OUAT: Exeunt Emma Swan

Last time on “Once:” A strange sense of deja vu.

Henry decided to leave home after graduating high school in order to find his own story since he was in any of the storybooks he found in the Sorcerer’s mansion. Regina had her concerns but let him go, watching as he used a magic bean to drive his motorcycle off into another realm. We next saw him all grown up and now played by Andrew J. West as he caused a carriage on the road to crash. He ran over to check on the rider, surprised to find it was a new version of Cinderella.

He roused her and she was rightly pissed off that he destroyed her carriage and made her horse run off. She said she was late for the ball and Henry offered to give her a ride on his motorcycle. She had some doubts but she got in, letting him show her how it worked. Henry then told her about her story at her request, about how she falls in love with the prince but has to leave him a sign to find her—her shoe. Cinderella laughed, saying that was ridiculous. And she didn’t believe in signs anyway. She did believe in punching Henry and stealing his motorcycle, though.

He was clearly in love with her before he even hit the ground.

Henry pursued Cinderella to the ball, dancing with her as he tried to get his knife back from her. She confessed that she was really there to kill the prince because he killed her father. Henry tried to convince her to come with him to his land, to get a second chance. But she chose to get her revenge, running off with the prince. Henry tried to stop her but he ended up tripping and meeting Alice, who said she was asked to watch over him by his grandfather. She warned him that bad things happen when someone interferes in a story that isn’t their own and told him to go home. Henry said he helps people and stormed back to the ballroom.

Cinderella was about to kill the prince but had a change of heart. Unfortunately for him, Lady Tremaine killed him because he rejected Drizella while his own brother seemed to favor her. She then framed Cinderella and Henry helped her escape, telling her to take his motorcycle and meet him where they first met so they could go to his realm together. An epic fight scene ensued as Cinderella made a break for it.

Henry returned to the spot where het met Cinderella but she wasn’t there. He figured she took the bike and went somewhere else just as his portal home opened. But when Henry spotted her shoe, he knew she wanted her to find her. So he allowed the portal to close up and announced that Operation Glass Slipper was a go.

All of this was intercut with scenes in our world, focused on a town in Seattle called Hyperion Heights. Unsuccessful but published author Henry was drawn there after a young girl name Lucy knocked on his door and told him that she was his daughter. She told him his family was trapped in a curse and they needed to break it. Henry told her curses weren’t real and he just made up everything in his book.

Lucy stole his laptop to force him to journey out to her neighborhood and it worked. There, he met Roni—Regina’s cursed identity who owns a bar—and Jacinda, Lucy’s mother and Cinderella’s cursed identity. She had a bad day, getting fired from her minimum wage job and then losing Lucy. Her stepmother, Victoria Belfrey—Lady Tremaine—then ordered that Lucy live with her full time and Jacinda ran off as Roni glared at Victoria.

Meanwhile, Henry’s presence was reported by Alice’s cursed self to Rumple’s cursed self, Weaver. He seemed to be a shady character in the neighborhood. Keep that in mind.

Henry discovered his car was stolen and he reported it missing, meeting Hook’s cursed self, Officer Rogers. Afterward, he had a tense confrontation with Lucy where he told her that she wasn’t his daughter because he lost his real wife and daughter in a fire. She couldn’t convince him that was just part of the curse and he left as Jacinda pulled up and told Lucy they needed to go.

Victoria enlisted Officer Rogers’ and Henry’s help to find Jacinda and Lucy. Henry told her of an island Jacinda confessed she wanted to live on and Officer Rogers picked up Lucy. Ivy—Drizella’s cursed counterpart—took the book away from her and gave it to Rogers. He spotted something inside it but pushed it aside. Afterwards, Jacinda gave it to Henry and walked away as he got his car back.

