We open on a weathered-looking sign that reads “LEAVING STORYBROOKE”. And that ‘s when we hear a strange “HSSSSSSS,” and pan down to reveal the source of the sound. A can of spray paint is being dragged across the road. As the can finishes making a bright orange line across the road we reveal the graffiti artist to be none other than Grumpy, aka Leroy. He turns to the other six dwarfs, who stand nearby, all of them looking ominously out at the other side of the town-line. Leroy, acting as the determined General, tells the dwarfs, “This, Gentlemen, is our mission.” They need to find out if the great barrier, the one that we’ve seen residents try to cross only to be prevented, remains intact. They must investigate the line. Grumpy has made straws for them to draw, with the bearer of the short straw being the one to cross the painted line and be a guinea pig for the unknown results. As they draw straws, the dwarfs discuss the possible outcomes. Happy thinks that, with The Curse broken, they should be able to cross freely, right? Sleepy counters by saying that it could actually be worse, with Doc adding to the worry pile by suggesting that they might be vaporized. Bashful thinks they should go home, but Leroy reminds them all that they’re the Royal Guard, adding that this is their chance to prove themselves to Prince Charming. When Sneezy, aka Mr. Clarkdraws the short straw, though, he hesitates, and Grumpy is forced to push him over the line. Sneezy immediately seizes up, some form of energy taking over his body. Leroy calls out to his friend, but Sneezy doesn’t respond. And off of Leroy’s distress, we go to…
Downtown Storybrooke, where the damage from the Wraith (Ed. Note: See Episode 201 – “Broken” for the full recap!) is evident everywhere. Cars are overturned on the street, light poles are knocked down, and a tow truck tries to make its way through. Nearby, Ruby puts up a “CLOSED” sign in front of Granny’s Diner. Off this wreckage, we go to August Booth’s (aka Pinocchio) hotel room, where we find August as we last saw him in Episode 122, completely wooden and immobile on his bed. We pan over his lifeless body, lamenting his fate, until… HIS EYES BLINK! As we absorb that mind-melt, cut to –
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A bulletin board crowded with pleas of reconnection from the newly-aware populace, where a hand puts up a drawn picture of a young Pinocchio; the boy in the alpine hat. The text reads “Searching For Pinocchio,” and “Call Marco.” We see it’s Marco, aka Geppetto, and behind him a bustling din of townsfolk. Through this melee, we hear Ruby, aka Red Riding Hood, as she addresses the restless group. Ruby directs the group to a table for those trying to find missing family members, as well as a sign-up sheet for those seeking counseling from Dr. Hopper, aka Jiminy Cricket. Off this, Mother Superior, aka The Blue Fairy, comes up to Ruby and tells her this is getting out of hand, and that people are panicking. Ruby tries to reassure Mother Superior by telling her that everyone needs to stay calm: she’s sure that their Prince is working on something right now. From her optimism, we go to --
Regina’s house, where a knock at the door is answered by our Evil Queen, Regina. When she opens it, David, aka Prince Charming barges in carrying Jefferson’s charred hat (Ed. Note: See Episode 117 – “Hat Trick” for the scoop on the hat and its powers and Episode 201 – “Broken” for how that hat got all messed up). “Tell me about this,” he demands. But Regina changes the subject, telling him she’s surprised that he doesn’t have armed guards around-the-clock. David reminds her he doesn’t need them because if she steps outside there’s a line a mile long for her head. She asks who would be brazen enough to come after her. David tells her to take her chances, then. He tells Regina he thinks if her power had really returned the town would be charcoal by now. Her silence at this accusation confirms David’s suspicion, and he adds that the only reason she’s still alive is because Henry wishes it. “Now. This,” he says, shoving the hat remains toward her. She tells him it’s the hat that pulled his loved ones away, but maintains she’s forgotten where she got it from. She tells him that she thinks he ought to be spending less time worrying about this hat and more time worrying about her son. David persists, telling Regina that he needs his family, and that there has to be a way to follow them. Regina scoffs at this: “Follow them where? Into a sucking airless void?” Things digress, with Regina confirming he’d be charcoal if she had her powers. David makes light of her frustration, adding she’s getting everything she deserves. Regina warns him against baiting her further. She may not have her magic or her son, but when she gets one, she’ll get the other. And, she warns, he won’t want to be around on that day. David, still finding it in him to be freshly shocked by Regina even after everything she’s done, tells her that if she has to use magic to get her son back then she doesn’t really have him. As David leaves her to ponder that and continue his search, we travel to—
