ONCE UPON A TIME: “The Final Battle” Season Six Finale RECAP

As we brace ourselves for a reset of Once Upon A Time for the recently announced Season 7, we must look at how Season 6 came to an end with the Final Battle. Warning, spoilers ahead…

After Henry awakens he discovers that Storybrooke is under a curse from Fiona, the Black Fairy and that Emma has been in an asylum for the last two years with no memory of anyone except for knowing that Henry is her son. Otherwise, she believes that her parents Snow and Charming as well as Hook is just a dream and a figment of Henry’s imagination. To make matters worse, in this “reality”, the Black Fairy is the Mayor and Henry’s adopted mother. Meanwhile, Snow, Charming, Hook, Regina and Zelena are back in the Enchanted Forest where they need to save their realms from being destroyed by a manipulated Emma. Fiona wants Emma to destroy the book thus wiping out the realms and all those who live in them. Even Henry is having trouble getting through to Emma.

Emma isn’t the only one being manipulated. Fiona seems to have control over Gold and Gideon having them believe Belle has left them both. With the realms in jeopardy, Charming and Hook risk their lives to retrieve a magic bean that could not only help and save Emma but save everyone else. Even the Evil Queen was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the others and buy them time to save Emma by using her magic to slow down the black curse that had overtaken the Enchanted Forest. Back in Storybrooke, Henry leaves Emma another book that he had created to help her remember. He even takes it upon himself to face Fiona alone. Luckily, Emma returns and is ready to reclaim her role as Savior.

Angered that Emma has returned, Fiona goes to Gold’s shop to retrieve some fairy magic where Gold reveals that he was never under his mother’s spell. He pretended in order to locate Belle. Mother and son face off resulting in Gold killing his mother but not before learning that she is still the keeper of Gideon’s heart and that she had instructed him to kill Emma. Her death lifts the curse and restores the realms and sends all those banished back to Storybrooke. The reunion is short-lived as Gideon arrives to challenge Emma. Emma sacrifices herself and Gideon kills her. But just as Emma had once done for a dying Henry, Henry gives Emma true love’s kiss and saves his mother. In doing so, he also saves Gideon who is has been found by Belle and Gold as a baby, thus giving them a second chance to raise their son and be a family.

With happy endings being celebrated all around, we see a young girl named Lucy (Allison Fernandez) on a monorail who has made her way from the Enchanted Forest to Seattle where we meet an adult Henry (Andrew J. West). She introduces herself to him as being his daughter and that she needs his help to save their family. Talk about coming full circle.


As much as I am looking forward to Season 7 and all that it will bring, I can’t help but feel that Season 6’s ending was the perfect goodbye to a beloved series. Symbolically as it is in life, as one book comes to an end, a new one is set to begin. As of this writing, we already know that Jennifer Morrison (Emma), Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White), Josh Dallas (Charming), Jared Gilmore (Henry), Emilie de Ravin (Belle) and Rebecca Mader (Zelena) will not be returning. To all of them, I say thank you for six wonderful years of making us believe.

May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight

About The Dork Knight 520 Articles
James aka “The Dork Knight” is a blogger and writer based out of Upstate New York. For James, it all started with a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… when he dragged his mom to see The Empire Strikes Back 10 weeks in a row. He lives and breathes nerd culture. James is proof that a Star Wars fanatic can be a passionate Trekkie as well. So much so James dressed up as Captain Kirk to the premiere of Star Trek VI in 1991 and still has the uniform. When it comes to Comic Books, Sci-Fi or Fantasy whether in print or digital, in the theatre or on my TV screen, I’m all about it and I love it. So bring your Phaser (set to stun), Lightsaber, Sonic Screwdriver, a Wand, Mjolnir or the Ring to rule them all, because this site is for the dork in all of us.