Season 1, Episode 13:
What Happened to Frederick
Centric Characters: Princess Abigail, Prince Charming
Previous: Skin Deep | Next: Dreamy
Prince Charming: True love isn't easy but it must be fought for because once you find it, it can never be replaced.
August: If you need evidence for everything, Emma, you're going to find yourself stuck in one place for a long time.
Emma: Maybe. Or maybe I'll find out the truth before everyone else.
Emma: Maybe. Or maybe I'll find out the truth before everyone else.
FLASHBACK! Princess Abigail arrives at King George's realm for her royal wedding to Prince James. Abigail notices some guards hurrying off unexpectedly but George tells her that they're just excited for the wedding before walking to a guard.
George: Find him.
James rides on horseback through the forest pursued by the guards, but gets away due to a fallen tree that conveniently only his horse can jump over. James hides as the guards decide to split off, only to be instantly captured by someone else's men.
David and Kathryn share a candlelit dinner at home, and Kathryn tells David that she's been accepted into a law school in Boston. Kathryn explains that she thinks that the two of them need a fresh start to overcome their strained relationship rather than try to rebuild past connections.
FLASHBACK! James tries to intimidate his captors, but is dumbfounded when their boss arrives: Princess Abigail. Turns out she knows that James is in love with Snow White, and has decided to help him escape the wrath of King George since she too is uninterested in their potential marriage.
Having told Kathryn that he needs to take a walk to think things over, David meets up with Mary Margaret, but she no longer likes the idea of having to hide their relationship from Kathryn and wants to tell her, but David doesn't know if he can do it. Mary Margaret lays out an ultimatum: stop seeing each other, or go public, and urges David that it's better if he tells Kathryn than anyone else.
The next day, Emma sees the stranger's motorcycle parked outside Granny's before running into him outsie the diner. He tries to engage her in conversation but she tells him to save it for the drink he's going to buy her, but before they do that she wants to know his name, which he gives her: August W. Booth.
Inside, Emma meets Mary Margaret who wants to tell her that she hasn't kept her promise to not see David, but Emma already knows since Mary Margaret isn't as good at keeping secrets as she is at stalking people. Sombered, Mary Margaret tells Emma that David is about to tell Kathryn everything.
David gets home where Kathryn is looking for apartments in Boston, but he tells her that he can't go with her, but he chickens out and spouts some nonsense about how he just can't leave Storybrooke, but encourages her to still go.
FLASHBACK! James and Abigail reach King Midas' realm. James doesn't seem to think that people will do kind things for no reason and demands answers from Abigail, and she reveals that like him, she is in love with another, her ex-fiancé Frederick, and thought that by helping him find his love she could gain closure. James tells her that he can't do that since Snow White viciously rejected him, and Abigail decides to take him to a shrine with a golden knight statue, where Frederick gave his life when Midas' caravan was ambushed. She explains that the statue actually is Frederick, as he was turned to gold pushing King Midas out of the way. James suggests True Love's Kiss but thanks to Frederick's helmet covering his face Abigail can't make that work. James wonders aloud if there's another way to break the curse and Abigail tells him of a magical pool, Lake Nostos, whose waters are said to restore lost things, but none have returned from it as it's guarded by a monster that drowns those who try. James decides to go for it since if he does it, Abigail won't be sad anymore, and if he dies then he won't be sad anymore. Either way, one of them wins!
In his room at the inn, August is in the process of rebinding Henry's storybook.
At the Mayoral office, Regina gifts Henry a handheld video game console to make up for the loss of his storybook, which she genuinely didn't mean to destroy (or so they think) when she had the playground demolished. Kathryn bursts in unexpectedly and Regina sends Henry home before Kathryn starts to cry. She explains that David is leaving her, and Regina blames Mary Margaret. Kathryn is confused, and Regina explains that David has been having an affair with her. Kathryn angrily asks Regina how she knows, and Regina blames it on pictures Sidney sent her as part of his surveillance. Kathryn demands to see the pictures, and when Regina complies she gets mad that Regina didn't say anything sooner. Regina defends herself by saying that she thought Kathryn and David were working it out and insists that she's Kathryn's friend, but Kathryn rebuffs her on account of not telling her about the affair and leaves.
