OUAT: Come Back

Last time on “Once:” Gold sent a message to Belle by aging a fairy. She realized he was going to use the dust on her to accelerate her pregnancy and force her to give birth so he could cut their son from his fate. Because, you know, the accelerated pregnancy plot worked so well last season with Zelena.

Emma and Hook promised to help Belle. After talking with her son in the dream world, she showed them a book that had squid ink. Hook and Emma used it to freeze Gold and they tried to get the shearers. But Emma was knocked back by her vision. While Hook was helping her, Gold got free and went to find Belle.

Belle pleaded with Gold not to use the dust on her and then stood her ground, telling him that if he used it, he would lose her forever. She asked him if he was willing to chance that. He left without dosing her with the dust.

Later, though, Belle has some tea and soon finds her pregnancy accelerated until she is in labor. Emma and Hook take her to the fairies, who put up a forcefield that manages to keep Gold away from her until she gives birth. In the dream world, her son told Belle that she knew what she had to do to keep him safe and Belle gave the boy, named Gideon, to Blue for safekeeping. She made Blue his fairy godmother and Blue took Gideon far away. Belle told Gold she would never forgive him and he vowed to find their son.

In flashbacks, Rumpelstiltskin stole a baby and had Belle take care of him. He revealed he was going to use the baby for something and that it was no doubt dangerous. Belle worked to figure out what it was, falling into Rumple’s trap when she deciphered an incantation to summon the Black Fairy for him. He took the incantation, took the baby and locked her up so she couldn’t stop him. Blue rescued her and revealed that the Black Fairy used to protect children but now she kidnaps and tortures them. She sent Belle to stop Rumple.

Rumple summoned the Black Fairy and stunned her with squid ink. He revealed that she was his mother but she abandoned him. She said she had to make choices for power and then flew off when the ink wore off. Belle rescued the baby and returned him to his parents.

In other news, Jasmine decided to use the Genie lamp but there was no genie. Aladdin put on the shackles and became the new genie of the lamp in order to help her. Queenie was sent to kill Zelena but Regina intervened. She and Rumple then fought, leading Queenie to be the one to dose Belle. So now she’s on Rumple’s hit list.

Uh oh.

It’s late at night but Hook, Emma and Regina walk toward the vault. Hooks asks if she has something that can destroy the sword and Regina replies they don’t want to destroy the sword. They want to analyze it. He doesn’t understand since it’s supposed to kill Emma. Emma reminds him that the person wielding it is supposed to kill her. So if they can figure out anything from the sword, they want to do that first. Then they can worry about destroying things, Regina tells him.

(Excuse me while my Outlaw Queen heart explodes)

They stop, discovering Queenie at Robin Hood’s grave. I must say, Regina sprang for a lovely headstone for him—complete with his tattoo and some nice words on it. Regina tells Queenie to stay away from him and Queenie assures her that she’s not there to desecrate his tomb. She loved him too. Queenie then says that Robin’s death was the best thing that happened to them because it gave Regina the push she needed to liberate Queenie from her weak shell. Emma tells Regina not to let her get a rise out of her but Regina conjures a fireball. Queenie reminds her that she can’t hurt her unless Regina hurts herself. So Regina douses the fireball. Queenie reminds her that love is weakness and then asks Emma how her parents are doing—is it Sleeping Beauty or Sleeping Daddy right now?

Emma doesn’t take her own advice and though Hook tries to stop her, she lunges at Queenie. She cuts the Queen’s cheek with the sword, drawing blood. Regina touches her cheek and a panicked Emma realizes she must’ve also hurt her. But when Regina pulls her hand away, her cheek is fine. Queenie tries to heal her cut but her magic doesn’t work. Emma realizes this and tries to go after her again but Queenie poofs away. Emma draws back, realizing the sword can kill Queenie without killing Regina as well.

