Best Laid Plans

"Best Laid Plans" is the sixteenth episode of Season Four of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Kalinda Vazquez & Jane Espenson, and directed by Ron Underwood. It is the eighty-second episode of the series overall, and premiered on March 29, 2015.

Synopsis
Hook tells Emma that her fate is at stake in Gold’s plan while Regina leads the villains on a wild goose chase. Henry makes a breakthrough in his search to find the Author, but Mary Margaret and David need a moment to reconsider the best course of action. In a Fairy Tale Land flashback, Snow and Charming search for a way to ensure their child will grow-up to be a hero. When a travelling peddler directs them to visit a kindly old hermit, Snow and Charming are presented with a choice that could secure their child’s goodness, but at a price that will haunt them for years to come.

Starring

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

Guest Starring

 * Eion Bailey as August Booth
 * Kristin Bauer van Straten as Maleficent/Maleficent
 * Merrin Dungey as Ursula
 * Patrick Fischler as Peddler
 * Victoria Smurfit as Cruella De Vil
 * Keegan Connor Tracy as Mother Superior
 * Abby Ross as Young Emma
 * Timothy Webber as The Apprentice

Co-Starring

 * Michelle Choi-Lee as Adoption Agent
 * Barclay Hope as Adoptive Father/Man
 * Gabe Khouth as Sneezy

Uncredited

 * Unknown baby as Emma
 * Unknown baby as Lily

Quotes
Ursula: (To Snow White and Prince Charming) Cradle robbers! Cruella: What have you done!?

The Apprentice: (To the Author) How dare you make me do that to a child!

The Author: (To Emma) Thanks! It was awfully cramped in there.

Trivia
Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * The title card features a running unicorn.
 * The episode title is an egg-based pun.
 * This episode establishes that Mary Margaret's apartment is situated right across the street from the pawnshop. When Hook sees the sleeping spell approach, the pawnshop can clearly be seen through the window, on the other side of the street.
 * According to Jane Espenson, the Author was only controlling the Apprentice. Snow White and Prince Charming were still responsible for their own actions.
 * Prince Charming's royal crest is printed on the label on the bottle of brandy that the prince gives to the Author.


 * -|Episode Connections=

Event Chronology

 * The Enchanted Forest events take place after "Unforgiven" and before Snow White and Prince Charming speak to Rumplestiltskin in "Pilot".
 * The Storybrooke events take place after "Poor Unfortunate Soul".
 * The Land Without Magic flashback takes place after Ingrid's arrival in Boston in "Smash the Mirror" " and Shattered Sight", and before Emma and Pinocchio's arrival in "The Stranger".

Episode Connections

 * The title card is used again in the episode "The Thing You Love Most".
 * Regina learnt Mary Margaret and David's secret in "Unforgiven".
 * Prince Charming previously encountered Maleficent in "A Land Without Magic" and "Unforgiven".
 * Regina began her undercover mission in "Enter the Dragon".
 * Ursula left Storybrooke in "Poor Unfortunate Soul".
 * -|Cultural References=

Biblical

 * Two paintings of the Virgin Mary can be seen inside the Storybrooke Convent.

Disney

 * August Booth names one man who held the position of Author as Walt. This is a direct reference to Walt Disney, the famed American cartoonist, animator, film producer, and the co-founder of The Walt Disney Company.

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episode features Snow White and Prince Charming from the Snow White fairytale, the Wicked Fairy from the Sleeping Beauty fairytale, the Sea Witch from the Little Mermaid fairytale, Cruella De Vil from the Hundred and One Dalmatians story, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story, and the Sorcerer's Apprentice from the Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Popular Culture

 * August states that the job of the Author "goes back eons from the man who watched shadows dance across cave walls and developed an entire philosophy". This is a reference to the Greek philosopher Plato, and his Allegory of the Cave.