If you want to return to Storybrooke, Maine, wish granted! ABC has renewed Once Upon a Time for a second season.

Also welcome, but not too surprising, are renewals for popular Wetpaint Entertainment shows including Dancing With the Stars, The Bachelor, Grey’s Anatomy, Revenge and Castle.

Read more: http://www.wetpaint.com/castle/articles/abc-renews-castle-revenge-greys-anatomy-once-upon-a-time-but-what-about-scandal-gcb?utm_source=Revenge&utm_campaign=c84af4eac4-REVENGE_RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email

Clang! Clang! Prince Charming wearily tries to break the lock on his cage with a stone clutched in his bruised and bloody hands. He seems near exhaustion when two of The Queen’s guards arrive to take him to his execution. As they escort him down the hall, he starts to collapse from the exertion when suddenly he moves with with amazing speed, knocking out one guard before taking out the second–all while he’s still in manacles. He breaks into a run when he comes face-to-face with another of Regina’s knights. The guard draws a bow and lets fly. For a split-second it looks like Charming’s escape attempt has come to a tragic conclusion, but the arrow goes wide–right into another pursuing guard. The knight with the bow removes his helm and we see it’s The Huntsman! He’s still in Regina’s service after she tore his heart out, but he’s got enough defiance left in him to free Charming and send him on his way to find Snow White.

In Storybrooke, Emma has rushed Henry to the hospital. His vitals are dropping, and Dr. Whale can’t tell why. Emma insists that it was poison from the turnover, but Dr. Whale says that he shows no signs of any kind of poisoning. Emma dumps out Henry’s backpack, looking for a clue, anything that can explain what’s happening. She grabs the book of fairy tales and sees flashes–glimpses of her as a baby and the rush to get her to the magic wardrobe. As the truth begins to dawn on Emma, Regina rushes in looking for Henry with the unmistakable sound of a mother’s worry in her voice. “Where’s my son,” she asks as she comes into the room.

Emma responds with quiet menace: “You did this.” Suddenly Emma grabs Regina by the arm and hauls her into a storage closet before throwing her against the shelves–hard. Emma shouts at Regina that what’s happening to Henry is her fault, that he ate the apple turnover. Regina realizes what’s happening and finally, so does Emma. “It’s true, isn’t it,” she demands. And Regina has no choice now but to admit that The Curse is real.

Emma demands that Regina fix what she’s done, that she find a way to wake Henry up with magic. But Regina used the last of her magic to get the apple. There’s nothing left that can save Henry. They need help. They need someone who knows magic–someone who might even have some. They need Rumplestiltskin.

Back in Fairy Tale Land, The Queen is furious. The Huntsman tells her that the Prince has escaped, but tells her he will find Charming for her. The Queen has a different plan. Using her magic mirror, she sends Prince Charming into the Infinite Forest. Charming doesn’t seem deterred by the sudden change of scenery, but as he begins to pass the same familiar clearing, he realizes something is wrong. Then a familiar voice calls out and he turns to find Rumplestiltskin sitting on a log wearing the Prince’s old cloak and holding his mother’s ring. Rumple enchants the ring so that it will glow as he gets closer to Snow White and offers to get him out of the Infinite Forest, if he’s willing to make a deal.

But Charming isn’t in the mood for deal-making. He draws his sword and squares off against The Dark One. Rumplestiltskin draws a blade of his own and the two exchange blows, with Rumplestiltskin using magic to almost effortlessly parry each of Charming’s attacks. But when Prince Charming is able to draw blood, Rumple quickly and brutally ends the fight, switching back to negotiations. He tells the Prince that they both want the same thing.

In Storybrooke, Mary Margaret and David couldn’t be farther apart. As she leaves Granny’s and is about to get in her car, David arrives to tell her he’s been wrong about so much, not the least of which was not believing in her. He tells her he loves her, but he is going to leave town tomorrow, unless she can give him a reason to stay. But she can’t. She gets in her car and David walks away.

In the Infinite Forest, Rumplestiltskin shows Charming the most powerful magic that he’s ever been able to bottle–true love. Prince Charming asks how Rumplestiltskin could know anything about true love and Rumple admits that he did love someone once, but she died. Yes, he’s talking about Belle and clearly he still believes the lie that Regina told him about Belle being dead. Rumplestiltskin places the phial with true love inside it into a golden case shaped like an ornate egg and tosses it to Charming. The deal is, if Prince Charming can hide the egg in the belly of a beast, Rumplestiltskin will give him the enchanted ring and send him on his way to find Snow White. “Why hide it,” Charming asks.

