Once Upon a Time: Writer Jane Espenson Talks Romance, the Mysterious August and the Finale
It's difficult to imagine that we're getting close to the season finale of Once Upon a Time, which will air on May 13. With so few episodes remaining, we're working our way to a huge confrontation in the finale. But before we get there, there's a few issues we have to deal with in tonight's episode. More specifically, there's the identity of the mysterious August, who will be the focus of Mr. Gold's curiosity in tonight's all new episode.
We chatted with Once Upon a Time writer Jane Espenson, who penned tonight's episode, to discuss Mr. Gold's investigation, what's coming next for Rumplestiltskin, and whather Mary Margaret and David shippers have anything to be worried about now that David's wife has returned.
August and Mr. Gold: Mr. Gold will be "asking a lot of questions about August in this episode. I think the questions he's going to ask about August are the same things the audience is asking, including 'who are you?', 'where do you come from?'and 'why are you here?'. Mr. Gold is going to have a theory about who August is and we'll see if he's right.'As for the mysterious August, will we learn all of his secrets tonight? 'You're going to learn a lot more about him [tonight]. Will you learn everything there is to know? No, not tonight. But maybe not until the end of the season, either.'
Regina and Emma: These two are just heading for the showdown of the century. Enemies from the very beginning, Emma has been searching for a way to bring Regina down. She thought she could do it in the last episode after finding some evidence that implicated Regina in Kathryn's "death", but that didn't work out. Now that Kathryn's back, Emma is more convinced than ever that Regina had something to do with her disappearance. Espenson warned us to 'look for a confrontation. Look for an even bigger confrontation to come up in the finale, because Emma and Regina, that is an absolutely electrical pairing and I don't think this is the last confrontation they'll have. So watch those two together. It doesn't seem to be in Regina's advantage to have Kathryn back and it's put on this collision with Emma. So [the question is] how is Regina going to act in terms of exploring her own personal anger at this new development?" Regina's first step in dealing with her anger is to confront Mr. Gold about their failed plan, as you can see in a clip for the episode.
David and Mary Margaret: Does Kathryn's return impact their relationship? A sneak peek for tonight's episode reveals an important scene between David and Kathryn, but Espenson said that we have to be honest here. "Kathryn's back, which certainly makes things easier for Mary Margaret but it doesn't solve any of her relationship problems. Hurt feelings are definitely there. The Kathryn story will move forward...we don't go back to the old dynamic. New things are going to happen. But there's still a lot of emotional stuff for David and Mary Margaret to get through. And David has not been always making the best choices in this world. I blame the curse [for that]. So we've got to see how they're going to get through that. But I do promise that the season finale is going to be very satisfying for a lot of people who have been waiting and hoping for a lot of resolutions. I think that the season finale delivers."
Rumplestiltskin: Tonight's episode also brings us back to a time shortly after Rumple first gained his power. "His son's not entirely happy with how he dad's changing [watch a clip] and he's going to try and find a way to turn back into the man he was." In fact, Espenson said that tonight's episode "is big. I've been very lucky to write a number of these Rumplestiltskin episodes and the great thing about this character is that we just keep finding out more about him and it's always surprising and it's always so beautifully performed. His son is not happy with the new Rumple and the son is going to try and find a way out. Rumple had to decide if he could accept that Belle loved him in 'Skin Deep'. In this episode he's going to have to make a different decision. Again, 'how much does he trust love'? We'll find out."
The Penultimate Episode: Espenson co-wrote one more episode this season, "An Apple as Red as Blood", which will be airing on May 6. Based on photos and spoilers for the episode, we know it's a big one for Snow White and Prince Charming, as Snow tries to save the man she loves from imprisonment by the Queen. Expect big things in this upcoming episode: "We're going to see Snow White and her friends - the dwarfs and others - engage in a fantastic, big, action sequence. Big action coming up."
Don't miss an all new episode of Once Upon a Time, tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. You can also watch a clip featuring August below.
For more coverage of the show, including reviews, photos, spoilers and sneak peeks, browse and bookmark our Once Upon a Time page. You can also watch the latest Hulu episodes there.
