The mystery itself is fairly thin, when it comes down to it. When famous dog trainer Francisco Pilar is found murdered – strangled by a leash – at a dog show he’s judging, all clues lead to Kay Cappuccio, a barely-veiled Kim Kardashian figure played by guest star Hilarie Burton. The team finally figures out that Pilar had a sideline training drug-sniffing dogs, and the Argentinian Vasquez heroin cartel felt threatened. Kay’s boyfriend Reggie Starr, who was trying to get in good with the Vasquez family, hid a surveillance camera in Kay’s dog’s collar and arranged for Pilar to train the dog in order to get the opportunity to spy on him. When Pilar figured out that he was under surveillance, Reggie killed him.

The relatively slight mystery leaves plenty of times for adorable dogs, Jason Bateman jokes, and Esposito falling into a bit of puppy love himself with Kay. It’s unexpected but really nicely done when he’s the one who breaks through Kay’s reality show exterior to reveal that she’s actually insecure and lonely. She seems to like him, too, and promises to call if she ever has issues with the paparazzi, so I hope that means they’re open to bringing Hilarie Burton back for another episode in the future.

Pilar’s dog Royal is found near Pilar’s body, and Castle suggests that he might have attacked Pilar’s murderer, so they take the dog back to the precinct to swab his mouth for DNA. Once he’s there, of course, Castle wants to keep him. Castle: “We could use a mascot.” Esposito: “I thought that’s what you were.” Heh. Beckett agrees to keep Royal around until they find him a good home, and she and Castle both want to take him home for the night. They apparently can’t hear the millions of shippers screaming that the obvious solution is for them to all go home together, so they agree to share custody. This leads to an extremely cute scene when Castle dropped Royal off at Beckett’s house and Beckett resigns herself to being the strict parents after discovering that Castle gave the dog steak and let him cuddle on the couch. (Of course, she gives in on the couch issue as soon as Castle leaves.) And Castle and Beckett have a Moment when he holds her hand a little too long as he tries to demonstrate the way Royal likes to be rubbed between the eyes. At the end of the episode, they decide to let Royal decide who he wants to live with – but instead of either of them, Royal runs to Kay. Aww.

Alexis is gone for most of the episode – off visiting colleges with her unfortunately named friend, Buttons Dutton – but when she returns at the end, Castle announces that he wants to get her the dog he always denied her when she was a child. She shoots him down, claiming that it’s just a ploy to get her to visit more often once she leaves for college, but I wonder if part of it was a ploy to get Beckett to visit more often, too.

Next time: The long-awaited noir episode!

(Photo courtesy of ABC.)

Renewed: Luck; Sons of Anarchy (through season 6); The Secret Life of the American Teenager; The Exes; Shameless, House of Lies, and Californication.

NBC has some scheduling updates: Awake will finally premiere on March 1, taking over The Firm‘s timeslot. The Firm is moving to Saturdays starting next week, which means it is all but cancelled.

And FOX scheduling: Breaking In and I Hate My Teenage Daughter come back on March 6; after February 21, Glee is taking a hiatus until April 10. The Alcatraz season finale will be on March 26 (airing at 8 instead of 9 its last few weeks), and House and Fringe will be back with all originals through the end of the season starting on April 2 and March 23, respectively.

At CBS, NYC 22 will premiere on April 15.

Army Wives will be back on March 4.

ABC Family has picked up Baby Daddy to series. Among its stars is Tahj Mowry, the adorable kid from Smart Guy, and while it’s not clear if he’s actually the Baby Daddy in question, this news still makes me feel old.

USA Network has given a six-episode series order to a political family drama from Greg Berlanti.

We don’t usually go into much about producers and directors of individual episodes, but this is worth pointing out: Gary Fleder is producing one of the Beauty and the Beast pilots and directing the other. I’m sure that won’t get confusing for anyone at all.

The Munsters reboot will not be called The Munsters.

