Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 3 – Snow Falls

This week’s episode of Once Upon a Time opened with an unknown princess and the prince riding in their carriage. It’s great to see the writers introducing us to one new character story line every week. (Last week I was delighted to meet the Evil Queen’s friend Maleficent. I love seeing all these classic stories twisted together in a new fashion.)

When the carriage comes across a fallen tree, someone jumps on top and steals something from inside. When the bandit jumps on a horse and runs away, the prince chases after, only to discover that it was Snow White. (Last week we had a pregnant snow white holding a sword, this week we have her stealing and punching guys in the face. Crazy!)

In present day, Mary Margaret discovers that Emma has been sleeping in her car. When she offers her spare room, Emma declines. At the hospital where Mary Margaret volunteers, Henry is in the room with Prince Charming (who is in a coma, and known as John Doe.) Henry recognizes that John Doe has the same scar as Prince Charming in his storybook. Henry gets Emma to convince Mary Margaret to read to John, in the hopes that they will discover who each other is. Mary decides to play along, as Emma says that this is the only way they can prove to Henry that this is make believe.

And of course, as she’s reading to him, he grasps her hand. A doctor comes in and says that he is stable, and immediately phones Regina to tell her what happened. A few moments later, John Doe is found to be missing from his bed. After watching a security tape, we find out that he walked out himself.

Back in the fairy tale world, Prince Charming is trying to bring Snow White to the queen after catching her. They stop for a drink, and Snow kicks him into the river. (She is not your average princess, this girl is tough!) She runs, but she bumps into some of the queen’s henchmen, who want to cut out her heart. Just as they are about to, Prince Charming comes back and rescues her. The two of them head off to find the trolls that Snow has sold the princes jewels to. (These trolls are freaky…) When they discover that Snow White is wanted by the queen, Snow White runs off, but the prince is grabbed by the trolls. She returns to save him, making them even.

Flashing again to the real world, John Doe is found unconscious in the woods. As Mary Margaret is performing CPR on him, her kiss wakes him up. When he wakes, he doesn’t know who he is. A woman comes running in (it’s the princess from the beginning of the episode) who is his wife in the new world. Emma doesn’t believe her, and thinks that the mayor is up to something. Regina is, after all, John Doe’s emergency contact since she is the one who found him and brought him to the hospital.

At the end of the episode, Emma asks if she can still live with Mary Margaret (which is kind of weird, since Mary is technically her mother.) But I guess it’ll keep things interesting until next week…