Season 6, Episode 16:
Mother's Little Helper
Gideon enlists Emma's aid to help him kill the Black Fairy, in return for which he agrees to bring Hook back. Meanwhile, Henry's author powers have a new development, leading Regina to seek aid from Isaac, while in the Enchanted Forest, Hook is forced to work with Blackbeard to find his own way back home...with unexpected results. And in the Dark Realm, more of Gideon's tortured 28-year-past is revealed.
Tropes
- Absurdly High-Stakes Game: Hook engages in one, playing cards with Blackbeard for the Jolly Roger in order to get Blackbeard's aid. He loses...then reveals it's still back in Storybrooke.
- The Atoner: Gideon claims to be this, after everything the Black Fairy made him do, and apologizes to Emma for trying to kill her and steal her powers rather than just enlist her aid willingly. ("It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time" comes up.) Subverted when the plan was actually to get her trapped in the webbing so the spider could kill her, thus giving him her powers for the sword as he'd originally intended. Double Subverted when it turns out the Black Fairy was controlling him through his heart the entire time (which means even if she made him apologize to Emma, he doubtlessly genuinely meant it).
- Beware the Nice Ones: Emma and to some degree Snow White. Emma not only pulls a Vader Force-choke on Gideon, tosses him around magically, and punches him so that he ends up with a bloody mouth, she specifically tells Gold (when he insists she ask nicely if she expects him to answer her questions) that "I'm done being nice." Snow agrees (while calling it "mother-daughter bonding time"). Later, after Gideon's further actions convince them he is beyond saving, Emma reiterates that if Gideon tries to kill her a third time, she won't hold back; when Gold threatens her, Snow steps in and with a very cold glare says they didn't start this... then stalks out.
- Black-and-White Morality: Gold accuses Snow and Emma of having this with regards to his son because they refuse to believe he can be saved or might not be truly evil. Belle, however, thinks they might be right and they have lost their son for good.
- The Bus Came Back: Blackbeard and Isaac both return, having not been seen since the Season 4 finale. The former apparently managed to escape the Jolly Roger when Elsa sealed it in a bottle (he wasn't on it when Hook released it, but at that point it was unknown if he was a prisoner in Arendelle or what), the latter has been locked in the asylum just like almost everyone else (but particularly villains) has been.
- Casual Danger Dialogue: Hook and Blackbeard naturally engage in this while clashing and then working together.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Because he has been betrayed by Hook too many times in the past (he claims), Blackbeard preemptively betrays Hook in Neverland. When Hook calls him on this, Blackbeard responds, "What did you expect?"
- Continuity Nod:
- Hook brings up how Blackbeard has been without a ship since losing the Jolly Roger in Arendelle.
- Neverland has changed since Pan left, presumably since he was the Dimension Lord. (He did say his existence was tied to Neverland's magic.)
- We get to see the incident Gideon told his father about, when the Black Fairy took away a friend of his for torture, in order to break his spirit.
- In the flashbacks, Gideon and the Black Fairy make use of dark fairy dust, which turns people into bugs, as shown in previous episodes. Apparently it was also one of the main ingredients to create the Dark Curse itself.
- Not only was Gideon raised by the Black Fairy for 28 years before coming to Storybrooke, just as Emma lived 28 years before Henry brought her there, but like her his life changes on his 28th birthday when he is set on a quest — first dark, then light, then dark again.
- The episode also clears up what happened to the Dragon after last being seen in "I'll Be Your Mirror". Regina ended up setting him free from the Mirror World.
- Couch Gag: The title card features a mass of spiderwebs.
- Dramatic Irony: Because the audience knows that the spell Gideon cast last episode using Emma's tear will keep Hook from traveling through any portal back to Storybrooke, his attempts to find a way home will be utterly fruitless. The audience gets a Hope Spot when it seems Gideon will lift the spell in return for Emma helping him kill the Black Fairy, but when this is thwarted and there is no longer any means to break it, the audience again knows Hook's quest is doomed; all that is left is to find out what happens when he attempts to use the magic bean. Rather than simply being blocked or it not working, the result is apparently him being shunted to a different world, since the portal ends up leading to Neverland instead.
- Enemy Mine:
- Hook has to ally himself with Blackbeard to get back home. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't end well for Hook.
- Regina decides to enlist Isaac the Author to understand what's happening to Henry.
- Per the deal in the previous episode, Gideon forces Emma to help him kill the Black Fairy. Though it turns out to be a trap.
- Evil Is Petty: When Regina comes to Isaac for help with Henry, he insists that in return for his help she not only release him from the asylum (fair enough, as he's pretty much harmless now), but that she get him an expensive car and let him move back to New York. Then, because she was being difficult about it, he further insists that she get him tickets to Hamilton.
- Forbidden Zone: The realm in which the Black Fairy is trapped is both described and appears much like this, an area of creepy, threatening mountains, burrowing mine tunnels, cobwebs, and endless shadow that no-one can escape.
- Gambit Roulette: Everything that's been happening with Gideon this season has all been part of the Black Fairy's ultimate goal of breaking out of her realm and into Storybrooke.
- Giant Spider: Gideon summons one through the portal at the Sorcerer's mansion (after pretending it was the Black Fairy catching on to their plan, except it was actually the Black Fairy working through his heart all along) to kill Emma so he can drain her Savior powers to charge the sword. It turns out the Black Fairy had turned Roderick into a smaller version originally, which is probably why she chose to make him create one again, just to torment Gideon.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Gold spells out to Emma and Snow just why this applies to the Black Fairy — not only is she the creator of the Dark Curse and the source of all darkness, but she has been trying to break free of her realm permanently for some time. If she succeeds in doing so, there is far worse she can do than all the darkness that has come about so far.
