Once CRAZY

3) Merlin in the Premiere:

We met Merlin in the first few minutes of the premiere. He was the movie theater usher that warned young Emma not to pull Excalibur from the stone. This wasn’t treated as a big secret either. We all knew Elliot Knight was cast and that we’d meet Merlin right away. He was listed in the press release as well. That makes this interview answer very confusing. [x]

4) Mulan Not Returning:

 Just two days after this interview was published, it was announced that Mulan would be returning. She appeared in 5x09 “The Bear King” and 5x18 “Ruby Slippers.” [x]

5) 5x05 Confusion:

In August, Eddy Kitsis teased to TVLine that episode 5 would be “very” Emma centric. [x]

In September, the creators teased the upcoming season to TVFanatic where it was revealed that episode 5 was Henry centric. Fans were eagerly hoping that both would be featured. Episode five ended up centering around Henry and Violet and their first date. At the end of the episode it was revealed that Emma had stolen Violet’s heart and was manipulating much of what we saw in order to get one of Henry’s tears. I’m not sure why the creators felt the need to tell the media two different things, nor was the episode “very” Emma centric. [x]

6) Time Travel:

On September 10, Adam and Eddy teased that there would be no time travel this season. [x]

On September 22, after viewing the premiere press screener, Screen Spy teased that there would be time travel in the premiere leaving many fans confused. What this boiled down to is that there is a big difference between a “time jump” and “time travel.” What we saw was a six-week time jump. This was probably a simple misunderstanding, but still frustrating to fans nonetheless. [x]

7) Scheduling Mishap

The writers also announced this as the plan in a Comic Con interview. The network later vetoed this and made the show do 11 episodes in the fall. That’s why 5x09 “The Bear King” had basically nothing to do with the current plot. It had to be thrown in at the last minute. [x] [x]

8) Emma and Lily’s Light/Darkness

In April 2015, nearing the season 4 finale, Adam and Eddy did one of their famous Hot Seat interviews with Entertainment Weekly where they teased that Emma and Lily’s light and darkness would be addressed in season 5. [x]

In September 2015, the creators told TVGuide that storyline was being put on the back burner. [x]

In the beginning of October 2015, the creators teased to TVLine that Lily was theoretically hanging out in Storybrooke and that we might see her in the second half of season 5. At the end of October 2015, Agnes announced she was expecting her first child. She was due at the same time filming was set to wrap on season 5, making a Lily arc very difficult as the show was already trying to work around the pregnancies of Ginnifer Goodwin, Emilie de Ravin, and Emma Caulfield as well as working around Ginnifer Goodwin’s Zootopia press tour. Adam and Eddy said in their most recent Hot Seat interview they plan on revisiting Maleficent and Lily in season 6. Do we dare hope? [x] [x] [x] [x]

9) Belle/Regina Confrontation in Season 5:

This was teased in April of 2015, referring to Regina ripping Belle’s heart out and using it to taunt Rumple at the well at the end of season 4. Regina made Belle forget about it, and apparently the writers did too as it was never brought up again. [x]

10) Robin’s Adventurous Side:

Raise your hand if you felt like we saw Robins adventurous side in season 5? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? I didn’t think so. [x] 

11) Emma Crushing a Heart:

This was teased at New York Comic Con-which Adam, Eddy, and Jennifer Morrison attended-and was published by Entertainment Weekly. Dark Swan ripped out a few hearts, she squeezed on Merida’s heart, and she drove a sword through Hook, but she never actually crushed anyone’s heart. [x]

An early promo showed Dark Swan crushing the heart of a guard at a jail, but this was not canon to the show, just a promo to get fans excited for what was coming. For season 2 we had the promo of Hook breaking the class at Gold’s, retrieving the hook, and putting it on. In season 3 we had the promo of Ariel stealing the fork from Grumpy/Leroy’s lunch box. In season four we had the promo of Elsa walking around Storybrooke leaving an ice trail behind her and the other characters trying to figure out what was going on. In 4B we had Emma with the Queens of Darkness. None are canon to the show, just a fun way of teasing what’s to come. [x] [x] [x] [x] [x]

12) A Link Between Hook and Merlin

Elliot Knight teased this to Buzzfeed shortly after 5x07 “Nimue” aired. Hook and Merlin both had their names on Excalibur, and Hook killed Merlin, but I wouldn’t call either of those links, nor would I say either were really explored. They didn’t speak to each other a whole lot either. [x]

13) Who Should Hook be Mad At?

Zelena provided Hook with his memories through the dreamcatcher. But who else “should” he be mad at? The dreamcatcher showed him that he was dying an honorable heroes death and that he didn’t want to be turned into the Dark One because he wasn’t strong enough to resist the darkness. Unable to let him go, Emma ignored his dying wishes and turned him into the one thing he hates more than anything in the world. So who besides Emma was he supposed to be mad at? [x]

14) Merida Taking Down Arthur

This interview was given the day before the 5A finale. The Camelot crew had filmed a conclusion to their arc at the end of 5A that included Merida taking an imprisoned Arthur through what appeared to be a portal. Guinevere, Arthur, Sir Morgan, Violet, and Henry were all involved in the sendoff. This was cut from the episode, but the cast involved were not notified that they had been cut from the finale. It would have been nice had someone bothered to let them know before they did press interviews and arranged viewing parties with their families and friends. 