“Let’s just say I’m saving it for a rainy day,” Rumplestiltskin replies.

Back in Storybrooke, Emma and Regina walk into Mr. Gold’s pawnshop and he already seems to know what’s happening. Emma asks for help and Gold tells her what she needs is True Love. Luckily for her, he was able to bottle some and keep it hidden for safe-keeping. He tells her that the True Love magic he was able to create from the strands of her parents’ hair was so powerful that, as he was making the Dark Curse, he placed a single drop of it on the parchment as a precaution. Emma realizes that’s why she is The Savior–the only one who can break The Curse. But Gold/Rumple didn’t use all of the potion. He saved some for a rainy day.

“Well it’s storming like a bitch. Where is it,” Emma asks.

That’s when Gold turns to Regina and asks, “Tell me, Your Majesty, is our friend still in the basement?” Regina immediately realizes what he’s asking, but Mr. Gold clarifies that he didn’t hide it with “her,” he hid it IN “her.” They must be talking about the same beast that Charming had to face. But what is it? Whatever it is, Mr. Gold tells Emma she needs to be prepared for it. He opens a case and reveals her father’s sword.

Later, in the hospital, Emma gently strokes Henry’s hair and tells him he was right about The Curse before leaving his book on his bed. Regina comes in and Emma gives her ten minutes alone with Henry. But her ten minutes don’t last long, because Jefferson arrives and he’s there to collect on the deal they made. Regina isn’t really in a giving mood, though, telling Jefferson that their deal is null and void since Emma didn’t eat the apple. Jefferson is furious–he wants to get his daughter back–but Regina doesn’t care. She knows Jefferson can’t kill her or else The Curse will never be broken and he’ll never get his daughter back.

Emma goes to see August, to ask for his help. She now knows that he had been telling her the truth. But when she gets to his room at Granny’s, he can’t move. His whole body has turned to wood and it won’t be long before he’s gone completely. She can see his transformation now and he tells her the only way to stop it is to break The Curse. She asks how she’s supposed to deal with all of this, but he has faith in her. He tells her, “you can save Henry. You can save all of–” But he never finishes. He’s turned completely to wood!

Emma and Regina meet outside the clock tower. Regina opens the door at the base and they enter what looks like a library’s front entrance. Regina touches a panel and a large section of the wall slides away to reveal an old elevator leading down. The elevator is hand-operated, so Regina has to stay at the top while Emma goes to face whatever creature Rumplestiltskin once asked Charming to hide the True Love potion inside. Emma asks what’s down there and Regina replies “an old friend.” Whoever or whatever “she” is, Regina trapped her in Storybrooke in a different form, and “she” wouldn’t be happy to see Regina. As Emma gets on the elevator, she warns the Mayor that if Henry dies, so will she.

Back in Fairy Tale Land, a familiar woman strolls to her throne. It’s Maleficent, enjoying a quiet moment in her castle when suddenly Prince Charming appears, his sword at her throat. He demands to see the beast that reigns over the castle. Maleficent thrusts Charming back with a magical blast and reveals that she is “the beast.” Just as the Prince is wondering how he’s going to get that giant egg inside of Maleficent, she magically blows out all of the candles in the room. Shrouded in darkness, Charming tells the witch to show herself, and slowly she does. But she’s no longer the blonde woman we’ve seen–she’s transformed into a monstrous, fire-breathing dragon!

Deep beneath Storybrooke, the old elevator car comes to a stop in a cavern. Holding her father’s sword, Emma steps out and walks into the dim light of the cave. As she enters, she sees the old remains of the glass coffin her mother, Snow White, was once interred in. As she steps back from it, a giant eye opens in the darkness behind her. Suddenly, Emma senses the movement of a large, scaly creature and turns to come face-to-face with Maleficent in dragon form!

