S07.E22: Leaving Storybrooke

[stealinghome]

I tuned back into the finale for old time's sake, since I loved this show for the first three seasons, and wow, it was even worse than I expected--and my bar was VERY low. Then again, it's pretty much the most fitting finale for this show: the first twenty minutes were decent and then it became incomprehensible nonsense with a lot of LET'S RUN AROUND EVERYWHERE! interrupted by some bad speeches and emotional moments that only even halfway work because the actors are so bloody good and clearly adore each other. Though the new cast isn't nearly as talented as the OG. The only halfway decent actor among the newbies seemed to be Bow and Arrow Girl (Zelena's daughter I think?).

But really, Regina ends as the Queen of Literally Everything?!?! Give me a fucking break!!!!! A&E abandoned all pretense of NOT writing fanfiction here. Nice to see she and Robin (who is dead I guess?) still have no chemistry despite the show's best efforts and he still thinks she's just misunderstood. Or something. Relatedly, can I sign up to be a supervillain? If getting to be the Queen of Everything is what you get for being evil, sign me the fuck up!

Loved the 2.25 minutes of Snowing, OUAT would've been a much better show had they kept Snowing front and center. GG and JD still have "it." Also Emma's entrance was pretty hilarious, and I loved the iconic red jacket's final appearance. I did kind of get a kick out of the "Miss Swan"/"Madame Mayor" stuff. It harkened back to a time when the show was still good. Disappointed with how little time all three got though--I tuned in for them, dammit, I expected more than a hot five seconds!

Rumple so doesn't deserve a happy ending, but I've always had a soft spot for him and Belle so whatever, I can accept his death and them chilling by the well for all eternity. Talk about a boring afterlife though. That said, EdR looked beautiful in the classic ballgown, so maybe an eternity gazing at her wouldn't be too bad.

Also, they must have massively slashed the budget this season, because the CGI was awful. It's never been amazing but it was usually passable, but that last pan shot to all the realms united? Embarrassingly bad. And some of the Enchanted Forest scenes were really bad too (Rumpel sitting on the books especially).

I think I've said this before, but OUAT will probably go down as one of the most disappointing shows I ever watched. It had SUCH promise, such potential, and then the writers didn't just piss it away, they nuclear bombed it while sending it careening into the sun. What a waste of a phenomenal cast.

[sharky]

I'll have to unpack this later when I get my head around it more.

Overall, it was a very satisfying end to the series. I got weepy watching those characters together and then that final shot that said Leaving Storybrooke. Ugh, the feelings! I'm really going to miss this show.

But what a hot mess Regina was in that coronation scene. Are you kidding me? That was how you end the show? With a dumb monologue going waaaay too long about hope while Emma stands in the front row? Blerg. I'll just rewatch that scene with the sound off, thanks.

That all being said, something is wrong with me. I liked the hand holding between Regina and WHook. I may have to write WHooked Queen fanfic now. I apologize in advance.

[Writing Wrongs]

When this show started, I thought it was about Emma's journey. A&E said she was their own fairy tale creation. Turns out it was really about Regina all along. She gets to be Queen of Everything and have 2 versions of Henry to adore her. Excuse me while I vomit.

Oh yeah and none of it made any fucking sense. 

[sharky]

2 minutes ago, stealinghome said:

Rumple so doesn't deserve a happy ending, but I've always had a soft spot for him and Belle so whatever, I can accept his death and them chilling by the well for all eternity. Talk about a boring afterlife though. That said, EdR looked beautiful in the classic ballgown, so maybe an eternity gazing at her wouldn't be too bad.

This was the first time I really thought "Oh, Rumbelle. I get it!" And I honestly think Gold deserved his happy ending, but alot of it had to do with how he interacted with Alice and WHook in this last season. If you just came in for the finale without seeing everything that led up to that, I can see why it would feel weird and wrong for him to get that ending with Belle.

[CCTC]

3 minutes ago, stealinghome said:

"Miss Swan"/"Madame Mayor" stuff. It harkened back to a time when the show was still good. 

Lana really was good that first season, playing both the over the top EQ (although more true rage and raw emotion and hurt - less camp) and the more subtle and clever Mayor Mills.  

As corny as the last scene was, I think a lot of the actors were a bit overwhelmed.  I think that might have been Ginny herself choking up in the coronation.   I wonder if Dru and Anastasia were there.

[Cindy McLennan]

Yeah, Ginny's tears and crumpled face got to me. I think that was a real mix of acting and letting her own love for the show shine through.

I finally "got" Rumbelle, too. 

I think 3.11 might still be my favorite episode of the whole series. I would have been okay if it ended there. It certainly made me cry the most.  The s3 finale would have been a good ending, too.

21 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

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 has in late part 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 nkt true love.  Not really.  It’s to be loved.

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

You know, if they'd given Emma her happy ending (basically what she has now), in say season four or five, then actually shifted it to a Regina story, I might have been okay with Regina being the Oprah of All Things. I don't know. 

