Previously on "Once Upon a Time"
- It's dying. - The Dark One can't die.
But Rumplestiltskin can.
Want to find who wrote this book
and ask them to write me a happy ending.
Now, then, it's time villains finally win.
[dramatic music plays]
[horse whinnies]
[music continues]
I don't know. Do we really need color?
"Do we really need color?"
[laughs]
Do we need to settle for what came before?
Don't you want to really see the world?
It's a complicated place,
and people are complex creatures.
Their interior lives are painted
with many different hues and shades.
And the Zenith Marseille Color TV...
it brings the profound complications of the universe
right into your living room.
Does it have a clicker?
What?
A clicker.
You mean the space command remote?
Why, that's included in the price, sir.
Now we're talking.
Hey. Were you a ranger?
Damn right.
25th Infantry Division.
You were in the service?
You bet... 187th Airborne, Company "A".
We heard a lot about your unit.
You guys were real heroes.
Tell you what...
Why don't you take this out for a test drive, huh?
See how it feels.
[chuckles]
[clicks button]
What the hell are you doing, Isaac? Huh?
Rambling on about weird technical crap?
You're supposed to be selling.
I was.
No. No.
You were sending them across the street to gimbels.
Now, I hired you
because you said you wanted to be a writer.
I am a writer.
Stacks of rejected manuscripts
in the break room don't count.
But I figured you knew something about telling stories.
That's how you sell.
But now I get why you don't have a picture
on the back of a book yet.
You don't tell stories people want.
[indistinct chattering]
[paper rustling]
Maybe that's about to change.
[envelope tears]
[chuckles]
[horn honking in distance]
[door closes, sound echoes]
[echoing] Hello?
Over here.
Oh. [chuckles]
I... I'm Isaac Heller.
Yes, I know who you are.
Please... take a seat.
Mm.
I've never met a publisher before.
I'm not sure exactly how this works.
So, you want to publish a book. Is there a contract...
You may find that our organization
does things a bit... differently.
Choose one.
Oh, actually, I'm more of an IBM selectric kind of guy.
Choose one.
Okay.
What is this?
Some kind of signing bonus?
The last time I got a fountain pen
was for my Bar Mitzvah.
This is a test.
We need to know what kind of writer you really are.
Choose the one that calls out to you.
Uh...
[gasps]
What the hell was that?
It is a sign...
that you are to be our next Author.
You see, the last one...
Well...
He just recently passed away.
Author of what?
[chuckles]
There is much to explain.
How would you like to take a trip?
I... I... I'm not so great with traveling.
I... I've never been further than Scarsdale.
Yes, I know. But that is about to change.
The time has come to stop selling televisions.
The time has come to take on
the most important job in all the realms.
[whooshing]
[wind howling]
What the hell?
You can see that?
I see it, but I don't believe it.
Actually, the fact that you can see it
tells me that you do believe.
Believe in what?
In magic.
I think it is time that you find your destiny.
Come with me.
All of your questions will be answered.
Once Upon a Time S04E88 "Operation Mongoose Part One"
Sync and corrected by Gianluca Belfiglio
[book thuds]
Nothing. [book thuds]
[sighs]
They're all still blank.
Whatever the Author is writing,
it's not appearing in the books.
This is useless. [book thuds]
Easy.
This is not your fault.
Even so, tomorrow, thanks to Gold and the Author,
I can wake up a talking frog.
At least you'll wake up.
I don't doubt whatever the Dark One has in store for me
is a far worse fate.
Well, there's no use speculating what he wants.
We just need to stop it.
And if there's nothing useful here,
we need to move on,
find something else that can help.
[August] I might know just the thing.
August.
I thought you didn't know anything more about the Author.
He doesn't, but he knows someone who does.
That's why I called him here.
Who?
The man who gave him his power...
The Apprentice.
I met him once when I was living in Phuket.
He was the one who told me about the story book
and that I should learn everything about it.
If he was in Storybrooke, could you find him?
Well, I haven't seen him.
But...
[paper unfolds]
That's what he looks like.
I know this man.
You do?
More importantly, I know exactly where to find him.
I trapped him in there. I didn't know.
It's okay. It was Gold, not you.
Blue was in there. She can get him out.
Don't you need the Dark One's dagger?
Well, not if I have something that belonged to the Apprentice.
[tinkling, whooshing]
[tinkling, bursting]
[whooshing]
Are you...
