Once Upon A Fan

By Amy Degenstein-Hood

     This week’s episode made Red and her history a bit clearer to fans. In season 1, we learned that Red was also in fact, the wolf. In a heartbreaking moment from that episode, Red attacked and killed the love of her life, Peter. Fans have been waiting anxiously for another peek into Red’s history, and this week was exactly what they were hoping for. 

     We begin this week in the mines under Storybrooke. The seven Dwarves have been mining tirelessly searching for fairy dust. Happy suggests they take a break and head to Granny’s to recharge, but Grumpy is not having it. He swings even harder in to the rock. On his final swing, the wall of rock gives way and inside the cavern they find what they have been searching for: Diamonds that can be turned to fairy dust. They now have a way to make the portal of Jefferson’s hat work. 

     Later in Granny’s we see Billy and Red talking. We had seen them flirt on and off through season one. Billy tells Red that he was a mouse named Gus who lived in Cinderella’s castle. Fans of the Disney classics will remember “Gus Gus” as the fat, lovable little mouse who helped Cinderella in the original animated film. So far we have only seen a creature that had already been human (Archie/Jiminy) revert to his human form in our world. In the original stories, Gus was always a mouse. It is unclear why he was turned human in our world, while other animals may not have been) Ruby finds an excuse to avoid going out with Gus that night because of the full moon. She is afraid that with magic in SB, there is a chance she might become the wolf and hurt someone. King George (who we saw last season as the District Attorney) is hovering in the diner. He sits down with at Charming’s table and tells him that even though he may have “Taken care of him” in FTL, they now had a chance to go at each other again. George is still seeking revenge on Charming, and this leads to the events that play out through the episode this week. 

     After closing, we see Granny and Red preparing a freezer by making it into a make shift cell. Granny jokes that the town would be shocked to find out her lasagna is frozen rather than homemade. Red tells Charming that even though she learned long ago to control the wolf, she can’t take any chances. Her cloak is missing and even Gold is unsure of its whereabouts. Not taking any chances, Red is locked in the makeshift cell for the night. When Granny returns the next morning, the freezer is torn to shreds and Red is nowhere to be found. Charming comes to help, and they find Red sleeping in the forest. She has blacked out and cannot remember the night before, or what she did as a wolf. Just then, Charming gets a call that someone has left their car illegally parked at the cannery and he has to go check it out. 

     In FTL of the past, we see Snow and Red running from the Queen’s guards in the forest. After they escape, Red realizes that her hood is ripped. Terrified that it might not keep her from changing into the wolf, she tells Snow they must split up just for the night. Snow is hesitant to leave her friend, but finally agrees. We then see Red awaken the next morning. She takes off her hood to get a drink from the river, and a man runs up and steals the hood. Red gives chase and finally catches him. After some playful banter, he divulges that he is also a wolf, and that there are many more of them. His name is Quinn, and he takes Red to a den. It is an old castle hall that has sunk beneath the ground. There she meets the rest of the pack. Among the wolves she meets is Anita, who turns out to be Red’s mother. Anita tells Red that Granny lied to her about her past, and that she was stolen away. She also tells Red there is a way to control the wolf and offers to teach her. In the evening, Anita shows Red how to control the wolf and how to keep from blacking out. When morning comes, Red is able to remember her night as the wolf and knows she doesn’t have to be afraid to turn anymore. 

     Back in SB, we see Henry inside his nightmare. There are flames everywhere and he can just barely see another person. The flames jump and lash at him, and when he wakes his hand is burned in real life. Regina is with him after David called her when he needed to leave on a call. She sees the burn as is afraid for him. She calls Gold/Rumple for help. When he sees Henry’s hand he tells Regina that all victims of the sleeping curse go to another realm. It is place between worlds where they are tormented. If they are awoken, they still can slip back in their dreams. Gold gives Henry a necklace to keep him safe in his dreams. Regina asks the price for his help. Gold tells her she could never afford a house call, but for Henry it is free. This might lend weight to the popular theory that Henry is actually Rumple’s grandson, and that his father is Bae.   

    Over at the cannery, Charming, Ruby and Red see the parked truck and Ruby smells blood. Granny finds Gus/Billy (half of him) lying in a pool of blood. Red screams and we see that she has discovered the rest of Gus, his legs, in a nearby dumpster. Red is hysterical, convinced that she, as the wolf, has killed Billy. She demands that Charming lock her in the cell to keep the town safe. King George seems extremely pleased by the events occurring. He suggests to Charming that the town will now see him as weak for showing favoritism to his friend, Red. George wants Red to be given to him so that he and the town’s people can dispense mob justice. Charming refuses, and after George leaves, sneaks Red to the library. Belle is there to help Red. Belle understands Red’s struggle and supports her friend. After Charming leaves with Granny to investigate, Red cuffs Belle to a shelf. Red believes she deserves to die, and heads toward the town, and the mob. Back in town, Granny has tracked a scent to a parked car. They find a hatchet and Ruby’s cloak in the trunk. Charming finds the registration, and discovers it is King George’s vehicle. George killed Billy and framed Red in order to make Charming look weak to the town’s people.

     In FTL past, Snow finds the den where Red is. Red is happy to see her friend, but the pack is not. They do not like nor trust humans. Red tells Snow that she wants to stay and live with her mother. Snow is sad, but understands. She tells Red she would give anything to have her family back. Just then the Queen’s men who have followed Snow, burst in. Quinn is shot and killed. The pack is able to kill the guards, but Anita blames Snow for their showing up. Anita orders the pack to bind Snow and says they will feast on the princess at nightfall. Red argues to save her friend, but Anita will not listen. She tells Red that she has made her choice, and she is a wolf now. When evening comes, Red refuses to kill Snow. Anita changes to the wolf and lunges for Snow’s throat. Red fights her off, and Anita is killed when she falls on a metal poker. Red is devastated, but she has saved Snow, who had been her friend and family all along. Snow as the only one who ever accepted Red as both a woman and a wolf. The two bury Anita, and leave together.

In SB, George has the mob worked up and ready to hunt and kill Red. They find her in wolf form, waiting for the fate she still believes she deserves. When George goes to shoot Red, Granny shoots an arrow to knock his gun down. Charming runs in and tells the towns people what George has done. He takes the cloak and approaches Red. Charming tells her he knows the real Red, and that she can control the wolf. He places the cloak around her, and she becomes Red again. When they go to confront George he is gone, but Ruby and Granny can track him. They find him, gloating, standing near a fire. He smiles and says he wants to see Charming’s face when he realizes that he will never see his wife and child again. George pulls Jefferson’s tattered hat from inside his coat and throws it in the fire. Charming is unable to save it, and now has no portal to find his family. Charming punches George and draws his gun, but does not shoot. George laughs and says Charming should have killed him when he had the chance. Red assures Charming they will find another way. Red then tells Charming that someone should go unlock Belle. Red leaves Charming, saying she is going to run. Something she has not done in 28 years. 

     In FTL of the past, we see that Aurora is now having the nightmare that she shares with Henry. She screams and battles the fire, but sees a boy in the distance he speaks to her right before she wakes up. Aurora tells Snow and Emma about the boy. She then tells them that he told her not to be afraid, and that his name was Henry. Snow and Emma look at each other. They may have a way to communicate with their loved ones in SB after all.