FLASHBACK! Abigail and James arrive a shrine built to the guardian of the lake, where those who dare to face it leave offerings to try to appease it. James presses forward alone so as to not risk Abigail's life as well as his own.
David calls Mary Margaret to tell her that he told Kathryn and that the fallout wasn't pretty. Convinced, Mary Margaret agrees to meet him after school and congratulates him on doing the right thing. They end the call shortly before Kathryn arrives, roughly pushing past the gym teacher to deliver a slap to Mary Margaret and chew her out, revealing along the way that David didn't actually tell her the truth.
FLASHBACK! At the shore of Lake Nostos, David begins to fill a flask but feels the presence of the guardian, and demands it show itself, and from the depths of the water rises a beautiful woman.
Siren: Here I am.
Emma meets August at Granny's for the drink, but he was thinking of taking her somewhere else. Emma skeptical but relents, and the two drive out into the woods on August's bike, arriving at a well.
August: They say there's something special about this well. There's even a legend. They say that the water from the well is fed by an underground lake, and that lake has magical properties.
Emma: Magic? You sound like Henry.
August: Smart kid. So this legend, it says that if you drink the water from the well, something lost will be returned to you.
Emma: Magic? You sound like Henry.
August: Smart kid. So this legend, it says that if you drink the water from the well, something lost will be returned to you.
August points out that he knows this from the well's plaque, and that as a writer he has to keep an open mind. Emma doubts, of course, but August tells her to not rely too much on evidence to make decisions.
August: Well, Miss Skeptic, there's one thing I can tell you for sure that requires no leap of faith and I know you'll agree with me. <sips>
Emma: What's that?
August: It's good water.
Emma: What's that?
August: It's good water.
Walking along the street, Mary Margaret sees people quietly muttering to each other, and bumps into Granny who tells her to be ashamed of herself.
FLASHBACK! The Siren approaches James, telling him that she can be anyone he wants her to be, and has no intention of killing him when they could canoodle instead. James sees through her sweet talk, so she pours water over herself, transforming her appearance into that of Snow White. James tries to resist the illusion but Snow!Siren is too alluring and they kiss, and James drops his sword into the water. The Siren tries to lead James deeper into the lake but he tells her that he doesn't want an illusion of Snow, he wants the real Snow.
Snow!Siren: This doesn't feel real?
She kisses him again but he breaks free of her spell, telling him he can feel it when it's real.Snow!Siren: Congratulations, Prince Charming. You're the first.
The Siren tackles James into the lake and drags him down, beckoning him to follow, but he looks down and sees the decayed remains of the Siren's many victims. James tries to swim up but a stalk of kelp grabs onto his leg and drags him back down. As the Siren swims to James, he spots a convenient dagger convieniently laying right next to him. The Siren pulls James in for one final kiss, but he stabs her right in the gut, and she falls away, reverting to her true appearance as she dies. James bursts out of the lake's surface.David cleans Mary Margaret's car, which has been vandalized with the word "TRAMP!" in bright red spray paint. David says he doesn't know how it happened, but Mary Margaret is furious that he lied to her and Kathryn learned the truth from someone else, resulting in Mary Margaret becoming Hated by All. Mary Margaret decides that she and David don't have love, but something destructive that needs to end, so she breaks up with him but probably not for long.
Emma cleans fallen leaves off her car and finds a familiar lockbox in the gutter beside it, taking out the storybook. Although relieved that she can return it to Henry, Emma wonders how it got there as August watches from across the street.
Kathryn visits Regina again to apologize, saying she was caught up in anger when she broke off their friendship. Kathryn tells Regina that she and David didn't really love each other, showing one of the photos of him and Mary Margaret.
Kathryn: See the way he looks at her? He's never looked at me like that. Not even before his accident.
