Storybrooke became a full-on battlefield this week, as good and evil finally clashed on the March 10 episode of Once Upon A Time. And in the end, one major character’s life was lost, dramatically tipping the scales in the ongoing war for power.

OK, let’s not beat around the bush: Cora (Barbara Hershey) was the episode’s much-hyped casualty, as Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) used the magic candle to exchange the evil sorceress’ life for Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle), who was dying from Hook’s (Colin O’Donoghue) poison.

The kicker, of course, is that the spell wouldn’t have worked were it not for Regina (Lana Parrilla) interfering. She wanted to know if her mother could ever really love her, so she re-inserted Cora’s heart into her body, which is what triggered the spell. Cora and Regina enjoyed a nice — albeit extremely brief — mother-daughter moment, before being separated once again. For good.

Needless to say, Regina has more reason than ever for wanting Snow dead.

Cora & Rumples’ Bad Romance

But Cora’s death wasn’t the only surprising development for the Mother of All Evil this week. Through flashbacks, we learned that young Cora — played to eerie perfection by Rose McGowan — made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, enabling her to spin straw into gold. But business quickly turned to pleasure as Cora and Rumples fell in love!

Spinning straw into gold earned Cora the prince’s hand in marriage, and she almost left it all behind to be with the bad-skinned imp — but then she didn’t. Instead, she ripped out her own heart so she’d be able to choose ambition over love without feeling like such a bitch.

Question: Cora’s (broken) deal with Rumples was that she’d have her first born with him, but that doesn’t mean Regina is his daughter, does it? I don’t think so, but I wouldn’t put it past this show to surprise viewers by forming another familial connection between the characters.

In present-day Storybrooke, as Mr. Gold lay dying, he shared a surprisingly touching moment with the all-grown-up version of the witch he once loved. Cora told him he was the only man she’d ever loved, and then she kissed him, which was kind of gross. As I said before, the tables quickly turned, sending Cora to her grave instead of Gold.

HollywoodLifers, what did you think of this week’s episode? Were you hoping someone else would be the victim? And how do you think this turn of events will affect Storybrooke’s future? Drop a comment with your theories!

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

More Once Upon A Time on HollywoodLife.com:

1. ‘Once Upon A Time’: A Major Death & More Scoop From Sunday’s Episode
2. ‘Once Upon A Time’ Spoilers: Snow’s Revenge, Peter Pan’s Arrival & More
3. ‘Once Upon A Time’ Recap: Snow Suffers Another Tragic Loss

Mommy issues were in full force on the March 3 episode of Once Upon A Time: Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) reflected on the death of her mother, which she totally blames herself for, while Regina (Lana Parrilla) questioned how loyal she is to her own mom-ster in present-day Storybrooke. Oh, and we may have finally met Peter Pan.

Is Snow White Going Dark?

Desperate to get the dagger back from Snow and company, Cora (Barbara Hershey) and Regina sunk to their lowest low yet: kidnapping the Storybrooke counterpart of Snow’s maid — played by Downton Abbey‘s Mrs. Patmore! — and trading her own heart for the evil weapon. And even after a teary-eyed Snow handed it over, Cora still murdered her.

But Cora’s victory came at a price: Regina learned her mother posed as the Blue Fairy when Snow’s mother was very sick. Cora manipulated Snow into believing she chose to let her mother die — all so Regina could eventually become queen, herself. She even learned that Cora caused Snow’s horse accident, which led Regina to meeting the newly single king.

Taking in everything that happened, Snow made an intense vow: “I’m going to kill Cora!” But does she really have what it takes?

Is Neal Also Peter Pan?

When Captain Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) launched a sneak-attack against Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) in New York, filling his body with a powerful poison, there was only one way to save his life: get him back to Storybrooke ASAP! And when the gang realized the only way to get there in time would be to charter the Jolly Roger, Neal (Michael Raymond-James) immediately volunteered to grab the steering wheel.

In case you need more evidence that Neal is also Peter Pan, he told Emma (Jennifer Morrison) that our world wasn’t the first one he journeyed to after the fairytale world. If it was, he says, he would have been much older.

Seriously, a world full of pirate ships where people don’t grow up? Sounds like Neverland to me!

HollywoodLifers, what did you think of this week’s episode? Are you excited for a Snow-Cora showdown? Do you think Neal is really Peter Pan? Drop me a comment with your thoughts and theories!

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

More Once Upon A Time on HollywoodLife.com:

1. ‘Once Upon A Time’ Recap: Mr. Gold Finally Finds His Son
2. ‘Once Upon A Time’: Baelfire Revealed & More Scoop From Sunday’s Episode
3. ‘Once Upon A Time’ Scoop: Ginnifer Goodwin Teases Trouble For Snow & Charming

The witch is back! Rose McGowan is set to play young Cora (Barbara Hershey) on an upcoming episode of Once Upon A Time — the show that literally doesn’t know the meaning of ‘too many flashbacks’ — according to HollywoodLife.com‘s sister site Deadline. Rose’s episode, airing in 2013, will explain how Cora became the Mother of All Evil she is today.

