OUAT: Fight the Power

Last time on “Once:” We said goodbye to Emma Swan, who revealed she was pregnant. That, along with saving Wish!Hook, was the extent of her farewell.

In the Enchanted Forest, Henry was captured by Lady Tremaine and called for help from Emma, Regina and Hook. Only Regina and Hook responded, with the latter being very evasive about where Emma was while the former hinted that he was keeping a Big Secret from Henry. Hook said Emma didn’t want him to tell Henry about the Big Secret and they were going to respect that.

Hook went into town to try to get information about Cinderella and ran into the overweight and drunken version of him from the Wish Realm. Wish!Hook was obsessed with finding Emma in hopes of finding the love he was denied and went as far as knocking Hook out. He then went to Lady Tremaine, who he knew, and got her to use the fairy godmother’s wand to make him young again and dressed like Hook so he could fool Emma.

However, when Emma showed up and told Henry she was pregnant, Wish!Hook had second thoughts. He went back to get Hook and the two fight. In the process, Wish!Hook was stabbed. He told Hook that he couldn’t come between a father and his child since he was searching for a daughter taken from him by a powerful witch. He said he wanted to find love to break the curse she placed on him that prevented him from finding his daughter and asked Hook to find her. But he got Emma to heal Wish!Hook.

Regina admitted she missed Henry and he said he missed her too, so he invited her to stay to find the next part of her story. Emma suggested that Wish!Hook should also stay with Henry and so she said goodbye to her son before she and Hook went back to Storybrooke. So yes, that’s Wish!Hook in Hyperion Heights.

Now onto the Hyperion Heights plot…

Victoria decided to make it nearly impossible for Jacinda to see her daughter, including turning Lucy’s ballet recital in a charity function and making everyone pay $550 to see their kid. For some reason, this got absolutely no pushback except from Jacinda. Henry felt guilty and wanted to help but she wanted nothing to do with him. But he did make it up to her when he managed to get hired at the venue where the ballet was being performed and also hired Jacinda and Sabine so they could see the ballet.

Lucy was ecstatic. Victoria less so.

Victoria ordered Weaver and Rogers to get Henry away from Jacinda and Lucy, wanting them to get dirt on him. Rogers figured there was no ers was dirRogt but Weaver figured out that Henry had a daughter who was no longer around. But he decided to frame him by having Rogers drop Victoria’s bracelet in his pocket at the ballet, testing Rogers in the process. But Rogers didn’t and while Victoria was pissed, Weaver was impressed.

Rogers was obsessed with one of the characters in Henry’s book—Emma Swan. He told the detective that he made Emma up, that she was just his idea of the perfect mother. Rogers admitted that the drawing reminded him of a woman who saved his life when he was shot during an investigation—trying to find a missing girl. He never found her and he’s been obsessed with solving the case. He suspected that Victoria had something to do with it and he teamed up with Roni and Henry to take her down.

Will they succeed? Find out!

In the Enchanted Forest, Cinderella takes the motorcycle back to where she met Henry and calls out for him. But a guard finds her instead. He calls her a murderer and she tries to protest her innocence. He actually plays the “That’s what a murderer would say!” card and Cinderella kicks his ass. She manages to knock him out and tries to go for his sword but another guard catches her. Thankfully, someone knocks him out and helps Cinderella up. It’s Tiana!

(Hi, Tiana!)

After the title card, Jacinda races into her apartment and sits down on the couch. Sabine comes out and asks what’s going on. Jacinda shows her a piece of paper, explaining that she and Lucy have been exchanging letters. They leave them in the well at the community garden so Victoria won’t find out. Jacinda breaks down over how much she misses her daughter and Sabine comforts her. She then gets a text telling her she’s late and she gives Jacinda a “Things will get better, you’ll see” talk before heading out.

(Aww)

Henry shows up at Roni’s and offers doughnuts. She’s not so appreciative but Rogers is, especially when he discovers there are bear claws in the box. Roni reveals that the new building commissioner came into the bar the night before, got drunk and blabbed that he had some possibly shading dealings with Victoria Belfrey going on. She says he is meeting Victoria that afternoon. Henry says that it’s good—for the story, bad for the community. Rogers decides to go stakeout where Victoria and the commissioner are meeting to see if they can get to him first, get him to tell them everything about Victoria. Henry asks to go along on the stakeout but Rogers tells him that he’ll help by researching. Roni promises to keep her ears open and they break for the moment.

(Rogers loves his bearclaws)

Jacinda approaches the community garden well with a letter, ready to leave it for Lucy.

