CaptainSwan wedding plans are underway! Meanwhile, the Black Fairy tries to come between Zelena and Regina. Get a sneak peek of tonight’s new Once Upon a Time!
Last week’s episode of Once Upon a Time was, hands down, one of the best of the whole series! From beginning to end, I was riveted, as we learned about previously unknown events during Storybrooke’s Dark Curse days. I’ve never been more in the mood for a Season 1 rewatch AND some OUaT AU fic! Of course, the Snowing and CaptainSwan moments completely swooned me… there was sacrifice, reunion (finally!), and so much love. As we approach the final battle, I am oddly optimistic, especially if darling Gideon continues to fight back against the Black Fairy’s control.
“I mean, it’s not like this is the first curse we’ve ever woken up from.”
And with these words, “Awake” took us back to previously unknown events during Storybrooke during the tenth year of the Dark Curse. Mary Margaret was on her way to the hospital to visit with John Doe (David/Charming) and bring him flowers, when she literally ran into Regina, Madame Mayor. It won’t surprise us that Regina was thrilled to share the news from Dr. Whale that John Doe would probably never wake up. Mary Margaret almost decided not to go visit, after hearing the bad news, but she looked down on the sidewalk and saw a pretty little pink flower. Why not take it to John Doe and brighten his day? It turned out that the flower was a pixie. When Mary Margaret set it down in front of John Doe, the dust woke Charming up and he was fully with it! And when he took Mary Margaret’s hand, she woke up from the curse too! Now that they were reunited, their first task was to find Emma. While Snow distracted Regina (telling her that John Doe was sleepwalking to the woods), Charming went to find Mr. Gold/Rumple.
When Charming arrived, it seemed that Rumple was under the curse too. But when he asked about Emma, that jolted Rumple. He didn’t know where Emma was, but told Charming about the power of the pixie dust to reunite those who shared true love. The pixie flower would lead them to Emma.
While looking in the woods, Regina confronted Mary Margaret about she and John Doe being awake. They were interrupted by the townsfolk and Snow was able to escape and meet Charming. They were also joined by Rumple who insisted that they go back to sleep. It would still be another 18 years before Emma fulfilled her destiny as the Savior, broke the curse, and saved Storybrooke. Snow and Charming used the pixie flower to open a door that allowed them to see 10 year-old, Emma. But instead of walking through, Snow convinced Charming, that for the sake of their friends, they should wait. When the time was right, Emma would save them all: ”We have to believe that she’s strong enough to grow up without us.”
With a kiss and tearful goodbye, Charming and Snow took the potion that launched them back into the Dark Curse.
In present-day Storybrooke, Regina and Henry shared what they learned about the fairy tale book ending and the final battle on the way. Emma’s tremors were back too… this made Charming (and Snow) even more frantic to figure out how to break the sleeping curse. With Hook missing, it would be imperative that Emma had her whole family with her as she entered the final battle.
Regina wanted to be more cautious about experimenting with ways to break the curse, but the Charmings were impatient. Regina and Zelena devised a potion that would cleanse the sleeping curse from each half of Snow and Charming’s shared heart. It seemed to work, but when the halves were returned to their chests, Snow and Charming felt serious pain. The Evil Queen baked a fail safe into the curse and by the end of the day, BOTH Snow and Charming would be asleep with no way to wake.
Emma was shocked by this development; however, while watching the video Snow left for him, Charming saw pixie petals floating in the background. This was good news because the pixie dust might be strong enough to break the curse. Unfortunately, there was a bigger concern. Pixie flowers only grew in the presence of great evil… which meant that the person Emma was meant to face in the final battle was already in Storybrooke.
Elsewhere the Black Fairy revealed herself to Rumple and Belle, showing them that Gideon was (supposedly) on her side. She was especially concerned with Rumple joining her side so they could be the family they were always meant to be.
