The focus returns to Charming and Snow and their chemistry makes this episode a joy to watch. We also get to see a lot of Red Riding Hood and I hope we get to see her fairy tale backstory soon :) A little bit more is revealed about The Stranger (though not much) and overall, this episode was less on action and more on David dealing with his undeniable feelings for MMarg.
The next episode is going to be about the Genie, who I suspect is the Magic Mirror enslaved by TEQ (see links to many juicy teasers at the end of this recap). I wonder if Jasmine and Aladdin will make an appearance especially since I SWEAR that that's Jasmine in the lower right corner.
| From Episode 4. |
Episode 10: 7:15 AM
The Stranger (TS) fiddles with his bike (which conveniently broke down in front of Henry's house) and Henry takes the opportunity to interrogate him about why he's in Storybrooke. TS is cagey and answers Henry's question about what's in his wooden box with replies like, "Something I need to do what I came here for." Regina sees them talking but before she can confront TS, he rides off saying that there's a storm coming (though it's unclear weather he's talking about Regina storming towards him or an actual storm ^_~).
In MMarg's cozy cottage, Emma is having a leisurely breakfast while MMarg scrambles to be out the door by 7:15. She says that she needs to get to school early because the kids are making a volcano for the science fair as she rushes out the door looking cute as a button :) However, instead of school she races to Granny's, checks her appearance in a spoon, and fidgets impatiently as though waiting for someone. As soon as the clock hits 7:15, the person who walks through the door is none other than -
-
Emma spots her and seeing David outside, quickly figures out why MMarg was in such a rush to get here. MMarg tells her that she comes to Granny's at 7:15 every morning just to see David for a few seconds and proceeds to recite his entire week's schedule from memory. Emma jokes that she's being a stalker (not untrue) but suggests that to get over David properly, maybe she ought to stop coming to see him every morning. MMarg laments that love is the worst and wishes that there was a "magic cure" to take away the pain of heartbreak.
Snow stalks a poor turkey (as a opposed to David, get it? heheh xD) and is irritated when approaching footsteps scare it away before she can get close enough for the kill.
The person Snow almost threw the spear at instead of the turkey is none other than Red bearing a basket of food. We hear that Snow has been spending most of her time away from civilization and deep in the wilderness, so much that she can't even keep track of the days. Snow inquires of news of the outside world and Red, looking at her sadly and knowingly, tells her that Prince James is marrying Princess Abigail in two days time. Snow crumbles and confesses that she thought being so far away would make it easier to forget him, but instead all she does is wonder about him every passing moment. She wishes there was a way to "get him out of my head."
Snow catches Red's look of hesitance and demands she tell her what she knows, after all, Snow helped her when no one else would. Hmm...perhaps Snow saved Red from a savage wolf of some kind ;)?! At that Red tells her of a "man who can achieve the most unholy of requests."
Snow rows through a misty river (reminds me of River Styx) and as she moors her boat, Rumple appears behind her. He teasingly asks how much her boat is worth. She coldly tells him that the boat is not for sale but Rumpel reminds her that nobody comes to him with a deal in mind...and nothing to pay. Rumpel reveals that he has been looking forward to meeting her and marvels at her exquisite beauty, "You truly are the fairest in the land aren't you?" One gets the impression he is talking about more than just her face, however, as he smiles at her knowingly.
He inquires as to why she has come to him and tellingly remarks that he can't make people fall in love, if that's her problem. It is not, she just wants to mend her broken heart - to forget him. Rumpel can do this and his whips out a glass bottle and dips it into the misty river. As he gently swirls the bottle, a mist clouds the clear waters into a opaque white (metaphor for a mist clouding a clear mind perhaps?)
To finish the potion, he snatches a handful of her hair and drops it in the bottle. It is ready - once she drinks it, she won't even recognize Charming's face. When Snow begins to express doubts - she just doesn't want to love him, not forget him altogether - Rumpel launches into a tirade:
"Love makes us sick, haunts our dreams, destroys our days. Love has killed more than any disease. This cure is a gift."
His price is a strand of her hair, nothing more. She takes the bottle and Rumpel vanishes into the fog, "Drink it in good health....Snow White."
| Biggest candy bar I've ever seen.... |
MMarg is moodily browsing the candy isle for some chocolate to assuage her heartache when she bumps straight into Kathryn shopping with Regina. Regina is her usual (un)helpful self while Kathryn greets her warmly as they scramble to pick up their dropped items.
