OUAT: Mother and Child

Last time on “Once:” Victoria grew desperate to break Lucy’s belief and the witch advised her to pluck it out by the roots. So Victoria jacked up the rent in hopes that it would force Sabine out, leaving Jacinda and Lucy alone.

Sabine, though, decided to take a risk and took advantage of Louie being out of town. She and Jacinda took over Mr. Cluck’s kitchen, making Sabine’s famous beignets and selling them as a one-day only type deal. People lined up and kept buying them, making the women hopeful as Lucy paid them a visit. She gave Sabine her new logo—a firefly.

Victoria found out about the beignet business and sent Wreck-It Ralph to destroy Mr. Cluck’s. Despite the fact that they were doing well, both Jacinda and Sabine took it as a sign that their dreams were not meant to be, they fought and Sabine started to move out—despite Lucy’s pleas not to.


However, Jacinda stopped Sabine and apologized. She revealed she had bought them a food truck so they could go into business for themselves and all was well.

Meanwhile, Rogers interrogated a guy who had a tattoo that matched a drawing the missing girl he’s been trying to find had drawn. The guy didn’t give him any information but toward the end of the episode, we saw him make a call to someone and warn that person that someone was on the trail of Eloise, the missing girl.

Ivy discovered her mother had a secret room at the top of the building and she called Henry to give him the dirt. Concerned about Henry’s relationship with Ivy, Roni intercepted one of Ivy’s texts and went to meet her in Henry’s stead. Ivy brought Roni up to the secret room where Roni found a picture that shocked her. She later showed it to Henry, apologizing for interfering. It was a shot of Regina and younger Henry in Storybrooke. Roni said she didn’t know where it was taken, insisted she never dressed like how she was in the picture and didn’t know the young boy. Henry informed her it was him and they were both shocked and confused.

Now onto the Enchanted Forest plot…

With the king raising taxes again, Eudora and Tiana were forced to auction off their things. It was something Drizella was happy to taunt Tiana for, insulting the quality of the items on display except for a medal. Tiana took it, saying her father’s medal wasn’t supposed to be there. She then bemoaned their situation to her mother, who said that times were tough and they needed a prince to save them. Tiana decided to go find said prince.

Tiana sought out Dr. Facilier, finding him in a tent city filled with peasants who beg her to help them. He chased them off and told Tiana that she would find her prince at the sign of the red crow. She thought he was full of it until she followed some crows to a pub called the Red Crow. Entering it, she was accosted by a drunk but a prince named Marius saved her. They flirted a bit and Tiana hoped she had found her people’s hero.

She took Marius back to her palace and showed him the medal her father won, telling him how her father went from cook to prince. Marius asked to see her again but she caught him stealing the medal. He admitted that Facilier made him do it because he was holding Marius’ true love hostage. He said he wasn’t a prince but a cursed man with the only way to break the curse being True Love’s Kiss. Tiana took the medal back and kicked him out.

Eudora then apologized to her daughter for shielding her from what was going on in the kingdom and for not recognizing that what they needed was in Tiana already. She told her daughter that she was her father’s legacy and pinned the medal on her. Tiana then went back to Facilier, giving him the medal and asking for the frog. The ruby in the medal restored his magic and he refused to give back the frog. Despite his magic, Tiana got the upper hand and took the frog. Facilier disappeared, promising that they would cross paths again.

Tiana returned the frog to Prince Marius. She explained that she was going to lead a rebellion to take the kingdom back and said that she would be honored to have him and his lady love join her. But he said that there was something else he hadn’t told her. He kissed the frog…and turned into one himself. Tiana watched them hop away, happy for them.

Ivy returned to the secret room and encountered the Witch. It soon became clear that they knew each other as the Witch asked if Roni and Henry trusted Ivy now. She believed they were starting to and the Witch praised her for her plan, like making Victoria think she was in charge. Ivy revealed she was in charge and that she was awake as she asks the Witch to call her Drizella.

dun dun DUN!

