What were your LIKES for the entire series ….

Alright, I’ll play. How about two from every season?

SEASON ONE

–Emma breaks the Curse by kissing Henry

–Rumple smashes the Dark One’s castle with his cane after Belle’s TLK; while Gold beats Moe in SB.

SEASON TWO

–Nealfire and Rumple’s three minute conversation in Manhattan (my all time favorite moment in the entire series)

–Neal tells Emma not to let Henry grow up like they did before he and Emma say “ILY” to each other.

SEASON THREE

–Neal breaks free of Rumple to send a message to Hook to find Emma; a hero until the end.

–Snow and Charming saying goodbye to Emma at the townline before Regina undid her curse.

SEASON FOUR

–All the hilarity of “Shattered Sight”

–Evil Snow and Charming of the “Heroes and Villains” book

SEASON FIVE

–Neal and Emma meet in the bug before the heroes get to the Underworld

–Hades declares to Zelena that the Underworld could be “our decay”

SEASON SIX

–Emma’s song in the musical episode

–Snow and Charming’s song in the musical episode

SEASON SEVEN (so far, might change after the series finale)

–Rumple throwing the dagger to the ground after Belle tells him she wants to build a home without magic

–Henry’s essay to Regina as he gets ready to leave home.

Side note: S4 and S6 were super hard to come up with….

For me, Emma is the best thing about this show. Real Emma from the first few seasons. The Emma that was an abused child that was really angry at her parents who abandoned her. The Emma that was learning what it meant to be a mom and a friend and to be part of a community. The Emma that was an abused child who was neglected and used as a child. The Emma who was left by Henry’s father and didn’t know how to trust a partner because of that. The Emma who wanted home and found and lost that with Neal, then found it again with Henry and Snow. The early Emma that was complicated and flawed and real and had a painful backstory was the best thing about this show.

That was all very quickly lost and was all but gone by the end of Season 2 and certainly by the end of 3. They completely rewrote that character in a lot of ways. She was no longer trying to make things right with her parents that was all “resolved” even though it was barely discussd. She was no longer trying to be Henry’s mother. She was no longer standing up for what was right, but instead was just doing what was good for herself. There would be brief nice scenes now and then with Emma and her parents or with Henry or with Neal, but it never held true to what they showed us in the first season and a half or so.

Still, the early concept of Emma was what was good about this show and the person that everything about the show swung around. Her scenes with all the mains were great. With Snow, with Charming, with Henry, with Regina, with Rumpel, and with Neal were the soul of the show and when they started pulling those things out of the show, the show died.

Season One:

Snow and Charming’s falling in love story. They were so cute!

Emma breaking the curse.

Season Two:

Finding out Bae and Neal were the same person.

Cora trying to steal Emma’s heart and it not working.

Season Three:

Emma and Hook’s kiss!

Regina breaking the curse.

Season Four:

Emma asking Hook out on a date (I can, and have, watched that scene over and over).

Evil Snow and Charming. Some of Ginnifer Goodwin’s best acting.

Season Five:

I know I’m in the minority, but I loved the whole Dark Swan and Dark Hook storyline. I still cry at Hook’s death.

James and Cruella in Hades was fun.

Season Six:

Hook’s second proposal to Emma.

The wedding/musical episode.

Season Seven:

The whole episode of Beauty, and I’m not a Rumbelle shipper at all.

Regina reading Henry’s letter.

I really wish I had time to re-watch season one again for this but for now here are a few of my favorite Once moments from memory in roughly chronological episode/time order (warning high ‘Skin Deep’ content).

Rumple’s kills Zoso and transforms into The Dark One as Zoso laughs, “I know how to recognize a desperate soul’ (which is later echoed by Rumple to Emma).

Rumple makes a deal for Belle, ‘congratulations on winning your little war!’.

Rumple’s quips/The chipped cup!

Belle falls into Rumple’s arms while trying to pull down the drapes.

Belle holding the rose that was Gaston and then she cuts off his feet (lower stem).

Rumple destroying things in the dark castle after hearing about Belle’s ‘death’ from that evil witch, Regina.

Emma arrests Mr. Gold.

Regina confronts a jailed Gold and makes him tell her his name…Rumplestiltskin!

Rumple comes to David on his farm and tells him about his twin brother. I just love that scene.

The twist reveal that Ruby/Red IS the werewolf stalking her village.

Cora’s death from Snow’s whispering ‘Cora‘ over the candle to Rumple’s sudden return to health return to heath (including the sweet phone call to amnesiac Belle) with that slightly open shirt as he stands over Cora like a boss.

The camera pan that reveals Malcolm becoming Peter Pan.

Rumple overcoming his fears to kill his father (and himself) to save the town.

The Rumbelle wedding vows!
Belle: Rumplestiltskin, this thing we have, it’s never been easy. I’ve – I’ve lost you so many times. I’ve lost you to darkness. To weakness and… And finally, to death. But now I realize – I realize that I have not spent my life losing you. I’ve spent my life finding you.

Mr. Gold: Belle, when we met I wasn’t just unloved and unloving. I was an enemy of love. Love had only brought me pain. My walls were up. But you broke them down. You brought me home. You brought light into my life and chased away all the darkness. And I vow to you I will never forget the distance from who I was (places a ring on Belle’s finger) … and what I am. I owe more to you than I can ever say. How you can see the man behind the monster, I will never know.

Belle: But the monster is gone. And the man beneath him may be flawed, but we all are. And I love you for it. Sometimes the best book has the dustiest jacket. And sometimes the best tea cup is chipped.