OUAT: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Another episode featuring Zelena and Oz and since neither new song added to Wicked For Good seem to fit this episode, I’m using lyrics instead of song titles.

My Once Upon a Time recaps return, resuming with Season 6 since I never finished those recaps! Here we go!

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Last time on “Once”: Hook encountered Tiger Lily, who helped him stay away from angry and vengeful Lost Boys. They managed to evade them as he tried to get his way back to Storybrooke.

In Storybrooke, Regina tried to find a way to break the curse on Snow and Charming. She got an idea as they drifted off into a presumably permanent sleep and had everyone in Storybrooke share the curse. This weakened it and allowed Charming and Snow to finally wake up.

Flashbacks revealed that Charming and Snow woke up during the first curse and were briefly reunited. They found a way to get to little Emma but Rumple convinced them not to go to her, to let fate play out so they could stop Regina – who was still in full Evil Queen mode. So they left Emma in foster care and allowed themselves to be cursed again.

Parents of the Year.

Anyway, Fiona and Gideon are still threats and Rumple and Belle are still determined to stop her and save him.

No wonder my “Last time” recaps were almost as long as the regular recaps! Because that was me trying to condense it into one paragraph and failing!

We open in the merry old land of Oz as young Zelena walks down the yellow brick road. She encounters a boy about her age with an axe who is cutting wood. She warns him to be careful before they find a nest that’s fallen with a broken egg. He reveals someone knocked it out of the tree and Zelena uses her magic to fix it.

The yellow brick road needs a new paint job. 

Other kids come out of the woods to mock Zelena and warn the other boy to stay away from her. But they were the kids who knocked the nest out of the tree before the tree fell. So the boy threatens them with his axe and they run off. He introduces himself as Stanum and it seems Zelena has herself a friend!

We flash out of Oz and to Zelena’s farmhouse as Baby Robin cries. Zelena quickly makes a bottle for her and when she races into the next room, she stops short. The Black Fairy stands there with Peanut in her arms, taunting Zelena. She pretty much demands that Zelena help her or she would hurt Peanut.

Poor Peanut.

And now Zelena is pissed off, which can never end well for anybody.

Cue the credits!

OUAT Recaps: A Decision!

And I would like to thank all five people who voted in my tumblr poll for helping me make it.

Last month, I wrote about how I never finished my recaps for Once Upon a Time and how I wanted to do that. But I had faced a dilemma when I realized that in addition to never finishing the recaps for season 7, I also had never finished recapping season 6. With a planned rewatch already in the works, I debated whether to start by finishing season 6 first, finishing season 7 first or just continue with season 1 and wait until I caught up to 6 and 7.

So I decided to post the aforementioned poll and see if anyone on tumblr had an opinion.

And it was a unanimous one:

Finish recapping season 6, then finish 7 and go back to recapping seasons 1, 2 and 3A.

Which is exactly what I’m planning to do.

I already went back to see the last recap I did for season 6. It was for Episode 17 (“Awake”), meaning I would need to pick up with Episode 18 (“Where Bluebirds Fly”) and go from there, including the musical episode.

I’ll get on that right away.

See you soon with a new recap! 

Once Upon a Time: Return of the Recaps

I know, I know. The show ended almost seven years ago. But I never finished my recaps for Season 7. I got behind when it was airing live and then I struggled watching it on Hulu in the days before I got my Roku. So I never really got back to my recaps.

And I really do want to finish them.

I also have been meaning to do a rewatch for some time now, especially since I’m writing a fanfiction series that plays with how different things could’ve been if Robin Hood had been present in the series from the beginning. So I need to remind myself of what really happened so I can then figure out my next plot points.

But I wanted to finish the show first, get the recaps finished before I went back and recapped the seasons I hadn’t done.

However, I was looking for something that happened in an episode in Season 6 for another reason. So I figured I would just check out my recap of the episode…and realized I didn’t have one.

I never finished my recaps for Season 6.

Once Upon a Time: Redux?

I know I’m a few weeks late in discussing this but better late than never, right?

