I didn't dislike this finale, but I did think it had a lot of structural weaknesses when you look at it on its own. Most of its merit seems to be in setting up the game for next season, which I'm alright with in theory... let's just take a look.
Cons:
This episode splits itself into two separate branches. One follows Hook, Snow, David, and Zelena, who accidentally get sucked in to another realm through a portal. The other follows Emma and Regina, as they follow Henry and his crush Violet to New York, where Henry is determined to find a way to destroy magic for good. Why? Well, Henry suddenly reasons that every bad thing that's ever happened to him and his family has been because of magic. Henry and Violet are also being tracked down by Rumple, who does not take kindly to his power source being threatened. At one point Henry does "destroy" magic, at least temporarily. He then learns that the rest of his family is trapped in another realm, and by destroying all the magic from Storybrooke, he has cut them off from each other. Henry then does a total 180, and makes a speech about how magic can save them all. He and his family all throw coins into a fountain, and Henry gets the other New Yorkers to throw coins in as well. Wishing to be reunited with the family seems to be enough to restore magic, and Hook, Snow, David, Zelena, and their new friend Dr. Jekyll all come through and reunite with their loved ones.
I have several problems here. First of all, Henry suddenly hating magic does not make any sense. He's a smart kid, and he has the heart of the truest believer, right? So shouldn't he be able to understand that it wasn't magic that killed Robin Hood, but rather the evils of Hades specifically? It's not magic that causes Regina such inner turmoil - it's a battle with her own inner demons. Magic is a tool that can be used for good or for evil. (This reminds me of the intrinsic argument from BBC's Merlin, actually). I can understand Henry making a rash decision born out of grief and desperation, but for him to totally turn around and hate magic all of a sudden felt totally idiotic to me.
Then there's the conclusion to this storyline, where he suddenly realizes that he doesn't hate magic. That moment when he makes a speech about believing in magic to a crowd of New Yorkers was beyond cheesy. It might have worked if Henry was still Season One Henry, an adorable little kid that the people of New York might humor for his cute performance. But what crowd of New Yorkers would actually stop and listen to a fifteen-year-old boy spouting some sappy lines about belief and love and magic, and then actually listen to him and start throwing coins into the fountain? It was pretty weak. And the fact that it worked... well... I'm willing to put up with a lot of cheese from this show, but once you move it to New York and try and show me magic in a more real-world setting, the whole thing sort of falls apart.
This episode also briefly reintroduced the character of The Dragon, who was just as pointless this time around as he was before. He tries to open a portal for our other characters, but it doesn't work out. In the end, the Evil Queen part of Regina shows up and appears to kill him. This was a detour I really could have done without, honestly.
Rumple's role in events was not bad at all, but I do hate the fact that Belle has basically been chilling out in a sleeping curse inside of Pandora's Box all this time, and therefore nobody can check in with her about what she actually wants. I'm not sure if it's an issue with the actress's availability, or what. Whatever the case, it's definitely bothering me.
Lastly, this episode deals with the introduction of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I liked almost everything about this plot thread, but I'm a bit miffed at the decision to use different actors for the two halves of the same psyche. I think one of the most interesting things about the Jekyll and Hyde story is to see how a performer can pull off playing both halves. And it's not like we haven't had actors double up on this show before. We've seen Dark One!Emma, we've seen James, David's evil twin, we've seen Regina as the Evil Queen. Why couldn't one actor be given the meaty role of Jekyll and Hyde? Especially given Regina's decision to split herself from the Evil Queen, which I'll talk more about in a second. It might have made an interesting parallel!
Pros:
So... I've already covered what happens with Henry, basically. Although his whole "magic sucks" attitude seems to come straight out of nowhere, and then his switch back is similarly random, this plot thread was not without merit. I do rather like the blossoming romance with Violet. She accompanies Henry and helps him on his quest, and at the end of the episode Henry gets to have his first kiss. Both of his moms are hovering nearby, which is super awkward but also pretty cute. We also learn that Violet's dad wasn't actually from Camelot originally, and he plans on sticking around in Storybrooke. He originated in Connecticut, and often lamented being a "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." Oh my word. Pullin' out the Twain references up in here. That was an awesome moment.
Also in the New York side of things, we get Regina's journey. She laments the fact that she doesn't actually like being good. It hasn't been working out for her all this time - Robin is dead, and she's destined to forever be pulled towards the darker part of her nature. She confides in Emma that she'll never succumb to the Evil Queen part of her again, because she doesn't want to hurt Henry or the other people she loves. However, she'll never be truly happy. Emma had spent much of the episode worrying that Regina might go all Evil Queen again because Robin was gone. She felt guilty that she got to keep Hook, while Regina lost her true love. But Regina and Emma patch up their spat, and are united in their quest to save their families from the other realm to which they've been banished. In the end, Regina decides to use a potion to split herself apart, removing the Evil Queen element and banishing it for good.
