Board Thread:Fanon: Season 8 & Beyond/@comment-25551215-20191204022821/@comment-25551215-20200209063840

Long episode ahead. Get those tissues ready!
 * The curse hits and everyone begins to hate Regina
 * She picks up the phone again just in time to hear Snow tell her that she’s been awoken and she once again sees Regina as the Evil Queen; the effects of the Great Curse have affected her, even though she was once under Shattered Sight
 * Regina re-enters the main ballroom. Zelena spots her and throws a fireball at her; this alerts the rest of the crowd, who begin to go after her
 * Regina teleports away in search of somewhere safe
 * Rogers, Ariel, Margot, and Tilly meet up with Zelena, Wish Henry, Romeo, and Julian; they begin to try and track down Regina
 * Halfway across town, Chillingworth pays Snow and David a message
 * David demands to know if Chillingworth is going to try and kill him again
 * “Oh, no, my dear Prince Charming. You see, we’re on the same side now. Against the Evil Queen.”
 * “And you expect us to forgive you for going after us?” Snow asks sceptically.
 * “Well, yes,” he says, feigning regret. “I’m trying to turn over a new leaf.”
 * They buy into it (oof) and decide to help him get Regina
 * Cue the title card, which is of the Friends on the Other Side streaming through the forest.
 * In the NEF of the past, Regina, Hook, and Tiana pore over a map
 * We find out that Henry and Cinderella are busy doing whatever. This is pre-7x10
 * Regina asks if any of their scouts have tracked Drizella yet.
 * “No need,” Drizella says. “I’m right here.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Drizella,” Regina seethes. “You need to stop trying to cast that Dark Curse. It’ll put a void in your heart that nothing can fill.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“I learned the best from you, Regina, and your mother – which is why I’ve hidden my heart away. Once I’ve cast the Curse, my heart will follow.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“That won’t do anything. It’ll just make you more heartless.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get my revenge.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Back in SB, Regina hides out in her mausoleum
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">She searches through her spell books to find a way to break the spell
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">She finds out that she has to kill the caster – which would only darken her heart
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Elsewhere, Dorian encounters Zelena again.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“What are you doing here? Also trying to find Regina?” Zelena asks him.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“No. With everyone distracted and Regina out of the way, I can finally kill you,” he tells her.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Dorian, with some of the syphoned power of the Raven Painting, throws a green fireball at her, knocking her down.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Zelena gets up angrily and attacks him, but he manages to overpower her in her haze.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">However, before Dorian can kill her, Margot sends an arrow right for him, injuring him.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Dorian turns towards Margot with malice in his eyes – he’s going to kill her –
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Zelena regains her strength and overpowers him, leaving him scrambling to get up on the floor. Once again, a mother’s love conquers all else.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Snow, David, and Chillingworth search the manor for Regina
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Snow finds Henry’s letter from 7x20, framed and on the mantel
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">She looks at it and briefly overcomes the curse, but Chillingworth, realising this, interrupts her by saying they haven’t found anything
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The curse strengthens back, and Snow coldly destroys the letter so that if Regina ever returns and finds it, her spirits will be crushed.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">At this point, Snow and David are mindless servants, ready to kill Regina.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Tilly, Ariel, Rogers, Romeo, and Julian catch up with Zelena and Margot; Zelena says that she needs to find her sister to teach her a lesson. Romeo and Julian, not particularly caring about whether the Queen lives or dies, decide to find Gideon to thank him for his help. (And Granny, but offscreen). Margot, Tilly, and Rogers decide to track down the Shadow Raven, and Ariel goes home to look after Triton. See you soon, Ariel!
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Romeo and Julian stop at Gideon’s shop
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Gideon has since returned. Romeo and Julian thank him for all of his help in finding each other
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Gideon tells them about Rumbelle and his reasoning
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Hooray they form a bromance
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The door opens, and Krampus from the holiday special returns – to aid in weakening Regina and Storybrooke, Dorian has summoned some demons. Lovely!
