ONCE UPON A TIME Full Series Recap | Season 1-7 Ending Explained

[@smallroomartist]

Everyone that wasn’t able to experience this as it aired has no clue just how good this got before it got really, really, REALLY bad.

[@hypnosr0x]

At the start was really good, Rumpletiltskin and the Queen were so fcking good... And then it turned REAL REAL bad... Jesus... Idk how I even managed to watch till the end

[@drippedinlit]

I remember, dear lord how I remember. I didn’t make it to the end though…

[@jordanmann420]

What after season 2?

[@aaronflynnptfc]

I mean they can watch it online and see when it went from good to bad

[@fantasticfan777]

@@jordanmann420hey! Back then 2 seasons was like 60 episodes 😂😂

[@JennyJ520]

This show just confirms people need to get out of their small towns before they all become related.

[@mulmareun]

💀💀💀💀

[@donnettepalmer6798]

😂😂agreed

[@renahime_]

💀💀💀

[@jeebanjeeban87]

🤣😂🤣😂

[@cupidok2768]

Henry looks so different and Emma just disappear and the last story like most of the characters are gone. I didn't know Hades was a fairy tale. It's so different watching this recap is like they don't make sense

[@jay_____ber]

As someone who watched all 7 seasons it was pretty good up to season 3. The revelation that Balefire was actually Henry’s father was f*cking mind blowing. Season 7 is just a rehash of season 1 idk why that ever existed.

[@alicealfred9986]

Same…. I think it got boring for me after season 5…..like Rumple backstabbing them everytime !

[@juststeve2579]

I agree I was hooked on this show for like the 1st 3 seasons.. but they added way to many characters that couldn't even stay on the show.

[@bigdeboatl23]

Once the Wicked Witch and Frozen came in it was dog water.

[@normalgirlcvco]

@@bigdeboatl23for me frozen was the started of the downfall, Neverland was peak in my opinion

[@kennyhudson9201]

I stopped watching after she broke up with Balefire and chose Hook. The show just wasn't the same anymore. Once Upon A Time is supposed to have true love from the beginning none of that kid by you and be with some one else stuff that we all live in regular life. It was supposed to be a fairy tale. I only caught it a few times after that and read a summary once, but it never drew me back.

[@DuendeTortuga]

This show had some pretty neat concepts (I remember liking Peter Pan's story the best, he made for an interesting villlain) but it ran for way too long, added way too many characters and storylines, it was a vicious circle of fighting evil, winning, a couple of seconds of peace, and then start all over again..

[@jadedavis822]

I agree I loved the concept but they kept restarting over and over

[@2012lexie]

Yeah, they had no business adding Frozen before they got to all the classics. It was too much and unnecessary. I also find it messed up that they made Mulan gay. That took away from another important part of Mulan's story.

[@nhyirasefa-badu2110]

And at some point everyone was related to each other

[@K_J_Coleman_Composer]

The reveals that Rumpelstiltskin was both the Crocodile AND the Beast were inspired.

[@tomiharv]

emma not being in season 7 and regina being henrys “true love” made no fucking sense i actually wanted to set the writers room on fire

[@mysticvaulttv]

Its not the writers fault bro. Emmas actress left the show

[@K_J_Coleman_Composer]

The show died long before that... Probably when the spin offs started.

[@Sun_Tzu13]

​@@K_J_Coleman_Composer Wait they have spin-off?

[@K_J_Coleman_Composer]

@@Sun_Tzu13 Once Upon A Time In Wonderland really is the only one, but yeah! It was fine, but I think they spread themselves too thin.

[@aaronbentley6373]

The Frozen characters were completed cut and pasted from the film. All of the other characters felt like their own OUAT characters with some nice similarities to their original story/films. The Frozen characters dressed the same, looked the same, acted the same and even used quotes from the film. Elsa should have been a super villain, which they did with Peter Pan and Rapunzel.

[@Damnsaburna]

It wouldn’t work with ana cuz she technically is the protagonist for frozen. Seems they reversed it for ouat because elsas character lines up with the whole redemption arcs that ouat likes to harp on and she is more popular.

[@zellalaing5439]

They seemed sooooo jarring, like you say, cute and paste, also NO ONE looks good in a real life version of the elsa dress.

