Another iconic princess swims into Storybrooke!! Once Upon a Time S3 Ep.6 Recap!!

WARNING: READING SPOILERS COMES WITH A PRICE!!

Snow White escapes capture from the Evil Queen’s men in the Enchanted Forest. Cornered, she leaps off a cliff into the ocean where she is rescued by Ariel. Regina helps Emma in using her magical abilities. Hook tells David and Mary Margaret that Pan has said that Neil is alive. They decide to keep the information from Emma. Snow White talks with Ariel who tells her about Prince Erik whom Ariel rescued from a sinking ship. Ariel intends to attend a party throw by Erik. She reveals that she has the ability to walk on land thanks to a sea goddess named Ursula. Mary Margaret tells Emma that Neil is alive. Elsewhere, Pan visits Gold. He tells Gold to leave the island saying that Neil will never forgive him for all the terrible things he has done. Regina leaves on her own, refusing to follow Emma and Mary Margaret on their hunt for Neil. IN Enchanted Forest, Ariel attends the Under the Sea Ball with Snow White. Ariel meets and dances with Erik who tells her that Ursula gave him a vision of her when his ship was done. He tells her that he is leaving to see the world and invites Ariel to join him. However, Ariel is unsure since she will return to being a mermaid at midnight. In her castle, Regina has been watching the events of the evening unfold. She hatches a plan to get Snow White. Peter Pan moves Neil to the Echo Caves to keep Emma and Mary Margaret from finding him.

Belle talks with Gold who is having a difficult time with what Pan said. She tells him to return to Storybrooke and forget about Henry and Neil. Regina shows up and reveals that the image of Belle is actually Pan’s shadow. Emma tells Mary Margaret that she kissed Hook. When she loses hope in Neil possibly being alive, Mary Margaret tells her to not lose hope, for Emma deserves a happy ending. Ariel loses hope in being with Erik and seeks help from the mythical Sea Goddess. She loses hope in the goddess which is restored when Ursula appears. Regina tries to convince Gold that they need to work together in order to save Henry. Gold tells her that the only way to kill Pan is for him to die. Ariel shows Snow White the gift she received from Ursula. The magical bracelet turns Snow White into a mermaid in exchange for Ariel to remain human. However, Snow notices something is amiss. Regina appears and reveals that is was she, not Ursula, whom Ariel spoke with. Ariel is given a choice between her happiness with Erik or saving Snow White. Ariel leaves, seeming to have chosen to be with Erik, but she returns to save Snow White instead. After stabbing Regina with a fork, she removes the bracelet and escapes with Snow White to the sea.

At the Echo Caves, everyone reveals their darkest secrets in order to save Neil. Afterward, Neil is happy for Emma revealing her secret but Mary Margaret is clearly upset with David who cannot leave the island due to the dream shade cure. After getting Snow White to safety, Ariel returns to Erik’s castle to tell him about her mermaid secret following Snow White’s advice only to learn that her voice is gone, stolen by Regina as punishment. Back at her castle, the real Ursula confronts Regina, angered at the Evil Queen’s deception. The story of the Little Mermaid continues as Regina, with Gold at her side, uses a conch shell to summon Ariel. She returns Ariel her voice and tells her to travel to Storybrooke. Ariel asks what the price of the journey. Regina tells her that Erik is in Storybrooke.

I’ve said it before. I love it when new characters are introduced on “Once Upon a Time”. The story of the Little Mermaid gets a new spin while keeping the elements from the beloved Disney classic movie. Ariel remains largely unchanged from the character featured in the Disney film. She still dreams of being “a part of their world”. She saves Snow White after she jumped into the ocean to escape capture from the Evil Queen. She tells Snow about her rescuing Prince Erik when his ship sank a year ago, which also played out in the original film. The twist is that Ariel, as well as the other mer-people, is granted the ability to walk on land once a year thanks to the Sea Goddess Ursula. Same as the animated film, Ariel attends a ball thrown by Prince Erik where she meets and dances with him; however, unlike the film, she still has her voice and tells him her name (Didn’t need the help of a Jamaican crab for this one). Erik tells her of his dream to see the world and he can see the same starry eyes in Ariel. But Erik is leaving in the morning when Ariel is no longer able to walk on land. Knowing what it is like to be in love with a prince, Snow White suggests that Ariel try to speak with Ursula even though the Sea Goddess has not been seen for a thousand years. Ariel, with hope on her side, reaches out the Ursula who does appear and makes Ariel an offer the same as she did in the Disney film. Later, she shows the bracelet Ursula gave her to Snow White where she puts it on her arm, turning her into a mermaid. Ariel tells Snow that this way she can escape the Evil Queen’s wrath. Sadly, it is revealed that Regina had tricked Ariel by disguising herself as Ursula. She has Ariel choose between being happy with Erik and being loyal to her friend Snow White. Ariel chooses loyalty as she stabs Regina with a fork, removes the bracelet from Snow White which gives Ariel her tail back and escapes to the water with Snow White. Safely away, Snow sees that Ariel longs for Erik who has shown to have a liking for the mermaid. She encourages Ariel to return to the docks and tell Erik the truth about her being a mermaid. Unfortunately, Ariel’s chances are ruined when Regina is there to greet her at the docks where the Evil Queen has stolen her voice, putting a spin on the same situation that happened to Ariel in the Disney movie.

The consequences of revealing the truth play out in Neverland as well. At the Echo Caves, Emma and the others must reveal their darkest secrets in order to rescue Neil who has been placed there by Pan. Hook reveals that he has true feelings for Emma. Mary Margaret tells David how regretful she is for missing out on Emma’s life growing up and wants to have another child with him. David puts a huge dent in her plan when he finally reveals the truth about the poisoned arrow, the cure Hook lead him to, and the fact that he cannot leave Neverland or he will die. Though Emma tells Neil her true feelings about their relationship and how she hoped he was dead so she can move on apparently can’t hold a candle to the fact that David has to stay in Neverland and he totally betrayed Mary Margaret’s trust and faith in him. Their marriage is on the rock as Mary Margaret storms off, angry and more upset than she has ever been. On the flip side, Neil seemingly forgives Emma after finding out that she hoped the poor guy was dead. Hook watches as they make up. He is likely going to regret ever mentioning anything about Neil now that he no chance with Emma. He might even take Pan up on his offer.

Peter Pan appears to be greatly worried about Gold/Rumplestiltskin’s presence in Neverland. He has been trying to convince the Dark One to give up his quest to rescue Henry and leave Neverland. He even goes as far as to bring up how Rumplestiltskin was abandoned by his father as a child and question whether he has forgiven him for leaving. Pan compares him to his son Bealfire/Neil who hasn’t forgiven Gold for all the wrongs he has done and the added fact that he intended to kill Henry at one time. However, Gold stands his ground, willing to put an end to Pan at the cost of his own life.

Sick and tired of all the cutesy stuff with the Charming family, Regina goes off on her own and eventually finds Gold speaking with Belle whom she reveals the be Pan’s shadow in disguise. She suggests an alliance with him in order the rescue Henry. Gold tells her that the only way to kill Pan is for him to die as well. It isn’t hard for Regina to remind of who he is. Gold tells her that there is something in his show back in Storybrooke that will defeat Pan, giving him a fate worse than death. In order to get the required item, Regina enlists the help of the one person who can freely leave Neverland. Will Ariel help Regina in order to be with Erik who is in Storybrooke? And more importantly, will Erik forgive her for leaving him waiting at the dock? She has no one else so it’s not like she has a choice. No doubt Regina had this planned ahead of time.

The original deal made in “The Little Mermaid”