Tonight on ABC their fantastical series Once Upon A Time returns with an all new back to back Sunday May 15 season 5 finale called, “Only You; An Untold Story” and we have your weekly recap below. On tonight’s episode, Regina (Lana Parrilla) grieves Robin Hood’s (Sean Maguire) death and Henry (Jared S. Gilmore) sets out to destroy all magic.
On the last episode, the heroes reunited in Storybrooke, but they had to deal with Hades, who was now in their town and planned to take it over. Did you watch the last episode? If you missed it, we have a full and detailed recap right here for you.
On tonight’s episode as per the ABC synopsis, “In the first hour of the special two-hour season finale, Regina reels from the death of Robin Hood, and everyone tries to give her room to grieve, but when the heroes discover Gold has stolen Hades’ Olympian Crystal and tethered all of Storybrooke’s magic to it, they set out to stop him. Henry decides he no longer can stand all the pain magic has caused his family, so he goes rogue, with Violet in tow, to destroy magic once and for all.
Meanwhile, Zelena, Snow, David and Hook attempt to open a portal that will return Merida and the other Storybrooke guests to their homes, but things go awry, and the group winds up in a deranged new world. In the second hour, with the possibility of magic being destroyed and the fate of Storybrooke hanging in the balance, it’s a race for Emma and Regina to track down Henry before Gold can find him first.
Regina continues to struggle with her frustrations over her former evil-self and, elsewhere, Snow, David, Hook and Zelena are imprisoned and must contend with very two very disturbed individuals that may give Gold a run for his money.”
Tonight’s season 5 finale looks like it is going to be as magical as ever so make sure that you tune in to our live coverage of Once Upon A Time at 7:00 PM EST!
Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!
The #OnceUponATime two hour finale starts with Regina sitting in the diner looking glum. There’s a wake of sorts going as some people toast to Robin. Snow and David come over and tell her she’s not alone. Zelena says she’s not alone and she’s there for her.
David tells Zelena he’s sorry for what happened with Hades and then they leave the sisters alone. Violet is there and tells Henry she’s sorry about Robin and was worried while he was gone to the Underworld. Gold is in the clock tower with Belle.
He says he has to find another way to wake her since her father refused. He holds the crystal and says he needs more power. He works the crystal and it glows. Emma wants to talk to Regina about something delicate. The town shakes and there’s a blast of power.
Hook is there and says he’s back. That’s what Emma wanted to tell Regina who says she’s used to others getting their way but says that blast of magic had to be Gold. The gang finds Belle sleeping in the clock tower and Emma encourages Regina to sit this one out.
Henry stops them bickering and Regina says she’ll fix it herself then poofs away. Emma tells Henry to go to her house and stay safe there. She tells him to go straight there. He goes to Gold’s shop instead. Violet meets him there.
Henry says all magic is bad, there is no light and dark. He shows her Geppetto’s parents and the sleeping curse needle. Then he shows her a real village frozen in a snow globe. She says magic killed her parents and Henry asks her to come on a road trip quest to fix it.
Henry calls it Operation Mix Tape and he retrieves the author’s pen and says what he will do is for the greater good and writes the Olympian crystal into his hand and says his grandpa Gold tethered Storybrooke’s magic to it and he’s going to take it away and destroy it.
Regina comes into the loft looking for Henry. They both got a text about him destroying the source of all their problems. Then Gold comes in and says he tethered the Olympian crystal and stole it after he tethered the town’s magic to it.
Gold says if Henry destroys it, the whole town will be destroyed. Gold says he’ll tell Henry right before he takes it back. Regina threatens him but then Gold poofs away. Emma chases Regina out and says Gold doesn’t know where Henry is either.
Regina says she won’t take Emma since she benched her. But then Emma says she can track him because she put a GPS tracker on his phone after he ran away before. She says he’s headed to Boston. Henry and Violet are not in Boston. He hid his phone on the bus.
Mereda runs up worried about getting home without magic but Zelena conjures a door to take her back. A frustrated Regina throws the phone into the trash and magical fire shoots. They realize magic is loose in the world because Henry brought the crystal out of town.
Henry and Violet get off a bus in New York City and she’s amazed. Zelena tells the Merry Men that it’s okay to leave without saying goodbye to Regina. Zelena promises Roland they’ll visit soon and bring his baby sister. Roland hands her an arrow fletching and says it’s from one of his dad’s arrows.
Zelena hugs him and he goes. Everyone has left town but the gang and Zelena tries to close the portal but it fights back. Granny is still there. The portal flows like water and snatches up David, Emma, Zelena and Hook and drops them off in another land. Zelena says they’re not in Storybrooke.
