Previously on OUAT: Hades and Zelena sitting in a tree, belle takes a nap, snow went home, and Cora went to Hades’ version of a personal prison. 

In a car
Hades and Zelena take a short car ride and go to a bonfire picnic. Hades feels Underbrooke is not enough for Zelena, and he wants to give her the real town, and lays out his plan. The only way Hades gets to leave the Underworld is that his heart starts beating again, and the only way it’ll happen is if he finds his True Love. Hades plans involves leaving the heroes in the underworld, as after Killian’s little switch-a-roo he carved all the names on tombstones. Then we see a little of Hades’ true colors as he makes an ultimatum for Zelena: she either picks her relationship with Regina, or she picks him. The scene ends with no answer.

I don’t want to be negative about this, but I feel this relationship is doomed already. I don’t think Hades can be a good person, any more than I think his love for Zelena is enough to hold off revenge of his brother. I think it can go in two directions: he realizes that he loves his revenge more than her and then does something stupid; or he truly does love her, but pulls the Rumpel card and refuses to turn good.

Cabin in the woods
Regina catches Zelena sneaking into the house, and despite the cutesy moments, the important aspect is realizing that Regina has been spying on Zelena. Regina needs Hades to stay in the Underworld, and at this moment the relationship with her sister is the one way Hades can get what he wants. Zelena’s argument is that she can change him for the better, and get him to let them leave. What is becoming more and more apparent is that Regina genuinely cares about her sister, and I do love the direction that this is taking with that.

Flashback – Young Regina
Regina is playing with a doll as Cora walks in looking for something for “work.” Regina just wants someone to play with, and Cora takes this moment to impart a very important lesson in her eyes, the old “You can only depend on yourself,” lesson. As Cora leaves, Regina notices she left the key of a drawer in place, and Regina finds Cora’s wand. She tries playing with it, but gets blasted and knocked out. As Regina’s parents walk in, they comment on what can help her: a family member with magic. Now, Regina’s dad does not know of a person that applies, but Cora knows someone that may be able to help. 

Loft
The hero team is actually surprised Zelena is in love with Hades, which actually to me goes a long way with Regina. Think about how the gang works, they tell each other what is going on, so at one point Regina must have told Emma, David, Henry and Killian about Zelena and Hades having a past, and they talked about Hades’ feelings, but managed to either downplay or avoid Zelena’s feelings entirely. If Regina did not care about Zelena, the gang wouldn’t have been as surprised that Zelena has feelings at this point, as it would have been something they thought possible before. They were really shocked, meaning they thought it was completely unrequited on Hades’ part. 

Continuing on the scene, Regina feels that Zelena is not thinking rationally, and correctly assumes that is a problem. Killian offers to stop Zelena, to the shock of Emma. Regina points out that Zelena still has power and Hades protecting her so that cannot be an option (not in those words, but implied). Regina immediately points out that the only person capable of destroying the young love of two people is Cora. 

I’m actually going to point out something that has been upsetting me for a few episodes now: Emma and Killian. It is not the characters as much as what they have been doing. Both characters have been reduced to background props on a story arc that should be a lot more about them. Killian is still dead, and unable to get out: THEY WENT TO THE UNDERWORLD TO GET HIM BACK. It just feels that the more we dive into the side plots and push the main plot to the background, the more these episodes feel as if they are dragging. On top of that Emma has become the most useless character there, literally offering nothing to help the team, and they’ve pulled Killian’s character back in its development, as he now sees murder as the only choice. Last season he would not have believed that at all. 

Gold’s
Talking about dragging plots, we see Gold talk to a sleeping Belle, literally saying he is not even going to try to wake her with True Loves Kiss because he won’t use light magic (so much for loving her). He basically says it’s time to do whatever he wants. This was one scene, they could have snuck into last week’s episode as opposed to randomly adding it to a Regina and Zelena centered episode. 

Cora’s Prison
Cora has been apparently working in a Prison where she is the Miller for eternity, and guarded by Hades’ minions. Cora then finds Killian’s hook, which we can assume has been enchanted to cut through Magic Binding objects. Cora uses her magic to escape her two guards, and find that Killian has already knocked out the rest of the guards. We have to remember that the cells in Hades’ lair can only be accessed by those who are already dead, thus of the team, Killian is the only one able to do rescue missions. 

