'Once Upon a Time' Season 2, Episode 10: 'The Cricket Game' Recap

Hook and Cora pull into harbor. Hook is ready to part ways with her… but she isn’t so eager to break their alliance. She reminds him that magic is back, and if he goes off after Rumplestiltskin, he’ll be destroyed.

A friendly fisherman comes to chat up the duo, but an annoyed Cora hides Hook’s ship and turns the man into a fish. Hook is forced to listen to her… and Cora wants to go take a look around.

Snow and Charming, fooling around in bed together, get interrupted early by Henry and Emma. Emma is understandably weirded out, and she and Henry wander off, dazed, to make tacos.

Flashback to queen Regina, watching over her war. She asks where Snow White is… and goes off to find her.

Snow White, meanwhile, running through the forest, is quickly found after she trips. Snow tells Regina they can’t win, and offers parlay to negotiate surrender. Regina says her terms are simple—her death.

It was a trap. As she goes to kill Snow, a fairy comes down, and freezes her. Snow tells her, regretfully, she should have surrendered.

Snow and Ruby greet one another at Granny’s, for a celebration dinner. Regina comes in just shy of the toast. No one seems happy to see her… but Emma warns them she invited her. She tells Snow and Charming they owe her. Henry believes in Regina, and that’s enough for her.

AS Regina uncomfortably makes herself a plate, Henry tells her she is glad he came… but Grumpy is suspicious of her lasagna, asking if it has been poisoned.

Everyone eats and mingles—except Regina, who sits alone. She grabs her coat and goes to leave, but Emma chases her out the door and invites her to stay for cake. Regina turns it down, but thanks her for the invite. Emma tells her it was Henry’s idea, and admits that she would like to see Henry more. Emma, however, doesn’t think that’s a good idea, and Regina lashes out at her.

She apologizes, and Emma accepts it slowly. She tells her she spoke to Doctor Hopper and knows that Regina is trying to change, and so she’s trying to learn to trust her.

Hook and Cora are watching Regina walk forlornly down the sidewalk from the top of a roof. Hook wants to know if she is broken, but Cora says not yet.

Regina confronts Archie, who says he was just trying to help. He told Emma as a show of her commitment to change.

Ruby comes trotting up, asking if everything is all right, but Regina sends her off. Archie reassures Regina he can be trusted… and she warns him he’s lucky he changed.

Flashback, as everyone tries to figure out what to do with Regina. Jiminy Cricket doesn’t think she can be trusted. Prince James reluctantly admits that as long as she lives, she will always pose a threat. They must kill the queen.

Snow White asks if he is sure, but he says he has no choice. She tells him there is always a choice.

Back in Storybrooke, Ruby watches Regina walking. Regina goes to see Archie, and tells him she was hoping they could talk even though it’s late. Pongo, Archie’s dog, begins to growl and bark.

Regina grabs Archie by the throat, freezing Pongo. Purple smoke covers them.

As Regina leaves and walks down an alley, purple smoke again changes her back into Cora.

Over lunch, Henry asks Emma about her trip, which she says mostly consisted of ogres. She goes to walk him to the bus. Outside, Pongo runs up, barking urgently. Ruby runs out, knowing that something is wrong with the dog. Emma sends Henry off, and the two women chase after Pongo.

They find Archie in his office, dead.

Flashback—Regina is in prison. Her father comes to visit her. He thinks it is all his fault. He begs her to change. Later, soldiers lead the prisoner off… while the Dark One, Rumplestiltskin, watches from the crowd. They position her in the center of the square. Jiminy asks if she has any last words. She says she does.

She says she knows she is being judged for her past. She says she wants everyone to know what she feels when she looks back—regret.

“Regret that I was not able to cause more pain. Inflict more misery, and bring about more death… and above all with every ounce of my being I regret that I was not able to kill Snow White.”

