Once Upon A Fan

By Amy Degenstein Hood  

This week begins by flashing back one week earlier in the mayor’s office. Regina is looking at a ring that seems very precious to her. Mr. Gold enters, then we see them hashing out what appears to be the deal he alluded to at the end of “Hat Trick”. He asks Regina to make the battery charges against him disappear in exchange for help with her “Mary Margret problem”. Gold suggests that if she wants to “inflict pain” she must do just that. If something were to happen to Kathryn, with or without a trial, MM would be ruined. Gold reminds Regina that they “know what happens to those who try to leave Storybrooke”. Regina asks why she should trust him, to which he replies “I always honor my agreements”. In this scene, we see Regina’s box on her desk that she used in FTL to hold her father’s heart prior to enacting the curse. 

     In FTL, Regina rides a horse through an obstacle course. She is younger and appears to be very happy when riding. She stops near her father and hugs him as he tells her that her ride was beautiful. We can tell from the interaction that they are very close. “I would hardly call that beautiful”, Regina’s mother Cora interjects. She is followed by Daniel, the stable boy. Cora continues to tell Regina that she rides “like a man” because she doesn’t use a saddle, and asks her how she is ever going to find a husband when she acts like a commoner. Cora refers to Regina as an “old maid” and says most girls her age are already married. Daniel offers a saddle to Regina, but she declines and tells him she is done riding and that he is not to interrupt her and her mother again. He leaves for the stable, and Regina confronts her mother. She asks why she is always criticizing her. Cora says she is merely helping her. When Regina tries to walk away, Cora is furious. “Don’t you walk away from me”, she says as she casts magic and lifts Regina into the air. Regina says she knows she hates it when Cora uses magic. Cora says she hates insolence, and tells Regina she will stop using magic when she starts being an obedient daughter. Regina asks why she can’t just be herself, but Cora scoffs at that idea. Henry (Regina’s father) looks on with a worried face, but he does nothing to help his daughter. He appears to be afraid of Cora. We can see from the interaction that this type of thing has most likely happened before. Regina says she doesn’t care about status, and Cora then uses magic to make two belts tightly wrap around her. We can see them squeezing tighter and tighter. Regina begs her mother to stop and tells her she will be good. Cora releases her and she runs off to the stable. Daniel is there grooming the horses, and when Regina apologizes for snapping at him, he responds by saying she can come up with a way to make it up to him. She smiles and jumps into his arms. They kiss passionately and we see that they are very much in love.

     In SB, Emma is leaving Granny’s diner when she is stopped by David who wants to know how MM is doing. Emma asks if he means since he basically accused her of killing Kathryn the last time he saw her and tells him MM does not want to see him. He tells Emma that he doesn’t think MM is guilty. Emma tells him she needs a miracle. The scene flashes to MM who wakes in her jail cell to see Regina sitting and staring at her. Regina says that only the guilty sleep in jail and that she is there to offer MM a chance to confess. MM is adamant that she didn’t kill Kathryn. Regina tells her that confession or not, she will be leaving Storybrooke. 

     In FTL, Regina rides to meet Daniel. We see them embrace and he asks her to go to Firefly Hill to watch the lights. She tells him she can’t because she has to be back in an hour for tea. Daniel is upset and asks why she won’t tell her parents that they are in love. Regina says “It’s not my parents, it’s Her.” Daniel mentions that “She of all people should understand” because she (Cora) was the daughter of a poor miller. Regina explains how fearful she is of Cora’s magic, to which Daniel replies that true love is far more powerful, This whole conversation may have been worded specifically by the writers to leave some avenues open, or it might be as straight forward as it seems. Regina doesn’t say “It’s not my parents it’s my mother, she says it’s “Her”. I’m wondering if Cora is perhaps Regina’s step mother. I doubt that the story will play out that way, but the conversation was interesting. Also, in the original story of Rumplestiltskin, the miller’s daughter is the one who offers to trade her first born to Rumple in exchange for him spinning straw into gold for her to present to the king, whom she then marries. When she gives birth to the child, he tells her that he will only break the agreement if she can guess his name. A servant spies and over hears it, and the miller’s daughter is able to keep her child. In Once, there will obviously be more twists to this tale, since it is not Cora who we see marry a king, but Regina. I’m glad to hear that Cora will be back for several episodes in Season 2. I feel like this was a relationship and a character that didn’t get hashed out as much as I would have liked to have seen. 

     As Daniel and Regina are talking, a horse races by with a young girl on it screaming for help. Regina jumps on her horse and rides after them. She saves the little girl from the runaway animal by pulling her onto her own. When they stop, Regina asks if she’s alright and she says she is, but that she will never ride again. Regina smiles and tells her the best way to conquer her fear is to face it by getting back on a horse as soon as possible. Regina introduces herself, and the little girl tells her that her name is Snow White. They both smile and hug each other. 

