Changelings

"Changelings" is the 120th episode of Once Upon a Time.

Summary
In the fairytale land that was, Rumplestiltskin collects Jack and Jill's son as bait to lure a powerful being to him while, in the present, he tells the Evil Queen that she must kill Zelena, leading her to a decision that will change her relationship with her wicked sister forever. When Belle discovers her husband's plans for their son, she convinces Emma and Hook to help her steal squid ink that can immobilize him; as a result, the beauty is left to make a sacrifice that will affect the lives of everyone in Storybrooke. Meanwhile, Jasmine finds a genie-less lamp that she hopes to use to save Agrabah, and Aladdin finds a way to be her hero.

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

Out on Main Street, Emma looks down as her she deals with her newly developed hand tremors, and is next seen battling a hooded figure until being stabbed in the chest. Emma reveals to Hook that in her vision she dies. In the Dream World, Belle is confused as to what is going on, but Morpheus believes that she knows, proceeding to address her as "mother". He reveals that he's there to warn her to not let Rumplestiltskin destroy them like he did his last family. During a confrontation in Zelena's farmhouse, Belle makes it clear that she will never let Rumple set eyes on their child; however, Rumple reminds her that he takes children, not the other way around. ONCE UPON A TIME

Act I
A door bursts open as a nun comes running through a dark room, fearing for her life. She makes a turn, coming to a dead end, but is started to find none other than Rumplestiltskin standing there before her. She jumps back in fear, as the Dark One assures that there's no where to hide from him. However, the nun believes that whatever Rumple is doing, the Mother Superior won't let him get away with it. The Dark One does not answer, but instead waves his hand, disappearing the nun in a puff of red smoke, and then turning and re-appearing her tied to a pole. "That wingless glowbomb won't stop me," the Dark One assures, "None of you will." "What is it between you and fairies?" a voice calls out. Rumple turns around and sees that the Evil Queen has joined him. "You never told me why you despise them so much." Rumple wants to know what the Queen is doing here, but she asks if it's not obvious; she came to join in the find. "Oh, I thought you'd be happier to see me," the Queen adds, taking notice of the Dark One's blank stare. Rumple assures that he will be, once she's taken care of that problem they've discussed. The Evil Queen realizes that he means Zelena, and laughs. "You don't really expect me to kill my own flesh and blood for you?" But Rumple replies that that depends on how serious the Queen is about these "new beginnings" she says she wants because he thinks one of them involves him. Before the Queen does anything though, she wonders why she should believe that Rumple has at long last gotten over Belle, and he answers that he's finally come to his senses. "Belle won't accept me for who I really am." He continues that he knows the Queen never really wanted to rule alone, and now she will no longer have to. "There's just one tiny speck of green in your way." The Queen takes all of this into consideration, and with that, Rumple turns away, having his own problems to attend to. "Which is what exactly?" the Queen wonders, as the Dark One approaches the tied-up nun. He removes a vial of sparkling dust from his coat pocket, revealing that he's going to send a message via fairy. With that, he sprinkles some of the dust, and soon enough the nun's face ages tremendously. The Queen watches in absolute shock, as Rumple grins.

The nun is next seen being wheeled into the convent, depressed at what she has become. The Mother Superior lets go of her hand and begins pacing, and Emma asks what of this. Blue reveals it to have been the Dark One with the Evil Queen. "They're together." Emma recalls that she once used magic like this to speed up Zelena's pregnancy (see "Birth"), and Belle proceeds to speak up, believing this to be about her. She states that Rumple is going to do the same thing to her so that he can use the Shears of Destiny to cut their son's ties with his fate. "And when that happens he can take him from me, he can corrupt him, even worse..." Hook wonders if that truly is Rumple's plan then why would he announce it to them, and Belle thinks it's because he wants her to know what he's doing. "He's trying to scare me so I'll go back to him, which I won't do. I can't do!" She speaks to the group that there must be a way to stop him.

Flash to the Enchanted Forest of the past, inside of the Dark Castle. A set of doors swing open, where Rumplestiltskin arrives home. Belle greets him, revealing that she did the wash and polished the silver like he asked, but he doesn't seem to care all that much, quite frankly, instead just dropping a basket down on the table and telling her that now she can take of this. Cries are heard coming from the basket, and Belle realizes that it's a baby. "Where did it come from?" the beauty asks, "Where are its parents?" Rumple states that they no longer matter, however, and that the child is his now. As Rumple looks through a shelf of scrolls, Belle asks for clarification, learning that the Dark One stole the baby. "Yes," Rumple confirms, "Scandalous, isn't it?" Belle, meanwhile, goes to shush the crying baby, picking it up to rock. She asks what kind of beast steals a child from its parents, adding the question of what happened to Rumple to make him like this. "You do best to stop asking so many questions," he answers, then finally coming across the scroll that he had been searching for. "There it is," he says, beginning to walk away, "I have work to do, and I'm not to be disturbed." Belle wishes to at least know the baby's name so she can sooth him, but she then realizes that he didn't even bother to find out. "Well why would I?" he exclaims, "A name's a special thing. You don't waste it on something you have no intention of becoming... attached to." "What do you mean?" Belle questions, wanting to know what the Dark One plans on doing with this child. However, he doesn't answer, instead informing that he will be back for it at sundown, and tells her to not even think about trying to hide it because he'll find out. Belle tries to argue back, but the Dark One doesn't let her. He proceeds to walk away, leaving the beauty worried for this child's fate.

Return to the present day, over in the Storybrooke Free Public Library. Among the many shelves of books, Belle is seen looking through them all. She reads off the names of some, and soon comes across one titled Manual on Defeating the Dark One. She removes it from the shelf to get a better look, commenting that she's never seen this one before, and so she opens it up. "Follow the strand," she reads aloud, but is confused as to what the strand is of. She closes the book, but upon looking down at the ground, a glowing red strand awaits her. Intrigued, Belle places the book back on the shelf and reaches down to pick up the strand. With that, she begins walking, following it. The strand takes Belle down to a warped version of the caves underneath the library. She continues to follow though, soon coming across a rock podium where none other than the Shears of Destiny rest. She goes to pick them up, but they disappear instead, and so she is left to just look around. It doesn't take long for her to deduce that she's in the Dream World again, but a voice calls out, correcting that it's "our" Dream World. Belle turns around, finding herself being greeted by the aged version of her son. "Hello mother," he exclaims, and Belle happily calls out to him as well, then embracing him in a hug. "Yes," he confirms, but states that he's there to warn her that the glowing thread she followed is the strand of his fate; it's what Rumple plans to cut with the shears when he's born. Belle assures that she's trying to stop him, but she doesn't know how. Her son, however, states that she knows the answer to saving him is already inside of her. It's right there in front of her; she just has to be willing to see it, and do so quickly, or any hope of protecting him will be cut short. "Just like my fate." With that, he reveals the shears, and uses them to cut the strand. Back in the library, Belle wakes up, having fallen asleep at a table with a large stack of books. She doesn't know what to make of all this.

Trivia

 * The title card of this episode features the swing set from Belle and Gideon's dreamworld.
 * Although credited, Josh Dallas (David Nolan/Prince Charming) is absent from this episode.

Production

 * The title of this episode was officially confirmed by executive producer/co-creator Adam Horowitz, via his Twitter account, on September 28, 2016.
 * This episode marks, overall, the twenty-third writing credit for Jerome Schwartz and the first for Brian Ridings. It also marks the first directing credit for Mairzee Almas.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the episode.