Well, Once Upon a Time fans, get ready to see who is under the hood.
In the mid-season finale, “Wish You Were Here,” Emma (Jennifer Morrison) is transformed into a princess and taken to an alternate universe, and Regina (Lana Parrilla) sets out on a mission to save her. And in Storybrooke, the hooded figure, who is fated to kill Emma, appears, only to reveal its identity.
The episode opens with Regina, Emma and Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) walking through the cemetery. Regina thinks there is something in her vault that will be able to help them find out who the sword that kills Emma belongs to. As they’re walking, Regina sees the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) at Robin Hood’s grave. Regina wants to hurt the Evil Queen but can’t because she’ll hurt herself, too. Emma, on the other hand, lunges at the Evil Queen after she insults her parents. The sword scratches her face but not Regina’s face. Emma realizes what this means: “We can kill her.”
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The Evil Queen poofs herself away from them, baffled by the new discovery. Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) walks up to the Evil Queen. He implies the sword is the reason Emma was able to hurt the Evil Queen without harming Regina.
Emma goes to her parent’s apartment and tells everyone what happened. Henry (Jared Gilmore) doesn’t want her to kill the Evil Queen because he thinks this is how she dies. They all go into town because the Evil Queen was spotted, except Regina, who stays behind with Henry. While they are walking, they hear someone yell “Help me!” The Evil Queen has Jasmine (Karen David) tied up in Granny’s diner. In the last episode, Aladdin (Deniz Akdeniz) became the Genie in the lamp so Jasmine could make her wish to find Agrabah. The Evil Queen now possess the lamp, and she rubs it, releasing Aladdin. The Evil Queen uses one of her wishes to grant Emma’s wish to not be the Savior anymore. Aladdin has to grant the wish, and when he does, Emma disappears. Well, that’s great.
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In an alternate universe, Emma blows out a candle on her birthday cake. She is in a castle, and she is also a princess. Her parents, who are the King and Queen of the Enchanted Forest, are there. Emma tells her parents she had a dream about Storybrooke. They tell her not to worry about it and they go back to celebrating.
Back in Storybrooke, Regina, Hook, Charming (Josh Dallas) and Henry are arguing about what to do. Regina has an idea. She goes to her office where the Evil Queen is hiding out. Regina and the Evil Queen are the same person, so why doesn’t she make her own wish? Wait, she finally figures it out. Regina wishes to be sent to the same place as Emma Swan. She is sent to the middle of a forest and sees the dwarves are passing by. She approaches them asking to see Emma. The dwarves, thinking Regina is the Evil Queen, run away to warn everyone the Evil Queen is back.
In Storybrooke, Rumple is in his shop, and he uses a locator spell to track his location, but it doesn’t work. Something must be wrong with his son.
In the Enchanted Forest, Regina comes across a statue of Charming and Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) on the place where they “defeated the Evil Queen.” Regina hears singing and finds Emma. An arrow comes flying at Regina’s head, and Charming and Snow come out of nowhere. Regina tries to convince Emma she’s in an alternate reality, but it doesn’t work. This forces Regina to poof herself out of the situation.
Regina goes to her castle and hears the familiar laughter of a villain coming from behind bars — Rumplestiltskin. She needs his help, but he wants a favor — he wants out of the prison. Rumple tells Regina to “show (Emma) your inner darkness, and a Savior will be reborn.” Regina decides not to let Rumple out, but he convinces her because she doesn’t have a way back to Storybrooke and he does. He can find a magic bean that will create a portal and send them back to their realm. Regina lets him out and dons the look of the Evil Queen. Regina has to revert to her old ways in order to convince Emma she is the Savior. Regina has worked too hard to be good and now she has to be evil. This is not going to turn out well.
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In Storybrooke, Rumple goes to Belle, who is sitting on a park bench. He tells her that he used strands of his hair to track their son but he couldn’t find him. Rumple believes there is something wrong with their son. Belle calls the fairy convent and asks for the Blue Fairy. She looks at Rumple and says, “Something happened.”
In the Enchanted Forest, Henry is being knighted. As the ceremony concludes, Regina comes rushing in and says, “I vow to destroy their happiness if it is the last thing I do.” This is a serious case deja vu. This is exactly how the whole series started. Regina is trying to reenact everything so Emma will realize who she is. When Emma doesn’t fight her, she takes Snow and Charming back to her castle to wait for Emma to fight.
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In Storybrooke, Charming goes to the Evil Queen. He distracts her by asking her to fight but ends up seizing the lamp and releases Aladdin. Charming is now the new master of the lamp. Why did the Evil Queen put Aladdin back in lamp in the first place? That seems like a really dumb thing to do, unless this was her plan the entire time. Charming wishes the Evil Queen gets exactly what she deserves. Aladdin grants it but nothing happens. The Evil Queen explains the only thing she ever wanted was to split his family apart — and she has clearly achieved her goal.
Back in the Enchanted Forest, Emma comes to the Evil Queen. She is not there to fight though — she hands over the key to the kingdom. Regina rips out Charming and Snow’s hearts to motivate Emma to fight. Regina crushes their hearts, and Emma is left crying on the floor. Henry comes into the castle to fight Regina. When Henry throws the sword, Emma uses magic to freeze the sword in mid-air. The real Emma is back.
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In Storybrooke, the Evil Queen is walking down the street when a portal opens in Granny’s. One would assume this is Emma and Regina, but the hooded figure, who is supposed to kill Emma, emerges. The figure transforms the Evil Queen into a snake and traps her in a cage. Things just got interesting.
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Belle goes to the convent and finds the Blue Fairy in bed. Blue says the Black Fairy, who is Rumple’s mother, took their child. Rumple tells Belle he wasn’t the one who sped up her pregnancy. He says they have to work together in order to find their son. The hooded figure walks into Rumple’s show and lifts his hood. It’s their son from the dreams. He is older, and it appears he is the one who kills Emma.
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In the final scene, Emma and Regina use the magic bean. When they are getting ready to leave, an arrow comes flying past them. Regina turns around to see her lost love, Robin Hood. Even though he is not really alive, Regina is captivated by his presence and the magic in the bean runs out, trapping them in the alternate realm.
Robin Hood is back, Belle’s son is going to kill Emma and the Black Fairy is going to play a more important role in the second half of the season. This mid-season finale leaves fans wanting more. The season has had its ups and downs, but it ends its fall season with anticipation and longing for answers that will hopefully be answered next season.
Rating: 4.5/5
