‘Once Upon a Time’ season 5, episode 21 review: Robin Hood’s last shot; Hook and King Arthur’s quest

Tonight’s “Once Upon a Time” episode certainly felt at times as though it was haunted by something potentially coming around every corner. We knew that there was a good chance we’d be losing someone over the course of the hour, and no matter what happened, the stage would be set for a complicated final two episodes of the season.

Let’s start for now with the Underworld, given that we had a mission here for Hook and King Arthur to try and turn the tide in this particular realm. Once Arthur realized that he was actually dead, the two actually teamed up on a plan to ensure that they could help the heroes above ground.

Now, tragedy. In a desperate move to ensure that he could take over Storybrooke and a new kingdom, Hades decided to use the power of his old relative Zeus to destroy Regina and Robin’s happy ending for all. Specifically, he killed Robin. This has to be one of the saddest moments in the show’s history, mostly because it is the second great love that Regina had lost in her life. We thought things were about to change for her, but alas, no.

To make matters even more sad for her family, from here we saw the death of Hades as Zelena refused to use the crystal to kill her sister, killing him instead once she realized that he did not truly love her like he claimed, and was really just all about power.

In closing the story in the Underworld, we learned that Hook was finally going to get a chance to move to the next phase of his life. In saving Emma, his unfinished business was over, and he could leave. Arthur stayed behind to try to repair the Underworld, and Hook returned to Storybrooke after a visit with Zeus! While we had to say a tearful goodbye to Regina’s love for now, Emma has hers back. What a dark, tragic, but also hopeful ending for this episode. There could still be darkness ahead, especially given there are two episodes to come. The only cliffhanger we have now is Rumpelstiltskin getting his hands on the crystal. Episode Grade: A.

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