Yes.
And there is no time to waste.
Isaac has abused his power for too long.
The time has come to set...
things right.
[Regina] How?
By putting him back where he can't harm anyone...
In the book.
I will need the page with the painted door and the key.
We shall return him to his prison.
And this time, I would wager
none of you will set him free again.
The page.
It's back in the loft.
Mom, dad, Killian, watch Henry.
If Gold's smart, he'll go after the page, too.
Are you, uh... close?
Hang in there, Dark One.
Don't let that heart turn to coal just yet.
You'll be fine.
Better than ever.
Why help me?
You have the quill now.
You don't need me anymore.
We're a lot alike.
We've both struggled mightily for happiness all our lives.
You got power, became the Dark One,
but you've never been the content one.
I know what that's like...
to always have dissatisfaction gnawing at you,
watching other people's happiness bloom.
It's time for a world where up is down,
where villains can have happy endings.
And what does your ending look like?
A castle?
[inhales sharply]
Treasure? Power?
[laughs] In the Enchanted Forest?
Do you think I like dysentery and a 40-year life expectancy?
No, no, that's your world.
I like room service and indoor plumbing.
You're welcome to a happy ending in your land.
I'll take one in mine.
[coughs]
Continue with the writing, if you please.
Of course.
I... I just need one last detail.
Your son... Baelfire.
Don't toy with me, scribe.
[sighs]
Magic can't bring back the dead.
No.
It can't.
This quill and ink can only change a past it has created.
Which is why I have to write your new story
from this moment forward and into the future.
But...
In your new life, I can make you forget him.
No, never.
I want my memories of him.
But maybe with a... slight adjustment.
I would like a world
where I remember doing right by my boy.
Where he may be gone, but I can live with that loss.
Where Bae sees me as a hero right at the end.
I think I can do that.
And with that last piece, it's time to finish.
[items clattering]
"The End."
[tinkling]
[rumbling]
[gasps]
Grandma?
Grandpa!
Hook!
[wind whistling]
[echoing] Hello?!
Hello?!
Is anyone here?!
Hello?!
[creaking]
[record scratching]
[bells jingle]
[scratching stops]
[phonograph clicks]
[tires screech]
[indistinct conversations]
[door opens]
[hostess] Nice parking job.
You old enough to drive?
Yeah. Are you?
I need some help.
Have you seen any of these people?
Mm... No.
No, I haven't.
It's my family.
Are you sure?
Look, why don't you wait here,
and I can, um... I... I'll ask some of the others.
Yeah, I've got someone here.
Yeah, I... I think he's a runaway.
[pictures flapping]
[Isaac] Thank you.
[cheers and applause] Thank you very much!
[cheers intensify]
Please. Please, please.
I... I... I'm not worthy.
[audience whistling] [laughs]
[cheers fade]
Someone once told me
I don't tell stories people want.
[laughter]
But I say, write what you're passionate about.
That's what matters most.
"Heroes and Villains" is close to my heart.
It's been a passion project
for longer than you would believe.
I wrote it because I think
folks are sick of heroes getting everything
in these classic fairy tales.
Hence, the radically different endings
for Snow White, Prince Charming, and all the rest...
Something different for a modern audience.
What happens when villains win the day?
[applause]
[indistinct conversations]
Thank you.
Long live Regina. [chuckles]
Please, can I give you a present...
A little token of my love
for the world that you've created?
Regina... She's my favorite character.
She's a real doozy, isn't she?
Her life is just so unfair.
Is she gonna get a happy ending in the sequel?
Please, you have to tell me.
Sure. I can tell you.
She...
Sorry. No spoilers.
You'll have to buy the next book when it's finished.
[laughing] All right.
What are you doing here?
What did you do with my family?
Where are they?
I, uh... [clears throat]
I have no idea what you're talking about.
Unh-unh. You're lying.
Now, you know what this does,
so you either give me some answers
or I open this door again and you get a whole new ending.
Okay.
Much to the chagrin of my publicist,
you have my undivided attention.
Where's my family?
You really want to know?
Look around you.
They're all right there...
in my best-selling book.
What does that mean?
Are they still alive?
Tut-tut-tut-tut-tut.
Easy with the key, cowboy.
Your family is fine.
If you want to get technical...
they're in here.
See?
The original copy of my book...
The one that I always wanted to write.