Flashback – Oz
The scene opens with a young Zelena moving logs to their place by the house, when they fall and then makes the choice to use her magic to get the job done. It is important to note that Zelena seems to not only have used her magic before, but is quite in control for someone without any training. She scares herself though, and in turn her father is both scared and angry at her magic, and even gets ready to beat her up to teach her a lesson. The moment I saw this scene all I could think about was: The Vernon Dursley of Oz. Cora intervenes before that and when Zelena realizes Cora has magic, she asks whether or not she is a good or a bad witch. Cora’s plan is to trick Zelena into helping Regina so she can prove “her magic is good.” 

The one thing I’ve noted in the flashbacks so far is that Cora is being portrayed at her worst. Controlling one daughter, and manipulating the other. It probably means that the worse Cora is during the flashbacks, the more sympathetic her ‘good mom’ efforts will be in the present. It will also show just how much Regina and Zelena’s issues with each other were never about them. 

Underbrooke Street – James and David finally meet
As David walks down the street with recently purchased groceries, he gets stopped by James, who isn’t really angry about his mom not loving him more, but he is actually angry about the fact that David took over his glory. In a morbid way James does have a point: after his death David became a Prince, who defeated a dragon, and he married Snow White and ruled their kingdom. James might have had different life, but David only lived it because his brother died. I don’t think it justifies James wanting to kill David now. As they start their fight, James points out a very important advantage he has at the moment: he is already dead.  David gets knocked out, and the scene blacks out. Everything moves over to the loft, and we see Emma looking at a picture of her parent’s when James walks in and pretends to be David. Emma and him talk about the picture, which he gets wrong, but Emma’s lie detector does not go off. 

At Regina’s Vault
Cora and Regina are having a conversation about what is going on, and Regina touches upon that while she would not leave her friends behind, currently she is unable to leave, which confuses Cora. She explains that Hades has added their names to tombstones, trapping them in the Underworld, while he is trying to leave it. Cora tries to point out that the Lord of Hell can’t leave Hell, but Regina reveals the plan. The only way Hades will get his Iron Throne, is if he acquires a beating heart. Trust that on this show, true love is able to get the Lord of the Underworld out of the one placed he is doomed to be in. Cora does what she does best and tells Regina how this is their weakness basically; if Zelena doesn’t love Hades then Hades can’t ever leave. Cora’s plan involves erasing Zelena’s memories of Hades. 

Flashback
This scene was super funny to me as the moment Cora and Zelena come in, Regina’s dad is immediately on guard since he believes it has to be dark magic or something like it. As Cora goes off to find a book or something to explain healing to Zelena, the girl just takes over, and heals Regina right away. If you recall both Emma and Regina had a bit of a rough start to the magic classes, often needing extreme circumstances for everything to line up and work out. Zelena, by contrast, has mostly figured it out on her own. Once Regina wakes up, Cora introduces the girls, without revealing the truth. 

Woods
Cora’s plan is the river of forgetfulness. Cora reveals she once used the water, and Regina questions her about it but gets no answer. Regina is surprisingly not interested in the lack of details. Now it is just a matter of getting Zelena to drink it, since Regina believes that after the earlier events she has become persona-non-gratta. Cora’s plan is to distract her with motherly bonding, and Regina can sneak in. Worst plan ever to be honest. 

Somewhere else in the Wood
Emma seems to finally be a little confused with ‘David,’ as James is not able to keep up with almost anything; but somehow dismisses it (This is particular felt out of character for her). Robin drops by to pick up his groceries, and Emma gives him the latest news, and he adoringly assumes Regina will need HIS help; really Robin, you are going to go up against 2 very strong magical people, with a Bow and Arrow? To quote a much smarter Archer: “The City is flying, we are fighting an army of robots… and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense.” As Emma tries to calm him down back into babysitting duties, James puts a magic blocking bracelet on Emma, and pulls out his gun. James reveals himself by telling them Cruella advised against blocking the magic. Cruella arrives complaining about the woods (to be fair she makes a point), and promptly slaps the hell out of Emma for killing her. Cruella and James’ plan is to take Baby Girl Hood to Hades, and get him to let them out. Robin, trying to defend the baby SHOOTS AN ARROW at James. First, that was cool, since we didn’t expect the murderous response, and second, completely pointless since they are already dead. Emma and Robin are left at a standstill as James could actually make them permanent neighbors in Underbrooke. 

The Cabin in the Woods, and the Palace in the Past
As Zelena ponders her choice with Hades, she is interrupted by the last person she ever expected to see: Cora. Zelena tries to close the door in her face, but Cora just decides to barge in. 

