History Recap / OnceUponATimeS1E7TheHeartIsALonelyHunter

** The cynical heroine of a FracturedFairyTale gets told she has a wall inside her she uses to protect herself, and that while this means she won't get hurt, it also means she won't have love either. Quick, is this Emma or [[Series/TheTenthKingdom Virginia]]?[[labelnote:*]]As noted on that work's YMMV page, the trend of fairy tales being told as DarkerAndEdgier, with a TragicVillain, an ActionGirl heroine, {{Deadpan Snarker}}s lampshading tropes, and so forth--which are all hallmarks of ''Once Upon a Time''--can credibly be noted as beginning with ''The Tenth Kingdom''.[[/labelnote]] To further underscore the reference, it's Snow White who tells her this, and the episode also revolves around her possible LoveInterest who has a connection to wolves, spends much of it running around sweaty and out-of-sorts, and is revealed to have loyalty (of varying degree) to an Evil Queen.

At Granny's diner, Graham and Emma have a chat. Graham thinks that Emma's avoiding him since she caught him leaving Regina's house, although she insists she doesn't care. He mentions he feels nothing with Regina and suddenly kisses Emma, and as he does he sees a vision of a wolf in a forest. Emma ignores his shock to chew him out for the kiss. Saddened, Graham returns to Regina.

Graham collapses in pain, and within seconds is dead, to Emma's horror.

{{FLASHBACK}}! At the Queen's palace, the huntsman presents her with "Snow's" heart. He also reads the letter, telling the Queen that she hopes Snow's death will satisfy her and allow her to be a kind and just ruler. The Queen is unmoved and burns the letter, and reveals to the huntsman that she hates Snow because she divulged a secret which hurt the Queen severely. She takes the heart, places it in a box and holds it before her vault. None of the drawers open, and the Queen realizes the huntsman's betrayal.

* AbsenteeActor: Creator/JoshDallas (David).

Cut to the huntsman, Graham's original self, completing a hunt and thanking the fallen deer for it's sacrifice, and promising food to his companion, a wolf.

{{FLASHBACK}}! The Queen meets with the huntsman, telling him she wants him to kill someone. He's not interested in the trappings of luxury she offers, but she tells him she needs someone who won't care about the opinions of the people to carry out the murder, which is why none of her soldier will do. He accepts and asks what she could give him in return. He gives a simple request, outlaw the hunting of wolves, before asks who his target is.

Henry explains Graham's identity as the huntsman, Mary Margaret's as Snow White, and that his kiss with Emma triggered memories because she's Snow White's daughter and therefore has a connection to him. Graham asks what happens next in his story, and Henry tells him the Queen removed his heart so he could never feel again. Graham looks at the storybook's illustration and recognizes the vault from his vision. Henry explains that's it's where the Queen kept his heart. Graham realizes that the wolf was guiding him to his missing heart.

Sheriff Graham begins to remember his past life in the Enchanted Forest and Emma begins to consider if she's falling for Graham. In the fairy tale land that was, the back story of the Huntsman is revealed along with a secret mission authorized by the Evil Queen to kill Snow White.

* AbsenteeActor: Josh Dallas (David).

* ShoutOut: The cynical heroine of a FracturedFairyTale gets told she has a wall inside her she uses to protect herself, and that while this means she won't get hurt, it also means she won't have love either. Quick, is this Emma or [[Series/TheTenthKingdom Virginia]]?[[labelnote:*]]As noted on that work's YMMV page, the trend of fairy tales being told as DarkerAndEdgier, with a TragicVillain, an ActionGirl heroine, {{Deadpan Snarker}}s lampshading tropes, and so forth--which are all hallmarks of ''Once Upon a Time''--can credibly be noted as beginning with ''The Tenth Kingdom''.[[/labelnote]] To further underscore the reference, it's Snow White who tells her this, and the episode also revolves around her possible LoveInterest who has a connection to wolves, spends much of it running around sweaty and out-of-sorts, and is revealed to have loyalty (of varying degree) to an Evil Queen.

