The Heart of the Truest Believer

"The Heart of the Truest Believer" is the 45th episode of Once Upon a Time, as well as its third season's premiere.

Summary
As Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Regina, Mr. Gold and Hook enter Neverland to search for a kidnapped Henry, they're greeted by a school of not-too-friendly mermaids who threaten to end their search before it begins. Meanwhile, Henry finds himself on the run from the Lost Boys with another escapee from Peter Pan's encampment, and Neal, recovering from his wounds, travels through the Enchanted Forest with Mulan in an attempt to learn the fates of Emma and Henry.

Teaser
Eleven Years Ago

We are treated to the shot of a wall clock hanging in a delivery room. The clock's hands point to 8:15, and Emma Swan is seen lying down on a delivery bed, giving birth to her child. Her left foot is shackled to the stirrup, for she is still serving time in prison, and a female police escort is waiting by the door. The doctor has his hands between Emma's legs as she shrieks in agony, and he and the assisting nurse encourage her to push further and further. Eventually, Emma is able to push the baby out, and when she does the lights that surround her start to flicker and burst, but this goes apparently unnoticed by the attendants. The doctor holds the baby in his arms and tells Emma that it's a boy, but the blonde, who is recuperating from the laboring process, looks away. The doctor calls out to her, but Emma starts shaking her head, looking as though she is about to cry. The nurse whispers something in the doctor's ear, apparently telling him that Emma has no intention of keeping the baby. The doctor addresses her again, reminding her that she can't change her mind, and Emma responds that she can't be a mother. The doctor walks away with the baby and Emma looks up at the ceiling and cries.

Present Day

Emma is seen aboard the Jolly Roger, as Hook steers it through the magical vortex, which took the form of a spiral of sea water. The ship comes out of the portal, flying through the air, and lands on the sea waters of the dimension where Neverland is set. Emma catches something in the distance and asks Hook if that's it, and he confirms that it is, indeed, Neverland. The ship continues sailing through the waters as they make their way to the island.

ONCE UPON A TIME

Act I
We see the flashes of a magic portal briefly showing before a sandy beach, and Henry falls on the sand, looking wet, with his hands tied by a cable tie. He looks back and then tries to get up and make a run for it, but Greg grabs a hold of him and tells him to slow down, and that he has nowhere to go. He lets go of Henry again, and we see that he and Tamara are also wet, having just come out of the watery vortex. Greg removes his backpack and Tamara, amused, says, "We made it. Mission accomplished." Henry responds with, "Are you sure about that? 'Cause my mom's coming to get me. Both of them." Greg tells him that he might wanna take a look around, and Tamara does just this herself. Greg asks the young man if he sees any clock towers, and then says that he is a long way from home. Henry retorts that it doesn't matter, because his family has been to the Enchanted Forest before and they can get there again. They are interrupted by strange sounds coming from the woods that surround the beach, and Tamara explains to Henry that they are not in the Enchanted Forest, but rather in Neverland. Henry quickly jumps to the conclusion that they are there to destroy Neverland, and Tamara confirms this, by saying that Neverland is the motherlode of magic, and that they have hit the jackpot. She then tells her lover that she needs to signal the Home Office, and Greg hands her a device from his backpack. Henry, confused about the Home Office being set in the jungle, asks them who works there. Greg puts his backpack on again and tells the kid that it's not of his concern to know who they work for. "Just know that they take care of us." Henry asks if they really do, and whether they have told the pair how to get back home after they destroy magic. Greg lets him know that they don't ask questions, they just believe in their cause. Tamara then calls out for him, and tells him that she's not getting a status light on the device. She hands it over to him, and Greg wonders if she's checked the batteries. He flips it around to check them, and when he removes the lid he finds what appears to be bird feeding inside. They are all surprised and confused, and Tamara says, "What the hell is this? A toy?!" Henry tells them, mockingly, that it's a good thing they don't ask any questions. Greg, bemused, tells them "Let's go" and forces Henry to walk. Tamara looks concerned.

