The shock departure last week has left everyone reeling and a big question hanging in the air: What does the Wicked Witch want?
The mystery begins to unravel in a flashback to the past where it all began, as a green swirling cyclone deposits a baby in front on a travelling couple en route to Oz.
Bright lights, green city… let’s get this show on the yellow brick road.
Despite initially recommending rum to deal with the grief, Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) offers to tell Henry (Jared Gilmore) more about Neal. He revisits his time with Baelfire/Neal in Neverland, how he taught him to sail, tie knots and other pirate antics, but most importantly how Neal also lost his father to evil forces when he was young.
In the meantime, Zelena (Rebecca Mader), Wicked Witch identity fully out in the public domain, walks into the diner demanding a fight to the death from Regina (Lana Parrilla): Main Street at sundown.
Although, as Tinkerbell (Rose McIver) mused, Regina did manage to step on a lot of toes back in the Enchanted Forest, none of them were green. So what is the Wicked Witch’s background? We have established that she is Regina’s older half-sister, daughter of Cora, abandoned because she couldn’t give Cora a fast pass into royalty. We also know she was abused by her drunk father for her ‘wicked’ magic.
This envy is the cause of the trademark green skin. On top of that, Rumplestiltskin refused her the ‘honour’ of casting the curse due to her desperation to learn magic (and obsession with Rumplestiltskin); the curse depended on giving up the thing you love most, which made her too dangerous…
Zelena feels she has every right for revenge, and kitted out in her pointy shoes, green gloves and characteristic pointed hat, arrives at the pre-arranged fight spot.
The reason for the fight was to get Regina’s heart; this, coupled with the courage stolen from Prince Charming (Josh Dallas), leads to the realisation that she is gathering ingredients to cast a new curse. A second chance to get what she wanted: a life where Regina was never born. What’s more, we learn that her number one fan, Flying Monkey One/Emma’s ex-fiancé Walsh (Christopher Gorham) was originally the Wizard of Oz – how’s that for a twist on the classic?
On the other hand, we have the tragic case of Rumplestiltskin in his basement cage. Even Belle (Emilie de Ravin) couldn’t save him while the Wicked Witch has the dagger and for the meantime he has to grieve for Neal as he serves as a guard dog. Hopefully things will look up for him soon.
We haven’t seen the swarm of flying simians recently. A storm is coming.