When we last saw Cora on the Dec. 2 winter finale of Once Upon A Time, she was sailing into present-day Storybrooke with Captain Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) in tow. We also learned — much to the surprise of absolutely no one — that Cora was the mysterious Queen of Hearts.

Not only is this brilliant casting — Rose is the spitting image of a young Babs — but hot damn, I’ve missed seeing Rose on my TV screen. After co-starring on Charmed for four seasons as the bastard sister of Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Phoebe Halliwell (Alyssa Milano), Rose took a brief break from TV. She eventually joined Nip/Tuck for five episodes in 2009, and made a special appearance on Law & Order: SVU in 2011.

Most of her post-Charmed career has played out on the big screen in movies like 2007′s Grindhouse — which you need to see if you haven’t, because it’s amazing — and 2011′s Conan the Barbarian.

Are you excited to see Rose back on TV, and playing another witch no less? Drop a comment with your thoughts on her new role!

Deadline

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

More Once Upon A Time on HollywoodLife.com:

1. ‘Once Upon A Time’ Recap: Did Emma & Snow Return To Storybrooke?
2. ‘Once Upon A Time’ Recap: Snow & Charming Reunite — And It’s Hot
3. ‘Once Upon A Time’: Are Sparks Flying Between Charming & Ruby?

A miracle occurred on the Oct. 21 episode of Once Upon A Time: We only had to wrap our heads around two timelines! Well, at least until the very end. The hour was mostly split between present-day Storybrooke, where Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle) nearly lost the woman of his dreams; and the past Enchanted Forest, where he did lose the woman of his dreams. Anyone else noticing a trend here?

Let’s start in the Enchanted Forest:

Apparently, Rumpelstiltskin’s love life has always been an ugly tragedy with bad teeth. He learned that his first wife, Mila, was in the custody of that sexy mofo Captain Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) — who nearly broke Twitter tonight, thanks to his emphatic legion of “Hookers” — but when he went to confront the swashbuckler, he was told she had died.

Lies! She didn’t die. She just ran away to be with Captain Hook because he had a sweet boat and ladies love pirates. And as totally reasonable payment for dumping him, Rumples literally ripped out Mila’s heart and crushed it into dust. (Why does everyone keep doing that on this show?!) Rumples also cut off Hook’s hand — origin! — before peacing out.

But it was Hook who got the last laugh — or the last “yargh,” whatever noise pirates make when they find things funny — because he made off with Rumple’s magic bean! Neverland, here we come…

Meanwhile, in Storybrooke:

After catching Rumpelstiltskin working on his dark magic, a troubled Belle (Emilie de Ravin) decided to take a walk and clear her head — but her stroll through Storybrooke took a seriously messed-up turn when a jolly circular gentleman kidnapped her in a sketchy alley. (This provincial life isn’t looking so boring now, eh Belle?)

It turns out the jolly stranger was commissioned to kidnap Belle by none other than her father, Crazy Old Maurice, but their happy reunion was cut short when Belle revealed her true lustful feelings for “the Beast.” Naturally, Maurice responded the way any father would: “Henchman, send this bitch down a mine shaft!” (I may have paraphrased that quote.)

Thanks to Ruby (Meghan Ory) and her keen sense of smell — I was hoping they would drive her through town with her head out the window, but whatever — the gang was able to track Belle down, and Rumples used his magic to save her. Seriously, though, shipping her out of Storybrooke in a mine cart? This isn’t Donkey Kong; let’s never do that again.

And how could I discuss Storybrooke’s mine without highlighting Charming’s (Josh Dallas) gun show? You know he only threw that tanktop on because he was jealous that Hook was getting all the attention.

And then, this happened:

After we saw that Rumpelstiltskin had Hook’s lackey Smee tied up in Storybrooke, the show cut to present-day Enchanted Forest, where Hook was cooking up a wicked little scheme with — that’s right — Cora (Barbara Hershey)!

They’ve both got their reasons for wanting to travel to Storybrooke — Cora wants to get revenge on Regina (Lana Parrilla), while Hook has his heavily-mascara’d eyes on Rumples — and their best bet is to get there together.

I ship them together already.

What did you think of this week’s Once Upon A Time? Are you already obsessed with Captain Hook? And what do you think of his little partnership with Cora? Drop a comment with your review of the episode, and your predictions for the future.

