OUAT: A Noblish Sacrifice

Last time on “Once”: Lucy was rushed to the hospital as everyone tried to figure out what was wrong with her.

Victoria meanwhile tried to keep Anastasia safe from Gothel and Drizella. She was forced to work with Rumple, who wanted to know if Anastasia was his long sought after Guardian as well as wanted to heal Lucy. He tested Anastasia and while she showed amazing magical powers, she ran away and let Drizella take her from their mother.

After going with Regina to San Francisco, Henry had to bail on her to be there for Lucy. She was left to deal with “Kelly,” Zelena’s cursed persona. Kelly hated Regina because she convinced Kelly’s daughter to drop out of college and travel the world, also seemingly cutting her mother out of her life as well. Regina apologized and tried to convince Kelly to come back to Seattle with her. When she refused, Regina was able to wake Zelena up. Zelena was willing to go to Seattle but pointed out a big problem—Kelly was getting married in a few weeks.

Rogers and Tilly discovered the coven symbol under the troll bridge and reported it to Weaver. He discovered a coin from the coven and told the two that “they” were in the city.

Henry read to Lucy and decided to try True Love’s Kiss, but it didn’t work. Regina told Zelena that was because Victoria must’ve broken Lucy’s belief, preventing the kiss from working. However, it was a good thing that it didn’t work—Henry’s life depended on it!

In the Enchanted Forest, we did a lot of time jumping. So hold on and try to keep up!

Ella gave birth to Lucy and Drizella showed up to threaten them with the Dark Curse. But Lady Tremaine somehow was working with the heroes and they used her blood to turn to Drizella into a statue. She got freed on Lucy’s eighth birthday by Mother Gothel and the two went off to cast the Dark Curse.

Regina went to recruit Zelena and a grown up Peanut, who were now in the Enchanted Forest while Hook went to visit Alice, who was keeping a fully Dark One Rumple company. Rumple gave Hook something to help him remember who Alice was in the curse and Alice asked him to deliver a letter to someone she had fallen in love with. Henry took Lucy to the original Enchanted Forest, leaving her with Tiger Lily so he could carve a magical wardrobe so they could escape ahead of the curse. But he got captured instead.

All the heroes confronted Drizella and Gothel, who revealed they captured Henry and poisoned him. It forced Regina to cast the curse. Alice’s new love was Peanut and they promised to find each other in the curse while Hook gave Ella the white elephant statue so she and Lucy would still be together in the curse.

In Hyperion Heights, Regina and Zelena vow to find a way to break the curse without killing Henry while Gothel gave Drizella’s powers to Anastasia. She then trapped Drizella in a hole with her mother while preparing to find the rest of her coven so the next part of her plan could start.

We open on a boiling potion as someone chants to some goddess. The camera pulls back to reveal three women in hoods, looking like members of Gothel’s coven, as the one chanting holds a book. She dips a vial in and gathers some potion in it before holding it up. 

(Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble...)

OUAT: Beware the Coven

Last time on “Once:” Victoria convinced Rumple to let her out of prison and promised him information on the Guardian. She was determined to bring her daughter Anastasia back to life as Drizella and Gothel followed her, determined to find her as well. Rogers broke into Rumple’s evidence locker and realized he was keeping files on everyone in Hyperion Heights, growing more suspicious of the man. 

Victoria relinquished all custody claims to Lucy, which Jacinda had validated by Nick. He kissed her but she pushed him away, saying she just wanted to parent with him. Unbeknownst to them, the kiss was recorded and Victoria planned to use it for nefarious reasons as she took Lucy from ballet and told her the truth about fairy tales—and her own story. 

Besides being Lady Tremaine, Victoria was also Rapunzel! She stole some vegetables to feed her family but was caught by Gothel. Rapunzel made a deal so her family could have a better life—but she ended up trapped in a tower. After her hair grew long enough, Rapunzel finally escaped and was reunited with her family. Only her husband Marcus, believing her dead, had married Ella’s mother, Cecilia. 