Pilot pickups:
ABC: An Ellen DeGeneres comedy starring Portia De Rossi, as well as a Reba McEntire comedy and one about identity theft; a Judy Greer comedy and Natalie Portman-produced drama; four more dramas.
CBS: A comedy from Louis C.K.
The CW: Three more dramas.
FOX: A Mindy Kaling comedy and more; more comedies.
NBC: A White House family comedy; a post-apocalyptic thriller
Nickolodeon: Bad Fairy; a John Wells prison drama.

In development:
FX: A comedy about a rock band in therapy from Dave Grohl
HBO: A political thriller set in the LA underworld

The Big C has made Gabourey Sidibe a regular. And Tyler Blackburn will become a regular on Pretty Little Liars.

Guest stars!
Falling Skies: Terry O’Quinn
The Finder: Annette O’Toole, John Ashton
Franklin & Bash: Chris Klein
Last Man Standing: Robert Forster, Mike Rowe, Frankie Muniz
Once Upon a Time: Barbara Hershey
Raising Hope: Nancy Grace, Vivica A. Fox
Two and a Half Men: Patton Oswalt

Returns:
Supernatural: Rachel Miner

Casting:
Anger Management: Selma Blair, Shawnee Smith
Arrow: Stephen Amell
Beautiful People: Ernie Hudson, David Conrand, Tovah Feldshuh
Ben Fox Is My Manny: Maggie Jones
The Big C: Susan Sarandon
Boardwalk Empire: Bobby Cannavale
Chelsea General: Jamie Bamber, Jennifer Finnigan
Downton Abbey: Shirley MacLaine
House of Cards: Kate Mara, Kristen Connolly
How to Live with Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life: Sarah Chalke
Last Resort: Andre Braugher, Daniel Lissing
Masters of Sex: Michael Sheen, Lizzy Caplan
Revenge: Veronica Cartwright
Untitled Greg Malins/Greg Berlanti pilot: JoAnna Garcia Swisher
Untitled Kevin Williamson pilot: Kevin Bacon
Untitled Nick Stoller pilot: Michael Angarano
Untitled Sarah Silverman pilot: Tig Notaro, Ken Leung

Believe it or not, Olivia has bigger problems than Nina and her gang of knockout-gas-toting minions. She’s also dealing with the fact that she’s going to die. And not in a vague, existential, “we’re all going to die someday” way, but in a concrete, the-bald-guy-said-so-and-so-it-shall-be kind of way. I had to give her props though, because she handled the news relatively well. She and our Olivia do have a lot in common, after all. Remember that time our Olivia munched on a piece of toast while she nonchalantly informed Peter that the man she had seen in her dream was the man who was going to kill her? Olivia is pretty used to almost dying, but it still must be difficult to hear that your fate is sealed and there’s nothing you can do to avoid it, which is basically what Peter said when he unknowingly told Olivia that the Observer’s word should be taken as fact. (Score one for the King of Tact.)

Emily’s visions of death presented an interesting counterpart to Olivia’s struggle with the news of her own impending death. Throughout her history of predicting people’s deaths, Emily had never been able to stop one. She believed that everyone’s deaths (at least the ones she saw) were set in stone—even her own. Olivia and co. proved her wrong when they managed to stop a man from blowing up a courthouse and killing dozens of people, using Lincoln’s canine-like ability to sniff out explosives, Peter’s convenient radio detonator savvy, and Olivia’s impressive powers of persuasion. (Side note: These guys really do make a great team, but they need to have more adorable bonding moments, like Peter and Lincoln when they went to the Altverse. Is there a special Fringe Division team-building seminar they can go to? They can practice their trust falls and learn how to create a secret password so they can check and see if their partner has been replaced by a shapeshifter.)

