Once Upon a Time: The Black Fairy (6x19)

Oh boy. Ohhhh boy. Let's take a look.

Cons:

Emma and Hook's wedding is apparently supposed to be the next day? They were putting it off because of the impending threat of the Black Fairy, but when they believe (mistakenly) that the threat has been neutralized, Snow says basically "yay, the wedding can happen tomorrow after all." Did I miss something? It's a small detail, but I just feel strange about it. If the threat's gone, then what the heck is the big giant rush?

Lodging my typical plea: Belle, please stay away from Rumple. Please, please don't get back together with him. I'm begging you.

Also, Rumple pulls a switcheroo in this episode, which... well... I'm hoping he's got another double-cross up his sleeve. But even if he doesn't, I am a little annoyed with the rest of the gang for just believing him so easily about something as serious as the Black Fairy's demise. Rumple has lied to everybody so many times by now. Maybe don't trust him to go off on his own and make the right choice?

Pros:

So, the main plot tells us the backstory of Rumple, and it's a doozy. Turns out, he was destined the be the Savior! The Black Fairy, who was called Fiona before all of this happened, is horrified to hear from Tiger Lily (her son's fairy godmother) and the Blue Fairy that her baby boy is destined to be the Savior, and is destined to die to protect the world. Fiona basically steals power from the fairies to try and force safety for her son. She creates the Dark Curse, hoping to banish all children who might grow up to be a threat to her son. The prophecy states that the great evil will be born the same winter as the Savior. Turns out, the great evil is the evil brewing inside of Fiona, coming forth out of her desperation to save her son. In the end, Tiger Lily offers her the Shears that can cut Fiona off from her magic, so that her destiny will no longer be to destroy her own child. Instead, she cuts baby Rumple off from his destiny, insisting that she needs her powers. Blue and Tiger Lily banish Fiona to another realm, and return baby Rumple to his father, who we know later turns in to Peter Pan. He resents his baby for causing the supposed "death" of his wife, the love of his life.

And things come full circle. In the present day, now that Rumple understands all that, he seems to side with his mother. He tells the heroes that the Black Fairy has been safely destroyed, as he is the Savior that was destined to go up against her in the first place. Instead, the Black Fairy gleefully states that Emma, as a current Savior, still needs to die. It looks like mother and son are reunited and on the same side... or is Rumple planning a double-cross?

So much to unpack with all of this. I loved seeing Rumple come to terms with his abandonment, and I loved how this was all framed by Emma's help. She remarks that nothing is going to be more terrifying than learning the reason you were left as a baby. She points out to Rumple that to learn the truth, he'll need to be vulnerable, and "you and I are people who are really bad at being vulnerable." The fact that the truth was so different from what Rumple was expecting just makes this all the more delicious.

Also, what a twist! The idea that Rumple was destined to be the Savior was not one that had ever crossed my mind. The minute I heard that he was destined to fight a great evil, my mind started working overtime trying to figure out who was the destined evil, and then of course it hit me before the reveal that it would be the Black Fairy herself. Still, they had me going there for a while, and it made for a great intriguing mystery!

Of course, Rumple's motivation going in to all of this is just to save Gideon, and he does accomplish that. Now that he and the Black Fairy are apparently on the same side, Gideon gets his heart back and is returned to sanity. Despite all of the craziness going on here, I liked that Gideon and Belle got to properly reunite. It made me a little misty-eyed!

In subplot news, Regina helps Zelena adjust to life without magic by teaching her to drive, with mixed results. Regina tells Zelena that if they lose the final battle, she wants Zelena to take Henry away to New York where he can start a new life. This was a great moment, as Regina was placing her trust in her sister to do right by Henry, even as she makes a joke about trusting Henry to raise Zelena, not the other way around. In the end, of course, Zelena ends up bowling over the Black Fairy with the car in a timely fashion, saving Regina from the Black Fairy's wrath. That was a great payoff.

In the cutest scene ever, Hook asks Henry for his help on their most important mission to date: Operation Best Man. They have the best exchange, where Henry says "I'm honored," and Hook says "well, it is an honor." Hook says he's not staying the night at the house because it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, at which Emma rolls her eyes. The whole thing is just so cute and domestic and I have so many feelings about this little family.

That's it. Next week is the musical episode. As I think over the musical episodes that I've seen in my other shows, I'll just say this: there's no in-between. Every one that I've seen has been either amazing (Scrubs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or awful (Grey's Anatomy). There have been few that I would consider middling. So... here's hoping that Once Upon a Time can join the greats, and not the flops. Tonally, I think they can pull it off! I can't wait to find out!

8/10