In the season finale of Once Upon A Time, a new character is introduced, and an old enemy returns.
Once Upon A Time is known for blending many different stories together. To those who follow the show closely, get ready to meet the newest addition to the series.
The two-part season finale kicks off with Regina (Lana Parrilla), who is facing the emotional aftermath of Robin Hood’s (Sean Maguire) death. The camera cuts to Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Killian (Colin O’Donoghue) walking down the sidewalk to the diner. Emma wants to be sensitive and not hurt Regina’s feelings by flaunting the fact that Killian is back. Emma starts to tell Regina when the ground shakes. Killian barges in and Regina feels hurt.
Meanwhile, Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) takes Pandora’s Box — which is holding Belle’s (Emilie de Ravin) body — to the clock tower. He is going to use the Olympian Crystal to harness all of the magic in Storybrooke. That is the only way he is going to wake up Belle. Emma, David (Josh Dallas), Regina, Killian and Zelena (Rebecca Mader) go to the clock tower after Rumple is gone. They deduce Rumple has concocted a tethering spell between the crystal and Storybrooke’s magic. Everyone wants to go on a mission to stop Rumple, but Emma doesn’t want Regina to go because she is too emotional. Some part of Emma is afraid Regina will revert to her evil ways. Henry shows up and hears everything, so he goes to Mr. Gold’s pawn shop. His girlfriend, Violet, shows up and tells her about the magic. He wants to go on a road trip with Violet to get rid of magic forever. He uses his powers as the author and writes, “And the Olympian Crystal appeared in the Author’s hand.” Whatever Henry writes, it happens.
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Rumple goes to Emma, Regina, Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin), Killian and David to tell them Henry (Jared Gilmore) stole the crystal. Rumple is so desperate to get Belle back, he threatens his grandson’s life. Regina runs off to find Henry, but Emma stops her before she gets too far. Emma tells her she put a GPS in Henry’s phone and that he is in Boston. They drive to Boston and find Henry’s phone, but he is not there. Regina throws Henry’s phone away, and the trash can catches on fire. Now that Henry has taken magic outside of Storybrooke, magic works in the outside world. The camera cuts to Henry and Violet getting off a bus in New York City.
In Storybrooke, the citizens are worried about magic being destroyed. Zelena casts a portal to send everyone back to where they live. Once everyone is through the portal, Zelena tries to close it, and a big blob of water-like substance comes out and grabs David, Zelena, Killian and Snow and spits them out in front of an abandoned mansion.
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Back in Boston, Regina uses Emma’s blood on a map that shows where Henry is. Once they figure out where Henry is, they set off on their journey to New York. The camera then cuts to Rumple who is also entering the Big Apple. Henry is in a lot of trouble.
In New York City, Henry explains to Violet that Baelfire, his father, wanted to destroy magic, just like Henry. Henry wants to find Baelfire’s journal to peruse his father’s notes.
Back at the mansion with David, Snow, Killian and Zelena, David hears a noise and they find a gardener (Hank Harris) cutting flowers. They ask him if he can help repair Zelena’s wand — it broke when they crash landed — with magic. He says magic is dangerous and he will get in trouble if he uses it. David asks who will hurt him, and an orderly (Arnold Pinnock) shows up, points a wand at them and knocks them out. When they wake up, they are in an enchanted cage. A creepy man (Sam Witwer) with a deep voice shows up and starts asking questions. One of them is, “Now, what does the Dark One want?” What does Rumple have to do with this? The guy who is keeping them locked up looks like he stepped out of a Victorian-era novel. I’m guessing he is either Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde or Dracula.
Back in New York City, Emma takes Regina to her old apartment. Henry went there first and did some research but cleared the search history. Robin also used the apartment when he needed to leave Storybrooke for a short period of time. Regina finds a letter in a book she gave Robin, and the letter says he loves her. After reading the letter, Emma tries to console Regina, but it doesn’t help. Regina tells Emma she battles with the evil inside of her on a daily basis and finds it hard to do good things. She makes a long speech about being trapped between good and evil. As soon as she finishes, Emma’s computer beeps to signal the computer scan to find Henry is done. The camera shifts to show Rumple eavesdropping outside of Emma’s door. He hears Regina and Emma say Henry is at the library.
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At the library, Henry and Violet enter the chamber with the rare books. As soon as they start looking at all of the books, they find other volumes of the famous storybook Henry frequently writes in. They flip through the books, but it says nothing about how to destroy magic. Violet looks over at a cabinet and sees a cup. She tells Henry that in Camelot her tutor told her about a cup, the Holy Grail, that created all magic, and the cup cabinet looks exactly the same. Henry breaks the glass and takes the Holy Grail out. He sets the Olympian Crystal beside the Grail, and it starts shaking. They have found what they are looking for, but Henry doesn’t want to destroy magic in the library because he thinks they need to go somewhere safer. When they open the doors of the chamber, Rumple is standing there and casts a spell to make Henry and Violet unconscious.
At the mansion, the guy who was gardening earlier approaches David, Zelena, Snow and Killian wanting to fix the wand in exchange for a trip back to Storybrooke. The gardener looks like the warden, except he wears glasses and doesn’t look as manic as the warden — all of this suggests the theory that he is Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. Zelena hands over the wand, and the man takes it back to his laboratory. Within seconds, he fixes the wand. The orderly who knocked everyone unconscious comes in and asks the man what he is doing. He said the warden wants him to fix the wand. The orderly gives the scientist a potion, and he turns into another person and says, “No one hurts Dr. Jeckyll, except me.”