(Queenie is hurt)

(Regina is not)

Queenie lands on Gold’s car and she tends to her cheek. He asks her if she’s taking a ride and she snaps back that she’s not in the mood. Gold notices the cut and realizes Emma found something that can hurt her. He says he should be mad someone stole from him but he doesn’t care if it means Emma can dispatch her. He puts the locator cuff on her, saying that if Emma doesn’t kill her, he’ll come and find her to do it himself. He says it’ll be payback for what she did to him and to Belle. But first, he needs to find his son. He disappears in a cloud of mauve smoke.

(Can't a cuff just be a fashion accessory at least once?)

David looks at the sword and says that it can kill the Queen. Emma confirms it and says she needs to die, which gets a slight nod from Regina. David’s phone rings and he steps away to answer it. Hook asks her if she’s certain of it and she says she was born to do it. He reminds her that it’s the sword that’s supposed to kill her and Henry asks her not to do it. He says that she could die while fighting the Evil Queen. Emma says she can’t avoid every fight because she might die. He tells her she should do it because she’s his mom. He then turns to head upstairs.

(As a mother of two, Ginny must really enjoy the chance to just lie down while working)

Emma has flashes of her vision and her hand shakes as David comes up to her. He says Leroy has spotted the Queen heading up Main Street. Everyone agrees to go after her but Emma stops Regina, saying they can’t risk her getting hurt in the process. She asks Regina to stay with Henry and Regina agrees.

David, Emma and Hook walk down Main Street at night as a fog rolls in. Emma glances up at the clock tower but it is shrouded. They then hear someone calling for help and they race toward Granny’s.

(It's like something out of a movie trailer)

They enter and find Jasmine tied to a chair. When they go to free her, Queenie emerges from the kitchen holding the genie lamp. She tells them that this is about her, that everything is about her. Emma tries to stab her but Queenie starts to choke Jasmine. She tells Emma that she can kill Jasmine before Emma can do anything to Queenie. So Emma backs off.

("This is embarrassingly cliche.")

Queenie rubs the lamp and Aladdin appears, glancing down at Jasmine. He apologizes to everyone. Queenie says that he’s going to grant her her wishes and he warns her that all wishes come with a price. She knows and so she’s going to use her wish to give Emma something she’s always wanted. Queenie reveals that she heard what Emma confided to Aladdin—that she sometimes wishes she wasn’t the Savior. Emma is shocked and Queenie reminds her that she hears everything. She makes the wish and everyone falls silent.

Emma then breaks it when she yells no. Aladdin raises his hand and closes his eyes as he makes her disappear. Hook yells demands to know where Emma went while Charming just stares wide-eyed at a smug Queenie.

(This is some family game night)

We see the blue star candle again and Emma blows it out. The royal court applauds and we see Emma in a beautiful pink princess gown. She smiles at her parents, who are old. Though if the makeup is right, Ginny and Josh are going to age well. Grumpy asks Emma what she wished for and she said nothing as she has everything she could ever want.

(Ginny and Josh are going to age well)

Emma walks away, looking a bit unsettled. Snow realizes this and asks her if something is wrong. Emma tells her mother that she had a dream that the Evil Queen was able to cast her curse and so she (Emma) became the Savior like her parents told her she had meant to be. Snow reminds her that they did defeat the Evil Queen and Emma wasn’t the Savior. Emma says she knows but says in the dream, they lived in a strange but fantastical place called Storybrooke. Charming reminds her it was a dream. However, she tells them she woke up to find a sword under her bed. Snow figures a servant left it there after cleaning the armory.

Really, Snow?

Henry runs into the room, apologizing for being late and missing his mother’s birthday cake. He says he was preparing for his knighting ceremony the next day and promises to be the best knight ever. Henry spots the sword and asks if it’s for him. Emma hands it over and he announces himself as Sir Henry, Defender of the Realm. Emma says she’s proud of him and wants tomorrow to be perfect for him. Henry says he hopes his father would’ve been proud of him and wishes he had known him. Everyone looks up at a painting of Neal dressed as a knight, so it looks like Emma and Neal still fell in love. Emma assures him that his father would’ve been proud of him.

