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

[Daisy]

Actually, I think that's not getting enough love. (and that was actually very cannonical). When given the choice between someone he loves, and his true love, Power - Rumpy is always going to go for Power. He did it with NealFire, he did it with Belle countless times, and he did it again. I didn't even buy the "Oh no, belle" fauxtears he was trying to squeeze out because he was squeezing that crystal for dear life. and I laughed hard. 

[HoodlumSheep]

Reading the comments here and on tumblr...It looks like I made the right choice on finally letting this show go.

[KateJones]

Ok so violet got a text from Henry and he still had to explain to her in the same scene what a bus is?? The hell??

i enjoyed parts of this. I won't lie. I thought the fountain scene was cute because I'm a huge Elf fan. I'm also intrigued to see the untold stories that are coming but it means more characters and that's probably not at all necessary. Withholding judgment until next season I guess. 

[retrograde]

Using the pause button and Google, I can tell you the new story book also has Gulliver's Travels, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Water Babies, and Paul Bunyan. But my guess it that's all props dept -- the writers probably don't know which stories they're going to use yet.

[Lieutenant]

wow was that ever a slog to get through...and that's the first finale I've felt that way about.  +10 points for Regina FINALLY admitting she did some awful shit for YEARS and she deserves the consequences.  Too bad it was wrapped inside ten minutes of a woe-is-me fest, but I'll take what I can get.  Jekyll and Hyde and steampunk land are rad.  I'm here for that.  The Captain Charming was strong, and I loved it.  And pretty much all of Killian giving no fucks and sinking his hook into Hyde.  That was hot.

But man, so much bad, bad writing.  Supr sekrit Bagle journals only Henry knows about?  Henry yo-yoing between angsty, sass box, totally impulsive and stupid teen and then truest believer was too much for me.  Someone send that kid to Hogwarts ASAP.  The Captain Swan payoff never came.  I love that Emma can say ILY now, etc.  But that's it?!  For a whole season of Darkness and literal hell?! I feel so cheated.  I'm very cautious about this whole Regina/EQ separate entities thing.  The whole point is that she is BOTH.  She is not separate from her past.  I'm willing to see how they address it, but I'm not hopeful.  

Edited May 16, 2016 by Lieutenant
cuz i can't spell apparently?

[mjgchick]

My OTP on that slow burn. It’s so slow burned that saying “I love you.” when it’s a normal moment AFTER saying “I love you.” so many times is the next step for them.

[sharky]

The episode rated a solid "meh" from me. I don't know if it was because it was obvious what was going to happen or the cliff hanger was so expected or maybe I was just too spoiled by the Captain Swan movie. This was just OK.

That being said, I'm looking forward to next season. This Hyde steampunk thing could be cool. And it may be an unpopular opinion, but I'm excited to see the scenery chewing Evil Queen in Storybrooke. There is some fun potential with that.

And I loved the lift kiss! I know some people hyped it up in their heads as being something more from the set photos, but I don't care. I'm so proud to be an Emma fan after that kiss. She has told Hook before that she loved him, but this is the first time she did so without being under duress. It was a sweet everyday ordinary "I love you" that can only be said by someone who has upheld their promise to toss away their armor. I am always here for Emma.

[Rumsy4]

35 minutes ago, retrograde said:

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

He said he wanted to see all the "untold stories" play out. goodness knows why. 

31 minutes ago, scenicbyway said:

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...

Fool me once... Not getting into CS Wedding Spec ever again. lol

30 minutes ago, Writing Wrongs said:

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. 

It felt really stupid to me. The whole scene was too on-the-nose. 

26 minutes ago, Worsel said:

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.

I thought she planned to take his heart becasue "Regina" crushed hers. But they left it open-ended. 

[Randomosity]

22 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

* 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?
 

 

 

I actually thought it was pretty clever to make him the Yankee to have that tie to New England.

