Once Upon A Time Season 5, Episode 5 "Dreamcatcher"

Or better title "Battle of the Moms"

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True Love's Lost Tear

Through a magical dreamcatcher, Emma watches a young hunky Merlin combat a gold masked dark one. He says, "You killed my true love."

I take it this Dark One is the woman he used to love since #1, he had the dagger and #2, she was wearing a killer valor cape and bedazzled gold mask.

The lady Dark One caught his tear with the tip of the dagger and turned him into a tree.

WHUMP!

How did Emma get this dreamcatcher? Did I miss something?

Further into the forest, Regina is about to hand over the real dagger to the 'charmed' Charmings, but Emma arrives and freezes her parents, telling Regina that they are under King Arthur's control.

She then mentions hot Merlin, his tear of lost true love, and if King Arthur manages to kill Merlin then Emma will stay dark forever.

That is some dreamcatcher.


Party-Time!

Meanwhile in present time in Storybrooke the refugees from Camelot are complaining about the rough conditions like running water, flushing toilets and electricity. Queen Guinevere is desperate to pick up the morale.

Henry pipes up, "Hey, lets throw a dance party!"

Hook and David waste no time in snickering about Henry's new crush, Violet.

Um...okay, they're only 13 or something. Maybe step the frig off the perv wagon try and figure out why the prisoner completely vanished into thin air, and maybe think of a way to help Emma get rid of the dark magic.

Speaking of the Dark One, Emma has Mr. Gold holed up in her basement. He tries to convince her that dark magic isn't worth the price, but whatever, it worked for him, right?

Merida is then assigned to make him brave and the two disappear in a plume of purple smoke.


Good Knight

Back in time, we see Henry spend more time with Violet and her favourite horse, Nicotine...no wait, Nicolodeon. But Violet's dad is like, "Listen 'boy from away', you'll never be a knight and I will only allow Violet to date knights in training."

What is it with all the dudes on this show trying to marry off all the children!

In need of advice Henry finds his Moms, getting ready for their Christmas catalogue shoot. Wrapped in the velveteen capes in a magical forest they tell Henry he's already a brave hero and that he should just be his cute genuine self.

Awwww!

All this awesome parenting reminds Regina of her own twisted mother and she suddenly gets an idea of where they can find a tear of lost love. Using the magical dreamcatcher, she watches her memory of her mother ripping out Daniel's heart.

It ripped out my heart too because we've seen how far Regina has come as a character. Unlike some others in this show. *cough* Granny *cough*

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In Storybrooke, Henry discovers Violet is too upset to go to the morale boosting dance because her favourite horse, Nick Nolte, is missing. Henry's like, "No, problem. I know powerful people." He finds Emma and before you can say 'Operation Cobra' they hop in the yellow bug.

Hey, maybe she can pull off this Dark One thing...

Sad Times

Under the Merlin tree, Emma and Regina brew up a potion, the last ingredient was Regina's tear. But guess what? It didn't work!

Emma says, "Oh crap, it's because you've moved on. You're in love with Robin now so your sorrow is kind of weak and meaningless. We need real loss."

In other news, deep in the forest Mr. Gold is getting his 'brave' training by Merida, who basically terrorizes him. IDK, this whole scene was ridiculous. She berates him for having a limp and zero sword skills.

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But things are worse for Henry. Despite him giving her fizzy Pepsi and warmed up lasagna from Granny's freezer, she drops the f-word. "Let's only be friends."

Why? Because they're only thirteen that's why!!!

With his heart freshly broken, Henry finds Regina and Emma and babbles about how much love hurts. They pat his back and quickly snag his tears of lost love before he gets his confidence back. With the last ingredient...

WHAMO!  KA-BLAMO!

Emma is surrounded by giant streams of light and suddenly Merlin is free! She takes him to her parents where he easily undoes the 'fix-it' enchantment put on them by Queen Guinevere.

David is like, "Whoa, awesome. Can you fix Emma?"

He says, "No problem...if she wants me to."

Emma gets busy staring at the floor.

I smell issues.

A Mother's Love

In Storybrooke, Emma and Henry find Violet's horse, Nickolas. With Violet's dad's approval, she and Henry have a grand time at the fair/dance/harvest festival or whatever they managed to whip up in Main Street in less than two hours.

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Across town Hook, Regina, David and Belle break into Emma's house hoping to find Mr. Gold, instead they found the Excalibur buried in fake rock. With no other clues to go on, Belle realizes the Excalibur and the Dark One's dagger must be from the same blade.

Why? Because she's the bookish one, that's why.

While they're rushing out before Emma catches them, Hook finds the dreamcatcher. He and Regina watch as Violet's memory is replayed. OMG!!! They discover Emma ripped her heart out to control her and make her break up with Henry.

Ouch! That's harsh, Emma.

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Regina also figures out that Emma has captured everyone's memories in the dreamcatchers.

Ew...don't look at Grumpy's.

Anyway, Emma and Regina have an awesome confrontation about Henry who is now so upset with Emma he's locked himself in his room.

