Heart of Darkness

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops at all.” - Emily Dickinson

The key to Storybook. Yeah, I said story book. 
It is true there are keys to open any door.  There's a book that will do just that- open the doors of your mind and imagination, and possibly give you answers and insight.  Reading fairy tales can most certainly do that. And living or playing out fairy tale stories can do that too.

Although I constantly mention that the realms are blurred (or at times even one in the same; like the bloody snow globe of the "Island" on LOST) the curtain between the two worlds seems to be becoming more translucent.  And of course, there is a bridge. It also seems that at this moment the residents can't see reality.  So, what is real and what isn't?  When Prince Charming shows up at Rumpelstiltskin's pad, in my opinion the place looks a bit too illustrated to be real- but what the fuck do I know?

We witness the literal finding of keys to open doors, leading to possible answers- hopefully discovering truth.  But more importantly each one of the residents holds the keys to unlock and open any of the many doors in their mind.  They hold the power to unlock great things, including freedom and love.  We all hold the power to open doors in our minds, our imagination or in our subconscious and consciousness.  There are a few ways to unlock the doors of the mind; note that some are hidden doors.  Some people find this experience through therapy, meditation, hypnosis, and other's may find it through a guided "down the rabbit hole" type of drug trip or experience.  Keep in mind that there are other adventurous ways to unlock those locked doors.

In this episode Dr. Hopper uses hypnosis to unlock doors of David's subconscious in an effort to help him remember. The memory and images are there, but they are still confused, disjointed, and still, the realness and reality of them isn't clear. But David knew that the woman who he was seeing and associating in that whooshing flash/memory was Mary Margaret. The thing that bothered me was that Dr. Hopper woke David up because he felt he was too deep into hypnosis, as something was too disturbing to him.

Evil isn't born- it's made 

This week's episode continued with "the case of the human heart in a box."  That in itself is a giant metaphor.  The dark place one goes is caused by deep emotional pain, anger or a broken heart and feeling lost.  Sometimes one can't bear the emotional pain any longer and would rather forget about it completely, as if the cause of it never happened.  Such as Snow, who was in such pain she erased the Prince from her mind-  ultimately erasing love from her being.  Potion or no potion, it was Snow's decision to make this change in herself.   She locked and buried her heart away.  Regina's darkness is revenge.

Snow needed to be led out of that darkness. She needed to come face to face with the love/heart she hid away. The only thing that could conquer the darkness was light... and Love.  

Whatever happened happened.  The unfortunate experiences along with the fortunate experiences in our lives, in some weird way, make us who we are- for good or bad.  For some of us we needed that pain to get us where we are.  Pain and challenges can literally shape you, helps some people grow, yet that pain can send some people over to the dark side.  But remember, you can bring people back from the dark side.

The people in this fairy tale are navigating their way on the path. They're trying to figure out where they are going and where they belong.  They are trying to find themselves, their purpose and destiny and to feel pure love. There is a person deep down inside of them locked away- but if they harness their own positive power- their light, they can become whole and do great things.

Although Snow is brought back to the person she used to be, I hope she learned from the experience and becomes an even better version of her loving nurturing self.  The cool thing is that no one does any of this learning and growing alone.

** All photos posted here are chosen for a reason **

Things to Note...Questions to Ask...

