"Once upon a time, in a magical land..." "An evil queen..." "I will not let them defeat me." "Unleashed a powerful curse." "The curse!" "It's here!" "And banished every fairy tale character..." " Where are we going?" " Somewhere horrible." "To a place without magic." "Welcome to Storybrooke." "They don't remember who they are." "And for 28 years..." "Do you know this man?" "Their lives and memories were stolen." "No." "Why?" "Who is he?" "Until..." "What's her name?" "Her name is Emma." "The one person who could save them..." "Are you Emma Swan?" "I'm her son." "Came back into their lives." "Do you believe now?" "And broke the spell." "Now..." " Snow!" " Charming." "Their memories have awakened..." "What do you want?" "And magic has returned." "Magic?" "In Storybrooke?" "You stay back!" " And with it..." " Aah!" " Comes a price..." " You're not gonna believe what I saw." " That everyone..." " That boy..." " Must pay." " is more than he appears." "No!" "And that is how magic is made." "Once Upon A Time S2 Special" " The Price Of Magic Original air date April 14, 2013" "Until just recently," "Storybrooke, Maine, was a quiet, out-of-the-way place." "To shed light on the notable events in this tiny town, we turn to "Once Upon A Time" creators" "Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz." "Well, Storybrooke is a town that, in many ways, is... is kind of lost in time." "The curse was enacted 28 years ago in 1983." "The town itself is sort of timeless, which you'll see with the rotary phones and the cars." "This town was created with all these characters from all these fairy tales who don't know who they are." "So you have Jiminy Cricket is now Dr. Hopper." "And Granny runs the diner with Ruby, who is, of course, Little Red Riding Hood." "Oh!" "Mayor Mills, I am so sorry." "The town's mayor is Regina Mills, the Evil Queen who enacted the curse that brought them all to Storybrooke." "Regina's son Henry has not always seen eye to eye with his mother." "Where have you been?" "I found my real mom." "And when Henry's biological mother Emma Swan entered their lives," "Regina tried everything she could to eliminate her." "I do hope you like apples." "What happened at the end of season one was Henry accidentally ate an apple turnover that had a sleeping curse in it..." "I love you, Henry." "And Emma, with true love's kiss, awoke Henry and actually broke the curse." "Oh!" "I love you, too." "In that moment, the residents of Storybrooke regained their memories..." "But as they celebrated a joyful reunion..." " Snow?" " Oh!" "A powerful force was about to descend upon the town." "Mr. Gold, otherwise known as Rumplestiltskin, brought magic to this land." "Magic... is coming." "He has now changed the playing field." "What is that?" "Both good and bad can wield magic, and what is that gonna mean for them in their lives?" "Yeah, we know that magic always comes with a price, and a lot of this season is about paying it." "The Dark One summons thee." "And the first measure of payback came when Mr. Gold brought a wraith to Storybrooke." "This creature marks its victims, and does not stop until it achieves its goal, which is sucking the very essence of its victim out of them." "It's a fairy tale Terminator, really." "Yeah." "But our heroes came up with what they thought was a clever plan, to take the Mad Hatter's hat, which can create portals between worlds, and throw the wraith into it." "Aah!" "No!" "No!" "Uhh!" "The plan worked, sending the wraith to another world." "But it dragged mother and daughter along with it." "Mulan, what is this?" "That is what brought the wraith here." "We have to get back to them." "The Enchanted Forest is not as you remember it." "Leaving is unwise." "A lot of times, we'll flashback to these characters and the lives they had before the curse." "But this year, we introduced the Enchanted Forest in present day." "Or as we like to say, a post-apocalyptic Enchanted Forest." "Mary Margaret had returned home, but the land she knew as Snow White had dramatically changed." "When the curse was enacted in season one, there was a small pocket of Fairytale land that was protected." "This corner of land is untouched." "No one knows why." "But something saved us." "And within that small pocket, there were characters who were still existing... among them, Captain Hook..." "Mulan and