‘Once Upon A Time’ 2.21 Episode Recap and Review: Second Star to the Right

Once Upon A Time has finally answered a question that has been around since season one: Where did Bae go when he fell through the magic portal? Well, by using one of my favorite stories, with a twist, we got an indepth look on Bae’s life, as well as what he sacrificed for the family that took him in. All magic most certainly comes with a price! Not only that, but a massive confrontation takes place when Snow, Charming, Emma, and Neal find Regina close to death at the hands of Greg and Tamara!

London:

Bae (Dylan Schmid), after going through the magic portal and leaving Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle), is transported to London! For months, he is living in poverty until one day he breaks into a home for a few loaves of bread. He almost gets away with it, when he runs into a girl named Wendy Darling (Freya Tingley)! Being a kind-hearted individual, she offers Bae more to eat… Along with a place to stay! Weeks go on without her parents figuring it out, but when they do, they open their home to him. Bae finally gets the family he’s always wanted. Sadly, Wendy reveals that a magical shadow appeared… Bae begins to worry, knowing the horrible things magic can bring. In the end, Wendy goes with the shadow, much to Bae’s protests, and goes to Neverland! Yet, seeing as this is Once Upon A Time we’re talking about, things don’t turn out as planned. The shadow is, in fact, evil. It turns out that once you step onto Neverland soil, the Shadow will never let you leave. Wendy, being a girl, was the exception. The Shadow instead decides to take one of Wendy’s brothers. Bae, being brave and selfless, sacrifices himself and goes with the Shadow to Neverland… But once he’s almost there, he fights the Shadow and is dropped into the middle of an ocean… And is taken onboard Captain Hook’s ship!

Storybrooke:

Emma (Jennifer Morrison) is still very suspicious of Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green), and this suspicion only heightens when Regina (Lana Parrilla) goes missing! Automatically assuming the worst, Emma heads to Neal’s (Michael Raymond-James) place to investigate. All while Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming (Josh Dallas) seek help from Gold to try to locate Regina. Gold uses a spell to link Snow and Regina to each other, which isn’t a very good idea. Regina, in custody of Greg and Tamara, is brutally being tortured. The moment the spell ensues, Snow is overwhelmed with pain. She is unable to tell where Regina is, but she does give a key detail in helping to track her down. Sardines. Emma, Neal, Snow, and Charming locate where Regina is, but they are already too late. Regina is close to dead, while Greg and Tamara escaped… But not before having a dramatic showdown. Neal and Tamara face off, which results in Neal being shot. Emma almost captures Tamara, but is shocked when she unleashes a magic bean, sending Neal to the Enchanted Forest, and possibly to his death. Now, Tamara has escaped, and Emma is heartbroken over the loss of her one true love! As if the situation couldn’t get any worse, Regina reveals that Tamara and Greg have a magic diamond that could destroy Storybrooke, and everyone in it, once and for all. Uh oh.

Peter Pan is definitely my favorite story. I was a tad disappointed when the writers completely flipped the script and made Peter, or should I say his shadow, such a venomous character. Regardless, the twist was quite interesting to say the least. I want to see more of Wendy Darling and Peter’s shadow, though. Although there was so much happening in Storybrooke, I still found the ‘Neverland’ aspect far more interesting. Maybe it was the fact that I knew they wouldn’t kill off Regina that made her torture less interesting. Or perhaps it was the fact that it was really obvious that Regina had already killed Greg’s father, making his whole quest to find him lackluster. Or maybe it was the fact that everyone knew that Neal would eventually find out about Tamara’s treachery, and that we were all just waiting for it to blow over… The only shocking, and definitely heartbreaking part was when Neal was shot and fell through the magic portal. A part of me thinks, and hopes, that Neal somehow survived the trip. So many things involving his character were left hanging! (i.e. His relationships with Emma, Henry, and Gold!) Although this episode wasn’t all I had hoped, I’m still completely curious, and excited about the season finale next week! What’s going to happen?!

Rating:
B

Questions:

• Do you think Neal might still be alive?
• What will happen with Storybrooke? Will Tamara and Greg succeed in the quest to destroy magic?