Tonight on ABC their fantastical series Once Upon A Time returns with an all new Sunday April 12, season 4 episode 18, called, “Heart of Gold” and we have your weekly recap, spoilers and synopsis below. On tonight’s episode Gold [Robert Carlyle] blackmails Regina [Lana Parrilla] into helping him locate the Author before a determined Emma [Jennifer Morrison] does.
On the last episode, Hook tells Emma that her fate was at stake in Gold’s plan while Regina lead the villains on a wild goose chase. Henry makes a breakthrough in his search to find the Author, but Mary Margaret and David needed a moment to reconsider the best course of action. In a Fairy Tale Land flashback, Snow and Charming search for a way to ensure their child will grow-up to be a hero. When a travelling peddler directed them to visit a kindly old hermit, Snow and Charming are presented with a choice that could secure their child’s goodness, but at a price that haunted them for years to come. Did you watch the last episode? If you missed it, we have a full and detailed recap right here for you.
On tonight’s episode as per the ABC synopsis, “Emma is still reeling after learning the truth of her parents’ history with Maleficent, but she must focus on finding the Author, who is running loose in Storybrooke, before Gold does. When Gold’s quest for his happy ending grows more urgent, he blackmails Regina into helping him. In a Fairy Tale Land flashback, Robin Hood learns what it means to be an honorable thief when he accepts a proposition by Rumpelstiltskin to travel to Oz to steal a valuable magic elixir from the Wicked Witch.”
Tonight’s season 4 episode 18 looks like it is going to be as magical as ever so make sure that you tune in to our live coverage of Once Upon A Time at 8:00 PM EST!
Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page for Updates
Once Upon A Time starts with Emma in the woods with her parents close behind. They lost the author and Mary tells her that they met him before she was born back in the Enchanted Forest. David says he put them on the path to destroy Maleficent’s child. Emma snaps and says they’ve been lying to her. Emma says she’s the savior because they destroyed someone else’s soul. David says they didn’t understand what they were doing and acted out of fear.
Emma says they have to find the author before Gold. The author is in the woods and snaps a small branch off a tree. He sharpens the end to a fine point. Gold shows up and says he knows about magic quills and says he knows they have to come from an enchanted tree. Gold says there are none of those in Storybrooke. The author curses and goes to walk away but Gold says he should come with him. He tells Gold he’s a huge pain in the ass.
Gold shows him that he has a magic quill and tells the author he has to write him some happy endings. The author sees Emma and her parents coming and agrees to go along. They puff away in a cloud of dark magic. Back in Regina’s crypt, she wakes to hands tied and Gold standing there. He tells her he has the author and he says he can’t let her find her happiness at is expense. He says he lost everything and she will too if she doesn’t obey.
He shows her he found Robin Hood’s number in her pocket and she panics, asking what happened to her love. He magics away her bonds and tells her to call Robin. She does. Nine weeks prior, we see Robin kissing Regina then stepping over the magical boundary of Storybrooke to leave with Marian. Then we see them with their son in the busy city. He tells her Regina gave her the keys to Baelfire’s apartment. A man snatches Marian’s purse and Robin tries to give chase.
He snags a horse from a hanson and goes after the thief who’s on a bike. He runs the guy down and tackles him then stops himself. He says a thief who steals from those in need has no honor. We then see back in Sherwood Forest, years ago, when Robin was working as a barkeep and Marian a serving girl. Little John is there and tries to talk him into doing a job with him but Robin says he’s gone legit. The Sheriff of Nottingham comes in and mocks him.
He helps himself to some mead and says Robin’s taxes are overdue. Robin asks for more time. The Sheriff says he can have two days then he’ll throw him in debtor’s prison and shut down the tavern. He then leers at Marian who says she would never be with him. He says she may change her mind once her husband is in jail and she’s homeless. The Sheriff threatens them again and then goes. Back in modern times, At Baelfire’s apartment, Marian says she doesn’t like New York.
She says it’s all her fault but he says he chose to come with her to join Roland and her. She says he’s honorable but she knows he truly loves Regina. They hear a noise and Robin grabs a knife as the door opens – it’s Gold. He asks Robin what they hell they’re doing there. Robin asks him the same. Gold says they have to get out of his son’s home. Robin says it’s their home now but Gold says he has no time to deal with them and tells them to get out.