Regina and Emma look for something that belongs to Henry to track him. Regina complains about the junk in her car and Emma says she’s the one that wanted to go to Hardee’s. Regina tells Emma to trust her and give her a hand. Regina pricks Emma’s finger to get a drop of her blood.
She drops it onto a map and waves her hand and the blood trails to New York. Emma hopes Gold doesn’t know that spell since he’s blood related to Henry too. We see Gold at the tunnel going into New York and he chokes the tool booth attendant with magic to avoid paying.
Henry and Violet walk around the city and he says this has to do with his dad and says Neal wanted to destroy magic for a long time but made him promise to tell no one. He says his dad tried to find a way to protect himself from magic and Gold from finding him.
He says they need to get his dad’s journal from his apartment. The gang wonders where they are but Zelena’s wand is broken and she doesn’t have the materials to fix it. Zelena says they could be cut off from Storybrooke for good if Henry destroys magic while they’re there.
They come across a guy who’s very fidgety. He tells them they need to go. They ask where they are and need magic to get back. The guy says magic is dangerous and he’ll be punished if he helps them. Then another man walks up and blasts them back with magic.
The gang comes to and find they are locked in a cage. Zelena says the bars are enchanted and they can’t use magic to get them out. She still has her wand and Snow says to hide it. The man comes in and they deny attacking his groundskeeper.
Jacob, the man who caged them, says they don’t want to be there. (OMG Jacob is being played by Sam Witwer, the vampire hottie from Being Human!) He tells them he knows they’re lying and he knows who sent them. He asks what the Dark One wants.
Hook asks if he knows the crocodile and what he wants. Jacob chokes him and Snow says killing him won’t change that Rumpelstiltskin is their enemy and he stole magic to try and wake the woman he loves. He says no way did the Dark One find love.
David says let us go and you don’t have to worry about him. Jacob says in his experience, you don’t have to worry about things when they’re locked in a strong cage like this. He walks out. Emma and Regina search the apartment and find one of Robin’s books there.
Regina says it’s a book she gave him – it’s a book about the human world’s legends of Robin Hood. She finds a letter inside addressed to her that was never mailed. Emma says you have to read it. Regina opens it nervously, Henry out of her mind for a moment.
The letter from Robin say he’s proud of her and she’ll always be the heroine he fell for. Emma asks what it says then says sorry about earlier and not being there for her about Robin. Regina says Emma’s right, the evil queen is still inside her.
She says it’s always trying to get out. Emma says she fought the darkness and understands. Regina says Emma was pulled back before the darkness consumed her but she was consumed. She says she’s constantly at war with herself.
She says she wanted to rip Hook’s throat out for surviving when Robin didn’t. She says she hates every moment of it. Emma asks if she hates doing good and Regina says yes. Regina says doing good always leads to loss for her and she suffers for it.
Regina says she can’t let the evil queen come back and will never be at peace. Emma reminds her she found love with Robin. Regina says she did unspeakable things because Snow told a secret and that will always hang over her.
Regina says there is no redemption for her – only suffering. She says she’s caught between good and evil. If she reverts she loses everyone she loves and if she tries to be good, she has to live with her past darkness and the well-deserved consequences.
Emma says she believes in her but Regina says that’s because she’s good. Regina says this is her fate – to be trapped. Emma hears a noise and checks the computer. She says Henry is at the mid-town library. They wonder why he’s there as Gold eavesdrops at the door and hears them talking.
Henry and Violet go into a room of old books and Henry says his dad had an appointment in that room per his journal. He hands Violet some books to start reading. He says they have to find what his dad never did. Then he finds a stack of books that all look like his story book.
He wonders why they’re in New York. He finds many stories and characters he never knew. They find the big house on a page which is where the gang is trapped. Hook rubs his sore neck and complains about Gold and wonders what the Croc did to him.
They hear the door open – it’s the groundskeeper. David found a shard of wood to use as a weapon. He says he’s there to help and says the warden was watching him before. He says Poole keeps the key on him so he can’t open the cage. The man says take me with you when you go.
David asks why. He says he wasn’t always the gardener – he was a doctor before the warden made him a prisoner. Zelena says she needs magic to fix the wand. He says give it to me and I’ll fix it and bring it back. He says he wants to get away as much as they do.
David says it’s a bad plan and Snow says it’s the only one they have. Zelena hands over the wand. The groundskeeper leaves. Henry goes through all the books then says there is nothing there about destroying magic. Violet says he’ll figure it out.
