Tiny

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"  - William Shakespeare

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

When I was a very young child my father would call me "Bones."  Come to think of it, I don't recall him ever addressing me by the name he and my mother gave me at birth.  I've had three nicknames in my life that I wear with pride.  This, of course, excludes the horrible things I was called by bullies and other negative people who felt the need to create other stupid yet colorful names for me.  Two of the three nicknames correlate to my size.  After all, at only 5 feet tall my physicality is tiny, and most of the time seems the only thing people notice about me.  So, "Bones" has been reserved for my father's use and was retired once he passed away, and "Shortcake," the nickname many people still call me and which I've had for many years now, makes me smile on a daily basis. The other nickname came when I was in our rock band and the guys would call me "Chickie," since I was the only girl in the band.

Nicknames and even names don't really define who you are. Nicknames or labels can be a form of ridicule or contempt, or even convey affection, endearment, emotional bond or simply familiarity.  We do use names as a form of identity, but here in our story these people are confused about their identity, about who they really are- deep down inside.  We're all more than just a name.

Anton felt a bit disrespected by his brothers calling him the nickname, Tiny, and inferior to his brothers with their teasing, but it was a sign of affection, for they did love him very much.  It's apparent that the brothers behaved as loving brothers do. But what matters most is that they lived, worked and loved together- as a family.  They worried about Anton and each other, and they took great care of the land, beans and life they've cultivated.

A family shows love and caring in different ways, but that's not to be confused with family members who inflict real pain to each other's heart and mind, causing great damage.  A loving family is a treasure, not the material possessions acquired by them. The value is in each person.


Anton is happy when the Dwarfs and the ax name him Tiny- just like his brothers used to call him. He is again part of a brotherhood- a family.

Plant a good seed

We see that the Giants take pride in their bean farming work. They do it not for the riches and/or magic they could provide, but put in hard labor simply for the harvest. They foster life and that is valuable to them.

Jack plants a seed in Anton's head about his family, emphasizing the "negative" behavior of his brothers and making him feel the grass is greener in Prince James' Kingdom. But we learn that's just part of the con put in play by Jack, Prince James and King George.

Be careful which seeds you or others plant in your mind and what emotions you water them with, because you have a choice on how to nurture those seeds into a wonderful productive harvest... a bright reality, or not.  You want your seeds to grow beautiful and strong, and not develop fungus and rot.


"The same thing that makes all men dangerous. They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt... and it always ends the same"

Arlo shares a similar sentiment about humans with Anton as the above quote from LOST. "They don't abide by the same laws that we do, Anton. We Giants foster life. They destroy it. That is why they must never know that we still exist or that we still grow the beans."

It is sad that people hurt each other, but the Giants have found a way of life that lets them live in peace. Unfortunately most humans aren't content with the possessions they have or their station in life, they are selfish in their methods to acquire more.  But not everyone is the same, some find happiness in the simple and beautiful things in life, especially love of family and home- and that's enough for them. Most people will protect what is theirs- possessions, beans and family.

"See you in another life, Hurley"

Anton seems to have been put through a test of sorts, yet is kidnapped by Cora to be used as a means to her own end/gain. But this hard path he has to walk leads him to a new life, new fertile land one that could bring him purpose, a new family and especially Hope. When given the opportunity to let go and die, Anton didn't take it. I feel that Anton isn't ready to "let go" because he still has some work to do in Storybrooke.

With Anton's inadvertent betrayal of the beanstalk and the harvested beans, I'm reminded of an episode of LOST, Further Instructions, when John Locke leads the cops to the grow house on the farmland where he lives; he has to clean up that mess before he can move forward.  I see a few things in Mr. John Locke that Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold have in common.


Learn to Fly

Let's keep in mind that Mr. Gold/Rumple is just like everybody else- that is important. He has walked a hard path as well. Little by little he and the other residents are learning to "let go" of things they shouldn't hold on to any longer. This will help them grow and find what they really value and love and find their way home.

I want to share this bit of information with you as I saw this with LOST and I see it with ONCE Upon A Time.  Enlightenment.
Sannyas is the art of flying-  the art that stops the process of gravitation and starts the process of grace. All that is needed is a state of let-go. All that is needed is a readiness to be possessed by the upward dimension, a readiness to open to the sky. 

I want to share my photos with you. It was such an honor to meet Jorge!

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

๑  Twice we see Cora is the person of interest to be summoned or found, yet Regina shows up in her place. Ex: Hook puts the Queen of Hearts playing card down to summon Cora, but Regina shows up.
๑  Names: Nicknames ,pen names,stage name, pseudonym or alias.
๑  The Wizard of Oz: Green door, Em, Marvel
๑  Alice in Wonderland: Jabberwock. Eat something (mushroom/treats) change your size
๑  Damon Lindelof in the episode 7:15
๑  All the Giants names begin with the letter "A"
๑  Black, White and Red
๑  Life. Death. Rebirth/Start over
๑  Layers
๑  Realm. World. Plane- Travel
๑  Hook's ship and Emma's wardrobe are made from enchanted wood
๑  Tallahassee
๑  Jack and the Beanstalk: Gold harp
๑  A fairy tale titled "Teeny-Tiny"
๑  Foster life. Foster parenting
๑  Root. Seed. Plant. Grow. Harvest.
๑  Anton's clothing is very "Jedi" and East Asian clothing and Samurai culture
๑  Sentry birds. Guard
๑  James is a selfish greedy a liar, conman, while David is selfless and willing to sacrifice
๑  The Giants eat vegetables and follow a monastic, even Buddhist way of life
๑  In the episode In the Name of the Brother the magic globe highlights on the East Coast of the U.S. but not specifically New York. Unless I'm just not seeing it properly or the perspective is out of whack- if that's the case then never mind

Vocabulary and Research...

๑  Anton: The name means "Highly praiseworthy" or "priceless."
- Anton is a 1973 Norwegian drama film: 15-year-old Anton Olsson lives in a little village in rural Norway. As his father loses his grip on reality Anton's mother, who left home when Anton was little, returns.
- Anton is a massively parallel supercomputer designed and built by D. E. Shaw Research in New York. It is named after Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch tradesman and scientist from Delft, Netherlands. He's known as "the Father of Microbiology," and considered to be the first microbiologist. He is best known for his work on the improvement of the microscope
๑ The Germ Theory of Disease:  Louis Pasteur was born in Dole France. Louis Pasteur's main contributions to microbiology and medicine were; instituting changes in hospital/medical practices to minimize the spread of disease by microbes or germs, discovering that weak forms of disease could be used as an immunization against stronger forms and that rabies was transmitted by viruses too small to be seen under the microscopes of the time,introducing the medical world to the concept of viruses. Controversy Over Louis Pasteur A few historians disagree with the accepted wisdom regarding Pasteur and believe that the evidence points to him as being a plagiarizer and fraud of note, and that his research was not at all original.
๑ "Jabberwocky" is a nonsense verse poem written by Lewis Carroll in his 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, about an encounter between a young boy and a monster called the Jabberwock. This is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  The book tells of Alice's adventures within the back-to-front world of a looking glass. Alice finds a book written in a seemingly unintelligible language. Realizing that she is traveling through an inverted world, she recognizes that the verse on the pages are written in mirror-writing.
- Jabberwocky is a card game of the trick-taking variety
๑ Mushroom (or toadstool) is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus. Mushrooms are used extensively in cooking; They are known as the "meat" of the vegetable world. Medicinal mushrooms are mushrooms or extracts used or studied as possible treatments for diseases. Many mushroom species produce secondary metabolites that can be toxic, mind-altering, antibiotic, antiviral, or bioluminescent.  Although there are only a small number of deadly species, several others can cause particularly severe and unpleasant symptoms. Mushrooms with psychoactive properties have long played a role in various native medicine traditions in cultures all around the world. They have been used as sacrament in rituals aimed at mental and physical healing, and to facilitate visionary states.

