This past Sunday saw the third season of “Once Upon A Time” come to an epic close. The two-hour season finale had two titles: “Snow Drift” and “There’s No Place Like Home.” After last episode’s defeat of Zelena (Rebecca Mader, “The Devil Wears Prada”), it looks like things will be going back to normal in Storybrooke—that is, until Zelena’s residual magic opens a portal to the past that sucks in an unsuspecting Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison, “House M.D.”) and Captain Hook (Colin O’Donoghue, “The Rite”). Emma and Hook end up in the Enchanted Forest of Emma’s parents’ past, with no way to return home.

For those who have yet to see the finale, read no further, because spoilers will abound. In their quest to discover a way back to Storybrooke, the two come across a variety of well-known characters like fan favorites Rumpelstilskin (Robert Carlyle, “28 Weeks Later”), Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin, “Walk the Line”) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas, “Thor”). Emma accidentally interrupts her parent’s first meeting, which could very well lead to Emma disappearing from the current reality. Emma, with Hook in tow, must make her way through the Enchanted Forest, trying not to disrupt anything else in time—yet Emma accidentally gets locked away by the Evil Queen Regina (Lana Parilla, “Spiders”) and upon her escape, brings her fellow cellmate with her. The three make it back to Storybrooke eventually, where several events occur to set up the plot for next season.

Upon Emma and Hook’s arrival back to the Storybrooke and the diner where the townspeople are meeting, it is discovered that the woman Emma brought back to Storybrooke is none other than Robin Hood’s (Sean Macguire, “Meet the Spartans”) wife. This becomes a bit tricky due to the fact that Robin and the newly-reformed Regina are an item. Regina is absolutely infuriated with Emma, which speaks to clashes between the two in the fourth season. Yet the closing scene of the film looks to be the most exciting. Emma accidentally brought back someone else from Rumpelstilskin’s dungeon, where she had created a portal—none other than Elsa, the ice queen from newly released “Frozen.”
With only a few minutes left in the show, the writers pay excellent homage to the past season. Rumpelstilskin and Belle (Emilie de Ravin, “Lost”) get married and their vows voice over the happiness spreading all through Storybrooke, including the long-awaited kiss between Emma and Hook. The season finale is filled with many exciting twists and turns, which speaks to the excitement that will probably come with next season.

Several of the writers’ choices would be considered questionable though. Bringing back Robin’s wife takes away from a lot of the happiness and goodness that Regina has developed in the past two seasons. It seems the writers want to continually give Regina the hard road. Also, the addition of Elsa could go either way—if Elsa is going to become an evil character, it will draw fans away from “Once Upon a Time” by not staying loyal to “Frozen,” but if she is not evil, then it probably means Regina will take up that mantle.

Since “Once Upon A Time” is a show based on fairytales, it is often not taken seriously because of its subject matter, but this season finale definitely works to prove the show’s place on the ABC roster. Hopefully the newest season does not collapse into some of the aforementioned pitfalls, but the large and skilled variety of actors will ensure a good story even if they do. “Once Upon a Time” was recently renewed by ABC, unlike its spinoff “Once Upon A Time in Wonderland.” Look for season 4 beginning sometime this fall.