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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Once Upon A Time in Wonderland Trailer

The creators of ONCE Upon a Time, Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis, bring us more excitement from the fairytale universe with a trip back down the rabbit hole.  This ONCE Upon A Time spin-off will cross paths with ONCE Upon A Time, but "the two shows will maintain clear and separate identities (it’s important to ABC and the showrunners that Wonderland can stand-alone with its own easily accessible story)."

You know I love "connections," so learning that the first episode of ONCE Upon A Time in Wonderland currently starts in Storybrooke has me flying high.  I can only imagine what adventures will unfold for dear Alice and the unique cast of characters in the fantastical world she's been known to frequent.

Once Upon A Time In Wonderland comes to ABC Thursday's at 8|7c this fall. I am counting the days!

ABC released the first look at the trailer for Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. Enjoy!

Source: EW.com 
and YouTube ABCNETWORK

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Second Star to the Right

Everything in life has its price.” ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
 

Slip inside the eye of your mind- Don't you know you might find a better place to play

Crossroads in Storybrooke: Second and Main.  Oh, the places you could go if you had no borders and knew no bounds and didn't use a map, a place where you would be free of time and space.  We sort of do that while escaped in our dreaming mind.  If you were free to fly anywhere, where would your imagination, the wind or the path of the stars lead you?

Greg's quest to find the father he left behind in Storybrooke also got him involved with some sort of secret organization whose mission it is to rid that world of magic.  I wonder how he got involved with those people. Greg claims they/the home office, wouldn't have even known about that town if it weren't for his father. But it is important to keep in mind that although Kurt was following a map and ended up kidnapped by Regina, Greg/Owen is the one who discovered Storybrooke from atop the hill in the episode Welcome to Storybrooke.

I'm hesitant to just accept that Greg found his father's bones at the campsite.  Sure, you're wondering how I could be in denial after we just witnessed the excavation, but I've learned that things aren't always what they seem.  I mean, Kurt wasn't the only person wearing reddish attire back then. (See photo below). OK, it very well could be Kurt's remains, but how would Regina know about Owen and Kurt's specific campsite?  I also found it interesting that the rendezvous point for Greg and Tamara is his same exact childhood campsite.  It's all a little suspicious.
The misery I know, like a friend that won't let go, is creeping up on me now once again

Emma and some of the people she is on this journey with are, in a way, trapped in the past. They are burdened with pain, guilt and other emotions that have left them feeling lonely (among other feelings).  Deep down they still cry tears of their own childhood abandonment issues and subsequent adult choices. They keep parts of themselves hidden away. They are searching inside themselves as well as for others. They are looking for a way to move past those old pains, but whenever there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel some major challenge presents itself and it usually looks eerily similar to shadows of the past - ghosts of days gone by. Which things, habits, people and emotions do we hold on to and which ones are we supposed to let go of?  

Bae still lives with the shadow of his past not only when "Neal" experiences his father  Gold/Rumple/Dark One's display the whole "Kiss my boot" act a second time, but also in the Flash when he exits the portal into Victorian England. Let's note that we're led to believe this is directly when Bae originally leaves his father via the magic bean portal, but I'm curious... Of course he'd end up in a different place, yes, but there seems to be a "time" different for him as well when he lands in Victorian Kensington Gardens.

Does magic follow Bae? He wanted to go to a land without magic, yet there is magic right there in Kensington Gardens- most likely because of Bae; because he has magic. We see Bae ends up selflessly giving (sacrificing) himself to the Shadow for the Darling family.

Now on to The Shadow:  Peter Pan's shadow appears in the literary version of the story, but this Shadow here is something very different. It seemed more like a Wraith for children. Why take children away to an island only to ultimately keep them prisoner and break their hearts by not allowing them to go home to their families? Who could be so selfish and cruel? What is the true motivation for this deed?  Is it what we assume it is?  Is it purely for selfish reasons? Are the children being taken for protection from something or someone? Are they being taken to find that "special one" for a specific purpose? Could the kidnapper be someone like Rumple/the Dark One on a quest looking for his son?

Bae wanted to live in a land without magic- Greg and Tamara want to destroy magic- those are emotions of people who don't want magic in and around their lives, but guess what... it is all around, and for some, it lives right inside of them.

I do want to note that not seeing what is right in front of your own eyes can be hazardous to your health. Neal didn't see who his fiancée really was; he was blinded by the idea of being in love and she was able to con him. Who else isn't seeing things for what they really are?

On to ... "The Home Office" - is it a "secret organization" like the DHARMA Initiative? Let's revisit
Mysteries of the Universe: The Dharma Initiative.  Maybe it's Mittelos Bioscience or The Hanso Foundation or some other mysterious organization that's tied to the/an island.  I guess we have to see what Tamara and Greg's "Home Office" is all about.

