Katherine

It was nice to see Hook have some lighthearted moments this episode. He hasn't had enough of those lately, and Colin does them so well.

Yes, that was the only thing that really bugged me about that scene. But I guess it was to be expected since in the season premiere Emma promised to get Regina's happy ending (ugh). I really hope the writers lay off the Emma/Regina 'friendship' next season and allow Snow, Charming, and Hook to lead the charge to save Emma.

Loved all the Hook/Emma moments. As for Emma becoming the dark one, I choose to believe it wasn't just about saving Regina; it was about saving everyone. Once the darkness had finished with Regina, wouldn't it have moved on to someone else? And since Emma had the dagger and is the savior, she was the only one with the ability to tether it to someone. And Emma is Emma, so she would never consider tethering it to anyone else. Plus, like she said, her parents managed to get rid of the darkness in her once before so there's hope they can do it again. There weren't as many Emma/Regina moments as I was expecting and I'm grateful for that. I'm also happy that Emma immediately went running to find Hook when they got back, and that her last words before saving the day were to him. Even though it was still a bit rushed, I feel like the writers were trying to make up for the lack of Emma/Hook payoff in the 4A finale.

This. For me, the fact that Regina still whines about 'life kicking her in the teeth' is one of the main reasons I have trouble rooting for her. I would like to think that her lack of self-awareness is a deliberate choice by the writers and what they're really trying to show is that this character is deluded, but I don't think that's the case. Yes, the author's statement about Regina being screwed over could be interpreted as him just sucking up to her, but the way that Regina agrees with him makes me think the writers agree too. If they didn't, I feel like they would have had the other characters point out all the problems with Operation Mongoose instead of going along with it. I appreciated that Regina ended up acknowledging that she's responsible for her own happy ending, but there wasn't really much build-up to it. I think it would have worked better if they had portrayed Operation Mongoose as questionable from the start. Instead, I got the sense that the audience was supposed to be rooting for Regina to be successful in her quest. If we were supposed to be sitting here saying "duh Regina just needs to make better choices" (which many of us actually were), then I think they would have done things differently or there would have been more of a sense of (intentional) irony any time Regina complained her crappy life.

I personally have a lot of trouble understanding the belief that Regina has been screwed over the most, for many of the reasons that have already been mentioned here. Obviously it's difficult to measure which character has had it the worst, but no matter which way I look at it, I just don't see how it can be Regina (even though this point of view seems to be pretty common among fans). Say we measure "being screwed over" just in terms of a character losing someone they love, since that's pretty much the worst thing that could happen to anyone. Yes, Regina lost Daniel. But Snow lost both her parents, Emma lost Neal and Graham, Hook lost Liam and Milah, Rumple lost Neal, Charming lost his mom, etc. And let's not even get into the fact that Regina herself was responsible for some of those deaths. Of course, there are other ways that Regina has been "screwed over", like Cora's abuse and Rumple's manipulations. But really, the whole town of Storybrooke was abused by Regina, since she cursed them all and took away their agency. So even though, yes, Regina has definitely had her share of hard times, I don't think it's been worse than that of the average Storybrooke resident. I know some fans viewed the whole Marian thing (and now the Zelena thing) as Regina being screwed over, but the thing (for me) is that Regina chose to walk away from Robin back in the tavern. She chose revenge and anger over happiness. Plus, since Regina was the one who killed Marian in the original timeline, I had trouble sympathizing with her potentially losing Robin when Marian came back to life. Also, lots of characters have been screwed over in other, arguably worse ways, like Snow and Charming never getting to raise their child. I totally get that some fans love the character of Regina and that her story resonates more with them, but I really have trouble understanding how anyone can objectively argue that Regina has been screwed over more than the other characters. ETA: I would love to hear alternative perspectives on this because maybe I'm missing something with Regina. Again, I'm not trying to argue that she hasn't been screwed over, just that she hasn't been screwed over "the most".

I agree that hope should extend to people who have demonstrated a sincere commitment to change, but my issue with characters like Regina and Rumple is that their commitment to change seems to be more about getting happy endings than actually feeling remorse for the things they've done. I like a good redemption story, but for it to work for me, I have to feel like the character truly regrets his/her actions. This probably isn't what the writers are aiming for, but I've always had the sense that Regina is more concerned with her own happiness than the happiness she has stolen from others. You could argue that this is just human nature - most people are preoccupied with their own happiness. But for me to actively root for a character's happy ending, I need to feel like that character truly grasps the consequences of what he/she has done. It's true that Regina has come a long way and has made some positive choices. I just wish I got more of a sense that she truly feels empathy for her victims. I feel like that's where the writers have really gone wrong in her redemption - by making it all about getting her happy ending and not enough about atoning for her past crimes. Your mileage may vary, of course. I think I would enjoy this author plot a lot more if the writers were trying to send the message that people need to earn their happy endings. I would like it if they acknowledged the flaws in Regina's plan to find the author. Regina's lack of self-awareness could make for an interesting character flaw if the writers recognized it as such. But as it stands, I get the impression that the writers are the ones who lack awareness. They seem to be sending the message that Regina's quest makes sense and that she really does deserve happiness. All fans have their favorite characters and of course want to see those characters happy. My favorite is Hook and I'm completely biased in his favor. I want him to get a happy ending, but the question of whether he actually deserves one is open to interpretation. I can see why some people feel like he doesn't. If villains demonstrate real remorse and empathy, in addition to a commitment to change, then I'm on board for them living happily ever after. I just don't feel like the writers have handled this well, particularly with this whole author plot.

Hi everyone. First-time poster here. I really like seeing the perspectives of viewers who are watching these episodes for the first time, and I’ve been trying to remember my reaction to the character of Regina when I watched this particular episode. At the time, I was a casual viewer. This didn’t become a must-watch show for me until the third season. Before that, I really didn’t give a lot of thought to the characters or their motivations. I didn’t mind Regina as a character, and I didn’t notice or object to the way she was being treated by the writers (this has since changed!), but I also didn’t feel sorry for her. Even after seeing her backstory with Daniel and Cora, and then Rumple's manipulations, I never really felt like any of her actions were justifiable or even understandable. Now when I think about this show, it seems like the writers are often trying to make Regina a sympathetic character, using the whole ‘shades of grey, no character is entirely good’ angle, but to me, as a casual viewer, it fell flat. I may have liked Regina and even found her more fun to watch than characters like Emma (again – this is no longer the case), but I never felt sorry for her. Episodes like this one are probably the main reason. Any time she starts to come across as sympathetic, we’re then reminded of all the evil things she’s done, like her treatment of Owen's dad. I’d also like to point out that while the writers seem to love drawing a line between the Evil Queen and Regina, as if they aren’t the same person, Regina was not in “Evil Queen" mode here, and yet she was still doing some pretty crappy things. I like a good redemption story, and if I had remained a casual viewer, I probably wouldn't have had a problem with Regina's. But now that I've spent so much time thinking about it, episodes like this one demonstrate why, in my opinion, she doesn't deserve a happy ending. One of my biggest problems is her selfishness. Her love for Owen wasn't about Owen at all. It was about making herself happy. So even when Regina shows that she is capable of caring for another human being, it rarely seems to be a selfless kind of love.