[thuganomics85]

I was unspoiled, but I had a feeling they were going down the Dr. Jeklyll and Mr. Hyde route, as soon as they introduced both of the characters.  Kind of enjoying Hyde, but that's mainly because I found him to be a strange mixture of Bill Compton from True Blood (mainly how he looked and dressed) and Hive Ward currently on Agents of Shield, especially the way he spoke.  Got a kick out of it.  I guess him bringing a whole of "untold story" characters to this planet could be a fun storyline for next season, but that's assuming the writers won't drop the ball, which admittedly has been known to happen.

So, the two hour finale basically felt like it was all about Henry's quest to be a hero and finally completing Regina's Redemption Tour.  Not exactly what I wanted, but I guess I was expecting it.  Sure, Henry's heroic, inspirational moment was only done to fix what he helped cause, and Regina's tour ends by her simply using a magical potion to remove the "Evil Queen" out of her, and now she can be Good Regina with no drawbacks, but both still count!  Not surprised that Evil Queen isn't dead though, and will no doubt be a problem next season.  I guess you can't have too much Regina.  Sigh...

I know I was suppose to feel bad for Regina when she sees Hook again, but I was too busy laughing at him and Charming automatically hugging in the background.  Hook and Charming being buddies is the greatest.

I did like the moment with Snow and Regina.  Well, until Snow admitted her fault in Regina being evil, which, stop it.  You were a kid, Snow.  You didn't know what you were doing.

I hope The Dragon isn't dead, but will be controlled.  Tzi Ma is always good.

I won't even pretend I won't be back.  I just like the cast and characters way too much, and I do think there is a lot of good here still.  I've just long accepted that I have to take a lot of bad now with the good.  But I can handle it.

Edited May 16, 2016 by thuganomics85

[Spartan Girl]

I skipped this half of the season but watched this out of sheer curiousity. Jekyll and Hyde? Really?

We lost Galavant, Agent Carter, and The Muppets for THIS?!

[retrograde]

The "Connecticut Yankee" thing woulda been better if they hadn't had her spell it out at the end there. It went from "heh, cute" to "UGH, YES SHOW, WE GET THE REFERENCE."

[KateJones]

4 minutes ago, sharky said:

And I loved the lift kiss! I know some people hyped it up in their heads as being something more from the set photos, but I don't care. I'm so proud to be an Emma fan after that kiss. She has told Hook before that she loved him, but this is the first time she did so without being under duress. It was a sweet everyday ordinary "I love you" that can only be said by someone who has upheld their promise to toss away their armor. I am always here for Emma.

I did, too. It was a nice quiet moment they've been sorely lacking. I hope we get to see them be a normal couple next season interspersed with the crazy. 

[Rumsy4]

25 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

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.

I know what you mean. The writers took the show to next level stupid with this episode. The was little logic, continuity, or plain common sense. 

Quote

*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.

I suspect it will work as well as giving Gold a clean heart.

[AmandaPanda]

I laughed so hard at the speech that Henry gave next to the fountain. It was just so undeniably bad. 

So many of the storylines on this show would never happen if these idiots would just STOP jumping into every portal they see! 

[Daisy]

Just now, AmandaPanda said:

I laughed so hard at the speech that Henry gave next to the fountain. It was just so undeniably bad. 

So many of the storylines on this show would never happen if these idiots would just STOP jumping into every portal they see! 

to be fair. Team Charming was sucked into the Portal this time LOL

 

oh wait. so does this mean Storybrook is Team Charming, Rumpy, Grannt, The Dumb One, and now an entire new town of Unfinished Stories?

[Chaos Theory]

39 minutes ago, Mari said:

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.

Regina and Henry fans?

I don't get how you are coming up with "not Regina's fault" because this episode was almost like the show was taking lines right out of  the Anti-Regina posts.  It was all about her taking responsibility and acknoldging her own guilt.  

[hockeycat400]

Dear Writers:

I will (possibly) forgive you for past, present and future Regina overload, if you open 6x01 with a shot of Emma and Killian waking up.  Together.  In their house.

Thank you for your consideration.

[Mari]

17 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

I don't get how you are coming up with "not Regina's fault" because this episode was almost like the show was taking lines right out of  the Anti-Regina posts.  It was all about her taking responsibility and acknoldging her own guilt.  

Because in OUaT's five year history, Regina is almost never blamed or held responsible for things that happen.  