Robin asks if he’s looking for the author and Gold says Regina must have told him. Gold says if he doesn’t find the guy, Regina won’t get her happy ending. Robin says his family needs the home and won’t leave. Gold clutches his chest in pain and collapses. Robin panics and tries to revive him. Back in Sherwood Forest, Rumplestilskin comes to see Robin and Marian and says he needs a thief for a job. Robin says they’re not interested but he says he saw the tax notice.
Rumple says he needs him to go to a foreign land and steal the Elixier of the Wounded Heart. Robin says it sounds like a fool’s errand. Rumple says he needs to go to Oz to get it. Back in NYC, Robin too Gold to the emergency room and sits to wait. He starts to call Regina but then stops himself. The nurse tells him Gold is awake and he goes to his room. Robin asks him what the doctor said and Gold says they talked about diet and exercise and something about a heart attack.
Gold says his problem isn’t physical, it’s moral. He says all his dark deeds have taken a toll on him and poisoned his heart and made his blood thick. Gold says he used magic to protect himself back in Storybrooke and won’t last without it. Gold says they can use magical items here even though there’s no magic in the world. He asks if Robin remembers the elixir he asked him to steal. He says he thinks he knows where some exists in NYC.
Gold says he needs Robin to get it for him and then grabs him and says he knows Robin has honor and that’s why he’ll save him. We see Robin in Oz and Will is there. Robin’s arrival saved him from a guard. He helps Will to his feet and says he won’t be able to steal it from the witch. Will says there must be a woman involved and Robin says it’s about taking care of his wife Marian. Will says if he steals him some of the potion too, he’ll get rid of the guard so he doesn’t raise an alarm.
In NYC, Gold heads to a place called the Wizard of Oak and says Zelena sent him there to keep an eye on Emma. He goes inside and an alarm sounds. He quickly searches the desk and then a cabinet while the alarm blares on. He sees an emerald green drawer and pops it open. He finds the potion just as police cars pull up outside. Robin looks for another escape route and dices through a window and into an alley where he runs away.
Marian lectures him about risking arrest and Robin says he had to do it. He tells her that she and Roland are important but he can’t turn his back on someone who’s dying. Marian says his code shouldn’t extend to Gold and says he should let him die. Robin says that doesn’t sound like her. She says thinks have changed but he insists that he hasn’t.
Back in Oz, Robin has put on the guard’s uniform and sneaks into the throne room. He finds a bottle and steals some potion from the vat then pockets it. He’s filling another when Zelena comes in. She asks who he is and why he’s stealing. She asks why Rumple sent him. She splits into three and he aims his arrow. She tells him to choose wisely. He aims his never-miss arrow at a vat of green stuff. It strikes true and poisonous smoke pools out. She gags and coughs and he gets away.
He runs back to the yellow brick road and meets Will. He tells him he failed and it was a trap. He says he never got close to it and couldn’t steal it. He tells Will he’s sorry. Will walks away looking defeated. In NYC, Robin shows Gold he has the potion. He tells him that he gets to keep the apartment and Gold agrees. He tells him they’re done and hands over the potion. Gold drinks down the red brew and then realizes it’s not working. He wonders why.
Marian is there and says it’s not real magic – she has the real bottle of potion. She says she wanted him to die but Robin wouldn’t listen. Gold says he’s never harmed her but she says that’s not quite true. She then transforms into Zelena. He says he killed her but she says he tried. She says her life force fled her body before it shattered and then she blew away. We see her green smoke fly to the portal and through it when Emma traveled.
Zelena says she watched Emma and Hook try to right their errors and says when she realized they were going to take Marian back, she killed Marian and took on her form. We see her take over Marian’s body after blowing her away. Zelena says knowing it would ruin Regina’s happiness made it worth it. Gold is gasping and dying. She says it was her all along and says no one even knew. She says even Roland and Robin didn’t notice.
