Final(e) Thoughts: Hooked

Last year I wrote a series of blog entries on the different season/series finales of my favorite shows. That was supposed to be one-time thing since Chuck, House and Desperate Housewives were ending and I thought How I Met Your Mother was, too. But I decided to do it again this year for lack of better things to do. Ha.


I fell in love with Once Upon A Time the first time I watched it. Aside from the concept of modernizing fairy tales, I fell in love with Henry Mills, Emma Swan, Regina Mills, and even Rumplestiltskin. The only cons I had then was its length (40min-on-average) and the possibility that writers Kitsis and Horowitz will ran out of stories to adapt. But 44 regular episodes and 2 specials later, I am still very much interested.

Of all the five finales I've watched (the four others were Glee, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother and Community), this one gave me the most finale feels. The possibility of Storybrooke being wiped out off the face of the earth paired with the constant What's-Greg-and-Tamara's-Deal feeling kept me on the edge of my seat bed the entire time I was watching it.

These are the reasons why I loved Once Upon a Time's finale "And Straight On 'Til Morning."

1. Captain Hook

At first, my love for Captain Hook was because of Colin O'Donoghue's British accent, his hairy chest and (believe it or not) his eyeliner-accented eyes. But knowing Captain Hook's background story gave me a better understanding of how his mind worked. Seeing how he treated and valued Baelfire, even after surrendering him to the Lost Boys, made me realize that humans are inherently good. That before bad guys became bad guys, something sickeningly bad happened to them making them choose to be the victimizer rather than be the victim. I see now why I love Megamind (but I abhor Will Ferrell).

The Different Angles of Captain Hook

After a Baelfire-induced epiphany, Hook decides to join the Light side to help them look for Henry as they travel to Neverland. In season 3, we will see if he has truly forgiven Rumple for killing Milah (I bet he has not), and how he will react to seeing Baelfire after, what, ten thousand years.

2. Regina (and Emma) saves the day...again

Since the Pilot episode, I loved how Lana Parilla played Regina Mills and the Evil Queen. In season 2, I loved her more for being so emotional while holding back her emotions. She does not show that the Queen is hurt through her actions or words but the slight shift of her eyes and the quiver of her lips exposes how the Queen is, deep inside, simply Regina.

I teared up twice in the finale and both scenes involved Regina. Both were in the mine--first was when Regina was saying goodbye, sort of, to Emma, and second was when she was saying goodbye to Henry.

Lana Parrilla as the Evil Queen

Season 2 was all about revealing who the Evil Queen really is--how she grew up, how much she loved her mother, how she decided that she wanted a son.

Regina joining the good side, albeit how fleeting it is--I'm sure we'll see her, once or twice, blindside the Charmings in Season 3--was a refreshing and gradual change. First, she helped Emma and Snow return back to Storybrooke. Now, she joins forces with the Charmings and travels aboard the Jolly Roger to find the boy, Henry.

SwanQueen saves the day!

3. Storybrooke's almost-end

I thought Storybrooke would be gone and everyone would start off in Fairytale Land or Wonderland. But no, Belle remained in Storybrooke to cloak it from the likes of Greg and Tamara. I look forward to the the crossover episodes, if any, of Once Upon A Time with Once Upon A Time in Wonderland.

4. Rumbelle

I don't really dig Rumbelle--mainly because Rumple is old enough to be Belle's dad or, to stretch it, granddad. However, when Belle drank the blue-colored drink and remembered who she is, my heart may have skipped a beat. With Mayor Mills, Sheriff Swan and Ruby gone, I guess Belle will have her hands full by being the mayor and sheriff.

5. Glimpse of Aurora and a veiled Mulan

I hope this glimpse of these two interesting yet underused characters in final seconds of "And Straight On 'Til Morning" means they will be used extensively and their stories looked into in Season 3. My fears listed in the Cons part of QNBS were wrong; Kitsis and Horowitz will not run out of fairy tales to tell.

Hey Mulan what's with the veil?

6. Peter Pan as the villain

In almost every story, and particularly in fairy tales, the key is having a great villain. For two seasons, we've seen the Evil Queen and her mother Cora be the necessary foils to Snow, Charming and Emma. With the demise of Cora (and her possible reappearance in Wonderland as the queen) and with Regina joining the light side, the gang need a villain to go against, and based on the Lost Boys' fear of Him, Peter Pan seems kinda scary.

The scariest Lost Boy

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Final(e) Thoughts: The Big Bang Theory Season 6
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