Once Upon a Time 1.10 – 7:10 AM Recap

It’s been a while since I recapped anything for this blog, but I’ve found that I missed it. Since I’ve fallen in love with Once Upon a Time, I thought I’d jump in and talk about that.

I always find it interesting how the world of TV works. This season we got two new shows with fairy tale elements to them. I watched them both for a couple of weeks, but Once Upon a Time is the one I stuck with because I like their twist on classic fairytales and I like how they parallel the modern, real world stories with the fairytale they are retelling. Yes, the Lost connections are everywhere behind the scenes, and since I didn’t like how that show ended, it does worry me some. I’m hoping since the guys behind this show weren’t ultimately responsible for Lost, I’ll wind up liking this one better.

Last week’s episode was the first miss for me, mainly because I just didn’t care about the outcome. We were focusing on new characters, and I’m more interested in the main cast at this point. So I was rewarded with last night’s episode in a big way.

In Storybrooke, Mary Margaret and David are still dancing around their feelings for each other. Officially, he’s gone back to his wife, Katherine. But neither can get the other out of their head. In fact, they both head to the diner at 7:10 (arriving at 7:15) just so they will run into each other.

Emma has a talk with Mary Margaret and tries to convince her that she needs to avoid David as much as she can. A trip to the market doesn’t help when Mary Margaret runs into Katherine and finds out that the woman thinks she’s pregnant. So Mary Margaret goes for a walk in the forest to think about that and finds a dove caught in a net. She takes the dove to the animal shelter – you know, the place where David works. She finds out that this dove must get back to her flock or else she will become lonely since these doves mate for life. So she ignores the coming storm and sets out to find the flock now.

Naturally, David is concerned and follows her, which turns out to be a good thing when Mary Margaret slips and almost falls down a huge cliff. But, he’s right there to save her. The rain comes and the two take refuse in what appears to be an abandoned cabin in the woods (rather covenant) and they start talking. That’s when we find out that David only goes to the diner to get coffee because he knows that Mary Margaret will be there and it’s a chance to see her. The two almost kiss, but suddenly Mary Margaret pulls back and reveals to David that Katherine thinks she’s pregnant.

About this time, the rain stops, they release the dove to her flock, and head back into town.

The next morning, Katherine reveals to David that she thought she was pregnant, but it turned out she isn’t. They both agree to go to counseling to work on their marriage. He skips coffee in the diner to eat breakfast at home. Meanwhile, Mary Margaret stays home and goes to the diner later for coffee…only to run into David, who came in late to avoid her. He rushes outside; she follows. He reveals that his wife isn’t pregnant, and the two kiss – right in front of Mayor Mills, who is less than impressed.

Meanwhile, in a sub-plot, we’ve got the mysterious biker who came into town at the end of last episode. The Mayor is upset because she catches the man talking to Henry, so she convinces Emma to talk to the stranger. They have their big confrontation in the diner, and we learn that the man is a writer with an old typewriter. He finds the town inspiring. He doesn’t quite reveal whether he’s been to Storybrooke before or not. It’s implied he hasn’t, but I’m not sure about that.

And in the fairytale kingdom….

This part of the show focused on Snow White and Prince Charming (aka Prince James) – the true versions of Mary Margaret and David. Snow is living in seclusion trying to get over James, who is set to marry King Midas’ daughter in two days (a woman who looks remarkably like Katherine). In an effort to ease her breaking heart, she goes to Rumpelstiltskin to get potion that will erase her memory of James.

But before she takes it, she gets a note from him by carrier pigeon. He begs her to come before the wedding so they can run away together. And she does, only to get caught and put in prison.

It’s there she meets Grumpy, falsely in prison for stealing a diamond he thought he was buying. The two talk, and when Sneaky comes to break Grumpy out, they break Snow out as well. Sneaky and Grumpy take off across what they think is an empty courtyard, but instead Sneaky is shot and killed with an arrow. Just before Grumpy is killed, Snow shows up and agrees to be taken into custody if Grumpy is released.

It’s then Snow learns a bit of the truth, that James is not the real prince of the kingdom, something he is still struggling with (and a fact that was established a few episodes ago). She is told by the king that either she will tell James that she doesn’t love him, or the king will have James assassinated, so Snow breaks his heart and walks out of the room silently crying.

Outside, she reunites with Grumpy and the six remaining dwarves. She is planning on drinking the potion she got from Rumpelstiltskin, but Grumpy talks her out of it.

The next day, James rides up to the cabin where Snow had been staying, only to find out she hasn’t returned. Meanwhile, the dwarves have learned that James called off the wedding. Only it’s too late. Snow has taken the potion and doesn’t even remember who he is.

Wow, they pack a lot into an hour.

We also had it confirmed that the waitress/owner of the diner (it’s never been exactly clear to me) is indeed Red in the fairytale world. I’m guessing Red Riding Hood since she first shows up with a basket for Snow, but she could always be Rose Red.

I love how they throw in their own twists on the classic tales we think we know so well. In this case, I’m wondering why James called off the wedding, how he got away with it, what made him think Snow lied when she broke his heart, and how Snow remembered him. You know, minor little things.

And back in Storybrooke, I’m dying to know what drew the writer to town and how his presence is going to change things. For that matter, how did he even get into the town since Emma is the first person ever to come to town? Plus what does the fact that Mary Margaret and David kissed mean to the curse? Will they start remembering who they are now? What will the Mayor try next to pull them apart?

So much fun and so much intrigue. I can’t wait for next week’s episode already.

What were your thoughts on this week? What are your biggest burning questions?