 ✔ Golden LOST Thread Woven into the Tapestry of this Tale

✈ Damon Lindelof voice over as the TV announcer and Carlton Cuse introduces Exposé.
✈ Eyes
✈ Exposé
- Poison -At one point Hurley mistakes Nikki's last words as "Power lines" - we see the Giant run through power lines in Storybrooke
✈ Jules Verne The Mysterious Island
✈ Ajira Airlines. Travel
✈ Across the Sea
✈ The Incident
✈  Enlightenment
✈  Arrow- Station
✈  Ship
✈  Being watched
✈  Torture
✈  Seed. Root.
✈ Tranquilizer. Sedation. IV. Sleep. Drugs/mushrooms
✈  Michael is from New York City.
 -Locke goes to NYC to find Walt in The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham
✈  The Long Con
✈  ? (Question Mark): Salted land so that nothing will grow
✈  Catch 22-  "Did you eat those mushrooms Jack warned us about?"
✈  Dave:  Hurley- "...Back to the caves. No one lives there anymore, so I won't bother anybody. I'm just going to live alone and be one of those guys - you know, the crazy guys - with a big beard and no clothes who's naked and throws doodie at people."
✈ It's Hurley's lucky day when he's able to get aboard Oceanic flight 815
✈ Whatever the Case May Be -  Shannon translates Danielle Rousseau's papers and maps, which included the lyrics to "La Mer" (Beyond the Sea).  Shannon- "A des reflets d'argent. La mer des reflets changeants... the sea of sparkles? No, wait, um, the sea of silver sparkles that change..." She recalls the melody and lyrics from the movie Finding Nemo.
✈  Claire loses her memory when she's taken by Ethan.
✈  In the episode Homecoming she asks Charlie- "We're friends?"
✈  Raised by Another

Enough of my rambling... Here's your episode recap! Enjoy!

Mr. Gold picks up Emma for their field trip to find his son. Emma thinks layers are a good idea when Henry wonders about the cold or warm climates they might face. This makes Gold realize they have one additional travel partner. Emma won't leave Henry behind with Cora lurking about, and Gold respects this. They'll have to purchase another plane ticket.  Yep, they're flying!
David warns Gold not to let any harm befall his family not because he would cross the time-line in his David Nolan Animal Rescue van, but simply because it would devastate him. It's not a threat, it's a request. "Take care of 'em."  Gold promises no harm will come to his family, as they have a deal.

The threesome drives in Gold's old Cadillac toward the Storybrooke border. The landscape looks cold, dry and brittle.  They're on their way to Logan International Airport, and that's as much info Gold will divulge at this point; One step at a time.  Gold tells Emma if the shawl doesn't work when crossing the line then he'll revert back to his cursed self, "We're all gonna have some problems."   He assures his nervous passengers "It'll work."

They cross the line and a magical energy flows over Gold.  The shawl worked. "My name is Rumpelstiltskin... And we're gonna find my son."

Mary Margaret flirts with David about him carrying a holster, but he misses carrying a sword.  Leroy has the Dwarfs on Cora-Watch, "They've got eyes everywhere, but they could use our help." Mary Margaret jokes "How hard could it be to find a powerful sorceress in a small town?"  Apparently it's not very hard because Regina is at the door.  David informs Regina Dr. Hopper is alive and well and that she was framed by Cora.  Regina plays dumb, pretending she's unaware that her mother is in town.  Mary Margaret apologizes to Regina about them being wrong.
Regina- "I know. But if Cora's here then we're all in danger. Please, you have to let me see my son, I can protect him."
The lovebirds reveal that Henry left town about an hour ago with Emma and Mr. Gold to find his son. They didn't tell Regina because they didn't know where she was, and Emma doesn't really have to run anything by Regina.  This comment hurts Regina and she just walks away.
Mary Margaret- "That went well."   She and David start their quest to find Cora. David hands Mary Margaret her bow and arrows. David doesn't know where to find her but he knows who to ask.

Still wobbly from his injuries, Hook leads David, Mary Margaret and Leroy to the dock.  He seems insulted they didn't even ask him about his recovery, so Mary Margaret asks him. Hook just flirts. David insists Mate/Hook show them the shielded ship. Hook doesn't know what David expects to find as Cora won't be there. David thinks that maybe she left something behind to tell them where she went. Leroy warns the pirate he's watching him, but Hook isn't threatened by the dwarf.  Mary Margaret knows Hook the pirate will help them because he knows which way the wind blows. "And right now it's gusting towards us."  Hook sees where Mary Margaret's daughter got her gumption. "Follow me," Hook leads them onto the invisible ship.   Leroy is very curious. "You sailed this ship from our land... can you sail it back?"
Hook- "My ship? She's a marvel. Made from enchanted wood. We weathered many a storm together- seen many strange glittering shores. But to travel between lands she must go through a portal."
David just wants to know what Cora's plans are, so Hook shares that malice driven weapon of choice is in here; a large covered box.  Leroy removes the cover to reveal a sleeping large man/giant.
Mary Margaret asks "Who's that?"

The diner bell rings and Tiny is late to dinner. His brothers missed Tiny out in the fields. Annoyed Tiny corrects one of the brothers, "Its Anton."  The brothers playfully squabble, beating Tiny to some of the vegetables on the table, but this makes Anton feel bullied.
But today they celebrate. Arlo, "After a century of hard labor, the time for the bean harvest has finally arrived. {Everyone is happy except for Anton.} But, is a blossom more than its root? Is a harvest more important than a hard day's work? No. Each has value... Just as each of us has value. Hear. Hear."  As the men toast a tiny harp falls from Anton's sleeve. He's obviously been spending time in the treasure room, although he tried to deny it. {Note Alexander's subtle reaction to the harp.}

Arlo feels Anton's fascination with the humans and their artifacts are misguided, "No good can come of it."
Anton- "How can you say that when you've never even been to their world? And you won't even let any of us go down there."
Arlo- "Have you forgotten what the humans did?! Why we no longer trade beans with them? They weren't content merely traveling between the realms.  They had to conquer and pillage...."
Anton- "Just because a few humans did some bad stuff doesn't make them all evil."
Arlo- "They don't abide by the same laws that we do, Anton. We Giants foster life. They destroy it. That is why they must never know that we still exist or that we still grow the beans." {Is it just me, or is Arlo a little too "Big Lebowski"? lol}
Anton- "But why do we keep growing them... if nobody ever uses 'em?"
The five brothers seem dumbfounded by Anton's comment.
Arlo- "It's what we do."
Anton- "We don't do anything with them!"
Arlo- "It is the labor who makes us who we are, not the fruit that it yields." {He looks at Anton as if to say "do you understand?"}
Alexander picks up the tiny gold harp and asks "What is this... a human toy?" He crushes the harp, "Not much fun, is it?"  Although Arlo notes Alexander's behavior, insulted Anton hurries away from the table and climbs down the beanstalk.

Cora used magic to make the caged Giant "travel size."   David seems to think Hook knows what Cora intends to do with the Giant, but Hook says he doesn't. Hook suggests they wake the bloody Giant and ask him yourself. He gives Mary Margaret the key to the cage and she wakes the Giant, telling him he's safe now. {Watch Hook here.}
Mary Margaret asks him his name and he replies it's Anton.  The awakened Giant asks where the witch is and realized she made him small. Anton sees David, "You... You!" He attacks David and its Mary Margaret's arrow that stops Anton.
Anton- "You may have me outnumbered, but this isn't over. You think I forgot what you did- I didn't! You'll pay for your evil. I promise- you'll pay!"  Anton runs off.

Belle watches TV in the patient lounge of the hospital when she's visited by Ruby {Wearing her ugly hairy jacket} bearing gifts; comforts of home, including the book by Jules Verne "The Mysterious Island."  {Watch video clip above. Bill Godwin. Exposé, etc.} Belle doesn't remember Ruby and asks her "Were we really friends?" Since they were, Belle asks Ruby to tell her the truth as she recalls the time "before I was brought here," and how she was hurt and a man healed her bleeding (cut) and also held a fireball in his hand. She wonders how that's possible.  Ruby only says that the nurse said the tranquilizers can give her wicked nightmares. But Belle knows what she saw and insists she doesn't need any more tranquilizers. She is getting worked up and even wonders why everyone keeps calling her "Belle." 

Just then the nurse from Regina's secret underground ward comes to inject Belle with a heavy sedative, as that's how they've been keeping her.  Mr. Mendel attached to his IV lurk close by and ask if everything is okay. Ruby feels the sooner the much improved Mr. Mendel is better, the sooner he can leave their quiet little town.

Back at Granny's Diner, Mary Margaret, David and Leroy try to figure out what the Giant meant with his threat to David. David's never seen him before.
Leroy- "Well, he sure knows you."
David thinks, "No. It's not about me. He just thinks it is."

