‘Once Upon A Time:’ Red

In flashback Fairytale Land, Snow and Red are on the run from the queen’s men. They narrowly dodge them, but Red’s cloak is torn. She worries it will not protect her from shifting into a wolf during the full moon. So the two women separate and agree to rejoin in the morning.

The following morning a man, Quinn, approaches Red and reveals he is also a shifter. He leads her to a hidden den where other wolf shifters reside. The leader, Anita, tells Red she is her mother and that Granny had kidnapped her. Furthermore, she explains that she can control herself during her wolf state by accepting the wolf as part of herself. That night Red is able to control her wolf self and remembers the experience in the morning.

Snow finds the den, but was followed by the queen’s men. They enter and during the ensuing fight Quinn is killed. Anita is outraged and says all humans are the same, so Snow must be killed…by Red. Red refuses, so Anita shifts to kill Snow. But Red saves Snow, unintentionally killing Anita in the process. She is heartbroken, but the two women bury Anita and Red tells Snow that she is actually protected her true family.

In Storybrooke, the dwarves find diamonds to make fairy dust in the mines. Charming is ecstatic to be able to use the dust on Mad Hatter’s Hat to bring Snow and Emma home. Later Spencer, aka King George, arrives; he reminds Charming that he is a mere shepherd’s boy and plans to expose him. But Charming says it didn’t work in their old world and won’t work now.

Meanwhile, Red meets a man who turns out to be Cinderella’s little mouse, Gus. She’s obviously a little smitten, but she’s anxious about the first full moon approaching. Granny locks her in the freezer but she escaped during the night. Granny and Charming find her in the woods, and then also find Gus murdered. Spencer starts to rally the townspeople against Red and Charming. Red is struck with grief and believes she did it. Charming, Granny and Belle hide her at the library but Red runs away.

Granny follows her scent, but finds her cloak and an axe in Spencer’s trunk. He had set her up. Charming and Granny find the townspeople closing in on Red as a wolf and Spencer tries to shoot her but is stopped by Granny. Charming reveals the true culprit, but Spencer slips away. When they catch up to him, he has the Mad Hatter’s Hat and throws it into a fire.

Additionally, Henry’s nightmares have been getting worse. He has started receiving burns from them. Mr. Gold says it’s the effects of being under a sleeping spell and prescribes a potion that will allow him to take action during his nightmares.

In present-day Fairytale Land, Aurora continues to have her flaming nightmares as well. However, this time the flames die down slightly and Henry is there telling her not to be afraid. She awakens and tells Emma and Snow the little boy’s name is Henry.

So, what did you think of the episode? It was a lot of backstory for Red, who I love and adore…a nice standalone episode in that regard. I am deeply excited about this link Henry and Aurora share! I can’t wait to see it play out! Leave your comments below!