Operation Mongoose Parts 1 & 2

Now that it's finally the finale, Rumple & Isaac manage to write the brand new book, everyone except for Henry is sent to an alternate universe within it, with everyone's roles being reversed, including Snow White being the Evil Queen (who was in love with Charming's twin brother James before he was killed thanks to Regina & now controls Charming to try & replace him), Regina being a bandit just like Snow, Robin being engaged to Zelena, Hook being Blackbeard's deckboy and Rumple being a knight/ogre slayer/The Light One (you get the picture) happy with Belle & with a baby of their own (in this universe, Baelfire died in the Ogre War & Belle doesn't know about him). However, Henry and Isaac manage to get into the final chapter after he tracks him down (yeah, the book became a bestseller, Henry used the Sorcerer's key to get into it & the ink now doesn't work as Isaac broke the cardinal rule of the Author which is to write their own happy ending) as he has to try & fix everything before Zelena & Robin's wedding happens (which means everything will stay the same and no one can come back), trying to convince Regina to help him & it turns out Emma remembers everything and was locked up in a tower guarded by Lily. Unfortunately, Snow kills Hook and doesn't believe Emma is her & Charming's daughter and they have to stop the wedding themselves, but Rumple stands in the way (as Isaac told him he had to kill Regina in order for the new realm to remain intact) and just as he's about to kill Henry, Regina squanders her chance of happiness and sacrifices herself, but not before he manages to undo everything by becoming the new Author and using Regina's blood as ink to bring everything back to normal in Storybrooke. However, there's still the problem of Rumple's heart and the Apprentice manages to put the darkness out of his heart (and the Dark One curse) using the box just in time (along with Belle revealing she still cares about Rumple & broke up with Will), but the curse still lurks around Storybrooke and has to be tethered to someone with the dagger (which the Apprentice reveals just before he dies along with telling Emma to find the Sorcerer AKA Merlin as he's the only one who can stop the Dark One curse once and for all), so just before it can complete consuming Regina, Emma ends up sacrificing herself by becoming the new Dark One and disappearing.
I actually really loved this finale! The alternate universe they set up after all the build-up was pretty cool to see especially as everyone's roles were reversed along with bringing back some of the light-heartedness of the fairytale setting after the rather dark turn it took in this half. One thing I really must give great praise to though is Ginnifer's performance as the Evil Queen, as although we've seen dark versions of Snow before (i.e. ShatteredSight! Snow, Snow Grey in season 2...), it wasn't really quite to this extent as she genuinely came across as cold and threatening in all of her scenes without being too over the top. And the fact that none of the actors imitated each other's roles is another big praise for me as it was interesting to see their own interpretations, also showing how strong the cast is as a whole full of range, even if it was admittedly a tad weird seeing Robert acting all chivalrous & heroic given how, well, dark Rumple normally is (even if he looked VERY handsome in his outfits & still kept his Dark One-like mannerisms & speech patterns)! And his life with Belle...oh my God, it was much more than I could have wished for (trust me, you have no idea how crazy I went when it turned out they had a baby) Another part I liked was seeing Henry take on a much more active role in the story as he's the one who has to fix everything instead of Emma or Regina (god, I loved their interaction together) despite their help, and seeing him being given the role of the Author was pretty satisfying and very fitting for his character as he's the one who's been the eyes for the audience since the start of the show & has never stopped believing.
Seeing how Isaac became the Author was pretty interesting to see as he had worked in a TV shop with a passion for writing, but it was only really limited to one scene and I get the feeling that Walt Disney was his predecessor given that the scenes were set in 1966 and it was mentioned the last Author had died recently.
If I had a problem oddly enough, it's that I felt like we didn't see a lot of the alternate universe itself. Sure, we saw the characters & how they ended up becoming the people they were, but what I mean is the story of the book itself. We were only really limited to the final chapter & even with that, we only saw what Henry tampered with it along with throwaway lines as to how the characters ended up being who they were! Well, it was still pretty cool & very enjoyable nonetheless! And thankfully, like any amazing episode, there was plenty of emotional depth, as there were lots of very heartwarming moments here & there, in particular with Rumple, Emma & Regina's stories in both the alternate world and Storybrooke!
As for the ending...oh boy, a lot's gonna change now! It kind of reminded me of the ending in season 1 as while the other seasons had teased a plot arc/new villain for the next season in the final minute, this one was left on a more ambiguous note along with small teases for different subplots for different characters so that they know they can focus on the core characters instead of bringing several new ones in for the next season. Admittedly, I would have been surprised with the ending itself if it weren't for unavoidable set photos of the scene lurking around on Twitter, but the reason behind why Emma sacrificed herself to save Regina was absolutely heartbreaking as it has shown how far the two of them have gone with their friendship. And quickly wanna mention that the mythology of the Dark One was very very interesting to see & I really hope it's expanded upon in the next season! The fact that Rumple's curse has finally been broken after 4 years is gonna take quite a bit of getting used to (especially with the fact that we can't call him the Dark One anymore), even if the method wasn't really what I wanted it to be *coughs* True Love's Kiss *coughs*, but hopefully next season Belle will help him through being an ordinary man again & I am so so relieved he's still alive (and that she explicitly said that she doesn't love Will)! And the fact Merlin is the Sorcerer really makes me think that we'll finally be seeing King Arthur & Camelot (which funnily enough I mentioned in the midseason finale) which already makes me think that somehow Lily's quest to find her father will be connected into it.
So now that Emma is the Dark One, Merlin & Camelot will most likely play a huge role & Rumple is now an ordinary man again, I'm pretty intrigued with what they'll do in season 5! And with nice writing, pretty fun scenes, great acting from everyone, quite a lot of heartwarming moments & very interesting plot progression, it was a pretty great way to end this season!