Even in this episode, which--yes, Regina for possibly the first time acknowledged that she should not have become the Evil Queen after Daniel died--had Emma and Snow apologizing for very understandable actions and concerns, and taking responsibility for Regina's actions and behavior.  

Next season, while the EQ is wreaking havoc, I'm fully expecting at least one scene where Snow and Emma take responsibility for everything the EQ does, and/or apologizes to Regina for it.

Regina even called herself cursed--and it didn't seem like she meant by her own conscience.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Mari

[sharky]

10 minutes ago, hockeycat400 said:

Dear Writers:

I will (possibly) forgive you for past, present and future Regina overload, if you open 6x01 with a shot of Emma and Killian waking up.  Together.  In their house.

Thank you for your consideration.

So much this. She gave him this "I love you and I'm comfortable saying this to you because I'm in love with you." So let us have that!

And I'm going to assume by your username that, like me, you will now be consoling yourself with playoff hockey. :)

[InsertWordHere]

12 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

I don't get how you are coming up with "not Regina's fault" because this episode was almost like the show was taking lines right out of  the Anti-Regina posts.  It was all about her taking responsibility and acknoldging her own guilt.  

Yes, I agree with this. I think the lesson here is going to be that she can't destroy the darkness inside of her, but should instead learn to control the thought process that leads to the darkness. This is why instead of other characters agreeing with her when she talks about how cursed her life is, they need to instead explain to her that everyone in that town has had bad things happen to them but most of them haven't even thought about taking it out on innocent other people.

[YaddaYadda]

8 minutes ago, Mari said:

Next season, while the EQ is wreaking havoc, I'm fully expecting at least one scene where Snow and Emma take responsibility for everything the EQ does, and/or apologizes to Regina for it.

Of course they will because they endangered the town. Snow gave Regina the serum to do it, and Emma supported the decision, and they both encouraged it.

All their fault since the other party is never really held accountable.

[Mathius]

21 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

I don't get how you are coming up with "not Regina's fault" because this episode was almost like the show was taking lines right out of  the Anti-Regina posts.  It was all about her taking responsibility and acknoldging her own guilt.  

This is a true, and I very much enjoyed that.  We finally got maturity, self-awareness, and responsibility from Regina.

And then they ruined it completely by having Regina decide to take Jekyll's serum, split the EQ from herself, and "destroy" her.  All because that would solve the perceived problem of having her live a life of misery thanks to her "bad karma".  Which is laughable because Regina isn't the only one who keeps suffering like this on this show!  Why has nobody in the show brought this up?  Heroes get screwed over, suffer, and lose loved ones all the goddamn time on this show, it has nothing to do with "bad karma".  It is yet another instance, just like that damn Operation Mongoose, of Woegina's martyr complex being inexplicably endorsed by the other characters just to make plot happen.  I'm so damn tired of it.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Mathius

[legaleagle53]

57 minutes ago, Watt said:

Can Henry go away to college or something next season?

He's only 15, so no -- not unless you want Season 6 to begin with a three-year time jump.

[hockeycat400]

9 minutes ago, sharky said:

So much this. She gave him this "I love you and I'm comfortable saying this to you because I'm in love with you." So let us have that!

And I'm going to assume by your username that, like me, you will now be consoling yourself with playoff hockey. :)

Agreed!

Meh on the playoffs.  Basically hoping for anyone but the Pens.

[pezgirl7]

Can someone tell me what Hook said when he stabbed Hyde in the back?

[Mari]

4 minutes ago, InsertWordHere said:

Yes, I agree with this. I think the lesson here is going to be that she can't destroy the darkness inside of her, but should instead learn to control the thought process that leads to the darkness. 

This should be the lesson.  Unfortunately, I fully expect them to undermine it, and blame other characters.  They have before.

2 minutes ago, Mathius said:

  Which is laughable because Regina isn't the only one who keeps suffering like this on this show!  Why has nobody in the show brought this up?  Heroes get screwed over, suffer, and lose loved ones all the goddamn time on this show, it has nothing to do with "bad karma".  It is yet another instance, just like that damn Operation Mongoose, of Woegina's martyr complex being inexplicably endorsed by the other characters just to make plot happen.  I'm so damn tired of it.

