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| Source: ABC |
Sadly, this episode features no Belle and no Bae, or whoever the mystery guy from the season premiere is. We begin at the town border, or at least one of them. Does it look to you like the same border from the previous episodes? Anyways, for some reason Grumpy has the insight to approach the border with caution, so he marks the line with spray paint and the dwarves draw twigs to see who gets to test it. Sneezy gets the short stick and when he crosses the line, he’s taken over by magic.
We then cut to the rest of town, which looks as though it’s been hit by a tornado. Granny’s diner, among other businesses, are closed and everyone is panicking. Is this supposed to be some sort of hint about the state of the country right now? Regardless, as Marco posts a sign asking for help finding Pinocchio, Red, Archie, and the nun fairies try to organize everyone like fairy tale FEMA.
Elsewhere, David brings the hat to Regina’s and expresses his doubts about her magic after the vine trick she pulled on him. She explains that she doesn’t remember where she got the hat (yeah, right) and she’s more concerned with getting Henry back. She claims that she’ll stop at nothing to get her magic back, which she’ll then use to have power over her son again.
In the Enchanted Forest, Regina speeds away on her horse Rocinante, clearly named after Don Quijote’s steed. It’s even more clear that the writers didn’t know the translation of the name, which means “worn-out old hag” in Spanish. Or maybe it’s just a quip at Regina’s character. Suddenly, she’s plucked from the horse by vines and her mother stands behind her. Cora pulls out her spell book and blows on it, commanding the vines to release her, after which she explains that she’s cast a spell on the woods that forbid Regina to leave the kingdom without her husband to-be, as part of her plan to ensure she becomes queen.
Back in Storybrooke, David enters the town square and immediately is overwhelmed with questions, including Dr. Whale asking if the nuns are fair game. He finds Mother Superior and asks her how he can cross over to find Snow and Emma. Her only idea, of course, is fairy dust. Do we really believe that that’s the only way to get magic back though? As if on cue, the dwarves march in and show the town how Sneezy insists that his real name is Tom Clark, the local pharmacist. Why couldn’t we have gotten some insight into another dwarf’s past life? When everyone starts screaming again, David pretty much runs away, ordering everyone to meet back in two hours to talk about the plan he hasn’t come up with yet.
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| Source: ABC |
At home, Regina tries concentrating on an unlit candle but can only make a flickering flame appear. Reluctantly, she walks outside to find Archie, who offers to counsel her and help her find her true identity again, but she quickly dismisses him. We flash back to Regina talking to Young Snow (Gosh, Bailee Madison is so cute) when she finds a necklace given to Regina by Daniel. We see Regina explain to Snow that it’s her fault Daniel is dead and proceed to strangle her with the necklace until she snaps out of it and we realize it’s all a dream. Later, she complains to her father that she’s turning into a lunatic like Cora, and Henry Sr. explains that her mother went cray cray after meeting a man who gave her a book of spells.
At the pawn shop, Regina searches for her mother’s spell book when Gold enters and sees her desperation. At first, he tells her he doesn’t have it, but then gives it to her after she reveals that they both know that the Enchanted Forest wasn’t destroyed by the curse, even though he says he doesn’t want her to have her magic back. I notice that just before he relinquishes the book to her, she tries to open a large trunk and he stops her. Hmmm. Anyways, before she leaves, he makes a comment about how much she looks like her mother, and we flash back to her pre-evil queen days.
There, we see Regina steal the book from Cora and attempts to summon Rumple with poor pronunciation. Even though Regina is phonetically challenged, it doesn’t matter because he’s been sitting in the corner watching her all along. He explains that he already knows her from when he taught her mother, but doesn’t think that she looks like Cora when she was young. He babbles about having known her family in the past and the future, and how they’d be together again. Though she doesn’t mind conjuring beasts by simply calling their names, she tells him that she doesn’t want to use magic because she doesn’t want to be like her mother. After stroking Regina’s face and calling her “so kind, so gentle,” (so creepy) Rumple shows her a portal to another world, explaining that she merely has to shove her mother inside to be rid of her.
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| Source: ABC |
Meanwhile, we get a close-up of David reciting his speech and I notice how trouty his mouth is before the camera backs up, revealing that he’s just practicing in the mirror. Nothing appears to be damaged in Snow’s apartment, which is why it makes no sense that Henry has obviously showered and changed clothes but he hasn’t. When Henry enters, David shows him the hat and Henry finds the Mad Hatter in the book, but hasn’t managed to identify him as Jefferson because he’s a psycho recluse. David then completely forgets he still needs to figure out what to say to the town and takes the hat with him as he runs out the door. Henry yells for him to wait, calling him “gramps,” which is super weird, but he doesn’t slow down.
Back at Gold’s, we see our male villain pack a crap load of maps into his overnight bag, as though the curse broke his iPhone too. David enters and asks for his help finding someone, but refuses to mention Jefferson or the hat. After Gold makes him promise not to interfere with his magic and vice versa, he gives him a potion that will help him find the intended party if he pours it on one of said person’s belongings. Before he leaves, David tells Gold that he’ll forget his magic self if he leaves Storybrooke (Does this really apply to him since he wasn’t affected by the curse?) and Gold pulls a Citizen Kane on the shop once he’s alone.
