Once Upon a Time Season 5 Finale Review: An Untold Story

at .  Updated at .

Henry tried to save his family and almost destroyed them in the process on Once Upon a Time season 5 Episode 22 and Once Upon a Time Season 5 Episode 23

As much as I wanted to be upset with angry, he really was acting like a typical teenager. He believed he had all the answers, he was impulsive and he didn’t think through the consequences of his actions. 

For Henry, Operation Mix Tape made perfect sense. He got to run off with the girl and try to save the world. What’s cooler than that?

Plus, he got to travel back to New York City, where he remembers him and Emma being the happiest. But obviously, things weren’t perfect. Henry admitted that he made a wish hoping that Emma wouldn’t be so lonely, and that’s when Hook showed up and brought them back to Storybrooke. 

Things turned out to be far more complicated and yet incredibly simple. Henry almost stranded most of his family in the world of Untold Stories and yet was able to wish on a fountain in order to bring them back. 

As much as I loved Henry standing up on the lion outside the library, I had to laugh when he got everyone to throw their coins in the fountain and believe. In New York, I doubt anyone would have paid him a moment's attention no matter how loudly he yelled. 

I also loved it when Gold used his power to avoid the toll at the tunnel to get into the city. To everyone who lives elsewhere in the country, it really is $15. 

Emma: My parents, Hook, and your sister were pulled through some kind of portal.
Regina: Again?

Yes, again! How many times can the characters in this show get sucked through portals? I guess after five seasons I should consider it a regular thing. 

It took me a while to figure out that the new realm was the story of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. I’ve never been a fan, so I wasn’t thrilled to find out that it will be sticking around for Once Upon a Time Season 6. 

But the main story belonged to Regina, who had to battle her baser instincts as the Evil Queen as she grieved the loss of Robin. 

I found it funny how those closest to her worried she might slip back to her old ways, but Gold realized she had truly changed. 

Not that Regina needed magic or darkness to be bad ass…

Emma: What are you doing? We need a plan.
Regina: I have one. I still have a fist. Gold, still has a nose.

With Regina now separated from the Evil Queen and the two of them sharing the same realm, I’m hoping that means we’ll have less flashbacks next season. The overuse of flashbacks on Once Upon a Time Season 5 had become tedious. 

For a moment, I really thought that the Evil Queen was gone, although I shouldn’t have been fooled. Her demise did seem far too easy. 

We’ll still have Regina battling herself, just as two separate characters. I’m not quite sure how to feel about that. Certainly, Lana Parrilla can pull it off; it’s the direction of the story that I question. We’ll just have to see how well they pull it off next season. 

Zelena shipped Roland back to Sherwood Forest with the Band of Merry Men, and I have mixed feelings about that. Yes, I think Robin would have liked him to grow up there, but the poor kid lost both of his parents, and I expected Regina to care for him from here on out.

Although if that were the case, I guess they’d need more babysitters in Storybrooke to watch Roland, baby Neal and little Robyn. 

Despite Hook returning from the dead, we didn’t get very much time to see him and Emma reunite, but what we did get in this Once Upon a Time quote was satisfying…

Emma: I just wanted to say something, you know, when we're not in the middle of a big battle or when one of us is facing death. When things are just normal.
Killian: What's that Swan?
Emma: I love you.

Did anyone else notice that the shop across the street during this scene had a wedding gown in the window, or was that just me?

Gold made a deal with the next version of the devil, Mr. Hyde in the hopes of waking Belle, but did it work? What kind of vengeance will the Evil Queen seek, and will she target Henry to get back at Regina? Will we finally see some romance in Emma and Killian’s future.

We’ll all have to wait for Once Upon a Time Season 6 to come back in the fall to find out. 

In the meantime, our Once Upon a Time round table team will debate this season finale, and I’ll have my Once Upon a Times Season 5 report card for you next week. 

Until then, you can relive all the magic and watch Once Upon a Time online here at TV Fanatic. 

An Untold Story Review

Editor Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
  • 4.5 / 5.0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
User Rating:

Rating: 4.3 / 5.0 (99 Votes)

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.

Show Comments
Tags: ,

Once Upon a Time Season 5 Episode 23 Quotes

Emma: What are you doing? We need a plan.
Regina: I have one. I still have a fist. Gold, still has a nose.

Emma: My parents, Hook, and your sister were pulled through some kind of portal.
Regina: Again?