You all have said so much of what I was going to say, and I sort of keep disagreeing with myself as I read each new post. 

[Cindy McLennan]

Their realms and all the neighboring realms moved to Maine too, so maybe they won't care?

[CCTC]

3 minutes ago, Cindy McLennan said:

I think 3.11 might still be my favorite episode of the whole series. I would have been okay if it ended there.

I did not want the show to end at that point, but I remember thinking at that time it would have been a good series finale.  Happy endings, but with some sacrifices, including some true sacrifices from Regina and Gold.  Logical ending, for the most part people were happy, but everything was not all neat and tidy.  There was a real emotional weight to it.

[Terrafamilia]

Is gag-alicious a word? So, is WBlue still stuck in her horrible ever-after? I did like the safety tip on original Hook's hook.

[tennisgurl]

I do wonder how all the people of all the other realms (the ones who sadly didnt think to protect themselves from intergalactic conqueror Regina) felt about just randomly being dragged into some other persons universe totally against their will because some crazy lady and her worshipers thought it would be cool. 

"Hello, several trillion sentient beings from around the multiverse! Welcome to Storeybrooke, you live here now! You might be upset about being sucked into another universe, and you might have some questions, if your from one of the billion universes where you know nothing about magic and the multiverse, but all you really need to know is that this is a really good thing for you because Our Lord and Savior Regina said it was! Oh, Regina is your new ruler, she is a wise and benevolent leader, and if you say she isnt, we`ll know your actually a villain and will kill you instantly, so you better remember to kneel before Regina, your new Savior. Oh, you think you have the power to oppose her? Well, the gods themselves love her, theres no way to stop her, anyone who tries will die horribly. Its just the way of it. So make sure you vote Regina for benevolent Tyrant in our next "election" and only think happy thoughts about our God Emperor. Happy thoughts..."

[Cindy McLennan]

6 minutes ago, CCTC said:

I did not want the show to end at that point, but I remember thinking at that time it would have been a good series finale.  Happy endings, but with some sacrifices, including some true sacrifices from Regina and Gold.  Logical ending, for the most part people were happy, but everything was not all neat and tidy.  There was a real emotional weight to it.

I didn't want it to end there, either, but watching it, it really felt like a series finale, the way the Supernatural season five finale (for anyone here who watched) felt like a Supernatural finale, and the Buffy season five finale ("The Gift") felt like a Buffy finale. 

4 minutes ago, Terrafamilia said:

Is gag-alicious a word? So, is WBlue still stuck in her horrible ever-after? I did like the safety tip on original Hook's hook.

I thought I saw Blue in the congregation/audience at Regina's coronation. Maybe near Jared Gilmore/Henry.
 

4 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I do wonder how all the people of all the other realms (the ones who sadly didnt think to protect themselves from intergalactic conqueror Regina) felt about just randomly being dragged into some other persons universe totally against their will because some crazy lady and her worshipers thought it would be cool. 

"Hello, several trillion sentient beings from around the multiverse! Welcome to Storeybrooke, you live here now! You might be upset about being sucked into another universe, and you might have some questions, if your from one of the billion universes where you know nothing about magic and the multiverse, but all you really need to know is that this is a really good thing for you because Our Lord and Savior Regina said it was! Oh, Regina is your new ruler, she is a wise and benevolent leader, and if you say she isnt, we`ll know your actually a villain and will kill you instantly, so you better remember to kneel before Regina, your new Savior. Oh, you think you have the power to oppose her? Well, the gods themselves love her, theres no way to stop her, anyone who tries will die horribly. Its just the way of it. So make sure you vote Regina for benevolent Tyrant in our next "election" and only think happy thoughts about our God Emperor. Happy thoughts..."

If their whole world got dragged there, would they even notice?

Also, why trillions? 
 

Also, was Regina crowned Queen of All the Realms or just the Snow realm (which Regina stole after engineering the assassination of Snow's father? Just keeping the Regina story real.)

Edited May 19, 2018 by Cindy McLennan

[scenicbyway]

Emma's fairytale dress, though ill fitting, was 1000% better than her wedding dress last year.

I loved this show up until the morning after the Captain Swan wedding when JMo announced she was leaving.  I've only seen 2.5 episodes this season but watching the Charmings crown and then bow down to Regina as a final act made me question why I watched in the first place.  I know the writers have only loved Regina, but the Good Queen of all the realms?!  The Charmings bowing to her? She ruined their lives and their daughter and their grandson?! And they bow to her?  How is that about hope?  No wonder JMo only filmed for a few hours...

[sharky]

A&E confirmed that Ginny really was crying in that final scene. I don't totally get it but it is what it is.

1 minute ago, scenicbyway said:

Emma's fairytale dress, though ill fitting, was 1000% better than her wedding dress last year.

