Previously on Once Upon A Time...
When we face our deepest fears,
our true courage comes out.
When you used the hilt of your sword to vanquish your fears, she took it.
You're amazing!
You'll never get close to Snow White's baby.
It no longer matters. I have your beautiful brain.
The next time your lips touch Emma Swan's,
all of her magic will be taken.
Would you mind holding onto this for a bit longer?
Our mother taught me one thing,
never bring your heart to a witch fight.
I will get your heart.
Not today.
A gift.
From sister to sister.
What are you doing here?
I saw your tree, and I thought you could use something better.
Red apples are so sickly sweet, don't you think?
People tend to like something a little sharper.
And green apples are just bitter.
That's not yours.
Story of my life.
Why are you here?
Oh, sisterly concern, sisterly advice, you know.
Wanted to make sure you were all right after our little showdown.
I'm fine. Are you?
Getting there.
This is nice.
So luxurious.
You really don't appreciate what you have, do you?
Right, because I got everything and you have nothing.
If you want your superpower to be envy, go right ahead.
Envy's just another word for "ambition."
Well, that's just not true.
See, I strive for things. I work.
You?
You cast a curse that was just a fancy form of running away.
With every advantage,
you still turn your back on every opportunity for happiness.
You, Regina,
you just don't take risks.
You don't live your life. It's just such a waste.
I can see why our mother was so disappointed in you.
Disappointed in me?
She gave you away.
You have no idea what really happened.
That's exactly what's going to hurt you.
You didn't come here to give me sisterly advice.
Why are you really here?
So perceptive.
I'm here, Regina,
because I wanted to make sure that you weren't someplace else.
So I could take what I need.
Or, rather, the Dark One could.
Do you feel it, sis?
He's taking your heart.
Stop right there!
You know, this arrow never misses its mark.
If I could stand down, I would.
Heed me.
Give me the heart.
No.
And who is this?
Roland! Go back!
Come here, little boy.
Don't.
Please.
I don't want to.
I really don't.
Come closer, little boy.
Daddy!
And stop!
Daddy! Help!
I didn't want to do this, either. But...
It never misses its target.
And I've just changed the target.
If I drop my finger...
No!
I don't want to.
But I Will.
Daddy!
Wait!
Thank you. And I am sorry.
Truly.
Oh, it's okay. It's okay, boy, you're safe. You're safe.
You're okay. It's okay.
Go with Friar Tuck.
What happened?
I'm sorry. It's gone.
Was anyone hurt?
I want this one...
Luckily, no.
Again, I must apologize. You trusted me, and I let you down.
No, you didn't. Nothing is worth the loss of a child.
But now, we have a problem. I'm alive.
I don't follow.
She has my heart. Gold's taken it for her.
And since she hasn't crushed it and killed me,
that means she needs it for something far worse.
Worse than murder? What is she planning?
It doesn't matter.
Because I'm going to stop her.
This is all useless crap!
Hey, hey! Hey, stop! Stop it!
What are you looking for?
I need to destroy my sister. She has my heart.
Relax,
she can't control me with it. I protected it from that.
The problem is, I don't know what she's planning on using it for.
Which is why I need to take her out.
That's why I need your help.
What do you have here?
What do I have here?
Self-respect!
Why on Earth, or any realm, would I help you?
The woman who imprisoned me in a tower in her castle.
Then put me in an asylum for 28 years,
who's done nothing but mentally and physically torture me
ever since we've known each other.
Bookworm's got teeth.
Get out.
Yes,
I did all those horrible things
in the past.
But right now, I need something
to defeat the woman who's puppet-mastering your boyfriend.
She has your Rumple.
And unless you help me, you may never see him again.
I'm sorry, Belle.
I really, really am.
So I've been trying to match
the ingredients that Zelena's been collecting
to whatever spell she intends to cast.
But it would really help if I knew what is so special about your heart.
Does she just want it because you're sisters, or...
I have no idea.
The candle.
Where's the candle?
Here?
Not that, Liberace.
The two-sided candle Snow used to kill my mother. Where's that?