Yes.

And Regina is the only character who is allowed to do this--the others aren't even allowed to be angry at her.

I do not expect this next arc to be any different.

[scenicbyway]

11 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

He's only 15, so no -- not unless you want Season 6 to begin with a three-year time jump.

But isn't he 13 on the show?  We really need a time jump.

[Randomosity]

12 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

He's only 15, so no -- not unless you want Season 6 to begin with a three-year time jump.

I'm good with that if it could also mean we could see Hook offspring :)

11 minutes ago, hockeycat400 said:

Agreed!

Meh on the playoffs.  Basically hoping for anyone but the Pens.

 Preach. The Pens are more evil than anyone on this show. 

[Shanna Marie]

Wow, that was so ... that. Basically the epitome of the writing on this show. On the one hand, we had a reallly clever idea and an interesting world that they skimmed past and barely dealt with. On the other hand, we had the same old plot points that have been hit over and over again being hit again, some more. Gold's after power. Henry's doing something somewhat good-intentioned but half-baked and refusing to listen to warnings, and then they don't bother warning him. Emma's apologizing for something she had no control over. Regina manages to take responsibility for her actions in a way that absolves herself from all responsibility. It wasn't some Evil Queen possessing her and taking her over. It was supposedly good Regina who made the decision to pursue revenge. There was no separate entity she could blame. She did know the difference between right and wrong that whole time. There's no way that she only knows now that murdering because she's not getting her way is wrong.

It seems that the writers forgot that the characters didn't know Hook would be coming back because you'd think from the way things were going in the opening that Robin was the only one who'd died and Regina was the only one who was bereaved. Yes, Hook physically died weeks ago, but Emma lost him seemingly for good on the same day Robin died. And Emma has lost him multiple times, which has to be pretty traumatic. One of those times, she had to kill him. It might have been nice if there'd been even the slightest indication that it was a joint wake. And if anyone had acted like him coming back from the dead was a huge miracle that he earned, rather than some insult to Regina. At least we got the background hug, but there was barely a blink otherwise.

When I was a kid, I got secondhand embarrassment so badly from TV that when characters did something that made me cringe, I had to hide behind the sofa. I needed a sofa tonight during Henry's speech at the fountain.

I'm afraid that the conclusion to the next arc will be Regina realizing that she has to reabsorb the Evil Queen because it was never a separate entity but was part of her all along, and it will be just like the Author plot, where the moment it's brought up, we all said "You write your own happy ending," then said "told you so" after Regina finally figured it out. The answer to the arc resolution shouldn't be so blindingly obvious from the start.

I would have preferred to stay in the Land of Untold stories, but I can only hope that if they're all in Storybrooke we finally get some good fish out of water stuff. However, if they've been in books that we know, how are they untold? Shouldn't they be new stories we haven't heard of?

[3dog]

The fountain scene was so very dumb. I know I was supposed to be rooting for magic and clapping my hands so fairies can fly and whatever but...sorry writers. I was distracted by everything. Like...why were those pennies making loud splashes like they were throwing manhole covers? Or...since when is there a fountain in front of the library? Or how did that mindless herd of New Yorkers get through that boring speech? Everyone happened to have a penny on them, all locked and loaded? Did they all have to wish the same thing? I'm just....what?!

[legaleagle53]

2 minutes ago, Shanna Marie said:

I would have preferred to stay in the Land of Untold stories, but I can only hope that if they're all in Storybrooke we finally get some good fish out of water stuff. However, if they've been in books that we know, how are they untold? Shouldn't they be new stories we haven't heard of?

Not necessarily.  Remember that the original premise of the show was the "real" untold stories of the fairy-tale characters that we only thought we knew.  The same thing applies to these new stories.  They're the "real" untold versions of the ones that we think we know.

[Hookian]

Was that Captain Swan moment at the end loaded with wedding foreshadowing or was it just me?

[Frozendiva]

I want my 1.5 hours back. I watched the PVR recording.

I did like the steampunk world. I was reminded of "Sanctuary"'s Jekyll and Hyde story.

