Written by Regan Brown
On Sunday, Sept. 30, the highly anticipated third season of, Once Upon A Time premiered. A villain, a pirate, a prince, a princess, and a mother are going to have to team up and learn to get along with one another if they expect to survive and come out as heroes. Peter Pan finally finds the heart of the truest believer, and in another realm, a man desperately tries to find a way home with a little help.
There’s a place far away where there are no parents and children never have to grow up. It’s called…Neverland!
Recap of Once Upon A Time: “The Heart of the Truest Believer”
Heroes
Emma, Snow, Charming, Rumple, Regina, and Hook are taken through the portal and come out on a body of water aboard Hook’s ship headed straight to Neverland. Rumple tells Emma that she’s not going to succeed in getting Henry back because in her heart, she still doesn’t truly believe, which is a problem because in Neverland, you not only have to believe, but have a wild imagination as well.
Henry
Greg and Tamara arrive in Neverland with Henry. Tamara tries to make contact with whom she and Greg work for to receive their next order. However, things aren’t quite in their favor when the lost boys come to greet them. Greg gets his shadow ripped apart from his body and falls down seemingly dead. Tamara tells Henry to run before she is shot down with an arrow to the back. The lost boys go running after Henry.
Heroes
The ship goes under attack, not by sharks, but by mermaids. Emma and Snow throw a huge fishing net into the water to try and catch them. Regina saves the day by hurling balls of fire into the water, which causes the mermaids to swim away. Emma and Snow were able to catch one mermaid, which Regina whisks onto the ship. Thus ensues an argument about whether or not to kill the mermaid or let her go. The mermaid blows into a conch shell, which releases a powerful and violent storm. The mermaid tells them that they are going to die, which will be a result of their own doing. Regina turns the mermaid into wood, hoping that will result in the end of the storm, but it doesn’t.
Enchanted Forest
Mulan, Princess Aurora, and Prince Phillip look after Neal, who is still alive, but in poor health. Neal wakes up and learns that he is in the Enchanted Forest. Neal is certain that he can find something at Rumple’s castle that will help him get back to Emma and Henry. Mulan accompanies him. Neal picks up Rumple’s old walking stick, twirls it around, which results in a cloaked, red door being revealed. Neal opens the door, which contains shelves of magical items. Grabbing a crystal ball, Neal thinks of Emma and the love he feels for her, which results in the crystal ball showing him that Emma is in Neverland.
Henry
On the run, Henry meets a fugitive boy who was once one of the Lost Boys until he escaped and is now on the run himself. Apparently he stole pixie dust, which is supposed to make you fly, but “it doesn’t work”. The boy tells Henry that there is a place where they can go where the Lost Boys can’t track them.
Rumple
Rumple finds Greg and Tamara. Tamara tells him what happened. Rumple inquires about Henry and Tamara tells him he ran into the jungle. A tearful Tamara begs rumple for his forgiveness, but Rumple declines by ripping out her heart and squeezing it into dust.
Heroes
Emma, Snow, Charming, Regina, and Hook try to whether the storm, but it keeps getting worse. Snow and Regina end up getting into a physical altercation as do Hook and Charming and as they do, the storm gets worse and worse. Emma remembers the mermaids’ words and realizes that she was right. They are the ones causing the storm and unless they can work together, they won’t survive. Emma jumps into the water, forcing the other four to work together as a team to save her. Emma is rescued and the storm finally stops. The heroes reach Neverland where Emma takes the role of the leader and tells them that in the end, they’re going to have to be who they are and work together because it’s the only way they’re going to succeed.
Henry
Henry and the fugitive boy hit a rough spot when they hit a cliff and seemingly have no way to get to The Echo caves. Henry takes the pixie dust and tells the boy that if he believes, then it will work. And it does. Making a safe getaway and a safe landing, Henry finds out that the fugitive boy is none other than Peter Pan himself. Pan tells Henry that he’s been searching for “the heart of the truest believer” and Henry is just that. Pan and the lost boys surround Henry making an escape impossible.
Once Upon A Time airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Can’t wait until then? Check out a sneak preview for Sunday’s all new episode here.