Aurora..." "Lancelot." "Lancelot?" "Really?" "He's an old friend." "Well... a fake Lancelot." "Clever girl." "Where's Lancelot?" "I killed him a long time ago." "Regina's mother Cora was among those who remained in the Enchanted Forest." "Uhh!" " Where is she?" " Gone." "So Emma, who is within hours of becoming a believer, finds herself in an actual enchanted forest." "Do exactly as I say, and you might survive." "Thanks for the pep talk, but I think we're okay." "Have you ever seen an ogre?" "Pretty sure I've dated a few." "What is the plan?" "You haven't told me anything." "What's going on?" "Emma is a character who can handle herself." "You wanna see where you're from, Emma?" "We're going home." "So Emma gets a little headstrong at first..." "And is firing guns up into the air." "But she doesn't know... well, you know what noise attracts?" " Ogres?" "" " Ogres." "Run!" "And fighting ogres is not easy and it's more helpful when you have your mom with you." "Back away from my daughter!" "For the first season," "Mary Margaret was a schoolteacher who didn't have a lot of confidence." "And now Emma realizes her mom is Snow White, who can take care of herself and knows how to kill an ogre." "When was the last time you shot an arrow?" "28 years ago." "I guess it's like riding a bike." "Emma goes from not believing that any of this exists to climbing a beanstalk to find the last giant, so that she can find a compass to return home." "And she does it rather deftly, I think." "Is that it?" "That's our home." "She also got to see where she was from for the first time." "I recognize this from Henry's book." "She's been on her own forever, and didn't think she had any place that she was really from, and now she's discovering it's this magical land, and she's going to see the castle" "where she was supposed to be raised as a princess." "I lived here?" "I was going to teach you how to walk in here." "It's this amazing mix of emotions for Emma, of seeing what could've been for her." "We never got to be a family." "We have a family... in Storybrooke." "And right now, they need us to get back there." "Their search for a way back home led to Rumplestiltskin's prison cell." "But Cora was also trying to get to Storybrooke." " And the magic compass..." " Ahh." "Was her ticket." "We'd love to stay, but Storybrooke awaits." "Where we going?" "Lake Nostros." "Its waters hold the power to restore what was once lost." "We'll be able to cross worlds." "The Enchanted Forest is but one of many realms." "The stories that we know in our world exist in different realms." "Some exist in the realm we call Fairytale Land, and some exist in the realm we call Wonderland." "You wanna go in there?" "There's another realm without color, where we saw Frankenstein." "Good evening, doctor." "Rumple Von Stiltskin." " A foreigner." " What tipped you off?" "My rosy complexion?" "Things that can get you between worlds can work in many different ways." "There is the hat, like the Mad Hatter's." "Please stand back." "You can go through the looking-glass to get to Wonderland." "Who are you?" "Then there are magic beans that can take you anywhere you wanna go..." "Welcome aboard." "But those are a rare commodity and they were thought to be extinct." "This bean, can this make a portal?" "It was destroyed like the rest of them." "So there are many different ways to travel." "Sparkly dirt." "Wonderful." "Just the remains of a magical wardrobe." "You'll be able to see your daughter, and I can skin myself a crocodile." "Cora was a miller's daughter, and as a young woman, she and her father barely made ends meet." "It was a difficult life." "Aah!" "You stupid, foolish girl!" "What happened here?" "Uh, the peasant fell... as they do." "You shall receive no money for the flour, and you will apologize to Eva." "Apologize?" "The wench tripped me." "Curb your tongue." "Cora has never gotten over the scars of her youth." "This woman tells me that she can spin straw into gold." "Magic is about emotion." "Cora found a mentor in Rumplestiltskin, who taught her the ways of dark magic." "What do you want to do to them?" "Cora's obsessed with power." "She's obsessed with status." "I want to make them bow." "She's obsessed with winning at all costs." "Look." "I did it." "Rumplestiltskin was the only man Cora ever loved." "They were almost like soul