[@patax144]

I got into OUAT during that time and while it was pretty weird seeing the actresses in basically party princess costumes, I do think they did a fine job and adding the snow queen storyline at least paid hommage to the origins of the story, they tried to have it both ways, I don't think Elsa as a villain would have worked unless they just did The Snow Queen, but Disney probably made them promote the movie so it have to be copy paste, they also did a copypaste later with Merida and it did work better, probably learning of what happened with Frozen.

[@CamSeanoaTolls26]

Watching this made my brain hurts. I remember watching it here and there when it was airing but damn this is the most convoluted restart heavy shows I've ever seen 😂. Classic

[@zero1188]

sheesh from the first 1 min of the recap i was confused. had to watch the 1-3mins over like 5 times. so glad i watched the recap and not the show. this show is like riverdale if it took itself seriously

[@JEM471025]

@@zero1188I binged the first 4 seasons on Netflix years ago. And watched S5 & S6 as they were airing. And it would be remembered more fondly if it ended at s6 like it was supposed to. S7 should have never existed honestly.

[@jabjab6019]

Mines hurt too 🥲

[@reysterlightwood4127]

The amount of portal sucking, stabbing, heart-pulling, sacrificing, untold relations, and forgetting what the fuck happened to the other characters like Red Riding Hood, her Granma, Aurora, Mulan, Etc., made me snot blood.

[@favourawuzie5211]

Watch the series they made appearance had a storyline everything is interwined. He can't capture everything in recap

[@kianabrash]

So many ❤s😊

[@victoriag2413]

The recap proving how unhinged this show really got. Loved it, but dang, insane.

[@EKsUrbanTracks]

Curse. Memory loss. Memory restoration. Good now bad, bad now good. This fairy tale character is this fairy tale character's secret relative. The Dark One. The blade. A sacrifice. Lost cameos. True-love's kiss. Resurrection. The Enchanted Forest is under threat. In a nutshell. I'll go look at a family tree, this is gonna be fun. Thank you for this recap!

[@agent95_]

This became a soap opera more and more… and I loved it.

[@timothymukhooli5417]

Season 1 - 11 million views Season 2 - 10 million views Season 3 - 9 million views Season 4 - 8 million views Season 5 - 6 million views Season 6 - 4 million views Season 7 - 3 million views Started so good but got really bad Season 1 - 11 million views

[@4happythoughts]

i still like watching it... but very confusing

[@LaunchpadGamingGuy]

Bless you for having the patience to actually watch this entire show. It just really went off the rails quick.

[@willyoscarlehman3223]

So many realms, curses, alliances, bad guy turning good, good gguy turning bad, i wonder how the writers were ever able to keep track

[@Rachelas]

I love when characters in a show aren’t confined to being good or bad and switch based on situation. That said that does not apply for this show as a lot of the bad deeds are unredeemable and making these characters good after such bad deeds is just bad writing.

[@c.k.mcknight8921]

I think one of the biggest cases of this was Regina's murder of Graham. Her redemption was written well over the course of the first three seasons, but she never answered for that.

[@sarap275]

redeeming zelena after what she did to robin was not ok with me. that had to be the worst, creepiest, most inappropriate story line they wrote for this show

[@c.k.mcknight8921]

@@justsomeguywithnomustache6245 Oh, absolutely. Regina's redemption and her progression from Evil Queen to Good Queen was a fantastic story.

[@eamza7455]

@@c.k.mcknight8921if you think about it tho, graham had died prior to her cursing everyone so him dying in storybrooke actually makes perfect sense

[@JasonToddsThighs]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who hates Regina for this. She is NOT how you write a flawed, "morally grey" character. You simply cannot expect your villain to have any sort of redeemable qualities after making them a rapist ...

[@alicesimone3190]

The revival of Once Upon A Time video essays is amazing 😭

[@thathuglover]

the nostalgia this show brings>>> chaotic, but nostalgic. i didn't even get to finish it at that time, I was devastated. this recap makes me want to watch it again but at the same time, not.

[@jay_____ber]

Imagine your mentor stealing both your mom and girlfriend/baby mama.😂

[@ke11even_official]

maleficent, ursula, and cruella de vil is the most random trio ever.