Who was this episode's MVP?

#1. Violet's horse, Nitrogen

#2. Emma's new lipstick

#3. Henry's tear

Once Upon A Time, Season 4, Episode 19 "Sympathy for the De Vil"

Or better title, "Over the Edge"

I'm way behind on my OUAT recaps, however I'm no quitter and I intend to see this to its ridiculous conclusion.

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#1. After the death of her third step father, Cruella's evil mother and renowned Dalmatian trainer, locks her away in the attic and uses the growling dogs to keep her from running away.

#2. One day a man comes knocking on the door, looking for stories for the paper. But this is no ordinary reporter who knocks on strangers doors in the middle of the night...it's The Author.

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#3. Regina is ready to rescue Robin from Salena/Marion. She ensures Mr. Gold's silence by enchanting Belle's heart, threatening to crush it if he some much as sends an email to Manhattan.

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#4. Emma and Regina receive a video call from Henry, who had been newly kidnapped by Cruella. She asks for them to bring her the dead body of The Author or Henry will be killed.

#5. Mr. Gold hides The Author in his cabin, once again demanding a new happy ending. Then he figures out The Author and Cruella knew each other before.

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#6. The Author helps Cruella escape the attic and her mother's fierce dogs. He takes her out dancing to a local speakeasy. They dance, they laugh, and he tells her he has the power to help her escape her cruel mother. He admits his pen and ink are...wait for it...magical! And that he moves about each story realm. He gives her the power to control any animal as she desires. She promises to meet him after she faces her mother.

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#7. Emma is still sore at Mary Margaret and David for throwing that other baby (Lily) into another vortex. She goes with Regina and Hook into the forest to look for Henry. They soon find Cruella holding Henry at gunpoint on a cliff.

#8.While waiting at the hotel, The Author is confronted by Cruella's mother who tells him it was Cruella who had killed her fathers and that keeping her locked in the attic was for everyone's safety. He throws her out, but then discovers his magical ink and pen are missing.

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#9. Cruella controls the dogs now and has them kill her mother. Ew. When The Author arrives she's already skinned them and made herself a coat. She pulls a gun on him. He sees the pen and quickly writes, Cruella may not kill another living thing.

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#10. Mary Margaret and David find The Author, he tells them Henry is in no danger. They realize this is all part of Mr. Gold's diabolical plan to turn Emma's heart dark. They arrive in the forest just as Emma uses her magic to throw Cruella off the cliff. They fear Emma has begun to turn evil.

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Duh! The freak had her kid at gunpoint at the edge of a cliff!

Things I wonder about...

How can Regina leave Storybrooke?

How does The Author have the ability to travel between realms without: tentacles, a magic bean, a curse, a mermaid...

Cruella wanted revenge on The Author because he took away her ability to kill things? Really?

Once Upon A Time Sneak Peek Winter Premiere

Whoo-hoo!

Once Upon A Time is back, my friends with a whole new cast of fairy tale villains. The winter premiere (ominously enough, episode 13) is set to air tomorrow night on ABC. The show has been on hiatus since mid-December.

Let's do a quick recap!

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Last time we saw Mr. Gold he'd been kicked out of Storybrooke by Belle when she realized he'd never stop being the awesome evil person that he is. He of course, takes this in stride and finds Ursula working in a New York City aquarium. He manages to convince her to join him in his latest diabolical quest (break back into Storybrooke), but they need two more people.

Enter Cruella de Vil

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Now that Hook is no longer under Mr. Gold's power he can freely date and kiss Emma like the charming pirate he is. I"m guessing they're at the only place in town, Granny's pub/diner/Laundromat...

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After taking the high road by saving Marian and therefore losing Robin Hood forever, Regina thinks happy endings are stupid pants, but Henry is convinced he can find the author of the story book and have him rewrite a happy ending for his mom.

I wonder if Henry's voice has changed yet?

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And poor Belle drowns her sorrows in fruit kabobs...

 

While Regina plays third wheel.

Will you be watching tomorrow night?

Once Upon A Time, Season 3, Episode 15 "Quiet Minds"

 Or better title, “Someone Dies"

 

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Emma and the others try to figure out how Mr. Gold is still alive. Hook mentions how he overheard Neal talking about trying to bring back his father when he and Belle were headed toward the Queen's castle.

Zalena stands at the edge of Storybrooke and uses the dagger to summon Rumpelstiltskin. But guess what? Mr. Gold has broken free of the hold the dagger has on him and is running amok in the forest.

I thought that was impossible.

Emma and Hook arrive to tell Belle that Mr. Gold is alive. She vows to search every inch of his shop for any kind of clue. Hook stays with her in case the witch shows up.

One year ago, Belle and Neal go through Rumpelstiltskin's castle to figure out how to bring him back. Belle says she loves all of him, even the dark parts. When the enter the library, a candelabra comes to life calling himself Lumiere.

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How original, ABC.

Neal storms through the door at Mr. Gold's shop and collapses to the floor.