Officer Rogers got a promotion to detective and was partnered with Weaver—who was doing shady things earlier if you remember. Roni decided not to sell her bar to Victoria, deciding to stand up to the town bully. Jacinda got her job back and then went to toss a quarter into the well. As she did so, Rogers continued to stare at the page in the book that enticed him earlier—a picture of Emma—and Henry discovered that there is no cemetery where he thought his family was buried. He then went home and started writing as a flower bloomed in the garden.

We open in Storybrooke, years ago…according to the title card. Hook fights young Henry on the Jolly Roger, the two clashing swords all over its deck until Henry gets the upperhand. Emma praises him, saying he fights as well as his grandfather. Henry starts to reply and Hook is able to introduce him to floor. He gives Henry some advice but Henry just goes off to sulk, saying he’ll never be good enough.

(Teen angst ahoy!)

Emma asks what’s going on with him and Hook tells her that Henry is growing. She realizes he’s going to leave and Hook agrees, saying it’s time. Emma, though, is worried. She says she missed so much and doesn’t know if she’ll get a second chance. Hook assures her she will have the time. He then pulls out a little bottle from a chest and she asks if it’s rum. He says it’s something he picked up during his troubles, explaining you speak a message into it, say the name of whoever you want it to go to and then drop it in the water. It’s then taken to that person. Emma realizes he’s going to give to Henry so he can stay in touch and she thanks him. Hook assures her that Henry will be fine, that he was lucky to have a mother like her. And she says Henry is lucky to have a pirate like Hook. They hug as they watch a brooding Henry continue to brood.

(Ridiculously happy)

Adult Henry races through the woods when Lady Tremaine and two guards stop him. She announces that he helped Cinderella kill the prince and he points out that she didn’t kill anyone. Lady Tremaine says the royal family disagrees. She asks where Cinderella is but he doesn’t know. So she then asks where the slipper he was spotted with is and he replies that he hid it. She says Henry must love Cinderella and he’s like “It’s a bit early for that.” Lady Tremaine orders the guards to seize him and he uses the bottle Hook gave him, pouring out the water before saying that he was captured by Lady Tremaine and asking for Emma and Regina to come help him. Oh, and Hook too. He drops it in the water and it disappears.


Henry opens his apartment door and is surprised to find Officer Rogers there so early—about 6:30 AM. He tells Rogers that he already feels guilty about what he did to Jacinda and Lucy but that’s not why Rogers is there. He shows Henry the book and then opens it to the page with Emma on it, asking who she is. Henry’s like “a character in my book. Duh.” Rogers says he feels like he’s known her before and wonders if Henry based her on someone. Henry says that he made her up and Rogers thanks him, apologizing for disturbing him so early.


Rogers starts to leave but Henry stops him, asking for a favor. He explains that he’s trying to find where some family members are buried but keeps hitting a dead end. Rogers says it’s not his department but he agrees to help. Henry then asks how Jacinda and Lucy are doing and the officer replies that they aren’t doing well. He leaves a guilt-ridden Henry behind.

(He feels like crap)

Jacinda approaches Ivy at her desk at Belfrey Development and asks for the ticket to Lucy’s ballet performance. Ivy says that Victoria’s decided it should now be a charity benefit for underprivileged children and so tickets are now $550. Jacinda is outraged and as Victoria comes out of a meeting, she says that Victoria priced it just out of her paycheck so she couldn’t see Lucy. Victoria insists her assistant set the price and Jacinda asks why she can’t get a second chance. Victoria tells her she has to earn one but I doubt Victoria would ever consider giving Jacinda one.


(Also, do all the other parents now have to pay to see this recital? Are they rich like Victoria? If not, I would be really pissed off to have to spend that much money on something that was initially free—charity or not).

(Group hug Jacinda!)

In the Enchanted Forest, the guards throw Henry onto a small bed. Lady Tremaine tells him that this is where his beloved Cinderella used to live and that it’s the closest he’ll get to her. She asks him to tell her where the slipper is and he refuses. So she tells Drizella to get the information from him and then kill him. When she leaves, Henry tells Drizella that she doesn’t have to do what her mother says and that he doesn’t think she’s as evil as Lady Tremaine. That’s she’s a good person. Drizella says she’s not and pulls a knife, ready to torture him to get the information.