[@sassmos]

All three of them were best villain in their movies

[@LarkAnderson-lq1gi]

@@sassmos they were the only villains in their movies wdym 💀

[@Doctor_Pickney]

I never got this far in the series and I was like "why tf is Cruella considered to be on par with Maleficent and Ursula?"

[@LuluLuscious]

I watched this in real time-- having just graduated college and my mind was in a place where I was hopeful, experiencing the real world, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life... And I had lots of time on my hands. It was truly an incredible journey and I stopped watching at the end of season 6-- when Henry rode off into the portal. I tried watching some episodes of season 7, but as soon as I saw Regina as a barkeeper, I just couldn't follow. I'm thankful for this recap, as it brought back so many awesome, nostalgic memories. And it was a cool run-down of a seemingly-hectic season 7. Maybe I'll re-watch the seasons including season 7 in a future timeline but the comments below really foster such a Love from hearing how much everyone else enjoyed this series! I'll always remember the Vancouver Sun's article hyping up the Series Premiere of this and I'm so glad I gave it a go. I also got my cousins to give the show a try and we all loved it! :)

[@alliecat889]

I liked the first 3 seasons of the show and i did continue watching until season 7. But I forgot how convoluted and messed up this show is. What really annoyed me is that they kept growing the cast more and more and then they just kept on dropping threads and characters and never really explained what happened to them. there were so many mini plots that were just left in the air. i would have much rather seen a season 7 where they took care of all of the dropped stories lol.

[@fibanocci314]

Red Riding Hood just disappeared for five seasons only to pop back up suddenly lesbian.

[@nhyirasefa-badu2110]

​@@fibanocci314😂😂

[@StephanieMT]

i like how they had to write robin knocking up zelena becasue they wanted to keep bex mader in the show

[@pumpkinthepanda682]

Crazy how Neal was just forgotten but Emma went to hell for murderer hook. Plus Robin Hood wasn’t resurrected even tho he helped against hades

[@sassmos]

Yeah those were some BS I didn't like the show did when it was airing. I still don't as I heavily shipped Emma and Neal

[@SHANICEHIGGINS]

As a recap, there's so much going on lololol. But that's literally how it was watching it air. What a time to be alive

[@Book_Dragon2562]

I would argue OUAT suffered the same fate most great television series do. The first season did a great job of laying the foundation and establishing the world and characters. The next season or two did a great job of expanding that world. But inevitably the series started to wander and drift. This usually happens around season three or four in a series. But they pulled it together and wrote a great finale. The problem is they didn’t stop there. There was no need for a season seven. None. And the only good that really came from it was we got to see Regina crowned queen of the land and Emma and Hook’s baby was there. That last scene was beautiful but completely unnecessary.

[@madibabe356]

I remember watching this up until Emma became The Dark One. After that, I just remember the story getting way too confusing for me to follow (not to say it wasn’t confusing before).

[@sassmos]

Lmao same here

[@hameley12]

I just watched the series up until the fifth season. Then I saw a trailer for the musical episode. And I knew I had to see it to believe it! Colin O'Donohue's and Regina's voices. Wow! Wow! Most of the seasons after the 5th it became too confusing after its twists and turns. 😅😂😂😂

[@Nyejell]

This show was a Disney Fever Dream

[@joey.renaud]

7 years after this show ran for 7 years, I just finished watching this show for the first time...like 2 days ago. I wasn't expecting the whole story to be as good as it was!

[@JMTE27]

Should have ended at S4. I watched until S6. I could not bare S7 past the 1st episode. The 1st 4 Seasons were Magical & fantastic tv! I miss Regina.

[@nameless....]

I actually enjoyed season 1, it had an interesting story and the pace was good. I was never able to watch past this season; season 2 was too difficult to really get in to, and any other episode I came across was too confusing. Watching this... just, wow, and not in a good way. Thank you for the recap, truly saved me hours from trying to push through and finish the series.

