Fruit of the Poisonous Tree/Transcript

''SCENE: Storybrooke, Henry's Castle. Henry Mills rides up on his bike and Emma Swan exits her squad car.'' Emma: Hey, kid. (He rides right by her) Good to see you, too!

Henry: The storm! (Hops off his bike and approaches the severely damaged castle)

Emma: It's okay, we can fix it! I'll talk to Marco.

Henry: I think it's still here! (Digging in the ground at the base of the structure)

Emma: What are you looking for?

Henry: My book!

Emma: Why'd you bury it here?

Henry: So my mom doesn't find it.

Emma: Hiding it under your mattress wasn't good enough?

Henry: That's the first place the Evil Queen would look. (He unearthes a box)

Emma: How bout leaving it with me?

Henry: That's the second place. (Opens the box, revealing the storybook inside) Good.

Emma: So your mom doesn't know about the castle?

Henry: No, this is our secret. (He closes the box and begins reburying it)

Regina Mills: (Approaching from her parked car) Henry? Henry! I've been looking everywhere for you! You know you have a session with Archie this morning. (To Emma) Should have known he was with you. Henry, car! Now. (Henry heads for the car) You let him play here?'' '' Emma: The storm hit it pretty hard, but we can fix it.

Regina: Well, can you fix a cracked cranium? 'Cause that's what you'll have on your hands if one of these boards collapses under his weight. You're not thinking about Henry or his safety, just ways around me. Miss Swan, don't let your feelings cloud your judgement, people can get hurt.

Emma: What's that supposed to mean?

Regina: You're the Sheriff now, it's time to be responsible. ''SCENE: Storybrooke, Granny's Diner, interior. Emma and Mary Margaret Blanchard are seated at a table. ''

Emma: Don't let my feelings cloud my judgement? That's all Regina ever does.

Mary Margaret: She's just upset because you and Henry have a special place and she... she doesn't.

Emma: How'd she find out about the castle in the first place?

Mary Margaret: She knows everything about this town, she's the Mayor. (Her phone vibrates. She picks it up and looks at it. Camera cuts to a view of the phone, showing a text from David Nolan that reads, "We need to talk. Meet at our spot.")

Emma: Everything okay?

Mary Margaret: Yeah, I just need to go. (Gets up quickly and readies to leave) Look, if it makes you feel any better, I think you're right. I see the effect she has on Henry.

Emma: I wish everyone else did, too. (Mary Margaret exits the diner, touching Emma's arm briefly as she passes. Sidney Glass, clearly very drunk and with a drink in his hand, takes Mary Margaret's place) Sidney: I can grant your wish.

Emma: Oh, Sidney, you want a side of bacon with that whiskey?

Sidney: You wanna show this town who the Mayor really is? I can help.

Emma: It's gonna be kinda hard to do from inside her pocket.

Sidney: The Mayor and I are done.

Emma: (chuckles) Sure you are.

Sidney: She got me fired from the paper. She made a fool of me in the election. So I started working on an expose' on the Mayor's Office, and I found something she didn't want found.

Emma: Sidney, you're drunk. Go home, sleep it off. Be grateful that you don't have to answer to her anymore.

Sidney: (Offering her his card) Call me. Storybrooke deserves to know the truth about her. (Emma takes the card and gets up. Sidney's face is used as a focal point for the following scene transition)

''SCENE: Fairytale Land, the Genie's Lamp, interior. The Genie of Agrabah is seated with a mirror. Rumbling is heard, distantly, from outside, growing louder. The camera pans up and King Leopold is seen.''

Genie: Here we go. (Scene transitions to the exterior, along a lake's beach. King Leopold picks up the Lamp and rubs it to clean off some plant matter. Black smoke emerges from the lamp and the Genie appears) You awakened the Genie of Agrabah. You're entitled to three wishes—no more, no less. But, you must know that magic has its limits. You cannot wish for life, nor death. You cannot wish for love. You cannot wish for more wishes. And, once spoke, a wish cannot be undone, no matter what the consequences. So... tell me your first wish.