A portal opens up and Hook takes out the guards. He then orders Drizella to get away from Henry. She asks who they are and Regina steps forward, saying she’s his mother. And then she uses her magic to blast Drizella back, knocking her out. Henry says he’s glad to see Hook and Regina. Hook says he’s glad he used the bottle. Regina smiles at her son and says that he grew up. He says he did but that he misses her. They hug and then he asks where Emma is. Hook says that Emma was fighting tiny dragons in Storybrooke and Henry accepts that. He heads out but Regina holds Hook back, asking him why he lied to Henry. Hook says that Emma wanted him to and that if Henry knew the truth, he would want to come home. She wants him to live his life and he asks Regina to respect her decision. Regina looks less than pleased with this.

(Mama Bear Regina is back!)

Weaver leans against a car and comments that Rogers is late. Rogers checks his watch and says that his shift doesn’t start for another hour. In response, Weaver asks him if he knows why Rogers was assigned as his partner. Rogers figures it’s because he worked hard but Weaver says he requested him, despite everyone saying Rogers couldn’t be a real detective with his fake hand. Weaver wants to see what Rogers is made of and maybe, one day, he’ll be a real boy detective. He tosses Rogers the keys and tells him that they have to get started.

(Weaver's pretty casual)

At Roni’s, Sabine tries to help Jacinda by showing her an app she can use to find odd jobs to try to raise the money to pay for a ticket. Henry then shows up and Sabine figures out by the tension who he is. She excuses herself to head back to work as Henry tries to grovel. He offers to pay for the ballet ticket but Jacinda snaps at him, saying she’s not some damsel in distress that needs to be rescued. He tries to defend himself but Jacinda reminds him that he’s the reason she doesn’t have her daughter. He apologizes but she just walks away, saying she has work and a ballet to attend.

(If looks could kill...)

Lucy gave her a grandmother a bouquet of hyacinths and left a note saying they just started blooming in the garden. Oh, she is extra and I like it. Victoria hides the note as Weaver and Rogers enter. She says she needs them to get rid of Henry Mills, saying he’s been seeing talking with Jacinda again. She says he’s a bad influence on her family and trusts they’ll be able to get rid of him. Victoria then looks directly at an uncertain Rogers as she asks if it will be a problem.

(Extra)

Weaver and Rogers get on the elevator and Rogers ask why they are taking orders from Victoria as they don’t work for her. Weaver agrees that they don’t. He tells Rogers that they work for him.


In the Enchanted Forest, Regina’s magic is on the fritz and she is unable to cast a locator spell on Cinderella’s shoe. Hook smells salt air and realizes they are by the sea, so he figures there’s a port town nearby. And if there’s a port town, he bets there are pirates. He says that if a woman with one glass slipper came through, they’ll remember. So he offers to go get information. Regina suggests bringing Henry so they can talk. Hook sees right through that and reasons that it would be better for Henry to stay behind because of the price on his head. So he leaves mother and son behind and makes for town.

(If looks could kill...Part II)

Rogers watches as Weaver presses Roni for information about Henry. She invokes bartender-customer confidentiality and stares him down until he gives. He says he has other ways of getting the information he needs and orders Rogers to pay for his drink. Roni warns Rogers to be careful, that he had to have been warned about Weaver. Rogers assures her that he can take care of himself. She tells him that Weaver brings in a lot of new partners and not many return. Roni asks him if the promotion is worth losing himself. He thanks her but once again assures her he is fine.

