Once Upon a Time: Leaving Storybrooke (7x22)

I'm feeling very bittersweet! I can't believe it's over. I started watching this show right when it started, so I've really been there from the beginning to the bitter end. It's always a little hard to review finales, because I try to balance looking at the episode on its own merits with how I feel about the show as a whole.

Cons:

I have to be honest, though. This episode was a little clunky. The main problem I had with it was the stuff with Wish Realm Henry. It came out of nowhere last week and it petered out in a really lackluster way this week. It's sweet, in theory, that Regina could save any version of Henry. But it doesn't really make sense. This Henry doesn't have any memories of Regina as his mother. He thinks of her as a coldblooded killer, and he's given no reason to change his mind about that. Suddenly he's fine, and he and older Henry are both affectionate sons of Regina? That's just weird.

Once Upon a Time: Homecoming (7x21)

Working on a time crunch, so my apologies for the brevity.

Cons:

I guess it's hard for me to stomach the idea that Henry would be such an asshole in the Wish realm just because he's been thwarted in achieving his dreams. Maybe this is what the finale will be addressing? And where does Wish!Henry think his mother, Princess Emma, is? It's confusing.

It's a little annoying that we've gotten like two seconds of Henry with Ella and Lucy now that everybody remembers each other, and then suddenly Rumplestiltskin shows up and kidnaps Ella and Lucy. I want to see them actually being a family for a little bit, so I can remember what it is that Henry has to lose. Also, at this point, shouldn't he be freaked out about the time displacement thing? Isn't he worried about Emma and Hook and his grandparents and everyone back in Storybrooke? I feel like there are a lot of potential plot holes waiting to arise in the finale.

Once Upon a Time: Is This Henry Mills? (7x20)

You know, I've never been super complimentary of Jared S. Gilmore's performance as Henry, but seeing him in this episode brought me a real sense of joy. It felt right that we'd get to see younger Henry again at this point.

Cons:

I'm not feeling the whole Facilier thing. It's not like I dislike the actor, but the wasted potential seems weird. There are only two more weeks to go before we're saying goodbye to this show forever, and it looks like Rumple is going to be the final villain. I don't have a problem with that, as it brings things full circle, but what bothers me just a bit is that I never understood what Facilier was up to. I never got a full grasp on his goals or his motivation. And all that romance with Regina? Is that just out the window now? Is Facilier really gone? Feels like a waste. Similarly, I'm not complaining about Gothel being taken out of the picture, but the fact of the matter is we only just saw her reasoning for being evil like a week ago, and now we're done with her. Villains like Victoria Belfry worked because we got buildup and we understood the pain and anger before we got to the ending moment. Here, these two villains are killed off before we get what they wanted or why.

Once Upon a Time: Flower Child (7x19)

I didn't really need to know this much about Gothel's backstory.

Cons:

Apparently Gothel was a magical tree nymph or something, and horrible humans slaughtered her whole community. She then goes around collecting misfits, finding people who have magic, so she can build up her coven. I don't care about humanizing this character... maybe I'm feeling some burnout on giving all of the villains in this show a sympathetic backstory. Yawn.

I'm even more confused as to Facilier's motivations, and not in a good way. Can't we get something approaching a real answer soon? Does he want to help Henry and Jacinda? What is he doing with Drew? I don't know how to care about this dude. I don't know how I'm supposed to care about him.

Once Upon a Time: The Guardian (7x18)

Tilly and Margot... so freaking cute.

Cons:

I actually find myself a little bit confused about what is going on with Facilier. Why did he take the dagger? Or did he take it? Why did he want it in the past? And why did Rumple need that magic that Regina had received for helping Henry? It all seems a bit convoluted, and unnecessarily so for what is mostly a very focused, deep episode.

Pros:

As I said, Tilly and Margot are adorable. They go on a super sweet date, and we also see the two of them beginning their courtship in the Wish realm, so we get to see Alice and Robin at the same time as we see Tilly and Margot. I'd watch so many episodes just about the two of them if I could. Tilly taking Margot to the bookstore, the "Pop and Pop" bookstore, as she calls it, to her favorite place, the travel section... Margot giving Tilly a bracelet, and promising to be there even on Tilly's bad days... these two are so sweet they are rotting my teeth. In a good way. I can't stand it.

