This week’s Once Upon a Time gave us the first real Storybrooke flashback when the show went back to 1983 and showed us the first week after the Evil Queen’s curse transported everyone to this little town in Maine.
A Camping Trip. It’s 1983 and Kurt and Owen Flynn are on a camping trip after the recent death of Kurt’s wife and Owen’s mother. The father and son duo are “out in the boonies” when a mysterious storm blows through the forest. But we know that this is no ordinary storm, it’s actually a cloud of magic forming the town of Storybrooke and transporting the fairytale characters to our world. When the Flynns wake up the next morning to discover that their car has been wrecked in the storm, they head for help. But they’re shocked to see a town that they swear wasn’t there before and they’re greeted by….Sheriff Graham.
Groundhog Day. When Emma came to Storybrooke and got time moving, that’s literally what she did. Before she did that, Storybrooke was just like the movie Groundhog Day. Every morning Regina would awaken in the Mayor’s mansion and go through the same motions. Each day, with a smile on her face, she would bring Mary Margaret to the hospital to watch her not be able to recognize a comatose David. Each day she believed that she had won. Then, one day, she was shocked to see a strange child in Granny’s Diner: Owen Flynn. Shocked that Kurt and Owen had discovered the town that she believed was undetectable, she ordered Storybrooke’s mechanic to get them up and running as soon as possible.
A Need for Henry. But boredom soon set in for Regina. She realized that everyone kept doing the same thing over and over, not because they wanted to but because her curse forced them to. Enter Owen Flynn, who caught Regina’s attention, enough so that she invited him and Kurt over for dinner. A simple question from Owen (“How come you aren’t you a mom? You’d be really good at it”) got her thinking. Her plan was basically to convince the father and son to stay, but when Kurt politely refused that offer, her new plan was essentially to steal Owen from his father. Kurt quickly discovered that something strange was happening in the town and tried to leave, but Regina and the Sheriff headed them off before they could escape. Regina gave Owen a choice to stay with her, but he said he didn’t want to do it this way. She let him leave, but Kurt was dragged back into town. Later, Owen returned to the outskirts of Storybrooke with outside police, but the town was cloaked once again. As he stood there crying, Owen promised his father that he would never stop looking for him. And so the rest of us understood Regina’s desire for Henry: it was a way to break out of the doldrum life of Storybrooke. Despite the fact that she had “won”, she didn’t truly feel satisfied. But her connection with Owen made her desire for a son of her own.
Blood Feud. In present-day Storybrooke, Mary Margaret was despondent after the part she played in Cora’s death. Meanwhile, Regina was preparing to bury her mother in her family crypt when Mr. Gold came by to pay his respects. She scoffed at his concern, because she was angry at him for his part in Cora’s death as well. He may have been protected from her vengeance, but Mary Margaret was not. So Mr. Gold headed to the Charming household to warn them about Regina’s plan. David demanded that Gold protect Mary Margaret to help repay her for saving his life. Later, an investigation by Gold and David revealed that Regina planned to concoct a spell to make Henry love her and it needed Mary Margaret’s heart. Henry stormed out of the house when the adults suggested that killing Regina might be the only way to make her stop, so Emma brought him to Neal in hopes that his father could convince him that heading to New York City was the best course of action. But Henry had another plan in mind: get rid of magic. He escaped his parents, grabbed some dynamite from the mines and headed to the well that Gold had used to bring magic to the town.
Having It All. When Regina got word of Henry’s plan (thanks to a tip from outsider Greg, who had spotted the boy in the woods) she headed out to the well and met up with him and his parents, who had also rushed out there. Regina pleaded with Henry to allow her to do the spell, but he wanted her to back away from hurting Mary Margaret. Despite Henry’s pleading, Regina refused to call off her plan for revenge, but she destroyed the spell. Later, Mary Margaret visited Regina and begged her to kill her. She told her that their feud had gone on long enough. Regina ripped Mary Margaret’s heart of her chest and paused when she saw a little black mark. Despite Mary Margaret’s insistence that Regina had done something to her heart, Regina told her she had done no such thing. “You darkened yourself. And once you blacken your heart, it only grows darker and darker. Trust me, I know,” Regina warned her. “I don’t need to destroy you, you’re doing it to yourself. And along the way you’ll bring down that perfect little family you fought so hard to reunite. And then Henry will be mine. You see? I can have everyone. Thanks to you.” And with that, Regina thrust Mary Margaret’s heart back into her chest.
A Long Held Promise. As we panned back from the scene on Regina’s porch, we spotted Greg, who was filming the entire event on his cell phone. As he got into his car to drive away we spotted a familiar keychain…one that had belonged to young Owen Flynn all those years ago. Greg is Owen and he has come to Storybrooke to find out what happened to his father.
Once Upon a Time is all new next weekend with an episode that features the return of August! You can watch a preview here. Don’t miss it.
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