MAGIC IS HERE!
Last season on Once Upon A Time we left off with Henry eating the poison apple but being brought back to life when Emma kissed him on the forehead. This in turn set off a chain reaction in which the curse placed on Storybrooke by Queen Regina was broken and all the townspeople began remembering their former lives and identities. Additionally, Mr. Gold was reunited with Belle and he threw a potion into a well, releasing a purple cloud throughout the town. Regina retreated back to her home, knowing full well the curse had been broken.
Once picks up with the townspeople coming to the realization of their identities and marching to seek vengeance on Regina for the curse. However, Emma stops them and promises to Henry that she will protect Regina. Mr. Gold visits Regina in jail and marks her with a talisman. The marking attracts the wraith, a monster that feeds on the souls of people. He then summons the wraith into the town with his Rumpelstiltskin dagger. After attacking Regina once, she devises a plan with Emma, Mary Margaret and David to send the wraith back to their world using Jefferson’s Mad Hatter hat because their world no longer exists, destroyed by the curse. The plan works but Emma and Mary Margaret are pulled into the hat with the wraith, supposedly into oblivion.
Magic is Back
Meanwhile in Fairytale Land we pick up on Prince Phillip rescuing Princess Aurora from her cursed sleep. Upon reviving her, he finds a talisman. However, his companion warrior warns him of being marked by the talisman, as it will attract the wraith. But it is too late; Phillip hides the fact that he was indeed marked for the wraith. The warrior with Phillip turns out to be Mulan, who has fought along with Phillip all along the way to rescue Aurora. While in the woods, Phillip disappears and Mulan realizes he was marked and has gone to meet his fate. Aurora sees that Mulan has actually fallen for Phillip as well and they go to rescue him. The wraith attacks and takes his soul, leaving a lifeless Phillip. They return him to where Aurora was placed during her slumber. Mulan reveals to Aurora that the world she knew has changed. A curse came and destroyed much of their world, leaving the tiny portion where they are. They were frozen for 28 years and unexpectedly brought back to life.
At the very end, Mulan and Aurora discover a pile of rubble that had not been there before. Upon uncovering some of the rubble, it is revealed that Emma and Mary Margaret are underneath. They have been transported to the Fairytale Land. The entire story of Sleeping Beauty had not been a flashback like we had become accustomed to, but rather it was in real time.
I’m personally thrilled with where the story is going. I was slightly worried about the curse being broken so soon into the series, but how could they honestly keeping moving forward with it? One of my main critiques of the first season was that I found the stories of Fairytale Land to be most interesting and the stories of Storybrooke to be rather bland. With this new plot twist everything will be meshed and mingled. I see it as a phenomenal decision on the part of the writers!
But what did you think? Were you shocked by the plot twist or did you see it coming from a mile away? Are you excited about the direction of season two, or worried it’s seen its best days? Leave your comments and let us know!