The primary storyline this week, although it seemed unrelated to the arc of the second half of the season (I don’t think anyone so much as mentioned David Robert Jones), actually included some important developments, particularly for Olivia. First, it addressed the concept of predestination with regard to death. When Emily told them she had never been able to save any of the people in her visions, it seemed like Olivia would suffer the same fate, unable to prevent her own death as it was foretold. Then, when the gang saved the courthouse from exploding like it did in Emily’s vision, there was a glimpse of hope that maybe our fates are not as unchangeable as it had appeared, that maybe Olivia would survive, despite the Observer’s warning. The whole episode seemed like a way for the writers to establish that Olivia’s fate could go either way. She might be able to avoid her predicted death, like the people in the courthouse, or she might be a victim of destiny, and die exactly as the Observer told her she would, as Emily did at the end of the episode. Having set precedents for both possible outcomes, the writers have ensured their creative freedom, while still maintaining a level of surprise so the audience doesn’t know for sure whether or not Olivia will live to see the end of the season. (Well played, Fringe writers.)

Emily’s story also featured the recurring theme of child experimentation (specifically by Massive Dynamic). Olivia saw herself in Emily because they were both traumatized by their experiences as test subjects for Massive Dynamic. She confronted Nina about it, accusing her of continuing their experiments years after she had promised Olivia they would end it. Nina defended herself, pretending to be concerned for Olivia, since she knew how much damage had been done to her when she was a child in the Cortexiphan Trials. I kind of can’t believe Olivia didn’t see Nina’s true colors at that point, but I guess when you’ve grown up loving someone like a mother, it’s hard to believe they could be a completely different (and extremely evil) person. The hardest part was at the very end, when Olivia and Nina sat down for a heart-to-whatever-Nina-has-where-her-heart-should-be, and Olivia told Nina that when she was facing her death, what struck her was the thought that she wanted Nina to know how much she loved her. (Oh! The agony! I just want to take Olivia by the hand and then hug her for about three hours.) That was so hard to watch, knowing that Nina is still experimenting on Olivia, and apparently in cahoots with David Robert Jones. This Olivia and our Olivia may share the same DNA and fondness for light blue button-downs, but they differ greatly when it comes to their intuition. I really believe that our Olivia would be able to sense Nina’s evilness, but maybe that’s just because our Olivia is innately distrusting of Original Nina. For now, though, we’re stuck with this Olivia, and she’s the one who’s going to be devastated when she finds out that the closest thing she has to a mother makes Mommie Dearest look like mother of the year. I just hope that when things hit the fan, Lincoln is there for Olivia to give her the support she needs. And by “support,” I mean sex.

Photo Courtesy of FOX

“Fugitivus” started off with a brief prologue informing the audience of what transpired during Blood and Sand and catching them up to where the story has gone since then. Spartacus and his men are still wreaking havoc on Rome, and they’re being hunted down by a noble named Seppius. After a skirmish between Spartacus’ rebels and Seppius’ mercenaries, the ex-slaves returned to their base in the sewers to plot their next move. Crixus’ desire was to find Naevia, who he lost contact with after the revolt at the home of Batiatus. He had heard that the slaver responsible for her sale was going to be visiting a brothel in Capua, so they planned an attack in order to get information. Crixus learned that Naevia was somewhere in the south, and he wanted to go after her, but Spartacus insisted on staying put even though Mira (his new companion) agreed that they should move on. He was contemplating the idea until he learned that Gaius Claudius Glaber would be returning to Capua.

In Rome, Glaber was adjusting to his new station as praetor when the news of Spartacus’ exploits started to cause concern. He was assigned to go back to Capua and to handle Spartacus once and for all. Glaber and Ilithyia returned to Capua and took up residence in the house of Batiatus despite her protests, and once there they found out that Lucretia was still alive although she had gone mad after the massacre that occurred at the end of Blood and Sand. Instead of putting her out of her misery (which also would have rid Ilithyia of the one witness to her murderous ways), Glaber decided to use her as a symbol to instill hope in the residents of Capua.

