Red-Handed

Red-Handed is the fifteenth episode of Season One of the hit ABC television series Once Upon a Time.

Synopsis
After quitting Granny's Diner and with her self-esteem at an all-time low, Emma Swan hires Ruby to be her assistant in order to help her discover what it is in life that she's good at; and Emma continues questioning David Nolan about the disappearance - and possible murder - of Kathryn Nolan.

Meanwhile, in Fairytale Land, Red Riding Hood yearns to run away with her true love. But she, along with her fellow townspeople, are virtual prisoners when a bloodthirsty wolf continues on its relentless killing spree.

Recap
The episode starts out with Emma interviewing David. After a few questions, she lets him go as there are no charges. At Granny's Diner, Ruby is talking to August, and he tells her about the world when Granny calls her over and tells her to stop flirting. The two argue, and Ruby walks out, stating she has quit.

In Fairytale Land, Peter meets with Red at her home. Granny calls her into the other room, but the two steal a kiss before Peter leaves. A group of townspeople are at the door, saying they want to hunt the wolf. Red wants to go, but Granny refuses. The next morning Red is gathering eggs from the chicken coup when she runs into Snow White, who is hiding in the corner. Still hiding from the Evil Queen, Snow introduces herself to Red as Mary. The two walk to the well to get water where they notice the water is crimson with blood, and there are several mangled bodies near the well.

Emma and Mary Margaret are walking down the street in Storybrooke when they run into Ruby talking to Dr. Whale. They offer to take her home with them so she can figure things out. Later, Mary Margaret goes to the spot where Kathryn had disappered. She runs into David who was looking for Kathryn. David just keeps saying that he's looking before he walks away leaving a confused Mary Margaret.

During a town meeting in the Fairytale Land, Mayor Tomkins is telling the people that he could have slayed the wolf. Granny storms in stating that she knows they would die and tells them about her own experience with the wolf. Red tells Snow about Peter and that Granny won't let her leave. Red says that they should go kill the wolf which Snow is against.

While searching for the wolf, Red teaches Snow about tracks, and they find the wolf's foot prints. They find tracks that change from wolf into human, making them wonder what they are really dealing with.

In Storybrooke, Henry helps Ruby look for new jobs. Henry asks her about a possible job of delivering things to others using a basket. Ruby then answers the phone, and an impressed Emma asks her to be her assistant. Mary Margaret tells Emma about her strange encounter with David. Ruby goes to Granny's to pick up lunch, and she tells her about her new job. Granny tells Ruby that she is doing the same job she was before.

In the Fairytale Land, Red tells Snow about a strange creature she has heard of that transforms from a human to a wolf when the moon is full. They continue to follow the tracks, which lead to the cottage. Snow thinks that the wolf is Peter, which worries Red. Red convinces Snow that she has to do something. Later, Red meets with Peter, and she tells him her theory that he is the wolf. Peter agrees that they should tie him up, and Red vows to stay with him.

In Storybrooke, Henry tells Emma that Ruby is Little Red Riding Hood, which Emma dismisses. Emma and Ruby go out into the woods where Ruby is able to hear David. They find David unconscious. When he revives, he has no recollection of anything that has happened since the previous night.

At the hospital, Dr. Whale says David is having the same experience he had when he came out of his coma. He says he can refer him to Dr. Hopper for psychological assistance. David fears that this episode of memory loss occurred during his last moment with Kathryn. Still listed as David's emergency contact, Regina arrives and scolds Emma to go look for Kathryn. Ruby goes to the toll bridge upon Emma's instruction to see if she can find anything. She finds a box buried under a wooden plank and screams upon opening it.

In the Fairytale Land, Granny wakes up Red who is actually Snow in disguise. Granny worries, and Snow tells her to trust Red and that Peter is the wolf. Granny is even more worried as the scene shifts to Peter tied up screaming, "Red don't do this!" as Red, now the wolf, maliciously approaches him.

While walking through the forest, Granny tells Snow about the family history. Granny used to be a wolf herself but lost the ability to transform due to age. She tells Snow the cloak is magical and stops Red from turning into the wolf, but she hardly wears it. They find Red eating the remains of Peter. Red lunges at them, and Granny fires a sliver tipped arrow at her, stopping her, and they quickly cover her in the red cloak. The cloak restores Red to her human form, and the townspeople come, leaving Granny there alone.

