A Promotional Picture of Cora, from the ABC show Once Upon A Time
Original Air Date: 10/07/12
On last week’s episode; the purple fog that rolled through the town had brought with it everyone’s memories. As the townspeople reunited the newest problem was that no one could figure out why they were still in Storybrooke. Mr. Gold summons an evil beast after marking Regina. Two new characters were introduced, Mulan and Sleeping beauty who are battling a similar beast known as a wraith. The beast could not be killed and Mary Margaret asks Regina what she suggests they should do to get rid of the beast. Regina suggests they use the Jefferson’s hat. For those of you who are not aware Jefferson is Storybrooke’s version of the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland. They open the portal and the wraith is sucked inside unfortunately it sucks Emma down with it. Mary Margaret not wanting to lose Emma a second time jumps in after her. David attempts to jump in with them; but the portal closes before he has a chance. Mulan and Sleeping Beauty, come across rubble on their journey to the safe haven. They come across Emma and Mary Margaret who have been knocked out after the fall through the magic hat. Mulan tells Sleeping Beauty that, “That is what killed out Prince”.
As we open on this episode we find the dwarves drawing a line at the border outside of town. A rain drench Storybrooke sign marks the spot. Grumpy is telling the plan of drawing sticks, the shortest straw crosses first. Another dwarf raises concern, with the curse broken ‘could they cross the border?’ As the question lingers the other dwarves start to reconsider. Grumpy snaps them all into line reminding them that they are the royal guard and that this was their opportunity to prove themselves to the Prince. The dwarves reveal their sticks and Sneezy unfortunately has the shortest one. He tries to reason that perhaps a turtle could be just as useful and Grumpy pushes him over the line. Blue waves rush over his body as he shakes on the other side of the line.
Back in town, the townspeople are trying to pull themselves back together after the wraith attack. People are looking for lost loved ones. Geppetto is looking for Pinocchio who has turned completely wooden and is lying in bed. Ruby and Mother Superior are organizing the crowd into help groups.
David is banging on Regina’s door. He brings her Jefferson’s hat and demands she tell him about it. She makes a snide comment about him needing to bring armed guards and he rather calmly lets her know that without her magic the townspeople will kill her. Henry wishes her alive and that is the only reason no one has hurt her. He asks her about the hat once again and she rudely comments on Emma and Mary Margaret being sucked into it the night before. The two match wits and she claims that if she gets her magic back she gets her son back, her son being Henry, at which point Charming then says if you have to use magic then you don’t have him.
In a flashback we find a younger Regina on horseback frantically pushing her horse TO GO FASTER. She plans to escape, however, the branches of the trees envelop her, picking her up from her horse and suspending her in mid air. A woman is standing behind Regina watching, she chides her for trying to run off. She is Regina’s mother and this version of Regina is wholesome and young looking. She tells her mother that she doesn’t want to marry the king and that she doesn’t want power. Her mother has other plans for her. This Regina cares nothing of magic and power she merely wants freedom. Her mother tells her that power is freedom.
In Storybrooke the town is frantic, David is looking for Mother Superior, Ruby is looking for Mr. Gold, and Geppetto is still looking for Pinocchio. People are worried about if Regina has her powers back or not. Charming is clearly overwhelmed. David finds Mother Superior, who he calls ‘Blue’ he asks if perhaps there is another magical tree like the one they used to rescue Emma; but without fairy dust there is no way for her to find it. Henry reassures them that they will find another way. He tells them that in the book things always get worse before good news arrives.
Just then, the dwarves run back into town. Sneezy has lost all memory of his former life he believes he is Tom Clark, his Storybrooke identity. The dwarves bring terrible news indeed, if they cross the border, their cursed selves become their only selves.
Elsewhere in Storybrooke Jiminy cricket is trying to get Regina to talk; she refuses, she knows who she is and who she intends on being. We flashback to Regina’s past, she is brushing a younger version of Snow White’s hair and talking. Little Snow opens a jewelry box and pulls out a necklace. They talk about the necklaces’ origins and Regina tells the young girl that the necklace came from the stable boy whom she was in love with. Snow assumes the stable boy ran off but Regina tells her that he was actually killed by her mother because Snow couldn’t keep a secret. She places the necklace around the young girl’s neck and begins strangling her with it. Regina is brought back to reality, Snow has just asked about the necklace’s origins. Regina tells her she doesn’t remember, then runs from the castle to tell her father of the terrible vision she had and that she doesn’t want to marry the king. Her mother obtained a book of spells which she got from an unknown source.
In Storybrooke, we discover that the unknown man responsible for giving Cora, (Regina’s mom) is Rumpelstiltskin. The enchanted forest where all the characters of our show are from still exist and Regina and Rumple have been keeping this truth a secret. Regina has come to Gold’s shop to reclaim the book her mother possessed. After moments of argumentative banter and to keep his secret safe, Gold gives her, her mother’s book. He says at one time, he didn’t see the resemblance but she now looks like her mother. The conversation triggers a flashback; Regina is summoning Rumpelstiltskin. He knows her name was waiting for her to summon him.
