Road Trip!

Emma and Regina hit the road to find Maleficent’s daughter and try to save Robin Hood in Once Upon a Time Season 4 Episode 20. The first mission was a success... sort of. For the second, they found out they may have arrived too late.

Below, TV Fanatics Robin Harry, Allison Nichols, Amanda Steinmetz and Paul Dailly are joined by Gareth from Once Upon a Fan to discuss what they thought of Lily, the Will / Belle romance and whether Once Upon a Time just took a turn into the soap opera zone...

Did you ever think that Emma would actually shoot Lily?

Gareth: No, I had a feeling that Regina would talk her down. That scene was really well played though. It was quite intense.

Robin: At first I thought there was no way, but as the scene got longer and they went for the far shot, I started doubting myself. I think if Regina hadn't been there, she might have.

Allison: No. It would have been a waste to bring Lily back just to immediate kill her. However, Emma did come really close o pulling the trigger. If she feels like her family is being threatened, then Emma will do whatever it takes to protect them.

Amanda: She clearly came close, but I figured she wouldn't go through with it because someone would stop her or she'd come to her senses. 

Paul: Considering the path she is on, I did think she could do it. I'm glad she didn't.

On a scale of 1 to 10, rate the Belle and Will romance?

Gareth: Right at the bottom, 1! Poor Michael Socha, he was the most entertaining aspect of Wonderland and now he just looks like he is going through the motions each week on OUAT to collect his pay check. His storylines, if you can call them that, have been rubbish. He just doesn’t seem to fit into the show. He’s basically a third wheel to the Rumbelle romance and they made him look so pathetic against Rumple. Is this the same man that stood up against Jafar on Wonderland? 

Robin: I agree with Gareth. What a waste of two characters. I can't stand that Belle's relevance has been reduced to what romantic relationship she's in. The whole thing was rushed to begin with, and they've given us no reasons to be invested in that relationship, apart from Will being not-Rumple. If I'm going to root for these two, we need more than the occasional hand-holding to convince me. 

Allison: I'm not a fan at all. We didn't get to see them fall in love or even have any sort of chemistry whatsoever. If the writers want a fan base to gather around them, then we need to see what makes Belle and Will fantastic. Belle does not need a man to be in the show. Rushing her into another romance was not the best move for her character.

Amanda: Can I rate it a blah? I agree that they've made no use for the Will character on OUAT. I didn't watch Wonderland, but I figure he must have been an important character over there. So it's odd that he barely does anything. There's no chemistry between him and Belle. It feels like one morning the writers woke and said, "Guess what, we're going to have these two random characters be dating for no apparent reason." 

Paul: Also not a fan of this. Belle jumped into a new relationship too fast and we all know she will be back with Rumple if he survives until the end of the series.

So did Zelena being pregnant with Robin’s baby just push Once Upon a Time over the line into the soap opera zone?

Gareth: One of the writers on the fan site sent in an article last week which involved the possibility that the OUAT writers would go down this route with Zelena and I sat on it because I didn’t believe they could possibly indulge such a trashy soap opera plot line. How wrong was I! I really wish I had published that article now. I hate this development, absolutely hate it. It just smacks of another plot device to keep Robin and Regina apart. 

Robin: Again with the audible groaning. What is it with shows and pregnancy storylines - Grimm just did the same thing! It's bad enough I already can't stand the character of Zelena, now I can't even root for her violent defeat. I think this story is to convince Regina that she doesn't have a happy ending outside of The Author, but ugh, this is the worst.

Allison: Can we all just pretend this didn't happen? I can't believe I am watching two shows doing the exact same trope. I prefer it on Grimm. We just came too close to Regina being happy without the author doing anything, so we had to throw in a crazy twist that would force Robin's honor to interfere.

Amanda: I'm sorry, is this OUAT or Days of Our Lives? This is unnecessary drama, and Zelena isn't even that interesting. Now she's pregnant! So does this mean we have to deal with this stupid plot development for 9 months? 

Paul: I actually like it! It's the least thing you'd expect, so I understand why the writers went this route and it gives them a reason for Zelena to stick around.

Would you like to see more of Lily going forward?

Gareth: I enjoyed the Emma/Lily storyline. It carried the majority of the episode really well and I am interested in seeing where they go with it and what the resolution will be. Will Emma and Lily reconcile or will Lilly continue her plan for revenge against Snow and Charming? 

Robin: Lily was the best thing about this episode, and I want to see a lot more of her. I want to see whether she overcomes her inherent darkness, and I really looking forward to her reunion with Maleficent. 

Allison: Yes! Give me all the Lily. I can't wait for her reunion with her mom, and I would love to see more of her friendship with Emma.

Amanda: In an episode I really didn't like, she was the best part. So I guess my answer is yes. 

Paul: Yes, I can't wait to see her meet her mother.

Was there anything in “Lily” that disappointed you?

Gareth: That ending. The less said about it the better. It spoilt what was an otherwise enjoyable episode. 

Robin: Everything about Zelena. I'm so annoyed by that pregnancy I can barely stand it.

Allison: Aside from the horror that was the Zelena pregnancy, I can't believe that the Sorcerer's Apprentice told Lily the truth. He knew Lily had so much darkness sent into her, and yet he thought it was a great idea to give her a target for her darkness.

Amanda: Two words: Zelena pregnant. 

Paul: Belle and Will. Boring.

What was your favorite quote or scene from this episode?

Gareth: I’m intrigued by the scene at the beginning with the Apprentice and the Sorcerer. Will the Sorcerer turn out to be somebody we have already met?  I hope we find out this season. 

Robin: I loved the gun scene. It was intense, and for a moment it was hard to recognize Emma. It was also a shining moment for Regina. Regina knows more than anyone how hard it is to come back from crossing that line.

Allison: I loved the wolf running into the road scene. It was a great callback to the pilot, and it showed just how fate has always been pushing Emma in a certain direction.

Amanda: I guess I'll go with the gun scene. It was pretty tense, even though I figured she wasn't going to actually kill her. 

Paul: The gun scene. It was quite fitting that Regina would be the one talking sense into Emma.

Check back on Sunday for our review of Once Upon a Time Season 4 Episode 21 and if you can’t wait for more of the magic you can always watch Once Upon a Time online here at TV Fanatic.

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