2.15 The Queen is DeadIn fairytale past we see Snow White being a bit of a brat and her mother teaching her a lesson. We meet her servant Johanna. And we watch Snow's mother Eva die slowly from Cora's poison. Oh and Snow goes to Blue Fairy (who is really Cora in disguise) for help and she gives her a certain candle, which I'm sure in no way will turn up in the next episode to awesome effect. Ah, the irony of Cora handing Snow the very candle Snow would later use to kill her. Oops... spoilers.
In Storybrooke... Snow White finds Johanna and they have a tearful reunion and then Cora kills Johanna by tossing her out of the clock tower. But I'm getting ahead of things.
In other storylines... Hook attacks David with a fishing hook in order to get back his own hook. Then he travels to New York by ship and stabs magic-less Rumple in the chest with his poison tipped hook, but again I'm getting ahead of myself.
Snow catches Regina and Cora digging in the woods and overhears Cora promise to use the dagger (when they find it) to order the Dark One to kill anyone she (Regina) likes (which from what I can gather means Snow, David and Emma). Snow finds David lying on the floor in the Sheriff's Office and she wakes him up and tells him about The Mills girls evil plans.
In New York... Neal and Henry bond over pizza. Emma and Rumple bond over their newfound common ground and Rumple totally tries to set up Emma and Neal to get back together.
Hook stabs Rumple in the chest, and Neal, who mysteriously recognizes Hook and knows how to sail a ship, helps them sail back to Storybrook in The Jolly Roger to find some magic to save his father and it is revealed that Neal is now engaged to lovely lady named Tamara who I'm sure is perfectly normal.
Emma gets Rumple to tell her where the dagger is and she foolishly calls the two idiots and tells them. They go and get it hidden on one of the clock tower hands, which makes it a lot easier for Cora and Regina since all they had to do was follow them. The Mills girls poof Johanna up to the clock tower and Regina rips out her heart and says give us the dagger or we kill her. After lots of agonizing looking hearts squeezes for poor innocent Johanna. Snow hands over the dagger and then they kill Johanna anyway. Nice going there team Charming. Snow finally realizes that Cora killed her mother and she vows to killer Cora.
QUOTESEmma: So do you like New York pizza?
Henry: Yeah. It's delicious, cheesy, and it doesn't lie.
Mary Margaret: Lucky for you, you've earned enough good will with me to give you one last chance, a chance to choose the right side... the side of good.
Regina: Have you ever considered that maybe, perhaps... I am good? I was always the Queen. It was you who added "Evil" to my name.
Mary Margaret: Good doesn't do what you do. Why? Regina, why go back to being this way after how hard you tried?
Regina: And what did it get me? Dinner with a bunch of hypocrites who pretend they'll forgive me, when... in their hearts, they know... they never will. You're giving me the chance? How about I give you one? Stay out of my way. (She gets up to leave)
Regina to Snow after Cora kills Johanna: Well, there you go. You see where good gets you? (Regina and Cora disappear in a puff of smoke. Mary Margaret dissolves into sobs in David's arms)
Cora: You're worried my interests are no longer aligned with yours.
Regina: My only interest now is Henry.
Cora: And I've told you, you'll have him.
Regina: But how? Now that Mary Margaret and David know we have the dagger, we can't use Gold to kill them without Henry finding out.
Cora: Have patience, my love. By the time Rumplestiltskin returns, Emma Swan and the rest of them will be nothing more than a vaguely unpleasant memory. And Henry will be yours.
DEATHSPrincess Eva is killed by Cora
Johanna is killed by Cora
2.16 The Miller's DaughterIn fairytale past... we meet a young miller's daughter named Cora. Cora hates her life and wants to be royal. She tells the king she can spin straw into gold and he locks her up and tells she has to do it or he'll kill her. Rumple shows up to help her... for her firstborn child. She wants to learn how to do magic and then things gets flirty and Rumple alters the deal to give him his child. They talk about running away together, but Cora double-crosses him and rips out her own heart so that she can marry the king's son (Henry Sr....curiously tall in the past) and become royalty.
In Storybrooke... Regina and Cora have The Charmings phone tapped so they now know that Gold is being rushed back to Storybrooke and when Cora looks at the dagger she sees that Rumple's name is fading away and she says QUOTE...
Cora: He's dying. When his name disappears, all of that power of his will just boil off into the air and then there will be no new Dark One.
So the power will just boil off and not turn into black ribbons and go after a new host? So I guess either Cora or the Once writer's don't know what they're talking about. But I digress.
