Last week on ‘Once Upon a Time’ we learned a lot about a character that I think will play a bigger role in upcoming episodes. Archie (or Jiminy Cricket) is Henry’s quiet therapist who learns how to stand up to Regina, especially for Henry’s safety. Emma admits that she believes she is Henry’s mom as well, and her and Regina continue to fight. They do call a truce however when Henry needs to be rescued from a collapsed mine.

This week we are exploring deeper into Prince Charming/David Nolan’s story, and it looks like its going to include dragons! Personally, I love dragons, so I’m pretty excited to see how this plays out!

Story Time: 

Prince Charming battles a brutish knight on the edge of a cliff, finally vanquishing him with a final blow to the chest. King Midas and his father congratulate him on a glorious battle, and Midas requests that he kill the dragon that has taken out so many of his men. After the Kings leave the Prince’s warriors want to celebrate in a job well done, but the Prince declines, saying that the dragon will be the real job. Before he can continue his speech though, the brute awakens and impales Prince Charming through the chest, killing him.

The King weeps for his son, and says goodbye, but the knights warn him that this is not the time to mourn. Help in the form of Rumplestiltskin appears, and they speak of a deal. Apparently, the Prince was brought to the King, he was not borne from the Queen, and Rumplestiltskin knows that there is a twin brother. He says he will get the twin for the Fairy Godmother’s wand (we see him steal it from her in a previous episode.) The King agrees to the deal, and we are shown that the twin brother is actually a poor shepherd.

As the Shepherd chases a lamb into the pen, his mother comes home from the market. She is trying to arrange a wedding for him, to the grains merchant, but he protests, saying that he wants to have a choice in the matter. She tells him its a good match, but he continues to refuse. During their argument, Rumplestiltskin appears, and so the Shepherd is told of his twin brother. Rumplestiltskin tells him to play the part, that he will be a hero and his mother will be well taken care of. The Shepherd asks if he has a choice, to which Rumplestiltskin replies in his usual style, “Everyone has a choice dearie, just make sure it’s the right one!”

As the Shepherd prepares to battle the dragon, King Midas (unaware of the original Prince Charming’s death) tells him that he will be a legend if he is able to slay the dragon. As the Shepherd picks up the gold sword, one of his knights comes and takes it away from him, telling him that he may get the title of hero, but he does not get the job. At the dragon’s cave, the knights go in when almost immediately there is a burst of fire. Screaming is heard and the Shepherd tries to run in, but is held back by two other knights. He manages to fight them off and drag one knight away from the flames. The dragon appears roaring and spitting fire, flying off into the sky and continuing to track the Shepherd. He eventually gets the dragon wedged in a rock, and cuts off its head.

That night, King Midas touches the head of the dragon and turns it to gold and announces that the Shepherd (still acting as the Prince) will wed his daughter Abigail (who is Katherine in our time). The King tells him he must do this, threatening to kill his mother if he doesn’t.

The Shepherd goes to his mother and tells her what is happening. She begs him to stay, that they can run away, but the Shepherd declines saying for her safety he must do this. She gives him her ring, saying that true love follows it, and that she will know that he is happy even though he was forced into his choice. That night, Midas tells Abigail and the Shepherd to go to his castle and the Shepherd says they will take the scenic route. We see the beginning of Snow White’s story at this point.

Real Time: 

David is brought home by Katherine. She tries to jog his memory about buying the house, saying he didn’t want it at first because of the windmill that was in the front of it. He still doesn’t remember, and she says that everyone is waiting for him inside. The town has arrived inside of his home, including Emma and Henry. Henry tells Emma that he thinks that the curse didn’t work on David because the only memory that he could have is the memory of being Prince Charming. He tells Emma he wants to help jog his memory, and hopefully break the curse. Before Emma can properly respond, David comes over and asks if Mary will be joining them. Emma tells him that she doesn’t think Mary will be, to which David looks a little depressed.

In the kitchen, Regina and Katherine talk about how Katherine is happy she got her husband back, but it doesn’t feel right. She calls Regina her friend, which makes Regina smile. David goes to Mary’s house and sees her struggling to hang a birdhouse outside. He hangs it for her and asks if she resigned from the hospital because of him. She says that while it is really sweet he thinks that, he might just think that because she rescued him, and because he’s married she won’t do anything with him. David argues that the person who got married made the choice to be married to Katherine, but that wasn’t him and his choice was her.

Later on, when Emma walks in, Mary is furiously scrubbing at her dishes. Emma guesses that it’s because of David, and tells her she made the right choice. As they talk, David and Katherine go through old pictures. Katherine invites him to bed and kisses him. David stops her telling her that this isn’t right.

Mary is sitting in the diner when Dr. Whale approaches her. He asks if she resigned from the hospital because of him, for not calling after their date. She says no, but laughs a little at the thought. Regina then approaches her, telling her to stay away from David. Mary doesn’t know what she’s talking about, so Regina then explains that David left Katherine the night before. She again makes it very clear to Mary to stay away from him.

Of course, David visits her in her classroom later that day. She tries to get him to go away due to Regina’s warnings, but he brings up choice again. He tells her to meet him by the bridge where she rescued him at eight if she wants to see where things will go. If she doesn’t show he’ll know her answer and never bother her again. Struggling with the choice, Mary goes to see Emma, who has just been asked to work the night shift to cover for the Sheriff while he volunteers at an animal shelter. Emma tells her that since he left Katherine she should go. She decides that this is the right choice.

David wanders lost in the town with a map. He stumbles across Regina, who gives him directions with a smile, to go past Mr. Gold’s shop. When he gets to where the fork in the road should be though, it isn’t there. He goes into Mr. Gold’s shop, and he confirms that Regina did point him in the wrong direction. Mr. Gold gives him the correct directions, and David starts to leave. Before he can though, he sees a windmill in the window. All of his memories came back, and he goes to tell Mary. Mary, upset that she was led on, says that she’s happy for him, but still leaves in a huff. David goes back to Katherine and apologizes. He says that he knows they have stuff to work on, but that he thinks they can make it.

In the diner, Mary is approached by Dr. Whale again, who offers to buy her a drink. While driving in the squad car, Emma sees the Sheriff running from Regina’s home. They have a brisk conversation ending with Emma finding out they are sleeping together, but Henry doesn’t know. Emma, upset with the Sheriff for not telling her, tosses him the keys and says she’s not working anymore night shifts.

So I think this episode was great for the different tie ins to the other stories that we’ve already seen. I really enjoy Rumplestiltskin’s character and so glad we’ve gotten to see more of him. I really want Mary to find love. I love this show for the fact that I really am interested and invested in these characters, and I’m really excited to see what will happen next.

What do you think of the Prince’s twin brother? Do you think Mary will find love with Dr. Whale, or should she hold out for David?

Did you  miss last week? Check out my recap of ‘Once Upon A Time: That Still Small Voice.’