In 5B Arthur did indeed not get the happy ending he’d hoped for after being killed by Hades. But he found a new path, vowing to fix the broken kingdom that is the Underworld. [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] [x]

15) Arthur Feeling Remorse:

This was given during a 5A interview. I’m guessing that remorse was part of the Camelot conclusion mentioned in #14 that we never got to see. In the Underworld in 5B, Arthur was excited to take on the new challenge of fixing the Underworld, but he never seemed remorseful for anything he did in Camelot. [x]

16) Robins Dark Side and Backstory

This was teased during 5A, and intended for 5B. Sadly for whatever reason the writers changed their minds. Robin was absent without an excuse for a lot of the beginning of 5B, and absent most of the second half to hide his daughter in the woods. He was brought back long enough to be killed off. We didn’t get any backstory on him at all in season 5, nor did we ever see his dark side. [x]

17) More Robin and Regina

This was an interview with the creators right after the 5A finale for Entertainment Tonight teasing what was coming up in 5B. Leanne Aguilera is famous for asking questions relating to relationships. As previously mentioned, Robin spent the majority of 5B absent without an excuse, or in the woods with his daughter. When he was on screen, it was because he was involved in the conflict with Zelena over his daughter. The only “bonding” moment OQ had in 5B was the scene in the tunnels underneath the town hall right before he was killed. Not exactly what anyone was hoping for. [x]

18) New Dark Swan Suit in 5B

This was taken from an interview Entertainment Tonight did with Once’s costume designer Eduardo Castro in February of 2016. The interview was done while Leanne Aguilera was in town for the 100th episode celebration, at which point the cast was working on episode 5x20 “Firebird.” Either we have a misunderstanding, or something involving Dark Swan in 5B was cut. [x]

19) Someone Robin’s Dreading

Technically he said “might.” I still can’t help but wonder if the person he was dreading had to do with the dark side we never got to see. [x]

20) Robin and Regina “I Love You”

Because this article is a gallery, there isn’t a date on it and Twitter won’t let me go far enough back to see when it was posted. Since Lana is talking about the 100th episode, Since they said she smiled and mentioned the 100th episode, I’m assuming this was from the 100th episode party, at that point the cast was filming 5x20. They might have had the 5x21 scripts, but there’s no way to know for sure. Technically she said “possibly” and “think” but her smiley reaction indicates they did. Robin and Regina never said, “I love you” on screen, but maybe that’s something was cut that will make its way to the DVD? [x]

21) Hades Five Rivers

We only saw two of five rivers come into play. The river of lost souls was featured in multiple episodes, and Cora used water from the river that caused memory loss to try and trick Zelena into forgetting about her love for Hades. Other than that we never saw any of the other three rivers come into play, which was rather disappointing given the potential. [x]

22) Emma’s Savior Role

This was part of a slideshow article by TVLine teasing shows that were returning after their winter hiatus. There was a lot teased about 5B, including this bit about Emma’s savior role. In the Underworld, the heroes stayed to try and help souls move on, but that was Regina’s quest because she was responsible for so many of the lost souls being there. Emma was only responsible for Hook and Cruella being there, and she seemed solely focused on Hook, and in the end it was Zeus that saved him, not Emma. Emma didn’t actually help anyone move on, and she wasn’t the one who defeated Hades. So I’m not really sure what “savior role” is being referred to here. [x]

23) Robin Dealing With Ramifications:

This was an article done by Entertainment Weekly teasing what was coming up for each of the series regulars in the final 3 episode. (5x21-5x23). Obviously the creators were trying to keep it a secret that Robin had died. (Not that everyone didn’t already know anyway) However, since Robin was killed with the Olympian Crystal and ceased to exist entirely without the option of going to the Underworld or moving onto the better or worse place, he wasn’t “dealing” with anything. Period. As if Robins death wasn’t difficult enough already, this provided fans with false hope that there would be a twist and he’d be back, or at least he’d have the chance to move on. [x]

24) Rumple’s Deeper Motive and Psyche 

We learned this season that Rumple became the Dark One again because he believes that’s who he is and people need to accept him for that instead of trying to change him. I don’t call that a deeper motive, nor would I say we really delved deep into his psyche. We’ve always known power is his true love, there isn’t really anything new here. [x]

25) Dorothy’s Mystery Filming: 

