True North

"True North" is the ninth episode of Season One of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by David H. Goodman & Liz Tigelaar and directed by Dean White. It is the ninth episode of the series overall, and premiered on January 15, 2012.

Synopsis
Feeling their pain from having lived through the same experience, Emma desperately tries to help two homeless children find their birth father before they're separated and put into the foster care system. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale world that was, the Evil Queen coerces Hansel and Gretel into stealing an important artifact from a blind witch.

Recap
In Storybrooke's Dark Star Pharmacy, Henry is reading a comic book. A girl comes up to ask him what he is reading and introduces herself as Ava. Ava and her brother, Nicholas, invite him to hang out with them. Before the trio can leave, Mr. Clark confronts them and accuses Henry of stealing from his store. He denies the accusation, so the older man grabs and opens Henry's bag to reveal the stolen goods inside. Mr. Clark expresses verbal disappointment at Henry's behavior. Not recognizing the other two children, Mr. Clark asks who they are.

In the Enchanted Forest, a Woodcutter is chopping down trees. His daughter, Gretel, steps out from behind a stump and asks if she can have an ax to help out. The Woodcutter sends Gretal and her brother, Hansel, to collect some kindling. Before they leave to complete their task, the Woodcutter gives Gretel a compass to keep from getting lost. Together, the two children collect kindling in the forest, and head back to their father. Upon return, he is nowhere to be seen. Hearing the sound of a man's groan, they run in the direction of it, but instead stumble on two men on horseback. Hansel and Gretel are grabbed by them and pushed towards the Evil Queen's carriage.

Back in Storybrooke, Mr. Clark informs Regina that Henry was shoplifting. Doubtful, Regina responds her son would never do anything like that, and leaves the store with Henry. Emma arrives, and questions Ava and Nicholas. Ava claims their home phone number, previously given to Mr. Clark, doesn't work because the bill hasn't been paid yet. She begs Emma not to arrest them as it will make things worse for their parents.

In the Enchanted Forest, the Evil Queen confronts Hansel and Gretel on why they are on her road. They explain the disappearance of their father and are actively searching for him. The Evil Queen orders her guards to seize the children, but before they can do anything, Gretel throws Hansel's bolas at them. She and Hansel attempt to run away, but the Evil Queen uses her magic to fling them to the ground. She promises to assist them in their hunt for their father if they agree to help her out.

Emma drives Ava and Nicholas their house. On Ava's insistence, she allows them to get out themselves. However, once Emma's car turns a corner, they run to an abandoned building next door. Ava begins to empty the bag full of items that Emma bought them when they hear a noise upstairs. They go to investigate, and run into Emma. She asks them why they lied when they told her that everything was okay at home. She brings Ava and Nicholas to Mary Margaret's apartment and feeds them. She talks with Mary Margaret about not wanting to put them into the foster care system. Emma stresses on the fact once they are in it, she has no way of helping them. Ava overhears the conversation, and begs her not to send them away.

Emma goes to an office to view the birth certificates of Ava and Nicholas. A man, who most people call K, asks her to fill out some forms first. Mr. K. walks over to a filing cabinet and looks for the files, but cannot find them. He tells Emma that they were recently checked out by someone else. Emma asks who, and is directed to Regina. Regina informs Emma that she has contacted social services. She also tells Emma that there is no record of their father, so the two of them need help. Regina is sending them to two separate homes, much to Emma's dismay.

In the Enchanted Forest, the Evil Queen is leading Hansel and Gretel to the home of the Blind Witch. She tells them that the Blind Witch has something that belongs to her and that she wants them to get it back. Gretel asks her why she cannot just get it herself, and the Evil Queen replies by telling her that there is a spell that prevents adults from going into the Blind Witch's house. She tells Hansel and Gretel that the house is unique, and no matter how much they are tempted, they should not eat anything. The evil queen then steps back to reveal that the house is made of sweet treats.

Emma is at the Storybrooke Sheriff Department looking at some papers when Henry walks in and tells her that he knows who Ava and Nicholas are. He says that they are Hansel and Gretel. Emma asks if there is anything about their father in it, and Henry says that he abandoned them. Henry then asks Emma to tell him about his father. She tells him that she met him while she was working at a twenty-four hour diner that he used to come into every night and complain that they did not have any pumpkin pie. Emma also tells Henry that he died saving a family from a burning apartment building. Henry asks Emma if she has anything that belonged to his father, and she says no. She leaves the sheriff department, telling Henry that she may know how to find Ava and Nicholas's dad.

