'Once Upon A Time' recap: Episode 13 – 'What Happened to Frederick?'

The episode begins in the fairy tale world as the carriage of Princess Abigail [played by Anastasia Griffith] pulls up. King George [played by Alan Dale] opens her carriage door. She exits her carriage and King George welcomes her to his family. Abigail then asks what all the commotion is about. King George tells her that they are just making sure that security is at its peak for the wedding. King George then walks away from Abigail and over to a solider and whispers, “Find him.”

Shoot to James speedily riding through the forest on his horse as the King’s soldiers chase him. He manages to get away from them but just when he thinks he’s lost them… he turns and…

Shoot to David and Kathryn (Abigail) having dinner. Kathryn tells David that she’s applied to law school. “That’s amazing,” David replies. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” “Because I didn’t think I could do it,” Kathryn replies. She then hands him a notice she received in the mail that day. He opens it as she says, “I got in.” David, after reading the notice, says, “But, it’s in Boston.” “I know things have been hard between us. Maybe a fresh start is what we need. Maybe we’ve been fighting too hard to recapture old memories when we should be making new ones instead. ” Kathryn tells David.

Shoot back to the fairy tale world as James sees that the soldiers that captured are in fact Abigail’s. She appears and tells James that she wanted to find him before his father “rips you to shreds.” Abigail then tells James that she knows he loves Snow and that he has no intention of marrying her. “I won’t marry someone I don’t love,” James tells Abigail and that he’ll take the consequences. “You’re prepared to lay down your life, how charming. But, I didn’t come here to see you die. I came to help you escape,” Abigail replies. James then asks Abigail why she would want to help him. Her response, “Because I don’t want to marry you either.”

Shoot to David telling Mary-Margaret about Kathryn’s plan to move to Boston. He tells Mary-Margaret that he told Kathryn he had to go take a walk to think about it. “I’m guessing you didn’t tell her that the walk was with me,” Mary-Margaret replies. “No, of course not,” David says. Mary-Margaret then tells David that they have to tell Kathryn the truth “about everything. About us.” “I don’t know if I can,” David says. Mary-Margaret tells David that he has to. “If we can’t be honest with everyone, how can we be honest with each other?” Mary-Margaret adds. David then asks Mary-Margaret if that “the best plan?” “The only way no one gets hurt here is if we don’t want to be together. Is that what you want?” Mary-Margaret asks. David tells her no. Mary-Margaret then says that they have to stop “hiding and do something. Better she hears it from you then from someone else. You have to make a choice.” David then says, “I choose you.” Mary-Margaret replies, “Then, you have to tell Kathryn.” David nods and Mary-Margaret walks away as David watches.

Shoot to Emma going into the diner and seeing The Stranger’s motorcycle parked in front. The Stranger [played by Eion Bailey] exits the diner, sees Emma, says that he was hoping to “bump into you so we could have that drink you promised.” Emma then asks The Stranger if he’s asking her out. He says yes. “I thought you came here to write, find inspiration?” Emma replies. “Well, I’m optimistic about our date,” The Stranger answers. Emma tells him that she doesn’t go out with guys who don’t tell her their names. Emma moves past him to go into the diner when he says, “It’s August. August W. Booth. So, there goes your reason for not meeting me here after work,” August says as he gets on his motorcycle and rides off. Emma then goes into the diner and sits down with Mary-Margaret, who asks her who she was talking to. “I don’t know yet,” Emma replies. “Yet implies you’re going to find out,” Mary-Margaret says. Emma then says that it’s nothing. “It’s something because if it were nothing we wouldn’t still be talking about it,” Mary-Margaret shoots back. Emma then says, “I thought we’re supposed to talk about you?” Mary-Margaret then tells Emma that talking about her [Emma] is “easier right now. Emma asks Mary-Margaret what’s going on. Mary-Margaret tells Emma that even though she told her to stay away from David, she hasn’t. Emma then tells Mary-Margaret that she knew that already. Mary-Margaret then asks Emma how she knew. “I’m the sheriff and you’re a lovesick school teacher. Covering your tracks isn’t your strong suit,” Emma replies. “I’ve been discreet,” Mary-Margaret answers. “Two teacups in the sink, perfume, late nights, plunging neck lines, it was not hard to connect the dots. When I met you, you were a top button kind of girl,” Emma says. Mary-Margaret asks Emma why she didn’t say anything. “I’m not your mother,” Emma replies. “Well, according to Henry, I’m yours,” Mary-Margaret retorts. She then tells Emma that David is going to tell Kathryn. “Everything?” Emma asks. “Everything,” Mary-Margaret replies.