Fairy Tale Land. Where a young Regina rides hell-for-leather away from the castle. As she urges her horse onward, nearby tree branches suddenly come alive and pluck her off of her horse. As she hovers helplessly in the air we hear from behind her: “I thought we were done with this nonsense.” Regina, knowing who it is, says “Hello, Mother.” Indeed it is Cora, and she’s none too happy with her fleeing daughter. Regina asks her what evil she’s conjured, and Cora corrects her; it’s a simple protection spell. With that, Cora leans into her spell book and blows, sending the words on the page floating up to the branches, and freeing Regina from the clutches of the tree branches. Regina, realizes she can’t leave. Her mother says yes, except for those times when she, as the Queen, leaves with the King. Regina implores her mother that she doesn’t want to marry King Leopold. When her mother tells her it’s because she’s afraid of the power, Regina tells her she doesn’t want power, she wants to be free. Cora tells her that power is freedom, and that she’s going to show her just that. Cora puts her arm around her daughter’s shoulder, and as we are left with this chilling promise, we leap to –
Storybrooke, outside the Town Hall. David strides purposefully, seeing Henry, going over to him and asking if he’s seen Mother Superior. Henry tells him no, but adds that everyone is looking for David. On cue, Ruby, Archie and Marco all accost David with urgent requests, while Dr. Whale wants to know if the nuns are going to be dating now. David spots Mother Superior, and heads straight for her, urgently asking if there could be a tree on this side; like the way they sent Emma through, so that he could follow Emma and Mary Margaret. Mother Superior informs David that it’s possible, but without fairy dust to guide them, it’s hopeless. David is deflated at this, but Henry jumps in, telling him that he’ll find a way to get to them. He’s read the Story Book, and knows that things always look darkest before there’s good news. And then, as Henry’s optimism threatens to sink in, we hear Leroy shout “Terrible news!” as he and the rest of the dwarfs rush up. Leroy tells Sneezy to tell everyone who he is, and a confused Sneezy tells everyone he’s Tom Clark, he owns the Dark Star pharmacy. Leroy lays it out for everyone… If you cross the town line you lose your memory all over again. Everyone is horrified by this revelation, and in an overlapping jumble all ask David what they’re going to do. Over the panicked din, David: “People! Everyone!” After they quiet down for their Prince, David tells them to all meet back there in two hours. He’ll tell them his plan to fix everything then, but until then they need to stay calm. Ruby catches up to David as he walks off, asking him what his plan is, and David tells her that he’s got two hours to figure that out. Off his determination, we go to –
Regina’s house. Where the Evil Queen sits before an unlit candle, trying to use her magic to light its wick. No luck. She tosses the candle aside in anger, then makes a decision to leave her house. Outside, as she heads to her car, Archie comes up to her, offering her help. She rejects this, and when Archie tells her that it might do her good to talk with him, that maybe she will find out who she really is. She coldly tells him she knows who she is, then climbs into her car. From here we travel to…
Fairy Tale Land, in Leopold’s castle, where Regina sits with a young Snow White, braiding and adorning her hair with flowers. Snow admires her new look, then notices nearby… a necklace. She lifts it out of Regina’s jewelry box, and puts it on. She asks Regina where she got the necklace, and Regina tells her it was from Daniel. Young Snow turns to her, concerned, and realizes it’s the same Daniel, Regina’s love, who left. But Regina corrects her. He didn’t leave. He was killed. He was killed because Snow couldn’t keep her promise. As a horrified Young Snow takes this in we notice Daniel’s necklace creeping up her neck, until… it goes taut. Young Snow’s fingers jump to her throat as her eyes go wide. Regina is choking Snow White to death! Regina tells the dying Snow that her mother corrupts weak souls, and as Young Snow’s life ebbs away we suddenly CUT BACK to moments before, when Young Snow put on the necklace. Behind her, we can see in the combination of rage and horror on Regina’s face that we’ve just watched her fantasy of destroying Snow; a fantasy that she will one day try to accomplish for real. Off of this shock, cut to –