In SB, Gold, MM and Emma are discussing having a pre-trial hearing. Emma is against it, but Gold feels MM should do it since she has nothing to hide. Sydney interrupts by showing up with a vase of flowers that he said he brought to “brighten the office”. Emma pulls him aside and asks about any information he might have dug up for her on Regina, to which he replies that he has not found anything. Emma’s superpower is clearly floundering here. I know she thinks Sydney stopped by to update her on his investigative efforts, but she doesn’t even seem to think that bringing a vase of flowers to the sheriff’s station is odd. I thought for sure that he would leave and she would search the flowers, but alas, no.

     When Emma returns to the conversation with Gold and MM, she is told that she has agreed to the pre-trial hearing. We then hear the DA walk in and say that it is “an excellent idea”. The DA in Storybrooke is King George from FTL. Regina is with him as they enter. We then see the interview process beginning, with the DA asking MM about the day Kathryn slapped her in public. MM insists that she never wanted Kathryn gone, but after pressure from the DA she says that Kathryn was the only thing keeping her and David apart and that she had in fact, wanted her gone.

     In FTL, Regina is in front of a mirror fixing her coat. Cora walks in and says that her outfit won’t do and casts magic to change the riding clothes into a pale blue dress. She has also changed Regina’s hair from a pulled up braid, to a more flowing style. Cora tells Regina that she has “finally done something right”, and that the little girl she saved was the king’s daughter. The king is coming to their home to meet Regina. As he enters, Regina and Cora bow. The king tells her that she has saved his daughter and that he is honored to meet her. Cora prompts Regina to respond and she tells the king that the honor is hers. He then explains how lucky Regina is to have a mother to look out for her, and tells them that they “lost” Snow’s mother many years ago. I noticed that when he said this, he was looking right at Cora, and not at Regina. He says that he has scoured the land looking for a wife who will have an interest in his daughter. He drops to one knee and proposes. We see Regina’s father shaking his head to say No, and Cora speaks up and accepts the proposal for Regina. Other than the fact that he knows Regina doesn’t love the king; it seems that her father might have other reasons to object. He seems pretty shocked and very much opposed to it when he’s shaking his head. 

     We see Regina very upset, burst into the stable looking for Daniel. She asks him to marry her, and explains what has happened with the king’s proposal. He tells her that life with a stable boy would not be as easy as life with a king, but she doesn’t care. She loves him and only wants to be with him, rich or poor. Daniel pulls a ring off of a saddle and places it on Regina’s finger. They kiss, and are startled by a noise. Snow is standing in the doorway and has dropped a saddle she was carrying. Snow is very upset by seeing Regina and Daniel kissing. Regina says she can explain, but Snow runs away. Regina chases after her into the night. 

     Regina catches up to Snow when she falls down. Snow asks why she would kiss someone else when she is supposed to marry her father and become her mother. Regina tells Snow that even though her father is kind and good, she does not love him. Snow doesn’t understand, and asks why. Regina says that love doesn’t work that way, and that true love creates real magic. She says that it’s the most powerful magic in the world and that it creates happiness. Snow understands and says that Regina should be with the man she loves. She then offers to go explain to her father. Regina tells her that if she really wants to help she must keep the secret because not everyone will understand. Regina asks Snow if she’s certain that she can keep the secret. She explains that Snow can never, above all else, tell Cora about her love for Daniel. Snow promises. They hug and we flash back to SB.

 Emma is sitting on a bench looking through the story book. August walks up and they start discussing the search for evidence in MM’s case. He suggests that she look back at everything, as he does when he writes a story. He says she has something similar to writers block, and that she should look at things from a new perspective. Emma realizes that she started the investigation as a missing person search, but would have done a few things different if it had been a murder investigation all along. Emma heads off and August offers to drive, reminding her that it was his idea in the first place that motivated her. They ride to the place by the river where the heart was discovered. August has a sharp leg pain as he starts toward the river. I feel like this might be another indicator that he is Pinocchio, with the leg pains being something along the lines of splinters (wood). It may be that he was getting too close to the water that causes the effects on his leg. In a past episode he expressed the “power” that he felt water held. Emma digs into the spot where the box had been found and finds a piece of metal. She realizes it probably broke off of a tool belonging to whoever really buried the heart. We then see later that night as Regina checks in on a sleeping Henry before she goes to the shower. We hear the shower start, and Henry tells Emma through the walkie talkie that the coast is clear. Emma and August break into Regina’s shed. They find a shovel and the metal shard fits perfectly into a broken segment on it

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  In FTL, we see Snow admiring orchids in Regina’s home. Cora walks up behind her and tells her she must be careful because orchids are very delicate. The picture we have seen in the past episode of the young girl with her hand out stretched is from this scene. It is Snow touching the orchids. Snow and Cora sit and Cora tells her how happy she is that Regina and Snow have become so close. She says it is wonderful that they share everything already, and says that Regina is going to be a wonderful mother to her. Cora really puts on the good mother act here, and manages to convince Snow that she is worried about losing her daughter. Snow, who has lost her mother, falls into Cora’s lies. She says no one should lose their mother, and she tells Cora about Daniel. Cora pretends to be happy for Regina and says that she will help her to be with her true love. Snow is happy because she thinks she has done something wonderful for Regina to help her be with Daniel.

