A Curious Thing

"A Curious Thing" is the ninteenth episode of Season Three of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz and directed by Ralph Hemecker. It is the sixty-third episode of the series overall, and premiered on April 27, 2014.

Synopsis
Zelena threatens to kill Henry if Hook - whose lips have been cursed by the Wicked Witch -- doesn't proceed with kissing Emma, which will drain all of her magical powers away, and things begin to heat up between Regina and Robin Hood. Meanwhile, back in the Fairy Tale Land that was during the past year, Snow and Charming go in search of Glinda, The Good Witch of the South, to see if she can help them defeat Zelena, and the curse that will ultimately send the Fairy Tale characters back to Storybrooke is cast -- but from an unlikely source.

Starring

 * Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard
 * Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan
 * Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen/Regina Mills
 * Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David Nolan
 * Emilie de Ravin as Belle/Belle*
 * Colin O'Donoghue as Hook
 * Michael Raymond-James as Neal Cassidy
 * Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills
 * Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold

Guest Starring

 * Lee Arenberg as Grumpy/Leroy
 * Sarah Bolger as Aurora
 * Beverley Elliott as Granny/Granny*
 * Christopher Gauthier as William Smee
 * Sunny Mabrey as Glinda
 * Rebecca Mader as the Wicked Witch of the West/Zelena
 * Sean Maguire as Robin Hood/Robin Hood
 * Julian Morris as Prince Phillip

Uncredited

 * CGI Flying Monkeys
 * Michael Coleman as Happy*
 * Keegan Connor Tracy as Mother Superior*
 * Faustino Di Bauda as Walter*
 * David-Paul Grove as Doc*
 * Jeffrey Kaiser as Dopey*
 * Robbie Kay as Peter Pan*
 * Gabe Khouth as Mr. Clark*
 * Mig Macario as Bashful*
 * Rose McIver as Tinker Bell*
 * Raphael Sbarge as Archie Hopper*

Production Notes

 * The title card features a flying monkey.
 * The fact that Glinda was banished to the north could be a reference to the Good Witch of the North to which Glinda (the South Witch) is often times combined with in order to save time in various movies and shows.

Event Chronology

 * The Enchanted Forest flashbacks occur after "Quiet Minds".
 * The Storybrooke events take place after "Bleeding Through".

Episode Connections

 * Zelena cursed Hook's lips in "The Jolly Roger".
 * Snow White discovered she was pregnant in "The Tower".
 * Belle and Neal brought back Rumplestiltskin in "Quiet Minds".
 * This episode reveals what secret Aurora and Prince Phillip have been keeping from Snow White and Prince Charming, something that was alluded to in "New York City Serenade".
 * Regina and Snow White discuss the events surrounding the first Dark Curse, which was shown in "Pilot" and "The Thing You Love Most".
 * Henry suspects that his mother is lying to him, something that was first touched upon in "Quiet Minds".
 * Hook mentions Henry's "driving lessons" with David in "The Jolly Roger".
 * Robin Hood talks about breaking into the Dark Castle in "Lacey".
 * The reason behind Rumplestiltskin's state of mind was explained in "Quiet Minds".
 * Emma refers to Henry's book making her remember, which occurred in "A Land Without Magic".
 * Regina mentions that Henry's book was swept away by the last curse, which is shown in "Going Home".
 * Mary Margaret mentions the first time she found the book in her closet, which was first referred to in "Going Home".
 * Henry finally regains his memories, which he lost in "Going Home". As he remembers, scenes from "Pilot", "A Land Without Magic", "Lacey", "The Heart of the Truest Believer", and "Going Home" are seen.
 * Neal's death occurred in "Quiet Minds" and the funeral was held in "It's Not Easy Being Green".
 * The true caster of the second curse was first brought up in "New York City Serenade".
 * Hook first mentioned receiving a message from a stranger in "Witch Hunt".
 * Regina mentions how she killed her father in "The Thing You Love Most".
 * The flower shop owned by Belle's father was first seen in "The Crocodile".

Disney

 * Henry mentions the movie Peter Pan, and how he's seen it "a million times".

Lost

 * Eight months passes between the flashback sections of the episode. 8 is the second of the Lost numbers.

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episode features Snow White, Prince Charming, the Evil Queen and one of the dwarves from the Snow White fairy tale, the Wicked Witch of the West, the Good Witch of the South and Flying Monkeys from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story, Belle from the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, Granny from the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, Aurora and Prince Phillip from the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, Robin Hood from the Robin Hood ballad story as well as Rumplestiltskin from the Rumplestiltskin fairytale.