Inside the Magic, a site dedicated to all things Disney, posted a story about a possible Once Upon a Time revival on Disney+. It was based on comments Colin O’Donoghue (Captain Hook/Killian Jones) made in an article on Collider released ahead of a new project he is working on.

Namely that there had been conversations about reviving Once Upon a Time.

This certainly generated some buzz on social media. Honestly, it was the most I’ve seen my timeline active in a while and my notifications were almost the same as when the show used to air.

I’m not surprised that there have been conversations about possibly reviving the show. Revivals have been happening all over TV and streaming services. Suits is getting a revival despite ending in 2019, one year after Once Upon a Time. So it doesn’t seem like it might be too soon to revive the show.

It also isn’t surprising that it might be on Disney+. The hope may be that it will lure more people to watch Disney+. I also recall reading that ABC wasn’t really looking for new shows after this shortened season. That could change and once again, this is just conjecture based on Colin’s comments. We’ve had no corroboration from either Disney, ABC or Adam and Eddy.

So what do I think? Let me lay out my thoughts for you.

Once Upon a Time is Coming to Disney+!

You can read about it here!

Of course, the show isn’t a stranger to streaming services as it’s been on Netflix for years – each season was usually released some time after it aired. But this is still exciting news.

Why?

Because I think Disney+ will be the better home for Once Upon a Time than Netflix. Netflix has so many offerings and I feel like it’s less likely you’ll stumble upon Once Upon a Time and decide to watch it given everything on Netflix. That’s more of a show you purposefully have to go looking for if you’re going to watch it.

While Disney+ does have a lot of content too, it’s very narrow and specific. Once Upon a Time has always appealed to Disney lovers and so it’ll reach new audiences who maybe didn’t give it a chance the first time or are more willing to watch something that’s complete rather than something that’s ongoing. Or maybe they were too young when it was on and now they are discovering it for the first time.

Whatever the reason may be, it will be easier for them to find it on Disney+ and for it to be recommended to them.

I’m also glad because I was always surprised that Once Upon a Time never became syndicated. I guess it’s a bit harder to pitch this show as it does have an ongoing storyline and you can’t just jump into an episode without feeling lost, unlike Law and Order or CSI. But I still think it could’ve worked and would’ve helped in expanding the fandom (though we Oncers are still pretty big and mighty). This is probably the best option.

And since I have Disney+, I promise to finally finish my recaps for all the episodes. So stay tuned for those!

What do you think about Once Upon a Time moving to Disney+? Sound off in the comments below!

At Home With Sean and Bex

Calling all Oncers!

If you haven't been hanging around Twitter or Instagram, you may have missed the best entertainment of the pandemic - Sean Maguire (Robin Hood) and Rebecca Mader (Zelena/The Wicked Witch of the West)! They started doing Instagram lives together - just half hour sessions where they would talk and we would all watch. Sometimes they would try to answer questions but they usually got distracted with making each other laugh. They have a great friendship and are almost like a brother and a sister.

Well, they decided to dream big and found a way to interview people they know during this pandemic and share it with us. It's their new show - At Home With Sean and Bex! You can find them on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Their first episode was them interviewing Jason George from Station 19. And their second episode, below, featured their Once Upon a Time costar, Lana Parrilla (Regina Mills/The Evil Queen).

I hope you check it out when you get a chance! And check out their other interviews too! One just went up today with Robbie Kay (Peter Pan), so there's lots of new content coming.

Revelations of a Fan

I often don’t write about my adventures in fandom here. More often than not, I tend to post that to my other blog about writing. It makes some sense as my fanfiction has kinda taken over all my other writing but I think I should try to focus more fandom stuff here.

After all, that fits into what this blog is about!

So, at the end of October I went to Creation Entertainment’s Once Upon a Time convention in New Jersey. It was my third time going to it and I had a lot of fun. Almost all my friends were able to get to New Jersey and though it didn’t sell as many tickets as they had hoped, we all enjoyed the smaller numbers. It was more intimate and definitely more chill.