At the Palace James is drinking and fooling around with the conceited "true wonder," when the King enters to share that there's trouble afoot for the teetering on bankruptcy Kingdom- News of a Giant running a muck in the outer village. James thought Giants were extinct. The conceited woman would love the chance to battle one, but the King insists "No. No killing. Not yet anyway. This Giant could be of use to us." Arrogant James just needs to be told what needs to be done.

Mary Margaret realized the Giant thinks David is his brother James. It's the only thing that makes sense. David tells Leroy to get his head looked at while they go and find out what kind of trouble his brother got himself into. "And gather the Dwarfs, you need to keep an eye out for this Giant.

The Giant peeks into the window of the tavern.

James {Prince of this realm} and the woman meet up with the Giant to ensure he received a warm welcome.
"I'm Anton. I'm a Giant."  This, of course is obvious to all. It's Anton's fascination with their customs that brings him to their land; he wanted to see it for himself.   James would be happy to show Anton around, but there's the matter of his size.
Anton- "I'm too small for back home, I'm too big for here."

The smiling woman tells Anton don't despair, as she has something that may help him. "Magic. A piece of mushroom from a far-off land.  I once slayed a Jabberwock that was terrorizing a village. They, they couldn't pay me in gold, so they paid me in this instead. If you eat it, it will change your size. Its effects are temporary, but we have more. I'm pretty sure this one makes you smaller."  She hasn't had the occasion to try it. The wise woman who gave it to her swore by its power. Anton doesn't have any way to replay them for their kindness. The woman feels there's no need, "If it makes you happy that's all the payment that we desire."
Anton- "Well, at least tell me your name."
The woman- "Jacqueline... (her tone changes a bit here) but most people call me "Jack"."
Anton- "Nice to meet you, Jack."

Emma, Mr. Gold and Henry check in at the airport.   As they're about to pass through to the other side of the security check point, Henry asks Gold if he's ever been outside of Storybrooke before. Gold replies "no," also saying he's not nervous about that, nor is he nervous about meeting his son; he seems nervous.
Henry- "It must be really hard not to use magic- Being like everyone else."
This is an obvious concern for Gold.  Happy Henry marches right through the security scan while Gold and Emma put their belongings {including Gold's scarf and cane} into the basket.
Gold- "If I let this go I could forget who I am."
But Emma assures him she won't let anything happen.  {Note: Emma says her father's a little nervous and that their headed to a family reunion.} When Gold removes the scarf/shawl he becomes a little unbalanced. Emma keeps her word, immediately putting the scarf back on Gold and he's fine. When they walk through the detectors it beeps for each of them.
{Flight 358 is ready for boarding at terminal C, gate 48 C} Henry is way too excited that there's a Cinnabon there.

Hook drops the Queen of Hearts card (Calling card) to summon Cora, but Regina appears in her place.  He was expecting her mother; the one he was supposed to kill. He didn't want to deprive Regina of a happy reunion. Regina feels its Hook's lucky day, "She and I have made amends."  Cora doesn't feel it prudent for her to be out and about so here's Regina to ask Hook if they found the ship.  Hook tells her they found it but didn't get her things off of it because he's been tied up in bed. He also shares the good news that a {shrunken} Giant got loose from the hold.
Regina- "You lost a Giant?"
It's good news because when the Giant got free and took a good look at the Prince he became extremely murderous. Regina feels this is just the distraction they need.

The shrunken Giant walks down the middle of Storybrooke's streets; past the shoe store and dodging cars. 

The Prince leads Anton into the pub, "Much better to be on the inside, huh?"  The Prince offers the guest of honor, Anton, a seat at the table. Anton likes the special attention, attention he doesn't get at home from his brothers. Jack's not so sure about Anton's family, "It doesn't sound like they appreciate you."   Anton feels their not so bad, except for the making fun of him, pushing him around, and their harsh words. "Well, yeah, it's sorta bad."
The Prince looks into Jack's eyes, "Sometimes you have to leave home to find the people you truly belong with. (puts his hand on Anton's right shoulder) Your real family."
Jack- "It's like you were always meant to be here, Anton."
Anton feels wanted.   The Prince wants to be sure Anton has all that he needs and he walks away to chat with another man.

Anton is moved by the music; he notices the harp being played by a woman in the band. "I had one of those once. I never knew it made such beautiful music. My brothers are so wrong about humans."  He notices the Prince getting worked up in the conversation he's having with a man. Jack reveals that the Royal coffers are empty, "James and his father are deeply in debt to a neighboring Kingdom If James can't pay back what he owes they'll plunder this realm and burn it to the ground."
Anton now understands. "Will the other Kingdom only accept gold coins?"
Jack- "Well, that depends... A magic bean, for instance, would be worth a thousand coins, but, you don't have any of those back home, do you?"
Anton (obviously lying)- "No. No beans. We do have treasure. Enough to pay off your debts, I bet."  He would help them without question. If he's going to stay there for good might as well make sure it's a nice Kingdom and not you know... burned to the ground.  Jack kisses him on the cheek, declaring he's their hero.  This makes Anton feel good.

Anton sits looking out to the water when he is approached by Regina. {She's sporting an big old fashioned hand muff.} He demands the human get away from him or he'll kill her; he hates humans. Regina laughs, as she's there to help him kill someone. Claiming she has no love for this Prince, if Anton wants to destroy the town to get to him "Well, I'm happy to do my part. (She shows him a treat) This will make you bigger. It will return you to your former glory."  Anton eats the blue and white treat and grows very big. Regina is happy. "Now get to work. As I'm sure you're aware that mushroom won't last forever."

Mr. Gold/Rumple paces nervously as they wait to board their plane. He excuses himself; heads to the bathroom where he looks at himself in the mirror.

Gold enters a stall where he proceeds to repeatedly punch at the metal box. Seeing his knuckles have produced blood/injury he tries to use magic to heal himself- but it doesn't work. {Strangely, he actually looks a little relieved.} Henry opens the door calling out for Mr. Gold to tell him they're boarding soon. "Are ya comin'?"  Gold doesn't reply.

Back at home, Anton is gathering treasure to take down to his new human friends when he is greeted by worried Arlo.  Anton tells his brother he needed to get away for a little while, so he went down below to see things for himself.
Arlo is stunned. "You went to the human world? Do you have any idea how dangerous that could be?"  Anton shares that he met friends there. "Friends who understand me- who like me. And I plan to go back for good."  Arlo is compassionate to Anton. "Anton, I know we tease you, but we love you. You're our brother, you know that. You expect these humans to just welcome you with open arms- you could crush them."
Anton- "There's magic that can change me into their size. And with this treasure we can all be happy."
Arlo is alarmed by the sentry birds warning. "Someone has trespassed on our land. You told the humans you were coming here, didn't you? You showed them the beanstalk!"  Anton realizes this means trouble.

The big again Giant is running a muck through the streets of Storybrooke.  David instructs the panicked residents to head to the Town Hall, somebody get Leroy, and he and Snow will have their first attempt at stopping a Giant.   David calls attention to the Giant. "Wait! You don't have to do this!"
Anton- "Yeah, I do! You destroyed everything in my life. Now you're gonna know what that feels like."
David- "The man who hurt you- that wasn't me. That was my twin brother, James, we were separated at birth, he was raised by a ruthless King."
Anton- "You're not James?"
David- "No!"
Anton is suspicious. "Then where is he?"   David explains "He paid the ultimate price for his arrogance. He's DEAD! There's nothing more you can do to him."  Snow interjects "We're on your side, Anton. We're good! We're here because of you. You know our daughter, Emma, you gave her the magic compass." Anton wants to talk to Emma. If she says their Okay then he'll stop. It's revealed She's kind of out of town, which Anton finds convenient.
Anton- "Everyone I'm looking for isn't around! All you humans do is lie and cheat and kill and I'm sick of it!"  Fired up, he heads after them!

Anton's new human friends James and Jack meet up with the brothers at their giant dwelling. James informs them they aren't there for the treasure "We're here for the beans. All of 'em."  Anton is hurt, "But... you're my friends."
Jack- "No. We're not. If you and your people want to save your lives- Take us to the beans."
Arlo won't do it. "We may live in peace, but we will fight to protect what is ours."
James- "Then a fight you shall have."

