"Welcome to Storybrooke" is the 17th episode of the second season of the American

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...

'', and the show's 39th episode overall. It aired on March 17, 2013. It was co-written by

Ian Goldberg Ian Avrum Goldberg (born March 31, 1973) is a cryptographer and cypherpunk. He is best known for breaking Netscape's implementation of SSL (with David Wagner), and for his role as chief scientist of Radialpoint (formerly Zero Knowledge Syste ...

and

Andrew Chambliss Andrew Chambliss is an American television writer and producer. He is well known for working on series such as ''Dollhouse'', ''The Vampire Diaries'', and was an executive producer on ''Once Upon a Time''. He is currently the executive produce ...

, and was directed by

David M. Barrett David M. Barrett (born 1951) is a professor of political science at Villanova University and author (along with Max Holland) of "Blind Over Cuba: The Photo Gap and the Missile Crisis" (2012), "The CIA and Congress: The Untold Story from Truman to K ...

. This episode centers around Regina as she tries to get revenge on Mary Margaret, while flashbacks show Regina's past with Greg Mendell.

Plot

In the Characters' Past

In 1983, Kurt Flynn and his young son Owen are camping in the

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

woods when they stumble upon Storybrooke. Regina invites Kurt and Owen to dine at her home and invites them to relocate to Storybrooke. The next day, Regina learns the Flynns are leaving. She uses Graham's heart to order him to arrest Kurt and abduct Owen for her. Kurt orders Owen to run as far as he can, which he does while Graham arrests Kurt. Owen returns with police officers, but Storybrooke is no longer evident. Owen vows never to stop looking for his father, while Regina weeps as she reaches out to him from inside Storybrooke.

In Storybrooke

As Regina prepares to bury Cora, Gold comes to pay his respects. Regina intends to kill Snow White, but Gold points out that would cost her Henry. Emma reveals that Mary Margaret had a role in Cora's death, but Henry doesn't believe Snow White would hurt someone. Gold arrives to warn them that Regina plans to kill Mary Margaret, and David demands that Gold save her as repayment for Mary Margaret for saving his life. A distraught Regina ransacks her mother's belongings until she finds the ingredients for a love spell for which the final ingredient is the heart of the person the caster hates most—Mary Margaret. Henry realizes Regina plans to use the curse on him. Regina tells Henry that he means too much to her for her to lose him; he asks her to prove it by not casting the curse. She insists that the imitation of love created by the curse will make them happy, but he refuses her offer, his response echoing Owen's in 1983. It is revealed that Greg is the adult Owen Flynn.

Reception

Ratings

The outing saw a slight increase in the ratings, placing 2.3/6 among 18-49s with 7.45 million viewers tuning in.

Reviews

The episode was met with positive reviews. Oliver Sava of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' gave this episode a "B+" and wrote, "After two strong episodes, it’s beginning to seem like ''Once Upon A Time'' is preparing to end the season on a high note, but things can fall apart at any instant. And that’s the big problem with shows as inconsistent as this one."''Once Upon a Time'' "Welcome to Storybrooke" S2/E16
Retrieved March 17, 2013

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Welcome To Storybrooke 2013 American television episodes Once Upon a Time (season 2) episodes