Rapunzel was given a job in Marcus and Cecilia’s household and allowed to live in a cottage on the property. She tried to reconnect with her daughters but while Anastasia welcomed her back, Drizella clearly preferred Cecilia over her. And she was getting mixed signals from Marcus, who seemed to love her but also Cecilia. Gothel showed up and gave her a mushroom that would get rid of Cecilia for her, allowing Rapunzel to take her happiness back. Rapunzel refused to use it but Gothel left it behind for her…just in case. 

After Drizella once again rejected Rapunzel and prefers Cecilia, Rapunzel used the poison on Cecilia. It poisoned her heart and drove her to Wonderland. Marcus returned and took Rapunzel back as his wife, the two taking in Ella and raising her with their girls. One day, though, the girls were building a snowman on an ice-covered lake when Anastasia and Ella fell through some ice. Marcus dove in but only managed to rescue Ella. 

Rapunzel found Anastasia, barely clinging to life, and brought her to Gothel. She begged Gothel to save her daughter and Gothel locked in Anastasia’s last breath to keep her from dying. But then Gothel insisted that Anastasia needed to go into the tower and this time, Rapunzel won’t be able to break anyone out. She revealed that she was testing people to find someone who was entirely selfless, trying to find a special person. Rapunzel failed when she ultimately poisoned Cecilia but maybe Anastasia will pass. Rapunzel stole Gothel’s magic and trapped her in the tower, vowing to find a way on her own to rescue Anastasia. 

Victoria took Lucy to see Anastasia in the hospital, showed her the video of Jacinda and Nick kissing and told her that happy endings weren’t real. She traumatized the poor girl into giving up her belief and shedding a tear, which Victoria collected as Lucy ran away. 

Rogers confronted Rumple, who admitted that he had been played by Victoria. He promised to work with Rogers—just as long as he helped him find Lucy, who was missing. Lucy, though, showed up at home and Jacinda noticed how brokenhearted she was. But before Lucy could tell her why she was so upset, she collapsed as Victoria used her tear to wake Anastasia up. 

Drizella watched the reunion before walking away, looking heartbroken yet determined. 

We open as doctors rush Lucy through the hospital. Jacinda runs by the gurney’s side, holding onto her daughter’s hand. She assures Lucy that she’s there as Lucy lies there, hooked up to oxygen. 
A flashback takes us back to the Enchanted Forest. Henry introduces his newborn daughter to Wish!Hook, Tiana and Jack and they all congratulate him. Jack teases him about being a father and Henry asks where his mother is. Drizella shows up, saying that Regina got caught up with something but is unharmed. Henry warns her to stay away from his daughter but she’s not there to hurt Lucy. 

(The proud papa!)

She’s there to deliver a prophecy—a curse will come on Lucy’s eighth birthday, one that will end their lives as they know it. Wish!Hook says she needs to check the prophecy again because she overlooked the part where they defeat her and Henry tells her to look down. Drizella does so and realizes she’s standing on a rune that’s glowing. It slowly turns her into stone and she realizes it’s blood magic. She asks how they did that and Lady Tremaine shows up for some reason, saying she contributed some of her blood because she can’t let Drizella cast the curse. Before her face turns to stone, Drizella vows that she will come back and that the curse will be cast—no matter what. 

(Don't Blink)

OUAT: What a Tangled Web

Get the pun? If not, hopefully you will by the end of the recap.

Last time on “Once:” Alice believed she had found a cure for the curse that separated her from her father—Wish!Hook. However, it didn’t and Hook ended up injured. She ran away to Wonderland, pursued by Ella and Henry. Henry realized Ella was familiar with Wonderland and she revealed that her mother ran away to Wonderland, abandoning her father. Ella hoped to find her mother and get answers, entering the infinite maze to do so.

Ella found Alice as well as her mother’s locket. Alice knew Ella’s mother, Cecilia, and revealed that her mother ran away to Wonderland because she was poisoned the same way Wish!Hook was. She had to stay away from the people she loved and was looking for a cure. Unfortunately, she was killed when the Jabberwocky attacked. Ella thanked her for telling her that and seemed to make peace with the fact that her mother hadn’t just abandoned them for no reason.

