Leaving Storybrooke

**Leaving Storybrooke** is the twenty-second episode of the seventh season and the 155th and final episode overall of the American fantasy-drama series Once Upon a Time. Written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, and directed by Ralph Hemecker, it premiered on ABC in the United States on May 18, 2018.

In the episode, the Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin’s plan to eliminate all the happy endings of all the characters in every realm is revealed, as Sir Henry prepares to kill Regina as part of the scheme, while Alice and Robin seek out help from the Storybrooke Realm to rescue Henry, Jacinda, Lucy, Hook, and Weaver, who is ready to risk everything to stop his evil counterpart from carrying out his plan.

## Plot

### **Opening sequence**

The “Leaving Storybrooke” city limits sign is displayed. The Seattle scenery is not featured.

### **Event Chronology**

The Wish Realm events and the outcome involving the realms from previous encounters occurs after the events of “Homecoming.”

### **In Storybrooke**

As Alice and Robin arrived in Storybrooke, they find the dwarfs, Granny, Archie and Pongo. They explain a fifth Dark Curse took them, along with the future versions of Henry, Regina and Mr. Gold to Seattle in the past (which is the present day). However, due to the numerous outsiders in the past that has caused Storybrooke trouble, they are met with hostility. Alice and Robin hide.

As they hide from the residents, the ladies encounter Zelena, and it doesn’t take long for Robin to tell her mother about not having magic and that she’s about to drive her younger self to daycare. Convinced, Zelena and the other two seek out David and Mary Margaret.

### **In the Wish Realm**

Inside the snowglobe prison, Henry is reunited with Ella and Lucy. Weaver explains to Hook that Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin has stripped him of his powers and immortality, and that his Wish Realm counterpart had used them to amplify his own powers. As they attempt to break the glass, Weaver admits to Hook that he trusted him as a loyal partner because of his bravery and his good heart. Suddenly, Maui's fishhook appears in the snowglobe, with the handle sticking up out of the snow. Hook grabs it and uses it to start breaking the glass from the inside; from the outside, a pair of arrows pierce the glass, and they’re freed by Robin and Alice.

At the palace, Regina is dragged to the location where Snow and Charming had been married, by Sir Henry. Regina pleads with Sir Henry to change his mind despite admitting to having killed his grandparents. Sir Henry responded to her plea by cutting a slit on her hand (that Henry will use to create blood ink) and tells her that they’ll fight each other, which Sir Henry says that will be his happy ending. While locked in a cell, Regina has a dream, in which she meets with Robin's spirit. Robin encourages her, telling her that she can still find happiness without him or Facilier, and that just needs to show Sir Henry that he can still find love. Awakening, Regina discovers that Robin's spirit had left her with a red feather from one of his arrows.

The Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin meets up with Sir Henry to discuss Regina’s fate. Unfortunately, the Wish Realm Dark One offers Sir Henry a new way to deal with every character and their stories from every realm utilizing Regina’s blood ink. He shows Sir Henry that if he raises his emotions, he can banish the heroes into the “Once Upon a Time” books that will serve as their prison. They test it on the Wish Realm Blue Fairy, and a portal opens and transports her to a dark realm where she will be tormented, with her book closing afterward.

Weaver finds a dreamcatcher and views his memories of Belle, fearing that he will never be with her. Meanwhile, Hook and Robin scout the castle, where Robin asks Hook for his blessing to marry Alice, and he says yes (as he wants his daughter to be happy), as they prepare to face off against the guards. Meanwhile, Henry heads to rescue Regina, but he ends up getting pinned to the prison bars by a guard. Before the guards can kill Henry, they are taken out by Mary Margaret and David. The group discovers Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin's plan to trap each and everyone of them in separate realms of unhappy endings, and they come up with a strategy to save all the realms and to stop the Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin from enacting his scheme. Weaver applies magic dust on his right hand, to give himself limited magic. As they come up with a plan, the Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin shows up, ready to trap the characters in realms of eternal torment, while Sir Henry shows up in the forest to confront Regina and forces her into a sword fight, which causes the portals to open, via Sir Henry’s emotions. While Sir Henry corners Regina, she tells him that if she needs to die to show him that he's loved, its a worthy end for her story. The emotional pleas finally bring Sir Henry to his senses, causing the portals to close, and saving everyone. However, as Hook had to hold onto Alice to keep her out of the portal, his heart is now poisoned beyond repair. Sir Henry and Regina reconcile afterward.

However, Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin isn't done just yet, as he challenges Weaver and vows to destroy his alter ego. Weaver, who earlier had found a way to kill his counterpart, decides the only way to end this was to sacrifice himself. Weaver chooses to sacrifice his heart to save Hook, which erases the Darkness within his own heart when he makes this decision. Despite the Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin's protests, Weaver slams his purified heart into Hook's body, saving Hook. Weaver's sacrifice causes the Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin to disintegrate into dust, which also destroys the Darkness. In the afterlife, the original Rumplestiltskin is finally reunited with Belle.

Later that evening, Regina is joined by the two Henrys. Having realized that it is time to heal everything, she decides to bring all the realms of story to Storybrooke by enacting a new curse, using small part of the hearts of everyone who loves her and those whom she loves.

### **In the United Realms**

Several years later, all the realms are united as one (and now part of Storybrooke, Maine, hidden away from the rest of the world). As Zelena and Henry drive Regina to the palace for a surprise, the sisters talk to each other. They reveal that Zorro is the father of Lily, Maleficent's daughter, and that he can turn into a dragon. When they arrived, Snow and David surprised her with the announcement that the people have voted to elect Regina the leader of the newly united realms, and is joined by Emma, (the original) Hook and their newborn daughter Hope at the last minute. Snow then crowns Regina with the new title of "the Good Queen". Regina then gives a speech about second chances and despite what everyone has been through to find their happiness, lives, and stories will continue on.

After Regina gives her speech with unanimous applause, the camera zooms out of the castle and moves toward Storybrooke, where it shows the different parts of the town including Granny's Diner, Gold's shop, stores along main street, and the clock tower. The camera soon shows a shot of the town line, where it zooms in on the "Leaving Storybrooke" sign, concluding the episode and the series.

## Reception

*TV Fanatic* gave the episode a 4.2 out of 5 stars. Justin Kirkland of *Entertainment Weekly* gave the episode a B-.

## Trivia

* When we see Captain Hook at the coronation, his hook has been 'baby proofed'
* When Gold is reunited with Belle in the afterlife, she wears the yellow ball gown from Beauty and the Beast (1991).
* Zorro is revealed to be the long-lost father of Maleficent's daughter, Lily. Several clues point to this: Zorro's alter-ego is Don Diego de la Vega (literally, "Diego of the Star"). Lily has an imprint of a star on her wrist and used the alias Starla while working in a diner.
* Fans were able to finally know two things by the end of the episode that's been on many fans minds. 1- Maleficent found Lily's father: Zorro (none of them were seen but spoken of by Zelena and Regina). 2- The CaptainSwan baby was a girl and they named her Hope.
* The title card features the Welcome to Storybrooke sign in front of the Enchanted Forest
* Jennifer Morrison, Emilie de Ravin, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Josh Dallas return as Emma Swan, Belle, Snow White and Prince Charming for the series finale
* The Location Where Regina was Crowned 'The Good Queen' was the Exact Same Location Of The Charming's Wedding to Which She Crashed in the Pilot Episode
* The Dress That Regina Wears when She was Crowned the 'Good Queen' is the Exact Style That She Wore In The Pilot Episode when She Crashed The Charming's Wedding, and Through Out Other Times During the Run Of The Series. But Only White Instead of Black

## Goofs

* During the coronation scene, Snow mispronounced Regina's name.
* It's not explained why Enchanted-Forest Rumpelstiltskin dying would cause Wish-Realm Rumpelstiltskin to disappear.