Once Upon A Time - Winter Finale 2014 - Recap: Get Outta Town!

I've had issues in the past with how far in the opposite direction the show has had Gold swing, since he went from a fairly likable character -- making amends for his dark past while also being somewhat under the sway of the power that made that past so dark in the first place -- to a guy who was remorselessly doing horrible things again, for what felt like no reason at all. The show didn't even really try to rationalize his desire for power by implying he was seeking it in order to better protect Belle (Emilie De Ravin). Rather, he was simply seeking power for its own sake, and I thought that made him a far less interesting character. However, this winter finale reveals that this was always the case for Gold. In much the same way Regina feels tethered to her unhappy fate by the mysterious author of the storybooks, Gold is bound to the power he seeks. He has a compulsive need to acquire more power, to have insurmountable control over his world. It's a motivation native to many villains, but this particular case manages to be compelling less for how it shows the corruption of a good man, and more for how it shows the corruption of a bad man who'd tried his best to change. As Belle tearfully states in the episode's climax, Gold never really changed. He's never stopped being the Dark One, so while he did manage to at least appear to turn a new leaf, he was always going to be a slave to his baser desires. It adds a layer of irony to Gold, halfway through the episode, admonishing Regina for believing that her fate is decided by a storybook. His fate seems every bit as predetermined, whether or not he's able to cleave himself from the dagger. It's a tragic characterization, since Gold ultimately isn't strong enough to overcome his weakness.

Credit: ABC

Of course, this could end up being a bit of a problem for the narrative. If Gold is destined to always be this evil, and if Regina is always destined to have an unhappy ending, it removes some of the agency from their characters. They no longer feel like characters with whims and personalities of their own. Rather, they end up feeling like characters drawn along by the whims of writers (both in the show's world and in ours). I guess we won't really know how the series plans on handling its characters' seemingly predetermined fates, but what "Heroes and Villains" offers is hope that the status quo might change. For one, Belle discovers the truth about Gold. Using a special gauntlet that exposes a person's weakness (by revealing what the target loves most), Belle is led straight to the real dagger. Gold tries to argue, desperately, that he's simply doing everything he can to make sure he and Belle have it all. But Belle says all she wanted was him, and since it's obvious that there's no way she can ever trust him again, she's making the only choice she can: she uses the dagger to banish him from Storybrooke forever, sending him out into our world, one without magic. If nothing else, Gold seems remorseful, illustrating the difference between Rumpelstiltskin and the man beneath him. But remorse isn't enough, so he launches a plan of action by seeking out the three Queens of Darkness in the real world: Ursula, Maleficent and Cruella De Vil. No idea how he actually plans to get to Storybrooke, or how the Queens ended up in our world, but I'm already all-in on this development, as hokey as the three Queens are (I'll put up with a lot to have Kristin Bauer van Straten back on my TV).

Credit: ABC

As for the rest of the episode, we got a genuinely emotional subplot between Regina and Robin Hood (Sean Maguire). Marian is brought back from her slumber now that Ingrid is gone. But parts of the spell linger behind, and the only way to keep her from dying now is for her to leave Storybrooke and enter a world in which magic has no effect. Of course, since this is a one-way trip, Robin will have to go with her. So just like that, Regina goes from having her happy ending (since Robin actually chooses her, despite Marian's return), to having it all ripped away. Their final farewell is powerful stuff, largely because it seemed as though the show was finally going to allow this couple to actually just be a couple. That bit of hope ultimately makes the sting all the more pronounced, and serves the purpose of showing why Regina thinks fate has it in for her. Luckily, Henry (Jared S. Gilmore) snoops around and discovers a library filled with empty storybooks. Whomever is keeping this library is the one writing the storybooks, and all these blank books imply he can write some new endings -- happy endings, even for the bad guys. And yet...I'm still not sure how this storyline is supposed to make us feel. It makes for a good mission for the characters to tackle in the second half of the season, since Emma (Jennifer Morrison) is now in on the mission to track down this mysterious author. But by implying that endings can be created without any input from the people about whom they're written? That suggests that it doesn't really matter what anyone does, since they're not the one deciding the outcome. It robs the characters of free will. Granted, maybe the show will reveal that it was never the storybooks that decided the endings, but rather the characters themselves, and that the storybooks are simply red herrings. I suppose it's a story worth exploring, if only because it offers a different kind of antagonist for this season, one that exists in the shadows, but whose power looms over everything that's happened over the past four seasons.

Credit: ABC

Ultimately, "Heroes and Villains" is an encouraging winter finale, providing some idea of where the show is headed in the second half of Season 4. I'll miss Anna (Elizabeth Lail) and Elsa (Georgina Haig), although I'm glad they got a fitting sendoff here. Anna gets married, Hans is forcefully removed from the throne of Arendelle, and the sisters affirm their love for one another. It's a quaint end to the storyline, but the door isn't exactly closed on the possibility of seeing them again. Hopefully, the second half of the season will carry over the narrative momentum the sisters' storyline provided in the first. At the very least, Once Upon A Time will offer some colorful characters to keep things lively, as evidenced by these Queens. Count me in.