Its power is gone. Now it's just a relic.
Yes, that's it.
This isn't about how my mother died.
This is about how she lived.
There you go, Cora.
Whoop!
Cora! There she is.
And there you go!
Off with you!
Give us a dance, lassie. Come on!
Let it go, Charlie!
I'm so sorry!
Sit down, Cora.
You've already worked past the end of your shift,
and, I dare say, you've earned it.
Thank you.
You know, I've watched you this whole week that I've been here.
You work in a tavern, but you move like a lady.
I'm just a miller's daughter. I earn a little extra here.
Someone once told me to act like what you plan to be,
so I try to be a little better than what I am.
I wish I could stay.
But tomorrow I must press on.
I've already stayed longer than I planned.
Have you? Why?
I think you know Why.
Oh, that's... I didn't want you to...
The royal crest.
I wanted you to know me as me, not as Prince Jonathan.
Prince Jonathan.
With all the noblewomen,
I end up feeling like the last kernel of corn in the hen house.
But you? You put me in my place when I'm wrong.
And you are wrong pretty often.
This isn't how it's supposed to go, but...
I hoped to only ask this question once in my life,
but I'm going to ask it twice.
Once now,
with this ring made of straw.
But I will come back in two weeks,
and turn this ring into gold.
Well, I'll bring you a gold one.
And I'll whisk you away to the castle as Princess Cora.
Will you marry me?
Yes. Yes!
You've made me so happy,
oh, but these next two weeks are going to be torture.
Meet me at the crossroads, so we don't waste any time!
I'll be there! When do you have to leave?
Very early tomorrow, I'm afraid.
The tavern closes soon.
Well, then.
But seeing as how we are essentially married,
perhaps I could keep you company in your room?
I'd watch out for the apples in this house.
Aye.
It was a joke. Where's your sense of humor?
It left when the witch arrived.
Well, we're gonna take care of that. Regina said she has a plan.
I'm sure she does.
Emma, will you please tell your mother
that we're not gonna name your brother Leopold.
Uh, why not? It was my father's name.
People will make fun of him.
My father was a king.
Which is why nobody made fun of him.
Okay, what about Eva, after my mother?
I don't know how well that'll work with a boy.
It might not be a boy.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
I was making this special tea.
No, don't drink it!
It's a deadly poison for summoning the dark vortex.
I prefer Earl Grey.
The dark what?
Zelena came by this morning.
While the Dark One was stealing my heart,
she was here gloating.
She said that my weakness was that I don't know enough about her past.
So, I've decided to summon someone who does.
We have to talk to my mother.
Yes, I know it looks battered, but that's the point.
This will do perfectly.
Oh, don't be jealous.
What do you want me to do with this?
What do you think? Wear it.
I've got Regina's heart, Charming's courage,
and right in here, ready to be plucked,
your lovely brains.
We've got everything we need.
It's a good time to celebrate, don't you think?
You don't have everything.
The baby will come.
- Now, let's get you dressed. - I'm not your doll.
Aren't you?
I'm not using the dagger. But I could.
A certain baby could be here at any minute,
so I'm going to give you a choice
on how you want to live out the rest of this time.
One choice is screaming agony.
But the other is much more pleasant.
Choose well, doll.
It's a fairly simple ritual. But not often performed.
If it's easy to talk to the dead, why not do it more?
Well, because to do it, you need the murder weapon and the murderer.
What do we need to do?
Focus on Cora.
Welcoming thoughts?
Whatever you've got.
Is it...
We did it.
Cora?
Mother, can you hear us?
Cora, give us a sign.
Do not ignore me now, Mother!
Please, you owe me this!
Sorry, love.
That was me. I crossed my legs and bumped the table.
Do we try it again?
No, there's no point.
It worked. The portal opened,
but nothing came from it.
She doesn't want to talk to me.
Guess whatever secrets lie in her past, she wants to keep buried there.
Jonathan.
Jonathan!
Jonathan, it's me!
What happened? It's been two months!
My friends said it was a trick, but I said no.