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

๑  If Tamara didn't break into Regina's office specifically for the magic beans, why did she break in, was it just for the Regina kidnapping?
๑  Not attached to a body. Out of body experience. Change its shape, fly and travel between worlds
๑  Window. Glass. Portal. Being watched
๑  Sleep.  Dream. Wake up
๑  Time and Space
๑  Flashes
๑  Believe
๑  Gold puts a diamond necklace on Belle in The Crocodile
๑  Jacks on the windowsill
๑  Neal's scarf looks a bit similar to Henry's
๑  Senses: See. Hear. Smell
๑  Dark. Light
๑  Fire. Flame. Torch. Light
๑  Shadow- dark
๑  Diamond
๑  Greenhouse. Garden.= Plant a seed and nurture it to maturity.
๑  Security System
๑  Electrical current that runs through the entire body
๑  Machines, computers, monitors
๑  Direction
๑  Games
๑  Mother Superior
๑  Canning is a way to preserve things.

Vocabulary and Research...

Eye: Spiritual insight, as in ’the eyes are the windows to soul.’ Eyes symbolize perceptiveness, personal outlook, clairvoyance, curiosity, and knowledge. They also reveal information about personal identity and suggest to the dreamer what he should pay attention to. Closed eyes are said to represent fear and an unwillingness to see clearly.
Windows: A Window symbolizes Freedom, a passage to and from an enclosed space into the vast expanse of the world. Windows symbolize passage where light, air, sounds, knowledge, objects etc., may pass through, coming and going.
The soul has a window, the mind. 1. A general symbol for the need to see through something that is clouding the dreamer’s life. 2. A broken window hints at a change in the dreamer’s living circumstances. 3. The state or type of the window is an important clue.
Open windows are a sign of welcome; closed windows a sign of cut-off communications. Bay windows are a sign of success and good fortune, while storm windows indicate trouble ahead. Windows: dreamer is being watched or watching someone else.  Opening, Opportunity, Feelings of being watched, Need for privacy.
Some Dream Interpretations- To see windows in your dream signifies bright hopes, vast possibilities and insight. To dream that you are looking out the window signifies your outlook on life, your consciousness, point of view, awareness, and intuition. You may be reflecting on a decision and seeking guidance. If you are looking in the window then it indicates that you are doing some soul searching and looking within yourself. To see shut windows in your dream, signifies desertion and abandonment. To see shattered and broken windows denotes misery and disloyalty.  To see a tinted window in your dream represents you need for privacy and your ways of getting it. You are keeping aspects of yourself hidden or that you want to remain ambiguous.
Kensington Gardens: once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, is one of the Royal Parks of London lying immediately to the west of Hyde Park.
- The park is the setting of J.M. Barrie's book Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, a prelude to the character's famous adventures in Neverland. The fairies of the gardens are first described in Thomas Tickell's 1722 poem Kensington Gardens. Both the book and the character are honored with the Peter Pan statue located in the park.
- The Infocom interactive fiction game Trinity begins in the Kensington Gardens.
- The park is a prominent aspect of the short horror novel The Beast by Ashley McClung
Sardines: a "Tag" type of child's game.
one person hides while the remainder (2) all count to a specified number (50). Once this number is reached, the remaining (2) people spread out in search of the person who has hidden. As players find the hider, they must join the hider in the hiding place. Eventually the hiding place is likely to become obvious because of the number of hiding players. The last person to discover the hiding place must hide in the next round. This game is sometimes played in the dark (wear black clothing), increasing the number of reasonable hiding places.
The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram
Jacks or Knucklebones, is a game of very ancient origin, played with usually five small objects, originally the "knucklebones" (actually the astragalus: a bone in the ankle, or hock of a sheep, which are thrown up and caught in various ways. Modern knucklebones consist of six points, or knobs, proceeding from a common base, and are usually made of metal or plastic. The winner is the first player to successfully complete a prescribed series of throws. There are many different named challenges in this game.
AKA: astragaloi, hucklebones, dibs, dibstones, jackstones, chuckstones, five-stones jackrocks, onesies, jax, kugelach, batu seremban, or snobs.
๑ Oliver Twist, subtitled The Parish Boy's Progress, is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. The story is about an orphan, Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to London where he meets the Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Naively unaware of their unlawful activities, Oliver is led to the lair of their elderly criminal trainer Fagin.

