Once Upon A Fan

 By Amy Degenstein-Hood

  “Red! Look out!”  Our episode this week begins with Prince James/Charming pushing Red out of the way of a flaming arrow in FTL. King George’s men have found them, and it looks like they are outnumbered.  James jumps onto his horse and reaches for Red, who tells him that he must find Snow. James says he will not leave, but Red insists. When James asks what she will do, Red looks up at the full moon peaking from behind a cloud and calmly says “I’m giving you a head start.”  James turns and rides away as we see Red remove her crimson hood with a determined look on her face. Her eyes change to wolf’s eyes, and she runs at the soldiers. By the time she reaches them, she is fully transformed into the wolf. A combination of howling and screams are heard as we flash to Storybrooke.

     Emma is taking mug shot photos of Mary Margaret at the sheriff’s office.  Mary Margaret is adamant that she is innocent and has not done anything to Kathryn. Emma believes her, but tells Mary Margret to be patient. Emma explains that if she were to show favoritism to MM, Regina could replace her for not doing her job and the replacement sheriff could railroad MM. She has to follow the leads that the evidence indicates, and right now that points to MM. 

     In FTL, we see Snow humming “With a Smile and a Song”, a tune from the original animated Disney film 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves'. She is sweeping the floor with a sweet smile on her face, and is wearing the familiar red hair bow from the Disney classic version. Snow reaches out to let a bluebird rest on her hand. She lowers it to the table while still smiling softly. Her expression changes, and suddenly she swings the broom violently at the bird. She takes a few more swings, but misses and the bird flies away. Grumpy sees her and asks what she’s doing, to which she answers “Getting rid of the vermin in this house”. Grumpy asks her to come downstairs for dinner, saying that the dwarves have made something special that night.

     Downstairs, the dwarves are all seated around the table. Jiminy flies in and at first Snow tries to flick him away. He begins to talk and explains that this is really an intervention. The dwarves have arranged this because of the drastic changes in Snow after she took Rumple’s potion to forget her feelings for Charming. The dwarves take turns telling her things she’s done. (Grumpy mentions the drastic personality change, Sneezy says she has brought hay in the house knowing that he’s allergic, Happy says she broke his mug) Snow is very hostile, arguing with each. Even telling Happy he’s lucky it was his drinking mug and not “that mug you call a face!”  Snow decides she needs to go after the one who has wronged her, The Queen. Jiminy tries to tell her that revenge will turn her into someone dark and evil, but she puts him under a glass jar and says she’s going to kill the Queen In Storybrooke, Emma questions Mary Margaret. Regina is there to make sure she is being impartial. Emma tells MM that the heart was found at the Toll Bridge and asks if she has ever been there. MM admits to having been their many times, saying that it was she and David’s “special place”. She admits that they were meeting there because they were having an affair. Emma brings out the box that the heart was found in and MM is shocked to see that it is her jewelry box.  Regina holds MM’s hand and says she knows what she’s going through. She tells her that she knows what it is like to “lose someone, to be publicly humiliated”, and that it changes a person. MM pulls her hand away and says that she has not changed; she is still a good person. 

     In FTL, we see Snow peeking out from behind a tree then close lining a royal guard. He falls from his horse and she slams the blunt head of a pick ax against his leg. She tells him that the ax can cut a diamond, the hardest substance known to man, and asks if he can imagine what that ax will do to his human flesh. In fear, he tells Snow where the Queen is, and that she will be traveling to the summer palace the next day. Snow is angry and says “That Summer palace was built for my mother!’, then knocks the knight out and steals his armor.  Grumpy arrives and wants to help Snow. He asks to take her to Rumple, who hopefully can change her back. Snow agrees to go, but her reason for going is not to be healed. 

     In Storybrooke, Emma is searching the apartment for any sign of a break in. Henry shows up and says that his mother hates MM because she is Snow White and that she could have stolen the jewelry box to frame her. Emma does not find any signs of a robbery, but hears a noise coming from the floor vent. When she pulls it up and reaches in, there is a large hunting knife hidden there. 

