#OUaTrevisit: S6:E21/22

This will be posted to my Mastodon account; don’t forget to read my fellow Revisitors Katie’s and Cindy’s posts too!

I don’t know for certain that this two-parter was written and filmed to be the series finale, with the framing scenes featuring adult Henry and daughter Lucy added in later after the series was picked up for a seventh season. But my TV-writing-analysis brain is screaming that this is what happened. The last five minutes of “The Final Battle, Part 2” were as much an ending, a wrap-up, an “everyone gets a final coda,” as any series finale I’ve ever seen.

But before we can talk more about Part 2, we need to get through Part 1.

S6:E21 The Final Battle Part 1

“Henry awakens to a cursed Storybrooke.”
Airdate: May 14, 2017

• I told you it would be obvious when the Final Battle was getting underway.
• How many curses does this make for poor put-upon Storybrooke now? Five or six?
• This “previously on” is going Way Back.
• They definitely won’t find me if I run with a torch, thinks the guy running with a torch!
• This time, Henry is the only one who remembers.
• Emma painting a swan. Just one swan. We’ll call her Emma Solo.
• Kinda feel like the townspeople would be better off in this situation, right? No periodic curses, evil creatures, or sorcerors breezing in to destroy the town every so often.
• Maybe Henry should avoid all this talk in front of the mental institution nurse.
• Oh, Fiona is now the mayor and Henry’s other mom.
• The curse requires drugs to keep the memories down? Definitely weaker than Regina’s ever were.
• And the rest are back in the Forest, but they do remember.
• Institution Emma is giving strong Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2. Next, she’ll knock out some pull-ups.
• “He was a Hatter, he had multiples.” Zelena with the killer line.
• Hook seems grumpier than usual. Like, we know, we all want to get home. Calm down.
• What are the various Realm Doors? The wallpaper is very Haunted Mansion. Regina mentioned Arendelle. One of them looks vaguely space-capsule and another is definitely Polynesian. If there was a door that would transport directly me to the Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar, I’d be a regular.

Could we have a door that leads to Pleasure Island before it was destroyed? #Kungaloosh

• Oh hey, Aladdin and Jasmine. Nice to see you. What happened to your leg, Aladdin?
• Naturally, Mayor Fiona is driving the Mayoral Mercedes.
• “Gold and Son” is a nice touch.
• Something happened to Belle but we aren’t saying what.
• So we’re evacuating everyone in all the realms into this little anteroom?
• Ha! Pull-ups! I knew it!
• This is quite a hero speech from Killian.
• Henry also conveniently recovered all of Emma’s regular clothes.
• What does Henry have in mind? It’s not going to be “help Emma leave town.”
• Matching suits on Gold and Son.
• We’re out of Lizard Horn! Just run down to the Exotic Spice & Tea Shop and pick some up.
• Who is making a grand entrance now? Oh, it’s the less-evil Evil Queen.
• “I don’t murder anymore, Zelena.”
• Fiona is just having a day, isn’t she? It’s like she’s a DM and the players aren’t following her carefully-planned dungeon map, just rolling for initiative willy-nilly.
• Hey, is Tiny here?
• David called Killian his son-in-law. And we’re getting some Captain Hook music.
• You can’t fool me, that’s a coconut Jelly Belly.
• Dragon! Is it Lily? Whatever happened to Lily?
• “You mean?!” “Yes, she’s become an Instagram influencer.”
• Emma bursts into the hospital like she isn’t an escaped fugitive.
• The extras in the Realms anteroom look concerned.
• Emma really DeSantised that book.

S6:E22 The Final Battle Part 2

“The Heroes are trapped in a crumbling Fairy Tale Land.”
Airdate: May 14, 2017

• Why is the Seattle Center Monorail in the opening?
• Who is the little girl? And how does she know Tiger Lily?
• Fiona really has it out for Henry, who is by the way her great-grandson.
• Go carpet!
• “Hello there, mummy.”
• The Three Bears Day Spa. I bet there was more in the small print.
• Revivifying the bean will require a full Queen’s worth of magic. Will they re-join?
• Hey, surprise, the TLK worked.
• Gold is awake, of course. I think Extra Dark Gold’s magic might even beat the Black Fairy’s.
• I expect Belle is probably locked up in the hospital basement.
• Emperor-level Force lightning!
• “My name is Henry Mills. You killed my family. Prepare to die.”
• Emma came back! And just in time, it appears.
• The house next door to Belle has a satellite dish. But in Storybrooke they only get ABC and ESPN.
• Gold’s shop has everything, if you look hard enough.
• She’s been looking for the wand for centuries? Fiona had her wand in the Fairy realm. How long have we been in this current curse?
• What exactly are the Laws of Magic? Have we heard of those before? More like guidelines, I suppose.
• I feel like this is the wrong tack to take with Gold.
• (Dearie)
• “Only light can snuff out the light,” that doesn’t make any sense.
• “I don’t feel so good.”
• Poof! Now RumpleGold has killed both of his parents.
• And we’re back!
• Ah jeez, this guy again. Gideon switches from “boring but good” to “boring but menacing” at the drop of a boring cloak.
• “Belle, you’re standing in…”
• Henry with the fire extinguisher!
• Oh whatever, Belle.
• The babies (Neal and Robin) are only around when they need to be for plot purposes. Where are they now?
• This isn’t what Emma was wearing in her vision. Ever in motion is the future.
• I love the complete understanding between Regina and Emma, finally.
• Walkie-talkie mode doesn’t work. Storybrooke LTE (2017) doesn’t reach that far underground.
• Gideon was always going to kill Emma, but what is spewing from the wound? Light Magic? Butterflies? Sparks off her impenetrable plot armor?
• TLK is like a natural 20 on the saving throw.
• Is this baby Gideon?
• It’s an OUaT Greatest Hits montage!
• The Charmings have a dog!
• Regina Mills, Queen (bow).
• I bet this was supposed to be the series finale. You couldn’t ask for a more complete wrap-up (except what about Ruby/Dorothy, and Lily, and August, and and and).
• That final dinner scene! ❤️
• “Seattle, years later.” Is this Henry’s daughter? Was that adult Henry in the scene with the sword?
• Are we just starting over from the beginning??

Apparently, most of the regular cast departed after season six; further bolstering my suspicion that this was going to be the series finale. I guess we’ll see how adult Henry’s daughter bears the burden of being the one to bring her parent(s) back to Storybrooke. Starting next week: season seven! The final season! 22 episodes, eleven weeks, which means #OUaTrevisit will wrap up on or around August 2nd.