King Leopold: Hmm. Uh... (laughs) Hmm. I cannot think of a single thing I desire. I have everything I need. I seek nothing more than the happiness of all who set food in my kingdom.

Genie: Ugh. (He sits on some nearby driftwood)

King Leopold: (He chuckles. The Genie sighs) You are in my kingdom, and yet you seem unhappy.

Genie: I have served as Genie of the Lamp for longer than you've been alive. Life as a genie is not as magical as it may appear.

King Leopold: So you wish to be free?

Genie:More than anything.

King Leopold: Then I know my first wish. I wish you to be free.

Genie: (The shackles about his wrist glow and fall off with a magical sound) Can it be? Am I truly free?

King Leopold: You're the genie. You tell me.

Genie:There are two more wishes left in the Lamp, what will you do with them?

King Leopold: For my second wish... I wish to give my third and final wish to you. (Offers the Genie the Lamp)

Genie: (Taking the Lamp) In my time, I have granted 1001 wishes, and I have seen them end poorly 1001 times. Making a wish comes with a price, and that is why I will never... use... this wish. (Puts the Lamp in a purse at his belt)

King Leopold: You are a man of wisdom, Genie. Now tell, what will you do with your freedom?

Genie: Find the one thing I've always desired, that my prison has kept from me... true love.

King Leopold: Then you must come join me at my palace. I am certain you will find it there. Come. Meet my family.

''SCENE: Fairytale Land, King Leopold's Palace, exterior. King Leopold and the Genie walk along a garden path.''

Genie: Your palace is as lovely as you are kind.

King Leopold: Oh, it's more than kindness, my friend. (They approach Snow White, who is picking flowers) This is my beautiful daughter, Snow.

Snow White: How do you do? (She curtsies and the Genie bows) And Regina, my wife, the Queen.

Evil Queen: (Picking an apple from her tree. She turns to the Genie and smiles) Hello. (The Genie is visibly moved by her)

''SCENE: Storybrooke, Henry's castle. A crew is demolishing the structure as Henry watches. Regina is standing next to her car nearby. Emma approaches.''

Emma: Hey. What happened? I came as soon as I could.

Henry: The castle—she's tearing the whole thing down! (He approaches the spot where the storybook was buried, it is gone) My book! I-It's gone!

Emma: (Approaches Regina) Congratulations, Madame Mayor, you destroyed the thing he loves.

Regina: A dangerous thing that can only hurt Henry and others. You see me as a villain, Miss Swan. But that's just your perception, and you're wrong. Learn your place in this town, or soon enough, you won't be in it. (Walks away)

Emma: (Takes out Sidney's card and her cell phone. She dials) Sidney, hi. I'm in. I want everyone to know who she really is.

''SCENE: Storybrooke, the Toll Bridge. Mary Margaret approaches a waiting David Nolan.''

Mary Margaret: I got your text. What's going on?

David: Follow me. (He takes her arm and leads her off.)

Mary Margaret: David, you're scaring me. What's wrong?

David: What's wrong is you're late. (A picnic in a clearing comes into view) And the wine is getting warm.

Mary Margaret: (She kissed David.) Mm. (Laughs) We have to stop doing this.

David: (Laughs) We just started doing it.

Mary Margaret: We have to figure out what we're doing.

David: We will. Tomorrow.

Mary Margaret: Okay, tomorrow. (As the two kiss, the camera pans down to a tunnel below. Emma pulls up her squad car, stops, and exits the vehicle. Sidney appears, on foot.)

Emma: Alright, I'm listening. So, what do you know about her?

Sidney: $50,000.

Emma: I'm sorry?

Sidney: Fifty grand out of the budget is missing, and Regina is responsible.

Emma: That's it? That's what you have on her?

Sidney: The money is just the tip of the iceberg. We figure out what she's doing, and it all falls apart. It all crumbles, and we'll finally learn her secrets. You see what she is. I see it. All we need is a crack in the mirror to show everyone. I'm telling you, this is it.

Emma: All right, what's your plan?

