Top 10 Best and Top 5 Worst Season 4 Episodes!

With the fourth season, although it has completely different types of arcs, I actually surprisingly enjoyed both in different ways. The first half (the Frozen one) was actually pretty good thanks to the characters old & new with a nice fairytale tone & the interesting story incorporating the original Snow Queen story, but I had a few issues, in particular with the way they handled Rumple's character (before the second half managed to save it) & the Disney references being excessive, while the second half did a great job with focusing on the core characters, containing good continuity with callbacks to previous episodes & plot threads tying together along with bringing back lots of memorable characters like August, Maleficent, Ariel & even more, even if it kinda slowed down in the middle to explain more goings-on before getting back on track with Lily returning! So yeah, I thought it was actually pretty good & my only 'problem' for the whole season was how they handled Will Scarlet's involvement in the plot (especially being Belle's rebound while we've had no closure over what happened to Anastasia), along with Zelena being alive & Rumbelle angst (AGAIN). Despite those problems it doesn't mean that episodes individually were bad! In fact, there aren't any that I genuinely hated and the episodes not included on either list are a case of liking them & I do like to watch them in my spare time!

Best
10) Mother. Following the revelation of Zelena's pregnancy, the way they handled & resolved it (along with the other plots) was surprisingly good! The flashbacks involving Regina & Cora were surprsingly emotionally deep even if they didn't have much impact on the story itself & Regina developing after slowly slipping into evil in this was also nice to see. And of course there's plenty of heartwarming moments like Lily and Maleficent finally reuniting & Emma reconciling with her parents along with a pretty interesting cliffhanger as Isaac & Rumple finally get to work over the villains getting their happy endings. Add in some great acting & if this doesn't want to make you hug your mum after watching it, then your heart must be as black as Rumple's (before his curse got broken)!

9) Heroes & Villains. For a midseason finale, while I didn't think it was as good as last year's, this one was a nice one to end the Frozen arc. It felt pretty sad seeing the characters leaving, especially after seeing Emma & Elsa's friendship blossom throughout, but at least Emma & Regina's remained intact after everything between them (including her losing Robin again) & it was so sweet seeing the Frozen characters get their happiness again! The twists i.e. Belle banishing Rumple, the Queens of Darkness & Operation Mongoose getting more progression were pretty good, but not really as groundbreaking as last year's. Still, it's a pretty good midseason finale nonetheless & it's still good enough to make it on the list!

8) Unforgiven. Directed by Adam Horowitz, the first part of Snow & Charming's big secret 2 episode arc was actually pretty good, mostly thanks to the execution of it. While initially thinking it was going to be pointless, the twists it brought over Emma's potential for darkness and Maleficent's pregnancy were what saved it for me as it'd be a very important plot for the arc. The Storybrooke scenes (even with that stupid plot of Belle & Will being a couple) were also interesting thanks to Mary Margaret & David's attempts to hide their secret despite it backfiring through Maleficent's revival and asking Regina to go undercover to get some dirt on the villains' plans. Oh yeah, & this also managed to make me sympathize with Maleficent in a much more natural way unlike the 2014 film!

7) Lily. After the revelation that Lily was the one given the darkness intended for Emma, this one was rather interesting! The way they show that through her constant lying along with deceiving Emma both in past & present as she ruined her chance to be with a loving family also gave me more sympathy for Emma & is fully aware of Storybrooke thanks to the Apprentice out for revenge. The road trip scenes with Emma & Regina were also fun to watch thanks to the banter between them and I loved that the plot got going again even with Zelena back (yes, that twist of her being pregnant bothers me, but still!) Also, seeing Rumple's side plot of getting Belle's heart back with Will's help was pretty fun to see, even if he lets go of Belle, giving him more likeability despite the heartbreak surrounding it. Overall, an interesting episode where it shows that maybe naming your adoptive daughter 'Lilith' isn't the brightest idea (google it)!

6) Shattered Sight. After the build-up to the spell ever since Family Business, this has got to be one of the most quotable & funniest episodes in the show so far! While the spell was for the most part comedic, I didn't mind because it kept me entertained seeing almost everyone bicker along with some hilarious acting (especially from Ginnifer & Lana clearly having a ball) Not only that, but the resolution with Ingrid was very well done, if not tragic thanks to Elizabeth Mitchell's amazing acting & some great writing as I always knew a part of her could be redeemed thanks to her family right in front of her. The flashbacks involving her relationship with Emma were also very nice to see as they were surprisingly heartwarming as they could've been the family she wanted them to be if she hadn't screwed up. This just shows that maybe a horrible spell that makes everyone kill each other can have a light-hearted edge to it!