     In SB, Emma presents Regina with a search warrant. She says that there was an anonymous call to the sheriff’s office that said she was digging near the toll bridge when Kathryn disappeared. Emma searches the shed, but the shovel is no longer broken. It looks like a brand new shovel. Regina tells Emma that MM is a liar and a murderer, and that she has destroyed the last life she will ever destroy. Emma then goes to see August at Granny’s Inn. She is very angry and thinks that he told Regina that she was coming to search the shed. August denies it, and Emma asks how she can know he’s not lying. He responds that he is not a liar, but Emma says that is exactly what a liar would say.

     In the sheriff’s office, Regina confronts a crying MM. She tells her that she wants to enjoy this while she can. Regina tells MM that soon she will never have to see her face again and that finally there will be justice. MM breaks down sobbing and says she didn’t kill Kathryn and that she doesn’t deserve this. Regina smiles and squeezes her face, saying that she knows, but that she does deserve this.

     In FTL, Regina runs into the stable to Daniel. He asks if she’s ready to run away. They start out of the door only to be stopped by Cora. “You could have at least left a note”, she says. Cora raises her hands, blasts Regina and Daniel back into the stable, and then uses magic to slam the door behind her. All the doors to the stable slam shut. Regina begs her to stop using magic and tells her that she wants to be with Daniel. Cora says that she didn’t make the sacrifices in life to watch Regina end up with a stable boy. When Regina says that it is her life, Cora laughs and says that after the deals she has made, that life belongs to her. Obviously she is referring to deals made with Rumple. It sounds as though there was more than one deal made. I still feel that Regina and Jefferson seemed to have a familial relationship in the Hat Trick episode. I’m wondering if Cora gave him up to Rumple for power. Or possibly Cora was the wife who left Rumple, and Jefferson is Baelfire as well as the Hatter? I would love to hear all of our Oncer’s theory’s on this. There are so many ways it could play out. Regina and her mother continue to argue, and finally Cora seems to see that she cannot stop them. She asks Regina if this will make her happy and she says it already has.  Cora and Regina hug, and Cora offers some advice to Daniel. She tells him that if there is one lesson she can offer him for a happy life and family, is that a parent must always do what is best for their children. She then reaches out and pulls Daniel’s heart from his chest. She squeezes it in her hand and it turns to dust. Daniel falls dead, and Regina cries out and falls to his side. She sobs and asks her mother why she has done this. Cora says that love is weakness and that this is Regina’s happy ending. Regina tries to kiss Daniel. I’m sure this is because she is hoping that true loves kiss will bring him back, but it does not. Cora tells Regina to clean herself up because now she’s going to be Queen. I am really hoping that we see some more twists come out with this storyline. So many of the story twists in the show have been great “OMG” moments, but a lot of our Oncers expected that this was the betrayal and I was hoping for just a little more. 

     We then see Regina being fitted for her wedding gown. Snow is there and tells her she is the fairest in the land, and then says that she knows Regina will be happy with Daniel. Regina realizes that Snow doesn’t know that she is preparing to marry her father. Snow says that she knew Cora would allow her to marry Daniel once she knew how happy he made her and how much they loved each other. Regina realizes that Snow betrayed the secret to Cora. Snow tells her that she didn’t want her to lose Cora the way she had lost her mother. Snow asks if Regina is angry and she says she is not. She then lies and tells Snow that Daniel has run away, and that she was wrong when she thought she loved him. She tells Snow that she is going to marry her father and that they will be a family. They hug, and we see Cora in the background. She tells Snow that she needs to pack for the journey back to her castle. Snow replies that Cora and Regina will love it there, and then runs along to pack. Regina’s eyes are full of tears. Cora tells Regina that she is proud of her. Regina realizes that Cora is the one who spooked Snow’s horse so that she could then save her and get in good graces with the king. Cora denies it, but we can tell from Regina’s face that she knows it’s true. As Regina walks away she says “I should have let her die on that horse”. 

     In SB, Regina holds the ring that Daniel had given her and says “We got her Daniel”. In the sheriff’s office MM is led away in handcuffs. Emma tells Mr. Gold that she trusted that he could fix this and he tells her there is still time for him to “work a little magic”. Gold leaves the office, and Emma, frustrated from the situation, hurls the vase of flowers Sydney left against a file cabinet. A microphone bug falls out, and she realizes August was not the one who betrayed her to Regina. She finds August leaving Granny’s Diner and apologizes. A loud scream is heard from behind the diner. August and Emma run to find Ruby who seems to be in shock as she tells them “She’s behind the diner”. They run forward to find Kathryn, lying down, but very much alive.