Later, Henry sits at the diner counter drinking hot chocolate with cinnamon. August sits next to him, and tells Henry that he knows his book is real. When Henry asks “You think my book is real?”, August replies “As real as I am”. This could be another hint that August is in fact Pinocchio. The “Real Boy” phrase is all throughout the original story. Also, at the wishing well in a previous episode, August told Emma that he “Always tells the truth.” We know that he does in fact lie though, because he tells Ruby about the Lemurs in Nepal, but Nepal is not a native habitat of lemurs. We have only seen Pinocchio as a living child at this point, in the pilot episode. If he was sent to our world before Emma, or turned to wood and sent along with the wardrobe then became real here, his age would also fit the boy who found Emma on the side of the road. August suggests that Henry look in the book for clues to help MM.

       Regina is pealing an apple when David comes to see her. She tells him that evil isn’t born, it is made. She says that evil doesn’t always look evil, sometimes it staring right at you, and you don’t know it. In the sheriff’s office, Emma suggests that MM hire a lawyer. MM says that she does not know where the heating vent even is. ( I think it’s a pretty far stretch that she would be unaware of the large, metal grate in the middle of her floor, but it’s possible) Mr. Gold shows up and offers to represent MM.  MM asks Emma to leave and sits to speak with Mr. Gold.  MM says she can’t pay Mr. Gold, he says he’s not after money, but that he is “invested in her future”. 

     In FTL, Grumpy and Snow have made it to Rumple’s castle.  Rumple tells Grumpy that Snow can not be “cured”. You can’t bring back true love. In Rumple’s potion cabinet we see full shelves, with one empty space above a heart symbol. He says that love is the most powerful magic of all. If someone could bottle love, they could do anything.  He turns to Snow and says that he knows she doesn’t care about that, she is there to see him for a different reason. She wants to kill the Queen. Rumple strings a bow and says “This is how you kill the Queen”. He shows Snow where she can position herself and not be seen while the Queen is on the road. He then hands her an arrow and says “An arrow fired from this bow will get you what you need. It always finds its target”.  Curious that he does NOT say specifically that what Snow “needs” the arrow to do is to kill the Queen. When Snow asks the price (since last time she had to give a strand of her hair) Rumple says there is no price. “Let’s just say, I’m invested in your future.” 

  I’m very interested to see what all of the fellow Oncers think about this comment that both Rumple and Mr. Gold have now made to MM and Snow.  It is my opinion that, while Rumple is dark and extremely dangerous, he really is still just a man who lost love and family. I believe we are going to see that he is not motivated by evil. There is mention in this episode that revenge and murder will cause someone to become evil, that they will lose their soul. Most likely this is what occurred with the Queen. In the pilot, Emma says to her “You have no soul, how did you get like this?” I also believe that he will end up having a familial tie to Snow, Emma and Henry.  I don’t know what happened to Bae yet, but as the writers have indicated that we may have seen Henry’s father before, could it be him?

     James finds Rumple at his castle and says that he heard that Snow came to him for help to kill the Queen. Rumple says he can’t cure Snow, but that “true love’s kiss” could. He offers to tell James where Snow is, in exchange for his cloak. Rumple tells James he needs to hurry because “If Snow kills the Queen she will become as evil as the woman whose life she takes. If Snow starts down that road, you will never get her back”.  James runs off to find Snow. She does not remember him. James kisses her, and tells her he will always find her.  She looks at him stunned for a moment, and then knocks him out.

      In SB, Henry brings Emma the key ring with all the keys to every door in Storybrooke. Emma has seen this key ring in a previous episode, but did not know what it does. She doesn’t believe Henry, but the key that Emma tries (which has an Apple on it) opens the apartment door. 

     Snow has tied James to a tree in FTL. He tries to make her remember him, but since she doesn’t True Loves kiss did not work. James tells her he can’t kill the Queen that it’s not who Snow wants to be. She leaves anyway to stalk the Queen.