5) Family Business. As the first proper Belle centric episode we've had in quite a while, this one felt so refreshing! It felt nice to see her play a much more active role and being her own character (along with finally seeing her mother Colette) and making mistakes in both the flashbacks and Storybrooke scenes (i.e. using the 'dagger' to control Rumple to help her) along with her sweet friendship with Anna in the past. Also, I loved seeing Ingrid's mirror being properly introduced along with the plot progression involving Emma's past with her, Regina letting Robin go to save Marian and most importantly, the spell of Shattered Sight & the prophecy involving Emma & Elsa. Add in a stand-out performance from Emilie de Ravin, this episode really shows how Belle can be used to her full potential!

4) Breaking Glass. When I first heard that there was going to be an episode showing Emma's past, I was so excited & I must say, it did not disappoint! Even if it was a quieter episode as it's mostly all set in one night in Storybrooke, it was nice to see much more of Emma & Regina interacting & how much the former admires the latter, along with the funny yet heartwarming side plot with Mary Margaret tracking Will down & feeling more like herself again! It was also nice to see plot progression with the twist at the end involving The Snow Queen's connection to Emma & Elsa. But easily the best part was seeing more of Emma's past, and her friendship with Lily was so nice to watch (even if it backfired horribly in the second half) as it paralleled nicely with her & Regina in the Storybrooke scenes. Overall, this is definitely an episode worth watching, especially if you're a SwanQueen shipper!

3) Operation Mongoose! Given that there was so much speculation over what the Author would do to give the villains happy endings, the alternate universe created really was worth it! Seeing almost everyone switching roles was so much fun as they would give their own interpretations of their characters, especially from Ginnifer as Evil Queen Snow & Robert as the valiant knight Rumple (along with finally seeing a Rumbelle baby). Not only that, but seeing Henry play a huge role throughout having to save everyone made him much more interesting as a character to me along with being the new Author as being a rather satisfying move for him. And the huge resolutions were also well done, like Rumple's curse FINALLY being broken (despite the method even if he & Belle have kind of reconciled) and the huge cliffhanger of Emma becoming the new Dark One really is a massive game-changer. Now I really am intrigued to potentially see Camelot play a huge role along with Emma fully embracing the dark side!

2) A Tale of Two Sisters. For the first episode in the season & introducing the Frozen arc, this really was a great way to do it making it a sequel rather than an adaptation. The acting from Georgina Haig, Scott Michael Foster and especially Elizabeth Lail also really shined for me along with the way they handled the Frozen characters thanks to some great writing. Not only that, but the other characters we know and love are still the same as we get to see more development including Regina deciding not to kill 'Marian' & the introduction to The Sorcerer's Apprentice via the hat. Of course Belle & Rumple's honeymoon that was easily my favourite part & it was so so sweet finally seeing them do the iconic dance from the movie! Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that this has some of the best CGI in the show so far! For starting the Frozen plot, this really came out with a bang & if you don't like it...just let it go!

1) Best Laid Plans. Finally revealing the identity of the Author and what Snow and Charming did to Maleficent's child, this really did not disappoint! Not only is it smartly written & emotionally engaging, but the character development was also very well done from Mary Margaret and David throughout as they try to make up for their past mistakes in order to be better parents for Emma. The flashbacks showing Snow & Charming be the villains of Maleficent's story were  also well done as they don't paint their actions as being a good thing despite them being heroes, which was a great choice done by the writers. The plot progressions with the reveal of Lily being Maleficent's daughter, a tease of Rumple's heart condition & the mythology of the Author were also very interesting to see & they actually managed to make sense & not feel contrived despite them all connecting together somehow. As the first (and only) collaboration for Jane Espenson & Kalinda Vazquez (who is sadly leaving), this really does not disappoint as they bring the best of both worlds for a very intriguing & amazingly written episode with great emotional stakes & character development!

Since there's a lot of episodes I liked in this season, I thought this time round I'd do an honourable mention from each arc instead of just one like the last few years!

Honourable mention 1:

Smash The Mirror! I'm not gonna lie, this was so so close to getting on the best list, but I could only put 10 on! Despite being 2 hours, the pacing was great, there was plenty of heartwarming moments and character development from Emma along with very interesting plot progression with the Author & how Elsa ended up in the urn & Ingrid in our world. So with all of that said, why isn't this on the best list? One answer: Rumple! This was easily when he was at his worst when turning back into evil & it completely ruined his character for me after all of his development (thank God 4B changed him back) But still, it's definitely not bad & I do like to watch it if I'm in the mood for an extra hour of the show without it being a finale!