The Castle Courtyard, where Regina walks along with her father, Henry. Regina is desperate because she knows her mother is turning Regina into her, and she wants her father to help her find a way out. She doesn’t want to marry the King, and feels like a prisoner. Her father asks if it’s possible this is cold feet, which Regina rejects. She’s angry all the time now, Cora is making her crazy. Henry tells her Cora loves her and wants to give her everything she never had herself. But Regina wants her own life, not her mother’s. Regina asks Henry how Cora got like this, and Henry, looking around to make sure no one hears, tells Regina that there was a man – well, like a man, who Cora knew before she even met Henry. He brought magic to her and gave her the book of spells. Regina wants this person’s name, but Henry doesn’t know it. It dawns on Regina that the book of spells that Cora uses must actually belong to that man.
Then back to Storybrooke, where Regina storms into Mr. Gold’s Shop, tearing through the inventory and pulling books off of the shelves. Gold comes in to find Regina tearing up his wares and serenely tells her the library is beneath the clock tower. She closed it back when she still had power. “I need the book. I need to get my son back.” Gold plays at not knowing which book Regina is seeking, then verbally jabs her at not only needing the spell book, but also acknowledges how she’s turning into her mother. Regina fights through, saying she doesn’t have time to work her way back, she needs a shortcut. Gold refuses, tells her to leave, but… she doesn’t. Regina and Gold realize that his ‘pleases’ no longer have any effect on her. His catch-all must have been reversed when The Curse was broken. Taking this in, Gold tells her that jump-starting her magic is not in his best interests. Regina retorts that neither is everyone in the town knowing that The Enchanted Forest still exists. She knows he’s up to something. She peers into a nearby chest, and Gold slams the lid shut, proving her point. Gold lifts an arm and the spell book magically materializes in his hand. Offering an eager Regina the book, Gold tells her to be careful, these are straight-up spells, rough on the system. But Regina doesn’t care; she’s getting her son back. As she storms out of the shop, Gold stops her, telling her that even though he once told Regina she didn’t look like her, now he sees it. From this ominous development we fly to –
The castle. Deepest night. Inside her chamber, Cora, in bed, sleeps peacefully. Reveal Regina standing over her. What is she doing? Regina reaches under Cora’s pillow and pulls out… her spell book! She sneaks off with the book back to her room, where she tries to decipher the tome. Discovering a name on one of the pages, she makes an attempt… “Rumple… Rumple-Shtiltskin?” Immediately, from nearby: “That’s not how you say it, dearie.” A shocked Regina turns to see Rumplestiltskin, reclining leisurely on her couch nearby. He tells her she didn’t say his name correctly, but then, she didn’t have to say anything. A shocked Regina approaches Rumple, asking him “What are you?” He takes small umbrage at the “what” (such a rude question). He’s not a what. Regina apologizes, admitting she doesn’t really know what she’s doing. He tells her that much is clear. With a flourish and a bow, he introduces himself to Regina. She begins to respond in kind, but Rumple tells her he already knows who she is. Regina quickly realizes he knows who she is because of her mother, adding that people have told her that she looked like Cora when she was younger. Rumple, studying her, tells her that he doesn’t see it. And that’s not how he knows her. Regina, “Then how?” He tells her he knew her long ago, but he knew this day would come. And he’d been waiting for her. And he’s so happy that now they’re finally where they belong. Regina asks where that would be. Rumple: “Together.” And off that chilling thought and these two meeting at last, jump to—
Storybrooke, where Regina, sits on a bench, looking over the spell book she just procured from Gold. Clearly torn. Off her uncertainty, we go to –
