Think Lovely Thoughts

"Think Lovely Thoughts" is the 52nd episode of Once Upon a Time.

Summary
Pan leads Henry to a secret cave, where he has convinced the boy that he alone can save magic and Neverland itself. But a showdown between good and evil is about to go down as Emma and company find themselves directly on a path to Pan in an effort to save Henry. Meanwhile, back in the Enchanted Forest that was, young Rumplestiltskin is given a magical item that could help him make a fresh start with his father - who has been anything but a good dad.

Plot
"Previously on Once Upon a Time..."

Rumplestiltskin discovers a Seer locked up in a crate. When reading his future, she states that he is scared of ending up just like his coward father, and we later see Rumple drive a mallet into his leg in order to avoid war, followed by him holding his newborn son in his arms. Baelfire is holding his father's hand, about to fall into a portal, when Rumple lets go, causing his son to go through alone. With her last words, the Seer predicts that a young boy shall beat Rumple to his son, and this boy shall be his undoing. In Neal's apartment, a confused Henry asks Neal, Emma and Mr. Gold what's going on, soon after the latter's reunion with his son. Mr. Gold cries in Neverland after being handed back a straw doll given to him by his father. David lifts his shirt where a cut shrouded in black veins is visible, revealing to Hook that he's been poisoned by Dreamshade. Hook gives David water that shall cure the Dreamshade poison, but once he drinks it, he can never leave Neverland. The shadow, after ripping out the shadow of Greg Mendell, flies away with it. Baelfire is taken by the shadow and is seen being flown against his will over the rooftops Victorian England. "It's a small price to pay for what I get in return," Neal is heard saying, referring to the prospect of rescuing his son Henry. Pan, who's in the distance, disappears and reappears so that he's now right next to Hook. Wendy asks Pan what he needs Henry to believe in, and Pan replies, "Me." Henry is seen dancing around a campfire with all the other Lost Boys as Pan watches happily. Pan takes Henry to Neverland's coast where Skull Rock is visible: a large off-island cave that heavily resembles a skull. He tells Henry that it is the place of their salvation, and asks if he's up to the task.

Teaser
In the fairytale land that was, a young boy is seen watching as his father, Malcolm, rearranges cards on a stall in a game of "Find the Lady" with strangers. Malcolm requests a shilling should the man he's scamming pick the wrong card, making sure it's obvious where the right one is as he continues switching them around. When he's finished doing so, the man places a shilling down beside the middle card, signifying that that's his choice, but Malcolm turns it over to reveal that it's in fact a Joker - the wrong card. The man's friends laugh and Malcolm tells him not to feel too bad as he's not the only one who's been spared by the Lady tonight; "She's been quite shy all evening." Spotting something in Malcolm's sleeve when he twiddles his new shilling, the man grabs the con man's arm and sees that the card he was looking for is hidden in his sleeve. Realizing he's been tricked, the man takes Malcolm and punches him in the face, pinning him up to the wall by his throat. He's about to punch him again, when suddenly the young boy grabs onto his arm and begs him not to hurt his father. "You're better off without him," says the thug, and the boy appears horrified as his father collapses to the ground after another punch. The shillings he scammed off people are then thieved by the man, who proceeds to walk away, and Malcolm spits blood as his son asks him if he's okay. Malcolm assures his son that it's the cost of the game, joking that the thug didn't even leave him a shilling for a pint, which was rude. The young boy points out that all their money has been taken, but his father assures him that he'll think of something, just like he always does. "Rumple," he says, before getting to his feet just as "roll-up" is announced in the market place. The young Rumplestiltskin looks glum as he watches his father pack away his stall. ONCE UPON A TIME

