tvdinner&amovie

Previously on Once Upon a Time: Broken.

This week on Once Upon a Time, the citizens of Storybrooke are reeling from the wraith attack, regaining their memories, and new information about the curse, so it falls on Charming to lead them. Regina will do anything to get Henry back, even if it means becoming someone she hates. Meanwhile in the Enchanted Forest, Regina’s path to magic and the fate of her mother are revealed.

(Henceforth for clarity and my own sanity, all Storybrooke characters will be referred to by the names they are known by or identify with.)

In Storybrooke, things are chaotic in the wake of the wraith’s destruction and everyone wants to get back to their families: Charming is desperate for a way to get to Emma and Snow, Regina plans to use magic to get Henry back, and Gepetto is searching for his son (August appears to be wooden but conscious back at the inn). The dwarves discover (at the expense of Sneezy) that crossing the city limits will cause them to lose their true memories. The town turns to Charming to come up with a plan, and he promises to regroup in two hours. He becomes distracted by the possibility of getting the Mad Hatter to reopen the portal, and goes to Mr. Gold for a way to find him. When Gold learns of the problems at the city limits he flies into a rage. Regina also goes to Gold to retrieve her mother’s book, and with it, her magic. While Charming confronts Jefferson (who claims to be unable to connect to the Enchanted Forest with a broken portal), Regina crashes the town meeting and takes Henry. Back at home, she promises to teach him magic, but he doesn’t want to be like her. Charming must let Jefferson escape to prevent the citizens of Storybrooke from leaving en masse and forgetting who they are. He argues that they are both people of Storybrooke and the Enchanted forest, and vows to protect them. Crisis averted, Charming goes to rescue Henry from Regina, but she lets him go with the hope of redeeming herself (and I’m reaching for the tissues again). Regina confirms to Charming that the Enchanted Forest still exists, but she can’t get there. Henry points Gepetto towards August, but he’s no longer at the inn.

In the Enchanted Forest, we start back in the past. Regina wants to escape her impending marriage to Snow’s father, but her overbearing mother Cora has other plans. Regina cries to her father that her mother is torturing her (complete with visions of murdering the young snow), and he reveals that a long time ago “a man” gave her a book of spells that made her what she is. Regina sneaks her mother’s book and summons Rumpelstiltskin, who claims to have met her when she was very small. Regina doesn’t want to use magic to rid of her mother, so he offers her a portal that will do it for her and send her “someplace else.” All Regina has to do is push her through. It seems like she won’t go through with it, but as Regina prepares for her wedding she can’t take her mother’s controlling attitude any longer. She overcomes Cora’s power to push her through the mirror, which then shatters. Regina prepares to the leave the kingdom, but when Rumpelstiltskin offers to teach her in exchange for a favor, the seduction of magic is too strong.

In present day Enchanted Forest, Aurora and Mulan have taken Snow and Emma prisoner. They bring them back to a small encampment, but after a botched escape attempt Snow is injured and they are thrown in “the pit,” where Cora appears to offer them aid.

Thoughts/Theories
• Judging from what was hinted at this episode, I’m guessing Cora made some sort of deal with Rumpelstiltskin in order to get her book, and Regina was in some way offered up in exchange. Does Rumpelstiltskin have some sort of power over Regina we haven’t seen yet? Or was setting her on the path to being the “Evil Queen” his price?
• Where does Mr. Gold want to go so badly? Belle didn’t make an appearance this episode so my thought is he’s trying to reunite with the man who may or may not be Baelfire in New York. Did Mr. Gold send the postcard?

Nicole N. decided to justify the countless hours she spends watching television by writing about it here. She is currently indulging her addiction to medical dramas by rewatching all of Grey’s Anatomy. Follow her on twitter @nicolemnelson and check our her tumblr.