The first episode of Once Upon a Time was jam-packed with plotlines and I must admit it took some time getting used to the back and forth of the two worlds. But, how else are they going to explain how the two worlds come about? Now that Emma (Jennifer Morrison) has decided to stay in Storybrooke, the clock is suddenly no longer ‘frozen’ and time is moving forward.
 
Highlights of Episode 2:
 
-Regina (Lana Parilla) confronts Henry (Jared S. Gilmore) about the missing pages. She claims she cares about the missing pages because Henry thinks she’s an Evil Queen and that hurts her, but he’s not fooled by her one bit.
 
-Regina brings Emma a basketful of apples, but really she comes to threaten her. Emma doesn’t take too kindly to Regina’s threats and wants to stick around to make sure Henry is okay.
 
-Back in the fairytale, the Evil Queen wants to get the Dark Curse back from Maleficent (from Sleeping Beauty), which she’d traded for the curse that makes Snow White sleep forever. After getting the curse back, the Evil Queen gathers all the Evil people together who were tired of losing in hopes of putting an end to their misery and to move to a new realm, but that fails leaving her more angry than before.
 
-Regina tries to have her assistant dig up dirt on Emma and finds out nothing. Not happy and not impressed, Regina does what she does best and threatens him, saying, “You found nothing of value, which means you have no value, Sidney. Do you know what I do with things that hold no value to me? I throw them away.” Yikes!
 
-Henry explains more about the curse to Emma. He lets her know he took the pages out of the book that has Emma in it and tells her no matter what, don’t let Regina know she has the pages. Since Emma stayed, it’s time to put Operation Cobra in action (you know, to save everyone from being frozen in time). While walking Henry to school, Mary Margaret (Henry’s teacher played by Ginnifer Goodwin) sees Emma and has a chat with her in which she reveals she’s the one who gave the book to Henry. Emma asks Mary Margaret who Henry thinks she is in the book. She laughs and says it’s silly, but says he thinks she’s Snow White. Undoubtedly, Emma was surprised.
 
-Emma goes to pay a visit to Henry’s therapist, Mr. Hopper (Raphael Sbarge), to question him about Henry’s fairytale obsession. To Emma’s surprise, the therapist gives Emma Henry’s file. The therapist calls Regina to let her know Emma has the file. Shortly after that, the sheriff (Jamie Dornan) shows up telling Emma the therapist said she stole the file and he arrests her. Regina then shows up at Henry’s school to tell him Emma has been arrested, trying to point out Emma is nothing but a con-woman. Henry, the smart boy that he is, doesn’t buy into the whole ‘con-woman’ thing. Henry goes down to the jail with his teacher to bail her out. Emma strikes back at Regina by cutting down part of her apple tree. As she’s walking away, she tells Regina, “Your move.” You go Emma!
 
-The Evil Queen doesn’t know why the curse didn’t work so she must go visit the one who gave it to her…Rumpelstiltskin. While there, Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle) tells the Evil Queen that Snow White and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) also paid him a visit. The Evil Queen wants to know why the curse didn’t work. He agrees to help her but in his new life he wants comfort and a good life, and the Evil Queen must do whatever he says. Of course, she agrees. To make the curse work, she must sacrifice the heart of the thing she loves the most: her father. Back at the castle, she tells her father what she must to do in order for the curse to work. Her father offers to help her find happiness together, but she double-crosses him and sacrifices him.
 
-Emma is asked to leave the Inn because there’s a no felon rule (which I’m sure Regina had something to do with it). Now homeless and sitting in her car, Regina calls Emma and asks to meet her so she can apologize, or really just set her up again (yes, I’m going with the second). Henry overhears Emma say he’s crazy. Regina knew Henry would be there, hence another set-up.
 
-Emma goes to see Henry’s teacher to pay her back for bailing her out of jail, and lets her know she is leaving. Without knowing it, the teacher convinces her to stay. Emma goes to see Henry at his therapy session to tell him she does believe him and they need to trick the Evil Queen into thinking they are non-believers. In an effort to make sure the Evil Queen doesn’t find out the truth about who Emma is in the book, she burns the pages that Henry ripped out of the book.
 
-Mr. Gold stops by Regina’s house to inform her Emma is still in town and he just saw her with Henry. Mr. Gold implies she should have come to him for help with getting rid of Emma. Regina states she is no longer in the business of receiving help from Mr. Gold.
 
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Once Upon a Time Season Season 1 Episode 2 aired October 30th 2011.
 
–Recap written by Alison Helms