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Previously on Once Upon a Time: An Apple as Red as Blood .

This week on Once Upon a Time, it’s the SEASON FINALE! In Storybrooke, Emma finally believes. She and Regina must put aside their differences to save Henry, and they turn to Mr. Gold for help. In the Enchanted Forest, Snow and Charming are reunited, taking us back to where the series began, leaving the door open for the story of how they took back the kingdom in season two.

In the Enchanted Forest, Charming makes a daring escape on the way to his execution, with the help of the Huntsman (!). The Evil Queen uses her magic mirror to drop Charming in the forest. He runs into Rumpelstiltskin, who after a brief battle offers to enchant Charming’s ring so that will lead him to Snow, if he stashes a true love potion (the one made from Charming and Snow’s hair) in a safe place. That safe place happens to be within Maleficent, or rather, Maleficent in her dragon form. He succeeds, and Rumpelstiltskin gives him the ring (and his fancy outfit) and sends him after Snow. Just as in the pilot, he revives her. Afterwards, he proposes to her, and they vow to take back their kingdom.

In Storybrooke, Henry is taken to the hospital but Dr. Whale has no explanation for his symptoms, leading Emma to conclude it’s “like magic.” When Regina appears, Emma snaps and drags her to the supply closet, confronting her about the curse and poisoned turnover that is killing Henry. With no magic, Regina concludes that only Mr. Gold can help. Mr. Gold tells them that true love is the only thing that can transcend realms and break any curse. He bottled some (a drop of which he wove into the curse, thus creating Emma as the Savior), and offers Emma her father’s sword so she can retrieve it from “her.” Regina visits Henry at the hospital, where Jefferson tries to collect on their deal with no success; Emma goes to August for help, only to watch him completely turn into wood before her eyes. They go to the abandoned library (with the stopped clock tower), and Regina lowers Emma down into a cavern to face the dragon Maleficent. Emma eventually succeeds in retrieving the potion, but Mr. Gold betrays her and takes it for himself. Henry takes a turn for the worse, while Jefferson releases the Storybrooke Belle from her cell in the basement of the hospital and tells her to find Mr. Gold. By the time Regina and Emma make it back to the hospital, Henry is gone. Emma kisses him on the forehead, Henry wakes up, and the curse breaks. The Mother Superior warns “her majesty” she should find a place to hide, so Regina tells Henry she loves him, and flees. David and Ms. Blanchard find each other, kiss, and I cry. Belle finds Mr. Gold’s shop, and he is amazed to see her alive. He takes the true love, and Belle (who remembers him mid-journey) to the well that “returns that which one has lost.” He drops the true love inside, and a purple smoke emerges – bringing magic (and power, Mr. Gold gleefully notes) to Storybrooke. As the smoke engulfs the town, the clock tower ticks forward once again, and Regina grins from her window.

That’s it until next season!

Thoughts/Theories
o So, the curse is broken, but everyone remains trapped in the real world. Why? I have to wonder: Did Rumpelstiltskin want to break the curse, or just use Emma to obtain the means to bring magic to the real world? And how does this help him find his son?
o What happened to August? How did the combination of the lifting the curse and the unleashing of magic affect his wooden body?
o Side point: Who is Dr. Whale supposed to be? Seeing him after the curse was lifted reawakened my curiosity about him. He’s the only recurring character we have no fairy tale equivalent for.

Nicole N. decided to justify the countless hours she spends watching television by writing about it here. She enjoys a challenge and is currently re-watching all 15 seasons of ER. Follow her @nicolemnelson