Unforgiven

Directed by Adam Horowitz (one half of the creators of the show), this episode details the connection between Snow & Charming & the Queens of Darkness, where their dark secret is revealed: after they all go to the Tree of Wisdom to find a way to stop Regina & the Dark Curse, it turns out they can't answer their question as Snow is pregnant, where it's also revealed that not only were they already aware that Emma had potential to be dark, but also that Maleficent is pregnant & wanted to team up with Snow to stop the curse because they both want to protect their children, only for Snow to refuse as Maleficent is a villain. In Storybrooke, we get to see David & Mary Margaret try to avoid Maleficent being revived so she can't reveal their secret, only to fail thanks to Ursula & Cruella forming a ruse to lure them into the mines so they could use their blood to resurrect her. Meanwhile, Emma, Regina & Henry question Pinocchio over the book as his August self tampered with it, but after Regina goes too far to try & force Pinocchio into remembering, Marco tells her to stay away & that her plan is a lost cause, but after apologising, he gives her August's belongings to find possible clues as to who the author is!

Oh yeah, and it's also revealed Belle is seeing Will which leaves Rumple devastated, Hook & Ursula know each other and that because of Snow and Charming, Maleficent lost her child, which Mary Margaret reveals to Regina when she asks her to go undercover to get some dirt on the villains!
Despite the dark tone, I very much enjoyed this episode! Unlike season 2 where the tone was way too dark, part of the problem with it was the plot was messy with too many subplots cramming for attention while this episode knew exactly what to focus on. I was initially worried that it was going to be another pointless Snowing flashback episode at the start because of the goal to find a way to stop the Dark Curse & Regina, but the twists it brought in with the reveal that Snow & Charming knew that Emma would have potential to become dark & that Snow and Charming caused Maleficent to abandon her child were really unexpected was very very surprising (my guess for now with who the child is is Lily from 4x05 & maybe her father being King Stefan AKA Aurora's father). Another aspect which I absolutely loved was the directing style, thanks to Adam Horowitz himself. It's clear he knew how to execute all the scenes & the script to avoid them appearing cheesy or camp rather it be the visual style (especially during Maleficent's revival & the design of the Wisdom Tree), camera angles or just the acting (which is excellent from everybody) And Maleficent being pregnant, while admittedly on the weird side, actually made me feel for her as all she wanted was to protect her child just like Snow, so, that technically makes her better than the Angelina Jolie Maleficent for me because while they did something similar with a theme of maternal instincts, this time round it was for her own child & initially the Angelina Jolie Maleficent became evil for the very cliched plot of being scorned by a man & OUAT already did their Sleeping Beauty story a while back, so that means they haven't ruined the story for me while Maleficent movie botched it up so much (and thank god she's still an awesome dragon in OUAT)! The emotional stakes were really what sold it for me as it shows that heroes & villains can have equally loved people & motivations in their lives no matter what side of the spectrum they are.
One thing I also enjoyed was seeing characters returning (yeah, for this half, don't expect to be surprised if you read 'Nice to see you again (insert character)' cos A LOT of old characters are coming back!), in this case Marco & Pinocchio as Regina, Emma & Henry look to Pinocchio for help over finding the author. It was very heartwarming to see them again even if Regina went a bit on the crazy side trying to force Pinocchio to remember his memories as August, but the scene afterwards between her & Marco was so heartwarming to watch as Regina shows she's determined to get her happy ending the right way. Seriously, I'd rather have loads of beloved characters returning instead of a ton of new ones!
As for the Belle/Will pairing, I only have one question: WHY?! I'm sorry, I get 6 weeks is a long time, but for Belle to almost immediately start dating after such an emotionally traumatic break-up & last week's episode indicated she still had some feelings for her husband despite everything that happened really annoys me along with the fact they have turned such a great character (I'm talking about Will) into a love interest/foil while he has his own True Love & we STILL have no idea what happened to her! So yeah, I am very very annoyed they took this route & I think Rumple's reaction summed it all up for me! Anyway, I still have hope for them, but I guess we'll have to endure the love triangle for this half (can't think of if it's better or worse than the poorly handled amnesia plot in season 2) as it seems Rumple will have to do his damned best to win his love back in this half (and hopefully, the right way) However, given that Cruella was the one who insinuated that Belle moved on to Rumple & both her & Ursula lying that she didn't ask about him at the shop when she clearly did & the fact it was implied that she missed Rumple in last week's episode, it seems a bit fishy to me she'd move on that quick...just a theory, but still have hope for Belle & Rumple!
Anyway, despite that 'hiccup', I very much enjoyed this episode & I must give major kudos to Adam Horowitz in his directing debut because he did a fantastic job!

