Season 2, Episode 22
And Straight On 'Til Morning
The inhabitants of Storybrooke brace themselves for the end when Greg and Tamara detonate the trigger Regina had placed within the curse, with the annihilation of the town and its residents imminent; and Mr. Gold mourns the loss of his son, Bae/Neal.
Meanwhile, back in Neverland of the past, Hook discovers his connection to a young Bae after he rescues him from the sea and soon realizes that the Lost Boys are in hot pursuit of the boy.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Villainy: Peter Pan and the Lost Ones.
- The Atoner: Mr. Gold, Hook, and Regina.
- Back for the Finale: Briefly Prince Philip, Aurora and Mulan.
- Being Good Sucks: Snow's speech to Emma—sure, Regina has done horrible things to all of them...but so did Snow by killing Cora. Sure, there's a chance using a portal to get rid of the failsafe won't work, and they'd do better to just make a portal now and leave, letting Regina die for them. But then "we'd be building a future on Regina's blood." And as awful as Cora was, killing her wasn't right, just "easy". Being a hero is about doing what's right, which means "taking the hard path for once."
- Changed My Mind, Kid: Hook plans to portal out of Storybrooke but changes his mind at the last second and returns to help. Though the trigger was already dealt with, he did get to help the rescue attempt for Henry.
- Kind of reminds you of another pirate who decided not to save his own skin, doesn't it?
- Cliffhanger: Aside from the obvious (Greg and Tamara kidnapping Henry to Neverland, The Reveal that Peter Pan is the villain they secretly work for and he wants Henry for some unknown reason, all the main heroes going after Henry on Hook's ship), there's Neal emerging from the portal back in the Enchanted Forest...only to be found by Aurora, Mulan, and Philip, and how/whether he can be healed from his gunshot wound has to wait until next season.
- Compound Title: This and the previous episode title complete the phrase from Peter Pan describing how to get to Neverland.
- Continuity Nod:
- When Hook comes to the loft to help the heroes (after having been told his revenge on Gold will also cost him his life), the first thing David does is punch him—since the last time the two encountered each other was when Hook punched him in the sheriff station (so as to steal back his hook) before heading for New York after Gold.
- Once before someone (Rumple, in fact) believed they had obtained a magic bean from Hook, only to find he had used sleight-of-hand to retain possession of it. This time, after David initially succeeds in getting it, it's Emma who doesn't check the satchel.
- The Magic Map globe Cora gave Gold to help find his son is used to locate where Henry was taken, since as his grandson he still shares his blood.
- Once again, Grumpy's relationship with Belle comes up, as it's the reason Leroy had the Mother Superior make extra potion for him to give to Gold for Lacey—because Belle had helped him remember who he was, so he wanted to do the same for her before the end.
- Couch Gag: The title card features Neverland.
- Creepy Child: The Lost Ones
- Death Seeker: Gold becomes this and explains his reasons to Belle: Since he failed to save Baelfire, he is willing to find and rescue Henry at the cost of his own life as a prophecy says will happen, because Gold has accepted that he deserves to die for his failure and all the harm he has caused.
- Diabolus ex Machina: Despite Hook running off with the bean, Emma is able to help Regina stop the trigger without destroying the town or killing either of them. But while they were busy, Greg and Tamara managed to sneak back into the mines and grab Henry.
- Dramatic Irony: Gold, spurred on by Lacey from the last episode, subtly uses magic to try and fray the rope swing Henry is riding on...but before he can complete the job, Snow, Charming, and Emma arrive bearing the news about Neal. I.e., at the moment he's about to get rid of his prophesied undoing, the Seer's words seem to have already come true (since it was because of Henry that Neal stayed in Storybrooke, not Gold, as he made clear last episode). Also, Gold being about to commit a villainous act, only to be told the one he did so much villainy for (and who was driven away by that villainy) is now dead. Laser-Guided Karma, indeed.
- The Dreaded: Hook and his crew are terrified of Peter Pan. How the tables have turned?
- Dying as Yourself: A memory potion is finally made to bring Sneezy and Belle to normal so at least when Storybrooke is destroyed, they'll die as themselves.
- The End of the World as We Know It: The main cast must avert the end of Storybrooke in this episode.