They all live in here now in kind of an alternate reality.
You made them miserable.
I see that you've read some of my book. Good. Good.
Then... Then you know
that everyone got the ending they deserve.
Except Emma, of course.
You won't find her in the book.
There was no room for a savior in my world.
Bring them back, or I use this.
Ch, ch, ch, ch, ch.
I can't.
I don't have the power.
The cardinal rule of the authors is
"don't write your own happy ending."
As you can see [inhales sharply]
I broke that rule.
So this... It's just a pen now.
And me? Ohh.
Well, I'm nothing more than a best-selling writer
with legions of fans
and a penthouse over Central Park.
If you can't get them out,
then give me the book and I will.
[grunts]
You?
[laughs]
Do you know why you're still out here, kid?
Because you're not from a magical world.
So take it from me...
You will never be a knight in shining armor.
You're just a poor, innocent child who needs saving.
So, why don't you put the key away
and, uh, stick to the role you're best at?
[thumping and clattering]
Now what?
You're gonna tear up the book? [turning pages]
Wait! Don't be stupid!
[whooshing]
Unh!
[coughs]
[birds chirping]
[gasps]
[grunts]
Cool.
Feel like a real hero now?
Don't get used to it.
[breathing heavily]
So, now we're both trapped in the book.
Congratulations.
Let me tell you about this place.
It's cold, there's no running water,
and things are always trying to kill you.
Let me go!
Not a chance.
This book we're in,
it's worked out quite nicely for me.
I don't need you running around changing things.
This is my story.
And no hero gets a happy ending.
Why?
Would that somehow destroy the book?
That's what you're afraid of.
Isn't it?
Doesn't matter. You brought us into the final chapter.
How do you know?
I know because I wrote it.
And I know how it ends...
With the loud tolling of bells at sunset.
When you hear that sound,
it'll mean we've reached the last page.
The book will end,
and everything will remain exactly how I wrote it.
[creature roars] [footsteps thud]
There we are. Right on time.
What is that?
Oh, the inciting incident of this chapter...
An ogre attack.
And you know what they say...
You don't have to be faster than the ogre.
You just have to be faster than the next guy.
Wait! [roaring]
[footsteps thud]
[groans]
[screeching]
Help!
Help me!
[roars]
[horse whinnies]
The monster is dead.
The Ogre Slayer saved us!
Thank you.
If there's anything my family and I can do to repay you...
Good deeds have their own reward.
This comes with no price.
Are you all right, boy?
What's your name?
Uh, Henry.
I am Rumplestiltskin, a knight at your service.
Do you have any family around here?
Y... Yeah.
I think so.
Yeah.
Then I suggest you run home for your supper, Henry,
because I... I have another village to save.
[horse whinnies]
[hooves clopping]
[clopping fades]
"Many deadly traps were set to protect the forest hideaway,
a pit trap under the cedar tree..."
[sighs]
"...a falling log hung just beyond..."
"...and finally, at the center of the Willow Forest,
there was a rustic version of... home."
[echoing] Hello?
Is anyone here?
Turn around slowly. [bow string creaking]
Who are you?
What do you want?
My name's Henry.
And I'm your son.
Come on, Henry.
Please be dead.
[gasps]
[breathing shakily]
[groans]
I should have remembered. I wrote the book.
The Ogre Slayer.
But I'm telling you...
- That we're trapped inside a book? - Yeah.
[laughing] And I'm supposed to live in a place called Maine?
Where I became your adopted mother
after someone named Emma gave you up?
Come on, mom.
You can remember.
Well, now that I think about it...
This does make me wonder one thing.
[knife clicks]
Who sent you?
Mom, please. Nobody sent me.
Stop calling me that!
Are you working for the Queen?
No. I'm trying to help you.
Help me what?
Find your happy ending.
In my world, we called it "Operation Mongoose."
[soft gasping]
[laughs]
That is a very silly name.
Well, it was your idea.
You actually believe this.
So you're crazy.
I'm not, and I can prove it.
This is a copy of the book we're trapped in.
Let me see.
[laughs] This...
This says I'm... going to rob a royal tax carriage today
to buy passage out of the kingdom.
How did the book know all that?
It can see my future?
Something like that.
[sighs]
Then I don't want any part of it.
No!
[flame whooshing]
[fire crackling]
[scoffs]
Don't follow me!
