Heroes and Villains

"Heroes and Villains" is the 77th episode of Once Upon a Time.

Summary
In the aftermath of the Snow Queen's spell, our heroes try to pick up the pieces while Regina has to make a difficult choice and Hook's fate hangs in the balance as Gold's quest for power threatens everything he holds dear. Meanwhile, in the Enchanted Forest of the past, an intrusion during Belle's stay at Rumplestiltskin's dark castle will wreak havoc in both the past and the future.

Plot
ONCE UPON A TIME

Act I
At the Storybrooke town line, the ice wall put up by the Snow Queen still remains, despite her defeat. Mary Margaret, Emma, David, Hook, Henry, Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff stand before it, the royal ginger stating the obvious that "that is a lot of ice." Elsa replies, with a smile on her face, that it is time for it to come down. She then approaches the wall and blasts magic from the palms of her hands, causing the ice barrier to break down and even turn to snow. A cheerful Anna exclaims that it is now time they go home, cheerfully skipping near the boarder, but is quickly stopped by Emma, who tells her not to take a step further. Anna then remembers that if she leaves she won't be able to return, but reminds Emma she does want to leave town. The blonde senses some of Ingrid's magic still remains, though. Emma approaches the line and puts her hand up, making contact with a force field. She exclaims that Ingrid must have sealed the town shut since she wanted to turn Storybrooke into her very own ice castle, and obviously wanted to be able to protect it. Anna then wonders how they're going to get home, to which Elsa replies walking wouldn't get them there anyway since they're in another realm. "We need to find a portal... or magic beans... something," the savior jumps in. Kristoff comments on his own confusion, but is ignored. Anna appears to be in a hurry to get home, but Elsa tries to assure her they don't need to be in a rush, as they should be careful, and Arendelle will still be there as they figure things out. Anna then realizes she and Kristoff forgot to tell her one important detail; Kristoff defends them by stating a lot was going on. "Tell me what?" Elsa wonders, to which Anna reveals Arendelle has been conquered by Hans and his twelve brothers. A now worried Elsa turns to her blonde friend, exclaiming they need to find a way home now. Emma nods, understanding their situation, and promises to do their best. Meanwhile, Hook who has been staying quiet the whole time, watching them, starts walking backwards, away from the crowd.

Over at Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer, the Dark One himself, Rumplestiltskin is seen squeezing Captain Hook's heart until the pirate makes his way all the way back to the shop. As the pirate suffers from the pain of having his heart squeezed, he updates Rumple on everyone's current predicament - Ingrid having blocked off the town's boarder, thus meaning once you leave then you are unable to return. Rumple finally lets go of the heart, causing Hook to let out a sigh of relief. "If only the Snow Queen had succeeded, everything would've been much simpler," the Dark One states. "Yes, perfect cover for your exit, but everybody survived. Sorry for the inconvenience," the pirate replies with a smirk on his face. Rumple then wonders about their "friends from Arendelle", to which Hook replies they're still searching for a portal back. Rumple admits that that is a problem, as they can't have that Anna running around town. Hook then realizes that she knows everything, trying to cleave himself from the dagger so he can run away with his power, adding that Emma told him Belle confessed about knowing Anna. Rumple tries to pass it off as just a supposition, but Hook wonders why else he would care, "You can't have your blissfully ignorant wife-" "lose either her bliss or ignorance," adding for the pirate to watch Anna and make sure she comes no where near the shop. "But if I had the choice-", but Rumple won't hear anymore from the pirate, stating that his usefulness was unexpectedly extended, but tonight, when the stars in the sky align with the stars on the Sorcerer's hat, he will finally do what he should've done many years before and crush Hook's heart. The pirate wonders while he's out doing the Dark One's dirty work, what he plans to do. Rumple simply chuckles, stating he's going to wake his wife, and prepare her for his greatest gift - she's going to have the life she always wanted.

In the Enchanted Forest of the past, Belle is seen snooping around the Dark Castle, opening up Rumplestiltskin's china hutch, and admiring his different possessions from all over the world. She starts to pick up a sword, but is startled by the words, "Don't cut yourself, dearie." Rumple stands behind her, having returned home. Belle tries to apologize, stating she thought, but is cut off from there - Rumple knowing she thought he would be gone for a few more days, so it would be fine if she played with his "toys". Belle argues that he said he wouldn't be back, but the Dark One says he lied, as he wanted to see "how the mouse would play while the cat was away", then adding that the "mouse" has done very little cleaning, proceeding to wipe his finger across the dusty table. Belle argues that he just has so many things here from all over the world and that she was just curious, and that he never talks about them. "Well you're the help," Rumple replies, to which Belle storms up to him, replying that he's rude. The Dark One argues he could be much worse, but Belle comments that he's not. She then sits up on the table, stating he's seen the world - something she's always wanted to do, yet he shares nothing. Rumple replies with nothing but that she's just mouthy, and foolishly brave. "You know, if you were going to kill me, you would've done it long ago," then asking about what he's seen, wondering about her boss's trip to Camelot. "Good for me, not so good for Camelot, Rumple replies. He then poofs up what he calls a "souvenir", handing it to Belle, asking her to clean it for him. The maid then asks what it is, to which Rumple reveals it is a magic gauntlet, designed to locate a person's biggest weakness. Belle comments on how ominous it is, but wonders why he'd even need this, with all his power he could destroy any foe. Rumple explains that it's about manipulation, and for that he needs to know their weakness, which, for almost everybody, is the thing they love most, "This will simply point me in the right direction."