Bae, also often spelled Pae or Pai, is a unique Korean family name


 ✔ Golden LOST Thread Woven into the Tapestry of this Tale

✈  On LOST Dr. Bae delivered Ji Yeon
✈  Claire's mother was a librarian. Par Avion
✈  Richard Alpert wanted to live forever and asked Jacob to fulfill this request in Ab Aeterno
✈  "... moved to the next stage"- Enter 7 7
✈  "I/We/You have work to do", is said by more than a few characters

✈  Eye
✈  Time and Space
✈  Beach. Island
✈  Doc
✈  MacCutcheon Whiskey
✈  Dark. Light
✈  Set a trap.  Game: Mouse Trap-  Deus Ex Machina
✈  Fire. Flame. Light
✈  Shadow- dark
✈ Greenhouse- The Orchid Station
Security System: The Black Smoke (some call it the monster) was known to be a security system-
  • Danielle tells Sayid "there's no such thing as monsters" when noting the Monster/security system sound in Solitary, and she tells Jack the security system's purpose is to protect something in Exodus part 1
  • Hurley claims its a security system that eats people in Exodus part 2
  • Danielle's Robert tells pregnant Danielle its not a monster, it's a security system that's guarding the Temple, in This Place is Death
  • We note "security system in Numbers
  • In Par Avion, Sayid note the triggers on the sides of the pylons of the "security perimeter"
✈  Further Instructions and ?
✈  4  8
✈  8:15
✈  Machines, computers, monitors
✈  Portal
✈  Levels
✈  Direction
✈  Flashes
✈  Michael tells Jack and John that the computer isn't what they think, in "The Hunting Party" 
✈  Electrical current that runs through the entire body
✈  Torture:
      - Sayid was strapped to a table and tortured/tested with electric shock by Dogen in "What Kate Does"
      - Sayid was a torturer. As a Communications Officer, he "tortured" people in the Military for Intel. He also tortures Sawyer when trying to get him to tell where Shannon's asthma medicine is in Confidence Man.
✈ Desmond was subjected to "electromagnetism" in "Happily Ever After".  He was also subjected to this type of event when he turned the failsafe key below the Swan Station in "Live Together, Die Alone".  The Castaways were also subjected to an "electromagnetism" event of sorts, when Locke and Desmond wait for the timer to countdown and Eko want to blow up the Swan Hatch.
✈  Jack
✈  Sleep. Dream.Wake up.
✈  Believe
✈  Skull (Skeleton)
✈  Remains
✈  Coincidence- Fate
✈  The Incident- Sawyer holds on to Juliet when the hatch incident is unfolding
The Shape of Things to Come- Claire got her "bell" rung when the barrack house she's in blows up.
Ben tells Miles "..."Cause every single one of my people is prepared to die in service to this island."
✈ "A Tale of Two Cities"-  Henry Gale/Ben Linus tells prisoner Kate that "the next two weeks are going to get very unpleasant"
He's Our You- Sayid's Flash "I don't want any part of this. And if I see you again, it will be extremely unpleasant for us both.
 This Place is Death-  Sayid's Flash on the pier claiming to not want any part of this, "And if I see you or you (Ben and Jack), it will be extremely unpleasant for all of us."
✈  Diamond
✈ Jack asked Kate if she's got his back; and of course, she does.
Live Together, Die Alone: Desmond gets himself in shape by running the steps at the stadium, where he meets Jack. His goal is to get in the best shape of his life so he can enter Widmore's race. And of course- The FAILSAFE key/Trigger.
Reflections of LOST
Enough of my rambling... Here's your episode recap! Enjoy!

The intense greenish flickers of light and the thunderous atmosphere seems to drop Bae to the ground. We're to believe this is where Bae ends up when he uses the magic bean he received from the Blue Fairy to send him and Rumple/the Dark One, to a place without magic. Standing on the path, Bae realizes his Papa didn't take the leap of faith with him. Bae is commanded "Out of the road" by a man driving a horse and buggy. Then- Bae notices a sign...
"What is this place?" Bae wonders. He sees lamp posts and Victorian people crossing the road ahead of him, and then is startled by the toll of a bell.  He's in Victorian London, England.

