Manhattan (Once Upon a Time)

"Manhattan" is the 14th episode of the second season of the American ABC fantasy/drama television series Once Upon a Time, and the show's 36th episode overall, which aired on February 17, 2013.

It was co-written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, while being directed by Dean White.

In the Characters' Pasts
In the village, Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) runs in to tell Milah (Rachel Shelley) that his weaving days are over and shows off a letter that he is going to the front lines of the Ogre wars. However, Milah tries to convince him not to because she thinks it is too dangerous, but he says it is the chance he has been waiting for his entire life, to prove he's not like his father who was a coward. Milah, despite her concerns about his decision, allows him to go and says that when he returns they can start a family. As Rumplestiltskin walks into camp to begin his duties, a soldier tells him to guard a crate with his life, saying it's something that can turn the tide against the enemies. After hearing a person calling out his name, Rumplestiltskin uncovers a cage to see a child (Brighid Fleming), who happens to be a Seer who was thirsty and wanted a drink of water. She tells him that she is a seer and she can predict his future, including the fact that Milah and he will have a child, but his actions would leave his child fatherless. She says when he sees the cows he will know she speaks the truth. Rumple calls her a liar and covers her with the cover again. Hours later, as Rumplestiltskin is watching the wounded from the front lines being brought to the camp, a soldier says that they are lucky but Rumplestiltskin says that they would beg to differ. The man says that the only way people get sent home is if they are wounded and can't fight, hence they are lucky because they won't be killed by the Ogres. When another soldier announces that the duke said they will be riding into battle instead of marching, he tells everyone to grab a "cow" (a saddle made of cow leather), which horrifies Rumple as he realizes the Seer's predictions are coming true. When he goes to the witch's crate, now that he believes her, he removes the sheet to find the cage empty. He then sees a hammer and cripples himself with it by hitting his foot, leaving him wounded.

Rumplestiltskin later goes home to his son, whom Milah named Baelfire. Unfortunately, another prediction that the Seer mentioned would come true when Milah tells him that Baelfire will have to live with the shame of being Rumplestiltskin's son. Milah also becomes extremely upset upon learning that Rumplestiltskin injured himself so he could see his son. Despite his story about the seer, Milah tells Rumplestiltskin that he is just like his father, a coward. Rumplestiltskin says that he doesn't want Baelfire to grow up like him, fatherless. However, Milah tells him that he should have fought and died in the war. She then leaves the baby with Rumplestiltskin and, as predicted, eventually leaves him to be with Hook. Rumplestilskin then breaks his promise never to leave Baelfire fourteen years later, as projected by the seer.

Years later, Rumplestiltskin walks into a clearing as the Seer (Shannon Lucio) appears to say that she's been expecting him now that the predictions have come true. However, he now wants details (and shows he means it by choking her neck), but she says knowing would have done nothing and he was powerless to escape even knowing, since she knew Rumple came to find Baelfire. So she uses the eyes on her hands to tell him how to find Baelfire, and Rumple tells her not to leave out a single detail. The Seer says it will take many years, require a curse, and it would take everything from the Enchanted Forest, but he will neither cast nor break the curse, and that someone else will. Rumple says that the information is not good enough, but she says there is one way to see who it is, so he places his hands on her future seeing eyes that are on her hands, but he can't see anything, saying it's too much. The witch says that in time he will, and after he removes his hands away from her, the Seer tells him that she tried to give him the power so that she wouldn't have to have it anymore. Before she dies, the Seer tells him that he will be reunited with Baelfire, but in an unexpected way, because the person that will lead him to Baelfire in the future will be an extraordinary young boy who will also be Rumplestiltskin's undoing. After she dies, Rumplestiltskin, now knowing about what will happen next, says, "Then I'll just have to kill him."