๑ Dead. Depart. Murdered. Kill.  Wake up. Awaken. So, if this show reflects LOST then dead doesn't mean literally dead.
๑ Regina looks into David's eyes and says "Evil doesn't always look evil. Sometimes it's staring right at us... and we don't even realize it."
- August looks into Henry's eyes when mentioning "stories that really happened."
๑ Rumpelstiltskin puts Charming on the path to finding Snow.
๑ Rumpelstiltskin  bottles Love.
๑ After. Before.
๑ SWORD anagrams to WORDS- The pen is mightier than the sword.
๑  "7:15am"  and "The Thing You Loved Most" the Evil Queen takes locks of hair from the darkest souls for spells and in 7:15am Rumpelstiltskin takes a strand of Snow White's hair in exchange for potion. In "The Shepherd" Kathryn remarks about David's hair and is former buzz cut.
๑  Although Red transforms into the wolf to take care of the army, she also did this as a means to protect the Prince and Snow.
๑ In "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" we first find the Genie Lamp with two different color gems. Red and Green.
๑ Bow and arrow
-   Bow- incline the head, in reverence, submission, salutation, recognition, or acknowledgment
-   Bow- Hair bow as in ribbons
-   Bow- the forward end of a vessel or airship
๑ The blue bird shown looks like a blue parakeet or parrot.  FYI, we taught our parakeets to talk.
๑ Mr. Gold is invested in Mary Margaret's future, as is Rumpelstiltskin with Snow White's.
๑ Rumpelstiltskin is the most powerful man in the world.
๑ Arrows and Spears pointing.
๑ Poison
๑ Cold- Winter.  Warm- Summer
๑ The fairy tale book = Operation Cobra

Vocabulary and Research...
๑ Cloche is French for Bell.
It's also:

• a women's hat
• a type of concrete fortification
• Glass or steel cover for dinner plates
• Row cover, a covering for protecting plants from cold temperatures

๑ Blue Bird: Bluebird mythology in Europe is noted in a fairy tale called L'Oiseau Bleu (The Blue Bird) by Madame d'Aulnoy (1650–1705). This seems to be the root source of most modern accounts of bluebird symbolism and myth. In this tale, King Charming is transformed into a bluebird, who is the love interest of the younger princess Fiordelisa and aids her through her trials.

• The mythology of the bluebird of happiness has deep roots that go back thousands of years. It's widely accepted as a symbol of cheerfulness, happiness, prosperity, hearth and home, good health, new births, the renewal of springtime, etc.; any positive sentiment.
• In magical symbolism: bluebirds are used to represent confidence in the positive aspect and egotism in the negative
• Blue Bird- youngest members of the Camp Fire Girls
• Bluebird-  one of several species in the songbird genus Sialia

๑ Bible verse Revelation 3:7 is - And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David/Dauid, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.

๑  Heart of Darkness is a novella from 1899; originally appearing as a 3 part series. The symbolic story is a story within a story (or frame narrative).  The story exposes the dark side of European colonization while exploring the three levels of darkness Marlow encounters on his journey; emphasis on the darkness within mankind.

✔  Golden LOST Thread Woven into the Tapestry of this Tale

With all the mentions and visuals of a well in this fairy tale, I am indeed brought back to LOST and a specific moment that I remember.  It was in the episode "This Place is Death."  Locke tells Sawyer if all this started (consciousness skip/jumps) at The Orchid Station, maybe that's how it will stop.  Charlotte tells him "You can find the Orchid at the well." Also remember The Orchid was noted to be a way off the "island."

Another thing I want to mention is that in "Something Nice Back Home" Jack tells Kate that his father was a good storyteller.

✈ Imagine. Hypnosis. Memory. Dream
✈ Head. Blackouts. Knockout. Unconscious.
✈ Teach. Learn
✈ Remember. Forget
✈ Faith. Belief. Believe. Proof.
✈ Flaming arrows are shot at the Castaways in S5 in "The Lie" and are mentioned in "Le Fleur", "Jughead" and "The Incident [P1]"
✈ Henry Gale/Ben Linus is shot in the shoulder by Rousseau in "One of Them".
✈ Arrow Station: In "Because You Left" Dr. Marvin Candle introduces the orientation film for Station 2, The Arrow. This Station’s primary objective is to develop defensive strategies and gather intelligence on the islands hostile indigenous population.  We also see that things are staged, scripted and filmed. This also included a cameraman who resembled Sawyer.
✈ Jack thought he could erase the past and at one point Daniel Faraday thought you could change it.
✈ Swan
✈ Wheel
✈  Kate's mug-shot
✈  Key
✈  Railroad- N.Y. City Subway- Train
✈  Purpose
✈  Diamond
✈  Map
✈ Cobra. Episodes mentioning "Expose"  include "The Lie",  "Ji Yeon", and "The Man from Tallahassee" 
✈ Man of Science, Man of Faith
✈ In "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"  Charles Widmore claims to be deeply invested in the future of the "Island"
✈ Tied to a tree- Shannon in "Hearts and Minds", Sayid in "Collision" and "He's Our You", Sawyer in "Confidence Man" and Desmond in "Everybody loves Hugo."
✈ "In Tricia Tanaka is Dead" Kate tells Sayid and Locke they have to get him/Jack back.
✈  Heart of Darkness is a novella that was heavily hinted to.  
     - "Walkabout" Jack comments to Kate as to why whenever there is a hike into the "Heart of Darkness", she signs up.
     - "Numbers" Charlie refers to Hurley's mood change as going from "happy go lucky good time Hurley" to "Colonel bloody Kurtz"
     - "Confirmed Dead" Sawyer refers to John Locke as "Colonel Kurtz".
     - If memory serves, I believe in the LOST Video game Via Domus the book Heart of Darkness can be found in a cave in a secret room.