Emma brings Henry a bagel and hot chocolate. She arranges a play date for him with Grumpy. Henry tells her he knows she's lying and something is up. He begs her to tell him the truth. Emma asks him to trust her and that she will tell him everything...but not right now.

Emma visits Neal in the hospital, but he's just as clueless as everyone else. He doesn't remember anything that happened in the last year. His palm has a triangular scar that looks like the 'Deathly Hollows'.

Ten points for a Harry Potter reference!

Emma tells Neal that Henry doesn't have any memory of his old life. Neal is upset that Henry thinks he's basically a deadbeat parent instead of the grandson of Peter Pan.

Belle finds it interesting that she's never seen Lumiere before. He said he was cursed by Rumpelstiltskin and hidden away for years. He can only come to life when his candles are lit. Belle explains that she and Neal are trying to bring Rumpelstiltskin back to life because he's warm and cuddly now.

Lumiere says he'll help since Rumpelstiltskin is the only one who can restore him to his human form. Lumiere reveals a magical book with a key inside. This key will unlock the vault of The Dark One. The end has a symbol of a triangle.

After Neal and Belle blow the candles out and leave the room 3W shows up and it's clear he's a small part of her diabolic plan.
 

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Zalena arrives at Mary Margaret's apartment with orange juice. Mary Margaret is upset because she wants to be hunting down the wicked witch instead of hanging out doing nothing. Zalena touches Mary Margaret's belly and says she's not having this baby without her.

Raise your hand if you think Mary Margaret's baby will have bat wings and a monkey tail.

Regina goes to the farm house to find 3W. Instead, she finds Robin Hood. They decide to track 3W together. There's a spark and they wonder if they met during that year no one can remember.

Hook and Neal discuss the pros and cons of using dark magic to bring back the Dark One. Neal is determined to leave the hospital. Then things get weird when Hook hugs him. Hook had a thing with Neals' mom, remember? And then he sort of helped raise him after he landed in Neverland. And now they're trying to date the same girl.

Awkward.

Belle and Neal walk through the enchanted forest talking about how Mr. Gold ended up sacrificing his own life to save the whole town. They come across a frozen lake and Lumiere tells them the vault is under the ice.
 

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Emma and David also walk through the woods discussing what's best for Henry; should they tell him the truth or let him return to New York and be blissfully unaware? They hear a scream and run to find Mr. Gold having a break down. He says his head is filled with voices. Then flying monkeys show up to complicate matters. Mr. Gold escapes while Emma and David are busy fighting the monkeys.

Regina goes through the pantry looking for traces of magic. Robin Hood mentions how Regina doesn't seem so evil to him. Regina said she used people's fear as a tool, and she earned the name of the Evil Queen. There's a spark between them. He figures they should have a drink of whiskey.

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When he hands her a glass, his sleeve rises to reveal his tattoo.

Kablammo!

She has a flashback to her time with Tinkerbell and the true love episode. She freaks out and splits.

Thank you. Takes a bow.

Emma finds Neal in the woods and she tells him his dad is running around crazy.

Lumiere gives Belle and Neal directions to the vault. They're about to use the key when Belle figures out Lumiere is lying. He spills the beans and says 3W forced him to trick them. Neal doesn't care, he only wants to get his father back. Belle warns him that using magic without considering the cost is the same mistake his father made.

He turns the key and it burns his hand, leaving the triangular scar. The ice melts and a form rises from a inky pool.

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Emma tells Neal that she and Henry had a great life this past year. Neal pries if they were happy. Emma tells him about her demon boyfriend. They laugh and this is followed by a moment when they just stare at each other.

Belle calls Emma and says the scar on Neal's hand is pictured in a book she found in Mr. Gold's shop. It's a key used to open the vault of the Dark One. But here's the catch, if you take someone from the vault, you have to replace it with another life. Neal collapses in front of Emma.

Rumpelstiltskin comes out of the vault holding his dagger. He runs to Neal and Belle. It soon dawns on them that Neal is going to die as payment.

3W arrives and gleefully watches the scene. Rumpelstiltskin tries to use his dagger to magic Neal better, but she tells him he can't have Neal and the dagger. He ends up absorbing Neal's body and the dagger flies to 3W.

She picks it up and says, “You got your son, but you lost yourself.” Rumpelstiltskin begins his crazy talk. She then orders him to kill Belle.

Lumiere has had enough. He does a fire curse thingy and binds 3W allowing Belle to escape.

Emma realizes that Neal and Rumpelstiltskin are the sharing the same body. She does her magic—no not the lie detector thing, the convenient magic thing.

Neal begs Emma to 'magic' his father out of his body even though he knows it will kill him. It's the only way they'll know who the real witch is. Mr. Gold appears and Neal collapses.

As he dies the music gets intense. Neal tells Emma it's okay that Henry doesn't know who he is and he thanks his father for showing him what sacrificing yourself for true love is all about.

Emma and David rush to tell Mary Margaret she's hired the wicked witch to help deliver her baby.

Zalena arrives and taunts Mr. Gold over Neal's corpse. Mr. Gold says it's only a matter of time before Emma and the others come for her. She says she doesn't care because she has him under her control and that's all the power she needs.