She points to a glass case and says the holy grail is the source of all magic and looks like that. She points to a cup in a case and says it’s the twin of the one that was turned into Excalibur. Henry breaks the glass and grabs it. He pulls out the crystal and sets it near the grail.
The grail quivers and then he grabs it and shoves it in his bag. He says it’s not safe to do this here. They open the doors and Gold is there. Henry says he won’t hand it over without a fight. Gold knocks them out with a wave of his hand.
The groundskeeper sneaks to the hospital with the wand to try and repair it. He did it but then Poole is there and he says the warden asks him to fix it and says it’s a surgical instrument. Poole attacks him and says it’s time to see the warden.
He pours a potion into his mouth and he staggers around and then light courses through him. His jacket rips and it’s Jacob. OMG – they are Jekyll and Hyde. Hyde attacks Poole after he tells him about the wand and says no one hurts Dr Jekyll but me.
Hyde says the doctor may be onto something and Storybrooke may be the answer they need. Poole asks if that could be the place. Hyde says he will let the doctor go through with his plan with one small alteration. He says only the doctor won’t be the only one going – they all will.
They are actually inside a giant blimp flying around that’s part of a larger world. Regina and Emma find Henry and Violet waking and he says grandpa took the crystal. Regina asks why he’d try to destroy magic. He says how can you ask that.
He says magic took Robin from her. Regina says the evil queen is never coming back. He says Emma doesn’t trust her because every time they can be happy, magic wrecks it. He says magic took his dad and Violet’s mom. He says he couldn’t take it if magic took one of them away.
Regina asks what he was doing and he says he was following Neal’s trail but they found nothing and says it’s a waste of time. They have to find Gold. Regina uses Henry’s blood and the map to try and track Gold. Regina says their magic is gone so Gold must have done something to the crystal.
We see him at a hotel. Emma says he’s going to keep all the magic for himself. We see Jacob (aka Hyde) summoning a portal to get them the power they need. Gold has Pandora’s box where he’s keeping Belle. He says he’s going to give her what she’s always wanted – to see the world.
He goes to open the box but then the world rattles and he says – a portal. It opens and the box holding Belle slips into it and is gone. Poole asks how the box will help them and Jacob says it’s who is in the box. He says if the Dark One wants to see his wife again, he’ll have to do as he says.
Dr Jekyll wakes in a strait jacket and sees a note – you almost got free, sorry it didn’t work out – and it’s signed H. He sees Poole slumped out of it nearby. Jekyll says Hyde, you’re not half as good as you think. Hook works on the bars with his hook while he and Zelena bicker.
Jekyll comes in and says he fixed the wand but the warden stole it. He says the good news is, Poole drank too much and he has the keys. He releases them. Hook tells Jekyll he went to hell and back and is not scared of his warden.
They head into a busy marketplace and Jekyll says this place is a safe haven for outcasts and says everyone has a reason to be there and calls is the Land of Untold Stories. Jekyll says focus on our story now. Henry walks fast but Violet stops him.
She says if he thinks this is best, she’ll help him. He thanks her and then he says he thinks he knows where Gold is. They see magic churning in the sky above a hotel. A bellboy brings food up in an elevator listening to Jessie’s Girl on ear buds. He sees light glowing from the door ahead.
He wheels the cart up and knocks. The light dims and Gold opens the door. He tells the bellboy don’t just stand there and the guy wheels the tray in. He uncovers his dinner and realizes it’s steak instead of pasta and apologizes. Gold says the meal is irrelevant.
He wanted the silver tray on which it was served. He tells the guy to leave but then stops him and hands him a $100 tip and says things might get messy here. He hangs the Do Not Disturb sign and turns back to the table with runes carved on it and candles burning.
Emma notices a text from Granny and says the others were pulled into a portal along with the sorcerer’s wand. They are also heading to the hotel and Regina says they need their magic back and says she’s going to punch him in the face. Emma says be smart.
Regina knocks on his door and he says it says do not disturb. She tells him that the savior doesn’t know she’s there and says he needs the help of his best student. He says that’s not her, it was the evil queen that she’s buried under a layer of good intentions.
Regina says she’s ready to let her loose and says Zelena is in trouble because of the heroes and now they’re trapped in another realm. He asks why he’d help Zelena and she says he needs the evil queen and she can’t lose anyone else after Robin.
Gold says maybe they can help one another. He takes her coat and says let’s talk. Jekyll takes them to his old apartment where he used to live when he worked at the hospital. He shows them a serum he has to separate the good and the evil and will use it on the warden.
He has some flowers he took from the garden says says it’s the final ingredient. He adds it and then Poole is there and says he let him get away so he could finish it. He says let’s bring the warden and pours serum in his mouth while he says run.