There must be an accident or a misunderstanding,
that I'd find out at the castle!
And here you are!
You are a stubborn one, aren't you?
Are you
a gardener?
Well, I'm not Prince Jonathan.
Of course, there is no Prince Jonathan.
You lied to me.
You took my heart, my virtue, my...
My good name.
I took?
You practically forced it into my hands when you thought that I was a prince.
A harlot is a harlot.
I'm with Child.
I'm going to have a baby.
There may be no Prince Jonathan, but there is a prince,
and how will he feel when I tell him what you've done?
Give me enough to support this child.
You stole before, do it again...
Yeah, go ahead and tell him.
And good luck finding me.
Guards! Guards!
There's a scoundrel in the garden! Guards! Help me!
Are you all right?
What happened to you? You were calling for help.
He got away.
There was a bandit on the road. He took everything I had.
I'm so sorry to hear that.
Come with me. We'll do everything we can for you.
There's nothing you can do for me.
Allow me to try. I'm Prince Leopold.
Thank you, Your Highness.
Maybe Belle will have more luck.
There has to be something that can help us.
Right. My magic gets more powerful every day.
By the time this all goes down, I'll be ready.
Make sure that you are.
Come on, let's go.
You know what? Go ahead.
I'm gonna stay and talk to Regina.
I'll help clean up.
I'm not in the mood for a heart-to-heart.
I'm not sure that's physically possible right now.
You can help with the tea cups.
There it was, my oldest nightdress
the boys tied to the top of the windmill,
it's flapping in the wind for the whole village to see,
and I am the maddest little eight-year-old you ever saw.
Did you ever get revenge for that?
That's a long-term plan.
You see, there aren't that many young people in my village,
and, odds are, one of them will end up married to me.
That should do it.
You're wonderful.
And cold.
It's a bit frosty, but I'm okay.
Uh, I'd build a fire for you,
but I'm embarrassed to say I don't know how.
I do.
I'm going to be king.
I gather that happens when you're a prince.
And I want to do right by that gift.
I keep telling myself I wanna be a "man of the people,"
then I realize I can't even build a fire, a task any peasant can do.
Well, this peasant can fix that.
See? Just have to let air get in it.
When the throne becomes mine, I'll need to provide an heir of my own.
You'll have to marry.
And start a family immediately.
That actually sounds nice.
Anyone in mind?
Yes.
Princess Eva.
From the northern kingdom.
We've been engaged since her birth.
Is she nice?
I'll let you know after I meet her.
That's tonight.
You don't sound very excited.
I'm sure she's
a lovely choice.
Well, I'm sure she is. She's just not a choice.
I made.
What's the use of having power
if you can't choose whom to wed?
I want to apologize, Regina.
For Cora, for...
Murdering her?
Right. Yeah.
I don't take it lightly. I think about it every day.
So do I.
And when I do think about it,
I remember
that she did kill your mother.
So I'll admit that it's complicated.
Thank you.
I'm sure you had some things you wanted to say to her.
Yes, well,
I'm realizing
that my mother walled off a lot of her life from me.
She wasn't the warmest mother,
but at least I thought I occupied a singular spot in her heart.
A sister.
Zelena.
Why would she give her up?
Why would she make us strangers to one another?
What's that?
I have no idea.
It's upstairs.
It's in there.
There isn't anything in this room, it's...
Mother?
Boom. Granny's To Go.
I should open a franchise.
That's impressive.
You wanna see something really impressive?
That's bad form, Swan. Tampering with a man's hook.
Okay, seriously, what is up with you?
I apologize for my rudeness.
It's a long story. Too long for now.
Okay. Obviously something is...
Emma! Emma, I found it!
We have to tell Regina and the others.
Okay, Belle, slow down. What did you find?
Zelena's plan. I figured out what she's doing.
You should have a woman dress you more often.
Please, do have a seat.
I wonder how much "civility" I'll be asked to endure
before this evening's true purpose is revealed.
Relax.
You know I'm not one for subtlety.
How lucky for me.
Play coy if you like.