Roni and Henry are still puzzled over the picture she found in the last episode. He says that it looks like they were photoshopped into a scene from his book, saying that he’s the boy who believes in fairy tales and she is his mother—the Evil Queen. Roni doesn’t take that name well and goes to retrieve her trusty old bat from behind the bar to go after Victoria, who she is convinced is having a go at them. Henry calms her down and says they need to investigate further before they storm the Bastille Victoria’s office.

(It's Roni's bat!)

Jacinda then comes in and tells Roni that she and Sabine bought a food truck. But it needs a lot of work. She’s sold her tools and is hoping Roni has some she can borrow. Roni says that the bar is falling apart so of course she has tools, handing her a red tool box. Jacinda thanks her and Henry offers to help, saying he’s handy around engines for a writer. She shuts him down with a brisk no before leaving Roni’s. Henry wonders what happened and Roni says that if she were the Evil Queen, she could look in her magic mirror and tell him. All she can do, though, is offer him booze.

Good enough.


We then cut to the Enchanted Forest. Henry apparently still has the Tron Legacy lunchbox his mother gave him way back in Season 1 and he puts his tools in it. He’s giving Ella lessons on motorcycle maintenance, introducing her to the torque wrench. They share a Moment before some thugs come upon them, eyeing the motorcycle. Henry figures they’re going to kill him and Ella to steal the bike and they confirm it. So Henry and Ella kick their asses with the wrench and the lunchbox, though Henry eventually trades it for a sword. Regina rushes in, ready to incinerate the fools. Henry assures her he’s got and they finish off the thugs, Ella chasing after one with the wrench as Regina lets her fireball go out.

(She looks so dejected)

Regina asks if he’s okay and Henry says he is because of the lunchbox. She’s touched that he still has it, saying she got it when he was ten and now he’s all grown up with a sword, a motorcycle and a girl. Henry isn’t sure about the girl and the Resistance comes first. He says that once they get the motorcycle fixed, he and Ella are going on a reconnaissance mission. He invites Regina to join them but she declines, saying she has things to do. Besides, he doesn’t need his mother tagging along. She knows he’ll be fine but tells him to be safe anyway.

In her office, Victoria is lying down with her feet propped up on several couch cushions. She has the lights off and a facecloth over her eyes. Drizella pops in and asks if she’s okay. Victoria snarks back that she’s doing all of this because she’s peachy before snapping that she has a migraine. She asks if Drizella (who she of course still calls Ivy) put the right sweetener in her coffee since aspartame can be a trigger. (So can caffeine if that coffee isn’t decaf). Drizella swears she always puts regular sugar in and than says that the hyacinths on Victoria’s desk may be triggering the migraine with its pollen. She takes it away as Victoria dismisses her with another insult.

(Taking off the heels might help, Victoria)

Drizella heads back up to the secret room and gives the hyacinths to the Witch, asking if they have what she needs. The Witch says there’s a small seed but it will grow with fertile ground. Drizella doesn’t want to get that as she’s tired of fetching things. As she storms off, the Witch reminds her to be patient and to remember what she taught her. Drizella takes a deep breath, closes her eyes and says that she imagines her mother’s destruction. The Witch says Victoria isn’t the only one they need to worry about and says she’s not sure showing Roni the picture was a good idea. Drizella tells her not to worry as by the end of the day, Regina won’t be a problem. 

(Weirdest wedding get up ever)

Henry goes to Roni’s and says he thinks he knows why Jacinda is being so cold. He shows her Ivy’s timeline and says that she posted several pictures of them together. Roni looks through them and says that’s why she’s not on social media. Henry says Jacinda is and he thinks she’s misinterpreting what kind of relationship he has with Ivy.

Lucy then rushes into the bar and asks to see the picture. Henry panics, thinking she means the pictures Ivy posted. Roni shows him the other picture and says she wants to see that one, handing it to Lucy. She is amazed by it and says that she knows about the weird room, so she thinks they can trust Ivy. Lucy says that Roni must be Regina, who adopted Henry in the real world and that it was the best thing that ever happened to her. Roni snaps at her, saying it’s not real and Lucy says that Henry had a book of stories that was true. He never gave up believing in them and she won’t either. She just needs to make them believe. Getting a plan, Lucy races out of there as Henry and Roni share a look.