Enough of my rambling...Here is your episode recap! Enjoy!


A flaming arrow is fired upon Prince Charming and Red, who are being attacked by the King's army.
The Prince tells Red that they have to move. "They found us".  Red gives the Prince a head start by taking care of the army. I believe he is unaware of her "talent" when there is a full moon.  She sends him to go find Snow. Red transforms into the wolf and takes care of the army.

Emma is taking Mary Margaret's mug-shots; instructing her to turn to the right. {The flash causes Mary Margaret to close her eyes}.  Mary Margaret claims this is a mistake; she didn't kill Kathryn. Emma feels she didn't, but in addition to being her friend she is also the sheriff and has to go where the evidence leads.
Mary Margaret- "Which points to me? Yesterday it was David. There's something not right here."
Emma knows that, but Mary Margaret's fingerprints were on the box- not David's. "So now we have to deal with this..." {indicating the processed photographs/mug shot in her hand}
Mary Margaret- "Evidence that says I cut out Kathryn's heart... and buried it in the woods. This is insane."
Emma- "If I don't book you- with all this evidence it's gonna look like favoritism.  And then Regina will have cause and she will fire me and you know what she'll do?  She'll bring in someone who will railroad you.  So please, just try to be patient and trust me. We can't even move forward until we verify that the heart belonged to Kathryn. And I'm still waiting for the DNA test results. But in the meantime, you need to bear with me. I have to ask you a few questions."
Mary Margaret- "This is crazy. I would never hurt anyone."

Snow White is humming and sweeping up.  She lovingly lures a blue bird to her finger and proceeds to violently swing at it; attacking it with her broom.  This disturbs Grumpy as Snow says she's "getting rid of the vermin in this house."  The blue bird finally finds its way out an open window.  Grumpy/Dreamy tells Snow that they made something extra special for dinner tonight.  But nasty performing Snow says she's not hungry.  He takes her hand and leads her anyway.

Snow is led to the dining table where she is met by all of her concerned Dwarf friends; who we overhear saying "She's out of control."  Snow asks "Somebody die?" Jiminy Cricket flies over and Snow automatically swats at the "dirty cricket".

Jiminy introduces himself and explains that her friends asked him to be there because they're concerned about her and have something they want to say.
Begin the airing of the grievances!  Grumpy reads his intervention note aloud.
"Snow White,
You've changed.  
You've become angry, irritable, and downright mean."

Sneezy's concern was that she brought bales of straw into the house even though she knows he's allergic.
Happy- "You broke my mug!"
Snow is fired up!  "You're lucky it wasn't that mug you call a face!"
Happy- "You are the worst, most nasty, horrible... !"
Snow wonders who is Grumpy to talk to her about change.  Grumpy says the potion she took- the one that erased the Prince {sounds like prints} from her mind "You haven't been the same since you drank it."
Snow- "That, helped forget whatever or whomever I needed to forget.  And I am clearly better off for it. That potion was the solution, not the problem. The problem is that I'm living here- in a house full of Dwarfs instead of in my palace with my father as a Princess, but I can't do that anymore, can I?  Because he was murdered.  Murdered by the same woman who sent a huntsman to kill me!"
Jiminy understands her anger towards the Queen, but its not fair she take it out on her friends.  Snow feels he's right. "I should be taking it our on her."
Upset Jiminy tells to her to wait, as revenge is not the answer. "No, it's gonna change you. It'll turn you into something darker than you can imagine- you don't wanna go there! No! No! Wait! No!"