mates." "The king humiliated me." "I want to kill him, show him his heart as I crush it." "I wanted a heart, and a heart I shall have." "Uhh!" "Hearts are a commodity in some circles." "When you rip a person's heart out, you can control them." "Rise." "It becomes enchanted, like a super heart." "It's perfect." "And it is, uh, able to be crushed or is able to be controlled." "That the two of you could've gotten the remains of the wardrobe." "Or store it in a vault for rainy day." "These are all hearts." "My mother was a collector." "And we see this season that it's not an easy skill." "Take its heart." "Regina struggled with it at first." "She can't do it to a poor unicorn." "Oh!" "And I had such high hopes." "Uhh!" "You're not hurting the beast." "You're controlling it." "But when young Cora attempted to use this power to exact her revenge on the king, she came to a realization." "Couldn't you take the king's heart?" "I chose not to." "Whose heart is in the box?" "Mine." "You told me not to let anything stop me until they're on their knees." "My heart was stopping me." "When she ripped her own heart out to break up with Rumplestiltskin, he never got over that." "You never loved me." "The fact that she took her own heart out made her heartless, and that was what enabled her to do all the cruel acts she did." "But if you ask her, she's doing it for the right reasons." "Her name is Regina, for one day she will be queen." " She does love her daughter." "" " Yes." "And she does want what's best for her." "It's just, Cora's idea of what's best for her is probably not what any right-minded person's idea would be." "You ride like a man." "Theirs was a dysfunctional relationship." "Who's going to want to marry you when you behave like a..." "Commoner?" "Cora wanted Regina, from birth, to be queen..." "Yeah." "And Regina didn't always want that." "She wanted love." "Let's go." "And when Regina tried to run away with the stable boy Daniel..." "Uhh!" "Mother!" "Aah!" "Cora eliminated her daughter's true love." "Which, unfortunately for Cora, resulted in her being sent to Wonderland." "Years later, while planning the curse," "Regina wanted to ensure her mother would not follow her to the land without magic..." "It's now enchanted." "It will enable you to rip out her heart." "So she sent Captain Hook to Wonderland to kill Cora." "What?" "I'm the Queen of Hearts." "Do you really think I'd be so careless as to keep my heart where everyone else does?" " This..." " Aah!" " Uhh!" " is how it's done." "But Cora and Hook found common ground, and the two joined forces." "When the curse was enacted, it was Cora who creates a shield that covers a corner of Fairytale Land where she and Hook can wait." "The curse won't last forever." "It will end." "And when it does," "Regina will truly have lost everything, and then she'll need me." "That's when we'll go to this new land." "Cora knows to reunite with her daughter, she's gotta get to Storybrooke." "When Emma and Mary Margaret find their way into Fairytale Land," "Cora discovers the remnants of the wardrobe that sent Emma to our world to begin with." "And that becomes the key to her plan to find a way back to our world and to Regina." "You're not going anywhere!" "The portal's taking us home." "The compass, get it." "Snow and Emma had escaped from Rumplestiltskin's cell and were determined to use Cora's portal to get back to Storybrooke." "Emma, run!" "But Cora had other plans." " Good-bye, Snow." " No!" "Emma!" "Oh, you foolish girl!" "Love is weakness." "Cora represents the darkness of magic." "Emma represents the light." "No." "It's strength." "Within Emma is magic..." "What was that?" "And the ability to wield magic, and that's not something just anyone can do." "That... is a great subject for discussion... when we get home!" "But there was danger at the other end of the portal in Storybrooke, and Henry looked to Regina for help." "You said you wanted to change, to be better." "This is how." "She was able to absorb that magic and diffuse it." "Yeah." "She saved Snow White's life." "Mom?" "Oh!" "Henry!" "Mom!" "Oh!" "Regina every now and then has her moment, and that was one of them where she did something selfless and she did something brave because she loved Henry." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "Even though we love watching her be bad, it's moments like that that make you want her to find her own happy ending." "We failed." "Really, Cora, why do you still doubt me?" "Fortunately for Cora," "Hook stole the desiccated bean from the giant." "And through that, they were cunning enough to get their way to Storybrooke." "There it is." "Storybrooke." "This, gentlemen, is our mission." "We must investigate the line." "After the curse was broken, not all was perfect in Storybrooke." "All magic comes with a price, and the price for bringing it is anyone who leaves Storybrooke will revert back to their curse memory." "You know, what if we found a turtle and sorta nudged it over first?" "Oh, for the love of..." "Uhh!" "Terrible news!" "Terrible news!" "For instance, Sneezy becomes Mr. Clark, the pharmacist." "If you cross the border, you lose your memory all over again." "So now Gold is faced with a dilemma." "He wants to find his son, but the moment he leaves town, he won't know who he is." "Yeah, he won't remember what he was looking for to begin with." "Milah!" "Long ago, in the Enchanted Forest," "Rumplestiltskin was branded a coward." "Milah!" "He deserted his countrymen on the battlefield to be with his newborn son." " Milah!" " Rumple." "What's his name?" "Baelfire." "A strong name!" "Something he'll need, if he's to live with the shame of being your son." "Rumple's actions strained his marriage." "Milah, it's time to go." "Who's this?" "Eh, it's just my husband." "Oh." "Well, he's a tad taller than you described." "When we first meet Captain Hook, he's Killian Jones, and he's just doing what pirates do, which is carousing at bars and, you know, taking what he wants." "I..." "I remember you." "It's always nice to make an impression." "Unfortunately for Rumplestiltskin, he wants Rumple's wife." "You see, we have a son, and he needs his mother." "You see, I have a ship full of men who need... companionship." "And Rumple is a broken man, having lost his wife, and now he's a single father." "Women do not like to be married to cowards." "Please don't speak to my boy like that." "Afraid of losing his son as well," "Rumplestiltskin summoned The Dark One..." "A master of dark magic." " Die!" " But by killing him," "Rumple transformed into The Dark One himself." "But unfortunately, Rumple became a little crazy with the power of being The Dark One, and his son tried to return him to the father that he loved and he knew before he became The Dark One." "A magic bean... the very last one that is known to our kind." "You follow wherever it leads you." "Bae made a deal with his father to begin a new life in a land without magic." "We have to go through!" "No, no!" "I don't think I can!" "You coward!" "Don't break our deal!" "I have to!" "Papa!" "No!" "Rumple is faced with a choice between power and love." "He let his son go because he couldn't give up the powers of The Dark One." "But he missed his son so much that he brought magic to Storybrooke." "I did it." "You can cross the town line?" "Indeed I can." "He discovered a way by finding an item that was really important to him." "This shawl is all I have left of my Baelfire." "By enchanting that, he would be able to leave and retain his memories." "But then a complication comes into play when Hook arrives." "Well, my dear Cora, it's time for me to skin my crocodile." "When Rumplestiltskin has become The Dark One and is on his quest to find his son, he happens upon Killian Jones." "You!" "Even gutter rats have more manners than you just displayed." "Uh, I'm..." "I'm so sorry, sir." "Ah." "I was wrong." "Not a rat at all." "More like a crocodile." "And Rumple now knows as The Dark One, he's got the ability to exact the vengeance in a way that, for pre-Dark One," "Rumplestiltskin couldn't do it." "Do you know what it's like to have your wife stolen from you?" "It feels like having your heart ripped from your chest." "Uhh!" "Stop!" "The unexpected surprise is coming across Milah, not as a prisoner but as a willing companion to Killian Jones." "Oh, I feel a proposal coming on." "The magic bean in exchange for our lives." "And once again, Rumple is faced with a choice between power and love." "He can let his wife and Captain Hook go and sail off in the world, and have a bean that will reunite him with his son, or he can exact revenge." "And in true Rumple fashion, he can't help himself." "Milah!" "And