The Return

The Return is the nineteenth episode of the ABC television series Once Upon a Time.

Synopsis
Mr. Gold attempts to uncover the true identity of August Booth, Emma Swan confronts Regina Mills about her involvement in Kathryn Nolan’s disappearance, and David Nolan tries to reconcile with Mary Margaret Blanchard. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land, Rumplestiltskin agrees to do whatever it takes for his son Baelfire, if he can find a way to safely give up his powers and return to being the loving man he used to be.

Recap
August is waking up experiencing some sort of pain. He falls from his bad and hobbles over to the phone. He calls an unknown persons saying they need to move the plan along faster. August and Henry are talking and August sends Henry into Mr. Gold's shop. Henry asks for a gift for Mary Margaret Blanchard. This gives August time to sneak in through the back door but Mr. Gold finds him. August says he is looking for maps and Mr. Gold directs him to the front of the shop.

Emma goes to see Kathryn who is in the hospital. She says she doesn't really remember anything only a few minor details; such as being in the car crash, surrounded by darkness in a basement and later being drugged. Emma tells her that everyone believed she was dead with the discovery of the heart having a match for Kathryn's DNA as well as the fingerprints on the jewelry box containing the heart matching Mary Margaret's.

Regina is upset about Mr. Gold breaking their deal. Mr. Gold claims he never broke it as something tragic did happen to Kathryn; while also mentioning he has only ever broken one deal in his life and it wasn't this one. Regina realizes that Mr. Gold set her up and that all the evidence such as the forged DNA test will trace back to her. Regina questions why he made the curse in the first place and he tells her to figure it out.

In Fairytale Land, Baelfire is playing with a ball, and nearly gets run over by a cart. The driver asks him what he is doing but stops once he realizes who he is. Rumplestiltskin shows up and the man in frightened. Baelfire calms his father down, but after seeing a cut on Baelfire's leg, Rumplestiltskin turns the man into a snail then crushes him despite Baelfire's pleas.

David visits Kathryn he apologizes for cheating and lying. Kathryn realizes that their relationship might not have been meant to be and knows David was right. There is a party for Mary Margaret since she has been freed. Henry questions what August was looking for but he says he didn't find what he was looking for. David shows up but Emma turns him away. Emma questions Mr. Gold's if he had anything to do with Kathryn but he changes the subject and asks about August.

Rumplestiltskin and Baelfire arrive at home and he tries to heal his son's leg but he doesn't want the magic used on him. Baelfire asks if his father can get rid of his power. Rumplestiltskin shows him the dagger which he already knows about, and explains his powers can only go away if someone stabs and kills him with it. Their household maid is seen walking in at the exact moment he shows Baelfire the dagger, and he quickly puts it away. Baelfire asks if he would give up the power if he found away. Baelfire just wants his father back while Rumplestiltskin just wants his son's happiness. They strike a deal in which if Baelfire can find a way to get rid of Rumplestiltskin's powers, he will give it up for his son's sake.

Mr. Gold breaks into August's room and finds a drawing of the dagger with Rumplestiltskin's name on it. Emma meets with Sidney and she confronts him about the bug he used to spy on her and aide Regina. Emma realizes the love Sidney has for Regina and why he is so loyal to her. But, she gives him an ultimatum. She says he can either free himself from trouble by helping her, or go down with Regina. Mr. Gold is seen watching August speed off on his motorcycle, and follows him behind in his car.

Meanwhile, in Fairytale Land, Rumplestiltskin leaves Baelfire to play with some kids but they all run away. Morraine sits down with Baelfire and says that she isn't scared of him. They talk about his power and how to get rid of it. She suggests he call upon the "Reul Ghorm" she has heard about because its' magic is more powerful than his father's, and gets up to leave when Rumplestiltskin returns a moment later. Baelfire notices blood on his father's boots. Rumplestiltskin admits to killing their maid because she had previously seen the dagger. This stuns Baelfire, who protests she was a mute woman, and would have not been able to tell anyone about it. Rumplestiltskin replies that even mutes can draw a picture.

August is seen talking to Mother Superior and Mr. Gold confronts her about it. Mr. Gold asks what he wanted. She tells him he is in town looking for his father but they have not spoken yet.

Baelfire is out in the woods and is trying to communicate with the Reul Ghorm. The blue fairy appears and offers her help to Baelfire. He explains his situation and she says that she can't change him back but send him to a place without magic. She gives him a magic bean that will save them both.

