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Once Upon a Time 6.14 review: Regina and the Evil Queen face off!

*This article contains spoilers: Once Upon a Time season 6 episode 14*

This week, Once Upon a Time bounced back nicely from their last episode, offering an emotional, entertaining hour (episode 6.14, “Page 23”) that saw Lana Parrilla playI kid you notthree different versions of Regina. However, there was also time for a truly great, albeit heart-wrenching, scene between Emma and Hook, as well as one of TV’s favorite grand misunderstandings.

Backing up a bit, the start of the episode showed everyone learning of Emma’s engagement, a sweet moment that highlighted how much these characters care about each other. Heck, even Zelena was eager to check out the ring. For me, though, it was Emma and Regina’s interaction that meant the most, with Emma not showing off the ring until Zelena noticed it and Regina being genuinely happy for Emma when a little jealousy would have been more than understandable.

Unfortunately, that moment was short-lived, as Emma caught Hook burning his memory of killing Charming’s father, Robert. As mentioned, it was a great scene, with Hook desperate to explain his actions and Emma heartbroken, not about the act itself but rather the lie. It spoke to their vulnerabilities in a really beautiful way; Emma’s happy that her walls are finally down but terrified that someone will hurt her enough to put them back up again, and Hook is scared to death that his past will ruin any chance at happiness, not realizing that it’s his insecurities about that past that will do him in. I’m still frustrated that Hook’s secret didn’t come out before the engagement, but the scene also wouldn’t have been as poignant if it had.

I’m also pretty confident that we’ll get another even better proposal because of that moment, as well as Gideon commandeering Nemo’s sub. That was a move I saw coming a mile away, but Emma and Hook have had quite the hard-fought journey to happiness, so it feels very them for there to be one last obstacle in their way. I also loved that Snow was the one to unknowingly convince Hook to stay; we don’t get a lot of moments between the two of them, but the little cheek kiss was adorable, and she was sweetly just as happy for Hook as she was for Emma.

Even with the big Hook and Emma moments, though, this was Regina’s episode to shine, with present-day Evil Queen, present-day Regina, and pre-curse Regina/Evil Queen all making appearances (this is where I realize how insane this show must sound to non-fans). Out of the three, pre-curse Regina worked the least for me in this episode, mostly because her flashbacks only existed so the present-day scenes would pack a bigger punch. Present-day Regina catching her own eye in the mirror, for example, wouldn’t have meant anything if pre-curse Regina hadn’t done the same.

So, while on a plot-level it really makes no difference that the Evil Queen went after Snow for the thousandth time or again ignored Tinkerbell telling her to pursue true love instead of revenge, it did tie everything to the present nicely. It helped present-day Regina realize that just as her hatred for Snow once took up the place love could have resided, killing the Evil Queen would take up some of that space as well.

I predicted from pretty much the moment that Regina separated from the Evil Queen that she would eventually forgive herself for the darkness inside and become one again. However, I liked what she did instead even better, offering her other half some of her lightness in the ultimate act of compassion. I could talk forever about what a huge step that was for her character, not only forgiving but welcoming the dark parts of herself back, being brave and choosing love over hate, and realizing that, despite losing Robin, she doesn’t regret the life she has now. She literally hugged the part of herself that she used to despise, and it doesn’t get much more symbolic than that. This has been a tough year for Regina, and I hope this finally brings her peace. She’s definitely earned it.

It gets a little messy and confusing to think about who the present-day Evil Queen is now, but I sort of see her as mid-redemption Regina, circa season two or three. She still has a lot of work to do, but I assume one day she’ll become very similar to the Regina we know and love. With that in mind, I really would rather not see that character again, because it will get even more confusing if she essentially becomes a clone of Regina.

If this is, in fact, the end of the Evil Queen arc, I can say that, while I wasn’t wild about this version of the Evil Queen—to prone to vamping and awkward flirting with Rumplestiltskin for my liking—, I’m quite pleased with where she ended up. If our Regina and Robin couldn’t get their happy ending, I’m very glad some version of their characters did.

Finally, it was a small moment that could have easily been lost in the shuffle, but Henry accepting the Evil Queen as his mom was lovely, especially because it had to give Regina confidence in her decision to absorb some of the Queen’s darkness. If Henry can accept the Evil Queen, then he can definitely accept any remaining darkness in Regina. Though, really, does that kid need more moms?

What did you think of “Page 23”? Let me know in the comments!

More Once Upon a Time articles: Once Upon a Time 6.13 review: Hook takes a huge step, but not the one we were hoping for