BWW Recap: Off to See the Wizard on ABC's ONCE UPON A TIME!

As the episode begins, we see a green cyclone hurling towards the ground. A middle-aged couple appears after the storm has ceased, and they hear a baby crying in the distance. The couple locates the baby, and the woman is stunned by the child's beauty. While the couple is admiring the infant, a tree begins to fall from above where they are standing; alarmingly, the baby moves the tree out of the way with a flick of its tiny fingers. The man believes the baby is the one who prevented the tree from hitting them, but the woman believes the baby couldn't have been responsible. The decide to raise the child as their own and name her Zelena; we know this baby must grow up to be the Wicked Witch.

In Storybrooke, our heroes attend Neil's funeral. Everyone is still in deep despair over the tragedy, and all gather to watch as Neil's casket is lowered into the ground. In her cellar, The Wicked Witch taunts Rumpelstiltskin in his holding cell, claiming he wasted so many years waiting to be with his son only to have him taken away so quickly. Rumpel declares that his son was worth waiting for, no matter how short of a time he got to spend with him.

We then flash back to Zelena's teenage years in Oz; judging from her fair skin tone, these events must have taken place before she turned evil. Zelena is seen shaving her father's face, and she accidentally flashes her powers for a moment. Her drunken father becomes enraged by this, and in his rage tells her that she is not his true child. He also states that he believes she is wicked, and had never wanted to raise her in the first place. Through tears, Zelena decides to see the Wizard of Oz, whom she knows can most likely find her a family that loves her.

Back in present day, the gang has gathered in Granny's diner. Emma shares his desire for Revenge against the Wicked Witch with Hook, who reminds her to think of Henry through this tough situation. Hook offers to spend some time with Henry and tell him a bit about his deceased father, for Hook had known him when he was a child. Emma agrees that Hook's idea would be beneficial to Henry.

Across the diner, Tinkerbell notices that Robin Hood has a lion tattoo on his arm, and recalls that he is Regina's soulmate. When Think prods Regina about this fact, Regina states that she does not want to pursue anything romantic with Robin, for she does not see the point in doing so with all the trouble the Witch is causing.

Zelena then enters the diner, and everyone stops short; at this point, all the citizens of Storybrooke know she is the Wicked Witch. Zelena heads straight for Regina, and announces that the former Evil Queen is her half-sister. Regina does not believe her, but Zelena is not phased by her denial. The Witch challenges Regina to a showdown of sorts on Main Street that evening, and true to character, Regina does not back down from the offer of a fight.

After the Witch has gone, the heroes interrogate Regina to try and figure out what the Queen could have done to upset her. Regina cannot recall directly inflicting anything negative on the Witch, but is determined to find more information on their possible relation.

In another flashback to Zelena's younger years, we see Zelena visiting the famous Wizard of Oz. Through a portal of sorts, the Wizard shows her Cora, Zelena's true mother, and explains how Cora abandoned her because she knew Zelena was not destined to became royalty. The Wizard also informs her that Regina, her half-sister, eventually fulfilled her mother's desires and became queen. When Zelena views Regina learning magic with Rumeplstltskin, she feels that he must be teaching her to control her powers instead, and asks the Wizard how to find him. The Wizard then gives Zelena a pair of gold slippers that he claims will take her anywhere she wants to go with three clicks of her heels.

Using the magical slippers, Zelena travel's to the place Rumpel is staying; Regina's castle. When Rumpel finds her lurking in one of the bedrooms of the castle, she introduces herself as Cora's firstborn daughter, and asks if Rumpel will teach her magic as with her sister. At first, Rumpel does not believe Zelena is worthy of his teaching, but after Zelena demonstrates her power, Rumpel agrees to be her mentor.

In Storybrooke, Regina, accompanied by Snow and Emma, search through the Queen's underground fortress to find any evidence of her apparent relation to Zelena. Regina discovers a suspicious letter, and informs Snow and Emma that the letter proves Zelena is indeed her sister. However, she refuses to explain the full contents of the letter.

Regina runs off to the woods to do some thinking by herself. To her initial dismay, she bumps into Robin Hood, who had been patrolling the woods in case the Witch was lurking about. Robin asks what the letter contains, and shockingly, Regina lets him read it. It turns out the letter was written by Rumpelstiltskin, and in it the Dark One heavily complimented Zelena's powers and abilities; he never specified her name, but referred to Zelena as Cora's firstborn. Regina used to use to letter for boosts of confidence when needed, for she believed Rumpel wrote the letter about her. Now that she knows she is not Cora's firstborn, the letter must truly be about Zelena; this information also means that Zelena is more powerful than her.

