S05.E22: Only You / S05.E23: An Untold Story

[formerlyfreedom]

Two hour season finale!

First hour is Only You:

Quote

Regina reels from the death of Robin Hood, and everyone tries to give her room to grieve, but when the heroes discover Gold has stolen Hades’ Olympian Crystal and tethered all of Storybrooke’s magic to it, they set out to stop him. Henry decides he no longer can stand all the pain magic has caused his family, so he goes rogue, with Violet in tow, to destroy magic once and for all. Meanwhile, Zelena, Snow, David, and Hook attempt to open a portal that will return Merida and the other Storybrooke guests to their homes, but things go awry, and the group winds up in a deranged new world.

Second hour is An Untold Story:

Quote

With the possibility of magic being destroyed and the fate of Storybrooke hanging in the balance, it’s a race for Emma and Regina to track down Henry before Gold can find him first. Regina continues to struggle with her frustrations over her former evil-self and, elsewhere, Snow, David, Hook, and Zelena are imprisoned and must contend with very two very disturbed individuals that may give Gold a run for his money.

 

[Mari]

Gaah.

And blech.

That was two hours long.  Why?  Just, why?

[InsertWordHere]

What does Gold have against toll booth operators? I thought he was just being cheap in not paying the $15, but later on he tipped the waiter $100.

Yes, this is what I am choosing to talk about this episode. La la la. 

[Mockingbird]

That was...the most intense secondhand embarrassment I've experienced in some time.

Can someone help me identify who Hyde's accent is reminding me of? 

Edited May 16, 2016 by Mockingbird

[Chicken Wing]

Yawn and blah.

[MostlyC]

Personally, I am disgruntled because the episode title was Only You, and we didn't get to hear the song.

[Worsel]

New Spinoff: Belle in a Box will travel from realm to realm, like the Lone Ranger, having adventures and saving the day.  

Yes, I'm still talking about Belle in a Box.

[Sabs]

So how long are we going to have to suffer through them battling the Evil Queen before someone remembers the moral of Jekyll and Hyde... that we are all BOTH good and evil.  Duh...  

[Daisy]

Okay - the Steampunky stuff was really great. I wanted more of that.
Everything else was pure crap. (sigh). I wish i can say I'm done this show, but I don't know.. I like the idea of this story. Very interesting that they aren't going with "FairyTale/Legend" for the big bad - but flat out "Today"(ish) story with Hyde + Jekyll. 

Edited May 16, 2016 by Daisy

[Writing Wrongs]

Two Reginas next season. Yay?

Everyone who called Jekyll and Hyde, congrats.

[Panopticon]

Of all the episodes that this show has ever had, this was one of them. Or two of them. Whatever.

What I shall choose to talk about is... Charming hugged Hook. And then he wrapped his arms around Hook when they were in the cage. And then he got pissy when Zelena threatened Hook. And then he had his hands all over Hook to guide him in the right direction like one of his sheep.

Captain Charming: The Bromance is Real. Maybe it took the threat of Arthur last week to finally bring them together.

[Guest]

I think this is the first finale that I've been flat out uninterested in what will happen next season.

And yes, the secondhand embarrassment was strong with this one. I developed a case of selective mutism.

[retrograde]

I don't mind the premise of them separating "good" and evil Regina, but I don't know why they had to make Emma and Snow party to that decision.

I don't think I really understood Hyde's motivation in coming to Storybrooke. Can someone explain?

[Hook75]

TWO Reginas? I thought we left hell....OY!

Edited May 16, 2016 by Hook75

[Worsel]

1 minute ago, Panopticon said:

Of all the episodes that this show has ever had, this was one of them. Or two of them. Whatever.

What I shall choose to talk about is... Charming hugged Hook. And then he wrapped his arms around Hook when they were in the cage. And then he got pissy when Zelena threatened Hook. And then he had his hands all over Hook to guide him in the right direction like one of his sheep.

Captain Charming: The Bromance is Real. Maybe it took the threat of Arthur last week to finally bring them together.

Panopticon, how I love your post - with the same intensity that Charming loves Hook.

[Daisy]

Just now, ParadoxLost said:

I think this is the first finale that I've been flat out uninterested in what will happen next season.