Six Months Later:
Bae, looking very Oliver Twist, is lost, broken and scavenging for food, when he sees an open window across the road.  {Note: apple core, wheel on the wagon, ladder, open window, baby carriage, T. Jellicoe cart, etc.}
Bae lets himself in via the window and looks at the interior of beautiful huge Victorian home. He helps himself to the bread {Three Loaves. Four Teacups.} that is set out on the table, when he's discovered by a large Saint Bernard dog. The dog's bark alerts a young girl named Wendy Darling. 
She runs in and arms herself with a statue of a lady, but Bae assures her he doesn't mean any harm. She is compassionate to the poor boy's hungry situation and offers him as much bread as he'd like.
Neal is awakened at 6 AM by Tamara getting ready to go out for her run; she's training for a marathon that is happening in three weeks. Neal wants to just sleep in for once. She leaves and Neal tries to go back to sleep by is startled by voices he hears outside.
Outside of the Rabbit Hole, Mr. Gold has Dr. Whale on the ground and is demanding Whale kiss his boot.  Whale claims he didn't do anything.
"You stared at her (Lacey) and I know how you think- So kiss... my... boot," Gold commands.
The confrontation is interrupted by Bae, who lets Whale go. "I'm surprised you didn't turn him into a snail," Neal remarks to his father.   Realizing Lacey is amused by Neal's snail comment, Mr. Gold gives Lacey keys so she can go wait for him in the shop.  With Lacey now on her way, Neal feels his father is unreal. "You spent years looking for me, I come to town and you disappear. You haven't even bothered to meet Tamara."
Gold won't concern himself with her; even though Neal claims they are getting married, Gold knows it's never going to last- not while Neal carries a torch for Emma.  Neal decides his father hasn't changed one bit, "For a second I thought you might have. I started to think that maybe you're worth my time. I guess I was wrong."
"And yet you're still here!" yells Mr. Gold. Neal clarifies as he begins to walk away, "It's for Henry. Not you. As far as I'm concerned you can stay the hell away from both of us."  You can see this affects Mr. Gold.

Armed and ready, Emma and her father David/Prince Charming, barge into Regina's Mayoral office to find Regina's not there.  Mary Margaret safely enters with Henry.  Concerned Henry asks Emma, "When you find her, you're not gonna hurt her, are you?"
Emma says "No. We just want the beans she stole from us."  Curious, they wonder why Regina would leave her office unlocked especially while keeping the beans there.  But the beans in the miniature greenhouse are gone. Emma sees that something's not right. "Regina would never leave evidence like this behind.  David wonders if she used them to portal out of Storybrooke already- but Emma doesn't think Regina would leave without Henry.
Emma reads the information on the Alarm panel. "The security system says the last time someone was in the office was six this morning. They used an override code to get in."   They all deduce someone other than Regina broke in and took the beans. Henry's concerned something bad has happened to Regina. But Emma promises him they'll find her.  They all also feel the one person who could overpower Regina is Gold.
"He's too busy with his new slash old girlfriend. No, this wasn't Gold... this was Tamara," Emma claims.
Mary Margaret seems a tad annoyed. "Haven't you already gone down that road?"
Emma thinks, "Maybe not far enough."  But mother nods her head and says, "Or... maybe it's time for you to let it go."
Emma's continues to fight her case. "August was attacked the day Tamara came to town. I don't think that was a coincidence."  David wonders if Emma's wrong and Regina's in trouble they just can't drop everything else because of a hunch."  Emma's not going to drop everything else; they'll go to Gold as she's sure he has some kind of magic that can help them locate Regina.  They all agree.
"Where are you going?" Mary Margaret asks Emma.
"Back to Tamara's room."
At the Storybrooke Cannery, Tamara tells Greg she was able to get into Regina's office, and shows him what she found there- a Magic Bean still in its pod.
"Are these what I think they are?" intrigued, Greg asks.
Tamara removes it from the pod. "Magic beans. Neal told me all about them. They open portals."
Betting Neal told Tamara a lot, Greg seems a bit jealous of Tamara's fake relationship with Neal. Tamara assures him that as soon as they're done, "This is coming off ." {The diamond engagement ring Neal gave her.}
Greg gives her a small pouch, "Yeah, well, you can have this one instead." {A huge dark color diamond.}  They don't know what it is, but Regina had it on her. Neal fiddles with wires on some old machines with little lights, dials, buttons and gages.
Unimpressed, Tamara will send it back with the rest of the data.
Tamara thinks the home office is going to have a field day with everything they've collected so far.  Tamara tells Greg to be quick with his next task, as they'll be getting their instructions soon.
Tied down to her torture table, tries to tell Hook that he doesn't know who he's working for.  But all he cares about and trusts is that they promised him his revenge on Rumple. {Although he does look a little concerned for a split moment.} Greg wheels in his electrical machine and bids Regina "Good morning..."  What he's about to do isn't part of his mission- it's personal- this is about his father. He connects electrical leads to Regina {Head, finger}. Although Regina claims he left town, Greg notes he never went to find his only son.  Hook won't lend Greg a hand because he only agreed to killing Rumple, not torturing the Queen. When Greg's ready for that he can find Hook.
Greg powers up the machines, sharing with Regina that she should be frightened. "Because this is how we deal with your kind. And yes... it's going to be unpleasant. Now, exactly how unpleasant... depends on you. Now... where is my father?"  And when Regina doesn't answer, Greg gives her a big jolt of juice!
Wendy taps on the tiny secret door where young Bae is hiding, to give him some food.  Wendy assures him that her parents don't suspect anything, "They're grownups, they can see anything's that's right in front of them."
"We can't, can we?"  There stands Wendy's parents.  "How long have you been hiding in my house?" Nervous Wendy reveals it's been a few weeks, but father wants to hear from the hiding boy.  When asked about his family, Bae shares that his mother died and his is dead too. He apologizes and offers to leave right away, but is stopped by Mrs. Darling. "You're not going anywhere. The streets are no place for a boy."   Bae begs, "Please don't send me to the workhouses."  Mrs. Darling tells the boy he'll stay there. "Welcome to our home." But Mr. Darling is stunned.
Emma shows up at Neal's to search his room - for real this time.  Neal shares that his fiancée is out on a run in the woods; training for a marathon. "What did she do this time?"  Emma shares Regina's missing. Neal insists Tamara is there to support him- she's not a kidnapper.
Emma asks "If she runs in the woods why does she track sand in here?"  Neal thinks maybe she likes to run along the beach instead. Emma feels that Tamara's lying and she must be lying about other things too. There's only one way to find out.
Wendy gazes out the closed window and then wakes Bae who is sleeping on the floor. "Psst. Psst. Hey. Come to the window."  The little brothers wake up excited and wonder if the shadow is coming tonight. Wendy hopes so. She tells Bae, a few weeks ago, right about the time he got there, "this shadow, it came to the window. Only its not attached to a body. And it can do so many wonderful things like, like change its shape and fly and travel between worlds. And do you know why? Because it has magic!"  Bae makes them promise they'll never open that window again and they won't talk to the shadow.  "Magic is dangerous. It always comes with a price."  John thinks he's just saying that because Bae doesn't believe. But Bae explains that's the point, that he does believe. He comes from another land and has seen magic. "A land where magic is everywhere."  Wendy wonders if that's really true, because it sounds wonderful.
"It isn't what you think," Bae whispers.  "Magic is the reason I left. I lost everything because of it."  Magic destroyed his family and he doesn't want it to do the same to hers.  Wendy promises Bae that if the shadow returns she won't go anywhere near it.

