Evil Queen’s Birthday
Regina is celebrating her birthday. She wants Snow White’s heart as her present. Snow gets the villagers to fool Regina so she can show herself, but Regina can’t make herself kill Snow on the spot. She returns home where her father insists she give up revenge. Henry says her mother is controlling her and is the reason she is obsessed with vengeance, but Regina refuses to listen. Henry has the mirror to summon Cora. He begs Cora to help Regina give up on this, but Cora believes Regina needs to finish the job. After telling Cora he’s going to talk to Snow White himself, he leaves and Cora brings herself through the mirror. When Snow meets Henry, she doesn’t realize it’s actually Cora. She takes her heart for Regina.
Regina is celebrating her birthday when her mother shows up with a gift. She gives her Snow’s heart. She looks at the mirror and sees Snow laughing and as Regina squeezes the heart it looks like Snow is dying until a guard is dead. Turns out Henry swapped hearts to save his daughter from becoming evil. Regina locks her father in a box and sends her mother back to Wonderland and seals it. But Regina takes the box with Henry in it at the last minute leaving Regina alone.
The Underworld
Before we go to the Underworld, Emma wakes up in her yellow bug in the middle of a Carnival Storybrooke with Neal in the backseat. They aren’t in the Underworld; more like an in-between place because the Underworld is for people with unfinished business and Neal doesn’t have any. He warns her that she shouldn’t go to the Underworld because it won’t end the way she thinks it will.
Emma wakes up as the group approaches the real underworld, which looks just like Storybrooke except everything is tinted red. Rumple confirms what Neal said earlier: everyone here is dead or trapped because they have unfinished business. And most of them are there because of them.
Snow visits the Underworld version of Grannys where she runs into David. But it turns out to be his twin brother James who kisses her before leaving. Rumple goes to visit his shop which is run by Pan AKA his father. Rumple is not happy to see his father, but Pan says he wants to put the past behind them and that he wants to start over. Pan gives him the special potion that allows you to communicate with the dead. They can pour it over Hook’s grave and they can find him and then leave.
Regina visits Cora at her house. Cora has unfinished business with her daughter and that includes trying to get Regina to leave because her friends and family are holding her back. Most people can only leave the Underworld in two ways, but Cora has arranged for a boat to take her home safely with Robin and Henry. But if she stays she will make someone suffer. And that person just happens to be Regina’s father.
Regina tells the group what her mother’s told her. Emma thinks she should go while Snow and Charming say everyone should stay and help. They go to Hook’s grave and attempt to use the potion, but it only half works and brings back a Hook that can’t communicate. Regina goes to her father’s grave and apologizes for his death, but he has come to tell her that he wants her to stay because she has finally put her vengeance aside and has become a hero and he wants her to do the right thing and help her friends.
Then we are back to the Regina, Cora and Henry. Despite being consumed with fires, Henry doesn’t die. Instead of falling into fire, he sees light. Regina introduces him to his grandson/namesake and then he disappears into the light. They return to the group and they realize people can be saved after all. The group decides to stay and help and Regina watches the clock move.
Here’s Hades
Cora goes to a secret, hidden lair, where there is a man sitting in a chair drinking wine. He wants to know if Cora heard the clock ticking which signals another soul has left this world. Hades wanted Cora to get Regina out which she failed to do. Why he wanted her gone is left unexplained, but we do know Hades knows about Cora’s life (including Zelena), he has her doing his bidding and he promised her something that she isn’t going to get since she failed. To punish her, he makes Cora a peasant again.