I had vowed after my trip to Milan that the next convention that Sean Maguire (Robin Hood) went to, I would do everything of his. And I was true to my word at this one. I did his photo ops both days, got autographs both days and did his meet and greet on Sunday. I was practically his shadow.
The main reason I wanted to do that was to become more known to him, to kinda stand out in the crowd so that he would recognize that yes, I am one of his fans.

So did it work?

Pretty much. I definitely can tell he’s starting to recognize me. And I know this probably sounds crazy to others, but I can see a difference in his smile from the first photo we ever took together to the ones from this con. And at the meet and greet, my friend noted that he included me when motioning to the people he had met before.

That’s pretty good, if you ask me.

I did worry that I would lose my momentum with him as the next con I’m definitely going to see him at is Paris, which is several months away. But my friends assured me otherwise.

I also had an experience earlier that day to prove they might be right. I went to get a picture with Karen David (Princess Jasmine) and Emilie de Ravin (Belle). When I was next, Karen’s face lit up and I realized she remembered me from last year—I had a photo, auto and meet and greet with her then. It was so nice to realize she remembered me and I went in for a hug, even if it was a bit awkward.

(Sorry, Emilie)

But if Karen could remember me a year later, then it’s possible Sean will recognize me several months later.

I had one more experience at the end of the day (and the con). Lana Parrilla (Regina Mills/The Evil Queen) signed autographs at the very end. I had decided to get her autograph as well as Sean’s for a friend I was seeing in Florida, so I approached her with two items to sign—each with a different name.

She signed the one for my friend and then looked at mine, which was a manip for our Outlaw Queen calendar. Lana praised it and I talked to her a bit about the person who made it. She then asked if it was okay if she didn’t write my name on it because Sean already had and I said I didn’t care. She squeezed it into the corner and gave it back to me, thanking me for coming by name. I thanked her as well and walked away.

I showed off the calendar to a few people and told them to check out this year’s Advent calendar for more goodies. I then headed back to my friends when a thought hit me—how did Lana know my name was Allie and not the other name I had also asked her to sign?

First, I wondered if it was because my name was attached to the calendar and my friend’s to a promotional picture but easily dismissed that—we get lots of things signed, it’s not indicative of anything.

Second, I wondered if it was because I said I didn’t care if she put my name on the art. But then I realized that since Sean had already signed it, I could’ve thought that was fine for whoever else I could’ve been getting it signed for.

With those arguments pushed aside, I returned to my friends and told them that I think Lana recognizes me now. My friend Erica’s response was pretty much “duh, of course she does.” When I think about it, I’ve seen her about seven times now and that was my third time that year! She may not be able to call me by my name unprompted, but Lana probably saw “Allie” and connected with me from previous cons, so she knew it was safe to assume it was my name.

So, yes, cast members from one of my favorite shows are starting to recognize me. And that’s pretty thrilling! It’s nice to know that they realize I’m their fan and are happy to see me.

And hopefully, I can keep up the momentum in 2020!

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...)

Thank You, Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time is over.

It is strange to write that. While part of me knew that all TV shows come to an end, it still felt like Once would always be there. So it is strange to think that it won’t be back in September, that there will be no more set pictures or that I won’t be waiting excitedly for spoilers or hints about storylines.

As I said, I will continue recapping the show until the very end. And then I have to go back and finish recapping Season 6. And then I will go back to finish my recaps of Seasons 1, 2 and 3A. So I won’t be saying goodbye to Once Upon a Time so soon.

I know a lot of people are doing rewatches as well so I’m not alone.

The recaps of the last half of this season should come out over the summer, if all goes well. Then I can move into Season 6 in the fall—unless I discover a new show to recap. I doubt there will ever be another show like Once Upon a Time for me, but there will be new shows to watch.

Once Upon a Time will always hold a special place in my heart, especially the Outlaw Queen ship. I thank Sean, Lana and everyone involved with the show for the past seven years. It was truly magical. It brought me amazing new friends, a new found creativity, a wonderful and supportive community and inspired me to live my own dreams. I finally went to Paris because of Once, because I wanted to see my favorite cast members—especially Lana and Sean.