In Maleficent’s castle, Prince Charming is hiding behind a pillar, trying to avoid the angry dragon long enough to think of a plan for getting the beast to swallow the egg. When he spots some gills on the side of the creature’s neck, he thinks he might have something. He taunts the dragon before making a break for it, trying to stick to portions of the room the dragon can’t fit through to keep some distance between them. He rushes up a staircase and finds himself above the creature. Leaping into the air, he lands on the dragon’s muzzle. As the beast rears and struggles, Charming holds on desperately. Spotting an opening, the Prince shoves the egg into one of the Dragon’s gills, forcing it down the creature’s throat. It coughs and sputters, but the egg goes down. His work done, Charming leaps through a stained glass window, diving into the waters far below.

In the depths below Storybrooke, Emma faces down the same dragon. Quickly realizing she’s not much good with a sword, she drops her father’s weapon and draws her gun. She fires are the dragon, but the bullets seem unable to penetrate the beast’s scaly hide. Emma runs, ducking behind a large pillar of rock. The dragon circles around, landing on a nearby outcropping to get a better angle of attack. But the outcropping crumbles and the dragon plummets into the darkness. Emma peers over the edge, but sees no sign of Maleficent. Suddenly, the dragon flies upward, the gust from its great beating wings knocking her back as it spots her.

At Henry’s bedside, Mary Margaret finishes reading him the story of Snow White. Suddenly alarms go off. Henry is crashing. Dr. Whale rushes in and the hospital is in an uproar. In the background, an orderly sneaks into a secure wing of the hospital, giving a familiar nurse her tea. When the nurse passes out, we realize it’s Jefferson. He strolls past a locked metal door with the name “S. Glass” beside it to another one with no name. He opens it to reveal Belle! He tells her he’s setting her free and that it’s important that she finds Mr. Gold and tells him that Regina was the one who had her imprisoned. She seems confused, but grateful. It seems that Jefferson may have found a way to get back at Regina after all.

Back in Fairy Tale Land, Prince Charming walks out of the lake to find Rumplestiltskin waiting for him on the shore. Rumple makes good on his end of the bargain, giving him the ring and setting him off to find his beloved. He even uses his magic to give Charming regal set of clothes we first saw him wear in the series premiere. The Prince asks Rumplestiltskin what he gets out of all of this. Rumple replies, “I’m a fan of true love, dearie. And more importantly, what it creates.”

Speaking of, Emma is still facing that dragon deep below Storybrooke. She fires her gun again, desperately, but all it seems to do is make the beast angrier. She runs again, narrowly dodging gouts of flame, when she spots her father’s sword lying where she dropped it. She runs over and picks it up. The dragon turns on her, ready to blast her with a cone of fire, when she hurls the sword–just like we saw her father once do to the Evil Queen–sinking it deep within the dragon’s throat as the beast prepares to breathe out flames. The sword starts a chain reaction and an explosion engulfs the dragon, destroying it. As cinders blow around the cavern and smoke wafts amongst a giant pile of ash, Emma spots the golden egg.

In Fairy Tale Land, Prince Charming rides to his beloved Snow White, just as we saw in the series premiere. With true love’s kiss, a wave of energy ripples outward from the couple and Snow White awakens, her curse broken. Later, as they walk side-by-side, Snow White asks how Charming found her and he shows her the ring and proposes to her right there. She says yes and the two of them kiss again, but the Prince realizes that something is bothering her. King George and Queen Regina are still out there and still want them both dead. The two of them agree to take back the kingdom, together. But in Storybrooke, it’s morning and David has packed up his pickup and started toward Boston. It’s beginning to seem like there may not be a “happily ever after” for these two.

Emma is riding back up the old elevator when it suddenly lurches to a stop. She calls out for Regina, but it’s Mr. Gold who responds. He tells her that Regina has run off, leaving her to die down there. Emma tosses the egg up to Mr. Gold to free her hands enough so that she can climb the rest of the way up. But when she does, he leaves without a word. When Emma climbs out of the elevator shaft, she sees Regina bound and gagged in a chair. It was a trick! The two of them are about to set off after him when their phones both ring. It’s the hospital!

The two mothers rush in to find Dr. Whale and Mother Superior leaving Henry’s hospital room. They’re too late. Henry’s dead. Both Emma and Regina are stunned and heartbroken at the sight of Henry lying lifeless in the hospital bed, wires and tubes still attached to his body.