Uninvited Mary Margaret and David show up to Mr. Gold's room at the back of his shop, interrupting a little drinking party he has going on with Lacey. Gold is amused by David's news of Regina, but David plays the "you still owe me a favor" card with him.   Gold asks Lacey to leave while he attends to some business.  Lacey leaves with drink in hand.
Gold asks "Why do the Charmings' want to help the Evil Queen?"  Mary Margaret feels it's because "I owe her... after what I did to Cora."
"Never underestimate the power of a guilty conscience," Gold remarks. He presents a small box that contains a small vile of one of Regina's tears. But this spell requires two tears; one from Mary Margaret. He coaches Mary Margaret to think of a dark moment- something bleak and hopeless.  Being able to draw upon such a memory, Mary Margaret produces a tear that Gold captures into the vile.  He instructs her to drop the combo into her eye and she'll be able to connect with Regina wherever she is; Whatever Regina sees and feels, Mary Margaret will see and feel. The spell will last long enough to lead them to her.  With his end of the bargain fulfilled, he bids them goodbye.
Apparently, sneaky Lacey overheard their exchange and is impressed Gold really can do magic. Gold suggests she pour herself another drink.

Back at the apartment, David tries to tell Mary Margaret that she doesn't have to do this, as she's been through a lot already.  But Mary Margaret feels her heart is dark because of what she did to Regina. "If I can help find her, if we can save her... maybe it will help let some of the light back in." David understands.
 He drops one drop into Mary Margaret's right eye.  After a moment she starts to convulse- experiencing Flashes of Regina's shocking circumstances.

Mrs. Darling checks in on the sleeping children.  Bae now sleeps in a bed with light/white textiles.