(The Charming family remembers Neal. Adult Neal, not Baby Neal, who is not appearing in this fantasy)

Charming takes Emma’s arm and reminds her that the party isn’t over yet. He leads her away as Snow looks at Henry. She tells him to put the sword away. Their family’s days of fighting are long over, she insists. Henry, though, keeps admiring the sword.

In Granny’s, Henry demands to know where his mother went. Regina lays into Hook and David for mucking everything up while she stayed behind with Henry. David says he doesn’t know where Emma would go and asks Hook if he has an idea. After all, he lives with Emma. Hook says he doesn’t know and David asks how he didn’t know the secrets of the woman he lived with. Hook says they aren’t talking about what would happen if genies appear. (Though given the fact they live in Storybrooke, that seems like a plausible conversation to have). 

(This is David's angry face)

Jasmine tries to mediate, saying that arguing won’t help. Regina agrees, saying that they are playing into Queenie’s hand. She did want them to tear each other apart. She says that Queenie has thrown a lot of punches at them that day but she thinks she knows a way they can throw one of their own.

Gold enters his shop and pulls out his magic crystal ball. He tries to find his son with it but it pretty much comes up with “Answer hazy. Try back later.”

(Gold needs to clean it better)

Meanwhile, Queenie has made herself comfortable in the mayor’s office. She holds Aladdin’s lamp while he makes her a drink. They exchange some banter before she tries his drink. She then starts to flirt with him and he’s like “No. Not going to happen. Sorry.”

(His eyes say maybe but the script says no)

Regina then comes in and Queenie has Aladdin make her a drink as well. They talk about Emma and where she went while Queenie wants to make a toast. Pretty much the main thing I remember from this scene (since no one put it up on Youtube. Really, guys?) is that it establishes that Queenie and Regina are still considered the same person. So Regina realizes that Aladdin is also her genie and he agrees. She wishes to be sent to wherever Emma is and Aladdin grants it, much to Queenie’s displeasure.

(Queenie is not pleased)

Regina materializes in the middle of the woods. She starts calling for Emma but gets no response. Then she hears whistling and spots the dwarves on the road. Happy to see them, Regina races out to them while calling for them. She says she’s glad to see them but the dwarves aren’t glad to see her. Grumpy declares that the Evil Queen is back. Regina tries to convince them that she’s not the Evil Queen but they don’t believe her. He tells his brothers to run so they could warn the others that the war isn’t over. Regina’s like “Really?”

(Regina never thought she'd be so happy to see the dwarfs)

She continues walking through the woods when she comes across a statue of Snow and Charming. There is a plaque that says the statue stands on the spot where our heroes defeated the Evil Queen. 

(Really?)

Regina is not amused…until she hears humming. That’s when Princess Emma emerges, collecting flowers while humming “Someday My Prince Will Come” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Now Regina is amused.

Princess Emma recognizes her as the Evil Queen and hides behind a tree. Regina tries to convince her that this world isn’t real and that they are friends, but Emma says she’s been told that the Queen is a liar. Regina says that back where they really come from, the share custody of a son. She explains that she’s risking her life to rescue Emma because she’s the Savior and her family needs her. That seems to start to get through to Emma.

(Oh, Emma)

An arrow flies through the air, narrowly missing Regina. Even though his name did not appear in the credits, I knew this was Sean Maguire’s first episode back as Robin. So I got excited when that arrow flew across my screen. I thought I was about to see my beloved Outlaw.

The arrow wasn’t his.

No, it belongs to Snow. She and David run up, horrified to see the Evil Queen there. Snow says she was banished and the fairies put up spells to prevent her from ever returning. Regina calls them by name and David tells her to show some respect. She then makes a comment about how old they got and Snow tells her she can taunt them all she wants but they will defeat her again. Regina tries to tell Emma that they aren’t real but just figments created by a wish. David tells Regina that his sword once banished her and now he’ll make it permanent. She tries to get Emma to remember the truth but is forced to poof herself out of there before David can hurt her.