In the Enchanted Forest, Tiana tells Cinderella she knows she didn’t kill the prince. Tiana explains that she was there to keep an eye on the prince as the leader of the resistance against Lady Tremaine and the royal family. Cinderella asks her where the resistance was when the royal family killed her father and her stepmother turned her into a servant. Tiana says she knows Cinderella had a tough life but says that she’s a good fighter. Tiana thinks Cinderella would be a great asset to their resistance and invites her to join them. Cinderella says she’s had enough of fighting.

Tiana then reveals that the royal family had help in killing Cinderella’s father. She says that Lady Tremaine was involved and believes Cinderella knew that deep down. Cinderella asks her what she can do and Tiana repeats her offer to join the resistance, saying they have a camp nearby. She says that Lady Tremaine took her father and her house and she’s trying to take everyone’s homes. But they can stop her together. Cinderella tells her to hop onto Henry’s motorcycle. Tiana does so willingly, though she’s confused about what it is. Cinderella tells her it goes faster than a horse and then takes off her shoes, leaving one behind. She tells Tiana it’s for a friend so he knows to find her. She then drives off with Tiana.

So yes, Cinderella did leave the shoe for Henry.

Jacinda is about to place the letter she has written to Lucy in the well when Victoria shows up. She reveals that she knows about them and that Lucy won’t be getting anymore since Victoria is about to tear up the well—along with the rest of the garden. Jacinda protests that she can’t and says that Lucy worked so hard on it. Victoria doesn’t really care and orders Jacinda to leave. Jacinda vows to stop her stepmother and Victoria orders her men to start digging.

(She looks like the cliche evil developer so much here)

Rogers prints out information about the commissioner and heads out to start his stakeout. Weaver intercepts him and asks him to catalogue evidence. But Rogers lies, saying he’s needed at court due to a parking ticket he wrote before his promotion. Weaver lets him go but is suspicious as he watches his partner drive away.

A well dressed man waits outside a building. He and Victoria meet and she hands him a thick envelope IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. This has to be the worse bribe handoff ever. Jeez guys. Rogers watches it go down and makes a call while Weaver watches him.

But seriously…BROAD DAYLIGHT.

Jacinda storms into Roni’s and tells her about the demolition Victoria is doing at the community garden. Roni figures out that’s what the payoff was for and looks to Henry. Jacinda realizes he’s sitting at the end of the bar with his laptop and she asks what he’s doing there. He explains that he’s helping. Roni pulls out the building codes, saying that one needs to know a lot to get a liquor license—and she knows a lot. Regina’s nerdy tendencies can never be suppressed, it seems. She says that if the public deems a property essential to the common good, they can get an injunction to stop demolition. Roni suggests getting signatures on a petition and Jacinda is geared up to that. Henry says that’s a leader of the people and Roni says that she’s a regular queen.

Oh, Roni, you have no idea.

(Glad to see Regina still loves her research)

At the Resistance Camp, Tiana introduces Cinderella to Jeremiah, saying he has the heart of the truest believer in their cause. He gives her a pair of boots, explaining he was a cobbler. Cinderella thanks him and says the boots will be easier to fight in than glass slippers. She then asks when they will attack her stepmother. Tiana says that their intelligence says that Lady Tremaine is stockpiling dark magic and items, no doubt preparing for a war. She shows Cinderella a drawing and asks her if she knows what it is. Cinderella says she doesn’t but it’s clear she’s lying. Tiana says they need to be prepared.

Henry asks if they need help as he walks up with Regina and Wish!Hook. Cinderella is surprised but pleased to see him and he says he got her message, holding up her shoe. He then introduces his mother to Cinderella and Regina apologizes for taking so long to find her but her locator spell had some kinks in it. Cinderella asks if Wish!Hook is Henry’s father and he’s like “Not quite” before introducing himself. Tiana focuses on the fact that Regina has magic and thinks it’ll be helpful in the fight against Lady Tremaine. Henry, Regina and Wish!Hook are willing to help however they can, much to Tiana and Cinderella’s delight.

(She looks amazing!)

Lucy enters Roni and Henry’s like “You’re ten and in a bar.” She ignores that and shows him her mother’s petition, thanking him for helping. Henry says he’s just helping until they save the community garden and Lucy says she knows in a way that says she thinks there’s more going on. She then says that her mother is fighting, which means she’s waking up. Lucy then says that it’s not about the community garden—it’s about what’s underneath. Henry asks if something is buried there and she says there is only one way to find out.

