In STORYBROOK

The show opens with Regina dreaming of a lynch mob that included all of our favorite characters. Henry tells her, as she is strapped to her dying apple tree,that she did this to herself and then Emma says "Off with her head".

That will wake ya up!

Regina visits with Gold who tells her that while he is sorry about her dilemma (mostly Emma), he cannot help. She cannot take her out or the curse will be broken. In essence, just like in her dream, her hands are tied.

Regina puts a white rabbit card on Paige's bike, who I thought was named Grace in STORYBROOK, and the Mad Hatter returns. Jefferson visits with Regina who offers him a deal. A trip back to their world and then upon their return she will let Grace remember him. He says no. She doesn't remember, he forget. Done. Deal.

So after scrounging up some magic, including the ring Daniel gave her. They are able to activate the hat just enough to retrieve a poisonous apple. This was slightly past my realm of believability but I am willing to go with it.

August has giving up. He is slowly becoming wooden again. He shows Henry and tells him that he plans on spending whatever time he has left with Marco, his dad.

After having a true mother and daughter spat, Emma seeks council from Dr. hopper, which strikes me as odd, but he tells her that she doesn't stand a chance trying to take Henry from Regina.

Emma decides to leave. She offers a parlay of sorts to Regina, who graciously agrees to allow her to remain in Henry's life. Regina gives her an apple tart as a going away present. A poisonous apple tart.

Henry comes over to see Emma at her house and Emma tells him she must go. Henry says why won't you believe. He warns her about the tart. She doesn't listen. He tells her that he didn't want it to come to this but it has too and he eats the tart.

Henry collapses.

In FAIRYTALE land

James is captured by King George. It looks like he is about to be beheaded, but at the last moment the guillotine is turned into water by the EQ. She offers whatever Midas would have given the kingdom and more.

Why? Asks George. So he can help me destroy Snow White.

Snow has quite the army of misfits. There is Granny and Red and all the dwarfs. At one point she has all the fairies in the land and they decide to rescue James.

Of course, it is a trap and after some much cheesy fighting scenes, Snow reaches Charming James in the prison, but alas he isn't there. It is just him in the EQs magic mirror.

The queen offers a parlay and tells Snow to meet her where it all began. They meet at the stable and she tells snow that Daniel is dead and that it remains her fault. Snow is shocked. She says, you took my father. Can we call it even. EQ says no. We can't. Se offers her the same poisonous apple that is later retrieved by Jefferson.

Eat this and remain trapped in your body forever or I will kill your true love. Um... Are those my only choices?

Just like the traditional fairy tale, Snow eats the fruit and collapses.

Next week is the series finale... What will become of Henry?

This week we final learn just why Regina hates Snow and quite frankly, it's a little justified.

IN STORYBROOK:

It opens with Regina fiddling with a simple ring and we flashback a week and hear how she and Gold came up with a devious plan to get rid of Kathryn.

Back in the present, David whines a lot about Mary Margaret, Regina spends what too much time mocking MM and I continue to be amazed by the fact that Emma gets paid to be a Sheriff.

Sydney brings Emma flowers because he has nothing else to offer. Gold sets up a pretrial interview with the DA who happens to be King George or Charles Widmore depending on the show.

August tells Emma that when he gets writer's block he starts at the beginning and retraces his steps. She heads back to the dig where Ruby unearthed Kathryn's heart. She finds a piece of a shovel. She and August break into Regina's house and located the broken shovel. Like any good sheriff, she returns the next day with a warrant.

The shovel has been replaced.

She accuses August of being a traitor, but finds out Sydney is the traitor. She located a bug in the flowers he brought her.

Mary Margaret apologizes to Regina saying that she is sorry for whatever she has done to her. Apology not accepted.

In a major turn of events, just as MM was headed to court Kathryn is found alive in the alley.

IN FAIRYTALE land....

Regina is actually likeable and somewhat friendly and nice. Her mother on the other hand is pure evil. Regina is in love with Daniel, the stable boy. She is afraid to tell her mother.

I can't say I blame her as she is a wicked sorceress with a very bad temper.

