Once Upon a Fangirl...: Hat Trick

This episode follows Heart of Darkness as Emma searches for Mary Margaret after she escapes her prison cell with the skeleton key she found. On her way, she comes across Jefferson under the pretence he's injured & that she's looking for a dog. Once they get to his house, he manages to sedate her & reveals that he remembers his past, including his daughter & that Emma is the Saviour to break the curse. With that, he forces her to make a hat as she may possess magic so he can get back to the Enchanted Forest with his daugher & if she doesn't, Mary Margaret (who he kidnapped prior) will get hurt. Believing him to be crazy, Emma rightfully knocks him out, frees Mary Margaret, only for him to wake up and attack both of them until Mary Margaret manages to hit him with a croquet mallet out of the window only for him to disappear. Meanwhile, back in the Enchanted Forest, we learn of Jefferson's backstory as a former with a daughter & having to do a favour for Regina by using his hat to go to Wonderland, where we eventually learn the Queen of Hearts (later revealed to be Cora in season 2) kept her father prisoner. Unfortunately, it's shown that the rules of the hat are the same number of people to enter have to leave, meaning that Regina leaves Jefferson behind resulting in him going crazy (or rather mad) trying to build another hat to get back to his daughter.
I really enjoyed Sebastian Stan as Jefferson. His performance is partly why I find the character so memorable & I really wish we could see more of him. His backstory is very rich & it's easy to relate to him as a loving father to his daughter & being his primary motivation for what he does. Also, I loved the chemistry between him & Emma (despite them not being canon at all) as she is still being stubborn over the curse & him pretty much telling her to grow up & see the truth. I liked that she was finally starting to see the people of Storybrooke as family as her friendship with Mary Margaret is getting stronger despite the situation with the murder accusation & Regina. Of course, Henry annoyed me despite only appear in the beginning & end of the episode, but at least Grace/Paige is more realistic as a kid character to some degree. I also loved the show's version of Wonderland, which looked very creative & unique while still managing to pay tribute to the Lewis Carroll books. Overall, I loved this episode & rewatching it, I can see why it's still considered as a very popular, if not one of the best episodes in OUAT period!