2x16 The Miller's Daughter

Thank you to Wet Paint for the updates

If you thought last week’s Once Upon a Time (Season 2, Episode 14: "Manhattan") was epic, just wait until you see Season 2, Episode 16: "The Miller's Daughter.” We’ve seen a rough cut of the highly anticipated ep, and yep, we were blown away again.

We don't want to over-hype this episode, but we're not sure if that's possible. We found it at least as good as "Manhattan," which was one of our favorite Once episodes to date. Clearly, the Powers That Be have kicked the show into high gear.

However, we’re not shocked by the episode’s excellence. After all, it was written by Jane Espenson, who has penned many of the most memorable OUAT episodes. Plus, as the title suggests, it finally gives us Cora's backstory, which we've been looking forward to for ages.

As always, we're sworn to secrecy over the major plot points, but we can give you a few hints about what's coming up.

1. Based on what we saw here, Episode 15: "The Queen Is Dead" will reveal some very interesting backstory.

2. "There's no coming back from murder."/"There's no coming back from death, either."

3. Love — familial, romantic, and otherwise — has always been at the heart of OUAT, and nowhere is that as true as this episode.

4. The flashbacks in this episode provide one of our favorite revisions of a classic fairy tale yet, perfectly melding the story we know from legend with the characters and history we know from OUAT.

5. "Magic is about emotion" is a lesson multiple people learn this episode.

6. An unexpected declaration of love is sure to upset some fans.

7. Rumbelle shippers have something to look forward to, but they might shed a few tears.

8. A normally noble character shows an unexpected manipulative streak.

9. Always think your deals through —especially when you make a change.

10. We thought "Manhattan" was Robert Carlyle's best performance to date, but we might have to update that to "The Miller's Daughter." Lana Parrilla (Regina) also does a fantastic job. Heck, most of the main cast gets to show off some serious acting chops this week.