As Mary Margaret, David and Leroy are running away from Giant Anton, Leroy wants to understand David's names.
WATCH THE CLIP:

They run hoping to lead the Giant away so he can't hurt anyone. But Snow is concerned if they continue running that way they'll hit the town line.  David decides on a new plan. He's going to give Anton what he wants; to make a deal, surrendering himself to Anton if Anton spares the lives of everyone in Storybrooke.  If he doesn't the whole town will suffer and he can't allow that. This freaks Mary Margaret out.  Anton agrees to the deal and takes off in David's direction attempting to jump onto to him. But this creates a giant crater in the ground and shrinks the Giant back down to travel size.  Anton is hanging on for his life when David organizes his rescue.

The human armies are overrunning the brothers. Abraham and Andre have fallen; the human swords are poison. Anton realizes this is all because of him. "I've ruined everything."   Arlo assures him he still has a chance to save them and instructs him to raze the fields. "If the humans take the beans they will bring their violence to every realm. It is your birthright to protect the beans. Right now that means... destroying them."

The Storybrooke residents band together to save Anton. Mary Margaret kisses her Charming, "Most people would have let that Giant die after what he's done."
"You wouldn't," replies Charming; He descends into the deep hole.
Anton refuses to take David's hand "I don't wanna go back up there! I should just let go!"
David- "You'll die!"
Anton- "Maybe death hurts less than life!"
David- "If you really wanted to die you would have let go already. Now take my hand."
Anton takes David's hand and they are helped up by their friends.
Anton thanks them. "You saved my life."
Mary Margaret- "That's what we do."
David explains to Anton "We're not all the same, Anton. I don't know what my brother did to you but... that's not us."
Anton- "You have no idea."


Jack stabs Arlo with her poison sword while James continues to steal the treasure.  But Arlo grabs hold of Jack and stabs her with her own poison sword. Selfish James does not come to her rescue, leaves with the loot.
Anton is devastated to see that Arlo has fallen due to the poison in his blood. He makes sure Anton completed his task of destroying the beans.  Anton tells him they're all destroyed "The fields and every last bean."  He is so upset. "No! Everyone else is dead, you can't die too, please."
Dying Arlo tells his brother "I know your path is hard, but someday you will know which road to choose. And when you do you will need this... A preserved cutting... from the stalk. Plant it. New beans will grow."
Anton- "But you had me salt the land- nothing can grow here."
Arlo- "Then someday you will find new land." 
Anton- "How?"  But Arlo is gone.

Leroy and the gang introduce Anton to Granny's. They're sure Granny can set him up until he finds a place. Anton thanks them but thinks he'll set up camp in the woods, feeling he's better off alone as he's not too good at fitting in."
Leroy assures Anton he's in the right place. "Storybrooke's got all kinds- Dwarfs, fairies, werewolves, you name it. Ruby, beers all around!"
"We all miss our land,Anton, but this is our home now," Mary Margaret shares. She also shares they think about going back but its not possible. They have no way to get there.  Anton asks David how the farm land is there and David says its pretty good.

 Anton shows them the stem from a beanstalk , "If I plant it, I should be able to grow some magic beans... and then you just may have a way."  {Watch David and Mary Margaret's faces here.}

Anton gives his verdict on the soil; that it has a nice loamy feel and lots of minerals. "The beans should grow well here."  He feels the one problem is Cora. This is why Cora brought the Giant- to grow the beans. "So whatever she plans to do with them... can't be good."
Mary Margaret - "Then we won't let her get to them."
Leroy- "No one touches our crop."
Anton thought those guys (Dwarfs) were miners.
Leroy claims "Work is work. It's what we do."  Leroy has Happy present Anton with a pick ax to help break up the Earth, and his Dwarf name is revealed... TINY. Just like his brothers used to call him. This makes Anton smile.

Leroy- "Ax never lies."
David wonders since he did his time in the mines "How come I didn't get one of those?"
Leroy replies with pride "'Cause you aint a Dwarf," and says to Anton, "Welcome aboard, brother."

Patient Greg pays a visit to Belle in her hospital room, mentioning he was the one driving the car in the accident. They patched him up pretty good.  Greg says he overheard her talking about seeing a guy with a ball of fire and he knows that she's not crazy because he saw it too.


Outside of Granny's David shares his wonderment of what if he'd been raised by King George instead of his brother. "Would I have been corrupt like him?" as the same blood ran through their veins.  Mary Margaret feels "Never," as their hearts are different.  David still feels uncertain.  Mary Margaret had a lot of fun today; almost getting killed was fun. She missed their adventures and David does too. He admits it was kind of fun. "You know, we can do this all the time. When the beans grow, we could go back - everyone could go home."  Mary Margaret doesn't know. "Home is where our family is... And that's here. I don't know if Emma would come with us and I am not going to be separated from her again."  She's worried about her, but David feels Emma can take care of herself.
David- "I'm sure where ever she and Henry are, they're safe."

Henry seems excited about being on a trip with Emma, his first plane ride and going on a quest like in the book.  Emma notes Gold's injured right hand and his nervousness, "It's gonna be all right. We're gonna find your son."   Gold knows.
Over the PA we hear "Welcome folks to Ajira regional flight 53 with non-stop service to New York City  Our flight time tonight is 42 minutes. Please sit back, relax and enjoy the ride."  {Hmm...Ride, not flight?}

I ONCE WAS LOST

I just had to share the photo that the official ABC LOST's facebook page posted today, promoting Jorge Garcia's return as The Giant to ONCE Upon A Time....

Enjoy!

In the Name of the Brother

"See you in another life, Brotha." - Desmond Hume, LOST
 

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

It's the source, the heart of the island

I loved this wonderful episode.  Who wouldn't want to bring back a loved one from the dead?  I for one would love to have my brother back.  As broken as my own heart is over his passing, and it is broken, and the wounds still feel fresh, I understand that we walked the path together for as long as we were supposed to. The hard part is letting him go, but he'll never leave my heart.
Now back to the matter at hand. This episode is about more than just what we read in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, and it's more than the idea that Victor wants to literally bring his brother back, it's about bringing life back to the "dead."  Yes, metaphorically, we're talking about... rebirth.


Black, White and Red

Trying to find balance in an unbalanced world is hard- but not impossible. Hopefully the residents will learn this along their journey.  In addition to the black and white motif of balance, we're also shown that the drab depressed colorless world Victor lives in needs some color injected back into it. Alphonse is the benefactor in Victor's work but neglects him emotionally. This makes victor feel abandoned.  All Victor wants is for someone, his father, to believe in him, but he also needs to believe in himself.  He's living in his own hell. His cross to bear is that he's attached himself emotionally to "that place."  There is truth to Rumple's statement of there being "Problems with how much the heart can withstand."  Hearts are fragile and must be handled with care.

We're seeing lots of evidence of the residents of Storybrooke being broken. They are tied up, chained down, boxed in and being held prisoner to past people, situations, choices, and emotions that have deeply hurt them. They are giving power to these things. They're all attached to emotional places and need to be free of the prison they created for themselves. Yes, I understand they are cursed- but they're cursed! That's the point. Yet in some strange way they have been given a chance to start over, and they can, once each wakes up to the fact it's okay to remember the past, but to let it go and move forward... together.  Things must come full circle for them because these people want their warm beautiful light back, they want to feel their heart beat again- they want to feel alive again. And yes, they want to go home.

Now, don't get me wrong, Rumpelstiltskin is in pain too, but he has all of these pawns, uh, people, in play. All of them are part of a plan he initiated a long time ago to get back to his son.  A long con, if you will. He created a long chain of events that are a means to an end.

It doesn't matter who we were, it matter who we are.  In life shit happens, you can't go back and change it or even erase that it happened. Shit will happen, but no experience is ever wasted and we must learn from all experiences. But be warned that holding on to the pain and anger of an unpleasant experience is exactly what is perpetuating your pain. Experience makes you who you are. It can trap you. It can break you. It can change you. It can open your eyes. It can empower you. It can enlighten you.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.

Sad Regina shut herself away in a hidden secret room she created in the depths of the family vault; under her father Henry's coffin. You can lock up parts of your hurt self-up all you want, thinking you're protecting yourself (your heart), but at some point you must be willing to let the pain go so you can open up the doors and break down the walls and let your beautiful light back in and let love flow. But I am concerned about a few of our characters like Rumple, Cora and Regina. Their egos are so damn gigantic and it may take them a long while to get with the program.

