Once Upon a Time: Where Bluebirds Fly (6x18)

To the surprise of nobody, Zelena has never been my favorite character. That being said, I rather enjoyed several aspects of her character in this episode. Get ready for a lightning-fast review...

Cons:

Belle is kind of awful for not telling anybody she had the Blue Fairy locked up and eternally asleep. Like, I get that she's doing all of this for her son, but still. Yeesh. Also if Rumple and Belle become a couple again I will die of the horribleness.

Zelena's backstory was rather bland, and was also a little lazy in how it introduced the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. A little too on-the-nose for my taste. It was just more of the same, with Zelena feeling jealous and spiteful and never doing the right thing. I get that it was meant as a contrast for what happens in the present-day, but even so... meh.

Pros:

That being said, Zelena decides to give up her magic in order to help thwart the Black Fairy. It was a powerful moment, one that's treated with just as much gravitas as it deserves. Regina apologizes for all of their tension, and tells her sister that she's proud of her. Both Emma and Regina promise to look after baby Robin if something should happen to Zelena. Without her magic, Zelena says she feels weak, but Regina says that this is the strongest thing she's ever done. It's pretty tragic, actually. I think of how much magic has become a part of Emma and Regina's identities. What would they do if forced to give that up?

Henry is still trying to figure out how his identity as the Author fits in to all of this chaos, and I have to admit I'm curious too. He's wrestling with the idea of having magic, but being unable to actually affect the outcome of anything. Being a writer can be hard sometimes - you're just recording what happens, unable to interfere.

Hook and Emma are blissfully happy, and there were a lot of cute moments to show that. They have a hot make-out session in the kitchen, are constantly seen with their arms around each other, and placidly submit to all of Snow's crazy wedding planning, content simply to be together. Much more of this, please!

Meanwhile, Snow is manic in her desire to plan the wedding, while David seems resistant for some reason. In the end, it turns out that David doesn't want Emma to have a wedding like her parents did, where what should be the happiest day of your life turns in to a nightmare when an evil woman shows up to destroy everything. Snow, on the flip side, is worried that Emma won't get her wedding at all if they wait too long. What if they can't defeat the Black Fairy? Both have valid points, but Emma and Hook agree with David. There's no point in rushing it. If Emma is killed, well, then it would have been a short marriage anyway. I appreciated that I could see both sides of this argument. Snow really wants to be able to give Emma a wedding, and she's terrified of missing out on that chance. But David doesn't want a dark cloud looming over what should be a happy day.

We get a little bit of a twist - or rather, a setup for a twist - in the final moment, as we learn that our heroes might be able to wake the Blue Fairy up. The Black Fairy is horrified by this, because the Blue Fairy knows her darkest secret: the real reason she gave Rumple up as a baby. This is intriguing! I want a bit more backstory with this terrible villain. Otherwise, the fight between Emma and the Black Fairy lacks the proper stakes. I'm excited to learn more.

I tried to be brief! I liked Zelena's redemption, as it feels concrete and solid. She had to actually give something up in order to make things better, just like Regina did in accepting darkness back into her heart to save everybody from the Evil Queen. I like Emma and Hook's cuteness, and I'm intrigued by a lot of the mysteries still going on as we move forward to the last few weeks of the season!

8.5/10