Viewers are invited into “a whole new world” in the latest episode of Once Upon a Time.
The episode opens in the capital of Agrabah. Jafar (Oded Fehr) is roaming the streets and turning thieves into street rats. A character who appears to be Aladdin (Deniz Akdeniz) hides from the villain and is approached by Princess Jasmine (Karen David). Jasmine wants his help defeating Jafar by stealing a magical entity called the Diamond in the Rough.
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In Storybrooke, Archie (Raphael Sbarge) and Emma (Jennifer Morrison) are in the woods following the red bird that lead Emma to the oracle the first time. They come across the oracle, but she’s dead. They see someone running through the forest and when they catch up to her, it’s Jasmine. At this point Jasmine is hiding under the name Sherine. Emma takes her to the sheriff’s office and won’t tell them anything. The reason she can’t tell her name is because of Hyde. Emma and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) tell her Hyde is dead. She tells them her real name and that she is looking for Aladdin, whom she calls "the savior."
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The Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) shows up to Archie’s office and wants to know about Emma’s visions. Archie refuses to tell her anything. The Evil Queen traps Archie in his office, but he still won’t give her the information. The Evil Queen has to use other methods and transfigures herself into an Archie look-alike.
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In her house, Zelena (Rebecca Mader) is putting her daughter to sleep and when she turns around she finds Archie tied up. Archie asks her to untie him, but she doesn’t. I think Zelena is slowly making her way back to the evil side.
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The Evil Queen acting as Archie walks up to Emma and wants her to talk. She tells fake Archie that she is off to find Aladdin, and her worries about being killed by a hooded figure have eased. By finding Aladdin, Emma is hoping her visions are not real and not all Saviors die.
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In another flashback, Aladdin and Jasmine are walking to the Cave of Wonders where they will find the diamond. Jasmine is determined to make the world a better place by defeating Jafar. They come across the entrance to the cave and Aladdin says, “Open sesame!” mostly out of humor. A few seconds later the doors open and the two enter.
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Emma goes to her parent’s apartment to talk about searching for Aladdin. Fake Archie follows her and forces Emma to tells her family about the visions she’s been having. She tells Regina (Lana Parrilla) she wasn’t in the visions and thinks she might be the one under the hood. Fake Archie walks out of the apartment and transforms back into the Evil Queen. The real question is this: how did no one realize the fake Archie left the room?
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In the past, Aladdin and Jasmine are walking around the cave. They come across the diamond, but it’s balanced on a sword. Aladdin finds a monkey figurine — which looks exactly like Abu — that is the same weight as the diamond. He does the classic swapping method and picks up the diamond, but it turns to dust. The ground starts to shake and things start to fall around them. Out of basic instinct, magic shoots out of Aladdin’s hands. Jasmine suspected he had magic capabilities and that was why she brought him on the quest. She tells him he is going to be the one to defeat Jafar: “You’re going to be the Savior of Agrabah.”
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The Evil Queen goes back to Zelena’s house and asks her sister to come with her. They go get manicure and pedicures. I guess the key to great spells is perfect nails. The Evil Queen tries to convince Zelena that her wicked days don’t have to be behind her. Zelena is worried about what her daughter will think of her. The Evil Queen tells Zelena her daughter needs to form opinions based on who she really is and not who she is pretending to be.
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In the meantime, Emma meets Regina at her vault in the cemetery. Regina is brewing up a different locator spell that links the magic of two saviors. Emma’s magic can lead them to Aladdin.
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Back in the cave, Jasmine gives Aladdin a hero’s scarab. She leaves, and Jafar materializes. Aladdin says he is going to defeat him. Jafar shows him the bird on his shoulder, the same red bird that shows the future. It shows death, but Jafar says there is a way to escape his fate. He can alter his it by using the shears of the three fate sisters to cut his fate and save himself. Meanwhile, Jasmine goes back to her castle and talks to her father, the Sultan (Cedric De Souza), who is under a spell casted by Jafar. Jafar walks in as she is telling the Sultan that she found a Savior to help Agrabah. Jafar puts Jasmine into an hourglass as Aladdin comes riding in on a magic carpet. Aladdin breaks the hourglass and Jafar’s staff, knocking the Sultan out of his stupor. Jafar leaves, and Aladdin saved Agrabah.
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While walking through the forest with Henry (Jared Gilmore), Jasmine and Hook, Emma has a vision of where Aladdin is at and she leads them to a crypt. Jasmine finds the hero’s scarab beside a skeleton and figures out the body is his. Emma is forced to face the fact that she really might die and asks everyone to leave. Henry comes back because he feels bad about bringing Emma to Storybrooke and responsible for her fate. Emma tells him it’s not his fault and they share a very touching moment, which have become rare in recent seasons. Henry hears something, and Aladdin comes out of the shadows.
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In the final flashback, Jasmine tells Aladdin he can have anything he wants because he saved Agrabah. Aladdin wants Jasmine to come with him to defeat Jafar for good and see the world. They are about to share a kiss when Jasmine pulls back and says she can’t go with him — she has to continue to help Agrabah. Aladdin walks away feeling dejected when something materializes in his bag. He looks inside to find the shears and a note from Jafar — telling him to hold onto them in case being a Savior becomes too much.
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Back in Storybrooke, Aladdin tells Emma and Henry that he cut his fate and is not a Savior anymore. Aladdin takes the shears out of his pocket and hands them to Emma. Aladdin is afraid to go into Storybrooke and tell Jasmine he is not the Savior anymore. Aladdin sets his fears aside and is reunited with Jasmine. Jasmine wants Aladdin’s help because Agrabah is in danger again, and he has to tell her that he is not the Savior anymore.
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The Evil Queen and Zelena return to their house, and Zelena turns Archie back into Jiminy Cricket and embraces her wickedness once more. Now there are two evil people in Storybrooke. This is not going to turn out well.
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In Charming and Snow’s apartment, Emma and her family are trying to find another way to save her, but if they can’t Emma is going to use the shears. Emma gives them to Hook to so he can hide them in a safe place. They go to the docks, and Hook takes them to a place where Emma and no one else will find them. When Emma leaves the docks, Hook takes the shears out of his coat pocket. Hook is going to regret this. The shears are going to end up in the wrong hands.
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A lot of important events happened in this episode, so let’s review:
- Aladdin is not dead, and he is not a Savior anymore. The fact that Aladdin is alive is good news for Emma. Emma can start to find a solution to save herself from the hooded figure in her visions.
- Hook went against Emma’s wishes and kept the Fates’ shears. Not only is this going to create problems between Emma and Hook, but the shears can also end up in the wrong hands.
- Zelena has officially sided with the Evil Queen. Emma and her family are going to face two villains this time around.
We are almost halfway through the sixth season, so a major plot twist is sure to arise sometime soon.
