S07.E22: Leaving Storybrooke

[formerlyfreedom]

Series Finale!

Quote

Wish Rumple’s evil plan is revealed and Regina realizes the only hope to stop him is by turning Wish Henry from his path for vengeance. Meanwhile, Tilly and Margot try to get help in Storybrooke. With his hope of ever being reunited with Belle fading, Weaver struggles to find a way to defeat his evil alter ego; and when Rogers’ life is threatened, he is faced with the ultimate sacrifice.

 

[Morrigan2575]

Extremely satisfying. I loved it, I was so happy to see everyone again and they made me cry with some of the reunions.

[KingOfHearts]

That was the ultimate A&E wet dream.

[SailorGirl]

I know I'm at the unpopular kids table with this one, but it got a little dusty in my house when Belle and Rumpel reunited.  Otherwise, that was just . . . not good. Upside? They got the memo about how unpopular Ella and Lucy were and gave them, what, one line each? So there's that . . . 

Edited May 19, 2018 by SailorGirl

[Sarcastica]

Nice to see everyone. With that said, my eyes can't stop rolling. 

Also Zorro???? Seriously? 

Whatever.

Rest in peace Once Upon a Time. 

[ParadoxLost]

Wait a minute. 

I'm confused as F&@(

Did Roni actually merge versions of story book characters.

Because either Roni and Regina merged or one of them got to be the Queen of everything and the other one got passed over and is stewing in a corner because no one likes her and is plotting another Dark Curse.

[Worsel]

There were some things I liked about this, some things not so much.  I did enjoy seeing Storybooke, Emma, Snowing and all the gang in Storybooke.  I was fine with Rumple making his sacrifice and ending up with Belle.  The writers certainly stayed true to their theme of Hope being all important, although the writing and emphasis was a bit heavy handed.  Perhaps a bit more humor mixed in with the drama would have helped.  The saddest thing for me: no more OUAT to snark about with all of you.  

[mtlchick]

This finale reminds me I was perfectly fine with last year's finale and then ABC/A+E decided to gamble on a season 7 and lose in dramatic fashion.  

 

And it annoys me that Regina is praised as the Good Queen when she killed too many people .

[KingOfHearts]

Only a true fanfic-obsessed teenage boy could weave such a tale.

[tennisgurl]

The whole series ends with everyone in the entire multiverse cheering for Regina, who is now, literally, the Queen of Everything. I swear, I can hear A&E jerking off all the way through the television. 

[formerlyfreedom]

2 minutes ago, SailorGirl said:

I know I'm at the unpopular kids table with this one, but it got a little dusty in my house when Belle and Rumpel reunited. 

I will actually admit to a sudden onset of allergies at this moment. But then, I cry during long distance commercials where small children call their grandparents (Kids, ask your parents)...

[Primal Slayer]

This was certainly a very Once Upon a Time finale! I wouldn't expect anything better. It did leave me with like an ounce of sadness, I've come and gone from this show since S5.

As usual everyone got their happy ending which is no surprise. 

Even though it was very short lived, I thought exploring the Wish!verse would've been a lot more interesting, seeing Wish!Henry was refreshing, I'm glad that he still found a mother in the end, he may have had some differences from her Henry but she was able to save him from perpetual darkness.

Glad Rumple died, he was played out after S2, having Wish!Rumple as the final big bad was sleep inducing so I dont even know how they defeated him. All I saw was Rumple take his heart out and Wish!Rumple turn to dust.

I was surprised the Charmings didnt play a larger role. Seeing all of them in the end was very sweet though if you are going to give Emma an obvious fake ass baby...just leave it with a sitter. We dont need to be distracted by it. 

This really became Regina's story after Emma left which I didnt mind since she was one of the best characters on the show and the Good Queen title was corny as hell but so fitting for this show. Good for her. But she should stick to the darker colors regardless of her newfound, 5th redemption, title.

Bye Once Upon A Time! You won't be missed, you had great potential that was wasted after S2 which will forever make me sad but I'm ready for WB to bring me Fables now. 

