User blog:DeviousPeep/Top 10 Season 6 Moments

I've been wanting to do something like this for a while now, make little blogs with rankings of miscellaneous stuff based on combinations of my biased and unbiased opinions, and since Once Upon a Time has concluded forever with its sixth season's finale I figured now was as good a time as any.

I have an overall very mixed opinion about this season, similar to that of the fifth season. Personally, I thought it had a very strong start and looked to be the best season since the series' first; I loved a majority of the first half, finding most of the storylines to be strong enough, the writing and acting to all be decent, and it really seemed as though they were trying. I respected that. But then 6B happened, and it all kinda went to shit. Sure it had some good episodes, but honestly I found a lot of it just boring. I've had a love/hate relationship with the show since it's fourth season, but never have I really found it boring. Mediocre? Sure. Bad? Definitely. But boring? Not really. I may zone out during the occasional David or Hook centric, but besides that I've usually been pretty entertained in some way or fashion. Anyways, I digress.

What I'm here to focus on is some of the highlights of the sixth season - in particular being a ranking of the season's top ten moments. This includes anything from happy to sad, satisfying to shocking, etc. However, because I'm me and I only like about two and a half characters at this point, obviously this list isn't going to be totally what I think. Some scenes included I'm looking at through the viewpoint of other fans of the show, or scenes that aren't particularly my favorite but what I respect as being genuinely good, well-written, and/or beneficial to the plot and audience.

10. David Denies Darkness In "Murder Most Foul", we were shown David as he was about to give into darkness by avenging his father's murder by killing King George who he had believed to be the culprit. The scene where David confronts George in the asylum is perhaps the most characterizing scene David has ever had. It also proved what a phenomenal actor Josh Dallas is as it was certainly the first time I've ever really felt for the character, and I was truly shocked by how well of a performance Dallas was able to put on. For six seasons I never had that strong of an opinion for the character, and honestly I still don't after this episode. But this is certainly the closest I've ever come to caring for the character, and afterwards I did have a newfound respect for the actor. It was nice to see David receive his own little mini-arc with it carrying on for ten whole episodes; one thing I'll credit the season with is that it did give all of its regulars something to remember them for. This is what David has, and I'm pretty impressed. The writing was good and the acting was great, so I call this a success on the show's part.

9. Belle's Dream World Arguably the best part of the season premiere was Rumple's journey into Belle's dream world. Whether or not you're a fan of Belle and Rumple as characters or a couple, you've got to admit that their scenes together in this false reality were just lovely. Not only were we given a whole bunch of "Skin Deep" throwbacks, but we were also shown a new dance sequence between the two, one lasting much longer than the ten second one we got in "A Tale of Two Sisters" which I personally found to be a ripoff. For fans of the couple, we're shown Rumple go through numerous attempts of trying to make Belle love him again, and for people who are not fans of the couple then you were given the resolution of Belle choosing to not go back to her beast. Belle being woken by her unborn son was a pretty solid twist, decently setting up more story for the character in the back-half of the season and also kicked off the season long arc of these two characters finding their way back to each other the right way. The journey was far from finished for these two ending up together, but in the meantime we were given this lovely episodic story to tie fans over.

8. The Not-So-Evil Queen From what I've seen, the fandom is divided over whether or not this was the way to go. Some believe that the Evil Queen should have become part of Regina again whereas others are content with her going off on her own and thus creating a happy ending for an off-brand Outlaw Queen. I personally like that they did the latter. Sure, it was kind of odd; there's now two existing Reginas that are no longer bound by any means, but this is a weird show and weird stuff happens. The sword fight between Regina and the Queen was epic enough, and I found the scene where the Queen reformed to be moving. The character provided some great story in the first half of the season, so it was nice to see she was getting a nice send-off. It also served a bit as compensation for the Outlaw Queen fans who were deprived of their ship's happy ending. Because let's face it, most of the fans at this point solely care about their ship and nothing but their ship. She also had a nice moment where she made amends with Snow and Henry, though she could've apologized for trying to kill Zelena as well as speeding up Belle's pregnancy buuuut you can't have it all, I guess.

7. Zelena's Sacrifice 2.0 Zelena really got the short end of the stick this season when it came to having an ongoing storyline, character development, and even just appearing in general. However, unlike past seasons where there's usually one regular who's given absolutely nothing to work with, Zelena did get a centric episode titled "Where Bluebirds Fly" which is arguably one of the better episodes of this season. Since the writers were unable to let Zelena keep her redemption from the fifth season and build a better relationship with Regina this year, instead giving her an unnecessary relapse arc just so that the Evil Queen would have someone to spout exposition to here and there, it's rather satisfying how this episode seemed to mostly make up for that. Zelena had a flaw in judgment when it came to facing the Black Fairy alone, but she sure made up for it when it came to the sacrificing of her magic and permanently reconciling with her sister there after. It was a beautiful moment and really showed how far Zelena has come as a character since being introduced. Though it's a tad upsetting that Zelena spends the rest of the show powerless, at least she's finally found a family that loves her.