Glaber unveiled Lucretia at a rally in the town square to prove that Spartacus had no power over the people, and he was even going to execute an escaped slave named Aurelia, who was a follower of Spartacus and the wife of his best friend Varro. His plans were thwarted by our hero, who was there to get his vengeance since Glaber was responsible for the death of his wife, but he was outmanned until Crixus and his fellow rebels showed up to save their leader. After Spartacus and his men regrouped, Aurelia asked to speak to him, and she wanted him to promise her that he would stay away from her son so he would avoid the suffering that his parents had to endure. A shaken Spartacus decided against getting revenge for Aurelia’s death, and instead decided to go south to find Naevia, but they would free slaves along the way so they could build an army to face the Empire.

While Spartacus is a very serialized story, I did feel that “Fugitivus” did a good job at introducing this world to new viewers while not making fans re-live moments that had occurred up to the opening scene. There are some details that are important for people to know, but I’m confident that someone who watched Spartacus for the first time would be able to catch-up.

The biggest question facing Vengeance is whether Liam McIntyre would be able to adequately replace the late Andy Whitfield, and I for one thought he did a great job. Now, I’ll admit that Andy cannot be replaced, and I think Liam understood that’s not what he needed to do. Instead, he was supposed to keep true to the character while bringing his own interpretation, and I felt that he was successful. Between the two, Andy’s Sparty embodied the more underdog qualities of the character and the rawer emotions while Liam brought more confidence and command to the role. The way I see it, Andy was good at the inner struggles whereas I can see Liam being a stronger leader. That’s not to say Andy would not have been able to, but the emotions were his strength.

The only weakness of the show at this point is the fact that its scope may be too large. For example, we were introduced to so many new characters in this first episode back, like Seppius and his incestuous sister, that it was hard to keep up. Usually, I’m a fan of a show expanding beyond its original parameters, but I just wish these changes were made at a slower pace. Since Spartacus does not have the luxury of having 22-episode seasons, I understand that each episode has to be filled to the brim with story, but sometimes this approach makes it hard to digest everything that’s being offered up.

Other Odds and Ends:

• I’m so glad Lucretia survived the uprising because Lucy Lawless was amazing during Blood and Sand. It’s just too bad Batiatus had to go, but we still have Gods of the Arena.
• I didn’t realize how much I missed Ilithyia until Viva Bianca showed up on my screen, and I shouldn’t have been surprised that her first scene back was sans clothing.
• Speaking of the nudity, sex and violence, I hope people don’t count out this show because of its more tantalizing elements because that’s not what Spartacus is about. These aspects are just hedonistic garnishes on the side of a well-told story.
• So, one of the big questions I have has to do with Spartacus and Mira. During Season 1, and so far in Season 2, his main driving force has been his love for his wife, but he’s OK with sleeping around with Mira? For some reason that just rings false to me.
• Glaber has the chance to be an epic Big Bad. I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.
• In the end, the relationship that will be the most important is the one between Spartacus and Crixus.
• That final exchange between Spartacus and Aurelia was heartbreaking and an example of what this show does well.

Click on the image to take a closer look:

Or click here for a PDF!

TVD returns this Thursday with an all new episode, “Bringing Out the Dead”!

And thanks again to Bonnie for creating such a fantastic resource!

Think you’re the biggest Castle fan around? Now you have the chance to prove it! This fun interactive program gives you a chance to earn exclusive rewards by watching videos, checking out galleries and answering trivia questions as you make your way to the top of the leaderboard.

Head on over to Club Castle now and get in on the fun! And be sure to watch Castle Mondays at 10pm on ABC.

All of this navel gazing and moping has not escaped the notice of King George, who lays down the law with his faux son. Whoever this trollop is, get her out of your heart and focus on Abigail … you know … or else!

Both James and Snow know things can’t continue this way. Snow wrangles Rumpelstiltskin’s name from Red Riding Hood and goes to visit him on a foggy river in the dead of night. In exchange for one lock of her hair (what’s up with that?) he gives her a potion that will cure her heartache. Once she drinks it, she won’t remember Prince James or how he made her heart pitter pat. But James has a different plan. He’s willing to risk his neck for the chance to be with his true love. He writes Snow a letter declaring his undying love and implores her to come to him before his wedding if she feels the same way.