Snow covers and traps Jiminy in the glass cloche that housed the apples and announces her good news. The fellows can quit their complaining because she's leaving; she's got more important things to do. Jiminy is freaking out from behind the glass, trying to get her to stop.  Grumpy tells her to wait, "Where are you going?"  Focused Snow takes the pickax and proclaims- "To kill the Queen."

EVIDENCE- Room 104

Regina asked to sit in as a third party to ensure Emma's impartial questioning of Mary Margaret and "The case of the human heart in a box." {Note there are years dates on file boxes- 1992, etc., and locked lockers.}  Mary Margaret has nothing to hide and says they can ask her anything.  Emma starts the cassette tape rolling in a dated tape recorder.
"The heart was found buried near the old TOLL BRIDGE. It had been cut out by what appears to be a hunting knife. Have you ever been to that bridge before?"
Mary Margaret admits to being there many times with David; the man she was having an affair with.
Mary Margaret replies directly to Regina about not being proud of what happened and she's sorry; and it doesn't change the fact that she didn't kill Kathryn.
Emma places the box that housed the heart in front of Mary Margaret asking if she's ever seen it before.  Confused Mary Margaret has seen it, as it's her jewelery box.  "Don't you see what's happening here?!  Someone stole that box and put the heart in it.  I didn't have anything to do with it! I'm innocent!"
Regina compassionately takes Miss Blanchard's hand saying she's knows what she's going through. "I know what its like to lose someone you love.  To be publicly humiliated.  Put me in a very dark place. Changed me. I can only imagine what losing David Nolan did to you."

Mary Margaret pulls away from Regina and claims she hasn't changed and is the same good person she's always been. "I did not do this."

Emma has a private meeting with Regina in the hallway about the interrogation.  Regina leads the sheriff in some sheriff-ing, by telling Emma literally how to do her job; look for signs of a break-in at their apartment. "She is a woman whose had her heart broken. And that... that can make you do unspeakable things."

Hooded Snow traps one of the Queen's knight's and smacks his leg with her pickax. "It'll heal...
eventually." She wants information. "Where's the Queen?"  The knight isn't given that info up.
Snow- "Do you know what a diamond is?  It's the strongest substance known to man or beast... beautiful, precious. Nearly impervious to destruction- nearly. This... this is an ax from the Dwarf's mines. It's a special blade. It can, believe it or not, actually cut a diamond. Imagine what it can do to human flesh... soft, pliable tender flesh."
The knight fearing from the strike of the pickax admits the Queen is at her castle, but only for the night. In the morning she leaves for the summer palace.   Angry Snow reveals that summer palace was built for her mother and then hits the guard in his head with the pickax.

Snow takes the knight's armor and his large sword.  Grumpy comes upon this scene and motivated Snow tells him that she's doing whatever it takes to get inside the castle.  "I have to get there before she departs."
Grumpy- "Have you lost your mind?! You really think this disguise is gonna fool anybody?"
Snow- "I'm getting in there."
Grumpy- "Listen to yourself! All you care about is revenge you can't even see reality anymore!"  Grumpy's not there to lecture her, only to help her by taking her back to Rumpelstiltskin. "He's the one who gave you the potion in the first place.  The one that took away all your memories of your Prince. If anyone can give em back to you, it's him."
But Snow doesn't want the memories back; that's why she took the potion. Grumpy tells her that's what changed her. Maybe he can at least bring her back to the person she used to be. "He's the most powerful man in the world. He can do anything."
Snow- "Anything?"