Back at the loft, David is going up the walls. Hook tries to calm him down but he can’t just sit by and wait. David is also worried that even if Regina gets Emma back, it won’t stop the Queen from sending her some place else. He can’t wake Snow and let her know that their daughter is gone. He wants to stop the Queen once and for all. Hook agrees, as does Jasmine—who is worried about Aladdin—but both believe they need a plan. David tells them to go to the sheriff’s office and wait for him. He says he’ll be there in an hour and they can stop the Queen once and for all.

(Hook is concerned for his BFF)

In the Wish Realm, Regina has retreated to the Winter Palace. It’s been ransacked and destroyed, but it still gives her a place to try to come up with a plan. She hears something and goes to investigate, surprised to find Rumpelstiltskin locked up. He surprises her further when he reveals he knows she’s not the Evil Queen from this realm. She hasn’t aged. Regina tells him that this realm was created by a wish and that she needs to knock some sense into Emma. He offers to help her…if she’ll let him out. She refuses, saying she knows that making a deal with any version of him is dangerous.

(Do not trust this man in any realm)

He then yells out that there is a reason Emma became the Savior—Regina. Every hero needs a villain, after all. Hers has always been the Evil Queen—the real queen, he says, not the weak tea version he currently considers Regina. Rumple tells her to remind Emma of the powerful evil that she is destined to fight. Regina nods and starts to walk away again.

Rumple calls out, asking for his freedom again. Regina reminds him that they are two old friends talking, that no deal was struck between them. He agrees but then says that once Regina has jogged Emma’s memory, they’ll need to get back to their home…Storybrooke. He says he can get her a magic bean if she’ll let him out. Realizing she needs his help, Regina uses her magic to open the door.

He steps out and takes a deep breath. Declaring the air is too dank, he decides to go outside. Regina reminds him about the magic bean. He tells her to meet him the next day at noon by the lake. She agrees and starts to head out. Rumple stops her and says she doesn’t look much like an evil queen. She nods, changing her outfit into an oldie but goodie Evil Queen one—complete with long hair. Rumple laughs as she leaves, ready to jog Emma’s memory.

In Storybrooke, Rumple finds Belle sitting by the lake in the park. He tells her she looks well and she makes a snide comment about the fairies being able to speed up her recovery from her sped up pregnancy. Belle also tells him that she won’t tell him where his son is. He admits to trying to find him using the crystal ball but saying he can’t locate the boy, telling her he’s missing. She is hesitant to believe him, fearing a trap, so he tells her to call the convent. Though he holds out his phone, she uses her own. When she asks to speak to Mother Superior, she’s told that something’s wrong.

(Poor Belle looks like she still needs a hug)

At the Wish!Palace, Emma stands with her parents in the same room they were married in. Everyone is gathered around in a scene that looks just like the wedding. Snow assures Emma that they will defeat the Evil Queen again but for now, they should just focus on Henry and his special day. Emma nods and trumpets heralded Henry’s entrance as someone announces the arrival of Prince Henry. Henry enters the room clad in gold armor. Regina watches from behind a wall, adoring mother the entire time. 

(Look at that proud mama!)

As the doors close, Henry kneels before his grandparents. David turns to let Snow pull out his sword and they ask him if he’s ready to be a knight and defend their land. He says he is and Snow starts to dub him Sir Henry.

The doors are thrown open and everyone turns to find Regina standing there, just like her iconic scene in the pilot. Someone yells about the Evil Queen but Snow reminds them she isn’t the queen anymore. Regina apologizes for interrupting and then freezes Snow and David. She reminds everyone that she was going to destroy their happiness and she vows to finally succeed…unless a hero can rise up to stop her. She stares at Emma, who starts to panic under her gaze.

(Princess Emma does not handle pressure well)

Emma then kneels and begs for mercy. Regina looks ready to shake her. She denies mercy and tells Emma to find the hero who can stop her. When she does, Emma will know where to find her parents and Regina. She then poofs out of there with Snowing while the court murmurs. Henry asks his mother what they’re going to do and she assures him that she has it under control.