Can you really bring someone back from the dark side? Um, yeah, Anakin.
Is Cora genuine in her opening up to Regina?  Did Cora take 28 years stuck in a bloody snow globe to see the evil of her ways and realize she pushed her daughter to the dark side?  Does Cora really want to make amends or is she just trying to win Regina back so the two women can team up and become a more aggressive fighting force? 
Note:  Cora sniffs Regina's clothes and tracks her to the family vault. Is she a wolf too? And I find it interesting that Cora sees herself as a little bird.

Building a Mystery

Who is this stranger, this outsider, this interloper, Greg?  Who is this person "Honey" he talks to on his cell phone? What exactly did he see?  Does Cora know where Bae is, did she hide him somewhere?  How many different worlds, stories and characters are in the fairy tale book and/or Storybrooke?  How is Frankenstein not in Henry's book yet resides in Storybrooke?  While where at it- where the hell is August W. Booth?

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

๑ It just so happens that Hook Colin O'Donoghue's band in real life is called The Enemies. Love that!
๑ Belle loses her memory. (See LOST notes below)
๑  "Sheriff Swan, actually" (See LOST notes below)
๑ The Rabbit Hole
๑ The Doctor
๑ "I hurt his heart- Belle is just where he keeps it."
๑ Medical Doctor. Scientist
๑ Magician
๑ Life- Death- Rebirth
๑ Watch. Time
๑ Fire and Water
๑ Emma uses her star key chain- "Hard Disk Recovery Utility" to get into Greg's phone. used in the Pilot episode
๑ Color line on the hospital floor- line at Storybrooke border
๑ I don't have the theme for Star Wars as a ring-tone on my phone but I have The Imperial March for the ring-tone on my phone for the guys in my family. All my other ring-tones are LOST related.
๑ Igor = Eyegor
๑ Fix
๑ Electricity. Power
๑ Communication
๑ Memory. Remember. Forget
๑ The German word for "here" is her
๑ See translation of the commission gifted to Victor. If you have any corrections or information please let me know so I can correct this...

NOTE the following translation from my friend Steve Kups. Thank you for your help with this, I really appreciate it.

TO DOCTOR VIKTOR FRANKENSTEIN
("Ich diene" under the logo/crest/emblem/coat of arms to the right means "I serve")

Dear Doctor Frankenstein,

By virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the Federal Chancellor and by the Emperor's commission I appoint you to ARMY DOCTOR.

(Clever play on words there. "Army". Like in "arm". Also "FELDARZT" would normally be just one word. Also, looking at the wording as well as the diploma, this might be another little nod to our dear Wizard of Oz: http://www.filmsite.org/wiza5.html)

You are hereby instructed to fulfill (or discharge) the duty of an ARMY DOCTOR painstakingly and diligently and to serve as an example to lower ranking officers and soldiers.

("Offiziersränge" is usually one word, but written as two here.) 

We ask you to heed these commands, to uphold order and discipline, and to follow further instructions. (Sounds like something Dr. Chang would say. This sentence could also be translated as "We urge you to carry out said orders to preserve order and discipline, and to execute future orders.")

(The word "fordern" (from "auffordern", meaning "to request", "to ask", "to challenge", "to prompt", "to invite") seems to have been misspelled as "fodern" to the modern eye, but this is actually reflecting the correct usage and spelling of this term back in the olden days. Whoever wrote this diploma does not only speak/write fluent German, but also is quite well versed in not-quite-so-modern variations of the language. An error was made, however, by writing "besagte Befehle zu folgen", since it should say "besagten Befehlen zu folgen" or "besagte Befehle zu befolgen" to make it grammatically correct.) 

Written by me in Armen, Metz, and sealed on the third of March.
By the virtue of power invested in me by the Emperor's order.

T. Herman
Captain T. Herman - 34. Division
Klagenfurt, Kärnten (Carinthia)
Klagenfurt - Land, District in the name of the Prime Minister of the Empire of Austria

(An Emperor, a Federal Chancellor and a Prime Minister are usually three offices you would not see during one and the same time period/regime or in the same region. Also, there is no "Armen, Metz", as a real place, but there is Metz, which is located between the "arms" of two rivers: http://tourisme.metz.fr/en/mes_attentes/fluvial.php)

Vocabulary and Research...

๑  The German origins of the name Henry mean "The ruler of the house."
๑ Gregor Johann Mendel: the father of modern genetics. Studied traits in pea plants.
๑ The Memorial Cross (French: Croix du Souvenir), often known as the Silver Cross, is a Canadian medal awarded to the next of kin of any member of the Canadian Forces who loses his/her life in active service, including peacekeeping, and other such international operations
๑ Purchased Commissions: Sale of commissions was common practice among European Armies where wealthy and noble officers purchased their rank.
๑ In the Name of the Brothers: a multi-player Online video game. The setting is WWII
๑ Gerhardt: as a boy's name is a variant of Garrard (Old English) and Gerard (Old English), and the meaning of Gerhardt is "spear-hard; spear-brave; spear brave"
๑ Gerhard Richter (born 9 February 1932) is a German visual artist. He also served as source of inspiration for writers and musicians. Sonic Youth used a painting of his for the cover art for their album Daydream Nation in 1988
๑ Dieter (Felix) Gerhardt: a Cold War spy; aka codename Felix
๑ Paul Gerhardt (12 March 1607 – 27 May 1676) was a German hymn writer
๑ C. Gerhardt Analytical Systems: Lab supplies
๑  215,  267, 412, 484, 570, 610, 717, 724, 814, 878 Pennsylvania area codes
๑ Master: Rank or status
- Male head of a household
- Owner of slaves or animals; a person with the ability to use control
- One skilled at something: Chess master
- Teacher
๑ Sealed with a Kiss:
-  is a song by Peter Udell and Gary Geld. First recorded by The Four Voices in 1960. Also recorded by Bobby Vinton and Jason Donovan.
- 2001 Title of the album by The Eyeliners

 ✔ Golden LOST Thread Woven into the Tapestry of this Tale

✈ Doctor Arzt
✈ Claire was taken by Ethan and the Other's and loses her memory for a while.
✈ Charles Widmore is a Philanthropist and Industrialist who sponsors the International Open Ocean Racing Association's solo sailing Competition/race around the world that Desmond wants to enter- this leads him to the Island. Live Together, Die Alone.  "With enough money and determination you can find anyone" - Penny and Desmond also in Catch 22 
✈  ...In Translation: Locke gives Shannon a pep-talk about everyone being given the chance to start over on the island and that she should take it.  And then Shannon tells Sayid "Everyone gets a new life on this island. I'd like to start now."
✈ "It's Dr. Linus, actually." - Ben in Dr. Linus
✈ German (people and language, etc.) is brought up a few times, including the episode, The Other 48 Days and The Economist
✈ Eye
✈ Lab
✈ Patch
✈ Candidate
✈ Code. Computer. Accounts. Travel.
✈ Cheat
✈ Truce
✈ Heart. Light (Candle)
✈ Time. Clock. Watch
✈ Memory. Remember. Forget
✈ Communication
✈ Electricity. Power
✈ Fix
✈ Jack was the camp physician that was struggling with an alcohol/drug problem
✈ Juliet (the researcher) tries to help women birth babies on the island, but the women always die.
✈ Through the Looking Glass Jack tries to kill himself by jumping off a bridge but is pulled away from that by the car crash happens behind him.
✈ The Lie Sawyer says to Daniel Faraday "Welcome back Doctor Wizard" and then Miles corrects him "I think it's Mister Wizard."
✈  Life- Death- Rebirth
✈ Hearts and Minds
✈ Fire + Water
✈ Stranger in a Strange Land
✈ Man of Science, Man of Faith
✈ The Watch: Mobisode #1 Jack is given a family heirloom watch by his father on his wedding day.
✈ Abandoned   "I need you to believe in me"- Shannon
✈ Personal Effects:
Whatever the Case May Be- Kate
The Incident P2- Hugo
Happily Ever After- Charlie

 Enough of my rambling... Here's your episode recap! Enjoy!

Belle is frantic asking "Who are you?! What's going on?"  Her left shoulder is causing her pain, so Mr. Gold/Rumple magically heals her. This freaks her out. "Go away. What are you?" Mr. Gold/Rumple assures her its nothing to be afraid of.  Hook is on the side of the road injured.
Emma and David arrive in the sheriff's car; Emma calls for backup "I'm at the Town Line- Two people are down, maybe three. There's a car, pretty banged up with Pennsylvania plates..."
David and Mary Margaret come to Belle's aide as Rumple informs them "She crossed over the line. She doesn't remember."

