Magic is coming…
Henry’s in a sleeping coma and Emma’s out of options. She can’t leave Storybrooke now. Not with her child on the brink of death.
Searching for answers on how to save him, Emma comes across Henry’s fairy tale book, the thing that started this journey. She picks it up. Whoosh! All of her memories come flooding back. Everything Henry has ever told her about her life and
the curse and magic and her parents, it’s all true!
And just as the revelation hits, in walks Regina.
Seeing red, Emma slams Regina against a rack of storage items and pins her to the wall. She wants answers and Regina’s going to give them to her.
Regina confesses her evil plan—well, at least about the apple turnover. It was meant for Emma and magic doesn’t work the same here. Henry could die. And there’s only one other person who knows about all of this magic business—Mr. Gold.
Emma and Regina march into Mr. Gold’s shop. Seeing the belief in Emma’s eyes, Mr. Gold quickly puts down his pawn-shop owner facade and cryptically answers Emma’s questions, all but one. In order to break the curse there’s something she must do first. She must retrieve a bottle of True Love from the belly of a beast—yes, a beast in Storybrooke.
And in order to do that she must use her father’s sword.
Henry’s in a sleeping coma and Emma’s out of options. She can’t leave Storybrooke now. Not with her child on the brink of death.
Searching for answers on how to save him, Emma comes across Henry’s fairy tale book, the thing that started this journey. She picks it up. Whoosh! All of her memories come flooding back. Everything Henry has ever told her about her life and
the curse and magic and her parents, it’s all true!
And just as the revelation hits, in walks Regina.
Seeing red, Emma slams Regina against a rack of storage items and pins her to the wall. She wants answers and Regina’s going to give them to her.
Regina confesses her evil plan—well, at least about the apple turnover. It was meant for Emma and magic doesn’t work the same here. Henry could die. And there’s only one other person who knows about all of this magic business—Mr. Gold.
Emma and Regina march into Mr. Gold’s shop. Seeing the belief in Emma’s eyes, Mr. Gold quickly puts down his pawn-shop owner facade and cryptically answers Emma’s questions, all but one. In order to break the curse there’s something she must do first. She must retrieve a bottle of True Love from the belly of a beast—yes, a beast in Storybrooke.
And in order to do that she must use her father’s sword.
Emma takes the sword, but with all that’s been revealed, she first has to talk to someone, someone who can make sense of this mess who isn’t lying in a hospital bed. She turns to August. However, when she gets to his apartment she finds him lying in bed, completely wooden up to the neck. He can see she believes and tells her she has to save them all. The last words are uttered just as his face turns into wood.
At the hospital, Regina is apologizing to Henry for her mistake. She truly is sorry. But the fairy tale characters and Henry have been scorned one too many times. She’s hit an all time low.
And it gets worse when Jefferson appears from the shadows. He wants his payment, but Regina declares it null and void in light of the turnout. Emma didn’t eat it, Henry did, and so she doesn’t owe him anything.
Jefferson is angry. But he knows just how to get her back. He knows her secret dungeons in the basement of the hospital. A certain red-haired woman is being kept down there.
Drugging the receptionist, Jefferson unlocks Belle’s cell. He instructs her to find a Mr. Gold and to tell him that Regina did this to her. Belle (or whatever her Storybrooke name is) is confused but agrees to find Mr. Gold.
Outside the boarded up library where the beast is hidden in the basement, Regina and Emma meet, sword in hand. The beast is an old friend of Regina’s. Instead of being transported to Storybrooke as a human she came as a dragon—her alter ego, you might say.
Emma’s just taking all of this in stride and prepares to face a real-life fairy tale dragon.
At the hospital, Regina is apologizing to Henry for her mistake. She truly is sorry. But the fairy tale characters and Henry have been scorned one too many times. She’s hit an all time low.
And it gets worse when Jefferson appears from the shadows. He wants his payment, but Regina declares it null and void in light of the turnout. Emma didn’t eat it, Henry did, and so she doesn’t owe him anything.
Jefferson is angry. But he knows just how to get her back. He knows her secret dungeons in the basement of the hospital. A certain red-haired woman is being kept down there.
Drugging the receptionist, Jefferson unlocks Belle’s cell. He instructs her to find a Mr. Gold and to tell him that Regina did this to her. Belle (or whatever her Storybrooke name is) is confused but agrees to find Mr. Gold.
Outside the boarded up library where the beast is hidden in the basement, Regina and Emma meet, sword in hand. The beast is an old friend of Regina’s. Instead of being transported to Storybrooke as a human she came as a dragon—her alter ego, you might say.
