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"Oh my word. I know a lot of people adore Once Upon a Time but I&amp;#039;ve personally found the first season to be a little bit of a mixed bag. It can be immensely enjoyable at times, but I was of the opinion there wasn&amp;#039;t enough progression in Storybrooke. It&amp;#039;s like the writers were listening in on my thoughts, though, because the season finale &amp;#039;A Land Without Magic&amp;#039; is utterly insane. More happens this week than the previous 21 combined. That it was unexpected in the way the episode was jam-packed with pivotal events made the hour even more memorable.  Henry is rushed to hospital after he ate Regina&amp;#039;s poisoned apple turnover, but his sacrifice wasn&amp;#039;t in vain. Within the first five minutes, Emma is converted into a believer. All of this build-up has finally paid off - and shockingly so soon into the episode. Dr Whale (David Anders) unknowingly provided the slight nudge by suggesting Henry&amp;#039;s state is unexplainable. When Emma finally opens her mind to the possibility that there might be magic, her memories as a baby flash before her eyes, and she awesomely confronts Regina as she arrives at the hospital. Emma&amp;#039;s realisation works because of her previous refusal to see what&amp;#039;s blatantly in front of her. Remember &amp;#039;The Stranger&amp;#039; when August shows Emma his wooden leg? Now a believer, she sees August in his true form - and is with him as he dies, making the full transition into a wooden man. Emma and Regina form an uneasy alliance to save Henry, and go to Gold who directs Emma to slay a dragon inside which a potion of true love resides. The ferocious battle is intertwined with scenes from the Enchanted Forest, where Charming (who escaped the Evil Queen&amp;#039;s clutches with help from Jamie Dornan&amp;#039;s Huntsman) shoves Rumplestiltskin&amp;#039;s potion into dragon-form Maleficent (Kristin Bauer van Straten). The action has noticeably improved - though the fairytale mayhem was more fun to watch than Emma&amp;#039;s awkward attempts at taking down the beast. A sword to the chest turns the dragon into dust, and Emma retrieves the potion. Of course, Gold has his own motives for the potion to be retrieved, and tricks Emma into giving it to him. At the same time, an angry Jefferson, promising revenge on Regina after she declares their deal in &amp;#039;An Apple Red as Blood&amp;#039; void, has seemingly harmed Henry before freeing Belle (Emilie de Ravin) and telling her to go to Gold. In the Enchanted Forest, Charming - as we know - resurrects Snow with a kiss and they plan to take back the kingdom together, providing storytelling opportunities for next season.  In Storybrooke, Emma and Regina get phone calls from the hospital and make haste there only to be told Henry is dead. A kiss and an &amp;quot;I love you&amp;quot; from Emma, though, and Henry awakens. And not just him either - the whole town awakens from the curse. It&amp;#039;s such a brilliant shock because it&amp;#039;s not something you would expect to happen after just one season. Everyone realises who they are (though it&amp;#039;s worth bearing in mind that they remain in Storybrooke), and it&amp;#039;s an amazing scene. When you&amp;#039;re invested in these characters so much, it&amp;#039;s hard not to get teary. Best of all is when Mary Margaret and David find each other and reunite. Belle also remembers much to the delight of Rumplestiltskin. But Gold has something to sort out first - he drops the true love potion into the wishing well. At first, I was expecting him to bring Baelfire back into his life, but it&amp;#039;s something far more drastic and sweeping than that. &amp;quot;Magic is power,&amp;quot; he states as thick purple smoke pours out of the well and soon covers the entire town. A previously despondent Regina looks out of her window and smirks. Everyone else can only stare in shock. We can only wait until season two to find out the consequences - but &amp;#039;A Land Without Magic&amp;#039; is a top-notch season closer that&amp;#039;s rewarding and surprising in equal measure. What did you think of the season finale? What do you think will happen in season two? Leave your comments below! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/once-upon-a-time/review/a381537/once-upon-a-time-recap-major-changes-in-finale-a-land-without-magic/>