What We Learnt From Season Four Of Once Upon A Time

By Amy Hood - @Amylia403

  It is that time again, Oncers. The abyss, the hour of our discontent, that desperate time that inevitably comes each year for us…..Hiatus time. Each hiatus I take a lighthearted look back at the season to find the gems of wisdom, some serious, some completely goofy, that were imparted to us. Season Four has come to a close and I am ready to share with all of you, these pearls of ONCEY wisdom.

SISTERS ARE TROUBLE!

Fine, not always, but… Anna and Elsa were very smooshy and loving. But let us not forget, Elsa almost froze Emma to death and created a giant, Marshmallow ice monster. She got herself stuck in an urn, and who put her there? Yup, Anna. Ok, Anna was under the Spell of Shattered Sight, but still, couldn’t she just have stolen Elsa’s favorite sweater or borrowed her lipstick without asking? Auntie Ingrid McSnowQueen had a lot to do with that, but all she wanted was her family who loved her! I mean, sniff sniff, we all cried when Ingrid came to that realization and poofed away into the great beyond. All of us right... right? Not just me? (Cricket chirps…)

And the ultimate in pesky, happily ever after ruining sister snow jobs, Zelena came back! Regina just can’t catch a break with this woman! Faking death, pretending to be the sweet as sugar Marion, and THEN…she went and got knocked up by Robin! I don’t condone family violence, but (after the baby is born of course) Regina and Zelena need to just have a good old fashioned sister knock down drag out slap fight. I certainly want to see that, and I love them both! Don’t get me wrong, I am an Evil Regal forever, but I love seeing Regina and Zelena go toe to toe. They are both so smart and devious in their own way. What a fabulous paring. Maybe they can also hash out just whose color black really is, and if Storybrooke is in fact, the Wicked West. 

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THE SHIPS THEY ARE A SAILIN'

I’m going to preface this by saying that I do not have a favorite ship, other than the Jolly Roger…maybe the Starship Enterprise and I am certainly partial to the Millennium Falcon. If you have a relationship on the show that you really love, or maybe it’s not on the show, canon and non-canon, this season definitely had some great moments for lots of character pairings. Here is the thing, if everyone is given their happy ending right now, they wouldn’t be getting these great moments that keep them on our screens! It’s the intricate stories the characters are in that keep them on the show, it keeps them growing and changing and I for one don’t want to give up interesting twists yet! I’m not ready to give up the ship…so to speak…lol. So whether you dig Swan Queen, or Captain Swan, or Outlaw Queen, or Rumbelle, or Franken Wolf, or Snowing, or PongOlaf…(Okay that last one isn’t a thing….YET) We are not 50 different groups, we are a Once Upon A Family. I’m loving seeing all of these characters. I am not ready for their stories to be over. Happily Ever After will come Oncers, where it always does….at the end… just before the book closes.

VILLIANS, VILLIANS EVERYWHERE

So many villains this season! And they were fantastic. The Snow Queen, if she taught us anything, it is that love really is all you need. Love, and maybe an ice cream shop. Cruella had a bedazzled gun for the love of all things sparkly! You want eyebrows with that murderous personality, boom, you got it. Who cares if her happy ending was that she wanted to kill everyone? She was fabulous! Ursula had tentacles for days, girl! And her purple leather jacket, I needed a moment to take it in. She even let Rumple slum around her apartment. What a sweetheart. Sure, he ate all her ramen, but I’m sure he kept the floors and bathroom tidy. Then of course, we have the Mistress of All Evil….Maleficent. Strung out, wronged, baby momma Maleficent. I wanted to just eat her up with a spoon. I want to kiss Eduardo Castro (Costume designer for Once Upon A Time) for his beautiful, whimsical, epic creations this season. And just to round things off, we got a little bit of Cora (With that woman, a little bit goes a LONG way), we got Wicked Greenness, Zelena back. Even Snow got in on the action when we saw Heroes and Villains. Isaac the author may have been a mischievous shmuck, but it sure was fun to watch his insane world!

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YOU CAN WRITE YOUR OWN STORY

Isaac had a good run as the author. He caused worlds of trouble and flipped everything on its ear. We also learned that the author before him was Walt Disney, which was a fantastic little Easter egg for those of you who love Disney like I do. We got a chance to see characters with their stories written, set in stone, err, ink, if you will. And yet, in the midst of their most hopeless times, there was still a glimmer of hope. As Emma said in season one, “You have to punch back and say THIS is who I am.” I think that is a great thing for all of us to see. Regina didn’t accept that she had to always be a villain. She changed, she put in the effort. She “punched back” and showed who she was. 

Young, old, women, men, gay, straight, be WHO YOU ARE. You are good enough. Punch back Oncers, build each other up. If we are here on this big rock called Earth for anything, it is to help each other. This season, as all the seasons before, have been about hope. Hope that things get better, hope for love, hope for acceptance, hope for happy endings, hope for family…. In the end THAT is what I will take from this show. Punch back Oncers. THIS is who you are. 

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