Now that the spell of shattered sight is undone, Elsa takes down the ice wall. However, there is some residual magic that will allow people to leave, but not return. At this time, Anna realizes that she hasn’t had the opportunity to tell Elsa that Arendale has been conquered by Hans and his brothers. With this news, Elsa agrees with Anna that it is imperative that they return quickly, but how? No one has any magic beans.
Back at Gold’s shop, Gold and Hook have a conversation regarding Gold’s plans. Hook tells him that the girls need a portal, but are hard up. Gold is displeased, and orders Hook to watch Anna to make sure she doesn’t come to the shop. Hook realizes that Anna must know about his plan, but he can’t do anything about it. Gold still has his heart, and plans to thoroughly enjoy crushing it as soon as he is separated from the dagger. Gold thinks he’s going to give Belle the life she always wanted by showing her the world. When she awakes, he tells her as much, calling it their honeymoon.
Rumple escorts Hook back to the mansion, with the apprentice’s broom leading the way. The broom reveals the door which Ingrid used to travel here. Hook departs to tell the Arendale folk of their way home. It seems too good to be true, and Emma knows something isn’t right when Hook is telling her about it. He denies that there is a problem, well, Rumple denies that there is a problem as he speaks to her through Hook’s heart. You can see Hook’s frustration as he grabs Emma’s wrist forcefully. Confounded, Emma and the gang go to the mansion to find the portal.
Meanwhile, Regina is faced with losing Robin again, and again. First, she puts Marian’s heart back in her chest, reuniting husband and wife. Then, after Marian confides in her that she knows they’re in love and that she’ll step out of the way, Regina tells Robin it’s not right for him to leave Marian for her because of what it might do to Rolland. Robin disagrees. He explains that staying with Marian is living a lie, and he wants to set an example for Rolland of living in truth. He pulls out the story book picture of him meeting Regina in the tavern and unfolds it to show her he’s right. Before she can acquiesce, Marian faints from the ice spell, again. Regina understands that as long as Marian is in Storybrooke, the spell will have an effect on her. She explains to Robin that he needs to take her across the town line, into the world without magic. There she will be free from the spell, but Regina knows it is wrong to send her into this strange world alone. So, she insists that Robin, Rolland, and Marian go together as a family.
Regina drives them to the town line. As she sits in the car and watches them, Rumple gets in the car with her. He tells her that he and Belle are leaving, but first he wants to know why Henry was snooping around his shop. Regina admits that he was helping her by looking for the author of the story book. He wanted to change things so she could have a happy ending, but villains don’t get one. She comments that he and Belle seem content and she wants to know how he got his happy ending. He replies simply that he took it, and she could have hers too, if she let Marian die. However, that’s just not who she is anymore. She thought he had changed as well, but his comments sound like the ones Rumple of long ago would have made. Why? He blames it on the resurrection and Zelena. He always has an excuse!
She tells Robin, Marian, and Rolland goodbye. They begin to cross the line, but he hesitates and kisses her goodbye with tears in his eyes. As they walk away, she rips up picture of the tavern meeting that never occurred.
In flashbacks, we learn that Belle was once kidnapped by Maleficent, in exchange for a gauntlet that Rumple managed to obtain from a visit to Camelot. The gauntlet is important to him, because it points to a person’s weakness, the thing they love most. It turns out that Maleficent wasn’t working alone, though. When Rumple shows up to supposedly make the exchange for Belle, Maleficent is joined by Ursula and Cruella de Vil. Together they convince Rumple, much to his chagrin, to hand over the gauntlet in exchange for Belle’s life.
Image via Twitter from Once Upon a Time
He later returns to reclaim the gauntlet, explaining that they may one day be more powerful than him, but not yet. They suggest that he join them in their quest for victory over the heroes, but Rumple responds by telling them that he always gets what he wants, and he does it alone.
In Storybrooke, Belle has packed so much she can’t close her suitcase. Henry comes to see her and tells her about town line and how those who leave cannot return. He shows her the story book and talks about how it started all this, and seems to have sway over Regina’s happiness. Belle reminds him that it tells of her past, not her future; Regina’s on a better path now. After calling her grandma, Henry tries to help her find another suitcase, but finds the gauntlet instead. That surprises her. She never knew he went back for it.
At the portal door, Elsa and Kristoff exit, but Anna hesitates. During her moment of hesitation she learns of Rumpelstiltskin’s existence in Storybrooke, and is shocked. The others realize that she knew him and wonder why he lied about knowing her. She must have told them about the sorcerer’s hat, because the next thing you know, Snow and Emma are busting in the clock tower to confront Rumple and save Hook. It appears that they are too late, though, because the cleaving process has already begun and he freezes them in their tracks. He attempts to crush Hook’s heart, but for some reason can’t.
No, it wasn’t true love that won this time; this time it was the dagger. Evidently Rumple’s severance was incomplete, because Belle found and used the real dagger to commanded Rumple to not crush Hook’s heart. She then demands that Rumple free Snow and Emma, return Hook’s heart to him, and go to the town line with her. At the town line she expresses her disappointment and loss of faith in him, as well as disappointment in herself for being duped by him.
Image via Twitter from Once Upon a Time
Later, everyone regroups at Granny’s. There Emma shoves Hook’s heart back in his chest. He immediately, passionately kisses her and says, “I told you, Swan, I’m a survivor.”
Afterwards, Emma sits by Regina to talk about all that’s happened, which of course Regina doesn’t want to talk about. Emma assures her she’s not there to give her a “hope speech,” but rather to be a drinking buddy. She cheers Regina up when she tells her that Rumple lost his happy ending. Then, Henry interrupts to tell them that he found a secret library at the mansion. It has story books in it, but they’re all blank. If they’re all potential story books, then it must be the author’s writing room.
This assumption is later confirmed when Rumple seeks out and recruits the modern day Ursula in New York. Although it’s not clear how she got there, it is clear that they will be going after Cruella and Maleficent so they can fulfill the mission of victorious villains.
Image courtesy of Roger Wong/INFGoff.com