There's No Place Like Home

"There's No Place Like Home" is the 66th episode of Once Upon a Time, as well as its third season's finale.

Summary
Having been pulled into Zelena's time portal, Emma and Hook remain in the Enchanted Forest of the past. But in their quest to discover a way back, they must be careful not to change anything or risk altering the lives of their friends and family... as well as their very own existence.

Plot
ONCE UPON A TIME

Act I
Portland, 2001

Bright lights shine in the distance as the shot moves down an old metal fence, soon revealing that the seventeen-year-old Emma Swan is standing up against it. She turns around to peer through the bars, a pair of black gloves in one hand, but soon turns her attention to Neal Cassidy as he emerges from around the corner, bringing with him two cups of coffee. Emma tells her brand new partner in crime that, when he said he owed her a drink, she was expecting it to take place somewhere such as a park or a restaurant or at least someplace with chairs. Neal tells her to be patient, assuring the blonde that he has something better in mind; having already handed her her coffee, he hands her his own and requests that she hold it whilst he crouches down at the fence's gate with a pair of thin wires. With one in his mouth, he places the other in the keyhole of the gate's padlock, working it very carefully. Emma, looking nervous, asks Neal what the hell he's doing, and as he places the second wire into the lock and twists it, he tells her, "Tumblers. It's all about the tumblers." Soon enough, the picked lock springs open and Neal is able to remove the chain binding the gate shut, allowing he and Emma access to whatever lies beyond. She hands him back his coffee and he tells her to come on, assuring her that it's worth it.

She follows him through the gate, and Neal's hand is next seen flicking a large switch within an empty amusement park. Due to this action, the lights of a carousel come on, as well as all the rides in the distance, and it all appears rather beautiful in this nighttime setting. "What'd I tell ya'?" Neal remarks excitedly, and Emma is forced to admit that it's pretty cool, again following him as he heads over to the carousel ride in the foreground. As the rain begins pouring down, he opens one of the metal seats for her and tells her to hop on; she does so, dropping her black gloves, and Neal picks them up as he proceeds to sit in one opposite. Sipping her coffee, Emma asks Neal what his story is, and he tells her that that's an interesting choice of words - as he applies one of the black gloves, he divulges that he left a screwed-up situation and it kind of screwed him up. Emma is able to relate to the idea of a crappy home life, but Neal explains that it wasn't always like that and was in fact really great once. She wonders why he doesn't go back and try to fix it and he reveals that he can't because of his father. The blonde perceives that he's a bad guy, but Neal says that he wasn't at first... then he changed; "And that's when things got really crazy, but before that? It was home. It was nice. It's how you know you've really got a home, 'cause when you leave it... there's this feeling that you can't shake... you just miss it." Emma frowns, never having really felt this way before, but then Neal smiles, and a similar reaction is invoked within her. He then swings past her on his chain-suspended seat, whooshing the scene out of frame.

In the fairytale land that was, a time-travelling Emma Swan - out of her ballgown and now dressed in drab prison robes - is carelessly thrown to the ground of one of Queen Regina's cells by a Black Knight. She remains on the ground as the cell door is locked behind her, and the woman in the cell next to her asks if she's alright. Emma, wiping her hands of the floor's muck, says that she thinks so and thanks her fellow prisoner, going on to introduce herself as Leia (her alias from the ball). The prisoner sighs that she wish she could say it was nice to meet her, but Emma, who's gotten to her feet, understands that the circumstances they're under don't really call for such social niceties. She asks the woman's name, but the prisoner whispers that she dare not speak it for the Queen doesn't know who she is and her silence is the only thing keeping her family safe. Emma deduces that the Queen is pretty ruthless and the prisoner nods, looking pensive. The blonde then produces some bread from within her robes and protrudes it with her hand through the bars as an offering, saying that she swiped it from a food tray on the way down.

The woman stands up and happily accepts the food, and when she stands in full light, Emma recognizes who she is. The prisoner is stricken by this face of realization and asks Emma what's wrong, leading the blonde to say that she saw her in the village the previous day; she wanted to help but ultimately didn't. The woman assures her new companion that it's alright, for had she tried to rescue her, she would merely have ended up in this dungeon a day sooner. Emma wonders why Regina arrested the woman, and the latter explains that she knew where Snow White was hiding but refused to tell the Queen. Emma is stunned that this woman has given up her freedom to ensure Snow's, but the woman herself is adamant that the wanted princess is innocent. Curious, Emma asks her how long she's in for, and the woman replies, "Same as you... just one more night." Emma is surprised by this, thinking Regina may have gone soft, but her fellow prisoner explains to her that the reason they're only staying there for one more night is because, the next day, everyone in the dungeons is to be executed. This surprises Emma a considerable amount more.