Cora tells Regina that now she has no choice, she (Cora) must stab Rumple and become The Dark One herself. Regina questions whether this was her plan all along and not as she told her to help Regina get Henry all to herself.
The Jolly Roger arrives home and Henry tells his grandpa (the healthy one) that his dad taught him how to sail. David asks Gold if Cora was controlling him yet to which Gold humorously replies:
Mr. Gold: Well, you'd know if she was, because most of you would be dead by now.
Yup. Then they send Henry away with Ruby for his own safety while they head for Rumple's shop where he has magic that might protect them.
Gold has Emma fetch some invisible chalk and instructs her to chalk around the doorways to protect the shop. Gold asks Snow for a warmer blanket and she sees the candle. Dun dun DUN!
Mary Margaret: You're not getting any better, are you?
Mr. Gold: The candle can save me. There's nothing else.
Mary Margaret: I wouldn't use this to save my own mother. What makes you think I would use it for you?
Mr. Gold: Because you're all grown up now. And for once, our interests are aligned.
Mary Margaret: She dies instead of you.
Mr. Gold: I know you can do this. I know you want to do this.
Mary Margaret: There's no coming back from murder.
Mr. Gold: And there's no coming back from death either. And that's what will happen to your loved ones.
Gold teaches Emma that magic comes from emotion and she raises a protection spell herself.
Regina and Cora approach the shop and easily knock down the barrier with a double fireball. Snow sneaks out the back door and heads for Regina's vault. Inside Regina readies a fireball and magic tosses David out the door, closing it behind him. Emma catches Regina and holds a knife to her throat, while Neal manages to knock the dagger out of Cora's hand. Neal advises Cora to choose wisely (between reaching down to retrieve the dagger and saving Regina) she chooses the dagger and Emma shoves Regina into Cora so that she and Neal can fall back to the backroom where Gold in. Emma raises another magical barrier. Cora senses someone has her heart and she sends Regina to fetch it while she tries to break down the new barrier between her and Gold.
In Regina's vault Snow finds Cora's heart and she gets out the candle and curses the heart. Regina catches Snow in the heart vault and Snow gives her her mother's heart and tells her that Cora can't love Regina without her heart and she convinces Regina to put the heart back inside her mother. That's some seriously heart blackening stuff right there.
Rumple knows he's dying so he calls Belle and I cry. He and Bae make up a little bit and hold hands.
David runs up to a cowering Snow and asks her, 'what did you do?!'
Cora breaks into the backroom and sends Neal and Emma away with a wave of her hand. She walks up to dying Rumple and they chat a bit...
Mr. Gold: A vision told me about you. Told me this day would come. But it didn’t tell me everything. Didn’t tell me what I really wanted to know.
Cora: And what’s that?
Mr. Gold: Did you ever love me?
Cora: Why do you think I had to rip my own heart out? (Cora strokes Mr. Gold's face.) You were my weakness. You were the only man I ever truly loved. (Lifting the dagger, which now only has one letter left on it, she braces herself to stab Mr. Gold with it but instead jolts forward, dropping it. Standing behind her is Regina, who has just inserted her mother's heart. The two smile at each other.)
Cora smiles at her daughter and laughs and then she collapses and dies as Gold rises, fully recovered in an instant. Gold picks up his dagger and watches as mother and daughter share one final moment...
Cora: This would have been enough. You... You would have been enough. (Cora stops talking and her eyes shut.)
Regina: Mother? What’s going on? Mother. Don’t leave me, please. What am I going to do?
Mr. Gold: Your mother did you no favours.
Regina: Shut up! You stole her life! You cast some spell.
Mr. Gold: I did nothing.
Mary Margaret: (A frantic Mary Margaret rushes into the room with David trailing behind her.) Regina! Stop!
Regina: You did this.
Regina stares at Snow White in hatred as we fade to black. ...WOW! What an episode!
QUOTESEmma: You don't look comfortable.
Mr. Gold: The poison racing towards my heart will have that effect.
Emma: Tell me about this, uh... knife of yours. Cora and Regina, if they do have it, they can make you do anything?
Mr. Gold: Indeed.
Emma: Like, kill us all?
Mr. Gold: Yeah. You're hoping I bleed to death now, aren't you?
Emma: You're Henry's grandfather. We're family now. I'm gonna save you.
Mr. Gold: Oh, I feel so reassured
SCENE: Storybrooke. Present. Mr. Gold's shop. Emma uses the invisible chalk to draw a line.
Neal: Missed a spot.
Emma: You're hilarious.