Yes and yes. It was like Gwyneth Paltrow's pink dress when she won her Oscar. All these years later and anytime I see it I just think "You were an Oscar nominee at the Oscars and then you won the Oscar and they couldn't fit that dress any better?" But geez, Emma's wedding ensemble -- especially the hair -- still bugs me.

[Rumsy4]

28 minutes ago, Shanna Marie said:

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 agree with all of this. That's why Rumple's sacrifice worked for me. It didn't come out of nowhere. We've seen him looking out for Tilly and Rogers in HH, even when they were unaware and confused. He may have started out wanting to trick Alice into being the Guardian. But he ended up sacrificing for someone besides Belle and Neal. That is a true sign of growth. And the afterlife Rumbelle reunion mostly worked for me. It took me back to "Skin Deep", when I actually shipped them. 

The only logical way to explain the ending is if Regina passed out on top of Rumple's body from post-adrenaline crash, and had a fever dream about her being crowned Queen of Literally Everything. That's my headcanon, and I'm sticking to it.

[tennisgurl]

4 minutes ago, Cindy McLennan said:

If their whole world got dragged there, would they even notice?

Also, why trillions? 
 

Trillions is just a guess based around moving an entire country or world into one place, not counting any world that has multiple worlds with a population. Of course, in most of the realms we`ve seen, there have been about twenty people, so I guess that number would be pretty high. And it looked like the worlds weren't just moved, they were all slabbed together, so I think the people in Agrabah would notice the giant medieval style castle with a dragon across the street and the island with a massive skull cave on a stone throw away. 

I am just trying to make sense of that ending, it was really confusing, and I am trying really hard to figure out why we decided to combine the multiverse, and how it works. Hell, if they had done that last season, that could have been cool! They put everyone together, and the last season is adult Henry in the future trying to be a sheriff of a massive Storeybrooke made up of endless fairytale realms. 

[CCTC]

12 minutes ago, Cindy McLennan said:

the way the Supernatural season five finale (for anyone here who watched) felt like a Supernatural finale,

Didn't the original creator of the show think it should be just five years and had a 5 year arc planned?  I think he might have left at that point.

Edited May 19, 2018 by CCTC

[thuganomics85]

Whelp, that happened, I guess.

I was actually preparing to say that it was a solid finale all things considering (not being fully prepared, this show being it's normal shaky self), but then came the final scene, which turned into an actual "Regina is the Greatest" coronation, complete with her becoming voted and annotated the Queen of all of the freaking Realms (really, there were no other options there, citizens of Storybrooke?), and even all of the special guests being reduced to praising her and even freaking bowing to her like Snow and Charming did, and Emma being reduced to just smiling at her from the sidelines.  Barf!  No wonder Jennifer Morrison wanted out when she did: she knew who Horowitz and Kitsis truly believed was the star of their show.

Of course, Rumple also got a big old "happy ending" too, but at least they actually did have him die, and show that he did need to make a legit sacrifice to be a "good guy."  Sure, this all means he gets to be in the afterlife with Belle now, but at this point, I grasping at straws here.

Unsurprisingly, the only story that really got me emotional was Wish Hook and Alice finally being able to be a family.  It still sucks that they were given quite enough time to get their full due, but they really made the last episodes worth damn, and is one of the few things I'm sad about not being able to see again.  I really do hope Rose Reynolds gets some great offers going forward.

While I won't ever call him a great actor to be honest, I once again noticed that Jared Gilmore seems to fare better when he's playing a more villainous role (see: Henry as Pan in S3.)  I'm not saying it's groundbreaking stuff and I suspect he still lacks range to ever fully be a big star, but if he keep's acting, I wouldn't mind if he tries this route more.  Maybe he can show up in one of the D.C. shows as a baddie of the week, perhaps?

It was great seeing the Charmings, Zelena, Grumpy, Archie, and Emma again, even if no one was fully used to their potential.  Still fared better then others like Blue Fairy who was just to get zapped into that evil book and O.G. Robin who was there to just give Regina a pep talk and for Sean Maguire to grope Lana Parrilla's breast... err, I mean touch her heart!  Kidding, I swear!

I feel so evil, but I did love how, again, Jacinda and Lucy just got pushed to the side in all of this.  It is so strange because for every time that the show seems to be misguided over how things are going, there are other times where it feels like they totally know when something isn't working, and adjust things.  I still suspect that they probably originally attended for them to play a bigger part here, but ended up switching a lot of their stuff with Alice and Robin instead.

Well, fare thee well, Once Upon a Time.  You were a frustrating show all the way to the very end, but there will be a part of me that misses you and even sad that there will be no more Once Upon a Time going forward.  I will miss the cast, the characters, the storylines that they did do right, and even the moments that didn't, because I was at least invested enough in this show to actually care and get annoyed when they squander potential or wrote someone out of character.  I know that sounds really like damning with faint praise, but in this day and age, it's actually good that I still care enough about a show for seven seasons to get upset when things don't work out.  But most of all, I will miss the community of fellow Once viewers, and all of the insights (and, yes, snark!) that have been provided.  It's been one hell of a ride, folks, and even when it's been a bumpy and even bad one, I don't regret one moment of it!