Mary Margaret and David go to tell Belle that Neal is dead and Mr. Gold is a slave to Zalena.

Emma goes to see Henry. She sits him down and tells him that she was on a job to help his father, but instead of being the dude who sent her to jail he was actually a hero. She then says he's dead and the person who hurt him got away. Henry nods like this is completely normal. He asks what they're going to do now.

Emma gives the horizon a steely eyed glare and says she's going to stay and get the person who killed his father.

Whoo-hoo! Wild west gunfight here we come!

Need more Storybrooke? You'll find my recaps for ALL of the Once Upon A Time episodes (even from the very first season) on my Pinterest page here.
 

Once Upon A Time, Season 3, Episode 12, "A New York City Serenade"

Or better title “Time Warp Nausea”

ABC gives us a quick recap of last episode with Hook showing up at Emma's apartment one year after she and Henry left Storybrooke with completely new memories.

When he tries to explain that her family is in danger she tries to slam the door in his face thinking he's crazy.

Maybe it's the guyliner.

Hoping she'll remember with a kiss, he lays one on her only to receive a knee in the front part of his leather pants.

Operation 'Get Emma', attempt #1 ... failure

Now let's get in the time machine because we're going to find out what happened to everyone else when Emma left Storybrook exactly one year ago.

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Prince Philip meets up with a pregnant Aurora for a picnic, but a plume of purple smoke soon overtakes them. They shudder with fear. When the smoke clears Snow White and the gang are all present.

Snow White tells a shocked Aurora, “We're back.”

It's present day again. I know this because ABC put PRESENT DAY on the screen.

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Fresh from another successful bounty hunter job, Emma meets her boyfriend for dinner—some English dude who gets his hair done by the stylist of One Direction. When he gets up from the table, Hook swoops in.

Operation, 'Get Emma', attempt #2

He says he knows she's an orphan. Then he slips a piece of paper with an address that will tell her who her real parents are. She says he's crazy, but he replies, “Use your super power and you'll know that I'm telling the truth.”

Um...what? Wait, you mean the super power of having convenient magic show up when it's most needed?

No. He means her ability to tell if people are lying or not.

Oh. Okay. *Rolls eyes*

Emma is intrigued, apparently Regina forgot to imagine fake parents for her so the orphan bit with a burning desire to find her birth parents is real. She takes the slip of paper and Hook tells her to meet him at Central Park the follow day.

Snow White congratulates Aurora on the upcoming birth of her baby. Without a place to stay, Snow White says she and Charming are taking Regina's castle back—with a begrudging Regina along for the ride because she's trying to be nice now and everything.

After they leave it's obvious Aurora and Prince Philip are scared for their unborn child and they debate whether or not to tell 'this season's dangerous villain' *cough* Wicked Witch of the West *cough* that Regina has returned.

PRESENT DAY

Thanks ABC, I'd have no clue without that huge prompt across the screen.

Back at the restaurant Emma's boyfriend has returned with a fancy dessert but not his English accent. He proposes on one knee and things get awkward when he starts bringing up his furniture business as a way to sway her vote.

She says she needs time to think. He's super cool with that.

Henry (who has been growing quickly since last season) finally looks normal as a fourteen year old instead of a thirteen year old being made to look like a ten year old.

Ouch! Math headache.

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They play video games while Henry tells her that she should give the boyfriend a chance and not all dudes are like his father. They rehash how Neal set up Emma to spend time in jail for his crime and that he doesn't even know Henry exists. She asks how he got so wise.

Grumpy and the dwarfs celebrate that they're back in the enchanted forest. Jiminy Cricket arrives and says more fairy tale characters are popping up all over the place. Charming asks Grumpy to spread the word that everyone should make haste to the Queen's castle for shelter.

I bet the actor who plays Jiminy Cricket is a bit upset about this new development.

Hook saddles up a horse and declares the Jolly Roger is his home, not the enchanted castle. He tried being a hero and that didn't get him any hot lovin' from Emma.

Snow White accuses him of going back to being a pirate now that Emma is gone. He says he was always a pirate.

WRONG!

What about the episode when he was in the navy with his brother?

After Hook gallops away, Neal comes up with the idea of returning to his father's castle because maybe Rumpelstiltskin is somehow alive OR maybe he can find something that will take him back to Emma.

Snow White reiterates the rules of Regina's curse. “It's a reset,” she says sadly. “With no more portals. The only way to cross over is with another curse. And that will NEVER happen. It's impossible.”

Rules?

Rules don't matter on this show.

Henry asks Emma if she's still... 

Oh, sorry. PRESENT DAY

Henry asks Emma if is she's still worrying about the proposal.

Nope. She's thinking about going to the secret address given to her by the sexy leather clad dude. Emma goes to the address and she discovers it's Neal's old apartment.

Why is his stuff still there? This is New York City. The police should have cleared it out when he stopped paying rent a year ago.

Emma is shocked to find a camera with Henry's name on the strap.