David, our Prince, in close-up as he makes a speech, starting with “People of Storybrooke. I know we’re trapped again and things look bleak…” He hesitates, and his hands go to his forehead. We quickly realize that David isn’t talking to the residents of Storybrooke, he’s talking to a mirror in Emma and Mary Margaret’s apartment. Rehearsing, but not to his satisfaction. Henry jumps in, telling him to keep going; he was on to something. But David is too frustrated, telling Henry that he did the fighting, Snow did the talking. David pulls out Jefferson’s tattered hat from his satchel. Henry asks to see it, telling David he thinks he knows what it is. Henry goes to his Story Book, flipping through to a drawing of a wild-looking Jefferson and his hat. Henry tells David the hat is the Mad Hatter’s hat. David, eager to find this man, asks Henry who the Mad Hatter is in Storybrooke? Henry’s not sure, thinks maybe the man will check in at the crisis center after the thing. David, distracted, “What thing?” Henry means the big speech where David was going to tell everyone his plan. David, grabbing his coat, tells Henry he’ll be back for that, then quickly leaves. Henry implores him as he goes to let him help, but David is already gone, heading to-
Mr. Gold’s shop, where Gold packs a series of maps into his tote bag; New York, Massachusetts. He’s clearly planning a trip, when David barges in. Gold makes light that he wasted his money on a ‘Closed’ sign, and turns to see a determined David, who agrees. Gold, surprised to see him, tells him he’s sorry about his wife and daughter, but portal jumping is a bit outside of his purview. Gold asks David about what’s going on outside, and David lets him know about the problem with the town line. Gold, curious, asks for more detail, but David tells him he’s looking for magic. He needs to find someone in the same way Gold helped him find Snow earlier (Ed. Note: See Episode 116 – “Heart of Darkness” and Episode 122 – “A Land Without Magic” for details on how Rumple has helped Charming find Snow). Gold understands, asks if David has anything of the person’s. David says yes, but demurs when Gold asks him to see it. Sensing the impasse, Gold offers David a potion. Pouring it on the object should lead him right to who he’s looking for. David asks his price. Gold says he wants peace. Non-interference from Charming. David agrees, under the condition that Gold do the same for him. The deal is struck. But as David leaves, Gold inquires what seems to be happening on the border? David tells him that once you cross the town border you lose all memory of your former self. As David says, “It looks like we’re stuck here.” Gold reacts coolly, but after David leaves, Gold smashes his cane into nearby glass cases, shattering them. He braces himself against one of the fallen cases, as stricken as we’ve seen the Dark One, excepting the moment he drove away Belle. From his anguish…
Travel to Fairy Tale Land, in Regina’s quarters, where we rejoin the young Regina in her conversation with Rumple. He tells Regina that he’s known her since she was a child. He and her family have quite a bit of history, both in the past and in the future. Regina asks him if he can help her. He tells her possibly, then guesses she seeks the death of an enemy, or a friend? She tells him no, she doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He’s taken aback, telling her it’s hard to believe she’s from the same family as Cora. Rumple strokes her cheeks intimately, acknowledging her gentleness but also her innate power. She turns away, admitting she doesn’t know how. He tells her to let him show her the way, then points her toward a tall, shrouded object which has magically appeared behind her. Rumple answers the confused Regina by telling her that it’s magic, and that magic will set her free. But Regina rejects that. It’s what her mom did, and she doesn’t want to end up like her. Rumple assures her she doesn’t have to. He tells her the object is a portal between worlds, in this case a specific and annoying little world. Rumple tells her that her mother could be gone for good, she just needs a little push. The question he asks is, “Can you do it?” As Regina contemplates this –
We shoot back to Storybrooke, in the same courtyard where Regina has been considering her spell book. She opens the book, then blows the words off of the page, only to inhale them again. A shock of energy crosses her eyes, and the evil apples on the tree behind her go from Black to red. As she rises with dark determination…
We find David, standing on Main Street, as he pours Gold’s potion onto Jefferson’s hat. He waits a moment. Nothing. Until… the hat suddenly flies into the air, propelled by an unseen force. The hat leads David to an overturned car, where a cry of help is heard. David tosses debris away from the door of the car, throwing it open to reveal… Jefferson. He’s been trapped inside since the Wraith attack, and is grateful for rescue. David makes sure he’s okay, but then tells him they need to talk.