Emma looks over injured Hook and determines he broke a couple of ribs.  Hook asks her "Did you see his face?! His one true love gone in an instant! Just like Milah, Crocodile... when you took her from me!"   Gold/Rumple,  "But you took her first!"  He starts choking the already broken Hook with his cane.  Emma tries to get Gold/Rumple off of Hook, "Are you insane?!
Gold/Rumple- "Yes, I am."
David and Emma try to reason with Gold/Rumple.
Emma- "You can't let her see you do this."
Gold/Rumple feels he's a stranger to her/Belle; Emma advises that murder is a bad first impression.
David- "What would Belle want you to do?"
Just then the ambulance arrives and Emma directs the EMT's to the person in the crashed car; Hook can wait.
Emma- "There's someone in there!"
Emma, Mary Margaret and David don't know this guy. The unconscious man drove into town from the outside.
Emma- "Looks like the world just came to Storybrooke."

Dr. Whale is paged to report to the E.R., but he's sitting alone in a treatment room/office drinking. {PA: O.R. Staff stand by. E.T.A. 1 minute} We hear the voices of people outside the room calling out for the Doctor; asking if anyone's seen the Doctor.   Dr. Whale hears the calls but doesn't respond.

A toast to the Frankenstein's! The three men are celebrating the New Year.

 

The young men's father, Alphonse, is a decorated Military man.

Alphonse's attention is centered round his obvious pride for son Gerhardt and his Silver Cross.  The attention it gets embarrasses Gerhardt; to which Victor supposes it's his cross to bear. Father presents each son with a small package, a gift for the holiday.

Gerhardt is proudly presented the family heirloom watch; originally a gift from Alphonse's wife (her father's watch) on their wedding day.  Victor says he remembers.

Victor then opens his, a formal commission purchased by his father to join the mobile 34th as their camp physician, "It's an honor."  Victor thinks his father is joking his work is far too important to leave now.  Gerhardt stands up for his brother and the important scientific work he's doing.  Alphonse understands "But how will he do his work without my financial support?!"  He already allows Victor the use of the family summer home for his foolish purposes. "Isn't that enough?!"  It's true Victor relies on his father's money and he's made great progress and feels "The name Frankenstein is going to stand for life. Life everlasting here on Earth."

There's chaos in the Storybrooke Hospital, people don't know what's going on, injured Hook is wheeled in on a stretcher, as is the crash victim. Dr. Whale is still being paged to report to the E.R., Emma tells a nurse to "find a room and hide him!"

Gold enters asking "Belle. What's going on?"  But David demands he get out of there and a bit of shoving begins.  Dr. Whale strolls in telling everybody to calm down, and assures Mr. Gold that everything will be fine, "She's in good hands here. I promise."

Gerhardt runs after Victor in the rainstorm to give him the watch. After all Victor is the eldest and "she wanted it for you."  Victor turns down his brother's offer, "I'll find another way."
We see in this black and white world, colored red is Rumpelstiltskin, watching the brothers from the sidelines.

Mr. Gold watches over sleeping Belle in her hospital bed. {Hooked up to monitor} He kisses her and she does indeed wake up, except upon waking and seeing him she screams in panic. Two orderlies come to her aide while upset Gold leaves apologizing.

Emma sits on Hook's hospital bed watching over him as he starts to wake up. Hook, wears a white robe, is cuffed to the bed and wired to a beeping monitor.

Emma doesn't hesitate is asking where Cora is. Hook, although in pain, flits with Emma. Emma won't stand for that and threatens "You have all sorts of sore places I can make you hurt."  Hook doesn't have any idea where Cora is, as she has her own agenda. He asks Emma for his hook back. "Or is there another attachment you prefer."  Emma feels he's chipper for a guy who just failed to kill his enemy and got hit by a car.  Hook's ribs may be broken, but everything else is intact. He knows he did some quality damage to his foe. He hurt Belle- "I hurt his heart. Belle's just where he keeps it. He killed my love. I know the feeling."
Emma- "Keep smiling, Buddy. You're chained down, he's on his feet, immortal, has magic, and you hurt his girl. If I were to pick dead guy of the year... I'd pick you."

Mary Margaret is trying to hack into the Outsider's cell phone. She feels you can't guess at a pass code because there must be a million possible combinations; Ruby thinks 10,000. David asks Leroy if he can hack it. Leroy informs David there's a difference between computer hacking and pickax hacking are different.  Emma tells them "I have a thing..." She can get into the phone; plus there was stuff in Greg Mendell's car- Rental agreement, maps and receipts.  She scrolls through the hacked phone for clues.

Emma sees Phone calls: Area codes for Pennsylvania, (tourist) photos of him alone, a LinkedIn account and he tweets pictures of his food. Emma will keep looking but feels they have a well-documented real-life ordinary Joe- or Greg.

Whatever's kept random people from stumbling into Storybrooke for the last 28 years is gone. David's instincts are telling him that anyone being able to drive in is a bad thing.  Leroy fears outsiders discovering something magical and studying it to death, as they've done in the past; giving examples of movies: E.T. and Splash.  Greg's friends and family are going to come looking for him soon. Emma doesn't want them to overreact, yet notes the questionable motives of newly arrived Cora and the potential visits from outsiders coming in isn't going to be good for anyone.  They need to find Regina and tell her she was framed. Ruby's been trying to track Regina but no luck; she's gone underground.  Mary Margaret is very concerned if Cora finds Regina first, and the damage those two can do together, "This could not have come at a worse time."
Emma - "It's okay. The guy's being patched up right now, he'll probably be on his way by morning."

Dr. Whale interjects that "He's bleeding into his chest cavity. It's not a full flood, you know. But pretty soon he'll be drowning in his own blood."
Emma- "So, make it stop. Aren't you a doctor?"
Dr. Whale doesn't answer her question, he walks away to talk to Mr. Gold. "You fixed me, now fix him. It will take you seconds and cost you nothing."   Gold won't do it and doesn't owe Whale or anyone else anything. "And some of you owe me. So, yeah...just, no. Oh, and point of interest... the driver, saw me throwing some magic, so instead of trying to get him out of here, you better be hoping he dies- because if he doesn't, he's gonna be driving tour buses up and down Main Street. So glad I don't give a damn." {Note: color line/lines in hospital}

Whale tells the group that letting him die is easy and he can do that, if that's what they decide. Emma whispers, suggesting they take this somewhere private.

Whale leads them into a supply room {R2D2} to further discuss the fate of the outsider. They have to choose between their lives or his. David suggests they worry about Storybrooke after they save a life. He tells Dr. Whale to prep for surgery. Without a word, Whale just does as he's told. Everyone did notice the doctor is drunk off his ass.
Just then Greg's cell phone rings the Theme from Star Wars. {Emma holds the phone.}
Emma determines "Someone's looking for Greg. How long before they come here?"


Victor and his assistant are packing up his colorless lab when he is visited by "Rumpel Von shtiltskin"
Victor- "How did you get in here? Who are you?"  Victor determines Rumple is a foreigner.
Rumple- "What tipped you off, my rosy complexion? Yes, I've seen nothing of your drab little land yet, but, I am interested in your work."
Victor informs him he's a little late as he's been shut down. "And I can't bring back dead loved ones, anyway, if that's what you're after."  Amused Rumple feels his deceased are best kept where they are. His interest is how Victor does what he does. "You see, where I come from we do things differently. Your land has witchcraft, but it's feeble neglected stuff. Where I live it's strong and hearty, but it cannot restore life. If you can do this... Well, I'll wanna know more and I'm willing to pay." He pours what seems like an endless stream of gold coins from a small pouch.

Victor is stunned by this feat and wonders how he did that. Rumple feels he's missing the point. Victor asks if he's a Philanthropist. Rumple's been called worse, but stays on point telling Victor the money's his but there's a cost- Victor's knowledge. "You teach me to wield... whatever it is you wield. That is the deal."  Victor happily agrees to the deal. As Victor's about to reveal the tremendous news to Igor he sees Rumple has disappeared. Igor is amazed to see the gold coins in front of his Master and wonder what's happened. Re-energized Victor instructs his assistant to bring back the equipment, "We're staying. And we're going to need a body."