Once Upon a Time: Chosen (7x17)

I'm so happy that Rogers gets to save Henry. And I'm pretty happy with this Zelena-centric episode!

Cons:

I wish that Naveen wasn't working with Facilier. And by that I mean I wish that we could cut through the crap and just get past the part where everybody has their feelings hurt about this. With so few episodes left in the show, I'm just not all that interested in furthering the Facilier plot in this way. I want him and Regina to be happy together, and for that to happen I don't want all of this deception and nonsense getting in the way. That said, it appears that Facilier has gotten Nick/Jack/Hansel out of the way, so that can only be good news...

Pros:

I thought this episode was going to be mainly focused on Henry and Nick, and in a way it was. But oddly the real star of the episode was Zelena, as we see how her backstory intertwines with Nick's. When he and his sister were captives of a witch who wished to eat them, Zelena saw the two poor kids being held in cages, and did nothing to save them, merely warning the witch to get out of town, because there's only room for one ruling witch. Later, however, Zelena is saved by a blind man who ends up being Hansel and Gretel's father. Zelena goes back to save the children, but finds they are gone... turns out, they had already escaped. Zelena's new love interest is horrified to learn that Zelena knew where his kids were all along and didn't tell him, and in a fit of rage, Zelena punishes him by burning Hansel's arms in the fire.

Once Upon a Time: Breadcrumbs (7x16)

I realized that Nick was Hansel last week. Was I not supposed to? I'm confused by this.

Cons:

The flashback story was kind of stupid. Basically, Henry wants to "find his own story" so he wants some grand adventure where he can find a ring to propose to Ella with, one that comes with a great story. Hook tries to help him by setting up a grand adventure, but it turns out that Hook paid Blackbeard to let Henry have his moment of glory. Henry is hurt that it's a setup, but then forgives Hook because apparently Hook was feeling insecure in comparison with the other Hook. It was just kind of... lackluster, and all of these story beats felt like they came out of nowhere. Were we supposed to know that Henry was still feeling like he was without a story of his own? It doesn't seem like him to want adventure for adventure's sake. And was it ever a thing that New Hook was jealous of OG Hook? Because if it was, I certainly didn't pick up on it. The whole flashback was pretty much entirely useless.

Pros:

Although... we did get to see Henry proposing to Jacinda, and it was pretty adorable. There's something about the two of them that I find undeniably sweet. They're not passionate like Hook and Emma, they're not quite as fairy-tale perfect as Snow and Charming. They're just... good together. It's adorable.

Once Upon a Time: Sisterhood (7x15)

So... goodbye Ivy and Anastasia I guess?

Cons:

I wonder if the actress had a conflict or something. All I know was that Drizella's exit this week felt very strange and rushed. Especially given the mess she left behind for everybody else. Regina was still pissed off, but she let Ivy go without argument. So the sisters could be together or whatever. But Drizella cast the curse! Drizella poisoned Henry! And now she's leaving them to clean up after that mess without her. Seems unfair. Also, I didn't really get how Anastasia could forgive Drizella for her actions in this episode. She goes from wanting to make amends, to wanting to give her over to Facilier, back to wanting to make amends, and it was just a little bit confusing as to why anybody should believe a word Drizella says. I guess maybe I'm just bummed because of missed opportunities. I wanted to see Ivy with Jacinda at least once more. Or another scene with Henry? She was a cool character, and this felt like a less-than-seamless way for her to depart the show.

Once Upon a Time: The Girl in the Tower (7x14)

This episode is an origin story for the Fremont Troll, and I love it.

Cons:

That said, while I'm a big fan of Tilly, and of Robin, I can't ignore the flaws either. There's something just utterly unbalanced in this season of Once Upon a Time, and I think it's taken me until now to realize what it is. This is not Season One of a new show. I know the creators were originally hoping that this season would be able to be a new launching point for a whole new direction, but that's not what happened. Instead, the show is being cancelled, and yet fourteen episodes in to the season it still feels like we're doing character setup. That would work if there were going to be more seasons to follow. But as it is, there's just so much happening in this show, and I'm losing faith that all the pieces are going to come together.

