OUAT: There's Something Rotten in Denmark

Well, Storybrooke, but if the writers are citing Hamlet, then so am I!

Last time on “Once:” Belle and Rumple reeled from the revelation that the hooded figure fated to kill Emma was their son, now all grown up after being kidnapped by the Black Fairy. He explained he needed to kill the Savior in order to free the realms from the Black Fairy and Rumple tried to help him while Belle pleaded with the heroes to give her a chance to get through to her son. David and Hook agreed, though they were determined to keep Emma safe.

Speaking of Emma, she was still trapped in the wish realm. Regina was shocked to see Robin Hood alive and well, though he robbed them. Prince Henry was also determined to capture her and make her pay for killing his grandparents. Emma believed she knew a way for them to go home.

That way? Pinocchio, all grown up and one of Princess Emma’s good friends. She asked him if he still had the wardrobe but he said his father destroyed it. But he believed he could make another one to send Emma and Regina home. Well, Emma at least as Regina decided to go off to see if Robin’s life was better without her.

She found him in the tavern and he told her that he had a great life. She believed he was happy without her and went to leave. They were then captured by the Sheriff of Nottingham and Regina learned that Robin was not an honorable thief but a common one stealing for himself. Marian died before they could marry, so he was all alone and without love. After Rumple freed them but then locked them up again, Robin admitted that he wasn’t happy. He asked her about the other Robin and she told him about his other self—including the fact he died. Still, Robin believed his other self had a good life.

He then broke them out so Regina could find Emma.

Speaking of Emma, she and Pinocchio found another enchanted tree to turn into the wardrobe. Captain Hook, though, showed up to “rescue” Princess Emma. Emma was shocked to find he was older and heavier as well as drunk. He was easily taken care of with a wave of her hand but in the process, Pinocchio’s chisel was broken. He believed he couldn’t make the wardrobe and stormed off, apologizing to Emma for letting her down.

Emma tried herself but when she found a wooden swan, she realized what she had to do. She showed it to Pinocchio, who tells her an alternate interpretation of the Ugly Ducking that she once heard as a child. Emma gave Pinocchio a pep talk and he managed to make the wardrobe. Regina showed up with Robin, who gave her a feather off his lucky arrow. She confessed she believed part of her Robin ended up living on in him and Emma convinced her to bring Robin with them. He agreed and they all headed back to Storybrooke.

In Storybrooke, Emma came face-to-face with Gideon. They fought and it seemed he got the upperhand when he got the sword from her. But despite her tremors, Emma was able to use her magic on him and shattered the sword. Rumple pleaded with her not to hurt his son, allowing Gideon to get away. Emma and Regina were reunited with their family and they prepared to save Emma while Gideon threw a teenage temper tantrum in the clock tower as his parents fretted at the well.

And thus started the second half of Season Six. Let’s continue!

It’s a dark and stormy night. A man enters a cabin and we hear two babies crying. His frantic wife asks him if he was able to get the medicine and he says he couldn’t, that he failed James and David. Yes, the woman is a younger Ruth and the man is David’s father, Robert. They don’t know what they will do.

(Babies!)

Enter Rumpelstiltskin, who throws down money to buy the medicine the boys need. However, there’s a catch. He tells them the story of King George, who has a lot of riches but no sons, and of Robert, who has no riches but two sons. Ruth pulls a knife and tells Rumple that he won’t take one of her sons, but Robert says it’s for the best. They can assure both their boys a good life that way, especially once Rumple tells them that neither would survive the winter otherwise. Rumple gives Robert a coin to flip—heads he takes David, tails he takes James. Robert tosses it and it ends up tails. Rumple takes James as his parents say their goodbyes, promising that they will always love him. Rumple warns them that they’ll never see him again and they can’t speak of this to anyone.

And then he’s gone with James, leaving David crying all alone in his crib.

OUAT: Let's Escape

Last time on “Once:” After an encounter with Queenie at Robin’s grave, Emma learned that the sword she found could hurt Queenie without hurting Regina. It sent Queenie spinning too and Rumple vowing to get revenge on her for what she did to Belle just added to her less-than-stellar night.

