The Breakdown
The episode begins with Emma and her group checking the map Peter Pan gave them. It turns out that the map shows them where they are going, but it’s also playing tricks on them as well.
Meanwhile, Peter Pan brings Henry an apple. He explains that it’s not for eating, but for target practice. Pan points his crossbow at Henry.
Neal searches through Rumpelstiltskin’s castle looking for a portal to Neverland. He smiles when he looks at Robin Hood’s son. Neal says that he knows how to get to Neverland.
Hook suggests that they use the fairy that helped him before: Tinkerbell.
The show flashes back to a scene between Regina and Rumpelstiltskin. Regina missed their training session with him because she’s not sure what she wants anymore. Rumpelstiltskin tells her that the darkness has her now, and he’s not going to let her go. Regina breaks a railing in her frustration and falls out of her tower. She’s about to hit the ground when Tinkerbell steps in and saves her. Tinkerbell offers to help Regina by giving her pixie dust in hopes of finding love.
Back in present time, Regina unsuccessfully tries to convince Emma to try magic instead.
Pan dips an arrow in poison and puts it into the bow. He pushes Henry to use it to shoot the apple off of one of the lost boys’ heads. Instead, Henry shoots it at Pan, who catches the arrow.
David shows Hook the wound on his side. Hook tells him that the wound is from dreamshade and will kill him in days if not weeks; he definitely won’t see summer. David expresses hope that the pixie dust can help him.
The Blue Fairy confronts Tinkerbell, who tells her that she’s helping the queen. The fairy orders Tinkerbell to stay away from Regina and remain there for training.
Neal tries to convince Robin Hood to use his son as bait to open the portal to Neverland. Robin relents and gives him one chance to make it work.
Emma figures out that Regina had a past with Tinkerbell. Regina decides to stay behind and encourages Emma to keep going even if Tinkerball won’t help her group.
In the Enchanted Forest, Tinkerbell takes Regina to the man the pixie dust chose for her. Tinkerbell leaves her to meet him, but Regina panics and runs away.
Back in Neverland, an angry Tinkerbell confronts Regina, who basically dares her to bring it on. Instead, Tinkerbell blows some pixie dust in her face, and Regina passes out.
The group finds Tinkerbell’s home. They figure out that Tinkerbell has Regina, and they go looking for her.
Regina wakes up and finds Tinkerbell waiting for her. She breaks free of her ropes, but Tinkerbell holds dreamshade to her neck. Tinkerbell explains that she became like this because she met Regina.
In the flashback, Regina attempts to push the blame onto Tinkerbell, who explains that she stole the pixie dust to help her, and now she’ll be in trouble. Regina tells her to get lost. Later, the Blue Fairy strips Tinkerbell of her powers after finding out what she did.
Back in Neverland, Regina pulls out her heart and offers it to Tinkerbell. “Take it,” she says. Tinkerbell says that she’ll gladly take it, and she does. Tinkerbell asks her why she didn’t go in and meet her soulmate. Regina admits that she was afraid and warns her not to make the same mistakes she did. Tinkerbell chooses to let her live, but she won’t help Regina either. She tells Regina that Henry has probably been with Peter Pan too long anyways.
Pan tries to convince Henry that he’s the one who will save magic, but the boy refuses to believe him. However, it’s becoming clear that Pan is getting to Henry.
Meanwhile, Neal puts his plan in motion. The boy says that he believes and a shadow blows the castle window open. Mulan attacks the shadow trying to get the boy while Neal grabs onto it. The shadow flies into the night with Neal holding on for dear life.
Later, Hood offers Mulan a spot with his merry men, but she asks him to wait until she can speak with Phillip. She meets with Aurora, who tells her that she’s expecting a baby. Mulan chooses not to talk with Phillip and leaves.
The group confronts Tinkerbell, who agrees to help in exchange for a chance to go home. Tinkerbell later tells Regina that she was selfish for not going to meet the man in the tavern because it ruined his life too. The episode then shows Mulan meeting up with Hood, who is shown to be Regina’s mystery man.
Neal arrives in Neverland and is greeted by one of the lost boys. Meanwhile, Snow White asks David if something is wrong; he doesn’t tell her about his wound.
Analysis
This wasn’t my favorite episode of Once Upon a Time. There was just too much going on in the episode. I enjoy all of the fairy tale characters that the show tries to stuff into each episode, but every once in a while, it gets old. “Quite a Common Fairy” simply had far too many plot strands for me to enjoy it.
Don’t get me wrong; it was still a decent episode. I was a bit bored by the Tinkerbell storyline, but it was good see Neal get to Neverland. Hopefully, that means we’ll get a more focused show over the next couple of weeks. I think it’s important to realize that “Quite a Common Fairy” is one of those episodes that set up the bigger storyline. That’s what saved this episode for me.