In the past, the girls are playing in the same study Regina was playing in before. They stumble upon the wand box, which we know is sealed by Blood Magic, and Zelena accidentally opens it. Regina realizes the importance, and begins to wonder if they in fact related. I like that they did not specify the fact that they are sisters right away, as they could be related in other ways (Cousins anyone?). As they leave the room to go find Cora, we see her in the background having listened in, and not liking where this is going. 

Back in the present, we see Regina lurking around the Cabin as Zelena and Cora talk about boys. Cora starts everything with a lie, telling Zelena she escaped Hades for her, when in fact she had been broken out. Cora is distracting her daughter by telling her that everything she feels for Hades is a lie, only there to fill up a void of being abandoned by her. Cora lays it on thick, and admits to not being a good person back then, and even tells Zelena she regrets giving her away. As Zelena becomes more and more emotional, she questions why she was abandoned, and Cora admits that it was to about it being best for herself. She then admits that her unfinished business is both her daughters. While I do think the last part was genuine, I don’t think Cora can connect to it just yet. It’s one thing to know what to say, quite another to believe what you are saying. As Regina sneakily adds the memory water to a glass Cora gives to Zelena, we almost think this might work, but Zelena is no one’s fool, as she knew there was a plan behind Cora being nice. This particular family argument might be making Zelena want to save Hades more and more. 

In the past, we see the truth of what Cora has done: while she admitted the girls are sisters, they were made to forget they had ever met. She says that she feels disappointed in Regina not learning to depend only on herself. Regina literally just wanted someone to play with. The girls are separated and Cora we see what Cora’s unfinished business is: to tell the truth.

Back at the Cabin Zelena and Regina are about to fight it out when Cora realizes her personal flaw: the girls should hate her instead of each other. Cora releases their memories, and they finally remember the time they were sisters who loved each other. Cora reminded them that they do care about the other, she tells Regina that she is strong, that she has always been strong; and then truly apologizes to Zelena. An overdue family moment happens as they hold hands as family for the first time. 

Underbrooke Docks
Cruella and James take “Killing the Heroes” to a new level as they are no longer content in keeping them in the Underworld, but are pushing them back to fall in the River of Lost Souls, and beyond all salvation. As Emma is about to be pushed in David shows up to save his daughter, with Killian for backup, who smartly picks up the gun. As Cruella moves away and decides to not force a fight, James is very much not running away from this fight. David tries to reason with his brother, but James feels his unfinished business is killing David. Emma tries to help the fight (Assuming Killian used the hook to brake the magic blocking bracelet), but David tells her its fine, and the brothers continue fighting. As James seems to be losing, Cruella tries to get him to run away with her (Just noticed Robin disappeared). James’ final attempt to kill David ends with him falling to the water and to endless torture. 

While I’ve liked most stories in the Underworld so far, I feel I wanted to see a little more of James than this revenge wanting person. He could have been a great character to try an understand after his death.

The move on bridge
Cora seems ready to move on, and after having a final goodbye with her daughters, she is able to find peace. I feel the only reason this happens is that Hades knows Zelena would have been pissed if he messed this up for her. I loved that they addressed Zelena being sad about getting a mom back only to lose her all over. Regina encourages Zelena to go to Hades, as she now trusts her, and is more interested in seeing her sister happy. I fear Hades might not end up being the final villain of the season. 

The Blind Witch Dinner (not really fair calling it Granny’s really)
As Zelena walks up to meet Hades and tell him the good news, she is waylaid by Gold, who is feeling extra doses of revenge after Belle decided to take a long nap. Gold then reveals his new ally: Peter Bloody Pan. Zelena has heard of him by her reaction. Zelena gets kidnapped!

RATING: 7.8 GOOD, BUT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER. While the episode was highly enjoyable, the high points being going into Regina and Zelena’s past, finally mending that relationship, and Cora moving on; I felt the drawbacks to be highly pronounced: mainly Cora’s “Love is Weakness,” speech, which felt out of place and she even retracts it in a way soon after, and the way they jammed in the David/James plot into the episode, when it could have made an episode of its own. The other drawback I find is the dragging of the main plot of the season: Emma and Killian. As they keep doing side plots, and focusing on Zelena’s development, they keep pushing Emma and Killian on the back burner: we really want to know how is Killian even leaving the Underworld since he did die, and is not a guest trapped by Hades?