[@vikashnath9858]

Same i too never watched past season 2

[@cate384]

Season 1 was great and feels like a completely different show from the rest. I always thought they should have kept the characters under Regina’s spell for a bit longer than one season. Once they all regained their memories, the show became a convoluted, weird, flaming pile of messy garbage😂 I liked a couple of things from seasons 2 and 3 (Neil/Baelfire being Henry’s dad & Pan being a villain), but it truly became unbearable after they brought back Zelena and made Rumple evil…again. He was worse than before. They made the heroes insufferable, put Regina through the exact same storyline over and over and over again, ignored all the original side characters and storylines, and forced in creepy and disturbing ones. My sister and I used to sit and discuss this show for hours, talking about how terrible it was. OUAT is truly one of the best examples of everything you shouldn’t do if you want a good, cohesive story.

[@Damnsaburna]

The number one thing i hated abt the show was how all these curses will be going on and whole time someone has been locked in the basement somewhere for 4 seasons 😂

[@njmusica]

😂😂😂

[@peppermintree]

Im also kind of sad they didnt connect more with one upon a time in wonderland. I was really hoping Anastasia wouldve been the red queen and cindarellas step sister.

[@Damnsaburna]

Red queen is reginas mother they already blew that story line

[@karawardlaw4090]

​​@@Damnsaburnano, she was the queen of hearts. The queen of hearts and the red queen were 2 different characters

[@h33-q8w]

​@@karawardlaw4090 I'm pretty sure the queen of hearts is the only queen from Alice In wonderland. I don't know who the red queen would be from..?

[@zaitheempressroll8922]

@@h33-q8w in the alice in wonderland books, the queen of hearts and the red queen are two very different characters.

[@delorvyy544]

The entire premise of once upon a time is just soo good

[@spectralevolution]

no gonna lie, you had me for those first 6 but that last just came out of nowhere

[@ashleystar4773]

It would of been great if it was a sequel series

[@ethanmattix]

This year was the tenth anniversary of the first episodes. I really wanted to do a rewatch, but I didn't know if I had the strength to sit through it all again. Thank goodness for this video. I feel like I'm good now.

[@MelonyMotley]

I'm so glad you covered this. I couldn't get through season 3 with Pan. It was drawn out and annoying after a while. I watched on and off season 4 & 5. Thank you!

[@harrypottersnumbrfan]

Slight correction on Neils life. When he left neverland he ended up in Victorian London where he met Wendy. THEN he went to neverland, spent around 200 years there before escaping back to earth

[@luumas]

So glad to have watched until end of 6 and just leave it as that… season 7 is too wild. This series was such a guilty pleasure

[@5punkybob]

I watched this with my then newly wed wife and we binged a lot of this and revenge. Was a great honeymoon as we didn’t have money to go away so we just enjoyed each others company.

[@waterbaby_princess]

Dear God this is SO convoluted. How could anyone understand what exactly was going on?? I watched the first 2 seasons and then due to circumstances beyond my control, never got to see it again.

[@ines5383]

OMG you NEED to do grey's anatomy one day, i literally need itttt

[@deanwinchester822]

I think that’s gonna a couple of hours long 😂😂

[@JMTE27]

That show has 74 seasons long lol 😂 it’s gonna take a mini series to recap GA

[@Skypost4ever]

Watching the chronological edit made me realize so much. This show is messed up. Reminder, Hook killed prince charmings real father. Hook is one of the oldest characters in the show. Rumpelstiltskin knew the future and waited so many years leading all the events in the enchanted forest leading to the evil queen enacting the curse just so he could be with his son.

[@Addyaddyaddy93]

LOL after so many years I finally know how it ended, thanks so much for the recap.

[@RossJW]

Watching every season as each episode dropped was crazy! I remember being so stunned by that Elsa reveal at the end of season 3 as Frozen was still a relatively new movie at the time and I never thought they'd jump so quickly into including those characters in the show. The low points of this show were really bad though. The whole Cruella, Maleficent, and Ursula storyline was awful and while season 7 was completely unnecessary, I do feel it was a good season. The show should've ended with season 6 and not end the season with that scene that made season 7 happen.

[@danielorlovaquinn]

The only season i got to watch live was season 4 and wow that ending? It had Middle school me in a GRIP

[@lthomas6022]

Thank you for recapping this series. I just started rewatching it. I used to love it back when it first aired.

[@aiyaoctave812]

I remember reading this story on wattpad many years ago, and the author was scouted for her book to be a tv show. Glad I stuck around to see it turn to a series before it went bad.

[@MsChinny7]

I’ve been waiting on someone for this, after watching the soprano recap , I’m glad it’s you!

