Reply To: TVGuide: 3×12 Preview and the Proposal

[Slurpeez]

The midseason premiere picks up with our favorite fairy tale characters returning to the Enchanted Forest after Regina prevented Peter Pan’s curse from dooming them all. Who will welcome them back with open arms?

We know Aurora and Philip are there having a picnic when Snow, Charming and everyone else reappears in a cloud of smoke in the EF.

Neal and Belle will bond over their shared loss, but they both haven’t given up just yet. Remember, everyone and everything returned alongside them.

After speaking to Aurora about how she and Mulan rescued Philip’s soul, I think Belle will form a plan to save Rumple’s soul. I think Belle’s determination to help save Rumple will likewise inspire Baelfire to help her and also to get back to Emma and Henry one day. I think some of the things that may have returned with them to FTL are Belle’s chipped cup and Henry’s storybook.

 Also, look for Regina to make a rash decision now that she’s lost Henry.

I think Regina will magically remove her own heart so as not to feel the pain of losing Henry. This act, combined with a new threat from Zelena, the Wicked Witch, will push Regina towards her Evil Queen mode, but this time, her wrath will be directed at a common enemy rather than the Charmings.

Some familiar faces — oh hey, Aurora and Phillip — will inadvertently be on hand to welcome the gang back to the Enchanted Forest. But they don’t provide Charming & Co. with the whole story of what’s happened since they’ve been gone.

For some reason, I think Aurora and Philip won’t warn Snow and Charming about the new threat, who is the Wicked Witch, for fear of retribution from Zelena, who may have threatened them or their unborn child.

The remaining fairy tale characters will set out for sanctuary in a very surprising place.

Perhaps the fairytale characters will seek shelter in Rumple’s dark castle, where Robin Hood and his merry men offer them safe haven. Perhaps Robin at first considers Regina a threat, thinking she’s still an evil witch, aims an arrow at her, but Regina magically halts the arrow. Snow then greets her old friend Robin, whom she knows from her time as a bandit in the woods, and puts in a good word for Regina, saying they’ve made peace and that Regina is now a valuable ally against Zelena.

Don’t expect Neal to accept the fact that he will never see Emma and Henry again, even after a pep talk from Charming that may break fans’ hearts. Sniff.

Neal isn’t about to give up hope; he was the only one who told Emma in 3×11 that he’d see her and Henry again. This isn’t over, despite what Snow and Charming might claim that they must let Emma go her way while they go theirs. I think the reason the speech is heartbreaking is because it seems like Snow and Charming have given up hope of ever seeing their daughter again, yet Neal keeps the beacon of hope alive.

Hook has plans of his own upon the group’s return to the Enchanted Forest. Could Hook’s scheme include the recently cast Charles Mesure (Desperate Housewives) as Blackbeard the pirate?

Hook must have some secret knowledge about how to return to A Land Without Magic based on his former rivalry with Blackbeard for the Jolly Roger. Not sure about the how yet, but I think this does happen prior to the new curse being unleashed by the Wicked Witch.

Back in the present, which takes place one year after Emma and Henry’s memories were wiped, Hook interrupts what looks to be a special night in an attempt to get Emma to remember her past.

Emma is on a date with Walsh, when Hook interrupts to give Emma a note which contains the address of Neal’s apartment.

But it looks like Emma might have other plans with Walsh (Covert Affairs’ Christopher Gorham) — plans that include a ring on that dessert plate, perhaps?

I think Walsh, at the behest of Henry, is going to propose to Emma. Perhaps she’ll hesitate for a moment though, not knowing if she’s ready, and that is when Hook interrupts the dessert potion to pass her a note and imploring her to visit Neal’s apartment for further evidence that he speaks truth about her family.