After seven seasons, Once Upon a Time closes the storybook for the final time tonight. It’s been a quite a journey for our fairy tale heroes. Through the good and the bad, the series has always believed that love will save us all. And maybe they are right.
So, what do you need to know about season seven? For starters, There are two timelines going on: one in the New Enchanted Forest and the other in Hyperion Heights, And of course, there is a dark curse. There are some familiar faces, like Regina (Lana Parrilla), Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) and Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle). And lots of new faces with some familiar names. Here’s the important stuff you need to know for tonight’s finale.
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Henry and Co
ANDREW J. WEST, DANIA RAMIREZ
Henry (Andrew J. West) is all grown up. He is married to Cinderella (Dania Ramirez) from the New Enchanted Forest and they have a daughter named Lucy (Alison Fernandez). In the Enchanted Forest, Henry and Cinderella were a part of Princess Tiana’s (Mekia Cox) resistance of Lady Tremaine (Gabrielle Anwar), Cinderella’s step mother. Her step-sister Drizella (Adelaide Kane) crossed over to the dark side after finding out she would be sacrificed to resurrect her sister Anastasia (Yael Yurman). That was the primary reason for the dark curse. To put Lady Tremaine in a realm of pain. BUT! Drizella needed a way to make it unbreakable. So she tied the curse to Henry’s life. If the curse was broken, Henry dies. And to make things worse, she poisoned Henry so Regina would have to create the curse for Drizella.
Lucy is fully awake in Hyperion Heights and found Henry in Seattle She took him to Hyperion Heights with the same line that he used on his mother. “Your family needs you” Henry met and fell in love with Cinderella, now Jacinda. Jacinda lives with Sabine, aka Tiana and both are oblivious to the fairy tale realms.
Lady Tremaine is also awake as Victoria Belfrey. Victoria is still trying to resurrect Anastasia and is unaware that her daughter, Ivy aka Drizella is awake as well. Ivy tries manipulating everyone to keep her curse in tact. When Henry comes to Hyperion Heights, Victoria tries to get rid of him, while Ivy tries to move in on her step-sister’s boo. Ivy eventually felt bad for putting Henry’s life in danger. Victoria sacrificed herself for Ivy. Anastasia woke up and went back to the Enchanted Forest with Drizella.
Regina, Roni, Regina
Regina and Wish Realm Hook also joined the resistance in the Enchanted Forest. So they were pulled into the curse to Hyperion Heights. Regina/Roni wakes up and remembers that Henry’s life is in danger. So Regina tries to find a way to break the curse and save Henry. She enlists the help of Kelly, aka Zelena (Rebecca Mader). Zelena has been living nearby as a vegan yoga instructor. Together they are able break one curse with help from Dr. Facilier (Daniel Francis). Henry’s curse was lifted, giving him the opportunity to get closer to Jacinda. But Dr. Facilier had an ulterior motive. He wants the Dark One’s dagger.
Weaver
Detective Weaver, once known as The Dark One, has a new purpose. He has to find the guardian of the dagger so he can die and be with Belle (Emilie de Ravin). Belle and Rumpel lived out her lifetime in peace. While Belle grew older, Rumpel stayed the same. Now known only as Weaver, he can’t die until he finds the guardian who will take the dagger. Weaver found the Guardian in Alice, aka Tilly (Rose Reynolds) …Hook’s daughter. But he couldn’t give her the dagger. It wouldn’t be fair to seal her fate that way.
COLIN O’DONOGHUE
Not that Hook
Again, there is more than one realm and different versions of the characters. This Captain Hook is from the Wish Realm. So the Killian Hook we all know and love is still in Storybrooke with Emma (Jennifer Morrison) . This Hook, or Detective Rogers sired a daughter with Rapunzel…who was actually Mother Gothel (Emma Booth). Mother Gothel was trapped in Rapunzel’s tower and needed someone to replace her. So when she gave birth to Alice, she left her there and Hook stayed to raise Alice. When Hook finds a way to get Alice out of the tower, his pirating ways distract him. Mother Gothel punishes him by putting a curse on him. If Hook gets anywhere near Alice, he will experience extreme heart pain. So Alice and Hook have been separated for years.
In the Enchanted Forest, Alice met and fell in love with Robin (Tiera Skovbye), Zelena’s daughter. Robin is Margot in Hyperion Heights. She arrived late in the story, but has been inseperable from Tilly/Alice ever since.
Broken Curse
When Anastacia woke up, the price was Lucy, who went into a deep sleep. The doctors couldn’t figure out why Lucy was in a coma so they asked for donors to find a match that will help Lucy wake up. Henry found out, later in the show, that he really is Lucy’s father. It helped him to realize that everything Lucy had been saying was true. Henry finally remembered his past when he called a number he found on Regina’s adoptions papers.
Mother Gothel tried to take over Hyperion Heights to rebuild her fairy world by resurrecting eight witches, that included Alice. Hook, Weaver, and Regina tried to stop Mother Gothel, but her strength was in Alice. They couldn’t stop them without hurting Alice. At the same time, Henry finally kissed Jacinda. The curse was lifted and everyone remembers who they are. Henry was finally reunited with his family. Mother Gothel was vanquished, leaving everyone to live worry free. Yeah, it’s not that easy.
DANIEL FRANCIS, ROBERT CARLYLE
Rumpelstiltskin/The Dark One, very much separated from Weaver came to town. He killed Dr. Facilier and kidnapped Cinderella and Lucy. And that’s brings us to the finale.
The Dark One took Cinderella and Lucy to his castle in the Wish Realm as hostages for the dagger. He wants control of The Dark One’s powers without Weaver’s do gooder attitude to stop him. The Dark One trapped Lucy and Cinderella in a snow globe…complete with the snow.
In a moment of desperation, Henry goes to the author of the Wish Realm to retrieve the author’s pen. When he returns to the Rumpel’s castle, Wish Realm Henry (Jared Gilmore) is there. He made a deal with the Dark One. Henry will rewrite the Dark One’s story in exchange for his happiness. And nothing would make Henry happier than to see Regina suffer. In the Wish Realm Regina killed the Charmings. The Dark One puts Weaver, Hook, and Henry in the snow globe. He leaves Regina out for Wish Henry to deal with.
At the end of the last episode, Alice can feel that something is wrong with her father. She tells Robin that they need to help them. With help from Tiana, they acquire a magic bean. Robin and Alice leave Hyperion Heights for Storybrooke.
Leaving Storybrooke
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DANIA RAMIREZ, ANDREW J. WEST
In the trailer for the series finale, Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) return to Once Upon a Time to help Henry battle Rumpelstiltskin. And Regina fights for her life against Henry from the Wish Realm. Will everyone get their happily ever after?
Wish Rumple’s evil plan is revealed and Regina realizes the only hope to stop him is by turning Wish Henry from his path for vengeance. Meanwhile, Tilly and Margot try to get help in Storybrooke. With his hope of ever being reunited with Belle fading, Weaver struggles to find a way to defeat his evil alter ego; and when Rogers’ life is threatened, he is faced with the ultimate sacrifice.
Once Upon A Time Series Finale airs tonight Friday, May 18 on ABC
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
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