Sidney: Tap her phone. GPS her car. Hack into her email, dip into your bailbondsperson bag of tricks.

Emma: No. I'm Sheriff now, I have to be responsible. I wanna do this by the book.

Sidney: She's gonna know that you're on to her sooner than later. Are you prepared for her wrath?

Emma: Oh yeah.

Sidney: Good. Because I wasn't.

Emma:If you thought she was so terrifying... how did you allow yourself to end up in her pocket?

Sidney: I used to think she was a different person.

''SCENE: Fairytale Land, Leopold's castle. The royal family, the Genie, and many guests are gathered to celebrate Leopold's birthday.''

Man: Happy birthday, your Majesty!

King Leopold: No gifts are required to mark this special day, for they all pale in comparison to the greatest gift of all—my daughter, Snow.

Snow White: (sighs) Father. (She joins him on the dais.) Father. You make me blush.

King Leopold: Every day I look upon your face, and I am reminded of your dearly departed mother... who, like you... truly was... the fairest in all the land. (A dejected Evil Queen leaves the party, and the Genie follows her. The scene transitions to the exterior garden, near the Evil Queen's apple tree.)

Genie: Not in a festive mood?

Evil Queen: No one seems to notice my absence.

Genie:I noticed. (Gazing at the apple tree) Such a lovely tree.

Evil Queen: Yes, it's from my childhood garden. The tree and I share something in common. Neither of us can leave the palace and neither of us truly belongs. No matter how hard I try to please the King, he will never love me the way he loved his first wife. I'm trapped by the memory of the life they used to share.

Genie: I know about being trapped, more than anyone. Maybe this will lift your spirits. (He gives her a mirror) So you... can see yourself the way I see you.

Evil Queen: And how do you see me?

Genie: As the fairest in all the land.

''SCENE: Storybrooke, Emma and Mary Margaret's apartment. Emma and Sidney are pouring over boxes of documents.''

Emma: When did that transfer go through? Does three weeks ago sound right?

Sidney: Yeah. Why?

Emma: Because those records are missing.

Mary Margaret: (Entering) Emma, there's something I'd like to talk to you-- (Noticing Sidney) Hi, Sidney.

Emma: Hey. We're just doing some work. I think we may have found something on Regina.

Mary Margaret: Interesting work. Oh, I approve.

Sidney: You wanna go by the book? Let's get a warrant.

Emma: What judge are we gonna find that she doesn't own. We're screwed.

Sidney: Or... there's my way.

Emma: I wanna do this right, Sidney.

Sidney: And what's right is exposing her. Sometimes, doing a bad thing for a good reason is okay, right?

Mary Margaret: Yeah. I mean, maybe you're doing something wrong, but if it's what's meant to be, if it's what's right, does that really make you a bad person?

Sidney: Exactly.

Emma: Wow, you two are doing a whole lot of rationalizing.

Sidney:' But look what she's done to you, to me, to your son, and it's not gonna stop so whatever you do, you gotta do something.

Emma: Okay. Let's start by talking to her.

''SCENE: Storybrooke, the Mayor's Office. Emma and Sidney confront Regina.''

Regina: ..And just what are you and the... disgraced ex-reporter accusing me of?

Emma: $50,000 was transferred out of the city account by you.

Regina: Well, as Mayor, I'm involved in many transactions. Check the public records if you have questions.

Emma: That's the thing. They're missing from three weeks ago. You have any idea what happened to them?

Regina: Well, if they're missing, I probably checked them out, as my job often requires me to do. And if they were checked out three weeks ago, well, that means they burned... in a fire. In a fire that, if I recall, got you elected Sheriff. I have nothing to hide.

Emma: (Steps forward and leans over Regina's desk in a dramatic fashion) Okay. There's nothing for us to do, let's go, Sidney.

Sidney: Emma..

Emma: No, she's right. We have nothing. (They depart. The scene transitions to the exterior of the building)

Sidney: That was your plan? I thought you were gonna do something.

Emma: I did. I planted a bug. You win, Sidney. Let's do whatever it takes.