Sorry I have to interrupt. Emma is wearing plaid pants in this scene. There is no place on the planet that these would be okay. Just sayin'...

Unable to ignore this bizarre coincidence, she goes to Central Park to meet Hook. She's convinced he's working with Neal to try and steal Henry from her. Instead, he talks to her about curses, castles, and stuff like that. To further convince her he's on the straight up, he offers her a vial of magic liquid that will help her remember. “Take a leap of faith,” he tells her.

She handcuffs him to the fountain and whistles for the police to arrest him.

Belle and Neal trade theories that Rumpelstiltskin staged his own death. They're determined to find his dagger.

Snow White gets nostalgic as they approach her childhood home. Then Grumpy alerts her that Regina is missing. Snow White finds her burying her enchanted heart. “It hurts to miss Henry,” she explains.

Snow White basically says suck it up, I'm a mother who lost her kid too. Don't be a dummy, keep your heart and you'll find happiness.

Hey, remember the episode when Robin Hood's son helped Neal get to Neverland? He's Regina's true love!

Regina is swayed by Snow White's logic and she does her own heart transplant. But before they can share a cup of flavoured tea to celebrate this milestone in their relationship, something swoops out of the sky. It gets close enough to scratch Regina.

The flying beast is scared off by Robin Hood.

My nerves. I'm brilliant!

There's instant dislike on Regina's part. I can see where this is going. She'll hate him until she sees his tattoo and realizes he's her true love.

Robin lets them know the flying beast is something he's never seen before.

*Time Machine back to the future*

Emma talks with Henry about how she's ready to move forward in her life and maybe, just maybe she'll think about marrying the fake English accent dude. He tells her to listen to her instinct and stop worrying. Everything seems cool until she looks at the pictures she had developed from Henry's camera.

Hook is busted from jail by Emma. She demands to know how those pictures of her and Henry in a place called Storybrooke can exist.

Did anyone ever see Henry with a camera in any previous episode? No? Me neither.

See? Rules don't matter in this show.

Hook tells her to ignore logic and instead, listen to her instinct. He hands over the vial of memory liquid. And since Emma is all about trusting your instinct, she forgets about the boyfriend who just proposed and takes a sip from the vial offered by the crazy guy she just busted from jail.

Emma downs the whole vial and her brow instantly furrows. “Hook,” she says, her voice heavy with regret.

Robin Hood reunites with Neal and Belle on the forest path as they journey with the others to the Queens' castle. When they arrive Regina discovers the castle is surrounded by a protective spell. Until she can discover who has taken over the castle they have to camp out.

Hook and Emma share a drink at her apartment reminiscing. He tells her that he was hanging out on the Jolly Roger when he received news that a new curse had been placed on the enchanted forest. He was able to cross over. He needs her to return with him to Storybrooke to save her family.

She's bummed because her life was fantastic and now she has all those crappy memories again. The boyfriend shows up and he's brought his accent with him. She tries to explain that 'a ghost from her past' showed up and she has to go back home to resolved some issues.

He begs her to chose a future with him instead. When she turns him down, he morphs into a flying monkey. She grabs a pipe and starts swinging. She sends him crashing to the street, far below.

The next morning she makes breakfast for Henry and says, “Do you believe in magic?” He, of course, has no memory of Storybrooke. She tells him she has a new case and that he's going with her ... you know... for an adventure.

Hook arrives at the door. She tells him to help with her luggage. She says, “Henry, lend him a hand.”

Hand. Good one. Get it?

She puts on her red leather jacket and takes the yellow punch buggy to Storybrooke.

Hook tells her he doesn't know what effect the curse will have on everyone's memories this time. With Henry asleep in the backseat, Emma goes to Mary Margaret's apartment. David opens the door. He remembers Emma, but the last year had been erased. Mary Margaret comes down the stairs and she's very preggers. So they know that it's been at least nine months since the curse was cast. But they don't even know who's responsible.

Back at the Queen's castle, a flying monkey arrives with a drop of blood. A witch in a black hat with green skin takes the drop of blood and adds it to a vial, talking about how her revenge is now complete.

Oh, how original! Another witch with another revenge.

“The Queen may be evil,” she smiles, “but I'm wicked, and wicked always wins.”

So does fourteen on black, just in case you're at the roulette table this weekend.

Need more Storybrooke? You'll find my recaps for ALL of the Once Upon A Time episodes (even from the very first season) on my Pinterest page here.

Congratulations! You made it to the end of this post. As a reward, enjoy this video of The Police singing Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.

Once Upon A Time, Season 3, Episode 11, "Going Home"

Or better title, “No Happy Ending For You!”

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Fake Henry and Felix go to the well in the forest and cast the curse, ready to wipe everyone's memory and make them his slaves in his new Neverland. Felix thinks this is a super fabulous plan.

Mr. Gold tells Emma and the gang the curse can be stopped only by the person who used it the first time—Regina. She must destroy the scroll, but there will be a major price. But in order to get the scroll they have to get Henry's spirit back in his old body. Only the most powerful magic can pull off that spell.