(You can almost see the light bulb over her head)

At the hospital, Rogers and Tilly are there to take Rumple home. Rogers says he has to go on desk duty for a bit but Rumple insists that he’s going straight back into the field. Rogers is sure the captain won’t approve. A nurse rolls in a wheelchair and he gives her a look. She rolls her eyes and leaves without the chair. Rogers guesses that Rumple won’t leave in it and Rumple confirms it. He says he’s going to the station to argue with the captain and tells Rogers to keep an eye on his phone. Rumple might have some tasks for him to do.

Tilly seems to nick some of Rumple’s medication before Rogers stops her. He says that he’s going to need her help on a special case, one involving a missing girl. She agrees to help him and he asks how it usually works with her and Rumple. Tilly says that he buys her lunch and sits down in the wheelchair, still carrying the pill bottle. Rogers sighs and pushes her out of the room.

(Look how happy Tilly is!)

Henry and Roni walk down the street as he finishes a slice of pizza. He says he had his doubts when he saw stray dogs hanging around the place but declares that Bella Notte has the best pizza in town. Roni is quiet and he asks her what’s wrong, asking if it has to do with the “Regina bomb.” She says that it just brought up some painful memories before admitting she tried to adopt years ago. She says a beautiful boy was almost hers before the adoption agency decided she wasn’t mother material. It still hurts and Henry comforts her, saying she’s like the mother to several people in the community.

(Poor Roni. Let's go hug her!)

Roni has some motherly advice about Lucy—she thinks they need to play along with Lucy, acting like they believe her until she comes to realize the truth on her own. Henry agrees and dubs it Operation Heartbreak. At Roni’s look, he explains it is something from his book. Which gives him an idea about where to look for Lucy. Roni says she’ll go find Lucy because she had another reason for taking him to Bella Notte—it happens to be near where Jacinda is fixing up the food truck. She tells Henry to go get her. He jokingly mentions her motherly tendencies and she tells him to be charming and not to slouch, sounding almost like the Evil Queen again. She then relaxes, says she’s kidding and sends him to go get Jacinda.

In the Enchanted Forest, Regina wanders through the trees until she comes to the ruins of a tower. She spots a cloaked figure picking through the debris and hides behind a bush to keep watching the person. The person picks up a chest and opens it. A CGI vine emerges from it and more soon follow as the person drops the chest. The vines wrap around the figure and a killer Venus fly trap emerges. The Audrey II goes after the person but Regina conjures a fireball and rushes from her hiding spot. She yells at the person to watch out and hurls the fireball, destroying the Audrey II and freeing the person.

(Looks like Seymour forgot to feed the plant)

Regina checks on the figure—who turns out to be Drizella. Regina says she should’ve let Audrey II eat Drizella since she tried to kill Henry. Drizella insists it was because she couldn’t defy her mother. But she wants to be free of her mother and live her own life. Regina says she heard Drizella was engaged to a prince and Drizella asks if Regina really thinks that’s what she wants. Regina starts to recognize her younger self in Drizella as Drizella explains that she was born with magic but her mother refused to let her use it. So she’s going to steal it instead. Regina says she understands what it’s like to have a controlling mother so she offers to train Drizella to use her magic. Drizella accepts.

Drizella pours a bag of dirt in front of the Witch, saying she took it from the community garden. The Witch says it’s exactly what she needs as she sprinkles some leaves from the hyacinth onto it. She works the dirt and uses her magic to grow a thorny-looking plant. Drizella reaches out and takes one off but the Witch warns her that she may be going down a dangerous path. Drizella squeezes some sort of clear liquid out of it and says that she’s going to see if Regina is really as powerful as she thinks she is.

(Is someone making a potion?)

Jacinda rolls out from under her truck when she hears music playing. She finds Henry standing there with a boombox, just like in Say Anything. He explains that he’s always been fascinated by the 80s, which has evolved over the past seasons—it seems Henry may have morphed into avatars for Adam and Eddy. Henry also babbles on about mixed tapes as Jacinda tells him he’s no longer making sense. He eventually gets it out that he wants to date her and she asks if he’s sure she’s the one he wants to date. He knows what she means and he assures her that Ivy was mistake—well, not a mistake, but nothing romantic happened. Jacinda says that she is a single mother with a new business so she doesn’t have much time. Henry counters that he is a Swyft driver and failed writer with nothing but time. All she has to do is tell him when. So she asks if now will work and says that he did mention being good with engines. He agrees and celebrates when her back is turned. She hands him a torque wrench and they spend time together under her truck.

