The Origin of Storybrooke
A father and son enjoy each other’s company in front of a campfire. The father gives his son a keychain that he had made. The father is about to cook dinner until the weather suddenly changes. They hide in their tent and watch a purple and green fog emerge.
The storm has passed. The father and son look around at the damage. They are shocked to see a town has appeared. Just yesterday this was a remote area. Kurt and his son Owen explore the town. They meet a helpful officer who introduces himself as Sheriff Graham.
I wake up and look out the window. I cannot believe my eyes. My curse worked! I run to my closet and admire my new clothing for my new life. I decide to explore the town of Storybrooke. I see Gipetto hammering away at a sign. Red and her Granny argue outside about the shifts she is being forced to work at a Diner. Jiminy Cricket is now a man who walks his dog and addresses me as the mayor. Yes, life is now beautiful as none of these people know who they really are.
Snow White does not remember her former life. She is now a school teacher named Mary Margaret. In today’s lesson she releases a bird. She explains to her students that when you love something and let it go if it loves you too it will always find its way back. I go to see Mary at school. I ask her to accompany me to the hospital. At the hospital I show her a John Doe in a coma. She does not recognize this man as Prince Charming or as anyone she has ever met for that matter. I tell her no one has come to claim him and probably never will.
At the Diner I flirt with Sheriff Graham. I have his heart after all. He tells me he will see me later. I like this. I am alarmed when I see a child I do not recognize. I ask out loud who this child is. His father comes forth. I am uneasy as I do not know who these people are. The father introduces himself as Kurt and tells me he wants to rent a room for him and his son Owen. Their car is being repaired so they cannot leave.
The child sits in my seat at the Diner. I tell him this. After talking to the boy I am find him interesting. The boy, Owen, offers me a keychain. He tells me it is a gift for letting him sit in my spot.
I wake up. Sheriff Graham is sleeping next to me. I decide to go for a walk. I marvel at what I have created. I bump into Mary Margaret. Even though it was my fault she apologizes. I am as rude and stern with her as possible. She cowers away and I enjoy this. I follow her to the hospital and see her place a vase with a single flower by John Doe. I am loving every minute of this.
Its another day and I get out of bed. I walk the streets of Storybrooke. I am no longer feeling any satisfaction. Life here seems to be some sort of loop. Every day I see exactly the same thing. This time when Mary Margaret and I collide I ask her why she is apologizing to me. This has become mundane. I go to see Mr. Gold. I wonder if he knows he is Rumpelstiltskin. I tell him this is not the deal that we had made. Gold pretends to not understand what I am referring to. I tell him that everyone in this town goes out of their way to make me happy and its not because they want to. Gold shrugs at me and reminds me I am the most powerful woman in town.
I leave Gold’s pawn shop. I call Kurt and tell him I would love to have him and Owen over for dinner. The two come to my house. Owen is not enjoying his food and I admit I am not much of a cook. I ask Owen if he would like to assist me in making apple turnovers for dessert. This cheers him up and I send him outside to pick apples. While he is outside I talk to Kurt. I find out they are from some place called New Jersey. Kurt’s wife passed away six months ago and he took Owen camping to cheer him up. I admit I am also looking for a fresh start and it is not much fun without someone to share it with.
In my kitchen I am alone with Owen. The young boy tells me he is not happy at home in New Jersey. Owen asks why I have no children of my own and tells me I would have made a great mom. This touches me. Kurt joins us in the kitchen. I tell him what Owen and I have been talking about. I suggest to Kurt that he and Owen stay in Storybrooke and make it their home. Owen loves the idea but Kurt shakes his head and tells me they have a life in New Jersey. Owen is disappointed.
I decide that I will make them stay. I call the repairman who I had previously asked to speed up on repairing Kurt’s car. I tell him to stall for a few days. He tells me that the car is finished and Kurt picked it up ten minutes ago. We hang up. I go into my drawer where I keep Graham’s heart in a box. I take it out and instruct Graham to arrest Kurt for driving drunk. I do not realize that Kurt has stopped by to say good bye. He saw me talking to Graham’s heart and heard everything. I apologize. Graham rushes in and arrests Kurt telling him he was driving drunk. Kurt tells Graham that I am somehow controlling him and he is not even driving. Kurt knocks the box with Graham’s heart off the counter. This stops Graham and Kurt escapes.
