Is Neal Dead?

When Neal (Michael Raymond-James) discovered the truth about his fiancée, it seemed like the jig was up — until the little vixen whipped out a magic bean and opened up a portal to God-knows-where. As Neal held on tight to Emma (Jennifer Morrison), the two finally exchanged a pair of long-awaited “I love you”s; but for once, true love wasn’t enough to save the day. Could Neal really be the major death teased by Once‘s executive producers earlier this week?

Personally, I’d be shocked if Neal is actually dead. Not only has the guy been sucked through similar portals before, but there’s so much left to explore between him and Emma — not to mention Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) and Henry (Jared Gilmore).

Have faith, Neal fans. Have faith.

Storybrooke Faces Its Final Days

Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming (Josh Dallas) managed to save Regina (Lana Parrilla) from Owen, but the Evil Queen didn’t exactly have great news upon waking from her ordeal. Owen and Tamara now have Regina’s “trigger” in their possession, and as instructed, they’re about to set the complete destruction of Storybrooke into motion!

I think Once‘s creative team has done a much better job building suspense for this season finale than last season. I genuinely don’t know what the future holds for Storybrooke, nor its inhabitants, and I’ve got a feeling next week’s finale is going to be a major game-changer.

Baelfire’s Connection To Captain Hook

This week’s fairy-tale flashback gave us our first peek at Peter Pan — or, at least, his shadow — as a young, homeless Baelfire was taken in by the Darling family. Upon his arrival, the Darlings’ daughter Wendy also began receiving visits from a mysterious shadow boy, but he was a lot less cuddly than Disney has led us to believe for decades.

No, this “shadow” snatched up poor Baelfire and whisked him off to Neverland against his will. And where exactly did poor Bae end up? Aboard the Jolly Roger, aka the infamous pirate vessel owned by one Captain Hook (Colin O’Donoghue)!

With present-day Neal now M.I.A. and Tamara’s finger literally on the trigger to destroy Storybrooke, the stage has been set for next week’s epic season finale. How do YOU think the season will end, HollywoodLifers? Drop your theories in a comment below!

— Andy Swift
Follow @AndySwift

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