Mulan & Ruby Return To 'OUAT'

This week, Once Upon A Time brought back a number of characters from its past seasons. Dr. Whale showed up to help Zelena give birth to her daughter, Mulan became a friend and mentor to Merida, and Ruby's absence was explained. The second half of this week's two-part episode, "Birth/The Bear King," focused entirely on Merida and her struggle to become the queen of the Scottish clans, so Merida enlists some allies: Mulan and Ruby, who are totally going to date on OUAT if I have anything to say about it.

To start her quest, Merida tracks down Mulan, who her father previously hired to protect and teach his daughter the ways of fighting in war. In turn, Mulan finds Ruby, aka Red Riding Hood, who has been absent from Once Upon a Time for a while. Ruby reveals that after the party where Snow White and David introduced their friends in Storybrooke to their son, Prince Neal, she told Snow that she wanted to go back to the Enchanted Forest to search for the rest of her pack. However, when Mulan comes across Ruby, she's trapped in her wolf form at the witch of the Highlands' cottage, and Mulan helps Red Riding Hood transform back. Together with Merida, Ruby and Mulan defeat Arthur and Zelena and take back Merida's father's helm.

After helping Merida complete her quest, Mulan reveals that she was attempting to get over a broken heart, calling back to the episode where she admitted her feelings for Aurora. At the end of "The Bear King," Ruby convinces Mulan to help her in her search for the rest of her pack, telling her, "Maybe helping someone else with their path will help you find yours." So, is this the beginning of a relationship between the two?

Since viewers didn't get to see Mulan in a relationship before — only having unrequited feelings — it would be great for Once Upon A Time to explore the chemistry between Mulan and Ruby. Plus, with Emma and Hook's relationship in trouble, future episodes might need at least one happy couple to balance out the darkness, and I volunteer Mulan/Ruby. Now, can I start the official petition for their 'ship name to be MulanRouge, or what?

Images: Jack Rowand/ABC; Giphy