change to the typically decreasing figures earlier from each episode in the season. Critical reception The episode was met with mostly positive reviews, with many critics complimenting the improvement and progression in the story lines. Amy Ratcliffe of IGN gave the episode a 9.2 out of 10, saying "Overall, the episode almost had too many "what?!" moments, but it worked. While I hope to see more of why the Wicked Witch is taking out her anger on Regina, we've seen enough to know she's interesting and that their battle has the potential to be game-changing." Hillary Busis of Entertainment Weekly noted that "the plot only thickens when you throw in fan theories about how in Once's universe, the Dark One and the Wizard of Oz might end up being the same person. (Then again, Kitsis and Horowitz might want to stay away from such an obvious Wicked echo.) Christine Orlado of TV Fanatic gave the episode 4.6 out of 5 stars. Gwen Ihnat of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B, noting that "Once Upon A Time fares so much better when it assumes this kind of self-referential tone with its audience; we’re just as familiar with these stories as the characters on the show are, so we can all be in on the startling insights or unexpected plot twists or sometimes, it’s even just helpful to be in on the joke. At any rate, it’s a big leap forward, which almost didn’t even seem possible after 'New York City Serenade.'" References External links 2014 American television episodes Once Upon a Time (season 3) episodes