Once Upon A Fan

by Amy Degenstein-Hood

 The season 1 finale begins with Charming trying to break out of the cell Regina has locked him in. Two guards arrive to take him to his execution. He fights them off, only to be stopped by another guard carrying a bow and arrows. A guard from behind says “shoot him”, and then is struck down by an arrow. The second guard removes his mask, and it is the Huntsman. He tells Charming that he is a friend who gave up his heart for Snow. The Huntsman says he cannot go with Charming, who then runs off to find Snow.

     In SB, Henry is being wheeled into the emergency area of the hospital. Dr. Whale is examining him. Emma is frantic, and tells Dr. Whale that the apple turnover must have been poisoned. There are no signs of poisoning, and Emma dumps out Henry’s book bag on a side bed. She says “like magic”, then picks up Henry’s book and begins to have flashbacks. Emma sees her mother and father, and the beginning of the curse when she was put in the wardrobe. Regina runs into the hospital looking for Henry, and Emma says “You did this”. She now knows that the stories are real. When Henry’s bag is emptied, aside from the book we also see that he has an Apollo candy bar ( a LOST reference) and a copy of the Marvel comic book (Marvel is owned by Disney as well) Avenger’s VS. X-Men. Emma drags Regina into a supply closet and they begin to fight. She tells Regina that she knows the curse is real, and that Henry ate the apple turnover. Regina is visibly upset. She tells Emma that it was supposed to be for her, that as long as Emma is alive, Henry will never really be her son. Regina cannot wake Henry up, but says there is one other person in SB who knows about the curse. Emma realizes it is Mr. Gold, and Regina says he goes by Rumplestiltskin.

     In FTL, the Huntsman tells Regina that Charming has escaped. She is furious, but is able to see him in her magic mirror and casts him into the Infinite Forest. We flash to Charming, who comes upon Rumplestiltskin. He offers Charming his ring, which has now been enchanted to glow brighter as he gets closer to Snow. Charming refuses and they battle with swords. Charming is unable to defeat Rumple, who tells him that he wants him to find his True Love. 

     In SB, David apologizes again to MM for not believing in  her, and standing by her when she was locked up. He tells her that he is going to Boston to live, unless she can give him a reason to stay. MM says she can’t. A tear runs down David’s face as MM gets into her car to leave. 

     Back in the Infinite Forest, Charming asks Rumple what he knows of True Love. Rumple says he has had true love, but that she died. He tells Charming he wants him to help him hide the bottled True Love in the belly of the beast.

     We see Emma and Regina walk into Mr. Gold’s Pawn Shop. He says that he recognizes the face of a believer. He tells them that he has managed to bottle True Love, the most powerful magic of all. Regina seems shocked by this. He says he saved it for a rainy day, and Emma replies that it is storming “like a bitch”. Gold says that Emma is the product of the magic, and she must retrieve it. It is hidden with their “friend in the library”. He pulls something out for Emma, when she asks what it is, he replies, “Your father’s sword”. Back in the hospital, Emma visits a comatose Henry and says he was right about the curse and that she should have believed him. She leaves him the book, and tells Regina that she has 10 minutes with him. Regina whispers to Henry that she is sorry, and in the background we see Jefferson step out of the shadows. Regina tells him that Emma did not eat the turnover, so she does not intend to honor their deal. Jefferson is furious that he will again have to wait to find a way to his daughter. 

     AT Granny’s Inn, Emma goes to see August. When she knocks on his door, he says he is unable to open the door. She pushes in, and sees him lying in the bed. He has already turned mostly to wood. Emma says she needs his help, but he tells her she can break the curse. She can save Henry, and save them all. He turns completely to wood as he says this. In the library, Emma and Regina open a secret elevator chamber. Emma asks her who she is looking for, and Regina tells her it is someone she trapped in a different form. 

