"Darkness on the Edge of Town" | |
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Once Upon a Time episode | |
Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 12 |
Directed by | Jon Amiel |
Written by | Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz |
Production code | 412 |
Original air date | March 1, 2015 |
Guest appearance(s) | |
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"Darkness on the Edge of Town" is the twelfth episode and spring premiere of the fourth season of the American fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time, which aired on March 1, 2015.
In this episode, Hook and Belle attempt to find a solution to liberate the fairies from the Sorcerer's hat. Emma, Henry, and Regina continue their investigation to track down the author of the storybooks, while a strange darkness called Chernabog threatens Storybrooke. In New York, Mr. Gold acquires a new ally named Cruella De Vil with the help of Ursula. Flashbacks show how Ursula, Maleficent, and Cruella met.
Cruella De Vil's car arrives in the forest.
"Many years ago" in the Enchanted Forest, a gathering takes place at Maleficent’s Forbidden Fortress, with Maleficent, Ursula and Cruella De Vil being brought together by an unknown person. Before they can fight amongst themselves, the person responsible for this meeting, Rumplestiltskin, appears with a plan to change their happy endings. The ladies are skeptical about his plan at first, but they listen and agree to join him.
At a nearby mountain, Rumplestiltskin points out to the ladies that the curse, concealed in an orb, lies within the deepest part of the area, but to reach it they must first get through a series of obstacles perfectly suited to their talents. After they complete the tasks, they hand the orb to Rumplestiltskin, who reveals he was simply using them and leaves them to die at the hands of the demon Chernabog, the Guardian of the mountain. The ladies hide from the demon, who seeks the person with the heart that has the darkest potential, until Maleficent notices a large crack in the wall that would provide escape. The ladies come out of hiding and while Chernabog targets Maleficent, Ursula and Cruella escape. Maleficent, thinking they are abandoning her, fights off the demon until Ursula rescues her by using her tentacles to pull her to safety.
It has been six weeks since Mr. Gold was banished to the real world. Since then, he has been making himself at home at Ursula's apartment in New York City, eating Ramen and mooching off of a furious Ursula, leading to tensions between the two. However, they put their differences aside when Gold receives an e-mail he states will end their troubles. Following this, they go to Great Neck, Long Island, where they meet a distraught Cruella de Vil watching her belongings being seized by the FBI after her criminal husband is arrested. After Gold arrives to see her lose everything, he tells her about joining him and Ursula on a trip to a place where magic exists, Storybrooke, where they hope to seek out the author of the "Once Upon a Time" book, whom Gold believes ruined their lives in the first place and can give them their happy endings.