Nasty Habits (Once Upon a Time)

Plot

In the Enchanted Forest, Rumpelstiltskin brings Baelfire a knife that belonged to one of his victims. Baelfire wants to leave and have friends, but Rumpelstiltskin insists he cannot leave for his own safety as the Dark One. Hours later, Rumpelstiltskin returns to find Baelfire missing. He tracks him to a village where children have been lured away by a Pied Piper.

Rumpelstiltskin waits at night, hears the piper's call, and sees children climbing out windows. He finds a group of masked children dancing around a fire. He confronts the Pied Piper, who is revealed to be Peter Pan, an old acquaintance. Pan explains that only boys who feel unloved can hear his pipe, which is why Rumpelstiltskin can hear him.

Pan dares Rumpelstiltskin to ask Baelfire if he wants to go home or stay. Rumpelstiltskin finds Baelfire and uses magic to take him home. He explains that Pan betrayed him when he was a boy. Baelfire reveals Pan told him about the deal: if asked to go home, he would have, but his father did not ask.

Cultural references

Disney's use of the Pied Piper concept was first used in a 1933 Silly Symphony short. Other allusions include elements of the Darling Family from Peter Pan, found in a drawing in Neal's cave, and a nod to Aladdin hinting at how Neal escaped Neverland. The Little Mermaid is referenced when Neal uses a sea shell to lure a large squid. Lost allusions include Tinkerbell holding a watch stopped at 8:15 and Rumplestiltskin yelling for Baelfire, echoing Michael crying out for his son on that series.

Reception

The episode scored a 2.1/5 among 18-49s with 7.05 million viewers, down four tenths from the previous airing. Nasty Habits received positive reviews from critics, who were impressed with the angle involving the relationship between Rumplestiltskin and Neal/Baelfire. Hillary Busis of Entertainment Weekly noted the episode focused more on character than incident, particularly Rumplestiltskin's struggle to redeem himself and his fraught relationship with his son.

Amy Ratcliffe of IGN praised the Neal/Rumplestiltskin storyline, stating that Michael Raymond-James has taken Neal in an interesting direction and that any time he is on screen with Robert Carlyle is good for everyone. Amy Scales of Entertainment Outlook gave it 5 stars, calling the episode jam-packed with revelations. Gwen Ihnat of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C rating, suggesting the characters could learn from the cliché about setting someone free.