Honourable mention 2:

Poor Unfortunate Soul! Despite kind of being a Hook centric episode, what saves it for me is that Ursula's backstory, while being a bit too similar to The Little Mermaid was interesting & fun to watch! It was nice to have that fairytale feeling back into the flashbacks, including many musical & plot references to the Disney classic. The Storybrooke scenes were also enjoyable thanks to August's role after returning and the plot progression with the Author being trapped inside the page and Ursula managing to get her happiness with no help from the Author at all! Add in standout performances by Merrin Dungey and special guest star Ernie Hudson as Poseidon, this really is a fun episode if you want to take a voyage under the sea!

I'm not gonna lie, given that NONE of the episodes this season were 'bad' or that I genuinely hated any of them despite having problems with some of the plots as a whole, the ones here are at worst 'OK'. So I guess we can call this the 'OK/Worst-ish' list!

'Worst'
5) Fall. OK, this one shouldn't even be on a bad list let alone this worst one! The only real problems I had with this were the slow pacing, Rumple continuing to be a massive douchebag & the flashbacks not really being AS interesting as the more recent episodes at that time. There was still great emotional stakes, ESPECIALLY when Anna and Elsa finally reunite and when the Shattered Sight spell takes over the town. Seriously, just go and watch it if you want because this is easily a case of being a filler spot since I couldn't even think of 5 'bad' episodes & I had more problems with this than the other ones that didn't make it!

4) Rocky Road. I'm not saying that this episode is bad, it's just really a case of not really caring about it as much as the others in the first half! Despite Ingrid playing a more active role, it wasn't really as much as I had wanted it to be & it felt pretty strange looking back at this that she wanted to frame Elsa for Marian's freezing. And the fact that Hans was easily defeated doesn't help (well, until Fall). Not only that, but Hook blackmailing Rumple was annoying (along with Rumple being evil again which was unforgiveable after all the development he went through in season 3) There was still some good things like Will returning (even if he was poorly used throughout despite being a regular), the reveal of Ingrid knowing Emma, more development from Regina & the start of Operation Mongoose! Well, I suppose this really fits the title, it's a pretty rocky episode to say the least.

3) Heart of Gold. While this episode showed Robin being in New York along with Rumple's situation over his heart finally being explained, it contains one of the worst twists ever: Zelena being alive! It just felt like a pathetic excuse for her to return when she should've stayed dead! The fact it added in more complexities including Zelena causing Rumple to blackmail Regina doesn't really help either & it slowed the action down compared to the last episode! But like I said in my review, I still enjoyed seeing more of Robin in New York and his past in the Enchanted Forest, all anchored by a solid performance from Sean Maguire and Rumple being given more complexity & likeability as a character again! It may seem like it's the worst one judging my criticisms, but the praises I gave in my review sort of counteract them.

2) Enter The Dragon. Although the flashbacks aren't as pointless as the traditional Snowing season 2 flashbacks, they still drag this episode down for me. While we finally got more insight to the show's Sleeping Beauty story and the origins of Maleficent & Regina's friendship, the framing device with Regina learning a lesson over patience just made it feel pretty redundant. The Storybrooke scenes fared better with Regina going undercover while retaining her friendships with Maleficent & Emma and Rumple properly beginning his quest through bringing August back being interesting to see (despite deceiving Belle to get the dagger back), even if the rest admittedly wasn't as! This just felt pretty disappointing despite the good stuff, but at least Maleficent is still the same scary dragon bitch we know her as!

1) White Out. While there's definitely some good things in this one (Emma & Elsa's friendship, Mary Margaret growing a backbone & Elizabeth Mitchell's debut), this one compared to the others in this season was definitely the weakest. The problems I really had mostly involved the pointless flashbacks, ESPECIALLY with the odd choice of adding Bo Peep & making her one of the worst villains in the show & forgettable, out of place & absolutely ridiculous! And despite Josh Dallas' good acting (even with his long wig) & the sweet friendship with Anna, the tone felt really out of place & campy compared to the other episodes. Hook bothered me, but that's mostly because as you know I'm not a fan of CaptainSwan but I'm just leaving it at that cos I'm trying to be more open minded and Regina, Rumple and Belle (who had a pretty short honeymoon by the way) barely had any screen time ! Anyway, while it's not 'bad' per se, I definitely consider this the weakest episode in the whole of season 4!