Whatever world you think you're from, go back there.
I can't... Not until you find true love.
[laughs] Then you're stuck.
Never gonna happen for me.
His name is Robin Hood.
I... I think the only way for us to escape this book
is for you to find him in a tavern and kiss him.
True love's kiss... It can fix anything.
[laughs]
Wow.
You are crazy.
If I ever meet Robin hood in person,
the only thing he gets is a broken nose.
Wait... What are you talking about?
He's my competition.
Every robbery I plan, he beats me to it.
He's the reason I'm stuck in this kingdom.
Why am I still talking to you?
'Cause I'm your son.
Look, kid.
If you read about me in that book,
you know I got to go.
The Queen wants me dead.
She thinks I ruined her life.
Did you?
Yes.
So... if it's happy endings you're after,
look someplace else.
Henry!
Where'd you go?
Come on out! I can help you!
[gasping]
[grunts]
Oh, no.
Not these guys.
[laughs]
Welcome to the Queen's woods, trespasser.
Don't kill me! Don't kill me!
Don't kill me!! No, don't kill me!! No, no!!
Unh!
Search him.
[whimpers]
No. No.
No! [gasps]
Oh, Goody. Look at this.
"Long live Regina"?
So, you're a trespasser and a traitor.
That's not mine.
Hi-ho, boys.
It's off to work we go.
[wind whistling]
[door opens, rumbles]
You.
Speak.
We found him in the Queen's woods, Your Majesty...
with this.
"Long live Regina"?
Not very likely.
[pin clatters]
Although, she'll certainly live longer than you.
Now, what do we remove first?
[gasps]
Your fingers?
Or your ears?
No removing. Please.
I... I hate Regina as much as you do.
I'm on your side.
Technically, you're at my feet.
We want the same thing...
To keep everything in this realm exactly how it is,
with you in charge.
A boy just arrived in this land.
He fancies himself a hero.
He wants to take away everything you have.
Somebody has to stop him.
Get in here! [heart beating]
Finally... someone listens to me.
[door opens]
No need to yell, Snow.
I will always find you.
I'm sorry... You will always find me, what?
I will always find you, Your Majesty.
Mm!
[inhales deeply] That's better.
Now, will you please help me with something?
Remove his head.
Of course, Your Majesty.
No, no, no! You don't understand!
I can help you! I know things!
I know who Snow White really loves!
Ah. Aah.
What did you say?
You had a twin brother... James.
He was the one who Snow truly loved...
Before the tragedy.
Want me to kill him, Your Majesty?
Save you both the trouble?
Let him speak.
[gasps]
How do you know this?
A magical book told me everything about this land.
James was cruel... Like you.
You understood each other.
You fell in love.
It was everything.
But then, because of Regina, he died.
So you took Charming's heart and you forced him to be yours,
but it never satisfied you.
He's just a pale imitation of his brother.
It's a sad story.
But it can still have a happy ending.
How?
I know exactly where to find Regina.
Revenge can be yours.
And what is it that you want in return...
aside from your life?
The boy I told you about... Henry...
He'll be trying to help Regina.
I want you to kill them both.
[chuckles]
Gladly.
[hooves clopping]
[horses whinny]
Unh!
[gasps]
Snow White.
Surprised to see me?
[gasps]
Charming, disarm her.
Ohh!
I've waited so long for this moment.
Your head is going to look lovely in my trophy room.
Please, Snow.
How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?
Once more...
from your grave.
I didn't know what would happen to James.
I was a child. I was only trying to help you.
You broke a promise.
Because of your poor, poor judgment,
my true love is dead.
[squish] [Regina gasps]
[whimpers]
Your Majesty, before you rip her heart out,
perhaps you should ask her about the boy.
So, you do have a brain somewhere in that pretty head.
[gasps]
Where's the boy?
Where... is... he?
When does this end, Snow?
This blood feud... When does it stop?
When I've killed you and every one of your followers.
You lost one happy ending.
And I'm sorry for that, but...
all this killing will only bring more hatred into your life,
and all you'll be left with is a hole in your heart...
and no hope of ever finding true happiness.
You...
[flame whooshing]
know nothing of my happiness.
[Regina sobbing]
Unh!
[horse whinnies] Hyah! Hyah! Hyah! Come on!
Milady.
Hyah!
I had the situation under control.
A simple "thank you" would suffice.
Hyah!