- Enemy Mine:
- Hook and Gold finally put aside their differences to go and find Henry because he is the last link to loved ones that they have lost.
- To that end, Gold is also willing to work with Regina, who is willing to work with Emma, Snow, and Charming.
- The Fair Folk: Rather than heroic, Peter Pan and the Lost Ones are utterly sinister.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Mr. Gold explicitly says that the Big Bad Duumvirate of Greg and Tamara are merely pawns of Peter Pan.
- Heel–Face Turn: Regina, Gold, and Hook put aside their evil ways to help the heroes find Henry because they all care for him.
- I Will Wait for You: Belle says this to Gold despite his assurances to her that when he leaves for Neverland, he is going to a very deserved death.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Hook knew from Cora and Regina that Gold had gone to New York (with Emma and Henry) to find his son Bae, but not that he was also Neal, Henry's father; Emma knocked him out before he could hear Neal call Gold "Dad", then he got locked in a storage closet, then kidnapped by Tamara, then he was busy helping her and Greg manipulate and capture Regina. This episode is the first time he's able to talk to Emma and learn the truth—and it's a key moment, since it's the reason he eventually has his Changed My Mind, Kid moment mentioned above.
- Mirror Character: Hook and Rumplestiltskin. Lampshaded by Baelfire, who calls Hook out on being a self-serving coward, obsessed with getting revenge for every real and perceived slight, reminding him of someone he knew: his father. They both also have the Freudian Excuse of having been abandoned by their fathers. Both love and do a relatively good job (by villain standards) of single-parenting Bae. Both are responsible for taking his mother away. Both swear up and down that they can change for Bae's sake and both ultimately end up abandoning him. Despite their opposite initial reactions to the upcoming destruction of Storybrooke, both ultimately decide to help rescue Henry based on their paternal feelings for (and regret about abandoning) Baelfire.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Mr. Gold goes through this when he learns of Baelfire's apparent death. He even admits that it's his fault because he brought magic into Storybrooke and that he's finally paying the price he always talked about magic having.
- Hook also has a moment when he looks at the carvings Bae made after his apparent death, regretting his decision to sell him to the Lost Boys.
- Not Quite Dead: Baelfire/Neal, since he lands in the Enchanted Forest where someone can in fact help treat his wounds in time.
- Out-Gambitted: The entire first season told the story of Rumpelstiltskin's Xanatos Gambit to create the Dark Curse to find his son. After being informed of Baelfire's apparent death, he realises that he has ultimately failed and all the plans he devised and effort he expended over two hundred years as the Dark One have finally come to nothing.
- Redemption Equals Death:
- Subverted when Regina becomes The Atoner by sacrificing herself to slow down the trigger that will destroy the Dark Curse and Storybrooke. Emma saves her and they avert the destruction of the town while both surviving and Regina's Heel–Face Turn sticks.
- Invoked by Mr. Gold who fully believes going to Neverland to save his grandson Henry will lead to his death and is ready to accept that outcome.
- Reunion Kiss: Gold and Belle, in a sense, when he gives her the potion that gives her back her memories.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Subverted when Hook nearly does this until he has a change of heart.
- Taken During the Ending: Henry gets kidnapped by Greg and Tamara to Neverland (which, unlike in its source material, is said to be a nightmarish place run by a tyrant Pan). After a season of infighting among the adult characters, it's a big deal that they band together to save Henry by all going to Neverland after him.
- Tragic Keepsake: Bae's shawl again, this time because when Lacey accidentally spills her drink, she tries to use the shawl to mop it up (completely unaware why it means so much to Gold). It's this as much as anything else that convinces Gold to repair the chipped cup (another Tragic Keepsake) and use it to restore her memories with the potion.
- We ARE Struggling Together: Snow White, Prince Charming, Emma, Captain Hook, Regina and Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold all put aside their differences to save Storybrooke from destruction and later to go to Neverland and save Henry because he is the one person they are all connected to and mutually care about.
- Wham Episode: Neal is not dead and in the Enchanted Forest while Henry is kidnapped by Greg and Tamara who are working with someone who is desperately looking for Henry: Peter Pan.
- Wham Line: Peter Pan never fails.
- Wham Shot: Whose face is on the picture that shows Pan and the Lost Boys who they are looking for? Henry.