[@jelly_toast0.3]

It's crazy how while watching this so many parts feel familiar yet some I can't remember at all. I think I most remember the characters that showed up like Merida and Ana and Else, etc but not really only of the story.

[@WhitneyDahlin]

Thank for doing full series recaps! I love them!! I've always preferred reading to watching movies and shows. I have a tough time getting through them even ones i enjoy. But I still want to know what happens in all of these shows! Thank you!

[@leithbouacida2483]

my fav series of all time I love every episode, every season, every character its so complex and emotional, yet entertaining, so so much mystery, you just never know where the story will go. Wonderfully told, I love the flashbacks and mirroring of stories. Bravo.

[@Skypost4ever]

I never actually finished this show, glad it ended on a happy ending.

[@silvagames616]

I really loved this show! Gold/rumple was my fav character. It got pretty weird towards the end but to think theres so much more disney content that couldve been brought into live action

[@benladd4791]

I mean Rumple single-handedly held the show together, once his character got shit we all stoped watching. Gold was such a great character

[@kellifavazza8021]

I wouldnt even know how to sum up this show. Theres so much going on in it. Thank you for this recap

[@HausOfTulito]

Haters gonna hate. This show was insane ngl! Absolutely WILD in the best possible way. Entertaining af from start to finish!

[@totallytorivideos]

I know right I love this show. Like ya it has moments that aren’t as good as others. Every long lasting show does

[@MrFlameboy15]

You are a godsend, dude!! I watched the show as it aired up to around season 5, then played catchup with season 6 by watching it on demand because watching more than 1 or 2 episodes a day without at least a couple days in-between was just too much for my brain to handle. Lmao. Once I finished season 6 (where it rightfully should have ended) and started season 7, i just couldn't do it anymore! 😂 Thank you for summarizing season 7 because I was dreading trying to understand all that convoluted mess on my own 😅😅

[@germainelensing4158]

Once Upon a Time is one of the most creative series I’ve ever seen, blending fantasy, drama, comedy, romance, and nostalgia beautifully. While the show initially developed relationships brilliantly, it later seemed to disregard or destroy them, like the lack of screen time for Rumple & Henry together. The inconsistent character arcs, especially in later seasons, were disappointing, although season seven brought back some intrigue. However, certain decisions like Emma’s downgrade, Neal’s death, and the absence of a meaningful Henry-Rumple relationship were hard to forgive. Overall, it’s a great series, but it’s unfortunate how beloved characters were sidelined without proper explanation

[@aleathacoleman6413]

I loved OUAT. It was like watching Heroes with all of the characters and their back stories.

[@lukemcgrath3504]

Always wondered what this show was about. Saved me so much of my life from being wasted. 🙏 This show is bonkers!

[@mishapresents6787]

This show just didn't know when to quit. But I'm glad I had a painless way to find out the full story.

[@thesaucyRN]

Omgggg I’ve never been so happy that I stopped watching a show-since Riverdale maybe?? because omg I can’t believe this was written and aired 😂

[@gamjc]

Thank you for this. I stopped around the time they brought the Cruella DeVil around and it kind of faded away. I legit didn’t remember many of these storylines 😅, so kudos for a superb recap!

[@kcmerollintheyhatin2599]

this show started so amazingly

[@IcePhoenix34]

Red's story was my favorite! The twist in the end shocked me.

[@dianeneglia]

The concept was unique. And for that alone I watched the show from the very first episode to the very last episode, and although there were some stories I didn't really like, I wasn't as confused as most of you were talking about. I felt that the last season was more of an epiloge, maybe unnecessary but nice to have. Kind of like the last 10 minutes of Joseph and the amazing Technicolor dreamcoat

[@geekychik86]

Wow, thanks for the recap. Now I know why I stopped watching after about season 3 but still, god damn it got convoluted by the end! I could barely keep up with the recap, let alone the actual show.

[@nattyism]

i’m going to task myself with making a flowchart of every single character’s relationship to each other by season and then make a giant flowchart

[@josephdlist]

Sounds crazy when you put it that way! -any 15 second segment of this video.

[@apple_far]

Am I the only one who enjoyed the endless battle between good and evil? So good.