I’m a big fan of the Snow/James love story, but I can’t help feeling like a piece of the story is missing. When they last left each other, there were definitely sparks, but I didn’t get the sense that they were hopelessly in love with each other yet. I would have liked a little more lead-up to their romantic devotion.

Snow receives James’ letter on the wings of a dove and rushes off joyfully for a romantic tryst. She manages to sneak into the castle unnoticed, but is intercepted by one of the King’s Guards and thrown into the dungeon. There she meets Grumpy, a dwarf in the same predicament. He scoffs at her ‘love will conquer all’ attitude as she tries to find a way out. He’s been stuck in this dank hole since he was tricked into selling a stolen diamond to the mine foreman. There is no way out. Never say never – at that moment Grumpy’s dwarf friend Stealthy shows up to unlock the cell. Grumpy begrudgingly gets him to release Snow as well. She tries to convince them to go up the stairs and over the wall instead of through the courtyard but they don’t listen. Stealthy ends up dead and Grumpy is surrounded by guards. Snow selflessly offers herself up to the King to spare his life.

Once the King has Snow White alone, he offers her a truly horrible ultimatum. Go to James and tell him she doesn’t love him. Crush his heart or King George will kill him. “You would do that to your own son?” “He’s not my son.” Snow has to lose James to save him. She meets him in his room and he embraces her with an outpouring of emotion. She stops him, tells him that they’ll never be together because she doesn’t love him, and walks away … desperately holding in her sobs. Snow feels completely destroyed, but she won’t be alone. She is taken in by Grumpy and his 6 dwarf friends who promise to take care of her while she nurses her pain.

In Storybrooke, David and Mary Margaret are also having a difficult time keeping their distance. Every morning they both rush to the coffee shop for 7:15, where they ‘accidentally’ cross paths. He grabs a coffee for work while she sits at a table reading a book. They exchange pleasantries and small talk, leaving each other more hopeless and lovelorn than before. Mary Margaret’s pain deepens when she bumps into Katherine in the drug store and knocks a pregnancy test right out of her hand. Oh dear. Regina, who is shopping with her ‘dear friend’, smirks at Mary and asks her to ‘be discreet’.

Mary Margaret goes walking in the woods to clear her head and stumbles upon a Northern Atlantic dove caught in a net. She takes her to the local animal shelter, where David just happens to be working. The dove is uninjured, but if she isn’t returned to her flock she’ll be alone forever. Mary Margaret isn’t going to let an innocent dove feel as lost and lonely as she does, so she rushes out into an impending storm to return the dove to the forest. While out in the woods, she slips and falls over the side of a cliff, grasping desperately on to a hanging tree root. David appears just in time to rescue her and they take refuge in a nearby cabin as the rain starts to pour down. “You really think I’d let you come out here alone?” They both confess their desires and it’s all they can do to keep their lips off each other. But Mary Margaret forces herself to pull back and remind him of his wife’s ‘condition’. David has no idea that his wife could be pregnant! He’s so torn. “It’s like I have two conflicting lives, memories of feelings for her, and real feelings for you.”

The rain stops, Mary Margaret releases the lost dove to her circling flock, and sadly tells David they have no choice but to forget each other. David goes home to his wife, who is not pregnant but wants them to go to therapy. He agrees and tells her he still genuinely wants to makes things work. At 7:10 in the morning, both he and Mary Margaret skip their usual rendezvous at the coffee shop. And yet … their efforts to not see each other are futile. At 7:45 they both show up at the coffee place, thinking they’ve safely avoided a meeting. David tells Mary Margaret that Katherine is not pregnant and they end up in a passionate lip-lock in the middle of the street. Regina watches from her parked car, quietly seething.

