The Thing You Love Most

The Thing You Love Most is second episode of Season One of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz and directed by Greg Beeman. It is the second episode of the series overall, and premiered on October 30, 2011.

Synopsis
Regina does everything in her power to force Emma out of Storybrooke and out of her and Henry's lives together. Meanwhile, the chilling circumstances of how the Evil Queen released the curse upon the fairytale world is revealed.

Plot
The next morning, the townspeople notice the town clock has started to move. Regina goes through her son Henry's storybook and notices that there are missing pages near the back. She goes to Henry and asks where the pages are, but he says that it is an old book, and they have always been gone. Regina complains that he thinks of her as an evil queen, rather than as his mother. He insists that he does not, and she asks who he does he think his mother is Regina assures him that Emma is no longer an issue, but then hears the town clock chime.

She goes to see it and notices that Emma's car is still in town. Regina goes to see Emma with a basket of apples, saying that they're from the tree that she has had sine she was a little girl. The mayor suggests that Emma should enjoy them on her way home.

Emma points out that Regina telling her to leave is just encouraging her to stay, and that she wants to stay and make sure her biological son is okay. When Regina says that she had things under control, Emma aks what she means, and Regina says that she the boy in therapy and warns Emma not to underestimate her.

The Evil Queen teleports back to her castle, as Prince Charming tries to kill her by throwing his sword. The Magic Mirror asks what she has done, and the Evil Queen explains that she has cast the Dark Curse, much to the surprise of her servant and the Magic Mirror. She then goes to the Forbidden Fortress to see Maleficent, and the two briefly spar vervally.

The Evil Queen then demands her curse back, but Maleficent says that they have already made their exchange, and it is hers now. The Evil Queen says that she knows that it is hidden in the orb on Maleficent's staff; Maleficent points out that that it is contained for a good reason and asks where it came from. The Evil Queen summons one of her magical forces, a fireball from the fireplace. Maleficent fights back, as the Evil Queen animaes all of the weapons and throws them at Maleficent's pet, a black unicorn.

The mistress protects her pet, but the Evil Queen binds her to the wall, with the metal from the chandelier, and takes the staff, smashing the orb to retrieve the curse. When Maleficent tells her to do her worse, the Evil Queen refuses, saying that she is her only friend, and ignores her friend's warning that the Dark Curse will create a void within her that she cannot fill. The Evil Queen accepts that and leaves with the curse.

Later, the Evil Queen meets with the other dark forces of the land and tells them that today is the day that they will finally emerge triumphant. They ask if they will be happy, and the Evil Queen says that they well, but she needs a lock of hair from the darkest souls of the land. At her gesture, the trees around them animate, surrounding them. They each contribute a lock, and the Evil Queen causes the limbs to withdraw.

She then takes out the final ingredient: the heart of her prized steed from her childhood. She unleashes the Dark Curse, and a column of magical smoke swirls up into the air, as the others look on, but then disappears. A gnome laughs at the Evil Queen for her failure, and she transforms him into a stone status.