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Emma and Regina show up to the library and find Henry and Violet laying on the floor. Henry tells them Rumple has the stone and the Grail. They try to use a tracking spell, but it doesn’t work. Rumple has taken all of the magic to a hotel to wake up Belle. He attempts the spell but it doesn’t work. A portal forms underneath Pandora’s Box, and it leads to Mr. Hyde. Hyde wants to use it as collateral to lure the Dark One in.
The next morning, Hyde has returned to his more human counterpart, Jekyll. He finds the orderly passed out and steals his keys. He releases David, Snow, Killian and Zelena, and they venture into the mystical land where they reside. It is called the Land of Untold Stories — it holds many different characters from a sundry of stories.
In New York, Emma receives a message from Granny saying her parents, Zelena and Killian were thrown through a portal. Regina wants to go to Rumple, but Emma advises against it. Going against Emma’s better judgement, Regina goes to the hotel where Rumple is staying. She wants to help him get all of the magic. After talking for a while, Emma sneaks into the hotel room. It was all a ploy to get the crystal. Rumple knew what they were going to do and says he needed something to track Zelena in order to find out what magical realm she is in. Because Rumple has what he needs, he is going to destroy Emma and Regina. Before he can harm them, Henry shows up and uses the Grail to suck up the crystal, thus destroying magic and leaving David, Snow, Zelena and Killian in the Land of Untold Stories.
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In the Land of Untold Stories, Jekyll takes the gang to his home to finish a serum that will help them get back to Storybrooke. The orderly shows up and forces him to drink the potion that transforms him into Hyde. The gang realizes who he is and decides to run. When they leave, Hyde injects the serum into his veins. His body separates and Jeckyll emerges. Hyde strangles Jekyll, and before he can kill him, Killian comes out of nowhere and attacks. Snow manages to get the wand and knocks Hyde unconscious.
In the hotel room, Regina, Emma and Rumple explain to Henry that he trapped Snow, David, Zelena and Killian in another realm. Henry storms out, and Rumple tells Emma and Regina he knows someone who might be able to rescue them without magic. Regina goes with Rumple to meet the person that can help — the Dragon (Tzi Ma). The Dragon says he won’t help Rumple, but he will help Regina because of her battle between light and dark: “It is imperative that you win for all of us.” Whoa, it looks like Regina is the key to solving everyone’s problems. The Dragon takes Regina and Rumple along with Henry, Violet and Emma to his work station. He takes a purple flower lilly and puts it in a bowl. The flower spins and shows Snow, David, Zelena and Killian running. The Dragon cannot form a portal and informs Henry he knows the answer to getting them back. Henry remembers a time when him and Emma used to live in New York and made a wish at a fountain, and it came true. Henry leads everyone to the fountain, takes a coin, wishes to be reunited with his family and throws it in the fountain. He realizes that a few coins aren’t going to work, so he gets up and asks everyone near the fountain to make a wish. He convinces them to believe in something bigger than themselves, and they throw their coins in.
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In the Land of Untold Stories, Snow, David, Killian, Zelena and Jeckyll have been cornered by Hyde. All of a sudden, coins rain down on them and a portal opens up. Everyone except Hyde makes it through the portal, and they are reunited with their loved ones.
But the episode doesn’t end there. The next scene shows Hyde relinquishing his anger on his laboratory. Evidently Rumple made it through the portal before it closed because he appears in Hyde’s laboratory wanting his wife back. Hyde wants to make a deal with Rumple because he knows how to wake up Belle.
Back in the city, Regina opens up to Snow and tells her she made a wish to rid herself of her alter ego: The Evil Queen. Emma shows up with the serum Hyde used on himself. If the serum works correctly, Regina should be able to kill the evil inside of her. Regina injects the serum, and the Evil Queen emerges. Before the Queen can use her powers, Regina puts her in shackles. The Queen tries to persuade Regina not to kill her, but Regina walks over and rips her heart out. The Evil Queen reduces to a pile of dust. Regina gets her fresh start and now has a pure heart.
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After a dramatic and overwhelming day, everyone — barely — makes it back to Storybrooke in one piece. But it wouldn’t be a good season finale if it didn’t end on a cliffhanger. In the final scene, Regina and Henry destroy the Olympian Crystal, and magic in Storybrooke is restored. They look up and Hyde is watching them. He says Rumple made him a deal, and Storybrooke now belongs to him. He tells Regina it is not easy to destroy the darkness within. When he finishes, the camera cuts to the Dragon in his shop. A swirl of dust comes flying in, and once it settles, the Evil Queen stands in his presence and says, “This is a war, and it has just begun.” The Evil Queen rips out the Dragon’s heart: “The Queen is back.”
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Creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz are not only known for blending fairy tale stories together, but for mixing in classic novels such as Frankenstein, The Wizard of Oz and now Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Intertwining these stories creates a different way to view well-known characters. With the introduction of the new villain Hyde, Once Upon A Time hit a new level of entertainment. The show felt more sophisticated and created a more refined sense of drama. Venturing outside of Storybrooke gives the audience a fresh outlook on the show and allows them to take a break from the normal drama. Oncers — the show’s fanbase — should start preparing for the most epic season of Once Upon A Time.
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Once Upon A Time is scheduled to return for its sixth season in October.
Rating: 5/5
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