Once Upon a Time Episode 2.12 In the Name of the Brother

We pick up right where we left off at the scene of a shooting and car accident. Captain Hook has shot Belle, sending her tumbling over the town line without the protection of Mr. Gold's spell. Then, just as Gold was about to incinerate the pirate, a strange car hits Hook and crashes on the side of the road. Emma, Mary Margaret and David all arrive on the scene to help and rush Belle , Hook and the new stranger to the hospital. Belle seems to be ok, despite being shot, but she's lost all of her memories and Mr. Gold can't seem to get them back-not even True Love's Kiss worked. Hook is likewise all right save for a few broken ribs, but having just messed with the love of Rumplestiltskin's life, again, his future health prospects are definitely in-question. The outsider is in the worst shape-he's bleeding internally. It's up to Dr. Whale-who's actually Dr. Frankenstein if you'll recall Episode 205, "The Doctor"-to save his life. But saving this outsider could mean the end of the town if he saw anything magical.

Flash back, but not to Fairy Tale Land this time. Now we find ourselves in the black-and-white land of Dr. Frankenstein who, with his father, is celebrating his younger brother Gerhardt. The Frankenstein patriarch is positively bursting with pride over his youngest son, an officer in the military much like himself. He's far less impressed with his eldest son, Victor, and decides to cut him off from the family fortune. As Victor and Igor are packing up the lab, none other than Rumplestiltskin appears-in full color, no less-and trades Frankenstein a pile of gold in exchange for the knowledge of how to bring someone back from the dead. Flush with funding from a new patron, Victor hits a local graveyard looking for a suitable specimen. Gerhardt arrives to talk his brother out of his experiments, but a guard mistakenly shoots and kills him. Dr. Frankenstein is more determined now than ever to perfect his experiment so that he can bring his brother back to life.

In Storybrooke, Dr. Whale is possibly-okay, probably-drunk, and having serious doubts about whether or not he can pull this surgery off. Meanwhile, Cora makes herself known to Rumplestiltskin, offering him a magical globe that will help him find his son, Baelfire, in exchange for a truce. He agrees and they seal the deal with a kiss "like they used to." There's definitely some history there. Then Cora disguises herself as Henry and finds Regina hiding in her vault. She reveals herself and Regina is more than a little upset that her mother magically framed her for murder. She demands they tell everyone the truth right away, and Cora agrees. But on the way, Cora manages to talk Regina out of it, instead getting her to focus on a more devious scheme for getting Henry back.

Mr. Gold isn't having luck getting Belle back. He enchants her teacup and takes it to her, but Belle is so afraid and impatient with him that she throws the chipped cup against the wall, shattering it and Mr. Gold's hopes of getting the woman he loves back. He leaves, defeated, and uses the magic globe to track down Baelfire, who seems to be somewhere in New York.

In Frankenstein's world, his first attempt at bringing his brother back to life is a failure. The human heart just can't withstand the energy required to reanimate the body. Rumplestiltskin arrives with a solution to that problem, a way to get a magic heart. He sets into motion the deal we saw play out in "The Doctor." Later, with the enchanted heart in-place, Gerhardt is brought back to life! At first, Victor's father is overjoyed, but as he sees the mindless monster his beloved son has become, he begins screaming at Victor. Gerhardt leaps to his brother's defense, beating his own father to death before Victor stops him. Victor realizes his brother is a monster and prepares to shoot him in the head, ending his life once and for all. Gerhardt wants him to, but Victor can't bring himself to do it. He vows to find a way to save his brother.

In Storybrooke, Dr. Whale has made a run for it. Ruby goes after him and finds him on the Storybrooke docks, about to commit suicide. She catches him at the last second and listens to his story. She tells him a bit about her own tragic past and the two bond monster to monster. He goes back to the hospital and saves the outsider's life. Emma questions the man when he's awake and alert, trying to find out what, if anything, he saw. The man claims he was texting and didn't see anything. Emma tells him he'll get off with a warning this time and he can leave town as soon as the doctor clears him. Later, Mr. Gold appears at her and Mary Margaret's apartment and says he's cashing in the favor Emma owes him. They're leaving for New York to get his son at noon today! And back at the hospital, the outsider grabs his cell phone and frantically calls a woman, telling her breathlessly that she won't believe what he saw!