[Souris]

15 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I do wonder how all the people of all the other realms (the ones who sadly didnt think to protect themselves from intergalactic conqueror Regina) felt about just randomly being dragged into some other persons universe totally against their will because some crazy lady and her worshipers thought it would be cool. 

In my headcanon, some of them figure out a way to undo that nonsense. But not before they force Regina to abdicate because they realize how awful she is.

[StaceyNotStacie]

When Regina walked into the ballroom to be greeted by everyone, all I could think of was the final scene of Titanic when Rose was reunited with Jack after Old Rose died. 

[Free]

27 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I do wonder how all the people of all the other realms (the ones who sadly didnt think to protect themselves from intergalactic conqueror Regina) felt about just randomly being dragged into some other persons universe totally against their will because some crazy lady and her worshipers thought it would be cool. 

I assume they have no choice as resistance is futile as has been the same with the other characters that prop Regina up, even if they wanted to.

[Curio]

I'd like to see the Once Upon a Time in Offscreenville scene where everyone who ran against Regina are sitting at the bar watching the live coronation on the television, complaining about how they never stood a chance against a rigged election. 

[Cindy McLennan]

18 minutes ago, CCTC said:

Did the original creator of the show think it should be just five years and had a 5 year arc planned?  I think he might have left at that point.

Yes. It was Eric Kripke's swan song (which was the episode's name). 

 

21 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Trillions is just a guess based around moving an entire country or world into one place, not counting any world that has multiple worlds with a population. Of course, in most of the realms we`ve seen, there have been about twenty people, so I guess that number would be pretty high. And it looked like the worlds weren't just moved, they were all slabbed together, so I think the people in Agrabah would notice the giant medieval style castle with a dragon across the street and the island with a massive skull cave on a stone throw away. 

I am just trying to make sense of that ending, it was really confusing, and I am trying really hard to figure out why we decided to combine the multiverse, and how it works. Hell, if they had done that last season, that could have been cool! They put everyone together, and the last season is adult Henry in the future trying to be a sheriff of a massive Storeybrooke made up of endless fairytale realms. 

I don't feel (and none of this matters) like it has to be trillions of people (although let's ignore the land of untold stories). 

If we don't double count the same story across multiple countries/cultures), there would be even fewer. Also, most kingdoms/realms would have wherever the castle/government seat is, the village where the action happens, and then wilderness, or jungle, or desert, or water at its edges, so it wouldn't feel so plunked. (That's how it worked in my head. The CGI pass through of all the lands was effectively just an advertisement for the different parks at Disney World.)

I think I'm tap dancing so hard to rationalize that part, because I liked the idea of uniting everyone and tucking all the "realms of story" in a secret corner in Maine.
 

I watched the last 5 minutes or so again. With all the realms united, Regina is the (good) Queen of them all, I guess. Blah.

Oh well, elections are tricky things. People are often unhappy with their results. ?

P.S. to those who were wondering: Blue (or at least one version of Blue) was right next to Smee in the coronation audience. 

Edited May 19, 2018 by Cindy McLennan

[Rumsy4]

On what basis was Regina elected Queen of all the realms? What has she done to prove she is close to capable of being a "good" queen? Because she had this nonsense idea to unite all the realms? Why?

[sharky]

I'm realizing I at least like this finale because, as a fanfic writer, it's opening up alot of possibilities about what can come next. You know, Killian and David adapting to having Rogers in town. The potential for confusion when WHooked Queen becomes a thing and are seen out together and people think he's Killian. And then what's it like for Alice to be in a town with a man who looks like her father but isn't. And whoa, there's a whole lesbian storyline that doesn't seem completely forced. And ALL THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED IN SEASON 7! Instead, we got a whole front half about stupid crap and the back half was when it got interesting with Rogers and Weaver and Alice -- just in time for the show to get cancelled!

I have said it so many times before, but I will say it again. This show could've been so much better if A&E weren't in charge. At the very least, this show's plot holes inspired me to write and I finally published that novel I always said I was going to publish so thanks for something I guess, A&E.

1 minute ago, Rumsy4 said:

On what basis was Regina elected Queen of all the realms? What has she done to prove she is close to capable of being a "good" queen? Because she had this nonsense idea to unite all the realms? Why?

Maybe Putin is the leader of one of the realms.

[Curio]

6 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

On what basis was Regina elected Queen of all the realms? 

 

Blame the Fairy Electoral College.

I love how it's canon that Emma didn't give a crap about showing up late to Regina's event. (I'm guessing Emma figured she and Hook could make a quick batch of pancakes when Hope finally fell asleep.)

[Free]

11 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

On what basis was Regina elected Queen of all the realms? What has she done to prove she is close to capable of being a "good" queen? Because she had this nonsense idea to unite all the realms? Why?

