A Curious Thing

"A Curious Thing" is the nineteenth 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 French
 * 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
 * Julian Morris as Prince Phillip

Uncredited

 * 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*

Quotes
Snow White: It's happening again. I'm about to give birth and an evil sorceress is threatening the future of my child.

Evil Queen: To be fair, the first time, I was threatening you. Everyone else just became collateral damage.

Prince Charming: He's lost his mind. Rumplestiltsklin: On the contrary! Now I have two! Two minds!

Rumplestiltskin: Of pure of heart, she won't hide; through the door, step inside.

Emma Swan: Last time, all it took was me believing in magic and kissing Henry. Since I’ve been back, I’ve done both and nothing.

Regina Mills: It’s the belief. Henry. He needs to believe. In this new life he doesn’t. We have to get him to believe again.

Emma: So, what? We put on a magic show?

Robin Hood: Where I come from, a simple thank you would suffice.

Evil Queen: Where you come from, people bathe in the river and use pine cones for money.

Regina: (To Robin Hood) For some reason, you're more likeable in Storybrooke.

Henry: Who are you!?  Zelena: You can call me Auntie Zelena.

Trivia
Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * The title card features a flying monkey.
 * The episode's title is an homage to the Huey Lewis song The Power of Love from the movie Back to the Future.
 * Rebecca Mader filmed the flying broomstick scene without a stunt double.
 * In the lounge at the inn, there is a porcelain figurine of a swan on the table next to Emma. In "The Snow Queen", the same figurine is sitting on a shelf.


 * -|Episode Connections=

Event Chronology

 * The opening scene in the Enchanted Forest occurs between scenes in "The Tower" (after Snow White learns she's pregnant, and before Prince Charming's quest, where Belle has rejoined the others). The casting of the new curse takes place eight months later, after Prince Charming's quest in "The Tower", and before the present day scene with Ariel and Prince Eric in "The Jolly Roger".
 * The Storybrooke events take place after "Bleeding Through" and before "Kansas".

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".
 * Aurora regains her human form in "Snow Drifts".
 * Regina and Snow White discuss the events surrounding the first Dark Curse, which was detailed in "Pilot" and "The Thing You Love Most".
 * How Glinda was banished from Oz is revealed in "Kansas".
 * 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 occurs 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 flash from "Pilot", "A Land Without Magic", "Lacey", "The Heart of the Truest Believer", and "Going Home".
 * Neal's death occurred in "Quiet Minds" and the funeral was held in "It's Not Easy Being Green".
 * Transportation between the worlds becomes possible again after the new curse is cast as explained in "There's No Place Like Home".
 * The true caster of the second curse was first brought up in "New York City Serenade".
 * Emma looses her magic in "Kansas".
 * Hook first mentioned receiving a message from a stranger in "New York City Serenade". He believed was sent by Prince Charming and Snow White, and this was mentioned in "Witch Hunt".
 * Regina mentions how she killed her father in "The Thing You Love Most".
 * The flower shop owned by Belle's father first appeared in "The Crocodile".


 * -|Cultural References=

Disney

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

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.

Popular Culture

 * Henry tells his adoptive mother that he's become pretty good at math. He adds, "Not Stephen Hawking good, but pretty good"; a reference to the famous physicist and mathematician.
 * When Henry is trying to leave town in his mother's car and Captain Hook stops him, behind Hook is a mural written GAME OF THORNS, a reference to a famous TV show and a series of books Game of Thrones.