But we both know that it wasn't a dagger
that brought you into my kitchen.
Well, coercion takes many forms, my dear,
but I can assure you, I'm not here for the boiled peas.
No, you're here for my secret, aren't you?
Why a heart?
Why courage?
Why a brain?
Why this particular baby?
And more to the point, why is it of any interest to me?
Because
my secret will reunite you with your long-lost son.
My son is not lost.
He's dead.
You watched him die.
This isn't idle cruelty.
I promise you, he's alive and waiting for you to find him.
Find him where?
Not where. When.
I'm going to change the past.
No. Time travel spells have been written since the dawn of the dark arts,
but never cast.
It's against the fundamental laws of magic.
Magic doesn't fail.
People fail.
Laws only exist
until they're broken by someone superior.
You?
You've deciphered the laws of time travel.
When that baby's born,
I am going back to claim the life that I deserved.
And there's no reason that you can't come with me.
To find my boy.
Perhaps, never give him up.
This can't be.
The spell opened a limited portal for talking.
It's me. I killed Cora.
She sensed my presence
and found a way to bleed through into our world.
Watch out!
Back down, Mother!
You will answer my questions!
Now, tell me, what did you do to Zelena?
You're holding her off!
But I can't hold her forever.
Well, lo and behold.
It turned into gold after all.
How dare you!
You must have the brain the size of a pixie
to show your face in this kingdom.
Well, I had to see for myself
if the commoner who said "yes" to Prince Leopold
was the same one who said it to me,
several times.
In one night. It's quite impressive.
In two days, I will be a princess,
and you will bow down
and count yourself lucky to pull the weeds at my feet.
On!
Been practicing in front of the mirror, eh?
You're as much of a fraud as I ever was.
My love for Prince Leopold is true,
as is his for me.
But does he know how much of you there is to love?
Or were you hoping to keep our baby a secret?
What is it you want?
Gold? Jewels?
Mmm, yes, whatever you can get.
Enough for me to live happily for the rest of my days,
just like you wanted from me.
Bring it here, tomorrow night,
and your secret shall remain just that.
It will be done.
Now leave before someone sees you.
Princess Eva, your carriage awaits.
Princess Eva?
I'm coming.
I don't know how much longer I can hold her off!
Cora, I'm sorry.
Please, forgive me.
Save your breath. Your mother was nothing like my mother.
She only understands power and weakness.
But if she wants to kill you, she's gonna have to go through me!
This isn't about you.
This is about her and me!
It's time for answers, Mother.
What did you do to Zelena?
No!
My love.
You frightened me.
What are you doing in the Great Hall at this hour?
Well, the wedding won't plan itself,
and there's endless amounts of work to be done.
Is something wrong?
Word has spread throughout the castle
that you are with child.
My love,
I am so sorry
for the terrible trouble that this lie has brought upon you.
Gossip means nothing to me.
I've pledged to marry you, dear Cora,
and I will keep that pledge as long as I know I can trust you.
There is no baby.
Only my love for you.
You only love yourself.
What is she doing here?
Princess Eva is here because she overheard your rendezvous
in the garden yesterday.
And just as I said,
the miller's daughter is a worthless liar.
You awful child.
Yes, I was in the garden yesterday.
There was a man roaming the grounds.
I feared he might steal something, so I made him leave.
Whatever else Eva has told you
is the invention of a jealous brat who would say anything to marry you.
Check her pockets.
No.
There's nothing left to say.
You deserve better than her lies.
Leopold!
Don't let me go!
Come, Eva.
Help me break this terrible news to the King.
Today, your heart aches, Your Highness,
but I promise,
a more worthy wife will give you the child that you deserve.
One that will be pure.
Pure as snow.
Mary Margaret!
Hold on. I won't let you go!
What the hell was that?
Cora.
Is she okay?
Mary Margaret, can you hear me?
It's Cora. Not what we thought.
She's trying to communicate.
She was? What did she say?
Leopold,
my mother. My mother...
Shh. Mary Margaret, relax.