(Oh, Henry...)

Lucy opens her closet and sinks down to the floor, disappointed. Roni enters the room and says that Victoria didn’t want Lucy at Jacinda’s. Lucy says her grandmother doesn’t know—but Henry did, Roni points out. Lucy explains she came because when Henry needed magic, the storybook appeared in Snow White’s closet. She says that when certain people touch the book, it helps them remember who they really are. Roni says that if she were to touch the book, she would remember being a queen. Lucy sighs, saying Roni doesn’t believe her. Pulling the picture out of her pocket, Roni says that she would love to believe she was once a queen who lived a grand life and adopted a son she loved. So she offers to help Lucy prove it, making the girl’s day. She hugs Roni, who looks a bit startled but leans into it.

(Hugs always work)

Regina guides Drizella as she tries to levitate a boulder. She struggles and is barely able to get it anywhere before giving up. Drizella apologizes for wasting Regina’s time but Regina thinks she just needs different motivation. Using her magic, she causes part of the tower to collapse and head straight for her. Regina stands there, head bowed as certain death rushes toward her. But a panicked Drizella steps in, using her magic to blast the debris apart and save Regina.

Drizella is proud of herself and Regina praises her. She says that Drizella reminds her of herself when she was younger. But, she says, she didn’t have the right teacher and so her magic came from anger and desire for revenge. She says she did awful things for revenge and talks about the Dark Curse. Drizella asks if it gave her what she wanted. Regina says it did but she soon learned she wanted the wrong things. But she then got her son Henry and he changed her life. Drizella sees how much she loves him and wishes she had a mother like Regina.

Adelaide Kane looks like she could play Lana’s daughter so much and as she’s saying this, part of me really wants her to be secretly an Outlaw Queen daughter but I know we’ll never get that. Adam and Eddy don’t like us enough for that.

Back to the scene, someone interrupts the training session and Regina is surprised to see it’s Rumple.


At the police station, Roni gives Rumple a bottle of booze as a get well soon gift. He isn’t touched and asks her what she wants. She says that she was hoping he could look into if a certain woman adopted a son in Boston. She says she doesn’t know the year and Lucy adds that the woman’s name is Regina Mills. Rumple tries not to react and asks what it’s in it for him. Roni says she’ll owe him and he tells her they have a deal.

Bad move, Roni. Bad move.

(Look how smug he is!)

Tilly takes Rogers to her home—an old box car by the railroad. He looks around as she asks him to play a game of chess with her. She says it will keep her focus as they discuss his case. He seems put off by the fact this is where she lives and then asks if she’s going to reset the boar. She says it’s more fun to start in the middle. So he picks up a stool and sits down as she prepares to start the game, asking about Eloise Gardiner.

Rogers tells her that Eloise was a normal kid who loved art and hated school. She wrote poetry and then she disappeared ten years ago. He pulls out her journal and shows the drawing we saw in the last episode to Tilly, explaining it might be a powerful rune. He’s scattered and frustrated, asking what he’s missing. Tilly turns the chessboard around tells him to look at the pieces he already had in play. She thinks once he looks them over, he’ll realize he has more than he knows.

(Tilly about to drop some wisdom)

Pretty good advice, actually.

Rumple heads into Roni’s bar and she’s surprised to see him. He asks where her partner in crime is and she tells him that Lucy is home. Rumple puts down a file and says that there was a Regina Mills who adopted a baby boy in Boston. Roni can’t believe him, saying that it’s impossible. He wonders why she would go looking for something she didn’t expect to find and she tells him that she asked him for a favor, not an interrogation. Rumple hands her the folder and says that he will collect his favor before leaving.

Still a bad move, Roni. Bad move.