(A friendly warning)

Hook walks through the port town when someone addresses him by name. He wonders who would know his name in this realm and pulls his sword, turning around to find a caped fellow. Hook demands the person’s name but the person says that it’s his own, adjusting the cape to reveal Fat!Hook from the Wish Realm. Hook is mildly annoyed, saying he knows who the other Hook is. Wish!Hook is pleased, asking if Emma talked about him. Hook says that he knows that Wish!Hook is a twisted version of him and isn’t real. But Wish!Hook insists that he’s as real as Hook and then taunts Hook, asking if he’s afraid of what he’ll become. Hook’s just like "Never going to happen.”

(He returns!)

Wish!Hook agrees. He says that he’s from a realm where Regina never cast the curse, which allowed Hook to find love. Wish!Hook, though, didn’t and so fell into a life of misery and loneliness. Then he met Emma, found out she loved some version of him and went searching through the realms for her. And today, he found out she was there in that realm. He pulled out an identical bottle and played Henry’s message, explaining it went to both Captain Hook’s. He demands to know where Emma is and is determined to take her from Hook. Hook’s like “I do not have time for this” and he easily sidesteps Wish!Hook, saying the man is soaked in rum and self-pity. Wish!Hook agrees with the self-pity before revealing he hasn’t touched rum in years. He then headbutts Hook, knocks him out and hides him in a wagon so he can go find Emma.


Rogers joins Weaver outside. Weaver says they need to start looking into Henry but Rogers says he won’t do it. Weaver thinks he’s taking some sort of moral stance but Rogers says he has a better way to get information on him. He tells Weaver that there are sides of him he doesn’t know as Weaver wonders if his new partner has some darkness in him.


Wish!Hook saunters into Cinderella’s room and says he had heard Lady Tremaine was in that realm. Apparently, they know each other and this may not be her original realm. She says he’s lucky he can still see after what he did to her but he doesn’t seem fazed. He offers to help her with Henry by getting him to go home as long as she does something for him. He explains that he’s trying to win a woman named Emma Swan, who is in love with another version of him he has stowed away. Wish!Hook holds up a vial of Hook’s blood and asks her to turn him into the other Hook. She says she doesn’t have magic and he replies that she has a knack for acquiring things. Lady Tremaine pulls out the fairy godmother’s wand and says they have a deal. With a wave of the wand, the blood washes over Wish!Hook and makes him look just like our Hook.

(Personal boundaries? What are those?)

In Hyperion Heights, Sabine hits a dead end trying to help Jacinda earn enough money. She apologizes but Jacinda thanks her for trying to help her. But then Sabine finds a job she says is perfect, showing her phone to Jacinda. Jacinda sees it’s a catering job…at the ballet!


Jacinda and Sabine show up at the hall. The caterer introduces them to the bartender, who is Henry. He explains that he worked a few events in his time and so he showed up, convincing the caterer to have a second bar. And he got the ability to hire his staff. Sabine is impressed by Henry’s move but Jacinda is still pissed. He says he’s sorry and that she doesn’t have to see him again after this if she wants. She seems okay with that.

(Sabine looks concerned while Jacinda almost looks impressed)

Rogers and Weaver break into Henry’s apartment and start looking around. Rogers says there’s nothing but Weaver tells him to look with his eyes. He holds up a Nancy Drew book and then draws Rogers’ attention to a doll on the bookshelf. He says everything suggests a daughter but where is she? Is Henry divorced and can’t see her? Rogers doesn’t see how that’s dirt but Weaver says it’s a weak point they can exploit. He asks if Rogers has any questions since he was clearly there before as he knew how to turn on the lamp. Weaver says he needs Rogers to be either a good detective or loyal to him and he’s banking on loyalty. So is Rogers loyal? He tells Weaver to test him and he promises he will.

(Ahh, Nancy Drew)

At the ballet recital, Lucy sneaks out to give her mother a hug. She’s happy to see Jacinda there but even happier when she learns that Henry helped her. Lucy is convinced he’s starting to remember. Meanwhile, Sabine asks if Henry loves Jacinda. He stutters out a denial and insists he is just a guy who screwed up and is trying to make up for it. She says it looks like a good start and heads out into the crowd as Lucy promises to look for her mother from the stage. She heads backstage to get ready.

