In this episode, Ariel (Joanna García Swisher) makes her way to Storybrooke after being sent by Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) and Regina Mills (Lana Parrilla) to tell Belle (Emilie De Ravin) and the townspeople of the impending danger coming from Peter Pan (Robbie Kay).
Meanwhile, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), Captain Hook (Colin O'Donoghue), and Neal Cassidy (Michael Raymond-James) attempt to capture Pan's shadow from a place known as the Dark Hollow.
Gold also gave her instructions to use a cloaking spell because there might be others coming from the outside world to destroy Storybrooke, and after alerting the residents of the threat, she places the spell around the city limits by opening a vein of fairy dust in the mines; however, a pair of brothers arriving from Minnesota in a convertible managed to sneak in just in time, as they are revealed to be the contacts from Peter Pan's Home Office.
Five days later, the seven dwarfs are having lunch by the beach talking about how quiet it has been since Regina, Snow and Charming have left and no killings have occurred, when Leroy witnesses Ariel emerging from the ocean.
After Leroy brings Ariel to Belle at Granny's Diner, the two head back to the pawn shop, where the sand dollar is activated.
Belle believes that can be found in the only item that symbolizes their true love, the chipped tea cup, as magic can be put in its proper spot.
The brothers then plead with Belle that they are not interested in destroying magic: they want to use the box so they can rescue their sister, Wendy, who has been a prisoner of Peter Pan for over a century.
As the mission begins in Neverland, Gold and Regina give Ariel instructions to contact Belle once she arrives in Storybrooke to retrieve an item that will be useful in their quest to destroy Peter Pan.
However, moments after Ariel escapes into the realms, this plan is discovered by Pan, who tells Felix that a pair of minions from the outside world will arrive there immediately to solve the problem.
He knows where to find one, which is revealed to be Dark Hollow, the darkest place on the island, where the plan is to capture Pan's shadow by drawing it to the flame inside the shell.
Unfortunately, Emma is not happy with how both Neal and Hook are behaving around her, prompting her to read the riot act to the two men, making it clear to them that the most important male in her life will always be Henry.
Ariel's entry into the present day for the first time and being intrigued by what she sees while seeking out Belle parallels a similar scene from the 1984 film Splash.
Considering that Henry finally gave in and is embarking on his own journey to Skull Rock, who knows what will happen, but at least we have the hope that our favorite pairings will be reunited, right?
"[4] Amy Ratcliffe of IGN gave the episode a 7.7 out of 10, signaling generally positive reviews, saying "Tonight's return to Storybrooke was needed both for the change of setting and the comfort of seeing familiar faces.
Club graded the episode a B−, signaling moderate reviews, and commenting positively on the Storybrooke subplot, saying Joanna Garcia Swisher continues her delightful portrayal as the slightly clueless Ariel, and the adventure-minded Belle (Emilie de Ravin) proves herself to be a good choice as Rumplestiltskin’s girlfriend: Just this week she has to perform a cloaking spell, find Pandora’s box, and get held up by fugitives from the Darling family.
But just when we thought we were safe from never hearing the words “Home Office” again, we find that our village interlopers are John and Michael Darling, who for some reason have aged a bit more than their sister, who is the other person in the cage (for about a hundred years).
The John and Michael reveal is a welcome surprise, especially since it leads to a reappearance of Freya Tingley as Wendy, who was so entrancing in her scenes with the young Bae last season.
Perhaps it was the fish out of water scenario she personified," but then added "My biggest complaint about the entire episode was that there was so little Regina, but that didn't stop her presence from being felt.