Storybrooke continues dealing with their “outsider” dilemma from the last episode.
And the dilemma becomes a “moral” dilemma, which makes things worse.
It all began last episode when Hook finally got a chance to get Gold where it would hurt him most – through his heart.
While Gold and Belle were saying their good-byes, Hook shoots Belle and she falls over the Storybrooke border, losing her memory.
Gold, desperate, uses magic to heal Belle, which may or may not have been witnessed by the “outsider”.
Mission accomplished. Except in the process, Hook has some cracked ribs when an oncoming car hits him. Ouch!
It seems the “outsider” saw Mr. Gold use magic (maybe). Storybrooke’s mixed band of leaders are afraid what consequences that would bring to their unconventional town. When Dr. Whale says it’s possible that his patient could die, some of the group feels relieved.
David and Mary Margret, always bent on doing the right thing, feel it is wrong, and everything should be done to save the man.
Back again to the present dilemma. David, Mary Margaret, Emma, Snow, Ruby, and Grumpy are all worried that more outsiders will come, and now that Cora is on the loose – anything can happen.
Meanwhile, Dr. Whale, aka Dr. Frankenstein, fights his demons about his work as a doctor.
After finding a watch in the pocket of the “outsider” whom Emma learns is named Greg Mandel (Ethan Embry), Whale is reminded of his past. Viewers get a chance to see Whale’s life as Dr. Frankenstein, and his need to resurrect his brother Gerhardt (Chad Michael Collins).
The broken watch reminds Whale how his experiments didn’t exactly give him the happily ever after he was looking for. Emma hacks into Greg’s smart phone and finds Greg Mandel is just an ordinary guy. This is a bit of a reprieve, until his phone starts ringing and the caller ID only spells out “her”.
More grim news because in Storybrooke, it always gets worse before getting better. Dr.Whale has gone MIA. The phones rings again for Greg, who is waiting to have surgery. Ruby is sent out to find Dr. Whale and bring him back to save his patient.
Using her wolf senses, Ruby tracks down Dr. whale, who is ready to commit suicide. But before Dr. Whale could do the dastardly deed, Ruby saves him. Ruby talks him into going back to the hospital to do the life saving surgery.
While all this is happening, Cora goes into Regina’s home, to find out more about Regina’s life in Storybrooke. Soon after we find that she uses her usual shape shifting ruse to fool Regina into giving up her hiding place.
Regina is not as welcoming or forgiving as Cora thought she would be. Regina demands that Cora tell everyone the truth that she wasn’t responsible for Archie’s death. Cora agrees, but on the ride to the confess the truth, Cora plays with Regina’s emotions.
Cora tells her daughter that as long as Emma and her parents are around, Regina will never have Henry’s love as she once did. Cora hits a nerve in Regina, and it seems Regina is going to be on team Cora.
Back at the hospital, Gold tries to get Belle to remember by showing her the tea cup she chipped when she lived in Rumpelstiltskin’s castle. Belle just thinks that Gold is a crazy man. Belle refuses to focus on the enchanted tea cup when Gold asks her to. Belle throws the cup across the room and breaks the cup to pieces when Gold refuses to leave her alone.
Emma gets the chance to question the “outsider” and he tells her that he was texting, which was why he had the accident. Emma believes him and everyone heads home relieved that the man saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Relief doesn’t last long. Gold shows up at Emma’s door requesting the favor she owes from a past deal. It turns out Emma must go with Gold to find his son Bae.
This episode’s twist? Gold threatens to kill everyone if anything happens to Belle while he is gone. The texting “outsider”? Well, he saw a lot more than he told Emma, and now he has told another outsider.
They should have all listened to Grumpy. No good could come of all this.
Will Gold and Emma will bring Bae back? Does Regina stay on team Cora? How will Storybrooke handle outsiders? Leave your comments on what you think might happen.
Seasons 1 and 2 of Once Upon A Time can be seen on iTunes and Amazon Instant Video. Season 1 can also be streamed on Netflix.