OUAT: Are We Really Doing This $#!* Again?

Last time on “Once:” Roni was still reeling from discovering the picture of her and Henry from another life while Henry was worried that the pictures Ivy posted of him and her from Halloween had cooled Jacinda to him. Lucy, meanwhile, was excited to know about the picture and realized that Roni was Regina, Henry’s adoptive mother and the Evil Queen. Roni was less than thrilled to be an Evil Queen but Lucy ran off to find a way to prove it to her.

Roni revealed that she had tried to adopt and came close to having a baby boy of her own before the adoption agency decided she wasn’t mother material. Henry told her that she was like a mother to him and she pushed him to help Jacinda fix up her food truck. She decided to go help Lucy, hoping that if they play along she’ll then realize that the stories were just fairy tales and leave them alone.

Lucy had been hoping for the storybook to appear in her closet but Roni took her to see Rumple instead, asking him to see if a woman named Regina Mills ever adopted a son in Boston. He asked what he would get in return and she promised to owe him a favor. They had a deal. Rumple quickly delivered, giving Roni Regina’s adoption application. She compared the handwriting and realized it matched.

Meanwhile, Rogers got some advice from Tilly about his case. She advised him to look at the pieces he already had and he would see he had more clues than he thought. It pushed Rogers to find the man from the previous episode but he dead. Oops.

In the Enchanted Forest, Regina was feeling a bit useless since Henry seemed to be able to take care of himself and had found a kickass almost girlfriend to watch his back. So she took a walk in the woods and rescued Drizella from the Audrey II. Drizella admitted she has magic but was never allowed to learn to use it. She wanted it so she could get out of her life with her controlling mother who was forcing her to marry a prince. Regina definitely could relate so she offered to teach Drizella herself.

Rumple reappeared and told Regina about his life with Belle and his goals. She wished him luck and he warned her to be careful, saying there was probably a reason Lady Tremaine was letting Drizella learn magic. Regina thought of Cora and realized he was probably right. So she used her mirror to allow Drizella to see Lady Tremaine. They learned Lady Tremaine was preparing to take Drizella’s heart out to bring back her dead daughter, Anastasia. Regina promised to protect Drizella but drew the line at killing Lady Tremaine. So Drizella ran off.

Regina followed her and watched in horror as Drizella killed her fiance in order to darken her heart. She then told her mother that she was going to cast the Dark Curse so that Lady Tremaine was sent to a place where she would suffer. Regina promised to stop Drizella and told her that heroes always break curses. Drizella vowed to make hers unbreakable and poofed away.

Later, Regina confided in Henry that she felt foolish for telling Drizella about the Dark Curse. She also admitted that she felt useless since he didn’t need her. Henry assured her that no matter how old he got and whoever he befriended, he was always going to need his mother. She loved him and he loved her. That was that.

Back in Hyperion Heights, Drizella paid Roni a visit and gave her a drink. It contained a magical potion that woke Regina back up, restoring all her memories. She lashed out at Drizella but realized she didn’t have her magic. Drizella also reminded her about what would happen if the curse is broken—namely, everyone Regina loves would suffer. So she had to keep Henry and Jacinda from falling in love. It broke Regina’s heart, especially at the end when she’s so close to her son—who thinks he was an orphan raised in the system—and can’t tell him the truth.

Poor Regina.

We open in the Wish Realm, where Hook wanders through a marketplace. He grabs a silver pot and bangs it, waking up his drunk crew. He orders them to get the Jolly Roger ready because they were going on a trip. Smee asks him where they are going and Hook tells him that the Evil Queen is going to cast a curse that will take them from this land. And then he can get revenge on the Crocodile.


The Evil Queen tells him to put a pin on those plans. He asks why she’s not casting her curse and she reveals that Snow White and Charming have stolen her magic. Smee marvels at the fact that the Evil Queen was defeated and she tries to choke him before remembering she doesn’t have any magic. He asks how he’s supposed to get his revenge now and she says that she needs a ship to get her away from that land before Snow and Charming find her. In exchanged, she’ll give him a map to a tower in a distant land that contains magic that will destroy anybody—including his crocodile. He asks what the price is and she says that a powerful witch guards the tower so he’ll have to go it without her magic. He agrees to the exchange and takes the map from her.

(Welcome back, Your Majesty)

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.

OUAT: I’m Almost There

Last time on “Once:” We said goodbye to Belle in an emotional episode. First, though, the Hyperion Heights plot.