In Storybrooke, David had told the townspeople to go home and meet back at the town hall in two hours. He is rehearsing his speech trying to find the right words to tell the people. Henry is trying to help. Henry recognizes Jefferson’s hat and asks David, if he knows who the mad hatter is. David tells him that he has heard of the story but that he does not know the man personally. Henry begins telling David his plan for getting Emma and Mary Margaret back but David rushes off to find Mr. Gold before Henry has a chance to finish his thought. Gold, still isn’t in a helping mood, David asks for something that will help him find Mary Margaret and Emma. He won’t tell Gold what he has to locate the women nor will he divulge how he plans to find them. At a stalemate the two men make a deal, David will not interfere with whatever Gold has planned and in turn Gold will not interfere with his plans to reorganize the town and get Emma and Mary Margaret back. Gold asks David what happens when people try to cross the border to which David replies, “You lose all memory of your old life.” Smugly, David exits the store, and faced with the truth of being trapped in Storybrooke like everyone else, Gold begins smashing things around the store.
Continuing with Regina’s flashback we find Rumpelstiltskin talking to the younger Regina. She is desperately seeking help; he is trying to coax her into using magic, assuring her that this is the solution to her problem. He reveals a present for her, a large object wrapped and sitting in the middle of the floor. His present is a portal to another world. He suggests that Regina push her mother through the glass.
In Storybrooke Regina is looking through the book, the book still contains magic and all she needs to do is inhale the smoke to get her powers back. Flipping through the pages, she inhales the purple smoke. As she does this the smoke turns her eyes a purple hue and the apples on the trees which were once black, to a bright ruby red.
David pours the potion Gold gave him onto the Mad hatter’s hat; the wind begins to lift it and then carries it away. The hat floats to an overturned truck and David discovers Jefferson inside. It’s time for the town hall meeting and David is nowhere to be found, while Ruby tries to corral everyone into the main hall, Henry tries to get in touch with David. Suddenly Regina bursts through the doors of the town hall, with her magic rekindled she begins flinging people around like rag dolls. Regina demands Henry return to him and Henry agrees to go with her if she leaves the towns people alone. Regina agrees to this, takes Henry and leaves.
David is talking to Jefferson, who unfortunately tells him that not only can he not get the hat a magic portal to the other realm to work but he also can’t get Emma and Mary Margaret back. The two begin to argue and Jefferson escapes David, taking his last known option with him. Ruby finally catches up to David, she tells him that Regina has taken Henry and that the town fear stricken is going to tear itself apart. The townspeople are heading to the line, risking losing all they knew of their old lives just to escape the curse that plagues their new existence.
As soon as Regina and Henry get home, Henry rushes to his room and tries escaping out the window. To his dismay, Regina has placed a barrier spell around the house and the tree outside traps him. She promises him that she will teach him magic, and that he will be able to make people love him. He tells her he doesn’t want to be like her.
We flashback to Regina’s wedding day, she is there peering off the balcony as her mother, Cora comes in. Regina attempts to push her mother through the looking glass, but is frozen in place, by a spell her mother has cast. Cora taunts her, “It’s not that easy to get rid of me,” the phrase mother knows best rings in as we are taken back to present day Storybrooke.
Near the edge of town, David and Ruby catch up to the townspeople, in a passionate speech he manages to convince the town not to cross the boundary and motivates them to get the town functioning again. He promises to protect them all from Regina, Jiminy and the others head back to town to start their lives again as the townspeople of Storybrooke.
Cora’s taunts enrage Regina enough to break the curse on her and screaming loudly she thrusts her mother through the portal banishing her from the realm. After disposing of her mother, Regina heads out of the kingdom on horseback. She is stopped by Rumple. He asks her how it felt to use magic and she says she loved it, which we can see troubles her. He tells her that he will show her how to use magic. This thought intrigues her but she questions what he’ll get out of it. Apparently someday she will do something for him, though we have yet to know exactly what that is. Rumple hands her the book back, and Regina asks if she’ll become like her mother, Rumple replies that this is entirely up to her.
In Storybrooke, David has stormed to Regina’s house, sword drawn and ready to fight. Regina calmly lets him in and tells him that the sword is not needed. After her last talk with Henry, she has reconsidered; she plans to let Henry leave with David without any problems. Before he leaves, David asks if the enchanted forest still exists, Regina finally tells him, yes.
As the town begins to pull itself back together, moving on with their old lives in their new bodies; Regina takes the book of spells to the fireplace. She initially planned to burn it but reconsidered and instead locks it in her closet. Henry asks David if Emma and Mary Margaret really survived the trip through the portal. David says he knows they did because he can feel it.
In what is left of the enchanted forest, Snow and Emma are bound and being basically dragged behind Mulan and Aurora’s horses. They ask where they are being taken too, and Mulan replies she is taking them to their home. Home seems to be a refugee camp and not wanting to be a prisoner, Snow attempts and escape but is knocked unconscious by Mulan. Thrown into a pit, Emma and Snow White are joined by the pits only other resident. Cora, Regina’s mother.
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