Bae is awakened by Wendy, who is kneeling at the open window happily awaiting the approaching Shadow.  Wendy tells Bae not to be afraid, "He doesn't want to hurt us. He's from another land- a land of magic, but, its different from where you came from."  Bae warns her not to listen to him/shadow.
"It's called Neverland," reveals Wendy, as she allows the Shadow to take hold of her hand. "And there are no grownups there and children never grow old. And we can do anything we want- even fly!"  Bae grabs hold of Wendy's free hand, warning "It's a trick! Don't go with him! You don't need magic. You have family right here. That's the only thing that matters."
"It's what I've always dreamed of. You just don't believe!" Wendy is pulled away into the night sky by the Shadow.
As they walk the beach, Neal jokingly asks Emma where she thinks they're hiding Regina, "Sandcastle?"  Emma knows she's has to be somewhere. Neal accuses Emma of letting her emotions get in the way of her judgment.  Emma tells Neal this isn't all about breaking up him and Tamara. "What do you wanna hear, Neal? That it killed me that you never came looking for me even once I was locked up- that it didn't hurt, that you found Tallahassee with someone else?"  Just then, hooded Tamara comes jogging into their space. She claims she starts off her run by running in the woods and then runs along the beach.  Tamara "plays shocked" by the missing Regina news.
"I thought maybe she was down here but, I was wrong," states Emma. Tamara's sure she'll turn up somewhere. "Let me know if I can help at all," and Tamara kisses Neal and continues her run.  It's obvious Emma is uncomfortable. Once alone Neal blurts out "I wanted to go to jail for you. It kills me that I let August talk me into letting you go. {He has to say these things to her, even though she doesn't want to hear it.} I wanted to look for you. I just, I... was too afraid."
Emma wonders, "Of what?"
"That you would never forgive me- 'cause I never forgave myself. There hasn't been a day that's gone by... that I don't regret having left you. I'm sorry, Emma- for everything."
Emma is sorry too.
Back inside the Queen's "torture chamber", Tamara tells Greg everything's taken care of; they think she was running on the beach. The Queen isn't exactly cooperating- but that's all about to change, as Greg gives her a huge jolt of electricity.
"You have no idea who you're dealing with," Regina claims. Greg feels it's her who has no idea who she's dealing with.  Regina feels they're a couple of fools who go around stealing magic, but they duo claim they're not there to steal magic- but to destroy it. Tamara informs her "Magic does not belong in this world. It's un-holy. We're here to cleanse this land of it."  Regina is amused that these two think they can accomplish this feat.
"Who said there's only two of us. We're, we're everywhere, Regina."  Greg explains that after he left Storybrooke as a boy, he was babbling about magic, about what he'd seen, and what had happened to his father. Most folks wrote him off, but some didn't. "They, Believer's" found him; those are people who know that magic is real- and know that it doesn't belong in this world and are willing to do something about it.
Regina feels "This little quest of yours... to cleanse the world of magic... it's not gonna work."
Greg insists it will work, as they've done it before and they'll do it again.  "Storybrooke" isn't the first time that magic has crossed over.  Magic has been doing its damage for a long time and people like them are there to stop it.  Greg pushes the Red activate button to jolt Regina again.
David questions shaken Mary Margaret about her out of body experience to find Regina.  Mary Margaret only remembers pain and screaming.  David encourages her to concentrate "The smallest detail might lead us to her."  Mary Margaret reveals her hands were tied down- and my legs... it was cold, and it smelled like sardines.

While walking on the dock Emma is brought up to speed by David via cell telephone; she could sense Regina was in pain, cold and strapped down- and that she could smell sardines. Just then Emma "eye spies" the Storybrooke Cannery Co. in front of her.  "Get down to the docks right now."  Emma tells Neal she was right, "Tamara was not down here for a run- she's in there... with Regina." The duo heads in.
Bae sleeps by the open window {Rose colors and Red robe} and is awakened by the return of Wendy.  She asks "How long was I gone?"
"Just the night."
Wendy, seeming a but troubled, shares that it felt so much longer. "...time works differently in Neverland."   When Bae asks what it was like over there, Wendy shares, "It's an island... where there are no grownups to tell you what to do. But there are mermaids and fairies and all sorts of mystical creatures."  Wendy tells him she returned because when night fell and all the children began to miss their parents, they cried through the night- the Shadow won't let them go home. "There's a reason it's called Neverland... Because once you set foot on its soil... the Shadow never lets you leave."
Bae ask how she escaped. Wendy reveals that he let her go; because he didn't want her, he wanted a boy. "He's coming back tonight to take one of my brothers in my place. You said magic was bad and you were right, Bae. It's going to destroy my family."  Bae won't let anything happen to her or that family.
Mr. Gold shows Lacey his bag of tricks. {Turning a small vile of clear liquid into green liquid.} He didn't show her sooner because "Magic always comes with a price. It tends to drive away the people I care about most."  Lacey feels he's been caring about the wrong people.  She wants to see more of what Gold can do, so he magically materializes a diamond necklace and puts it on her.
Gold claims he can do anything and that there are many perks to being the Dark One.
"Immortality being one of them, right?" Lacey wonders.  She asks if he can keep her young, which he can. This makes her happy because then they can be together forever and nothing can keep them apart.  But there is one thing... Gold explains "immortal" means to live forever- it doesn't mean one can't be killed. "There was a prophecy that- someone might be my undoing."  He claims to know who this "someone" is; something is standing in his way from eliminating this "someone".  Lacey thought he was a man who wouldn't let anything stand in his way. Gold pulls her close and claims "I am."