Mr. Gold takes out the chipped teacup he keeps in the glass display case in his shop, and takes a look at it.  Interrupted by the door bells jingle, he puts the cup back. He puzzled by a new carrying case that appears in the store and then Cora magically appears as well. Cora has brought him a gift, a sort of peace offering. Rumple thought she was dead and notes that disappointment is part of life.
Cora- "Aw, the crocodile snaps at the little bird."
Rumple asks her if she brought the antidote to her little gift, but what Cora wants is her daughter.
Cora- "You were so clever to get her to lay the curse so you could come here-  you don't need her anymore. Let me try and get her back and let us live."
And for his troubles Cora says he gets his son.

 

Rumple opens her gift and reveals a special globe that will find him, "If this one truly is it."  Cora assures him she has no reason to cheat him (anymore).  She wants him to find the one person in this universe who might still love him. "After all I'm doing the same thing."
Rumple- "Do you have any spells to return memories?
Cora- "I only know what you taught me, Master. So, will you accept my offer of a truce?"
Rumple seems torn but is cautious. He agrees to the truce and they shake hands on it- Actually, at Cora's request, they seal it with a kiss.

Over at Storybrooke Hospital we hear over the PA- "Treatment Care Coordinator Dial the I.C.U. Nurses Station" while Dr. Whale stares at a wrist watch.

David asks him what that is and Whale shares it's the guy's personal effects and jokes "I get the best watches this way. Too bad it's cracked."

It seems that Dr. Whale is stalling to go into surgery. David asks if his arm is okay. Whale tells David he's not drunk; David just wants to save this guy. "I don't care what he saw. We don't let go of people."  Whale replies a bit sarcastically, "Right. Of course not." {He looks down at the watch again.}

At the (Military) Cememtary:
Victor is busy digging (up) a grave on a stormy night when Gerhardt arrives. Igor told him he'd find his brother there. He shares his disbelief "I thought you worked with cells and in petrie dishes..."
Victor informs him that his work has progressed and he thought his brother supported him.
Gerhardt- "No like this."
A voice yells in the distance for them to "Halt!" Victor yells back for him not to shoot "We have orders! He's in uniform!"  Shots are fired anyway. The brother's take off to the safety of the coach.
Victor takes a drink from his flask, "You shouldn't have come looking for me. I thought you supported..."  Unfortunately Gerhardt is shot.

The translation for the German word "her" is "here.

Emma and the gang are nervous as the see the same person is again {HER} trying to find Greg the outsider.  They can't answer it even if it's just to let her know he's okay- but he's not okay.
Ruby- "He's alive. Let her know he's alive."
The police can trace it here instantly and or activate the find your phone thing without them picking it up at all.
They learn via an Orderly that the doctor never went in to surgery and Emma demands he be paged. David says he wasn't looking so good earlier.  When the Orderly places the page they all hear the pager beeps go off.  They think "He's here"
Emma digs through dirty linens and finds Whale's discarded white coat and pager.  "No. But his pager is. He's gone."

Ruby gets a boozy scent off of Dr. Whale's white coat so she can track him. They'll watch Hook and if they can't find Whale maybe another option for the surgery is that Doc can do it, which makes Leroy laugh.  Mary Margaret suggests maybe Whale didn't run, maybe Cora grabbed him for some reason, but David disagrees. "He's been in a rough place since he brought Regina's fiancée back to life." And that he had his arm ripped off and put back on. Leroy thinks that's cool.
Mary Margaret- "Wait, Daniel came back?"
Emma- "Like some kind of Frankenstein?"
David- "That's Whale. The Doctor. And Daniel was his..."
Mary Margaret asks what went on there while they were gone, David just groans. Emma just tells Ruby to get going and bring back Dr. Frankenstein. "We're gonna send this guy back with bolts in his neck." They're sure he'll be found but wonder what kind of state he'll be in.

We see that Dr. Whale is indeed running through the streets of Storybrooke.

"I will bring you back, my brother, I promise you."  Victor turns on the machine and sends electricity through his brother's body- but it doesn't revive him. So Victor reopens the already poorly stitched up wound and removes the burned heart from his chest. Igor sees it's burned like coal.
Victor has Igor "Cover him" as the sheet will serve as his shroud.  Alphonse enters wanting Victor to explain himself because he was seen carrying a body into the house. Alphonse sees his dear son, Gerhardt, lying on the table. Victor shares there was an accident, but Alphonse sees Victor as the cause. Alphonse yells "The things you do... You cut into your brother!  You put your foul magician's work into your brother!"  Upset Victor yells that it can work! He did this for his father because he wanted him to have two sons again.
Alphonse- "And now I have none."  This leaves Victor sad.

Henry's room has many clocks.

Cora snoops around Regina's house, getting a feel for Regina's life in Storybrooke and for some possible tracking. She also looks around Henry's room; checking out a photo of Regina and Henry and a handmade craft of a hand print- FOR MOMMY.

Regina's secret room has many mirrors.

Henry heads through the graveyard over to look for Regina at the MILLS family vault.  He pushes the heavy coffin with white lilies on top aside and heads down below to the corridors. Henry calls out "Mom?" And we see Regina looking in a mirror can hear him. Regina can magically see via a one of the mirrors that Henry is looking for her.
Henry- "Mom?  You in there? Can I come in?"

Regina's heart misses him, so she opens the secret wall and lets him in. They hug.
Regina- "Henry, I'm so glad you're here. I missed you so much when... I have to let you know I had nothing to do with Archie."
Henry always knew- she was framed.  He knew because... Henry magically transforms into Cora and admits "Because I did it."  Regina is shocked to see her mother standing in front of her.

Victor diligently works in his lab trying to find a way to bring his brother back when he is visited by the magically appearing Rumpelstiltskin. {Note: magnifying glass and microscope.}
Rumpelstiltskin- "Did it work? Nope?"
Victor- "There was a little problem with what the heart could withstand."
Rumpelstiltskin- "Ah! Problems of the heart, isn't that always the way?"
Victor- "Could you get out of my light?! Please."
Rumpelstiltskin- "You know... where I come from there are hearts that withstand anything because of magic."
Victor- "You have hearts?"
Rumpelstiltskin- "I'll tell you what... I'm gonna bring you a friend- a master of the hat. He shall take you to a young woman who has exactly what you need. You put on a little show for her, and you'll walk away with all your prayers answered- A heart- for your brother."
Victor- "And who is this woman?"
Rumpelstiltskin- "Her name is Regina."

Cora tells her shocked daughter that she wasn't stopped and "got through" by determination. "I had to see you. I needed to tell you that I know why you sent me through the looking glass. And I know why you tried to have me killed. And it's... it's alright."  Both women are teary eyed. Regina doesn't think it's alright.
Cora- "I love you. I just ... I've always shown it in all the wrong ways. And I never should have made you marry the King. I'm so sorry. When you cried over my coffin... it all changed."
Regina- "You framed me... for the cricket."
Cora- "Temporarily. So you could see what these people really think of you."
Regina- "You made an airtight case, anyone would believe it."
Cora- "I didn't want you to reject me- Not again."
Regina- "You wanted me broken."
Cora- "Receptive."
Regina (laughs)- "You are the most manipulative... No. I won't even argue. Come with me. We're going to town."
Cora- "It's the middle of the night."
Regina- "I don't care. We'll wake them up.- Emma and Henry and the two idiots and you can tell them how you lied. You owe me that."
Cora- "And then you'll let us start over."
Regina- "I don't see that happening, mother. But I am... I was trying so hard to be worthy of Henry. And I deserve the same thing from you."

Cora- "You're right. For you, Sweetheart- anything."

Ruby sees that Dr. Whale is staring at the watch and standing on the edge looking as if he's about to jump into the water. He warns Ruby "Don't come near me!" He tosses the watch into the water and takes a leap forward but is stopped by Ruby.

Thunder and lightning blankets the Frankenstein castle while Victor works. As a stitched up hand reaches out from underneath the white sheet he claims Rumple was right "The new heart worked. Welcome back, brother."  Igor feels "It's magic, Dr. Frankenstein." But the good "Doctor" feels it's not magic- it's science.

