Once Upon A Time, true love’s kiss wasn’t enough to stop a curse. The Charmings were forced to live separate lives. Regina and Emma searched for a way to stop the Evil Queen for good. Henry shows his moms just how strong he really is.
Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and David (Josh Dallas) are facing a new obstacle. The Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) put a sleeping curse on the heart that they share. Now they are living life without each other…sort of. David sleeps through the day. Snow sleeps at night. They leave notes for each other. Snow videos her time with Neal. Yet, they don’t get to spend time with each other.
Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Regina (Parrilla) work together to find a way to get rid of the Evil Queen. Henry (Jared Gilmore) steps up to help and to distract himself from his teenage troubles with girls. The Evil Queen has a soft spot for Henry. They use Henry to lure the Queen to the beach. The plan is to trap The Queen in the world behind the magic mirror.
The Queen is one step ahead of them. She traps Emma and Regina in the mirror world together. They are not alone. The Dragon (Tzi Ma) is there with them. The three of them work together to fix a mirror that will take them back to Storybrooke.
With Regina and Emma out of the way, the Queen disguises herself as Regina. She tells the heroes that Emma left for New York to find the Dragon. Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) tries to call Emma and leaves a million messages. He knows that something is wrong. The Queen stops him from finding out what happened to Emma and Regina. She knocks him out to stop him from exposing her.
The Queen wants to bring Henry to the Dark Side. OK. Maybe not the Dark Side. The Queen wants Henry to find his inner strength and to learn to stand on his own. She asks Gold for the Hammer of Hephaestus. Her objective to force Henry to use the hammer in the name of love.
Henry is going to his first school dance with Violet (Olivia Steele Falconer). Violet has been distant towards Henry lately. Violet does agree to meet him for the dance. The Queen gives Henry lots of advice about how to present himself. Henry figures out that this is not his mom. It’s the Queen. He acts as if everything is okay and leaves with Violet. He goes to Regina’s vault to try and communicate with his moms.
It looks as if Belle (Emilie De Ravin) has found an ally in Zelena (Rebecca Mader). After Zelena told Belle about Gold and The Queen’s relationship, Belle decided she wants to leave Storybrooke. Zelena says the only way to help Belle leave for good is with the Sorcerer’s Wand. Gold has the wand. They ask Aladdin (Deniz Akdeniz) to steal the wand. Jasmine (Karen David) protests, saying they need to find Agrabah. Belle convinces Aladdin to help. Aladdin gets into Gold’s shop pretty easily. Aladdin looks around and sees Gold spinning gold thread. (Hmmmmm) Aladdin finds the wand and leaves.
Jasmine praises Aladdin for helping Belle. Aladdin tells Jasmine that the wand wasn’t all that he took. He found a magic lamp. His genie is not in the lamp. Aladdin tells Jasmine that whoever is in the lamp could help them find Agrabah.
Belle and Zelena have the Sorcerer’s Wand. Gold shows up and takes the wand. He puts a locator spell on Belle. If she leaves, he will find her. Zelena tries to step in and Gold attacks her. Gold stops when he experiences chest pains. Zelena and Gold are connected. If Zelena experiences pain, then Gold will experience pain too. Gold vows to find a loophole in her spell.
The Queen is always one step ahead of everyone. She meets Henry in Regina’s vault. She shows Henry where Emma and Regina are. Emma and Regina discover that the Queen has the Dragon’s heart. The Queen commands the Dragon to kill Emma and Regina.
The Dragon transforms into an actual dragon. The Queen tells Henry the only way to save his moms is to kill the Dragon. She hands him the hammer and instructs Henry to smash the Dragon’s heart. Henry says the Dragon is an innocent. If Henry kills the Dragon, it will create darkness in his heart. The Queen hopes that Henry will better understand her. Henry destroys the mirror instead.
Emma and Regina escape the mirror world. The Queen is defeated again. She blames Regina and Emma for Henry’s weakness. Henry stands up to the Queen. The Queen’s reaction is to hurt them, but Hook stops her.
The Queen retreats to Gold’s shop. He tells her that he is on her side, but first…they must deal with a little problem. Zelena must die.
Snow is trying her best to live life without David. She’s getting discouraged. David seems okay for the time being. They continue to live one awake and one asleep.
Henry and Violet finally talk about what’s come between them. Violet is having a hard time adjusting. Henry makes her feel better. The two have their own dance inside of Granny’s restaurant. Emma and Regina look on.
This whole time Emma has been worried that she will die soon, leaving Henry alone. Regina is worried that she can’t raise Henry alone, especially with the Evil Queen running around Storybrooke. As the watch Violet and Henry dancing, they both realize that Henry is already grown up. And he’s going to be fine.
Thoughts….
This was a coming of age episode for Henry. Henry is always the background hero. He steps up every now and then. He has gotten some pretty big wins as well. His dark side was tested and he passed with flying colors. Everyone has a dark side though. I wonder what it would take to change Henry’s heart. Even Snow White has some darkness in her heart.
Regina and Emma had a big moment as they realize that they need each other. Before, they came together to protect Henry. The two moms realized that Henry wasn’t the only reason they needed each other. They are friends, sisters and protectors. And together they realized that Henry will be fine without them.
Aladdin and Jasmine’s story finally got a little push with the discovery of the magic lamp. It’s not the genie we all know and love. I’m hoping for someone just as fabulous. I wonder…does the war between good and evil in Storybrooke have anything to do with where Agrabah is?
You win some, you lose some. The heroes take one week. The villains take the next week. It’s a never ending tug of war. The heroes united a while ago. Now the villains have united. A major battle is coming.
We definitely need a major event. Looks like we will get one on the next episode when Belle has her baby. It’s too early!!!!
Once Upon A Time returns in two weeks on ABC.
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
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