I’ve had a night to think about this episode and I think my stance is going to change a bit. I think it’s better than I originally thought. I still think the Hades/Zelena backstory was warp speed and under-developed but the actors know how to sell the limited material and god knows there were a lot of fun lines when you have such over the top characters interacting.
And while anything to do with Hook/Emma/Snow/Charming fell flat and boring (seriously, they are just sitting around fretting!) the final scene between Hades and Zelena was actually really good and powerful and almost (almost!) made up for the faster than lightening romance of the past. It helped sell the need for present day drama instead of spending an entire episode developing the past relationship which would have been good in this case. I also thought a lot of truth bombs Zelena gave to Robin were spot on (love the saving the pirate line vs being a father) though @Onceaholic is right that Zelena’s magic was *super* convenient.
There are some meaty ideas with Rumple and Belle and even with whatever is being done wit Henry (the blackouts feel too intentional to not be something).
In short, this episode goes to show that a good (great) performance or two can trump a story line that would fall flat otherwise. Still not my favorite of the season (Devil’s Due) but it’s a good second, tied with Souls of the Departed.