In Storybrooke, Hook and Jasmine wait in the sheriff’s office. Hook notices that it’s ten minutes past ten—meaning that David is late. He says it’s not like him and wonders what he’s up to.

A sword slides across a marble floor and the Evil Queen stares at it. David tells her to pick it up but she sasses that he’s the one who dropped it. He antagonizes her, saying she’s been letting other people do her dirty work and he wonders if she is able to fight for herself. She uses her magic to blast him against the wall, insulting him the entire time. As she focuses on him, he dives for the desk and grabs Aladdin’s lamp. He tells her he’s going to fight her with a different weapon and he unleashes Aladdin, who is really glad to see David is his new master.

(Look at how proud David is of himself)

Queenie warns David about how powerful genies are and while Aladdin is like “Wish away” he also reminds David that all magic comes with a price. David says he’s not going to make a wish for someone he cares about. Instead, he wishes that the Evil Queen gets exactly what she deserves. Aladdin raises his hand and tries to grant David’s wish.

However, nothing has happened. Queenie laughs, saying that all she wanted was to tear the Charmings apart. She says that Emma is trapped in a wish and Snow is asleep under a curse. That leaves David all alone. She says she’s already gotten what she deserves so he just wasted a wish.
David goes to attack her but she starts choking him with her magic. She taunts him some more, insulting him before Captain Hook and Jasmine burst in. Jasmine runs to Aladdin while Hook tells Queenie that she’s outnumbered and they have the lamp. She releases David, insisting her work is done anyway as she poofs out of the mayor’s office.

In the Wish!Realm, King David tells Regina she won’t get away with this while Queen Snow glares at her. He tells her that his family always defeats her. Regina tells him that she’s counting on it. She perks up as Emma arrives, assuring her parents everything will be fine. Regina conjures up a fireball, ready to fight the Savior. Except Emma offers her the key to their kingdom instead, surrendering. Regina looks ready to slap her and she tells Emma she doesn’t want the key. She wants to jog Emma’s memory so they can go back to Storybrooke.

(Regina is silently counting to ten so she doesn't kill Emma)

That catches Emma’s attention. She asks how Regina knows about her dreams and Regina replies that this world is the dream. She realizes desperate times call for desperate measures, ripping Snow’s and David’s hearts out. Emma falls to her knees, tearfully pleading for her parents’ lives. Regina tells her that she needs to be the Savior, that she always comes through to save her loved ones. Emma, though, continues to cry and insists she can’t do anything. Regina grows so frustrated, she crushes the hearts absentmindedly. As the dust falls to the ground and the royal couple slumps over, Regina realizes Emma is really entrenched in this wish world and won’t fight her.

Henry, though, is willing to. He comes in and though Emma tries to stop him, he promises to avenge his grandparents’ death. Regina says she won’t fight him and when he pulls his sword, she closes her eyes and accepts her fate. He throws the sword but Emma yells out, stopping him with her magic. Regina sees this and asks Emma if she saved her. Emma replies she did, saying that it’s the least she could do since Regina came to this world to rescue her. Kudos to Jennifer Morrison as you can hear the difference in her voice from Princess Emma and Emma Swan.

(Henry between his two moms)

Regina realizes that Emma is back to herself. Emma says that watching Regina surrendering to Henry and him about to kill Regina jolted her out of it. She looks over at King David and Queen Snow, asking if they were dead. Regina assures her she didn’t kill anyone, that it’s just the wish realm. Nothing is real. Emma nods and thanks her. She takes the sword from where it’s frozen and says they need to go defeat the real Evil Queen.

Speaking of Queenie, she wanders down a deserted Main Street. She says the town isn’t too bad when the peasants are out of sight. Grumpy and Happy come out of Granny’s and stop when they see her. They are about to call David when something catches their attention. Grumpy declares there’s a portal and he goes running off with Happy. Queenie is surprised that Regina and Emma are back already, but it is a cloaked figure that emerges. It is the Ringwraith/Dementor from Emma’s vision and it easily knocks Queenie away. It then turns her into a snake, meaning David’s wish was just delayed.