Outside Storybrooke
In New York City, Emma (Jennifer Morrison), Henry (Jared S. Gilmore), and Mr. Gold enter an apartment building, hoping it will lead them to Baelfire. When Emma notices a mailbox with no name on it, she presses the buzzer and tells the person that she has a delivery from UPS. Emma guessed right; she hears someone trying to use the fire escape. Since Gold cannot run because he has a cane and his powers are of no use outside Storybrooke, he says that Emma needs to fulfill the favor, so she runs after the person by chasing him through a street and into alleys, where she uses a shortcut and eventually tackles him. He gets up and she looks at his face and in a shocked expression utters, "No. Neal?" Emma discovers that Baelfire is none other than her former lover, Neal Cassidy (Michael Raymond-James). As the two get up, Emma starts yelling at him for playing her and telling him that his father is there waiting for him. Neal then starts yelling until Emma says she is the only one allowed to be angry. The two then go to a bar, where Emma asks Neal if he knew she was the savior. He says he did not know, but tells her that he left her because August W. Booth showed him something that changed his mind (August showed Neal a typewriter with the words "I know you're Baelfire" written on a page). Emma is confused as to how they could have met because it seemed to be a big coincidence. Neal says that maybe fate brought them together and maybe something good came from it. However, Emma lies and says that nothing good came from it and that she is over him, but Neal points out that Emma is wearing the keychain he got her on a necklace. Emma then tells him that she is going to reunite him with Gold, but Neal refuses and tells Emma to lie to his father. Emma later makes a call to Mary Maragret (Ginnifer Goodwin) on the phone and tells her about Neal being Gold's son. Mary Margaret tells Emma that Henry deserves to know the truth, but Emma says she shouldn't do that because she doesn't want to hurt Henry after having lied to him a while back about his father being a fireman who had died. Mary Margaret then questions Emma whether she is doing it for Henry, or herself. Mary Margaret then tells David (Josh Dallas) about Henry being Gold's grandson and they discuss their complicated family tree, in which Regina is both Henry's step-great-grandmother and his adoptive mother.

While Emma and Neal were having their reunion, Henry and Gold are talking about whether Gold is afraid that his son will not want to see him. Henry tells him that he forgives Emma for letting him go, so Baelfire would have as well. As Gold becomes nervous, Henry asks him why he doesn't look into the future. Gold says that looking into the future is complicated and that to do it is terrible, like a curse. Emma walks in and lies to Gold that his son escaped, but Gold isn't one to give up, so he breaks into Neal's apartment, hoping to find evidence to his identity, and refuses to listen to Emma's reasoning. When Gold succeeds, Emma sees the dream catcher she and Neal had shared and takes it down to look at it. Gold becomes suspicious of her interest in the dream catcher and demands to know what she is hiding. After Emma asks Henry to go to the bathroom, Gold knows Emma was bluffing when she tries to lie and say she doesn't know Bae. Rumplestiltskin yells at her, saying she will tell him or he will make her, leading him to break things and threatens Emma by reminding her that "No one breaks deals with me!" After which Neal bursts in to defend Emma. Neal refuses to talk to Gold, who then realizes Emma and Baelfire know each other and knew that she was lying. Henry comes in, asking what is wrong, and Emma briefly explains that Henry is her son before escorting him away. Neal yells after him, asking Henry how old he is and Henry replies he is eleven. After Neal realizes Henry is his son, Henry becomes upset because Emma lied to him after she admits to him that Neal is the father, prompting Henry to run onto the fire escape and prompting Emma to run after him. Neal then agrees to give Gold 3 minutes so they can talk. When Emma catches up with Henry, he asks Emma why she lied to him and says he could have taken it. Emma says she knows but didn't want to remember, because she was thinking of her not him. Henry says Emma is just like Regina, because she always lied to him too.

Gold tells Neal that he wants to make up for his mistakes, saying regret is the biggest sadness of life. Neal tells Gold how abandonment is and asks how Gold intends to make up for the lost time. Gold then offers Neal a chance to come to Storybrooke because there is magic there and he can turn the clock back and make Neal 14 again so they could start over, but he refuses, saying that he only loved his father and that he cannot fix that, despite Gold telling him that he came to the city without magic. Neal says that every night for many years he would dream about his father letting him go in the pit and now Neal says it's his turn to let go. Neal then talks to Henry, who says it's okay that they didn't meet earlier and that Neal didn't know. As Emma and Gold see the two talking, Gold knows that the fate that was revealed to him back in the Enchanted Forest was that Henry will be the undoing of him, but he now knows that Henry is his grandson.