They blindfold her, and the archers take aim. Snow stops them, and a fairy freezes the arrows before they kill Regina. Snow tells James it is not the way… and Regina is lead back to her cell, smiling.

Regina is in custody now. She is genuinely shocked to hear that Archie is dead. James tells her that Ruby saw her go into the office. Snow watches from behind the two-way mirror. Behind the mirror, Emma believes Regina. She really doesn’t think Regina knew Archie was dead, and she truly wants to change.

“I know that look. I know her. I believe her.”

Emma reminds them she is the sheriff, and Regina is innocent until proven guilty. She tells them they have to let her go and then find the truth.

Back in time, Snow and Prince Charming are arguing again about Regina. Snow reminds him she was good, once. She changed before… maybe she can change back. James doesn’t want to take that risk.

“There’s no going back from killing.”

Snow goes to the empty, foggy square, to think. She is startled by Rumplestiltskin. He laughs at the idea of “Regina Redeemed.” He offers to provide her with a test that will prove whether or not she can be redeemed.

At Archie’s office, everyone is going through his stuff. Regina’s file is empty. Evidence is pointing to Regina. Emma points out that that much evidence does seem odd… as if someone were framing her.

They go to see Mr. Gold, who is about to have a picnic lunch with Belle. They accuse him of killing Archie. He tells them to ask the witness.

They bring in Pongo to extract his memories. They’re suspicious of Gold, but he tells Emma she will be the one using the magic, so he can’t alter it. He brings out a dreamcatcher, and runs it down the length of the dog. It begins to glow with memories. He gives it to Emma, and tells her she has to will it to make sense.

She grabs it and makes an effort, but nothing happens. She can’t do it. Gold tells her yes, she can.

On the dreamcatcher, Emma begins to see what Pongo saw… Regina coming in, strangling Archie. She drops it in horror, and admits to James that he was right all along.

Emma goes off to get Regina. James and Snow try to stop her from going after her without a plan. They need a way to contain her magic.

Fairy dust. Emma knows how to approach her without her knowing.

Flashback to Snow going to see Regina, who is back in her cell. She sends off the soldier guarding the door, and shoves a dagger further up her sleeve. She tells Regina she knows that the woman Regina used to be was a good woman. She picks the lock and opens the door.

“All you need is someone to help you let her out.”

She tells Regina this is a chance to start fresh and leave her evil behind. Regina walks out, Snow happy beside her. Dumb mistake. Regina grabs her by the throat. Snow tries to stab her with the dagger, but Regina takes it, and stabs Snow.

She is horrified when the dagger does nothing. The spell Snow got from Rumplestiltskin has made it so Regina can never harm Snow or James. They banish her. She failed the test.

In Storybrooke, they confront Regina. She and Emma fight about Henry, and a fairy tries to throw fairy dust at her.

However, she deflects it, and throws Emma. They fight again, and Emma says they know now she can never change. Regina looks upset, and vanishes in a puff of dark smoke.

Emma waits for Henry’s bus, panicking about what she should do about telling Henry. James and Snow remind her they’re a family now, and no one has to go through the hard stuff alone. The bus arrives, and Emma takes Henry aside to tell him the news.

Regina watches, crying from a nearby car.

Flashback to Regina in her new special banishment castle. Rumplestiltskin comes to see her… on the day of Snow White and Prince Charming’s wedding. She isn’t happy… there’s no way to harm them in this land.

True. In this land, he hints.

“Told you I was your friend,” he says, and vanishes. Newly smiling, Regina calls for her carriage—she has a wedding to get to.

Hook is grumpily polishing his hook on the dock when Cora comes back. They go onto the invisible shift, Cora eager to show him the gift she left him… not what, but who. Hook looks down into the hold, confused. Cora tells them it’s someone who knows all the secrets of Storybrooke—it’s Archie, tied and gagged.

“Who did you kill?” Hook asks, but Cora can’t be bothered with stuff like that. Whoever it was, they looked like Archie in the end, didn’t they?