(All together now: Aww...)

Victoria calls Weaver, telling him that Henry is at the event and that she wants him handled. He hangs up and tells Rogers they need to go. As they leave the apartment, Rogers pauses when he spots Henry’s swan keychain. He picks it up and leaves.


As Wish!Hook approaches the cabin where Regina and Henry are hiding, we cut inside to see how mother and son are doing. She catches him up on the happenings of Storybrooke, including the fact that Archie’s psychiatry business isn’t doing so well with everyone getting their happy endings but that his marriage officiating one is exploding. Regina says his grandparents, the Charmings, are still sickeningly happy. He asks her how she’s doing. She says she’s fine but he doesn’t buy it. She admits she misses him and he says he misses her too. He then asks her about Emma and she insists that she’s fine as well, but Henry is still suspicious.

(Excuse me while I go cry Regal Believer tears)

(I’d like to note that it is about halfway through Emma’s final episode and she hasn’t been seen since the first scene).


Regina asks Henry about how his story is going. She says it sounds like it’s been interesting and he agrees, though he says maybe he wishes it was less interesting. He sighs, saying he doesn’t know how Cinderella feels for him. Maybe she hates him and just ditched the shoes. He knows he would if he were running from guards. Wish!Hook enters and says the news isn’t good, lying that Cinderella booked passage out of the country. He tells Henry she wrote a note before she left and gives it to him. He looks disappointed and Wish!Hook suggests they head home. Henry agrees, throwing the note into the fire as he declares the mission a failure. Regina tells him that he’s not a failure but he heads out, saying he needs a moment. But she tells Hook to go after him and give him one of his pep talks. Though hesitant, Wish!Hook follows after him.

(Burn, baby, burn)

He finds Henry at the fire and once again tries to convince him to go home. But Henry is still suspicious about everything with Emma and thinks Hook isn’t acting like himself. He refuses to go anywhere until Hook assures him that Emma is fine but Wish!Hook can only stutter and draw out his response. But then Emma herself reappears and assures Henry that everything is fine. She says Killian wanted her to rest but she needed to come to make sure they were okay. He asks her how she is and she tells him that she’s pregnant. He’s ecstatic for her and hugs her as Wish!Hook looks on, now feeling conflicted.

(Hey, look, it's Emma. Finally showing up again for her final episode)

Emma tells Henry that she has some concerns about raising a child, saying she keeps thinking about everything she missed with Henry. He assures her that she was a good mom and Emma says that she knows she and Killian are in a good place to be able to be good parents right from the start. Wish!Hook mutters to himself before saying he’s done something he needs to put right. As he leaves, Emma calls after him, concerned.


Victoria orders Weaver and Rogers to get rid of Henry. Weaver takes off her bracelet and speaks in a riddle. She leaves in a huff and Rogers asks Weaver if he’s going to plant the bracelet in Henry’s pocket. Weaver tells Rogers that he’s going to do. He says that Rogers told him there’s a side he doesn’t know so he’s giving his partner a chance to show it to him.

(dun dun DUN!)

The ballet goes on and Jacinda watches with pride as Lucy dances around the stage. At Weaver’s nod, Rogers bumps into Henry and seems to pass the bracelet into his apron pocket. He meets Weaver’s eyes but then looks over at a beaming, teary-eyed Jacinda and watches with angst in his eyes.

(Proud Mama)

Wish!Hook runs to where he left Hook but finds he’s gone. Hook runs at him and they fight. Hook says that he won’t let Wish!Hook harm him and in the process, Wish!Hook gets stabbed. Hook asks how Wish!Hook got so young and Wish!Hook admits that he was going to try to take Hook’s place. He also reveals that Emma is there and Hook asks how she is. Wish!Hook assures him that she’s fine and that he knows she’s pregnant. He says he can’t part a father from his child and says he’s doing all of this because he has a daughter he’s looking for.