[StaceyNotStacie]

I didn’t hate this. I expected them to clean everything up in a happy ending at the time. The only thing I didn’t like was that Whook was sent to the background once Emma and Killian showed up. With all of the CGI that the show has used over the years, I would have loved to see them both standing front and center, especially since Whook was such a focal part of the final season. 

[KingOfHearts]

1 minute ago, saoirse said:

I will actually admit to a sudden onset of allergies at this moment. But then, I cry during long distance commercials where small children call their grandparents (Kids, ask your parents)...

I liked seeing the well because it reminded me of their wedding scene from 3B, which was pretty romantic I must admit.

[Worsel]

1 minute ago, saoirse said:

I will actually admit to a sudden onset of allergies at this moment. But then, I cry during long distance commercials where small children call their grandparents (Kids, ask your parents)...

Me too!  Part of my enjoyment of Rumple and Belle is the wonderful acting.  The actors could make the most ridiculous plot lines work.

[InsertWordHere]

I don’t know if I’ll ever figure out if the highs of this show were worth the incredible lows. Still, I did love this show when it was great.  

I haven’t watched the finale yet, I don’t know if I even want to. 

[Worsel]

Just now, InsertWordHere said:

I don’t know if I’ll ever figure out if the highs of this show were worth the incredible lows. Still, I did love this show when it was great.  

I haven’t watched the finale yet, I don’t know if I even want to. 

Go ahead and watch.  And read all the comments here while you do it.  That will make it worthwhile

[Curio]

So, with options like Emma, Snow, Charming, Adult Henry, QUEEN Tiana...everyone chose Regina as the best person to rule over everything? Really, Show? They didn't want to break up Storybrooke into smaller sections where different people could govern each region? Also, if this was a democratic election process, why bother with the pomp and circumstance of having a crown and ballgown celebration? Isn't the point of having a more democratic society to make those in power feel more equal to the citizens?

Also, when has Emma ever received a huge celebration like Regina just got because of her numerous sacrifices being the Savior? Never? Oh, but Regina got to pretend to be the Savior in Season 5 for a hot 5 minutes and also got a party in her honor for that, too.

Ugh, whatever. I'm going to watch the Season 3 finale and pretend nothing happened after it.

[StaceyNotStacie]

I was surprised there was very little reaction from Adult Henry in regards to Rumple’s death. I know that they didn’t interact much this season, but he was the last connection to Neal/Baelfire. 

[KingOfHearts]

Just now, Stacey1014 said:

but he was the last connection to Neal/Baelfire. 

I'm surprised the Hero!Neal portrait didn't make a cameo appearance at the coronation.

[Worsel]

3 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

 

Even though it was very short lived, I thought exploring the Wish!verse would've been a lot more interesting, seeing Wish!Henry was refreshing, I'm glad that he still found a mother in the end, he may have had some differences from her Henry but she was able to save him from perpetual darkness.

 

Actually, I think this season might have been much more interesting if they had focused on the wish realm and did the reboot that way rather than Hyperion Heights.  

[AmeliaBedelia]

Not a good, cohesive episode, but this show rarely did that. I always thought the characters would return to the Enchanted Forest during the finale. But, it was nice to see the cast together one last time before they move onto other projects (which many already have).

[Shanna Marie]

The timeline makes even less sense now. The HH folks had traveled back in time to before Henry left town. Snowflake is actually a little older than he should have been, as was young Robyn. At the time of the coronation, Whenry is still a teen. Where is TeenHenry Prime, who was off touring colleges, and where's past Regina? Meanwhile, Emma, who was also off with past Regina and Henry, is there, and she and Hook prime have the baby who wasn't conceived until Henry had been gone so long he had to be played by another actor. I guess HH Zelena stayed in SF with her husband. And how do the people who were at least 25 years older still look identical to their past selves? They never did explain that part of the timeline. Roni/Regina should have been pushing 70.

I find it incredibly hard to believe that the person responsible for much of the mess they were in would have been elected to anything, let alone to rule over all of them. And I still don't see why combining all the realms was a good thing that anyone would want. Did the people in all those other realms get a vote?