Maxine from Wizards of Waverly Place comes barreling through her land on a runaway horse. Regina saves her.

Because she saves her, the king proposes. We learn that Maxine is really Snow White, the motherless daughter of King Leopold (whom I just love). Regina's mother accepts on her behalf and Regina is devastated. After all her true love, the stable boy, has not yet been capture by the dread pirate Roberts.

Regina rushes off to tell Daniel they must flee. Snow witness this and is very upset. Regina consoles her and tells her some ridiculously Disney-like crap about true love and how love is the most powerful magic of all and it creates happiness.

Honestly, I gagged a little.

Snow promises she will never tell anyone that Regina loves Daniel, but her cuteness is no match for Regina's evil mother, who gets the truth out of Snow after just one commercial break.

Regina's mother pulls Daniel's heart from his chest while Regina looks on. She tells her that love is weakness and that power endures.

Snow is surprised to learn that Regina is now marrying her father. She tells Snow that Daniel ran off and that she is surprised to realize she does, indeed, love King Leopold. Snow is happy. Snow tells her that she knew her mother would understand about how love works and Regina realizes the child did not keep her promise.

She has been dreaming of making her pay ever since.

We are on hiatus until April 22nd but return with a little more info on Rumple and the mysterious, yet oh so sexy, August.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this week's episode as I have yet to figure out how I feel about Sydney Glass.

In Storybrook, the episode opens with Henry trying to bury his beloved storybook at his play castle. Last week's storm apparently damaged the play area and when Regina find Emma and Henry there she blasts Emma for allowing him to play in such a dangerous area.

The foreshadowing begins when Regina tells Emma to not allow her feelings for Henry to cloud her judgment.

Regina whisks Henry off to see Doc Hopper and Emma runs into Sydney at the diner. He is drunk and says he can help her bring down the mayor. She takes his card but tells him to go home.

Apparently just to keep the ratings up, we briefly see Mary Margaret and David on a secret picnic. We are not certain how far their relationship has developed, but we know there is a lot of kissing and some wine involved.

Curiousity gets the better of Emma and she contacts Sydney to find out what dirt he has on the mayor. Together this dumb and dumber team manage to bug the mayor's office, follow her to the woods, get their breaks cut, learn that she bought land from Gold, break into her office and make fools out of themselves at the city council meeting.

They accuse Regina of stealing money from the city to build a house and she counters with no it's a safe playground. She bulldozed the other playground and Henry's book went AWOL earlier in the episode.

Seriously?

It looks like Regina wins again. Just when you think Sydney may not be a scoundrel, we learn that he is working on gaining Emma's trust so he can report his findings to Regina. Mirror, mirror, who's the most annoying of them all?

In Fairytale land...

We learn that mirror mirror was a genie in a lamp. Um...this was a stretch for me. When Snow's dad found him and imediately wished for his freedom, I was really concerned about this storyline,

When he gave him his wishes and Genie said that no good has ever come from any of the wishes he has granted I began to wonder if that too was some foreshadowing.

Snow's dad brings the newly freed genie home for diner and introduces him to snow and Regina. I thought it interesting that EQ is Regina in both storybrooke and fairytale land.

Regina knows immediately that the genie is in love with her. I think the king suspects. Genie give the queen a mirror so she can always see herself they way he sees her...as the fairest in the land.

The king finds her diary and it details the gift exchange. He asks the genie to find out who gave his wife the mirror. He locks Regina in he quarters. Regina's father gives the genie a box and asks him to deliver it to her.

It is filled with Agraba Vipers. One bite and you die. Sort of like an apple but different. She tells Genie that her father has sent them to allow her to escape to another life. He suggests that she live and the king die.

He takes the snakes to the kings quarters and releases them. He kills the man who set him free. The king dies wishing he never made that wish.

The genie is happy, but soon he comes to find out that the queen used him. She knew that since the snakes were from his homeland he would be blamed. He takes out his lamp and decides to use his last wish to keep them together.

Seriously? He told the king that no good has ever come from any wish he has ever granted. The king's wish was selfless yet he died by the genie's hand. Yet still the genie wishes to be able to see his love everyday.

