In this episode, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), Henry (Jared S. Gilmore), and Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) arrive in Manhattan to find his son Baelfire (Michael Raymond-James), only to have Emma regret the trip after past memories come back to haunt her.
Meanwhile, in the Enchanted Forest, a young Rumplestiltskin is to fight in the Ogre Wars, but is then hesitant after a seer (Shannon Lucio) reveals his fate.
Milah (Rachel Shelley) is alarmed, but Rumplestiltskin is eager to free himself of his father's legacy of cowardice.
Years later, after Baelfire has left the Enchanted Forest, Rumplestiltskin tracks down the now-adult Seer (Shannon Lucio) and criticizes her for omitting the details of his destiny.
Emma rings the only buzzer that lacks an occupant's name, claiming to be delivering a package; someone immediately flees the building via the fire escape.
She tells him she intends to uphold her deal with Gold, but he asks that she lie that she was unable to catch him, as this will end all contact between them.
Emma calls Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) to explain the situation; Baelfire/Neal is Henry's father.
Mary Margaret then tells David (Josh Dallas) about Emma's discovery, and they discuss how everyone in their family might be affected by it.
When Emma discovers that Neal has kept their dreamcatcher, Gold becomes suspicious of her interest in it and violently demands to know what she is hiding from him.
Emma admits that Neal represented a part of her life she wanted to forget, and that her reasons for lying were for her own benefit, not Henry's.
Greg Mendell (Ethan Embry) tells "Her" over the phone that he has been released from the hospital but will remain in Storybrooke; he explains by sending her a video of Regina using magic.
"Manhattan" was co-written by series co-creators/executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis and directed by The Shield veteran Dean White.
This episode marks a promotion for previously recurring guest star Colin O'Donoghue (Captain Hook) to series regular.
Entertainment Weekly critic Hilary Busis gave it a good review: "'Manhattan' may not have been Once's most gripping episode, but it was one of its deeper installments -- as is generally the case when Rump takes center stage.
Emma was understandably paranoid that her relationship with Neal was all part of some larger scheme set in motion by Rumpel, while Neal was in no great rush to reunite with his father after Rumpel abandoned him to a land without magic, to grow up lost and alone in our world just as Emma did."
She also praised the Seer's part in the episode, saying, "[She] was an interesting addition to the mythology, and a welcome reminder to Rumpel that all magic comes with a price, for him just as much as for anyone else.
It was a creepy and effective character design, and it will be interesting to see how her prophecy about Henry plays out in the coming weeks.