Well, interesting that Isaac used to sell televisions in 1966 & interesting way to bring in ABC product placement!

Wait a minute, that's the date Walt Disney died!

Interesting name for a publisher!

Hmm, interesting way of determining what kind of author Isaac is!

Haha! 'Easy! This isn't your fault!' 'Even so, thanks to Gold and the Author I could wake up tomorrow a talking frog!'

Hi August! And interesting that he met the Apprentice in Phuket!

About time that he was set free! Bit weird that he wasn't when they set free the fairies & the Chernabog...

'I would like a world where I remember doing right by my boy. Where he may be gone, but I can live with that loss. Where Bae sees me as a hero, right to the end.' Aww! </3 The sad part about that is Bae DID see his father as a hero at the end of it all! 

What's going on...?

Where the hell is everyone?!

Hmm, nice callback to the Pilot!

Wait, Henry can drive?! How old is he now, 12, 13?!

Now I really want them to actually publish this like the books from Castle!

Pretty sure that this is one big shout-out to Oncers up to the point that Isaac quotes Adam's infamous 'No spoilers' hashtag!

Gotta love seeing Henry have a threatening side when it comes to his family!

Interesting the key actually worked!

Haha! 'Let me tell you about this place, it's called there's no running water and things are always trying to kill you!'

Oh crap...

My my, aren't you a real Prince Charming, Rumple? Well, knight/ogre slayer/Light One-you get what I mean!

Interesting seeing Regina as a bandit!

'My name is Henry, and I am your son.' Hmm, another nice callback to the Pilot!

Yeah, Isaac, surely you must remember what happens in your own bloody book!

Feels weird seeing her have the same beliefs as Emma back in season 1 when she thought he was crazy!

NO!

So the dwarves are now evil minions...?

Wow, Evil Queen Snow is genuinely creepy! Major kudos to Ginnifer!

*wolf whistles* Looks like Hook's not the only one who can rock guyliner!

Interesting that Snow in this was in love with Charming's twin!

Just when I thought she couldn't get scarier...

Haha! 'I had that situation under control!' 'Well, a simple thank you would suffice!'

Aww, can't help but find them cute in this alternate universe!

Great, she still has to ruin Regina's happiness!

Eww.

Interesting that Regina was the one who was abandoned by her mother in this tale...

What the-?!

AWWW!!!

Oh. My. God. I know it's an alternate universe that won't last, but still, RUMBELLE HAD A BABY!

I'm sorry, I can't help it! They just look so...happy!

God, he looks so handsome!

Leave Rumple alone, Isaac! Bit odd though that Belle in this doesn't know about Baelfire...

Seems not much has changed with Hook...

Nice to see you again Blackbeard! And I take back what I just said, must be crap being his deck-boy!

HAHA! 'Wookie prisoner gag! Always works!'

Wait, she remembers everything?!

AWW!!!

Didn't expect Lily to appear in the alternate universe!

Oh crap...

Haha! 'What is that?' 'It's goat's milk!' 'Where's your rum?' 'I'm allergic. I never touch the stuff.' 'Of course you are!'

Interesting outfit there Granny!

Did she really just kill Doc?!

Haha! 'You were a regular Jack Sparrow!' 'Is that good?' Actually quite liking this sweeter version of Hook!

Is it me or does Emma's outfit look just like Flynn Rider's?

Well, at least he's giving it a go despite not being the expert swordsman he was!

OK, just because he's dead in this universe, it doesn't mean he's dead in Storybrooke!

Aww, bless them!

Sweet chipped cup parallel.

'My happy ending isn't a man!' 'Of course not! But love is a part of all happiness and you have to be open to that!' She's got a point there!

Hmm, rather sweet wedding even if Zelena is the bride!

Must say, Rumple really cuts the figure in that Charming-esque outfit!

Hmm, very sexy sword fight!

Come on, Regina! Just say 'I object!'

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, RUMPLE?! And interesting Frozen parallel...seriously, am I the only one who noticed it?

Hmm, seems envy & being a brat will always be a part of her even in an alternate universe!

I KNEW Henry would be the next author!

AWW!

Of course he's not dead!

RUMPLE?!

So Isaac did everything just because he didn't like being pushed around by the heroes...could've done something better to deal with it than messing with their lives!

'Not even an Author can bring back the dead.' Well, that hasn't stopped Maleficent, Zelena, Charming & Rumple being brought back via magic!

'No one should have that much power!' Bold choice Henry!

'Everything we had in the book, you could have had here. You could have been a good man with a good marriage, for real! Why wasn't it good enough?' 'Because I didn't believe it! Who could ever love me?' Oh my God, I just wanna give the poor guy a hug! *Sighs* If only he knew about the millions of fans who've never stopped loving him... 

'I don't love Will and I won't let you die alone!' AWW!

Wait, wait w-w-w-w-w-wait! Did she just say 'I love you?!' (trust me, you need a good ear to catch it since it's just before it cuts to the next scene!)

Aww!

Well, wouldn't be a victory without a celebration at Granny's before something inevitably bad happens!

Seems Lily's gonna stick around to find her father! Interesting that even her mother doesn't know & they did it in dragon form...

Thank God they've found a way to save him & his curse is finally broken!

Funny that his heart is now purer than Snow's!

WHAT THE-?!

I KNEW MERLIN WAS THE SORCERER!

'EMMA NO! There has to be another way!' 'There isn't! You've worked too hard to get your happiness destroyed!' Oh no, don't tell me they're gonna go there...

Pretty scary that Rumple had to endure that much darkness inside of him for hundreds of years!

Oh crap...