"Once Upon a Time" Recap: "Best Laid Plans"

Written by Shae

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Once in a while this show gets me so hooked that when it ends, the shock I feel is both filled with surprise and anger. It’s a weird mix between the two, but I suppose there’s nothing to be done about it. With everything mounting to a full explosive ending, this episode did nothing but add to the ever growing tension. Snow and Charming continue to lie to Emma, which is really not something they're having a hard time justifying. Regina is in a bit deep, now. 

With Ursula gone, the dynamics have shifted just a bit. Rumple demanding the page from Regina gives her time to inform everyone about what’s going on. Emma conjures a replica of the page, but Regina refuses, saying Rumple will know right away. Instead, she takes a picture of it on her phone, and hopes that’s good enough.

Sadly, it’s not. Rumple figures out that the page is really where the author is being kept. He casts a sleeping curse on the town. Or rather, he has Maleficent do it. However, the curse doesn’t work on those who have been exposed to it before. Meaning, Snow, Charming, and Henry, are the only ones not affected. Henry takes the book and runs to the Sorcerer's mansion. While hiding there, he finds the key to unlock the door in the book…this is when Snow and Charming intervene asking for the page and key. Well, let's be honest, they demand it. It’s the lie to Henry that has Snow pushing for them to confess to Emma.

So, what exactly did they do? On their way back from their journey, they ran into a peddler, who told them of a kind man at the end of the forest. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. He reveals that their child is a blank slate with the potential for both good and bad. He says that he can take the darkness away from their unborn baby, but he needs another blank slate…thinking of Maleficent's recently lain egg, they go and retrieve it. Once enacted, the spell cannot be undone. So, the evil is channeled into the egg, and sent into another world…which Snow and Charming were unaware was part of the deal. They confess this to Emma…who takes the key and the page and leaves. Hook later informs her that August is awake.

August tells Emma the important truth. The Author was locked away by the Sorcerer because he was abusing the powers of the book. Author is just a title; someone meant to record history. This author, however, was altering events to his will. Because of this, he was imprisoned in the very book he was writing. Despite this, Emma frees him…the Author turns out to be Walt, the peddler Snow and Charming had run into…and he runs. Seems Emma isn’t the only one having a hard time. Regina is put under the sleeping curse once she returns from seeing Henry with a fake copy of the door.  Rumple, however is confident he can get her to help them…he’s feeling kind as he even reveals to Maleficent what happened to her baby…how the child is here…and it’s someone Emma knew…

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