I told you I didn't need rescuing.
Believe me,
I'm already questioning helping the competition.
[laughs] Competition?
Robin Hood?
Well, I'm not Friar Tuck.
Now hold still, please, milady.
Why?
Because this may sting a little.
[inhales sharply]
Now sit down before you pass out.
[scoffs] I'm fine. It's just a scratch.
[grunts]
[sighs]
[coin thuds]
What's that?
Your cut.
You still can't say "Thank you," can you?
[inhales sharply]
Thank you.
And thank you.
So, to...
new friends and old rivals.
[cups clink]
What is it?
[clicks tongue]
Just thought you'd be...
dirtier.
[Robin laughs]
Well, thank you.
I'll choose to take that as a compliment.
Regina, while we may never have met,
I always admired your skills.
[inhales deeply]
I'm getting out of this game,
and I have a proposition for you.
I'm in search of someone to take my place
as leader of the Merry Men.
Oh.
I'm flattered, but...
[smacks lips] can't accept.
This forest isn't the place for me anymore.
Well, that's a shame.
So, what's driving you out of the business?
Have you ever met someone
that you would change your entire world for?
Someone whose eyes
you just knew you were born to gaze into?
Uh...
I have.
And that's why I can't be a thief anymore.
It wouldn't be fair to my new bride.
[door opens]
Bride?
Well, she will be when we marry later today. [footsteps approaching fast]
Hello, darling. [chuckles]
- Mm. - [Zelena chuckles]
So, who's this?
Regina, I'd like you to meet my fiancée.
This is Zelena.
[chuckles]
I just can't believe I'm finally meeting
the bandit Regina.
[laughs]
Thank you, but I should go.
Oh, w... well, why don't you stay for the ceremony?
I mean, it'll be a simple affair, but...
we'd love to have you there, wouldn't we, darling?
Of course.
It would be our honor.
O... Oh, I...
I should try to get a head start on Snow White.
I'm sure she has the entire black guard looking for me.
[chuckles]
[sighs]
Thank you.
For saving my life.
Congratulations again.
Both of you.
[footsteps departing]
So?
[giggles]
[indistinct chatting in distance]
[Henry] Mom!
[sighs deeply] You have to stop calling me that.
How do you keep finding me, anyway?
I figured if my plan worked,
you'd be in Sherwood Forest with Robin Hood.
I hate to break it to you,
but Robin's already found his true love.
And they're getting married...
today.
No, no, no. T... This is all wrong.
That's Zelena, your siste...
Wait. You have to listen to me.
[scoffs] I heard enough.
I don't have a sister.
My mother abandoned me when I was a baby.
No, your mother abandoned Zelena.
Everything's flipped. This must be Zelena's happy ending.
Look, I have to go.
And you should, too. Snow White's looking for you.
Wait.
You can't tell me
that you didn't feel anything when you met Robin Hood.
See? That's proof.
He's your true love.
No.
It's proof that I'm not the kind of person
that gets a happy ending.
I'll never have true love.
But you...
you gave me the worst thing you can give anyone.
Hope.
Now, I'd like to get far enough away
that I don't have to hear
Robin and Zelena's wedding bells proclaim their love.
Wait... Did you say "Wedding bells"?
Yes. Now please let me be.
The bells... from the end of the book.
That's what he was talking about.
Those bells... This wedding...
It's our last chance to stop this
from becoming real forever!
It already is real.
Not yet.
We have to stop this wedding.
Look...
You seem like a nice boy.
And clearly, you believe all this...
nonsense.
But didn't you say I was your adopted mother?
That you have another mother out there, named, uh...
Emma?
So, if you want help, maybe you should start by finding her.
I tried.
She wasn't in the book.
And if she were, believe me, you'd know.
She's the most powerful Sorceress there is.
The only Sorceress in this land is Snow White.
She's more powerful than her.
She has, uh, special magic.
Special magic?
In our world, she was called "The Savior."
Never heard of her.
Mom. No, I know that face.
What aren't you telling me?
[sighs]
There were rumors once
of a woman who called herself that.
The Savior.
Isaac lied.
He couldn't write her out of the story.
Where can I find her?
You can't.
Snow White locked her up years ago.
No one has set eyes on her since.
The prison she's in is impenetrable.
[gasping hysterically]
[chains rattling]
[screaming]
Sync and corrected by Gianluca Belfiglio