‘Once Upon A Time’ episode recap: “The Evil Queen”
We open on Greg and Tamara trying to convince Hook to team up with them. They show Hook that his crocodile is still alive, and they want him to align with Regina in order to learn Greg’s dad’s whereabouts.
Shoot to Regina, who isn’t happy about not being included in the planned trip to the fairy tale world. She tries to get Henry to leave for the fairy tale world with her, thus destroying Storybrooke and everyone else with it. When he not-so-surprisingly isn’t onboard with that, she erases his short-term memory.
Shoot to Hook visiting Regina to warn her that Greg and Tamara want him to team up against her. He promises to help her and help carry on Cora’s legacy, and then he gives her the cuff that Cora gave him.
Shoot to Emma bumping into Tamara and sees that she has a list of fairytale characters with her. Suspicious, she and Henry embark on a stakeout and then break into Tamara and Neal’s apartment for clues.
Shoot back to Mary-Margaret and David’s home. Emma tells Mary-Margaret that she suspects Tamara is the woman August tried to warn them about, Mary-Margaret points out that Emma's superpower is less than reliable, especially when she's emotional. Emma swears this has nothing to do with Neal, as she is so very far and much and totally and completely way over him, for absolute sure. Once an unconvinced Mary-Margaret leaves, Henry reveals that he's been listening all along, and he wants in on Emma's investigation.
Shoot to While Emma breaks into Neal and Tamara's room, Henry stands sentry. Just as she finds a loosened floorboard, Neal strolls toward the room. As a warning, Henry bumps into the door, just like Emma taught him. The problem is Neal taught Emma that move. Neal opens his room to a cringing Emma. Emma assures Neal this has nothing to do with the fact that Tamara is his girlfriend. She's only investigating Tamara because of August's incomplete warning. I want to reach through the screen and wipe the smirk off Neal's face, but I'm still out in my hallway, cringing, and my arms aren't that long. Neal allows Emma to lift the floorboard. There's nothing hidden underneath, so a humiliated Emma cringes her way out of the room with Henry in tow. The upside is, Henry still believes in Emma, which he reveals as they drown their sorrows in ice cream.
Shoot to Regina taking Hook into a cave to find the trigger for her plan. She then shoves him off a cliff and makes him fight a reinvigorated Maleficent. Meanwhile, Regina grabs the gemstone that she needs. Hook is saved by Greg and Tamara. The bracelet Hook gave Regina is somehow “using science” to prevent Regina from having magic.
Shoot to Owen exchanging words about his father with Regina, he then tells Tamara to bag the Evil Queen.
Shoot to David and Mary-Margaret going to check on their magic beans, but they’ve been decimated by fire. But, we see that Regina kept some for herself.
Shoot back to the fairy tale world. Regina is distressed to realize that the villagers are more loyal to Snow than to her. She gets Rumplestiltskin and wants him to teach her how to shape shift so she can catch an unaware Snow and kill her. Regina thinks Snow's death will make the people love her (Regina), despite the fact that she just ordered the slaughter of an entire village simply because none of the villagers would give up Snow. Regina then morphs into a villager named Wilma and is shocked by how much all the other villagers hate the queen. When the queen’s men are about to remove an important part of her anatomy — i.e. her head — Snow shows up and saves the day. Snow nurses “Wilma” back to health, telling her there’s still some good in the queen. However, when Snow sees the pile of dead villagers, she realizes Regina can’t change. When Regina blows her own cover, she tries to get Rumple to rescue her. But he’s a no-show, so she sprints it out of there. When she finally meets with Rumplestiltskin, she then announces that the Evil Queen is there to stay.