Emma checks the locks on the apartment door and the windows. Henry appears, wanting to help Miss Blanchard.  Emma asks why he isn't at school and then tells him he has to go home. {Well, which is it? Should he go to school or home?!}  Henry tells her it aint gonna happen.  Emma says she's trying to see if anyone broke in; looking for busted door-jam, broken glass, muddy boots- that kind of thing. The only thing that makes sense is that someone is setting Mary Margaret up; but nobody's got a motive. Henry claims his mom does; she hates Snow White.  Emma feels that wouldn't hold up in a court.  

They investigate a rattling noise that's coming from the grate/heating vent on the floor.  Emma discovers a hunting knife/dagger.

Ruby sprinkles Cinnamon onto Henry's cup of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream. The boy is depressed and drowning his sorrows in his delicious drink.
Enter- August. "I don't think that hot chocolate's gonna drink itself."  He knows Henry's upset about his teacher. Henry knows she didn't do it, "Why can't anyone see that?"
August- "Because most people just see what's right in front of them and I don't think you're gonna find the answers you want at the bottom of that mug."
Henry- "Then where?"
August- "That book in your bag.  You know I'm a writer, so I'm partial to finding my answers in a literary form."
Henry- "It's just a book."
August- "Is it?"
Henry- "Yeah."
August- "I think we both know that's not the case. (he asks for) Can I get a water, please?" {Ruby gives him a glass of water half full}
Now Henry is suspicious of August and asks what he knows about it.
August- "I know it's a book of stories."
Henry- "Aren't all books?"
August looks him right in the eyes and claims "Stories that... really happened."
Henry lights up. "You think my book is real?"
August- "As real as I am." {How "real" is August?!}   Henry asks him how he knows.
August- "Well, let's just say that, uh, I'm a believer. And I want to help others see the light. That, my friend, is why I'm here."
Henry admits he already believes.  August tells the boy "I'm not here for you, Buddy. I'm here for Emma."
Henry- "So, you want to get her to believe... why don't you just tell her?"
August explains "Well, there are some people like you and me- we can go on faith. But others like Emma, they need proof."
Henry- "Last time I tried to find proof I got trapped in a sinkhole."
August- "There are less dangerous places to look."  He indicates to Henry to look into his fairy tale book.  August leaves and Henry looks through his book; landing on a page with Prince Charming on horseback.

Prince Charming dismounts his horse and checks out tracks in the snow. He comes upon the naked knight.
The Prince throws the man a blanket and asks who did this.  The knight informs him "She's crazy. She had a pickax. She threatened to skin me."  He reveals it was not the Evil Queen who did this, but Snow White.  "She said she wanted to kill the Queen. I've never seen someone so bloodthirsty."  The Prince insists Snow's not bloodthirsty; he knows her.  The knight suggests "Maybe you don't."

Regina is in her black and white office peeling an apple with a knife.   David shows up to talk to her about the accusations against Mary Margaret; He knows Mary Margaret didn't do this.  Regina seems compassionate and shares that she understands what he's going through. "It's painful when someone we care about betrays us."  David claims Mary Margaret's a good person, "I know her."  Regina suggests "Maybe you don't. Maybe you just want to. Everyone has a dark side, David."   David understands that. But having a dark side and doing something so evil is a different thing; that's not what she is.  Regina believes evil isn't born- it's made.   David doesn't think Regina knows much about evil.  Regina raises the question "Well, if she didn't do it, then who did?"  This is what David's been trying to figure out.  "Those blackouts I've been having, made everything so hazy."   Regina doesn't want David to accuse himself.   But David feels if he can clear up his missing time that will prove Mary Margaret's innocence.  Regina finds David very sweet, but also very wrong, looking right into his eyes explaining "Evil doesn't always look evil. Sometimes it's staring right at us... and we don't even realize it."