And yes, the secondhand embarrassment was strong with this one. I developed a case of selective mutism.

right? like this is one of the episodes where you flat out could tell the actors were embarrassed. During Henry's speech of "just Believe!!" I don't think "embarrassed smirk" was called for but JMo was busting one out anyway. 

[Randomosity]

Many other thoughts, but did they really just have characters sharing a needle while filming in Vancouver where needles litter Hastings Street? Nice :\

Also, as per usual, they're not fooling anyone with Vancouver as NYC. Yeesh. Hotel Georgia right in the background of the fountain that doesn't exist at the NYC  public library...

[Rumsy4]

2 minutes ago, Mockingbird said:

That was...the most intense secondhand embarrassment I've been in some time.

Same. I'm still cringing from second-hand embarrassment. 

Emma is definitely going under a sleeping curse this season.

It's all Snow's fault now. What isn't?? Oh right. The part which is all Emma's fault.

What amazing payoff for CS? NOT. Who thought this episode was the way to finish-off the season?

[OnceUponAJen]

1 minute ago, Worsel said:

Panopticon, how I love your post - with the same intensity that Charming loves Hook.

Yes, I loved seeing Charming hug his bro.

[Worsel]

1 minute ago, retrograde said:

I don't mind the premise of them separating "good" and evil Regina, but I don't know why they had to make Emma and Snow party to that decision.

I don't think I really understood Hyde's motivation in coming to Storybrooke. Can someone explain?

I couldn't figure it out either.  For these characters world domination is actually...Storybrooke domination

[Chaos Theory]

Everytime I think I am out the show does something to pull me back in.  Regina vs the Evil queen is everything I never knew I always wanted.   Jekyll and Hyde is a good mirror for Regina and the two stories side by side will be an interesting one.

I thought Regina's talk with Emma was interesting and it touched on a lot of anti-Regina rants I have seen.  Yes Regina was forgiven by the people she hurt but that doesn't mean her past got wiped clean or the bad Karma she accumulated wasn't coming back to haunt her but to let out the Evil Queen again was something that Regina could never let herself do again.  She chose a side and thought she understood what that meant for her.

Ok I will give next season a shot and hope it doesn't disappoint me as much as DarkEmma did.  

[scenicbyway]

So, literally 1 minute of Captain Swan in the entire two hours.  To cap it off, in their last scene, they dare to put them in front of a background with a wedding dress shop.  Just in case you blink and miss the scene, Emma tells Hook she loves him, again.  Just like she did in last season's finale...

I'm so incredibly disappointed and I was heavily spoiled.  I just can't believe it was 2 hours of a Regina/Emma roadtrip where we had to see Emma apologize to Regina for not being an attentive friend this season.  Nevermind that Emma's been a Dark One, lost her boyfriend to death twice this season, because really what's important is that she and Regina didn't meet for drinks everyday, to discuss Regina's day.

I think I'll be hate watching the show next year until they decide to put Emma under the sleeping curse and then we'll finally see a TLK between Hook and Emma.  It was foreshadowed tonight when "good" Regina pricked Emma's finger to find Henry.  With the Evil Queen out there, it's only a matter of time before Emma sleeps.

[Writing Wrongs]

I don't feel like Jekyll and Hyde's deal was the same thing as Regina being The Evil Queen. So that was stupid to me. 

The other people with untold stories could be cool.

"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". Thanks for that name drop.

[Sarcastica]

2 hrs of my life: gone forever.

Pros:

-Hook and Emma walking hand in hand to Granny's.

-Charming giving Hook a hug in Granny's

-Charming trying to help Hook as he was being choked while they were all in that cage thing in wacko land.

-Hook attacking Hyde and then Snow using that zap taser thing.

-Rumple yelling at Henry for 3 seconds.

-Emma saying "I love you" to Hook and then Kiss time

-Belle still in the Box and the Box falling into another portal. I legit LOL'd. 

Cons:

Everything else. 

What the fuck was that? 

Edited May 16, 2016 by Sarcastica

[tennisgurl]

So, I will have more to say when I am not steadely getting deeper and deeper into this friendly bottle of Vodka, but I am going to strain my face rolling my eyes at Henry. I have never felt that level of second hand embarrassment at a TV show in my life. That was like how the fucking Care Bears solve their problems. In any real world, people would have ignored some dumb kid screaming about magic. Anywhere. That was just embarrassing. Henry was the worst this episode. 

