The Past
Henry and Ella are sparring in the forest, and he finally draws her in for a clinch. They start to kiss but Ella pulls away at the last moment and says that it's complicated. Before she can explain, Ella point out that there's somewhere there. Alice steps out of hiding and points out that she told Henry to go home. Alice explains that she needs to find someone and believes that Ella knows where she is.
Hook asks Regina about the tower that she went to. Regina says that it was destroyed, just as Alice steps out and calls Hook "Papa". Hook realizes that it's his daughter, and asks how she escaped the tower without him. Alice says that it's a long story, and explains that she found a cure to his poisoned heart and is shielded. They hug but Hook is knocked back, his heart glowing in his chest. Alice insists that they're cured and runs off. Henry and Ella go after her while Regina takes care of Hook.
Alice leaps through a portal, and Ella figures that it leads to Wonderland and goes after her. After a moment, Henry jumps through as well.
Now
Outside of the home, Lucy begs Jacinda not to go. Jacinda says that it's complicated but she has to leave her there even with Victoria in jail. Sabine leads Jacinda away and says that things will be okay. Jacinda admits that she can't afford a lawyer, and Sabine points out that there is someone who graduated from law school. Her friend points out that Jacinda said that she'd do anything to get Lucy back.
At the bar, Henry records an interview with Ivy, who says that she has no idea that Victoria abducted Eloise. Ivy says that she knows that she can trust Henry with her story, and suggests that he turn his blog into a podcast with Belfrey Industries as a sponsor. Regina comes in and asks Henry to unjam the keg room door. Once he leaves, Regina tells Ivy to stay away from Henry. Unimpressed, Ivy taunts her with how she sabotaged Henry's date with Jacinda and points out that Regina doesn't want the curse broken any more than she does. She boasts that Gothel is on her side, and tells Regina to tell Henry that she'll call later to finish the interview.
At the station, Rogers is greeted as a hero by the other officers for his finding Eloise. Weaver comes over and congratulates Rogers on closing the case, but warns that he blew something else wide open. Gothel comes in with a cake for Rogers, and he tells her that she can call him anytime.
At the bar, Henry is listening to music and a man, Nick Branson, comes in and congratulates Henry on his musical tastes. Jacinda comes over and realizes that the two men have met. She explains that she hired Nick to get Lucy back, and Nick says that he's also Lucy's dad. He gets the custody papers and leaves, saying that he'll meet Jacinda that night. Jacinda tells Henry that she hasn't seen Nick for ten years.
The Past
Henry and Ella arrive in Wonderland, and spot the cottage Alice is heading for. They are caught in a net set for white rabbits, and Henry says that it reminds him of how his grandmother and grandfather met. They manage to cut themselves free and fall to the ground, and Henry assures Ella that family always finds each other. Ella says that her world is a world of broken promises and that's why are thing are complicated, and they continue to the cottage.
Now
Henry brings Lucy a copy of his book, and Lucy goes through it to find out who Nick is. She insists that Nick isn't her father, and Henry warns that sometimes things are more complicated than that. Lucy figures that the Curse is intended to keep Henry and Ella apart. Henry point out that Nick is getting Lucy out, not him, and Lucy says that she knows another dragon that he can slay.
The Past
Inside the cottage, Ella finds a small door leading to the Infinite Maze. Henry realizes that Ella is familiar with wonderland, and she says that she came back for answers. Ella finds a bottle on a table and shows Henry a locket, and says that love always leads to pain. The day her mother married her stepfather, she gave him a set of matching lockets. They were enchanted to glow so they would always find each other. Ella's mother broke the promise and abandoned them, and her father searched for an entire year. He followed her to Wonderland and she went into the Infinite Maze, and he was trying to figure out who to get through when the locket stopped working, meaning she stopped loving home. The father came home a broken man. There's only enough potion in the bottle for one, and she drinks it and runs into the Maze.
Now
At her apartment, Jacinda is putting on a dress and tells Sabine that she was supposed to meet Nick at his office but his friend arranged a reservation for them at an exclusive restaurant, Walrus & Co. Sabine wonders if Ella still has feelings for Nick, and doesn't believe Ella's denial.
Rogers is cutting Gothel's cake when Regina comes in and asks if Weaver is there. She asks where Gothel is, and Rogers says that she's in a transitional home. Regina knows how Weaver used Tilly, and says that people only let themselves be used when they're out of options. She suggests that Rogers gives her another option, and Rogers agrees to reach out to Tilly. When Regina sees the cake, she tosses it in the garbage and claims that too much sugar will kill him. Unseen in the cake is a piece of a branch.
In the office building, Gothel is trying and failing to cast a spell. Ivy comes in and says that they can't cast magic in the city. She tells Gothel that it's time to wake Anastasia up, and Gothel demands to know why. Ivy finally admits that there's magic in Anastasia's body, magic that belongs to her. Gothel says that she understands, and tells Ivy that she needs the body. Ivy assures her that she'll find her in one of Victoria's properties, and then she'll take back what is hers.
