Sunday, March 26, 2017

Once Upon a Time 6.14: “Page 23”

“I care because this started with me. I showed you your future with the pixie dust, the one with the lion tattoo. You should be with him. He’s still out there.”
- Tinkerbell

It would appear that the final showdown between Regina and the Evil Queen is at hand. With only a handful of episodes left in the season, I suppose they needed to wrap this plotline up so they could focus on Gideon and Emma. I still stand by my solution of just ask Emma for help but whatever. Gideon is stubborn like his papa so that probably won’t happen even though it makes perfect sense to do.

In the Enchanted Forest that was, we see Regina as the Evil Queen still hunting for Bandit Snow White. She kills one of her guards when she finds that they’ve been duped. She claims to care for the peasants, saying Snow doesn’t, when who should appear but Tinkerbell. Apparently, she’s managed to come back from Neverland or maybe she hasn’t gone there yet. Either way, I’m happy to have Rose McIver back on my screen a week early (iZombie returns next week and of course we’ll be covering it). Tink tells Regina that she feels responsible and that Regina is just scared to find love because she doesn’t think she deserves it. I think Regina is just full of hate and anger and isn’t thinking straight but that’s just me. It would seem Regina’s dad is going to try and help his baby girl get what she wants. He’s got a spell book that belonged to Cora with some mystical map that can lead them to an object that will take them to Snow White. Sounds convoluted but she’s thrilled he wants to help! She’s not so thrilled when he leads her to Cupid’s Arrow with the hope of finding love. She just wants revenge! So, she enchants the arrow to lead her to the one she hates most. I have a feeling it may backfire on her a bit. As predicted, the arrow leads Regina and her father back to the castle where it lands in a wardrobe and shows Regina her own reflection. She smashes the mirror which plays into some interesting imagery in the present.

Back in Storybrooke, while Emma and the good guys fawn over her new engagement ring, the Evil Queen and Robin are teaming up. He doesn’t quite trust her (I mean she’s kind of insulting to him but in a way we saw back in season 3). She then takes him to the cemetery and makes him dig up a box that has the shears that everyone was so hot to trot about earlier in the season. I swear I thought those got destroyed or something. But no, it turns out the Evil Queen is going to use them on herself to sever her connection to Regina so that final battle can be fought and only one can become the victor (if I’m honest, I’m pretty sure Regina’s going to win). While Hook confides in Captain Nemo (who is on his way off on some new adventure with Hook’s baby brother in tow…wait they can’t stay long enough for the wedding? I mean what is Henry going to be Hooks’ best man? That’d be some lame bachelor party if the Best Man can’t get drunk!), the Evil Queen is paying a visit to Henry. She takes his Author pen and hands over Page 23 (hence the episode title) with a note which basically says come alone and fight me one last time or the hottie archer gets it. Despite Emma’s offer to fix the mess, Regina is determined to end this on her own terms before anyone else gets hurt.

Robin is trying to convince the Evil Queen to let him out of his restraints (at first I thought it was just for show but she’s really just having fun messing with him) and to go off with him somewhere and start fresh. But she isn’t interested in his proposal. We also see Hook try to burn his memory of killing David’s father. Emma (miraculously) sees both the memory and what Hook was about to do. They have some words and she ends up giving the ring back because the man she agreed to marry would have leaned on her for support and not kept things a secret. Well, that lasted about as long as Barry and Iris on the Flash! And apparently, he’s now become good at running away because Hook decides he needs to find himself and join Nemo and the gang on their adventure (plus side he gets to spend some quality time with his brother?).

Regina makes it to the Mayor’s Office where the Evil Queen actually uses the shears to sever their connection. It was a cool effect, I’ll give them that. And then, the sword fighting begins! They are both getting their licks in but Regina gets the upper hand. She restrains the Evil Queen and even starts to crush the villain’s heart when she sees her reflection in some broken glass, harkening back to all those years ago. Instead of giving in to revenge and hatred, she’s going to embrace hope and love. She does some weird heart-to-heart magic and shares some of her love and takes some of the Queen’s darkness. For the first time in Regina’s life, she accepts the good and the bad and she truly loves herself (and so should the Evil Queen). I have to admit I did not see that coming as the resolution to their storyline but in a way I think it fits. Embracing all parts of yourself is a good message to send to viewers. I just hope the Evil Queen decides to take Robin and go somewhere else, so at least one Regina gets her happy ending with the man with the lion tattoo. Thanks to Henry, the Evil Queen ends up in the wish realm with Robin where they both get their fresh starts.

After a little pep talk from Snow (even though she doesn’t realize she’s giving him one), Hook goes to tell Nemo he isn’t going with them. And then the ship starts to submerge and we find Gideon has sent off the crew to keep Hook out of Storybrooke so the pirate can’t meddle in the Dark One’s son’s plans. Oh boy, this is going to get complicated!

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