Once Upon A Time — Season 1 Episode 17 — Hat Trick [RECAP] – Hollywood Life

'Once Upon A Time' Recap: Does Emma Finally Believe?

A devilishly handsome stranger -- emphasis on the 'devil' part -- finally opened Emma's eyes to the secrets behind Storybrooke! Gossip Girl taught me not to trust Sebastian Stan, and the March 25 episode of Once Upon A Time reminded me why: He may be able to charm the buttons off my remote control, but he's also one of the shadiest gents around. As Jefferson -- Storybrooke's equivalent to the Mad Hatter -- he kidnapped Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) in an attempt to get his daughter back. Oh, did I mention he's also one of the only characters who know exactly who he is?

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In the fairy tale world, the Hatter lived alone with his daughter Grace, until of course, he agreed to do a favor for the Queen (Lana Parrilla). He brought her into Wonderland, where he thought he was helping her get something back from the Queen of Hearts, but she had other plans. She used one of Wonderland’s magic mushrooms to revive her father — you know, the guy she killed in order to get her powers? — and left the Hatter alone to fend for himself. So thoughtful.

(Side note: Did anyone else think it was weird that we never saw the Queen of Heart’s face? Or really heard her voice? And that she referred to the evil queen by her Storybrooke name, “Regina”? There’s definitely more going on with the Queen of Hearts, and I can’t wait to find out what it is!)

Back in Storybrooke, Jefferson explained to Emma that everything Henry (Jared Gilmore) has been saying is true, and the only way to get his “real” daughter back is for Emma to magically sew a hat that could transport him to Wonderland. Sound crazy? That’s what Emma thought too, so she and Mary Maraget went all Brooke-and-Peyton on Psycho Jefferson’s ass and kicked him out the window. And, like all psychos, he vanished into thin air.

But the whole ordeal wasn’t a total bust. Thanks to Jefferson’s psychotic ramblings, Emma is now starting to believe in the existence of another world, so much so that she asked Henry to borrow his book of fairy tales.

She also convinced Mary Margaret to return to her jail cell, and we learned it was Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) who planted the key in her cell in the first place! Just when I was starting to trust him, it turns out out he’s been working with Regina all along.

Remind me never to trust Mr. Gold ever again.

So what do you make of tonight’s episode? What do you think the deal is between Regina and the Queen of Hearts? Who’s Mr. Gold really helping? And, seriously, how badly do you want Jefferson to be in every single episode? Hit up the comments section with your best theories!

— Andy Swift

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