Tuesday, May 8, 2012

TV: Once Upon A Time (ep. 21)

When Emma was faced with the truth about being the savior on last week's Once Upon A Time her response was to grab Henry and make tracks as far away from Storybrooke as possible.

This week the episode is entitled "An Apple Red as Blood". Henry must try to convince his birth mother to continue the quest, however Regina has devised a master plan that will force Emma to leave forever. On the Fairytale side, we learn the details of how Snow White rescued Prince Charming and her plan to enlist aid to defeat the Evil Queen once and for all.

Let's get to the episode breakdown, shall we?


Once upon a time, King George was ready to behead the man who he enlisted to portray his son. When Charming continues to refuse to marry Midas' daughter, the King lets the blade fall. But at the last second, it turns to water - thanks to the magic of Queen Regina. It seems she is willing to give King George the treasures Midas had promised him in exchange for Charming. Her plan is to use him for her own revenge against Snow White.

Speaking of, Snow has gathered the dwarves, Granny and Red to storm George's castle. With the airborn help of the fairies, they manage to take the castle. In the dungeon, Snow sees her reward but is heartbroken to find only a mirror projecting Charming. Queen Regina has already whisked him away. Regina interupts the lovers' talk and tells Snow they need to talk, back where it all began.

Despite the insistence of her friends, Snow meets Regina back at the old farm. There Regina shows her the marker for Daniel's grave; she wants Snow to know what her actions as a child cost. Snow is truly storry but Regina will have none of that. She presents an apple and tells of how it will put the one who eats it into a sleeping curse. But she can't force Snow to eat it; it has to be taken willingly. Regina then plays her final card: Snow will chose to eat the apple or Regina will kill Charming. Snow takes a bite to save her true love and falls.

The apple tumbles down the hill and vanishes in a magic cloud.

Red and dwarves track Snow to where she has fallen but it is too late. Regina has had her revenge.

In Storybrooke, we open with Regina and Henry eating dinner in silence. The doorbell rings; it is Emma with a mob from the town. They capture the mayor, tie her to an apple tree and behead her.

Regina awakens from this nightmare in a panic. She fails to realize that Henry is not in his bed.

The boy is actually in Emma's car as she plans to take them both out of town. At the last second, Henry turns the wheel. He tells her they cannot leave, that she has to break the curse. "Your family needs you."

In the morning, Regina discovers that her prized apple tree is dying. She goes to see Mr. Gold, convinced it is a sign that the curse is weakening. Gold suggests that perhaps she should give up Henry to get Emma to leave town and thus keep the curse intact. Regina won't hear of that. Gold then reminds her that if Emma is killed, the curse is broken too.

Realizing she needs to try something else, Regina gets Jefferson to come out hiding. She provides him with his hat, but he tells her that without magic it is just a hat. She offers up some trinkets to try to make it work but they fail. She then gives up one final item - the engagement ring from Daniel. That has enough to kick start the hat, but it won't be enough to make trip back to the old land. All Jefferson might be able to do is retrieve a small item. Regina knows just what to get!

Henry goes to see August and is able to observe his wooden appendages (Henry believes in the curse). August tells the boy that he failed to make Emma believe and that he is out of ideas.

Emma goes to talk to Dr. Hopper who informs her that she really has no strong case for custody. In fact, Henry's behavior has become more deviant since Emma arrived. He advises her to make peace with the mayor to avoid an all-out war where who knows might get hurt.

Regina takes the fallen apple (the one that Snow bit) and bakes it into a turnover. Just as it is done, Emma arrives to talk to her. Emma wants to deal: she will leave town if she is allowed to visit with Henry on occasion. Regina cannot believe her luck. Still, just to be safe, she gives Emma the special dessert.

Regina goes to Mr. Gold to gloat, telling him that she managed to go to an old stand-by to solve the problem. When Gold realizes she means the sleeping curse, he reminds her that all magic has a price. Regina scoffs at him, saying she has won and the curse will be stronger than ever.

Emma asks Henry to come by so she can say goodbye. She tells him it will be best if she leaves while he stays with his adopted mother. The boy won't hear of it. He is so convinced of the truth but cannot make her see it. When he spies the turnover, he asks where Emma got it. As soon as she says Regina, he is convinced it is poison. Emma thinks he is just being over-reactive. To prove his point, Henry picks it up and takes a bite - and then falls to the floor!

Will this be enough to convince Emma? How will this put the two powerful women at odds? Will Mr. Gold control the pieces on the board? Next week is the season finale, so I am expecting fireworks galore!

Oh, and let me say that once again the costumers are doing an outstanding job with Lana Parrilla (Regina). From both the wild Fairytale costumes to the sharp real-world clothes, they are doing a fantastic job making evil look oh so good.

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