History Recap / OnceUponATimeS1E9TrueNorth

At the pharmacy in Storybrooke, Henry meets Ava and Nicholas Zimmer, who frame him for theft under the pretense of trying to be friends.

{{FLASHBACK}}! The Queen takes Hansel and Gretel deep into the forest, and tells them they are to infiltrate the home of the Blind Witch, who has something Regina needs to defeat a powerful enemy. Regina can't get it herself because of protection spells which conveniently don't work on children. She tells them to wait until the Witch is asleep at night, and warns them to not eat anything, showing them the Witch's house is made of gingerbread.

{{FLASHBACK}}! In the Enchanted Forest, a woodcutter has his daughter Gretel (Ava) and son Hansel (Nicholas) collect kindling while he chops wood, giving them a compass so they won't get lost. Somehow, they do get lost and run into a carriage transporting the Evil Queen.

{{FLASHBACK}}! The Blind Witch locks Hansel and Gretel in a cage as she prepares to cook them. Gretel comes up with a plan for Hansel to do as the Witch has chosen him to eat first, but he's a wimp and can't do it so Gretel goes with the Witch who thinks she has Hansel. Gretel swipes the Witch's key and throws it to Hansel, who lets himself out and tries to hit the Witch with a cane. This distracts her enough to let Gretel free herself, and they push the Witch onto the baking sheet and slide her into the oven, locking the door shut before escaping with the satchel. The Queen, watching through the Magic Mirror, casts a fireball into the oven to bake the witch. The children arrive at the Queen's palace and discover that the satchel held an apple. The Queen tells them that their father abandoned them and that she wants them to live in her palace as a reward for being the first children she's sent to the Blind Witch's house who returned alive. Gretel rejects the Queen's offer and insists that they'll find their father without her help, and she angrily teleports them away.

* AbsenteeActor: Josh Dallas (David).

* IAmAHumanitarian: The Blind Witch eats children.

Henry insists that Ava and Nicholas' father lives in Storybrooke because no one can every leave, and Emma is the only outsider who's ever come in. Henry asks about his own father, and Emma tells him that he was a fireman who always came to a diner she worked at, and when she learned she was pregnant with his child tried to contact him, but discovered that he had died saving people from a fire. Henry asks if she has something of his to remember him, and Emma gets an idea of how to find the Zimmers' father. Emma shows Ava and Nicholas her baby blanket, telling them it's the only thing she has from her parents and she's held onto it her whole life, then asks if they have something similar. They give her a compass.

{{FLASHBACK}}! Gretel and Hansel sneak into the Blind Witch's house after dark, and see her sleeping in a chair before the fireplace. Gretel quickly finds and collects the satchel containing the item the Queen needs, but Hansel eats a cupcake not even one minute after his sister reminded him of the Queen's warning. The Witch wakes up and traps the children in the house as they seen a pile of human bones near the fireplace.

Emma goes to Mr. Gold for information on the compass and it's owner. Turns out he sold it once, and reads from his record that it belongs to one Michael Tillman. Emma leaves, and the camera shows that the record is blank. Emma finds Tillman (the woodcutter), who runs a repair garage, and despite her best guilt trip he declines to take in the children. Emma meets Mary Margaret to fill her in, revealing that the story she told Henry about his father was a complete fabrication, and Regina shows up to force Emma to take the kids to Boston.

{{FLASHBACK}}! The Blind Witch locks Hansel and Gretel in a cage as she prepares to cook. Gretel comes up with a plan for Hansel to do as the Witch has chosen him to eat first, but he's a wimp and can't do it so Gretel goes with the Witch who thinks she has Hansel. Gretel swipes the Witch's key and throws it to Hansel, who lets himself out and tries to hit the Witch with a cane, which distracts her enough to let Gretel free herself and they push the Witch onto the baking sheet and slide her into the oven, locking the door shut before escaping with the satchel. The Queen, watching through the Magic Mirror, casts a fireball into the oven to bake the witch. The children arrive at the Queen's palace and discover that the satchel held an apple. The Queen tells them that their father abandoned them and that she wants them to live in her palace as a reward for being the first children she's sent to the Blind Witch's house who returned alive. Gretel rejects the Queen's offer and insists that they'll find their father without her help, and she angrily teleports them away.

Emma makes a desperate attempt to help young sibling runaways, Nicholas and Ava Zimmer, find their birth father before they're separated and sent into foster care. In the fairy tale land that was, the backstory of Hansel and Gretel is revealed along with a secret mission authorized by the Evil Queen to steal a prized artifact from the cannibalistic Blind Witch.

* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: Henry informs Emma that before she came to town, no strangers ever came and no one ever left Storybrooke. This ends up subverted when August shows up at the end of the episode, further proof that Emma really is changing things. Double subverted when it later turns out August is Pinocchio, but considering he had abandoned Emma, had never actually been in Storybrooke before, and only showed up to help her break the curse, Henry's statement is still partly true.

* InfantImmortality: Partial aversion. Hansel and Gretel survive - but the Blind Witch actively tries to kill them. There are also lots of small skeletons shown beside her - implying that she regularly eats children.

* TragicKeepsake: The compass. In the Enchanted Forest it's a gift from their father that helps the twins find their way back home/to him, but it gets broken thanks to the Queen's Black Knights; Gretel hangs onto it anyway in hopes of their family still being reunited. In Storybrooke it's even more this, since their memories are of their mother giving it to them before she died, as a memento of the man she met on a camping trip; it's via this that Emma is able to find the man (with Gold's help), [[OrphansPlotTrinket and it's proof that the twins he never knew about are really his]].
* TheStinger: At the end of the episode, a stranger comes to town and, after confirming he's in Storybrooke asks for a place to stay. Considering Henry had told Emma no one ever comes to Storybrooke and she's the first stranger to stay there, the two of them are understandably shocked.

* TragicKeepsake: The compass. In the Enchanted Forest it's a gift from their father that helps the twins find their way back home/to him, but it gets broken thanks to the Queen's Black Knights; Gretel hangs onto it anyway in hopes of their family still being reunited. In Storybrooke it's even more this, since their memories are of their mother giving it to them before she died, as a memento of the man she met on a camping trip; it's via this that Emma is able to find the man (with Gold's help), and it's proof that the twins he never knew about are really his.

'''Emma Swan:''' No...but I'm going to help you find yours'.

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Regina is left confused over why Hansel and Gretel insist on leaving to find their father, enough that she drags their father in front of her just to ask him.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's never confirmed whether or not Emma's car actually did break down at the town line (as a result of the curse) - or she pretended so she would have an excuse to call a mechanic.