David is kind of a douchebag. I want to like him, but he doesn’t seem to have a spine. Every time he makes a ‘decision’ he’s completely swayed the next time a whim strikes him. He decides to leave his wife and meet Mary Margaret and then changes his mind when he remembers his past. He decides to stay with his wife, but then tries to kiss Mary Margaret in the cabin. He returns home to his wife and decides to renew his commitment to her and vows to make it work … and then makes out in public with Mary Margaret. Come on, buddy. Make an actual choice already!!!

Back in the Enchanted Forest, Prince James has decided not to take no for an answer. He cancels his wedding and rides off looking for Snow White. Word reaches Grumpy, who excitedly wakes Snow to tell her the news. All she can say is, “Who?” Rumpelstiltskin’s potion vial lies empty on a nearby table. Oh. No.

There was a really nice scene between Snow and Grumpy earlier in the episode when she first brought out the vial and threatened to drink it. Grumpy told her that he wouldn’t trade his pain even though it hurt like hell because it made him who he is. He convinced Snow to fight through it and only drink the potion as a last resort. Guess the last resort came too soon. She drank it without telling anyone.

Interesting Tidbits

-Snow mentions to Red that “I helped you when no one else would.” What exactly did she do for her? Cut her out of a big bad wolf? I still find it weird that Little Red Riding Hood is a 20-something year old woman … who looks kinda slutty. It’s disconcerting.

-The C plot in the episode was about the new stranger in town. Regina enlists Emma’s help in investigating him because she’s worried he seems to be taking an interest in Henry … or so she claims. I would LOVE to know what she really thinks about the appearance of an unknown in her cursed town. In fact, I would really love to see things from her perspective more often. The only time we’ve really gotten inside her head was when she crushed Graham’s heart. We see her being bitchy and manipulative all the time, and we know that she has all her memories – but we aren’t really privy to her thought process. After being really, really creepy and mysterious for a while, the Stranger finally tells Emma that he’s in town to write and produces an old typewriter from a beat-up wooden case. Emma accepts a drink invitation in exchange for the information. Seriously, I don’t know what is UP with this dude! I couldn’t tell whether he was genuinely hitting on her or whether he was a sociopath. Either way, I’m still creeped out.

Photo Courtesy of ABC

In Storybrooke, Henry inadvertently made friends with a couple of mini-sized miscreants at the general store and got caught in a shoplifting scandal. Regina assures the store manager that her son had no part in it and drags him home. Newly appointed mayor, Emma, is left to deal with the culprits – a twin brother and sister. They swear they were only stealing because their family has fallen on hard times. But Emma catches them in a lie and discovers they are actually homeless. Their mother recently passed away and they’ve been living on the streets of Storybrooke ever since. They have no idea who their father is.

Emma, a former foster child herself, immediately feels a connection to the two children. She knows they have no chance of staying together if Child Protective Services get involved. Maybe if she can locate the twins’ long lost father, he would take them instead? But Regina screws up her plans by sticking her perfectly powdered nose into the case and taking a ‘special interest’ in the children. She calls social services herself and demands that Emma drive the children to Boston to hand them over to a representative. It’s for their own good … those, poor, poor little children. Ummm … do people usually smirk that much when they feel sympathy for someone?

So now Emma has less than a few hours to find the twins’ father or be forced to ship them out of town. The only clue she has is a pocket watch that the twins carry with them. Their mother told them it belonged to their father. Emma goes straight to Mr. Gold’s shop and after some light groveling he looks through his meticulous records and reads the name Michael Tillman off a card. He purchased the watch there nearly a decade ago. After Emma leaves, there is a shot of the card and it’s revealed to be completely blank. I am still itching to know exactly how much Rumpel knows about the fairytale past. I think it’s clear that if he doesn’t know EVERYthing, he certainly knows a lot. How did he manage to hold onto his memories when the curse wiped everyone else’s? He must have foreseen it because he made the Evil Queen swear to do him any favours in the new reality. What is his angle in all of this?

