Welcome to Storybrooke

"**Welcome to Storybrooke**"
"Welcome to Storybrooke"
Once Upon a Time episode
Episode no.	Season 2; Episode 17
Directed by	David M. Barrett
Written by	Ian Goldberg; Andrew Chambliss
Original air date	March 17, 2013
Guest appearances
	Tony Amendola as Geppetto/Marco; Jamie Dornan as The Huntsman/Sheriff Graham; Beverley Elliott as Granny; Ethan Embry as Greg Mendell/Owen Flyyn; John Pyper-Ferguson as Kurt Flynn; Michael Raymond-James as Baelfire/Neal Cassidy; Raphael Sbarge as Jiminy Cricket/Dr. Archibald "Archie" Hopper; Benjamin Stockham as young Owen Flynn;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Miller's Daughter"	Next →; "Selfless, Brave and True"
	Once Upon a Time season 2
	List of episodes

"Welcome to Storybrooke" is the 17th episode of the second season of the American ABC fantasy/drama television series Once Upon a Time, and the show's 39th episode overall. It aired on March 17, 2013.

It was co-written by Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss, and was directed by David M. Barrett.

This episode centers around Regina as she tries to get revenge on Mary Margaret, while flashbacks show Regina's past with Greg Mendell.

Plot

In the Characters' Past

In 1983, Kurt Flynn and his young son Owen are camping in the Maine woods when they stumble upon Storybrooke. Regina invites Kurt and Owen to dine at her home and invites them to relocate to Storybrooke. The next day, Regina learns the Flynns are leaving. She uses Graham's heart to order him to arrest Kurt and abduct Owen for her. Kurt orders Owen to run as far as he can, which he does while Graham arrests Kurt. Owen returns with police officers, but Storybrooke is no longer evident. Owen vows never to stop looking for his father, while Regina weeps as she reaches out to him from inside Storybrooke.

In Storybrooke

As Regina prepares to bury Cora, Gold comes to pay his respects. Regina intends to kill Snow White, but Gold points out that would cost her Henry.

Emma reveals that Mary Margaret had a role in Cora's death, but Henry doesn't believe Snow White would hurt someone. Gold arrives to warn them that Regina plans to kill Mary Margaret, and David demands that Gold save her as repayment for Mary Margaret for saving his life.

A distraught Regina ransacks her mother's belongings until she finds the ingredients for a love spell for which the final ingredient is the heart of the person the caster hates most—Mary Margaret. Henry realizes Regina plans to use the curse on him. Regina tells Henry that he means too much to her for her to lose him; he asks her to prove it by not casting the curse. She insists that the imitation of love created by the curse will make them happy, but he refuses her offer, his response echoing Owen's in 1983. It is revealed that Greg is the adult Owen Flynn.

Reception

Ratings

The outing saw a slight increase in the ratings, placing 2.3/6 among 18-49s with 7.45 million viewers tuning in.^[1]

Reviews

The episode was met with positive reviews.

Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club gave this episode a "B+" and wrote, "After two strong episodes, it’s beginning to seem like Once Upon A Time is preparing to end the season on a high note, but things can fall apart at any instant. And that’s the big problem with shows as inconsistent as this one."^[2]

References

^ "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon a Time', 'The Amazing Race', 'Family Guy', 'The Cleveland Show, 'The Simpsons, 'Bob's Burgers' & 'The Mentalist' Adjusted Up" from TV by The Numbers/Zap2It (March 19, 2013)
^ Once Upon a Time "Welcome to Storybrooke" S2/E16 Retrieved March 17, 2013

External links

"Welcome to Storybrooke" at IMDb

[1] "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon a Time', 'The Amazing Race', 'Family Guy', 'The Cleveland Show, 'The Simpsons, 'Bob's Burgers' & 'The Mentalist' Adjusted Up" from TV by The Numbers/Zap2It (March 19, 2013)