Shoot to Kathryn typing on her laptop and calling out for David. He comes into the room and Kathryn tells him that she found a bunch of apartment options in Boston. She asks David if he’s ever been there. He tells her that he hasn’t. She then says they should ask Emma since she’s from there which area would be the best to look. David then tells Kathryn that he can’t go to Boston with her. “Can’t…or won’t,” she replies. He says that he’s sorry and that he doesn’t know what to say. “Try the truth. Is there something going on I don’t know about?” Kathryn asks. David pauses then says, “No, something’s happened. Something that’s preventing me from connecting. It’s not fair to you to let that screw up your life. You’re right, you need a fresh start. Just not with me.” Kathryn covers her face and starts to cry.

Shoot back to the fairy tale world. James, Abigail and her soldiers are riding through the forest. “We’ve reached my father’s realm. You should be safe here,” Abigail tells James. They dismount as Abigail tells James that she has “provisions waiting for you.” She hands them to James, who throws them to the ground and says, “I can’t take any of it. Not until you tell me what’s really going on. If really don’t care for me at all, why show me such kindness?” “It’s not about you, James. Its me,” Abigail admits. “I don’t want to marry you because my heart also belongs to another. A man I was once to wed. A man named Frederick.” James asks Abigail what happened. “We all have our own tragedies and lost loves. I thought reuniting you with yours would bring me some comfort,” Abigail tells James. He then tells Abigail that Snow told him that she doesn’t love him as he loves her. “That’s my tragedy,” James tells Abigail. “That’s no tragedy,” Abigail tells him. She then asks him to take her hand and says, “Come with me.” They start to walk and stop at a spot where a golden suit of armor stands. She then asks her soldiers to leave her and James alone. They walk away. She tells James that they are on the spot where her “beloved Frederick died.” James then asks if he died in battle. Abigail tells him that she and Frederick were traveling with her father, King Midas when they were ambushed. “Frederick bravely defended us and was cut down saving my father’s life,” she says. James praises the craftsmanship of the suit of armor and says that “it’s a fitting tribute.” Abigail then tells him that the suit of armor is actually Frederick…not a statue. “Frederick saw the attack before anyone else and threw himself in front of my father, knocking him to safety. Because of my father’s curse, he was instantly turned to gold.” James asks Abigail if she’s tried true love’s kiss to break the curse but she tells him the gold prevents her from actually touching Frederick’s lips. She then tells David of a lake, “Lake Nostos, its waters are said to have magical properties that can return to you something that was once lost.” He asks her if she’s tried getting to it. She tells him that she has but that the lake is “guarded by a ghastly creature that drowns its victims. No one who has ever faced it has lived to return.” James then tells Abigail to “not lose hope just yet. I will face this guardian and bring back the water that will undo this wretched curse.” Abigail reminds James that no one has ever come back alive. “None have my fearless bravery,” he replies. “Fearless bravery is disregard for one’s own safety,” Abigail says. James then tells that one of them should have happiness. “But, if you die neither of us will,” Abigail replies. He tells her that if he succeeds, she’ll “be reunited with Frederick and your misery ends. If I fail, the misery that ends will be mine.”

Shoot to August with Henry’s storybook. He’s carefully pulling out the book’s pages then sewing in new pages.