[Rumsy4]

I liked all the WHook-Alice-Rumple-Robyn scenes. The Rumbelle reunion was sweet, as a disconnected scene. But I couldn't help thinking of poor Milah. Or how odd it was that neither parent cared about Gideon. Oh, well. Typical. 

The ending part makes no sense. If all the realms are merged, what happens to the past twelve years worth of events that happened after Henry left on his adventures? 

17 minutes ago, XrystalPond said:

RECOUNT!

Duh!

3 minutes ago, InsertWordHere said:

I haven’t watched the finale yet, I don’t know if I even want to. 

If you skip the last ten minutes or so, you should be good. lol

[Katherine]

Wow. Nothing made any sense. The dialogue was super cheesy. Regina had too much screen time while all the other characters had too little. And none of the emotional scenes felt earned. So in other words, I suppose it was a fitting end to the series.

I loved the first three seasons of this show, and I always had such high hopes for it. But it never lived up to its potential, and as time wore on, the writing strayed so far from what the show should have been. Still, Captain Swan will always be one of my very favorite TV couples. And I'll always love Rumple's backstory with Bae (even though the writers ended up completely botching it).

I pretty much gave up on it this season, but for a few years there, Once Upon a Time was a weirdly important part of my life. I'll miss it, and I'll miss following the spoilers forum here!

[CCTC]

2 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

I was surprised the Charmings didnt play a larger role.

They were both filming their pilots and flew in for the last day or two of shooting.  I am not sure how much more they would have been used, possibly the Rumple death scene.

I did like seeing the original characters one more time.  I wish they would have toned it down a little for Regina at the end, but was expecting it.  I did like the montage shown during her speech.

So was Jared playing original Henry in the last scene or Wish Henry?  If original Henry - does that mean two time line characters can exist at once?  Couldn''t Jared Henry mess up thinks for Andrew West Henry if he does something that messes with his future.  If Wish Henry - should he be calling Regina Mom?  Are there still different versions of the same characters out there - but now their realms are in the same land.  If they were merged, doesn't that mean some versions of the characters were pressured even they might not wanted to have been merged.  It seems slightly convoluted and not sure everything is logical.

[KingOfHearts]

Just now, Rumsy4 said:

The ending part makes no sense. If all the realms are merged, what happens to the past twelve years worth of events that happened after Henry left on his adventures? 

Where is 2017 Regina?

[Curio]

6 minutes ago, Stacey1014 said:

The only thing I didn’t like was that Whook was sent to the background once Emma and Killian showed up. With all of the CGI that the show has used over the years, I would have loved to see them both standing front and center, especially since Whook was such a focal part of the final season. 

 

I'm really disappointed we didn't get the two Hooks interacting with each other again. It would have been nice to see Original Hook's reaction to Alice, too. Or see more than 30 seconds of Emma and Hook interacting with Baby Hope. Or even give Robin and Alice a wedding. But, as they say...

"There's just so many people that it's like, it's sometimes hard to do that story and sacrifice Regina's story. That's just showbiz."

[Primal Slayer]

1 minute ago, CCTC said:

They were both filming their pilots and flew in for the last day or two of shooting.  I am not sure how much more they would have been used, possibly the Rumple death scene.

I did like seeing the original characters one more time.  I wish they would have toned it down a little for Regina at the end, but was expecting it.  I did like the montage shown during her speech.

So was Jared playing original Henry in the last scene or Wish Henry?  If original Henry - does that mean two time line characters can exist at once?  Couldn''t Jared Henry mess up thinks for Andrew West Henry if he does something that messes with his future.  If Wish Henry - should he be calling Regina Mom?  Are there still different versions of the same characters out there - but now their realms are in the same land.  If they were merged, doesn't that mean some versions of the characters were pressured even they might not wanted to have been merged.  It seems slightly convoluted and not sure everything is logical.