Meanwhile, Mr. Gold has the egg and has returned to his pawnshop. Pulling a key out of a small drawer, he unlocks the egg and retrieves the phial of True Love. The door chimes as a customer walks in asking, “excuse me, are you Mr. Gold?” He turns to tell the woman to go away when he sees that it’s Belle. He’s overcome with emotion at the sight of her, touching her shoulder to make sure that she’s real. As tears of joy begin to fall from his eyes, he hugs her close, promising that he will protect her.

Regina and Emma are also breaking down, but for them these are not tears of happiness, but sorrow. Emma leans down and kisses her dead son on the forehead, saying her final “I love you.”

Suddenly, a familiar wave of energy ripples outward, blowing past everyone in the room like a gust of wind. Henry’s eyes open and he inhales sharply before telling Emma that he loves her, too. Regina’s amazed that Emma was able to bring Henry back, but suddenly she notices the looks of confusion on Mother Superior and Dr. Whale’s faces. It dawns on her and Henry at the same time. The Curse has been broken!

Throughout Storybrooke, the people of the town are hit by the wave of energy and suddenly remember who they really are. It reaches all the way out to the edge of town where David was just about to pass the now-ominous “Leaving Storybrooke” sign. Noticeably changed, he turns his truck around and speeds back toward town and his true love.

In Henry’s hospital room, Regina is watching her world crumble around her. Mother Superior, remembering herself now as The Blue Fairy, warns Regina that she should probably find a place to hide and we can’t help but think of the dream Regina had at the beginning of “An Apple Red as Blood.” She tells Henry that “No matter what anyone tells you, I do love you.” Then she runs out of the room.

On the streets of Storybrooke, Prince Charming finds Snow White once more. The two meet right there in the middle of town and kiss passionately, reunited at last. Meanwhile Regina cries alone in Henry’s bedroom, finally feeling all she’s lost.

Mr. Gold and Belle are walking through the woods outside of Storybrooke. Belle asks for him to wait, but he tells her they’re very close to their destination. “Rumplestiltskin, wait,” she replies. He stops. She remembers everything, including her love for him. As they embrace, he tells her, finally, that he loves her, too. He takes her deeper into the woods, to the wishing well that August showed to Emma in “XXXXX.” He recalls the legend of how the waters within the well are said to have the power to return that which was lost. Then he drops the phial of True Love in.

Slowly a green mist, much like the cloud that formed The Dark Curse, roils up out of the well, rolling up and out into the air and along the ground. As the people of Storybrooke begin to see it, they’re stricken by the sight, held fast by fear. Is this some new curse? Belle asks what’s happening and Mr. Gold reveals that they are in a land without magic, and he’s bringing it, “because magic, is power.” As Snow White and Prince Charming hold one another in the middle of Storybrooke, the green mist rolls over them. Regina, crying just a moment ago for all her ruined plans and schemes, now lets a smile creep across her lips at the sight of the magic mist. And on that ominous sight, the Storybrooke clock tower ticks to 8:15 and the end of season one!

Original Air Date: May 13, 2012

Guest Cast:
Meghan Ory: Ruby/Red Riding Hood
Lee Arenberg: Leroy/Grumpy
Kristin Bauer van Straten: Maleficent
Keegan Connor Tracy: Mother Superior/Blue Fairy
Sebastian Stan: Jefferson
Ingrid Torrance: Severe Nurse
Michael Coleman: Happy
David Anders: Dr. Whale
Eion Bailey: August
Beverley Elliott: Granny
Emilie de Ravin: Belle
Gabe Khouth: Mr. Clark/Sneezy

- description from ABC.com

It’s a quiet evening at the Mayor’s house. She and Henry are enjoying a rather sedate dinner when the doorbell rings. Regina answers the door to find Emma standing there. Regina is obviously in no mood to have Ms. Swan over for dinner–especially considering their ongoing fight over custody of Henry–but Emma says she’s not there for dinner. “Then what didyou come for,” the Mayor asks.

“You.”

Regina turns to look for Henry, but he’s gone. When she turns back to the doorstep, it’s now full of angry townspeople–David, Mary Margaret, Ruby, Granny, Archie–they’ve all come for her. Henry reappears at the top of the stairs with a thick coil of rope slung over his shoulder. The next thing Regina knows, she’s being tied to a tree full of rotten apples in the center of town, surrounded by the enraged populace of Storybrooke. Each of them is shouting at her in-turn, calling her “Your Majesty,” knowing the truth. David hands a wrathful Emma his sword–the same one we’re used to seeing him carry as Prince Charming. Regina pleads to Henry not to let them do this to her, but he has no pity. Emma rears back and swings. Is this it? Has The Curse somehow been broken?