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“You will die…!”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Tilly, Margot, and Rogers face these demons too – they face Facilier’s friends on the other side, the Petro Loa
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">We find out that Facilier was unable to fulfill his debts in his new life and has been dragged back
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Sabine finds out about the Petro Loa and realizes the scope of Dorian’s power
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The Petro Loa strike up a deal with Tilly and Margot – ensure that Storybrooke belongs to shadows by sundown, or Rogers becomes theirs forever.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Rogers says that he doesn’t need her to save him
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">In a touching moment fitting to Rogers’ arc, she tells him, “But I need you.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Back in the past, Tiana is taking a walk
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">She comes across a clearing in the middle of the forest. There, Drizella is chanting
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">We watch as a poor, innocent soul is lost. Drizella summons the Petro Loa
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Tiana confronts Drizella – she recognises them from her fight with Facilier
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Drizella says that only light magic can drive them out, and that they will be perfect for ensuring that there are no consequences when the Curse hits.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">She also tells her that she’s been consulting with some of the most powerful witches to create a deadly new curse – including Hecate, Baba Yaga, Witch Hazel, Morgana, and a witch from a realm called the Bizarre; along with Leota, Hilda, Seraphina, Yzma, Flora, Gothel, and Magica De Spell of the Coven of the Eight (no, we’re not going to see any of the newly-named witches)
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">They’ve all agreed to contribute different artifacts, to represent rather than a curse of revenge,a curse of darkness that allows the darkest souls to thrive.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Their curse will turn back time, and will give new lives to everyone.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">With the breath of a dark spirit (Leota), the eyes of an innocent (Hilda), a flower of purity corrupted by evil (Gothel), the voice of a free spirit (Seraphina), the hand of a brave knight/prince (Flora), the blood of an innocent animal (Yzma), the most prized possession of the greediest person (Magica), and the blood of a witch who’s crushed the heart of the thing she loves most (Drizella/Regina), the Coven can cast the Curse
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Tiana says that Regina and the heroes will stop her
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Drizella tells her that she’s counting on it. For now, she will need a distraction.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">She opens a portal and pulls in Snow, David, and Zelena from Storybrooke, sending them to Regina while Drizella begins gathering the ingredients from the Coven, who have found almost all of them after having collected them for a year.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Drizella puts Tiana to sleep
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">In Storybrooke, Margot tries to figure out how to ensure that Storybrooke falls to the darkness
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Tilly tells her no – they can’t sacrifice Storybrooke for her father. They have to find another way
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">And so they go to the NEF to search for an object of light to drive the loa out – an enchanted lantern or magical firefly lights, maybe? (This is their ‘big quest’ that the PR seemed to hype up)
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Dorian appears to them and offers to strike up a deal to save Storybrooke and her father from the loa
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">In exchange for the soul of their unborn child once they are born, he will pay the price
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Margot agrees
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Back to Regina. Regina goes outside, where, to her shock, the Petro Loa are using the voices of the past to break her spirits – clearly in alignment with Dorian. We hear Snow, David, Rumple, Belle, Young Henry, Emma, the Serum Queen, Facilier, Cora, Chillingworth, Percival, Drizella, and Zelena.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Regina doesn’t know who they are and tells them to stop
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">They obviously don’t
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The Scarlet Letter burns. Regina rushes into the mausoleum, and her heart sends out a signal
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">(Tbh what is even happening)
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Romeo, Julian, and Gideon begin fighting Krampus
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Krampus is stronger now, and forces them to see their worst fears in a fear landscape.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">We see Romeo’s; Verona burns all around him, and Julian smiles darkly.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“I never cared about you.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">He breaks down in tears – and in the real world, Julian is emboldened by his fear and punches Krampus, weakening its hold on Romeo.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Free him or I will destroy you!”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Krampus screams a terrifying scream, and Romeo collapses. Gideon and Julian, freed from their fears, rush to him
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Regina sits in a room in the camp, studying some maps.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The door flap opens, and Snow, David, and Zelena step in, alarmed.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“We just got pulled from Storybrooke to here,” Zelena said. “Any idea how?”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Nobody I know is powerful enough to get you from there to here – except maybe… unless…”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Regina, Neal’s going to be worried and Emma and Hook are going to panic when they find out we’re missing, so you need to tell us how we got here.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Drizella,” Regina realises.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">From afar, the Petro Loa scream in glee.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“She’s going to cast her Dark Curse.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Excuse me, what?”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Naturally, Snow, David, and Zelena are alarmed, and decide to help Regina stop Drizella.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Back in the present, Regina is in her mausoleum
