The Black Fairy’s curse has torn Emma and Henry away from their family. Can Henry remind his Mom who she really is in time for the Final Battle? Let’s recap how Once Upon a Musical brought us to this point and get a sneak peek of tonight’s two-hour finale!
Last week’s Once Upon a Time fulfills every expectation that the lead up to Once Upon a Musical and the CaptainSwan wedding promised. In past and present, we get to enjoy Disney’s signature singing and dancing. While a villainous threat almost prevails, family and love eventually win the day. It’s romantic and so beautiful.
“The Song in Your Heart” opens with young Emma, back in the group home in Minneapolis in 1991. She’s very excited about an upcoming talent show and is practicing her singing. This is until one of the older girls, mocks Emma, telling her that she isn’t special. Emma is now discouraged and, presumably, doesn’t enter the talent show.
In the flashback to the Enchanted Forest, Snow is increasingly frustrated with the Evil Queen’s threats. How are she and Charming supposed to protect their child? Charming tries to encourage Snow to rest, but before doing so, in an act of desperation she makes a wish that they could help Emma and give her a chance at a happy ending.
And the next morning, Snow and Charming wake up SINGING!!!
The first song “Powerful Magic” features Snow and Charming trying to figure out what’s going on, realizing that it’s a consequence of Snow’s wish the previous night, and that this is actually a good thing: “’cause love expressed through song is a weapon like the Queen has never seen!” This is how they’ll be able to defeat the Evil Queen and protect Emma.
When we meet the Evil Queen, we see that she is also bound up in singing spell. In “The Queen Sings”/”Love Doesn’t Stand a Chance”, the Evil Queen finds out from her Mirror about Snow’s wish and how it threatens her Dark Curse. The kingdom is all in joyous song, from the dwarves to Geppetto, Pinocchio, and Jiminy, and even Granny too. However, Evil Queen breaks into an awesome rock ballad emphasizing that “love is a waste of time. I’m here to tell you with love’s magic spell, you cannot match the power of mine.” Her Dark Curse won’t be stopped by the Charmings.
The Charmings need passage to reach the Evil Queen’s castle and go to a pub to commission Captain Hook’s Jolly Roger. However, Hook has no interest in their money; the only thing he wants in vengeance. And this begin’s Hook’s ode to Rumple “Revenge is Gonna Be Mine”: “Some say let it go, but I say hell no, I’m finally on the right path. Soon the Dark One will feel the fire of this pirate’s wrath!” Once the Charmings realize that Hook wants Rumple, they promise to turn him over in exchange for their passage.
Evil Queen goes to see Rumple, and interestingly, he isn’t bound by the Charmings’ singing wish. What’s more, if EQ wants to prove that Rumple was right to choose her to cast the Dark Curse, she better go find a way to fix things.
Meanwhile, Zelena, Wicked Witch of the West, watches this and sees an opportunity. Maybe when Zelena fails, Rumple will choose her, because “Wicked Always Wins”: “Oh, I will fly into tomorrow. My sister full of sorrow..Her life was so enchanted, she took it all for granted…Oh, evil may be powerful, but wicked always wins.” Zelena decides to trick EQ into using a spell she’s created. That way Zelena can swoop in, claim credit, and Rumple will realize his mistake.
Finally, the Snow and Charming arrive to face off against the Evil Queen. In “Charmings vs. Evil Queen” we have the ultimate battle via sing-off–
Snow/Charming: “With our daughter’s fate at stake, seems we found a lucky break. Now let our song show the powerful magic. Now let our song show the power we can make!”
Evil Queen: “Happy endings you will see, but the happy end will end with me! Love doesn’t stand a chance!”
EQ uses Zelena’s wicked spell and takes away everyone’s song.
Just when the Charmings think they’re down, the Blue Fairy comes to see them. She’s the one who granted Snow’s wish. Snow and Charming still have their song, but the magic isn’t meant to fight the Evil Queen; it’s meant for Emma. When the time comes for a Final Battle, Emma will have the voices of the people who love her inside her heart and she won’t be alone. According to Blue, when they all wake up tomorrow, no one will remember the magic singing. But who will remind Emma of the song in her heart? Blue didn’t know, but had hope…
In present-day Storybrooke, Emma, Killian, and company are making the final preparations for the wedding. Emma is trying to select her wedding dress when Snow says that her wedding dress made it over from the Dark Curse. Emma is very excited and agrees to wear the dress. However, when Snow brings the dress from the dry cleaners, and Emma is about to try it on (with Regina and Zelena too), the Black Fairy appears and destroys the gown. Now they know Rumple never banished her. Black Fairy makes an interesting proposal–if Emma surrenders her heart, Black Fairy will leave the rest of her loved one’s alone. Regardless, the final battle is coming.
