‘Once Upon A Time’ 3.07 Episode Recap and Review: Dark Hollow

Once Upon A Time‘s “Dark Hollow” was a mostly Belle-centric episode where the character finally got to be more independent from Rumple, despite that everything she was doing was for him.

This was a surprisingly good episode, and if it showed anything – it was that Belle loves Gold and he loves her. Gold really believes in the strength of their love. That’s what true loves do, believe in each other.

The biggest twist that this episode had was the revelation that those two mysterious figures were actually John and Michael Darling, the brothers of Wendy. They have been working for Pan for a long time in hopes of rescuing their sister – A completely different interpretation of the Wendy and Peter Pan relationship, compared to the classic Disney movie.

Aside from what is happening in Storybrooke, Hook has vowed to play fair when it comes to winning Emma’s heart. Will he be able to stay true to his word or will he be compelled to revert to bad habits to win the heart of Emma? It looks like Emma has more trust in Neal than in Hook. By the way, Henry will probably struggle with wanting his parents together, what young child doesn’t so he can’t be faulted for that.

The pacing in this episode was faster than what we usually get with love triangles on other shows. However, they had a twist which was Emma basically telling them that she has only one goal in mind: to find her son.

With Neal in the team, they finally have a way to leave the island. Theirs plan consists in Snow and Charming looking for Tink, and dealing with their problems, which with the sincerity that Charming should have had before, they get fixed.

Hook, Neal and Emma are decided to catch Pan’s shadow, despite their triangle love, they finally do it. Emma continues discovering the magic she has inside, being the key to complete the plan. The battle against the shadows was pretty good.

Ariel comes back and all seems to go in the good way. Regina demonstrate that she is reliable and gives Ariel the chance to have legs whenever she wants. But they have a new goal, save Wendy.

Elsewhere in the island, Henry drops into the trap of Pan, being closer to become a lost child.

Will he be rescued in time?

Best Quotes:
-Grumpy to Belle: “You might want to believe a little harder.”

-Ariel says to Belle: “He’s a prince… The kind with legs.”

-Hook confesses to Emma. : “So when I win your heart, and I will win it…”

-Snow to Charming: “Loves means being together”, and his answer: “I know. It also means sacrifice”

Things to Ponder:
-If Pan can tell when someone leaves Neverland can he not tell that someone captured his shadow? There is also the question of how he is even communicating with the Darlings in Storybrooke.

-Wendy’s younger brothers are now physically older than she is.

-Pandora’s box, will be interesting to see how the box will be used and if we’ll ever see how it ended up in Gold’s shop.