Welcome to Storybrooke

"Welcome to Storybrooke" is the seventeenth episode of Season Two of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Ian Goldberg & Andrew Chambliss and directed by David M. Barrett. It is the thirty-ninth episode overall and premiered on March 17, 2013.

Synopsis
Emma, David and Mr. Gold must protect Mary Margaret against Regina, who is out for revenge and has made it her mission to kill Mary; and Henry, fed up with all of the feuding, devises a plan to put an end to magic. Meanwhile, Regina discovers that a father and son have somehow found their way into her allegedly undetectable town as she and the fairytale characters deal with the effects of the newly cast curse 28 years prior.

Recap
A father and his son are camping somewhere in Maine. The father teaches his son how to correctly tie a lanyard keychain. As a gift, the father gives his son a lanyard keychain that he made when his father taught him. They sit up from their lawn chairs to get dinner started, but a strong gust of wind causes them to refocus their attention to putting out their campfire. These winds continually brush against them, and they take refuge in their tent while the Dark Curse blasts through the woods.

The next morning the two wake up to find trees knocked onto the ground, one tree even crushed their car. They begin searching for the nearest highway in hopes of getting a ride from someone to the nearest town. When they look down they see a whole town near where they had camped the previous night. The man looks at his map, and does not understand how a whole town could suddenly appear overnight. As they explore the town, the sheriff of the town pulls up from behind them, asking the two if they are lost. He tells them his name is Graham, welcoming them to Storybrooke.

It's 1983, and mayor Regina Mills wakes up for the first time in the town of Storybrooke. As she surveys the town, she smiles triumphantly. Regina walks into her new closet and picks out an outfit for the day. Later that morning she walks through the town that the curse has created for her. She first sees Marco struggling to repair a sign. Then, she witnesses Granny arguing with Ruby, over the early shift at the diner. She then walks past Archie Hopper walking his dog Pongo. Regina almost calls him cricket, but stops herself, calling him doctor Hopper instead. She walks away from this with a big smile on her face.

A cursed Mary Margaret teaches her students how to make a birdhouse, but the students scurry off to recess after this. Regina Mills walks into her classroom, asking her how long she has taught in Storybrooke. Mary Margaret is dumbfounded, responding "as long as I can remember". Regina takes her away from the classroom and into the Storybrooke General Hospital, there, Regina shows Mary Margaret a comatose patient John Doe. Knowing that they knew each other in the Enchanted Forest, Regina asks her if she recognizes him. To Regina's pleasure, Mary Margaret does not recognize him. She explains to her that he is a John Doe. Mary Margaret is optimistic that someone will find him, but Regina says she is doubtful.

At Granny's Diner, a resident reads the Storybrooke Daily Mirror, which reads "Regan: Marines will be staying in beirut". Granny serves Regina a plate of pancakes, and Sheriff Graham joins her. They trade compliments, but their flirting is interrupted, by the little boy seen camping at the beginning of the episode, saying that he likes pancakes too. Regina doesn't recognize the boy as anyone from the Enchanted Forest, she asks the other people at the Diner who's child he is. She asks Marco, but he says no, and then the boys father arrives, telling Regina his name is Kurt Flynn. He asks Regina if she knows where a hotel room might be. Regina acts confused, and asks him why he would need a hotel room. Kurt answers that they need a place to sleep. Graham is taken to the side by Regina, who asks him if he knows who they are. He tells the mayor that they were camping near the Toll Bridge and adds that he is just as surprised as she is. Regina says she is threatened by surprises, and that bad things happen when she feels threatened.

Starring

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

Guest Starring

 * Tony Amendola as Marco
 * Jamie Dornan as Sheriff Graham
 * Beverley Elliott as Granny
 * Ethan Embry as Greg Mendell
 * John Pyper-Ferguson as Kurt Flynn
 * Michael Raymond-James as Neal Cassidy
 * Raphael Sbarge as Archie Hopper
 * Benjamin James Stockham as Owen Flynn

Co-Starring

 * Jarod Joseph as Billy
 * Steve Makaj as Captain

Uncredited

 * Cinder as Pongo

Trivia

 * The opening titlecard features a tree falling on Kurt Flynn's car.
 * There are two references to Tron in this episode.
 * Kurt and Owen's last name is Flynn.
 * A bench which features an ad for computers with the ENCOM logo.
 * The newspaper Regina reads the morning after the curse is dated October 23, 1983. This means Emma Swan's birthday is either October 22, or October 23, depending on whether she was born before or after midnight.
 * This is the first episode to only be set in Storybrooke.