Mostly agree with Snow and Charming being bad rulers of their kingdom. Not being able to harm them didn’t mean, that Regina couldn’t still have tried to pay back by harming everybody else they love or care about (so pretty much everybody else, as ruler they should care about their people). At best it was naiv, maybe hoping, that if they were protected, Regina wouldn’t dare to attack anyone else to get back on them, after all they could have gone after her again if. Well, good people sometimes lack the imagination what evil people are capable of (and I say so despite that I think, that no one is all good or all evil, but indeed mostly good people sometimes seem to lack what one might call evil creativity and imagination, they may just don’t want to believe, that anyone is capable of some things)
Don’t agree on Emma being naiv or inconsistent. Maybe Gold could have tricked them, okay, he was the only one who seemed to know about what a dreamcatcher can be good for, so right, can’t be sure this were indeed Pongo’s memories. But it wasn’t like she was all trusting Gold, and very sure not at first. Now, we know, he didn’t trick them, those were Pongo’s memories. What bugged me about it a little though was, that eventually looking at these memories just some seconds longer might have shown them something else – but Emma was too emotional to hold it up any longer I guess, she dropped the dreamcatcher.
And because I think, they could have seen more, don’t think Cora had that in mind when letting Pongo alive. She might have done it on purpose nevertheless. She needed him to stay quite while doing her show and kidnapping Archie, but later very well served to alert someone, that something did happen to Archie (wonder if the paralyzing spell just wore off after some time or if she set Pongo free at a time it suited her).
Emma was harsh to Regina after she was convinced, that Regina did kill Archie, true. And right, legally Regina still would have the rights of a mother, and not Emma. But, we’re not in some normal town here, it’s not like our laws really apply to Storybrooke. So we have to talk about moral. We know, that for a change Regina is innocent, but Emma doesn’t. Emotions were running high.
We were meant to feel for Regina here. In contrast to what they told happened in the Enchanted Forest before she enacted the curse, the way that was told we should see there more her evil side. Like that the writers did that. Of course turned out in the end again, that Rumple played them all (what an imp he is). And now Cora played them in present Storybrooke.
@EvilQueen wrote:
Now there’s absolutely NOTHING that will help Regina, nothing can be unsaid and obviously she’ll come back to the dark side.
Not giving up all hope for Regina, but it was not to be expected to be ever easy for her.
Other things:
The dreamcatcher – very interesting. There was a dreamcatcher in Neal’s apartment, probably the one he once “found” together with Emma. So, now let’s go for some happy speculations! 😛
That execution scene, hmmmm. It didn’t hit me that much in the sneak peek, but seriously, excuting someone with shooting arrows at them is a very ineffective, unreliable and even cruel way. A skilled beheading is a quicker death – and we know, they had guillotines in the Enchanted Forest, King Georg wanted to use one on Charming (and they were here in that very same castle). (And didn’t see a dramaturgical advantage to use arrows instead)
Regina had the best lines in this episode
to Archie: Doctor? Doctor. Need I remind you, you got your doctor from a curse.
to Red: Private conversation. Go take yourself for a walk! 
And Hook to Cora: Well, aren’t you mom of the year. 😆
A few minor weaknesses in the writing, but all in all it was a great episode, a good kick-off for the second half of the season, with some interesting character and overall story development and things to think about.
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