Gregg Sulkin says slipping back into Mason Greyback for the Wizards Beyond Waverly Place finale took "three seconds" — and all he had to do was look at Selena Gomez. The actor, who played the werewolf love interest in the original Wizards of Waverly Place, reprised the role in the second of four final-season episodes that began rolling out on Disney Channel on 4 August and streaming on Disney+ the following day (ABC7NY).

Sulkin told Deadline that the character came back the moment he saw Gomez on set. The two share a history that stretches back to the original Disney Channel series, where Mason and Alex Russo dated across multiple seasons.

The finale pulls together several returning cast members. Gomez is back as Alex. Jennifer Stone reprises Harper Finkle, Alex's best friend from the original series (Deadline). Maria Canals also guest-starred in the show's second season (Deadline).

In the finale's story, Alex is living with Harper and dating Mason. Harper believes Mason is about to propose. But the finale holds a twist: Mason reveals he is dead, and he and Harper are guiding Alex back to her family from a limbo state — a between-worlds zone that gives the farewell episodes their emotional weight (Deadline).

Sulkin told Deadline he believed Alex and Mason were always "endgame" — the pairing a story ultimately lands on — and that their relationship exists more in the heart than on the page. He also confirmed that Wizards Beyond Waverly Place ran for three seasons.

The spinoff expanded the original series' world in a new direction. Alex's daughter Billie, played by Janice LeAnn Brown, is shared with former dark wizard Damian Penwulf. Disney Channel confirmed Sulkin's return as Mason Greyback in the final season back in April (Threads/@disneychannel).

For fans who grew up with Wizards of Waverly Place, the finale brings a full circle: the original characters, the original pairings, and a story that ends in limbo rather than a neat bow. Sulkin's "three seconds" line lands because the chemistry was never really gone — it just needed a scene partner to switch back on.