Two new clips from this week’s Once Upon a Time pit Maleficent against Cruella, and Regina against her old ways. Plus, an interesting connection is revealed.

This Sunday’s Once Upon a Time season 4, episode 18, “Sympathy for the de Vil,” will dive into the backstory of Cruella de Vil, both in the Enchanted Forest and in 1920s London. In the sneak peek clips from the episode, Cruella eliminates two great threats to her happy ending, while requesting someone else do the dirty work to remove the third.

Watch the clips here.

Cruella and Maleficent face-off

In dragon form Maleficent is quite the foe for any magical battle. That is unless you possess the power to tame animals with a single breath. Her evilness extends further than most of the villains we’ve encountered this season. After leaving Lily to die in the woods with no remorse, the extent of what she is willing to do to preserve herself is unnerving.

A video message from the de Vil

At the end of last week’s episode it seemed that Regina had made her choice to stay and save Emma from Gold’s mission to turn her towards darkness. It looks like she abandoned that path and is heading to NYC to save Robin. But with Cruella’s strong selfie arm game and her track record for leaving children for dead, Regina’s plans suddenly change.

Another striking feature from this week’s Cruella-centric episode is what mysteries lie in her past before her trip to the Enchanted Forest. We will visit her in 1920s London, where she has an unusual relationships with her hair color, dalmatians, and men.

Do you ship it?

Cruella herself, actress Victoria Smurfit, does! Expect to see her backstory play a huge a role in her plans to meet up with the Author in the present. The synopsis reveals that her mother, a dog trainer, keeps Cruella locked away in an attic until someone comes along daring her to finally take a stand.

Speaking with EW, Smurfit teases there is more the story than a journey away from home. Expect to see Pongo do her bidding for her as she uses him to help capture Henry. Smurfit says, “She’s going to rise from the ashes with her terrible dog breath and her coat, and you’ll find out exactly where she’s come from, where she’s going and her plans.”

Smurfit sums up Cruella in one neat sentence, “You’ve had all her comedy and the fun and the fabulous, but now you’re going to see just how deep that evil runs.”

The same question will remain at the end of this episode that has lingered over Rumpel/Gold for four seasons — can we feel sympathy for this character?

With season 4 heading into the final stretch it is time for the answers to start pouring in!

Watch Once Upon a Time season 4, episode 18, “Sympathy for the de Vil,” Sunday, April 19 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.