When BF leaves, Emma, Snow, Regina, and Zelena go to the clocktower and see the threat is very real. There’s enough black fairy dust to curse Storybrooke ten times over… when the tower strikes 6pm (the time of CaptainSwan wedding), the dust will be released. Emma is determined to solve this on her own, but Regina, in particular, promises to stop the Black Fairy.
Meanwhile, Killian is with Charming on the Jolly Roger. Charming is trying to convince his future son-in-law to wear a white suit for the wedding and Killian seems less than excited. They’re interrupted by Emma who has come to tell KIllian about the Black Fairy’s threat to separate her from her family so she has to fight the Final Battle alone. Killian wants to help her, but Emma refuses. She wants to protect him. Emma seems to reassure Killian that she’ll be there for the wedding, but Killian sees through her. She’s come to say goodbye in case her plan doesn’t work.
Killian won’t let Emma tackle this alone and goes to confront Rumple and the shop. Killian knocks Rumple out with some dreamshade to keep him from continuing to help his mother. Unfortunately Black Fairy intervenes.
At the Sheriff’s station, Emma is sorting through family mementos when Henry joins her. He encourages Emma, telling her that she can win the Final Battle. It’s the reason she was brought to Storybrooke. While talking Henry plays the tape of Emma from 1991, when she was practicing her song, but Emma immediately turns it off.
Similarly, Regina and Zelena are searching for a loophole to stop the Black Fairy’s curse and develop and idea. If Regina can isolate the part of the curse that stops time, she can prevent it from happening. Regina makes a potion to do just that, but as she’s showing it to the Charmings, Rumple intervenes. He seizes the potion… When Emma confronts the Black Fairy at the Mayor’s office, we see that Rumple has used the potion to freeze Emma’s loved ones. BF then taunts Emma, calling her weak and hopeless. She also plays that same tune of Emma humming.
Emma returns to the Sheriff’s station with Henry and tries to regroup. She shares how hearing herself singing reminds her of a time when she was alone, when no one even cared to listen to her sing a song. Henry tries to reassure his mother: things have changed and she can still save everyone. Emma agrees to do so by sacrificing herself. She’ll give the Black Fairy her heart and leaves to do so.
Henry doesn’t know how to help his mom. He becomes upset and knocks the Fairy Tale book from the desk… and, as if by magic, the page about Blue placing the songs in Emma’s heart appear. This is how they could beat the Black Fairy! Henry rushes to meet Emma as she’s in the process of handing over her heart. Black Fairy removes Emma’s heart and tries to crush it, but isn’t able to. Emma’s heart is stronger and the source of that strength is “Emma’s Theme”: “All the years of running, no, not anymore. I know what I’m living for. I’m no longer searching. Turns out all along the answer was inside me with a song.”
Emma breaks the spell that’s freezing her family and Henry returns her heart. They’ve won, for now! But Black Fairy still promises her curse will come.
Regardless, Emma and Killian will enjoy the time they have left. They get married! Emma and Killian, surrounded by their family and friends, recite their vows of love and exchange rings. They promise to love each other for all eternity and it’s SO LOVELY.
Jiminy declares Emma and Killian husband and wife…not an HEA, but “A Happy Beginning”: “Used to think that’s what I wanted, but now I finally know…There’s no storm we can’t outrun. We will always find the sun. Leave the past and all its scars, a happy beginning now is ours.”
We are treated to a beautiful, choreographed song, with CaptainSwan, the Charmings, Regina/Zelena/Henry, and the townsfolk in celebration!
Unfortunately, they are interrupted when the clock strikes 6pm and the Black Fairy’s curse is released. We have no idea what’s coming, but Emma promises: “Wherever we end up, we’ll win.”
What is your favorite part of Once Upon a Musical? Favorite song? Share your thoughts in comments!
Now, we must turn our thoughts to tonight’s Once Upon a Time Season 6 TWO-HOUR finale. There are so many questions, but this preview gives some insight about what to expect.
Click on the number 2 right below (under the related posts) to read on!