Meanwhile, back in the Town Hall, the townspeople, including Whale, Granny, Ruby, the dwarfs and Henry all await David’s arrival. Ruby tells them not to worry, David will be there soon. And as she says so, the doors fly open. Expecting their hero, everyone turns to see Regina, entering the hall as much the Evil Queen as we’ve seen her in Storybrooke. Sensing danger, Archie tries to reason with Regina, but she uses magic to toss him aside, and does the same for Leroy as he charges. Granny fires a crossbow-bolt which Regina catches, and returns to the crowd as a menacing flame-ball. Ruby, leaping forward into the danger, stands fast and asks Regina what she wants. But it’s Henry who answers. “Me. She wants me.” Henry comes forward, telling Regina he’ll go with her, just leave them alone. Regina, satisfied, leads Henry out of the room, magically shutting the doors behind her. From this shocking development, we cross town to—
The outdoor seating at Granny’s, where David interrogates Jefferson about the ruined hat. David throws the hat on the table and asks Jefferson if he can get him through. Jefferson says no. David asks if he can get Emma and Mary Margaret back, and he says no to that, as well. David, frustrated: “Can you get it to work?” Jefferson just laughs at David’s lack of understanding. David tells Jefferson he saw the tea set in his car, and thinks he has a daughter, too. From one father to another, he needs help. Jefferson tells David that Emma and Mary Margaret are in the Enchanted Forest. This shocks David, who thought it no longer existed. Jefferson assures him it does, but tells him it doesn’t matter, because they can no longer go there. David, upping the ante, tells Jefferson that he’s the Sheriff, so unless Jefferson wants to end up in jail, he better figure out a way. But this doesn’t seem to impress Jefferson, who tells them they’re both doomed to powerlessness. Jefferson suddenly flips the table over and makes a run for it, with David giving chase until he runs straight into Ruby. David tells her to get out of his way, until Ruby shocks him into awareness by telling him that Regina has her powers back and has taken Henry. What’s worse, because David was a no-show at his meeting, the people of the town are terrified, and are planning on taking the extreme action of leaving town; sacrificing their true identities to escape Regina. David, still fighting for his family, tells her that he’ll deal with this once he captures Jefferson. He needs to get his wife and daughter back. Ruby, in his face, asks “Back to what? This town is about to come apart.” She tells him he has to do something. From David, clearly torn at this impossible dilemma, we travel to—
Regina’s house, where the front door opens and a chipper Regina leads Henry inside, telling him she doesn’t want him to think that things are just going to go back to the way they used to be. But Henry is already plowing up the stairs to his room, where he digs under his bed to produce a mound of blankets. He attaches one blanket to a nearby radiator, and throws the other out the window. It’s a sheet-rope! Henry hops out of his window and starts down his make-shift escape apparatus, when… the branches of a nearby tree come to life and snatch Henry up, holding him in place just as Cora once did to Regina. Regina, at his window, tells an angry Henry, “Don’t fight it, honey. You’ll get a splinter.”