They go to the community garden and Lucy says it’s just like the time Henry and Archie went into the mines and the Evil Queen had to keep them from finding Snow White’s coffin. Henry’s like “That’s just a story in my book.” She ignores him and says that her grandmother must want something magical that’s buried under the community garden. Henry is about to protest when something explodes.

As the construction crew halts demolition and the project manager calls Victoria, Lucy and Henry head over to the hole. Henry says it doesn’t prove anything and she agrees. She says they need to find what Victoria wants and she jumps down the hole. A few seconds later, Henry follows.

(Oh, look. Deja vu)

This better not be a poor man’s retread of “That Still Small Voice.” That one worked because of Archie’s character growth and Raphael Sbarge’s wonderful acting.

The building commissioner sits in a restaurant when Rogers comes up to him, introducing himself. He flashes his badge and reveals that he saw the building commissioner take a bribe from Victoria Belfrey. The commissioner tries to deny it until Rogers takes the envelope she gave him out of his suit pocket. So then the commissioner tries to bribe him but Rogers isn’t having any of it. He arrests the commissioner, who had a weird accent. It sounded like he was trying to have an American accent but his British one kept getting in the way.

(His accent alone warrants this)

Henry and Lucy explore under the city and he explains that the tunnels were always there, that they built a lot of Seattle on top of older parts of the city. Lucy says she knows that but she also knows that there is something magical down there. She then asks why Henry can’t believe that she and her mother are his family. Lucy accurately guesses that he tried to find the cemetery where his family is supposedly buried but couldn’t. He says that there was no cemetery but thinks he might have gotten the wrong address, telling her there is a rational explanation for it. She tries to get him to realize that his family isn’t dead, that those are just his cursed memories and that she’s his family. She then heads deeper into the tunnels.

(A perfect "duh" face)

Meanwhile, Jacinda collects signatures to save the garden. People just start walking up to her and form a line on the sidewalk to sign it. Jacinda smiles and looks hopeful that she might just succeed.

(That's a pretty neat line)

Tiana draws up a battle plan, deciding to use two different groups to ambush Lady Tremaine. She plans on leading one group and Cinderella offers to the lead the other. Henry says he’ll go with Cinderella, it seems Regina will just go with Henry and Wish!Hook offers to go with Tiana. They break their little huddle but Cinderella lingers, brooding. Henry assures her that it will be well, that this is what his family does. She says she knows and he then asks what is bothering her then. She says nothing and tells him to get some rest as they have a big day ahead of them. Cinderella runs off and Henry’s like “Shut out again.”

(Staring off into the distance is never a good sign)

That night, Cinderella leaves her tent and creeps through camp. She pauses, watching Henry sleep for a few seconds before she sneaks out.

Lucy and Henry continue to explore the tunnels but there appears to be nothing. They just seem to be ordinary relics of a bygone era. Henry tries to convince Lucy to head back to the surface, saying her grandmother would send her to boarding school and him someplace worse if Lucy got hurt down there. But Lucy is convinced something is down there. She finds a piece of glass and is certain it’s from her mother’s shoe. Henry tries to convince her that she’s reaching and that fairy tales aren’t real. She decides to show it to her mother in hopes that it will wake her up and let her remember that she is Cinderella.

(It's a lovely shard of glass)

Cinderella arrives at her stepmother’s house and enters, finding the coffin there. Lady Tremaine says she figured that would smoke Cinderella out. Cinderella asks if she wants to talk about the coffin or what Lady Tremaine did to Cinderella’s father. Lady Tremaine doesn’t look surprised and says it was about time she figured it out. When Cinderella asks why she killed her father, Lady Tremaine says she knows why. Cinderella asks if she will ever have suffered enough to make up for what she has done and Lady Tremaine says never. So Cinderella tells her to kill her and leave the others alone. Lady Tremaine is like “All in good time.”

She says they should open the coffin and Cinderella pleads with her not to. But she does, revealing a small form dressed in black with her face covered by a black lace veil to hide the fact that the role hasn’t been cast yet. Cinderella is shocked and Lady Tremaine says she has magical friends too. She says her dear Anastasia has been preserved and there is one remaining breath in her body. 

(No, that's not obvious at all)

Lady Tremaine says that Anastasia had a pure heart and will need a heart just as pure in order to come back to life. Cinderella realizes she means Henry and Lady Tremaine says she did her research and knows his heart will work. And Cinderella will retrieve it for her. Cinderella says she can’t (and she really can’t since Regina protected it) but Lady Tremaine says she can because I guess she can’t imagine an evil queen protecting her only child? I don’t know. She enchants Cinderella’s glove and tells her to pull out Henry’s heart or Lady Tremaine will kill everyone in the resistance.