Herself, she literally declared it herself and made it so.

[Souris]

Honestly, having Snow crown Regina Good Queen of all the Realms is such a perversion of everything. It's disgusting, but perfectly in keeping with this show and A&E's Regina permaboner/Snow hate.

[Free]

21 minutes ago, Curio said:

I'd like to see the Once Upon a Time in Offscreenville scene where everyone who ran against Regina are sitting at the bar watching the live coronation on the television, complaining about how they never stood a chance against a rigged election. 

Ran against?  I wouldn't be surprised if she was unopposed let alone actually having an election.

[KingOfHearts]

2 minutes ago, Free said:

Ran against?  I wouldn't be surprised if she was unopposed let alone actually having an election.

Snow, from 1x02: "No one's ever been brave enough to run against her. She inspires a lot of.. well, fear."

[Free]

Just now, KingOfHearts said:

Snow, from 1x02: "No one's ever been brave enough to run against her. She inspires a lot of.. well, fear."

Thought so, it's a shame that she was reduced to her biggest cheerleader in the end.

[CCTC]

10 minutes ago, Free said:

Ran against?  I wouldn't be surprised if she was unopposed let alone actually having an election.

Being that Regina did not know there was an election or she was up for queen, he other candidates did not to a good job campaigning.

[Curio]

44 minutes ago, CCTC said:

Being that Regina did not know there was an election or she was up for queen, the other candidates did not to a good job campaigning.

I'm probably way over thinking this, but how can it be a legitimate election if the person elected didn't even know they were on the ballot? In order to keep Regina in the dark, that means everyone in the new Storybrooke Universe had to keep the election process a secret. (There's absolutely no way Regina wouldn't have thrown her name into the hat if she knew an election was going on.) If everyone in town was keeping the election a secret, how is that fair to the other candidates? The other candidates wouldn't have been able to run a proper campaign because they wouldn't have been allowed to use all the communication outlets available to them—they would have had to run a secret underground grassroots campaign. And if the election was being kept under wraps, how did everyone else in the new Storybrooke Universe know when/how to vote? Were Regina's friends and family the only people in Storybrooke who even knew this election was going on? This sounds a lot like fairy tale voter suppression.

And let's not even pretend like Storybrooke has laws and rules they follow. If there isn't some kind of constitution they abide by, why bother having an election? Does Regina have to pick cabinet members now? Vice Ultimate Ruler? Secretary of Magic? Ambassador to Neverland? This could have actually been an interesting plot for Season 8, but we'd have to get new showrunners because A&E have proven they know next to nothing about the law or government. Or basic worldbuilding.

In most epic tales, the character who ends up being the best leader is the reluctant hero who doesn't want the position at the beginning. But for A&E's grand vision, they decided the best ruler was...the character who's basically been ruler for all seven seasons of the show already, and who also spent years abusing their position of power for their own selfish ambitions. Just with a name change. (But we all know that A&E would have kept calling her the Evil Queen in Season 8 the same way it didn't matter when Mary Margaret declared she was Snow...for real, she means it this time.)

Edited May 19, 2018 by Curio

[KingOfHearts]

I'm surprised the xenophobic Storybrookers were totally fine merging with the other realms. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that CGI shot suggested Storybrooke only consists of main street.

[CinAZ]

Ok, then.

this is the first episode this season that I watched live.  I usually record it and watch whenever I remember. Sigh.

ok show.  You had me kinda feeling it when rumple gave his heart to Whook. And yes, it was a nice goodbye to Rumplestilskin from Regina, a heartfelt kiss and tearful farewell.  I was happy to see Rumple and Belle finally reunited. Rumple was mostly an A-hole for the entire series, but he wasn’t terrible for the last crapastic few episodes, so why not give the dark one his happy ending. I was on board with it.

And yes, show, you had me smiling when I saw long lost characters like Grumpy and Granny (the mechanic cameo didn’t count) and even the Boobfairy. It was nice to see the (fast) flashbacks of the great battles and true loves kisses and deaths of loved ones. 

But show, why the F* did you have to completely ruin it all with the coronation of the Godess of All living things, aka the GOOD Queen. Seriously??? Why would the people of ALL the realms  kiss the ass of Regina?  She has been ‘good’ for what, a few years at the most??? And she was a murderous psycho for at least 200-300 years prior ??? Are they that gullible? Stupid? Under a ‘I am a dumbass’ spell? 

It was a fitting end I suppose.

I did enjoy watching, especially the first few seasons-what promise it had. And I stuck it out until the very last minute. Overall, I am glad I was along for the ride.

I will miss you OUAT.

[retrograde]

I haven't been watching post-Emma Once so I had no effing idea what was going on this episode, but figured I had to watch. Nice to see all my old favorites back -- by which I mean horrible CGI, Jared Gilmore's wooden acting, everyone forgetting Regina is a mass murderer, and Hook's pretty guylined face. And of course all of you guys.

Farewell, OuaT -- you should've ended at season 4. 

