TV Recap: Once Upon A Time Season 2 - Episode 22 - ‘And Straight On Till Morning’

After an exhausting season full of giant plot holes, poor character development, terrible CGI, and horrible writing, season 2 of Once Upon A Time is finally over. I’m relieved. If season 1 was a 10/10, then season 2 is a 5/10. Even then, that’s only due to the 4-5 great episodes this season actually had. The finale wasn’t as bad as some episodes this season but it wasn’t as great as the season 1 finale. There were so many things happening in this episode. Why didn’t they get a 2-hour finale?

Despite the fast-paced nature of the finale, several important issues were touched on. We saw more of Bae’s past, caught a glimpse of Neverland, Belle regained her memories, Emma and Regina worked together, Neal’s fate is revealed, and Regina finally redeemed herself. Regina has been pulled back and forth throughout the entire season and I’m glad they finally let her have her redemption. Regina sacrificing herself for everyone else was beautiful and well deserved for her character. I was thrilled to see Henry call her “mom” numerous times. I absolutely loved how he left David, Snow, and Emma to walk over and stand with his mom when they all thought that they were about to die. This was the recognition Regina deserves. It also proved to me that Henry does love Regina. He’s spent all his life with her and she is his mom.

I’m still unsure with how I feel about the Peter Pan plot. I’d love to see Neverland, but why make Peter Pan evil? Is he evil or is his shadow evil? If Peter Pan has a drawing of Henry way before he’s even born, what is it for? I look forward to seeing how it all plays out. The cliffhanger wasn’t really that spectacular, but seeing Hook, Rumple, Regina, Emma, Snow, and David work together will be quite interesting. We caught a glimpse of Emma and Regina working together in this episode, but hopefully we’ll get to see a lot more.

The lack of main characters in the show is beginning to show. August was already turned back into a boy, but now Red and Blue Fairy are nowhere to be seen? Archie pops up conveniently. The potion that “Lacey” takes is also very convenient. What was the point of Belle losing her memories again? Regardless, I’m glad she regained her memories. I wish she would’ve went with the others and got to prove her worth like we saw in her flashback this season. Alas, she must stay in Storybrooke and be in charge while everyone else is away.

Greg and Tamara showing up out of nowhere and jumping through a portal with Henry was a bit of a stretch – but what in this show isn’t a stretch. Does this mean that Greg and Tamara are working for Peter Pan? Is Neverland the “home office” that Tamara referred to? I wasn’t surprised when Neal was shown to be alive. Obviously, they’re not going to kill him off anytime soon. Seeing Prince Phillip, Mulan, and Aurora was a surprise – yet just provoked more answers. How is Phillip alive? How did they get to Neverland?

The fact that many actors will be in pilots this season concerns me. Sarah Bolger, Jamie Chung, and Meghan Ory all have pilots that got picked up. Hopefully the writes can work them into the story without causing a huge disturbance. While the main characters are all gone to Neverland, what will happen to Storybrooke? My dream scenario is that when Regina and company return from Neverland, they find Storybrooke in total destruction and all the story book characters are prisoners….of Maleficent. What if the diamond which almost caused Storybrooke to self-destruct actually unhinged Maleficent? I can see her regaining her powers and ruling over Storybrooke. This would be an amazing twist and cause lots of great controversy. This would also be a way to implement Prince Phillip, Aurora, and Mulan. These three could easily be brought to Storybrooke, only to be faced with their worst nightmare. Afterall, Maleficent is supposed to be the baddest of the bad.  I’m also looking forward to the new show Once Upon A Time: In Wonderland. I’m not a fan of spin-offs, but once I watched the promo, I became excited. I’m a huge Alice in Wonderland fan and I can’t wait to see what this show has to offer.

LOOSE ENDS:

• * Will Hook, Regina, Rumple, Emma, Snow, and David be able to work together? Will they find Henry?
• * Is Peter Pan really “bad”?
• * Will Phillip, Mulan, and Aurora help Neal? Where have they been all this time?
• * What are Greg and Tamara going to do with Henry?
• * Will Belle be able to watch over Storybrooke alone? Who will help her?
• * Will the prophecy of Henry come true?