Souls of the Departed

Plot

In the Underworld, the fallen Storybrooke clock tower appears in a red-tinted forest. The Enchanted Forest events take place after Page 23 and before Hat Trick; Storybrooke events occur during Swan Song after Emma's deal with Mr. Gold and before the group's departure; Underworld events follow Hook's death in Swan Song. In the Enchanted Forest, Prince Henry tries to convince his daughter Regina to give up vengeance against Snow White, but she cannot let go.

He turns to the Magic Mirror to speak with Cora, believing the best way to force Regina past Snow White is to help complete her plot, which Prince Henry opposes. Cora has entered the Enchanted Forest through the mirror. Later, Prince Henry meets Snow White in the woods; the real Prince Henry approaches from behind, and Snow realizes the first Prince Henry was Cora, who rips out her heart. Cora takes Snow's heart to Regina as a birthday present, but learns Snow's heart was switched with a guard's. Prince Henry saved Snow by swapping the hearts.

Furious Regina shrinks her father and condemns him into the box that held the heart. Regina confronts Cora and sends her back into the mirror, sealing it forever; at the last moment Cora takes the box containing her husband. In a dream, Emma wakes in a car and is greeted by Neal, who says he is sending a long distance call from an old friend. He explains he is not in the Underworld, as it is only for those with unfinished business, and warns Emma not to go.

She refuses, and he kisses her forehead goodbye. As Emma, Gold, Mary Margaret, David, Henry, Regina, and Robin Hood arrive in the Underworld seeking Hook, they see a brimstone-hued version of Storybrooke. Gold says every soul with unfinished business lives there until it is fulfilled, and since they arrived they are ready to finish it, as Emma sees Cruella's car as an example.

Reception

The episode received positive reviews, though reviewers noted areas for improvement. Nick Roman of Rickey.org called Souls of the Departed a story of redemption and suggested the second half of season 5 could be redemptive for fans unhappy with the first half. Andrea Towers of Entertainment Weekly observed that Once Upon a Time has taken viewers to many settings over five years, and with this midseason premiere and 100th episode, the show offered something old (daddy issues), something new (the Underworld), something borrowed (a potion), and something blue (Hades' hair).

She expressed disappointment that despite being touted as a reunion episode, only Neal, Cora, and Pan appeared significantly from the past. She noted that Regina might become important to the Underworld storyline and that characters like Pan and Cora were persuading their living family members, with Cora asking Regina to leave and Pan asking Rumple to save him. Amy Ratcliffe of IGN gave the episode a 7.0 out of 10, stating that the return served as setup for the final half of season 5.

She said the Underworld allowed quick check-ins with many characters, but only Neal and Henry strongly impacted the story and the Storybrooke team. She found emotions flat except for Emma briefly seeing Hook, and questioned why Snow and Charming would spend time away from their newborn, but concluded the episode was about getting the board ready.