Pixie dust, fireballs, and everything magical…it’s official, Once Upon A Time is back! The season 3 premiere, “The Heart of the Truest Believer”, brought us all back to a magical land with all of our favorite fairytale characters. This land, though, is not the one we are all used to. We are finally brought to the land we have all been anxiously waiting to see…Neverland! The Lost Boys may be a little scarier than I have always imagined them and the land may be a little dark, but hey, it’s still Neverland!
So Sunday night we find Tamara and Greg in Neverland with Henry after they kidnapped him. Unfortunately Fortunately these two are taken out pretty quickly by the Lost Boys…I guess these Lost Boys aren’t so bad after all, huh? Well Greg gets taken out pretty quickly. Tamara lucks out for a little while longer until Rumpelstiltskin rips out her heart and squeezes it to dust. I always knew I liked him…or maybe it was just his laugh. Hmm. Well either way, you go Rumpel! Let me also say how happy I am that this whole science and “home office” storyline turned out to be all about magic after all because who wants science in Once Upon A Time?!
Henry finally finds someone who he thinks is a friend. It only took him 2 seasons and a trip to Neverland to find a friend but at least he did…well at least he thought he did. This so called friend turns out to be none other than Peter Pan! Shocker…and I really do mean that. That’s what Henry gets for always finding the good in people and believing and what not. Come on Henry, everyone knows to trust no one but yourself. Better luck next time. He and Pan went on a nice nighttime fly full of pixie dust and believing only to have it all be for nothing. Only time will tell what Peter Pan has in store for Henry…and I hope that time goes by fast because I can’t wait to find out!
Also in Neverland, and on their way to rescue Henry, is Emma, Snow, Charming, Regina, Rumpelstiltskin and Hook. They are all aboard the Jolly Roger and if you think this is the oddest and most volatile group of people, well, you’re right! Rumpelstiltskin leaves the party early though, leaving only a few awkward pairings on the boat. At one point, Emma is in the bottom of the boat (I don’t know what that’s called considering I’m not a boat expert and have been on approximately one boat in my lifetime so we’ll leave it at that). She’s doing pull-ups…priorities. Hook comes down, hands her a sword that belonged to Baelfire, offers her a drink, and naturally I think maybe they will finally kiss, but they are distracted when the boat starts shaking. Is it a shark attack? Whales? Maybe some violent sea turtles? Nope…just some angry mermaids! No sign of Ariel yet though so don’t get too excited! Regina takes care of these mermaids in what everyone knows would be the most effective way in a giant sea of water…fireballs! Only on Once Upon A Time I guess. It works though and the mermaids swim away, not before one of them is captured though and brought aboard the Jolly Roger. To say this mermaid is unhappy is an understatement. She whips out her conch shell, blows into it and suddenly the already scary waters get scarier and the Jolly Roger’s well being is not looking too great. Regina turns this mermaid into a statue type thing though and all is well! Or is it? Well the answer is no, it is not. Turns out the mermaid linked the arguing of the people on board to the storm with her spell and with this crew we know this is headed downhill (or wave?) real fast! Smart mermaid, huh? Now we have an all out brawl: Regina vs. Snow and Hook vs. Charming. Emma sees what is happening and saves the day by jumping into the water, and also risking her own life, to get everyone to stop fighting. I guess that’s why she is the Savior. Her father, Charming, saves her and wins father of the year award, which I guess is pretty impressive after missing out on the first 28 years of his daughter’s life.
Eventually, the crew lands on the shores of Neverland and Emma makes a speech that I was almost worried would turn into a Full House kind of speech. Ya know, the I-know-we-all-have-our-differences-but-we-always-work-it-out-and-we-love-each-other (cue sappy music) speech delivered by Danny at the end of every episode. No worries, though, it didn’t quite get that far.
Rumpelstiltskin is roaming the forest of Neverland as well. After his run in and murder of Tamara, he is greeted (well…kind of) by the leader of the Lost Boys, whose name is apparently Felix. Felix threatens him and tells him he has no chance of surviving against Pan (wow, Peter Pan hates Rumpel? How strange considering he’s such a likeable person) and Rumpel surprisingly agrees. He sends chills up everyone’s spines when he says the question is not if he will die, because he will, but how many of the Lost Boys he will take with him. If that doesn’t scare Felix, I don’t know what will. Oh wait, maybe Peter Pan will.
Back in the Enchanted Forest we find Neal (or Bae…not really sure what to call him so I’ll just alternate) with Mulan, Aurora and Phillip. They realize who Bae is and realize the whole awkward, confusing, dramatic family tree that is this family. Bae recruits Mulan to go with him to Rumpelstiltskin’s castle because he knows there is something there that can help him. They get there surprisingly fast, and without any giants or monsters chasing them. In the castle we also find Robinhood who we met last season. I can’t help but notice that there’s something different about his face…hmm (they changed the actor…in case you missed that). Bae finds the cane he is looking for and opens a secret door in the wall. He then finds a crystal ball and sees Dorothy and Toto inside of it. Sorry, wrong story. He sees Emma alive inside of the ball and now he just has to find out where she is and a way to get to her.
Hopefully he doesn’t find her until she and Hook have a little fling and then end it, making her realize Bae was the one for her all along and they live happily ever after. The end. Maybe with some stuff in between but those are just minor details.
Well hopefully you loved the season 3 premiere as much as I did. That’s all for this recap but watch Once Upon A Time on Sunday at 8pm on ABC, and then check back for my episode 2 recap!
PS…Here’s the Rumpelstiltskin laugh I mentioned just to give you all a good laugh.
Jersey Meets Country 