Sunday night’s “Quite the Common Fairy” was full of surprises. We get a whole new take on Tinker Bell’s tale, discover Regina’s shocking soul-mate (twist!) and learn why Henry is so important to Peter Pan. Buckle up Oncers because we’re in for a wild ride.
Fairytale Land flashback: “Rage is all you have.”
Regina is married to King Leopold, but she doesn’t feel like a queen. While she has a gigantic dinner for one, Rumple drops in to make sure she stays on course. He teases her meal of “roast swan” saying she’ll get it later (Nice one, Rumpy!) Regina isn’t in the mood for jokes. She tells Rumple that she doesn’t want her dark magic lessons anymore. She feels caged in the castle and wants to have freedom and options. Rumple explains how Regina has misunderstood her place in this world: Regina is the feast that Darkness has tasted. Once Darkness starts a meal, it must finish it. Bottom line: Regina can’t “fly from her fate.” Rumpy cautions her that rage is all she has. Anger has become Regina’s driving force in life, steering her every move. After this bummer of a chat, Regina stands on the balcony in frustration and despair. She furiously bangs on the railing which breaks, sending her plummeting through the air. Luckily, Tinker Bell flutters over and saves Regina with a blanket of fairy dust. Tink has given Regina a second chance at life and she knows exactly what the heartbroken queen needs to be happy.
Tinker Bell tells Regina that she needs to find love again. Everyone has a soul-mate out in the world and pixie dust can lead Regina to hers. Finding her perfect match will give Regina the Happy Ending that everybody longs for. Regina scoffs at her offer, but Tink encourages her to have a little faith; “I’m a fairy, try believing in me.”
That night Tinker Bell returns to her floral home. The Blue Fairy chastises Green for being late and breaking the rules, including dust discipline. Tinker Bell argues for Regina’s case and tells Blue that she can still be saved. However, Blue believes that Regina is way beyond redemption because she is surrounded by darkness. Blue orders Green to back off and says she will personally oversee the rest of her fairy training. When Tink asks for some pixie dust, Blue turns her down, saying she will have to earn it. Despite Blue’s warning, Tinker Bell follows her instincts. She steals some pixie dust and visits Regina.
Tinker Bell takes Regina on a short flight over the Enchanted Forest and follows the trail of pixie dust that leads them to Regina’s soul-mate. They land at a tavern door and peer inside. Tinker Bell says the man with the lion tattoo is Regina’s match. (Bonus points for those of you who recognized who this was just from the back of his head. Even when I thought it looked like him, I wasn’t sure if ‘OUAT’ would’ve taken it there.) Tink leaves Regina, assuming she will embrace her Happing Ending and meet the new love of her life. Unfortunately, Regina chickens out and runs back to the castle. Tinker Bell checks on Regina the next day, expecting to hear the good news.
Regina crushes Tinker Bell’s hopes and dreams. She calls her a terrible fairy, saying that the man was horrible. Tinker Bell calls her out on being afraid, saying it is okay. Tinker Bell explains how she went out on a limb for Regina and was trying to be her friend. But Regina doesn’t have friends, so she tells the “moth” to fly away.
When Tinker Bell returns home, the Blue Fairy says her actions cannot be forgiven. Tinker Bell went too far and betrayed Blue’s trust. Since the Blue Fairy no longer believes in her, Tinker Bell loses her wings. I have a feeling that a little applause won’t be enough to help Tinker Bell get her wings and magic back.
Neverland: “Magic is dying and you, Henry, need to save it.”
The gang realizes that Peter Pan keeps moving his camp because once they start getting on the right track, the target shifts to the other side of the island. Hook says they need to find Tinker Bell because Pan trusts her. She can figure out where Pan is and sneak them into his camp. Plus, her pixie dust could be really helpful since it is like nuclear fairy dust. Regina is pretty positive that Tinker Bell will not help them save Henry, so she reaches out to Emma.
Regina wants to combine her magic with Emma’s like they did when they saved Storybrooke. Emma refuses because using magic comes with a price. However, Regina believes that not using magic in this case will come with a greater price. She then teases Emma for starting to think too much like her boyfriend, Hook. Oh no she didn’t! Mary Margaret swoops in to Emma’s defense saying the poor girl just lost Neal, so that biting remark was totally uncalled for. Meanwhile, Hook and Charming share a surprisingly sweet moment.