he does it Rumple-style, which is ripping out your heart and squeezing it in front of until you fall over dead, while your loved one watches." "And then cutting their hand off." "Aah!" "Aah!" "Killing me is gonna take a lot more than that, dearie." "I will find a way." "Well, good luck living long enough." "And that is how Captain Hook is born." "And he will do whatever it takes and he will align himself with whomever will get him to Rumplestiltskin so he can exact revenge." "At the Storybrooke town line," "Mr. Gold was ready to put his potion to the test." "Belle." "It... it worked!" "Now you can find your son." "Uhh!" "I wouldn't count on it." "Belle?" "Belle!" "Who... who... who's Belle?" "Hook's attack had robbed Belle of her memory." "But before Gold could strike back," "Storybrooke had an unexpected visitor." "What's going on?" " Shh!" "Shh!" "Shh!" " Ow!" "Over here!" "Suddenly, Storybrooke was exposed." " Do you know this guy?" "" " Never seen him before." "Looks like the world just came to Storybrooke." "When the curse was broken and magic was brought," "Storybrooke was suddenly visible." "Anyone could drive in." "Why are my instincts telling me that's a bad thing?" "'Cause you've seen "E. T." or "Splash"" "or any other movie where they find something magical and study it to death." "Think what'd they do to a werewolf." "So, Mr. Mendell," "I do need you to state what you saw." "I didn't see anything." "Oh." "I looked down, just for a second, and when I looked back up, he was right there." "And he was too close to avoid." "In season one, we saw Emma was able to come to Storybrooke." "We saw August was able to come to Storybrooke." "But these were people who were a part of Fairytale Land." " And born in the Enchanted Forest." " Right." "Pinocchio, in 28 years, you must make sure the savior believes." "Pinocchio was charged with great responsibility when he and baby Emma journeyed to a new world." "But not long after, they found a home in an orphanage." "Shh." "Shh." "Pinocchio left Emma to fend for herself..." "I told my father I'd take care of Emma." "We can't take care of a baby." "I'm sorry, Emma." "And Emma grew up living a life of crime." "We got to see what Emma was like before Storybrooke... a woman on her own." "Impressive." "But really, you could've just asked me for the keys." "And that's when she meets Neal." "This isn't your car either, is it?" "She's actually met a kindred spirit because he's also stealing the car." "20 minutes till housekeeping." "What they knew at a young age was the simple things were the important things." "It's not much of a home." "Maybe it's time we get a real place." " Being with each other..." " Yeah." "Being in love and finding a place to be together." "Like where, Neverland?" "I'm serious." "We could do this." "They just wanted to live their lives and they wanted to find a family and they wanted to be together." "Are you sure?" "Is this what you really want?" "What I really want is you." "Emma was always a character searching for home." "Unfortunately, destiny got in the way of that." "Emma and Neal planned to use cash from stolen watches to begin their life together." "There's $20,000 easy." "$20,000?" "!" "But Neal was faced with greater forces at work." "Tragically, Emma's role as savior and her place in this greater story came into play and broke them apart." "She has a destiny, and you're gonna keep her from it." "Pinocchio had returned." "He had changed his name to August Booth..." "When you see what I have in here, you're gonna believe every word I say." "And he knew Neal's true identity." "I was tasked with keeping her on track, and you just got caught in the crossfire." "Neal left Emma to face prosecution alone, placing her on a challenging path to destiny." "Let's go." "Emma already had her guard up, and this was a time where she let it down, and she would never let it down again except for Henry." "Please?" "I told you about your parents." "Family's important to the show because it is something that everybody needs and it is something that everybody looks for." "Your dad was training to be a fireman." "Did you get married?" "Oh, no, nothing like that." "I was pregnant with you, and I tried to contact him." "I found out that he died saving a family from a burning apartment building." "I need to find someone, so we're