As I said in the Live Blog (which was a blast, and I am going to miss you guys more than I miss most of what goes on in this show), this block of episodes was like this entire show in a nutshell. Its its own Jekyll and Hyde, if you will. On the good side, you had a fun steampunk adventure in a cool, interesting new Land, with some interesting new characters played by good actors, with a unique look that differs from the EF or Storybrooke, and some fun dynamics between our heroes. On the other hand, we have Regina at her whiniest, Henry at HIS whiniest, and poor Emma stuck in the middle, being bitched at constantly. And then they reintroduce a cool character like The Dragon, and then kill him. LAME. 

I could get behind Mr. Hyde as the new Big Bad, but I am forever annoyed by the fact that next season will be ALL REGINA ALL THE TIME. Uggg.

I did love how Charming kept touching Hook all freaking episode. Plus a big post-resurrection hug. That pretty much carried me through all the awful NYC stuff. 

This show... 

[Randomosity]

Also, no one in NYC would have paid any attention to Henry. You ignore the crazy people yelling.

Did anyone else notice the wedding dress in the background between Emma and Killian before she said ILY? I thought maybe she was going to pop the question instead of a bland ILY.

[hockeycat400]

I'm fairly easy to entertain...I liked it.  (Not loved it, mind you...nothing will ever beat the epic Season 3 finale.)

Jekyll and Hyde could be interesting.  Two Reginas?  Oh, HELL NO...

At least we got Captain Charming, and Emma & Killian in front of the wedding dress store.  Call me Snow...I still have hope.

[ABitOFluff]

They really should have ended the season with Last Rites, but I did enjoy the Jeckyll and Hyde/Untold Stories world. I like the Doctor and Hyde is sort of hot in a rough way.

The NYC stuff bugged me no end. I agree, in this case, Vancouver wasn't cutting it.

I'll be back for the next season, but for the first time, I'm really meh about it.

[woolmintons]

This was literally a two hour Regina pity party.

[Worsel]

3 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

And then they reintroduce a cool character like The Dragon, and then kill him. LAME. 

 

Was he killed?  I thought she removed his heart to control him...but honestly I might have been distracted by all the great live posts and missed it.

[hockeycat400]

Those were really sad looking (read: FAKE) lions in front of the library...

[StaceyNotStacie]

I found the Jekyll and Hyde stuff more interesting than the New York stuff. 

Hook and Emma kissing in front of the wedding dress in the window. I wonder if they're foreshadowing that they will get married and Evil Regina will interrupt that wedding like she did the Charmings. 

I wish they would have shown us where Rumple went off to. 

[Writing Wrongs]

Oh, yeah. Why do all their other realm sets look like video games? It's really bad.

Hi Dragon! Bye Dragon! Again.

[Worsel]

1 minute ago, Stacey1014 said:

 

I wish they would have shown us where Rumple went off to. 

Still spending quality time with Belle in a Box, maybe go to Vegas next for a belated honeymoon.

[Daisy]

I really hope someone drops Belle in a Box like the Heart of the Ocean. then We can have Old Rumpy on a boat regaling people about Storybrook once upon a time.

[tennisgurl]

What kills me about this show is that they are capable of good writing. Or at least, entertaining writing. I actually really liked all the steampunk world stuff, and the stuff with Zelena and Hook and the Charmings all worked really well. They CAN be good! But then they add stuff like the Regina being a split personality all of the sudden, and anything at all to do with Henry, and it all turns to shit. I is why I just cannot quit this show. You see this painful, slivers of potential for greatness, hidden inside the muck!

Did anyone see what all stories Henry saw in the library? I saw Don Quiote, did anyone see anything else. I hope someone took a screencap. The "all fiction is real" stuff is the most interesting thing this show has going for it. Use it damn it!

[OnceUponAJen]

7 minutes ago, Randomosity said:

Did anyone else notice the wedding dress in the background between Emma and Killian before she said ILY? I thought maybe she was going to pop the question instead of a bland ILY.

Yes, I think that was an intentional fake out.  Just like the ILY fake out in S4's finale.

Did anyone else think that Hook looked a little WTF when.Charming hugged him? 

Edited May 16, 2016 by OnceUponAJen

[YaddaYadda]

17 minutes ago, Mockingbird said:

Can someone help me identify who Hyde's accent is reminding me of? 

Bane from the Dark Knight Rises.

I thought the casting for Jekyll and Hyde was A+. 

