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.

Pros:

On the flip side of that, I do rather like Rogers and Weaver working together. I think it's an intriguing partnership, and showing Rumple and Hook in the other reality reminded me of why this pairing is so interesting. Rumple's only goal is finding a way to reunite with Belle, and Hook just wants to find his daughter. Or, Rogers just wants to solve the puzzle. He doesn't know exactly what it is he's longing for, but it's interesting to watch him struggle for it all the same.

And the stuff with poor Tilly is just so intriguing to me. Of all the post-wake-up reactions, I think the one I'm looking forward to the most is the moment when Hook and Alice get to remember each other and be reunited as father and daughter. Things are not looking good at the moment, but I love the fact that Weaver and Rogers both believe Tilly to be innocent. They just have to set about proving it.

I loved Ivy in this episode. There's something so perfectly tragic about losing a parental figure with whom you had a complicated relationship. I was annoyed with the way they portrayed Victoria's sudden change of heart as she died, but I enjoyed the fall-out for Ivy/Drizella's character here. Being drawn to Henry makes sense, and I'm glad they didn't try and go down the "misunderstanding" love triangle plot thread here. Henry has feelings for Jacinda, and he's a good enough person not to take advantage of someone who's grieving. And seeing Ivy and Jacinda hug and have that moment of connection was really special as well. I don't know what Ivy's plans are moving forward. I almost wish she could have just told Jacinda about the curse, but I'm not sure how well that would have played out. In any case, I'd look forward eagerly to the idea of a sisterly bond forming between these two women before the show closes out.

Regina tells Lucy that she's awake! Yay! This is seriously all I wanted. It's such a nice, unexpected inversion from Regina's earlier years as the Evil Queen. She was awake then too, but she allowed her son to go through everything alone for her own selfish reasons. Here, she decides to let Lucy in on the truth, and the two of them are going to set about saving the day together. Lucy gets to meet her grandmother for real, and it's such a sweet direction for the story to go.

I'm also intrigued about how the relationship between Jacinda and Lucy is going to change moving forward. Obviously Jacinda and Henry both picked up on Lucy's weird change of heart at the game night, and now Henry is nervous that Lucy doesn't think he's good enough for her mom, while Jacinda is curious about her daughter's strange behavior. Even with Regina's help, it's going to be difficult to navigate these shifting plans and priorities, and I could see it being really interesting.

So... yeah. I'm a broken record, but I do want to say once again that while I'm enjoying lots of things about this season of Once Upon a Time, I do agree that it's time to say goodbye to the show for good. Hopefully we can go out on a high note!

7.5/10