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Her call is answered – the Serum Queen and Wish Queen have joined her
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">W!Queen is jealous that the other two succeeded in casting the Curse
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Regina asks them what made them the Evil Queen
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Both Queens remind her of her past
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“If you’re having trouble with being evil, then why don’t you just try and kill Snow White?” the Wish Queen asks.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Because I’m trying to do the right thing. I’m the Good Queen. And being the Good Queen means letting go of revenge and selfishness and doing what is right.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Well said, Regina.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Well, that’s rubbish.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Regina, if you die… what will happen to the rest of us?”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“How about we don’t find out and figure out a way to stop this?”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Zelena runs into Wish Henry, who is once again angry that Regina killed his grandparents
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Zelena offers to help Henry kill Regina
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Damn, this Curse is intense.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“So where do we start?”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Regina, Snow, David, and Zelena confront Drizella
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Snow and David try to talk her down, but Drizella refuses to listen
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“I am not going to listen to your hippie hope shabamba. I need to cast this curse to make sure that I will never be taken advantage of again!”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Poor Drizella doesn’t realise that the Coven and the loa are using her.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Back in the present, Dorian calls the loa off – he’s gotten what he wants.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The loa return Rogers, marking him with a skull.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Rogers has escaped, but if Dorian calls off or breaks the deal, Rogers will suffer the punishment – which won’t be death.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Now Dorian has leverage over them
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Romeo is out like a light
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Julian is worried about him for obvious reasons; Gideon holds Krampus off
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Julian gives Romeo a TLK that works; how it’s True Love isn’t explained because love on this show knows no logic. Krampus is defeated by their love.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">So now they’re okay
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Dorian appears to them and Julian charges angrily at him.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Dorian offers them protection from their parents – who the Raven has made aware of their reuniting – in exchange for an alliance.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Gideon urges them not to go through with it
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Romeo and Julian apologise to him and go through with the alliance, unwilling to be separated again.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Snow, David, and Chillingworth meet up with Zelena and Henry
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Chillingworth uses a tracking spell to track her down to the mausoleum; he tells the four to get Regina. He has other business.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Snow, David, Zelena, and Henry begin breaking down the mausoleum defences. They open the door – and there, they find three identical looking Reginas.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Snow and David failed, so now Zelena and Regina just threaten Drizella
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">This is how Drizella knew that Regina and Zelena were sisters in 7x10 (bar the creepy spying and research she probably did)
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">That fails too – and instead, Drizella locks them up in cages and reveals that she can get the witches’ three missing ingredients from them – Charming’s hand, a flower grown from Snow’s blood (which would work for Gothel), and Zelena’s pendant
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">She forces her to choose: help relive her glory days as the Queen and cast a Dark Curse, or watch as her friends die, matching her present-day dilemma.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">In the present, Hester stops at Sabine’s for beignets.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Hester warns her that the worst was yet to come, asking her if she understands the importance of the petro loa.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Sabine says she’s faced them before – and she’s not sure she could ever face them again.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“There will come a time when it’s up to you to save the people most important to you, Tiana,” Hester says. “It’s coming. Your reckoning. Mine. Regina’s. We all have our own reckonings, even if Regina’s is the greatest. And yours, Your Majesty, will force you to put away the cowardice that’s grown in you since the curse of Hyperion Heights.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Hester takes the bag of beignets and leaves.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Chillingworth meets with Dorian and tells him that all is going according to plan.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Dorian lifts the curse on everyone except for Snow, David, Zelena, and Henry.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Chillingworth teleports back to the mausoleum and hastens the Scarlet Letter curse.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">This exposes the other two Queens, who Chillingworth deems as irrelevant and banishes
