‘Once Upon a Time’: Gaston is back, and Rumplestiltskin and Belle hit a rocky patch

“Once Upon a Time” concentrated a bit on Belle and Rumplestiltskin in this “Her Handsome Hero” episode, bringing back Gaston to wreak a little havoc. Hades and hope are also big topics in the Underworld, and the heroes get a last-minute special guest star.

We start off in the past, meeting up with Belle and her father. Belle, daughter of the king, has yet another suitor, and it’s Gaston. Her father thinks it would be best for the kingdom if she, at least, went out with the prince, whose kingdom could help stabilize their own if they were to somehow be joined. Say, in marriage maybe.

In the present Underworld, Belle is already married. She goes to confront her husband, Rumplestiltskin, in the pawn shop, asking him for help saving her baby. He had planned to help anyway since it’s theirs. Belle, though, wants the Dark One to do it without using dark magic. She’s still getting her head around the fact that he took back the dark magic. C’mon Belle, got to keep moving.

Meanwhile, Emma Swan got what everyone thought was some much-needed rest. Can’t have that in the Underworld, though. Emma has a bad dream about Snow being blindsided by some type of beast while she, Emma and Hook were hanging out in the Underworld cemetery. But it was just a dream, right? She doesn’t have time to ponder it before Regina calls. Regina and Emma use their light magic, and lots of runes drawn on the elevator door, to open a door to get down to Hades’ lair. Seems that all that did was show them another door. Instead, Emma goes to the Underworld cemetery to act out her dream with Hook and Snow, unbeknown to them, by attempting to erase the names off of the headstones that are causing them to remain in the Underworld.

Hades goes to Gaston, who’d been hanging out in the Underworld ever since Rumple killed him. Hades tells him Rumple and Belle are in the Underworld, and he’d gladly make a deal to give Gaston the ability to kill Rumplestiltskin, the beast who once killed him, and possibly gain back his one-time love, Belle. Hades is seeing that hope is encroaching in his realm - represented seemingly by daisies? -- due to the heroes’ incursion into the Underworld and their successful soul-saving adventures. Hades gives him a bow and arrows that will allow him to kill Rumple.

Belle and Gaston in the past. A walking date. His love life has been tragically empty, and he’s spent his life looking “for a woman of her substance.” Good flattery there. On their walk, they find a young ogre trapped in a hunting hole. Gaston wants to take it back to Belle’s father, but Belle doesn’t want it harmed, and has a way to know if the creature has ill intentions or is lying.

Back to the present. Belle and Rumple are still arguing a bit. “Once again, I’ve let my optimism cloud my judgment.” Yes, Belle, you probably have, but that’s why we like you. Belle tells Rumple that by helping people move on, it weakens Hades. So maybe that’s how they’ll defeat him and get back possession of their baby. She’ll need his help. Later, while they were walking down the street, an arrow whizzes past them. It’s Gaston, sights set on Rumple. Belle is surprised to see him, but must move as the arrows fly. Rumple catches one as it nears his head, then deduces that it’s from Hades. He and Belle teleport away.

Emma’s dream is coming true. While she is erasing the tombstones, a storm blows in and Hook’s sea captain sense tells them to take cover. Then a beast is brought to the Underground. Emma at least stops Snow from facing the beast, but running might not have been the smartest choice. She tells Snow that she dies in her dream, and that’s why they’re running. Snow appreciates that, but that’s not how they do things. They go to grab Regina, and set out to find this beast.

Regina, meanwhile, has gone to the diner to chat with Zelena, the only person who might have some knowledge of how to defeat Hades. He fell in love with her, and she could be his only weakness.

Looking for Gaston, Belle finds a book that she and Gaston bonded over in his Underworld locker and realizes that she must be his unfinished business -- what’s keeping him in the Underworld. Belle decides to wait for him while Rumple goes away, but Hades comes along instead. He wants to make a deal. All he wants is for her to let Rumplestiltskin face Gaston. If/when one throws the other into the river of souls, he will release her baby. She refuses, but Belle did listen to the pitch. Hmmmm.

Gaston eventually comes, and says that Belle should want Rumplestiltskin dead like he does. He kidnapped her, made her his servant and ... now he’s her husband. That threw Gaston. Hard. He’s going after him.

In the past, Belle and her father find Gaston in the forest. He claims the ogre who was captured had escaped and injured him, and that they needed to hunt him down. They do, but Belle figures out that Gaston staged the breakout, and had been abusing the ogre. They let the ogre go free, but soon, there is war with the ogres at the gates of the kingdom. Belle and her father argue about it, but as the king says, it doesn’t matter now. War is coming. It’s about now that the “Beauty and the Beast” storyline probably kicks in.

Belle tells Rumple about Hades’ deal. Not sure how Rumple will be able to twist this around, but I’m sure he will try. Rumple finds Gaston and is about to toss him into the water when Belle intervenes. She has taken his dagger, and commands him to let Gaston go. Gaston, though, won’t actually let it go. He picks up the dangerous bow and arrow given to him by Hades to strike Rumple, but Belle pushes him into the water to protect Rumple. Hades did say that she’d probably be able to do anything for love -- not just the love of her baby, but also for the man she loves.

Snow, Emma, Hook and Regina have tracked the animal that was after them, and subdued it magically in the forest. The beast, though, turns out to be none other than our friendly neighborhood werewolf Ruby, or Little Red Riding Hood.

But if she’s in the Underworld, that most likely means ...

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