Mother

"Mother" is the twentieth episode of Season Four of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Jane Espenson, and directed by Ron Underwood. It is the eighty-sixth episode of the series overall, and premiered on May 3, 2015.

Synopsis
Emma returns to Storybrooke to reunite Lily with Maleficent while Regina and Robin Hood struggle to cope with the implications of Zelena's pregnancy. When Gold's health takes a turn for the worse, Isaac looks to a new ally for help procuring the magic ink he needs to re-write history. In a Fairy Tale Land flashback, Cora returns from Wonderland to beg Regina's forgiveness on the anniversary of Daniel's murder. Cora vows to help her daughter find true love, but Regina remains suspicious of her mother's intentions.

Starring

 * Ginnifer Goodwin as Mary Margaret Blanchard
 * Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan
 * Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen/Regina Mills
 * Josh Dallas as David Nolan
 * Emilie de Ravin (Credit only)
 * Colin O'Donoghue as Hook
 * Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills
 * Michael Socha (Credit only)
 * Robert Carlyle as Mr. Gold

Guest Starring

 * Kristin Bauer van Straten as Maleficent
 * Agnes Bruckner as Lily
 * Beverley Elliott as Granny (Press release only)
 * Patrick Fischler as Isaac
 * Barbara Hershey as Cora
 * Rebecca Mader as Zelena
 * Sean Maguire as Robin Hood
 * Tony Perez as Valet/Nobleman
 * Wil Traval as Sheriff of Nottingham

Co-Starring

 * Raphael Alejandro as Roland (Press release only)
 * Kylee Bush as Young Woman
 * Chad Cosgrove as Carriage Driver (Press release only)
 * Joe Dodds as Outrider #1 (Press release only)
 * Jim Finkbeiner as Outrider #2 (Press release only)
 * John Innes as Older Man
 * Ingrid Torrance as Severe Nurse
 * Jeremy Patrick Schuetze as Young Man

Quotes
Isaac: Of all the characters I've written for, you really do get screwed over the most.

Regina: I'm well aware.

Maleficent: We can be happy in the future or we can be angry about the past.

Lily: Let's do both. Look, all these years since I've figured out what happened, I've been trying to figure out how two humans could get me away from a freakin' dragon. But now I get it. You're a pushover. What'd they do, rub your belly? Give you a dragon treat?

Regina: You do have some darkness in you, don't you? Thing is, a lot of that darkness actually belongs to Emma, and right now, it's gotten riled up. And riled up savior darkness is exactly what I need.

Hook: They were trying to protect you, Swan. Twice. Before you were born, they wanted to make you happy. When they found you again, they wanted to make you proud. Do you want both of those to be failures?

Emma: Cutting you out and trying to hurt you has just made me miserable. Anyway, I miss you. And I forgive you.

Cora: You'd never do that. This is a sham.

Evil Queen: Is it? You made it clear you don't think anyone is going to love me. So why not make it official? After all, "love is weakness."

Regina: My happy ending is finally feeling at home in the world.

Trivia
Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * The title card features Lily under her dragon form.
 * Emilie de Ravin was originally set to appear in the episode but her scenes were deleted. She can be seen in an official ABC press still from the episode here: http://www.disneyabcpress.com/abc/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/04/138777_1961-900x600.jpg
 * Kylee Bush, who played the groom's bride, whose wedding the Evil Queen interrupted, is one of Michael Coleman's acting students.
 * Beverley Elliott's daughter Sally and her friend Freya were background performers during one of the diner scenes.
 * -|Episode Connections=

Episode Chronology

 * The Enchanted Forest events take place after Snow White's banishment from the Royal Castle in "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter", after Robin Hood begins stealing from the rich and giving to the poor in "Heart of Gold", and before Maid Marian is cured of her ailment in "Lacey".
 * The Land Without Magic events take place after "Lily".

Episode Connections

 * Daniel's grave was first seen in "An Apple Red As Blood".
 * Daniel was killed in "The Stable Boy".
 * Cora was banished to Wonderland in "We Are Both".
 * Cora talks about how Tinker Bell helped Regina find her soulmate; something that was explored in "Quite a Common Fairy".
 * The Sheriff of Nottingham describes Maid Marian as "sickly". Marian's sickness was cured in "Lacey".
 * Infertility potions first appeared in "Lady of the Lake".
 * -|Cultural References=

Biblical

 * The Evil Queen tells her subjects that "next time there is a wedding, book the church".
 * Lily says that Snow White and Prince Charming sent her through the portal in her eggshell, "like baby Moses in his basket"; a reference to the Biblical story of the birth of Moses, from the Book of Exodus.

Disney

 * A small Bambi statue is in Mary Margaret's loft.

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episode features the Evil Queen from the Snow White fairytale, the Miller's daughter from the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale, the Sheriff of Nottingham from the Robin Hood ballad, and Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story.