6. Savior Rumple One of the more shocking reveals this season came from the episode entitled "The Black Fairy" where we learn that the Dark One Rumplestiltskin was actually once prophesied to be the Savior. Though it's a bit controversial to have such a big revelation like that introduced this late in the series, I personally thought it was handled well enough. It didn't sound that contrived to me, at least. We've always seen Rumple have the capability to be a good person - to be a hero - but he's always given into darkness instead. It's interesting and kind of clever that in actuality he was meant to be a good person, he was meant to be a hero; it's just his fate was altered to be otherwise. It was a revelation that worked well with Rumple's redemption arc this season; him knowing the truth made him realize he had what it took to do the right thing, and at the very end he did just that. This reveal and overall storyline was probably the best material Rumple's been given since the third season.

5. The Wish Realm The fandom of the show is pretty divided in regards to whether or not this two-part story arc was a good idea. Some appreciate the writers for finally answering the question of "what if the Dark Curse was never cast" whereas others see it as either a misguided attempt or just a waste of time. Personally, I'm happy that they got it out of the way, and I think it was fun for what it was. It was fun to see an old version of the Charmings, an old, overweight, drunken Hook and a prissy and weak Emma, though it was not as fun seeing that personality leave lasting effects on Emma because it so did or to see Belle as a set of bones. Because yeah. That was honestly just disrespectful. I bet it was Eddy's idea. Overall though, it served as a fun transition from the Evil Queen to Gideon and the Black Fairy, as well as established the new Robin Hood so that Regina could finally get a sense of closure. It answered a question fans have been wondering for years while moving forward the season's arc.

4. Two-Way Sleeping Curse If there's one thing Snow and Charming are known for it's that they will always find each other, and that's something that the Evil Queen really puts to the test this season. The introduction of the two-way sleeping curse was both shocking and sad, as well as pretty clever. The storyline itself served as a pretty good final arc for the Charmings, and it provided quite a bit of grabbing scenes. From David chasing Snow down in the Storybrooke woods and giving her true love's kiss only for her to wake up and him go under as result; to their montage of living their lives without one another and only being able to communicate via recorded messaging; up to the point where they're finally woken up ten episodes later thanks to the town uniting and each enduring in a bit of the curse to save them. Everyone felt something for the couple, most likely more than they have in quite a few seasons considering how fazed out Snow and David have become. It also served as the perfect revenge from the Evil Queen and wasn't something that could be undone so easily.

3. Sending Gideon Away In my opinion, the saddest moment of the entire season was Belle sending Gideon away in order to give him his best chance at a good life. I found the scene emotionally gut-wrenching, as well as both the acting and writing to be very well done. It was some of Emilie de Ravin's best work, and also showed a new side of Belle. She was willing to do what she had to in order to protect her child; it was no longer just about her, and because she thought Rumple was the enemy she did what she thought needed to be done. The first half of the season showed a lot of growth in Belle as a character, and this really topped it off nicely by showing the extremes she would go to now that she's a mother. However, not only did this serve as a crucial scene for Belle, but it's also what pretty much set off a lot of the back-half of the season. Gideon's departure led to his abduction by the Black Fairy, making him into a villain only to return and fight Emma in the Final Battle. Belle's decision influenced a lot of events that took place there after, but while some weren't as good as others it still served as a tremendous moment for the character and it was the actions she took here that provided her son the strength to always hold onto whatever good that he could.

2. The Musical Episode After six seasons, Once Upon a Time finally did a musical episode... and it was complete and utter crap. Hear me out though - yes, I truly believe the episode itself to have been godawful. I mean, the plot was pretty poor and contrived, both in the present day and the flashbacks, there was some missing logic, and the songs were horribly introduced. However, the reason this ranks so high on the list because, well, the songs. They were good. Great, even. I had planned to not watch this episode, but then the songs leaked and I was really impressed, both by the actors' singing and the actual lyrics. The songs all suited the characters singing them, each being significant in some way, and most were a joy to watch. "Wicked Always Wins" is enough to make me forgive a lot of issues I have with the show, and I really also really enjoyed Regina's, Emma's, and the Charmings' respective songs. As for Emma, in particular, singing to Fiona was probably the most I've enjoyed her all season. I wasn't a fan of "A Happy Beginning" at first but it's since grown on me, and Rumple preferring to gouge his eyes out with a rusty fork than sing was pretty funny. The episode also featured the wedding between Emma and Hook which, yeah I'm not a fan of them, but a lot of people are and I guess it's a fitting enough event to feature in an episode as special as this. Emma's dress though - ugly as sin.

Honorable Mentions

You've probably noticed that some of these "moments" are more than just moments because yeah it's hard to narrow stuff down. So, as for some stuff I had considered and wasn't able to/didn't want to combine with anything: "I'll just sit back and watch you tear yourselves apart." -Evil Queen. Learning Gideon is the hooded figure. Drunk Snow. Zelena hitting the Black Fairy with her car.

1. Happy Beginnings This was probably the most obvious answer but still nonetheless true. After six shaky seasons, Once Upon a Time managed to give us a perfect conclusion. All of the characters we've come to know and care about were given their happy ending, or - happy beginning - I should say. Emma and Hook get to sheriff, Snow gets to teach, David gets to farm, Henry finally goes back to school, Regina is recognized as the Queen, Zelena gets to not die, and Belle and Rumple get back together and raise their baby. Everyone's joined together as a family, and Emma gets to be Jesus Christ because why the hell not? Speaking of hell, that's where all the writers are going for making that a thing. But hey, it was nice. It was satisfying. After six seasons, everyone managed to get something in the end and it was cool to see everyone finally be able to move on. It worked as the perfect ending for the show, and for me and a lot of other viewers it is the ending of the show. They all lived happily ever after.