Fake Henry drops all the stuff down the well, but he needs one more ingredient, the heart of the thing he loves the most. Felix doesn't like the way Fake Henry is talking about how loyalty is as strong as love. Before you can say, “We can fly,” Fake Henry rips out Felix's heart and completes the spell.

Tinkerbell shares some information about a certain wand that is rumoured to be the most powerful of its kind. It used to be owned by an evil fairy full of black magic. But the Blue Fairy managed to take her wand, and has had it hidden in the convent all these years.

At Mr. Gold's shop, Mary Margaret shows Emma the glass unicorn mobile that was over her crib before she was born. They talk about what life would be like if they hadn't given up their kids.

Hmm...

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Tinkerbell, Neal, Hook, and David break up the Blue Fairy's open casket wake. Before they can start looking for the super powerful wand, Peter Pan's freaky shadow thing arrives and makes them scatter like mice.

Hook decides to be the hero and tries to fight the shadow. Neal has his trusty 'coconut shell shadow catcher', but he can't get high enough to capture it. Tinkerbell takes out her pixie dust and with all the belief she can muster, she flies up and captures the shadow. Then she tosses the whole thing in a flaming cauldron.

Why are there dishes with fire in the church?

With the death of the shadow, the Blue Fairy is revived. She congratulates Tinkerbell for finally believing in herself. She gives her back her wings and hands over the dark fairy's wand.

Mr. Gold still has the bracelet that Greg and Nadine used to render any magical being helpless. He places in on Peter Pan's wrist so he'll be powerless when Henry's spirit is swapped. Once Henry is back in his own body and in possession of the scroll for the curse, he'll find them lickity split so Regina can stop the curse.

Iron clad plan. No problem should arise.

Mr. Gold uses the black fairy's wand and performs the spell to release Henry's spirit. Mr. Gold stays while everyone else runs into the street.

Of course, why would anyone want to stay behind with Mr. Gold to make sure Peter Pan doesn't outwit him?

We travel back to a gentler time in Storybrooke when fourteen year old Henry is trying to act eleven. Mary Margaret has a heart to heart with a confused Henry. He's feeling lost because his birth mother gave him up and his adoptive mother is the meany pants Mayor.

Mary Margaret is all smiles. She hands over a book of fairy tales that she just happened to find in her closet that morning. Henry is unconvinced this will help him feel better, but she tells him the book is more than fairy tales, it's hope.

“Your happy ending may not be what you expect,” she tells him, “but that's what makes it so special.”

Henry starts turning pages...and well, you know the rest.

Granny leads Emma and the gang down main street. Since she's part wolf, she can track him down easily.

Where's Ruby these days?

The real Henry runs out of the library to be with them. He has the scroll and gives it the Regina. When she touches the curse, she falls to the ground.

Mr. Gold is there to greet Peter Pan when he wakes up in his own body.

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Peter Pan talks about how Mr. Gold was a baby who needed a lot of attention. He regrets nothing. Mr. Gold grabs a sword, ready to end his father's life. Peter Pan whips off the cuff—it doesn't work on him because he's the one who made it and gave it to Greg and Nadine.

Oops.

He magics it to Mr. Gold's wrist and starts throwing him around the room.

Watch out for the glass unicorn mobile!

Peter Pan says it's too late to stop the curse, and that without magic Mr. Gold is right back to where he started, the village coward.

Regina finally wakes and realizes the price she has to pay for breaking the curse. Peter Pan shows up and starts a monologue about his awesome curse. He's about to kill Neal when Mr. Gold shows up.

Mr. Gold says he's finally willing to pay the price, then he tells Neal and Belle how much he loves them.

Peter Pan laughs because he has no magic to fight with. Mr. Gold says he doesn't need magic because he also has a shadow to do his bidding. The shadow appears with his long lost hidden dagger.

Remember when he asked the shadow to hide it the first night they were on Neverland?

The only way Peter Pan will die is if he dies. He stabs Peter Pan with the dagger. When he returns to his form as Rumpelstiltskin's father, he begs for Mr. Gold to spare his life, promising they can start over.

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Mr. Gold says villains like them never get happy endings. Then he thrusts the dagger deeper and they both disappear in a plume of black smoke.

Belle crumples to the ground, inconsolable. Regina is in shock. Green smoke pours out of the well. Grumpy comes screaming down the street saying the curse is coming from all sides. There's no escape.

Regina says she can stop the curse, but only if she says good bye to the thing she loves the most—Henry. When she breaks the curse, it will destroy the town and everyone will return to where they came from, everyone that is except Henry and Emma.

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Henry was born outside the enchanted forest and Emma is the saviour that was meant to break the curse, and therefore is immune...or something like that.

Mary Margaret tells Emma and Henry they have to take this chance, even though it means breaking up the family again. A happy ending, but not exactly.

Emma and Henry go to the town line where her yellow bug is waiting.

*Cue the tearful good byes and reconciliations*

Regina only wants Henry to be happy. Emma tells Neal she's sorry. He says this isn't over and he'll see her again someday. Hook lets her know he'll be burning the torch as well, and she's cool with that.