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

More Once Upon A Time on HollywoodLife.com:

1. ‘Once Upon A Time’ Season 2: Six Big Spoilers That Will ‘Change Everything’
2. ‘Once Upon A Time’ Recap: Emma Sabotages Her Return To Storybrooke
3. ‘Once Upon A Time’ Recap: Regina’s Powers Return — Can She Be Trusted?

Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) gained a powerful new ally on the Oct. 14 episode of Once Upon A Time … or so they thought. After a long journey to Snow’s castle — which involved Snow killing an ogre; and Aurora, who I hate more than anything, almost stabbing Emma — they learned their new buddy Lancelot (Teen Wolf‘s Sinqua Walls) wasn’t who he appeared to be.

It turns out Cora (Barbara Hershey) murked Lancelot years ago, and thanks to her shape-shifting evilness, she’s been pretending to be him ever since! As a last resort to keep Cora from crossing over to Storybrooke, Emma torched the magic wardrobe — but it looks like Cora’s got a Plan B up her wicked sleeve.

(Side note: I know we’re supposed to hate her, but am I the only one who loves Cora? She’s so bad… but she’s so good.)

Baby/Mama Drama:

Because one Enchanted Forest timeline clearly isn’t enough to deal with, we were also taken back to past Enchanted Forest, where where we learned Lancelot and Snow weren’t always the best of friends. In fact, Lancelot — formerly of the Round Table — kidnapped Snow and took her to King George (Alan Dale), who gave her a fun drink that cursed her womb.

This was a little wake-up call for Lancelot, who turned against the king and swore his allegiance to Snow. But by the time the two arrived at Charming’s (Josh Dallas) cottage, George’s men had already shot Charming’s poor mother with an arrow. They took her to the lake where Charming killed that Siren — always a fun trip down memory lane — but when they arrived, there was only enough healing water for one person to have a drink.

Charming’s mother pretended to drink the water, but secretly had Lancelot slip it into Snow’s wedding chalice. Oh, did I forget to mention Snow and Charming got married? I guess the big Snow-Charming wedding we saw on the pilot was really just a formality, and Regina crashed their party for nothing.

For the sake of the show’s plot, though, I’m really glad she did.

Meanwhile, Back In Storybrooke…

Thanks to Henry’s (Jared Gilmore) annoying nudging — to be fair, everything Henry does is annoying — Jefferson (Sebastian Stan) was reunited with his daughter, who he thought wouldn’t forgive him for losing her. Maybe now that he’s less grumpy, Jefferson (aka the Mad Hatter) will be able to bring our girls home!

In non-annoying Henry news, he did some adorable bonding with Grandpa Charming this week — but I have a feeling their good times are about to come to an end, as the final moments revealed a surprise guest in Storybrooke: King George!

(Or whatever name he goes by in the real world.)

What kind of trouble do you think George will stir up in Storybrooke? Do you think Jefferson is the key to bringing back Emma and Snow? And, seriously, how much to do you love to hate Cora? Drop me a comment with your thoughts!

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

More Once Upon A Time on HollywoodLife.com:

1. ‘Once Upon A Time’ Recap: Regina’s Powers Return — Can She Be Trusted?
2. ‘Once Upon A Time’ Pics: Cora’s Back — And Who’s Leaving Storybrooke?
3. http://hollywoodlife.com/2012/10/02/once-upon-a-time-spoiler-pics-season-2-episode-2/

Now that the curse is broken, it looks like everybody wants to see what life is like outside of Storybrooke! New pictures from the Oct. 7 episode of Once Upon A Time, curiously titled “We Are Both,” find the seven dwarves — among others — attempting the great escape. So why is Charming (Josh Dallas) keeping them at bay?

Meanwhile, in the fairy tale world, it looks like we get another look at what life was like for Regina (Lana Parrilla) growing up with her monstrous mother Cora (Barbara Hershey). Let’s hope Cora keeps her hands to herself this time around — we all remember how well that worked out for Daniel!

What do you think of the new pics, Once fans? Are you glad Cora is back? And why is Charming stopping people from leaving Storybrooke? Drop me a comment with your finest theories!

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

More Once Upon A Time:

1. ‘Once Upon A Time’ First Video: Colin O’Donoghue As Captain Hook
2. ‘Once Upon A Time’ Season Premiere: Emma & Snow Leave Storybrooke
3. ‘Once Upon A Time’: 5 Mini Spoilers From The Second Season Premiere

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And here’s the real shocker… they ended their relationship six months ago!

We’re bummed to pass along the news that Barbara Hershey, 62, and Naveen Andrews, 41, have ended their May-December romance after nearly a decade together, PopEater is reporting. The couple, who met on the set of Drowning on Dry Land in 1999, will still “remain the best of friends,” according to Naveen’s manager. The couple was together for roughly 10 years, though they did briefly split in 2005 when Barbara learned that Naveen got another woman pregnant.