Once Upon a Time season 7 mid-season finale: 5 key moments
In the season 7 midseason finale of Once Upon a Time, Zelena returns, and we learn who the real villain is. Here are the most important moments from the episode, “The Eighth Witch.”
From the return of Zelena to the revelation of who the villains actually are, Once Upon a Time delivered in season seven’s midseason finale. Below are five key moments from the episode, in no particular order, highlighting what we can expect to see in the episodes to come — which, unfortunately for us, won’t air until March. Boo!
1. Zelena is back!
Upon exiting the series ahead of its seventh season, Rebecca Mader is back … and for multiple episodes! Lucky us!
Alongside Henry, Regina traveled to San Francisco, California, where Zelena (or “Kelly” as her cursed identity is) had been residing as a hippie (her words, not mine!) spin instructor. We learn that Kelly’s relationship with Regina’s cursed counterpart Roni had been rocky — Kelly basically blames Roni for her failed relationship with her daughter, who formerly worked at Roni’s bar before leaving Hyperion Heights.
Thankfully, Regina wasted no time and woke Zelena up, in the hope that she returns to Hyperion Heights with her to defeat Mother Gothel and save Lucy, whose life now hangs in the balance. At first, Zelena was hesitant to leave San Francisco altogether — she was engaged to be married. Eventually, however, she understood the importance of prioritizing heroism and saving lives, especially her family’s. “That’s what heroes do,” Zelena said. Alas, she left with Regina.
Yeah, I’ve missed Zelena, too.
2. A foolproof plan
Trying only to stop her from casting her spell, Regina was forced to cast the curse herself upon learning that Drizella had poisoned Henry’s heart, and there was nothing to be done but to cast the curse. Ergo, if the curse is broken, Henry will die. If the curse is not broken, however, Lucy will die.
“As Drizella promised, she’s come up with what she believes is a foolproof plan,” showrunner Edward Kitsis told Entertainment Weekly. Pretty foolproof, I’d say. Either way, Regina is between a rock and a hard place — does she save her son or her granddaughter?
We also learned that Rapunzel had nothing to do with casting the curse — she’s merely a victim of her own daughter (Drizella). Rapunzel is cursed into thinking that she had cursed the fairy tale land, and that she did it to save Anastasia’s life. Wow, Drizella’s good. Anyone else feeling sorry for Rapunzel, though?
3. A coven of witches
The threat this season runs deeper than just Drizella wanting revenge on her mother. Not only was the curse cast by Gothel, she had the help of other witches alike — the Coven of Eight, specifically.
Who are the Coven of Eight, exactly? Unfortunately, the identities and the motives of the members of the Coven are being kept under wraps, for now. What we do know, however, is that Gothel is attempting to reunite them in Hyperion Heights. “She’s gathering them for a purpose that will be revealed in the second half of the season,” Kitsis said of the new threat. “The Coven is going to be different [from the villains seen before] because it’s led by Mother Gothel. What she wants is going to directly affect one of our characters. … We’re going to be realizing they’re gunning after one of our characters for a very specific reason.”
Nevertheless, Kitsis did reveal one thing: “We will be seeing someone in episode 11, which is a reference we’ve never done before, which is from the Haunted Mansion.” I’m crossing my fingers that it’s Madame Leota (you know, the one whose head is in a crystal ball)!
4. Betrayal upon betrayal
As it turns out, Gothel had been manipulating Drizella, only to betray her by transferring her magic over to her sister, Anastasia, thus making her powers stronger. Gothel subsequently recruited Anastasia for her Coven of Eight, for reasons we have yet to see — though my bet is on Rapunzel. That’d be too easy, though, right? This season has proven me completely wrong — just when I think I’ve got it figured out, a twist is thrown and I’m back to playing the guessing game. I already know I’m wrong.
Before the hour closed, Drizella was disposed into a pit of sorts by Gothel. Not that her services are no longer required by Gothel, what’s next for Drizella? “Drizella was warned not to let Gothel out, and she did and now she finds herself in a pit with her mother, who she hates,” Kitsis said. “Drizella’s desire for revenge only grows stronger. We’ve seen moments of kindess from Drizella, so we’ll have to see whether or not she is fully an Evil Stepsister, or if she can be redeemed, but right now, she’s out for revenge.” Look out, Gothel!?
5. Alice’s true love
We finally learned who the other half of the long-awaited LGBT romance is!
We all knew that Alice (who was recently confirmed to be Wish!Hook’s daughter) was part of it, but what we didn’t know was who her girlfriend was. Well, it turns out that her true love is none other than Robin (Riverdale’s Tiera Skovbye), the daughter of Zelena and Robin Hood!
We were introduced to their romance halfway through the episode, but they’ve already fallen in love by then, and were about to be cursed. In the second half of the season, however, we will get a flashback to how they met. “They get off to a rocky start and… they slowly prove how much they mean to each other,” teased Rose Reynolds, who plays Alice. “They teach each other a lot; it’s really beautiful, and it feels like a new beginning for both of them.”
We also get to meet Robin’s cursed counterpart come next year! Kitsis and his co-showrunner, Adam Horowitz, have described Robin’s cursed counterpart as “a bit of a free spirit, desperate to wander the world with only the pack on her back.” Reynolds added that their meet cute is an “echo of their fairytale.” I cannot wait for this to unfold!
Next: Mr. Robot season 3 finale review: shutdown –r
Once Upon a Time returns on Friday, March 2, 2018.