In the Enchanted Forest, Regina and Rumple catches up. She’s amazed that he and Belle lived a whole life in what was just a blink of an eye to them and offers her condolences. He tells Regina that he’s ready to pass on the darkness the right way and she says that he really has changed. Rumple says that change is inevitable—it may be slow and painful, but it is inevitable. Regina says she understands and tells him that Henry doesn’t need her. He wonders if that’s why Regina is so focused on Drizella. Regina says that Drizella has such raw power and needs someone to help her harness it and teach her to stand up to her mother. Rumple says he’s heard about Lady Tremaine and warns Regina to be careful. She insists that Tremaine doesn’t know that Drizella is here and Rumple asks if she would’ve been able to learn magic without Cora knowing. Regina realizes she wouldn’t and he wonders why Tremaine wants Drizella to learn magic.

(One last lesson)

Regina and Drizella spy on Tremaine using Regina’s magic mirror. Tremaine stands over Anastasia’s body and Drizella explains that her sister was always their mother’s favorite. They watch as Tremaine removes Anastasia’s heart and puts it back in again. A horrified Drizella asks what her mother was doing and Regina says that she’s practicing for when she wakes Anastasia. She tells Drizella that Tremaine tried to steal Henry’s heart because the only way to wake Anastasia is to replace her heart. Drizella realizes the heart needs to be full of belief and that her mother is going to use her heart. She starts to cry, saying she always knew that her mother preferred Anastasia but she didn’t know how far she would go to get her back. Drizella fears she’ll never be able to escape her.

(Now I really want to hug Drizella)

Regina promises to keep Drizella safe and to protect her heart. Drizella says that if Regina wants to keep her safe, she’ll help her kill Lady Tremaine. Regina tells her no and that she can’t let her go down such a dark path. Drizella jumps up, saying she thought Regina cared for her. Regina tells her she does and that’s why she can’t let her kill her mother. Drizella says that’s something her mother would do and says that if Regina won’t help her, she has a prince who will.

Rogers goes over the record of the man he talked to the week before and decides to pay him a visit. When he gets to the guy’s house, he knocks but nobody answers. Using his flashlight, he’s able to peer into the house through a window in the door and sees someone on the floor. Rogers kicks in the door and finds the man lying dead on the floor in his pretty messy house.

At her bar, Roni looks over Regina’s adoption application. She pulls out a piece of paper and signs Regina’s name. When she compares it to the signature on the application, she is shocked to realize the handwriting matches.

(Shocker!)

Lady Tremaine continues to look over Anastasia’s body as Drizella enters with her prince, Gregory. She tells her mother that she told him everything and Gregory says that he won’t let Lady Tremaine hurt his future bride. He pulls his sword but is stopped by magic as Regina intervenes. She tells Drizella to stop this plan but Drizella says that her story is not the same as Regina’s. She tells Lady Tremaine that she wanted her mother’s approval but realizes that she’ll never get it because she’s not Anastasia. Lady Tremaine confirms that and Regina tells Drizella that killing her mother won’t make her happy. Drizella says she knows which is why didn’t bring Prince Gregory there to kill her but to do something else. Regina is confused and asks what she’s up to.

Drizella then uses her magic to make a plant kill Prince Gregory by impaling him. The magical vine retracts as a horrified Regina asks Drizella what she’s done. Drizella says she did the one thing both Regina and Lady Tremaine were afraid of—she turned her heart black. She tells Lady Tremaine she can’t use it and her mother asks if she wants congratulations. Drizella says she wants her mother to suffer and says that Regina taught her a lot—especially about how to get revenge by casting the Dark Curse. Regina tells her that was a warning and that the curse is never worth the cost. Drizella doesn’t care; she wants to send her mother to another world where she can plant a seed that will grow until everything in her mother’s life is horrible. Regina says that if she goes down that path, she will fight to stop Drizella. She tells her that heroes can always break curses and Drizella says she’ll make hers unbreakable before disappearing.