She says Marian is as dead as Baelfire. He flatlines and Zelena taps his chest and says it’s hollow. She says it’s a beautiful echo. Nurses and doctors rush in and she fakes concern and begs them to help him. Later, we see Gold was revived and is now on a respirator. She says there is magic in this world and marvels that a tube can breathe for him. She holds the tube and says she’s got a bigger plan. She says she was going to try and get Robin to fall for her to steal him from Regina.
She says it didn’t work out and says something is barring her way. She says she’s sure there’s an author that can make a happy ending for her. She says she’s sure the Dark One can make that happen for her. Zelena says she wants her happy ending interjected into his plan and he must also agree to stop trying to kill him. She says she’ll swap the potion for this and asks if they have a deal. She tells him to blink if they have a deal. He glares then blinks.
Back in Oz, Will tells Robin he was a good man for trying and says he’s sorry he’ll lose her tavern. Will says he had a sister he cared about and she fell through some ice and drowned. Robin asks if he wanted the potion to mend his heart. Will says he can’t get past the pain of losing her. Robin says that’s noble for a thief and Will says the code is all they have. They embrace and Robin wishes Robin well with Rumple. Robin steps through the curtained door back to the Enchanted Forest.
Will walks away and sits on a stone then pulls out the partially filled vial he stole from Robin and calls the man a bloody scoundrel. In NYC, Robin waits outside the hospital for Gold. He says he has something for him from Baelfire. It’s a box of his son’s things but Gold says no thanks. He says those belong to Neal, not Baelfire. He says he was too much of a coward to hang onto his son and those things will serve as a reminder of his failure with his son.
Robin says he knows what he means and says he wished for Marian to come back but when she did, she seemed like a stranger to him. Gold asks if Marian is his happy ending and Robin says he doesn’t know. Gold offers some advice and tells him if he knows who and where his happy ending is, he should run for it, hold it and never let it go. Gold walks away from Robin. Back in Sherwood Forest, the Sheriff comes calling for his taxes. The tavern is virtually empty.
Robin tells him he has no money and they go to chain him up but the Merry Men are there and hold him off with crossbows. Robin says he’s right – he is a thief and says his new mission is to steal from the rich and gives to the poor. He steals the bag of gold from Sheriff and hands it to peasants. Robin and Marian chat and he says he’ll now be known as Robin Hood. She asks about Rumple and says he’ll kill him for not giving him the potion.
Robin says if he sees him again, he’ll transform himself and shows her a pendant he got from Oz that can allow him to change forms. He tells her he’s sorry he didn’t tell her what he was doing. Robin says he went to steal something to try and keep the tavern. He tells her he realized he’s a thief, not a bar keep and says he met a friend, Will, who needed help. He says stealing for someone else makes you a hero while stealing for yourself makes you a criminal.
He tells her this is no life for a family but she says it is. He says it won’t be easy and Marian says at least it won’t be boring. She tells him she doesn’t care and just wants to be with him. In NYC, we see Robin in the shower. Marian is there with his phone and asks why Regina’s number is on it. She asks if he wants to be with her. She says she feels like he’s not there with her and says he needs to make a choice. She says if he wants to go back to her, he should.
Marian tells him to decide and he says he wants to be with her and loves her. He asks if she remembers what she said to him back in the day. She says she does but wants him to say it. He repeats it and says once they were each other’s happy ending and can have it again. Robin says he thought she was dead and it’s a miracle and only a fool would turn his back on a miracle. He deletes Regina’s number from his phone and he pulls her into a kiss.
Roland looks into the mirror and we see Zelena kissing him. Now, Regina calls Robin’s phone and Zelena answers. Regina is stunned and asks how. She asks where Robin is and Zelena says she’s just enjoying being Robin’s wife. She tells Regina that Robin thinks she’s Marian and says she has to go finish making dinner for her husband. Regina is furious and Zelena tells her to take a moment and says they’ll see each other soon. She ends the call.
Regina glares at Gold and says he knew. He says that’s why she’ll do what he wants. He says one call and Zelena will kill Robin. She reminds Gold that Zelena killed Bae. He tells her she’ll help him turn Emma dark but she says she won’t let him do to Emma what he did to her. He asks if she’s choosing the savior over her true love Robin. She thinks and glares at him – clearly distraught.
The End!
PLEASE HELP CDL GROW, SHARE on FACEBOOK and TWEET THIS POST!