[@MonkeyDRomanTheManTheMythTheLe]

The twist of peter pan was so amazing

[@bronzymcgrady1159]

I watched all seasons with my daughter and we both loved it.

[@rodster811]

I remember when this show dropped, and honestly, season 1 was pretty good. Then things just got too confusing, and the acting was really bad and cringe. Holy smokes, season 7 is so dumb.

[@UnofficialYe]

Loved the video, so which show is next to be full series recapped.

[@RecapAndChill]

Fear the Walking Dead after it airs its series finale. Then Sons of Anarchy shortly after

[@thesaucyRN]

@@RecapAndChillsons of anarchy!!!

[@IAmRachelQuirky]

18:29 i had to take a break cuz even the recap is too many charcaters and plot twists!! Great job pulling this convulsion into something more manageable, RNC

[@kst3286]

If they truly want to continue the spirit of OUAT, they should have just stop at season 6, then wait a few years until there is Disney+ and then greenlit a distant spin-off for streaming service.

[@judz-lg1xv]

Wow....is that Christian Grey playing the Sheriff in season 1?...cool

[@totallytorivideos]

I loved this show and tbh the beginning of season 7 wasn’t bad. It wasn’t the shows best but it still wasn’t bad. It all changed after they announced the cancelation like halfway through season 7 and then you could tell that they were scrambling to tie up Al the loose ends to end the series on a good note.

[@nicholethegr8motivator8]

They need to do all the stories by themselves like Once Upon A Wonderland which is on Disney

[@meoff7602]

I don't care what the haters say. I loved it all from beginning to end. Even Henry getting a season of him being grown up. Yeah, I know it was just like season 1. Don't care, loved it.

[@Lmuldrow]

The 100 is a good one to do too I haven’t seen anyone do a full series recap yet!!

[@RicardoHernandez-ih1fp]

I love this show!!!!! I literally was telling my 13 year old daughter how I loved and we should watch it.

[@amandaphillip1599]

One of the best TV series yet

[@Anonymous_Ki]

The lilly storyline was one of my favorite

[@TheRaverdaver]

"pushing thirty" oh that was the slap in the face I needed. 😅

[@Victoria-_]

I loved this show so much growing up!

[@izzyjoshuadavis]

Why did I forget that Frozen had a whole plot line in this show? 😂😂😂

[@Rosey1]

I was obsessedddd with this series ❤

[@lutilda]

Thank you for this! I wasnt able to keep up after season 3 because it became too crazy for me, but i was always curious about how it ended. 😅

[@peppermintree]

Unpopular opinion but i actually really liked season 7. It was basically a quick retell of the original series but i enjoyed the characters and storylines a little more. Its a toss up between which little kid was more annoying, though. Haha.

[@___Somebody___]

It could have been so much better, the idea and first seasons were great, and then it had no direction, that's what happen when you absolutely want to make more seasons.

[@ameliapare7447]

I'm the dark one, no I'm the dark one, we're all the dark ones, the baby might be the dark one. This show was an absolute fever dream

[@naila1972]

Super love this series, I watched the whole season twice😂😂😂

[@chrispressley4644]

This show went on way longer than I thought it did but I remember the first 5 or so seasons lol

[@Crownofglory09]

I enjoyed this recap... The vocabulary was on point and well explained.. Please recap charmed season 1

[@dawnwinter-wi4ps]

Season 1 seems good but the rest of it is so much to handle but yes it does seem very entertaining

[@Bonkierbongo]

The fact that Dr. Cameron left House for this insane ass show is unbelievable

[@dustinsensenig9798]

I was hooked on this show from season 1 episode 2

[@scottietrademark]

I feel like the show was pretty solid but the Frozen arc felt so out of place, especially when it came out. It was the peak of frozen hype lol like, the whole show is about protecting their community and then you have these four characters come in, cause problems, and then leave. It didn't affect the community in any way except for some anger and ice problem lol it was so weird

[@joxuemg]

i’m so sorry but season 5 was my favorite of them all i think. i just remember watchimg weekly in SO MUCH expectation of how the story would unravel. i miss that excitement so much.

[@kyel6377]

looking forward to True Blood full series recap!!

[@maximumrisk2004]

The family relations in this Series are freaking wild and it just got crazier over the Seasons.