‘Once Upon A Time’ Has Finally Found Its Happy Ending

On paper, Once Upon A Time’s initial concept—Disney fairytale characters find themselves trapped by a curse in the real world, with no memory of their previous lives—was intriguing, exciting, and downright delightful. The first three seasons or so even delivered on this premise, creating a series full of fun, magic (pun intended), and some great messages about the importance of family, redemption, and never giving up on your beliefs. Somewhere along the way, though, that all got lost in favor of pairing up the show’s hero, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), with “reformed” bad boy Killian Jones/Captain Hook (Colin O’Donoghue). The entire series became about their twisted romance.

That’s why the premise for Season 7 was so delightful: no more sad, shadowy Emma Swan and therefore no more forced dysfunctional relationships being shoved down viewers’ throats at every turn. Instead, we were changing course, hitting the reset button, and for the most part, that decision has been a godsend. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been enough to save the series, which announced this week that this season will be Once’s last. Which is too bad, because this past season has been the best one in years.

Seven years in, the town of Storybrooke has been traded in for Hyperion Heights, a fictional suburb of Seattle, where the remaining cast—Regina Mills (Lana Parrilla), Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle), and Hook (O’Donoghue)—are settled with new identities, the product of yet another dark curse. This one was set by Lady Tremaine (Gabrielle Anwar), formerly known as Rapunzel and now known as Victoria Belfrey, Hyperion Heights’ most powerful resident. We’ve jumped forward a decade, so former precocious little child Henry is now adult Henry (Andrew J. West). He has a daughter Lucy (Alison Fernandez), and there are a slew of other new characters, none of whom are aware that they actually know each other at all. In many ways, it’s been a reminder of simpler times.

Admittedly, Once has been running on fumes for awhile now. Still, ABC was smart enough to know that the only way this stood a chance of working for another season was to start from scratch—a necessity given how much of the original cast they shed at the end of Season 6 but also a blessing in disguise. Retaining Parrilla, Carlyle and O’Donoghue has allowed the series to hold onto some of its original audience; while the addition of new characters like Cinderella (Dania Ramirez) and Tiana (Mekia Cox) has not only opened up a new realm storylines, but also brought some much-needed diversity to the fairytale world.

The ten episodes that made up the first half of Season 7 have been a pleasure to watch. The likes of Parrilla and Carlyle are as on their game as they ever were, making even the most lackluster scenes not only watchable, but enjoyable. Ramirez and Fernandez’s heartwarming mother/daughter dynamic gives some added depth to the similar bond shared by Regina/Roni and adult Henry. The latter relationship is currently a bit strained by the fact that Henry doesn’t actually know that his mom is the former Evil Queen/current purveyor of watering hole Roni’s and that Lucy is his daughter with Cinderella, whom he met in the Enchanted Forest.

But over-complicated family trees confused by memory curses are what makes Once so delightfully bonkers at its best.

And that’s what Once has gotten right this season: returning to the “family first” dynamic which made it so powerful to begin with. Whether it’s the family you’re born with or the one you choose, there’s no limit to what you would do to ensure their safety and well-being. Refocusing on the strong bonds between parents and children, siblings, and friends has actually made us want to care about these characters and plots again, and it’s incredibly refreshing.

Six seasons in, Once had become an obligatory watch rather than a pleasurable one. It’s nice to see the scales tipping in the other direction, even if it is too little, too late. Here’s hoping Once still gets its happy ending.

Jennifer Still is a writer and editor from New York who cares too way much about fictional characters and spends her time writing about them.

Watch Once Upon a Time on Hulu