Child of the Moon

"Child of the Moon" is the seventh episode of Season Two of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It is the twenty-ninth episode of the series overall, and premiered on November 11, 2012.

Synopsis
Ruby's fear about turning into a wolf during the first curse-free Storybrooke full moon is confirmed when one of the town's residents is viciously murdered, and Ruby is the prime suspect; Albert Spencer threatens to expose David Nolan as a shepherd, not a prince, and not fit to run the town as sheriff; and Leroy stumbles upon some treasure in the Storybrooke mine that could help bring Mary Margaret and Emma back into our world. Meanwhile, in the Fairytale Land that was, Red Riding Hood finds a kindred spirit in Anita, a charismatic and mysterious leader of a pack of humans who, like Red, turn out to be wolves.

Recap
The dwarves are busy in the mines when suddenly Grumpy crashes through a wall and discovers the diamonds; the kind that can be refined into fairy dust. David Nolan is elated that they may finally have the magical power needed to get Jefferson’s portal hat working again and rescue Emma Swan and Mary Margaret Blanchard. But the celebration is disrupted when Albert Spencer appears. He’s still holding a grudge against David, who was Prince Charming, for defying him in Fairytale Land, and he means to do something about it. He swears that soon the town will see David isn't fit to lead anyone.

The town is celebrating at Granny's Diner. Billy approaches Ruby and reveals to her who he was in Fairytale Land. He tells her that he was a mouse named Gus who lived in Cinderella's pantry.Billy asks to spend time with her, but seeing that she doesn't want to, Belle comes and tells Billy that they already planned a girl's night out. When asked why Ruby wouldn't want to go out with him that night, Ruby replies it is complicated. Meanwhile, Ruby and Granny are preparing for the first night of wolfstime since the curse was broken. Ruby’s magical cloak is missing and it’s been 28 years since she last shape shifted, and she’s not sure that she can control her wolf form anymore. To be safe, they seal her up in the freezer at Granny’s. But the next morning, she’s gone. David and Granny find her asleep in the woods outside of town. When Ruby awakens, she has no memory of her night as the wolf. Worse, when the three of them search for a missing Billy, they find his mutilated body torn apart in his car. Ruby is sure that she, as the wolf, was the killer, but David refuses to doubt his friend the way he once doubted Mary Margaret. When Spencer forms an angry mob, they lock Ruby away at the Sheriff’s Station as much for her safety as for everyone else’s.

In a flashback to Fairytale Land, Red Riding Hood and Snow White have struck off on their own not long after Red discovered that Granny had been lying to her and she was actually a werewolf resulting in Peter's death. They have been running away from the Evil Queen's men. A young man comes across Red in the forest and grabs her, taking her back to a secret lair hidden in the forest. There, he introduces himself as Quinn and reveals he too is a werewolf. Then he introduces her to Anita, her mother. Granny had told Red that her parents were dead, but Anita is very much alive and the pack leader for a whole gang of werewolves. Anita teaches Red to accept the wolf and thus control it. The lessons take some time, but soon Red can remember everything from her time as the wolf and can control her actions.

Snow White tracks Red to the werewolf lair. Anita and Quinn are suspicious of her at first, but when Red explains that she’s found a new home, Snow White understands and prepares to leave. Before she can, several of the Queen’s soldiers burst in, hunting for Snow White. They manage to kill Quinn before the werewolves and Snow White can stop them. Anita blames Quinn’s death on Snow White and has her bound so the wolves can eat her that night. Red won’t stand by and watch her friend be devoured, so mother and daughter fight as wolves. The battle ends with Anita accidentally being impaled. The other werewolves disperse as Red and Snow White bury Anita. The two women leave together, still friends.

In Storybrooke, Spencer’s mob is hunting for Ruby. They burst into the Sheriff’s Station, but Ruby’s already gone. David, Granny and Belle decided to hide her in the library, but instead of Ruby being chained up, she chains Belle up instead, saying she deserves to pay for her crimes. When the moon rises, the wolf takes over and the mob hunts her. Meanwhile, David and Granny track down a suspicious car and discover blood in the trunk along with a hatchet and Ruby’s cloak. The car is Spencer’s. This whole thing has been his revenge plot against David for revenge. David and Granny manage to reach the wolf just before Spencer can shoot it. David goes in, braving the frightened wolf’s wrath, and helps Ruby regain control of herself as the wolf. He then lays her cloak over her, changing her back to human form. When a scream goes up from the crowd, they find Spencer gone. David and Ruby chase him to a nearby beach where they find him standing beside a fire. Before David can stop him, Spencer throws the remains of Jefferson’s hat into the flames, destroying his last chance to save his wife and daughter.

We later see Regina Mills, Mr. Gold and Henry Mills in Mary Margaret's apartment. Mr. Gold has given Henry a magical necklace that will help him control his nightmares when he is being transported to a dimension between worlds. Using this control, he calms the flames in his dream and sees Princess Aurora. In present-day Fairytale Land, Aurora awakens from a restless sleep to tell Emma and Mary Margaret that the boy in her dream is Henry, Emma's son.

Starring

 * Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard
 * Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan
 * Lana Parrilla as Regina Mills
 * Josh Dallas as David Nolan
 * Emilie de Ravin as Belle (Storybrooke)
 * Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills
 * Meghan Ory as Red Riding Hood/Ruby
 * Robert Carlyle as Mr. Gold

Guest Starring

 * Lee Arenberg as Leroy
 * Sarah Bolger as Princess Aurora
 * Alan Dale as DA Albert Spencer
 * Beverley Elliott as Granny
 * Annabeth Gish as Anita
 * Ben Hollingsworth as Quinn
 * Keegan Connor Tracy as Mother Superior

Co-Starring

 * Noah Beggs as Mob Guy
 * Jason Cermak as Black Knight #1
 * Michael Coleman as Happy (Storybrooke)
 * Faustino Di Bauda as Walter
 * David-Paul Grove as Doc (Storybrooke)
 * Jarod Joseph as Billy
 * Jeffrey Kaiser as Dopey (Storybrooke)
 * Mig Macario as Bashful (Storybrooke)
 * Elizabeth McCarthy as Mob Girl
 * Chad Riley as Black Knight #2

Quotes
Anita: Human make us seem that we are the monsters. You only become one when you start believe in it.

Belle: It's not everyday you find out your friend...

Ruby: Is a monster?

Belle: Hunted. I was going to say hunted.

Mr. Gold: You know, it's remarkable that you cast a curse that you know nothing about.

Regina: My victims are not supposed to wake up. That's why I'm certain never care to what's happen to them after. Until now.

Anita: You chose her.

Red Riding Hood: No. I chose me. I am not a killer. And so are you.

Anita: May you always run free beneath the moons pale light.

Ruby: I may or may not have left Belle chained up in the Library.

Trivia

 * The opening title card features Red Riding Hood. The same image used for "7:15 A.M." and "Red-Handed".
 * Billy is revealed to be Gus, one of the mice from the Disney version of Cinderella.
 * Producers Kitsis and Horowitz stated that a lot of inspiration for this episode came from the Rolling Stones, in particular the title "Child of the Moon", which came from the B-Side to their single "Jumping Jack Flash", and the design for Anita's den.
 * As this episode features the first full moon since the Dark Curse was broken, it can be assumed that less than one moth passed since that moment.
 * The scene in which Ruby locks Belle in the Library mirrors the scene from "Tallahassee" in which Emma locks Captain Hook.
 * The flashback scenes of this episode occur after those "Red-Handed" and some time before those of "The Shepherd" and "Snow Falls" and may occur simultaneously with "Skin Deep" or "Dreamy".