Once Upon a Time: The Sleeping Curse Gets a Devastating New Twist

"I'll always find you" is the tagline of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming's (Josh Dallas) relationship on Once Upon a Time, but the motto may not be enough to save them this time.

The Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) finally got her wish to possess Snow White's heart by threatening the entire town of Storybrooke until Snow and Charming handed over their shared heart willingly on Sunday's episode. At first it seemed like EQ was taking some mercy on the couple by not crushing their hearts into dust -- but it turns out she had a much crueler fate in mind. She re-deployed the famous sleeping curse that first proved Snow and Charming had true love, but with a devastating twist. Only Snow White or Charming can be awake at a time. As soon as they wake the other with true love's kiss, the other falls under the curse, never allowing them to be together.

By keeping the fairy-tale world's flagship couple apart, the Evil Queen is forcing Snow White to live with the same pain that she felt when her first love, Daniel, was taken from her. It also separates two key people in Emma's (Jennifer Morrison) corner as she tries to fight off the prophecy of her death.

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Snow White and Charming are the beacon of hope and true love for everyone in Storybrooke, actually. They are the leaders of the community and the champions of light when everyone else is ready to give up. They are the epitome of the word "hero," and to see them separated is going to be a devastating blow to the entire town, which is probably a lovely bonus effect for the Evil Queen, who just wanted to see Snow White suffer.

But what now? Snow White is suffering, so is the Evil Queen's plan over? Apparently, she has some more wicked curses up her sleeve, but if she's already accomplished the one thing she wanted most, who else does she need to torture to have everything she wants? She's going to have trouble taking over the rest of Storybrooke now that she's betrayed Zelena's (Rebecca Mader) trust to get Gold's (Robert Carlyle) help with this dastardly plan. Does she want to rule Storybrooke with Gold now?

Snow White and Charming, along with the band of heroes that support them, will inevitably find the cure for this new sleeping curse. That is what they do, and they have both the Savior and Regina to help them solve this latest obstacle. True love always finds a way on Once Upon a Time, but it's really difficult to defeat a villain when you don't know what their final motives are. The Evil Queen has already gotten everything she wants and now everything else is icing on the cake -- which might make her the most terrifying she's ever been.

How can they bring her down?

Once Upon a Time airs Sundays at 8/7c on ABC.