It was Halloween and Ivy was forced to take Lucy trick or treating since Victoria didn’t want Jacinda near the girl after the community garden revolt. Lucy wanted to go see a haunted house but Ivy was too focused on herself to really care. So Lucy snuck off, leaving a panicked Ivy behind.

Meanwhile, Roni encouraged Henry to try to find love again and to ask Jacinda out. He went to her job to do that but Ivy burst in looking for Lucy. He offered to help look for her so Jacinda didn’t lose her job and she thanked him. After hours of looking, Ivy had a heart-to-heart with Henry where he encouraged her to take a chance and push back against her mother. They then realized where Lucy was and went to get her.

Ivy reunited mother and daughter, saying they could go trick or treating for the remaining hour and that she would handle her mother. Henry chickened out when he had his opening to ask Jacinda out and left, heading to Roni’s. Ivy met up with them and they shared some Halloween drinks.

Weaver visited Tilly to see if she had any information but all she had was riddles about masks and puzzles. She then accosted Victoria in her car and so Victoria ordered Weaver to not only make sure Tilly took his pills but was locked up. He was reluctant to lose his best informant but Victoria essentially blackmailed him into doing it.

Tilly, though, insisted that the pills made her small and foggy, that it was Victoria’s way of keeping her from remembering. From putting all the puzzle pieces together. She forced Weaver into coming with her so she could remind him who he really was as he wanted to get dirt on Victoria to essentially blackmail her right back. Tilly brought him to a storage container filled with a lot of things, including Chip. When Weaver tried to leave, she took his gun and insisted that he needed to remember who he was. She called him Rumpelstiltskin…and then shot him.

He came to in the hospital with Rogers by his side. Rogers assured Weaver that Tilly was back on her medication and Weaver ordered him to put that it was a masked robber who shot him in the report. Rogers agreed and went out to comfort a distressed Tilly, playing a game of chess with her.

Now, we leave Hyperion Heights for a moment to head back to Storybrooke, where Belle and Rumple were celebrating Gideon’s first birthday. All was quiet in the little hamlet but Belle was focused on getting everything ready in case a disaster struck. Rumple assured her that everything was fine and then gave her a book, saying it was a scrapbook for their adventures. After years of giving up her dreams for him, he was going to make sure she got to live them.

Rumple, Belle and Gideon left Storybrooke and went on a grand adventure throughout the realms. Rumple wanted to rid himself of the dagger so he could live a mortal life with Belle, but his plan didn’t work. So she promised that they would find a way and they returned to his manor. Adult Gideon went off to school while Belle found a prophecy that told them to go to a place where time stands still. Rumple knew where it was and took her there, where they had to wait for the sun to set.

Since it would take a long time for the sun to set, they built a little house and decorated it. They spent their days there, happy. Belle, though, grew older and older until she collapsed one day. She revealed that the prophecy meant that she needed to die and that he needed to believe in that their love would transcend death. Then he would find the guardian, the person destined to take the dagger and the darkness from him. They shared one more sweet moment and then Belle died.

Rumple and Gideon buried her. Gideon asked his father to let him take the dagger but Rumple was determined to find the Guardian. He took a portal, running into Alice just as Henry passed by on his motorcycle. And that was how Alice ended up in Rumple’s employ. But is she the guardian?

Back to Hyperion Heights to wrap up…Victoria visited Weaver to express her displeasure that he let Tilly go. He told her that Tilly wasn’t a threat and then said that she had no idea who she was messing with. He wasn’t going to be bullied by her and dropped a dearie, indicating that he was awake and knew who he really was. Victoria left and it’s unknown if she understood that. All that’s known is that she should watch her back.

Well, I think it’s safe to say things are going to get very interesting…

Victoria goes to visit the witch, bringing her some tea. She says she wants to apologize but the witch says that she’s finding it more difficult to break Lucy’s belief. Victoria concedes that and the witch tells her that Victoria sees belief as something easily removed but likens it to a weed. She tells her she needs to destroy its roots. Victoria then offers her some tea but the witch snaps that she wants her special tea, which Victoria offers to give her once she tells her what she wants to know—which one of Lucy’s roots does she start with?

(Someone needs a hair cut)

OUAT: How Does a Moment Last Forever?

Last time on “Once:” In Hyperion Heights, Roni, Rogers and Henry started working on their quest to uncover all of Victoria’s underhanded doings. Roni revealed that the new buildings commissioner got trashed at her bar and let it slip that he was meeting Victoria that day for something nefarious. Rogers decided to stake out where the man said he was going to meet Victoria and see if he could get some dirt from him.

