"Red-Handed" is the fifteenth episode of the American fairy tale/drama television series Once Upon a Time. It premiered in the United States on ABC on March 11, 2012. It was written by Jane Espenson, while being directed by Ron Underwood.
Plot
In the Characters' Pasts
In a small village in the Enchanted Forest, a happy, cloak-wearing Red Riding Hood flirts with her love Peter through her window before being called away by her Granny, also known as the Widow Lucas. A group of villagers show up at their cottage door, planning to go after a giant wolf that has been killing their sheep. Red asks if she can go, but Granny refuses to let her and tells her to stay inside with her cloak on—even after they secure their cottage. The following morning, Red goes to check on the chickens, only to come across a sleepy Snow White. Red agrees to help Snow, who, being a fugitive, asks to be called Mary. When they go to the well for water, they notice the water is filled with crimson blood and find a trail of slaughtered bodies left lying on the snowy ground. Later on, during a town hall meeting, Granny tells the citizens of her own encounter with the wolf, which killed her family 60 years earlier and left her with a scarred arm, saying that there is no way anyone can kill the creature. Despite this, Red and a reluctant Snow decide to search for the wolf on their own.
Red, a superior tracker, finds the wolf prints, but they morph into human boot prints as the duo follow them. Worse, they lead to Red's window and the only person she remembers seeing there is Peter. That night, Red meets Peter to tell him he is a werewolf. She has to tie him up on full moon nights, but she will stay with him. Back at Granny's cottage, Granny finds Snow posing as Red in her cloak on her bed. Snow assures Granny they are safe since Red has Peter tied up. Granny is dismayed at this and explains that Red is the wolf and the curse has been passed among the family. Granny herself was a wolf, but has lost most of her power due to age, though she can still track Red by scent. They find the tree where Red tied up Peter, but it is too late—she has already transformed and devoured him. Granny strikes Red with a silver-tipped arrow and orders Snow to put the cloak over her as it is magical and keeps the wearer from becoming a wolf. Red returns to her human form, confused at first, then horrified to discover what she has done. The hunting party closes in as Granny tells the girls to make their escape into the woods.
In Storybrooke
At the sheriff's office, Emma asks David a few questions about Kathryn's absence, but since there is no proof of a crime, she lets him go. Elsewhere at Granny's Diner, Ruby is chatting with August, who tells her about his world travels. Granny calls her over and tells her to start the paperwork that comes with extra business. Ruby answers that she would rather see the world like August and quits her tedious job. Emma and Mary Margaret run into Ruby trying to brush off Dr. Whale and get a ride out of town. They offer to take her home with them so she can figure things out. Mary Margaret later goes to the spot where Kathryn had disappeared and runs into David, who is now acting strange and keeps repeating over and over that he's looking for his wife, leaving Mary Margaret very concerned about his behaviour.
Back in the sheriff's office, Henry helps Ruby look for jobs, such as being a bike courier. When Ruby answers the phone and takes messages for Emma, she applauds her for her help and offers her a job as her assistant. Ruby goes to pick up lunch for everyone just as Mary Margaret walks in to tell Emma everything that happened with David. At the diner, Ruby tries to flaunt how happy she is now, but Granny doesn't seem to buy it. She tells Ruby her new job is basically the same as her old one, majorly cutting down Ruby's confidence. When she returns with the food, Emma tells Ruby that she's going to do real police work and help her find David. They follow tracks in the woods when Ruby hears something. With Ruby in the lead, she and Emma find David groaning and barely conscious. He reveals that he doesn't remember anything since leaving the sheriff's office the previous night. At the same time, Ruby doesn't know how she found him.
In the hospital, Dr. Whale tells David and Emma that there is a good chance he was asleep during the whole ordeal and it might have been the same thing as when he came out of his coma. Regina then barges in, being David's emergency contact, and immediately tells Emma to leave. In the hall, Emma calls Ruby, telling her to go to the Toll Bridge and see if she finds anything. There, Ruby uses her unknown senses and instincts to find a box buried under a washed-up piece of wood. She screams in horror when she sees what is inside of the box. Back in the office, Emma opens the box. She tells Ruby she did a good job, but Ruby doesn't feel cut out for the excitement of police work. Ruby goes to the diner where she talks to Granny who reveals that the markings on her arm are here in Storybrooke and that her arm bothers her once a month. Granny tells Ruby she had asked her to learn every part of running the diner so that when she retires, she can leave the diner to her. Granny wants to leave it to someone who loves it as well. After hugging her, Ruby gets her job back and turns down Emma's job offer.
At David's place of work, he paces in the lobby with Mary Margaret trying to calm him down. Emma comes in to tell them about the box, which contains a human heart and fingerprints inside. David reacts right away, telling Emma to put him in handcuffs, but she stops him to reveal that the fingerprints belong to another suspect, Mary Margaret.
Production
"Red-Handed" was written by consulting producer Jane Espenson, while Tremors director, Ron Underwood, directed the episode. It was included in Reawakened: A Once Upon a Time Tale – a novelization of the first season – which was published by Hyperion Books in 2013.[1][2]
Gallery
Trivia
- In the Enchanted Forest, Snow White tells Red that her name is Margret, then changes it to Mary. This is a reference to her Storybrooke counterpart, Mary Margret Blanchard.
- The Enchanted Forest flashbacks occur after "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" and immediately before "Child of the Moon."
- The aftermath of Red and Snow White's escape from the village is shown in "Child of the Moon."
- The fate of Red's mother is revealed in "Child of the Moon."
- Peter jokingly says to Red Riding Hood, "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow the...," a reference to the Silly Symphonies short film The Big Bad Wolf, where the Big Bad Wolf (known for the phrase "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in," in another Silly Symphonies short film, Three Little Pigs) takes on the role of the wolf who tries to eat Red Riding Hood.
- Ruby finds a human heart found inside a decorated box, a reference to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, where the queen orders the huntsman to kill Snow White and demands that he returns with her heart in a jeweled box as proof of the deed; however, the huntsman brings back a pig's heart instead. (In the fairytale, the queen orders him to bring back Snow White's lungs and liver as proof.)
- This episode is a rendition of the "Little Red Riding Hood" fairytale, focusing on Red Riding Hood, her grandmother and the wolf.
- The title is a reference to Little Red Riding Hood and the finger prints of Mary Margret.
- This episode features the origin of Snow and Red's friendship, which is mirrored in Storybrooke and featured in the Enchanted Forest flashbacks of previous episode.
- This episode takes a twist on the classic Red Riding Hood fairytale, where Red is revealed to be the wolf, unlike the fairytale where the wolf is a separate character and eats the granny.
References
- ↑ Beane, Odette (2013). Reawakened: A Once Upon a Time Tale. Hyperion Books. ISBN 9781401305499.
- ↑ Reawakened: A Once Upon a Time Tale. WorldCat. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013.
