Read the descriptions of two upcoming Once Upon a Time episodes, titled “The Outsider” and “In the Name of the Brother”!

When Once Upon a Time returns January 6, 2013 it is with the episode “The Cricket Game.” Following that is “The Outsider,” for which ABC has released an official description:

MR. GOLD ATTEMPTS TO DISCOVER IF HIS SPELL WILL ALLOW HIM TO CROSS THE STORYBROOKE BORDER AND GO IN SEARCH OF HIS SON, AND BELLE MEETS UP WITHMULAN TO SLAY A FEARSOME YAOGUAI, ON ABC’S “ONCE UPON A TIME”

“The Outsider” – Mr. Gold finds an unwilling test subject to see if a spell he has concocted will allow him to cross the border of Storybrooke — without losing his memory — and go in search of his son, Bae; Belle stumbles upon a vengeful Hook in the Storybrooke harbor whose main goal is to eradicate Rumplestiltskin; and Mary Margaret and David go house hunting in search of a bigger place to live. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, Belle meets Mulan as the two set out to slay a fearsome beast called the Yaoguai, who has been ravaging the land, on “Once Upon a Time,” SUNDAY, JANUARY 13 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“Once Upon a Time” stars Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret, Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan, Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen/Regina, Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David, Emilie de Ravin as Belle, Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills, Meghan Ory as Red Riding Hood/Ruby, and Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold.

Guest starring are Raphael Sbarge as Archie Hopper/Jiminy Cricket, Lee Arenberg as Leroy/Grumpy, Tony Amendola as Marco, Keegan Connor Tracy as Mother Superior/Blue Fairy, Colin O’Donoghue as Hook, Beverley Elliott as Granny, Jamie Chung as Mulan, David-Paul Grove as Doc, Faustino Di Bauda as Sleepy, Jeffrey Kaiser as Dopey, Michael Coleman as Happy, Mig Macario as Bashful, Julian Morris as Prince Phillip, Ethan Embry as outsider and Christopher Gauthier as Smee.

“The Outsider” was written by Andrew Chambliss & Ian Goldberg and directed by David Solomon.

Is it just us, or does this sound like a Belle episode? In which we see her display some girl power and go kill something with Mulan? We approve!

After this episode comes “In the Name of the Brother,” the Frankenstein-centric episode:

AFRAID THAT THE STRANGER MAY HAVE SEEN MAGIC BEFORE HIS ACCIDENT,SOME OF THE STORYBROOKE RESIDENTS WANT DR. WHALE TO LET HIM DIE SO THAT HE CANNOT EXPOSE THEIR TRUE IDENTITIES TO THE WORLD, AND VICTOR TRIES TO PROVE TO HIS FATHER THAT HE CAN BRING BACK THE DEAD, ON ABC’S “ONCE UPON A TIME”

“In the Name of the Brother” – Dr. Whale is tasked with mending Hook’s wounds and performing surgery on the stranger whose car crashed upon entering Storybrooke. But some of the townspeople fear that the stranger may have seen magic — which could expose their true identities to the world — and think that leaving him to die would be the best solution. Meanwhile, as Mr. Gold tries to reunite with a despondent Belle, Cora attempts to reunite with daughter Regina; and in the land that was, Victor desperately wants to prove to his disapproving father that he can, indeed, bring back the dead,on “Once Upon a Time,” SUNDAY, JANUARY 20 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“Once Upon a Time” stars Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret, Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan, Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen/Regina, Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David, Emilie de Ravin as Belle, Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills, Meghan Ory as Red Riding Hood/Ruby, and Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr.Gold.

Guest starring are Lee Arenberg as Leroy/Grumpy, David Anders as Dr.Whale/Victor, Barbara Hershey as Cora, Colin O’Donoghue as Hook, Ethan Embry as stranger, Nelson Wong as paramedic no. 1, Janet Pinnick as nurse no. 1, Gregory Itzin as Alphonse, Chad Michael Collins as Gerhardt, Yurij Kis as Igor, Ian Harmon as sentry and Scott McAdam as orderly.

“In the Name of the Brother” was written by Jane Espenson and directed by Milan Cheylov.

Which of these two episodes are you most looking forward to?