With Lucy living at Victoria, she and Jacinda were exchanging letters by leaving them in the well in the community garden. Victoria, though, announced she owned the property now and was destroying it immediately. Jacinda vowed to stop her for Lucy’s sake and Roni gave her the idea to get a petition for an injunction.

Weaver got suspicious of Rogers when he ducked out of work, claiming a court date. He then followed Rogers when he staked out the spot where Victoria met the buildings commissioner, paying him off before they went their separate ways. Rogers then tracked down the commissioner and arrested him for taking the bribe. Weaver ultimately let him go, telling Rogers that the commissioner was now one of his informants on Victoria. Rogers wasn’t pleased.

Lucy was convinced that her step-grandmother had something hidden under Hyperion Heights like Regina had Snow’s coffin hidden under Storybrooke. She recruited Henry to explore the tunnels for whatever it was that Victoria didn’t want found, finding a piece of glass she was certain it was from one of her mother’s glass slippers. Henry told her she was stretching but Lucy ran off, determined to show it to her mother to make her remember.

However, she found her mother just as Jacinda fell prey to one of Victoria’s mind games. Jacinda burnt the petition in exchange for one of the condominiums she planned to build. When Jacinda tried to explain to Lucy that she did it for them so they could be together, Lucy said she didn’t want to be together like that and ran off. Jacinda went to Roni’s and Roni gave her a pep talk, encouraging her to stand up to the Victoria Belfreys of the world.

So Jacinda rallied the people to sign the petition again and to help tend to the garden. Lucy and Henry were proud of her and they managed to stop Victoria, going to celebrate with ice cream. Lucy gave him the glass shard in order to help him believe that she and her mother were his family and it almost worked…until he found his “family’s” graves in the local cemetery.

Now onto the Enchanted Forest plot…Cinderella was rescued by Tiana after she left the ball. Tiana revealed that Lady Tremaine killed Cinderella’s father because he tried to stop her from destroying the kingdom. She invited Cinderella to join her resistance movement and Cinderella agreed, leaving her shoe behind for Henry to find.

At the Resistance Camp. Tiana shared her plan to storm Lady Tremaine’s manor as they know she’s stockpiling dark magical items. She showed Cinderella a drawing and Cinderella lied that she didn’t know what it was when it was clear she did. Henry, Regina and Wish!Hook showed up and also joined the resistance.

That night, Cinderella snuck out and went to her stepmother’s house. Lady Tremaine admitted that she killed Cinderella’s father and that Cinderella knows why. Cinderella asked if she would ever make up for what she did and Lady Tremaine pretty much said no. But she said Cinderella could get her Henry’s heart so she could put it in the body of her daughter Anastasia in order to bring her back to life. And if she doesn’t, Lady Tremaine promises all her new friends will be destroyed.

Cinderella thought couldn’t take Henry’s heart and Regina stopped her before she could take someone else’s. Cinderella confessed that she played a role in what happened to Anastasia and Regina told her to forgive herself. Then she could really defeat Lady Tremaine. Cinderella took the advice, asked to be called Ella and warned Tiana that it would be a trap to go to Lady Tremaine’s manor. Everyone moved on and Ella was willing to get to know Henry more.

Back in Hyperion Heights, Victoria dug up what she needed—Anastasia’s coffin. She brought it to the very top of her tower and revealed she had a witch trapped up there. She wanted the witch to help her revive her daughter but the witch said they needed either Henry’s or Lucy’s heart first. She also taunted Victoria some and when the woman bit back, the witch warned that Victoria could get Anastasia back…but then she would have to deal with the witch.

Foreboding.

Look! It’s Storybrooke! And Granny’s courtyard! And Belle! Rumple takes a picture of her as she tends to Baby Gideon and she scolds him, saying she’s not ready yet. She says there’s so much to do as she rattles off who is bringing what. Rumple tells her to relax and reminds her it’s a first birthday party. He says that as long as everyone shows up and Gideon ends up with cake on his face, it’ll be a success. She says she’s just used to the chaos and that she guesses she needs to get unused to it. Rumple agrees that it’s been quiet the past year and remarks that he can’t remember the last time he used his dagger.

After some dialogue to remind everyone that he’s the beast to her beauty, Rumple gives Belle a gift. She opens it to find a scrapbook. He tells her it’s for their adventures, saying that she’s put up with him for a long time. Now, though, he wants to give her what she’s always wanted—to see the world. She thanks him and they share a kiss.

(Aww, Rumbelle)