Obviously, spoilers ahead.
Season Five has been a ride, to say the least. From Camelot and many, many Dark Ones to Hades and the Underworld (which made my inner Percy Jackson nerd very happy), a lot happened, characters changed and we said goodbye to a few (though not everyone’s favorite pirate, thank the gods – literally).
When I first watched the promo for the finale my first two thoughts were “Oh no” quickly followed by “This might not be that bad." Regina might be embracing the Evil Queen after the death of Robin. Understandable. After all, I’d already seen a similar premise take place on a certain supernatural show when a certain red-haired witch’s girlfriend is killed in front of her. When one possesses magic, the “anger” stage of grief can be a little flashy and a little deadly, but in the end, the love and support of friends can bring them back to reality. That was my prediction of how the two-hour finale would play out.
Boy was I wrong. I guess they need to entice people somehow. But talk about false advertising!
Overall, however, I did enjoy the way it turned out. I figured out Jekyll and Hyde right before they revealed it. It took me a while, trying to think what story takes place in a normal setting in the late 1800s; it looked similar to their take on Dr. Frankenstein. By the end we all know exactly why they chose Jekyll and Hyde and had them use the formula to separate the two men. I did get annoyed when it seemed like they trapped the heroes in their realm though. At least they got them back relatively easily and didn’t have to spend a whole other half season finding a way to bring them back.
Who else agrees with me that the Land of Untold Stories looks like a steampunk paradise? I think it would be fun to see more of this realm. On that note, I also love the idea of endless storybooks and other fantasy realms. I caught a picture of Paul Bunyan and Babe; maybe there’s an American folk tale world somewhere.
(I caught the hotel that Gold was staying in was called Hotel d’Or, or “Gold Hotel” in French. Nice touch.)
Henry destroyed magic! Obviously from the promo we knew this was coming but I guess it wasn’t as dramatic and absolute as they made it out to be. So of course it’s Henry who figures out the idea of wishes and hope and belief. I can’t believe he had his little magic speech -- and that it worked. Only in New York I guess. You could have taken this dialogue and put it into a generic Santa-Claus-is-real movie. But it was sweet that Henry, after doing basically nothing this half of the season, was the one who did the bad thing and fixed it.
I think it is good that they had Regina face herself. I guess she never really had a chance, ever since she became a “good” character. I’m not really sure when I stopped thinking of her as a villain, come to think of it. But I like the new person she has become, and happy we don’t have to say goodbye to the Evil Queen just yet (because her outfits are on point). I am really glad that, if they had to bring her back, it was as a separate person and not Regina reverting again. That would just undermine the progress she has been making.
I thought, just for a minute, they would actually finish a story and start fresh next season, like they did with three into four. Oh well. So the madness continues.