Within the vast woodland of the Enchanted Forest, a hooded Snow White is seen making her way through the trees with a sack of stolen goods slung over her shoulder. She appears cautious and treads with care, but this doesn't stop her from stepping on a net and being suddenly suspended in mid-air by it. She lets out a scream, shocked and trapped, and the prince we all know as Charming lets out a laugh. He then steps into view, having perpetrated this little booby trap, and as he approaches he reminds the bandit: "I told you I'd find you. No matter what you do, I will always find you." She asks if this is the only way he can catch a woman - by entrapping her, but he quips that it's the only way to catch thieving scum. She smirks and says, "Aren't you a real Prince Charming?" to which he replies he has a name. Snow doesn't care, for she thinks "Charming" suits him, and orders the prince to cut her down, addressing him by his brand new nickname as she does so. He wonders why he'd do that and proceeds to take a folded-up piece of paper from his inside pocket - a WANTED poster, bearing her name, face and supposed crimes. He calls her by her name and she looks worried, however, the prince folds the poster back up and puts it away, telling the former princess to relax, for he doesn't plan to turn her in; all he wants is the ring she stole. She shakes her head, telling Charming that she's not the jewelry type, and with a smile and a nod, he tells her that he noticed.

Snow states very clearly that she doesn't have his ring, but the prince wonders why he doesn't believe her. "You should," says a familiar voice, and Captain Hook emerges from behind a tree. Charming grabs his sword suddenly, on guard, whilst Hook assures the prince that the captured princess is telling the truth. With a twirl of his fake hand, the pirate introduces himself as Prince Charles (his alias) and commends Charming on the lovely ball he threw the other night; the mutton was a tad overcooked, but that happens; he then says that Snow White doesn't have the ring he's looking for... but he can tell him who does: his princess, and he needs the royal's help to get her back. Charming is surprised to hear that another person has his ring, noting that he's now been robbed by two women, and asks Hook where this princess is. The pirate replies that that's the problem, for she's in the Queen's castle, but Snow assures the two men that that's not a problem at all - she knows it well, what with it having once been hers, and she can get them in there, but not from within the confines of her net. "So... you let me down, you get your princess, you get your ring, and I never have to see your charming face again." Hook looks apprehensively towards the prince, who appears entertained as he draws his sword, proceeding to hack at the taut rope that keeps Snow suspended. She lets out a small squeal as the net falls to the ground with her in it (see "Snow Falls").

Act II
The wheel of a wagon is seen turning as it makes its way down the forest road; Hook is at the head, maintaining the two horses as they pull, whilst Charming sits in the wagon itself. Snow is lying down in it, feeling discomforted as they hit a bump, and Hook apologizes. The bandit rolls her eyes and Charming laughs, leading Snow to accuse him of enjoying this. He points out that it isn't his fault that her face is plastered to every tree in the forest, and yet again her eyes roll. The prince soon notices that she's clutching something - something that's attached to her neck by a lace - and asks her what it is, recalling that she isn't the jewelry type. She tells him not to worry about it but Charming quickly reaches and grabs the object from her neck. Snow looks frightened, warning him in all seriousness to be careful, but Charming simply laughs, looking at the small glass vial of black dust now in his hand. He is told by its possessor that it's a weapon, but he appears cynical, not thinking much of dust.

Snow tells him that it's fairy dust, from a dark fairy, and it transforms even the most fearful of adversaries into a form that's easily squashed. She finally manages to snatch it back, caressing it in her palm, and states that she's saving it for a special someone. Charming realizes that she's talking about the Queen, and Snow assures him that those charges on her posters are lies, but that didn't stop her from trying to kill her; that's why she's trying to get out of this kingdom and that's why she tried to steal from him - to secure passage on a pirate ship. Charming appears genuinely sympathetic and asks the fugitive what it is she did to incur the Queen's wrath. Snow sadly explains that Regina blames her for ruining her life. "Did you?" Charming asks, to which Snow replies, "Yes." From the font of the wagon, Hook announces that they've reached their destination, and the horses stop. Regina's palace is visible at the end of a long path, and Snow says that they'll be needing help if they want to get past the Queen's guards. Making her way out of the wagon, she tells the two men to wait where they are whilst she goes and gets help - they are to go in at night. Charming watches as the hooded princess runs away.