Well, no surprise that it's a nightmare given that Maleficent isn't alive yet!

Nice Lost reference and looks like this deep secret is eating them up if they're awake at nearly 3AM! 

Nice to see you again Snow! Seriously, it's just weird this is the first time we've seen her in season 4!

Pretty mean of them to bring up Regina's past in front of Henry!

Interesting that Hook knows Ursula...then again, it's no surprise given all of voyages he'd been on in his pirating days!

Haha! 'Try anything and both of you will hop out of here as toads!' Quite like seeing this sassy side to Belle & surprised she's still running her husband's shop! 

Huh?!

Hmm, surprised by how good the cell phone reception is underground! 

'Your slumber is nearly over.' I wonder what's in the box that'll help revive her...

'You can't think like that!' 'I know, but sometimes I wonder if I'll ever be as happy as I was when it was you, me, Robin and Roland. That feeling was the closest I'd ever been to happy. I don't think I'll get back to that.' Aww, poor Regina!

Nice continuity that they remembered August tampered with the book back in season 1!

Hmm, more good continuity that they remembered Regina & Maleficent traded curses & Regina got the Dark Curse back! And a very interesting team-up...

HAHAHA! 'Is there a problem Sheriff Chiseled-Chin?' 'Step out of the vehicle!'

Uh...why do they have a part of her staff which for some reason has shrunk?

Haha! 'Looks like you guys are off the hook!' *beat* 'Sorry!'

Hmm, too bad Rumple already beat you to it with finding Maleficent's ashes!

Haha! 'You'd think travelling with Snow White and Prince Charming would open some doors! Do they know who you are?' 'Yes, and they also know who you are so now we're just have going to have to find another route to the Tree of Wisdom!'

Nice to see her badass dragon form back! Thank God they didn't retcon that cos of  the Maleficent movie!

Well, nice to see them have something called an argument even if it's nothing compared to the crap Belle & Rumple have gone through!

Hmm, seems Emma's lie detector doesn't work when it comes to her parents!

Nice to see you again Pinocchio & Marco! 

'You went to Phuket. You rode a motorcycle. Wore wore leather and YOU DIDN'T SHAVE!' 'Regina!' 'NO, he's not trying hard enough! You need to concentrate and THINK. Or is that head of yours still made out of wood?' Woah, calm down Regina! Didn't exactly work the first time when Rumple tried to force Belle to remember!

Hmm, Marco's got a point about Regina's quest!

Rather cool design for the Wisdom Tree!

Oh well, at least they tried!

Aww, sweet seeing Regina apologise & acknowledging she won't get a happy ending if she reverts back to her old ways!

Aww! Now seeing all of his stuff reminds me of how much I miss August!

'And Belle? Did she have any suspicions why you were in my shop?' 'You mean did she ask about you?' 'She didn't even mention your name, darling. I'd say she's moved on.' Well, that's a big fat lie!

Oh God...

Hmm, so Emma was a honeymoon baby!

So their dark secret is that they already knew Emma had potential for great darkness...well, that was a bit of a let down!

AH! So stealing the box was just a ruse to get them to go down cos they need their blood...that's actually pretty smart!

OK, the effects during this scene are AWESOME!!

'So good to be back!' Couldn't have said it better myself! 

Haha! 'I forgot how much I missed her!' 'It's so good to be entertaining! 

 JUST TELL HER THE TRUTH!

Pretty creepy...

Wait, wait w-w-w-w-w wait! MALEFICENT'S PREGNANT?!

HAHA! 'I should have known Fishsticks and Pound Puppy were here for more than a second chance!'

Nice idea to have Regina go undercover to get some dirt on the villains' plans!

Very interesting clue!

Aww, bless Rumple seeing Belle for the first time!

Wait, wait wait Belle has been seeing Will?! WHAT?! WHAT?! She's technically still married! Oh yeah, WHAT HAPPENED TO ANASTASIA?!

Poor Rumple! Tell me you don't wanna hug him! :'(

Can't help but feel sorry for her now & she is now officially a better Maleficent than the Angelina Jolie one!

'I don't understand. What exactly did you do to Maleficent?' 'Because of us, Maleficent lost her child.' OK, I did NOT see that coming! I wonder how though...