Sunday’s episode of Once Upon a Time still does not deliver the epic scenes and storylines it needs to draw the audience in.
The episode, “The Other Shoe,” explores an untold story of Cinderella (Jessy Schram) — who goes by Ashley in Storybrooke — as well as her wicked stepmother, Lady Tremaine (Lisa Barnes), and stepsisters Clorinda (Mekenna Melvin) and Tisbe (Goldie Hoffman).
The episode opens in Storybrooke with Regina (Lana Parrilla), Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) and Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) trying to get information from Mr. Hyde. Regina thinks the best way to get Hyde to talk is to prepare him lasagna. I guess even magical beings can’t say no to homemade food. When they arrive at Hyde’s cell, they find that the Evil Queen had already been there and she fed him food as well. It looks like the Evil Queen is one step ahead of her other half again.
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The next morning, Henry (Jared Gilmore) goes into Granny’s diner to talk to Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) and Emma (Jennifer Morrison). Henry shows them a list he has compiled of the people who came to Storybrooke from the Land of Untold Stories. Ashley, who is now a babysitter, comes in to look at the list and see how many kids came from the Land of Untold Stories.
This leads us into the first flashback of the episode, and it takes us back to when Cinderella was under the thumb of her wicked stepmother. The family is receiving an invitation to the royal ball by Prince Thomas’s footman, Jacob (Max Lloyd-Jones). Cinderella, of course, is told that she is not allowed to attend the ball, even though she has a dress her mother had worn, which she pulls out of a chest. The stepsisters snatch the dress from Cinderella and throw it in the fire. They all leave and Cinderella take the dress out of the inferno and key falls from its hems. She said her mother told her a story about the same key that could take her to the Land of Untold Stories. She believes that her mother was making the story up and the magic isn’t real.
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Back in Storybrooke, Prince Thomas (Tim Phillips), who is now Ashley’s husband, comes running up to Emma and tells her Ashley has run away. He thinks she is out to kill her evil stepsisters. Emma says she’s going to find her and conjures up one of Cinderella’s shoes to use a tracking spell and find Cinderella.
Meanwhile, in the forest, Regina, Charming and Snow are with Jekyll who thinks he can figure out why the Evil Queen is still alive by using science. His attempts fail and he says he needs an actual lab to work in. Charming and Jekyll go on the abandoned ship to seek out more supplies. Snow and Regina have a talk that leads Regina to figure out she has to talk to Zelena. She believes the Evil Queen is trying to use her sister. When Regina leaves, Charming and Snow have a conversation about wanting some normalcy in their lives. The only time things were normal was when they were under the first curse and couldn’t remember who they were. Snow tells her husband that she wants to go back to teaching, which somehow leads her to an epiphany: “I think I know a way to help Jekyll.”
In the past, Cinderella finds her way to the ball. Cinderella tells a person at the ball that Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) gave her the blue dress and glass slippers. While walking she steps on a dress, the dress of a passerby — Snow White. She’s just everywhere, isn’t she? Snow points out to Cinderella that the Prince is staring at her. Cinderella walks up to the Prince and the two dance. It’s love at first sight. The Prince leaves for a few minutes and in that time Cinderella spots the Prince giving her step sister, Colinda, a rose. Her stepmother sneaks up behind her and tells her the Prince would never fall for her. Cinderella runs off, leaving a glass slipper behind.
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Back in Storybrooke, Charming goes to Rumple in search of answers regarding his father’s death. Charming brings the coin and is willing to pay any price to find out the truth. Rumple knows what happened to his father, but Charming has to do something in exchange for the information. Later in the episode, Charming delivers a tape to Belle from Rumple. Normally Rumple’s deals would be much more lengthy and more dangerous, but this simple request was an easy feat to carry out. I think Rumple is going soft and is losing his touch.
In another flashback, Cinderella is talking to her mouse, Gus, who is signalling her to open the box with the key in it. She uses the key to unlock a wardrobe and a portal opens. Before she steps through the portal, Clorinda comes in and stops her. Clorinda explains to Cinderella that Prince Thomas wants to marry her and she is marrying Jacob — the flower the Prince gave Clorinda was just a way of saying congratulations. This is a nice twist to the classic story of Cinderella.