Regina tries to encourage Kathryn to keep trying, revealing that she was in love once, but Kathryn knows that she and David never had real love like he and Mary Margaret have. Kathryn tells Regina of her plan to move to Boston alone, and that she's written a letter to David and Mary Margaret to leave them in good faith. Regina is concerned about all of this, and Kathryn says that she used to have an innate fear of leaving Storybrooke, as if something external kept her there. Regina seems to change her mind, telling Kathryn that the move will probably be good for her in a totally-not-sinister way.FLASHBACK! James returns to Abigail with the water of Lake Nostos. Abigail pours it over Frederick and as he returns to life she removes his helmet so they can kiss* . The couple joyfully thanks James, and he tells them that he's changed his mind and will be going to find Snow White after all. Kathryn warns James about King George, as he will inevitably try to hunt down and kill him.
Using a creepy skull key from her ring of creepy skull keys, Regina enters the Nolan home and steals Kathryn's letter.
At the school, Emma finds Henry playing with his new video game, and returns his book to his delight, and he takes it as a sign that things are looking better for Operation Cobra.
FLASHBACK! James rides to the place where Snow lived in solitude, but finds only Red who tells him that Snow never came back from the castle. He vows to find her, and convince her of their love. Confused, Red tells James that Snow absolutely loves him and wants to be with him. James thinks that Red's trying to mess with him, but she insists, telling James that she had left to stop his wedding to Abigail. James connects the dots just as King George and his soldiers arrive with the intent to kill James, and he flees with Red in tow.
Emma comforts a depressed Mary Margaret.
Regina takes Kathryn's letter out of her desk drawer, which also contains a can of red spray paint.
Kathryn begins her drive to Boston, saddened but resolute.
Regina lights Kathryn's letter on fire.
Kathryn approaches the town line.
Regina tosses the burning letter into the fireplace.
The gym teacher drives towards the town line and sees a crashed car right infront of the town's sign. He investigates and finds the airbag deployed but no person on the scene.
Regina smugly watches the fire.
Tropes
- Blessed with Suck: Anything King Midas touches turns into gold, so when his daughter's fiancee pushes Midas to safety, he's reduced to a gold statue. This is exactly why Midas tries to stay covered and wear gloves at all times.
- Brick Joke: After the town finds out about Mary Margaret's affair with David, someone spray-paints "Tramp!" on her car and she is exasperated, wondering who would do such a thing. Towards the end of the episode, we casually see a used can of red spray paint in Regina's desk drawer.
- Cliffhanger: Two different sorts. The Enchanted Forest segments end with Red and Charming, having just figured out King George is behind Snow White breaking up with her prince, suddenly having to flee when George and his men appear. The Storybrooke segments end with Kathryn, having decided to leave town for Boston and start a new life, having an accident at the town line and disappearing from her car, all while Regina burns her note to David to hide her decision.
- Complete-the-Quote Title: In-story rather than to something from Real Life media—the title finishes a phrase from all the way back when King Midas gave a warning as he prepared to demonstrate his curse: "Remember what happened to Frederick." It's here, of course, that that backstory is finally revealed.
- Couch Gag: The title card features Frederick's shrine.
- Cruel to Be Kind: Ultimately this is why the affair got out so poorly. David's unwillingness to hurt anyone ended up hurting everyone.
- Dramatic Irony:
- Just before confronting (and slapping) Mary Margaret, Kathryn accidentally runs into the gym coach at school; he's later the one to find her abandoned car when she disappears. Meanwhile in the Enchanted Forest, when Charming breaks the gold spell and his helmet is removed, he's revealed to be Frederick, Abigail's true love.
- Abigail sadly tells Charming that one of the worst things you can ever experience is to be without love (whether that of family or romance). In Storybrooke, Kathryn finds out from David that he no longer loves her (and was in fact having an affair), and learns the second part from Regina, her supposed best friend who had known for some time but kept the truth from her, leaving her alone and unloved. She also admits to realizing her life and love with David were "just an illusion" (referencing what the Siren tempted Charming with)...to the very person whose curse had created it and forced it on her.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: When David discovers that Kathryn found out about the affair, his first instinct is to wonder who told her. Mary Margaret rightly points out that he should have told her in the first place.
- Everybody Knew Already: When Mary Margret shamefully admits to Emma that she's been having an affair with David, Emma is far from surprised.Emma: Because...I'm sheriff, and you are a love-sick school teacher. Covering your tracks is not exactly your strong suit.Mary Margaret Blanchard: Oh, I've been discr...discreet.Emma: Two teacups in the sink, new perfume, late nights, plunging necklines—it was not hard to connect the dots.
