"Enter the Dragon" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of the American fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time, which aired on March 15, 2015.
Regina refuses to give up and burns through the ropes binding her hands; she throws a fireball at a guard before her magic begins to fail her, which prompts Maleficent to realize that she does not want to go down without a fight, thus rekindling her fire and allowing her to transform into her dragon form.
Regina reveals that she has realized that she already had the perfect teacher all along in Rumplestiltskin, and feels that there are fates worse than death, one of them being the sleeping curse.
Later on, Maleficent, Cruella, and Ursula meet with Gold, who is convinced that Regina has reverted to her evil ways because of the heartbreak she has gone through, but cryptically adds that, "When war hits Storybrooke, everyone will have to pick a side."
The twosome agree to hide the dagger, but Belle has a strange feeling that Gold is already in Storybrooke, so Hook suggests that she try to conjure him.
Gold, as Hook, goes to the pawn shop to make Belle promise to never mention the events that transpired with the dagger, to which she agrees, believing it to be the safest option.
Amy Ratcliffe of IGN said of the episode, "Maleficent is taking center stage among the Queens of Darkness so far, and while more backstories are probably ahead, they've done a solid job so far of balancing the "theme" with the primary cast.
Many of them are woven into the Queens's pasts and future plans, and it's such a relief to know there is a way to tell stories about these big characters and not completely push the longtime residents of Storybrooke aside.
[2] Rebecca Jane Stokes of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4 out of 5, noting the show's improvement over previous episodes, saying "After a rough couple of weeks, it was great to see Once Upon A Time do what it does really, really well -- provide a great forum for complex, strong female characters to strive, battle, fail, and persevere.
)"[4] Jevon Phillips of the Los Angeles Times commented on Rumplestiltskin's role, simple saying he "stole the show with a few roundhouses of his own.