‘Once Upon a Time’ season 5, episode 22 review: Emma and Regina’s hunt; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’s debut

For those of you wondering about some mysterious characters arriving in the two-part “Once Upon a Time” finale, we have some answers for you!

Basically, the big revelation that came out of the first part of the finale was that we have none other than Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in this universe after all (Dr. Jekyll has also made a debut over on “Penny Dreadful” if you haven’t seen this season yet), and there is a particular ax that they have to grind with Rumpelstiltskin. This was an effective introduction to the character, and also to seeing Henry and Violet team up in their attempt to destroy magic once and for all. (Here’s a hint: It didn’t go particularly well for them.)

While they were tackling this issue, we also had at the same time Regina and Emma embarking on a team-up mission of their own to find them, and in turn stop Rumple once and for all before he used the Olympian crystal to cause some further damage in the world. There were a few twists, some references to Camelot, and the return of some characters we haven’t seen in a while. Most importantly for Regina / Robin fans, there was also a little bit of closure for the story of the two of them courtesy of a letter.

Ultimately, though, it was clear that this was designed as the first of a two-part episode, given that nothing was really resolved. The biggest knock against it may just be that it almost didn’t feel like the same story to what we had the week before, given that the Underworld was gone and we were pressing onward. Episode Grade: B-.

Update: Click here to get a review for the second part of the finale.

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