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This week’s episode sheds light on Ruby’s past grapples with balancing her human and wolf sides. In the present, King George continues old battles and Henry and Princess Aurora have another meeting in their mutual nightmare.
In Fairytale Land, BFFs Red and Snow are still on the move and decide to briefly split so that Red can wolf out without hurting Snow. While apart, Red meets Quinn (played by Ben Hollingsworth) and learns quite a few things: she doesn’t have to be a lone wolf and it seems that her Granny lied about her parents being killed. Quinn’s leader is Anita (played by Annabeth Gish), Red’s mother who has a strong disdain for humans. She convinces Red to get rid of the hood that keeps her from turning into a wolf as well as to fully embrace her wolfness. Snow finds Red and unknowingly brings the queen’s guards with her. At the end of a brief battle, Quinn is dead and Anita determines that Snow will be the one punished. Red, great friend that she is, kills her mother (albeit accidentally) and saves Snow. She pulls the age-old line about choosing herself as an explanation for why she was willing to defend Snow. This entire exchange really helped explain why Red is so loyal to Snow and why their loyalty to each other runs both ways. Not entirely exciting, but it’s always nice to have a solid back story.

Back in Storybrooke, Grumpy and the rest of the dwarfs unearth shining gems that can be turned into fairy dust. Couple that with Jefferson’s hat and boom, they’ll have the portal they need to get Emma and Snow back. Of course, it’s not that easy. (This whole season, or at least the first part, seems to hinge on opening this portal. It’s slowly getting to the point of unbelievability, but OUAT tends to make the wait very much worth it.) Ruby’s magical hood is missing and she’s nervous she’ll be unable to control her inner wolf. She turns down a date with Billy (aka Gus) for this very reason, but unfortunately her avoidance is for naught; Billy is killed and she’s the main suspect. (So much for cages!). The murder is a set-up by Spencer (King George) so that he can make David look incompetent and turn the whole town against him. I’m not sure why he needed to do all of that if his grander plan was simply to steal and burn Jefferson’s hat, but it certainly made for a dramatic scene on the beach.

And finally, in the present Fairytale Land, Aurora is still having her nightmares, but this time she finally gets a chance to speak to the boy in the room, Henry. This is another plot point that I’m desperately hoping has bigger relevance. Mr. Gold is an absolute doll for giving Henry the magical necklace to help him control his dreams, but why were those two able to connect in the first place? And if Mr. Gold has that type of magic and he’s willing to help Henry, why not just create the portal himself?! That would be exponentially more helpful than some silly dream-controlling necklace, right?