- Heroic RRoD: What appears to be either this or Power Degeneration for Henry is explained by Isaac as the opposite, his Author powers taking him over because the storybook (and everyone's stories) may be coming to an end.
- A House Divided: Belle points out this is what Gideon has done to everyone, since his actions (and Gold's determination to still try and save him) have pitted them against the heroes and each other. All as the Black Fairy planned, of course.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Roderick's appeal to Gideon, that he knows the boy who was his friend and protector once is still in there and will help him kill the Black Fairy. He's right, but thanks to the Black Fairy's trick it ends up not mattering in the end.
- Just in Time: Played with. While Gold does free Emma from the spider's webbing before she can truly die, and this draws her powers back from the sword so that the portal closes, it was open just enough and just long enough for the Black Fairy to still get through.
- Like Father, Like Son:
- When given the chance to help a captive friend, a young Gideon ends up falling back like a coward just like Gold.
- In a case of Like Mother Like Son, the Black Fairy is shown to call people "dearie", and has a fantastic evil giggle.
- Magnetic Plot Device: Once again, the Clock Tower is used by a villain — this time Gideon opening the portal for the Black Fairy there.
- Meaningful Echo: After Emma and Gold work together against the Giant Spider, it shrinks down to its original size and Emma squishes it, quite satisfyingly. Then we learn that the Black Fairy had turned Gideon's friend Roderick into one and squished it as well, making the whole thing a terrible Ironic Echo.
- My Greatest Second Chance: After experiencing My Greatest Failure with not saving his friend and fellow prisoner Roderick, Gideon gets the chance to make amends as an adult after finding out he's alive after all. Unfortunately the whole thing was a cruel test by the Black Fairy and his chance is ruined for good by Roderick's true death.
- Noodle Incident: When listing all of the Evil Queen's acts that she's been cleaning up, Regina mentions "getting Doctor Dolittle out of the cage." At Henry's confused reaction she merely says "Don't ask."
- No-Sell:
- It appears Gideon and Emma can't open the portal to get Hook back because the Black Fairy anticipated them and blocked it, sending the spider through. It turns out she did, but only by making Gideon summon it.
- Because the napkin with Emma's tear got burned during the above encounter, Hook can now no longer make it back to Storybrooke through any kind of portal.
- Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught: When Hook explains that the Jolly Roger is still in Storybrooke, Blackbeard accuses him of cheating him. Hook fires back that he knew Blackbeard had "six aces" in his deck and they're even.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Gideon's (feigned) reaction when the spider comes through the portal.
- Hook realizes he and Blackbeard are in Neverland.
- Gideon's reaction when the Black Fairy shows up in Storybrooke.
- Place of Power: Unsurprisingly, Gideon claims that the Sorcerer's mansion is built on the greatest nexus of magic in Storybrooke, thus making it the perfect place to open a portal.
- The Power of Trust: Emma agrees to help Gideon — if he gives her the sword and tells her how to break the spell on Hook. He agrees... but ends up breaking his word by summoning the spider, then trapping her so he can still steal her powers. But this is enforced by the Black Fairy using his heart; it's clear if he had been in control of himself, he would have kept his promise.
- Retcon:
- It's explained that not all the Lost Boys chose to go to Storybrooke but "the worst ones" stayed in Neverland.
- It was established during the Dark Swan arc that Nimue, the first Dark One, was the start of dark magic. Here, Gold states that the Black Fairy is the source of darkness.*
- The Reveal:
- The Black Fairy was the one who created the Dark Curse in the first place.
- Also, Gideon hasn't really been working on his own but rather controlled by the Black Fairy who carries his heart. Not only is this foreshadowed by the episode title, it explains contradictions in his earlier behavior as Morpheus, and trying to kill Emma with the sword vs. trying to get her to help him open the portal — because everything he did was actually the Black Fairy all along.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Isaac not only barters for his freedom, but also the means to leave town, as the Final Battle is approaching, and he doesn't want to get caught in the crossfire.
- Secret Test of Character: The Black Fairy pretends to have had her key stolen in order to test how Gideon will react and if he'll end up turning against her. He fails.
- Shout-Out:
- Regina lists the messes she cleaned up from the Evil Queen, including freeing Doctor Dolittle.
- Henry's writing trance is reminiscent of Coulson's compulsive alien writing in season 2 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. The previous episode's title is also similar to Coulson's Arc Words/Madness Mantra "it's a magical place."
- Among his demands, Isaac asks for tickets to Hamilton.
- Also, the license plate of the car he's given says "WED 1901" — as in Walter Elias Disney, born 1901, who was the previous Author before him.
- Hook being chased by the angry natives (Lost Boys) of Neverland and Blackbeard escaping in a leaky rowboat are both rather reminiscent of moments in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
- The way the webbing looks in the Sorcerer's mansion, the appearance of the spider, and how Emma gets cocooned are all clear references to Frodo and Shelob in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
- Terms of Endangerment: The Black Fairy uses the same one as her son.
- Trapped in Another World: While this is generally the overall fate Killian is relegated to by Gideon, his use of the magic bean specifically ends up resulting in him being trapped in Neverland. Hook has the appropriate reaction (and the likely one the fans would have, too) once he recognizes where he is.
- Villainous Rescue: Gold shows up in time to save Emma from the Giant Spider. This does not last, however, once he finds out she intends to kill Gideon.
- Whatever Happened to the Mouse?: Regina mentions she freed the Dragon from the mirror world.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Isaac reveals that Henry is being consumed by his Author powers. See Heroic RRoD above.Isaac: He thinks he's in control of them, but he's not. They're in control of him. And they are far more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
