Once Upon a Time: Heart of Gold (4x18)

This was a good episode. Not the best, but good enough that I don't even care how stupid it is that Zelena is back. Or that we got virtually no Captain Swan. Let's dive in!

Back in Sherwood Forest, many years ago, we see Robin working in a tavern. He is newly married to Marian, and he's turned away from thievery. He doesn't have enough money to pay taxes to the Sheriff of Nottingham. Robin needs a way to get the money, and fast. Rumplestiltskin shows up and makes him an offer - he'll make sure Robin gets the money he needs, if Robin will travel to Oz to steal something for him. Robin goes into Oz and there meets Will, who is also searching for the item Robin is to steal. This elixir is capable of healing a broken heart. Will and Robin agree to look for it together. Robin tries to steal the elixir, but he is stopped by Zelena. However, he does manage to escape, and take some of the elixir with him.

Robin lies to Will and says that he wasn't able to get any of the elixir. Will then tells Robin the story of why he wants the elixir - he wants to cure his own broken heart after the tragic death of his sister. Robin, touched upon hearing this story, makes up his mind - he slips the vial of elixir into Will's pocket. Back in Sherwood, Robin decides not to pay taxes to the Sheriff. Instead, he takes on his new identity as Robin Hood, who will steal from the rich and give to the poor.

We also get a flashback in this episode to the world outside of Storybrooke, nine weeks prior to the current events in the town. Robin, Marian, and Roland have just left Storybrooke in order to save Marian's life. They settle in to Neal/Bae's old apartment, which Regina had given them a key to. It seems that things are not great in the marriage between Robin and Marian, as Marian wonders if Robin wishes he were with Regina. Then, Rumple shows up, having also been exiled from Storybrooke at this point. He is upset to see them in his son's apartment. Rumple then starts having chest pains and he collapses.

At the hospital, the doctors tell him it was a heart attack, but Rumple knows better - he tells Robin that it's a consequence of all the dark magic he's been doing. The only way to save him is to use some of the elixir to cure a wounded heart. Robin agrees to go steal some of it from the place where the wizard has been hiding out in this world. In exchange, Robin and his family can continue staying at Neal's apartment. Robin gives the elixir to Rumple, and leaves. Rumple is horrified to find that the elixir isn't working. Enter: Marian. She has the real elixir. She switched them out. She then reveals that she's not Marian at all! She's Zelena. She has been the whole time. When Rumple thought he had killed her, in fact her essence traveled back in time with Hook and Emma. She then killed Marian and took on her form, coming back to Storybrooke in that disguise, as the ultimate revenge against Regina.

Now, she realizes that she can't make Robin fall in love with her. She needs Rumple to help her by finding the Author so that he can write a happy ending for her. Zelena and Rumple make a deal - she'll hand over the elixir that will save his life, and he will let her in on the plan for happy endings. "Marian" then goes home to Robin, who says he wants to be with her, and only her. He's ready to put Regina out of his mind and give their marriage another try.

Finally, we've got the Storybrooke plot thread. Emma and the gang try to track down the author, but they can't find him. Emma is still furious at her parents for what they did, and they can't seem to appease her. Rumple finds the Author, and offers him a magic quill, telling him he must start rewriting new happy endings.

In Regina's crypt, she wakes up to find Rumple waiting for her. He says he has leverage that will make her do whatever he wants. He has Regina call Robin's phone number. Regina is shocked to hear Zelena answer the phone. Rumple threatens that if Regina does not help him, he can have Zelena kill Robin. Rumple asks Regina what it's going to be - will she help the villains turn Emma's heart to darkness, or will she let her beloved Robin die?

Dun dun dun...

Okay. This episode is super weird. It seems to pull us completely out of the A-plot trajectory we've been following this whole back half of the season. I mean... Emma was barely in the episode, for goodness' sake! And it brought back a character whose purpose on the show seemed to be spent. Because of its utter randomness, I do have some qualms. I thought the entire story line in Oz was out of place. It was too much time to set up the existence of an elixir to save Rumple. There was almost no payoff to covering that poor actress in all that green body paint, for just a couple of seconds of Wicked Witch.

I also thought that, given how briefly Emma and the rest of that gang were in this episode, it might have been better to just cut them out of the episode altogether, and focus on Rumple, Robin, Zelena/Marian, and Regina.

But even despite its randomness, as a standalone product I thought this episode mostly worked really well. This is due in large part to Rumple being an amazingly complex and interesting villain. When he sees Robin and his family inside Neal's apartment, I actually felt really, really bad for him. His connection to his son is made all the more tragic in this episode because he ends up working with the person responsible for Bae's death.

Regina didn't get a ton of time in this episode, but she had the perfect reaction to learning the truth about Zelena - she reminds Rumple that this person killed his son. How messed up does he have to be to actually consider working with somebody like that? I also enjoyed the moment when Regina calls Robin. In the seconds before Marian/Zelena answers, she looks so hopeful and giddy just for the chance to talk to Robin again. It melts the heart!

Robin's dilemma in this episode is really nicely set up. I can see why he would feel torn, of course, but he has all of these memories of Marian, of a life that genuinely made him happy. It would just be so much better for everybody, especially his son, if he could find that happiness and love again. I'm so sad for Robin, given the plot twist - maybe his love for Regina is getting in the way of reconnecting with his wife, but even more likely is the fact that it's not his wife. I can't wait to see what happens from here.

The plot twist about Zelena might feel like it comes out of freakin' nowhere. It might be a bit contrived, maybe even out-and-out stupid. However - the tension that it sets up is perfect. We have Regina stuck in an impossible situation. If she doesn't cooperate with Rumple, the love of her life will die. If she does cooperate with Rumple, Emma Swan, the Savior and co-parent to her son, will be corrupted beyond repair. Yikes!

Despite the fact that I would have maybe wanted to cut Emma out of this episode altogether, I did love the brief scene we had of her. She's really, really pissed at her parents. I don't blame her, of course, but wow. She accuses her parents of altering the entire path of her life because of what they did. She says she wouldn't have been the Savior if her parents hadn't foisted her dark potential onto an innocent child. Now, I'm not sure if that's totally true - Emma's goodness is a part of her. She's the Savior, and not just because of what Snow and Charming did. But I can understand her anger. Not only did her parents lie to her, but now she's having to confront the possibility that her whole entire life, her identity, is not real.

I can't wait to see what's coming up next. Emma turning to darkness is going to be so deliciously angst-y!

7/10