What?

(Freud would have a field day with this one!)

The ballet ends and Jacinda applauds the loudest. Weaver then announces that Victoria’s bracelet has been stolen and asks the patrons to wait patiently while they search the staff. Jacinda thinks it’s unfair that they are singled out and Weaver tells her to back up. Henry steps in and Weaver elbows him, telling him not to touch a police officer. I’m surprised no one in this charity event is a lawyer salivating over a police brutality lawsuit. Especially as Weaver demands Henry turn out his pockets. Henry feels something in there and starts to protest…until he realizes that it’s just his keys. Weaver looks surprised and glances over at Rogers, who holds his partner’s gaze.

(Regina is going to kill him when she wakes up)

Back in the other realm, Hook asks Wish!Hook to tell him about his daughter. Wish!Hook says that a witch kidnapped her and kept her locked up. He wasn’t able to rescue her but he could sneak in a play chess with her. But the witch caught him and separated them, putting a curse on him that prevented him from saving his daughter. So he sought true love to help free him from the curse and hoped Emma would be the answer.

Speaking of Emma, she shows up and is surprised to see two Hooks—including one who is injured. Hook explains that the other one is Wish!Hook, that he’s hurt and begs Emma to save him. Wish!Hook says it’s all over for him and gives Hook a chess piece, saying it’s his daughter’s rook. He explains that she has his knight and asks Hook to find her for him. Hook once again begs Emma to help the man but she doesn’t know if her magic will work. He asks her try.

(Her face says it all)

Emma kneels in front of Wish!Hook and says that there’s a part of him that’s the man she loves. She looks over at Hook and says that Wish!Hook is just like the man she married when they first met. Emma asks him to look into her eyes, trust her and believe. Her magic shines forth and she heals him. 

(One last magic shot!)

Rogers nearly throws Victoria’s bracelet down a storm drain but Weaver stops him. He says he thought Rogers was going to steal the bracelet but Rogers says he couldn’t frame an innocent man who lost his daughter. Weaver says that he chose Rogers to be his partner because he knew that Rogers wanted the job badly. He wanted to see how far he would go for it and he is glad to see that Rogers has a moral code, which he says is something that’s lacking. He takes the bracelet and says he’ll deal with it.


Weaver gives the bracelet back to Victoria, who berates him for not getting rid of Henry. He tells her that he doesn’t work for her but for himself. He says right now their interests align but if they don’t anymore, she wouldn’t want to be on his bad side.

(Victoria looks like a wife who knows her husband is cheating and he's just lied to her about "working late")

Jacinda gives Henry a bottle of beer and explains that Lucy’s idea that she’s Cinderella upsets her because it means her daughter sees her as some damsel in distress. She says that Henry swooping in and helping her was a little too close to that for her liking. But it did let her see Lucy perform so she agrees to give Henry a second chance. He invites her to join him but she says she picked up another shift. She tells him to enjoy the beer and leaves as he watches—pretty much in love.

(Truce?)

Henry asks Emma if she and Hook are good. She says they are and that they are almost a family. Emma says she misses him and he says he misses her too. He asks if she’s going to drag him home and she asks if he wants her to. Henry says that while he misses home, he still hasn’t found his story. Or he might’ve but he needs to see it through. Cinderella may have left the shoe for him or maybe not. Emma understands. She says that he found her and brought her to to her family, to her happy ending. Emma wants him to find his own.


Wish!Hook blathers on about the importance of love. He says that he wasted too long chasing another man’s love and is going after his own—his daughter. Hook gives him back her rook and Wish!Hook wonders where to begin. Emma suggests that Wish!Hook and Henry team up. She says that Wish!Hook is trying to do the right thing and Henry always knows what that is and she’ll feel better to know some version of Hook is with him. They agree and Hook says someone needs to get Regina as Storybrooke awaits.