* RewatchBonus: [[invoked]] It's certainly interesting seeing this again after watching "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree." This episode's Enchanted Forest flashbacks begin with Regina comforting Snow White by her father's coffin, meaning he must just have died--but that episode reveals it was the Genie/Magic Mirror who did the deed for Regina. For someone who ''just'' committed murder, learned his lover had used and manipulated him, and then got trapped in a mirror, he seems rather blase about Regina's feigned bereavement and desire to get revenge on her stepdaughter. Perhaps she had him look into the past, to see what Snow had done, so as to get him fully on her side?
** It's also revealing watching this after both "The Stable Boy" and "We Are Both". The references made here by both Snow and Regina (like Snow telling Charming that she did ruin Regina's life in "Snow Falls") fit perfectly well with what is eventually revealed about Daniel...yet also with what Snow knew about the matter at the time she wrote her letter for her stepmother.[[labelnote:*]]She only says here that because of her Regina "would never have love in her life", because after Cora's actions in "The Stable Boy", Regina told Snow Daniel had run away. Regina confesses the full truth in "We Are Both"...except this turned out to be an ImagineSpot[=/=]DaydreamSurprise. It's not until Snow meets with Regina by Daniel's grave in "An Apple Red as Blood", well after this scene with the Huntsman, that Regina tells her of Daniel's fate.[[/labelnote]] Despite the AnachronicOrder, this is a very well-done maintaining of continuity.

** It's also revealing watching this after both "The Stable Boy" and "We Are Both". The references made here by both Snow and Regina (like Snow telling Charming that she did ruin Regina's life in "Snow Falls") fit perfectly well with what is eventually revealed about Daniel...yet also with what Snow knew about the matter at the time she wrote her letter for her stepmother.[[note]]She only says here that because of her Regina "would never have love in her life", because after Cora's actions in "The Stable Boy", Regina told Snow Daniel had run away. Regina confesses the full truth in "We Are Both"...except this turned out to be an ImagineSpot[=/=]DaydreamSurprise. It's not until Snow meets with Regina by Daniel's grave in "An Apple Red as Blood", well after this scene with the Huntsman, that Regina tells her of Daniel's fate.[[/note]] Despite the AnachronicOrder, this is a very well-done maintaining of continuity.
* ShoutOut: The cynical heroine of a FracturedFairyTale gets told she has a wall inside her she uses to protect herself, and that while this means she won't get hurt, it also means she won't have love either. Quick, is this Emma or [[Series/TheTenthKingdom Virginia]]?[[note]]As noted on that work's YMMV page, the trend of fairy tales being told as DarkerAndEdgier, with a TragicVillain, an ActionGirl heroine, {{Deadpan Snarker}}s lampshading tropes, and so forth--which are all hallmarks of ''Once Upon a Time''--can credibly be noted as beginning with ''The Tenth Kingdom''.[[/note]] To further underscore the reference, it's Snow White who tells her this, and the episode also revolves around her possible LoveInterest who has a connection to wolves, spends much of it running around sweaty and out-of-sorts, and is revealed to have loyalty (of varying degree) to an Evil Queen.

* ShoutOut: The cynical heroine of a FracturedFairyTale gets told she has a wall inside her she uses to protect herself, and that while this means she won't get hurt, it also means she won't have love either. Quick, is this Emma or [[Series/TheTenthKingdom Virginia]]?[[note]]As noted on that work's YMMV page, the trend of fairy tales being told as DarkerAndEdgier, with a TragicVillain, an ActionGirl heroine, {{Deadpan Snarker}}s lampshading tropes, and so forth--which are all hallmarks of ''Once Upon a Time''--can credibly be credited as beginning with ''The Tenth Kingdom''.[[/note]] To further underscore the reference, it's Snow White who tells her this, and the episode also revolves around her possible LoveInterest who has a connection to wolves, spends much of it running around sweaty and out-of-sorts, and is revealed to have loyalty (of varying degree) to an Evil Queen.