ABC/Jack RowandSpoiler Alert: Do not continue reading if you've yet to watch Once Upon a Time's season 3premiere. Seriously, we meant it, spoilers are ahead! So no going down to the comments and complaining about us ruining your night. House rules!
We're not in Storybrooke anymore!
Once Upon a Time returned for its 3rd season on Sunday and picked up right where we left off at the end of season 2: Our group of 6 heroes (and anti-heroes!) are off the Neverland to save Henry (Jared Gilmore). As if crossing realms and family bickering isn't enough to deal with, Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and the group has the threat of Peter Pan, whom we've yet to meet, looming over them, a villain so dangerous even Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) is afraid of him.
So did we finally meet Pan? And how is the band of fairy tale characters faring on the Jolly Roger together? Plus, executive producers Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis dish on what's ahead..
It's Pan, Man: Or should we say boy? After the Lost Boys take out magic-haters Tamra and Greg (Sorry guys, but no one will miss ya!), Henry receives some help escaping from a young boy, played by Robbie Kay, who left the gang. The two bond throughout the hour, but twist alert: It's actually Pan! (It's very Theon and Ramsay on Game of Thrones, no?) It seems Pan has been on the hunt for the heart of the truest believer for quite some time and Henry fits the bill. Darn that pixie dust! (Also: Kudos to the show for keeping Pan's reveal a total surprise!)
"The thing that makes Henry so great is his belief, so this is a world where that belief is going to be used against him," Kitsis previews. "I don't think we've ever seen that before, so that's what we're kind of excited about." So what does Pan, who Kitsis calls a "sick, twisted kid," want to do with Henry and his believin' heart? While the bosses wouldn't say exactly, Horowitz teases, "What we wanted was someone who had a really character-based motivation for why belief was important to him and why the truest believer was important to him, and that's the story that we're going to unfurl in these first eleven."
So when will fans learn Pan's backstory? Kitsis simply says , "We are going to be telling you how Peter Pan became Peter Pan and why he made the decisions he made." Horowitz adds, "In our minds, evil isn't born, it's made, and I think that applies to all the villains, including Peter Pan."
But Pan isn't the only baddie we would be concerned about as the Lost Boys are shaping up to be the villains for our rescue mission team. "The lost boys have a bit of The Lord of the Flies situation going on," Kitsis explains, "But it is tough and no one wants to kill children; they want to get Henry back and this is their villain." Horowitz adds, "We thought that it's a really interesting dilemma to have villains that just by looking at them you really can't engage in a real way with them."
Love Triangle Update: Emma and Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) bond over their connection to Neal/Baelfire (Michael Raymond-James), even taking a shot in his honor as they believe he's dead. Of course, he's not and he's desperately trying to get back to Emma, whom he says he loves. Awww! But Hook definitely came to play, cheekily telling Emma, "I quite fancy you from time to time when you're not yelling at me."
Jolly Roger Isn't so Jolly: Everyone is fighting with everyone on this journey! Not only do Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Regina (Lana Parrilla) come to blows, Hook and Charming (Josh Dallas) do as well. Alas, the frenemies come together when Emma falls overboard during a storm. But Emma's had it with the fighting, finally taking control of the group. "it's time for all of us to believe, not in magic, but each other...I'm your leader, so either help me get my son back or get out of the way."
Line(s) of the Night: "He said that I'm a villain and that villains don't get happy endings. Do you believe that?" Regina asks fellow (possibly reformed) baddie Hook, who answers, "I hope not or we've wasted our lives."
Neal, who wakes up to find himself with Mulan (Jamie Chung), Aurora (Sara Bolger) and Prince Phillip (Julian Morris), tells Mulan that a movie has been made about her life. "What's a movie?" Mulan asks.
Also, Pan's "Let's play" at the end of the episode gave us chills!
What did you think of OUAT's premiere? Were you shocked by the Pan reveal? Sound off in the comments!