     In FTL, Charming is in the Forbidden Fortress. He asks Maleficent where the beast who guards the castle is. She says that beast is a harsh word, and then transforms into the dragon. In SB, Emma reaches the bottom level under the library and backs up against a wall. A large, green eye opens behind her, and the dragon rises up, spewing flames. We flash between Charming fighting the dragon in FTL, and Emma fighting her in SB. Charming is able to press the golden jeweled egg into Maleficent, then jump out of the window. Emma throws down the sword and tries using her gun, which does no damage. We then see MM reading the story of Snow White to Henry in the hospital. She says that she gave Henry the book because life doesn’t always have a happy ending, then Henry begins to flatline. 

     In the mental ward of the hospital, we see a male nurse from behind give the desk nurse a cup of tea. She faints onto the desk. We see that the male nurse was Jefferson. He takes the keys and opens a cell. Belle is inside, and Jefferson says that she must find Mr. Gold. He says she is to tell him where she has been, and that Regina locked her away. She says she understands and leaves to find him.

     Rumple gives Charming the ring, he says he is a fan of True Love, and “more importantly, what it creates”. He changes Charming’s clothes into his red outfit from the first episode. We then flash to Emma, who picks up her father’s sword and yells “Hey” (same way that Charming yelled before throwing his sword in the pilot) and then throws the sword into the dragon’s heart. She turns to dust, and Emma finds the jeweled egg with the true love potion inside. 

     In a scene we originally saw in the pilot, Charming rides to find Snow. The 7 Dwarves tell him he is too late, as he sees Snow lying in a glass coffin. He asks to say good-bye, then leans over to kiss her. A flash of magic blows through the land and she wakes. As they walk, he kneels and asks her to marry him. He then places the ring on her finger, and she says “what do you think.” Snow then suggests that they take back the kingdom. 

     David gets into his truck and begins to drive toward Boston. We see Emma riding up the elevator from the basement of the library. The elevator stops, and Mr. Gold peers down. He has Emma throw the egg up, but then he disappears with it. Emma climbs out and Regina is tied up. She says that Gold manipulated everything. Both of their phones ring as the hospital tries to contact them. We see Emma and Regina rush into Henry’s room, and he is dead. The doctor says they did all they could. Mother superior is there as well. 

     In Mr. Gold’s shop, we see him unlock the jeweled egg and retrieve the potion. From behind his, a voice asks if he is Mr. Gold, to which he says that he is, but his shop is closed. He turns and realizes that it is Belle. He is shocked and overwhelmed to see that she is alive. He says he will protect her. She asks if she knows him, and with tears in his eyes he says “No, but you will”. Back at the hospital, Emma and Regina are both crying as Henry lies lifeless in the bed. Regina begins to cry in Dr. Whale’s arms, and Emma approaches Henry’s side. Emma leans over and says that she loves Henry, and kisses his head.

The same flash of magic we saw when Charming woke Snow floods out. We see it rush through the town, taking effect and returning memories to all of the Fairytale characters. David stops his truck as his memory returns to him, and he turns back for SB. In the hospital Henry says he thinks Emma has broken the curse. Regina tells Henry that no matter what he thinks, or what anyone tells him, she does love him. She runs from the hospital. In the middle of town, David calls across the square “Snow!. MM turns and runs to him, saying “Charming!” She says that he found her, and he asks if she ever doubted that he would. They kiss and embrace, finally remembering each other. 

     In the woods, we see Gold and Belle walking. She calls out to him, and says she remembers. She calls him Rumplestiltskin, and says she loves him. He says he loves her, but must do something first. He drops the True Love potion into the well, and a purple fog begins to roll out. In the hospital, Emma asks Henry why the people are not going back to FTL if the curse is broke, but he doesn’t know. They see the purple mist coming from the edge of town, Emma asks what it is, and Henry responds “Something Bad.” In the woods, Rumple tells Belle that he is bringing magic to this land. When she asks why, he says “Because magic is power.” The purple mist continues to engulf the town. We see Regina, looking out her window as the mist approaches. She is smiling as she watches the purple mist rise.