The fountain scene was silly. The penny is not used anymore in Canada. I was thinking I would have a bit of change with all the nickels, dimes, quarters, loonies, and two dollar coins I would have fished out.

Istruggled to get through the past season. I may watch the first ep of the new season, but it is time for me to close the book.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Frozendiva
iPad formatting

[pezgirl7]

I was watching in a delay, and had to fast forward through Henry's speech due to second hand embarrassment. I knew what he was trying to do, so I figured I wasn't missing anything.

I feel like the finale had potential to be good, because we got to see some pairings we normally don't, and were in some new settings. And yet, it just seemed disjointed and didn't have the gravitas that a finale should. Other than the Captain Swan and Captain Charming bits, there's not much I would rewatch.

[Rumsy4]

11 minutes ago, Shanna Marie said:

I'm afraid that the conclusion to the next arc will be Regina realizing that she has to reabsorb the Evil Queen because it was never a separate entity but was part of her all along, and it will be just like the Author plot, where the moment it's brought up, we all said "You write your own happy ending," then said "told you so" after Regina finally figured it out. The answer to the arc resolution shouldn't be so blindingly obvious from the start.

The epiphany will be delivered through a flashback unrelated to anything we've seen in the Show before.

4 minutes ago, Hookian said:

Was that Captain Swan moment at the end loaded with wedding foreshadowing or was it just me?

The shop has had a wedding dress since S1 or 2, IIRC.

[Hookian]

3 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

The epiphany will be delivered through a flashback unrelated to anything we've seen in the Show before.

The shop has had a wedding dress since S1 or 2, IIRC.

Not just the wedding dress, the blocking of it for one.

[MaiLuna]

Meh...pretty disappointing after the last 2 season finales that were much more entertaining. 

Captain Swan. Cute but after a whole season of Dark Ones and Underworld and saying ILY about 5 times, and a wedding dress in between them, and ring giving earlier this season...we get another ILY like last season finale. I enjoy that CS isn't as fast as Ruby Slippers but come on...

Regina had some self-awareness which was nice. It was a bit whiny and I didn't like Snow saying they forgive Regina even though she has never apologized (it's been 5 seasons, show, make it happen!) but I guess it's the best we can get on this show.

Rumpel chose power again over Belle. When I think Rumbelle couldn't get any worse. 

Hyde/Jekkyl were interesting and it's nice to get some new stories, but why do they want Storybooke and why not develop all the unfinished stories you already have? 

Violet is cute. Too good for Henry now. 

I hope the Dragon isn't dead. The Evil Queen is a fun villain but now we get double Regina. 

Zelena's "I was fine with running" line was funny. 

Edited May 16, 2016 by MaiLuna

[Rumsy4]

4 minutes ago, Hookian said:

Not just the wedding dress, the blocking of it for one.

The writers drop foreshadowing that goes nowhere all the time. 

3 minutes ago, XrystalPond said:

I know it was there in season 4. I'm not going to consider foreshadowing for Captain Swan and a wedding. The two of them don't get any scenes together that aren't immediately interrupted by something. They can hardly kiss let alone get to the point that one or the other would propose. Emma can't plan a wedding while apologizing to Regina.

Exactly. CS is moving slower than snail's pace now.

[scenicbyway]

24 minutes ago, Hookian said:

Was that Captain Swan moment at the end loaded with wedding foreshadowing or was it just me?

I'm afraid it was just you.  We had Emma in various white dresses in 5a and even a flower crown at a ball dancing with Hook and then the engagement talk and choosing the same house for each other and it went no where.  So I think the writers are just setting scenes.  This was a perfect time to get engaged or agree to move into together, instead, it was another I love you scene. I don't really see how battling the Evil Queen will be worse than going to hell as far as forward movement in the CS relationship but that's where the writers are taking us.  The focus is on Regina vs the Evil Queen and Hook and Emma will help in that quest and maybe get a date their somewhere.

[sharky]

15 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

Exactly. CS is moving slower than snail's pace now.