Hence, he wishes himself into the mirror.

Very reflective.

The episode ends with Emma keeping her distance from Henry and the book of fairytales ending up in the hands of our mysterious Storybrooke visitor. This fact lends me to believe even more that perhaps he really is one of the Brothers Grimm.

Next week Emilie de Ravin joins the cast as Belle. Fellow Losties like myself will remember her as Claire! SO EXCITED to see the chemistry between Emilie and Robert Carlyle, who will be portraying a Rumplelized version of the Beast!

Tonight's episode centers around the two stupidest kids ever written about and that's saying a lot...I mean I've read the Twilight series.

In Fairytale land..

Gretel and Hansel are helping their dad chop down a tree for some fireword. He gives Gretel a compass and says "a family always needs to find one another". Then he promptly gets lost.

Who should find the twins? You guessed it...the evil queen wearing one of the most fantastic hats EVAH.

After showing off with some magic and just generally rubbing everyone the wrong way, EQ tells the children she will help them find their daddy..but first they must help her.

Red flag!

I mean she just disappeared, reappeared and had the tree roots hold you down. What could she possibly need your help with?

Dumb and Dumber agree to wait until night to steal a satchel away from the blind witch. Seriously? Why do you gotta wait till night? She's blind!

EQ reminds them to eat NOTHING.

Now I ask you if a evil magic queen told you that you needed to steal a satchel for her if you ever wanted to see your father again and that as long as you didn't eat anything all would go well...would you eat a freakin' cupcake? I think not.

Guess what Hansel did?

They both get busted by the blind witch and she just can't wait to eat them. Personally, I was rooting for the witch mostly because Hansel's hat was oh-so-annoying.

The brats escape and shove the witch into her own oven. They return the satchel to the queen. Inside it...an apple. I'm surprised Hansel made it all the way to the castle without eating it.

The queen rewards them. She offers them riches beyond their imagination. Their own rooms. Their own servants. But, alas, all they want is their father. EQ is notibly annoyed and covers them in black smoke and sends them to a land far far away.

When the guards fetch dearest dad from the dugeon she asks him why his children picked him over her. "because we're family and family always finds one another.". She sends him to far far farther away land and says "have fun looking"

Meanwhile...back in Storybrooke.

Henry runs into Ava and Nicholas Zimmer aka Hansel and Gretel who promptly set him up to be arrested for shoplifting. Let's be clear--that doesnt look good when your "mom" is the mayor and your mom is the sheriff.

Turns out Ava and Nicholas are homeless and do their best to trick Emma who doesnt fall for it. Instead she takes them to Mary Margaret's appt. with her. I mean that seems like a bit of an overstep. I really hate when my house guest brings in stray cats let alone stray kids.

Emma, who continues to be delusional, is determined to locate their father. Ava says maybe this will help and gives her a compass. Um...weird.

Emma takes the compass to Gold/Rumple and he knows exactly who bought it. Michael Zimmer. Twelve years ago and he found that information in 2 minutes. Perhaps Rumple should work for the government.

Turns out he's the towns only mechanic and he's not a big fan of children. He suggests she take them to boston and seperate them. "I know nothing about being a father."

Emma feels sad so when Henry asks her about his father she tells him that he was a heroic fireman who died saving others. (she later admits to Snow that she made that up.)

The Mayor is pushing for Ava and Nicholas to go to Boston. And just when it looks like Emma is headed to Boston with those kids and her tail between her legs, she fakes an engine breakdown and calls the only Mechanic in town.

Their father.

He decides to keep em.

When Emma returns she tells Snow that she is excited that daddy had a change of heart. She wonders why it only took 20 minutes to find their dad and she can't find hers in 30 years.

She tells MM/snow that Henry thinks she is her mother. Snow jokes about her having Snow's chin.

Back outside on Sheriff patrol, Henry brings Emma a slice of pumpkin and they get a first hand view of the sexy new stranger who arrived in town on a motorcycle. Hmmmm....who could it be?

A new love interest or the big bad wolf whom ironically the Sheriff sent right to Grannie's house.