The subplot with Regina and Lucy was a little silly. I kind of can't believe Regina let Lucy sneak around in Facilier's apartment like that. Where was Jacinda? And how evil is Facilier supposed to be, anyway? At this point I can't tell if I'm allowed to root for Regina to find love with him, or if we're supposed to think of him as a bad influence. I like the actor playing him, and I'm intrigued as to where this is going, but there are a lot of problems, too.

Once Upon a Time: Knightfall (7x13)

I really like Alice and Hook's dynamics, and it was fun to explore it more here. Poor Tilly!

Cons:

Some of the flashback stuff with Hook was a little bit convoluted and strange to me. I suppose part of it is that we kind of know where it's all going, and there are some things I don't really need an origin story for. We knew that there was a curse separating Hook and Alice, and we figured that this was Gothel's doing. Did I need to see a subplot with Ahab vs. Hook, with Rumple meddling in the background and twirling his hands around? Despite the fact that this was all new information, it somehow still felt like I'd already seen it.

Also, while I sometimes find all of the Disney Easter Eggs to be delightful, something about Maui's fishhook just made me roll my eyes. Like, it was fun for half a second, but then I just started thinking about it and it kind of annoyed me. Are we going to get Moana or Maui or any character from that movie actually in this show? Seems doubtful.

Once Upon a Time: A Taste of the Heights (7x12)

Yay for a Tiana/Sabine episode!

Cons:

I will admit that I wish we'd stop dragging the curse along. I get that it's the whole point of this season's arc, but... I'm tired of the protagonist not knowing what's going on. It's what we did with Emma, but that was a bit different. We were coming into this new world with her. In Henry's case, we know that he's a part of this world, and his continued ignorance is wearing on my patience. The fact that Victoria Belfrey dies and so Lucy has nobody to corroborate her story... it's just frustrating and it feels like we're prolonging things unnecessarily.

Also... I liked the stuff with Sabine and Drew (Prince Naveen) but I was pretty disappointed to find out that Drew is working with Dr. Facilier. It seems like an unnecessary plot development. Don't we have enough going on at this point? What should we be focusing on? The coven of witches? Facilier? The curse? So much to wrap up, so little time...

Once Upon a Time: Secret Garden (7x11)

I think it's the right decision to end this show, honestly. And that's not a total diss on the new season. It's just that for all that they tried, I don't think the new cast can recapture the magic of the original. So, I suppose we're going to have to look at Season Seven as an epilogue of sorts. Honestly, I'm pretty much good with that.

Cons:

I find myself a little muddled on the various plots going on here. There are a couple of reasons for that: one, there's a ton going on; two, it's been several months, and three, I just don't care quite enough to pay super close attention sometimes. And that doesn't exactly bode well, does it? Every time Hook - I mean Killian - I mean Rogers went back to have a talk with Rumple about "Eloise Gardner," I found myself waving my hands at the TV, hoping for things to move along faster. I want things to move forward so we have time to actually see the happy endings that everybody has been promised. When are Hook and Alice going to realize they are father and daughter? Let's get to it!

There was a great deal of focus on Robin and Zelena's mother/daughter relationship, which was great... but I was sort of hoping that an episode about Robin would also tell the story of Robin and Alice's romance. Maybe we'll get there soon?

Once Upon a Time: The Eighth Witch (7x10)

This may be my favorite episode of the season, and it a weird way that's pissing me off - we got so many things in this installment that I wanted more of! Let's get started.