David tries to talk to Mary Margaret on the street and apologizes for his actions. Mary Margaret explains her surprise at his actions in not believing her innocence and says that they can't move forward. She believes there is something keeping them apart and doesn't want the bad moments to erase the good ones. David proclaims his love for her, but she says that's what makes it sad.

Rumplestiltskin is spinning gold in his home when Baelfire comes in and tells him about the bean. He asks if he has heard of the Reul Ghorm which he reconnizes as the Blue Fairy. Rumplestiltskin says that fairy magic doesn't mix with his magic. Baelfire reminds him of there deal and says that he isn't backing out.

Mr. Gold goes to see Mr. Hopper much to his surprise. He tells him about his son and isn't sure if he has meet his son. Mr. Gold says his son still might be angry about him and has come to kill him. Mr. Hopper tells him to be honest with him and ask for forgiveness. August is out by Mr. Gold's and the two meet. Mr. Gold says he knows who he is and August says the lying can stop and calls him papa.

Rumplestiltskin is having second thoughts about a world without magic. Baelfire puts the bean on the ground and a portal opens up. Rumplestiltskin says he can't go through with the deal. He tries to keep Baelfire from being sucked into the portal, and uses his dagger as an anchor, but in the end lets go of his son. Baelfire calls him a coward before disappearing. Realizing his mistake, he tries to dig into the ground with no luck.

Mr. Gold and August talk and he says that he should never have let him go. He says he has been looking for him. He asks him to be the bigger man and forgive him. The two hug and August says that he forgives him. Mr. Gold says he buried the knife so Regina wouldn't find out. He offers the knife to August saying that he doesn't need it anymore. August takes the knife but turns it on Mr. Gold and tries to use an incantation against him. Mr. Gold livid at the betrayal in realizing this person is not his son.

Mr. Gold questions August and recognizes he is from Fairytale Land. August says that a little fairy told him about the knife and who Mr. Gold is. Pinned against a tree by Mr. Gold, August tells him he is sick and needs magic. He was trying to get Emma to believe in magic but he is worried he doesn't have enough time. Mr. Gold allows August to live, scoffing that either way he will eventually die.

Rumplestiltskin is in the woods and calls for the Blue Fairy and asks if there is another way to get to the world Baelfire is in. He mentions a curse which the Blue Fairy says there is but he can not pull it off because the price is higher than he could imagine. But, he vows to find a way. He blames her for taking away her son but she tells him that he drove Baelfire away himself.

Regina meets Emma in her office under the pretense of giving her a confession. Then, she calls Sidney in, who goes into detail about everything saying he hoped he would get his job back by kidnapping Kathryn. Emma doesn't buy what he is confessing to and asks to speak with Regina in the hallway. She is furious Regina is having someone else take the fall for her actions. Emma says that Regina once took away a person she loved, so she will now take away someone Regina loves. She vows to get her son, Henry, back.

Appearances

 * Mary Margaret Blanchard
 * Emma Swan
 * Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold
 * Regina Mills
 * David Nolan
 * Archie Hopper
 * August Booth
 * Henry Mills
 * Ruby
 * Baelfire
 * Dr. Whale
 * Kathryn Nolan
 * Blue Fairy/Mother Superior
 * Sidney Glass
 * Morraine

Trivia

 * Behind the opening title, August is driving a motorcycle through the woods.
 * Rumpelstiltskin's creation of the Dark Curse is shown to be fueled by his desire to find Baelfire after he was sucked into the portal created by the magic bean that sent him to "a land without magic". As the Blue Fairy stated, a curse with a higher price to pay was the only way to duplicate the effect of the magic bean. He gave the curse to Queen Regina in The Thing You Love Most in the hopes he could find his son again.
 * Rumplestiltskin's hatred of fairies stems from the blame he holds on the Blue Fairy for giving Baelfire the magic bean that took away his son.
 * August is revealed to be dying from an illness and is actually from Fairytale Land.
 * Reul Ghorm is Scots Gaelic for blue star which what the Blue Fairy was called in the 1940 film version of Pinocchio by Walt Disney.
 * The magic bean the Blue Fairy Baelfire is a possible reference to Jack and the Beanstalk .
 * It is revealed that the object Mr. Gold was burying in the woods in The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter was the Dark One's dagger, which he hide for safekeeping when he learned that Emma had arrived in Storybrooke.
 * Gold mentions to Regina that he has only ever broken one deal in his life. As it turns out, that deal is the one he struck with his son, Baelfire, in Fairytale Land.