Armed Emma and Neal make their way into the dark Cannery to investigate.  Neal isn't going to leave Emma alone in "this place."  Emma needs to know if something goes down with Tamara that he's got her back.
"Emma, if Tamara is hiding Regina here in her evil lair by the docks, yeah, I got your back,"  he replies in a bit of a sarcastic tone.
A sound motivates Emma, only to find the sound came from armed David and Mary Margaret- they could've shot each other.  David gives Emma a walkie-talkie so that doesn't happen again.  Emma directs the duo to take the basement while she and Neal search the main floor.
Seeing via the computer monitor they're on the verge of getting caught, Tamara determines it's time to go.
 
She warns Greg about the gang being on their way in, but panicked Greg needs more time with Regina.  Tamara doesn't want their plan blown, but Greg feels they wouldn't even had known about that town if it wasn't for his dad. "I'm not leaving until I find out where he is."  Greg gets back to torturing Regina; they'll meet at the rendezvous point when he's done.

Greg turns up the power on the machines that are charging up Regina. "I'm moving up time. I gonna give you one last chance- Tell me where my father is."  Regina tells him his father is dead. "I killed him... the minute you ran away."  To prove it she directs him to find the buried body at their campsite; doubting he gets many visitors there. "Now go ahead and kill me. I just wanted to see the look on your face when I..."  Greg charges her with a strong jolt of electricity!
Mrs Darling wishes her "treasures" a goodnight and she leaves.  {Bae in bed}
"We have work to do," declares Bae.  The tiny army of children hatched a plan to set a trap for the Shadow. They set the trap.  {Note Wendy with a fork.}
The children arm themselves and go back into their beds.  All of a sudden all the flames that light the fixtures and fireplace are blown out. Bae assures the others not to be frightened. But the Shadow enters the room. Bae instructs the others into the crawlspace to hide for safety, but little Michael is mesmerized by the Shadow floating in front of him.  Bae confronts the Shadow, demanding it take him instead; making the Shadow promise never to bother the family again and not letting magic destroy the family.
Wendy is freaked out, not wanting Bae to go. Bae tells her, "You have to let me go."  Bae allows the Shadow to take his hand, but Wendy grabs Bae's other hand.   Bae thanks her for making him part of her family, and with that the shadow leads Bae out the window.
All the sad Darling children could do was watch from the window as the Shadow whizzes Bae through the maze of houses and buildings in the city, narrowly clearing all the smoking chimney stacks!  They fly by Big Ben; the time again is 8:15, and up toward the ever important star.

Greg continues to torture Regina! "You feel that?! That's the end of you!" He gives her another major jolt. "Now, you're never gonna hurt anyone ever again."  David enters and shoots at the machine. Greg runs away and David wants to take off after him; but Mary Margaret needs him to help get Regina to Mother Superior or she'll die.  David radios Emma to block the exits; she's already on it. He also warns that Greg Mendel is headed their way.
Neal replies to Emma, "So I was right, it wasn't Tamara."  Just then, Tamar hits Emma in the head with a huge pipe knocking her out, and proving that it was Tamara. 
She points the gun at Neal, explaining "I have to keep magic out of this world, Neal. It doesn't belong here. You more than anyone should understand that. It's a poison."  Neal is upset that she's been lying to him and wonders "HOW LONG?!"   Tamara admits "Since the beginning. Since I spilled coffee on you."  He realizes she planned it all, "None of it was real."  Tamara knows Neal's a good man, but she had an important job to do and that he would agree with it. But Neal isn't even thinking about that. He's devastated that she lied- that she never loved him. Knowing he can't let her leave here, he approaches her and Tamara shoots him. {blood from his chest.} As she's about to finish him off by aiming at his head, awakened Emma intervenes and fights with Tamara.
Just as armed Emma claims it's over, Tamara proves it's not, by producing a magic bean that she tosses in Emma direction. The bean glows green and causes a familiar swirling vortex into the ground.  As the portal expands, Emma tries to get out of its way by climbing up the wall and holding on to a pipe.  Tamara takes off.   The pipe Emma is holding on to is failing and she's hanging right over the opening.  Neal saves her but the portal opening keeps growing, causing Emma and Neal to slip.  Barely hanging on, Emma holds on to Neal's hand. Neal knows she can't hold both of them, but Emma's not letting go of him.
"You have to," shot Neal replies.  Emma needs to get him to a hospital; knowing he'll die if he falls through the portal- no matter what world he lands in.
Neal says "no" and reminds her that Henry needs her; Henry can't lose both of them. "Don't let him to grow up like we did."
Emma is crying "Then don't let go. I need you. I love you."
"I love you too."  Neal lets go of her hand and allows himself to fall into the portal.
Emma is again, left without her love, Neal. Heartbroken, she cries.
In the woods near a broken tree, Greg frantically digs a hole at the campsite, looking for his father's bones. He hits something metal sounding, and pulls up reddish fabric. Using his hands to pull away dirt, he comes upon a skull. "Dad."
Over at Mary Margaret's apartment, Mother Superior uses her blue glowing magic wand over Regina's sleeping body. "Now that the cuff is off, she's gonna be okay. Given time and rest, her magic will return."
Devastated Emma returns home and shares the tale of how Neal is gone; she (Tamara) killed him.
Flying over water towards an island, Bae, hearing the cries of the children, wonders, "Neverland?" He tries to break free of the Shadow, not wanting to be taken there.  Remembering he has a box of matches in his robe pocket, Bae lights a match and uses it to defend himself against the Shadow.  Shunning the flame, the Shadow drops Bae into the water below.  The frustrated Shadow hovers above the water searching for the fallen boy before finally taking off to the island.