Rowr.

Regina tells Emma that her memories of Storybrooke will also disappear. She doesn't know what will happen to her and Henry, but she gives Henry and Emma the gift of happy memories, where she never gave him up, and they had always been together.

Their past will be fake, but their future will be real.

I liked that line. Nice job, ABC.

*Cue the tears and kisses*

Emma and Henry get into the yellow bug and drive away. Regina starts to break the curse. Everyone is enveloped in a cloud of purple smoke as Storybrook3 disappears.

One Year Later

We're in New York City, Emma is making scrambled eggs for herself and Henry in a swanky apartment. There's a knock at the door. Hook is standing there is all his leather clad loveliness. He says her family is in danger and desperately need her help. She slams the door and gets the willies that some crazy guy had gotten into her swanky apartment building.

Whoo-hoo!

Man, that was good.

Okay, since another episode won't be airing until March, I guess I'll be blogging The Bachelor when it starts in January. Oh, Juan. What were you thinking?

Once Upon A Time, Season 3, Episode 10, "The New Neverland"

 Or better title, "Pass the Tylenol"

fairytalessite.net

We're in sunny Storybrooke. Belle takes Ariel to the wharf to meet Prince Eric. He's a fisherman gutting the day's catch.

What will happen?

He recognizes her immediately and they start to make out.

Well, that was easy.

A shadow passes over. Belle looks up and sees the Jolly Roger emerge from the clouds.

*Cue the touching piano music and sweet reunions*

Except for Regina, none of the fairy tale characters are happy to see her.



entertainmentoutlook.com

Belle and Mr. Gold embrace and thank God, ABC has spared us a kissing scene with these two. Wendy Darling comes off the boat, and hugs her much older brothers, John and Michael. They plan to fly back to England.

Good idea. Storybrooke is crazy pants.

Mary Margaret lets all the happy peasants know that Regina is the main reason they're all together again.

We flashback to Snow White and Prince Charming's wedding. The Evil Queen makes her famous speech, “I will ruin your happiness if it's the last thing I do.”

Upset with the Evil Queen's latest threat, Snow White is determined to fight back, but Charming convinces her that the best way to defeat the Queen is to have a good old fashioned honeymoon with plenty of lovin'. Snow White chooses a her summer palace where her own parents had their honeymoon.

Awkward.

Grumpy shows up and tells her the castle is secure but he worries about their quick trip. Snow White gives him a wink and says there's something at the summer palace that will defeat the Evil Queen once and for all.

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Peter Pan is walking around in Henry's body and meets with the older Lost Boy (Felix). They make a plan to take over Storybrooke...or something like that. To Felix's surprise the first step is having Emma put him in jail.

Belle and Mr. Gold plan a future now that he doesn't have to worry about the prophecy of Henry being his undoing. Stupid seeer.

Oh, wait. Henry is Peter Pan now. Hmm...

Emma meets Fake Henry at Granny's pub/diner/laundromat. She hands him the big book of fairy tales.

Meanwhile at the bar/lunch counter Hook and his chest hair are facing off against grubby Neal, vying for Emma's heart.

Seriously, there's no contest, right, ladies?

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Hook lets Neal know that he's in this quest for the long run. He thinks he has a good chance since he's never left her pregnant and alone and let her go to jail for him. Also, he's much, much hotter.

Team Hook ;)

Regina and Tinkerbell arrive and march right up the Blue Fairy who still dresses like she's Mother Superior. Regina demands Tinkerbell's wings be given back since she helped them escape Neverland, plus let's not forget she made some left over pixie dust glow.

The Blue Fairy demands a demonstration, but Tinkerbell is too nervous. She denies Tinkerbell her wings siting, “If you don't believe in yourself, how can I believe in you?”

Oh shut it, you Ninny!

Tinkerbell rolls her eyes says, “I need a drink.”

Spoken like a true fairy.

Speaking of fairies...remember Nova? The fairy that was in love with Grumpy? What the heck happened to her? And where are Cinderella and her Prince? Wasn't there some kind of deal about her baby and Mr. Gold?

Reaches for Tylenol.

Fake Henry reads through the book and sees a picture of the Evil Queen in front of a vault. Neal asks Emma if they can have special talk time, ie: a date. She says she doesn't want to start a relationship since Henry just had his heart ripped out and everything.

Prince Charming carries Snow White across the threshold of her parent's summer palace. She reminisces about her time their as a young girl. The Prince is ready to start practising making heirs, but Snow White pushes him away, saying she has something special planned for tonight.

He leaves to go stable the horses. By stable the horses he means some special alone time...sorry, never mind.

Snow White quickly grabs the families supply of archery weapons and tears off into the woods. But Prince Charming must stables horses er... pretty quickly and he's blocking her path.

Snow White confesses she came up to the summer palace to hunt a creature who has the ability to destroy the Evil Queen. Apparently one look from this beast and you turn to stone.

Oh, Medusa. I was wondering when the Greeks would show up.