Talk about a lose-lose situation.

Jacinda continues to get signatures when Victoria pulls up. She says that the petition is quaint but Jacinda says it’s working. However, Victoria says it won’t because Jacinda is about to rip it up. She holds up her iPad and shows off one of her condominiums, offering one to Jacinda and Lucy. She calls it a peace offering and tells Jacinda to imagine the life she can provide for Lucy in it. Uh, a condominium isn’t going to change the fact that Jacinda works minimum wage. It just means she won’t have to pay rent but she should know she can’t trust Victoria not to start charging her. But apparently Jacinda easily believes her stepmother and I think I see how Victoria may have ended up with custody of Lucy. Jacinda takes the lighter and sets the petition on fire, though she looks conflicted about it.

(Don't most cities have laws about burning garbage?)

Lucy, though, witnesses it. She calls her mother out and Jacinda explains she’s doing what’s best for them. Lucy says a hero always does the right thing. Jacinda replies that she’s not a hero and that it’s more important that they stay together. Upset, Lucy says that she doesn’t want to live with Jacinda under those circumstances. She runs off as Victoria tries not to look too smug.

Rogers goes into the precinct and finds Weaver talking with the commissioner. They shake hand and the commissioner leaves, smirking at Rogers. Rogers asks Weaver if he just let a bad man go and Weaver calls him a liar, saying he clearly was working an off the books case rather than at court. Rogers says that the man is crooked and Weaver says he knows but sometimes, you need men like him on the street. He says that since he works for Victoria Belfrey, every time she calls the commissioner, the commissioner will now call him (Weaver). He tells Rogers to enjoy the rest of his day off but Rogers isn’t pleased with this development.

(He definitely wants to kill his partner)

Cinderella returns to camp and cries as she kneels next to Henry. Her hand hovers over his chest as he sleeps but in the end, she can’t do it. She sobs until she gets an idea.

Cinderella approaches the old man who made her boots and apologizes, reaching down to take his heart. Regina stops her though and tells her she doesn’t want to do that. Regina says she saw Cinderella sneak off and figured what Cinderella was up to. She says whatever Lady Tremaine wants is not worth it. Cinderella says that Lady Tremaine wants Henry’s heart and Regina knows it’s because he has the Heart of the Truest Believer. Cinderella says she couldn’t take his heart and says that the man truly believes in the cause and Tiana said he would die for it. She says wouldn’t it be okay then if it saved everyone. Regina says it took her years to learn it but the answer is no. She undoes the magic on Cinderella’s glove and asks what else is going on. Cinderella says she can’t tell Regina and runs off.

(Regina to the rescue!)

Roni pours Jacinda a shot and asks what has her looking so down. Jacinda tells her about burning the petition and how Lucy is now mad at her. Roni says that Jacinda got Belfreyed but Jacinda counters that she was just trying to do what was best for her daughter. She knows Lucy sees her as a hero that’s supposed to do no wrong but she’s just human. She just wants to be a mother to her daughter. Roni tells her to consider how much she’s willing to give up because the Victoria Belfreys of the world will take everything if she lets them.

Lucy walks down the street and Henry runs up to her, saying that he’s been trying to find her. She’s not in a good mood and he tries to get her to open up. But she’s not in the mood to talk. They then spot something happening at the garden and go to investigate.

Jacinda addresses the crowd once Roni gives a loud whistle to get everyone to quiet down. She says she knows most of them signed her petition already and she’s sorry that they need to sign it again. She says she didn’t protect the garden like she could’ve. She says that Lucy always believed in the garden and now she does. Jacinda asks them to sign the petition and then to start planting so they could restore the garden as well as show Victoria the power of belief. Everyone applauds and she jumps down, hugging Lucy.

(Look at Jacinda's proud family)

In the Enchanted Forest, Cinderella prepares her horse so she can leave camp. Regina asks what she’s doing. Cinderella says that she doesn’t deserve to stay there after what she did. Regina’s like “The things I did could curl your hair but I’ve gotten forgiveness. Whatever you did could be forgiven too.” That seems to sway Cinderella and she tells Regina that her stepsister Anastasia died when she was 14. She says that Lady Tremaine blamed Cinderella’s father but it was really her fault. She doesn’t want to put anyone else in trouble so she’ll just lead Lady Tremaine on a wild goose chase to keep her away from the resistance.

