In "Strange Case," Regina (Lana Parrilla) finally finds out how to destroy her evil half — and she doesn’t like it.
In the opening scene, Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) is trying to fix things in his shop and becomes frustrated when he can’t concentrate. He eyes a pair of scissors, goes back to his personal quarters and returns with a haircut. When he returns to his work, the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) is waiting in the lobby of the shop with Mr. Hyde (Sam Witwer). Hyde is in search of a necklace that Rumple is in possession of. Rumple tries to choke Hyde, but he cannot kill him. Hyde spots the necklace, and he takes it.
At Emma’s (Jennifer Morrison) house, Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) is fixing breakfast for his family before Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Henry (Jared Gilmore) head out for their first day back in school. Regina and Dr. Jekyll (Hank Harris) come bursting in the door and tell them that Hyde has escaped and left Jekyll a present — the necklace from Rumple’s shop.
In a flashback to London, Jekyll is with a women named Mary (Elizabeth Blackmore) and the necklace from Storybrooke is around her neck. Jekyll is working on a serum that can split a person’s personality in two. Mary invites her father (Jonny Coyne) to see the work Jekyll is doing. Mary’s father runs an academy that Jekyll hopes to be a part of. When her father is unimpressed, and they leave, Jekyll becomes angry and throws a vial. Rumple, who is the Dark One, shows up. Rumple adds a little magic to the serum, and it works now. Jekyll drinks it and starts screaming in agony.
On Hook’s ship, Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) tells Belle (Emilie de Ravin) he is leaving the Jolly Roger and moving in with Emma. But in order to keep Belle safe, he gives her a seashell that can be used to communicate. Before Hook leaves, Rumple shows up to protect Belle. Belle doesn’t want his help, but he casts a protection spell around the boat anyways, preventing Hyde from coming aboard and Belle from leaving.
In the meantime, Jekyll is trying to finish the serum that will be use to defeat the Evil Queen and Hyde. The Evil Queen and Hyde show up to the laboratory and knock Doc (David Avalon) and Leroy (Lee Arenberg) — two dwarves who are protecting Jekyll — unconscious. The Evil Queen put a beckoning spell on the necklace and it led them straight to Jekyll.
In another flashback, Jekyll is now Hyde and he is trying to get his other half into the academy that Mary’s father runs. Hyde blackmails Mary’s father and convinces him to allow Jekyll into the program.
Back in London, Rumple wakes up Jekyll, who finds an academy pin in his pocket. Hyde was successful in manipulating Mary’s father to allow Jekyll in the academy. Rumple convinces Jekyll to use the serum again to get Mary. Rumple says he wants the serum from Jekyll — probably to separate his two sides — but wants to make sure the serum works more than one time. Against his wishes, Jekyll agrees to take the serum and Hyde is going to convince Mary to love Jekyll.
Regina takes Rumple to the laboratory to complete the serum, but they find the space destroyed. The Evil Queen and Hyde stole the serum, but Jekyll hid a vial in his pocket. Regina wants Rumple to complete the serum so they can use it against the Evil Queen and Hyde. Instead, Rumple reaches for Jekyll’s chest and rips out his heart. Rumple knows Regina won’t let him kill Jekyll, so she obeys Rumple when he pulls out the Dark One’s dagger and tells her to pour the serum on it. Rumple is going to kill Hyde by stabbing him with the dagger.
After his laboratory is ransacked, Jekyll goes to Hook’s ship to tell Hook and Belle that Rumple stole the serum and is out to kill Hyde. Hook leaves Belle alone with Jekyll to go find them. While they are alone, Jekyll tells Belle a story about Hyde and Mary.
In the flashback, Hyde is walking down a dark road and comes across Mary. Hyde tells Mary that Jekyll is in love with her, but Mary does not feel the same way about him. She is attracted to Hyde. This is very weird and confusing because Mary is technically in love with half of Jekyll. The flashback ends with the two sharing a very passionate kiss.
In the present day, Charming and Emma are walking through the forest when Emma sense someone’s presence — it’s Hyde. After Hyde hurts Charming, he runs off and comes across Rumple who stabs him with the serum-infused dagger, but Hyde pulls the dagger out, unscathed. Hyde switched the vials and is now in possession of the Dark One’s dagger, which controls Rumple. He commands Rumple to take them to Belle. When they arrive, Hyde says, “There is one more twist to the story — I am not the monster you need to worry about.”
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In London, Jekyll — not Hyde — wakes up in bed beside Mary. Jekyll freaks out and gets angry at Mary for sleeping with Hyde. Again, this is really confusing because they are essentially the same person. While fighting, Jekyll puts her back to the window and pushes her. Mary falls to her death. Before anyone finds out Jekyll pushed her out the window, he takes the serum, and Hyde is seen as the perpetrator.
On the ship, Belle senses something is wrong, so she tries to call Hook on the seashell. Jekyll comes up behind her and knocks it out of her hands, causing it to shatter. Belle stabs him with a sharp piece of the shell and runs to the upper deck. She tries to leave but can’t because of the protection spell. Rumple is standing there, but he can’t lift the spell because Hyde is controlling him. Jekyll has Belle cornered and is going to kill her to get revenge on the Dark One for his indirect role in killing Mary. Before he can send Belle overboard and to her death, Hook — who was hiding on the ship — pushes Jekyll into a harpoon. The twist comes when not only Jekyll dies, but when Hyde dies as well. Regina shows up as Hyde dies. Rumple tells her the only way to kill a person’s doppelganger is to kill the original. Finally taking in what this means, Regina realizes the only way to get rid of the Evil Queen is to kill herself.
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After everything that has happened, Belle wants Rumple to tell her why he interfered with Jekyll’s life. This prompts the final flashback of the episode which takes place when Hyde returns to the laboratory, moments after Mary’s tragic death. When Hyde arrives, Rumple is there waiting for him. Hyde reveals that he was in love with Mary and is distraught because of her death. Rumple sees this as a weakness, so he becomes angry and tries to kill Hyde. Before we see what happens, the scene shifts back to Belle and Rumple. He tells Belle he wanted the serum because he was falling in love with Belle, who was his maid at the time and living in his castle. Instead of killing Jekyll and Hyde, he sent them to the Land of Untold Stories.
In the final scene, Snow’s teacher’s aid — whom she met in the hallways on her first day back to teaching — is going to the forest. She speaks into the darkness and says “You can come out now.” The oracle from the first episode walks out of the shadows and says she saw the person the woman is looking for: “I promise we will find him Jasmine.” Jasmine (Karen David) is Snow’s assistant, and she is in Storybrooke to find Aladdin.
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Finally, a dramatic episode that adds substance to Once Upon a Time’s plot line has been presented. With Jekyll and Hyde gone, everyone can focus on keeping the Evil Queen at bay until they can find a way to save Regina. Even though they say there is no other way to kill the Evil Queen, Once Upon a Time’s main theme is all about hope. Maybe Jasmine and Aladdin are the people they need to help. I’m positive they will find a way to kill the Evil Queen and save Regina — at least I hope.
Rating: 3.5/5