[Camera One]

Oh my gosh, I don't think I've laughed so much in one hour.  That was just so bad, yet it was still better than last year's tedious finale.  

I'll start at the beginning, I guess, because it was nonsense right from the start.

Why would Robyn and Alice need a bean to get to Storybrooke 2017?  Why DID they go to Storybrooke 2017?   They didn't realize messing with the past can change all their futures?  It would have made more sense to use the bean to go to Storybrooke in the future, and then use another bean to go back to Wish Realm 2017.  

I was disappointed how short a time they spent in Storybrooke.  How convenient there was yet another magic bean there.

Not that it was anything new, but this episode was even more full of convenient magical objects/solutions than usual.  Oh look, suddenly, here's a hook to break the Snowglobe glass!  Here's some magic the Wish version of me hid in the Spinning Wheel!  

Wish Rumple was truly so evil, to include a nice warm house inside the Snow Globe so they wouldn't all freeze to death.  So diabolical.

There were some very long heart-to-heart conversations in this episode.  It's too bad they mostly left me cold.  Robin Hood From Heaven gave Regina yet another snoozeworthy pep talk that could have been lifted from an earlier season.  Did he just call their relationship epic?  I thought the red feather was going to be useful at some point.

I really liked Evil Henry, but it also made no sense.  I could see him wanting revenge against Regina, but we're supposed to believe he was okay with Wish Rumple putting Wish Blue into a prison?  And everyone being trapped in a book?  So now Wish Henry's anger was ink?  Huh?  His later insta-reconciliation with Regina after the sword fight was abrupt.  Once again, she didn't earn the close relationship with him.  Why would he immediately hug her after their fight?  This lady was nothing to him, even if he had gotten over wanting to kill her for revenge.

Speaking of which, no one bothered to save Wish Blue?  They even did a closeup of her book, but no one gave it a second thought.  I guess it fit with the Season 3 "reveal" that she was resurrected and no one blinked an eye.  I was actually looking forward to seeing what her worst nightmare might be like.  Zelena's book was funny "You hate fish and you..."

Another laughable conversation was Whook and Rumple inside the Snowglobe.  Hook asking why Rumple never destroyed him, and Rumple replying "You were the closest thing I ever had to a friend."  What?!  So we're now supposed to believe Rumple thought of Hook as a friend for centuries?  If they were referring to Hyperion Heights, why would Whook even ask that question.

The heroes' plan was beyond stupid.  They had Whook charge a bunch of guards at the gates by himself with only Robyn as backup.  Meanwhile, Adult Henry by himself, with no weapon, got into the prison to grab the conveniently hanging keys?  Where was kickass Jacinda? 

But Henry didn't know about Dark Knight Snowings.  Speaking of which, was that Snowing 2017 or Snowing from the Future?  Because Alice and Robyn would have said that they brought Snowing if they did.  Plus bringing Snowing 2017, much like bringing Zelena 2017, would have totally messed with the timeline.  How could they go back and forget everything?

I guess this episode gave them one last opportunity to give Snow a really bad hairstyle with the ponytail.  Their plan made no sense either.  So Snowing would run around the realms warning people to have hope.  Yet we could see from everyone being sucked into the books that HOPE wasn't going to save anyone.  

Wimpering Wumple was really annoying.  I didn't like his wedding to Belle in Season 3 so I didn't need to see that again.  I did like Rumple sacrifice for Whook, though.  That was one of the better parts of the episode, plus Whook and Alice's hug afterwards. 

But then they had to give Regina that melodramatic speech to the dead Rumple.  "If anyone deserves peace, it is you."  Uh, I'm pretty sure at least 25 dead characters on this show deserved peace more than Rumple.  

The Rumple/Belle reunion on the soundstage with dry ice left me cold.  

Finally, the ending.  Regina decided to bring all the realms to Maine because she knows best?  Or did she mean the physical buildings? Wouldn't there be 2 Knifington Palaces, one from the Wish Realm and one from the Enchanted Forest?   Everyone had to gift a piece of their heart... how was she going to get everyone's consent to do that?  It made no sense.  With the plethora of magic beans, no one was truly separated.  They made decisions to live in one place over another.

And "Some Time Later...", they made Disneyland!  I was bracing myself by this point, so I expected no less than Regina being crowned the Queen of Everything.  Of course, they had to ensure Snowing bowed down to her.  Charming even had to bow twice, maybe because of all the rude things he had said to her over the years?  Yet no one else had to bow to her when she greeted the rabble in the crowd.  They might as well have done a full kingdom bowing to her like the scene from Mulan with the Emperor.

"I thought my story ended a long time ago.  And then you people came into my life."  Weren't you the one to barge into their lives to try to kill them?  

Overall, I came in expecting the worst, and it wasn't quite the worst that it could have been.  So I guess that's a win.  It will be fun to look into the Spoiler thread and read what I missed the last 2 weeks.  