[2] Once Upon a Time "Welcome to Storybrooke" S2/E16 Retrieved March 17, 2013

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v t e Once Upon a Time episodes
Season 1	"Pilot" "The Thing You Love Most" "Snow Falls" "The Price of Gold" "That Still Small Voice" "The Shepherd" "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" "Desperate Souls" "True North" "7:15 A.M." "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" "Skin Deep" "What Happened to Frederick" "Dreamy" "Red-Handed" "Heart of Darkness" "Hat Trick" "The Stable Boy" "The Return" "The Stranger" "An Apple Red as Blood" "A Land Without Magic"
Season 2	"Broken" "We Are Both" "Lady of the Lake" "The Crocodile" "The Doctor" "Tallahassee" "Child of the Moon" "Into the Deep" "Queen of Hearts" "The Cricket Game" "The Outsider" "In the Name of the Brother" "Tiny" "Manhattan" "The Queen Is Dead" "The Miller's Daughter" "Welcome to Storybrooke" "Selfless, Brave and True" "Lacey" "The Evil Queen" "Second Star to the Right" "And Straight On 'til Morning"
Season 3	"The Heart of the Truest Believer" "Lost Girl" "Quite a Common Fairy" "Nasty Habits" "Good Form" "Ariel" "Dark Hollow" "Think Lovely Thoughts" "Save Henry" "The New Neverland" "Going Home" "New York City Serenade" "Witch Hunt" "The Tower" "Quiet Minds" "It's Not Easy Being Green" "The Jolly Roger" "Bleeding Through" "A Curious Thing" "Kansas" "Snow Drifts" "There's No Place Like Home"
Season 4	"A Tale of Two Sisters" "White Out" "Rocky Road" "The Apprentice" "Breaking Glass" "Family Business" "The Snow Queen" "Smash the Mirror" "Fall" "Shattered Sight" "Heroes and Villains" "Darkness on the Edge of Town" "Unforgiven" "Enter the Dragon" "Poor Unfortunate Soul" "Best Laid Plans" "Heart of Gold" "Sympathy for the De Vil" "Lily" "Mother" "Operation Mongoose"
Season 5	"The Dark Swan" "The Price" "Siege Perilous" "The Broken Kingdom" "Dreamcatcher" "The Bear and the Bow" "Nimue" "Birth" "The Bear King" "Broken Heart" "Swan Song" "Souls of the Departed" "Labor of Love" "Devil's Due" "The Brothers Jones" "Our Decay" "Her Handsome Hero" "Ruby Slippers" "Sisters" "Firebird" "Last Rites" "Only You" "An Untold Story"
Season 6	"The Savior" "A Bitter Draught" "The Other Shoe" "Strange Case" "Street Rats" "Dark Waters" "Heartless" "I'll Be Your Mirror" "Changelings" "Wish You Were Here" "Tougher Than the Rest" "Murder Most Foul" "Ill-Boding Patterns" "Page 23" "A Wondrous Place" "Mother's Little Helper" "Awake" "Where Bluebirds Fly" "The Black Fairy" "The Song in Your Heart" "The Final Battle"
Season 7	"Hyperion Heights" "A Pirate's Life" "The Garden of Forking Paths" "Beauty" "Greenbacks" "Wake Up Call" "Eloise Gardener" "Pretty in Blue" "One Little Tear" "The Eighth Witch" "Secret Garden" "A Taste of the Heights" "Knightfall" "The Girl in the Tower" "Sisterhood" "Breadcrumbs" "Chosen" "The Guardian" "Flower Child" "Is This Henry Mills?" "Homecoming" "Leaving Storybrooke"
Wonderland	"Down the Rabbit Hole" "Trust Me" "Forget Me Not" "The Serpent" "Heart of Stone" "Who's Alice" "Bad Blood" "Home" "Nothing to Fear" "Dirty Little Secrets" "Heart of the Matter" "To Catch a Thief" "And They Lived..."