Here's the plan: Snow White and Prince Charming will team up and find this beast so they can behead it. He says he can't wait until they slay this thing and start their real honeymoon.

Yeah, slaying mythical beasts is a total turn on.

Fake Henry asks to have a sleepover at Regina's. She's all for it, and Emma reluctantly agrees. He asks Regina if she still has all her magic in her secret vault. He uses the excuse that he's worried Peter Pan will come after him again and he'll need protection.

She tells him not to worry, and that magic is not the answer.

What? Hasn't she been watching the show? Magic is always the answer. Right, ABC. *Wink, wink*

Fake Henry is right because hidden on the Jolly Roger is Peter Pan's shadow.

Didn't Regina kill it? Isn't that how they could leave Neverland?

*Reaches for Tylenol*

Snow White and Prince Charming comb the woods and reminisce about their wacky romance. Snow White lets him know (and us) the only way to reverse Medusa's curse is to kill her, thereby bringing all the previous stone victims to back life.

Mr. Gold shows up at Granny's where David and Mary Margaret are having breakfast. He hands David his cure so he can stay in Storybrooke. He lets them know they owe him BIG TIME.

David takes the potion and ta-da! His creepy mark thing is gone and he's ready to make that second baby with Mary Margaret.

But, boo-hoo. Neal is sitting by himself the next booth over, waiting for Emma who has purposely stood him up.

David takes off to talk his daughter into giving the guy who let her go to jail for his crime another chance. Emma wonders if he's trying to make sure she doesn't start dating Hook.

Back on the Jolly Roger, Hook is already propositioning Tinkerbell, but she's no dumb fairy, she knows he's just killing time before Emma changes her mind.

They hear screams and follow the commotion. The Blue Fairy is being chased by Peter Pan's shadow. It knocks her down and takes away her shadow, thereby killing.

What will Storybrooke do? She was the only fairy who knew how to work with pixie dust!

*cough* foreshadowing of Tinkerbell's moment of triumph *cough*

Hook says the shadow only takes orders from one person...Peter Pan.

Snow White and Prince Charming enter Medusa's castle.

How on earth are these two dimwits going to defeat Medusa.

They don't. Snow White fails to chop off her head. Charming throws a shield like a Frisbee, but that only makes her madder. They try to escape, but Snow White trips and Charming ends up being turned to stone.

Twenty points for Slytherin.

Regina is shocked to discover that Peter Pan's shadow is out killing fairies when she already destroyed it. Fake Henry pretends to be worried. He asks Regina to protect him. Emma takes Regina aside and voices her worries that Henry doesn't exactly seem all right.

Regina rebuffs her suggestion saying she's jealous Henry keeps choosing her. She takes Henry to the safest place in Storybrooke—her secret vault of magic!

Snow White calls out encouragement to the stone faced Charming. The Evil Queen's face shows up in the reflection of the shield, laughing because she ended up destroying her own happiness.

Medusa charges at Snow White, she holds up the shiny shield. Medusa sees her own reflection and changes to stone. And ta-da! Charming returns back to life.

Well, that was easy.

Emma, Mary Margaret and David rush to Mr. Gold's shop. They want him to open up Pandora's Box and release Peter Pan because they want answers, damn it! Emma has a plan and they drive to the town line.

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Mr. Gold enchants the box and give it to Emma. She takes it across the line, waiting with her gun. Peter Pan emerges, looking confused. He frantically tells Emma that Peter Pan switched their bodies and he's the real Henry.

He proves himself by recounting the moment when they connected, when she told him the reason she gave him up as a baby was to give him a better shot.

They hug and everyone rejoices...sort of.

Then David says, “Hey, if this is the real Henry, then where is Pan?”

Fake Henry sits inside Regina's magical emporium of wonders practically salivating at all the awesome vials of stuff that can help him take over Storybrooke. He gives Regina a fake hug, then uses one of her potions to render her unconscious.

Snow White tells Prince Charming that they have to start a family speedy quick because the world needs more good than bad. He's like, sure that's what I've been saying all along.

Emma and the gang meet up with Neal, Tinkerbell and Mr. Gold at the vault. While Mr. Gold uses magic to break open the door, Emma monologues that she can never have a happy life because the price of being 'the savior' is that she doesn't get a day off, therefore no time to date and stuff.

Mr. Gold finally breaks through. They find Regina unconscious. Mr. Gold wakes her up. She feels stupid because she fell for Fake Henry's talk about family and love and blah, blah, blah. Peter Pan (aka the real Henry) gives her a hug and sets everything right.

David asks the main question we're all wondering, “What was Pan looking for down here?”

Mr. Gold notices the one empty box, he shots Regina a look. “Please don't tell me you kept it down here?”

She looks sheepishly at everyone, “Where else would I keep the curse.”

Yup. The curse.

Fake Henry breaks Felix out of jail and they run to the woods with the curse. Once he casts the curse again, everyone in Storybrooke will forget who they were and time will stand still. And Fake Henry and Felix will run the show.

Whoo-hoo! That means Emma and Hook have a chance to make out again!