Edited May 19, 2018 by Camera One

[MaiLuna]

Well...that was that.

Things I liked:

-Rumple's sacrifice. For once a redemption worked, I loved how he said you don't do good things for a reward (you hear that, Regina?) I got a little emotional when Hook said "Goodbye, old friend".

-I actually liked the realms being brought together. Now people can't lose each other any more and they won't need any "last magic bean"s anymore.

-The mention of Lily's father. It was completely ridiculous, but they seemed to have listened to fans, that for some reason kept asking for it in social media.

-Captain Swan being happy and adorable.

-Regina not getting a love interest.

-Robin and Alice in Storybrooke. Robin's scene with WHook was nice too.

-That last pan around Storybrooke and the montage were nice.

-Henry's reaction about Regina casting another curse. LOL.

Things I didn't like:

-Regina being the queen of everything, what the hell? How about Snow, Charming, Emma? If Regina had really changed, she would've given the crown to one of them. Imagine telling someone who's on season 1 that Snow and Charming would bow to Regina (disrespectful, I say). Does anyone know Regina killed Graham? Has she returned the hearts in her vault? Has she apologized to Snow, Charming, Emma, the bride whose groom she killed, etc? I'm guessing not, so how is she the good queen? Literally the worst ending they could've done. This really brings the whole series down. Tiana got to be Queen, for like what, a month? Because now it's all Regina, so Elsa, and all the other royals are nothing.

-Regina and Wish!Henry. He remembers Emma raising him, the same Emma that at the end just walked in and only interacted with original Henry. She has memories of him and doesn't care? But now Regina is his "mom". I love how Regina told Wish!Henry she cared when she had abandoned him as an orphan and never even thought twice about it.

-Do Belle and Rumple even care about Gideon at all?

-You could've given Blue at least ONE line.

-The timeline has been completely thrown out the window. I won't give myself a headache trying to figure out how 2017 Henry disappeared and older Henry is there with Ella and Lucy.

Edited May 19, 2018 by MaiLuna

[Curio]

A comment in another thread just made me realize...

Did Emma get to say one word to her parents this episode?? "Sorry I'm late" doesn't count.

[Camera One]

1 minute ago, Curio said:

Did Emma get to say one word to her parents this episode?? "Sorry I'm late" doesn't count.

The most important thing is she got to have one last conversation with Regina.

[OnePlusOne]

4 hours 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.  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 . . . 

I've always loved Rumple/Belle, so that was by far the highlight for me. Robert Carlyle and Emilie de Ravin sold the hell out of that scene. Now that I think about it, Belle and Rumple actually got the best ending because, unlike most of the other characters, they weren't forced to completely break character and partake in the Regina Praise-a-Thon in the last scene.

I don't even completely hate Regina, but I feel like the episode had too much focus on her for a series finale. Her "goodbye" to Rumple was too long. If Rumple sacrificed himself for WishHook and Alice, I would rather have seen Alice's farewell to Rumple. Or how about showing Henry (his actual grandson) saying goodbye? Since this finale was propelled by WishRumple's plot and RealRumple's sacrifice, it might have been nice to (a) have a more in-depth conversation between Wish and RealRumples, and (b) just one mention Neal/Baelfire and Gideon by name.

Also, I found it hard to believe that Emma wouldn't be right in there trying to help Henry. Even if they couldn't get Jennifer Morrison to shoot for longer, couldn't they have written in some lines about Emma doing something offscreen to help her son?

[daxx]

4 hours ago, Cindy McLennan said:

They started out telling me Emma's fairy tale and turned it into Regina's, so I expected it.

Sadly, I watched it to see Emma’s fairytale. It’s felt like a bait and switch for a few seasons now.

[Curio]

3 minutes ago, daxx said:

Sadly, I watched it to see Emma’s fairytale. It’s felt like a bait and switch for a few seasons now.

One of the biggest writing blunders (of the many) this show suffered was never knowing whether Emma or Regina should be THE lead. At the beginning of the show, it seemed obvious it was Emma, then Emma and Regina flip-flopped in importance for a few seasons depending on the plot, and then the final few seasons A&E said screw it and made Regina THE lead. If they had just stuck to one character the entire time, the entire series would have been much better and the fans wouldn't have felt ripped off. If this were truly Emma's fairytale, the show should have ended at Season 3 or gone in a completely different direction during Season 4. If this were truly Regina's fairytale, they needed to make it obvious in Seasons 1–3 instead of stealthily having her take over the show.

Honestly, I kind of wish Emma wasn't even in this episode. I would have been totally content if her final appearance was Whook's intro episode and the reveal that she's pregnant. Instead, our final moment with Emma Swan is her applauding Regina and giving her a pep talk. 

[Camera One]

51 minutes ago, MaiLuna said:

-Regina and Wish!Henry remembers Emma raising him, the same Emma that at the end just walked in and only interacted with original Henry. She has memories of him and doesn't care? 

