‘Once Upon a Time’: Uniting the Wicked Witch and the Evil Queen?

One set of siblings gets a little closer, while another has their bond forever broken in the “Sisters” episode of “Once Upon a Time.”

Innocently enough, it start with a picnic in the Underworld. Zelena and Hades are on a date when Hades tells Zelena that he wants to give her the real Storybrooke. “Once my heart is beating again, and I can leave this place, I want to give it to you.” So that’s his endgame — to get his heart beating. Hades also put all the heroes’ names on tombstones to keep them in the Underworld while he plots his way out. And was that a proposal? Will you make chaos with me? Guess so.

Not everyone is happy with the possible union. A verbal sister fight happens, one that probably happens to siblings every day. The siblings aren’t the Wicked Witch and the Evil Queen, though. Regina, seeming genuinely concerned with Zelena’s well-being, tells her there’s no way she and Hades should be together. Zelena believes that she can change Hades and that Regina has never cared for her.

Now we get to see Regina’s childhood in a flashback, and maybe we’ll see if she ever really wanted a sister. Cora imparts some evil mom wisdom to little Regina: “The only person I can rely on is me.” Regina, though, does want a sister. She stumbles upon Cora’s magic wand (Cora may have wanted her to), and tries to enchant, or even make real, her doll, but the spell backfires. Regina seems to be in some kind of magic coma and her mom and dad helplessly look over her.

Speaking of magical comas, Belle is still in a sleep curse. Rumplestiltskin says that he needs to fix what’s wrong, and that he’s going to have to use dark magic to get it done despite Belle’s wishes that he use light magic.

Regina believes Cora may be the only person who can talk Zelena out of her Hades crush. Hook rescues Cora from her Underworld hell as a miller’s daughter.

A not-so-charming reunion finally happens as James and David meet face-to-face in the Underworld. James is angry at David for taking his place as a prince while James ... well, died. A quick tase, and David is out of commission. James successfully takes his place, interacting with Emma and they prep for a trip.

Cora and Regina talk about Zelena. Cora says that she and Regina will have to make Zelena forget Hades ever existed. They travel to the forgetful waters, where Cora mentions there having been something like it close to where she and Regina used to live. Uh-oh.

In the past, Cora picks up a young Zelena from her abusive household and brings her to Regina. Even then, Zelena was powerful and was able to cure Regina, pulling her out of her magic coma without Cora’s help.

So, Regina and Zelena had met before. And it stands to reason that Cora may have made Regina and Zelena forget ever meeting. Or maybe I’m just reading into it. For now, Cora will finally meet the baby girl that she supposedly left in Oz.

Robin Hood, who we hadn’t seen for a while since he was hiding in the forest with his baby, meets up with James and Emma. James reveals himself, slapping a power bracelet on Emma as he points a gun at Robin. Who pulls up but Cruella, revealing that this is all part of her plan. If she has Zelena’s baby, it’s a bargaining chip for Hades. He’ll have to let her out of the Underworld if he wants to get Zelena’s child back. Not sure that’s the smartest plan.

Cora and Zelena meet. Mother and daughter. Queen of Hearts and the Wicked Witch. Even with these two mistresses of evil, there’s bound to be tears. They talk, and Cora tells Zelena that she’s sorry she gave her away. She thought that giving her away as a baby would be the best for her. She was young, etc. Cora can’t leave the Underworld yet because, as she says to Zelena, she and her sister are Cora’s unfinished business. Maybe true, maybe not. They hug, and there are tears.

Regina and Zelena, playing as children, somehow figure out that they could be related. Cora’s wand box opens when Zelena touches it, but again, it’s only supposed to be opened by a blood relative. Regina puts two and two together and surmises that they’re related. The girls confront Cora, who tells them that they’re sisters — then rips them apart and erases their memories of ever meeting.

That memory is returned by Cora after Zelena sees right through Cora and Regina’s plan to make her forget meeting Hades. Is Cora being sincere? She loves them, she’s sorry, blah blah. Seems like it. More tears come from Regina and Zelena as they remember loving each other like sisters.

The exact opposite happens with the Charmings. James is about to kill Robin and take the baby when David and Hook arrive. They rescue the baby, then the Charmings duke it out. David ends up throwing James into the Underworld waters, effectively erasing him. David is sad that it had to come to that, but it really had to.

The sisters take their mom to the fire pits of the Underworld. There are a couple of heartfelt hugs — to Regina for having been a pain in her life, and to Zelena for not having been in her life — then Cora takes a walk towards the fire. At first, a flame from below seems to come and claim her, but then the bright light of a heavenly dimension shines, and Cora walks through it. Up until the very end, many of us probably expected something bad to happen. A double cross (There was that weird side glance. Did you see it?) had to be coming, but apparently not. Cora has passed on, and with her demise, it seems to have brought the sisters closer together. Regina tells Zelena to go with her heart, and if she really thinks she can tame Hades, then she’ll support her.

So, that’s just what Zelena does. Strolling to a candlelit dinner with Hades, she’s stopped before she can make it. Rumplestiltskin is a bit mad at Zelena for having given Belle a sleeping curse (though it was Belle who put it on herself). He’s going to make her pay, while also holding Hades at bay, by kidnapping Zelena. Rumple even gets in on the family act by bringing in his dad, Peter Pan, to help deal damage and fulfill whatever plan that Rumple has concocted.

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