Alice revealed a pretty sorceress tricked her into thinking she was cured and Ella realized it was Drizella. Meanwhile, Drizella tried to poison Henry’s heart with the same curse but Ella got there just in time to save him thanks to her Magical Lockets of True Love. She finally gave into her feelings for Henry and they shared a Big Damn Kiss, complete with 360 camera work.

They returned to camp to assure Wish!Hook that Alice was fine and that she hoped they would be reunited one day. Regina noticed they were holding hands and wished them the best. Tiana then revealed that someone claiming to be friends with Henry showed up. He introduced the man as Jack, one of his first friends in the Enchanted Forest, and Jack joined the rebellion.

Meanwhile, Hyperion Heights reeled over Victoria’s arrest. Henry recorded some footage of Drizella for his podcast and she asked if he would want to make videos with Belfrey Industries’ backing. Regina stepped in and warned Drizella away from her son but Drizella was feeling pretty in control, revealing that Eloise Gardiner was Mother Gothel. Regina certainly knew who she was and how dangerous she was.

Gothel, meanwhile, checked in with Officer Rogers and brought him a cake. Regina later threw it out when she found out Gothel made it and she encouraged Rogers to give Tilly a second chance. It certainly gave Rogers something to think about it and he later made a standing appointment with Tilly to play chess with her each week.

Lucy was put into a foster home and Sabine convinced Jacinda to enlist the help of Lucy’s bio-dad (at least according to the curse)—Nick, who is just a cursed Jack. He has become a lawyer and he agreed to help her get their daughter back, though he was probably also flirting with her—even taking her to a fancy restaurant. He met Henry and the two bonded immediately, though it was dampened on Henry’s side when he learned who Nick was. But he had to admit he was a good man and tried to get Lucy to bond with her father. She was having none of it, convinced Nick was the “Kathryn.”

Meanwhile, Regina met with Rumple and told him that she was awake. She told him that Gothel was around and that they both knew they couldn’t let her continue to be free. Rumple, though, played dumb and pretended he wasn’t awake. So Regina said she would get help from somewhere else.

Henry continued to work on the food truck but when he saw Jacinda and Nick coming back from a date, he left after giving her the keys. She chased after him and explained that she felt something for him but she needed to focus on Lucy. She confessed that she didn’t lose Lucy—she signed her parental rights over to Victoria, believing it was for the best. Now she was scared that Lucy will hate her for it. Henry reassured her that it wouldn’t happen and encouraged her to tell that to Nick so he could help her. He then said that maybe it wasn’t a good time for them to start anything and they parted ways.

He then went and drank his feelings, horrifying Regina when she found him at her bar. It only grew as he railed against love, especially since it wasn’t going to work out with Jacinda. She took the bottles from him and said that she needed to go to San Francisco to enlist the help of someone who hates Victoria Belfrey…but hates her more. She invited Henry to come along with her to get a change of scenery and he agreed, saying he had the perfect playlist for their car ride.

Jacinda and Nick got Lucy returned to her custody and Lucy happily returned home to her mother. Jacinda apologized for giving her up but promised that she would always fight for her going forward. Lucy forgave her and told her she believed in her. Jacinda then introduced Lucy formally to Nick, though she wasn’t too thrilled about that. After, Jacinda went to Roni’s to give Henry a mix tape but was told he went to San Francisco with Roni. She left, disappointed.

Drizella and Gothel continued to work together. Gothel asked Drizella to find Anastasia’s body so they could get to her magic. Drizella finally found her in one of Victoria’s other properties but when they opened the coffin, it was empty and so their search continued.