Queenie got what she deserved.

Granny leads Belle and Rumple into the bedroom where Blue is. She explains that Blue was found in the woods. Blue certainly looks horrible. Belle asks her what happened to the baby and Blue replies that it was dark. She says she fought like hell but she took her. Rumple asks her who “she” is and Blue replies that it’s the Black Fairy. Everyone looks alarmed, especially Rumple.

(Blue needs some rest and relaxation)

In the Wish!Realm, Regina and Emma go down to the lake. Emma says that Storybrooke felt like a good dream. She says she realizes that the pain and fighting make her what she is, which she likes. Princess Emma wasn’t her at all. Regina agrees, saying Singing Princess Emma isn’t her favorite model. Emma protests that she didn’t sing but when Regina gives her a look, she amends it to “that you saw.”

(Regina knows Emma sang in this universe)

Regina says they just need to go home and wonders where “he” is. Emma asks who they are waiting for and Regina replies that she made a deal with the Dark One—she let him out in exchange for a magic bean. Emma wonders if that was the right thing to do—what if he’s razing villages or something?

Rumple laughs and tells them that he’s there to uphold his end of the bargain. He gives Regina a magic bean, reminds her of how it works, and then says he’s off to raze fictional villages. Emma smiles as she and Regina prepare to go home.

David watches Snow sleep, knowing he still can’t wake her up. Hook assures him that they will find Emma and everything will be well. Aladdin offers his services but David gives the lamp to Jasmine, letting her be his new master. He thanks them and gives David the scarab. They say their goodbyes before Jasmine wishes for Aladdin to take them to Agrabah. They vanish in a cloud of smoke.

At Gold’s shop, Belle yells that his mother has their son and he yells back it’s because she trusted him with the Blue Fairy. She reminds him that she had no choice after what he did. He tells her that he didn’t dose her, that he couldn’t. For a moment, it looks like Belle believes him. She asks what they’ve done to each other and to their son. She asks him where the Black Fairy took their son. Gold replies that there are many dark realms that his mother lurks in, where time moves differently and nothing makes sense. Belle just wants to find him.

(Reunion?)

Leroy bursts into the loft, carrying a cage. He tells them that they have a big problem and pulls the cover off, revealing the cobra. Leroy tells David, Hook and Henry that it’s the queen. David realizes that his wife came true and she got what she deserves. Leroy reveals someone in a dark cloak turned her into a snake and David realizes that it’s the person from Emma’s vision. He asks Leroy if he saw who was under the hood, desperate for answers.

(Nothing fazes them anymore)

The door to Gold’s shop opens and the hooded figure comes in. Gold and Belle watch, unsure what’s going on. The figure lowers its hood to reveal Morpheus AKA Gideon, their son.

dun dun DUN!

In the Wish!Realm, Regina throws down the bean and a portal opens. She and Emma hold hands, ready to jump in when an arrow nearly slices them. This is it! It’s happening! They duck as another one flies over head. And then a very familiar voice tells them not to move. Regina’s eyes widen as she sees Robin Hood, who announces that he is robbing them and asks them to hand over their jewelry. Shocked to see her soul mate alive, Regina steps closer to him while Emma pleads with her to jump in the portal. She reminds Regina that he’s not real but she’s not listening. As she gazes adoringly at Robin and he continues to aim his arrow at her, a panicked Emma watches their portal home close up.

I know a lot fans wanted to see an alternate universe scenario where Emma got to be raised by her parents. Yet I’m not sure the child of Snow White and Charming would be so passive and scared. While there was no threat, I can still imagine both teaching her how to use a sword and a bow. At least she was happy and loved.

So we’re all set up for the second half of the season. Emma and Regina are still trapped in the Wish!Realm, Robin is there, Queenie is a snake, Snow and David are still cursed and the figure under the hood is Gideon. How is all of this going to be resolved? I guess we’ll just have to wait to find out.

Next time: Emma and Regina try to escape the Wish Realm while Hook and David deal with Gideon.

Screen caps from here.