Snow Falls

"Snow Falls" is the 3rd episode of Once Upon a Time.

Summary
At Henry's urging, Emma convinces Mary Margaret to pay a visit to a comatose John Doe in the hospital and to read to him from the storybook. But Mary Margaret is stunned at the outcome of her visit. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale world, Prince Charming meets Snow White for the first time in a most unexpected way.

Plot
"There is a town in Maine..."

We see an overview of the streets of Storybrooke. Emma enters Granny's Bed and Breakfast and requests a room for one, Granny welcomes her to Storybrooke. Henry looks at his storybook at the page picturing the wedding of Snow White and Prince Charming.

"Where every storybook character you've ever known..."

Prince Charming kisses Snow White, reviving her from her glass coffin.

"Is trapped between two worlds..."

Mary Margaret Blanchard releases a blue bird out of her classroom window from her hand. Snow White releases a blue bird from her castle's balcony from her hand. "The Evil Queen sent a bunch of fairytale characters here?" Emma asks her son. Queen Regina walks down the aisle at the royal wedding. Regina looks at Emma from her front door. "And know they don't remember who they are." Henry says, answering Emma's question.

"Victims of a powerful curse..."

The Dark Curse envelopes the castle. Queen Regina has crashed Snow White and Prince Charming's wedding, "Everything you love, everything all of you love, will be taken from you." she threatens.

"Only one knows the truth..."

Regina stares down at Henry's storybook and then looks up at her reflection in the mirror.

"And only one can break her spell..."

Emma talks to Regina from her front yard. "It's your destiny, you're gonna bring back the happy endings." Henry tells Emma as they sit on his "castle". "Enjoy your stay." Mr. Gold tells Emma after she accepts a room. The Storybrooke clock ticks.

ONCE UPON A TIME

Act I
In the fairytale land that was, in the forest, a deer is feeding on the side of the road when a carriage is heard drawing nearer. The deer runs away as the horses canter down the road, dragging with them a royal carriages, knights riding them as guards. Prince Charming is seen sitting in the carriage, "What do you think of the view, my dear?" Charming asks, the shot reveals a woman who is not Snow, "It's been better." Princess Abigail says, fanning herself. "This is taking forever, I told you the troll road would've been quicker." the girl complains, they hit another bump in the road, "And far less bumpy." she finishes. Charming pulls a leather pouch from his pocket and Abigail asks if he's even listening to her, the cabin stops. "Now what?" Abigail asks, Charming steps ut of the cabin leaving the pouch behind, he walks forward and tells his fiancee to worry not as it's just a fallen tree. Charming inspects the trunk with the nights. Someone lands upon the carriage. Abigail becomes worried. "My lord, what is that?" a knight asks the prince, looking at the carriage, "These markings, this tree didn't fall, it's been cut." Charming says, "It's an ambush." he states. A hand reaches into the carriage and grabs the puch full of jewels, Abigail screams loudly as she's robbed but the robber gets away, Charming begins to chase them but the grab a horse and ride away, as does he and be begins to follow her. The two gallop down the road, Charming gaining on the robber, he rides alongside them and jumps from his horse, grabbing the robber and taackling her off of her horse and to the floor. "Show your face, you coward!" Charming exclaims, removing the robber's hood and seeing that it's a female, surprising him. "You're a... girl." he states, "Woman." Snow White corrects him before grabbing a rock from the ground and hitting him around the face with it. She stands up and mounts her horse, she begins to gallop away as Charming stands up, "You can't hide from me! Wherever you are, I will find you!" he exclaims, Snow looks back at him briefly before riding onwards.

In Storybrooke, Maine, Mary Margaret is sitting at a table in Granny's Diner with Dr. Whale sitting opposite her, "So, where were we?" he asks his date, "Something about you wanting fifteen kids?" he asks, "Oh, good Lord, no, I meant in my class, where I teach. You'll see them tomorrow, they're coming to the hospital as part of the Young-Teen Out-Reach Program." Mary Margaret tells him. Ruby walks past them and begins to clean a table in low-cut shorts and a crop-top, Dr. Whale begins to look at her, "Oh, yeah, that is a really good program." he says, distracted by Ruby's body. Mary Margaret goes on to say that she obviously doesn't want fifteen kids of her owne, stating that she does want kids but not that many, as well as marriage and true love, Whale continues to ogle Ruby, completely ignoring Mary Margaret. "But that of course is..." Mary Margaret looks as to where Whale is gazing and realizes he's objectifying Ruby who walks past, "...completely innapropriate for me to discuss on a first date." she finishes. Whale asks what she said and Mary Margaret hastily asks Ruby for the check.