Emma confronts upset Mary Margaret about the discovery of the hunting knife in the heating vent in their apartment.  Even though Emma believes Mary Margaret, the evidence is piling up by the hour and suggests she hire a lawyer.  On cue, Mr. Gold the lawyer is in the room offering his legal services.  He's been following the details of Miss Blanchard's case and is well advised to bring him on as her council.  He feels his managing to get the judge in his case (nearly beating a man to death) to be dropped, was a great way of asserting his influence.  He thinks that is what's needed now as well; he's only there to help.  Emma knows the only thing needed is to find the truth.   Mary Margaret asks Emma to leave while she speaks with her new lawyer.  Mary Margaret feels Mr. Gold is right and that Emma needs to do her job or else she's screwed. She tells Emma to do her job as best she can and she'll prove her innocence, but until then she needs some practical help.
Mr. Gold- "Trust me. This is in Miss Blanchard's best interests."
Emma wishes Mary good luck and hopes it is Mary's best interests he's looking out for.

Mary Margaret tells Mr. Gold that she can't pay him.  Mr. Gold didn't ask her for money. He's doing this because he's invested in her future.

Grumpy confronts Rumpelstiltskin about the potion he gave Snow; that it changed her- she's not the same.  Rumpelstiltskin, while busy spinning the wheel, educates the Dwarf on the potion. "Of course it changed her.  It took away her love- left a big hole in her heart. There is no cure for what she's got. The person she was... there's no way to bring her back.  No potion can bring back true love. Love... is the most powerful magic of all.  The only magic I haven't been able to bottle. If you can bottle love- you can do anything. But you don't care about that, do ya? Now, what is it you really want?"

Snow walks around the potions table checking things out; she doesn't care about that. All she wants is his help to kill the Queen.  This makes Rumpelstiltskin light up "Now we're talkin', Dearie."   Grumpy doesn't want her to do this.

Rumpelstiltskin prepares a bow, to which he instructs Snow to use to kill the Queen while she's on the move; when she's on her way to the summer palace; as its impossible for Snow to get into the castle.  He magically presents a map indicated the spot Snow where she should fire the arrow and will be hidden from sight.  "An arrow fired from this bow... will get you exactly what you need.  It always finds its target."
Grumpy can't stand by, telling Snow if she takes that weapon she'll have to do it alone.  Apparently that was always Snow's plan.  Rumpelstiltskin is giddy and delighted.  Knowing everything comes with a price when dealing with Rumpelstiltskin, Snow asks what he wants in return.  The last time he took a strand of her hair.
Rumpelstiltskin- "Let's just say... I'm invested in your future."

David shows up at Dr. Archie Hopper's office needing his help.  He needs to remember what's been happening during the blackouts he's been having.  Archie asks "why?" It's so David can remember something to help Mary Margaret.

Prince Charming enters Rumpelstiltskin's castle demanding he show himself and to ask what he did to Snow.  Rumpelstiltskin notices the young man is still dressing like a prince even though he ran away from the life Rumpelstiltskin gave him.  Charming feels Rumpelstiltskin gave him a prison sentence.
Rumpelstiltskin- "Yeah, one that you've now skirted.  Careful, Dearie, King George is a vengeful man." Charming is there because rumor has it Snow's after the Queen and went to him for help.  Charming draws his sword while unafraid Rumpelstiltskin makes no bones about the fault being Charming.  "You caused her pain. Without that pain she would never have drank my potion to forget about you. That's what changed her!"
Charming wants him to un-do the potion because all magic can be broken.   He wonders if "true love's kiss" will awaken her. 
Rumpelstiltskin confirms this, but included it will be hard to kiss her when Charming doesn't know where she is.  Still not intimidated by Charming's drawn sword, Rumpelstiltskin swats the blade out of his way.

Rumpelstiltskin's price for his Intel will be Charming's cloak; claiming it's drafty in here. Charming gives up his cloak and Rumpelstiltskin informs him Snow is on her way to the Queen's Highway. "This is the route she's taking."   He magically produces a map for Charming to follow.  "But you better be quick, because if she kills the Queen she becomes as evil as the woman's whose life she takes."
Charming feels she could never become that evil.  Rumpelstiltskin claims "Evil isn't born, Dearie... it's made. If Snow starts down that road you'll never get her back."

Cloaked Snow is at the spot where she is readying herself to take aim at the Queen with the magic bow and arrow.  Charming grabs her from behind and she tries to get away.  Snow asks- "Who are you? What are you doing?"  Charming is trying to get her to remember.  He kisses her. "I told you, I will always find you."  Snow hits him, knocking him out.