We are treated to a panoramic view of the Jolly Roger, headed towards the island of Neverland, and then to a close-up shot of the ship's steering wheel spinning. It is stopped when Killian Jones rests one of its handles on his hook, and Regina, who had been looking overboard at the waters, turns her attention to him and asks why he's slowing down the ship, reminding him that her son's life is in danger. "Oh, I know, my hot-headed Queen," he tells her, then explaining that his plan is to bring them to the far side of the island, link up with the widest part of the river, sail quietly through and take the inhabitants by surprise. Hook then comments on the irony, and she asks him what he means, to which he replies that he's spent more time than he cares to remember trying to leave that place so that he could kill Rumplestiltskin, and now there he is, sailing right back into its heart with Rumple as his guest of honor. "It's not quite the happy ending I was hoping for," he says. Regina then recounts that Greg Mendell told her something funny: that she's a villain, and villains don't get happy endings. Regina asks the captain if he believes that, and he answers that he hopes not, otherwise they have wasted their lives.

Below them, on the waist of the deck, Emma is staring blankly into the distance, looking pensative. Her parents approach her with concern, and Mary Margaret tells her "Hey", but gets no reply. She then tells her daughter that what happened with Neal and Henry wasn't her fault, and she shouldn't blame herself. Emma tells her that she doesn't, and then turns to her and says, "I blame you. All this happened because I listened to you. You say good always wins? It doesn't. I didn't grow up in some fairytale land. My experience is different. That's all I can go on." Mary Margaret rebutts that all they have to go on is their experience, and she just wants to share their wisdom with her, but Emma, interrupting her, says that she appreciates them trying to be parents, but they are the same age, and have equal amounts of wisdom. And all Emma wants is Henry back. She starts to say that she should have never broken the curse, she should have just taken Henry, and Mary Margaret tells her that she's right, then they would be together. She then tells her child, however, that they missed her growing up, and it haunts them everyday. David finally jumps in, saying that that's why they are there now, because they don't want her to have to go through the same thing too, and she won't, he reassures her, because they are going to get their family back. Emma, aggravated, turns to him and asks how they can be so infuriatingly optimistic. Mary Margaret doesn't know how to reply, and David tells his daughter that that's who they are. Emma asks why, because ever since they got their memories back and remembered that they are Snow White and Prince Charming, their lives have sucked. David denies this, because they found her, and Emma points out that they lost Henry, and Neal, and countless other people. Mary Margaret, calmly, tells her daughter, "Emma, the minute I let go of the belief that things will get better is the minute I know they won't." David grabs her shoulder, and she tells Emma that they will find Henry. "No, you won't," they are told by a voice coming from behind them.

They turn their attention to the quarter deck, where Mr. Gold has emerged, wearing a different outfit. Hook sarcastically comments that a wardrobe change is a great use of their time. Emma grabs a lantern to get a better look, and Gold says that he is going to get Henry. Regina tells him that they agreed to do this together, and Gold points out that they never made such an agreement. Emma asks why he's doing this, and Gold immediately responds that he wants to succeed. She wonders what makes him think she's going to fail, and he promptly replies that she couldn't possibly win, because she doesn't believe in her parents, or in magic, or even in herself. "I slayed a dragon, I think I believe," Emma says, and Gold points out that she only believes in what is shown to her, and wonders when she ever took a leap of faith, the kind with absolutely no proof. Emma doesn't reply. Gold tells her that he's known her some time, and even with everything she's been through, she's still just a bail bonds person, looking for evidence. "Well dearie that's not gonna work in Neverland," he says. Emma tells him she'll do whatever it takes, and Gold says that she just needs someone to tell her what she needs to do, but their foe is too fearsome for the two of them to hold hands. "Neverland is a place where imagination runs wild. And sadly... yours doesn't." This said, he starts spinning his walking stick on the floor of the deck, and when it finally hits the boards, they all can see that he is no longer on the ship. The gang exchange looks, slightly intimidated.