Act I
In Neverland, Pan is seen laying a "sick" Wendy down on a bed in his compound in front of Henry and carefully tucking her in. Henry asks how she is, and Pan says he fears she's getting worse. The kid asks if Wendy will live if he saves magic, and Pan confirms this, saying that he'll accomplish more than that, and that if he saves magic, he'll be saving them all. But do to it, he has to truly believe. Wendy feigns a sickened cough, and Henry, who feels sorry for the girl, says that he does. Pan tells him that this is good as they don't have much time, before instructing the boy to follow him, and Henry follows Pan into the Lost Boy camp. "My brothers," he calls, stepping upon a rock that acts like a podium, making his speech in front of all his boys, "Tonight, the dream of Neverland will awaken from its slumber. Tonight, the heart of the truest believer shall fulfill its destiny, and with it, our destiny. Tonight, Henry saves magic!" The Lost Boys proceed to cheer for the child, which makes Pan smile. Rumple, who's got Pandora's Box in his hand, is seen walking through the jungle with Regina. The Queen says that, although they've had their differences, she can always count on him to get things done, unlike the "rest of them", referring to Emma, Snow, Charming and Hook; she states that he was right and that they're just a liability. Rumple wonders what happened, and Regina recounts Pan telling them that Neal was alive and Emma taking the bait, which she regards as being a big waste of their time. Realizing that Neal is a sensitive issue for Gold, who was his father, she apologizes, but he tells her not to, revealing that Neal is in fact alive. This surprises Regina, who is told that Pan wasn't lying and that Rumple has seen his son on the island; she is then further surprised that this reunion occurred and Gold and Neal simply parted ways. She asks Rumple if he realizes that his son might have a way off the island, but the Dark One tells her to worry about the travel plans after they rescue Henry. Regina realizes that there's something Gold isn't telling her and asks what happened when he and Neal saw each other, but he says that all she needs to know is the next time he sees his son, it will be when he's putting Henry back in his arms and father and son are reunited. Back in time, Malcolm knocks on the front door to someplace, and his son Rumple asks where they are. Without answering, Malcolm opens the door and discreetly beckons his son inside, where Rumple sees two spinsters spinning at the wheel. Malcolm tells his son that these nice ladies are going to be looking after him for a while, and one spinster says that he must be the boy, and the other says, "Rumplestiltskin." The first asks if he spins, and the second says that they could teach him. Frightened, Rumple says that he doesn't want to stay there, and promises his father that he'll be good, but Malcolm tells his son that it's time for him to get a real job so that they can be together. "We can be together now! Papa, please!" Rumple exclaims, hugging Malcolm and tearfully begging him not to leave him there. Malcolm tells his son not to be scared and shows him that he got him a present: a straw doll. He gives it to Rumple and tells him that it's "a friend" and someone to be at his side when he's away; someone to be with him when Malcolm cannot. Rumple takes the doll and admires it, and his father advises him to give it a name as names always make things better and more real; "Trust me, he will protect you. And I'll be back before you know it. I promise." Malcolm then carefully pushes his son towards the spinsters, nodding to them before leaving. Rumple continues to cry in the absence of his father. Tinker Bell, Hook, David, Mary Margaret, Neal and Emma are seen trekking through Neverland's jungle also. Charming says that he's going to go ask Tink how close they are to Pan's compound as he doesn't want to be surprised by any Lost Boys on patrol. Snow says that that's a good idea, and as David moves to the front of the queue, Emma approaches her mother, commenting on her parents apparently burying the hatchet over the whole Dreamshade situation. Mary Margaret says that she doesn't know if it's buried, but the two of them have at least put it away for now; the blonde asks if Mary Margaret plans on staying on the island with David, and her mother tells her that the thought of leaving her kills her, but there's nothing they can do as if David leaves then he'll die. Emma points out that her mother is just giving up, which surprises Snow, and the blonde continues in saying that family means being together, all of them. Mary Margaret woefully exclaims that there is no other way, and so her daughter tells her, "Maybe this is just you rubbing off on me, but I don't believe that. There's always a way." The two are then distracted by the sounds of Hook and Charming drawing their swords, and we see that this is due to the rustling in the bushes up ahead. In addition, Tink draws a dagger, Emma whips out her cutlass and Snow loads up her bow with an arrow, keeping at firmly at the mystery figure or figures. However, the group is relieved to see that it's merely Regina, followed by Gold, who comments that, if this is the others' idea of a rescue party, they go there right on time. As weapons are put away, Mary Margaret asks what Rumple and Regina are doing there, and the latter says that they're on their way to save Henry also, except they actually have a chance. She gestures Pandora's Box in Gold's hands and explains that it can trap Pan for eternity simply by opening the lid. Annoyed, Neal says that Emma didn't tell him his father was with Regina, and the blonde professes she didn't know; Tinker Bell then chimes in, surprised to learn that Baelfire's father is the Dark One, and Neal confirms this, adding that Rumple isn't getting anywhere near Henry. "Bae..." Rumple tries, and Emma asks Neal what he's talking about. He explains that there's a prophecy that says Henry will be his father's undoing, and that Rumple didn't come to Neverland to save the boy, he came there to kill him. This shocks the others, and Regina moves away from her new comrade, realizing that the reason he didn't want to find Neal before he got Henry back was because he'd spill his secret and Gold knew it. Rumple disputes with this, saying that everything he did was to protect Henry and rescue him from Pan, but Emma soon exclaims that "it all makes sense", and raises her sword to the Dark One. She points out that he left before they even made shore, and Mary Margaret, who loads her bow with an arrow again, adds that Gold wanted to get to Henry first. Charming and Hook draw their swords in succession, further realizing that Gold wanted to get Henry on his own so no one could stop him from murdering the boy. "It's not gonna happen," says Emma, all weapons now firmly pointed at Gold, "Not unless you go through all of us first."

Trivia

 * The title card of this episode features Skull Rock, emanating magic from inside.
 * Although credited, Emilie de Ravin (Belle) is absent from this episode.

Production

 * The title of this episode was confirmed by executive producer/co-creator Adam Horowitz, via his Twitter account, on September 22, 2013.
 * This episode marks the 10th writing credit with the series for David H. Goodman.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the episode.