Emma’s just taking all of this in stride and prepares to face a real-life fairy tale dragon.
In Fairy Tale Land, Prince Charming was never released from Regina’s dungeons, as per Snow White’s and Regina’s agreement. Now he’s been summoned to meet with the Evil Queen.
As the guards drag him from his cell, the Huntsman aids Prince Charming in overpowering the guards, thus freeing the brave man and sending him on his way to find Snow White.
Charming does not get very far before Regina has sighted him in her magic mirror. At all costs she can’t let him find Snow White, so she transports him into the middle of the vast Enchanted Forest.
Charming is now lost and running in circles. He’s made another circuit round when Rumplestiltskin appears. He offers Charming a deal. Rumplestiltskin has enchanted the precious emerald ring that was Prince Charming’s mothers. The ring can guide Prince Charming to his beloved. The closer he gets, the brighter it glows.
But first, all magic comes with a price.
And Rumplestiltskin’s price is for Prince Charming to hide a bottle of True Love in the belly of a dragon.
Charming can’t turn down the deal and hunts down the beast. But what he finds is a witch named Maleficent. She seems harmless enough until in ten seconds flat she’s morphed into a giant fire-breathing dragon. Charming has dealt with dragons before and he’s ready for this one.
Weaving and bobbing, Prince Charming eludes the beasts’ flames. He spots his chance to plant the egg, in the gills of the dragon.
Hopping on the dragon’s back, he shoves the egg that holds the True Love potion into the beast and hastily jumps out of the stained glass window and into the frigid waters several stories below.
As the guards drag him from his cell, the Huntsman aids Prince Charming in overpowering the guards, thus freeing the brave man and sending him on his way to find Snow White.
Charming does not get very far before Regina has sighted him in her magic mirror. At all costs she can’t let him find Snow White, so she transports him into the middle of the vast Enchanted Forest.
Charming is now lost and running in circles. He’s made another circuit round when Rumplestiltskin appears. He offers Charming a deal. Rumplestiltskin has enchanted the precious emerald ring that was Prince Charming’s mothers. The ring can guide Prince Charming to his beloved. The closer he gets, the brighter it glows.
But first, all magic comes with a price.
And Rumplestiltskin’s price is for Prince Charming to hide a bottle of True Love in the belly of a dragon.
Charming can’t turn down the deal and hunts down the beast. But what he finds is a witch named Maleficent. She seems harmless enough until in ten seconds flat she’s morphed into a giant fire-breathing dragon. Charming has dealt with dragons before and he’s ready for this one.
Weaving and bobbing, Prince Charming eludes the beasts’ flames. He spots his chance to plant the egg, in the gills of the dragon.
Hopping on the dragon’s back, he shoves the egg that holds the True Love potion into the beast and hastily jumps out of the stained glass window and into the frigid waters several stories below.
He has escaped and done Rumplestiltskin’s bidding. Rumplestiltskin hands over the enchanted ring and Charming is off to find Snow White, which he does. She’s asleep in a glass coffin. Her seven dwarves are bidding her farewell, and Prince Charming has come to say his goodbyes.
Gently he kisses Snow White’s red lips one last time. A rainbow flood fills the land. Snow White’s eyes flutter open and she gasps for breath. The curse is broken!
They’re overjoyed, and Prince Charming quickly proposes. She says yes, they kiss. [Insert happily ever after here].
However, reality quickly sets in. They must take back the kingdom. They must defeat the Evil Queen!
Gently he kisses Snow White’s red lips one last time. A rainbow flood fills the land. Snow White’s eyes flutter open and she gasps for breath. The curse is broken!
They’re overjoyed, and Prince Charming quickly proposes. She says yes, they kiss. [Insert happily ever after here].
However, reality quickly sets in. They must take back the kingdom. They must defeat the Evil Queen!
Back in Storybrooke, Emma is deep beneath the library and face to face with a dragon. Ditching the sword, she fires a few rounds at the dragon, but to no avail. The dragon is out for blood.
Emma tosses the gun, realizing that it must be the sword that will do the trick. Gaining the dragon’s attention, she thrusts the sword at the dragon’s heart. The weapon meets its mark and the dragon bursts into ashes. Among the ashes is an egg. The egg.
Grabbing the package, Emma heads for higher ground, but the elevator gets stuck a few feet below the exit. Mr. Gold appears. He wants the egg. He tells Emma that Regina has run off and that there’s no time to waste.
Overwhelmed by the circumstances, I suppose, Emma believes the conniving imp and tosses up the egg. But when she climbs to the top, Regina is still there, but bound.