Shoot to Regina at her office, giving Henry a present. He opens it and it’s a video game. “I know you miss your book but with this you can do the heroics. You can save the princesses, you can be the hero. You have to believe me that when I tore down the playground I was doing it for your safety. Please don’t be upset with me. I really didn’t mean to destroy the book,” Regina tells Henry. “It’s not just the book,” Henry tells Regina. “It’s Emma. I want to see her.” Just then, Kathryn appears. Regina then tells Henry to go home, finish his homework and when she gets home they can have dinner. Regina asks Kathryn what’s wrong. “It’s David. He’s leaving me.” “That little home-wrecker. She just couldn’t stay away,” Regina replies. Kathryn asks Regina what she’s talking about. “Mary-Margaret, of course,” Regina replies. “What does Mary-Margaret have to do with this?” Kathryn asks Regina. Regina then tells Kathryn that David and Mary-Margaret have been having an affair. Kathryn asks Regina how she knows, “Did you see something?” She tells her that Sidney showed her pictures, “He’s always looking for scandal and he showed me,” Regina says. Kathryn demands that Regina show her the pictures. She gives her an envelope, which contains pictures of Mary-Margaret and David kissing. Kathryn starts to cry. Kathryn then asks Regina why she didn’t tell her. “Because I thought you two were working it out. I wanted you two to work it out. Believe me, I want you two together.” Regina replies. Kathryn asks why she cares. “Because I’m your friend,” Regina replies. Kathryn shakes her head and says, “A friend wouldn’t do this. A friend wouldn’t lie. Everyone’s lying to me.” Kathryn cries as she walks out.

Shoot back to the fairy tale world as James and Abigail approach the shrine to the guardian of the lake. “Every man who faces it leaves an offering here first to beg for the creature’s mercy,” Abigail tells James. James tells her that he’s going the rest of the way alone. Abigail wants to go with him. “The only life I want in my hands is my own,” he tells her. He then throws something as an offering into the shrine’s pile.

Shoot to David looking at old photos of him and Kathryn. His cell phone rings, its Mary-Margaret, who asks him if he told Kathryn. He tells her that he did and “its bad.” Mary-Margaret says she’s sorry but glad that he told her the truth. “So, now we can pick up the pieces and start over from a real place.” David then asks Mary-Margaret to meet him after school is over. She says she will and adds, “You did the right thing” before hanging up.

Shoot to Kathryn heading into the school. She bumps into the gym teacher [played by Greyston Holt] She approaches Mary-Margaret, who says she’s sorry right before Kathryn slaps her across the face. “Screw you, you’re sorry,” Kathryn says. All the students in the school’s hallway stop and watch. Mary-Margaret apologizes again and asks if they go somewhere more private to talk. “Since when do you give any consideration for me. Either of you. All you did was lie,” Kathryn says. Mary-Margaret says that she and David didn’t lie. “Didn’t lie? You snuck around, you broke up my marriage with that crap about not being able to connect. He didn’t have any trouble connecting with you,” Kathryn replies. “David didn’t tell you?” Mary-Margaret asks. “No, that would have been the honorable thing to do,” Kathryn replies. Mary-Margaret tells Kathryn that he told her that he would tell her about them. “Well, then he lied to you too. Good luck making it work. You too deserve each other,” Kathryn replies and walks out of the school.

Shoot back to the fairy tale world. James approaches the lake and moves to gather some water in a container when he hears a noise. He stands up and demands that the creature show itself. He draws his sword and again demands that the creature show itself. A siren [played by Aria Pullman] emerges from the water.

Shoot to August on his motorcycle. He stops in front of Emma, who’s in front of the diner. He tells her to “hop on.” She asks him to go somewhere she drives. “How about you stopping having to control everything and have a leap of faith. Come on, I know a good watering hole,” August replies. “If you don’t, I will,” Granny [played by Beverley Elliott] shouts. Emma takes the helmet August offers her and gets on the back of the bike. They take off and stop in the woods at an actual watering hole. “There’s a legend about this well,” August tells Emma. “They say the water from the well is fed from an underground lake and that lake has magical properties.” “Magic? You sound like Henry,” Emma replies. “Smart kid,” August says as gets some water from the well and puts it into two blue mugs. He continues saying, “They say if you drink from it, something you lost will be returned to you.” Emma asks August how he knows this and if he’s been to Storybrooke before. August then tells Emma he know so much about the well from the plaque. Emma then sees the plaque on the side of the well. She then asks him if he believes it. “I’m a writer. I have to have an open mind. Water is a very powerful thing. Cultures as old as time have worshipped it. It flows through all lands connecting the entire world. If anything has mystical properties, if anything had magic. It’d be water,” replies August. Emma says, “That’s a lot to believe on faith.” “If you need evidence for everything, you’re going to find yourself stuck in one place for a very long time,” replies August. He adds as he hands her one of the blue mugs, “There’s one thing I know for sure and I know you’ll agree with me.” Emma asks what that might be. “That it’s good water,” he replies. They both drink from their mugs.