Regina awakens from her nightmare with a jolt. It was all a horrible dream, but it’s left her shaken as she checks on Henry. It looks like he’s soundly in bed under the covers. Satisfied that all is well and The Curse remains unbroken, Regina goes back to bed.

But Henry’s not in his room, he’s in Emma’s car and the two of them are heading out of town. Emma is running and she wants to take Henry with her, thinking it’s the only way to get him away from Regina. Slowly, Henry understands what Emma is planning, that she’s given up fighting and doesn’t want to believe in The Curse and doesn’t care about saving everyone. As the car nearly crosses the edge of town, Henry grabs the wheel, sending the yellow Bug careening to a stop at the side of the road. Emma is shocked-he could have gotten them both killed! But Henry is begging her to let him stay and for her to do the same.

In Fairy Tale Land, Prince Charming is forced to his knees before King George. The King’s guards who had captured him at the end of “Heart of Darkness” have returned him to face his “father’s” wrath. King George tells Charming that he could have had everything if he had just married King Midas’ daughter, but instead he’d thrown it all away for true love. Charming defiantly responds. “Losing my life for love, that is a sacrifice I am happy to make.” And King George is happy to accept that sacrifice as he has his men force Charming into a guillotine and orders the blade released. But just as the Prince is about to lose his head, the blade turns to water, harmlessly splashing over him. In strides Regina, The Evil Queen. King George recognizes her instantly–in fact it seems like these two may even have some history–and demands to know what she’s doing in his castle. She offers the equivalent of all the riches Midas had promised in exchange for Charming. King George agrees, but asks what she plans to do with his “son.” She says she plans to make him suffer by “using him to destroy his one, true love.” She’s using him to get her revenge on Snow White.

Back in Storybrooke, Regina has noticed that her beloved apple tree has begun dying. The apples have started to become rotten, a sign that The Curse is weakening. She takes this to Mr. Gold, confronting him in his pawnshop and accusing him of not caring that Emma is undoing all of her hard work. Gold suggests that it’s really the idea of losing Henry that’s got her so upset, and since The Curse was intended to take away Snow White and Prince Charming’s happiness, perhaps her giving up Henry is the price she must pay to keep The Curse unbroken. After all, all magic comes with a price. Regina insists that she’d rather just eliminate Emma once and for all, but Gold points out that by killing The Savior, The Curse would be broken–he designed it that way. But Gold says that, even if he wanted to change the conditions of The Curse, he couldn’t. There’s just not any magic around for him to use. Regina realizes that Gold wants The Curse to be broken, and he warns her that maybe she should be looking to her own safety, should that ever happen.

Emma returns home in the morning, dropping her hastily packed bags by the door and finding an angry Mary Margaret waiting for her. Mary Margaret lays into her for leaving without saying goodbye, and when Emma admits that she tried to take Henry with her, she gets even more irate. She tells Emma that she’s going to have to do what’s best for Henry now, and when Emma asks what that is she shoots back, “You’re his mother. That’s your job. So you figure it out.”

In Fairy Tale Land, Snow White, Granny and The Dwarfs are scouting out King George’s castle when Red returns with some bad news. Beyond the castle’s considerable defenses and the size of King George’s forces, The Evil Queen is there. They figure out that they’re going to need some “air support,” and Grumpy says he knows someone who “owes him a favor” who can help out with that.

In the dungeon, The Queen confronts Charming in his cell. Charming asks her to take his life instead of Snow’s, but The Queen reveals that she has no intention of taking Snow White’s life. She has “a far more satisfying brand of punishment for her.” As she walks away from Charming’s cage, she pulls a glowing, red apple out of a pouch and holds it up for him to see.

In Storybrooke, Regina has left a card on a girl’s bicycle with a nameplate on it that says “Paige.” A few hours later, Jefferson, who we remember as The Mad Hatter, arrives in her office. Paige is his daughter from Fairy Tale Land, though her name in Storybrooke is Grace, and Regina knew he’d be watching her. He doesn’t seem too worse for wear after his fall out of his own window when we saw him at the end of “Hat Trick,” but he does seem pretty angry with Regina. She did, after all, leave him stranded in Wonderland to face the Queen of Hearts.

