Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20160516005939/@comment-27257290-20160518012800

Beautiful episodes!! I thikn they were well worth the wait and a beautiful season finale!!! Just a few (dozen) thoughts on it.

First, I'm confused about how magic works in the LWM. So if magic was there all along and just didn't work because no one believed it was, how come Ingrid couldn't use her ice magic when the Apprentice sent her there? I'm sure I'm missing something, but she didn't know it was a "Land Without Magic", did she? She tried to use magic on the fake psychic and discovered her powers didn't work there.

Secondly, with all this running about that Regina, Emma and Rumple have been doing, how come no one thought to teleport and save time? Rumple used the same magic to summon the crystal to his hand (yet he didn't do it when the portal took Pandora's Box).

I LOVED the effects in these episodes! The CGI department have upped their game. At least in terms of Gold's extra-cool fireball, the Evil Queen becoming Sandman, and the splitting of Jekyll/Hyde and Regina/Queen. Much better than Hades' crappy hair and the like we've seen this season.

In addition to the Land Without Magic becoming Neverland 2.0 (where all you need is faith, trust, and a wishing fountain), I still don't understand why the Land of Untold Stories is named thus. Is this something they plan to explain in season 6? When we first heard the name I expected this to be ONCE's way of incorporating a whole new world of characters of their own, so why are yet more characters we all know there? A strange case indeed.

Also, how did EQ manage to reform in front of the dragon if Regina had crushed her heart? I thought at first the sand would possess the Dragon and he would transform into EQ - what?

I must say I loved the incorporation of Jekyll and Hyde. It opens up a whole new perspective on this show's timeless debate on good/bad, light/dark, and I think it was clever indeed how they found a way to bring back the Evil Queen. I'm so excited at the possibilities for next season!!

In terms of when I wondered what possible story there would be for 6A, ("They've battled darkness, and a god. What more can they do?") I didn't emerge disappointed. Mr Hyde may not be quite as threatening as Hades or the Dark Swan, but Regina now has to fight herself. I hope the writers do this premise justice because it can go far - but then again, after how they spent their Greek mythology episodes...

Anyway, one last thing ... I LOVE LOVE LOVED Emma and Hook's moment outside Granny's at the end. Emma beautifully linked it all back to the ending of 4B, and made me laugh at just how much had happened since Emma first told Hook she loved him. For me it established that season 5 was Emma and Hook's year, and now it's Regina's time to shine. So much yes for Captain Swan!