In the woods of the island, Greg is seen lighting a fire in an impromptu fireplace he made out of rocks and sticks. He lights it up with matches, while Tamara looks impatient. Henry asks them if they are making s'mores, and Greg, also looking impatient, denies this, and tells Henry that he is building a signal. He tells Tamara to help him gather some dry leaves, for they need to let the Home Office know that they're there, but his partner asks what about if that's not enough, and what if the empty communicator wasn't an accident. Greg tells her not to let the kid get in her head, and their attention is then caught by the sounds of footsteps approaching them. They turn to see Felix and the other Lost Boys coming out from the wilderness. Greg asks them who they are, and Felix, in a mocking tone, tells them that they're the Home Office, and welcomes them to Neverland. Greg looks back at his lover, who says, "The Home Office... is a bunch of teenagers?" Henry tells his captors that they are not teenagers, but rather the Lost Boys. Felix says "Look at that...", interested in Henry. Henry asks them why they would want to destroy magic, and Felix says, "Who said we wanna destroy magic?" Greg walks up closer to him and says that that was their mission, to which the leader of the group responds that he was only told so. Felix then tells them to hand the boy over, but Tamara positions herself in front of Henry and says they won't be getting the boy until they tell them what the plan is for magic, for getting home. Felix sneers, and makes it clear to them that they are not getting home. Greg affirms that they are not getting the boy then. Felix looks down, smirking, and then looks back at him and says, "Of course we are." Greg looks somewhat intimidated, and then his attention is caught by a strange sound coming from above. He looks up and witnesses the shadow descending upon him. The shadow swoops in and rips Greg's own shadow from his body, and he screams in agony. The fire in the fireplace burns brighter, and Tamara are shocked. Greg's body falls to the ground, and Tamara turns to Henry and shouts at him to run. He does so, and Felix tells his mates to get the boy. Henry manages to outrun them, going into the woods, and as Tamara tries to run for her life as well, one of the Lost Boys hits her with an arrow and she goes down as well. Felix looks around, and the gang then leaves to go and look for Henry, leaving in their trail the bodies of the young man's original captors.

Act II
The Lost Boys are seen chasing after Henry through the woods of the island, but the young man manages to elude them, whilst running with his hands still tied. Eventually he accidentally trips and falls to the ground, and when he does a hand reaches out to grab him and pulls him into the bushes. The Lost Boys make it by them without noticing the two boys in on the other side of the plants, and the boy who rescued Henry removes the hood from around his head. Henry thanks him, and the boy tells him that Pan and his troupe are in tune with every grain of sand in the island, so they must be careful. Henry asks him if he's a Lost Boy, and the boy, whilst cutting off the cable tie around Henry's hands, explains that he was, but he escaped, and now they're after him too. Henry asks what happened, and the boy tells him that there is no time for questions, they must keep moving. This said, he urges Henry to come with him.

