Can you beat fate? Regina did her best to convince Emma that they could on Once Upon a Time Season 4 Episode 20, but was Emma listening?

I couldn’t help but feel for Emma. As she put it, the only real friend she ever had growing up wasn’t even her choice. Lily and Emma’s lives were destined to be intertwined.

The one thing that struck me in the flashback scenes was that Emma leaving that foster home was her choice. Yes, the parents may indeed have decided to send her back, but she never gave them a chance to make a decision. She simply ran.

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As Lily said, she’d been hard wired to make bad choices. Did she really have no chance for a better life based on Charming and Snow’s decision? Perhaps it’s true, in which case her anger is justified.

I liked the scene where Hook urged Emma to resist the call of vengeance. He’s been there and he knows where that path leads, plus he may be the one person other than Regina to whom Emma will actually listen.

Speaking of which, my one complaint this season has been the lack of time spent on Emma and Hook’s relationship. Not that I expected Once Upon a Time to turn into a soap opera, but fans waited a long time to see this couple get together. It feels as though we’ve seen very little of them alone.

But back to Emma’s fight against the dark side. Kudos to the show for holding on that long shot of Emma pointing the gun at Lily’s head. I half expected to hear the shot ring out at any moment. Thankfully, Regina was there to talk her down. I’m not sure anyone else could have.

Back in Storybrooke, Gold had Will Scarlett steal back Belle’s heart. Gold sounded nothing but sincere when he expressed his remorse for lying to her throughout their marriage and then telling Will it was now his job to protect Belle’s heart. Is this really the end for Rumpelstiltskin and Belle?

On to New York City where Regina was about to get the shock of her life. Robin couldn’t believe the story she was telling him until Zelena dropped the masquerade and showed her true self. Robin’s expression was priceless. When he wouldn’t leave with Regina I assumed it had something to do with Roland. Little did I expect that Zelena was pregnant with his child.

Maybe I was wrong. Perhaps this is a soap opera, but I’ll admit that I’m intrigued to see how this all plays out.

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