ONCE UPON A TIME There Was a Darling Situation

Episode 307 “Dark Hollow”

Bad form on my part, missing the recap for “Ariel”. And yes, this one is terribly, horribly late. Moving forward! New characters introduced tonight — well, older versions of characters we’ve seen.

We’ve got three intersecting plot threads in this hour — Rumpelstiltskin and Regina sending Ariel back to Storybrooke to retrieve Pandora’s Box, Henry getting snookered into an escapade to “save” Wendy by restoring magic to Neverland, and the Rescue Rangers all squabbling amongst themselves like children for way too long.

Mr. Adair — who contributes to our recaps for The Walking Dead — posted on Twitter that he’s getting tired of Neverland, and I have to agree that this segment of the season has gone on far too long. And a lot of it has been filler and backstory and more filler. When the “Five Days Ago” card popped up, and we jet back to the ship leaving Storybrooke, I had to shake my head because it feels like we’ve been in Neverland for weeks, not days. And a lot of scenes and dialogue are just variations on a theme, with angst. And that only goes so far.

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But this week, we get back to Storybrooke, and the townspeople there are working with Gold’s potion to put a protective spell over the area so no one else gets in. Only they don’t quite make it in time, and two young men trying really hard to deliver a Winchester Brothers vibe manage to get into town before the spell takes hold. These two, of course, are Bad Guys working for Pan, and they show up in Gold’s shop just as Belle and Ariel have found Pandora’s Box.

This would be John and Michael Darling.

Turns out, the brothers are Thralls for Pan because the little imp has Wendy as his prisoner, and the Darling boys are locked — they think — into service for Pan indefinitely. But Belle convinces them that the box has the power to defeat Pan and save Wendy, if Ariel can get it back to Rumpelstiltskin in time.

So we have another character to rescue — Wendy Darling, who now looks quite a bit younger than her younger brothers. Being on Neverland, she hasn’t aged. Pan uses her as a way to manipulate Henry. More on that in a moment.

The Rescue Rangers are feeling the effects of the Echo Cave — the confessions have hit hard, especially with Snow White, who’s been all ready to get back to Storybrooke and make a baby. And now she can’t. Maybe. It’s still not even mid-season, after all… She’s ticked at Charming not for keeping his poisoning from her, but not giving her the chance to choose staying on the island forever. Of course she’d stay with him. But she’d rather be the one to choose, not have the choice made for her.

Choices also come into play as Emma goes off with Neal and Hook to capture Pan’s shadow. In the middle of the jungle, Hook tells Emma he won’t stop fighting for her affection (he has to do this now?). Of course, there’s going to be school playground squabbling between the two guys, because… well… soap opera-y stuff.

All that puts them in danger from Pan’s shadow and other shadows in thrall, who attack the three before they can light the candle in Neal’s coconut star map. Emma manages to twitch her nose (well, OK, but it would have been fun) and lights the candle using magic. Pan’s shadow now firmly inside the coconut, the Love Triangle (should be a band name) meet the Charmings back at Tinkerbell’s Treehouse (kid’s show?) for a final strategy meeting.

Rumpelstiltskin, now armed with Pandora’s Box, figures he and Regina have a way to defeat Pan without dying, and Regina — in a fit of honest dealings — re-charms Ariel’s bracelet so she can now have legs whenever she wants, and releases her to go fetch Prince Eric back in Storybrooke.

Now, back to Wendy. Pan forces her (?) to pretend she’s sick. She’s dying because the island is losing its magic. Maybe because she’s a girl? Why wouldn’t anyone else be sick? And speaking of girls in Neverland, where’s Tiger Lilly??  — I digress. Wendy’s “illness” tugs at Henry’s heartstrings, and he’s determined to be the hero and save her. This, after how many episodes not wanting to help Pan — which is essentially the same thing. Oh, for the love of a woman… To carry out this daring rescue, Henry must go into Skull Island.

And wow, does Henry know his fairy tales, doesn’t he? It struck me when he recognized the island, that he’s been familiar with every single fairy tale on the planet so far… it’s his superpower?

So, all of the pieces are in place — finally! — which means maybe now we can finally have the episode that gets us off the bloody island? Please?

[Official Show Site at ABC]     [Previous recap: “Quite a Common Fairy”]