Regina reveals that she still has his hat, and asks him to take her back to Fairy Tale Land so that she can get something magical to deal with her Emma problem. He asks why he would want to help her keep The Curse intact when Emma ending it would reunite him with his daughter. But Regina reminds him that his life in Fairy Tale Land was one of poverty, and claims that she could reunite him with his daughter in Storybrooke and they could live a life of comfort together…once she gets rid of Emma. Jefferson reluctantly agrees, knowing he still can’t trust Regina, but tells her that the hat will need magic to work.

Back in Fairy Tale Land, the attack on King George’s castle is on! Snow White hears the howl of a transformed Red, and signals the attack. Snow, Granny and The Dwarfs make their way to the wall where they shoot grappling lines and climb their way to the top. Snow finishes the ascent first and dispatches several guards with brutal efficiency before Grumpy makes it to the top to save her from the last sentry with a quick swing of his pick-axe. The rest of The Dwarfs finish scaling the wall and the strike team makes its way to the courtyard where they launch a sneak attack on several more of King George’s guards. Once again, Snow White is a skilled swordfighter, taking down several guards herself as The Dwarfs take on the rest. But as Snow and The Dwarfs regroup in the center of the courtyard, new squads of guards rush in, flanking them from both entrances. The attack, it seems, has failed.

Suddenly, a flight of Fairies fills the night skies, slinging handfuls of Fairy Dust at the guards! The dust knocks the guards out cold, clearing the way for Snow and her companions. She is off to rescue her Prince.

In Storybrooke, Henry rushes to see August, to beg him to help make Emma believe. But August admits that he has failed. He looks stiff and in pain as he shows Henry his arm has now turned to wood as well as his legs. He says it’s getting hard to ride, or to walk, and soon it will be hard to breathe. If The Curse isn’t broken, he will turn to wood completely. He doesn’t have the strength, or the time left to convince Emma when she’s so determined not to see the truth. “I’m sorry kid,” August tells Henry. “I’m out of Operation Cobra. Now it’s up to you.”

Meanwhile, Emma is consulting with Archie about her chances of getting Henry back, and he admits they don’t look good. Since she’s entered Henry’s life he’s missed school, endangered himself, and seemingly retreated even further into his stories. Archie poses that the constant battle between her and Regina is taking a tremendous toll on Henry and that the two of them need to figure out something that has his best interests at heart.

In Fairy Tale Land, Snow has made her way into King George’s dungeons as she rounds a bend and sees Prince Charming in his cell. She runs toward him, hurriedly unlocking the door and rushing in. But what she finds isn’t her Prince–it’s a mirror. She’s seeing Charming, now imprisoned in The Queen’s dungeon in a completely different part of Fairy Tale Land. It seems that The Queen used magic to transport herself and Charming, leaving the mirror behind for Snow. As the two lovers wonder if they will ever really find a way to be together, The Queen interrupts. She tells Snow that it’s time the two of them had a “parley” and talk things over. The Queen tells Snow to come unarmed and to meet her at the place where it all began.

Obviously everyone suspects a trap, but the next morning Snow makes ready to meet Regina, dumping her arsenal out onto the table. She can’t stand the idea of anyone else getting hurt because of her fight with Regina. Alone, she heads out to meet her rival face-to-face.

Back in Storybrooke, Regina escorts Jefferson down into the tomb beneath her family crypt. There, he places the hat on the floor and Regina dumps the last few magical trinkets she has into it, but nothing happens. The hat consumes the magical items, but it’s not enough–Jefferson says they need something that still works. Regina reaches into her pocket and pulls out the brass ring that Daniel, the stable boy she loved, gave to her. She can still see him when she looks through it. Jefferson says that might be enough to get Regina what she needs. She reluctantly sacrifices her last memento of her love to the hat in the hopes that it’s enough to help her keep The Curse unbroken. The hat sputters and sparks, but still no hole is opened. Regina is frustrated, but Jefferson says it might be enough. He can reach through to their world and retrieve something, but it would have to be something small, something that could fit in your hand. Regina knows just the thing–she’s looking for an apple.

