Once Upon a Time Season 3 Report Card: Grade It!

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It was a season where realms were crossed, memories were lost and hearts were broken, crushed and shared.

By the end of Once Upon a Time Season 3, we were left catching our breath and counting the days until the start of season 4.

Take a look back as we list our Favorite Episodes, Best Twist, and Saddest Losses in our Once Upon a Time Season 3 Report Card...

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BEST EPISODE: Things moved fast in Once Upon a Time Season 3 Episode 19 as hearts were broken, crushed, split, and shared. Snow crushed Charming's heart only to end up sharing her own. Regina's true love's kiss with her son broke the memory curse, and Henry's magical book came back to help make sense of it all.

Only poor Hook was the losing party as Emma found out he'd kept Zelena's latest curse from her, even if it was to protect her and her son. Thankfully she gets over it a few episodes later.

WORST EPISODE: After the fun of Disney's Tangled, we expected a lot more fun from Rapunzel's appearance in Once Upon a Time Season 3 Episode 14. Instead she came across as fearful and whiny and there's no fun in that. 

BEST TRANSITION: This season Once Upon a Time took us from Neverland to Oz with stops in the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke along the way. We wondered if they could pull it off successfully.  Once Upon a Time Season 3 Episode 12 assuaged those fears as Hook ended Emma's "New York Serenade" we watched Snow and Regina begin to bond and the Wicked Witch turned everyone's lives upside down. The transition made for one of the most fun and compelling seasons of Once Upon a Time yet.

BEST CHARACTERCaptain Hook. The pirate turned out to be a hero in disguise. Killian not only stood by Emma's side in Neverland while she fought to save her son, he even sacrificed his ship, the Jolly Roger to bring her back from New York City to save her family. Despite all the challenges and Emma's snarky refusals, this bad boy never gave up hope and turned out to have a heart of gold.

BEST TWISTRegina Gives Her Heart. In a season where Peter Pan turned out to be Rumpelstiltskin's father and the Wicked Witch Regina's sister, we're going with a more intimate moment for best twist. When Zelena wanted a showdown with sister Regina in Once Upon a Time Season 3 Episode 16, we couldn't quite figure out her goal, until she went for her heart. Leave it to Regina to make sure it wasn't in her chest where it belonged.

But the unexpected twist came when we found out she didn't bury it or hide it in a locked box. She gave it to Robin Hood. When he questioned her logic in trusting a thief, she reminded him that you can't steal something that's been freely given. Whoever thought we'd see Regina give her heart to anyone?

SADDEST LOSSNeal's death. Although we expected that Neal might not survive the season, his loss was no less tragic. And we couldn't say what was worse, knowing Henry didn't even remember his own father as everyone mourned or Rumpelstiltskin being locked in a cage, unable to attend his own son's funeral.

BEST COUPLE: How can you pick one when the show has three such amazing couples? Snow and Charming now share one heart, Emma finally sees Hook's devotion to her, and although Regina's heart is broken with the return of Marian, we have hope that somehow she and Robin will end up together once again. We simply can't choose a favorite so we're calling it a three way tie. 

BEST KISS: Emma and Hook. When Emma finally kissed Hook after realizing he'd given up his ship for her and never said a word, we cheered. It was a long time coming and that makeout session was exactly what fans had been waiting to see all season. We hope to see plenty more of Captain Swan in Once Upon a Time 4

BEST TALE OF REDEMPTION: Regina. When the series began, the Evil Queen wanted revenge so badly that she sacrificed her own father and cursed everyone in the Enchanted Forest. Thankfully things have changed. Her love for her son has helped stem the hate she had for both Snow White and Emma. We can only hope she doesn't backslide now that Emma's accidentally brought back the one woman who can destroy her happiness. 

OVERALL GRADE: A.

Your turn, TV Fanatics. What grade do you give Once Upon a Time Season 3?

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

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Once Upon a Time Quotes

It's time for a world up is down, where villains can have happy endings.

The Author

I've yet to see you fail and when you do succeed, well that's when the fun begins.

Hook