That's when MMarg sees that Kathryn is purchasing a pregnancy test - it seems like David, for all his lovesick looks at her, is trying to have a baby. MMarg is clearly devastated, but wishes them luck. Regina manages to squeeze in a cutting remark about the need for discretion, after all, MMarg has no business interfering with their lives *hinthint* >_>
King George finds James sulking in his rooms instead of participating in a celebration that they are having in his honor. As comfort, he gives him a solid gold crown that Midas has gifted him. James is not interested and coldly replies that the crown could be used to feed the country for a month. The King is not amused and reminds him that once he marries Abigail, the country can be fed for eternity. He doesn't just want James' obedience, he wants his heart. He demands James show enthusiasm for the union.
For all his pushiness, the King is not a fool. He knows that James is in love with another woman, "I know that look on your face." James doesn't deny it and admits that though he hasn't seen this woman since they first met, he can't get her out of his mind. Ol' George is not sympathetic and insists that James be grateful for the opportunity he had to become a Prince, "plucked from poverty to wanting for nothing." He also reminds him that not being able to do certain things, like marrying for love, is the price royalty must pay for being able to dictate the lives of those in their kingdom. Everything has a price. James must forget the other woman at all costs.
Something about what the King says stirs James into action. He quickly scrawls a note to "Dearest Snow" and binds the note to a carrier pigeon.
| Did not know that doves could be carrier pigeons :D! |
In another world, MMarg finds a dove trapped in a tangle of netting during a walk through the woods.
She hurries the critter over to the animal shelter and the vet tells her that the dove will be physically fine, though it's a pity it got separated from its flock as North Atlantic doves are unique for being monogamous for life. This stirs MMarg's heart and she declares she will reunite the dove with her flock no matter what it takes. David voices concern over MMarg going out into the woods with a severe storm approaching but she coolly says she does not need his help.
Regina approaches Emma, busy prepping for the storm, and requests that she investigate The Stranger. She wonders out loud why he seems so familiar (OOOOOOOOOO MUST KNOW) and Emma jokingly responds that he must be one of the "untold millions you cursed." Regina is taken aback by Emma's knowledge of the Curse, but recovers quickly when she sees that Emma simply sees the curse as "Henry's thing." In any case, Regina cuts to the chase and tells Emma to find out more about TS, especially since she saw him talking to Henry. Now serious, Emma agrees. Despite everything, it is good to see to see that Regina and Emma can work together when it comes to Henry.
As Snow contemplates taking the vial, the dove arrives just in time to deliver James's message and confession of love. To her tearful joy, James tells her that he can't get her out of his mind. If she loves him as well and comes to his palace within two days time, he is willing to risk it all to be with her. If she does not come, he will know he has to let her go.
Snow poses as a girl delivering flowers from Midas. The gatekeeper suggests she take the backstairs as the courtyard is swarming with people. When she reaches James' room, she is caught by guards just before he sees her and thrown into jail. The love note she is carrying reveals her true reasons for being in the palace and the soldiers go to fetch the King.
Snow fruitlessly tries to escape and when she fails, a fellow prisoner in the cell next to hers emerges from the shadows.
Holy crap it's Grumpy! The way he meets Snow is exactly the same way he met Emma in Episode 1: to the tune of "Whistle While You Work" and the bemused question, "Whatchu looking at sister?"
When Snow tells him that she must escape to be with her true love, Grumpy soberly tells her that love is what put him jail in the first place. He was deeply in love but got dumped. In an effort to win her back, he started working at the diamond mines and exchanged all his wages for a diamond so he could propose. Instead he was swindled and the foreman gave him a stolen diamond and framed him for the theft.
A slim black figure suddenly emerges outside his cell and Grumpy delightedly greets Stealthy, a dwarf we've never heard of before :)!! True to his name, he swiftly and easily breaks him out. Stealthy also gets a look at Snow and shyly comments on how pretty she is (SOOOOO CUTEEE) though Grumpy just rolls his eyes. Just as the dwarves are sneaking away, Snow, with a mischievous grin on her face - turns on the charm 100% and sweetly calls out to Grumpy and wishes him well. Even Grumpy is not immune to to a damsel in distress and grumbling under his breath, snatches the the keys from Stealthy's hand and frees Snow himself xD
Meanwhile, Snow has abandoned her car due to a closed road. She hears the coos of doves close by and heads towards them, but is startled by a rumble of thunder and slips. She tumbles down the side of the mountain and screams in terror as the branch she holding starts to break.
Right on time, David appears and rescues her :) He is full of concern but Snow has eyes only for the dove. However, when it begins to pour, David wins and they hurry to find shelter from the storm.
The escaped prisoners race through the tunnels, but when Stealthy suggests they cut across the courtyard, which is currently empty, Snow insists they take the backstairs and slip over the wall instead. However, Grumpy sticks with Stealthy who got him this far, and the duo leaves Snow behind with a worried look on her face.
Out in the courtyard, soldiers catch them escaping and Stealthy is fatally shot as they try to run (NOOOOOOOOOOO :( :( :( ). The King is only interested in finding Snow and when Grumpy feigns ignorance, he orders him killed too. Grrr....okay, King George is officially on my shit list now :(!