I need to process the rest though. I hate that Emma's default setting is apologizing over and over for what she's not responsible for. And I hate that Hook had to ask Emma if she felt guilty still for him coming back.

WTF!

Edited May 16, 2016 by YaddaYadda

[Chaos Theory]

I actually loved the episode because I didn't choke on CaptainSwan which I hate with a fiery passion.  Oh I have accepted it is a thing and I actually like Hook when Hook and Emma aren't making gooey eyes at each other but I hate the pairing.  I was going to give up on the show but now that Lana Parrilla is playing both sides of Regina's personality I may be back in.   At least until the show starts disappointing me again.  I have decided that every pairing on the show is actually disappointing and that included Snow and Charming.  What have those two done of interest in the last what three seasons?   No pairing is a good pairing .

Edited May 16, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[tennisgurl]

1 minute ago, YaddaYadda said:

I thought the casting for Jekyll and Hyde was A+. 

 

Totally agree. I thought both the actors did a great job, and I was really engaged in their whole storyline. I hope they stick around. 

[Senna]

So this was basically all setup for next season, and I gotta say, a part of me is looking forward to whatever "untold stories" Hyde has brought along with him.  I mean, realistically most of them will be duds, but I have hope (!!!)  The steampunk world stuff in this episode was fun.

Meanwhile, Henry proved once again he possesses the Heart of the Truest Dumb, because all the bad stuff that happened was all his fault.  Except using the potion on Regina.  Which was about as stupid as trying to destroy magic.  Alas!

I think the livechat helped me enjoy this episode a lot more than I would've otherwise, so thanks, guys!

[Randomosity]

It's not letting me quote the above question but I believe I saw Babe the Blue Ox in the book?

[InsertWordHere]

14 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

And then they reintroduce a cool character like The Dragon, and then kill him. LAME. 

I don't think she killed him. I think he's her new Huntsman. Poor Dragon.

5 minutes ago, OnceUponAJen said:

Did anyone else think that Hook looked a little WTF when.Charming hugged him? 

Yes, you can see his hand hesitate a little before embracing back.

18 minutes ago, Worsel said:

Panopticon, how I love your post - with the same intensity that Charming loves Hook.

So you're going to occasionally ignore it, occasionally snark at it, and really deep down love it?

10 minutes ago, Worsel said:

Was he killed?  I thought she removed his heart to control him...

I think she's planning on using him, not killing him (yet).

Edited May 16, 2016 by InsertWordHere

[Guest]

Just now, tennisgurl said:

What kills me about this show is that they are capable of good writing. Or at least, entertaining writing. I actually really liked all the steampunk world stuff, and the stuff with Zelena and Hook and the Charmings all worked really well. They CAN be good! But then they add stuff like the Regina being a split personality all of the sudden, and anything at all to do with Henry, and it all turns to shit. I is why I just cannot quit this show. You see this painful, slivers of potential for greatness, hidden inside the muck!

Did anyone see what all stories Henry saw in the library? I saw Don Quiote, did anyone see anything else. I hope someone took a screencap. The "all fiction is real" stuff is the most interesting thing this show has going for it. Use it damn it!

The following are the good ideas that they had that they will willfully disregard:

- Playing out untold or forgotten fairy tales

- Someone drove Hyde out of his land (this will likely be Rumple instead of visiting Land without Color, etc)

Instead Regina will save everyone by willingly rejoining with EQ after a half a season.

[Daisy]

1 minute ago, Randomosity said:

It's not letting me quote the above question but I believe I saw Babe the Blue Ox in the book?

 

I saw Paul Bunyan (and Babe the Blue Ox)
Don Quixote
there was another one kind of fairy tale-ish

in Steampunk Land, when we saw all the Indian clothes - I thought maybe we'd also see Arabian garb and Aladdin + Jasmine 

[KingOfHearts]

A&E couldn't get enough Regina. So they doubled the dose.

Honestly so much happened in this episode that it's difficult for me to review. A few parts were decent, while others were truly 100% jump the shark moments. Unfortunately, the good stuff does not outweigh the bad. I'm not excited about next season at all. We've driven straight into crazy town, where nothing matters and anything can and will happen. I should have said this a long time ago, but - I can't take this show seriously any more.

