Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-35206895-20180522134638/@comment-34684159-20180522212616

Premieres:

1. Pilot - Best episode in the entire show.

2. The Dark Swan - Amazing opening to that arc, seeing both Emma's struggle not to fall into the darkness and the heroes' quest to find her, was wonderful.

3. Broken - A very emotional episode, Emma's reaction towards her parents were hard but also somewhat beautiful (if that makes any sense :P) to watch.

4. Hyperion Heights - It was a very good introduction to adult Henry, Jacinda, Victoria and Lucy as characters, plus also the introduction of Roni, and it really made me root to see more of the story.

5. The Savior - Emma's storyline here was a bit... boring, but I liked Rumpe's and Regina's plots, they were very interesting to watch.

6. The Heart of the Truest Believer - Hm... A not so good opening to a not so good arc. But it did have some good moments, like Greg and Tamara starting to realize they weren't in control (if they stayed alive, they would probably join the heroes against Pan), and Emma blaming Snowing for their hope, and then later also realizing she is the leader now.

7. A Tale of Two Sisters - It was pretty boring, in my opinion. Like, a good part of the episode was Elsa wandering around... But Regina's plot was good, it showed she still had some darkness within her (I mean, a person as cruel as her wouldn't completely change in that short time).

Finales:

1. A Land Without Magic - A great conclusion to a great season. It was the moment everyone was waiting for. The Regina/Emma team up was very well done.

2. Homecoming/Leaving Storybrooke - It had a few problems (Regina not apologizing enough, Rumple not being reunited with Neal, timelines... but then again, these problems are not exclusive to this episode, so), but overall it was the perfect series finale. Rumple's and Regina's arcs were closed beautifully, and we also got to see Emma, Snow, Charming, Zelena and Belle one last time. The United Realms idea was also very fitting for a series finale.

3. Snow Drifits/There's No Place Like Home - This one would be a good series finale if the writers wanted to, because the characters' main arcs were also kind of closed here, and the time travel was a great last adventure. A tribute to good old days :)

4. The Final Battle Part 1 & 2 - This one was also amazing. It closed Snow and Charming's arc perfectly, with the beanstalk mirroring the pilot scene. And I also liked that, aside from Zelena and Belle, there was a scene/plot dedicated to all regulars, even if the finale was mainly focused on Emma, Henry and Rumple: Hook/beanstalk scene in 621, David/Snow "true love's kiss", the Evil Queen's sacrifice... Plus, it was the "epic final adventure", and worked well as a series-finale-but-not-really.

5. Only You/An Untold Story - It was mostlly disconected from the rest of the season, but I liked it as a prologue to 6A. Gold was starting to get annoying again here, but I'll ignore him. Henry's speech was beautiful, and Regina's character was really well explored here. I also liked that they brought back the "I love you" plot that was established in 422, it showed character development for Emma.

6. And Straight on 'Til Morning - Even if not my favorite season finale, it was good. It opened the Neverland arc in a very good away, and this is also the episode Regina and Hook start working with the heroes, so  it is a very meaningful ep in the series. Overall, aside from Rumple almost murdering Henry and the last-minute-macguffin-made-from-Pinocchio's-hair, I like it. Not so much, but I still like it.

7. Operation Mongoose Part 1 & 2 - I must be the only one whose least favorite finale is the S4 one, but I don't know... It's just that I like the others more than this one, but I still like it. It ended the season 4 arc well, even though I would have liked to see Ursula and Maleficent in the AU, and also it would be fun if we had seen the Frozen characters one last time. But it was good. I just liked the events that weren't in the AU more than the ones that actually were there.