leaving today." "Find someone?" "Who?" "My son." "With the help of an enchanted globe," "Mr. Gold found Bae's location." "And with Henry and Emma, he crossed the town line." "But that was only the first leg of the journey." "Seeing Mr. Gold going through a security line and getting on a plane, which in a lot of ways is one of this world's most magical things... it's something that can fly in the air..." "It's gonna be all right." "He was venturing into a world he had never known." "That was, for us, the inspiration for that story." "Let me guess..." "he's not expecting you." "Well, who doesn't love a surprise?" "Emma and Gold and Henry make their way to New York City..." "He's running." "And they track down Baelfire." "Get him to talk to me." "I..." "I can't run." "And it is a shock to Emma to discover that Baelfire, Rumplestiltskin's son, is actually Neal..." " Neal?" " Emma?" "The love of her life from ten years earlier." "Now we have a very messy family reunion." "Bae." "Get out of my apartment!" " Neal..." " Emma, I got this." "You two know each other how?" "Mom, what's going on?" "Whoa." "Who's this?" " My son." " What?" "Is that Baelfire?" "And now Neal discovering that not only did he break Emma's heart, but he left behind a son..." "Is this my son?" "Mom?" "A son who's completely confused because he's been lied to by his mother." "Yes." "Rumplestiltskin is Henry's grandfather?" "Apparently." "So his... stepgrandmother is Regina?" "Yeah, I think Charming summed it up when he said Thanksgivings would suck at that house." "So you're really from... there?" "Yeah, I am." "As Henry got to know his father," "Gold pressed Emma to help smooth things over with Neal." "So, uh, you talk to him?" "It's complicated." "Oh, I see." "Maybe he just needs some time." "I don't know." "Uhh!" "Aah!" "But there was a bigger problem." "Uhh!" "Aah!" "Oh!" "Time's up, crocodile." "Aah!" "Uhh!" "Gold, are you all right?" "After the curse was finally broken in Storybrooke..." "Johanna?" "Long-lost friends found one another again." "Snow." "Oh!" "Oh, ho ho!" "Snow." "Mother." "When Snow White was a young girl..." "Her mother, Queen Eva, fell deathly ill." "Johanna was a royal servant..." "Is she going to die?" "And she cared for Snow during this difficult time." "I don't want to lose her." "Snow White was trying to save her mother's life, and Cora, pretending to be the Blue Fairy, offered her a candle." "This candle can save your mother's life." "But all magic comes with a price." "And the price would be another person's life." "You most hold this candle over the heart of your sacrifice." "Snow was unwilling to sacrifice a life, even to save her own mother, and Eva died." "Cora's manipulation of young Snow was just the beginning." "Snow would've been a great ruler someday, but that'll never happen because my daughter will be queen." "Regina did become the queen..." "Uhh!" "And she spent much of her reign at war with Snow White and Prince Charming." "Leaving the battle so soon?" "The battle's over, Regina." "I offer to negotiate the terms of your surrender." "My terms are quite simple... your death." "Now!" "You should have surrendered when I gave you the chance." "The tragedy, I think, between the two of them is," "Snow White as a young girl always looked up to Regina." "She saved her life, and she's always hoping she returns to the person she met when she was in love with the stable boy." "The queen faced execution, but Snow showed mercy." "This is a chance to start fresh, Regina, to leave the evil behind in this cell." "Just like that?" "Just like that." "There's so much bitterness and anger, almost like a blood feud between them that we wonder, how will they ever work it out?" "You make change sound so easy." "Every time she starts to redeem herself, something seems to get in the way." "In Storybrooke, Regina wanted nothing more than to earn Henry's love..." "But it would be more difficult than it seemed." "Mother." "Cora gets to Storybrooke and realizes that to get Regina to forgive her for oh, so many transgressions, she's got to have her daughter need her." "I want my daughter back." "Let me into your heart." "Regina really does want her mother's love and approval." "But more importantly, I think Regina wants Henry." "Together, we can get him back again." "And she feels like, redeeming myself and