It was Wish!Henry. And I am sure that there were people that didnt want to go since it was an entire realm after all lol. But it's Once Upon a Time, you just have to kind of sweep those things under the rug. How can they even fit so many realms into 1 small town in the first place?

[ParadoxLost]

Seriously  my head is going to explode.

How did they end up in a time with a younger and older Henry but baby Hope had been born?

Did HH crew all travel to their future with WHenry in tow via the curse and the curse made this future?

[Souris]

In case anybody just wants some Captain Swan gifs. Kudos to the poster for getting them up pretty much instantly.

At least JMo Emma didn't have to clap for Regina since she was holding the baby. Heh.

Edited May 19, 2018 by Souris

[Rumsy4]

3 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

Where is 2017 Regina?

Or 2017 Henry. What happened to Future!Zelena? 

What year is the coronation? If baby Hope is born, is that 2020?

1 minute ago, Curio said:

"There's just so many people that it's like, it's sometimes hard to do that story and sacrifice Regina's story. That's just showbiz."

OUAT ended true to itself.

[Shanna Marie]

2 minutes ago, CCTC said:

So was Jared playing original Henry in the last scene or Wish Henry?  If original Henry - does that mean two time line characters can exist at once?  Couldn''t Jared Henry mess up thinks for Andrew West Henry if he does something that messes with his future. 

How can teen Henry go off Realm hopping to eventually meet Murderella if all the realms are in the same place? And if he doesn't go off and past Regina doesn't join him, then the HH curse doesn't send them back in time, so none of this happens.

[KingOfHearts]

Just now, Rumsy4 said:

OUAT ended true to itself.

Say what you want about this finale, it was very Once Upon a Time. It represented what the show has been since S2.

[Worsel]

1 minute ago, Shanna Marie said:

How can teen Henry go off Realm hopping to eventually meet Murderella if all the realms are in the same place? And if he doesn't go off and past Regina doesn't join him, then the HH curse doesn't send them back in time, so none of this happens.

That reminds me, we got almost no Jacinda - yay!

Well, if Henry doesn't leave and HH curse doesn't occur, maybe this is a way to wipe out this past season?  A "happy ending" for us viewers?

[KingOfHearts]

Just now, Worsel said:

A "happy ending" for us viewers?

What viewers? LOL.

[tennisgurl]

Well, Once, its been the best of time, its been the worst of times. Its been the age of cool ideas, and crappy execution. An age of good acting and crappy GCI. Its had some very high high, and some very low lows. I have many thoughts on this episode, and the show at large, but here are some of my immediate ones: 

Wish Henry was a cool character, and I wish they hadn't just had him hug Regina and be all better. He had legit reasons to be upset with her, and they were never actually addressed beyond her saying sorry with a sword to her throat. 

I admit, as much as I've gotten over Rumple over the years, I thought his ending was pretty good. His reunion with Belle was sweet, and I think the acting made me feel more for them then the writing did. They have at least been somewhat consistent about Rumple and his issues, and what he needed to overcome. 

Great seeing a bunch of the old characters, especially the Charmings, Hook, and my One True Savior Emma, although I am pretty disturbed by Storeybrooks new Kill On Sight policy for anyone they dont know. Thats pretty messed up, guys. I wish they had been around more, and I know, scheduling conflicts, but still. 

The new characters beyond WHook, Robyn, and Alice hardly showed up at all. Not really complaining, as they were the best ones, but its crazy that we spent so much time building up these new people, and most of them didnt show up in the last episode, had nothing to do, or got, like two lines. Did Lucy say a word this whole episode? 

Regina's solution to bring all the realms together is...problematic. It was cool seeing all the different landmarks together, but, from any logistical point of view, bringing together every realm makes zero sense. Why do that? How would they all know Regina, and want her as their Queen/President? Did THEY want to get sucked out of their homes and into freaking Maine by some random woman who keeps making balloon animals out of time and space to fit her whims? Obviously they cant have brought in every single fictional world, because that would be trillions and trillions of people, right? That would be insane, and cause horrible damage, right? And screw over pretty much everyone? 

