This week we got a Ruby-centric episode full of wolf-y goodness. The Red-Riding-Hood-IS-the-big-bag-wolf story line is an interesting one, but this episode felt somewhat like a filler episode with some anticlimactic cliffhangers thrown in. Basically, it was just okay. Let’s get into it!

Storybrooke

The episode starts with Grumpy slamming a pickax against some rocks and finding diamonds necessary to create fairy dust. If these diamonds are ground up and used with Jefferson’s magic hat, then a portal can be created and we can get our heroines back to town.

But that storyline was put on pause as we dealt with Ruby’s fears about the first full moon since the curse was lifted. Her red cape, which prevents her from turning, is missing. In preparation for Ruby wolfing out, Granny creates a makeshift cage – which Ruby promptly busts out of. The next day, a dead body is found and everyone immediately blames Ruby. Side note: that dead body was Gus from Cinderella. He barely spoke a single line in the show before he died. Life of a rat, I suppose.

Anyway, David insists Ruby’s innocent even though she doesn’t believe it herself. Spencer, who’s determined to reveal that David is just a lowly shepherd’s son and can’t run this town, convinces the town that Ruby is a killer and naturally they form an angry mob. With torches and everything!

The next night Ruby shifts again and Spencer leads his mob to try and take her down. But right as they find her David shows up and with some heavy clichés, talks Ruby down from brutally attacking the townspeople. He then tosses her cape on her that Spencer had stolen and she shifts back to human. David then reveals that it was Spencer who murdered Gus earlier in an attempt to overthrow David.

Spencer runs off but Ruby’s wolf senses are tingling and she and David find him at the beach sitting by a fire. He promptly throws Jefferson’ hat in the fire, declaring that David will never see his wife or daughter again. Okay, this was the most anticlimactic ending EVER. We KNOW that they will all be reunited eventually. Suddenly the most hopeful guy in the world is freaking out about a hat? Get a grip dude; it will be okay.

Throughout the episode, Henry keeps having those terrifying fire dreams. Regina and Gold can’t stop the dreams but can apparently make it so he can control himself within them. Which becomes significant later…

Fairytale Land That Was

We get some more backstory on Ruby, a.k.a Red in Fairytale Land, in her wolf heyday when she palled around with Snow. As the two ran from the some guards in the flashback, they decided to split up and meet again later. But as they split Red finds a handsome (a.k.a doomed) guy named Quinn who happens to be a wolf too. And his den leader? Red’s mother! She didn’t seemed super psyched to see her daughter, and she’d abandoned her for years, but Red was straight up beaming about all of this.

The pack taught Red to not just be a wolf, but to actually let the wolf become her in order to control her behavior after she shifts. Snow then finds her by stalking her footprints and things basically go downhill from there.

Then the Queen’s guards, looking for Snow, invade the den and all hell breaks loose. Quinn gets shot with an arrow and dies and the rest of the pack blame Snow and plan to EAT her. Red isn’t having that and in a fight with her mom ends up killing her (guest stars on this show have it rough). She then declares that she didn’t choose her mom or Snow, she chose herself. How very Kelly Taylor of you, Red.

Fairy Tale Land of the Present

We get a brief glimpse as Aurora wakes up from another nightmare and says she saw a boy who told her his name – Henry.

Questions

Wouldn’t you agree this episode needed more Captain Hook?

What’s the significance of the dream Aurora and Henry are sharing?

Does it even matter that Jefferson’s hat is now soot?

Alexa Hoyle can be reached at [email protected].