Season 3, Episode 3:
Quite A Common Fairy
In their continuing quest to find Peter Pan’s hideout and save Henry, Hook suggests tracking down Tinker Bell in the hope that she will lead them straight to his camp. Pan reveals to Henry why he has brought him to Neverland and in the Enchanted Forest, Neal has a plan that could transport him to Emma, but it would involve using one of Robin Hood’s most precious possessions. Meanwhile, in the Fairy Tale Land that was, Tinker Bell offers to help Regina improve her life.
Tropes
- Aborted Declaration of Love: Mulan was about to confess to Aurora that she's in love with her, but Aurora had her own confession about being pregnant with Phillip's child. This made Mulan change her mind and say she accepted Robin Hood's offer to join his Merry Men instead, an offer which she originally declined. Though there were only hints about Mulan's feelings for Aurora, this was confirmed by Sarah Bolger during the Fairy Tales Convention when asked about Aurora and Mulan's relationship.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Tinker Bell gives one to Regina over her inability to let herself be happy.
- Arrow Catch: When Pan encouraged Henry to shoot at the apple on Felix's head, Henry turned and shot Pan. But Pan caught it.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: When recounting the rules Tinker Bell broke, the Blue Fairy mentions curfew, dust discipline, and the fact that she got big for no reason.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The Blue Fairy is officially confirmed to be one, if other episodes left us in doubt. She refuses to help Regina simply because Cora was her mother, and now Rumple is tutoring her in magic. When Tinker Bell defies her and steals pixie dust to help Regina find true love, the Blue Fairy turns her into a human, despite Tinker Bell protesting that the fairies believe in second chances. To emphasize this, her soothing voice when appearing to help people is markedly different from the stern voice she uses here when in private.
- Bus Crash: Maid Marian died, apparently of illness, sometime between the time Rumpel and Belle met Robin Hood and the present day. This proves convenient, since it turns out Robin is the soulmate of one of the show's main characters.
- Call-Back: Regina asks Tinker Bell "How the hell did you get like this?", echoing Emma's question to her back in Season 1.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: While it develops more in later episodes, this is the first in which Pan recognizes this tendency in Henry and tries to use it to get what he wants—claiming that all of magic is in danger, that it's Henry's destiny to save it, and that he can do so because Emma is the savior not for breaking the Dark Curse but for producing him, a child of both light and dark magic.
- Continuity Nod: Good people's hearts are bright, shining red. Snow's, last season, was shown with a small, dark stain. Regina's, this episode, is shown a dull black...but with red shining through?
- Couch Gag: The title card features Tinker Bell (as in the Disney Vanity Plate).
- Cut Himself Shaving: Regina, frustrated by her empty, lonely existence as Leopold's queen, pounds on the railing of her balcony, causing it to break so she falls. Tinker Bell, thinking she's been Driven to Suicide, saves her life. When she later tells her she wasn't killing herself but simply fell, both her tone, and Tink's when she replies, sound exactly like someone giving this excuse to someone who sees right through it. Regina even acknowledges it (as well she should, since just before she pounded the railing she did look as if she was considering jumping) when she says, "But if I had...well, here's to good reasons."
- Distinguishing Mark: Tinker Bell identifies Regina's second True Love for her by means of a lion tattoo on his arm—Robin Hood. No such tattoo was visible, of course, on his introductory episode, Season 2's "Lacey", but then again even during the torture scene he had sleeves covering his arms the entire time.*
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Tinker Bell has Quirky Curls in the flashbacks. Now that she's a hermit on Neverland, the hair is unkempt and messy.
- Face/Heel Double-Turn: In the flashbacks, it's Tinker Bell urging Regina to choose hope instead of darkness. In the present, Regina persuades a broken Tinker Bell not to kill her and embrace hope.
- Fantastic Caste System: The fairies are revealed to be trapped in one. The Blue Fairy is on top as The High Queen, and all of the other fairies are at the bottom. They have no freedom or autonomy, as the Blue Fairy keeps a very tight leash. Failure to comply with her rules and standards may lead them to being Brought Down to Normal.
- If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: Regina, of all people, pulls this on Tinker Bell. She offers her heart to crush for betraying Tink long ago, informs her that revenge is how the darkness starts, and leaves her to choose darkness or light.
- Jerkass Has a Point: The Blue Fairy was correct that Regina had at that stage gone too far down the path of darkness and evil to accept help. Not to mention that, unless this was before he met Marian, Robin Hood would not have been unattached and thus couldn't have gotten together with Regina at that point even if she hadn't chickened out.
- The Magic Goes Away: Peter Pan has foreseen this happening to all worlds and sees Henry as the one who will prevent it.
- Mythology Gag: The episode title comes from a line in the original J.M. Barrie novel:Peter Pan: She is quite a common fairy. She is called Tinker Bell because she mends the pots and kettles.
- No, You Go First: It's implied that Mulan wants to tell Princess Aurora that she loves her. But Princess Aurora has news she wants to tell first: she and Prince Philip are pregnant!
- Oblivious Guilt Slinging: After convincing Tinker Bell to help them, Snow White talks to Charming about how she always wanted a home but never found one "until she had him" and that now she's found him "he's all she needs"...while he knows, thanks to Hook, that the Dreamshade has given him only days or weeks to live.
- Our Fairies Are Different: Fairies can lose their wings if they break their laws. Also, "pixie dust" is different from fairy dust as it is more powerful.
- Put on a Bus: This marks the last we see of Mulan until Season 5's "The Bear King".
- The Reveal: Regina's Second Love and chance of happiness, the man who could have saved her from a life of darkness and evil, is none other than Robin Hood.
- Screw Destiny: In the past, Regina really did have a chance to find true love and a happy ending, and she threw it away.
- Shout-Out:
- There's something that looks suspiciously like Thor's hammer in Rumpel's emergency cache. Hey, doesn't Disney own Marvel now?
- Although neither Pan nor Henry identify it directly by name, the challenge of shooting an apple off of someone's head is obviously from the legend of William Tell. Just with the stakes upped, since the arrow has Dreamshade on it.
- So You Were Saying...?: Mulan, having finally gotten up the courage, is about to confess to Aurora that she loves her. But Aurora interrupts her because she can't hold in her own exciting news—she is pregnant with Philip's baby! Naturally, when urged to continue with what she was going to say, Mulan can only feign happiness for Aurora's news, then claim she only wanted to say she's joining Robin Hood's Merry Men...and walk off heartbroken.
- Start of Darkness: A flashback shows Regina before her complete fall, and Rumpelstiltskin informs her that the darkness likes and wants to consume her.
- This Is Unforgivable!: How the Blue Fairy feels about Tinker Bell stealing pixie dust for Regina.
- Wham Shot: Robin has a Lion tattoo on his wrist.
- You Owe Me: Although he hates having to do it (among other reasons, because it reminds him of his father), when Robin Hood brings up how he almost lost Marian to sickness and eventually did lose her later, so he does not want to risk losing his son Roland (Raphael Alejandro) to Pan's Shadow, Neal is forced to bring up the fact it's because of his father the Dark One that Marian survived and Robin even has a son at all. So helping Neal now is returning the favor.
- Your Days Are Numbered: According to Hook, David has only a few days or weeks to live.
