can gain his trust. Neal tells him to give him the Dark One dagger. Rumpy says he doesn't have it. He had his shadow hide it so Pan couldn't find it. Neal laughs as he tells his father he has an answer for everything. Neal can believe that Rumpy wants to do the right thing in this moment, but that can change in a day. The prophecy still says Henry will be Rumpy's undoing. TWITS. Maybe he'll undo all the evil Rumpy has wrought. Maybe he'll undo Dark One curse. Maybe he'll make him a better man -- a real father and grandfather. Rumpy says he's still willing to die for Henry, but Neal fears that if they get back to Storybrooke and Belle and the possibility of a happy ending, Rumpy might decide "undoing" doesn't sound so appealing. Rumpy shakes his head as his eyes well with tears. "You're my happy ending. This is, because it's my redemption. I can be strong son, if you have faith in me."
Neal grabs his father's hands and clasps them in his own. "You know, when I was living here and sleeping in a cave, I used to dream of you coming here and rescuing me, but then I'd wake up and remember how you left me behind. You left your own son behind for the power of that dagger. How can I think that things would ever be any different?" When he lets go, Rumpy looks at his right hand. There's a leaf in it. When he shakes it off, Rumpy can see he too has been dosed with squid ink. As its magic subdues Rumpy, he asks Neal what he's doing. Neal taking off with Henry slung across his shoulder. He'll find Emma and bring his family home. Rumpy warns him against going into the jungle alone. Without the power of the Dark One at his side, Pan will capture both Neal and Henry. Neal says he has no other choice. They're safer without Rumpy. "Goodbye Papa." Rumpy cries us into commercial.
We open back at Neal's cave. Hook tells the team how he showed Neal to navigate by the stars. The gang thinks this means Hook can read the map, but Hook also taught him that pirates encode their maps. When Emma realizes Neal is the only one who can read it, and since she thinks Neal is dead, she rushes out of the cave. Her parents go after her. Emma says, "Now is not the time," and I guess she means for talking to her parents. Snow doesn't care. She dives right in and says she can't imagine her daughter's sadness. Emma says, "I'm not sad. I'm pissed." Hooray! "Yes, Neal just died, but I lost him years ago. All that time, thinking he didn't love me, only to find out he did and it was too late. I can't even tell him how angry that makes me..." I'm going to stop quoting her here, because the rest of what she says leaves me far less enthusiastic. The bottom line is: she knew the second she saw him again that she never stopped loving him. Let's just focused on the pissed off part. That's going to come in handy for what comes . Snow is understandably upset that she has no idea how to comfort her own child. "It is the first thing a mother learns, and I don't know how." Charming knows, but he doesn't get to say much before Snow interrupts and says, "How can we even blame her? If you died I would not be able to move on." Charming says, "You must. I'm just saying every day where here, something bad could happen. If it did -- to me, I'd want you to move on -- to continue to be happy." Snow strokes his cheek and then hugs him as she tells him that nothing is going to happen to him. "...Not while I'm here." There's your hope, Charming, you dope. Tell her! Tell her! He doesn't listen. We cut back to...
Operation Henry's Last Camp. Neal lays down a still sleeping Henry, then spies Emma's sticks and stones map. Crouching down to examine it, he smiles and says, "Emma." Pan and the Lost Boys surround him. Pan chides his former charge. "I thought I taught you better. Never break in somewhere, unless you know the way out." Neal says he'll remember it time, but Pan tells him there won't be one. He rubs Neal's choices in his face, saying that Rumpy could have protected Neal Pan, while wondering who would have protected Henry from Rumpy. Felix slings Henry up over his shoulders. Neal swears he'll get his son back. Pan tells Neal he doesn't understand. Neal got Henry. Pan has gotten him back. "That's the game. No, my boy. The real problem for you is that there is no escaping Neverland... without my permission." When Neal claims he did so before, Pan says, "Did you? Look where you are now. It's like you never left." Neal asks if Pan let him go the first time. Pan says, "I'm saying everyone's where I want them. Something to chew on." When Henry stirs, Pan orders Felix to take him away. A couple of the Lost Boys restrain Neal. Neal yells out Henry's name. "I'M ALIVE. DON'T GIVE UP HOPE, HENRY. I WILL COME FOR YOU." Pan's blathering the whole time, of course, but I'm tired of him, right now. He says he's reset the board and that the game is about to change. We cut to...
Rumpy. The ink's magic has worn off. Rumpy takes the straw doll out of his jacket and Illusion Belle appears and tries to encourage him. Belle says she knows with all her heart that Rumpy would give his life for Henry. She asks why he now looks so upset, given that Baelfire is alive. "You have something to live for." Rumpy says, "But the prophecy remains. Henry's still my undoing." Belle realizes that having something to live for has brought back his nasty habit of self-preservations. "Rumple, habits can be broken, can't they." Rumpy says, "Go away, Belle. I don't want to talk, right now." She disappears. We cut to...
Pan's Camp. The Lost Boys are whooping it up. Henry wakes up and tells Pan that he swears he heard his father calling for him, but figures it must have been a dream. Pan asks how he can be sure. Henry tells Pan his father is dead. Pan says he's sorry, and says it makes sense to dream about things we've lost and things we hope for, "...like your father being alive, or your mother coming to find you, but eventually, you'll find new things to dream about. And when you do, they'll start to come true." Henry asks how he knows. Pan says that's what he did. "Neverland used to be a place where new dreams were born. You can bring that magic back, Henry, and we can be your family." Henry smiles and blinks as he considers Pan's words. His smile grows as he rises to his feet. Pan announces he's playing a song for their guest of honor. Henry. As the music, which we can now hear, begins, the shot loses focus. Henry starts to move as if he hears the tune and feels the beat. He begins whooping it up with the other boys. Pan's voice echoes as he asks, "You can hear the music now, Henry?" Henry answers with an enthusiastic, "Yeah," and he's off around the fire, dancing and whooping it up with the other boys." Title card.
The camera work (and the audio) would indicate Henry is under Pan's spell, now. Talking about Neal's supposed death made Henry just lost enough to hear the music. My question is -- how do you interpret that scene. Do you believe Henry's truly in Pan's thrall, or do you think he's faking out Pan, and the show is faking out us? Does the heart of the truest believer give up the hope of a rescue so soon? If it does -- does it remain the heart of the truest believer, still? How does Henry bring back the magic? Does his heart have to be sacrificed, or won over, or broken? What do you think?
I'll be back with coverage of "Good Form." In the meantime, please grade the episode up top, and then join us on the boards, where we're hunting for pixie dust to just cure Charming, already.