We have unfinished business.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
We’ve made it, Oncers! With its Season 5 midseason premiere, Once Upon a Time has hit 100 episodes. The milestone coincided with the Storybrooke gang’s foray into the Underworld. This meant it was time for all the characters to come back. We got Pan, Cora, Henry, and most importantly, Neal. Usually, this sort of event comes across as fan service, and while there was definitely an element of that, at least the trip to the Underworld provided a sound reason for them all to be there.
Still, the return of Cora was boring. Her and Regina’s story has been resolved. Like, multiple times. Nothing new was really gained by bringing it back up or jumping back to the past to watch Cora be the worst yet again. When it comes to those two, my emotions are dead. Cora has burned Regina so many times; her comments to Hades about how she hated what she’d done were flimsy. Her actions did at least give Henry the chance to get out of the Underworld and to a better place, but it didn’t have much of an effect because we only just learned he was the in the Underworld. We knew for what, 30ish minutes? It’s not enough time for his sudden saving to resonate.
Once Upon a Time: “Souls of the Departed” Photo Gallery:
JOSH DALLAS, JENNIFER MORRISON on Once Upon a Time
GINNIFER GOODWIN, JOSH DALLAS on Once Upon a Time
JOSH DALLAS, JENNIFER MORRISON on Once Upon a Time
GINNIFER GOODWIN, JOSH DALLAS on Once Upon a Time
LANA PARRILLA, JARED GILMORE, SEAN MAGUIRE on Once Upon a Time
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LANA PARRILLA, JARED GILMORE, SEAN MAGUIRE on Once Upon a Time
JARED GILMORE on Once Upon a Time
JARED GILMORE on Once Upon a Time
JENNIFER MORRISON on Once Upon a Time
LANA PARRILLA on Once Upon a Time
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JOSH DALLAS, SEAN MAGUIRE, JENNIFER MORRISON, JARED GILMORE, GINNIFER GOODWIN, LANA PARRILLA on Once Upon a Time
BARBARA HERSHEY on Once Upon a Time
BARBARA HERSHEY on Once Upon a Time
LANA PARRILLA on Once Upon a Time
LEE ARENBERG on Once Upon a Time
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LEE ARENBERG, MICHAEL COLEMAN, JEFFREY KAISER, MIG MACARIO, GABE KHOUTH, DAVID-PAUL GROVE, JOSH DALLAS on Once Upon a Time
Henry floating off toward the light did at least provide a solid excuse for everyone to stay in the Underworld with Emma. Don’t get me wrong, there are aspects about it that are still silly. Young Henry, at least, should be sent back. Regina further demonstrated her commitment to Team Light Side by wanting to stay though. She pointed out the Storybrookers were probably responsible for a lot of souls being stuck with unfinished business. But is it going to turn into a “soul of the week” format? When will they reach an end point? And would they delay the rescue of Hook to keep finding souls? I’m skeptical, and I have questions.
The highlight of the episode was Emma’s brief reunion with Neal. Michael Raymond-James was charming, and the chemistry between the duo was still there. It was sweet and sad. At the same time, when the events that brought them together were caused by Emma’s love for Hook and her desire to bring him back, it was weird to have a Neal-centered detour.
I didn’t expect Emma and co. to get off the boat and stumble into Hook exactly, but the lack of progress was disappointing. Yes, they briefly encountered him, but there weren’t any solid leads on how to get him out. In short, they arrived in bizarro Storybrooke and established why they have to stay for a while. It all led to introducing Hades.
Greg Germann made a solid entrance as the man in charge of the Underworld. All rulers of Hell enjoy a good foot massage, right? Right. He wasn’t necessarily different from any other villain we’ve come across, but he did have presence and charisma. His iconic blue flames weren’t especially well done, and the comedic beat they added in the animated Hercules movie doesn’t hit the same way in live action.
The Underworld does present opportunities for the story. Some of the Storybrookers could pursue redemption and try to right wrongs with those they’ve killed, directly or otherwise. However, nothing is making me feel incredibly invested beyond wanting to watch how they rescue Hook.
The return of Once Upon a Time served as set up for the final half of Season 5. They used the Underworld to bring back a ton of characters for quick check-ins, but Neal and Henry were the only ones who really strongly impacted the story and the Storybrooke team. Emotions fell flat across the board otherwise, except for the moment where Emma briefly saw Hook. They do have a compelling enough reason to stay in the Underworld — though why Snow and Charming would spend so much time away from their newborn confuses me — but overall, the episode was all about getting the board ready.