- Foreshadowing:
- Considering how much the wishing well plays into the story in the season finale (and especially the rest of the show), it's amazing how innocuously it gets introduced here. It also allows a fun cryptic clue about August's real identity when he says he never lies, sets up for its connection to Lake Nostos through the legend on the plaque, and is the first means by which August attempts to work on Emma's belief through having an open mind.
- Once again, when Kathryn asks Regina about having had love, her reaction calls ahead to "The Stable Boy."
- Funny Background Event: As Emma goes into Granny's diner after finding out August's name, one can see a "No Dogs Allowed" sign on the door...or maybe that's "No Wolves Allowed."
- Foil: Once again, the difference between David and Charming are made clear. Charming was brave and noble, willing to help the woman he didn't love out of selflessness. David meanwhile can't be honest with the same woman (cursed) when he says their marriage is over.'
- Inadvertent Entrance Cue: Near the end of the episode, when Charming and Red compare notes about what Snow had told him versus her intended reason for going to the castle, Red thinks something changed her mind. Grimly, Charming responds, "Not something...someone." And then who should come riding up with his men but King George...
- Love Hurts: Ultimately, this is why Charming beat out the Siren. He wants a real love that can hurt sometimes rather than constant affections.
- Meaningful Echo: Abigail tells Charming that one of the worst things you can ever experience is to be without love. Ironically, Regina said something very close to this all the way back in "Snow Falls", when her machinations to bring Kathryn and David back together left Mary Margaret the one isolated without love.
- Once More, with Clarity: Last time we saw Charming in the flashbacks, he randomly rode up to the farmhouse where Snow had been hiding, with no explanation as to how he found the place (other than their exchange of birds) or why he was suddenly pursuing her instead of simply accepting her supposed lack of love for him. This time we get to see the scene again in context—having fled George's men to escape the loveless marriage he didn't want, and snuck to freedom in Midas's kingdom thanks to Abigail, he has been galvanized to find Snow by the Siren's temptation and restoring Frederick. And the extra dialogue with Red that wasn't in the first iteration of the scene allows him to figure out the deception and George's part in it, hence his pursuit of Snow that carries on into "Heart of Darkness".
- Our Sirens Are Different: A siren appears guarding Lake Nostos. Rather than singing, she takes the form of Snow White to seduce David.
- Rule of Symbolism: The presence of a Siren in this episode relates to the overall theme. 'Siren song' is an expression used to describe something that seems like an attractive idea but will ultimately lead to disaster. In this case, the siren song is David lying to Kathryn once again to spare her feelings. She eventually finds out about the affair and it makes things worse for everyone.
- Sexy Soaked Shirt: The Siren emerges from the water wearing a soaking wet dress as part of her seduction.
- Shout-Out: When Emma visits Henry at school, he's playing Space Paranoids.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: This is sadly the last appearance of Abigail in the flashbacks, so we never find out why King Midas didn't appear in Storybrooke, what happened once Frederick was freed, or what their kingdom thought of the Dark Curse. We never see Frederick in Storybrooke again, although Abigail/Kathryn does pop up in the Season 3 finale. All that can really be assumed is that once the curse was broken, the two of them got back together again like all the other divided couples. The authors confirmed on Twitter that they're living happily in Kathryn's house.
- Worthy Opponent: After he resists her spell because of his desire for real love and not an illusion, the Siren compliments Charming on being the first to do so...just before tackling and trying to drown him.
- You Just Told Me: A rare example where neither side intended this, even though one side would have if she'd been aware of the need—Kathryn tells Regina that David broke up with her without saying why and Regina, assuming David told her everything, drops the bombshell about the affair with Mary Margaret. So she ends up hurting Mary Margaret after all, but unintentionally. Even more ironically, the fact she does this (proving she'd known of the truth for some time) and actually has the evidence in her desk turns Kathryn against Regina for a time (which, if she'd intended the 'accidental' reveal, would have been a nice backfire for her).
