Tonight, Rumple finally gets the opportunity to save himself from immortality and to join Belle in the afterlife, but he realises that the price is the happiness of Alice.
The episode begins with Rumple on a mission to reconnect with Belle by visiting his private photo shrine to her. Dr. Facilier is lurking in wait and listening as he updates Belle on Gideon’s studies and how much everyone misses her. Facilier says that he can hear her and offers to bridge the divide that exists with Rumple talking into the void. Rumple puts him to the test and hoists Facilier up by his neck and demands to know what Belle is saying, if he can actually hear her.
Facilier tells him that Belle wants him to hurry up in finding the Guardian. If he doesn’t hurry, he might resort to being a terrible person and risk never seeing her again. Hidden beneath all that family drama is Facilier’s threat that he’d lie to get his hands on the dagger and we all know that that’s a terrible idea.
In real-time, Weaver and Rogers find Nick dead in the interrogation room that supposedly no one else had access to (RIP to another hot character who deserved better). Weaver knows that this death can only be due to magic and he thinks it will spell trouble in his hopes of a reunion with Belle. When he checks the evidence locker for his dagger, it’s missing. He is sure that Facilier used the magic from Anastasia to locate the dagger.
Meanwhile, Jacinda and Henry have to keep a safe distance because of his curse (but they don’t know that). Tilly/Alice and Margo/Robin are free to spend time together in both lands. In Fairytale Land, Robin gives Alice a bracelet. Rumple watches it all and wonders if Alice is really the fabled Guardian who can relieve him of the daggers burden, but Hook runs interference to prevent him from going near his dagger. He doesn’t want Rumple burdening her but he can’t do much because of the curse.
Regina is very close to finishing her potion to break Henry of his curse, but Weaver wants to get his hands on that magic. Now that his dagger is missing, he thinks it’s of more importance than her family reunion. I mean, it’s not like Henry could die if he kisses the woman he loves right now. Regina promises to help Weaver, even if she has to ask Samdi but she’s not giving him the dagger.
Meanwhile, Margot and Tilly have a date that shows their similarities and differences. Tilly has been hearing voices all day, but Margot thinks roaming the town for a day is just what she needs. They eat candied fruit and visit the library’s travel section since Tilly can’t afford to travel yet.
In Fairy Tale land, Rumple manages to sneak in and talk to Alice. She’s been warned by Hook not to speak to him but he easily outwits her into listening. He promises her that there’s a way to break her father’s curse, and that’s all she needs to hear to follow along with his plan to entrap Facilier.
At first she acts like a patron and asks about listening in on the dead, but Facilier can tell that something’s off, and that’s when Rumple arrives to distract him while Alice rips out his heart. Rumple instructs her to destroy it so she can free her father and she’s out. Apparently this is the test and she’s passed. Now, he says she’s ready to be a hero and she’s all ears.
Meanwhile, Samdi is confronted by Regina who asks about the dagger. She doesn’t care why he took it but she wants him to admit it and return it otherwise their relationship can’t continue. Samdi swears he doesn’t have it but Weaver (who’s listening) doesn’t believe him. Weaver threatens Samdi with a gun and only backs down when he’s reminded that if he kills him, he’ll never see Belle again. Weaver is then magically whisked to his car to think about his threat.
Rogers is doing his detective work the old-fashioned way; unlike Weaver he’s trying to solve the mystery of Nick and he’s got a lead. While the security footage from the station conveniently went out when the murder took place, he snags the timeline from the neighbour’s camera which shows Drew/Naveen waiting outside by the car, obviously helping the murderer.
Henry, who’s still shaken up decides to visit the station and ask Rogers a favour. He wants to talk to Nick but Nick is dead so he settles for a visit to Nick’s apartment to find answers. When he gets there, he finds the paternity test results that Nick showed him which confirms that he is Lucy’s dad. That is all they find but Rogers catches Drew slinking away from the scene. Drew swears his innocence and said he visited Nick’s home to find something to protect himself from Samdi.
Tilly has to make an awkward exit from Margot when the voices return, and then Weaver sneaks in to steal Regina’s vial of magic. He empties it onto a map, which reveals that the missing dagger is with Tilly in her spot by the bridge troll.
In Fairy Tale Land, Rumple is ready to hand the burden to Alice but he doesn’t know how. Somehow, Alice can hear the dagger and she snatches it from him. The room is suddenly swarming with dark magic that escapes from Rumple and transfers to the dagger for Alice to take.
That’s when Rumple hears Belle’s voice saying that this isn’t the way to return to her. This is just as bad as throwing Alice back in the tower because she watches everyone she dies grow old and die while she never ages. She can have love and find a way to reunite with her father and Rumple can shed this dagger without taking someone else’s happiness away from them.
Alice promises to help Rumple to remember his good side so that his return to Belle is not out of reach and Hook is grateful for his kindness. They shake hands and even though Rumple skitters off, he’s nowhere near the maniac he once was.
Regina thinks that Weaver’s decision to deprive her of the only chance to save Henry is as villainous as it gets. After Weaver finds out that Tilly somehow took it without even knowing she did (which explains the voices), Regina gives him a piece of her mind. He’s not a good person. He’s still the same old selfish person and whatever friendship they had forged is through.
At least one thing seems to be rectifying itself, even without magic. Henry and Rogers both appear to be waking up. Rogers is shaken by what Drew said to him and doesn’t understand Facilier’s dangers, and he’s even more unnerved by the fact that Nick’s coroner’s report shows his heart was pierced from the inside. Meanwhile, Henry can’t get over the DNA test and how Lucy has been right this whole time. If she was right this time, what else in the book is the truth?
Final Thoughts?
This episode had it’s ups and downs. I really liked the cute date between Tilly and Margot which is a ship that I am so here for! I was really sad that Nick died though.
