Once Upon A Time Season 7, Episode 15: Caught In A Bad Bromance

We begin this episode at the childhood of Anastasia nd Drizella, the latter of whom is currently lost in the woods. Just when she thinks all is lost, a lantern appears in the darkness, leading her straight to her sister. After a reunion embrace, Anastasia swears that no matter what, they’ll always find their way – together.

Forward a few years now to a pre-curse Drizella standing over Anastasia’s coffin, whining about her life. In strolls Regina to remind her that vengeance isn’t the way, pissing Drizella right off. As she starts to magically force-choke her, Regina dissolves away to reveal Gothel with an offer – join the coven and we’ll help you cast the curse.

And now we’re in Hyperion Heights and Gothel has appeared before Ivy to renew her offer: join the coven and we can protect you. Ivy is in definite need of protection as Gothel shows her the box of death chocolate that came to the office for her today.

Over at Roni’s, Regina confesses to Lucy that she’s desperate to find some magic so she can save Henry. Lucy worries for Henry now that she’s cut him off from her mom, and Regina suggests arranging a boy’s night out with his old pals, Jack and Hook. Operation  Bromance is born.

At the precinct, Rogers is futated by the lack of progress in the candy-killer case, nut at least Weaver has a breakthrough on his missing girl. Anastasia has been spotted.

Back to Ivy now, who has blown Gothel off and headed into the parking garage of Belfry Towers. Once there, she’s attacked ny a knife-weilding maniac in a creepy baby-doll mask.

Ivy finds her inner badass and with a few well-placed kicks, she gets away. She rushes over to Roni’s to let Regina know what happened.Regina offers to help her in return for an antidote to Henry’s poison, but without magic, Ivy (who truly wishes she could undo what she’s done) cannot help. Regina decides to call Rumple in for backup.

Across town at Flynn’s barcade – and oh! You teasing writers! Are we ever going to get Flynn Rider? Ever? Anyway,  Henry realizes that Lucy has set him up with Rogers and Nick for a bro-date, but all three guys are good with that.

After a round of drinks (Rogers is drinking water with lemon instead of beer – nice touch) and general lack-of-relationship wallowing by Henry, the guys dare him to ask out the next girl through the door . . . aaaand it’s Jacinda. She and Henry cozy off for some one-on-one time, which is oddly fine with Nick the babydaddy who was just swearing to win her back a handful of episodes ago.

Flashback to the alt-realm now, and Drizella has come to Gothel to join the coven. Of course, it’s not that easy – Gothel has a little skills test to get through first.

The applicants must first search the woods for two golden flowers, and whoever finds them is in the gang. Drizella starts out but is quickly targeted by a girl named Gretel for her strength.

Gretel’s life was once wrecked by a witch who disfigured her brother Hansel and messed with his mind, as well. She proposes that the team up, each taking a path and splitting the flowers if they find them. Drizella seems pleased to have made a friend, and agrees.

In Hyperion Heights, Ivy is visited by Dr. Facilier, who offers a card reading and something more: a magic bean. Unfortunately, this magic bean doesn’t work like every other incredibly rare magic bean we’ve seen before – it needs magic to “activate” it (even though it is in no way dried out) and the only way to do that is to kill Anastasia and take her magic. The only way. Right.

 

Ivy points out that Anastasia rightfully loathes and distrusts her. Facilier shows her a card that details just how to lure her sister out.

Weaver is investigating  his lead when Regina shows up to let him know that Ivy is now in league with Dr. Facilier. Rumple calls her out for not sharing the good doctor’s scheme to take the dagger and Regina confesses that she was hoping to talk him out of it like Belle did with him. Because the writers have taken such pains to build a slow and growing love story between them that’s triumphed over a multitude of obstacles. Or instead, the writers just hinted they had a past and had them hooking up.  Same diff, right?

Back in the alt-realm, Drizella is hot on the trail of her golden flower when Gothel appears. Damn, the woman spends 3/4 of her screen time just popping in, doesn’t she? Of course, she tells Drizella that there are no golden flowers, and in order to get in the coven she has to kill her new buddy Gretel. She gives Drizella a dagger and poofs off to await the stabbing good fun.

Drizella isn’t so easily swayed, it turns out. She finds Gretel and tells her she’s blowing this taco stand. She encourages Gretel to turn her back on Gothel and team up. Gretel looks like she’s playing along, but Drizella soon realizes Gretel got the same instructions from Gothel.

The two fight, and just as Gretel goes for the kill, Drizella uses her magic and skewers her in self-defense. Gothel pops back in again and offers Drizella the spot in the coven.

Ahead in Hyperion Heights, Henry and Jacinda are drinking and flirting, when Henry throws down the gauntlet.

If he makes a long shot into a beer glass with a quarter, they both have to agree that Lucy’s version of fairy-tale reality is the truth. He takes the shot and it misses when the glass is moved at the last minute. Rogers, meanwhile is getting some sympathy from Nick over his lack of progress in the candy killer case.

Meanwhile, Ivy sends up a lantern in the park, and despite her misgivings about her sister, Anastasia shows up. Ivy tells her she wants to be BFF sisters again, and then she promptly drugs her sister and knocks her out.

She takes Anastasia to Dr. Facilier, who does a bit of voodoo and then hands Ivy a knife to get the deed done. Suddenly (say it with me now) Gothel appears and wakes Anastasia, who is good and pissed that once again, Drizzy tried to off her.

The room begins to turn into a wind tunnel, and Ivy refuses to kill her sister. She pledges her love and sisterhood and Anastasia once again loves and trusts her sister with very little cause to do so.

Gothel makes herself scarce as Rumple and Regina show up.

Anastasia reactivates the why-does-it-need-to-be-activated magic bean, and they open a portal. Ivy asks Regina for forgiveness, which Regina isn’t quite able to give yet. Instead she offers Ivy a second chance, telling her to leave with her sister and start over. Hand in hand, the sisters step through.

Rumple assures Regina that they did the right thing, which he feels will ultimately lead him to Belle. He is sure that another guardian will appear. Regina confronts Facier wo assures her that Anastasia was never in any danger, and everything went according to his lan. Then he hands Regina the small vial of magic he managed to siphon off of Anastasia, telling her to save Henry.

Rumple then confronts the doc about his plan for the Dark One dagger, reminding Facilier that possessing it dooms him to a hellish fate. Then he issues him a warning against threatening his family. Facilier isn’t even phased.

Across town, a thoughtful Jacinda eyes her lucky quarter, makes a wish and tosses it over her shoulder into an empty glass and to her surprise, she nails the shot.

And we end with the three amigos leaving Flynn’s barcade. Nick gives Rogers a friendly pat on the shoulder and reassures him that the answer to his case is likely “right under his nose.” As Henry and Rogers stroll away, Nick opens the trunk of his car and reveals several unopened boxes of the death chocolates – looks like we found our killer.

I’ll give this one three lanterns out of five.

I’m not thrilled to see Ivy go, and there was a whole lot of relationship building and repairing without much foundation beneath it.

My thoughts :

1. Of couse, Nick is Hansel. But is he really Jack? I think that’s the bigger question.
2. What is Facilier’s endgame? For a bad guy, he seems to do a lot of good. Could he be the guardian, hence the quest for the dagger?
3. Ivy had better come charging in like the cavalry in a later episode.
4. What was the whole point of the coven in the first place? Does Gothel just like running a club, or were they organizing for a purpose?

What did you think? And what are your thoughts on the good doctor’s motives?