Once Upon a Fangirl...

Hey guys! I am so so sorry for leaving these reviews to this long, but I am back! I had some complications after installing a new browser & my security settings which meant I couldn't access my Goggle account to get to here, but now that's sorted! Following the previous episode, This episode shows Emma being back in Storybrooke trying to investigate the goings-on in the town and as to who and why the suspect cast the new curse. Meanwhile, Mary Margaret meets Zelena, the incognito Storybrooke counterpart of the Wicked Witch of the West who claims to be a midwife and agrees to assist her pregnancy. Pretty obvious she wants the baby, but it hasn't been explained yet why! In the flashbacks, it is revealed that The Wicked Witch of the West is in fact Regina's half sister, being Cora's first born child (and revealing that she was in fact the first born in her former deal with Rumple)

What I loved about this episode was how the story for this half was immediately established and the pacing is excellent. I was worried it was going to be a filler episode judging the promo and synopsis, but it worked! Seeing Emma and Regina work together after the past seasons of being enemies felt very refreshing, especially now that Henry doesn't even remember Regina and they both have a mutual enemy! Mary Margaret, I personally felt, was a bit on the idiot side with immediately becoming friendly with a stranger claiming to be a midwife, and can't even notice she wears black & has a green emerald on her outfit! If I were her, I'd ask if she had any proper qualifications instead of immediately trusting her and confiding in her! The flashbacks in the past year were good, seeing some chemistry and bonding between Regina and Robin Hood, and establishing Zelena & Regina's hatred for one another mostly due to Zelena's jealousy & being abandoned by their mother, Cora.

I think the thing that surprised me the most was how early into the second half they revealed the major spoilers that Zelena is Regina's half sister and Rumple is in fact alive (Come on, did you really think he died in 3x11?) so it looks like the mysteries for now is as to HOW he came back from the dead, and the whereabouts of Neal, Henry's father & Rumple's son! Well, we'll have to see in the next episode, The Tower as to whether any of these mysteries will be investigated!

Get your green bony body out of Regina's dress!

Red & Snow. Talking! When was the last time we saw that?!

AWW! Regina may be 'evil', but she'll always have a soft spot with children!

RUBY!!!!! I've missed her so much!

Haha! 'What were you in for?' '...Banditry.'

Liking Robin's Storybrooke style!

Liking Belle's outfit!

Gee, I wonder who that could be(!)

Aww, I think OutlawQueen are gonna be one of my favourite ships!

Can I jsut say? I love Regina's smile at Emma? Not a SwanQueen shipper myself, but

Step away from Mary Margaret you witch with a b in place of the w!

Wow...she really isn't taking the whole being separated with Henry thing well! First, trying to bury her heart & now this!

HAHA! Love that Leroy's the one who tells everyone about Emma & Regina's plan!

Nice to see Dr Whale again!

OK...that was freaky!

Loved the stakeout! It feels so nice seeing them get along after everything that's happened!

OOH! Wicked vs Evil: sibling rivalry to a whole new level!

HAHAHA! 'Bring it greenie!'

Poor Regina! You can see she really wanted to hug him!

Haha! 'The Wicked Witch of the West?...Seriously? She's real too?'

Hmm, nice reference to the Wizard of Oz movie!

I KNEW HE'D BE ALIVE!!!!!!!

Finally, after the longest hiatus ever, we are back! When we left off, Emma had no memories of the past few years in Storybrooke, and is living in New York with Henry, as she decided to keep him in her new set of memories...until Hook appears, telling her that her family are in trouble. Well, that's where we are now! While that's going on, we get to see what happened when the rest of the Storybrooke residents (except for Rumplestiltskin who's presumed to be dead) after the new curse took them back to the Enchanted Forest. What did I think of it? I loved it! I consider it more as a guide as to how the rest of the season will play out with the narrative structure, as well as the introduction of The Wicked Witch of the West (played by Lost alumni Rebecca Mader)! This episode felt like a season 1 episode, and I loved the focus on Emma's character with her new life with Henry while still keeping the same qualities as before! Hook was likeable and it didn't seem forced when he tried to convince her to listen to him about her real past and this time, he didn't have to make her like him or try to kiss her (and there was no CaptainSwan romance!). Although I wish we could've seen more of Emma's new life, it's still very refreshing seeing a glimpse of it and her life with Henry, including the reveal that he knew about Neal and he's still a pretty good kid being raised by her. The ending with Emma and her parents reuniting was easily my favourite, as now nobody remembers the past year in the Enchanted Forest, and the only way they know it happened is (SPOILER, but not really since everyone knew) Mary Margaret is pregnant!
The flashbacks were also enjoyable, and I loved the interaction between Regina and Snow in particular as they have finally passed the phase of wanting to kill each other and have found common grounds! This alone shows how much development has happened between them ever since Emma and Henry came into their lives, and how much Regina has changed from just being the Evil Queen. Her interaction with Robin Hood (her soulmate) was also rather funny to watch as it wasn't exactly love at first sight (then again, when HAS it ever been love at first sight for any of the main couples?) Belle's new storyline has also had a mention as she and Neal believe that they can find a way to get her true love Rumplestiltskin back as she smartly observed his dagger could be anywhere as we never saw it after he sacrificed himself! And her reunion with Robin Hood was also very sweet. If I did have something to critique, it would be that I think Emma getting her memories back was a bit too early in, and I wish we could've seen more of Zelena, as she was built up so much. Despite that, overall, this has been worth the wait and is a great way of starting up the new chapter in the show, and I can't wait to see more of my favourite characters back in Storybrooke!
So, how will Regina feel now that Henry doesn't remember her? Will Belle and Neal be able to bring Rumple back? Will the Wicked Witch of the West get her revenge? Well, you'll never know what happens in Once Upon A Time and we'll have to tune in next week with Witch Hunt!