Back in present day Storybrooke, a sleeping Belle lies on a bed in the pawn shop. Rumple approaches her, tickling her cheek with his finger. She giggles, slowly waking up, and is surprised by the breakfast tray sitting next to her. Rumple reveals he has a much bigger surprise for her, kneeling down and stating he thinks it's time they have a proper honeymoon, then asking how she'd like to see a "magical city" called New York. He tells her that after breakfast she needs to pack a suitcase because it's time she go out and see the world. Belle smiles at the sound of this, very touched by what her husband is doing. She then reaches out to take his hand and he smiles.

Act II
At Regina's vault, she and Robin Hood stand inside, Marian is lying down. The Merry Man holds a box that once contained his wife's heart, and Regina takes it out, putting it back into the body of the wife of her true love. Marian lets out a gasp, awakening from her indefinite period of slumber. She sits up, startled, and starts looking around. At the sight of her of her husband, she jumps up, embracing him with a hug; meanwhile Regina stands in the background, obviously jealous. As the husband and wife hug, Robin looks over Marian's shoulder at the woman he wishes he could be with instead.

Later on at Granny's Diner, the formerly Evil Queen, Regina, is sat at the bar, appearing heartbroken. The door to the diner swings open, and in comes Marian, who takes a seat next to the depressed one. Regina, not looking up to see who it is at first, asks to be left alone, but Marian says she thought they should talk. Regina looks up, surprised, and is thanked by her true love's wife for saving her life... twice. Regina kindly tells her to just forget about it, but the woman states she can't, because Robin can't, and she sees the way the two of them look at one another, and she understands, since for her, it's only been a short time since she's been away, but for him, years have passed and his heart has moved on. Marian finally comes out and says she thinks Robin's in love with Regina, and she thinks the formerly Evil Queen feels the same. Regina can't help but smirk, stating it doesn't matter since Robin is a man of honor, he made a vow to Marian, and he intends to keep it. "I don't want him to be with me out of obligation, I want to be chosen," Marian argues, adding that if his heart leads to her then fine, but if it leads to Regina, like she suspects it will, then she will step out of the way. Regina appears touched by this, and Marian exits the diner.

Over at the Lakeside Mansion, a walking broom stick makes its way up the steps, followed by Rumplestiltskin and Captain Hook. The pirate angrily exclaims the Dark One may have gotten the best of him this time, but he promises that in the next life it won't be so pleasant for him. Rumple replies that due to his immortality, Hook will have quite the wait. He then uses magic to swing the door open so the broom can continue leading them to where they need to go. As they walk, Hook asks if he has to die then at least give him all the information, starting with whose house this is. Rumple reveals that it's a powerful Sorcerer's, a man who was able to bring the Snow Queen over to this realm, thus meaning he has more power than even the Dark One. Rumple suspects there must be a portal in the mansion somewhere, and they need to find it. The walking broom then lifts up its arms and is able to make a portal door visible immediately. This impresses Rumple, but continues to worry Hook.

Meanwhile, back at the pawn shop, Belle is seen awkwardly trying to close a stuffed up suitcase. She is interrupted by the words "Hey grandma," coming out of the mouth of none other than Henry, who walks in, carrying the storybook, and asks if she's taking a trip. Belle smiles at the sight of the pre-teen, and reveals Rumple is taking her to New York for their honeymoon. Henry is confused by this though, as he states the Snow Queen put a spell on the town line so anyone who leaves cannot return, "Didn't you hear?" Belle is surprised by this, having not heard, but assures Henry that her husband must have found a way to remove it. She then notices Henry looks a little down, so proceeds to ask what's wrong. He places the storybook on the counter, revealing to Belle that the magical book has everyone's stories in it, that it started all of this, and a lot of bad things keep happening to Regina because of it. Belle assures Henry that it doesn't mean those things will always happen to her, adding that she wouldn't worry, as the formerly Evil Queen is on a much better path now anyways. Feeling a bit better now, Henry replies with a "Thanks, grandma," to which Belle adds that it's better he call her Belle. The two chuckle over this, and Belle announces she's going to need another suitcase; asking Henry to help her look. The pre-teen drops his back, and the two begin searching the pawn shop. As Henry climbs a latter, he tells Belle that when she's in New York that she needs to check out the public library, because, no offense to her, it blows the one in Storybrooke away. When reaching for a suitcase, Henry adds that it has these lions outside of it, but as he pulls the luggage down, numerous other items come down with it, hitting the ground with a loud thud, causing Belle to jump. She laughs, asking if Henry's alright. The boy apologizes stating he'll pick up everything. Belle laughs at Henry's comment about the strange things his grandfather keeps in the shop, but suddenly her attention is caught by an item - the gauntlet. A look of surprise and anger comes across her face; Henry notices and asks what's wrong, adding that he'll clean it up. Belle says it's nothing, just that she didn't expect to see the gauntlet here, and as Henry goes back to cleaning, the expression on Belle's face goes back to that of having made the revelation that she was betrayed in some way.

Trivia

 * The title card of this episode features the portal door to Arendelle opening and drawing in all of the surrounding snow, before closing again.

Production

 * The title of this episode was confirmed by executive producer/co-creator Adam Horowitz, via his Twitter account, on November 1, 2014.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the episode.