We start with a flashback to when Baelfire – Neal –
first went through the portal, arriving in Victorian London.
6 months after his arrival, Baelfire is reduced to
stealing to survive; he sneaks into a house to steal some bread and is
confronted by a girl and a dog. Realising he’s just hungry, she offers him the
bread. He introduces himself as Bay – and she is Wendy darling.
To modern Storybrooke, early morning after Tamara goes
running, Neal is disturbed by the sound of broken glass and Gold having great
fun bullying someone with Lacey outside the bar. Before Neal hurries down and
spoils their fun. Neal doesn’t understand why Gold hasn’t tried to meet Tamara
since he’s gone to so much effort to track down Neal – but Gold doesn’t see the
point while Neal is still pining for Emma. He declares that Gold hasn’t changed
and he can stay away from him and Henry
Meanwhile David and Emma burst into Regina’s office, guns
drawn.
Whoa – David with a gun? When did Prince Charming learn
how to shoot? No no no and hell no.
Henry and Mary Margaret follow when it’s safe, looking
for the beans Regina stole. Emma sees something is wrong – the beanstalk is
there but no beans, Regina wouldn’t leave evidence and the security system
shows someone other than Regina had entered the office. Mary Margaret suspects
Gold as the only one powerful enough to take down Regina, but Emma leaps to
Tamara because… let’s be honest, no logical reason. Mary Margaret is doubtful
too.
Great Emma, you’re making me agree with the Wet Lettuce.
Do you see what you’ve done to me?
Regina is being tied down somewhere by Hook while Tamara
confirms to Gregg that she broke into Regina’s office to get the magic beans.
He’s a little jealous of her relationship with Neal but she tells him her
engagement ring is coming off as soon as they’re done. He shows her Regina’s
gem to add to the items they can send back to the “head office”.
Regina mocks Hook for trusting them and Gregg wires
Regina up to a machine to find out about his father. Hook refuses to help them
torture Regina and leaves. Gregg powers up the machine and asks where his
father is using electroshocks to try and make her talk.
Back to Victorian London, with Wendy hiding Baelfire in
the house and feeding him – and being caught by her parents. He tries to leave
without causing any trouble but when her mother realise he’s an orphan she
allows him to stay. That night Wendy and her brothers gather at the window
waiting for a shadow that comes at night – a shadow that is magical and can do
so many tricks. Baelfire is afraid – naturally afraid of magic – and tells them
it has a cost and he is from a land with magic. He makes them promise not to go
near the shadow.
Storybrooke time with Emma being suspicious of Tamara.
Neal is surprisingly tolerant of his ex’s irrational dislike of his fiancée.
At Gold’s shop, David calls in his terrible favour and demands Gold help them find Regina. And why do the Charmings want to help? Because Mary Margaret still has her guilt over Cora pounding away at her precious precious blackened heart. He gives them a spell using one of Regina’s tears (that he has hanging around) and one of Mary Margaret’s to allow Mary Margaret to connect to Regina to help find her. As a side effect – Lacey hears everything and knows and believes Gold can do magic
At home Mary Margaret uses the dropper after another “oh
my poor dark heart” speech and starts seizing – feeling the pain Regina is
feeling.
Victorian London and the shadow in the shape of a boy
arrives. Wendy takes his hand and tells Baelfire that the shadow is from Neverland,
a place with good magic and no grownups where you never have to grow up – and it’s
good and different. She flies off into the night while Bael calls for her.
On the Storybrooke beach Emma and Neal fine Tamara –
pretending to run. Again, Emma has to accept the excuse so she and Neal have a
heartfelt conversation on Neal’s guilt for leaving her instead. Tamara ducks
back into the torture room which must be near the beach where Gregg is having
trouble breaking Regina because… well because she’s Regina damn it, the Evil
Queen doesn’t fold so easily. She goads them about their uselessness and they
start telling her things, that they’re part of a larger organisation that
exists to cleanse the land of magic which Tamara calls “unholy”.
While Regina’s being tough and coherent, Mary Margaret, linked
to her, is being a Wet Lettuce. She remembers the smell of sardines. They
communicate that to Emma and Neal still at the coast who look up and see the
Storybrooke cannery.