Nighttime befalls the forest and Charming and Hook appear to have found a clearing in which to set up camp, as is evidenced by the large campfire they're both sat beside. Hooks asks the prince if he's excited for his nuptials, and Charming unenthusiastically says that he's marrying Midas' daughter - what's not to be excited about? The pirate then says, without meaning to pry, that Charming doesn't exactly look like a man who's doing this by choice, and the prince explains how he always thought he'd marry for love, but here he is about to enter into what amounts to a business transaction; a merger of two kingdoms. He goes on to say that this whole ordeal makes him wonder if there's even such a thing as true love, and Hook tells him that he once went through a similar thing himself, but all it took was meeting the right person and everything changed. Charming asks if this person is Princess Leia, whom they're rescuing, and Hook confirms it, commenting that he'd go to the end of the world for her... or time. "And she for you, I take it?" the prince wonders, but Hook simply laughs, saying that he doesn't know.

Charming folds his arms and asks what the problem is, allowing the pirate to tell him that there are many complications. The royal takes this to mean the princess' family, adding that his father is making things quite difficult for him, and Hook reveals that he's not quite sure Leia's parents approve of him. "Given the lengths you've gone through to save her... they'd be crazy not to," Charming says, and Hook smiles and tells him he hopes he remembers that. A shadow moves across the screen and, in the near-distance, Hook notices a hooded figure making its way towards them. Standing up and drawing his sword, Charming asks what the hell that was; doing the same, Hook says he thinks they're about to find out. They aim their swords at the oncoming stranger, but it soon becomes apparent that it's merely Red Riding Hood, wearing her namesake hood and carrying with her her famed picnic basket. Keeping his sword aimed along with Hook's, Charming asks the young woman who she is and, putting the basket down, she introduces herself as Red, a friend of Snow's: the one who sent her to help get them into the castle. Hook wonders how, and Red tells him that he'll see; she removes her cloak.

Back in Regina's dungeons, Emma is seen removing Charming's mother's ring from her finger and holding it in her hands, staring down at it sadly. The prisoner in the cell beside her, now with a small bowl of food, asks her what it is, and Emma explains that it belongs to her parents, guessing one could call it their wedding ring. The woman takes this to mean that Emma was entrusted with it, to which the blonde says, "Sort of... I need to get it back to them." The woman then says that being separated from family is a terrible, terrible thing, and Emma agrees, going on to hear that the longer her fellow prisoner is separated from her own, the pain she feels doesn't dull; it worsens... maybe because she knows she'll never see them again. Emma places the ring back on her finger and says that, if her mother was there, she'd tell her to have hope; "Maybe you should too. Who knows? Maybe you will end up with them again." The woman sees this as unlikely and is fairly certain her family already thinks that she's dead, and soon it will be true.

However, Emma has noticed something: a spoon on the ground, which has a thin metal wire wrapped around it. She crawls over to the spoon and removes the wire from its handle, telling the female prisoner to hand over her own piece of wooden cutlery. She does so, and Emma removes the wire from that as well, now having two. The prisoner wonders what Emma is doing and Emma, staring at the padlock keeping her cell shut, repeats what Neal Cassidy told her all those years ago: "It's all about the tumblers." With that, she places one piece of wiring into the lock, and then the other. She twists and turns for a while, her face wrought with concentration, but it isn't long before the padlock springs open and the chains fall away. The woman is greatly excited as Emma opens the door of her own cell but the blonde then approaches the padlock keeping the prisoner's cell locked, wanting to pick it. Thinking Emma doesn't have much time to escape, he prisoner wonders what her new friend is waiting for, telling her to go; the leave. Emma looks unsure of what to do.

A Black Knight stands guard in the Queen's dungeons, unaware of the large werewolf (otherwise known as Red Riding Hood, when she's in human form) lurking around the corner, angrily snarling and bearing her fangs. The knight notices her when she growls and quickly draws his sword, however, the wolf barks and has him running in the other direction, where he's quickly cut down by Charming. Hook then emerges, the red cloak resting on his arm, and comments how glad he is that the wolf's on their side. Charming agrees that she's a fearsome one, and the pirate proceeds to draw the cloak over the large beast, allowing her to turn back into a human. Red stands up and follows on as Charming says they better hurry, for further security may be onto them, but she then tells them to wait, for she senses someone's coming. Hearing footsteps, Hook draws his sword, ready to face whatever adversary is coming his way... and it's Emma, with her prisoner friend in tow. The two of them are surprised to see each other, but Hook is mostly disappointed, pointing out that she's depriving him of a dashing rescue.