So Queenie got revenge. She stole Aladdin’s lamp and used him to send Emma to a world where she never became the Savior. Tensions rose amongst the family before Regina went to confront her other half. She realized that she and Queenie were the same, so she was Aladdin’s mistress as well. She wished herself to the dream world and he granted it.

With Regina gone as well, David decided to take matters into his own hands. He confronted Queenie and got the lamp, controlling Aladdin. He wished for Queenie to get exactly what she deserved but nothing happened. Queenie gloated that she got what she wanted—his family was falling apart. She tried to kill him but Hook and Jasmine intervened.

Later, the hooded figure emerged from Granny’s and turned her into a snake.

Meanwhile, Rumple and Belle had a talk and were horrified to learn that Blue had been attacked. She revealed that the Black Fairy had taken their son and they panicked, wondering what she was doing to him.

In the Wish Realm, Princess Emma celebrated her birthday with her loving parents and the entire court. The Enchanted Forest was prosperous and peaceful, thanks to Snow and Charming banishing the Evil Queen years ago. However, Princess Emma had been having strange dreams and found a sword under her bed. Snow waved it off and Henry figured it was for his knighting ceremony. It seemed even this wish realm, Neal was around…and died. Emma decided to put everything out of her mind and focus on Henry’s big day.

Regina arrived in the Wish Realm and freaked out the dwarves when they thought the Evil Queen returned. She then came across Emma in the woods, surprised at how docile she was as Snow and Charming threatened Regina. Regina poofed back to her castle where she found Rumpelstiltskin. He gave her some advice before making a deal with her for his freedom. As he went to find her a magic bean, she went to remind Emma that she was the Savior.

Henry was knighted and Regina burst in, much like she did at the Snowing wedding. She demanded that Emma find a hero who could fight her before kidnapping the Charmings. Emma then showed up at the Winter Palace, surrendering the kingdom to Regina. Frustrated, Regina crushed Snowing’s hearts in an attempt to get through to Emma. Nothing worked until Henry promised to avenge his grandparents, almost killing a docile Regina. Emma used her magic to stop him, jolted from her wish realm.

In Storybrooke, Rumple and Belle learned the figure under the hood—the one destined to kill Emma—was their son, all grown up.

In the Wish Realm, Rumple came through with a magic bean. Regina and Emma threw it down and a portal opened. But they are then waylaid by Robin Hood—very much alive and very much trying to rob them. Regina was shocked to see her soulmate again and as Emma tried to get her to leave, she refused to move. The portal closed, leaving them trapped.

We open in Minneapolis in 1990. Little Emma sits around a fire in an alley. She tears pages out of a book and throws them in, trying to stay warm in the harsh weather.

A male voice tells her not to tear out the story of “The Ugly Duckling.” She says she’s trying to stay warm and he asks her what she’s doing out there. Little Emma replies that she ran away from a lousy group home. She goes to rip the story again but he tells her again not to. We then see a dark-haired teenage boy who tells her that fairy tales are about transformations and belief. He says the duckling believed he was a swan so much, he became one. Emma points out that that’s not what the story is about—the duckling was always a swan. (She’s right). But he says he likes his interpretation between because it means we can become whoever we believe we are. He asks her if this what she believes is her destiny and says that she’ll find her home one day.

We next see little Emma sipping hot chocolate (with cinnamon!) at Child Services. A woman asks her how long she’s been on the streets and Emma replies a few nights. She’s then asked her name and she gives it as “Emma Swan.” Thus we now know where Emma got her last name.

(I thought it had been established that it was the name of the foster family who originally adopted her but gave her up when they had a child of their own. Or was that fanon I mistook for canon?)

(Look at baby Emma!)

OUAT: Snow White and the Bad Attitude

Last time on OUAT Season 1: It was a Ruby/Red centric episode! After a fight with Granny, Ruby quitted her job and moved out. She ended up staying with Mary Margaret and Emma. After witnessing Ruby answering the phones at the station, Emma decided to give her a job and let her help with the Kathryn Nolan case. Ruby was able to find an unconscious David, who Whale believed was having blackouts related to his coma, and then she located a box buried in the woods with truly horrifying contents. It made her re-evaluate her life and she returned to the diner, where Granny admitted she was harder on Ruby because she planned on turning the diner over to her one day. They then hugged it out.

