- Regina's plan for Mary Margaret is thwarted following Kathryn's sudden re-appearance and Gold becomes wary of August, as flashbacks show what happened to Baelfire after Rumplestiltskin became the Dark One.
- Mr Gold attempts to find out the true identity of August, Emma confronts Regina about her involvement in Kathryn's disappearance, and David tries to apologize and reconcile with Mary Margaret. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, Rumplestiltskin agrees to comply and do whatever it takes if his son can find a way for him to safely give up his powers and turn back into the loving man he used to be.—nat
- August (Eion Bailey) wakes up with a twitching leg so bad it pulls him out of bed. He calls someone. "This is taking too long, we need to accelerate the plan," he says.
Cut to him meeting with Henry for something with Operation Cobra. Henry (Jared Gilmore) goes into Mr. Gold's shop, saying he wants to get Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) a congratulations-on-not-being-a-murderer gift. With Gold (Robert Carlyle) distracted, August creeps in the back door and heads for the back. Gold finds him. August says he's looking for maps.
Emma (Jennifer Morrison) visits Kathryn in the hospital. She remembers being in a car accident and waking up in a basement with food and water. Dr. Whale (David Anders) says she was drugged. She remembers waking up a field and going into town. Emma thinks someone was trying to frame Mary Margaret. They're looking into who faked the DNA results. Kathryn can't fathom who would do such a thing.
Regina (Lana Parrilla) accuses Gold of breaking their deal. He assures her he's broken one deal in his life and it wasn't this one. "Kathryn was supposed to die and Mary Margaret was to get the blame!" Regina says.
Gold thinks murder seems so much worse here. Gold reminds her Regina didn't say "kill her", she said "something tragic" and abduction qualifies. He ends the argument with a please.
Regina realizes there will be questions about the fake DNA test results and key in her cell. She doesn't understand why he'd turn on her now, since he's the one who created the curse for her in the first place.
In Fairy Tale land, a boy runs in front of a cart after his ball and the merchant yells but stops when he realizes who the boy is. It's Rumplestiltskin's son. He assures his father he's fine, but when Rump sees the cut on his son's leg he turns the man into a snail over Baelfire's objections. He stomps on the snail as his son cries no.
In the hospital, David (Josh Dallas) visits Kathryn. He apologizes for everything, but she's extremely understanding, saying what they had just wasn't right for him.
Emma hosts a welcome home party for MM. Henry conspires with August, asking if he found what he was looking for at Gold's. August has a feeling it'll find him.
Henry gives MM his present -- a giant card from the class that says "We're so glad you didn't kill Mrs. Nolan!" Emma goes to take Henry home, but runs into David at the door. MM isn't ready to see him yet, so Emma suggests he take Henry home to get rid of him.
Emma confronts Gold, asking if he's the one who made Kathryn materialize. "Are you proposing I'm working with Regina, or against her?" Gold asks. "I don't know, maybe diagonally," Emma says.
Gold asks her about August. "He's a writer; a typewriter wrapped in an enigma wrapped in stubble," Emma says. Gold thinks August Booth is a fake name and tells her about him poking around his shop. Emma trusts August a lot more than she trusts Gold.
Fairy Tale land Rumplestiltskin brings his son home and starts to heal his knee with magic, but his son doesn't want magic. Baelfire (Dylan Schmid) tells his dad he's different now.
Rumple points out he's brokered an ogre truce and saved lives. But Baelfire wants him to try to get rid of his power. The only way Rumple knows of is if someone stabs him with the Rumplestiltskin knife.
Baelfire asks if his dad would go along with getting rid of his magic if he found a way that didn't involve dying. Rumple says all he wants is his happiness and agrees. Bael makes them shake on it. The deal is struck.
Storybrooke
Rumple breaks into August's room and pokes around. He soon finds a drawing of the Rumplestiltskin knife.
Emma joins Sidney (Giancarlo Esposito) at the diner, confronting him with the bug he planted. Emma tells him there's a DNA trail in a basement somewhere and she's going to find it and he and Regina will be in a lot of trouble. Sidney defends her as an "amazing woman" and Emma realizes he's in love with Regina. Emma warns him he's going to end up going down with Regina, too.
Mr. Gold follows August through town.
Fairy Tale land
Rumple leaves Bael to play with local children, but they're all afraid of him. A girl named Morraine joins him. He tells her about trying to find a way to get rid of his dad's power. She tells him about the original being that roams the night which is more powerful than his father.
