OUAT: Regina Embraces Herself

Last time on “Once:” Rumple captured Gideon and promised to help him, not wanting to see him turn to darkness. They discovered that the sword could only be reforged using the magic of the one who made it—the Blue Fairy. Gideon caught his fairy godmother but Rumple drained her magic, saving his son from the darkness. He kept the Blue Fairy in a catatonic state, hoping to restore her magic once he and Belle save Gideon.

In flashbacks, we met Beowulf, from one of the first Anglo-Saxon epics. He led an army against the ogres but were soundly defeated. Beowulf was about to be killed when Rumple showed up, using his powers as the Dark One to destroy all the ogres and end the First Ogres’ War. He was hailed as a hero by all—especially Bae—but Beowulf warned he was really a monster.

As villagers gave Bae a hard time due to his father, they came to ask Rumple for his help. They told of a monster called Grendel terrorizing nearby villages and that it killed all the warriors they sent to fight it. So they hoped Rumple would be able to do so. He and Bae set out to find him and Rumple admitted to feeling tempted to use his magic. He entrusted his dagger to Bae and promised to prove to everyone he wasn’t a monster.

Father and son discovered Grendel was really Beowulf. He was going to pin everything on Rumple, turning the villagers against him and letting Beowulf to be a hero again. Rumple tried to reason with him, tried to bring him to the village to prove he was the real Grendel, but Beowulf kept taunting him. Finally, Bae grew so angry, he ordered his father to kill the man and he did.

The darkness started to claim Bae so Rumple made him forget about what happened. Bae then believed his father had given in and ran away, repulsed by the monster he thought Rumple had become.

Meanwhile, Robin made an alliance with Zelena to break out of Storybrooke. They tried to use magic he stole from Regina to break the protection spell on the town line but it didn’t work. Regina caught them and she had it out with Robin. She then agreed to help him get out of dodge, as it were, and he thanked her. Later, she and Zelena had a conversation where she took responsibility for her actions as the Evil Queen. They then discovered Snake!Queen had escaped. The snake found Robin, bit him and turned back into Queenie. She immediately began flirting with him and he seemed intrigued.

Hook spent his day drinking at Granny’s, telling Archie that he was debating telling Emma he killed her grandfather or not. He said he wasn’t the man she deserved but Archie disagreed. Finally, Hook went home to discover Emma had found the ring. She told him yes but he still asked…without revealing his big secret.

Uh oh.

We open in the Enchanted Forest. Two children run into a cabin and then the black guards surround it. The Queen’s carriage pulls up and she asks where Snow White is. One guard tells her that Snow was spotted going into the cabin early that morning and there’s been no movement since. She orders him to gather the villagers so they can see what happens to their princess. Her father pleads with her, saying that killing Snow won’t endear the people to her. She doesn’t want that—she wants Snow’s heart.

Regina enters the cabin and approaches the bed where she thinks Snow is sleeping. She sticks her hand in…and comes out with a handful of straw. Regina storms out, killing a guard as she declares that Snow isn’t there. She tells the gathered villagers that they shouldn’t protect Snow because she doesn’t care for them or love them. But Regina does care and love them.

A familiar voice says that she’s lying. Everyone turns to find Tinkerbell emerging from the woods. Welcome back, Rose. Congrats on the success of iZombie! You rock as Liv! Anyway, she says that Regina doesn’t know anything about love and says she knows it because she was there when Regina threw away her chance at love. Regina asks if she should be living in a tulip somewhere. Tink ignores the dig and tells her that she’s there because it started with her. Because she showed her a future full of love with the Man with the Lion Tattoo. Tink tells Regina that he’s still out there and she should be with him. Regina replies that nobody and nothing dictates her future—especially pixie dust. Tink tells her that pixie dust only shows possibilities and it’s up to us to act on them.

So no, Regina wasn’t obligated to be with Robin. She chose to be.