Victor tells grieving Alphonse that it's true "I brought him back."  Victor walks in the obviously different and changed Gerhardt, letting his father know he's still recovering. "It's a slow process, so don't expect him to..."  Alphonse cuts him off, happy, "You did it."  He asks Gerhardt "It's really you?"  When Alphonse uses a candle for light see his son better, Gerhardt grunts away in fear. The mute son knocks the candle from his father and cowers on the floor.  Victor assures father "It's an adjustment."  But Alphonse turns on Victor, he's unhappy because for a moment he believed Victor did it, but sees Gerhardt as a monster. He claims both young men are not his son.  He degrades Victor, pushing him and calling him a ghoul, a grave digger, a fool and a witch doctor-  a disgrace to the family. Gerhardt literally fights for his brother's honor, killing their father.


Dr. Whale tells Ruby "I wanted my name to stand for life... but everyone just thinks its the name of a monster. I guess they're right about that. Rumpelstiltskin says that magic has a price, but from where I'm sitting it seems that science does too. Every time I try to save a life, someone else dies."  Ruby notes he's Frankenstein and she's the werewolf; she ate her boyfriend. "Regina thought she was punishing us for erasing who we were, but I think she underestimated how much crap we wanted to forget. But... we can't let it stop us. She gave us a chance to start over and I wanna take it. I think you should too."  Whale feels he wasn't such a bad guy "I wanted to bring life back. But he never got over our mother. If I could've just brought her back..."  Ruby insists that someone keeps calling for that guy in the hospital (a woman), "Maybe there's still some stuff you can fix."

Regina drives into town while Cora rides shotgun.  Cora's not nervous about owning up to what she's done.  Cora claims something's irritating her. She pulls out the handcrafted FOR MOMMY gift, "Oh, that used to be you."  Cora lies about being in Regina's house, yet obviously has because that was in her house.  That happens to be Regina's most treasured possessions.  Cora remarks that while taking Cora to the town to be pilloried might gain Regina some points but as long as Emma and her parents are here, "he's not really yours. Not like he was when he made things for his one and only mommy. You've been too bad for too long, and now they see you as a... snake. You don't want their love at all. What do you want?"  With tears in her eyes Regina replies "My son back."  Cora wants her daughter back. She says she meant everything she said earlier "I am so sorry. I can do better. I won't push you away again. Let me into your heart. Together, we can get him back again."  Emotional and desperate Regina folds and the women hug.  Cora has a few thoughts on how they can accomplish this task.

Re-energized and motivated Dr. Whale arrives back at the hospital (after stretching his legs) to go do this thing; perform the surgery.

Back at the stormy castle Victor visits his imprisoned monster brother. "I was trying to bring you back. Are you here? Gerhardt? Gerhardt?"  Victor tenderly touches his brother but Gerhardt growls and attacks Victor, choking him- But Gerhardt realizes, seeing, this is Victor.
Victor- "Yes. Yes, it's me."
Gerhardt scurries away, staring at his hands in disbelief.  Victor knows he must kill him and points a gun at the back of crouched down Gerhardt's head. Gerhardt sees that Victor can't do it, so he pulls the gun to where his third eye would be on his forehead, urging Victor to pull the trigger. Victor won't do it, "I will still save you. Father is wrong. I will find a way.

Dr. Whale informs Ruby that the stranger, the outsider, will live.  Whale thanks her, "Monster to monster."   He informs the group that the guy has some recuperating ahead of him, a few weeks maybe, but yes, he's going to live.  Leroy feels this will come in "no good."  The Outsider is waking up now; Whale waited a couple of hours in case he keeled over. Emma would like to talk to him. She goes in alone as she's the sheriff and doesn't need her parents going in there with her; that wouldn't look normal, as they're trying to make this place look normal.

Mr. Gold/Rumple is visiting patient Belle and trying to get her to hold the special chipped cup that he's enchanted to help her remember.  Since Belle doesn't remember anything she thinks this pushy and strange of this man. Rumple warns her to be careful with it. Belle holds the important cup which she sees as nothing more than a damaged cup.  Rumple wants her to look at it, focus, it's her talisman. He shares she dropped it in his castle and was afraid she's angered him; he's charmed it. Belle thinks the man crazy, tries to put the cup back into his hand and tells him to go. Rumple assures her if she focuses it will work. "It's magic."  This gets Belle upset. She wants him to go away, take the cup and stop talking about magic. Frustrated by Rumple's persistence Belle throws the cup, shattering it into many pieces. Heartsick Rumple apologizes and leaves.

Sheriff Swan chats with the Outsider, Greg..  He's hooked up to monitors, IV and blood drip.
Greg- "Nurse."
Emma- "Sheriff Swan, actually."  Emma gives the thirsty patient water and puts his personal effects on the table next to him.  The concerned man asked if he hit someone in the accident and Emma assures him not to worry about him as the damage was pretty minor.
Emma- "But I do need you to state what happened in your own words, what you did, what you saw."  {Although Emma is kind of already indicating that she thinks he saw something.}

Greg says he didn't see anything because he was texting while driving; which he knows isn't legal in the State of Maine. Emma's glad that he is honest with her and so she won't press charges and she let him go with a "warning" this time.  Greg thanks her and asks when can he head home.
Emma- "As soon as the Doctor clears you. We don't wanna keep you." She smiles and heads downstairs to tell the gang the news. He didn't see anything "Free and clear."
David feels that maybe things can calm down for 10 minutes so they can catch their breath.

Mr. Gold/Rumple brings the special globe into the back room of his shop. He purposely pricks his finger on the needle on top of the axis and drips his blood onto the globe. This brings the globe to life and it zeros in on a State on the Eastern seaboard of the United States. He is pleased, "Bae."

In the apartment, Henry runs down the stairs asking where they've been, as they've been out all night and Granny wouldn't tell him anything. "Did I miss it all?" As they prep some cereal Mary Margaret mentions Captain Hook and Rumple had a fight and someone got hurt- and Emma adds that Dr. Frankenstein fixed him. Henry realizes that's Dr. Whale.
Emma- "Yeah, but without the neck bolts."
Henry- "The monster had the bolts not the Doctor."  He grabs the fairy tale book to prove Frankenstein isn't in there "It's not even a fairy tale. That means it comes from another land with different stories. (Emma urges him to eat 'cause she really wants to go to bed.) If the curse went to places with other stories, then who knows who else is in this town."
A knock at the door reveals Mr. Gold (letting himself in) wanting to cash in the favor Emma owes him. "You do honor your agreements, don't you? I need to find someone, so we're leaving today. Pack a bag."   He adds to find his son, "It has to be today because every minute that I'm here, is a minute closer to me killing Hook. So it's really best for all concerned if I leave, and you're gonna come with me. Oh, and, um, (pointing to all of them) we have a long history, so know this, and know it to be true... If any harm comes to Belle while I'm gone... I'm killing all of you. {Looking at Henry} I'll see you {Emma} at noon."

Greg hurries to take his cell phone out of the plastic bag to make a call to "Honey."  He tells her to listen, that he was in an accident but he's okay and "Honey... you're not gonna believe what I saw."

Tick Tock

It's about time I post a bit about Zero Hour, a new show that premieres Thursday, February 14th at 8|7c on ABC.

You know how much I love a great mystery and how I get excited at the thought of solving puzzles, learning and uncovering the truth and Zero Hour seems to cover those bases.  But in all honesty, it's when they posted a few classic Modern Skeptic magazine covers that really perked me up.  The covers hint to a few familiar myths, things not being what one may assume and that there's more (or less) going on than meets the eye; things that require further investigation and have yet to be explained. The covers incorporate various unique ABC TV shows as the topic of interest, which is very clever and cool, but one cover they included connects us to our beloved LOST and the "Island" - a show that's been off the air since May 23, 2010.  And of course I totally love the fantastic ONCE Upon A Time cover and the questioning of portals. Both LOST and ONCE Upon A Time involve, time, different realities/other worlds, portals and share many more connections.

IMDB lists Ken Leung (LOST's Miles Straume) in a starring role, but he doesn't show up on ABC's cast list from what I've seen.

Needless to say I will give Zero Hour some time and see where it leads.

The premise of Zero Hour: 
As the publisher of Modern Skeptic magazine, Hank spent his career following clues, debunking myths and solving conspiracies. But when his beautiful young wife is abducted from her store, an antique clock shop, Hank gets pulled into one of the most compelling mysteries of human history, stretching around the world and back centuries. To find his wife, Hank will have to unravel one of the greatest conspiracies of all time. Contained in one of his wife’s clocks is a treasure map, and what it leads to could be cataclysmic.  Hank will race against the clock, to find his wife and save humanity. 


Looking back at a classic cover of Modern Skeptic magazine!

Here's a look at Zero Hour