She's not making sense. We need to call a doctor.
If she knows something that could help us...
- Regina, it's gonna have to wait. - It can't wait!
If we wanna stop Zelena,
we have to know what the hell she's doing and why.
I can help with half of that.
What?
She's planning on going back.
Back in time.
Are you certain?
No one's ever been able to cast a spell to go back in time.
Well, clearly, she thinks she can succeed.
Hey, brains, courage, a resilient heart.
Those ingredients are in every time travel spell I've found.
But then why go back in time?
I mean, we have no idea what she's trying to accomplish.
I do.
She didn't...
Don't push yourself.
She didn't wanna give up Zelena.
She was forced to by... Mmm.
By my mother, Princess Eva.
She told a secret,
just like I did.
Wait, I thought our family were the good guys.
Life is too messy for it to ever be that simple.
You're saying if it wasn't for Snow's mother,
Cora would've kept Zelena?
She would've been tutored by Rumplestiltskin.
And all if it weren't for this Princess Eva?
So, that means...
Zelena is going back to kill my mother.
You'll have never been born.
I'm guessing this is where your help ends.
Now, think it through, Miss Swan.
That means you'll have never been born.
And neither will Henry.
And on this different path, Regina, you may not be either.
It's a good thing
no one has ever succeeded with this time travel nonsense.
The baby.
What?
That's what's missing. That's why none have succeeded.
Somehow, some way, our baby is the key.
Zelena went to a lot of effort to get close to our unborn child.
That's what she's after.
What is she going to do with it?
It doesn't matter. She's not gonna get it. We're gonna stop her.
And since our baby's not born, she's stuck.
And we have what we need,
time.
Just not very much of it.
One more. Big one!
Push!
Poor babe.
Life is cruel and full of betrayal.
That is my only lesson for you.
Now I must give you away.
To give me my best chance.
As long as I have you,
I can never be anything more than a miller's daughter.
Thank you.
For what?
For showing me something I should've seen long ago.
It's never easy for a man to admit he's wrong.
But I wronged you and hurt us both.
Those mistakes can't haunt us. Not anymore.
Soon, history will be wiped clean.
Until then,
a gentleman always makes amends
for his failings.
Sorry, love. Afraid not.
Never on the first date, eh, dearie?
You just wanted the knife.
I hope you enjoyed the taste,
because you just squandered your only chance to have your son.
My son gave his life
so I could stop you.
And I can see only one way to honor that sacrifice.
And that's by killing you.
Celebration's over.
Back to your cage, doll.
Need a hand?
Shouldn't you be on bed rest?
Dr. Whale just left.
He cleared me and the baby.
Apparently the human body
has a surprising tolerance for ghost possession.
And he told me I have a tough placenta,
which somehow came out creepy. May I?
Do you want to talk about it?
What's there to talk about?
You officially have a less damaging relationship with my mother than I do.
And you killed her.
Well, at least we know, you and me, our history,
it's more complicated than we thought.
I know how much you looked up to Eva.
I'm sorry you had to learn she had such darkness in her past.
That wasn't the woman I knew.
It makes me wonder what happened that changed her.
I suppose I'll never know.
Well, we can never know our past completely.
If we had, I probably wouldn't have spent so much time trying to kill you.
We would have found something to fight about. I mean,
I was such a brat.
Your mother's child.
I think we've wasted our last day being haunted by the past.
Now we can focus on being haunted by our
impending lack of a future.
Zelena isn't going to win. Not with all of us united against her.
Hope isn't easy when I know she holds my heart.
Which you'll get back, stronger than ever.
That's what it means to be the most resilient.
That could be another one of her tricks, too.
Regina, I've seen what life has thrown at you.
And you still fight against the darkness, every single day.
Sooner or later, your heart will find its way to happiness.
That doesn't feel possible.
But it is.
I know you.
And you feel things deeply,
with or without it.
You feel things with your whole soul.
Don't let anything hold you back.
My lady.
I'm sorry, I let you down.
Your heart was lost to Zelena on my watch.
But I promise you, I will get it back.