Anyway, Tink’s not done. She says Regina doesn’t go after love because she feels she doesn’t deserve it. That hits a bit too close to home for Regina and she snaps at Tink. She then tells the villagers she’s going to spare Tink to prove that the pixie is wrong, that she is able to love and that she loves her people. She tells Tink to appreciate her gift.

(It's the Captain of our Ship! Hi, Tink!)

OUAT: Family Dynamics

Last time on “Once”: Red woke up and informed her friends that she came from Oz to find Zelena because she did something to Dorothy and Red wanted to know what it was. Hades warned Zelena about Red’s appearance and she tried to escape but Regina prevented her. Confronted, Zelena admitted to putting Dorothy under a sleeping curse and handed over her slippers so Red could get back. The only problem was finding someone to give Dorothy True Love’s Kiss.

It was decided to find Auntie Em, who ended up running a diner in the Underworld. She agreed to help but Hades trapped her in the River o’ Souls to prevent her from doing so. He then informed everyone that people who helped the heroes would also be thrown into the River o’ Souls. The heroines were not pleased.

Snow told Red that she should give Dorothy True Love’s Kiss because it was obvious to everyone that she loved Dorothy. So Red prepared to leave and take David with her so he could take care of Neal now that Cruella destroyed their one connection to him. But he got Hook to carve his name over Snow’s, allowing her to leave instead.

Back in Oz, Red and Mulan met Dorothy after Red accidentally scared off Toto. She and Dorothy didn’t get along but were forced to work together when Zelena kidnapped Toto. Red believed she scared Dorothy when she transformed into a wolf to take care of monkey but Dorothy ran off to confront Zelena. The witch used a sleeping curse on her, which Red ultimately broke with True Love’s Kiss as Mulan wondered what she was doing there.

Snow returned to Storybrooke and everyone else grew more resolute in their determination to get out of the Underworld.

A red car speeds along, Hades and Zelena inside of their way to a date. He takes her to a hill overlooking the Underworld’s version of Storybrooke and lays out a picnic for them. Hades asks her why she thought he brought here there and she says it’s her experience that men want one thing. He chuckles but tells her that he brought her up there to ask her something.

Hades reminds her that he made the Underworld to look like Storybrooke because he wanted to give her everything her sister had. But he knows it’s not the same. So if she restarts his heart, they can leave and take over Storybrooke for themselves. Zelena asks about the heroes and he reveals that after Snow’s switcheroo, he carved everyone’s name on the tombstones. So they’ll be trapped in the Underworld, leaving the two of them the freedom to cause chaos together.

Uh oh.

OUAT: Hellbound

Last time on “Once:” The Ringwraith Convention haunted Storybrooke as our heroes tried to find Captain Hook. They learned that he intended to send them to the Underworld, allowing the Ringwraith Convention to come back to life as Dark Ones. Regina tried to reason with him while Emma prepared to sacrifice herself to save everyone.

Meanwhile, Zelena was going to use the fact everyone was about to go to hell as a way to get sole custody of Peanut. Robin and Regina worked together and Regina banished Zelena back to Oz.

In the flashbacks, the Evil Queen tested Hook by insisting that he kill the father who abandoned him as a child. Hook and Papa Jones had a heart-to-heart where Papa Jones insisted he’s changed. So Hook decided to fake Papa Jones’ death, and to squirrel him and the son Papa Jones now has out of the country. But when Hook learned that his new brother shares the same name as his late brother, he saw red and killed Papa Jones.

Back in Storybrooke, the heroes prepared to go to hell. Gold sent Belle on a world adventure, the Charmings had one more family dinner and Outlaw Queen actually made provisions for their children. Emma tried to talk sense into Hook and he it worked. He took in all the darkness and asked Emma to kill him with Excalibur. She did so, freeing herself from being the Dark One.

When Emma discovered that Gold was the Dark One again, she blackmailed him into taking her to the Underworld so she could rescue Hook. Everyone else decided to come along for the ride because their names are in the credits.

Which brings us to now…