Hook saw Charming get struck with some Dreamshade and asks to see how bad it is. The poison is spreading quickly and it looks like Charming has weeks at most. Hook urges Charming to tell his wife the truth because it would not be fair to keep this kind of secret from Snow. However, Charming wants to hold out a bit longer in hopes of getting pixie dust from Tinker Bell to heal his wound. So the group makes head way to Tinker Bell’s tree-house, hoping for the best.
Regina starts falling behind the closer they get to Tink’s, so Emma asks exactly what Regina did to her. Regina chalks it up to a “complicated history” and fears Tink won’t help if she sees Regina is part of the pack. She really wants to pull through for her son and needs “Operation Henry” to be a success. It is always nice to see Regina’s sensitive side shine through in these moments. She really does love Henry and has been genuinely worried about him. Sadly, that does not change her nasty past and she admits it. What did she do to scorn Tinker Bell? Regina confesses, “What I always do.” So Emma leaves Regina behind and rejoins the rest of the gang.
While, Hook & Co. check out Tinker Bell’s empty nest, the bitter former fairy confronts Regina. Tink has been tracking her for a while and Regina surprisingly embraces Tink’s fury. Tinker Bell knows all about Henry and refuses to help Regina because of what happened the last time she extended her kindness. This time around Tinker Bell shows how much the idealistic and hopeful fairy has changed. Thanks to Regina’s selfishness, Tinker Bell lost her wings and all of her magic power. There’s no more fairy dust or pixie dust. Tinker Bell holds a Dreamshade coated arrow to Regina’s neck and threatens to dig in. Regina asks how Tink got like this and the answer is simple: she met Regina. In a surprisingly bold, desperate and risky move, Regina literally places her life in Tinker Bell’s hands. She rips out her heart and gives it to Tinker Bell, taunting her to reveal who she truly is. Tinker Bell squeezes her heart and demands to know why Regina lied about meeting her match. Regina thought that being happy was a terrible fate. She was afraid to let go of her anger because it was all she had. Without anger, Regina would be weak. A lesson she clearly learned from Cora and Rumple. Regina picked revenge over hope and now has a dark heart because of it. If Tinker Bell kills Regina, she will suffer the same fate. Regina urges Tink to choose love over revenge and help them find Henry. Tinker Bell won’t kill Regina, but she won’t help her find Henry either. It is too late to save him because he has been with Pan for too long. Tinker Bell makes Regina think that Henry is on his deathbed with Pan, but we know that is not the case.
During Operation Henry, our little hero has been trying to figure Pan out. When Peter forces Henry to shoot an apple (He doesn’t like apples- it’s a family thing. Too cute!) off of Felix’s head, Henry aims for Pan instead. Peter admires Henry’s moxie and explains why the boy is so important. Henry is a true believer. It was no coincidence that he ended up being the product of True Love and Dark Magic. Pan says that magic is dying throughout the universe and Henry to needs to save it. Henry says his mother is the “Savior,” but Pan disagrees. Henry brought Emma to Storybrooke to break the curse, but she wouldn’t have been able to break it without Henry. Henry is the real Savior and he was born to bring magic back everywhere. Peter Pan believes in Henry and his destiny. To prove his point, Peter hands over the scroll that has been around ages. Henry drops it in disbelief, which reminds Pan of Baelfire’s behavior while he was Neverland. Eventually Henry opens the scroll and sees a sketch of his face. Now we know why Peter Pan would never kill Henry, unfortunately, his family is none the wiser and they will stop at nothing to save him.
Tinker Bell and Regina meet up with the rest of the gang and they beg for her help. Tink says she can’t be of much help anyway because she lost her pixie dust and wings when people stopped believing in her. Mary Margaret says she still believes in Tinker Bell and offers her some incentive to help. If Tink gets them to Pan’s camp, then she can return home with them when they go back to Storybrooke. Tinker Bell agrees on those terms and everyone cheers up, except for Charming. He is running out of time, but doesn’t have the heart to tell MM the truth. Especially when she tells Charming that as long as she is with him, she will always feel at home and be happy. As they say, “home is where the heart is.” But what happens when that heart stops beating? Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
Fairytale Land: “I believe.”