Emma tracks Michael down at the local mechanic shop and confronts him with the truth. He denies that he has twins, but recognizes his watch immediately. Emma begs him to step up and take them in – but he’s not ready to do it. He apologizes, but says he’s not father material. Does anyone else think it’s a little convenient that people in this tiny town are able to exist without coming into contact with everyone else? Katherine’s husband was in a coma for years and she had no idea he was slumbering a few blocks away? Michael has twins who grew up in town and he’s never crossed paths with them or their mother since their birth? I’m not usually a stickler for small details, but this one bugs me for some reason. They’re portraying Storybrooke as place where ‘everyone knows everything about everyone’ … except when it’s inconvenient for plot devices. Come on!

Back in The Enchanted Forest, the young twins Hansel and Gretel, were very close to their father. They would spend hours with him in the woods, helping with the chores. But one day, after they filled their wheelbarrow with kindling, they returned to their meeting spot to find their father missing. Instead, they cross paths with the Evil Queen’s entourage. Her royal highness herself descends from her carriage and sizes them up. She offers to help them find their father … on one condition. She needs them to sneak into a witch’s house and retrieve a tiny black satchel for her.

She leads them to a clearing in the woods and sends them on their mission with a warning – no matter how much they’re tempted, they can’t eat anything! Hansel and Gretel tiptoe into the gingerbread house where the witch is sleeping in front of the fire. The little black bag is right in their grasp and Gretel sneaks quietly over to snatch it. She’s clearly the bossy twin, which probably works out quite well because poor Hansel seems a little dim. So much so that even after Gretel repeatedly reminds him it’s not snack time, he can’t resist taking a bite out of a giant cupcake when her back is turned. The instant the bright blue frosting passes his lips, the Witch abruptly wakes from her slumber. She’s blind … but she can smell dinner! All the doors and windows slam closed and Hansel and Gretel find themselves trapped. The witch is played by a nearly unrecognizable Emma Caulfield. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t even notice until my boyfriend pointed it out. I love seeing all my Buffy alums in quirky roles!

The witch locks them in a cage and starts salivating over all the delicious topping options for roast little children. Hansel is freaking out, but Gretel immediately starts formulating a plan (I told you she was the useful one). She puffs out her cheeks and impersonates her brother when the Witch picks him as her first meal. Then she reaches into the witches pocket and tosses the key to Hansel who unlocks the cage door. And of course they manage to shove the witch into her own oven and bring that fairytale to its natural conclusion.

Hansel and Gretel arrive at the Evil Queen’s palace and present her with the tiny black satchel. She reaches in and pulls out a beautiful ripe, red apple. I like how all the fairy tales are interweaving and connecting to each other. Impressed by the resourcefulness of the twins, she decides to change their reward. Why would they want to find a father who abandoned them when they could come live with her in an opulent castle instead? They turn her down flat. They just want their daddy. She does some whoosh whoosh thing and zaps them into the middle of the forest with no way to find their bearings. Then she drags their father in from the dungeons. He didn’t so much ‘abandon’ his children as he was dragged away from them. She demands to know why his children would turn down her very generous offer, because she’s heartless and knows nothing about family. Family belongs together and will always find their way back to each other.

Back in Storybrooke, with no options left, Emma packs the twins up and sets off for Boston. Henry begs her not to go because bad things happen when people try to leave town. The only disaster that strikes is Emma pulling the old ‘car breaking down’ trick. She calls a familiar mechanic … and Michael Tillman shows up to lend a wrench and stare longingly at his children. He has a change of heart and takes them home with him.