Bae floats to the top of the water. A searchlight spots him. A rope {Looking more like a noose for a moment} is tossed into the water and unconscious Bae is pulled on deck of Captain Hook's ship- The Jolly Roger.
Bae wakes and asks "Who are you?" The Captain introduces himself and welcomes the boy.
While Mary Margaret tends to Regina, David comforts his hurt daughter.  Emma wonders how she's going to tell Henry.
Regina wakes to see the face/Mary Margaret (faces) of who saved her.  They wouldn't let her die. Despite their differences they're family.  David informs her that Greg and Tamara got away.
"So they still have it," Regina states.  "Still have what?" Mary Margaret asks.

Carrying the dark diamond through the woods, disheveled Tamara arrives at the rendezvous point to find Greg shoveling. She's sorry about his father- so is he.  Tamara hands Greg the dark diamond and tells him the folks at the home office knew about this rock "And you're never gonna believe what it does."

Regina educates David and Mary Margaret about this "trigger" that will destroy Storybrooke. She had a failsafe built into the curse. This upsets the couple as they now posses the knowledge Regina wanted to kill all of them in Storybrooke.  Regina admits wanting to use the beans to take Henry back to the Enchanted Forest.  Regina no longer controls the trigger.
Tamara informs Greg that with the dark diamond, "They want us to move to the next phase."  It seems that the time frame for this phase has been moved up- they're to blow Storybrooke off the map.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Next Stop... WONDERLAND



I can't believe we're approaching the season 2 finale of ONCE Upon A Time already.  Time really does fly when you're having fun!  

This Sunday's episode "Second Star to the Right" prepares us for our Mother's Day finale titled "And Straight on Till Morning," on May 12. I'm sure it's no coincidence that the finale airs on Mother's Day.

ONCE Upon A Time brings me so much joy and so much more. It passionately touches my heart and brings me back to so much of my own imaginative childhood. I am so thankful that we have this beautiful fairy tale in this day and age. It is full of heart. It reminds us of what it important in life- Home, family, love, balance, overcoming challenges and changes, to keep Hope alive, and that there is magic out there and in you- if you just believe. We all need a little faith, trust and pixie dust in our lives. I know I do!  There are plenty of days I wish I could be plucked out of my ordinary existence and dropped into a new beautiful adventure where I can soar and feel alive.

If you know me you know that I avoid spoilers. Over the years I have become quite versed in the skill of skirting spoilers. I mean, come on, who wants to skip ahead a few pages or jump to the ending of a great book?!  Not me. I want to enjoy every moment of the adventurous journey. But I do want to know more about the ONCE spin-off titled ONCE Upon A Time in Wonderland.  I am in awe of the writers ability to weave more into the tapestry, to shed light on the thread that connects people and places on a whole other level- Everyone and everything is connected.

Well, Oncers, enjoy what is left of this season and we'll all anxiously await the season 3 premiere. I can only imagine where the magical adventure will take us next.


The following spin-off information comes directly from TV Fanatic:
 
Spinoff Scoop: Kitsis is aware there’s been much speculation about this series, so he laid it out thusly: “Wonderland takes place post-curse so that the pilot of Wonderland actually starts when magic comes... then it runs concurrent so that we are in present day Wonderland/post-Queen Of Hearts and just like we saw in the Enchanted Forest, there were pockets that were saved."

Horowitz added that “Wonderland touches Once Upon A Time but also is intended to exist as its own thing.”

In other words, they said, you don’t need to have watched Once to follow Wonderland. Also, while they know Sebastian Stan is too busy with the Captain America sequel to play the Mad Hatter, they confirmed that the role will not be recast.

Wonderland/Once Crossovers: While the guys said having characters crossover between the two worlds in present day would be too complicated, crossovers in flashbacks are definitely in their sights. So we may see characters we thought were long gone show up again: “You cannot do Wonderland and not bring back Barbara [Hershey],” said Kitsis. “I still think there are many Cora stories to be told in both young Cora and old.”