In Storybrooke
Having learned that Henry had left town with Emma and Gold, Cora (Barbara Hershey) consoles Regina (Lana Parrilla) in the mayor's house, while Captain Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) overhears the conversation. Hook says that because Gold left town he was powerless and could be killed. Cora tells Hook that if either she or Regina left town, they would lose their magic, but Regina informs him that like Emma and Henry, they are immune from the curse and can retain their memories, meaning they can leave Storybrooke. Cora says that with Gold gone, they could search for the one magical item that could kill him, the dagger. Later that day, Regina goes to see Belle (Emilie de Ravin) in the hospital and asks her if she can help her find something that belongs to Rumplestiltskin, but after Belle says she doesn't know him, Regina uses a spell to make Belle fall asleep, then uses magic to take a paper out of Belle's bag that has a note containing the numbers to a book in the library. Moments after she retrieves the note, Greg Mendell (Ethan Embry) makes a call to "Her" and sends a video that he downloaded of what Regina did, and says that he is sticking around Storybrooke a while longer.

Cora, Hook, and Regina are looking for the dagger in the library, thinking Gold would have left the dagger with Belle. They discover a map instead which Hook says he could use to find the dagger, but after pinpointing the exact location, Hook learns that Cora plans to betray him, so he tries to attack her, but Cora, via her magic, knocks Hook out by thrusting him into a wall. Regina then learns from Cora that if they have the dagger, they control The Dark One and they can force him to kill David, Mary Margaret, and Emma, which would give Henry back to Regina.

Opening sequence
The skyline of New York City is featured in the forest.

Production
"Manhattan" was co-written by series co-creators/executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis and directed by The Shield veteran Dean White.

This episode marks a promotion for previously recurring guest star Colin O'Donoghue (Captain Hook) to series regular.

Cultural references

 * The scene in which Regina uses her magic to open Belle's purse echoes that of a scene from The Sword in the Stone.
 * The number on the address box to Baelfire/Neal Cassidy's apartment, 407, is a reference to the 407 area code, which happens to be in the Orlando, Florida area, where Walt Disney World is located.

Ratings
This episode posted a 2.4/6 among 18-49s with 7.50 million viewers tuning in, reversing a decline from the last two outings. The episode placed second in its timeslot behind the twenty-second season of The Amazing Race, and placed third for the night, behind The Amazing Race and Family Guy.

Reviews
The episode was received positively by most critics. Entertainment Weekly critic Hilary Busis gave it a good review: "'Manhattan' may not have been Once's most gripping episode, but it was one of its deeper installments -- as is generally the case when Rump takes center stage."

The Huffington Post's Laura Prudom liked the episode: "Despite many of us predicting the outcome of the hour, 'Manhattan' proved to be a surprisingly gripping episode of Once Upon a Time, mostly because of the intriguing family dynamics at play. Emma was understandably paranoid that her relationship with Neal was all part of some larger scheme set in motion by Rumple, while Neal was in no great rush to reunite with his father after Rumple abandoned him to a land without magic, to grow up lost and alone in our world just as Emma did." She also praised the Seer's part in the episode, saying, "[She] was an interesting addition to the mythology, and a welcome reminder to Rumple that all magic comes with a price, for him just as much as for anyone else. It was a creepy and effective character design, and it will be interesting to see how her prophecy about Henry plays out in the coming weeks."

Amy Ratcliffe of IGN also gave the Seer's appearance a positive review, saying, "It was neat to see more pieces of the puzzle come together through the Seer...[but] the worst part of it all is Rumpel could go after Henry now because of the Seer's words. Before this episode I didn't think he'd be willing to go back to such a dark place, but since he's been rejected by Baelfire? It's time to worry about Henry."

Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club gave it a C : "This show has gotten very good at repeating itself, so anyone who wants to jump right in this week should have no problem because everyone makes it excessively clear how they feel, why they feel that way, and the events that transpired to make them feel that way. That’s great for catching people up, but when it happens week after week it becomes laborious, especially when the motivations don’t make very much sense when spoken aloud." He also believe that the scenes featuring Regina were becoming less than impressive: "Regina was showing so much promise at the start of this season, but as is usually the case, magic shows up to throw her off course."