Pros:
* Jekyll/Hyde was done well, especially Hyde. I'm a little miffed he seems like he's going to be the stereotypical Big Bad next season, but he's still a very intriguing character.
* I freaking cheered and laughed out loud when Rumple lost Box!Belle through the portal. You can't have everything, dearie!
* Steampunk World ("Land of Untold Stories" is lame. It will forever be Steampunk World) was creative and fairly original. It was by far the best aspect of the episode. I wish we could have seen more of it. Maybe we will in S6.
* The Regina/Emma scene in the apartment was surprisingly good. We got some insight into Regina's psyche without it being too overbearing. It was uncharacteristically real.
* Redeemed!Zelena snark. She was mildly fun to have around.
* Rumple's "Do Not Disturb" sign. His comment about Regina ignoring it was funny.

Cons:
* I want Henry to die. Just die. He's a selfish idiot who gets away with murder. His moms are horrible parents. If he can't die, he should at least shut up. Forever.
* Violet's dad is from Connecticut...? Okay? Why do I feel like that's just as an excuse to stop her from returning to Camelot?
* The believing scene was one of the dumbest scenes I've ever seen on television. The Peter Pan play, Elf, and Dora the Explora have all capitalized on using an audience's belief to fuel whatever the plot needs to happen. Frankly, they do it better.
* New Yorkers see purple lightning and a giant fountain portal, then totally ignore? WTH?
* The Dragon's reappearance felt pointless. The only reason he was there was to give EQ something to kill and give some exposition about how the LWM does actually have magic.
* Bringing magic to LWM is an interesting concept I've wanted to see for a while. It's too bad it left as quickly as it came.
* The Neal retcon. I hate it. Neal was trying to avoid all the magical shenanigans. Not destroy it.
* The Unholy Grail just so happens to be in a New York library? Seriously?
* Captain Swan was a let down. We get a second ILY but no proposal or asking about moving in. Yawn.
* The Jekyll Juice was such a cop-out for Regina. I wish I could separate the darker part of myself and rip its heart out. I wouldn't have to atone for anything and I could live my life without temptation. Brilliant.
* The Evil Queen was a weak cliffhanger. I was hoping we were going to get a taste of wherever Rumple was going.

 

I really, really need to process this beast. I'm glad I'm going to be taking my break. This episode made me stop caring and want to quit watching altogether. I don't give a crap about what happens next season. I'll probably end up watching just to ship Hyde Queen. (EQ, not Regina. But it would be funny if Jekyll started dating Regina at the same time.)

Edited May 16, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[OnceUponAJen]

3 minutes ago, Randomosity said:

It's not letting me quote the above question but I believe I saw Babe the Blue Ox in the book?

I know I saw Don Quixote!

[Mari]

19 minutes ago, retrograde said:

I don't mind the premise of them separating "good" and evil Regina, but I don't know why they had to make Emma and Snow party to that decision.

Because when it inevitably turns into horror, they will need to be able to blame the Charmings/Whites somehow.

It's not like it could be Regina's fault.

16 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

What amazing payoff for CS? NOT. Who thought this episode was the way to finish-off the season?

Regina and Henry fans?

[Worsel]

2 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

* New Yorkers see purple lightning and a giant fountain portal, then totally ignore? WTH?
* The Dragon's reappearance felt pointless. The only reason he was there was to give EQ something to kill and give some exposition about how the LWM does actually have magic.
* Bringing magic to LWM is an interesting concept I've wanted to see for a while. It's too bad it left as quickly as it came.
* The Neal retcon. I hate it. Neal was trying to avoid all the magical shenanigans. Not destroy it.
* The Unholy Grail just so happens to be in a New York library? Seriously?

New Yorkers already saw Ghostbusters do the clouds and lightening at the top of the building so they were cool with it.

I think Dragon may be back next season as Evil Regina's lackey

And you know you can find ANYTHING in NYC.  Even a Holy Grail.

[Watt]

I lost track of how many times I rolled my eyes.

Plus sids: Violet is kind of adorable,  I'm sort of interested in where they go with Jekyll and Hyde. That one actor chews a scene as good as Lana does. Captain Swan got a nice kiss even if it was just a lousy boring I love you. 

I'm due with twin boys come beginning of June and I'll probably never watch another episode of this show without multiple interruptions. Too bad I couldn't have gotten a season finale like the Hook and Emma movie from a few years ago.

Can Henry go away to college or something next season?