Victorian London and Wendy returns with the dawn – though
she thinks she was gone longer, time working differently in Neverland. She
describes how fun it was and how there were no rules – but on the night all the
children cried and wanted to go home - but the shadow wouldn’t let them. It was
Neverland because they could never go home. She was allowed to return because
the shadow wanted a boy and that night he would return for one of her little
brothers.
Storybrooke and Lacey loves Gold’s magic tricks; he warns
her magic cost him everyone eh cared about but she just says he dared about the
wrong people. She wants to be immortal to be with him forever – but that leads
him to warning her that immortal doesn’t mean invulnerable and someone is prophesised
to be his undoing. She asks why he hasn’t dealt with them with a “I thought you
were a man who didn’t let anyone get in your way?”
In the cannery Mary Margaret, David, Neal and Emma
advance; Tamara sees them on CCTV and tries to get Gregg to run with her – but he
won’t go until he has the answers about his father from Regina. Before Gregg pushes
any bodies Regina tells Gregg she killed his dad and whether the body is – to taunt
him. He pushes the button on the highest setting.
Victorian London again and the kids prepare for the
return of the shadow. The shadow returns and all the fires go out – and the
window opens. Bael hurries the kids into the crawl space but the youngest boy
doesn’t run. With Michael threatened by the shadow, Bael offers himself in his
place in exchange for a promise never to bother the family again. The shadow
takes him across London and up to the second star on the right.
Storybrooke and Greg continues to zap Regina until David
zaps his zappy machine. Gregg runs but David and Mary Margaret stay to help
heal Regina and get her to the Blue Fairy. He calls Emma and tells her to block
the exit
Neal and Emma get the message and Neal says “aha it wasn’t
Tamara” just as Tamara bashes Emma on the back of the head with a metal pipe.
She tries a brief conversion attempt since he should know better than anyone who
dangerous magic is. He demands to know how long she’s been lying and she tells
him from the very first moment they met. He moves towards her and she shoots
him in the side. She points the gun at his head – and Emma gets up and lays on
the smack down. Emma gets the gun and in response Tamara throws a magic bean,
opening a portal, giving her chance to run while Emma dangles precariously over
the portal until Neal can help her to safety. Then he stumbles and falls in and
only Emma’s precarious grip stops him from plummeting. Lots of dramatic
speeches, he wants her to let go so Henry will have one parent. She can’t let
him go because SHE LOVES HIM (well DUH). He says he loves her too – and lets go.
The portal closes.
Gregg digs where Regina indicated – and finds a body.
At home, the Blue Fairy heals Regina and they remove the
leather cuff, she will be well. Emma returns looking shellshocked and tells
Mary Margaret and David that “she killed him” (with Neal’s bullet wound and no
medical attention it’s likely)
Neverland Past – the shadow tries to take Bael to Neverland
where the sound of children crying can be heard – but Bael makes it let go by
lighting a match, falling in the water. He is rescued from the sea by… Hook on
his pirate ship.
Emma grieves comforted by David and Regina wakes up –
shocked that Mary Margaret saved her. David points out that they are family in
the end (this sounds amazing but based on what? Based on her being Henry’s mother,
or based on her being Mary Margaret’s Step Mother?) But Regina is worried that
Gregg and Tamara escaped with the diamond.
It’s the diamond that will destroy Storybrooke, the
trigger that ends the curse.
I have a pet hate – when the protagonist is right for all
the wrong reasons. Basically the protagonist is right because she’s the
protagonist and therefore should be right. Every time Mary Margaret and Neal
called Emma out for her being silly about Tamara THEY WERE RIGHT. They were –
the only reason Tamara was actually the villain was pure coincidence. It wasn’t
deductive or logical on Emma’s part – it was name out of a hat.
I really liked this episode and the rather sinister
re-telling of Peter Pan, that’s definitely a new twist! There’s a lot of
interesting things going on now in Once Upon a Time, many different story threads
which I quite like. But this is the
penultimate episode and this entire season has been scattered. It is highly
unlikely that any of these threads are going to be resolved in the conclusion
which means we may be going into season 3 with the same fracture as season 2.
