Once Upon A Time 7x18 "The Guardian" Episode Review

Why am I still watching Once Upon A Time? I wanted to give the reboot season a shot and it's confirmed as the final season. So I will continue watching until the end. I'm sure the finale episode will be nostalgic because Emma Swan and her parents are returning to conclude the series.

This episode centered around Gold and his quest to reunite with Belle. It also confirmed what we suspected all along: Alice is the true Guardian, and he knew this the entire time. Here's why he hadn't tried to use her since the curse took them to Hyperion Heights.

Spoilers Ahead:

We are thrown into Fairy Tale Land story of Rumple's attempt at turning Alice into the Guardian. He visits Belle's shrine, but his moment is interrupted by Facilier, who wants the Dark One's dagger for himself. Facilier tries to kill Rumple using the voodoo doll trick, but it obviously doesn't work. Rumple reacts violently and puts him in a magical chokehold. 

Facilier warns the DarK One that he is running out of time to reunite with Belle. He needs to hurry before the darkness corrupts him. Rumple looks at his graying skin and leaves Facilier to grab his Guardian. 

Nook finds Rumple lurking and warns him to leave his daughter alone. He doesn't believe in Rumple's redemption like everyone else and parts this warning to Alice as well in a letter delivered by Robin. They are too damn cute. Alice tells Robin that she has been to many realms, but the best adventure is the one when she's stayed put: with Robin. 

After Robin leaves and Nook is nowhere nearby, Rumple enters Alice's home, but she is skeptical about talking to him despite their past friendship. She is not willing to talk to him until Rumple reveals a potential cure for her father's heart. Poor Alice gives her attention. Stop manipulating people Rumple! Learn your lessons about being good already!

Rumple sends Alice to Facilier's camp, claiming the man has the magic to cure Nook's heart. He instructs her to rip his heart out and to crush it, revealing the truth about the test he planned for her. The test to see if she is the Guardian and pure of heart. She refuses to kill Facilier and puts his heart back in his chest, leaving the place distraught. 

I didn't understand how or why she pulled his heart out in the first place. This might play into the naive part of her character, but it seemed off how she was willing to taking a person's vital organ. But she passed the test... she didn't kill the man. Why does she keep listening to Rumple is what boggles my mind. Alice knew he lied to her, but she is still willing to listen him. That's just outright stupidity. 

Rumple prepares Alice to take on his burden. When asked how, Rumple doesn't know. He probably thought he wouldn't get this far. Well, luckily Alice can hear the dagger and it instructs her on what to do. First she is able to call it to her and the darkness gets pulled out of Rumple's body into the dagger. 

But once Belle's last words came out of her private shrine, Rumple has a change of heart and takes back the dagger. He doesn't want to make Alice suffer through the immortality of keeping the darkness safe, comparing it to putting her into another tower. He ships Alice and Robin too and wants her to claim that happiness.

Eventually, Rumple succumbs to the darkness, reverting to his pre-cursed appearance with the crocodile skin, but he is a much changed man. Nook acknowledges the sacrifice Rumple made for his daughter and buries the hatchet, claiming they will have a new story. The Dark One and a Pirate being friends. Just like with the original Hook. 

In Hyperion Heights, Weaver (Rumple) and Rogers (Nook) go check on Nick, the serial killer, but find him dead on the table. Weaver finds evidence that it was Facilier's doing and runs to the evidence looker for his dagger. It is missing, and he is terrified, something Rogers has never seen before on his partner.

Weaver talks to Roni (Regina) for her help in locating the dagger and asks for some magic. She refuses to hand over the only piece of magic she has to fix Henry's heart, reminding him once again Henry is his grandson. He seems to keep forgetting the boy is family.  This prompts Roni to go talk to Samdi (Facilier), who claims not to have it.

The Dark One is not convinced and confronts Samdi on its whereabouts in addition to stealing Roni's magic. He points a gun to Samdi's chest, but Samdi warns him if he commits murder, he will never be reunited with Belle in the afterlife. Weaver backs down and Samdi magically whisks him back into his car. This upsets Weaver who tosses his gun aside and drives off. 

Meanwhile, Tilly(Alice) and Margot(Robin) spend the day together when "voices" start to bother Tilly: going to the library and eating lots of food. Most people are put off by Tilly's weirdness, but Margot not only tolerates it; she embraces it wholeheartedly. I love them so much and how they're able to fall in love with each other all over again with their cursed selves. 

Margot wants to make her feel better about the "voices", but her attempts at romance do not stop the madness in her mind. She even gives Tilly the same bracelet she gave her back in Fairy Tale Land. So romantic! Tilly is jealous about Margot's adventures outside of Hyperion Heights, but Margot is sure Tilly will have her own adventures someday. She has no idea how right she is! Tilly eventually runs off when the voices become too much.

Tilly and Weaver meet up at her usual spot. Weaver has no time for her because he is desperate for his dagger. When Tilly tells Weaver about the voices in her head, he figures out the dagger is speaking to her and finds it in her possession. She acted unwillingly as the Guardian and protected it when it became endangered.

He claims the dagger back but is met with a furious Roni. She doesn't forgive him for taking the one chance she had to cure Henry and tells him their friendship is over. After seven seasons, Regina thinks Gold hasn't changed after all. Ouch! Hitting him hard in the character development. I can't say I disagree.

Gold's character development got messed up after seasons 3 and 4.

Other stuff that happened. Henry is wrestling with what he went through with Nick in last week's episode. Jacinda blames herself for what happened to Henry. She offers to talk about it with him, but Henry isn't ready to drop the bomb on her about the DNA test saying Lucy is his daughter.

Instead he meets with Rogers for help. Henry wants to talk to Nick, but Rogers tells him he's dead and needs to find out why. The two of them go to Nick's apartment for clues, where Henry found the paper saying he's the father of Lucy. They also run into Drew, who is looking for something to protect himself from Samdi / Facilier. 

This results in both Rogers and Henry getting closer to the truth. Rogers learns Nick's heart was pierced from the inside. He is perplexed at this and Henry goes to tell Jacinda about Lucy's parentage. This is a crazy thing to drop on a woman you met months ago and never even kissed. How have they not kissed yet? I know if they do, they die, but c'mon! No way Lucy could've stopped them at every turn, right?!

Regina needs to take an active role in episodes again. Without Zelena and Ivy, the seventh season lost stamina and the characters remaining are not doing a good job keeping my interest. Alice and Robin scenes need to keep happening, but Samdi and Roni (Facilier and Regina) need to stop. Their romance makes no sense. He is a villain! Your romance will not end well at all. Ugh! 

But I will continue watching anyway. I do not easily give up.