Regina recognizes that Cinderella is suffering from self-hatred and guilt, no doubt seeing herself in the young woman. She tells Cinderella that she let Lady Tremaine treat her like dirt because she thought she deserved it. But she doesn’t. Regina says she can run away but if Cinderella really wants to defeat Lady Tremaine, she first needs to forgive herself and then stand up to her stepmother. Cinderella takes Regina’s words to heart.

Tiana thinks it’s time to storm the castle and Henry asks where Cinderella is. Regina tries to figure out what she’s going to say but Cinderella shows up, saying she was just packing. She also announces that she’s just going by Ella now. Henry says he likes it. Ella says they can’t storm Lady Tremaine’s house as it’s a trap. When Tiana asks how she knows, Ella hesitates but Regina jumps in and says she saw Lady Tremaine waiting for them in her magic mirror. Tiana agrees an ambush won’t work and orders camp to be broken. Henry asks Ella if she’s okay and she says that it’ll be good for them to have time to talk.

(Henry's intrigued)

In Hyperion Heights, Henry walks down the street with Jacinda and Lucy as they enjoy ice cream. He disposes of his trash before taking his leave of the two, saying he has a lot of writing to do. Jacinda says that his story on the community garden has a lot and he agrees. He then asks if he can run it by Lucy since he’s sure she’ll have plenty of ideas and Lucy agrees. Henry says he’ll see them around and starts to walk away. Lucy stops him, giving him the piece of glass she found. She says her mother doesn’t need it and that the prince is the one who keeps it in the story anyway, so he can find his love no matter what. Henry says they can’t go down that road and Lucy backs off. But she says that he won’t find his family in a cemetery because they are right in front of him. He just needs to believe. She then goes back to her mother and as they hug, Henry seems to consider that she might be right before walking away.

(Is that an epiphany I see?)

I’m not sure what Henry’s been doing, but it appears to be night and he’s still in Hyperion Heights. He spots a cemetery and goes inside, looking around. He pulls out the glass shard and almost appears to believe before he spots something that makes his smile fall. The camera pulls back and we see he’s spotted two headstones and then the camera focuses on one: Abigail Mills, Beloved Daughter. (I saw a screencap that showed Henry’s fake wife was named Lauren). He grows upset as he realizes that Lucy was wrong—his family was real and they were dead.

(The curse created some nice headstones for the fictional duo at least)

(Bravo to Andrew J. West who acted the full range of Henry’s emotions—hope, happy, despondent, grieving—with no words whatsoever).

Victoria thanks some workers for bringing something to her tower and loading it into an elevator. She uses a thumb print to access a certain floor and ascends to it. Walking out, she tells someone to come into the light. When the person doesn’t obey, Victoria tugs on a heavy chain and pulls a young woman with wild hair and raggedy clothing in front of her. The woman says it has been a while since Victoria visited her “here in your tower.” Victoria says that her stepdaughter’s campaign to save the garden may have worked but it was okay because she got what she wanted. The woman asks why she should care about whatever Victoria dug out of the ground and Victoria pulls off the cover to reveal Anastasia’s coffin.

The woman is surprised to see she found it. Victoria then says that the woman is going to help her bring Anastasia back. The woman says it won’t be easy and wonders if Victoria is ready for what it will bring. Victoria just wants Anastasia back and will deal with everything after that. The woman asks if the boy believes yet and Victoria says he doesn’t but his daughter does. The woman replies that her heart is protected too. (Good to see Regina learned. I imagine she put the spell on Lucy the moment she was born). Victoria says she will be able to take it once Lucy loses all her belief, which she is certain she will. The woman taunts Victoria, who says that she had been making a peace offering but that it was rescinded. She reminds the woman that she is Victoria’s prisoner but the woman asks who the real prisoner is as she tells Victoria that even if she gets Anastasia back, she’ll still have to deal with her.

Well, that’s pretty ominous.

This episode has added some depth to Cinderella—and explains why this headstrong version worked for her stepmother. Guilt kept her there and made her question her worth. Hopefully after Regina’s talk she can start to see herself in a more positive light.

It also made me miss Regina. I mean, Roni is pretty awesome and it’s clear Lana is having fun playing her…but there’s just something about Regina that I love a bit more. We need more Regina!

Lucy is starting to be annoying. I’m not sure what’s going on but it’s like the writers have forgotten how to write children—especially as Alison is a good actress. But Henry was endearing, so I’m not sure what happened there.

It was nice to see Jacinda lead the people and inspire them to do something to stand against Victoria. Hopefully, we see more of that side of her soon.

Next time: We find out what happened to Belle now that Emilie is off the show.