(Regina looks like she just caught her daughter sneaking back in and is about to ground her)

Roni is trying to call Henry with her discovery when Drizella comes in. She notes that the place is empty and says she hopes she didn’t miss a meeting of the Avengers since she has dirt for them. She picks a bottle off Roni’s shelf and pours two glasses, giving one to Roni. Roni takes a few sips as she asks Drizella what she found. Drizella says she’s more interested in what Roni found, saying she needed her to go on her little adventure with Lucy. Because it has her asking questions and that opens her mind to the possibility that Henry’s fairy tales are real. Roni starts to feel weird as Drizella’s voice gets distorted and a filter comes over the screen. She asks if Drizella put something in her drink before her memories are returned—we see clips from Seasons 1, 6 and the premiere. Seasons 2-5 apparently never happened—so nothing about Cora, about Zelena, about Robin.

(Good morning, Regina)

Drizella welcomes Regina back and Regina immediately tries to strangle her before remembering there’s no magic. She gloats about waking Regina up as Henry calls back. Regina smiles at her son’s name but Drizella tells her not to pick it up. She reminds Regina that she found a way to make her curse unbreakable and says that Regina will remember soon enough. We watch Regina go from angry to soul-crushingly sad as she lets the call go to voicemail. Drizella says that she’s remembered that something bad will happen to her family if the curse is broken.

Regina asks if Drizella woke her in order to gloat but Drizella says that she needs her help. She tells Regina that she is close to destroying her mother but she needs to make sure the curse doesn’t break. Pretty much she needs Regina to keep Henry and Jacinda apart so they don’t share True Love’s Kiss. She knows they both don’t want that and says that breaking hearts is Regina’s specialty before leaving a heartbroken queen behind her.

(My heart!)

(Okay, one, Regina tends to have her heartbroken not break people’s hearts. Two, Lana deserves all the awards for how she acted in this scene alone).

In the Enchanted Forest, Regina beats herself up for trusting Drizella. Henry tells her that she was trying to help somebody and that’s always a good thing. Regina then says it was about her…and him. She says she came to the Enchanted Forest to help him but it’s clear he doesn’t need her—he can fight his own battles and he also has Ella for help. Henry says that he does need her, that she was the first person to love him and the only one for years. No matter what, he is going to need her in his life. She says she will always be his mother and they share a hug.

Excuse me, I have another Regal Believer moment in my eyes.

Regina sits on a bench as she studies the picture of her and Henry. Henry then shows up and tells her that things are moving in a good direction with Jacinda. She forces a smile, asking him to keep her in the loop and reminds him that she’s good with advice. He sits down, asking her how she was with precocious little girls and their fantasies. She says that maybe Lucy would back off if she knew more about Henry, like who his mother really is. He sighs and tells her that he was born in prison like in his book. But unlike what happened in the book, he was never adopted. He grew up in the system. Regina notes that it’s just like Emma’s story before covering by saying that she read the book. She tells him it was really good but he says she doesn’t have to lie. He says that he used to hate the fact no one liked the book but now believes he wrote it just for himself. That he wanted a mother so much, he gave himself two. This breaks Regina’s heart and she almost tells him the truth. She catches herself and says that she’s glad they got to know each other. He agrees and the camera zooms out on the two of them sitting on the bench.

(So close yet so far)

Part of me is surprised that they decided to wake Regina up so soon but the other is thrilled to have her back. Roni was a breath of fresh air and it was fun to see Lana stretch herself to play a new role. But all the times we flashed back to Regina in the Enchanted Forest just reminded me how much I love this character. She’s really become the bedrock of the show now so it’s great to have her back. It will be interesting to see her be so close to her son yet not able to tell him who she is—Season 3B all over again without a cute thief to distract her.

(Happy to bring this gif back!)


Drizella is so similar to Regina and Adelaide Kane is playing her as well as Lana plays our Queen. I remember I used to want Season 1 Regina to get her comeuppance but I just want Drizella to get redemption, like Regina had. I want her to realize the error of her ways and work to help break her own curse. I still really want her to be Regina’s.


Ugh.

So now we definitely know that Drizella cast the curse and that she did so to punish her mother. But what did she do to make her curse unbreakable? How will Henry, Ella and Lucy be hurt? Hmm…

Next time: We revisit Rapunzel as the hunt for Eloise Gardiner kicks back up.