"Sorry," she says, "The only one who saves me is me. Speaking of which, I'm not gonna be around much longer unless we find out where this belongs." She removes the ring and has it taken from her by Charming, who says he believes it belongs to him. Emma then asks her three rescuers if they have an escape route and Red tells them to follow her because Snow told her where to meet her. She and Charming begin to leave, and as Emma goes to do the same, the former prisoner approaches her and thanks her for what she did, then follows the prince and young woman. Hook realizes that the prisoner has been set free and begs Emma to tell him that she isn't behind this. Emma points out that the woman was supposed to be executed in the morning; she couldn't just leave her there to die. However, Hook points out that, if she was to die, she pretty much has to (for otherwise they could be changing the course of time). Charming, having noticed the two of them are lagging behind, approaches and tells them that he'd hate to break up a reunion but that they have to keep moving and find Snow White. Emma follows on from her unbeknownst father, and Hook follows on from her.

We are treated to an extreme close-up of a redder than red apple as Queen Regina, viewed in all her evil glory via the reflection of her dressing table mirror, gazes at it fondly as it rests firmly in her hand. As she does so, a figure is seen stepping up to the door frame and staying there, watching the regal mistress as she goes about her appreciation. Again being shown the reflection of the mirror, we see very clearly that Snow White is who's stood at the entrance to the room, whilst Regina, too wrapped up in her own murder ploys, remains utterly oblivious to her stepdaughter's.

Act III
The Evil Queen continues to sit at her dressing table as Snow White very slowly approaches her from behind, uncorking her vial of dark fairy dust as she does so. She pours some of it into the palm of her hand and prepares herself to throw it, but Regina, not easily fooled, doesn't bother to look at her stepdaughter as she says, "I didn't think you were dumb enough to sneak back into your own home, but then again I suppose you were dumb enough to lose it." The Queen is on her feet now, but Snow, fairy dust in hand, warns the deranged tyrant not to come any closer. Regina, coming closer, asks the princess that stands before her if she thinks she's scared of fairy dust, but Snow tells her that it's dark fairy dust. The Queen frowns, wondering how Snow got her hands on such a thing, but Snow says it doesn't matter; what matters is she intends to use it. Regina asks if Snow really thinks turning her into a bug will stop her and the latter answers negatively, going on to say that stepping on her will.

The Queen is somewhat surprised to hear that Snow plans on killing her, not believing the benign bandit to have that in her. There is a pause; both women make extreme eye contact. It isn't long, however, before Snow throws the dust in her hand right at Regina... and Regina freezes it in mid-air with her magic, causing it to fall uselessly to the ground and disappear. She then reminds Snow White that dark magic is her strong suit, not the other way around, and she summons her guards. Multiple Black Knights enter the room, and the Queen tells her stepdaughter that it's about time she suffered as she did. "It was a mistake, Regina," says Snow, "I didn't know telling your mother about Daniel meant that she would stop your marriage, I was a child!" "A child who didn't learn the most basic lesson!" Regina fights back, "All actions have consequences." Snow nods and tells her stepmother that she can kill her... but this kingdom will never be hers. "She dies tonight," the Queen states firmly, and Snow is taken away by the guards.

Red leads Emma, Charming, Hook and the former prisoner through the vast halls of Regina's palace. Meanwhile, outside, the shot is closed up on Snow's partially-full vial of dark fairy dust, still round her neck. It then moves up to her face, which nods, and the Black Knights proceed to march her down a makeshift aisle, at the end of which is the wooden stake where she is to burn. Regina watches from the stake-free end of the aforementioned aisle, determined. The team of five make it to where they were supposed to meet Snow, but all they find is a window which Hook looks out of. "What is it? Did you find Snow?" Emma asks, worried, to which the pirate pensively replies, "I'm afraid so." Through the window, they all witness what the camera takes us towards: the Evil Queen walking towards Snow White as the latter is secured to the stake by Black Knights. They pause, awaiting orders, and Regina nods at them, signalling for them to begin tying Snow's hands above her head with rope. From the window, Emma says they have to get down there before it's too late, but Charming says in turn that he doesn't think they can.

