Mary Margret rushes to the hospital in labor, while Rumple spins away. Zelena takes the gold he spun and transforms it into the shape of his brain. And to think, I thought she was actually going to cut open his head to extract his real brain. She places it in her treasure chest along with Regina’s heart and Charming’s sword hilt.
In a flashback to Oz, Glinda shows up to thank Zelena for putting the “wizard” in his place! She invites Zelena to come with her to meet her “true” sisters, the witch of the North, and the witch of the East. They want her to join them by becoming the witch of the West, who represents innocence. Zelena scoffs, she knows she’s wicked, but Glinda attempts to convey to her that she can choose to be good, and that reclaiming one’s innocence can be just as powerful as being born with it.
Together, the sister witches attempt to convince Zelena that she was destined to join them by telling her of a prophecy that a sorceress brought to Oz via a cyclone will become the witch of the West and protector of Oz. Once Zelena chooses to join them and lets go of her envy for Regina, Glinda appears with a magical pendant. She instructs Zelena to wear it, that it will harness and enhance her power, but also to guard it, because without it she will be powerless.
Everything seems to be going fine, until they witness another cyclone dump another girl into their world. Of course it’s Dorothy! Who else would it be? Unfortunately, Zelena sees Dorothy as a threat, and that evil old envy comes sneaking back into her heart. Zelena takes it upon herself to read the prophecy personally, only to discover that the cyclone born heroine claims her seat as witch of the West after “unseating” the greatest evil that ever existed in Oz. Zelena can’t help but believe she is that greatest evil and it is Dorothy who was destined to be the witch of the West.
While Dorothy is gathering water from the well, Zelena approaches her, green as ever, and conjures a fire ball, prompting Dorothy to toss the water at it. The water puts out the fire, but also starts a chain reaction that melts Zelena. At this point Glinda arrives and invites Dorothy to stay with them and take Zelena’s place, but Dorothy wants to go home. So off they go to see the wizard who grants her the magic shoes to transport her home. After Dorothy leaves, Zelena reveals herself in place of the wizard. Her melting was all a ruse. Glinda swears to stop her, so Zelena banishes her to the Enchanted Forest.
Presently, Rumple casts a circle for Zelena’s spell, as she places each collected item around it. As it turns out, she also holds a compass. Hmmm...perhaps it’s the same compass Hook and Emma obtained from the bean stalk. Speaking of Hook and Emma, Hook shows up at the hospital and attempts to apologize to Emma once again. She’s not having it though. No one’s going to make decisions regarding Henry but her! She announces that she’s going after Zelena alone, but her father insists that Hook accompany her for the security of all involved, after all, it’s not just about her.
As Hook and Emma trek towards Zelena’s farm house, they argue over the fact that Emma still believes she and Henry belong in New York. She thinks she should have never come back, and can’t wait to get on with the life they had.
After they set off, Archie approaches Henry who is reading a newspaper. He’s not catching up on current events, though. He’s looking for an apartment for himself and Emma. I suppose this means he does not share Emma’s vision of a glorious return to New York.
Meanwhile, distracted by their own disagreements, Hook and Emma are caught off guard by Zelena, who points out that they should have been focused on finding her rather than each other. She then proceeds to have Rumple drown Hook so that Emma will have to make the decision to save him by kissing him, thus giving up her magic, or keep her magic and lose him. I guess she knows Emma well enough, because Emma resurrects him, much to his chagrin.
Zelena and the Dark One are off to the hospital to get her innocent babe, the last ingredient. Emma and Regina enacted a protection spell around the maternity ward, but neither of them are all that confident in its ability to repel Zelena. Of course, she’s able to walk right through it, knock Regina out of the way, get the baby boy Charming, and walk right on out.
Charming gathers himself to go after her, but Regina tries to stop him. She knows he’ll be killed. In walks Emma and Hook. Charming tells her the baby is gone, and she knows it’s because she failed. Like father, like daughter. Emma ashamedly admits that she has lost her magic. Regina looks helpless. She is convinced that Emma was their only hope, but Henry thinks otherwise. After all, it was HER kiss that broke the memory spell, and true love is light magic. He tells her she’s a hero and that he believes in her. That was all the motivation she needed. Watch out Zelena, here comes the rejuvenated Regina!
Just as Zelena opens her time portal, in come the Storybrooke avengers. Try as she might, Zelena just can’t win. Regina changes right there with light magic pouring out of her. It seems impossible, but as Regina says, “I choose my own destiny.” And following in the steps of a true hero, Regina spares Zelena’s life and gives her a second chance. Only, Rumple doesn’t see it that way. All he knows is that he must keep his promise to Neal that he will avenge his death. Poor Belle, she trusts Rumple to do the right thing, and just agreed to marry him. But, he isn’t trustworthy. He sneaks away and kills Zelena. A funny thing happens though. A green mist scurries from the place where Zelena died to where her pendant was kept, and the time portal reopens.
Image credit: ABC, Photographer: Katie Yu