being good is taking too long, and my mom's offering me a shortcut." "Oh, don't worry, sweetheart." "If we possess the dagger, we control The Dark One." "I'll use that dagger to force The Dark One to kill anyone you like." "Cora's plan would leave Regina blameless in Henry's eyes, but David and Mary Margaret were not about to let that happen." "We did it." "The Dark One finally can be controlled." "Indeed he can be." "But by whom?" "What Cora's looking for is to become The Dark One herself." "Johanna!" " Uhh!" " Aah!" "Your choice." "Aah!" "Uhh!" "The dagger, dear." "Enough!" "You have what you came for." "Not quite everything." "Aah!" "Aah!" "In that moment, Mary Margaret kind of snapped..." "You see where good gets you?" "And she started to say, had I got rid of Regina years ago," "I would have seen my daughter grow up, and none of this would've happened." "She needs to be killed." "This is our family." "We are going to protect it." "Of course we will, but not by your hand and not out of vengeance." "Why?" "Because you wouldn't be able to live with yourself." "We gotta get him to an E.R. fast." "In New York, Mr. Gold's injury was serious." "There's gotta be some way we can save you." "There is." "There is." "Storybrooke." "There's magic there now." "Captain Hook's ship provided quick passage, and Gold made it back to Storybrooke." "My cabinet." "And while Cora had possession of the dagger, he had his own powerful weapon." "The candle can save me." "There's nothing else." "I wouldn't use this to save my own mother." "What makes you think I would use it for you?" "For once, our interests are aligned." "Snow White started to wonder, what did being good ever get me?" "Maybe the path, uh, I've been on is only causing more heartache." "And in a moment of weakness and in a moment of anger..." "Cora." " Cora." " She lit the candle and she gave that heart back to Regina." "She can't love you, you know." "She doesn't have her heart." "With it, maybe she can." "For a brief moment, Cora felt the love she had denied herself for so many years." "Mother." "But the feeling wouldn't last." "Mother?" "Oh!" "M... mother?" "Oh." "This... would've been enough." "Mother?" "What am I gonna do?" "You did this." "Hey." "They said I'm good to go, but, you know, I think I'm gonna stay here for a little while." "Why?" "Well, take a look at this and see." "The outsider in Storybrooke had reason to stay." "Greg actually witnessed magic and he is fascinated by this magic, and he is staying around town to document it." "Why he's there and what his connection to Storybrooke is is explained when we take a look back at the, uh, the first day of the curse." "Now pull the loops as tight as you can." "Mm." "Ah, look at that!" "When Regina first cast the curse," "Storybrooke landed in the middle of the forest in Maine, right by a campsite of a father and a son." "This is impossible." "It's like someone dropped a town right on top of us." "Storybrooke's unexpected visitors soon met the mayor." " You're in my seat." " But I'm already sitting here." "And for Regina, new faces would be a welcome change." "Revenge is somewhat hollow." "Regina at first loves it." "Beautiful day, isn't it?" "Yes, it is." "She enjoys seeing Snow White miserable, and she enjoys seeing Prince Charming in a coma." "But after a while, it grows old." " Morning, Madam Mayor." " Save it." "Everyone is telling her exactly what she wants to hear." "And she gets bored." "And the first person to say something different is this child." "What's this?" "It's a gift for letting me sit in your seat." "And that's what she realizes she needs." "The way to fill the void in her heart from casting the curse is through a son." "The father doesn't wanna be there." "He just wants to take the boy and go back home to New Jersey." "And ultimately, Regina won't allow that to happen." "Sheriff, our visitors are driving out of Storybrooke." "Find them before they cross the town line." "But the boy's father knew something was wrong." "Run into the woods." "Get as far away as you can." "Run!" " Dad!" " Run!" "Why are you doing this?" "You wanna stay here, don't you?" "Not like this." "What Regina realizes is that if she forces this kid to live with her, it won't be real, and that was the whole purpose of finding a son to begin with." "I'm sorry." "I just wanted us to be happy." "And