It turns out that Snow decided to follow the dwarves anyway and appears holding a torch, next to a bale of hay and near the thatched roofs of the courtyard buildings. She threatens to set the whole place on fire if they don't let Grumpy go. King reluctantly acquiesces and Snow is arrested (again).
They see an empty cabin (Red's cabin as we saw at the beginning of the episode) and head towards it. David breaks in the door and gets a fire going, though MMarg is worried that they'll be trouble for breaking and entering. David jokes that since she's roommates with the sheriff, it should hardly be a problem - in any case, he is more concerned about getting MMarg warm.
She snaps after David tenderly places a blanket around her shoulders. When he doesn't understand why she's so edgy around him (*sigh* boys), she confesses it's because she still has feelings for him. She even goes to Granny's every morning at 7:15 just see him. Her feelings for him are just too painful.
James chuckles and admits that the reason HE goes to Granny's every morning is to see HER. He goes in for a kiss *sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhh* and MMarg, who has proven to be better at tamping down her feelings far better than most people in love, pulls away at the last minute. She tells him to stop doing this - she knows that Kathryn thinks she's pregnant. Dun dun dun!
Emma finds TS at Granny's. It seems like electricity is out as everything is lit with candles. She bluntly calls him "suspicious" and asks why he was talking to Henry and what is in his mysterious box. TS toys with her, saying that he has no intention of telling her - unless she lets him buy her a drink sometime. What?! That caught me off guard. Well, whatever, it catches Emma off guard for a second too but she swiftly agrees. He whips open the box -
- it's a typewriter! Both Emma and I are a little disappointed >_> but it turns out that he's a writer and he's in Storybrooke because he finds the place "provides inspiration."
Emma: Wait, have you been here before?
TS: I didn't say that. [gets up to leave]
Emma: Wait, what about that drink?
TS: I said "sometime."
With that, he leaves. Mysterious-er and mysterious-er!
Back at the cabin, David tells her that they are NOT trying to have a baby as far as he knows. But the moment is cut short when MMarg realizes it has stopped raining and hurries to get the dove outside. David just wants to talk about their feelings but has no choice but to follow a single-minded MMarg out the door xD
They see the flock flying in the sky and delighted, MMarg sets the color-changing dove free, while David gazes at her like a sad puppy xD
As they watch the dove rejoin the flock, he goes in for a handhold ^_^ but again, MMarg gently rebuffs him, telling him that Kathryn might be pregnant. In any case, he can't love two woman at once and he chose Katheryn over her. Despite their feelings for each other, they will simply have to forget each other.
George tells Snow that she has poisoned James' impending marriage and is risking the entire kingdom's well-being because of her feelings. Snow stands by her belief that feelings cannot be changed, but he thinks otherwise. Echoing Rumpel,
"Love is a disease. And like a disease, it can only be cured by one of two ways - a cure or death."
He tells her the cure is this: Snow will go to James and tell him that she is here because she does NOT love him and wants him to let her go. His heartbreak will be the cure. Snow says she is not afraid to die, but George strikes back with his trump card. If she does not do this, he would not kill her at all. That would make James love her more and the marriage would ultimately fail. No, if Snow does not do what he asks, he will kill James. If James dies by the hands of an "assassin," he would become a martyr and Midas would forgive everything, sealing the bargain regardless.
Snow: You would do that to your own son?
Georgie: He is not my son.
.........well.......that's just cold. Though the Show made it seem like George might have some paternal feelings toward his "new" son, it is now scathingly obvious that George only sees The Shepard as a mere stand-in. While I empathize with his need to protect his kingdom, his moral depravity clearly knows no bounds.
James is thrilled to see Snow and holds her tightly as Snow steels herself to break his heart. Right as he goes in for a kiss, Snow tells him that she is here because she doesn't love him. She is only here only tell him to find love he deserves, "someone that can love you as I never have, as I never will." NOOOOOOOOOOOO ;_;!!!!!!
When David asks Kathryn if there is anything she wants to tell him, she says that yes, she thought she might be pregnant but the test came back negative. She confesses that she wants children someday but as the marriage stands right now - with David so distant - it would be a disaster to have kids. If he wants to give this marriage its "best shot," they need help. She suggests they see Dr. Hopper and get some therapy. David agrees to try and make it work. Looking at the clock, he adds that instead of getting coffee, they should have breakfast downstairs instead.
Meanwhile, across town Emma sees MMarg twirling her ring and staring at the clock as it ticks past 7:15. Emma sympathetically holds her hand as the minutes tick by.
Snow tearfully leaves the palace and finds herself surrounded by the dwarves, who find solidarity in her loss. After all, they all lost someone today too, now they are just seven. They will protect her since Grumpy wouldn't still be with them if not for her. Snow shows them the bottle Rumpel gave her but Grumpy adamantly states that erasing her memories of him would not do any good.