The Black Fairy’s reign of terror continued when they confronted Emma and Snow as they found the pixie flowers. There were so many too (I mean, they’d probably need a lot to combat all of Black Fairy’s evil). Unfortunately, with one command from the Black Fairy, GIdeon destroyed all the flowers. Or so it seemed… Emma and Snow were able to locate one, solitary pixie flower that survived. But would it be enough?
Meanwhile, back in Neverland, Killian was being chased down by Lost Boys, who were determined to make him pay for Pan’s death. When all seemed lost, the former fairy Tiger Lily intervened with tranquilizers to the neck. She seemed to be on Killian’s side…until she tranqued him too. Tiger Lily needed Killian to deliver a wand to the Savior in another realm, something that would help in the war to come. How fortuitous that Killian wanted to find the Savior, his love, too! Killian agreed to help, but how? Tiger Lily suggested they go back to Pan’s camp for magic that could help. When they arrived, Killian was able to summon his shadow to transport the wand to Emma. He even lost his hook in the process.
Just as Snow was about to use the pixie dust on herself and Charming, Killian’s shadow arrived and delivered the wand and dropped the hook. This confirmed that Killian was in danger, but what could they do? Snow decided that Emma should use the pixie dust to reunite with Killian instead.
Just as the Lost Boys were able to kill Killian, Emma stepped through a door and, together (with a distraction from Tiger Lily), they fought and escaped. Once he arrived, Killian promptly apologized and got down on one knee to propose. Emma also got down on her knees and accepted. IT WAS SO WONDERFUL!
True love conquers again. ? #CaptainSwan pic.twitter.com/H2Q3btRAKZ
— Once Upon A Time (@OnceABC) April 17, 2017
But what about Snow and Charming? Now knowing about the sacrifice these two made (returning to the Dark Curse to save all of Storybrooke), Regina convinced several townsfolk to join in on an alternate plan. They would each drink the same sleeping curse (meant for one heart), and in doing so, would dilute its power over Snow and Charming. It worked, and now they were all reunited and ready to face the Black Fairy together. (Snowing reunion, CaptainSwan reunion, AND CaptainCharming reunion…I was completely overwhelmed with emotions!)
And things got very precarious for the Black Fairy, as Rumple revealed that Gideon was able to resist her and save one pixie flower. The battlelines were drawn.
In tonight’s episode “Where Bluebirds Fly” (written by David H. Goodman and Bridgette Hales, directed by Michael Shultz):
ZELENA AND REGINA’S RELATIONSHIP IS TESTED BY THE BLACK FAIRY, WHILE CHARMING AND SNOW DISAGREE OVER EMMA’S WEDDING PLANS—In flashback, Zelena befriends a young woodcutter who has been cursed and turns to her for help finding a new heart. Zelena is forced to choose between keeping her powers and her friendship with him. Meanwhile, in Storybrooke, Zelena decides to take on the Black Fairy and put a stop to her, once and for all, against Regina’s wishes, and the Charmings disagree over Emma and Hook’s wedding plans. (via ABC)
OK, I know that this week we’re focused on Zelena (who meets the Tin Man in a flashback!), but we can’t not talk about the CaptainSwan wedding plans *FLAILS* The poster for the musical wedding episode has already been revealed, along with a first look at Emma in her Grace Kelly-style wedding dress. I am so emotional!
In this clip from the upcoming episode we see some of Snow and Charming’s disagreement about where to have the wedding.
Wedding planning doesn't come without a few disagreements. pic.twitter.com/mxC5zRuNKD
— Once Upon A Time (@OnceABC) April 21, 2017
“We were cursed!” AKA “We were on a break!” Oh goodness, I love this so much.
In a second clip (via E! News exclusive), the Black Fairy appeals to Zelena for her help:
Ummm, please keep Black Fairy away from any and all children! What’s Zelena going to do?
Take a look at 12+ images from “Where Bluebirds Fly”, including Alex Desert as the Tin Man. Join at 8:00pm ET to live tweet (@WeSoNerdy) tonight’s new Once Upon a Time on ABC!