 In SB, David goes to Archie for help remembering what happened during his blackouts.  Archie hypnotizes him. David remembers Kathryn telling him that she needed to start a new life and that she was hurt. She also told him that he and MM should be together. David says he remembers seeing MM in the woods. In his memory, we see him saying “You can’t kill her!” to Snow. He wakes up, and thinks what he has remembered was him telling MM not to kill Kathryn.  In this memory, Snow clearly has very long hair and is wearing a cloak. I’m unsure why David does not notice this, but it could be the shock of the memory. 

     In FTL, we see Jiminy helping to free James from his bonds. Jiminy suggests that Snow won’t remember who James is until she remembers who she is.  We then see Snow watching the Queen ride with her guards. She gets into position, pulls her arrow back, and shoots. It flies swiftly, and hits James, who has lunged in front of it. He falls to the ground and Snow screams, asking him why he would try to stop her. James tells her he had to show her that he loved her. He doesn’t care that she doesn’t remember. He says he would rather die than let her heart fill with darkness. One tear falls down Snow’s face, and she says no one has ever been willing to die for her. “No one you can remember,” Charming answers back. She leans in and kisses him softly on the lips. Her eyes fly open…”Charming!” . She is crying now and remembers. Just then, King George’s knights arrive. They rip the arrow from James’ chest and he has just enough time to pull Snow’s cloak up over her face. These knights are not looking for her, but for him because of his refusal to merry Abigail. One of the knights hits Snow causing her to fall to the ground. James is thrown into a jail cart and hauled away. Snow yells after him that she will find him. “I will always find you”.  The arrow indeed gave Snow what she “needed”.

 In SB, David visits MM in jail. He tells her about the memory of asking her not to kill someone. She is hurt that he would even consider for a moment that she would do something so evil. She reminds him that when the evidence pointed to him, she never doubted him, but stood by his side. She then tells him to leave. They are both crying as he leaves. 

     Snow slowly enters the Dwarves cottage. She places a mug on the table and says it’s an apology. “The only thing I broke that I can replace. I’m Sorry”. They realize she is back to herself and they all jump up to hug her. They tell her she can have her old room, but she says she can’t stay. She explains that King George has taken James, and she must save him. Grumpy tells her she can’t do that, and when she argues that she must, he says “I meant you can’t do it alone, but luckily you won’t have to.” The dwarves each grab their pick axes and lineup. We can see each of their names on the ax they hold as they stand together for Snow. “Let’s show King George what Snow White and the Seven Dwarves can really do!” says Grumpy. Great tie in of the original animated Disney title. 

     In MM’s jail cell a key with a skull falls from under the bed. She discovers that it opens the cell door, but closes it quickly as Emma comes in. Emma sits and tells MM that there has been a serious turn. The test results are back, and the heart in the box did belong to Kathryn. I was not expecting that to be the result. Now we know for sure that Kathryn is dead. They have enough evidence to move forward against MM. Emma tells MM that she thinks Regina is framing her, but that she has to be careful. Emma says this time Regina doesn’t know she suspects her, and asks MM to have faith in her. 

     In Mr. Gold’s pawn shop we see him take the Genie’s lamp down from the shelf as Emma comes in. She tells him she has no “court worthy” evidence, but that she thinks Regina is behind framing MM. “Look who’s become a woman of faith”, Gold says. I noticed this week as well as in previous episodes, there have been a few comments like this.  The comments are about faith, and things becoming true because you believe them. I’m wondering if we are going to eventually see a tie in to the Peter Pan stories, where faith and belief are what powers the magic. Emma asks for Gold’s help, saying that the only time she ever beat Regina was with his help. “Fear not Miss Swan, Regina may be powerful, but something tells me you are more powerful than you know”.

   At Rumple’s castle we see him pulling a strand of Charming/James’ hair from the cloak. He carefully places it in the bottle that held Snow’s hair from her trade with him for the potion. The hairs both begin to glow: Snow’s is Pink, Charming yellow. They float intertwined in the bottle. Rumple smiles and caps the bottle. It is placed in the one empty spot on his shelf, above the heart symbol. He has bottled LOVE. 

     We fade out with a shot of MM’s jail cell, door wide open….Empty.