Last week on ‘Once Upon a Time’, we were brought into Snow White’s world before the curse, and we found out she wasn’t exactly the princess we thought she was going to be. In our time, Mary reads the story to the John Doe coma patient, who wakes up and goes searching for her. After a strenuous search through the woods, he’s found, and Regina brings his wife in to reunite the couple. I have decided that Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold is my favorite character, and was disappointed he wasn’t in that episode. I was extremely happy to find out that he would be a big part of this week’s though, so going into this episode I was a little more excited than normal.
Story Time
We open on the classic scene from ‘Cinderella’, where the Stepmother and two Stepsisters are on their way to the ball, and Cinderella is at home, cleaning. While her back is turned, her Fairy Godmother appears. She is about to make all of Cinderella’s dreams come true when she vanishes in fire. In her place stands none other than Rumplestiltskin, who is there to collect the Fairy Godmother’s wand. He explains to Cinderella that “All magic comes with a price!” Cinderella still wants out of her life, and strikes a deal with Rumplestiltskin. He will give her the ability to go to the ball, and she will have to give him something in return. He warns her again of the consequences, but she signs the contract anyway. He changes her into the classic Cinderella look, complete with glass slippers. Before she rides away, Rumplestiltskin tells her “Be sure to watch the clock!”
Later on, Cinderella watches the fireworks from the balcony of the castle. She tells Prince Thomas that when she was younger she used to watch them, and know that something special is going on at the castle. She is happy because this time the something special is their wedding. They kiss and head to the ballroom where Snow and Charming are dancing, who congratulate them on their wedding. Snow steals away Cinderella for a dance, where she congratulates her again, and then tells her she’s proud of her, “All you did was show anyone can change their life.” Rumplestiltskin suddenly appears to tell Cinderella that he is there to collect his debt. Cinderella asks him if he wants gold or her jewels, and he tells her no. He tells her what he wants is something that is not yet in her possession. He wants her first born child.
The next time we see Cinderella she is packing. Prince Thomas comes into the room, startling her. After asking why she is packing, Cinderella explains what happened with Rumplestiltskin, including that she is pregnant and now he’s coming for their child. Thomas tells her he will fix this, and that he will protect her, which makes her change her mind about leaving.
It seems to be a few months later when we next see Cinderella, who is walking through the mines with Thomas, Charming and Grumpy. They have crafted a special cell for Rumplestiltskin, one where his magic can’t free him. They come up with a plan to trick him into using a quill given to them by the blue fairy, which will freeze Rumplestiltskin and his magic. The plan is to tell him she is having twins, and that she wants to strike a deal for him to take both.
That night, Rumplestiltskin appears to Cinderella in the garden. She tells him of the twins, that she is willing to trade the other for gold and fertile lands, since they are going broke and their crops are dying. He agrees, although it does kind of feel that he already knows what is going to happen since he comments on the quill Cinderella gives him to sign the new contract. He signs the contract, freezing him. He says “No one breaks deals with me dearie. No one.” and says that he will have her baby no matter what. After he is imprisoned, Cinderella has contractions, making Thomas run to fetch water for her. After they pass, Cinderella follows Thomas’ trail into the woods where he has vanished. Running to Rumplestiltskin, she demands to know where Thomas is. He tells her she will not see him again until the debt is paid.
Real Time
Emma and Henry are walking down the street, talking about Operation Cobra (afterwards we find out that Regina already knew Emma walked Henry to the bus). After Henry gets on the bus, the Sheriff stops Emma in the street, thanking her for finding the coma patient, and offering her a job as the deputy. She tells him she’ll think about it, and heads to the diner. Regina walks into the diner, approaches Emma, and says she’s not threatened by her anymore. Regina says that because in 10 years Emma has lived in 7 places, “she can’t grow because she doesn’t have any roots”.
After Regina leaves, Emma accidentally spills her cocoa on herself, and she goes into the laundry room to wash her clothes. There, she meets a pregnant Ashley (or Cinderella) who is crying because the sheets she washed are pink. Ashley goes on to tell her that no one thinks she can handle having a baby since she is only 19. Emma tells her she was 18 when she had her child, and that no one can tell her what to do. Emma’s pep talk drives Ashley to break into Mr. Gold’s shop, who tries to stop her, but she pepper sprays him and runs away.
Later, Regina is getting ready for a council meeting and telling Henry that he cannot leave and see Emma while she is gone. Back at Mary’s place, Emma unpacks all of her belongings, which isn’t very much. Mr. Gold stops by to see her, saying that Ashley and him have a deal, and she has disappeared. Emma says she will help find her, because she is worried about the pregnancy. Henry shows up, seeing Mr. Gold, says he can’t figure out who he is in the story world. He guilts Emma into letting him help, and they go and talk to Ruby. Ruby tells them that the boyfriend, whose name is Sean, left after Ashley found out she was pregnant. Emma and Henry go to question him, and they find out that it was actually Sean’s father who broke them up, not wanting his son to throw his life away. It turns out that the father also set up a deal to sell the baby, and the deal was with Mr. Gold.
Emma goes back to Ruby, and realizes that she was sent to see Sean so Ashley could take Ruby’s car. Ruby tells Emma that Ashley is heading for Boston to try and disappear there. Emma speeds down the road to try and catch up with Ashley, and they find the car crashed on the side of the road, and Ashley going into labor not far from it. While driving her to the hospital, Emma tells Ashley if she really wants this baby she cannot just run and disappear, she has to love it and take care of it and not give it up. Ashley tells her that she’s not going to do those things, that she wants her baby. Emma tells her that she will protect her then, and that she will keep her baby.
At the hospital, Henry and Emma talk about how Emma really is the only person who can leave town since she is the savior. Mr. Gold approaches her, and Emma makes it known she is upset with him for not telling her that the baby was the merchandise she was chasing after. Mr. Gold tells her that he did that on purpose, that it would give her motivation to find Ashley faster and that it worked. He continues to try and manipulate Emma, but she fights back, saying if Ashley wants to be a mother she should have the chance. She makes a deal with him that she owes him a favor if Ashley is allowed to keep her baby. He agrees, and Emma tells Ashley the good news. Emma realizes that its almost 5 and gets Henry home just in time for Regina to come in. While Henry races up the stairs, Emma calls the sheriff and lets him know she will take the deputy job. We also find out that Regina didn’t actually have a council meeting, she was meeting someone for a little fun. The someone turns out to be the Sheriff.
I was really happy with this weeks episode, just because I was happy to see so much Rumplestiltskin. I really enjoy him as a bad guy in both Story Time and Real Time. Do you think he knows about the curse in Storybrooke? Who do you think the Sheriff is in Story Time? Who is your favorite character?
If you missed the previous episode, be sure to read our ‘Once Upon A Time: Snow Falls’ recap to catch up.