We open in the middle of a storm as a team of horses race through the night, leading a carriage. A clocked figure guides them as two small children rest in the back, caring for a sick man. The carriage comes to a stop by a gate and the man asks the driver why they have stopped, addressing the person as “Rapunzel.” We see Rapunzel in the front seat—and this time it is her, the woman whose appearance Mother Gothel stole in order to seduce Wish!Hook. She explains that she found some food for them and he apologizes that she must care for them. Rapunzel assures him—Marcus—that things will get better and all the dreams they have for their family will come true. She then tells her daughters to stay with their father and assures them that the lanterns will connect them—they will see hers and she’ll see theirs. She promises that family always finds a way to stay together before heading into the garden beyond the gate.

(It's Rapunzel--the real one!)

OUAT: Tainted Love

Last time on “Once:” Rogers asked Tilly to help him find Eloise Gardiner. She met up with him again and told him that Eloise had been living on the street and going by Rain until she was killed in a car accident a couple years earlier. Rogers was shattered and almost fell off the wagon, having gone sober after being drunk on the job when Eloise was kidnapped (which is why he took her disappearance so hard). He realized that the painting Tilly had given as proof that Rain was Eloise was only made recently and knew exactly what was going on.

He stormed the evidence room and confronted Rumple, demanding to know why he made Tilly lie. Rumple told him he was trying to protect Rogers from himself, but couldn’t explain why just yet. Rogers pretty much told him to go to hell and then stormed over to Victoria’s office, getting Drizella to give him access to the GPS on her mother’s car so he could track her down.

Rogers stormed into a warehouse owned by Victoria. He found her there as she had discovered that Drizella was awake and working with the Witch. She hid the Witch but Rogers freed her, saying she was Eloise.

dun dun DUN!

Victoria was arrested while Tilly apologized for lying. Rogers told her he was disappointed in her before heading to the hospital with the Witch. Drizella gloated over her mother’s demise while Lucy had to go into foster care, leaving Jacinda vowing to get her daughter back. It was the main reason why she decided not to pursue a relationship with Henry, encouraged by Regina—who still needed to keep them from sharing True Love’s Kiss.

Our flashbacks took us to the Wish!Realm as well as the Enchanted Forest. Hook prepared his crew to leave with the Queen’s curse but she showed up to reveal that Snow and Charming took her magic, so she couldn’t cast the curse. She asked Hook to go retrieve a flower from a tower so she could use its magic to restore her own. Then they can go get his revenge on the Crocodile. Hook agreed and took Smee with him.

They found the tower and Hook scaled up it, climbing into the window. He met Rapunzel, who explained she was trapped there by a witch’s curse and told him where to get the magical flower. He promised to return so she could use it to escape and she was surprised he would do that. But Hook’s “save a damsel” side had been triggered and he was taken with her.

Hook and Smee went to the garden and Hook sang a sea shanty to find the flower but only managed to start a fight with a giant garden gnome. As Smee acted as bait, Hook started to sing a lullaby which did activate the flower. He grabbed it and it defeated the gnome. Hook ordered Smee to go back to port while he went to rescue Rapunzel. Smee warned him to be careful before heading out.

Returning to the tower, Hook gave Rapunzel the flower. She showed her gratitude by kissing him and then the camera panned away to indicate sexy times.

In the morning, Hook was surprised to learn that Rapunzel had a baby overnight. Rapunzel then revealed she was the Witch, Mother Gothel, and had used a glamor spell to trick him into sleeping with him. She said she needed someone of her bloodline to leave in the tower so she could escape, leaving behind their daughter in her place. Hook was more appalled at that rather than the fact he had been raped by deception, much like Robin was by Zelena. Once again, that was brushed over but I’m not going to start that again.

Hook went back to the port and gave the flower to the Evil Queen while also turning the Jolly Roger to Smee. He said he needed to stay behind because something more important came up. The Evil Queen asked what was more important than revenge and the answer was his daughter, who Hook named after his mother—Alice.

We open with a sword fight between Ella and Henry. It seems she is getting the upper hand, though he is holding his own. She teases him, saying she thought he was taught by a pirate. He replies he was but Hook didn’t cheat as much as did. She counters with the fact that the royal guards won’t fight fair either. They end up entangled in each other’s arms and share a moment before Ella ends it. Henry apologizes and Ella says it’s complicated. Before she can elaborate, she freezes and whispers that they are not alone.

(Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!)

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: 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!)

OUAT: Exeunt Emma Swan

Last time on “Once:” A strange sense of deja vu.

Henry decided to leave home after graduating high school in order to find his own story since he was in any of the storybooks he found in the Sorcerer’s mansion. Regina had her concerns but let him go, watching as he used a magic bean to drive his motorcycle off into another realm. We next saw him all grown up and now played by Andrew J. West as he caused a carriage on the road to crash. He ran over to check on the rider, surprised to find it was a new version of Cinderella.

He roused her and she was rightly pissed off that he destroyed her carriage and made her horse run off. She said she was late for the ball and Henry offered to give her a ride on his motorcycle. She had some doubts but she got in, letting him show her how it worked. Henry then told her about her story at her request, about how she falls in love with the prince but has to leave him a sign to find her—her shoe. Cinderella laughed, saying that was ridiculous. And she didn’t believe in signs anyway. She did believe in punching Henry and stealing his motorcycle, though.

He was clearly in love with her before he even hit the ground.

Henry pursued Cinderella to the ball, dancing with her as he tried to get his knife back from her. She confessed that she was really there to kill the prince because he killed her father. Henry tried to convince her to come with him to his land, to get a second chance. But she chose to get her revenge, running off with the prince. Henry tried to stop her but he ended up tripping and meeting Alice, who said she was asked to watch over him by his grandfather. She warned him that bad things happen when someone interferes in a story that isn’t their own and told him to go home. Henry said he helps people and stormed back to the ballroom.

Cinderella was about to kill the prince but had a change of heart. Unfortunately for him, Lady Tremaine killed him because he rejected Drizella while his own brother seemed to favor her. She then framed Cinderella and Henry helped her escape, telling her to take his motorcycle and meet him where they first met so they could go to his realm together. An epic fight scene ensued as Cinderella made a break for it.

Henry returned to the spot where het met Cinderella but she wasn’t there. He figured she took the bike and went somewhere else just as his portal home opened. But when Henry spotted her shoe, he knew she wanted her to find her. So he allowed the portal to close up and announced that Operation Glass Slipper was a go.

All of this was intercut with scenes in our world, focused on a town in Seattle called Hyperion Heights. Unsuccessful but published author Henry was drawn there after a young girl name Lucy knocked on his door and told him that she was his daughter. She told him his family was trapped in a curse and they needed to break it. Henry told her curses weren’t real and he just made up everything in his book.

Lucy stole his laptop to force him to journey out to her neighborhood and it worked. There, he met Roni—Regina’s cursed identity who owns a bar—and Jacinda, Lucy’s mother and Cinderella’s cursed identity. She had a bad day, getting fired from her minimum wage job and then losing Lucy. Her stepmother, Victoria Belfrey—Lady Tremaine—then ordered that Lucy live with her full time and Jacinda ran off as Roni glared at Victoria.

Meanwhile, Henry’s presence was reported by Alice’s cursed self to Rumple’s cursed self, Weaver. He seemed to be a shady character in the neighborhood. Keep that in mind.

Henry discovered his car was stolen and he reported it missing, meeting Hook’s cursed self, Officer Rogers. Afterward, he had a tense confrontation with Lucy where he told her that she wasn’t his daughter because he lost his real wife and daughter in a fire. She couldn’t convince him that was just part of the curse and he left as Jacinda pulled up and told Lucy they needed to go.

Victoria enlisted Officer Rogers’ and Henry’s help to find Jacinda and Lucy. Henry told her of an island Jacinda confessed she wanted to live on and Officer Rogers picked up Lucy. Ivy—Drizella’s cursed counterpart—took the book away from her and gave it to Rogers. He spotted something inside it but pushed it aside. Afterwards, Jacinda gave it to Henry and walked away as he got his car back.

