In Storybrooke, Henry has ditched Operation Cobra, his secret plan to unveil the truth of the curse, for Operation Scorpion, aka Get-Emma-and-Mary-Margaret-Back. David wants the same, only he wants Henry to stay out of the way, to stay safe, of course. Henry doesn’t want to just sit and wait. So, tricking Regina into leaving her office, Henry sneaks in and steals the keys to her heart vault.
Once in the vault, he stumbles upon the dangerous Agraba Viper (the one that killed King Leopold, Snow White’s father). Before it can inflict harm, David shows up. He agrees to let Henry help more, but right now Henry needs to go to school.
On another story, Jefferson is hesitant to approach his long-lost daughter. Henry talks him into reuniting with her. That’s all Jefferson ever wanted, right? So why the hesitation? Jefferson takes Henry’s advice, and the reunion is a near tear-jerker.
Later, David tries to cheer Henry up by playfully engaging him in a sword fight. Henry’s so lucky to be learning from the best!
But the happiness is shadowed by a shady onlooker, the vengeful King George. Yes, he’s still in Storybrooke and I can bet he’s waiting to seek revenge on the man who most likely dethroned him, hence the fact that Snow White and Prince Charming lived in King George’s castle post-marriage.
The King raids the camp and captures Snow White with the help of a burly Lancelot. King George knows that the key to destroying Charmin’s life is to destroy his true love. But rather than kill Snow White, he tells her a sad story, one about his wife not being able to bear children as a result of drinking a potion that left her barren. Hence, he “stole/adopted” Prince Charming’s brother, who was killed, and then blackmailed Prince Charming into being his son.
While a touching story that was, it’s laced with poison, for the very potion King George’s wife drank, he has offered Snow White, which she drank unknowingly.
Snow White is shocked and hurt. Now what’s she supposed to tell her fiancé?
King George isn’t finished inflicting pain. For Prince Charming’s insubordination, King George decides it’s high time he killed Prince Charming, his mother, and destroyed the valiant shepherd’s farm.
While not dead, Charming’s mother is overjoyed to finally meet the woman who captured her son’s heart.
Throughout the next several scenes, Snow White and Prince Charming’s mother speak openly to one another, all the way from the joys of finally meeting to grandchildren that may-not-be. And when Prince Charming takes his dying mother and crew to Lake Nostos, which has healing powers, they discover the lake is dried up, all but one small drop that was miraculously saved within a shell.
Left behind is a Prince Charming’s mother’s gypsy necklace, which has the powers to tell the gender of an unborn child, even before conception. Prince Charming has obviously heard his mother share this information before because he holds it up to Snow, who thinks she’s barren, and it starts to sway. Snow knows she will have a baby girl and is overjoyed that she is healed.
Prince Charming, unaware of what the swaying indicates, is proud. Together, as a family, they will take back the kingdom.
However, they’re rescued from this dilemma when they are suddenly released from their cell only to find themselves in the presence of an old friend, Lancelot.
Mary Margaret, happy to see an old ally, requests that they be released from the camp to seek a portal that may take them back to Storybrooke. Lancelot grants the request and sends Mulan, and the reluctant Aurora, with them.
Mary Margaret confesses to Emma that they are going back to her place, the castle, where the wardrobe that sent Emma to Maine might still be, if it survived the curse. And if there is still magic left, they might get back to Storybrooke soon.
Along the way, Aurora has been planning her revenge on these interlopers who killed her prince, and attacks Mary Margaret. Emma, who’d been warned that ogres roam the land and that they sense their surroundings by sound not sight, fires her gun to stop the fighting. Naturally, an ogre roars in the distance. The women run for safety, but Emma trips and comes face to face with an angry, half-naked Ogre, with almost certainly bad breath.
Mary Margaret, who truly is no more, at least not in this land, transforms fully into Snow White and fires off an arrow to the ogre’s eye, killing the beast and proving she is capable of putting her motherly instincts into action.
Mary Margaret leads the group to Emma’s nursery where the wardrobe still stands.
But as joyous as the discovery is, and unexpected arrive appears: Lancelot, or should I say Cora in disguise. That’s right. She killed Lancelot a long time ago and she absolutely still has her powers. And there’s more: she wants to get to Storybrooke too. She misses, er, wants to enact revenge on her daughter. Probably.
Emma can’t let Cora get to Henry or Storybrooke and quickly sets fire to the wardrobe. Cora is angry, but disappears.
Mary Margaret and Emma have a mother-daughter moment, but know it’s time to leave since there is nothing helpful left in this room. It’s then that all the unfulfilled memories hit Mary Margaret. There were no first steps, first words, or first dances in this room, only heartache and loss, and Mary Margaret is fully aware of what she’s missed. And to see it in complete disarray is almost too much.
By far, the most heart-warming and heart-wrenching moment of the night.
1) What can Cora do with her bottled portal magic?
2) When/Where will Mary Margaret and Emma find a portal back?
3) What is King George/Storybrooke DA going to do now that he’s found Prince Charming?
4) Can Emma and Mary Margaret gain Aurora’s trust and/or forgiveness?
5) How will the kingdom be dethroned?
6) What happened to King George after Prince Charming and Snow White become king and queen of the kingdom?
~ Taryn