Tonight on
Once Upon a Time, it becomes more and more apparent that Emma's presence in this town is stirring up some deep dark secrets. Things are changing drastically, some for the good, some for the absolute worse.
Sheriff Graham finds a bit more than he bargained for. He learns about his past and his connection to Mary Margaret Blanchard and Emma Swan. A heart is left to be found in Storybrooke, but it will cost a life. Who will be left standing when The Evil Queen gets angry?
Graham is a great dart shooter, but Emma could care
less. She leaves the diner and he follows. All he wants is to feel something,
but why should Emma's feelings on the matter be of any importance to him? He
kisses her suddenly and a vision of a white wolf enters his mind. Its eyes are
striking; they're two different colors, one red and one black. Weird, dude!
The Evil Queen overlooks as Snow White rests a
single white rose on her father's coffin. She turns to her stepmother for
comfort with little knowledge of her involvement in his death. She consults the
magic mirror, deciding to look for a huntsman to finish her master plan. Graham
awakens in Regina's bed after a dream where he's killed a deer and promised to
feed a gorgeous white wolf. This would probably freak most people out so it's
understandable when he skips out on Regina. Oddly enough, though. That same wolf
is frolicking around the streets of Storybrooke.
Mary Margaret has something heavy on her
conscience. She's spent a night with Dr. Whale, we learn, but she's not proud
of it; she feels guilty. On the other hand, she sheds some light on Emma's
situation for her. Emma has feelings for Graham, so she needs to work on
tearing down the wall she's built up around her.
Graham runs into Mr. Gold in the woods. He's carrying
a shovel for some reason. Anyways, Graham mentions the dream about the wolf.
Mr. Gold suggests that dreams are sometimes like memories. The Huntsman is said
to have been raised by wolves which, I guess, is the reason why when Graham
finds the wolf he poses no threat. With a soft pet on the head, Graham sees
visions of a knife, a young Snow White and a symbol carved atop a stone tomb. A
trip to see Mary Margaret should clear all this up, right?
The Evil Queen has a chat with The Hunstman in her
castle. He will become her official huntsman, wanting nothing. She will receive
the heart of his prey and, in return, his family, the wolves, will be safe from
hunters.
Graham sits talking to Mary Margaret, asking
questions about how they know each other. She figures he must have been talking
to Henry about all this storybook mumbo jumbo. He leaves, feeling a little
feverish. Snow White is on a walk through the woods with, what she thinks is,
one of the soldiers until she realizes he's different. Too much armor gives him
away. She runs off.
While Regina is at the police station, warning
Emma to stay away from her man, Henry is home alone. This gives Graham free
reign to ask him about the book, "Am I in it?" I think we're finally on to
something!
The Huntsman was raised in nature; therefore he
understands life and death. Seeing Snow White write a letter to the Queen
before death strikes her, strikes a chord in him. He spares her and takes the heart
of an innocent deer instead. Henry explains that sparing Snow White's life cost
him his feelings. The Evil Queen ripped out his heart and hid it in a tomb which
displays the signal seen in his vision.
Emma waits outside of the mayor's home. She tries
to help Graham understand that he does, in fact, have a heart. She finds it
with her own hand and feels it beating. While it doesn't really help him out
much, the effort is recognized and the moment is really cute to watch. Yet none
of this can beat seeing the white wolf with her own eyes. Emma is in disbelief
as they follow the wolf through the cemetery to the tomb. Could his beating
heart actually be inside?
The Huntsman brings the heart to the queen, yet
hands over Snow's letter first. Snow forgives her stepmother for what she has
done and hopes that now she can concentrate on ruling the kingdom as her father
would have wanted. Enraged, the queen burns the letter, takes the heart and
stands in front of a wall, hoping for something to happen. Apparently, if the
heart was Snow White's she would have gotten what she was waiting for. Now she
just looks stupid standing in front of a wall, staring at it.
Emma and Graham search the tomb for his heart,
finding nothing. Regina walks up, flowers in hand. She leaves flowers for her
deceased father every Wednesday. Graham gets upset with his boss/girlfriend and
breaks up with her. She, of course, blames Emma and a girl-fight ensues. Emma
suggests Regina look in the mirror and ask herself why everyone seems to be
leaving her. She stands alone.
Graham takes Emma back to the station to nurse her
wounds. They're actually really cute, looking at one another with starry eyes.
Regina steps inside the tomb. She moves the coffin to the side and descends
down a set of stairs. The Evil Queen got super upset and literally ripped out
his heart. The moment he strays from what she wants, all she has to do is give
his heart a squeeze.
Perhaps Graham isn't really the one who needed to
find his heart. Something has awakened in Emma that we haven't seen before. She
propels herself forward and kisses Graham passionately. Regina finds the wall
once more and opens a small compartment that houses The Huntsman's heart.
With Emma's kiss, Graham now remembers everything.
He remembers his upbringing, the deal made with the queen, sparing Snow's life
and losing his heart. Before his lips can meet Emma's once more he drops to his
knees... dead. Regina loosens her grip and all that is left is dust. Emma cries
out in tears as Graham lies lifeless in her lap.
The story only grows more intense from here. There
are explosions, harsh words and Emma must make a decision. Should she leave
Regina to die in a burning building? I say we kill the witch!
Tonight marks the first night of the winter hiatus
for
Once Upon a Time, but do not
fret! There will be fun-filled articles to come, quenching your thirst for all
things fairytale. Keep checking back for more coverage.
Jilliane JohnsonContributing Writer
(Image courtesy of ABC)