Next week Charming returns and I am sooo happy,

This week's episode left my head spinning and me begging for more. Unfortunately OUAT isnt't storming back until January 8th. This allows all of you not yet watching ample time to catch up.

This week's episode finally confirmed that our hot sheriff is, indeed, the Huntsman from the Snow White saga.

In Storybrooke, Graham wrestles with the fact that while he feels nothing for Regina he keeps sleeping with her. I was trying to feel bad for him but, alas, I could not. He's drunk, he's running a fever and he decides to kiss Emma.

Wow...I was surprised she didn't deck him. I mean nothing says romance like whiskey and the flu. Since we all know that in fairytale land kisses are powerful enough to bring back the dead it comes as no surprise to us that when Graham kisses Emma he has a flashback.

There's a wolf with a black eye and a red eye. He is hunting and crying and looking cuter than ever. Needless to say, this freaks him out a little so he decides to go home, take some meds and go to bed go bang Regina.

And they say woman are hard to figure out. Spare me.

Even with Regina, Graham continues to remember. He sees Snow. He sees a knife. He wonders if he has ever hurt her. He becomes increasingly upset and leaves Regina's bed, but not before telling her that he is having flashes of wolves and deer and knives.

He follows the wolf to the woods again but is abruptly interupted but Rumple who is apparently "gardening" in the forest with a shovel. Um...that sounds like an episode of Desperate Housewives.

Having lost the wolf he heads to the school where Mary Margaret, pure as the white snow, is still trying to figure out what happened with Dr. Whale. So glad we didn't have to witness that one-night-stand as I think those two have as much on-screen chemistry as Bette Midler and Denzel Washington.

Graham asks how they met. She does not recall. He asks if he has ever hurt her. She says of course not. He has a fever. She suggests bed. He asks her if she believes in other lives (LOST shoutout). She accuses him of sounding like Henry. He goes to see Master Mills.

Henry tells Graham that he is remembering his life as the Huntsman. He tells Graham that while he spared Snow White, the Evil Queen was not as kind to him. She ripped out his heart and locked it in a bank vault???

We flash to fairytale land, where the Huntsman who loves the animals is being preyed upon by the evil queen. She has just killed Snows father. She wants Snow to follow. She wants the Huntsman to kill her. "My prey is beloved by all the kingdom" she says.

Graham agrees but only under the condition that all hunting of wolves will cease and since we know that people who hire others to cut the hearts out of their step-daughters are trustworthy, he agrees.

Snow fights back. She spots his deception. She flees. She takes time to compose a manefesto. He is moved by what she writes. He lets her live and returns to the queen with the heart of a stag.

The queen is not impressed. She is not fooled. She makes the huntsman read Snows letter aloud. We learn that Snow knows that the queen has killed her father and Snow is willing to die for the cause too. Snow writes, “I understand you will never have love in your life because of me" We are not sure what this means.

The Evil Queen tells the man in the mirror that other people “don’t know the wretchedness inside” Snow White. But Snow herself has alluded in a previous episode that she has wronged the queen.

At one point the Queen tells the huntsman, "I shared a secret with her, and she couldn’t keep it. That betrayal cost me dearly." Shortly after telling him that, she rips his dog toy like heart out from his chest and puts it in her creepy bank vault. She tells the huntsman he will now be her pet and orders the guards to take him to her bed chambers.

Meanwhile back in Storybrooke...

Graham is more and more convinced that he is like the tin man and must find his heart. Emma conveniently appears and they find the mausolium of Henry Mills Sr. He is convinced his heart is inside, but he finds his heart outside when he tells Regina to bite it. She decks Emma who fires back. Fan.tas.tic! Loved the fight scene.

They walk off into the sunset and live happily ever after head back to the sheriff's office. Regina heads to the "bank" vault which is conveniently located under her father's grave.

Emma and Graham share another kiss and he remembers even more! He goes to kiss her again. Flash to Regina...she holds Grahams heart in her hand. Flash to Graham..."I remember." Flash to Regina as she crushes Graham's heart to dust. Flash to Graham as he collaspes to the floor.

DEAD.

OMG!