Neal: I didn't know you were magical.
Emma: Oh, my. Are you being judgy about this? 'Cause you're not allowed to have opinions about surprises, Mr Son-of-Rumplestiltskin.
Rumplestiltskin: (Giggles) No, I want you to help me. And you will. Because the future is my gift. Well, in a manner of speaking.
Cora: What could you possibly get from me?
Rumplestiltskin: Funny you should ask. (Summons up a contract.) Can you read?
Cora: My firstborn child?
Rumplestiltskin: She is quite important.
Cora: She?
Rumplestiltskin: Yes, I see the future, weren't you listening? Anyway, I only get my payment if you live past tomorrow.
Cora: You can turn all of this straw into gold by morning?
Rumplestiltskin: And you can parade in front of the royals and demand the hand of dimly-lit prince and have them kneel before you. That's what you want, eh? You want them to kneel...
Cora: No!
Rumplestiltskin: I... No. What?
Cora: Teach me. Don't just do it. Teach me. Make it part of our deal.
Rumplestiltskin: (Giggles) You are a spicy one, aren't you? Oh, well. Rumplestiltskin.
Cora: What?
Rumplestiltskin: My name. Do believe you just earned it. (He magically changes the contract.) Now, let's begin.
Cora: Royal brides have to be snow white.
Rumplestiltskin: (giggles) Well, when you see the future, there is irony everywhere.
Cora: You know, I thought I wanted this. White and bright, all the admiration. But then I look at it. Fifth in line to be queen? That won't happen without an awful lot of bloodshed. And what you give me.
Rumplestiltskin: I can give you nothing but darkness and isolation.
Cora: And love.
Rumplestiltskin: Yeah. And love.
Cora: I want that.
Rumplestiltskin: What if I, um... What if I, uh... amended our contract? Instead of you owing me some random firstborn child, you owe me my child?
Cora: I can make that deal.
Rumplestiltskin: As can I.
Neal: It's getting weaker. She's gonna get through.
Mr. Gold: Maybe it's for the best. At least this cursed power will pass from this world.
Neal: No. No, you're not dying.
Mr. Gold: I am dying. That much is certain. I need to talk to Belle. Emma, please.
Neal: Who's Belle?
Emma: Your dad's girlfriend.
Belle: (In the hospital, Belle answers the phone.) Mr. Gold, I... I told you before, I... I don't remember you.
Mr. Gold: I... I... I know, I know. It's just, uh... Sweetheart, I am dying.
Belle: Oh. I'm, uh... I'm... I'm so sorry.
Mr. Gold: I know that you're confused about who you are. So I'm going to tell you. You are a hero who helped your people. You're a beautiful woman who loved an ugly man. Really, really loved me. You find goodness in others, and when it's not there, you create it. You make me wanna go back. Back to the best version of me. That never happened before. So when you look in the mirror and you don't know who you are... That's who you are. (Belle and Mr. Gold both cry.) Thank you, Belle.
Neal: Didn't know you had that in you.
Mr. Gold: Oh, I am full of love. I've spent a lifetime looking for you. For a chance to say I love you. And I'm sorry.
Neal: I didn't think you would go back on our deal.
Mr. Gold: I just made the wrong choice. (Gold reaches his hand out to Neal.) May I?
Neal: I'm still angry.
Mr. Gold: I know. (Neal grabs his dad's hand.)
Regina: You have no right to be here. And you have no right to that!
Mary Margaret: I was going to give it to you.
Regina: What?
Mary Margaret: She can't love you, you know. She doesn't have her heart. With it, maybe she can. That's why you've never felt she loved you. She doesn't have her heart. But I do.
Regina: You're doing this for me?
Mary Margaret: Think about it. What would happen if Cora had her heart back? Back inside her?
Regina: She told me she took it out to protect herself.
Mary Margaret: And did it work? The person she was before, do you think that person survived? She can't love, so she can't love you.
Regina: She always wanted the best for me. That's love.
Mary Margaret: Imagine real love. You'd have a mother, and a start on making a family Henry could be a part of. Or you could have her be the Dark One. The choice is yours.
DEATHSSnow White kills Cora
Season Two DEATH COUNT (15 episodes in)
Cora -- 102 (+100 Village +2 Johanna, Princess Eva)
Charming -- 5 (and this doesn't count the war with King George)
Prince James 5 giants
King George/George -- 2
Rumple: 2 (Milah) (The Seer)
Regina 1 (heart that died in zombie Daniel)
Regina's Guard --- 1
Snow White -- 1 (Cora)