Officer Rogers got a promotion to detective and was partnered with Weaver—who was doing shady things earlier if you remember. Roni decided not to sell her bar to Victoria, deciding to stand up to the town bully. Jacinda got her job back and then went to toss a quarter into the well. As she did so, Rogers continued to stare at the page in the book that enticed him earlier—a picture of Emma—and Henry discovered that there is no cemetery where he thought his family was buried. He then went home and started writing as a flower bloomed in the garden.

We open in Storybrooke, years ago…according to the title card. Hook fights young Henry on the Jolly Roger, the two clashing swords all over its deck until Henry gets the upperhand. Emma praises him, saying he fights as well as his grandfather. Henry starts to reply and Hook is able to introduce him to floor. He gives Henry some advice but Henry just goes off to sulk, saying he’ll never be good enough.

(Teen angst ahoy!)

Emma asks what’s going on with him and Hook tells her that Henry is growing. She realizes he’s going to leave and Hook agrees, saying it’s time. Emma, though, is worried. She says she missed so much and doesn’t know if she’ll get a second chance. Hook assures her she will have the time. He then pulls out a little bottle from a chest and she asks if it’s rum. He says it’s something he picked up during his troubles, explaining you speak a message into it, say the name of whoever you want it to go to and then drop it in the water. It’s then taken to that person. Emma realizes he’s going to give to Henry so he can stay in touch and she thanks him. Hook assures her that Henry will be fine, that he was lucky to have a mother like her. And she says Henry is lucky to have a pirate like Hook. They hug as they watch a brooding Henry continue to brood.

(Ridiculously happy)

OUAT: A Brand New Beginning…

I’m not going to do a “Last time on Once” here. The season 6 finale wrapped up several storylines. That story is over. In many ways, Once Upon a Time is over and this is a brand new reiteration…that just so happens to be season 7. So we’re going to start fresh.

(Actually text from the start of the episode. Sounds familiar, no?)


We open in the familiar sight of Storybrooke before returning to 108 Mifflin Street (AKA the Mills’ household). Regina and Henry (still Jared Gilmore, in a guest starring role) leave. He has a backpack on as well as a leather jacket and appears to have finally caught up with Jared’s real age. Regina asks if he really has to go and says she always thought he’d go to college after graduating high school. Henry says that college is always going to be there but he needs to do this. He says that Operation Cobra is over—everyone has their happy endings—and Regina says that it’s all the more reason to stay. Henry replies that he’s the author and he’s written everyone’s stories, returning the book to the Sorcerer’s mansion. He says he discovered hundreds of other books (though that’s been discovered a few times since Season 4) and there are different versions of all the fairy tale characters, like a French Snow White. But he’s not in any of them. He wants to find his story and to do that, he needs to leave. Regina nods, hugging him.

(My Regal Believer heart!)

Henry pulls away and heads to a motorcycle, getting on it. I guess August gave him lessons? He puts on his helmet before pulling out a magic bean, tossing it ahead of him. A portal opens as Regina watches, concerned. She points out that it’s his only bean which means getting back…”Will be an adventure,” he finishes. He tells her he loves her and she echoes the sentiments. With one more smile, Henry takes off and drives his motorcycle into the portal.

(Bye, Henry!)

We then open in “Another Realm Some Years” later. The motorcycle roars down a road and we focus on Henry, now played by Andrew J. West and no longer wearing a helmet. As he continues down, he spots a small carriage coming toward him. The woman inside seems to be having trouble with her horse even before he gets spooked as Henry swerves to avoid hitting them. The carriage is overturned, throwing the woman to the ground amongst several flowers, and the horse runs off. Henry hops off his motorcycle to check on the woman. She is wearing a beautiful blue-purple ballgown but what draws Henry’s attention are her shoes. They are glass slippers and he gasps out: “Cinderella?”

(The shoes are pretty much a dead giveaway)

(I saw this episode at New York Comic Con and afterwards, the moderator asked Adam and Eddy what Henry’s motorcycle is running on. Their answer: Magic. Best guess is that Regina enchanted it).