Once Upon a Time: Page 23 (6x14)

Yeah, okay! I like where we're taking this. Avoiding some cliches, resolving some dangling threads in a good way, forward momentum in other places... this isn't a stand-out amazing episode or anything, but it's an episode that does its job very well.

Cons:

The Evil Queen storyline wraps up in this one, and while I liked a lot of things about it, perhaps it could have been a little less cheesy. Essentially, Regina makes the decision to give some of her love to the Evil Queen, and in turn, take some of her Darkness. A more evenly balanced Evil Queen is given the chance to start somewhere fresh, and it looks like she and Alternate Universe Robin are going to be together in the wish realm. That's all well and good, but it bothered me that both Regina and the Evil Queen seemed to be totally good now. You would think that the Evil Queen would be more like Regina was when she was whole, back before her redemption. A villain, but one with a real chance. Instead, it's like Regina found a shortcut, and now the Evil Queen is a docile hero. Not all that interesting, and perhaps a little too contrived. I also thought that Robin being cut out of the story again was a little cheap. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to bring him back in the first place, but I really thought they'd have more to do there. Oh well.

Pros:

That being said, I'm glad that this whole Evil Queen thing managed to trick me. I thought Regina would be forced to re-combine the two sides of herself, and in a way, she did. But this way, we still have two separate Reginas running around, which is a lot more interesting.

And Henry had a lovely little role to play. He tells the Evil Queen that he knows there's some good in her heart, just as he knows there's some bad in Regina's. He believes in her when nobody else does. And it's Henry, as the Author, who writes the Evil Queen into a place where she can get a fresh start. Henry's whole Author schtick doesn't play a huge part in the show nowadays, but this was a lovely moment for him to have a connection with yet another one of his mothers.

The flashback stuff was actually pretty good, although predictable. We get to see Regina's father again, as he tries unsuccessfully to steer her away from revenge and towards happiness. Regina uses dark magic on Cupid's arrow, so that instead of showing her the person she loves most in the world (Robin, who she was too afraid to meet), it will show her the person she hates most in the world. She thinks this will lead her to Snow, but instead it leads her to a mirror, where she looks at herself, the person she truly hates most. A little on the nose, sure, but it's always great to see Regina's father again, and it led to a great moment of catharsis later when Regina says that she's learned to love herself.

Then we've got the Hook and Emma subplot, which is angsty as all hell, but actually gives me hope for a great resolution. Hook is struggling with what he's done, and he decides to erase his memory of killing David's father with a dreamcatcher. Emma catches him, and realizes what's going on. She's furious and hurt that Hook would keep this secret, and try to hide it away without coming to her. She says that the man she fell in love with would know better - would know that they're supposed to be in this together. Tearfully, she hands Hook her engagement ring and walks out.

At first, Hook decides to go with Captain Nemo in his submarine, because he thinks he needs to discover how to be the man that Emma wants. However, after learning from Snow that the Evil Queen has gotten a happy ending, he realizes that everybody gets second chances. He decides to stay and work things out with Emma. However, as he goes into the submarine to say goodbye to Nemo, the sub suddenly begins submerging. Gideon appears, and reveals that for his plans, Hook needs to be away from Storybrooke. Gideon disappears in a puff of smoke, and Hook is off on an adventure he didn't want to be going on in the first place.

There's so much to love about this. First of all, I like that the secret isn't being dragged out too far. It makes sense that Hook would be tempted to erase what he'd done from his own mind. After all, things were looking pretty darn perfect before he learned the truth. It also makes sense that Emma would be able to see forgiving Hook for the death of her grandfather. It's the lies and the deceit that she can't abide. She needs trust and openness to be a two-way street between them, so to learn that he's kept something so huge from her is really troubling.

The scene between Snow and Killian was so painfully adorable. Snow is happy that the Evil Queen has been redeemed and is out of their lives, and she's so happy that her daughter is engaged. And then there's Killian, wrestling with all of this horribleness that's just happened, being hugged by the woman who's supposed to be his mother-in-law. Of course, it's Snow who helps Killian recognize that he needs to go back and work on things with Emma. It's that moment that tells us that Killian and Emma could work it out. Gideon messing things up is only going to delay the inevitable.

Sorry for all the short reviews. I'm desperately trying to finish everything today, since I just got back from vacation and I'm going to have a terribly busy day tomorrow. In any case, this was a good episode, but not necessarily a great one. It's setting a lot of things in motion, including the potential ending to the dual-sleeping curse arc. I'm really excited to see David and Snow reunite. I'm happy to see the Evil Queen arc end, even if I might have wanted a bit more nuance to go along with her exit.

8/10