Emma goes back to Mary Margaret's apartment takes out a box and shows Ava and Nicholas her baby blanket. She tells them that it is the only thing she has left from her parents, and then asks them if they have anything from their parents. Ava gives Emma the compass that her father gave her before the curse hit.

Back in the Enchanted Forest, Hansel and Gretel climb into the Blind Witch's house through a window. Inside, the Blind Witch is sleeping, and Gretel spots the satchel that holds the Evil Queen's belonging. As she goes to get it, Hansel sneaks a bite from a cupcake. Suddenly, the Blind Witch wakes up. Hansel and Gretel try to escape, but doors and windows slam shut.

Emma enters Mr. Gold's pawn shop and asks him if he knows anything about the compass that Ava gave her. He said that someone bought it at his shop, and Emma asks him who. Mr. Gold says that he doesn't remember, but pulls and index card out of some files and tells Emma the name of the man who bought the compass. The note card that he read the name off of was actually blank.

Emma goes to Michael Tillman's garage and shows him Ava and Nicholas's files. He says that it is not possible that they are his children, but Emma continues to tell him that they are his children. She pulls out the compass that Ava gave her and shows it to Michael, and he admits that it is his, but gives it back to Emma and tells her that he does not know anything about being a dad.

Emma calls Mary Margaret and tells her to meet her outside. Emma reveals to Mary Margaret that Michael does not want Ava and Nicholas, and that she does not want to tell them. Mary Margaret says that she should, but Emma replies by saying that she does not want them to know that she gave them false hope. Emma also tells Mary Margaret that she lied to Henry about his dad being a hero. Regina walks up to Emma and tells her that she needs to drive Ava and Nicholas to Boston.

In the Enchanted Forest, the Blind Witch locks Hansel and Gretel in a cage and declare that she will be having them for dinner. The Blind Witch takes Gretel out of the cage to cook her, and Gretel steals the keys to the cage from her and throws them to her brother. Hansel lets himself out, and the sibling work together to push to witch in the oven. They grab the Evil Queen's belonging and dash out of the Gingerbread House.

Hansel and Gretel go to the Dark Palace and give the Evil Queen her satchel, who reaches into it and pulls out the Poisoned Apple. The queen tells the children that they deserve better than a father who would abandon them in the forest, and offers to allow them to live in her castle. Gretel tells her that they would never want to live with someone as terrible as her, and the Evil Queen sends them off using magic.

Ava and Nicholas climb into the back of Emma's police car, and Emma slams the door shut. Henry runs up to her and tells her that she cannot take them because something bad will happen if they leave Storybrooke, but Emma drives off anyway, ignoring Henry's wishes. Emma drives to the town line, and right before she crosses, her engine stalls. She calls for help.

The Evil Queen is watching Snow White through a magic mirror, when her royal guards bring in a prisoner. The Woodcutter is led into the room, and he demands to be released. The Evil Queen tells him that she told his children that he abandoned them. She asks him why they denied her when she offered to let them live in the palace, and he tells her that family always finds one another. The Evil Queen releases the woodcutter and tells him that he can be with his children and be a family as soon as they all find each other.

At the town line, Michael Tillman arrives to help Emma with her car. Emma tells him that she wanted him to see his children before they went off to Boston. She tells him that she does not need to take them to Boston if he will accept them as his children, and he says that she does not.

Emma goes to Mary Margaret's apartment and tells her that Ava and Nicholas's dad changed his mind about taking them in. Emma wonders what it would be like to find her parents, and Mary Margaret says that maybe she will. Emma tells Mary Margaret that Henry thinks that she is Emma's mother. Emma gets up to go outside, and Mary Margaret follows her to the door, noticing Emma's baby blanket in the box along the way. She picks it up, but then puts it back in the box and walks off.

