BWW Recap: It's a Boy! on ABC's ONCE UPON A TIME

The long-awaited birth of Snow and Charming's baby has finally arrived; the episode begins with Snow being rushed to the hospital by Charming and Emma. Regina and Emma make sure to cast a protection spell around Snow's hospital room in order to prevent the Wicked Witch from getting in; they know the Witch desires something from the baby.

Meanwhile, Rumpelstilitskin is busy in his cell sewing straw into gold. When he is finished, the Wicked Witch saunters down to his cage and uses magic to turn the gold into a golden brain, which she puts with the various other objects she has collected for her time travel spell (Regina's heart, Charming's sword, etc.). She is planning on casting a spell to take her back in time so she can change her destiny, starting with convincing her mother to keep her rather than abandoning her in the woods. She excitedly tells Rumpel that she needs one more thing to complete her spell; it is clear whatever she needs has to do with Snow and Charming's baby.

In a flashback to the Witch's years in Oz, Galinda visits the Wicked Witch in her fortress. Galinda thanks her for revealing the wizard's true colors to the people of Oz, but admits that she believes the Witch's pursuits are foolish. She believes the Witch should not waste time attempting to change her past when she could build a better future for herself. Keeping this idea in mind, Galinda offers the introduce the Witch to The Sisterhood of Witches, where she will be among people who understand her.

Back in Storybrooke, Emma plots to hunt down the Witch before she can harm Snow and Charming's baby. Emma is the only one who can defeat the Witch, for she harnesses light magic by being the product of true love. Though she intended to go alone, Charming insists that she take Captain Hook along with her for maximum protection. Emma is reluctant to the idea, considering she is still angry with Hook for not telling her about the Witch's curse on his lips; however, Charming convinces her that having someone for back-up is a far better option than flying solo.

Emma and Hook venture to the Witch's home. On the way, Emma tells Hook of her plans to move back to New York with Henry; she regrets bringing Henry to Storybrooke, for she feels she is depriving him of a normal life. Hook argues that both she and Henry belong in Storybrooke with their family, no matter how challenging their lives can be. As they reach the house, the Witch instantly comes out with Rumpelstiltskin on her tail. At the Witch's command, Rumpel throws Hook into a small pool in the yard, and begins drowning him. Emma retrieves him from the pool, but Hook is unconscious; she has no choice but to give him mouth to mouth, which luckily revives him. However, due to the curse on Hook's lips, the contact has taken Emma's magic.

We then shift gears back to the Witch's past. Galinda takes the Witch to meet The Sisterhood of Witches, which includes the Witches of the North and East alongside herself. They would like Zelena take become the Witch of the West, for the West has represented innocence, and they feel Zelena could reclaim her innocence lost long ago. Galinda informs Zelena that she believes Zelena could fulfill a prophecy found in the Sisterhood's records; the prophecy states that a sorceress brought to Oz by a cyclone will become the Witch of the West and bring Oz to glory. Since Zelena was brought to Oz by a Cyclone, Galinda believes she may be the one.

Galinda gives Zelena a pendent that will harness and grow her magic and powers. However, without the pendent, Zelena will be powerless. This gift officially inducts Zelena into The Sisterhood of Witches, which pleases her greatly.

Soon afterward, a cyclone rips through Oz. Zelena and Galinda hear a scream, and immediately go to the scene. They find a young girl named Dorothy in the ruins left by the cyclone; Galinda declares that Dorothy must be quite special to survive such a storm. Galinda offers to introduce her to The Sisterhood and provide her with a place to stay, considering she is far from him. Zelena is clearly troubled by this offer, and feels threatened by Dorothy.

Dorothy fits right in with the ladies of the sisterhood, which does not go unnoticed by Zelena. Galinda confronts her over the issue, and Zelena states that she found some more information about the prophecy; apparently, the one who will fulfill the prophecy will also defeat the greatest evil in Oz, which Zelena believes is herself. She figures Dorothy is the true filler of the prophecy, and she will one day defeat Zelena. Galinda tries to comfort her, and reminds her that if she believes she is evil, that's exactly what she'll become.