And the show ends up being all about Regina, our neighborhood friendly murderous tyrant. Yeah yeah, she has been a good guy for awhile now, but her level of Mary Sue has gone off the freaking charts over the years, and this was the culmination of years of total Regina worship, with her former victims all bowing to her and her being chosen the Queen of Everything by her adoring subjects. I might puke. 

This show, for better or for worse, has really been a big part of my life for years, so this is very bittersweet. It wasn't a good finale, but I did like seeing Storeybrooke, and the clips of the past shows was good, and I admit to feeling some feels sometimes. I will miss this show at times, I will miss what this show could have been all the time, and I will mostly miss you all. Its been such a blast snarking, debating, and discussing with you all, and that is something I will always thank the show for. We have a great community here, and thats my happy ending!

[InsertWordHere]

3 minutes ago, Worsel said:

Go ahead and watch.  And read all the comments here while you do it.  That will make it worthwhile

Thanks. I’ve been reading along tonight. Im just not near a tv so I can’t watch yet. I already feel like I have a general idea of how things went. I’ll watch of course but I’m not very excited about it. 

[Worsel]

1 minute ago, tennisgurl said:

 

This show, for better or for worse, has really been a big part of my life for years, so this is very bittersweet. It wasn't a good finale, but I did like seeing Storeybrooke, and the clips of the past shows was good, and I admit to feeling some feels sometimes. I will miss this show at times, I will miss what this show could have been all the time, and I will mostly miss you all. Its been such a blast snarking, debating, and discussing with you all, and that is something I will always thank the show for. We have a great community here, and thats my happy ending!

I absolutely agree!  Great times snarking away with all of you.

[KingOfHearts]

1 minute ago, tennisgurl said:

And the show ends up being all about Regina, our neighborhood friendly murderous tyrant. Yeah yeah, she has been a good guy for awhile now, but her level of Mary Sue has gone off the freaking charts over the years, and this was the culmination of years of total Regina worship, with her former victims all bowing to her and her being chosen the Queen of Everything by her adoring subjects. I might puke. 

If there was an S8, I'm pretty sure she would've become god.

2 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

We have a great community here, and thats my happy ending!

Thank you for your HOPE speech. The Hope Commission now owes you a quarter!

[Curio]

1 minute ago, KingOfHearts said:

Say what you want about this finale, it was very Once Upon a Time. It represented what the show has been since S2.

I'd say it represented the show starting at 4x01. There was a palpable tonal shift starting with that episode where it gave you this gut feeling that the entire show was actually all about Regina. Seasons 1, 2, and 3 at least still gave the audience a false illusion that the other characters might also be just as important.

[Cindy McLennan]

Sigh. I got sad watching the montage and the final footage up and down Storybrooke's streets, but I was grateful for it. It reminded me of all the good. 

I was annoyed they couldn't get a decent gown for Emma. It reminded me of all the rest.

(Don't get me wrong, JMo looked lovely, but she basically had a department store prom gown.)

If I cared enough, I would be dismayed that Regina was crowned (the good) Queen of the Realm -- by Snow of all people -- with Emma looking on. They started out telling me Emma's fairy tale and turned it into Regina's, so I expected it.

[tennisgurl]

1 minute ago, KingOfHearts said:

Thank you for your HOPE speech. The Hope Commission now owes you a quarter!

And just in time too, the new Storeybrooke national treasury just issued their new coins! They all have Our Lord and Savior Regina's face on them! 

[KingOfHearts]

Just now, tennisgurl said:

And just in time too, the new Storeybrooke national treasury just issued their new coins! They all have Our Lord and Savior Regina's face on them! 

In Regina We Trust.

[Rumsy4]

Zorro was Lily’s father?? WTH?!

1 minute ago, Cindy McLennan said:

Sigh. I got sad watching the montage and the final footage up and down Storybrooke's streets, but I was grateful for it. It reminded me of all the good. 

Good to have you back for the finale! :-)

[CCTC]

2 minutes ago, Curio said:

I'd say it represented the show starting at 4x01.