In Fairy Tale Land, Snow White and The Queen meet in the stables at her old home. From there, Regina escorts Snow to a nearby hilltop where she shows her a grave–Daniel’s grave. Snow finally realizes that Daniel was killed because she revealed Regina’s secret to her mother. Snow tells Regina she’s sorry, but it’s too late–Regina wants revenge. She reaches into a pouch and produces the glowing, red apple. With one bite, Snow will become imprisoned within her own body, trapped in dreams made of her own regrets. But the apple’s curse won’t work unless Snow takes a bite willingly, so Regina explains that she now has a choice–take a bite of the apple or her true love will die. To Snow, the choice is clear–she takes a bite of the apple. Even imprisoned in his cell, Prince Charming feels the apple’s magic take hold of Snow White. As he shakes the bars of his cage futilely, she collapses lifelessly to the ground, the red apple falling free from her grasp as her fingers go slack. Falling… Rolling…. And suddenly a hole appears, a rip in the fabric of the world, and the apple rolls into it, falling into nothingness as….

In Storybrooke, the same apple falls up out of Jefferson’s hat, into his outstretched hand. It worked. He demands that it’s time Regina made good on her deal to reunite him with his daughter, but she says first she needs to find a way to use the apple on Emma. If she can get Emma to willingly take just one bite of that apple, she’ll have eliminated The Savior without killing her, keeping The Curse intact.

Emma rings the doorbell just as Regina finishes baking an apple turnover. Emma wants to make a deal, and although Regina doesn’t seem interested to start, she perks up when Emma tells her that she’s leaving town. Their feud has to end, and the only way Emma can think to do that is to leave. It’s what’s best for Henry. But she has conditions–mainly that she still gets to come visit Henry and spend some time with him. But as Regina pulls her finished turnover out of the oven, Emma admits that Henry is Regina’s son, and we can tell by the look on her face how hard that is for her to say. Regina politely packs up the turnover for Emma to take with her, obviously still hoping to be rid of The Savior for good. Emma takes it and leaves, not knowing how dangerous that particular pastry really is.

In Fairy Tale Land, Granny, Red and The Dwarfs find the lifeless Snow White. As they discover that she no longer draws breath and mourn her sacrifice, the Evil Queen looks on from her palace by way of a magic mirror. She changes it to view Prince Charming, still shaking the bars of his cell, and basks in her own sweet revenge. She’s finally won. She’s finally repaid Snow White for stealing her happiness.

In Storybrooke, Regina seems equally satisfied as she returns to Mr. Gold’s pawnshop to gloat. She reveals she was able to get a hold of a sleeping curse by sacrificing the last bit of magic she had left. He reminds her that “all magic comes with a price,” but she is unfazed. With Emma trapped by the sleeping curse of the apple, The Curse will be stronger than ever, and whatever plans Gold had, or reasons he has for wanting The Curse broken, are meaningless now. Regina strolls out, confident that she’s won, finally, once and for all.

At Emma and Mary Margaret’s apartment, Henry knocks on the door. Emma lets him in and tells him the reason she asked to see him. She’s leaving town. It’s breaking his heart as she tells him that she made a deal with Regina and this is the best thing for him. He tells her she can’t go, that this is just the part in the story when the hero gets scared, but she tells him that it’s time for him to stop believing in curses. He hugs her, hoping she’ll change her mind, when his eyes fall on the turnover sitting on the counter. “Where did you get that,” he demands. When she tells him it came from Regina and he realizes it’s made with apple, he knows immediately what’s going on. He tries to warn Emma that it’s a trap, but she still won’t believe. She tries to take a bite to prove to Henry that his stories aren’t real, but he snatches it away first. He tells her “I’m sorry that it had to come to this. You may not believe in The Curse, or in me, but I believe in you.” With that, he takes a bite of the turnover and the cursed apple within. At first, nothing happens, but suddenly the sleeping curse takes hold and, just like Snow White, Henry collapses lifelessly. Stricken with panic, Emma calls out to Henry, but she’s too late.

Original Air Date: May 6, 2012

Guest Cast:
Beverley Elliott: Granny
David Paul Grove: Doc
Meghan Ory: Ruby/Red Riding Hood
Lee Arenberg: Leroy/Grumpy
Michael Coleman: Happy
Alan Dale: Decker/King George
Eion Bailey: August
Keegan Connor Tracy: Mother Superior/Blue Fairy
Gabe Khouth: Mr. Clark/Sneezy
Sebastian Stan: Jefferson

- description from ABC.com