Snow looks stoic as Black Knights continue tying her hands, and then a sack is pulled over her head. Regina's smile grows ever-wider. Tears begin streaming from Emma's eyes as she watches this, but Hook begins pulling her away from the window in an attempt to shield her from view. From up there, a fireball is seen flaring up in the Queen's hand. Regina gives the fireball time to grow before pushing it firmly forward. It hits the straw and kindling surrounding the base of the stake Snow's tied to and sets the whole thing alight, quickly consuming the young princess with flames. Emma's crying becomes more uncontrollable as Hook continues to hold her; a hand goes to her mouth as she watches her mother die and can't do a single thing to stop it. The fire continues burning. Red looks utterly horrified, and Charming seems to be in some sort of catatonic state. The Queen watches the flames as they grow and brighten up the night. A smile spreads itself across her face as her long unfulfilled desire to kill Snow White finally culminates; she drinks this moment in with glee. A wolf's saddened howl is heard in the distance.

A campfire burns somewhere in the woods as Emma sits there, her eyes filled with unstoppable tears. Hook sits beside her, and he tells the blonde that, after his brother passed, all he could do was relive that final, terrible moment; he then says that she can't do that to herself, for all one can do in times like these is try to live in the here and now. "Here and now..." Emma echoes, slowly coming to a realization. She then points out that she's still there, wondering how that's possible when they saw her mother die, which means she would never have been born. Hook too realizes that she should have faded from existence, which leads him to the conclusion that perhaps... "She's still alive!" Emma finishes for him, standing up in her excitement, and a loud and vivid ladybug is seen flying its way into the scene. Emma says that, if Snow is out there, they have to find her. Hook, who's stood up as well, bats the ladybug out of his face a few times and curses the vermin, saying that they should head back to the Queen's castle and take a look around, for perhaps this is a trick by Regina. The insect continues to bug him and Emma says in reply that, whatever happened, Regina thinks Snow is dead.

The ladybug soon lands on her arm and Hook tells her to stay where she is as he grabs a log, going to squish the ladybug. However, Charming (who's been packing up the wagon in the background along with Red and the prisoner) tells Hook to wait, approaching the scene and ordering him not to harm the insect. He explains that, when they were coming to rescue Leia, Snow told him what his dust would do to the Queen: she said it would turn her into a form that could easily be squashed; a bug. He gently takes the ladybug from Emma's arm and into his hand, and Emma is surprised by the prospect of her mother having transformed herself in such a way; he says that, assuming Snow timed everything right, she could have used the dust on herself, avoided the fire and flown away. He stares at the loud ladybug on his finger and becomes sure that it's her, now needing a way to turn her back. The miniature Snow crawls into the prince's palm and Emma realizes that she's saying something, which Hook says is wonderful if anyone is fluent in bug.

"She's calling for me," says a voice in the sky, and the bright glowing form of the Blue Fairy descends, her wings flapping gently in the air. Emma is utterly amazed by the sight, and happily says, "Blue..." as though the two of them are already familiar with one another. The fairy confirms this, going on to ask Emma's name, and she introduces herself as Leia. "No, that's not it..." the fairy immediately deduces, "But your secrets can be yours. I sense it's better that way." Red asks the benevolent fairy if she's capable of bringing Snow back and Blue explains that dark magic did this to her... so light magic can undo it. She waves her wand and, in a flash of blue light, the ladybug returns to the form of Snow White - alive and well. All those around her are utterly thrilled, but none more so than Emma, who almost immediately ropes her disoriented mother into a tight hug. Snow is shocked by this stranger's enthusiasm and seems confused as the hug continues. When it ends, Snow awkwardly thanks the blonde and goes to hug Red, with whom the heartfelt reunion is heartfelt from both sides. The two of them, along with Charming and the woman, then make their way over to the wagon as Hook approaches Emma, wiping the tears from her cheek and pointing out that it looks like they're back on track. She feigns a smile and nods, simply saying, "Yeah..."

Trivia

 * The title card of this episode features a swan, in reference to the surname of the series' main protagonist.
 * The way in which the letters form to make the main logo is different than in other episodes, as is the musical accompaniment.

Production

 * The title of this episode was revealed by executive producer/co-creator Adam Horowitz, via his Twitter account, on March 25, 2014.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the episode.