Snow says she knows this story and it’s Jekyll and Hyde. Zelena hits him with magic but he absorbs it. Emma sneaks into the room while Gold and Regina talk. Gold tells Regina that Pandora’s box was taken and says whoever has the wand took her.
He says Belle and Zelena are in the same realm. Emma grabs the crystal but then Gold magics it out of her hand. He says of course he knew and says Regina has changed so he knew that would not push her over the edge. He says she’s guilt-ridden and weak.
He says he needed this and pulls a thread off her and says he doesn’t need either of them. Henry is there and says stop. Henry uses the Grail to suck the magic out of Gold’s hand and off the table. The storm cloud above the hotel is sucked into it. The crystal falls useless to the table.
Emma is stunned. She asks what he did. Henry says he destroyed magic. Regina is also shocked and Gold can’t believe what he just saw.
Hyde injects himself with the serum that Dr Jekyll perfected that separates the good from the evil. He tells Poole he might want to step into the other room. Hyde seizes up and then splits into two. Jekyll and Hyde are now individuals apart from each other.
Hyde says it’s nice to meet him. Jekyll is stunned. Hyde says he’s heard so much about him and offers him a hand. Jekyll takes it and Hyde calls him weak and disappointing. He says you’re so pathetic and says he was impressed he finished the serum in secret.
Jekyll says being with him was destroying him but Hyde says being separate will destroy him and grabs his head then chokes him. Hook attacks him and Poole comes running but Zelena hits him with magic. They save Jekyll who says he told them to run.
Hyde says he’ll kill them all but Snow hits him with magic from the wand and he goes down. Jekyll says the need to go now. Gold tells Henry that he stopped him from saving Belle and his family that are all trapped in another realm.
Henry says he did what he had to and this is on Gold, not him. Henry storms out and Violet says she’ll make sure he doesn’t go far. Emma thinks Storybrooke was destroyed but Gold says he was lying to motivate Emma.
Gold says someone is left that still has magic. Regina goes with Gold and sends Emma to keep an eye on Henry. Emma finds them at the fountain and Henry is upset. He says when they lived there, there was no magic and they were happy not knowing it existed.
Emma says she wouldn’t trade that time for anything but she says it was just the two of them. Henry says he thought they could all be happy without magic but now they can’t have their family. Emma says Regina is with Gold trying to fix it.
Regina asks why Gold didn’t believe her when she offered to help him. Gold says partitioning the darkness in you will not help you be the woman you want to be. Gold says he tried to keep the darkness in a corner of his heart but says he likes it and it’s part of him.
Regina insists she’s not like him and doesn’t like the dark. Gold says the evil queen is who you are and when you keep her locked up, you will suffer. They are in Chinatown and head into a market. Gold says this is The Dragon. He says he’s glad to see him breathing.
The Dragon says he won’t help hearts filled with darkness but will help Regina and says he sees nobility in her heart between the light and dark and will aid her because of that. He says it’s imperative she must win – for all of them.
Emma joins them as The Dragon does some magic – Henry and Violet are there too. They can see into the other world where the rest of the gang are trapped. They agree they need to get there. The Dragon’s magic sputters out. He says he can’t open a portal to the realm.
Henry says he can’t give up but The Dragon says he’s done all he can then says there is magic in the world. He says there is magic everywhere if you’re willing to see it. Emma says she’s heard that before – from August. The Dragon calls her savior and says remember what August taught you.
Emma says he told her you have to believe. Gold says saying it doesn’t make it so. Henry says he knows how. They go to the wishing fountain and Henry says there is magic there. Henry tells Gold to shut it when he argues with him.
Henry asks if Emma remembers the last time he came there. He says he wished their family could be complete when he noticed she was sad then Hook showed up and they got them back. He says they need to wish for the same. He makes a wish and tosses it.
He says they all have to do it and hands out pennies. He says we all have to do it. Violet makes her wish then so do the others. The crystal shard glows in Regina’s hand. Gold says that boy surprises him and makes his wish too. Henry says they need more and he runs up to the lion on the library steps.
They wonder why Jekyll’s evil alter-ego doesn’t look like him. He says your inner monster differs for everyone. The gang is looking for a way out of the village and they keep hitting dead ends and then Hyde is there and has them cornered.
Henry calls out to everyone and says he needs their help. He says his family is in danger and they can save them with magic. People laugh. He says he knows it sounds crazy but magic is real and all around. He says you just have to believe.
He says we need magic and says it can make the world a better place and it’s not impossible. He says once in your life, you were all believers. He says just believe. He tries to rally them to make a wish and return magic to the world.