We see Regina again sitting under her rotten apple tree holding the book. After looking at it for ages, she opens it, blows on the ink and sniffs the cloud that forms. Again, this show needs a disclaimer before parents start suing when they find their kids huffing paint. Back to the point, we know that Regina now has her magic back because the black apples on her tree turn back to red. Her step-son-in-law also puts magic to work, pouring Gold’s potion on the hat. Word to the wise: If you don’t want Gold to know about the hat, don’t whip it out right in front of the pawn shop, dummy. At first, he doesn’t think it’ll work until the hat comes to life and leads him around the corner, where he finds Jefferson in an overturned car.
At city hall, Red tries to calm everyone down as they wait for David, especially Granny, who now wields a crossbow. Regina then busts in, scares everyone with her magic and throws some fire around the room before Red asks her why she’s tormenting them. Henry, being the cocky little SOB he is, immediately steps up and says he wants her. The two leave, arm in arm, and we assume that some the building doesn’t burn down again.
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| Source: ABC |
Later, David sits Jefferson down and grills him about the hat, explaining that his wife and daughter were sucked into the portal and he needs to help a brother out because he’s a father too. Jeff explains that the realm is still there but he’s destroyed the portal and David gets mad, threatening to put him in jail. This sends Jeff on a crazy rant, after which he knocks over the table and runs away. Ugh, so dramatic. David chases after him but is stopped by Red, who informs him that Regina has taken back Henry. Plus, now everyone wants to leave Storybrooke to escape Regina, which he would know if he bothered to show up at the town meeting.
When Regina and Henry arrive home, he immediately runs upstairs and unpacks his emergency escape kit, complete with a rope made out of bed sheets. You’d think by now that this kid would be smart enough to make a break for it when his mom’s asleep, but no. The time of day doesn’t really matter I guess, because he’s snatched up by an adjacent tree, Cora style. Once he’s back inside, he asks Regina how long she’s going to unfairly trap him there, setting her up perfectly to tell him that his living situation is “the fairest of them all.” She then goes on to tell him that Snow and Emma getting sucked into the hat was an accident, but he’s still angry that she let everyone think he was delusional. She clearly hasn’t gained any more confidence in his grasp on reality, as she tries to get him excited about living in a house with magic, but he replies that he doesn’t want to be like her. Sound familiar?
We flash back to Regina talking to Cora after the wedding when Cora notices a large gift in the corner, which we know is Rumple’s portal. She unwraps it to find a large mirror, and uses it to segue into coaching her daughter about how to get the kingdom wrapped around her finger. Regina repeats the same line about not wanting to be like her for the millionth time and Cora binds her arms with magic. However, Rumple appears in the mirror behind Cora, and Regina uses her own magic to free herself and push her into the portal. Since the portal was a mirror, can we safely assume that she’s the Queen of Hearts?
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| Source: ABC |
Back in Storybrooke, we see a caravan of cars driving out of town when David speeds up and cuts them off in the nick of time. He tells them about how they’ll lose their fairy tale memories if they leave, and while that might be just the ticket for some of them, they’re better off knowing who they are. He gives the titular “We Are Both” speech, and everyone is inspired to turn around and return to their not-so-normal lives.
In the Enchanted Forest, Regina trots away when Rumple finds her. She gives back the spell book, claiming that she never wants to use magic again, but then admits that it was downright exhilarating. With that, he talks her into letting him teach her in exchange for a favor to be redeemed in the future. Storybrooke Regina sits at home staring at the book again when David enters, sword in hand. He demands to see Henry, which Regina obliges and even lets Henry leave with David, after saying something about “holding on loosely” and “wanting him to want her.” She must be listening to classic rock. Before they exit, Regina admits that the Enchanted Forest still exists, but insists that there’s no way to get back.
We then cut to the classic, end-of-episode montage, where the town’s businesses open again, the dwarves go back to the mine to find fairy dust, and David and Henry go to Granny’s, where Henry obviously whispers something to Marco about Pinocchio. Unfortunately, when Marco arrives at the inn, August’s room is empty, except for his little red hat. I’m totally bawling at this point. We also see Gold standing at the border looking like a totally awesome bad guy and Regina about to burn the book before changing her mind. Back at Granny’s, Henry and David sit at the counter and discuss how David knows in his heart that Snow and Emma are still alive, then take a swig of their sodas at the same time. So cute.
In the final scene, Mulan and Sleeping Ditzy drag Emma and Snow to the safe haven, where everyone recognizes Snow. She makes the mistake of shoving Aurora instead of Mulan before attempting to run away, as Mulan uses her sling shot to drop her like a sack of potatoes. She orders her lackies to take them to their dungeon, where they meet…Cora!
Thanks for reading, Dearies! Feel free to check out my previous reviews of OUAT and other shows at WatchItRae.com or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, where I post links of my articles when they go live. Stay tuned for a recap of the next week's episode, "Lady of the Lake."
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