Rumplestiltskin returns and Bael sees blood on his shoes. His dad announces they need a new maid. She heard them talking about the knife. He doesn't care she was mute and couldn't tell anyone. Bael is horrified.
Storybrooke Mr. Gold sees August talking to Mother Superior (Keegan Connor Tracy). When August leaves, he interrogates her. She says August came to town looking for his father after a long separation and he recently found him. But he hasn't spoken to him yet because it was a difficult parting.
Fairy Tale Land Bael creeps out into the woods at night, and quietly calls to the powerful one. The Blue Fairy/Mother Superior arrives, saying she can help with good magic. Bael says his father is The Dark One. She offers to send him somewhere without magic -- it's the only way for him to get his father back. She gives him a magic bean, the last known to their kind. She tells him to follow it where it leads him.
Storybrooke David meets MM on the street. He apologizes, but she tells him she'll never forget what it felt like to not have his support. He points out it was a really good frame job, but she can't get past him not believing in her. "It's like something in this world doesn't want us together," she says. He tells her he loves her, but she says that just makes everything sadder.
Fairy Tale Land Bael comes home to his father, who is spinning gold. He tells him about meeting with the blue fairy. Rumplestiltskin says fairy magic doesn't mix well with what he is. Bael says they could be happy somewhere else without magic. He reminds his father about the deal he made and asks if he's backing out. Rumple says no.
Storybrooke Mr. Gold visits Archie Hopper (Raphael Sbarge), who is willing to listen. Gold tells him he thinks he might have found his son, but he's not sure if he's only seeing what he wants to see. He thinks his son might still be very angry.
Archie assures him anger between a parent and a child is the most natural thing in the world. "I think he might be here to kill me," Gold says. "Oh well, that's not," Archie says.
Gold has spent his whole life trying to fix things but now he's here and doesn't know what to do. Archie tells him he just has to be honest with him.
Gold finds August at the cabin. He opens with telling August he knows who he is. "Well, I guess all the lying can stop. Papa," August says.
Fairy Tale Land
Bael leads his father through the forest. Rumplestiltskin asks where they're going, what kind of world it is without magic. Bael throws the bean on the ground and a whirlwind opens in the ground, like a tornado. Bael tries to convince his father to go through. Rumple says he can't. The hole gets bigger. Bael starts to slip into it.
Rumplestiltskin holds onto it, protesting he can't go. Bael calls him a coward and reminds him he promised, but Rumple won't go.
Bael slips through the hole, leaving his father behind.
When the ground closes, Rumple claws at it, saying he wants to go with him.
Storybrooke
Gold tells August he was right about him being a coward and he should have gone with him and ever since he left, he's been trying to find him.
Gold asks August to do what he's always done and be the bigger man. He breaks down crying, saying he's sorry. August hugs him. When Gold asks if he can truly forgive him, August says yes.
Gold guesses August was looking for the knife. He thought if his dad still had it, it would mean he hadn't changed. Gold suggests they go look for it.
August digs. Gold explains he buried it shortly after Emma came to town. He didn't want to take the chance of Regina finding it.
They dig it up. Gold gives it to August, telling him to destroy it. He tells August he chose the knife once, but this time he's choosing his son. Gold hands it over to August.
August takes it but then points it at Gold, saying "I command thee, dark one!" Gold realizes he's trying to control him. "You're not my son," Gold says.
Gold tells him his son would know the knife can't harness magic in this world because there isn't any. That's why he chose this world, because there isn't any magic.
Gold takes the knife back, guessing August is from Fairy Tale Land. He wants to know how August knew about him and the knife and why he took the risk of messing with him.
August says he's sick and he needs magic. Gold leaves him.
Fairy Tale Land
Rumplestiltskin summons the blue fairy. She tells him there are no other beans to transport him. He guesses a curse might work. She says it would come at a great price and mean sacrificing this world. Rumplestiltskin swears he'll do nothing but work to get his son back.
Storybrooke Emma comes to the sheriff's office and finds Regina waiting for her. She introduces Sidney and prompts him to repeat what he just told her. Sidney confesses to everything, saying he did it so he could rescue her and be a hero and get a book deal. Emma doesn't believe him for a second.
In the hallway, Emma tells Regina it's the biggest load of crap she's ever heard. Emma warns Regina she's about to start playing a different game and all she cares about is Henry. Regina tried to take away someone she loves, so now Emma's going to take away some Regina loves. "I am taking back my son," Emma says.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content