In Storybrooke, Ruby shows Emma the contents of the box. She is still in shock by her discovery, and Emma, amazed with Ruby's tracking skills, comforts her. Ruby goes the diner and asks Granny if her arm is hurting her, and says it does every full moon, showing that the scars from the wolf are still there.

Ruby asks to come back and admits that the extra responsibilities Granny discussed earlier scared her. Granny says she wants Ruby to own the place when she retires, and the two hug. Mary Margaret checks on David at his workplace, and Emma shows up. She tells them about the box and that there was a human heart inside it. There are fingerprints on the box, but they are not David's; they belong to Mary Margaret.

Apperances

 * Emma Swan
 * Henry Mills
 * Mary Margaret Blanchard/Snow White
 * Regina Mills
 * Ruby/Red Riding Hood
 * Granny
 * Dr. Whale
 * David Nolan
 * August Booth

Quotes
Emma: I'm pretty good at spotting a liar, and honestly, liars have better material.
 * David I didn't do anything to my wife.

Red: [Laughs] You'll huff and puff? Peter: I could think of nothing. Red: Oh, so you thought you'd level the house with the power of your breath? [sniffs] Well, a case could be made.
 * Peter: Let me in or I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow the...

August: Nepal. Best people. They have these prayer temples, carved into mountains, that are overrun with lemurs. Ruby: What's a lemur? August: They're little animals, and they have these eyes that reflect light, so at night, it looks like they glow.
 * Ruby: What was your favorite place?

Ruby: And you dress like Norman Bates when he dresses like Normans Bates' mother.
 * Granny: For another thing, Eliza, you dress like a drag queen during Fleet Week.

Snow White: Margaret...oh no, Mary. Mary.
 * Red: I just need something to call you.


 * Widow Lucas: This creature is more powerful than you can imagine. You wouldn't have a chance. Stay inside. Hide your children. Forget your livestock.


 * Widow Lucas: When my father died, I tumbled from the roof and I landed in the blood, in front of the wolf. I felt its breath on my face, and it clamped its hot jaw on my arm, and I rolled away. And then it looked at me with eyes so black they weren't even there, and it walked away. You ever see a wild animal just turn its back and walk away like you don't matter? If this wolf is like that one, there is no defeating it. Its already won just by existing in our world. You don't kill it. You just hide.

Red: You think that's what she's doing? ... Let's kill the wolf! Snow White: Uh ... hang on! Red: We'd be heroes! Snow White: Red, teams of trained hunters have been killed! Red: But they go at night when it has the advantage. If we went now, we could find it slumbering in its den and kill it in its sleep.
 * Snow White: She's right about the wolf, but she's wrong to use it to keep you from love.

David: I'm looking. Mary Margaret: She knows you didn't do anything. Emma I mean. She can tell when people are lying, so she knows....[Kathryn's] going to turn up somewhere. That's why we're out here. David: I'm looking. [looks vacantly through Mary Margaret] Mary Margaret: David? David!
 * Mary Margaret: It's you. You okay? You're looking for Kathryn, too?

Snow White: Like these? [stares at wolf prints] Red: Yes. And those. Snow White: Oh my gods, how big is this thing? This was one stride? From here to there? Red: Come on. Over there... Snow White: You're good at this. Red: When there's something I want, I'm good at tracking it down.
 * Red: What we're looking for will be huge, like a dog print, but big, like 8 inches across with big long claws.

Ruby: I'm not so sure that's a real job.
 * Henry: How about taking things on foot to people in a little basket?

Red: Last night, before the killings. And he never joined the guys to hunt the wolf. Snow White: But, I'm sure he wouldn't have killed them. Red: He wouldn't! But when the wolf takes over... Snow White: What about tonight's hunting party? Red: They're going to kill him! Or he's going to kill them. Snow White: It doesn't have to be that way. Red: What can we do? Snow White: Tell him. If he doesn't know, tell him. Stop him. If he'll listen to anyone, believe anyone, it's you. Red: You think I can save him? Snow White: I think you can save everyone.
 * Snow White: Hey, are we awfully close to the cottage? Who's gone to your window, Red? Is it Peter? Red, has he been at your window?

