Regina joining the Queens of Darkness felt a bit like an overplayed version of the bad girls club at the start of Once Upon a Time Season 4 Episode 15.

Thankfully, things got better from there.

The foray back to the Enchanted Forest showed Regina as a frustrated young woman who had to sit by while Snow White grew up and gathered more accolades. I didn’t even have to see Snow to feel annoyed with her. All I had to do was see her through Regina’s eyes. 

Once Upon a Time Photos: "Enter the Dragon"

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When Regina tracked down Maleficent, the witch was a shadow of her former fire-spewing self. At first I thought that perhaps this was the aftermath of Maleficent losing a child, but that doesn’t fit into this timeline so I’m really not sure what had her in this depressed state. Maybe someone more versed in her fairy tale can clue me in. 

Regina was determined to help her find that fire once again and it worked. It was certainly entertaining but I couldn’t help but wish we had gotten a little more of Maleficent’s back story as it related to the lost child and Snow White. 

Back in Storybrooke, Emma thought her superpowers had gone haywire because she felt as though everyone around her was keeping secrets. Unfortunately her superpower was spot on and the people she felt closest to were actually lying to her. 

I never suspected that Hook was actually Rumpelstiltskin in disguise until Belle summoned him with the dagger. Then I realized that it was the only thing that made sense. 

When Belle explained that Will made her smile, the look on Rumpel’s face made me believe that he wasn’t going to do anything to break them up, at least for now. Rumpel really does love Belle, he just loves power more. 

Regina believed she could handle the Queens of Darkness on her own, but she hadn’t expected the Dark One to be a part of their team or that he could conjure August back to reality. 

For how long will August be around? Will he end up turning back to wood and does he really have useful information about the author? Check back next week for Once Upon a Time Season 4 Episode 16 to find out.

And if you can’t wait for more magic, you can watch Once Upon a Time online here at TV Fanatic. 

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.