Moments later, with Henry back in his room, sitting across from Regina, Henry asks her how long he’s in prison? Till he grows up? She tells him she rescued him because she loves him. But Henry’s not buying it. How can he be in prison because she loves him? It’s not fair. She retorts that the place she came from was far less fair than this. Henry won’t have it. He accuses her of sending away Emma and Mary Margaret, which Regina says was an accident. But what about how Regina made everybody think Henry was making up the stories about Fairy Tale Land? She made him feel like he was crazy. Regina is eager to make amends, telling him that’ll all change now, and that he can know all the secrets. He can live in a house with magic. To illustrate, with a puff into her palm, Regina makes a delicious cupcake materialize out of thin air. And, she promises him, she can teach him. She tells him that he can have his friends over and show off his magic. He tells her that his friends won’t want to come over, they’ll be too afraid. Regina, her eyes flashing a familiar anger, tells him he can make them not be afraid. Then, more gently, “You can make them love you.” Henry tells her he doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want to be her. And as he exits the room, leaving an uncertain Regina to pensively consider, we jump to—
Fairy Tale Land, in Regina’s chamber in Leopold’s castle. A younger Regina, dressed in a beautiful, shimmering wedding gown. Staring off of her balcony, Regina is pulled back into reality by her mother, who asks, “What’s this?” Regina turns to face her mother and this large, wrapped object in the room. Regina tells Cora she’s not sure, it was a gift. With a sweep of her hand, Cora removes the covering, and is disappointed for her daughter that it’s not a portrait, but rather an impersonal looking glass (Ed. Note: See Episode 117 – “Hat Trick” for a look at a very similar mirror that may have led to the same world…). Cora cruelly wonders aloud if the people really love Regina. Regina, hurt, says she’s doing her best. Cora apologizes, putting her arm around Regina and leading her to the glass to admire her beauty, and with her whole life ahead of her. “It’s going to be better than you can imagine.” Then, in a hushed tone, Cora tells her daughter that Leopold is not a strong man, and the kingdom will be hers. Cora encourages her to start planning for her future rule now, by signaling to those around her where the real power will soon lie. Regina, turning away, asks if that’s what Regina would do, and her mother confirms this. Regina tells Cora she has just one qualm: she doesn’t want to be her. As Regina lunges at her mother, Cora, scoffing, freezes her in a magic aura. Cora tells her it won’t be that easy to get rid of her. She’s her mother, and she knows best. Just then, Regina sees Rumplestiltskin appear in the mirror behind Cora, motioning gleefully for Regina to push her mother into the mirror. Regina, uncertain, but then… her rage growing, she lunges forward and pushes Cora into the mirror, which has now become a liquid portal. A shocked Cora flies into its maw, catching herself on the frame for just a moment before she’s sucked through, disappearing before the mirror shatters. And off a shocked Regina, realizing what she’s just done, we travel to…
…The road leading out of Storybrooke, emblazoned with Grumpy’s spray-painted line. David’s pick-up hurtles down the road in front of other cars heading for the edge of town, and then power-slides into a position blocking passage. He and Ruby quickly get out and confront a line of cars filled with townspeople who are all ready to give in. David climbs into the bed of his truck, standing before the crowd. David tells them to listen. David tells the people what they’ll lose if they cross the line, namely the ones they love and themselves. He understands why they want to leave the bad memories, but those memories are a part of them. David acknowledges the shortcomings he has shown. He wouldn’t give up Charming just to be him, but he wouldn’t make the other trade either. He owns his weakness and his strength, just as they must. Be both. He challenges them to make this town whole again: to open the school, Granny’s, everything. And he will defend them against Regina. He promises that she won’t harm them while he’s alive. And not as long as they all come together as they did before, and shall do again. There’s a moment where people take in David’s words, and then… they agree, nodding and heading to their cars to begin the hard work of facing their lives and rebuilding. From a triumph that could only be brought about by both Charming and David together, we fly to –