She’s angry that Emma just handed over their only bargaining chip, but they can’t dwell on it when their cell phones go off. It’s the hospital. Henry has taken a turn for the worse.
In Mr. Gold’s shop, Mr. Gold delicately lays down the egg that holds the precious potion. He picks up the key and unlocks the egg, revealing its purple contents. He has a plan for its use. But before he can leave his shop to enact it, he hears the door jangle.
It’s Belle. His beloved, long-lost Belle. She’s alive. And Regina! Oh, she’s going to pay, now!
Emma tosses the gun, realizing that it must be the sword that will do the trick. Gaining the dragon’s attention, she thrusts the sword at the dragon’s heart. The weapon meets its mark and the dragon bursts into ashes. Among the ashes is an egg. The egg.
Grabbing the package, Emma heads for higher ground, but the elevator gets stuck a few feet below the exit. Mr. Gold appears. He wants the egg. He tells Emma that Regina has run off and that there’s no time to waste.
Overwhelmed by the circumstances, I suppose, Emma believes the conniving imp and tosses up the egg. But when she climbs to the top, Regina is still there, but bound.
She’s angry that Emma just handed over their only bargaining chip, but they can’t dwell on it when their cell phones go off. It’s the hospital. Henry has taken a turn for the worse.
In Mr. Gold’s shop, Mr. Gold delicately lays down the egg that holds the precious potion. He picks up the key and unlocks the egg, revealing its purple contents. He has a plan for its use. But before he can leave his shop to enact it, he hears the door jangle.
It’s Belle. His beloved, long-lost Belle. She’s alive. And Regina! Oh, she’s going to pay, now!
At the hospital, Emma and Regina are in tears. It’s too late. Henry’s dead.
Hovering over her only son, Emma whispers her love for him and kisses his forehead. And just like when Prince Charming kissed Snow White, a rainbow flood rushes over Storybrooke.
The curse has been broken!
Henry wakes up, but he’s not the only one. Dr. Whale and his attendants, Mary Margaret, David, Granny, Ruby, and all of Storybrooke are now aware of their true selves.
Regina realizes this quickly and runs away to hide from all of those who might want her dead, but not before declaring her love to Henry.
Mary Margaret, I mean Snow, and David/Charming, see each other on the street. Prince Charming’s found her! (Like we ever doubted he would…). [Again, insert happily ever after here].
Hovering over her only son, Emma whispers her love for him and kisses his forehead. And just like when Prince Charming kissed Snow White, a rainbow flood rushes over Storybrooke.
The curse has been broken!
Henry wakes up, but he’s not the only one. Dr. Whale and his attendants, Mary Margaret, David, Granny, Ruby, and all of Storybrooke are now aware of their true selves.
Regina realizes this quickly and runs away to hide from all of those who might want her dead, but not before declaring her love to Henry.
Mary Margaret, I mean Snow, and David/Charming, see each other on the street. Prince Charming’s found her! (Like we ever doubted he would…). [Again, insert happily ever after here].
But up in Storybrooke’s hills, Mr. Gold and Belle walk. They’re headed for a magic well. Not the same well that Emma and August visited, but another well that holds the same type of magical water. Water that can bring back something that’s been lost to you.
Mr. Gold drops the bottle of True Love into the well and out bubbles purple fog. It quickly engulfs the town of Storybrooke. The fog, Mr. Gold says, is magic.
And as the new magic swallows up the town, the clock stops at 8:15am…
Mr. Gold drops the bottle of True Love into the well and out bubbles purple fog. It quickly engulfs the town of Storybrooke. The fog, Mr. Gold says, is magic.
And as the new magic swallows up the town, the clock stops at 8:15am…
Burning Questions:
~ There are too many unanswered questions for season 1, so please see the next blog post “Burning Questions for Season 2.".
* Thank you all for joining me on this journey through Season 1. I hope you will all return to see my reviews for Season 2. It’s going to be a blast!
If you have any questions, comments, or theories about Once Upon a Time, please leave a comment on the blog or on the comments page. I would love to hear from you!
Season 2 premieres this Sunday, September 30, 2012 on ABC at 8/7c!
~ Taryn
~ There are too many unanswered questions for season 1, so please see the next blog post “Burning Questions for Season 2.".
* Thank you all for joining me on this journey through Season 1. I hope you will all return to see my reviews for Season 2. It’s going to be a blast!
If you have any questions, comments, or theories about Once Upon a Time, please leave a comment on the blog or on the comments page. I would love to hear from you!
Season 2 premieres this Sunday, September 30, 2012 on ABC at 8/7c!
~ Taryn