Cons:

So, the flashback scenes take us up to the moment that the curse was cast, bringing us full circle. We start with Lucy's birth, and then we see that on her eighth birthday is when all this crap went down. I loved all of these scenes, but there's a problem - why did we not get to see more of this? The last time we spent time with Ella and Henry in the magical land, they were just getting started on their romance. Now they're settled into their lives and they have a kid? There are some touching moments between Hook and various other characters, we see Rumple helping people out in unexpected ways, Zelena shows up with an adult daughter Robin, Jack is there for some reason, and all of these things are so fascinating and fun... but it feels like I missed a chapter. I wanted to see more of all of these characters! I want to know what their lives are like in this land. Do they have a house? Are they still part of a rebellion to take down Lady Tremaine? I don't know! It's like someone hit fast-forward!

The fact that Mother Gothel was double-timing Drizella is excellent, of course. I did have one complaint, though - Anastasia is awake, and there's a moment where she reacts in horror that Drizella is working with Gothel, only to end up being part of Gothel's plan herself. I'm confused - does Anastasia even know who Gothel is? Why? When would they have met?

Once Upon a Time: One Little Tear (7x09)

Okay... I don't know. I didn’t hate this episode, but I’m losing my patience a wee bit.

Cons:

Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention, but does anybody find these stories a little convoluted? Let’s talk through some of the stuff going on here. We get the real Rapunzel story this time, and it turns out that Victoria Belfrey/Lady Tremaine is Rapunzel, and her husband remarried while she was trapped in the tower, and then she later poisoned Ella’s mother to make her run away so she could have her family back. There were a few times where I had trouble reconciling what we already knew about Ella’s back story with what we were learning here. And then on top of that you’ve got the subplot with Rogers and Weaver which still seems to be going nowhere, although we finally have official confirmation that Rumple is awake.

Once Upon a Time: Eloise Gardener/Pretty in Blue (7x07/08)

I'm going to try and rapid-fire this review, and I'll be treating the two episodes as one.

Cons:

Things got just a tad bit convoluted with Hook's plot. See, he had sex with Rapunzel but Rapunzel was actually Mother Gothal in disguise, and that's who the witch is that Victoria has had imprisoned all this time, but wait Hook's daughter's name is Eloise, but later it's Alice, and they can't be together because of a curse on Hook's heart, but then Alice is in Wonderland for a while, and Drizella is causing more mischief... I feel like there were so many moments that were meant to be shocking that the impact of them started to fade. I like the reveal that Alice is Hook's daughter. I wish we could have just sat with that for a while without throwing in so many twists and turns.

We still don't have official confirmation of whether or not Rumple is awake, and now I'm getting annoyed. Regina tries to confront him, he denies it, and it's like... for once could you just be straight with us, Rumple? It'd be cool to see you and Regina partnering up!

Once Upon a Time: Wake Up Call (7x06)

Well... that's kind of depressing, isn't it? Yikes. I'm not even sure how to process this! Poor Regina!

Cons:

There's a part of me that's rolling my eyes, right, because Once Upon a Time likes to do this thing where it gets itself bogged down into too many rules and ceremonies with magic, but doesn't actually define the magic properly enough to justify this. We learn that Drizella enacted a dark curse that sent everybody to Hyperion Heights, but that she put a failsafe in that means that if the curse is broken, something bad will happen to the people that Regina loves. We're not sure what that is yet. Well, the way to break the curse is with True Love's Kiss, meaning that Regina is now in the position of trying to prevent Henry and Jacinda from getting together. It's a little too hokey and convenient.

I'm also not sure if I like how quickly Drizella developed from intriguing maybe-villain to outright mega-bad-guy. She's shown as a deeply conflicted and sad young woman, but in the space of one episode, she transforms and becomes truly vindictive and terrible. Maybe a little sudden.

Once Upon a Time: Greenbacks (7x05)

There were a few fantastic revelations and powerful moments in this episode of Once Upon a Time, but there was also a considerable amount of uninteresting or unbelievable crap to wade through. A mixed bag.

Cons:

Our flashbacks of the week deal with Princess Tiana's backstory. I really like the woman playing Sabine/Tiana, but this story just seemed confusing and silly to me. I am absolutely in favor of the idea of Tiana discovering that she doesn't need a prince, and can be her own hero... but we've definitely already done that on this show before, and I felt like nothing new was added to the conversation here. Also, the moment in which the man Tiana was helping turned into a frog to join his love... I mean, I get it. We're referencing the movie. But are we supposed to think that that guy was just a super-intelligent frog the whole time? Or that frogs are all as smart as humans but just trapped in frog form? I wasn't really sure what to make of that.