Graham and I chase Kurt and Owen by car. We almost lose them but manage to cut them off at the exit to Storybrooke. Inside Kurt’s car he tells his son to run into the woods and escape. Owen does not want to leave his father. He finally leaves the car but instead comes to me begging to not do this. Graham has Kurt in the sheriff’s car. I tell Owen that I want us to be together. He tells me not like this. Owen runs off.
Owen brings two police officers from another town to the border of Storybrooke. He pleads with them and insists that there is a town there and his father is stuck. The police officers to not see anything. They walk the child away. I watch from the other side of the border. I can see everything. I feel awful for what I have done.
Storybrooke
I cry over my mother’s crypt. Mr. Gold joins me. He tells me he came to pay his respect to my mother and he carries with him a rose. I tell him that Mary will die for helping him by killing my mother. Gold tells me that I need to give up my obsession. He tells me that I cannot have it all. If I kill Mary then Henry will hate me forever. I tell him that I will indeed find a way to have both.
Henry wants to know what has happened to Mary. She looks ill and will not leave her bedroom. Emma tells him that she is not feeling well. Henry accuses Emma of lying and wants to know the truth. Emma decides to tell him but David asks her not to. She tells David that she needs to be honest. Emma fills Henry in on what happened to Cora. At first Henry cannot believe that Snow White would be involved with dark magic or someone’s death. Then there is a knock at the door. It is Mr. Gold. He has come to tell them that I am planning vengeance on Mary Margaret. David is furious with Gold for getting Mary into this mess and insists Gold needs to help them especially since he is family.
I am upset and distraught as I look through my mother’s things. I find a locket and it makes me even more sad. Finally I find what I am looking for. It is a piece of paper with a curse written on it. I say, “Thank you mommy.”
Gold and David go to the crypt. They have just missed me. Gold has figured out that I am planning to cast some sort of spell. At first they believe it will be against Mary Margaret. Gold changes his mind once he sees missing potion ingredients. Back at Mary’s apartment Gold tells Mary, Emma, David and Henry that this is sort of a love spell. It is a spell to make someone think they love someone. Henry realizes the spell is for him. Gold does not seem interested in helping them. The idea of possibly killing me comes up and this upsets Henry who reminds them I am also his mother. He runs out of the room.
Emma brings Henry to the Diner. She sits him down at a booth with Neal. Ruby delivers a sundae to the table with extra everything. This makes Henry suspicious. Neal explains that he and Emma believe it would be best for Henry to go New York for awhile so that I cannot use magic on him.
Greg enters the Diner. He asks Ruby for a wrapped sandwich so he can go on a hike.
Emma walks to Neal’s table. He tells her that Henry went to the restroom. She asks how things went and he tells her that Henry is on board. Emma asks where Henry’s backpack is. She realizes Henry tricked Neal and took off.
I use magic to enter Mary’s apartment. I find her in her room looking like as ad for depression. Gold intercepts me. I turn to leave but before I do I call to Mary that Gold cannot watch her forever.
In the forest Henry runs into Greg. He tells Greg everything is okay and he is working on a merit badge.
There is a small search party for Henry. Neal tells the group that Henry mentioned wanting to end magic in Storybrooke. They realize he may have dynamite and intend to blow something up.
I get a call from Greg Mendel. He tells me that he saw my son Henry in the woods and he looked upset. I find Henry by the well. He tells me that he intends to blow up magic. He does not want me to use magic to force him to love me. He believes magic is ruining everyone around him. We are interrupted by Emma, Neal and David. David points a gun at me as I have a ball of fire in my hand. I look at Henry. He tells me it cannot be like this. I burn the spell. Even though I have ‘done the right thing’ it is Emma that Henry runs to. They leave me standing there alone.
Gold gets a call from David. He tells Mary he is leaving. He tells her she should be alright on her own as David informed him I burnt the spell. Before he leaves Mary asks him how he lives with himself with everything he has done. He explains her that he simply believes he does the right thing.
I get a knock at my door. I am surprised when I see Mary standing there. She is miserable. I take this opportunity to reach into her chest and take her heart. She is stunned as she stares at it. I am finally holding the one heart that I had wanted the most. I look at it. I can see the blackness forming in its center. I show this to Mary Margaret. She begs me to crush her heart. She cannot live with herself. Instead I shove it back into her chest. I tell her how her blackened heart will make her suffer and tear her family apart. I slam the door in her pathetic face.
I do not see that I am being filmed again. Greg sits in his car watching me while capturing my encounter with Mary on his phone. Greg looks down at his keychain. It is the same keychain little Owen was given by his own father over 28 years ago. Greg says to the keychain, “I will find you, Dad.”