In the Enchanted Forest, Red Riding Hood was chafing under her grandmother’s restrictions. She had fallen in love with her childhood friend, Peter, but Granny disapproved. And with a bloodthirsty wolf on the prowl, Granny refused to let her out often.

Red found Snow rifling through their henhouse and the two became fast friends. She confided about her feelings for Peter and then enlisted Snow to help her kill the wolf. As they tracked it, they determined the wolf was also human…and was Peter. So Red told him and offered to chain him up so he wouldn’t hurt anyone that night. Then they would run away together. It was a good plan except for one problem…

Peter wasn’t the wolf. Red was.

Granny and Snow arrived too late to save Peter but Snow took Red, running away with her to save her from the mob.

Emma informed David and Mary Margaret about what was in the box—a heart they believe to be Kathryn’s. David collapsed in shock that he could do something. Emma, though, said that the prints didn’t come back to him—they came back to Mary Margaret.

dun dun DUN!

We open in the Enchanted Forest. King George’s army chases Red and Charming as they ride across the snow covered fields. As they close in, Red decides to send Charming on ahead while she holds them off. She tells him to find Snow as she glances at the full moon over head. Red takes off her cape and charges at the soldiers, wolfing out.

(They're doomed)

OUAT: Bombshell

Last time on Once’s First Season: Gold repossessed florist Moe French’s van right before Valentine’s Day due to non-payment on a loan or whatever racket Gold is running. Moe got revenge by breaking in and stealing things from Gold’s house. One item in particular incensed Gold and he went after Moe despite Emma’s warnings not to. She rescued Moe from Gold, locking him up when he refused to explain why he was beating the man senseless.

In the Enchanted Forest, Moe was a duke named Maurice. He asked the Dark One for help in the Ogre Wars and Rumple’s price was Maurice’s daughter, Belle. She agreed to go be the Dark One’s servant to help her people. Over time, she and Rumple grew closer and she came to love him. He felt the same but feared it.

After killing her fiancé Gaston, Rumple tested Belle. He sent her out to the village, fully expecting her not to return. Belle met Regina, who told her about True Love’s Kiss. Eager, Belle returned home and used it on him. When he realized it, though, he flipped out and threw her in a cell. He then let her go, saying he loved his power more than her. Belle didn’t believe that but left.

Later, Regina went to Rumple and told him that Belle had died. She gloated before he threw her out of Dark One Manor.

Regina visited Gold in jail and gave him back his chipped teacup. She then got him to reveal that he has his memories and there was clear animosity between them. The episode ended with Regina going deep in the hospital to visit someone locked up—Belle.

We open in the Enchanted Forest. Princess Can’t Be Bothered is greeted by King George, arriving in No-Name Kingdom for her wedding to Prince “James.” She asks if everything’s alright and he assures her it is. He then turns to his knights and orders them to find “him.”

(She looks so beautiful and so bored)

“Him” is David, who is riding as hard as possible. The knights pursue him and he has to hide from them, pulling himself and his horse off the road. Confused, they turn back and David breaths out in relief…until he is knocked out.

(They'll never find me in this bright red cloak!)

OUAT: Be Careful What You Wish For

Last time on my Season 1 OUAT watch: Mary Margaret and David were drawn to each other but couldn’t be together because of Kathryn. As a storm approached Storybrooke, Mary Margaret ended up discovering that Kathryn might be pregnant. Emma and August shared a conversation and maybe flirted a little. Meanwhile, Mary Margaret was determined to return a bird to its flock and ended up in danger. David rescued her and they had another moment. When it turned out Kathryn wasn’t pregnant and Mary Margaret tried to move on, David though gave in and they shared a kiss.