Once Upon a Time: Beauty (7x04)

Wow, what the heck did I just watch? That was a bit brutal!

Cons:

The Hyperion plot is moving along a little too slowly for my taste. In this episode, we see more of Henry and Jacinda's tentative relationship, we see a lot about Ivy, Jacinda's step-sister, and we get some progress with Alice and Rumple. But we still don't know what Victoria is up to exactly, we get no more information about her dead daughter, or the witch, and meanwhile the flashback story is about Rumple and Belle instead of advancing Henry and Jacinda's relationship. That's not to say that there was nothing to like, but after four episodes I'm wishing I had a bit more of the story figured out. I'm not eager to drag out the big reveals for an entire season, like we did with the first season of this show. It's not going to be sustainable this time around.

Okay, the Belle and Rumple story. It's no surprise to anybody who has read my thoughts about this show in the past that I'm not a fan of their relationship. Every time I'd see a plot point designed to bring these two characters back together, I'd be screaming at my computer - "run, Belle! Run away from this monstrous, horrible man!" I was never convinced by the idea that he was worth saving, and Belle wasted a lot of time sticking around waiting for him to become the man she deserves. In the end, as this episode tells us, apparently Rumple did become a good person, whose only wish was to grow old at Belle's side. Consequently, he spends a lot of time looking for a way to get rid of the dagger so he can live a single, mortal life beside his wife.

Once Upon a Time: The Garden of Forking Paths (7x03)

I felt a little less happy with this episode, mostly because I feel like the plot is moving forward so slowly. We did get a good amount of information here, but I kind of wish we could speed things along!

Cons:

So, the Hyperion Heights story-line had a few of those moments of cheesiness that were just a little over the line for me. Jacinda makes a speech about hope and belief to a bunch of people from Hyperion Heights, and they all eat it up. It reminded me of Henry's awful speech in New York a few seasons back. It felt unrealistic that people in the actual real world we live in today would be swayed by such sappiness.

There's a pacing issue going on where certain things set up in episode one are still being dragged out. I don't want to be told all of the answers to the season's big mysteries, of course. I like not knowing exactly what Rumple is up to, or what he knows. I like not knowing how and when Tremaine enacts the curse. But other things feel pointlessly secretive. Like we meet a witch that Victoria has been keeping prisoner, but we don't learn the witch's identity. Why are we saving that for later? And we learn that Cinderella is in some way responsible for the death of one of Tremaine's daughters, but we don't learn what happened. Whatever it is, can we not just know now so we can move on to more interesting things?

Once Upon a Time: A Pirate's Life (7x02)

Cute! Very cute! And satisfactory! Also I still don't know why there's a Season Seven of this show, but whatever. Let's take a look.

Cons:

The evil stepmother is silly in how evil she is. Clearly she and Mr. Gold have some sort of deal worked out, and I'm sure we'll learn more about that later... but come on. She wants Henry framed for theft to remove him from her life, she wants to prevent Jacinda from seeing Lucy for no good reason... it's just so campy. I know that we'll get more on her motivations at a later date, but at this point I'm kind of rolling my eyes.

The flashback story explains a lot about why we have some characters trapped in Hyperion Heights, but not others. But one problem it does have is its pacing... I feel like a ton of things happened very quickly, because we had to establish the origin story of Wish!Hook, the reason why Regina, Wish!Hook, and Henry are all together in the same place, why Emma isn't around, etc. etc. all in a very short period of time. We have the older, potbellied Hook being magicked into a young hot version conveniently, we have Wish!Hook doing a 180 on his apparent motivations, we have Emma showing up basically just to hug Henry, and then turning around and leaving again... all of this felt a bit unbalanced and almost like I wanted to see a two-parter. Is this because I want more Hook and Emma? Maybe. But I also think the story genuinely could have been balanced out a bit more.