We then flash back to Zelena's early days, where she is seen being trained by Rumpelstiltskin. The Dark One explains that he is grooming her to cast a large curse, but does not go into much detail on the subject. Rumpel teaches Zelena to use emotion when controlling her magic, and shows her how to channel her anger. We discover that many people have hurt Zelena, and she has a lot of built up anger, sadness, and jealousy.

Back in our world, Belle finds Rumpelstiltskin in his holding cell. She insists on breaking him out, but Rumpel refuses. He is too afraid that Zelena will use his dagger against him, and force him to hurt Belle. Sure enough, Zelena emerges from the shadows of the cellar; she had been listening to their entire conversation. Belle runs out of the cellar, and Zelena sends Rumpel after her. Rumpel then delivers a message to Belle, Emma, and the rest of the gang from Zelena; she will force Rumpel to kill them if they continue to attempt to destroy her plans.

Meanwhiile, Hook remains true to his word, and takes Henry on a boat outing for the day. Hook begins to talk of Henry's father, and Henry admits that he feels like he cannot properly grieve because he did not know his father. Hook explains that he knew Henry's father when he was a child, and that he and Henry have more in common than he realizes, for he had lost his father at a young age too. It is clear that Henry begins to feel more connected with the father he believes he has never met.

In another flashback, Zelena prepares to have dinner with Rumpelstiltskin. However, when the Dark One arrives, he claims he cannot stay for he has a lesson scheduled with Regina. Zelena is shocked to discover that Rumpel is still instructing her sister. Zelena is filled with jealousy, which she begins to display physically through a green patch on her skin.

Driven by her anger and jealousy, Zelena attempts to murder Regina by breaking into her bedroom and slitting her throat with a knife. Just as she is about to kill her own sister, Rumpelstiltskin appears; he had been taking on the form of Regina to trick Zelena. The Dark One explains that she is now disqualified from the competition over which sister will cast the large curse Rumpel has been planning, for the curse requires one to give up the thing they love most, and Zelena clearly loves Rumpel more than anything. Rumpel jokes that he might have chosen Zelena if she had the capability to take him to land without magic (at this point, he still looking for his son Bae, whom he knows is in a land without magic) and Zelena proudly states that she could do so with her gold slippers. However, still angry from his rejection, Zelena refuses to take him anywhere.

Back in Storybrooke, The Wicked Witch and the Evil Queen have their showdown on Main Street. Regina questions what she ever did to Zelena, who snaps that Regina was simply born. Regina slaps Zelena, and a magic duel begins. It is clear that Zelena is way more powerful than Regina. Zelena chokes Regina with magic, and throws her into the clock tower. Zelena uses magic to place herself up in the clock tower as well. Seeing that Regina is now weak, Zelena tries to take Regina's heart. But the Evil Queen has outsmarted the Witch, for she had previously taken her heart out of her chest before the battle had commenced and hid it in a safe place. Zelena flees in a rage.

Emma, Bella, and the Charmings rush up to the clock tower to see if Regina is in one piece. Regina explains that Zelena attempted to steal her heart out of her chest, and how she defeated her. Regina speculates that Zelena needs her heart to use as an ingredient for something, but she does not know any further details.

Regina and Robin Hood then go to uncover her heart, which she has carefully hid in the woods. Regina asks Robin to hold onto her heart for safekeeping, which is a very sweet gesture. She even agrees to go out sometime with Robin when he asks, and it appears she is finally starting to come around to the idea of Robin as her soulmate.

In Zelena's cellar, the Witch speaks with Rumpel in his cell. The Witch boasts that it is only a matter of time before she finds Regina's heart. She also reveals that she is planning on using Regina's heart to give herself a second chance.

In the final flashback, Zelena visits the Wizard of Oz once more. She states that she wants to travel back in time and change the past, but Oz insists that her plan is impossible. Filled with fury, Zelena pulls back the curtain the Wizard had been hiding behind to reveal a thin man working the controls; it's Walsh, Emma's flying-monkey-ex-boyfriend! Walsh explains that while he cannot perform magic himself, he collects magical items that he uses to help people. Showing no mercy for his betrayal, Zelena turns him into a flying monkey, and her minion. She then growls that she will make it so that Regina was never been born, and her skin turns completely green. It appears the Wicked Witch has now fully emerged, and her plan grows more evil by the second.

Photo credit: ABC/Jack Rowand

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