At the Storybrooke apartment of Emma and Mary Margaret, Henry sits on the stairs leading to it.  He presents Emma with the proof of how Regina got into her apartment; framing Miss Blanchard.  He admits stealing the keys (on a large keyring) from his mom's office; the book said they can open any door.  Emma claims they won't even fit in the lock, but they'll try.  Henry tries a couple of the keys but they don't fit.
Emma- "See, what did I tell you, Henry. I know you wanna think the answer to everything is in Operation Cobra {Henry says "It is"} But sometimes the real world needs to come first."

Henry begs her to try one more; and it's he who gives her the specific key that opens the lock on the door.
Henry asks "Do you believe now?"

As Charming is coming back to consciousness, he finds that Snow has tied him to a tree. She figures this is the man Rumpelstiltskin helped her forget.  Charming is confused because true love's kiss should have worked.   Snow says it's because she doesn't love him and Charming insists she does, but doesn't remember.  Snow feels love is just words and words don't mean anything to her.  "Taking action" is what means something to her; and that's what she's doing.  Charming wants her to listen to him "You can't do this! This is not who you wanna be.You can't kill her."
Snow- "Really? Watch  me."  From the tree, Charming begs her not to do it.

Archie has David under hypnosis. He instructs David to listen very closely. "Can you hear me?"   He wants David to go back in  his memory- back to the last time you and Kathryn spoke.  The last thing you remember. Tell me, where are you?"
David- "In my bedroom."
Archie-" When?"
David shares it was the night she left; he called her on her cell.  Kathryn spoke about realizing she should start a new life without him. "She thought Mary Margaret and I should be together."  Kathryn said she was hurt but wanted him to be happy.  Archie asks if he remembers anything after that.  David remembers seeing Mary Margaret in the woods.
Archie- "And what was she doing there?"
WHOOOSHING
David has flashes of disjointed images of cloaked Snow White in the woods and him saying "You can't kill her."
Snow- "Really? Watch me."
Charming-"Don't do it!"
Archie had to abruptly wake David up as he went too deep into hypnosis. Something was disturbing David.  Archie asks him what he saw; he can help him. But David hurries out feeling Archie can't help him.

Charming is still tied to the tree (it had snowed) when Jiminy Cricket flies over to him. "You must be James."  Charming is surprised the flying hovering cricket can talk.  Jiminy wants James to listen. He explains to James that when Snow began acting differently the Dwarfs asked him to intervene, but is afraid he wasn't much help.  Well, neither was James.  As Jiminy chews through the thick rope in an effort to free James so the two can go after Snow, Jiminy asks what his plan is.  James tried to get her to remember.  Jiminy frees one of James' hands.
Jiminy- "It sounds like you're approaching this the wrong way. How can she remember who you are, when she's lost sight of who she is?"

The Queen and her knights are making their way through the snowy road on horseback. A knight instructs the residents to "Clear the roads! Bow your heads before the Queen."   Stealthy cloaked and hooded Snow follows along the route from the hilltop sidelines and draws her bow and gold feathered arrow and takes her shot.  She shoots James; he jumped in the way of the arrow. 

With the arrow sticking out of his shoulder he explains to Snow "Well, you said you'd appreciate action more than words.  So now, you're gonna get both. I Love you, Snow."   Snow's reply is "I don't love you. I don't even remember you."    But James doesn't care. The only thing he cares about is that "You don't forget who you really are. I would rather die than let you fill your heart with darkness."  Snow starts to soften. "You would really die for me?"
With the arrow sticking out of him he asks "Does it look like I'm making this up?"
Snow- "No one's ever done anything like this for me before. No one's ever been willing to die for me."
James- "No one you can remember."   They're both crying.
Snow touches his arm and then kisses him- and remembers!  As they're rejoicing in their reunion, King George's army approaches catching the lovebirds.  A soldier rips the arrow from Prince James' shoulder and instructs another soldier to leave the girl. "We have who we came for."  They throw James into the prisoner wagon. A soldier hits Snow and threatens her with his sword.  Snow calls out to James, "James! I will find you! I will always find you."   The soldiers take prisoner James away.