All of this family drama has people in Storybrooke pondering their own history. Henry asks Emma to tell him about his dad and she spins a yarn about a brave fireman who died while saving a family from a fire. She admits to Mary Margaret that Henry’s dad was ‘no hero’ and he doesn’t need to know the truth. Emma is feeling a little sorrowful about her own parents – who she has never been able to track down. Mary Margaret tries to cheer her up. Maybe they had a good reason for disappearing? Emma tells her Henry’s theory, about the magical wardrobe and her destiny as a savior. She even slips in the part about Snow White being her real mom. The two women have a good laugh about being mother and daughter. But Mary Margaret later stumbles upon Emma’s baby blanket – the very one Snow wrapped her up in to send her off with love – and has a weirdly emotional reaction. I’m really fascinated by Emma and Mary Margaret’s friendship. How weird is it to become friends with your mother when she’s the same age as you. It’s like Back to the Future, except you’re totally oblivious!

This episode was Rumpelstiltskin light, which was a nice change. I’m interested in Mr. Gold, but I’m getting a little sick of Rumpel being the architect of every single piece of magic in fairy tale land! Also, it was really nice to see new players on the scene. I hope we’ll get some follow-up on Hansel and Gretel AND Cinderella in future episodes.

In the final scene of the show, a stranger rides right down main street on his motor bike and stops to ask Emma and Henry for directions to a hotel. But there ARE no strangers in Storybrooke … right? Well there are now.

Photo Courtesy of ABC

If you haven’t heard about this one yet, here’s a bit about it from the folks at HBO:

LUCK is a behind-the-track look at the world of horse racing and gambling’s denizens – owners, trainers, jockeys and gamblers.

Oh, and it stars a couple of actors you may have heard of before – Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte.

We’ve got a couple of video features for you – a trailer …

… and an “In Production” clip featuring interviews with Michael Mann and David Milch:

Catch the series premiere of Luck tonight at 9pm on HBO and HBO Canada.

Photo Courtesy of HBO

So here we go with pilot orders:

ABC has primetime soaps, some comedies, and Beauty and the Beast.

CBS has comedies from familiar faces (and here), several interesting-sounding procedurals, and a Greg Berlanti drama.

Cinemax has an Alan Ball crime drama.

Comedy Central has a hotel-set comedy.

The CW has another drama about a young female doctor.

FOX ordered Prodigy Bully and a Bill Lawrence comedy.

HBO has a comedy from Ben Stiller and Jonathan Safran Foer.

NBC picked up that Ryan Murphy comedy and is thinking about an Office spinoff. They’ve also got dramas from Jason Katims and Dick Wolf, and EIGHT comedies.

Paul Adelstein will direct an episode of his show, Private Practice.

Guest stars!
Blue Bloods: Margaret Colin
Castle: Sarah Jane Morris, Taylor Kinney
Cougar Town: David Arquette
The Finder: George Stults
A Gifted Man: Frances Fisher
Glee: Matt Bomer
The Good Wife: Morena Baccarin
Grey’s Anatomy: Summer Glau
Grimm: Azura Skye
Happy Endings: Colin Hanks
Hart of Dixie: Scotty McCreery
Hot in Cleveland: Kristin Chenoweth
In Plain Sight: Madchen Amick, Tia Carrere
The Mentalist: Louise Lombard
Once Upon a Time: Sebastian Stan
Person of Interest: Matt Lauria
Raising Hope: David Krumholtz, Mary Birdsong
The Vampire Diaries: Lindsey R. Garrett

Returns:
The Mentalist: Malcolm McDowell

Casting:
Anger Management: Shawnee Smith
Awake: Kevin Weisman
Continuum: Rachel Nichols
Coup: Gabriel Byrne
Da Vinci’s Demons: Tom Riley
Drop Dead Diva: Kim Kardashian
Franklin & Bash: Shiri Appleby
The Good Wife: Bebe Neuwirth
Isabel: Alex Desert
Major Crimes: Graham Patrick Martin
Ray Donovan: Eddie Marsan, Dash Mihok, Paula Malcomson
The Secret Circle: Tim Phillipps
True Blood: Giles Matthey
Up All Night: Eve Best, Steven Pasquale, Nat Faxton, Ben Falcone
Untitled Dan Fogelman pilot: Lenny Venito

(Photo courtesy of ABC.)