Mary Margaret walks sadly along the streets of Storybrooke and notices something, Emma reading a newspaper by torchlight in her car. Mary Margaret walks over to the window, "Hey, you okay?" she asks, "Oh, in the world of tight spots I've been in, crashing in my car doesn't even crack my top ten." Emma tells her. "You're sleeping here?" Mary Margaret asks, shocked, "Until I find a place." Emma says, Mary Margaret notes that she decided to stay for Henry. Emma steps out of her car and mentions that the town doesn't seem to have any vacancies, she asks if that's normal, "Must be the curse." Mary Margaret jokes. "Why are you out so late?" Emma asks, "Come on, I'm a teacher, not a nun. I had a date." she explains. Emma realizes that it didn't go very well, "As well as they ever do." Mary Margaret tells her. "Tell me he at least paid?" Emma asks, Mary Margaret shakes her head, "Well... I guess if true love was easy, we'd all have it." Mary Maragret says before mentioning to Emma that if things get cramped, she does have a spair room, "Thanks... I'm not... really the roommate type." Emma says, "It's just not my thing, I do better on my own." she informs her. Mary Margaret bids Emma a goodnight and wishes her good luck with Henry. Emma watches as the teacher walks away.

The next day, Mary Margaret is walking around the hospital with her class, volunteering and helping patients. She places a vse of flowers next to someone's sick bed and sees that in a private room, Henry is talking to John Doe, an unnamed coma patient. Henry reaches out his hand to the man as Mary Margaret enters the room, "Henry, we could really use your hand on the decorations." she tells him, "Is Mr. Doe going to be okay, Miss Blanchard?" Henry asks, "His name's not John Doe, honey, that's just what they call people when they don't know who they are." Mary Margareter tells him. "Do you know who he is?" Henry asks, "No, just bring him flowers on my rounds." she says. Henry asks what's wrong with him and Mary Margaret says that she doesn't know and that he's been in the same state ever since she started volunteering. Henry wonders about his family and friends but Mary Margaret shakes her head, telling him thatno one's claimed him. "So, he's all alone." Henry states, "Yeah, it's quite sad." she says. Henry looks to John Doe again and back to Mary Margaret, "You sure you don't know him?" he smiles, recognizing him as Prince Charming from his book, "Of course I'm sure, no come on, you shouldn't be in here." she informs him before leading him out of the room, The shot moves down to the comatose prince.

"He's your father, Prince Charming." Henry tells Emma at his "castle" whilst showing her a picture of Charming in his storybook. "Henry..." says Emma, unsure, "He's in the hospital, in a coma," he says, turning the page, "See this scar, he has one too." he says, pointing to a page. Emma says that lots of people have scars but Henry mentions that they don't have them in the same place. Henry explains that he and Mary Margaret are kept apart by the curse, but this is blocked by the coma. "They can't live without each other. We have to tell Miss Blanchard we found her Prince Charming." Henry says. "Okay, kid, telling someone their... soulmate is in a coma is not helpful, not having a happy ending is painful enough, but... giving someone unrealistic hope is far worse." Emma explains to her son. "But what if I'm right? We know who they are, now they have to know who they are." Henry tells her, Emma asks him how he intends to make that happen and Henry says he'll do it by reminding him. "We have to get her to read their story to John Doe. Then maybe, he'll remember who he is." Henry tells her, Emma leans in, "Okay." she allows, Henry is shocked and Emma says that they can do it. "But we'll do it my way, let me ask her." Emma requests.

Mary Margaret takes two hot chocolates from the counter in her apartment where Emma is staying, "You want me to read to a coma patient?" she asks, giving Emma her cup, "Henry thinks it will help him remember who he was." Emma explains, "And who does he think he was?" Mary Margaret wonders, "Prince Charming." Emma tells her, "And if I'm Snow White, he thinks... me... and him..." Mary Margaret figures out, "He has a very active imagination, which is the point; I can't talk him out of his beliefs, so we need to show him." Emma says before telling Mary Margaret to play along and do what he says and then maybe, just maybe, "That fairytales are just that. There's no syxh thing as love at first sight, or true love's kiss, he'll see reality." Mary Margaret concludes. Emma says it's something like that and Mary Margaret tells her new roommate that sadly, her plan is rather genius. "We can't get him to the truth without hurting him." she says, "I told him that we will all meet tomorrow for breakfast at Granny's and you will give a full report." Emma states, taking the book out from her bag. "Well... I suppose I'll get ready for my date." Mary Margaret tells her, saying that she supposes that she'll have to do all of the talking.

That night, Mary Margaret sits at John Doe's bedside with the book on her lap, she tells him that she realizes that it's ridiculous but that she's doing it for a good reason. She opens the book and reads, "'As the prince chased the thief on horseback through the treaturous forest, his betrothal crossed her arms and pouted, wondering how many dreadful, boring minutes it would take before they could resume their journey again. The theif also...'" Mary Margaret later reaches a further part of the story, "'...they didn't need words to describe what they felt in their hearts, for it was here, in the shadow of the Troll Bridge, that there love was born...'" the scene goes on, "'...but they knew, no matter how they were seperated, they would always-" John Doe grabs Mary Margaret's hand, the teacher is shocked. She looks at the sleeping man and back down to his hand which now rests upon hers.

Act II
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Act III
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Act IV
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Act V
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Act VI
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Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the episode.