Red: I know it's not you really, but I think it's using your body. Peter: Wouldn't I know? Wouldn't I wake up in the woods? Wouldn't I remember something? Red: Maybe it makes you forget.
 * Peter: You think this wolf man is me? Red, you know me.

Emma: With the little basket? Yeah, she seems like a badass. Henry: She is. She just doesn't remember how cool she is or what she's capable of.
 * Henry: You know, you can let Ruby do more. She's Little Red Riding Hood.

Emma: We will figure it out. David: It's so strange. I can't even believe it happened. Emma: How functional could he be during one of these episodes? I mean, he talked to someone. Dr. Whale: Well, people in similar states, even under sleep medications do all sorts of things: cooking, talking, driving a car. David: You want to know if I could have made that call. You want to know if I could have kidnapped her, killed her?
 * Dr. Whale: I can refer [David] to Dr. Hopper for a mental health eval., but it's my opinion that whatever caused this blackout is the same phenomenon we observed when he came out of his coma--moving around, acting out, not remembering it later.

Ruby: I don't know what I am. Emma: Ruby, you did good. Ruby: This is doing good? Emma: Yeah, it's amazing. First, you found David and now this. I know you said you don't know what you are, but whatever it is, I've gotta say I'm impressed. Ruby: Don't be, I was scared out of my mind. Emma: But, you did it anyway
 * Emma: You okay?

Granny: Of course, I knew. Her mother was one, too, before a hunting party killed her. I thought maybe Red didn't get it. But, when she was 13, it started. I paid a wizard for that cloak. It keeps her from turning, but she doesn't wear it, and she's found some way out of the house. Snow White: Why didn't you tell her? Granny: I didn't want her to have that burden. It's a terrible burden. Snow White: That story you told? Granny: That was her grandfather. He marked me that night and came back, found me, and turned me. Snow White: Turned you? You're...Granny, how are you tracking her? Granny: By smell. I still have that, even though the rest of it has faded away.
 * Snow White: You knew?

Granny: Same as it is every full moon.
 * Ruby: Is your arm okay?

Ruby: Emma was my lemur.
 * Granny: What about adventure? What about lemurs?

Trivia

 * Red Riding Hood is The Big Bad Wolf.
 * Instead of being a anthropomorphized wolf, Red is actually a werewolf who was given her abilities through her relation to Granny, who was also turned into a werewolf in the past (she states that the curse's effects wear off over time).
 * Red's eponymous red hood has mystical properties which prevent her from changing into her wolf form. According to Granny, this is because wolves cannot stand the color red, however, this may have been a ruse perpetrated in order to get Red to wear the cloak in the first place.
 * The box Ruby finds contains a human heart.
 * When Peter first visits Red at her cabin at the beginning of the episode, he claims that if she doesn't come out to talk to him, he'll "...huff and puff..." and blow the house down. This is obviously a reference to the wolf from The Three Little Pigs.
 * When Red first meets Snow White, Snow gives her the alias "Frosty," most likely a reference to Frosty The Snowman.
 * In addition, Snow White refers to her Storybrooke counterpart's two names, first asking Red to call her "Margaret" and then "Mary".
 * It is revealed that the help Snow White gave to Red Riding Hood when no one else would, as previously mentioned in the episode "7:15 AM", was protection and friendship when Red was revealed to be the wolf and was hunted by the members of her township for killing their livestock and villagers.
 * Ruby still has her wolf traits which she uses to track David and find the box.
 * Regina is still listed as David's emergency medical contact, filling in for Kathryn Nolan in the wake of her disappearance.
 * Granny's last name is Lucas.
 * Behind the opening title, Red Riding Hood walking through the woods can be seen.
 * There are parallels between this episode and the interpretation of the story in the 2011 movie Red Riding Hood: In both Red's lover is named Peter and was also thought to be the Wolf by Red, but it turns out it's not him. Both live in a village that's been terrorized by a big wolf every full moon, the events take place during winter, the villagers form a hunting party to hunt down and kill the wolf, In addition, both Red Riding Hoods were related to and carried traits of the Wolf through their bloodlines.
 * When Snow White and Red Riding Hood are together they look like Snow White and Rose Red.
 * This is the 5th time a character plans on going to Boston but never makes it there. In Pilot Emma, in The Price of Gold Ashley, in True North Ava and Nicholas, in What Happened to Frederick Katherine, and in Red-Handed Ruby.

1x15