Once Upon a Time Review: An Unfortunate Realization

This was a pretty solid episode in a season I’m largely enjoying so far. This hour didn’t provide the kind of visceral joy last week’s did, but it did change the season’s trajectory in a way I can definitely respect. Plus, it has me extra excited for future episodes, just so I can see how the ending realization affects Regina and the Evil Queen.

I was completely surprised by (spoiler alert!) Jekyll and Hyde’s deaths, mostly because new characters don’t usually depart mid-arc. They did deviate from that a bit last season, though, and it’ll be nice to focus solely on introducing Jasmine and Aladdin in upcoming episodes. Jekyll and Hyde’s flashback scenes were pretty dark for this show (they reminded me of Cruella’s in a lot of ways) and felt kind of Sherlock-esque with the time period and mystery elements. I often talk about how ridiculous it is that Rumple and/or Snow, Charming, and the Evil Queen show up in every single character’s flashback, but I completely understood Rumple’s presence here. He and Jekyll are both characters far too intrigued by their own darkness, and Rumple had to have seen a little of himself pre-Dark One in Jekyll, even if he was too far gone at that point to admit it. It was also appropriate that Jekyll and Hyde’s deaths set up one hell of a dilemma for another character long tempted by darkness: Regina.

Obviously we didn’t get too much of her reaction to the news that she might have to sacrifice herself to kill the Evil Queen, but we did get that apt twist on the promise she made to Emma in Camelot, yet another sign of the honest, equal friendship the two have grown into. There’s also the potential for a great conversation if Emma comes clean about her vision; at this point, Regina can relate to death feeling like your only destiny. My only issue with this development is that it feels even more like we’re headed for what I assumed was a foregone conclusion in the finale: that Regina will simply have to forgive herself for the darkness inside her and merge with the Evil Queen once more.

The other big storyline of the hour involved Belle and Rumple, and, more specifically, Rumple’s misguided attempts to keep Belle safe. As with most Belle and Rumple storylines, I had mixed feelings about this one. It was great to see Hook being such a great friend to Belle, even going so far as to kill Jekyll on her behalf, but we also had Rumple trying to save Belle by controlling her, only to make things a thousand times worse by doing so. It’s a metaphor for their relationship at this point, so much as I loved Belle standing up to him (something she’s done more frequently this season, luckily), I know her character and I know Rumple, which makes me nervous that his ending prediction will come true.

Other thoughts on this episode:

I loved seeing Snow and Henry back at school (seriously, how long has that kid’s education been on hold?), and I liked that Jasmine helped Snow realize that she should embrace teaching as Snow instead of as Mary Margaret. I feel like the ABC promo department kind of dropped the ball with Jasmine, though; obviously spoiler readers knew who she was the minute they saw her, but without excessive promos showing her with Aladdin, the average viewer might not have. It took all the bite out of that final reveal, unfortunately.

Like paternal Killian last week, paternal David was similarly adorable. Six seasons in, and I’m still so impressed by how much I buy Charming and Snow as Emma’s parents, despite the visual age similarity.

Am I the only one who feels like the Regina-less Evil Queen lacks some personality? She seems more generically evil than she ever did in flashbacks, particularly in this episode. It probably doesn’t help that the out-of-nowhere sexual tension with Gold is still doing nothing for me. And speaking of, Gold pouring the serum over his dagger instead of another blade felt like an uncharacteristic oversight, no?

What are your thoughts on this episode? Hit the comments and let me know!