[2] The episode also marks the first appearance of Rebecca Mader as Zelena, The Wicked Witch of the West, who is the primary antagonist for the second half of the season.
[3] In this episode, after the fairy tale characters return to the Enchanted Forest, they discover something has changed that now places their lives in danger, resulting in Hook (Colin O'Donoghue)'s escaping to the real world in an effort to restore Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison)'s memories so she can save them.
Emma Swan, in her new life with Henry in New York City, goes on a date with her new boyfriend Walsh (Christopher Gorham) when she is interrupted by Hook who implores her to regain her memories and save her family.
The next morning, Emma hands Henry a permission slip for a field trip and finds Hook’s note which contains an address: Neal's former apartment.
Walsh reveals himself to be a flying monkey in disguise; he is from the Enchanted Forest and has been undercover, spying on her and keeping her happy in a fantasy life.
Hook arrives and as he and Henry take their luggage to Emma's yellow bug, she dons her signature red leather jacket, and they leave for home.
Storybrooke characters arrive back in the Enchanted Forest due to the curse and are met by Prince Phillip and a pregnant Princess Aurora.
[7] Other casting confirmations for the second half of the season include Alexandra Metz as Rapunzel,[8] Sunny Mabrey as Glinda the Good Witch,[9] and Henri Lubatti as Lumiere.
[10] In regard to the episode's setting, producer Adam Horowitz said to The Hollywood Reporter "The most fun is to deepen the characters and keep telling their story.
"[11] Edward Kitsis and Horowitz also confirmed that they would incorporate Ginnifer Goodwin's pregnancy into the story, as she is currently expecting a child with co-star and fiancé Josh Dallas.
The outing also helped improved ABC's revamped Sunday night schedule that saw its viewership from this episode carried over to the debut of another fantasy series, Resurrection.
[12] The episode was met with mostly positive reviews, with many critics complimenting the unpredictable nature of the new storylines created by the writers and producers.
Amy Ratcliffe of IGN gave the episode a 9.1 out of 10, saying "The spring return of Once was creative and seemed to infuse the show with fresh energy.
Lily Sparks of TV.com gave the episode a positive review, saying Good things happened: I’m super glad everyone is back in Storybrooke.
[14]Courtney Vaudreuil of TV Equals also complimented the unpredictable setting that the writers have created stating "I don’t want to be prematurely optimistic, but I like the reboot in Once Upon a Time.
Club gave the episode a C−, noting that "A progressive restart can help rejuvenate a series (or a relationship), but not when nothing changes.
Sure, the villain is now a Wicked Witch instead of an Evil Queen, but give or take a flying monkey, that doesn’t help much.