It did seem like while the Frozen characters were well-cast, this was the point where much of the original cast got sidelined so they could focus on the latest new toy and the new characters were just Disney characters and not original and creative interpretations of Brother Grimm characters.

2 minutes ago, Cindy McLennan said:

I was annoyed they couldn't get a decent gown for Emma. It reminded me of all the rest.

And I know it was a nod to the character, but did she really need to come in that red jacket.  The jacket was no where near as interesting as A&E thought it was.

Was original recipe Blue at the coronation?   Did all versions of her perish or just WishBlue?

[Curio]

4 minutes ago, Cindy McLennan said:

If I cared enough, I would be dismayed that Regina was crowned (the good) Queen of the Realm -- by Snow of all people -- with Emma looking on. They started out telling me Emma's fairy tale and turned it into Regina's, so I expected it.

 

This is why the Season 3 finale will be my effective series finale for the show. It was Emma's fairy tale driving the finale's plot, and every main cast member seemed to be at their happiest: Snow and Charming were celebrating having a new baby, Emma and Hook found love, Belle and Rumple got married, and Regina and Robin were together and happy with Roland...

OMG. Roland. Where was he all season?!

[CCTC]

5 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

Zorro was Lily’s father?? WTH?!

Similar to someone like Robin Hood loving the Evil Queen -- the hero Zorro finds Maleficent the dragon lady burning things down bold and audacious (I cannot remember how evil Maleficent was in season 1 -- did she do great damage in dragon form in the Enchanted Forest?

[Chaos Theory]

I am going to preface this by saying I didn’t watch the last season mainly because I didn’t feel like it but also because I always thought the show was at its best when it focused on the Charming Family and Regina’s complicated relationship so without most of the main players I didn’t see the point.

However I was curious about the finale.  Although it was saccharine and trite I did kinda enjoy this and the episode previous.  It did a couple of things I always liked about the show when it did it well.  For better and worse the show in large part has been about the redemption of Regina and Rumple.  Sometimes these redemption arcs worked other times they fell flat.  However this one was a pretty good way to end the series for both characters.  Rumple finally faces himself and Regina gets what she has always really wanted.  It’s not true love.  Not really.  It’s to be loved.

Making her queen was kinda weird and calling her “The Good Queen” was one of the things that fell flat but the rest of it mostly did work for me.

Edited May 19, 2018 by Chaos Theory
Autocorrect is not my friend

[Shanna Marie]

They've managed to top the Doctor Who bit in which Rose gets her very own clone Doctor who's human and mortal for the most Mary Sue character outcome ever.

As I said in the live thread, the outcome with Rumple and Whook worked for me. If you want a redemption, then sacrificing yourself for a former enemy is the way to go (even if the enemy wasn't this version). The start of the Rumple/Whook friendship was iffy, with Whook grateful that Rumple didn't harm his daughter, and we didn't really see anything of how their relationship worked in the flashbacks, but Rumple and Rogers did seem to become friends, and that really was the only relationship Rumple has had that came close to qualifying as a friendship. Unlike Regina's friendships with her former foes, it wasn't so one-sided. Whook/Rogers never had to placate Rumple or sacrifice anything. In fact, it was closer to being one-sided on the other side, with Rumple looking after Rogers, even while he was oblivious. I don't think it would have worked with Hook Prime because there was a lot more water under that bridge, but in a way, Rumple's sacrifice also counts as kind of a cosmic apology to someone he really wronged.

I still don't get Regina's big, dramatic scene over Rumple. Other than the time the Evil Queen was all over him, there's never been any indication that she cared about him at all. She and Rumple were never friends. She blamed Rumple for much of the bad stuff that happened to her or that she did. Even in HH, they barely talked. So why all the drama? I thought Whook's response was more fitting, and he was the reason Rumple died. It was all on his face. He didn't have to make a big speech.

That whole "we combined all the realms of story so no one can ever be separated, and they all elected Regina as queen of the universe" ending I think even tops the Battlestar Galactica "they ended up in prehistoric earth and the humans and Cylons are our ancestors" ending for WTH.