I'm so glad we're mixing things up like this. I was preparing myself to get another exhausting turn to Evil Queen stuff, with Regina succumbing to her dark side yet again, and then finally finding a way back to herself, yadda yadda. It's old hat by this point. Instead, we get the really interesting idea that she doesn't really like being good. But she does love the people in her life who are good, and she knows she has to be better for them. The decision to split the Evil Queen away from herself was obviously a terrible one, for a couple of different reasons. First of all, on the practical level, Regina believes she has vanquished the Evil Queen, but it turns out that she's still around to cause havoc. Secondly, I think one of the lessons in this show is about overcoming your dark past and being a better person in spite of it. Hook is an example of that, and Regina was too... up until this point. Now she's literally passing the buck, pushing off the guilt and terror of her past decisions onto a separate entity. I think in order for Regina to ultimately find peace, she needs to fully reconcile her past with her present. She should feel bad for the things she once did. She can't pretend that it was somebody else who did them. Regina, for all that she's truly changed, still has trouble taking responsibility for her own actions. I think that will be an interesting thread to follow moving forward.
I also really love Regina and Emma working together. They make for an unconventional yet undeniably effective co-parenting team. Regina's anger was close to boiling over for most of the episode, but when she read a letter Robin had written for her and never sent, back when he was living in New York with "Marian" aka Zelena, all of the anger leaves Regina in a rush. She's left feeling depressed and defeated. In that moment, she confides in Emma, and they emerge with a stronger connection than ever before. I'd love to see more of their relationship next season.
Finally, we get to the Jekyll and Hyde storyline. It was pretty much just your basic Once Upon a Time fare. Hook, Snow, David, and Zelena end up in a realm that seems to be a mix of a bunch of unfinished stories from different realms. It's like a refuge for the leftovers from other places. One of the people living there is the meek and timid Dr. Jekyll, who tries to help the prisoners escape from his alter ego, Mr. Hyde. In the end, thanks to Henry's fountain wish idea, Jekyll gets to return with the heroes back to New York, and he accompanies them back to Storybrooke. Before that, Jekyll had used a potion to separate himself from Hyde, leaving Hyde trapped in the other realm and thus freeing himself from torment. Unfortunately, Hyde makes a deal with Rumple. He will help Rumple to wake Belle from her sleep, and in return, Hyde will take over Storybrooke, bringing with him all the characters from the unfinished stories of his in-between realm.
I complained about Jekyll and Hyde being played by different actors, and that complaint stands. However, I will say that both actors gave a great performance, and I am excited to see what their roles will be moving forward. I love that Rumple made a deal with Hyde, since that's bound to up the drama. For the first time in a long time, we're not resetting to a new realm or a new situation at the start of a new season. There's no trip to Neverland, or influx of Frozen characters, or trip to Camelot, or the Underworld. Instead, we're staying put in Storybrooke, and getting an influx of new characters to interact with. I really like that idea. Like I said at the start of this review, one of this finale's real strengths was not in the episode itself, but in its setup for next season. I'm sufficiently pumped for what's coming next.
I'll finish off with some small details.
Captain Charming! For those who don't know, that's the ship name for Hook and David. I don't see it as a romantic thing, but I did love all of their interactions in this episode. Did you see that they hugged in the background at Granny's, when Hook first showed up? That was adorable in every way. David also tried to save Hook from being choked by Hyde, and caught him as he fell to the ground after being released. I was just really digging the bromance vibes with these two, and I'd love to see more of that.
Hook and Emma, of course, spent most of the episode in separate realms. Season Five has been the most Hook/Emma centric season we've ever had. Both halves of the season centered around their relationship, and it was nice to go back to having them be a subplot. I love their relationship, and I'm always down to see more of it, but it's exciting to see some of the other character dynamics explored. The episode ends with Emma telling Hook that she loves him. She makes a point of saying it when they aren't in immediate danger, and nobody is facing down a life or death situation. She wants Hook to know that she's capable of saying those words when everything is normal and good. Hook then lifts her into his arms as the two share a passionate, loving kiss. It was the nice fairytale ending to a season full of strife. I think this show is smart enough to know that what we need next is some solid relationship building. I want to see the two of them in a relationship on good footing. Even if everything else is falling apart in Storybrooke, we need our dear couple to be a united front.
The last small detail: several of our guest characters from Camelot, the Enchanted Forest, and other realms that exist in the same dimension have made their exit from Storybrooke. We said a brief goodbye to Merida, and the Merry Men are heading back to Sherwood, bringing little Roland along. I was wondering what would happen to Roland, if Regina would take him in or if he'd stay with Robin's band of thieves. I sort of love the idea of him living with the Merry Men. Zelena promises that they'll visit soon. Roland gives his baby sister a kiss on the forehead, and gives Zelena a feather from one of Robin Hood's arrows for Regina to have. My heart broke into a million pieces. Seriously adorable. Poor orphaned Roland! I do hope that he's not completely dropped from the story - even if they don't bring the kid back, I'd love some mention of visits to Sherwood so that Roland can still be a part of Regina and baby Robin's lives.
I think that's what I've got. The last time we had a Henry-centric finale, I was oddly quite pleased with it. This time, the Henry stuff didn't do as much for me. I think part of that is because the older he gets, the less tolerance I have for his childish speeches about bringing everybody together. It worked when he was really little, because he was a symbol of innocence. Now? It's not coming together quite as nicely. That being said, this episode did provide us with an influx of new characters and ideas. Next year we'll have to wrestle with the Evil Queen, along with Mr. Hyde. Two formidable enemies indeed!
7/10
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