Aboard the Jolly Roger, inside the hold, Emma is seen doing pull-ups by grabbing onto a horizontal pole around which some rope is tied. She rests for a while, resting her feet on the bench below her, and Hook, from behind her, tells her not to stop on his account. Emma, with an attitude, says, "Wouldn't think of it", and resumes what she was doing. Hook asks her what she is doing, and she answers that she's getting ready for a fight. He retorts that he'd never known she was the type who would need to get ready for a fight, as he always presumed it was just a natural state with her. Emma isn't amused. Hook, more seriously, tells her not to let Rumplestiltskin get her down. Emma steps down from the bench and asks Hook what he wants, to which he responds, whilst showing her a small key, that he wants to give her something. Emma sits down, and Hook, opening a cabinet, tells her that he and Baelfire used to spend a lot of time together. Emma replies that he was always 'Neal' to her, and he says, "Yeah, right." He then takes a weapon out of his storage, a sword that he claims belonged to Bae. Emma takes it from his hands, then looks up at him and comments that she didn't realize he was sentimental. Hook denies this, as he goes to get something else, and says that he just thought she could use it for where they're going, to fight. He then hands her a small sipping cup and uses his teeth to pull out the cork from a liquor bottle, pouring a drink for the both of them afterwards. Emma thanks him, and they share a toast to Neal before drinking.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, Neal Cassidy/Baelfire is actually alive, albeit not so well. He is seen lying down on the same open coffin where Princess Aurora sustained the sleeping curse that was cast on her (see "Broken"), apparently sleeping himself. He regains consciousness and opens his eyes, and looks confused. Standing by his side is the brave warrior Mulan, who asks him who he is, to which he replies, with very little strength, "Neal". Immediately afterwards, Mulan looks back and the royal couple who keep her company approach the coffin. Aurora asks Mulan if he is well, to which the knight replies that Neal is well enough to be questioned. The princess pours some water into a glass and serves it to Neal, urging him to drink for he must be thirsty. Neal obliges, and then asks where he is. Aurora responds that he's in their kingdom, and Neal asks where that is. Prince Phillip tells him it's in the Enchanted Forest, and Neal says, "I'm back..." Aurora, confused, asks him if he's from there, and Neal nods affirmatively. Mulan points out that he must be lying, because his clothes are from the same world that Emma and Snow are from. This remark sets off something in Neal, who asks if Mulan knows Emma Swan. Mulan nods, and asks how he knows her, and Neal has a hard time answering the question, but he says that she's in danger and that he has to get back and help her. He gets up as he says this and we can see the bloody gunshot hole left in his shirt. Aurora aids him as he sits up, and Phillip tells him that he needs to rest, for he was gravely injured when they found him. He looks at his wound and asks if Neal was hit by some kind of arrow. Neal looks down at his chest too, where the wound has been bandaged by his new company, and says, "A 45 caliber arrow". Phillip is confused. Neal then tells them he needs their help, because he needs to know that Emma and Henry are alright. Aurora quickly realizes that Neal is Henry's father, which he confirms, and she tells him that she was once under a sleeping curse, and Snow helped her to control the nightmare, so with practice she is able to walk the dream world, and find others like her who have passed through. "It's possible I can make contact with them," she says. Neal, a little more hopeful, steps down from the resting bed and she asks him that, should she be able to, what he would like her to tell them. Neal asks her to tell Emma he's alive, and that he loves her.

Back in the hold of the ship, Emma and Hook are sitting across from each other on the benches, while the captain holds the liquor bottle. Emma asks him how long Bae was with him, and he says, "Long enough for me to know that I miss him too." The ship is suddenly rocked, and they are startled. Emma asks what that was, and Hook instantly gets up and rushes upstairs.

David and Mary Margaret are shown to be struggling with the steering wheel of the ship as they sail through stormy waters, whilst being attacked by something. Regina asks them what they are doing, and is told that they are trying to keep it steady. Hook joins them and tells them to prepare for attack. Regina tells him to be more specific, and he tells her that if she's got a weapon she should grab it. Emma comes up from out of the hatch and closes it, and asks what is down there in the waters: "A shark? A whale?" David joins in and asks, "A kraken?" Hook tells them, "Worse", and the rest of the gang look overboard and are surprised to witness pretty women looking at them from below the surface, and swimming around with colored fish tails attached to their torsos. Hook finishes his line, saying "Mermaids!" The school of mermaids is then seen swimming towards the ship and flapping their fins above the surface, as they screech.

Production

 * The title of this episode was revealed by executive producer/co-creator Adam Horowitz, via his Twitter account, on July 2, 2013, along with a photograph of the script's cover.

Trivia

 * The title card features Henry flying with Peter Pan in tow using pixie dust.
 * Although credited, Emilie de Ravin (Belle) is absent from this episode.
 * This is the first episode not to feature the setting of Storybrooke in any way.

Ratings
This episode posted a 2.6/7 among 18-49s with 8.52 million viewers tuning in, down 33 percent from the second season opening episode "Broken" but was up 13 percent from the second season finale. In addition, this outing was also the top social broadcast series of the evening with 136,627 tweets, the highest number ever for the show. In Canada, the episode was watched by 1.285 million viewers.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills used to promote the episode.