Neal knows exactly why Peter Pan took Henry. He tells Robin Hood about Pan’s quest for the heart of the truest believer and says how nasty he can be. While Neal searches for a portal, Robin’s band of Merry Men walks in. An adorable little boy runs into Robin’s arms and we get our first look at Roland, Robin Hood and Maid Marian’s son. In an awkward turn of events, Neal uses this sweet reunion to his advantage and asks to use Roland as bait. Robin explains that he lost his wife, so the boy is all he has left. In a rather low-blow, Neal reminds him that Rumple once saved both his wife and son. Roland is Neal’s only chance at getting to Neverland and being with Henry and Emma again. He just needs Roland to stand in front of the window and say, “I believe.” That will summon Pater Pan’s shadow and Neal can hitch a ride to Neverland. Robin agrees to let Roland call out for the shadow just once and if it doesn’t work Neal will have to find another way.
Mulan sets the stage so that Roland will be completely protected when the shadow arrives. Neal still regrets not telling Emma how much he loves her. He should’ve never let her go. He may be able to save Henry and Emma, but he isn’t sure if that means they will automatically be one big happy family. He offers Mulan some advice, “When you love someone you don’t keep it in. You say it.” With everything in order, sweet little Roland steps in front of he window and says, “I believe.” After a couple minutes the shadow appears and grabs the boy. Mulan slices his arm, forcing him to let Roland go. As the shadow flies away, Neal jumps out the window and grabs his leg. With Neal’s mission accomplished, Robin Hood thanks Mulan for helping and protecting Roland. He offers her a place among his band of Merry Men, but she has something else in mind.
Mulan goes to see Aurora. We all expect her to ask for Phillip and confess her love for him, but she’s there for Aurora instead. Hmm. Maybe she wants to tell Aurora first, girl-to-girl, rather than going behind her back…right? Nope. Before Mulan has a chance to say anything, Aurora bursts with her big news: she’s pregnant! Mulan’s expression barely masks her heartbreak. Instead of declaring her love, Mulan tells Aurora that she will be joining Robin Hood’s band of Merry Men (and now a warrior princess). There has been some chatter online over this shocking scene. Originally, we were certain that Mulan loved Prince Phillip, at least that’s how it seemed in the Season 2 premiere, “Broken.” Maybe Mulan fell in love with Aurora on their mission to save Phillip. Perhaps she had grown to love Aurora from the stories she heard Phillip tell when they fought to rescue the princess. Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis said over the summer that they would reveal a gay character this season. Are you surprised that it is Mulan? Did you see any signs of this last season?
Neverland: “Welcome home, Baelfire.”
The shadow drops Neal in the middle of the jungle and flies away. Felix greets Neal, saying that Pan will be so happy to see him. This is going to be a rough and lonely journey for Neal. Hopefully he’ll be able to find Emma and the gang before he gets tangled in Pan’s wicked web. Speaking of the gang, there is still one more shocker left.
As Tinker Bell leads them to Peter Pan’s camp, she catches up with Regina and asks if she ever went back for the man with the lion tattoo. Regina did not, so Tink calls her selfish. Regina ruined two lives that day by denying the mystery man his Happy Ending too. So who could the man be? It’s Robin Hood!
Well, the lion tattoo makes sense, since Robin Hood was friends with and served King Richard the Lionheart. It would be great to delve deeper into Robin’s past before he met Maid Marian. However, I’m not so sure how I feel about this match. Robin Hood has always been with Maid Marian. It is an iconic romance, which feels kind of tainted now. She sadly died, depriving Robin Hood of a completely “Happy Ending,” but does that matter if they shared True Love? Was Marian already dead when Regina saw him at the tavern? Is that why they would’ve made such a great match? They’ve both loved and lost. This also brings up another interesting question: how many times can you find True Love? If Charming dies from the Dreamshade, could Snow find True Love again with someone else? How do you feel about Regina’s love interest? Did you see this coming at all?
Share your thoughts below and stay tuned for more news!
‘Once upon A Time’ airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC.
