The Winter Finale of Once Upon A Time is already upon us. Before we say goodbye to one of our favorite magical dramas until January, we've got one more episode to enjoy. It's full of suspense, action, and it tugs at the heartstrings. Oh and did we mention one heck of a cliffhanger?
Check out of recap of the Once Upon A Time winter finale: Queen of Hearts here:
The Queen of Hearts
Flashback time. Back before Regina cast her curse, a devious Hook attempts to rescue Belle in the hopes that she will lead him to Rumplestiltskin. When she doesn't, he tries to kill her, only to be stopped by Queen Regina. She wants him for her own purposes (who doesn't?). She asks him to kill Cora to stop her from coming to Storybrooke with them once the curse is cast.
She enchants Hook's hook to be able to rip out a heart in Wonderland. He travels by hat and leather pants and is taken to the Queen of Hearts who, no surprise, happens to be Cora. But she doesn't want to kill him. She wants to use him. And so begins their Odd Couple journey of revenge together.
The Clock is Ticking
The ink is gone from Rumply's cell and before they know what hit them, the gang is locked inside by Cora. While they're stuck inside, Cora and Hook travel to the magical lake of healing and drill to find water. This will be their portal. Their journey together has brought them to this moment. Back before Regina cast her curse, Cora cast a spell to protect their part of the land until the curse is broken.
And here we go.
Love is Strength
Rumples wrote Emma's name over and over again on a scroll that they find hidden in the cell. Snow figures out that it is written in squid ink and they are able to escape. This raises some interesting questions about how much he knew and for how long he was planning and plotting and scheming. If he could always get out of the cell...why didn't he? It's enough to make your mind twist.
Dive In
Rumplestiltskin and Regina want to kill whoever comes through the portal. A take-no-chances win-win situation. If Cora goes through first, their biggest enemy is taken care of. If Emma is toast, well then Regina has Henry all to herself. Rumples is really pushing Regina here. All it takes is for Henry to plead with her to stop the spell for her to do so.
Back in Fairy Tale Land, Cora, Snow, Emma and Hook engage in a magical sword fight over the compass and portal. Eventually, Emma knocks Hook out cold (what?) and defeats Cora. When Cora tries to take out her heart, she isn't able to and is propelled backwards away from her. How? Well, she's the product of True Love. It's all very Harry Potterish and I don't hate it.
Emma and Snow make their way back to Storybrooke and through the portal. Snow wakes up Charming, they all go out for a bite to eat, and Regina is left alone and I actually feel bad for her.
Uhoh
But Hook has that broken magic bean. And he's standing at a lake that heals things. And suddenly, his ship is sailing straight for Storybrooke. I feel bad for whoever meets the two of them at the dock.
What did you think of the episode? Post your thoughts below!