I don't mind this. The other option, at least for TSTW, is to have had Emma and Hook getting down and dirty with some crypt sex followed by Hook dying for no apparent reason. At least the writers seem to know how to handle Captain Swan. Unfortunately, CS seems to be the ONLY relationship lately that they know how to handle.

[Jul 68]

1 hour ago, hockeycat400 said:

Dear Writers:

I will (possibly) forgive you for past, present and future Regina overload, if you open 6x01 with a shot of Emma and Killian waking up.  Together.  In their house.

Thank you for your consideration.

You really should post this same comment to Twitter, FB, Instagram, IMDB, and whatever other platform the kids are using these days. Blast it everywhere.

[MedievalGirl]

I like that there were conversations. The action slowed for a bit for people to talk just a little.
Offscreenville is a real place, guys. Land of Untold Stories. 
I had to pause the show and laugh when Snow poured rum (I can only assume it was rum) in Regina's hot chocolate. Snow made fangirl hot chocolate!
The closed captioniong had Emma call Regina "Gina" in one scene. 
Regina needs to watch "We Are Both" from season 2. Maybe David could do the speech again. 
I love the idea of forgotten rooms in old libraries. 
Henry's speech was indeed achingly difficult to watch but man it was so on point for him. In season one that same awkward charm worked on Emma and now it works on crowds. He's leveling up. 

[Mathius]

I'll admit it: I loved Henry's speech.

Not because it was good, lord knows it wasn't, but because Jared Gilmore hamming it up like that is hilarious.

[Leia1979]

I wavered between meh and incredulity over how so little of this made sense. I enjoyed the character of Regina in the first few seasons, but being faced with double trouble Regina is a punishment I don't deserve. From the start of this episode, it was all "woe is me." Why is it all about Regina’s pain? As far as everyone knew, Emma had lost Hook, and Regina was only about herself and demanding Emma acknowledge only her pain. (And let's not forget everyone’s reaction to Hook. It should have been "OMG, you’re back from the dead!")

Case in point (paraphrased): “I’m used to suffering while other people get what they want.” Wait, what alternate universe did Regina spend 28 years in?

And after that, we're supposed to believe Regina's past wasn't her but a completely separate entity. She can admit the Evil Queen did bad stuff, but apparently only in the third person. 

Also filed under "things that made no sense": Why were Emma and Regina walking to find Henry instead of, you know, texting him back to let him know his plan would destroy the town (as far as they knew at the time). Since he had just texted them, the odds were decent he still had his phone on him. At least try to reason with the kid. He's annoying and naive but not dumb. Also, someone should tell Indiana Jones the Holy Grail (well, its Book of the Dead counterpart) is in the New York Public Library. 

3 hours ago, Randomosity said:

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.

Absolutely to both of the above. I was hoping for something more significant leading to the lift kiss. At least it addresses Hook's comment from two episodes ago. 

Did you notice Gold was staying at the Hotel d'Or? 
Gold: “I’m gonna show you the world.”
Me: “Is he Aladdin now?’

I did enjoy steampunk land and the casting for Hyde. While I dread two Reginas, I am interested to see how Jekyll & Hyde plays out. I don't particularly love the original story, but it's one of my favorite musicals. 

[Rumsy4]

1 hour ago, scenicbyway said:

We had Emma in various white dresses in 5a and even a flower crown at a ball dancing with Hook and then the engagement talk and choosing the same house for each other and it went no where.  So I think the writers are just setting scenes.  This was a perfect time to get engaged or agree to move into together, instead, it was another I love you scene. 

All of the so called foreshadowing this season was just in our heads. I guess we should be happy Emma only felt guilty about Hook being back alive for the length of the finale. Great improvement over S4! :-p

[Camera One]

I found the first hour mildly engaging, but by 1:15, it was beginning to drag, and after that, it was just bad idea after bad idea, followed by pointless epilogue after pointless epilogue before we got the crappy cliffhanger which made me unexcited about ANYTHING in the upcoming season.

Starting at the beginning, I thought the Regina grieving / Hook coming in stuff was fine.  I was surprised it was reasonably understated and Regina was mostly reasonable.  