He gets people to come to the fountain and hands out coins. A whole crowd gathers and they all start tossing coins. Regina adds another and then the crystal flickers some more. Emma says it’s working. Coins begin falling all around the gang in the other world.
Then a spire of water shoots up out of the fountain. Snow says it’s wishes and they run and jump into the portal and Hyde runs along too but seems to miss. Suddenly the others are all there and the crowd cheers as Emma tells Hook that was all Henry.
The crowd applauds and Henry says they all think it’s an act. Emma says they believed for a moment and that’s what mattered. She says you made the world believe for just a moment.
Hyde throws a fit of rage but then Gold is there – he went through the portal the other way while the others were coming back to NYC. Hyde says you’ll help me win the battle or you’ll never see your wife or child to be again.
Gold chokes him with magic and says give me the box or you die. Hyde says he can help him wake Belle. Gold lets him go. Hyde says he can give him the information to wake her from the sleeping curse. Hyde says he’s been a warden there to many from other lands and learned much.
Hyde says there’s one place that had the answer he seeks. Gold asks where. Hyde says let’s make a deal. Jekyll looks at his own story in the book and says he can make a fresh start in Stroybrooke. David and Hook report back that Gold must have slipped through the portal the other way.
Regina is out on her own and Snow finds her on the roof and brings her a hot drink. Regina says no hot cocoa but Snow pours in a shot of whiskey and says she doesn’t have to go through this alone. Regina disagrees. She says she has to open herself to pain to keep the evil queen at bay.
Regina says if she doesn’t keep her at bay, she loses too. Snow says there must be something they can do. Regina says she made a second wish at the fountain and wished the evil queen away so she could escape all that she did. Snow says they all forgive her.
Regina says she can’t unload the queen’s karma and baggage. She says it’s another useless wish. Snow asks if she wants a fresh start and says she may be able to make her wish come true. She asks how and Snow tells her about the serum.
She says it’s the serum that split him from Hyde. Emma says it could end the evil queen if that’s what she wants. Regina agrees. Snow says we can be the family they want. She says there will be a moment when the evil queen is disoriented and she can take her out.
Regina says they need to leave but Emma and Snow both insist on staying to help take her out. Regina says she’s ready and Snow shoots her with the serum. Regina starts to seize and struggle. She splits in two and the evil queen is there apart from her.
The evil queen grabs Regina and then they break apart from one another. They stare at each other. The evil queen says look at what you’ve become and then goes to kill Regina. Emma enchants chains onto the bad one. Emma says destroy her.
The evil queen says you’re weak and you can’t destroy our darkness. Regina creeps closer and the evil one says you know the truth – you need me. Regina says no and then yanks out her heart. Regina says I’m sorry and crushes it to ash. The evil queen blows away in dust.
The shackles fall to the roof unneeded and she blows away.
Back in Storybrooke, the yellow bug pulls up and Henry, Violet, Regina and Emma unload. Violet smiles at Henry and says her dad will be mad. Henry says he’s sorry if he got her in trouble. Violet says her dad didn’t go back because he’s not from Camelot.
She says he’s from this land – some place called Connecticut. She says he never felt at home there. OMG – her dad is from the story A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain. Henry kisses her and she goes.
Henry reminds his moms they need to untether the magic from the crystal. The other car shows up with Hook, Snow, David, Zelena and Jekyll. David goes to give Jekyll the town tour. Hook hugs Emma. She says she has to say something to him now that life isn’t insane.
Emma says I love you and he kisses her. Henry asks Regina how she feels after destroying the queen. She says free. Then she gets ready to deal with the crystal. It glows and then all the magic blows away and the crystal disappears.
Hyde is there and says thank you for that and says he’d hate to be trapped there without magic. Henry asks how he got there and Regina says Gold must have made a deal with him. He says he gave Gold some information in exchange for Storybrooke.
Hyde says he brought some friends and says he’s been looking for a land like this so all the lost stories can play out. Regina says she knows how his story ends – he loses. He says despite what she thinks, darkness is not as easy to snuff out as she thinks.
We see dark trails of magic leaching around and one is in New York City. Green smoke comes into The Dragon’s shop and takes form. It’s the evil queen. She says Regina never should have let me out to play.
Regina says there was a battle raging inside Regina and she may have won the fight but this is a war and it’s just begun. The queen yanks his heart out and says the queen is back. Nice. Looks like we’ve got our big bad for Season 6 in Hyde and the Evil Queen aka Dark Regina!
Be sure to come back this fall for LIVE recaps of Season 6 and be sure to check out pre- Season 6 Once Upon at Time spoilers at CDL as news breaks.
THE END!