It’s also pushed me closer to realizing another dream—of being a published author. I’m working to turn some of my more popular fanfics into independently published novels. Then I can say I’m a published author. Wish me luck on that project!

So, yes, Once Upon a Time changed my life. It will take time to get used to it not being a regular presence but I know it will always be there—just as long as there are Oncers out there.

Long live us.

Once Upon a Time: Dude, We’re Getting the Band Back Together!

As I wrote about last month, Once Upon a Time is ending this May. We have received confirmation that the finale will air on Friday, May 18th and will be two hours long. So, you know, like usual. Naturally, this set off a lot of speculation and hopes that different cast members would return for one last hurrah. Co-creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis said that they had sent out invitations for anyone who had been in Once to return and they had been waiting for responses.


Over the past week, we’ve received several announcements over who would be returning for the finale. Here they are:


Beverley Elliot (Granny/Widow Lucas)

Keegan Connor Tracy (Blue Fairy/Mother Superior)

Robbie Kay (Peter Pan)

Joanna Garcia-Swisher (Ariel)

Victoria Smurfit (Cruelle de Vil)

Lee Arenberg (Grumpy/Leroy)

Tony Amendola (Gepetto/Marco)

Sean Maguire (Robin Hood)

Jared Gilmore (younger Henry Mills…or as he called himself, Original Recipe Henry)

Emilie de Ravin (Belle)

Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White)

Josh Dallas (Prince Charming/David Nolan)

Jennifer Morrison (Emma Swan)

IMDb also lists Raphael Sbarge as returning as Archie Hopper/Jiminy Cricket. No other source has confirmed that though.

The fandom is pretty much buzzing at this point now that we know all these familiar faces are returning and we’ll be saying goodbye to our beloved show with our beloved cast (mostly) back. Of course, there are questions about how some of them will appear. Peter Pan and Cruella are dead. So is Robin, unless he’s appearing as a ghost or Sean is playing Dark OQ.

(Pictures posted of Sean, though, seem to hint at Original Recipe Robin, which has most of us leaning toward ghost…though some people are hoping he’s coming back to life for an OQ endgame. I’m trying not to get my hopes up as we’ve been burned way too many times before and I can’t imagine it’s going to change just because the show is ending).

Once Upon a Time has started to film the last two episodes and filming should continue until the end of March, possibly into the first week of April. It’ll be sad to know when they say their goodbyes and leave the set for the last time, but it’s heartening to know they will all be together for one last hurrah.

Here’s the magic they made…

Once Upon a Time: Journey’s End

It’s official—Season 7 of Once Upon a Time will the show’s last. ABC, Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis announced it Tuesday, February 6th, ahead of the show’s return from the midseason hiatus on March 2nd.

Is this a surprise? Honestly, no. It was touch and go for Season 7 last May. Even with the announcement of the reboot, most of us went into this season with the belief that it could very well be the last. It looks like we were right.

What happens now? Well, we’ll see how the final episodes have played out. Adam and Eddy have said that the finale they have planned will tie everything up, though it’s unknown if any past cast members will appear before the end of the series. According to an interview given by Adam and Eddy, the finale will involve another alternate universe (think Heroes and Villains or the Wish Realm), so who knows what that will mean.

There will probably be a lot of speculation in the coming months as we approach the finale. People will probably be calling for certain actors (Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Jennifer Morrison, Emilie de Ravin) to return and may phrase their statements as if they are coming back. We won’t really know until there are official announcements from the production and/or the actors themselves.

What about me?

I will continue to recap the remaining episodes of Season 7. Then I will go back and finally finish recapping Season 6 before continuing with my Season 1 recaps until we get back to where I started recapping on a regular basis. Maybe by then, I can watch Outlaw Queen start all over again without either crying or being angry at everything we could’ve had but didn’t.

I’ll do my best to keep everyone updated and let’s enjoy the last moments we have in this world of fairy tales together.

Once Upon a Time returns Friday, March 2nd at 8PM.

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: 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)