then that boy grows up to be Greg Mendell..." "Who has been searching for this town for a very long time." "You could've told me who you were and why you're here." "I..." "I think you know why I'm here." "I'm looking for my father." "Your father?" "He left shortly after you did." "I never saw him again." "After finding Neal in New York..." "Thank God I caught you." "What are you doing here?" "Oh!" "Emma received some surprising news." " I'm Tamara." " Emma." "She's my fiancee." "So how'd you guys meet?" "For Emma, this is hard." "It's been ten years, and she's moved on from Neal, but..." " Mm-hmm." " Moving on and seeing someone else move on are two different things." "And when she sees that Neal is with someone else, she is upset, but in true Emma fashion, won't admit it." "Does she know who you really are and where you're really from?" "Take my advice." "Tell her the truth." "Neal comes clean with Tamara, and says, "I'm from the Enchanted Forest."" ""My father's Rumplestiltskin, and you're in Crazytown."" "What the hell are you doing?" "I'm trying to be honest with you." "What we learn is," "Tamara isn't everything she's presented to Neal, and that she is someone who not only believes in magic, knows about it, has sought it out in the past." "After steering Neal away from Emma," "August spent the next ten years indulging himself and neglecting his responsibilities." "8:15... when Emma came to Storybrooke and that clock moved." "He felt it a world away in Phuket." "And he started to turn to wood, because it was a reminder that he failed at his mission and that he has failed as a person." "The Blue Fairy told him to be selfless, brave, and true, and he was anything but that." "You're turning to wood..." "Pinocchio." "August heard of a man who went by "The Dragon,"" "who supposedly could cure any ailment." "$10,000 American dollars, and you shall never turn to wood again." "It was then that August met Tamara, who also sought The Dragon." "So what brought you to him?" "Cancer." "A very rare form." "Oh." "Sorry." "I'll be right back." "Will you watch this?" "Yeah." "He was so desperate that he was willing to steal from somebody who he thought at the time had cancer to get what he wanted." "Stop!" "That's mine." "I'm so sorry." "Hey!" "Uhh!" "Whatever it is you have..." "You deserve your fate." "In truth, Tamara had no need for the potion, but still, she was eager to possess it." "She is not sick." "She is actually after the magical abilities this man has." "Now that I have it," "I can't risk anyone else finding you." "And then we realize for reasons that have yet to be explored," "Tamara is really, really interested in the magic that's going on in Storybrooke." "Anyone in here?" "With no cure for his condition..." "Just me." "August retreated to Storybrooke and went into hiding." "August?" "August feels like he wasted his life." "This is my own punishment." "I did this to myself." "August, I'm so sorry." "I know." "But you don't have to hide." "There are people in Storybrooke who care about you." "But maybe some things you just don't come back from." "The last person August expected to see was Tamara." "Long time." "And when he learned of her plan, he was given an opportunity for redemption." "Emma, it's August." " August." " Listen to me." "I have to warn you." "August?" "I know what you did to The Dragon, and you are not going to harm anyone here." "I'm going to warn them." "No, you're not." "August makes the right choice, and he finally is selfless, brave, and truthful." " August!" " He warns Emma and everybody at the risk of his own life, and because of that, he gets a second chance at his life again." " Father?" " Pinocchio." "I'm a real boy." "I'm a real boy!" "The Blue Fairy gives him what he's earned, which is another go." "Do better this time, Pinocchio." "These characters all seem to be connected by love." "The search for love, the loss of love, the restoration of love." "Each character, you realize, is looking for their own happy ending." "Magic..." "Both light..." "And dark..." "Is a powerful force." "And it's finally arrived..." "In Storybrooke, Maine." "But for those who dare to harness its power..." "Hey, why haven't you called me back?" "Where are you?" "Be careful, for magic always comes..." " Right here." " With a price." "Sorry I'm late." "It's been a heck of a day."