ONCE UPON A TIME There Was A Split Personality

 

Episode 315 “Quiet Minds”

[Photos: ABC/Jack Rowand]

 

Rumpelstiltskin is back, but what about Neal? And what’s with all the filler conversation?

Emma went to the diner prior to it opening in order to meet with David, Mary Margaret, Regina, and Hook. They had one of their this-is-for-the-audience-in-case-they-weren’t-paying-attention discussions about what was going on. In this case, it was about the return of Rumpelstiltskin. They were trying to figure out how to go about finding him. Emma couldn’t figure out how his return was possible. (Hasn’t she been paying attention at all the last couple of seasons?) Hook noted that before they returned to the Enchanted Forest, Neal thought there might be a way to bring him back. Still, they didn’t know where Neal was, or what Zelena was planning with Rumpel. Zelena, on the other hand, was on a hill overlooking Storybrooke, held up Rumpel’s knife, and tried to summon him. No dice. So she sends a flying monkey after him. That seems to be the kick she’s on. When all else fails, send a flying monkey … so it can fail. Cut to Rumpel running through the woods in fear.

Back at Mr. Gold’s shop, our intrepid plot discussion group informed Belle that Rumpel was alive. They wanted her to keep an eye out for him. Hook volunteered to stay at the shop and protect her, in spite of the fact that Hook tried to kill Belle … twice. David told Mary Margaret that, in spite of being their best tracker, she should stay behind due to her pregnancy. The others went out on the hunt.

Flashback to the Enchanted Forest, in the castle of the Dark One. Belle and Baelfire were having a touchy-feely filler discussion about Rumpelstiltskin. Belle loved everything about Rumpel, including the stuff that made him the Dark One. Baelfire saw a good man buried underneath all that concentrated evil. Baelfire also had a necklace that was Emma’s and was supposed to be a symbol of their eternal love. The two went upstairs to look for a way to bring Rumpel back. Belle lit all three candles on a candelabra and it summoned in its flames and smoke a floating ghostly head. It was the Great and Powerful … Lumiere! (And it missed the ongoing Oz theme by that much.)

Back to Storybrooke in the shop. Belle was pulling down books and “handing” them to the guy with a hook. (See what I did there?) There was a noise of someone trying to barge in to the shop. In spite of the fact that the door was barricaded for her safety, Belle ran to the door thinking it was Rumpelstiltskin. Turns out it was Neal, who then fell on the floor right after barging in.

Emma returned to where she was staying and Henry was there doing homework or something. The One True Non-Believer (a complete one-eighty from the first season) informed her that he knew something was up that she wasn’t letting him in on. After she got a phone call, she told Henry that something was up. But it was too complicated to tell him right then. (That’s just like the story some parents tell their children who want to know where babies come from.)

Cut to the hospital. Neal was in a bed not knowing how he got back in Storybrooke. This was when he was told that his father might be back. Emma noticed a triangle burned into his palm. Neal asked Belle, David, and Hook to leave so he could have some private time with Emma. Sadly, he couldn’t see Henry since the boy only thought of Neal as the dead-beat dad. Neal was not happy.

Back in the castle, Belle was baffled by the smoky apparition known as Lumiere. He said that as his punishment by Rumpel, he could only appear when all three of his candles were lit. Lumiere pointed them to a book that hid the key to the Dark One’s vault in the hopes that Rumpel would return him to normal. Belle and Baelfire left for the evening to search the next morning. The candles magically relit, and in walked the Wicked Witch. She told him to do what she had commanded him to do.

Back to Storybrooke. Zelena visited Mary Margaret about her developing baby being unsettled. So Zelena made her drink … orange juice! (Apparently this was sinister.) Instantly, she felt better. Zelena put her hand on Mary Margaret’s belly and said, “I’m not going to let you have this baby without me.” (Dun, dun DUNNNN!)

Regina went to the farmhouse looking for the Wicked Witch. Robin Hood was already there. So they teamed up for the hunt. Then Hook visited Neal in the hospital. They had a conversation that was mostly filler and not all that relevant to the story. Neal headed off to look for his father. Emma and David were walking in the woods having a filler conversation of their own. They find Mr. Gold in pain from too many voices in his head. A flying monkey attacked and David began fighting it. Gold ran away, and Emma ran after him.

Regina and Robin Hood searched the farmhouse for clues while having yet another filler conversation, albeit with more sexual tension. Hood poured some whiskey for them to drink together. Regina noticed a dragon tattoo on his arm which is the same one her “soul mate” that Tinkerbell pointed out last season had. She left quickly. He called after her.

Emma was still searching for Mr. Gold when Neal appeared. They decided to search together.

Enchanted Forest time again. Belle and Baelfire walked through the woods to a clearing where the Dark One’s vault supposedly was. The candles were lit and Lumiere appeared. He told them where the vault was. Then they figured out he was lying to them. Lumiere said he was who he said he was, but it was the Wicked Witch who put him there and wants to control Rumpel with his dagger. After arguing briefly, Baelfire put the key into the vault symbol. It got hot and burned the triangle on to his hand. Then the vault opened, a black, oily ooze came out, and it formed into Rumpel.

Once again in the Storybrooke forest. Neal and Emma had (surprise, surprise) filler conversation. She got a call from Belle who explained the symbol on his hand was from a talisman to bring back the Dark One. (Apparently triangles aren’t indicators of anything else in that world, I would guess.) It required one life to be sacrificed in order to bring back another. Neal fell on the ground in pain and started to morph into Mr. Gold.

Back to the Enchanted forest. Rumpelstiltskin was back. He noticed Belle, then realized what happened to Baelfire. Enter the Wicked Witch, who simply gloated. Rumpel had to absorb Baelfire in order to save him, but had to drop the dagger in order to do so. The witch picked it up, giving her control over the Dark One. The witch said for Lumiere to kill them. Instead, the specter entrapped the witch so the others could get away.

Storybrooke forest time. Neal told Emma to use her powers to separate the two, even though it would mean Neal’s death. She reluctantly did, and they became two separate people again. Cue the touchy-feely crying moments as Neal returns the necklace to Emma and has a tender moment with his father before kicking the proverbial bucket. Rumpel tells Emma that Zelena is the Wicked Witch and that it’s too late to stop her.

Emma and David burst into the apartment where Mary Margaret was waiting for Zelena to get out of the restroom. They kicked in the door to see she wasn’t not there. Mary Margaret was then informed that Zelena was the Wicked Witch. Zelena appeared to Mr. Gold in the forest where he was looking over Neal’s dead body. They had some mutual gloating before Zelena sent Gold back to his cage. Cue a scene of everyone crying at the shop over Neal’s death.

Emma caught up to Henry by the pond in the park. She explained that he was right, she was hiding something. It wasn’t a case. It was about Henry’s father who was in danger and she was too late to save him.

And that’s about it. Feel free to have your own filler conversation.