Emma is looking at some files in her car when Henry walks up to her with some pumpkin pie. Emma is about to tell Henry that she lied to him about his father's identity, but decides not to. A motorcycle rumbles around the corner, and stops in front of Emma and Henry. A stranger gets off and asks Emma if there is a place where he can stay for the night. Emma directs him to Granny's Bed and Breakfast, and he drives off again, not giving Emma his name when she asks for it. Emma tells Henry that he said strangers never come into town, and Henry says they do not.

Starring

 * Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White*/Mary Margaret Blanchard
 * Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan
 * Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen/Regina Mills
 * Josh Dallas (Credit only)
 * Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills
 * Raphael Sbarge (Credit only)
 * Robert Carlyle as Mr. Gold

Guest Starring

 * Lee Arenberg as Grumpy*
 * Eion Bailey as The Stranger
 * Emma Caulfield as the Blind Witch
 * Karley Scott Collins as Gretel/Ava
 * Nicholas Lea as Woodcutter/Michael Tillman
 * Quinn Lord as Hansel/Nicholas (Josef)

Co-Starring

 * David Bloom as Mr. "K" Krzyszkowski
 * Osmond Lloyd Bramble as Queen's Guard
 * Michael Coleman as Happy*
 * Faustino Di Bauda as Sleepy*
 * David-Paul Grove as Doc*
 * Jeffrey Kaiser as Dopey*
 * Gabe Khouth as Sneezy*/Mr. Clark
 * Mig Macario as Bashful*

Quotes
Mr. Gold: Forgiveness. Emma: How about tolerance?
 * Emma: What's your price?

Regina: No, but Boston does.
 * Emma: Storybrooke has a foster system?

The Woodcutter: Because we're a family. And family always finds one another.
 * Evil Queen: Tell me why? Hmm. Why did your children refuse me?

Emma: I agree on the painful part.
 * Mary Margaret: The truth can be painful, Emma, but it can also be cathartic.

Production Notes

 * The opening title card features the Gingerbread House.
 * The round cookies that Ava and Nicholas eat in Mary Margaret's Apartment, can also be seen on the walls of the blind witch's house.
 * According to her birth certificate, Ava (and therefore, also Nicholas) is of Austrian ethnicity.
 * The events in "True North" take place a month after Emma's arrival to Storybrooke, as she states to Michael.
 * The name of the news reporter in one of the clippings in Emma's case file is "M. Soparlo", a reference to Mark Soparlo, a member of the production staff for this episode.
 * The press release wrongly credits Quinn Lord as "Josef".

Episode Chronology

 * The Storybrooke events of this episode take place after "Desperate Souls" and before "7:15 A.M.". They also occur one month after "Pilot".
 * The Enchanted Forest events of this episode occur concurrently with "7:15 A.M." and before "An Apple Red as Blood".

Episode Connections

 * Henry's father was first referred to in "Pilot ". His identity is revealed in "Tallahassee".
 * Henry meets his father in "Manhattan".
 * The poisoned apple is used for a future purpose in "An Apple Red as Blood".
 * Emma is reading an old article about how she, as an infant, was found by the road by a seven-year old boy. His identity, and the circumstances surrounding this event, is revealed in "The Stranger".
 * Emma, found by the road as an infant, was first referred to in "Pilot".
 * The stranger and his connection to the story becomes a major focal point for the remainder of the first season.

Lost

 * Ava and Nicholas hide a stolen Apollo bar in Henry's bag.

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episode is a rendition of the Hansel and Gretel fairytale, focusing on two lost children in the woods who become captives of a cannibal witch in her Gingerbread House.
 * Also included is the Woodcutter from the same fairytale.
 * This episode features the Evil Queen from the Snow White fairytale.

Pop Culture

 * While at home, the comic Henry reads is Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #3, which was published in 2009. It was written by Damon Lindelof, who worked with Once Upon a Time's  creators on Lost.
 * The only comics shown on the book rack at the pharmacy are Marvel Comics, which, like Once Upon a Time, is tied to the Disney Corporation.
 * Ka-Zar the Savage #1 was published in 1981, making it even further out of date.

Goofs

 * Hansel dips a finger in the a circular shaped icing on the outside of the Gingerbread House. After Gretel gives him a warning look and the camera gives a frontal angle of the house, part of the icing is missing. When Gretel climbs up to peek inside the window, the icing is fully coated again.