Fairy Tale Land, where Regina rides her horse down a path, with Leopold’s castle disappearing behind her, until she hears “Leaving are we?” She looks up to see none other than Rumplestiltskin standing in the middle of the road. She dismounts her horse as she replies that leaving was always the idea. Regina gives Rumple back his spell book. She doesn’t want it. As Regina turns to leave, Rumple puts a question to her: “How did it feel?” She tells him she loved her mother, but he brushes this aside; not what he asked at all. How did it feel to use magic? Regina tells him it doesn’t matter, she’ll never do it again. But why? She turns to him, stricken, and admits to him, and to herself, “Because I loved it.” Rumple responds to this with glee. She has such potential, and he could teach her how to unlock it if she’d only let him. “Through magic?” “Through many things,” he replies. Regina asks him what he gets out of it, and Rumple tells her ominously that one day she’ll do something for him. He offers the book once more, asking her to let him guide her. Regina accepts, but half-asks, half-tells Rumple that she won’t become like her mother. Rumple tells her that’s entirely up to her. And off of Regina holding the spell book, considering, we find—
A mirror image, only this one in Storybrooke, where Regina sits at her dinner table contemplating that same spell book. Just then, David bursts in, sword in hand, demanding to see Henry. Regina approaches him, gets close, until finally, she calls out: “Henry! Come down.” Regina tells a stunned and suspicious David that he won’t need his sword. He slowly lowers his weapon as Henry comes down the stairs. Regina comes to meet Henry on the stairs, and takes a painful moment before telling him he’s going to go home with David. Henry is skeptical, but Regina tells him she means it, and moreover that she was wrong to bring him there. She admits to him that she doesn’t know how to love very well. It’s been so long since she’s felt real love, but she remembers that if you hold onto someone too hard, it doesn’t make them love you. She’s sorry she lied and made him feel like he was wrong, and now she only wants him to be there because he wants to be there, not because she forced him or because of magic. Regina, tears in her eyes, tells Henry she wants to redeem herself. After sending Henry up to go get his things, David tells Regina to prove it. He wants her to answer one question; does the Enchanted Forest still exist? She takes a moment, then admits it does, but that she has no idea how to get back there. Seeing the look in David’s eyes she says she can tell she just launched him into another heroic quest. But, she implores, please make sure he also takes care of her son. David agrees. Moments later, Regina watches, heartbroken, as David leads Henry away.
Meanwhile, downtown Storybrooke is coming back to life. Stores are opening, and the dwarfs are already busy at work. Leroy leads his five brethren out of the hardware store, all of them carrying new pickaxes. They run into a confused Mr. Clark/Sneezy on the street. He asks them what they need the axes for, and Leroy puts an arm on his shoulder and tells him not to worry. He’s lost something but they’re going to help him get it back by finding fairy dust. Luckily, that’s what they do best. And with an iconic, “Come on, boys, it’s off to work we go,” Leroy leads his dwarfs off in search of the fairy dust.
In Granny’s Diner, a despondent looking Marco sits at a booth until David and Henry enter, and Henry whispers in his ear. Marco’s face lights up, and we see him next entering August’s room, but there’s no sign of his boy there, except for his alpine hat. Fly to the town line, where Gold stands, contemplating. And then to Regina in her house, about to burn her spell book in the fireplace, until… she stops short, instead just putting the book away in a cabinet and locking it. Back in the diner, David tells Henry The Enchanted Forest is still out there. When Henry questions if Mary Margaret and Emma might have died on the way, David assures him they didn’t. He can feel it. This reassures Henry.
And far from all this, we join Emma and Mary Margaret, very much alive, and very much being pulled along unceremoniously behind a horse, their hands tied, as they try and make their way over the difficult terrain. They’re prisoners of Mulan and Aurora. Looking up, we see that they’re approaching an island encampment, Mary Margaret asks what this place is. Mulan tells her, simply: “Our home.” Inside the camp, Emma and Mary Margaret are taken aback at the nearly medieval living standards of these refugees. When Mulan defends her people, Mary Margaret attacks, knocking Mulan away and telling Emma to make a run for it. They both do, but Mulan coolly picks up a bolo weapon, spins it, and hurls it at Mary Margaret, who takes a strong hit and goes down. Emma rushes to her side, and as Mulan comes up to them, she instructs the other guards to take them to the pit. Soon after, when Emma tends to a still-unconscious Mary Margaret in the dark and foreboding beneath-ground prison they call the pit, she hears a voice asking her if she needs help. Emma, still unable to see who’s speaking, asks who she is. “A friend,” comes the reply. And then the stranger steps forward and we see who it is… Cora! And as we realize that things for our heroes may have just gone from bad to very freaking bad, we CUT TO BLACK.
Written by FreakZilla on Oct 17, 2014