David pays a visit Mary Margaret in her jail cell.  He's there to tell her that Dr. Hopper helped him to remember what happened during his blackouts. He only remembers pieces of the memory, recalling he and Mary Margaret was in the woods and he kept saying "Don't do it. Don't kill her."
Mary Margaret- "Kathryn? You think you remember me wanting to kill Kathryn?"
David asks "Can you explain why I have that memory?"  The sheriff found a heart in their spot and the evidence now includes David's fragmented memories. He wants to know if she did it.
Mary Margaret is crying. "When your phone records came back- when I found you wandering in the woods, when everyone thought you killed Kathryn I stood by you. I never once doubted you. And now that everything is pointing to me you actually think I am capable of that kind of evil. Get. Out."  Hurt Mary Margaret turns her back on him.

Snow returns home to her Dwarf friends, whom are sitting down to dinner.  Snow gives Happy a new mug; as an apology. Unimpressed Grumpy states they don't care about mugs.  Snow feels it's the only thing she broke that she can replace. She apologizes to them.  Grumpy sees that... "It's you."  They all welcome her back with a group hug. She tells them she can't stay. Grumpy asks "Where are you going?"  Snow informs them King George took James. "I have to get him back."
Grumpy-"No, Snow, you can't do it."  But Snow won't let the King just kill him. James came back for her; It doesn't matter what happens to her now, she has to try.
What Grumpy meant was "You can't do it alone. But luckily you won't have to."   The Dwarfs are motivated! Grumpy- "Let's show that King what Snow White and Seven Dwarves can really do!"  They all grab their pickax's and head out.

Mary Margaret is making her jail cell bed when she discovers a key which happen to open the cell door. Mary closes the door when Emma enters bearing breakfast for her.  Emma knows Mr. Gold doesn't want them to talk but felt it best Mary Margaret heard the news from her. "The test results came back from the heart and the DNA was a match for Kathryn. She's dead."   Emma is sorry and feels now they have proof of the death they have enough evidence to move forward with the case against her."  Emma reinforces to Mary that she does believe her and also feels that all the evidence tells her one thing for certain- Mary Margaret is being framed and thinks Regina is behind it.  Emma can't release Mary Margaret because belief is not proof. "If I don't do this right things will end up worse for you. Every time I've gone up against Regina she's seen it coming and I lost."  She feels this time is different because Regina doesn't know I suspects anything.  Mary doesn't know why Regina would do this to her. But Emma promises to find out and won't stop until she exposes what she's up to.  Mary wonders how Emma is going to do that "This is her town."
Emma is working on it.  Emma has faith in Mary Margaret and now she needs Mary Margaret to have faith in her. Of course Mary can do that.

Mr. Gold is doing inventory in his shop when Emma enters.  He's holding the Genie lamp with the green gems.  They're not surprised by Emma's accusations of Regina setting up Mary Margaret. He'll get it over with immediately once Emma provides proof.  Emma reveals there isn't any that is court worthy.  Gold is impressed Emma's all of a sudden become a woman of faith, yet wonders if she's there to spin conspiracy theories.  Emma needs his help, "Every time I've gone against Regina I've lost. Except for once, when I became sheriff when you helped."  Although Emma doesn't approve of Gold's methods, she approves of his results. This time she has something more important than a job. "I need to save my friend."
Gold- "And you're willing to go as far as it takes?"
Emma- "Farther."
Gold- "Now we're talking. Fear not, Miss Swan, Regina may be powerful, but something tells me you're more powerful than you know."  {He uses a magnifying glass to inspect the Genie Lamp}

Rumpelstiltskin is looking through a magnifying glass inspecting Prince James' cloak and retrieves a single hair from it and puts it into a jar containing another single strand of hair. The two hairs illuminate; he has bottled Love.

 

In Storybrooke we find that Mary Margaret used her found key to escape her cell.