 

Their choice of what to spend time on was... well, telling.  It was strange that we didn't get to see any reaction to Emma seeing Wish Henry because he was standing right there, but not a surprise given these Writers.  If anyone had been able to reach the humanity in Wish Henry, it would have been Emma, or even Snowing.  

I did discover this alternate ending.  

CORONATION HALL

SNOW: "And I crown you, Regina, Queen of all the realms."

The crowd claps.

SNOW: I will take this opportunity to announce to you all that we have discovered a new Realm in a galaxy far far away, and my family and I will be moving there immediately.  If any of you would like to join us, feel free to leave with us now and enter the Millennium Falcon parked outside."

Every single person in the crowd heads for the exits.

SNOW: You packed everything, right?

EMMA: Yep.

SNOW: Thank goodness.

Edited May 19, 2018 by Camera One

[Rumsy4]

2 hours ago, Curio said:

In most epic tales, the character who ends up being the best leader is the reluctant hero who doesn't want the position at the beginning.

If this happened at the end of last season, when you know, Emma actually made a sacrifice that saved all the Realms, it would have made sense for everyone to nominate her as the Queen. Which is not something Emma ever wanted or sought after. But it would have at least made sense. She is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, and she saved them all.

There was zero in-story reason for all the people of all the realms to want Regina as their queen. In the actual episode, the one who sacrificed themselves to save everyone was Rumple. No one in their right mind would have wanted him to be their emperor. Neither would anyone have wanted Regina to be their queen. She doesn't "deserves" this as her Happy Ending just becasue she stopped raping and murdering people and casually harming people by her selfishness and thoughtlessness. This doesn't fit with the theme of Season 7 or the final episode. Roni's arc wasn't about being queen of the multiverse. This is plain tacked on bad fanfic. 

Edited May 19, 2018 by Rumsy4

[InsertWordHere]

4 hours ago, stealinghome said:

I think I've said this before, but OUAT will probably go down as one of the most disappointing shows I ever watched. It had SUCH promise, such potential, and then the writers didn't just piss it away, they nuclear bombed it while sending it careening into the sun. What a waste of a phenomenal cast.

Same same same. I'll never be over it. 

4 hours ago, sharky said:

That all being said, something is wrong with me. I liked the hand holding between Regina and WHook. I may have to write WHooked Queen fanfic now. I apologize in advance.

*whispers* Do it. I'd read it. 

3 hours ago, Curio said:

Blame the Fairy Electoral College.

I'm seriously wondering if all the votes counted equally or if the clearly curse-addled citizens of Storybrooke's votes counted more than say, Neverland. 

4 hours ago, Katherine said:

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!

Same here. I'm a little stunned over how much it meant to me at one point and how cold this finale left me. Oh well, maybe in a few years I'll rewatch the show with a fresh perspective. I'll always be happy we got what we did of the Charming Family and some of their friends, even though I'll always want more. 

As for the Spoiler Thread, I'll miss it most of all, and all the posters here. 

[Rumsy4]

Rumple sacrificed himself to save WHook, an archetype of his mortal enemy. That showed true growth, and it was earned this season. For once, I bought his redemption. 

An ending that would have fit Regina was for her to lead Snowing to the Great Hall and crown them as rulers of the Realms. That would've shown that Regina had finally learned humility and gained self-awareness. Regina's coronation had nothing to do with the rest of the season (or series). So, it wouldn't have mattered that Snowing weren't part of this season. 

I'm rooting for Elsa to freeze Regina out of the throne in the next election. 

[Curio]

Just now, Rumsy4 said:

An ending that would have fit Regina was for her to lead Snowing to the Great Hall and crown them as rulers of the Realms. That would've shown that Regina had finally learned humility and gained self-awareness.

 

I would have loved to see that. What could have been...

[InsertWordHere]

Oh, and something else I'll really miss is the amazing soundtrack. I really feel like half of the barely there emotion this finale squeezed out of me was from the music. Of course, the True Love theme has been making me emotional since the Pilot and shortly after won me over completely when Charming shot that arrow in Snow Falls (sniff) but I'll also always adore Hook showing up to face danger with his wonderful pirate theme blaring. 

[KAOS Agent]

49 minutes ago, InsertWordHere said:

I'm a little stunned over how much it meant to me at one point and how cold this finale left me.

I couldn't even be bothered to watch this finale. I'm fine with looking at some gifs of happy, glowing Emma (and laughing that everyone else is applauding and Captain Swan are cuddling the baby and not even trying to care about other things). I would have been devastated had this show been cancelled after S3. Today I forgot it was even on. 

[andromeda331]

I just couldn't watch it. No matter how much I wanted to see Emma, Hook and their baby, Charming and Snow, Granny and the Dwarves I just couldn't sit through all about Regina and her getting crowned Queen of Everything or what happened to Rumple. I wasn't sure my TV could survive that. Both are still so completely undeserving of their happy endings.  So much potential for this show and the characters for all of them and they never really reached it.