REVIEW: Once Upon a Time, S6 Ep14 – Page 23

Redemption is the name of the game as Once Upon a Time finally resolves the issue of Regina and the Evil Queen’s co-existence.

Villains finding their happy ending has been done to death on this show and I’m glad that somehow, the whole conflict of Regina and her evil alter ego has finally been put to rest. It took a long time coming, but at least it’s all over. And it was only due to Lana Parrilla’s amazing performance as both characters that this overly-dragged-out story arc was even watchable.

The flashback also focused on the tired topic of the Evil Queen wanting her revenge on Snow White. Her father was there as well, trying to dissuade her from terrorizing innocent villagers. And there was a welcome but all-too-short cameo from Tinkerbell! I really wish we saw more of her, especially her dynamic with the redeemed Regina. But she’s far too busy on iZombie.

Regina finds a way to defeat her evil half with the Power of Love. I’m not even kidding. She shares some of the love she has in her heart and takes some of the darkness from Queenie’s heart. And all of a sudden, the dark queen is redeemed and she no longer desires revenge. I do think they let her off too easily, but I’m just glad that whole arc is over. Outlaw Queen shippers can even be comforted that the ship lives on in an alternate wish realm. I’m glad they didn’t let wish-realm Robin replace the dead Robin. Regina needs to move on and I think this whole ordeal helped.

“Love can save even the darkest souls.”

To be fair, I appreciated the little Once Upon a Time twist of Regina enchanting Cupid’s arrow to point to the person she hates the most and it points to herself. Like we didn’t see that coming. But if Once Upon a Time can teach people something about forgiving one’s self and learning to love one’s self, then that’s a valuable lesson learned.

Meanwhile, Hook continued to have a crisis of faith about his killing David’s father. This time, he turned to Captain Nemo for advice. It was great to see that Nemo was still a recurring character this season as opposed to a notable guest star. He’s a pretty fascinating character who has played a big role in Hook’s life.

While Hook debates telling Emma the truth she inadvertently finds out anyway, which is, frankly, a relief. Having this secret between them drag on would have been excruciating. Emma finds out and her reaction is not as bad as could have been expected, but Hook still can’t deal with the pain he might cause her parents. So he does the cowardly thing and tries to run away from his responsibilities by joining Nemo on a new journey. He later changes his mind when he learns that even the Evil Queen got a chance at redemption. But it’s too late! Gideon has commandeered the vessel and now Hook is off on a journey and Emma thinks he has run away. Oh well. That’s the set up for the next conflict on Once Upon a Time.