In the woods, Zelena confronts Dorothy, and expresses her jealousy towards her. Dorothy does not quite comprehend why Zelena feels so threatened by her. Zelena tries to attack the girl using fire balls, but Dorothy stops her by tossing a bucket of water over her, which causes her to melt. After the Witch has 'died', Galinda appears, and Dorothy explains the Witch's attack on her. Dorothy is now especially desperate to go home, despite Galinda's offer to join the Sisterhood. Instead, Galinda agrees to help Dorothy get home by taking her to see the wizard, who should have returned to human form with Zelena's magic gone. But, as soon as they leave, the Witch resurfaces from her previous puddle form- it seems she is not dead after all!

Back in Storybrooke, Snow White delivers her baby- it's a boy! But the new parents are not joyful for long, for the Witch breaks into the hospital and past the protection spell (Emma's magic is now gone), and steals the baby by temporarily freezing Snow and Charming with magic. She takes off with the child.

Now that Emma no longer possess her magic, the only eligible person left to defeat the Witch is Regina. Regina is concerned because she typically can only work dark magic, but she did once use light magic to break a curse on Henry a few weeks prior, so she hopes she can once again find light magic within herself.

The Witch takes the Charmings' baby back to her lair of sorts, where she has already set up the objects she has collected to cast the spell. It turns out she needs the baby for its innocence, particularly because the child is product of true love. As she begins casting her spell, our heroes enter the lair and stop her in the knick of time. Emma, Regina, Charming, Hook, and Robin surround her and Rumpel, Who The Witch had forced to help her in casting the spell. When Regina tries to attack her, the Witch puts her sister in a chokehold, and taunts her by saying she can only use dark magic. Luckily, Regina finds the light magic within herself, and uses it to pin the Witch to the ground. Once the Witch is down, Regina is able to grab the pendent around her neck, hence taking all of her magic and power away. Zelena has finally been defeated!

Charming rushes to his baby, and it seems the child was unharmed during the whole affair. As the gang is about to leave, Rumpel begins to threaten Zelena; he wants to get Revenge on her for forcing him to do terrible acts for such a long time, and also avenge his son. However, Regina insists that Rumpel refrain from killing her, for they have both killed far too many people to get what they wanted in the past. Zelena is then spared.

Back in Oz, Galinda takes Dorothy to see the wizard. The wizard grants her a pair of slippers (golden, not ruby red as in the original story) to take her home to Kansas, which works effectively. Galinda thanks the wizard, and asks to see his true face; after all, he has done so much for the city, and she'd like to know his identity. However, the wizard turns out to be Zelena in disguise- the wizard was remained a flying monkey, for Zelena and her magic were still very much alive. Zelena sent Dorothy away to ensure that the prophecy was never fulfilled. When Galinda threatens to never stop searching for someone to fulfill the prophecy, Zelena banishes her to another realm.

In Storybrooke, the Witch is thrown in jail. Regina speaks with her briefly, and promises to give her a second chance, for she sympathizes with how she was feeling. However, Regina claims that she will crush her sister's heart if Zelena returns to her evil ways.

Rumpelstiltskin and Belle sweetly reunite in Rumpel's former shop. Rumpel's dagger is now in the hands of Belle, but Belle trusts him enough to give the dagger to him instead; she feels he should be able to have his life in his own hands. However, Rumpel insists that she keep the dagger, for he is willing to let her watch over him instead. He then proposes to Belle, and she excitedly accepts.

That night, Rumpel travels to the Witch's cell. As it turns out, Rumpel had been lying to Belle- he gave her a fake dagger, and possesses the real one himself. Therefore, there is nothing stopping him from getting his Revenge on the Wicked Witch. He enters her cell and stabs her in the stomach; the Witch turns to glass before cracking into a million pieces. But it appears we haven't seen the last of the Wicked Witch, for the broken pieces that used to be her body turn into some sort of green mist, and the mist travels back to her lair where the contents of the failed spell still remain.

Is the Wicked Witch truly dead? Hopefully this question and many more will be answered in next week's two-hour season finale!

Photo credit: ABC/Katie Yu

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