"I don't want my pain erased. As wretched as it is, I need my pain. It makes me who I am. It makes me Grumpy. Look around Snow, you're not alone anymore. I promise you that's all you need. If the pain's too much, you can always drink it. But for today, put it away."
Wise words, my friend. Wise words.
James rides through the meadow near Red's cottage calling out for Snow. Red tells him that Snow never returned here after she left for the palace. James declares, "Then I'll find her. I will always find her."
Grumpy bursts in, announcing that the kingdom is abuzz with the news that the wedding was called off and that James left Abigail. He finds Snow lounging in bed seeming more relaxed and girly than we've ever seen her.
He tells her again that Prince Charming is coming for her but she blankly asks, "Who?" With horror, Grumpy sees that she has drank the potion ><
gahhh??? Why weren't the other dwarves watching her X_X they were all in the same room for god's sake!!
At 7:45pm MMarg sees David coming into the coffee shop. She chases him outside and demands to know what he's doing here. It turns out that in an attempt not to see each other, both of them went to Granny's later than usual. But fate can not be denied I suppose xD After David tells her that Kathryn is NOT pregnant, MMarg can't take it anymore and they're on each other like white on rice ^_^
It doesn't seem like they have much practice having affairs though because while they are smooching on the street in broad daylight for all the world to see, Regina has seen the whole thing from across the street ><
Comments
While I understand David is confused by his feelings due to the false memories of loving Kathryn implanted in his memory, it's a hair annoying to see him cheat on his wife. MMarg seems to be trying damn hard to resist him and David comes off as rather hypocritical as he decides to go to therapy with his wife one moment and smooches MMarg the next. The only thing that makes his kiss with MMarg somewhat admissible is that we know that his feeling were Kathryn are a product of the Curse. The amazing chemistry they have with each other helps too ;) But yeah, his swaying back and forth is getting a little old and thank goodness he has some magical explanation for his actions xD
Charming in the fairy tale world is all man and totally swoon worthy though. I was definitely crying with him when Snow told him that she doesn't love him ;_; So curious to know how he broke off the marriage though! What DID he say or do to Ol' George without bring down the wrath of Midas?! Also I hope this is the last we see of King George. I understand his situation but good lord, even TEQ wouldn't be able to pluck out his heart as he doesn't seem to have one.
It's good to see Snow showing a bit of weakness. We've only seen her as the spirited, strong woman that she usually is, but her heartbreak is made even more moving by how she takes the easy way out - something we know Snow normally wouldn't have done. It adds a dimension to her character that we didn't see before and underscores how her ability to love so deeply is her greatest strength and greatest weakness. She seems to have gotten rather....airheaded along with the amnesia; I wonder if her new-found foolishness will be something TEQ uses to get her to eat the apple. That'd make a lot of sense as I wasn't sure how TEQ would get the smart, stubborn Snow we know and love to eat an apple without making her suspicious.
The addition of "Stealthy" as a 'new' dwarf was a small detail, but in my eyes, a truly ingenious way of paying homage to the original fairy tale and making it their own. Stealthy literally had less than 3 minutes of screentime but he was adorable and I felt a tug when he was killed off so suddenly. Also, I wonder what Rumpel is going to do with her hair. We saw very little of Gold/Rumpel this time but as usual, when he's on screen, he dominates it!
Last bit: The Stranger - who could he beeeeee?! He's definitely a fairy tale character since Regina thinks she remembers him but with his writerly ways, I don't think he is Gaston anymore. ahhhh I must know more! A fansite posted more tidbits on him but it doesn't seem like Episode 11 is going to reveal much more. Gahhhh!
Episode 11: Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Speculation
A lot of juicy sneak peeks reveal more about Snow's creepily adoring father (casting TEQ in quite a sympathetic light), reveals a new side of Sydney that seems oddly aware of his origins (and who I am betting is a genie in another form), and it seems like Henry's book (finally) gets stolen by someone too! I am guessing The Stranger steals it?!
Episode 13: What Happened to Frederick Speculation
I was totally reminded of Midas' side comment of "remember what happened to Fredrick" in Episode 6 when I read the Episode 13 description:
“What Happened to Frederick” – With their love for each other growing stronger, David finally agrees to tell Kathryn about his relationship with Mary Margaret and put an end to his loveless marriage. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, while runaway groom Prince Charming searches for Snow White, he agrees to aid Abigail on a dangerous mission to recover something precious that was lost to her, on “Once Upon a Time,” SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.I think fans in this forum are spot on, I'm guessing Frederick was Abigail's true love and to Midas somehow removed him from the picture with his golden touch while making it seem like an accident...