Shoot to Mary-Margaret walking down the street. Every one walking past her keeps staring at her and whispering. She bumps into Granny, who tells her that she should be ashamed of herself.

Shoot back to the fairy tale world as the siren asks James his name. “Would you like to know mine? Because I can be anyone you want me to be,” the siren says as she walks on water coming closer to James. He points his sword at her and tells her to stop. He tells the siren that he knows who she is and that she’s trying to lure him to his death. The siren tells James that she “would never hurt a man as brave as he” but James tells her that her “deceptions” won’t work on him. “Really,” the siren says before turning into Snow. James is shocked at first but then says, “You’re not really her. I know it’s not real.” “Sometimes illusions are better than truth. I can give you everything you want that you can’t have,” the siren, as Snow, says to James as she touches him. “All you have to do is kiss me. I can feel how much you want to,” she tells James. He whispers, “No.” They kiss and James drops his sword in the lake. The siren, then leads James onto the lake but then he says, “No! I don’t want an illusion. I want reality or nothing.” She kisses him again, asking him if it feels real. She then tells him she loves him but he pushes away saying it isn’t real. “I’ve felt it and this isn’t it,” he says. “Congratulations, my dear. You’re the first,” the siren, as Snow, replies. She then drags him down into the lake, he sees all of the skeletons of those who came before and tries to swim to the surface. But, a vine comes up and grabs his leg, keeping him from surfacing. He sees his sword on the lake floor but starts to lose consciousness. Then, the siren, as Snow, comes back and kisses him. But, he stabs her with his sword. She changes back to her original form as she sinks away and James resurfaces.

Shoot back to David trying to wash off the word ‘TRAMP’ that’s spray-painted on Mary-Margaret’s station wagon. She asks him who did it, he says he doesn’t know. He adds that he doesn’t know how this happened and Mary-Margaret tells him that she knows he lied about telling Kathryn the truth about them. He asks her who told Kathryn and she replies, “Well, that’s the question. Why didn’t you do what we discussed? Why didn’t you tell her?” “I thought we could spare her feelings,” David replies. “Not WE. YOU and WE discussed this.” David tells her that he didn’t want anyone to get hurt. Mary-Margaret replies, “Now everyone is hurt. We had an understanding. We had an agreement. You not only lied to her, you lied to me.” David tells Mary-Margaret if they want to see if what they have is “love, we have to do what you said. We have to pick up the pieces, we have to move on.” Mary-Margaret replies, holding back tears, “This isn’t love. What we have is something else entirely. What we have is destructive and it has to stop.” David moves to touch Mary-Margaret’s face but she moves away. She then tells him that they shouldn’t be together.

Shoot to Emma brushing leaves off of her yellow VW bug when she sees a box floating underneath. She opens the box and finds Henry’s storybook inside. August watches her from across the street, out of sight.

Shoot to Regina watering plants at her office. Kathryn enters and tells her that she owes her an apology. “I know you would never do anything to hurt me. I was just so angry, confused and I snapped,” she tells Regina. She adds that she’s been fighting so hard to hang on to David that she’s never asked herself why. “He’s your husband,” Regina replies. “You love each other, you always have.” Kathryn says that they haven’t. She shows Regina the picture of David looking at Mary-Margaret. “You see how he’s looking at her? He’s never looked at me like that. Even before his accident.” Kathryn says. Regina tells her not to give up so easily. Kathryn then asks Regina if she’s ever been in love. Regina whispers, “Yes, once.” “Well, what I’ve come to understand is that I haven’t. But, they have, its real, its true,” Kathryn replies. She goes on to say that her marriage was like an illusion and that she knows that now. “The way he looks at Mary-Margaret. I want that for me and I’m going to go out there and find it,” she tells Regina. Then, Kathryn tells Regina of her plan to move to Boston and that she wrote David and Mary-Margaret a letter that they should be together because she couldn’t face him. She then hugs Regina and tells her that she’ll miss her. She then tells her about this “lifelong irrational fear of leaving Storybrooke. Like something was holding me back, isn’t that weird?” Regina says that it isn’t and that maybe she’ll find what she’s looking for.

