‘Once Upon A Time’ Is Leaving Netflix: Watch The 12 Best Episodes Of The Series

You can’t appreciate a show without cringing through its pilot episode, right? Once Upon A Time‘s first episode was in places sloppy and the script needed tightening in spots, but it also painted a vivid picture of the fairytales we all know and love in such a different light and made viewers excited to see where they were going with it. If you want to understand the basic structure of the show, you have to start here.

Watch Once Upon A Time Season 1 Episode 1 ("Pilot") on Netflix

One thing OUAT has always done incredibly well is season finales, and “A Land Without Magic” is no exception. After Henry eats the poisoned apple turnover meant for Emma and falls into a coma, Regina and Emma are forced to put their differences aside to work together towards a common goal: saving Henry’s life. This episode does a great job of really cementing the earlier-laid groundwork of what this show is truly about: family.

Watch Once Upon A Time Season 1 Episode 22 ("A Land Without Magic") on Netflix

This is such a great episode for Regina fans, as it gives us a glimpse into her much more innocent past and the experiences which ultimately led to her becoming the Evil Queen, much of which was Rumple’s doing. “We Are Both” nods to the duality that exists in all of us of good and bad depending on the situation. It also references the difficulties of being between two different worlds, in this case literally, as Emma and Snow are stuck in the Enchanted Forest and Emma begins to realize that being a princess isn’t as glamorous as she might have imagined.

Watch Once Upon A Time Season 2 Episode 2 ("We Are Both") on Netflix

Another season finale that just had to be added to the list. Not only does this episode mark the beginning of the ridiculously entertaining Neverland arc, but it also serves as the one in which we see that for as powerful as Emma and Regina are separately, it’s together that they really shine. This one is a whole lot of fun and starts off one of the most adventurous arcs of the series and it really shouldn’t be missed.

Watch Once Upon A Time Season 2 Episode 22 ("And Straight On 'Til Morning") on Netflix

Once Upon a Time decided to get clever with this episode, playing around with alternate timelines (again) in a crazy enough way that it set up the fall finale. At this point, Regina is well and truly on her way to redemption and so makes a sacrifice in order to save Henry and everyone else from Pan/Rumple’s dad (just go with it) by casting a different curse that changes things so that Emma never gave Henry up for adoption and they lived happily ever after… well, sort of. Warning: this one is a bit of a tear-jerker as Emma and Henry say goodbye to Storybrooke at the town line, soon to head off with a lifetime of good memories, just no memories of anything that ever happened or the people who lived there.

Watch Once Upon A Time Season 3 Episode 11 ("Going Home") on Netflix

Season 3 is arguably OUAT‘s best, and this list could easily include many more episodes from it. However, “Bleeding Through” stands out as it gives us a great showdown between Regina and Zelena (Rebecca Mader), whose interpretation of sisterhood is nothing less than hilarious (and perhaps deadly, at least at this point). Zelena is such a fun character and really lends some levity to what can sometimes be a very serious affair, so she’s a welcome addition for sure. We also get some great backstory on Cora (Rose McGowan), which is always welcome.

Watch Once Upon A Time Season 3 Episode 18 ("Bleeding Through") on Netflix

This is one of the most unintentionally (?) hilarious episodes of OUAT‘s entire run, which is why it’s a must-have on this list. Part of the otherwise dreadful Frozen arc, “Shattered Sight” sees a curse (yes, another one) cast by Ingrid (Elizabeth Mitchell) make everyone hate each other with the fire of a thousand suns. This means Snow and David start fighting while locked in different cells of the local jail and even Regina gets in on the action. At least they all find it hilarious as well once the curse is inevitably broken!

Watch Once Upon A Time Season 4 Episode 11 ("Shattered Sight") on Netflix

Say hello to one of the last truly excellent episodes of OUAT, as well as one of the best overall. “Operation Mongoose” was actually a two-parter and both episodes were equally good. We’re off to another universe again in which everyone’s roles are reversed. The Evil Queen is more like Snow White, Snow is totally deranged, and Emma is… locked up in a tower, at least at first. She and Henry are the only ones who really know what’s going on, which is what makes the ensuing action so much better. This is very Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in all the best ways.

Watch Once Upon A Time Season 4 Episode 22 ("Operation Mongoose Part 1") on Netflix

Watch Once Upon A Time Season 4 Episode 23 ("Operation Mongoose Part 2") on Netflix

This is not a great episode, truth be told, but it’s on here because the showrunners finally threw LGBTQ+ fans a bone by throwing together Red Riding Hood and Dorothy (???) in the most random pairing ever hoping that they would stop asking for Swan Queen to be cannon. That did not happen and this was not good, but it was at least refreshing to read all the squirmy comments online after it aired, and for that, it deserves to be remembered.

Watch Once Upon A Time Season 5 Episode 18 ("Ruby Slippers") on Netflix

If you wanted to turn off Once Upon a Time after this episode and never watch again, I wouldn’t blame you. After the Black Fairy’s curse (sigh) changes Storybrooke yet again, it’s up to the Savior to, well, be the savior. It’s quite sad given that this marks the end of Jennifer Morrison on the show, though given how much they destroyed her character over the previous two seasons, one couldn’t blame her for finally bowing out. However, she really did go out with a bang.

Jennifer Still is a writer and editor from New York who cares too way much about fictional characters and spends her time writing about them.

Watch Once Upon A Time Season 6 Episode 21 ("The Final Battle Part 1") on Netflix

Watch Once Upon A Time Season 6 Episode 22 ("The Final Battle Part 2") on Netflix