In the present day, Emma takes Hook and Henry to find Ashley. They use Ashley’s shoe and it leads them to an alleyway beside the docks. Ashley has a gun and is pointing it at the three of them. Cinderella reveals she is not trying to kill Clorinda, she just wants to apologize for something she did when they were younger. Emma tries to stop Cinderella from leaving, but her hand shakes and her magic doesn’t work. Out of nowhere, The Evil Queen shows up and makes Emma feel worthless: “I want you to see how pointless you are.” After the Evil Queen discredits everything Emma has done, she poofs them to the middle of nowhere so they can’t help Ashley. The three of them try to figure out their next move. Emma is completely defeated, but Hook and Henry are not giving up hope. Henry retrieves the storybook from his satchel in order to see the rest of Cinderella’s story.
Back at Cinderella’s home, her stepmother comes in to ask where Clorinda is. Cinderella knows that Clorinda is on her way to the guard tower to meet up with Jacob. Lady Tremaine threatens to break the glass slipper — the only proof Cinderella has of the night she spent with the Prince — if Cinderella doesn’t tell her where Clorinda is hiding. Cinderella tells her of Clorinda’s whereabouts, but her stepmother still drops the slipper, causing it to shatter.
In Storybrooke, Ashley finds Clorinda in a horse stable on a farm. It appears she is hurt, so Cinderella drops her gun and runs to help her. She takes a bloody bandage off her leg, but it’s fake. The stepmother stands behind Cinderella with the loaded gun and points it at her.
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In the final flashback of the episode, Cinderella is locked in the house when Prince Thomas and Snow White show up. When it appears that no one is home, they turn to leave. Gus the mouse comes running by Snow White and leads her to a key that unlocks the residence. They get into the house and the Prince recognizes Cinderella immediately, even though she is in her servant clothing. Overwhelmed by love at first sight, Prince Thomas proposes to Cinderella. Does anyone else find it weird that they’ve only known each other for about four hours? Cinderella accepts the proposal, but says she has to do one more thing. The scene shifts to Clorinda and Jacob at the guard tower. They are going to use the magical key to go to the Land of Untold Stories and escape Lady Tremaine. Before they get through the portal, Lady Tremaine arrives and hits Jacob over the head. Cinderella shows up to stop her stepmother, but it’s too late. Cinderella tells them she is engaged to the Prince. Lady Tremaine is livid because she was supposed to reap the benefits of the Prince. The stepmother decides to go to the Land of Untold Stories and pulls Clorinda in the portal too.
At the stables in Storybrooke, Ashley tells Clorinda she’s sorry and Jacob is alive and in Storybrooke. Clorinda is shocked by the news and instantly forgives Ashley. Lady Tremaine on the other hand has not forgiven anyone, so she aims the gun at Clorinda and Jacob — who was brought in by the stepmother. Lady Tremaine decides to put down the gun because it is too impersonal and stabs Cinderella with a cattle prod. Emma, Henry and Hook come rushing into the stables and Emma is able to heal Ashley. Everyone gets another day to be happy.
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In the meantime, Regina and Snow take Jekyll to a laboratory that has been set up in a garage that belongs to Dr. Frankenstein. The two doctors are going to work together to find a solution. The happy couple, Emma and Hook, are enjoying a nice afternoon with Ashley and her sister. Emma asks Hook to move in with her, and for once, they seem like a normal couple.
Later that night, Charming is up reading the information Rumple gave him about his father. Snow comes out to see what is wrong. The piece of paper says his father was stabbed and not killing in a carting accident, which means the killer is still out there. Snow urges him not to go after the killer. He says he is going to burn the paper so he doesn’t have to think about the killer, but he doesn’t.
In the final scene, the Evil Queen goes to Hyde’s cell. Hyde says he can't help her while he is being held captive. The Evil Queen uses magic to undo the shackles and open the cell door — Hyde is free.
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Once Upon a Time has plateaued at a mediocre level of entertainment. The show needs an epic episode to get back on track. While the storylines are interesting, they aren’t adding anything to the overall arc of the season. There needs to be more conflict in order for season six to revive itself.