''SCENE: Fairytale Land, King Leopold's Castle. The Genie enters the King's bedchamber and approaches a seated Leopold.''

Genie: You called for me, your Majesty?

King Leopold: I have reason to believe... my wife's heart belongs to another man.

Genie: Well, certainly, the Queen would never stray, your Majesty.

King Leopold: And yet her diary suggest otherwise. (He hands the diary to the Genie, opened to a page. The Genie reads it.)

Evil Queen: (VO) Last night, a man gave me a gift, and though it was but a simple mirror, it awakened feelings in me that I abandoned long ago. Hope for love and companionship, even though I am trapped in my husband's court. (The Genie is visibly discomfitted)

King Leopold: Sadly, the diary does not name the man who gave her this mirror. I am not a fool. I realize that the Queen is unhappy and yearns for someone to love her in a way that I never can. And yet I never imagined that she would betray me like this.

Genie: Well, certainly, the Queen would never act on these feelings.

King Leopold: Love makes people do foolish things.

Genie: And why have you called upon me, your Majesty?

King Leopold: I need someone with your wits to learn the identity of the man who has stolen my wife's heart.

Genie: And what will you do to him once I have found him?

King Leopold: That is my concern, not yours. Now... tell me, Genie, can you find the man who gave the Queen this mirror, or not?(Gives him the mirror ands walks away.)

''SCENE: Storybrooke, Sheriff's Office. Sidney is listening in on Mayor Regina using a radio as Emma walks in.''

Regina: (Over radio) Miss Ginger, I really don't have time for more complaints about working conditions. The air temperature is not one of my areas.

Emma: Scintillating. Find anything good yet?

Sidney: Yeah, better than good. She made this call a little over an hour ago. (He plays a tape.)

Regina: (Over tape) I'll meet you tonight at Access Road 23 with the rest of your payment. Yes, it will all be in cash. A-And I don't need to remind that no one can know about this. Yes, I know it has to be tonight. (Sidney stops the tape)

Emma: Who's on the other end?

Sidney: You bugged the office, not the phone.

Emma: Well, we're just gonna have to find out.

Sidney: Yeah.

Emma: A payoff in the woods. That's promising.

Sidney: A payoff using stolen city funds.

Emma: Let's go find out who's she's meeting.

''SCENE: Storybrooke, exterior, the road in the woods. Emma and Sidney follow Regina in the squad car as she turns onto Access Road 23. As she approaches the turn, Emma applies her foot to the brake. Nothing happens.''

Sidney: Emma?

Emma: It won't stop. (The squad car crashes into the road sign, sending it flying.)

Sidney: Oh.

Emma: You okay?

Sidney: Yeah. You?

Emma: Yeah. (The two exit the vehicle and inspect the damage) We're gonna miss that handoff.

Sidney: Emma.

Emma: What?

Sidney: You know that bug you planted? I think Regina found it. Someone's been tampering with the brakes. She's on to us. (The scene cuts to the two walking throw the woods) Wait!

Emma: The bitch tried to have me killed, I'm finding her!

Sidney: Let's be cautious. We need to think clearly.

Emma: To hell with caution. I'm gonna find out what she's doing and why she's out here.

Mr. Gold: (Coming up an embankment, carrying a briefcase.) She was meeting me.

Emma: What are you doing out here with her?

Mr. Gold: Just a little business transaction.

Sidney: What's in the briefcase?

Mr. Gold: Everything comes at a price. Land is no different.

Emma: That's why you're meeting her out here? Regina bought your land?

Mr. Gold: The very ground you're standing on.

Emma: What does she want it for?

Mr. Gold: You know, in business, I find it's best not to ask too many questions. Hurts the bottom line. Question is, Emma, why are you standing out here, in the middle of the night, with Mr. Glass?

Sidney: You don't know what Regina did to me. You don't know what she did to her son. We can't just sit idly by.

Mr. Gold: Of course you can. Be careful. (Starts to walk away) Emotional entanglements can lead us down very dangerous paths.