The first sign that this finale was going to be frustrating to watch was basing the entire 2-hours on Henry's stupid idea, which essentially caused every problem.  I usually like Henry more than most, but I don't see how he gets off thinking he knows better and can solve all the problems on his own.  Wasn't he shaming Dark Swan in 5A for not asking for help?  He could have written the crystal into his little hand, and Emma and Regina could've taken it from there.

TLK can't wake up Belle, but tethering the magic to the Olympian crystal would?  Huh?  Notice the Writers moved away from that pronto since it made zero sense.  Like Henry, Belle has created more problems for everyone by putting herself to sleep.  Which again, makes this whole plot feel so needless.

Merida is so heroic.  Hour of need and she's demanding a ride home.  LOL that no one even says goodbye to her.  The Sorcerer's wand is certainly handy.  A portal whenever, wherever.   I liked Snow's snarky line asking Zelena for a portal without the twister.   I wish we could see Granny's response to everyone sucked into the portal.

The Jekyll/Hyde thing was reasonably well done, and had me engaged for a bit.  But one episode was enough.  I don't want to see any more of Hyde.  

Regina and Emma's talk in the NYC apartment was good, because FINALLY, Regina admitted that she has done unspeakable things.  I think that's ten times longer than any conversation Emma has ever had with her parents.  The only thing I didn't like was how it was framed like it was easy for Emma to resist darkness because she was good, while for Regina, it's endless suffering and effort to stay good.   I really hate that they undid this progress in Regina by having her take that injection, to destroy the Evil Queen personae.  That's just the easy way out and of course they had to have both Snow and Emma enabling this horrible solution, which of course backfires.  What happened to We Are Both?  Implying a multiple personality situation takes away some of the agency from the acts that Regina did.  

Even though I did like the first half more, some of it was just laughable.  Giving Violet three random books and going, "Read these.  And re-read these."  Huh?   I seriously doubt Neal was running around trying to find a way to destroy magic.  The Writers can't possibly say we can rewatch Season 2 and go, oh yeah!  that's what Neal was doing.  Riiiiight.  After 15 minutes of reading, Henry gives up with a "We came all this way for nothing!"  

After the hour mark, the two subplots in NYC and the Jekyll/Hyde world started to feel very disjointed and disconnected, and it started to drag.  

So there are no repercussions in the land without magic to have purple clouds emitting from a skyscraper?  

And then after 1:15, things really started to unravel.  The embarrassing fountain scene.  They had Emma apologizing for not believing in Regina.  They had Snow admit she was partly responsible for the Evil Queen being created.  They described August like he was a wise sage.  And then the horrible idea to separate Regina from The Evil Queen. 

As usual for this show, everything seemed resolved and we got a million epilogues, which really dragged because it was obvious the "big cliffhanger" was coming up and something bad was going to happen to douse cold water on everything.  I actually expected the Evil Queen dust to re-constitute themselves earlier in the episode, but they waited to do it in the final scene, which was just lame.  I have zero interest in seeing a double dose of Regina.

I don't even know what "These people have untold stories" even means.  How is this going to make the show next season interesting?  We get to see the heroes mingle with the new people in town?  Who cares?  

What a mess...

Edited May 16, 2016 by Camera One

[Watt]

Maybe Adam and Eddy will be so wrapped up in their new show that they will leave next season entirely to Jane Espenson or one of their other competent writers to write. Maybe they won't have time at all to come up with asinine plots that go nowhere and maybe,  just maybe,  they won't have the time to troll twitter and flame shipper wars. 

And I know Henry isn't old enough to actually go to college but the idea to get rid of him is still a good one. Sigh.

That said I do feel a little for Jared with his first kiss in front of probably everyone. Hell I even felt bad for Henry, his parents just stood there and watched and didn't even try to look otherwise occupied.

[Artsda]

Could Henry had just written himself to NY? Why did he need to take the bus? lol

[Camera One]

And just how did they find Neal's journal?  In an apartment that Robin Hood later lived in and where he put all of Neal's stuff in a box.  Details, Smetails.

(One of the many) Worst line ever:
REGINA: Robin must have brought this book with him from Storybrooke.

REGINA: I know because I gave it to him.

AUDIENCE: ?????

Edited May 16, 2016 by Camera One