As Nick and Jacinda have dinner at the restaurant, Jacinda says that she can't eat while Lucy is in a home. Nick promises to get her back, and says that their breakup was probably the best thing for him. He promised that if he had another kid, he promised to be a man they could be proud of and went to law school. Nick assures Jacinda that she loves Lucy and that's what will bring them back together. He points out that the court order from a judge appointing Victoria Lucy's guardian is missing. Nick takes her hand and assures her that she'll find it, and they'll get Lucy back.
The Past
Ella comes to a split in the maze and finds herself at a party table. No one is there except Alice at the other end of the table. She asks if Hook is okay and insists that she didn't mean to hurt him. Alice offers Ella tea, and her mother Cecilia's locket is on it. The girl says that she knows Cecelia, and explains that Cecilia fought against the Jabberwock during a tea party. Alice killed it but she was the only one who survived, and Cecilia shows her a mark on her arm. She explains that it's part of the Curse of the Poisoned Heart, and Ella realizes that her father had the same mark. Cecilia's heart was poisoned as well, and she left to protect them. Ella wonders why Alice got close to Hook, and Alice says that she met a sorceress who said that she could cure them: a sorceress named Drizella.
Henry goes outside and Drizella freezes him with a spell. She explains that she tricked Alice into luring them there and prepares to poison Henry's heart.
Now
Henry is working on the truck when Sabine finds him. She wonders if he's there because Jacinda is with Nick, but Henry denies it and starts the truck up. Nick and Jacinda come in, and Henry tosses Jacinda the keys and says that it's all hers.
The Past
Drizella plucks a mushroom with the poison and explains that she wants to make sure that henry and Ella never share True Love's Kiss. Henry insists that it isn't necessary, but Drizella says that she's making sure. Ella arrives and knocks Drizella away, and Alice drops a mirror on Drizella, sending her home before she can administer the poison. Ella says that when Henry was in danger, her mother's locket started to glow. The locket Henry is holding is glowing as well, and Ella says that she's willing to take a risk before they kiss.
Now
Jacinda runs after Henry and assures him that she doesn't have feelings for Nick. He points out that she keeps trying to impress him, and Jacinda says that she didn't lose custody of Lucy. The case never made it to court because she gave up custody voluntarily. Victoria said that she'd lose any access to Lucy if she fought it out in court, and Jacinda can't bear to have Lucy find out the truth. Henry assures Jacinda that Lucy will understand, but Jacinda doesn't believe her. He tells her that she has to tell Nick so that he knows what to do next. Henry figures that Nick is the real dad that Lucy needs, and that it might not be the right time for Jacinda to be with him.
At the bar, Regina calls Weaver in and asks what the name "Rumplestiltskin" means to him. Weaver claims that it means nothing, but Regina figures that he's awake just like she is. She says that Drizella and Gothel are working together. Weaver continues denying any knowledge of Storybrooke, and Regina reminds him that they can't go to Storybrooke for help because they can't get there and the residents can't know that they're there. As Weaver leaves, still saying that he doesn't know what Regina is talking about, Regina says that Belle wouldn't have wanted it. Weaver says that he doesn't know who belle is, and Regina tells him that she'll find help somewhere else.
The Past
Ella and Henry return to Regina and Hook, and tell Hook that they found Alice , and Drizella convinced her that she was cured so that she could poison Henry's heart. Regina sees Ella and Henry holding hands and realizes that Drizella filed, and Ella gives Hook the White Knight chess piece that he gave to her, and to assure him that one day he'll find a real cure. Outside, Tiana tells Ella and Henry that there's a man there who knows Henry. The man Jack steps forward and Henry throws a mock punch at him, and then they hug. They talk about escaping the giants in Agrabah, and Henry introduces Ella to the first friend he met in the realm.
Now
Nick and Jacinda go to the house, and Jacinda worries that Lucy might not want to come home with the woman who gave her up. He assures her that her honesty swayed the judge. Lucy runs out, and she and Jacinda hug. The girl assures Jacinda that all that matters is that they're together, and Jacinda promises that she will always fight for her. She then introduces Lucy to her father. Nick says that he's glad that Lucy and Jacinda are back together.
At the bar, Henry is drinking and asks Regina while people fall in love. She figures that something happened with Jacinda, and Henry figures that they're all cursed. Regina takes the beer away from him, and tells him that they all have bigger problems and need help. She explains that she's going to San Francisco to find someone that Victoria pushed out of Hyperion Heights a long time ago. Regina admits that the person hates them, but they're out of options. She invites Henry to come with her, and he agrees to leave the Heights for a while.
Rogers finds Tilly at the troll bridge, and he says that he understands that Weaver is like a father figure to her so she trusted him. Tilly wonders what ties her to the world without Weaver, and Rogers gives her a chessboard for a weekly game with him. He admits that he doesn't know what to do next that will matter, and Tilly says that's the same coming-untied-from-the-world feeling that she's having, and figures that they'll have it together.
Jacinda runs into the bar and discovers that Remy is temping there. He explains that Regina went to California and Henry went with her. Jacinda has a mix tape that she made for Henry, and leaves with it.
Ivy brings Anastasia's coffin to Gothel, and the witch says that now they can wake her. When they remove the lid, they discover that the coffin is empty.
Written by Gadfly on Nov 18, 2017