Regina tries to get Henry to come home but he says he needs to stay. She says she misses him and he admits he misses her too. He then asks her to stay with him and find the next part of her story. (As much as I want Adam and Eddy to stay far away from Sean Maguire, my Outlaw Queen shipper heart wants her story to go back to Robin). He says he needs her and she agrees to stay, asking if it can be an operation. He dubs it Operation Next Chapter.

Excuse me. I’m a pile of goo from all these Regal Believer feels.


Emma hugs Henry before taking Hook’s hand. As Wish!Hook, Henry and Regina watch, the two open a portal. With one last look at Henry, Emma then steps through it with Hook and Jennifer Morrison leaves Once Upon a Time.

(Goodbye Emma)

Rogers hands Henry a list of cemeteries in Seattle, hoping his family is in one of them. Henry thanks him and then says that he was really happy to find his keychain in his pocket, though he was certain he took the bus that day. He says he’s always liked swans and that’s why he named the mother of his main character after that. He says he wrote the mother he wanted—a hero.


Rogers then explains that when he was still new to the force, he was searching for a kidnapped girl. He says he chased a suspect into an alley and was shot. He didn’t see who did it but as he laid there bleeding, a woman who looked like the one in the book appeared out of nowhere. She placed her hands on his wounds, told him to look in her eyes and said that if he believed in her, she would be able to save him. He explains that she did keep him alive until help came and then he never saw her again. Rogers says that he grew obsessed with finding the missing girl and wanting to be a hero like that woman. But he says he’s hit dead end after dead end, like there was someone who didn’t want her to be found. He thinks he has a lead on who it is.


He pauses as Roni steps up but Henry vouches for her. Rogers says that Victoria makes everyone miserable and he is sure she’s dirty. He says that as a detective, he can dig into things and people more than he could before. And if someone could point him in the direction of people being wronged by Victoria (AKA Roni) and if someone could write about it (AKA Henry), they could take her down. Maybe he’ll even find the missing girl. Henry says there is enough for a book and Rogers says that there might be enough for two books. He’s in. Roni also joins up and they toast to their new partnership as we end the episode with a hero shot of the three of them drinking.

(Our heroes!)

So that was Emma Swan’s—and Jennifer Morrison’s—last episode.

They both deserved way better.

One would think that Emma’s last episode would be, you know, about her. I’m not sure who picked the second episode to be her last—whether it was the showrunners or Morrison—nor do I know if Morrison had any time constraints as I know she was spotted up in Vancouver for only a few days of filming. But it still seems that as a writer, I would’ve wanted to send off my lead actress in a way that paid tribute to the character and didn’t end her story, just assure fans that it continued with her being happy. No last scenes of Emma being a badass, no final scenes between her and Regina, not even an appearance by Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas (who had mentioned willingness to return as needed). Just brief scenes and then the pregnancy reveal. Which still could’ve happened but it didn’t have to handicap Emma’s story so much. Snow fought an Evil Queen and a Wicked Witch while close to giving birth. Emma could’ve done some fighting while barely out of her first trimester.

I know a lot of fans were concerned about Captain Swan’s happy ending since Jennifer Morrison chose not to return but Colin O’Donoghue did. The decision to make the Hook we see in Hyperion Heights as Detective Rogers really the Hook from the Wish Realm is an interesting one and I guess one of the better ways to resolve this. And it adds some new mysteries—who is Wish!Hook’s daughter? Who took her? Will he ever find her?

I’m not sure how Victoria can have so much power in such a large city like Seattle. It made sense in Storybrooke since it was small and Regina had control of everything. But I would expect more pushback in Seattle, for outside groups to protest her. She shouldn’t have it so easy. There should be someone else who is outraged they have to pay $550 to see their kid’s ballet recital. And someone who should’ve called out Weaver on police brutality. I thought we were supposed to see the real world interact with these fairy tale characters. Then let’s see some of them rail against Victoria and Weaver.

Next time: Cinderella takes on her stepmother both in the Enchanted Forest and in Hyperion Heights.