After the downer of the last episode (sorry Red fans) and a week break from Once Upon A time (boo), the story looked to be picking up from the previews. Many in Storybrooke and Fairy Tale land appeared to right in the thick of the action. How would Henry and Aurora finding a way to communicate using their dreams get Emma and Snow White home? Whatever happened to Hook, did he escape the Giant's lair? To find out the answers to these questions and more we go "Into the Deep."

Good (besides everything?)

“I’m done reading about heroes, I want to be one."- Oh, Henry, you adorable little boy, you are a hero and knight. Willing to sacrifice and subject himself to repeated pain by entering the netherworld, all to re-unite his family and see his mother and grandmother again.Henry's got perspective on things, he understands that a lot more is at stake than just himself and his family, and though he is doing it for more than them he still remains focused on that goal as well. Charming's lessons on how to be a knight must have worked because this young man is blossoming into a real hero.

"I know I've been useless but that's going to change starting now"- Okay, not an actual quote from her but it does accurately describe Aurora's character up to this point. Yes, up to this point because Aurora's finally putting herself to good use by acknowledging that she hasn't carried her weight in the group and wants to change that by volunteering to go back in the dream. Sure, going back in was unsuccessful due to the fire being too loud but effort counts for a lot. Aurora was a pointless character and a weight around the groups neck but now she's displaying courage and loyalty by standing up to Cora, though she apparently hasn't gotten much smarter as evidence by Hook tricking and taking her heart (who knew he could do that?). It appears Cora is in control over Aurora but there's something sneaky about Hook, and it does seem like he could be playing Cora still and really wanting to help Emma and the girls. Hmm...

"For you. I can handle Cora"- Storybrooke's most powerful resident and pawnshop owner is finally getting some serious competition in the form of Cora, at least according to Regina and others. Gold doesn't seem too worried about Cora (does he know about her zombies, though?), and as he said himself he's beaten her once already plus nobody else has been able to stand up to him, but Cora does seem different. She's another former protégé of Rumpelstiltskin like her daughter Regina, usually a teacher will know more than their student and hold something back, though Regina does make an excellent point regarding Belle. It was a little too insensitive and cold to claim that Belle is Mr. Gold's weakness; however, Regina did have a point in that Cora (if she ever makes it to Storybrooke) will be smart enough to attempt to attack Belle, though Mr. Gold is incredibly intelligent so he wouldn't allow that to happen. Gold lost Belle once to one of his enemies, Cora won't get the same chance. Not to mention he called Prince Charming "Dearie" which was hilarious.

“They always find each other”- Leave it to Regina to state the obvious but once again the Charmings were reunited again, though it was short-lived and different since Snow White was the one to find Charming as opposed to the other way around. Prince Charming unsurprisingly put it all on the line and potentially never waking up again by taking the sleeping potion, all to just see his lovely wife again, well... and to tell her how to defeat Cora but mainly to see her again, yeah. Charming has complete faith that Snow will be able to break the curse and wake him, using True Love's kiss, and it is his optimism that has been keeping the town of Storybrooke afloat, now it will motivate Snow White to do what must be done and defeat Cora. Their brief reunion produced joy at them being together again, hope from Charming telling Snow how to defeat Cora, sadness upon the realization that Charming is now sleeping till she cures him, and finally heartbreak when their kiss couldn't connect. These two people have been through more than anyone else; however, it doesn't appear that the immediate future will take it lightly on them, they may be from a fairy tale land but their world has real and dangerous turmoil, where good does not always prevail over evil but must be fought for.

Legolas, Aragorn, and not Gimli- This si a group of badass women who don't need a Prince Charming to keep them safe, though Snow wouldn't say No to him being there right now. Snow White sniping with uncanny accuracy, and Emma was like Aragorn just beasting when it came to defeating Cora's heartless (literally) warriors without too much difficulty. Too bad Mulan couldn't be their Gimli as she rather tried to help Aurora, and she had such potential. Strong female characters are over this show and especially in the forefront. Aurora finally got her act together (see above) so the group just needs Mulan to buck up and be what she's capable of, a leader who is able to make the tough decisions, that type of person will be needed with the war coming. Mulan needs to keep her humanity and not willingly sacrifice just anyone, but rather take a page out of Charming's book and do what is in the best interest of the group, not selfish reasons. Emma and Snow have their priorities in order, of course number one is getting back to Storybrooke but along the way they're going to do as much good as possible, starting with stopping Cora, why? To protect the ones they love and everyone else in both world's, something Mulan knew was the right choice but was blinded by her unnerving loyalty towards Phillip.

Bad

Honestly, I didn't think anything should have gone in the "Bad" section but for the sake of putting something here, there were some inconsistencies.

“This helps control the flames in the room, it’ll keep you safe”- Yeah, except they didn't do either for Henry. Why didn't the necklace allow Henry to control the fire in the dream again, or if he didn't think to do that, why not? Gold's magic can heal the burns and Henry didn't appear to be affected by them much, it didn't seem like there should have been much concern over him going back into the netherworld.

“I had to see you”- And to his credit he did see her, but this is the second episode in a row that Charming has made a boneheaded move, this time he forgets to put back on the necklace before breaking the floor. Yes, it was slightly hot but he was wearing a collared shirt and would have barely noticed it. Plus, if Henry can deal with some burns there's see no reason Charming can't suck it up for a few seconds.The reunion between Charming and Snow overshadowed this so no big deal, not to mention all their adorable quotes.

Mulan... What could have been- For a character who's entrance into this season was with a bang, displaying her skill with a blade and courage in a dark world, she looked to join Emma, Snow, and Ruby (when she's not hitting on everyone) as another strong female character but alas she's been somewhat of a disappointment in recent weeks. It's obvious her love for Phillip is clouding her judgement, while both Henry and especially Charming are able to focus and use their love of others to fuel their passion to succeed. Mulan is just solely concerned with her promise to Phillip and doesn't care if she puts everyone in both worlds at risk, which is what she is doing by trying to cave into Cora's demands. Aurora was one woman, a necessary sacrifice to save everyone else.

Overall

10/10. WOW, easily the best Once Upon A Time episode ever, and well worth the wait. Absolute perfection, not a single second wasted throughout the entire episode. Incredible pacing, it felt like the story was moving along at a hundred miles a minute, so much happening at once but it didn't feel rushed. Nearly every main character was featured and contributed to the story, haven't seen that since this seasons premiere. As if OUaT wasn't amazing enough this week, next weeks episode is the Winter finale (winter is coming!) and looks to be wonderfully chaotic. Rumple and Regina teaming up to stop her evil mother Cora!!! This season has vastly succeeded in surpassing the high expectations set-down by season 1 and the future couldn't look any brighter.

Here is the episode link in case anyone missed it or wants to watch it again: http://abc.go.com/watch/once-upon-a-time/SH55126545/VD55250845/into-the-deep