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Chillingworth tells a weakened Regina that his revenge will be what she did to him: he will take away everyone she loves.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">He tells Snow, David, Zelena, and Henry to go ahead and attack while he intensifies the Letter.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Snow shoots an arrow at her. “So much for the Good Queen.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">David and Henry attack with swords; Zelena with magic.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Dorian, watching from a mirror, breaks the curse on them just as their weapons hit. Regina collapses.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Zelena holds them back as they try to attack Chillingworth –
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Good call, witch. Shame you won’t have too many of them once Regina’s done.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">At the brink of death, Regina looks up and apologises to Chillingworth
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">For those of you who are confused as to why Regina didn’t fight back, it’s that she chose not to hurt her loved ones, and that the pain of the Scarlet Letter was too intense
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“How does it feel to be on the bottom now?”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">He laughs, mirroring the cinematography of his dream sequence in 806
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Chillingworth teleports away and Henry rushes to a dying Regina
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Regina smiles at him and tells him, “Be the hero I know you are…”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">And then, weakly, to Snow, David, and Zelena: “Long live… the Good Queen.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Regina dies.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Back in the past, Regina and Drizella pace around each other.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Casting a Dark Curse will leave a void in your heart,” Regina warns, one more time.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“It's a good thing I'll do anything for revenge then, isn't it, Your Majesty? Now choose!”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Fine. I’ll cast your curse. Just – don’t hurt them.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">She will no longer be the Evil Queen. She looks at Drizella defiantly.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Drizella frees them.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Regina smirks as Zelena poofs herself, Snow, and David back to the camp.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Here’s my last lesson to you, Drizella – you really gotta think about what you’re doing.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Regina teleports away.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">She hugs Snow, David, and Zelena, understanding that they do need to go home.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Hook and Tiana appear at her side, to Snow, David, and Zelena’s surprise
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">This explains how Zelena knew Nook existed in 711
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The Shadow Raven (Chillingworth) magically appears in front of them and smirks under his mask, banishing Snow, David, and Zelena, promising that when the Great Curse hits, they will be his pawns.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Chillingworth gives Regina one cold look before wiping her, Rogers, and Sabine’s memories (oops, lied about the ‘no memory loss’) of him and teleporting away
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Back in the present, we see Regina’s funeral. There’s a headstone saying Regina Mills.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Hook is on call on an iPad in David’s arms. He notes that Emma has gone to the restroom to get more tissues.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Snow and David pull Wish Henry in.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">A few Storybrooke regulars are present (Granny, Blue, Leroy, Marco, who were not credited in the PR), as well as the special guest stars and regulars. Ariel is also there.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Zelena is distraught, then walks up to give a short speech: “Regina and I were, well, as you know, enemies for the longest time – and before that, villains. But people change every day. I am no longer the Wicked Witch… and when she died, Regina was no longer the Evil Queen. I learned from her, even when I didn’t want to. Regina exemplified what it means to change. Change starts with me. It starts with you. It starts with all of us. I’m going to miss you, sis…”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">She places Robin’s feather from 6x01 – now found (7x22’s was a different feather) and places it on her tombstone.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Rest easy, Regina. May the legacy of the Queen last forever.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Dorian and Chillingworth look on the funeral, smiling.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">We see Regina walking through a foggy forest. Her palace comes into view. She steps in, as confused as us. Where is she?
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Regina,” a familiar voice says. Masculine. She whirls around –
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">No one.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">She walks into the palace and looks out at the balcony. The Enchanted Forest is covered in fog, a red storm raging inside it. Up above, the sky is a radiant white, but grey clouds quickly cover it.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Regina,” the same voice says –
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">She turns around and sees Robin. Smiling.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Robin steps towards her and takes her hands.
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“Am I… am I on Olympus?” she asks. “Because this is a really weird place to live for the rest of my… death.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">“No,” he says. “I’m afraid it isn’t. Your story isn’t quite finished. It isn’t your time. When you get back there, Regina… stop the Raven. Your Reckoning is still yet to come, but I know you can do this. I love you.”
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">He kisses her and fades away. She looks around in confusion –
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">And wakes up alone, in a bed, in a very familiar red world…
 * <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">And scene. See you after the hiatus!