In the Enchanted Forest, Snow dealt with the fact that Charming was to marry Princess Abigail. She made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin to get a potion that will stop her from loving him. Charming decided that he loves Snow and sent her a letter to see if she felt the same. She put the potion aside and went to see Charming, getting captured in the process. Snow met Grumpy in the dungeons and they were busted out by Stealthy, who was killed during the escape. King George found Snow and threatened to kill Charming if she didn’t break his heart. She did so and was taken in by the dwarfs.

When Grumpy announced that Charming wasn’t getting married after all, she didn’t react. He realized she took the potion after all.

Uh oh.

The storm has claimed a victim in Storybrooke—Henry’s beloved castle playground. He and Emma meet there to take in the ruins of their secret meeting spot. But Henry is worried about the book, which he keeps hidden from his mother there. He checks it, relieved to find it there.

(Aww. The poor playground!)

OUAT: Pulled Together

Last time on “OUAT:” Henry was busted for shoplifting but Regina and Emma both realize he was framed by his so-called friends Ava and Nicholas. Emma realizes they have no parents and are on their own. She goes on a search for their father but Regina tells her to take them to Boston to separate group homes. Emma does find their father but he doesn’t want them. So she reluctantly heads out of town when her car breaks down. When their father comes to fix the car and he sees his children, he realizes he needs to be in their lives and agrees to take them in.

In the Enchanted Forest, Nicholas and Ava were Hansel and Gretel. When their father goes missing, the twins are discovered by the Evil Queen. She sends them on a mission to retrieve something from Emma Caulfield’s House o’ Treats. Emma Caulfield tries to eat them after Hansel falls prey to the lure of her delicious cupcakes but the two outwit her. Regina offers to let them live in the palace with her and while Hansel seems all for it, Gretel says they’ll never live with someone as awful as her. So Regina sends them away and then releases their father, who she imprisoned, wishing him luck in finding his children again.

As Emma and Henry enjoy a late night slice of pie that no doubt would send Mayor Mills into a rage because Henry snuck out again, a stranger on a motorcycle pulls up. He asks for a place to stay as Emma and Henry stare in shock.

August has arrived.

Speaking of him, Henry finds August fixing his motorcycle outside Regina’s house. He asks the man questions and he really doesn’t give him any answers. Regina comes out of the house and is alarmed, like any mother would be, to find her son talking with a stranger. She hurries down the path but August drives away before she can question him. She asks Henry if he knows who that was and Henry shrugs.

(Concerned!Regina is concerned)

OUAT: One Wrong Turn

Last time on “OUAT:” We learned more about Ursula’s backstory—how her father made her use her beautiful singing voice to kill sailors as punishment for humans killing her mother. How Ursula rebelled and ran away, making friends with Hook. How Poseidon offered him a way to kill the Crocodile in exchange for his daughter’s voice, which he believed would take away her reason for running away. How Hook at first remained loyal to Ursula until Poseidon wronged him and so he wronged Ursula in retribution. How a bitter Ursula became the sea witch.

In the present, Hook tries to get Ursula her happy ending in order to get more information about Gold’s plan. Emma and her parents plot to rescue August, who reveals more information about the Author to the Queens of Darkness. Regina has a cryptic dream about Robin, leading her to ask Emma to track down her soul mate. A rescued August reveals that the Author is trapped in the book. Meanwhile, Ursula keeps her end of the bargain when her happy ending is restore. She tells Hook that Gold plans to turn Emma dark.

Are you keeping up?

Good.

OUAT: Mysterious Fathoms

Last time on “Once:” Regina infiltrates the Queens of Darkness and survives their tests: getting drunk, destroying public property, nearly getting run over by a train and kidnapping Pinocchio. David and Mary Margaret tells Emma about the undercover plan and Emma immediately deems it a bad idea. She agrees to help Regina but Regina shakes her off since Emma sucks at being covert. Hook tells Belle about the Queens of Darkness and warns Rumple may come back. So he has her hide the dagger, except it’s really Gold so he has his dagger back. He then meets up with the Queens and turns Pinocchio back into August.

And in the Enchanted Forest past: How Maleficent Got Her Groove Back.