"Once Upon a Time" Recap: "Darkness on the Edge of Town"

Written by Shae

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

With Gold exiled he turns to one unlikely friend. That’s right, the Sea Witch herself, Ursula is the first person Gold seeks out. She’s ‘kind’ enough to let him crash at her place while they all formulate a plan. Well, he has a plan. A simple one at that. His plan is simple. Find Cruella, and the three of them get into Story Brooke. There’s just one issue. Neither woman trust him, and rightfully so. Seems in the past he’s double crossed them a time or two, which might leave a bad taste in anyone’s mouth. Ursula and Gold find Cruella as her life is being ripped apart, literally. Seems her husband(?) is being arrested and their possessions taken. It’s here she decides to go along with the two.

Meanwhile Belle is trying desperately to find a way to release the fairies from the hat Gold had Hook trap them in. She e-mails a professor from Oxford in hopes of getting something translated. Lucky enough for her, he replies with the translations. Things really can’t be that easy, right? Guess not…Regina does the spell and frees the fairies from their prison. But that’s not the only thing that gets loose. A winged gargoyle springs forth and his job is to go after the heart with the most potential for darkness. Together Regina and Emma stun the beast away, which gives them enough time to figure out what to do. They hardly get a chance since a phone call from Gold’s phone sets them off track. Or it might just help. Ursula tells Regina that she and Cruella have changed their ways, and want a second chance. Regina refuses until Ursula gives her information on how to destroy the creature…

Which gives the girls a plan. Drive to the edge of town and get the beast to fly over the line. It can’t exist in a world without magic, after all. Regina agrees. if their information pans out and works, she’ll let them in with the scroll from the Ice Queen. If it doesn’t…The beast attacks on their way to the town line. It doesn’t seem to be after Regina though, but it’s hard to tell. Finally, Regina tries sacrificing herself to save Emma, but its Emma’s stopping the car quite quickly that knocks the beast off over the line, vanishing in a puff of smoke. Snow and Charming show up last minute to try and talk them out of letting Cruella and Ursula in, but Emma and Regina hold strong. After all, a deal is a deal. The two are let in and Regina gives a warning. She better not regret letting the two in…

Meanwhile, in the dead of night, Gold waits for the two girls to show back up. Their deal hinged on him trusting them. Just when it seemed that they won’t show, and he’s about to give up, the Snow Queen's scroll hits the ground just behind him. Now back in two, he informs the girls that there’s one more girl needed for their team. Maleficent is dead though, right? Not according to Gold. Ursula says Regina is their biggest threat and Gold confirms my theory, that the beast was after Emma all along. While also confessing he was the one to translate the spell, Gold sets off to find Maleficent, presumably. Cruella and Ursula, on the other hand, meet with Charming and Snow, who just so happen to have a threat of their own. What happened between the four in the Enchanted Forest!? Guess we’ll have to keep watching to find out.

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