Shoot back to the fairy tale world as James rides up to Abigail in the woods with Frederick, still imprisoned in gold. He gives her the water from the lake and she asks him how he slayed the “beast.” “The fate of your true love was at stake. I knew it was a battle I couldn’t afford to lose,” he tells her. She then takes the container of water and pours it on Frederick. It breaks the spell and he is human again. Abigail is overjoyed and kisses him. Frederick (the gym teacher) asks what happened. She tells him that he was trapped but now he’s free. Abigail introduces Frederick to James, “he’s the man who freed you,” she tells him. “I’m indebted to you,” Frederick tells James. “You can pay me back by walking down that aisle with someone you truly belong with. And perhaps giving me a horse and supplies for a journey as well?” he replies. “Done,” Frederick says. Abigail then asks James where he’s going to go. “To find Snow White,” he replies. Abigail is glad he’s going after her. He adds, “True love isn’t easy but it must be fought for, because once you find it, it can never be replaced.” Abigail asks how he will find her. “Well, a bird helped me track her down once. Hopefully it can again.” Abigail wishes James luck and then tells him to hurry because “once King George finds out that the union of the kingdoms has been ruined, he’ll come after you. Some people will stop at nothing to destroy the happiness of others.” James nods and goes off.

Shoot to Regina using a key on a large key ring full of keys that Emma found in her office earlier, to get into Kathryn and David’s house. She sees the note that Kathryn told her she left for David and takes it.

Shoot to the school. Henry’s on a bench playing the video game Regina got him. Emma appears and tells Henry how much she likes that particular game. Henry tells Emma that Regina’s picking him up soon so Emma says she’ll be quick and gives him back his storybook. He’s overjoyed that she found it. He asks her where she found it and she tells him the “gutter. It must have fallen off the dump truck and somehow made it back to me.” “That’s crazy. Maybe it means our luck is changing. Operation Cobra is back on. Things are going to be better,” Henry replies. Emma tells Henry that she hopes he’s right and leaves before Regina sees her. Henry opens the book and…

Shoot back to the fairy tale world as James is riding through the woods calling Snow’s name. Red [played by Meghan Ory] hears James and tells him that Snow never came back after “she went to find you.” “Then, I’ll find her. I’ll always find her and I’ll convince her that we belong together. I’ll always fight for her no matter what comes between us,” James replies. Red replies, “There won’t be much of a fight. Snow wants to be with you more than anything.” James tells Red not to “mock” him. “Snow told me we can’t be together because she doesn’t love me.” Red tells him that Snow left to break up his wedding because she’s in love with him. “Something must have changed her mind along the way,” adds Red. “Not something, someone,” James says. Suddenly, King George’s soldiers are upon them. James and Red get on his horse and hurry away.

Shoot to Emma coming home to a sad Mary-Margaret lying on the bed, not facing her. Emma asks her if she feels like talking about “it.” Mary-Margaret says no. She then asks her if she wants to be alone. Mary-Margaret, while crying, says no. Emma lies down next to Mary-Margaret.

Shoot to Regina with the letter Kathryn wrote David.

Shoot to Kathryn in her car, heading out of Storybrooke.

Shoot to Regina burning the letter.

Shoot to Kathryn’s car in a ditch right by the ‘Welcome to Storybrooke’ sign. The gym teacher (Frederick) is driving by and sees the car in the ditch. He gets out of his car to investigate. He opens the front door of Kathryn’s car and finds it empty.

Shoot to the letter burning and Regina smiling.