Teri Reeves who plays Adult Dorothy flew into Vancouver and filmed something on March 23 in costume, which she posted about on her Instagram. That was in the middle of filming for the finale episodes.Filming for 5x18 “Ruby Slippers” took place roughly from January 26-February 4. The score for 5x18 was recorded on March 28 and is the final thing added to an episode post production. If something had to be re-shot, it doesn’t make sense to leave it to the last five days of post production when the actor was in the middle of another project. Neither Jamie Chung or Meghan Ory returned to Vancouver during this time either that anyone is aware of. So it’s very possible there’s a Dorothy scene on the cutting room floor somewhere. [x] [x]

26) Jekyll and Hyde in 5x21

To be fair, the casting calls are not intended for the general public to see. They are posted on a private website for actors that require a special password and login. Someone with access to that website has been screen-shotting and posting the Once casting calls, to many fans appreciation. Jacob and Nathaniel were cover names for Jekyll and Hyde’s casting as to keep their identities a secret. Some on-set fans were told that 5x21-5x23 would film out of order. But the dates and BTS photos of filming we have matched to the episodes and the dates here indicate that they were filmed in order. Either the writers changed their minds last minute, or something fishy is going on. (No source link out of respect for the posters privacy.)

27) Guinevere’s Loyalty in 5B:

This was an interview Joanna Metrass gave during the winter hiatus teasing what would be coming up in 5B. By that point she knew the Camelot characters wrap up had been cut from the 5A finale, but that the writers intended to finish that storyline in 5B. There was a double dressed as Guinevere in the scene where Zelena sends the people of Camelot home through the door portal in 5x22. However, we never saw Joana again, nor was anything about Guinevere shown or resolved. We can assume she went back to rule the kingdom, but we know she is still under the effects of the Avalon sands, and Arthur is the only one who knows she’s under those effects. He didn’t seem real eager to get a message to anyone about it either. So it looks like Guinevere will be a grieving widow forever unless someone can figure out what Arthur did to her with the sand. [x] 

28) Arthur and Guinevere Wrap Up in 5B

This interview was given on May 1, 2016. Filming wrapped on season five in the first few days of April. Joana did not return to Vancouver to film anything, hence the need for a body double in the finale briefly. The creators knew full well that there was no resolution for either Arthur and Guinevere’s relationship, or the character of Guinevere period. Guinevere will probably be a grieving widow forever and never reunite with Lancelot because no one knows she’s under the effects of the Avalon sands. [x]

29) Camelot Character’s Conclusion n 5B

This was part of an interview the creators did over the winter hiatus teasing what was coming up in 5B. While we did get a conclusion for Arthur and Violet, we still have no resolution for Guinevere, Lancelot, or Sir Morgan. We established that Sir Morgan is staying in this world since he’s originally from Connecticut, but we never got any resolution with him, Violet, and Henry. Lancelot just got royally screwed over. Guinevere is headed back to Camelot, but she might just refuse to rule the kingdom and head straight to lock herself in her bed chamber to grieve for the rest of her life because she’s still under the effects of the Avalon sands. Meanwhile Arthur seems to have forgotten about her and Camelot entirely in his new quest to repair the Underworld. It doesn’t sound like he has any interest in trying to get a message to anyone to help free her. Poor Guinevere and Lancelot. [x]

*Important Note* I don’t write these with the intent of being rude or disrespectful to any of the cast, crew, reporters, or media outlets. I do it with the intent of expressing frustration over so many broken promises and in the hopes that people will be more careful about what they tease in the future and wait to tease things until they are finalized. 

That does it! If you see anything I missed or have any additional commentary or insight to anything on the list, let me know and I’m more than happy to edit this post. Thanks for reading! Here’s hoping for many less broken promises in season six. 

I think that motto is very fitting for Cora. She always tries to be a little better than she is, in fact most of the time she tries to be much more than she is. She isn’t one to cry because life didn’t turn out the way she planned. She has dreams and goals and goes after them one hundred and fifty percent. She doesn’t accept her circumstances, she constantly strives for something better.

Even after she becomes a royal, she still seems to live by her motto in trying to make sure that Regina becomes Queen and gets everything Cora feels she deserves in life. She went to extensive lengths to assure that happened.

When Regina shoved Cora through a portal to Wonderland, she didn’t cry because life didn’t turn out the way she planned, she found a way to become the Queen of Hearts. She faked her death, she faked being a prisoner, she found a way to cross realms, she framed her daughter for murder to reconnect with her. Cora never gives up. She is always trying to “be a little better than what I am”

You could say that Cora was never satisfied or content with what she had. She didn’t stop once she became a royal. She ripped her heart out because she viewed love as weakness. She always had another goal or motive in mind. She didn’t stop and say, “Wow, I’m a royal with a beautiful daughter. I have everything I ever wanted and now I can live happily ever after in my castle.” No, she went after making sure Regina would one day be Queen.

Because of this mentality, it made it hard for Regina to please her mother. Because Cora didn’t have a heart it made it difficult for her to sympathize with Regina. It made it hard for Cora to understand and support Regina’s dreams even if they didn’t align with what Cora wanted for Regina.

When Cora’s heart is first placed back in her chest, her and Regina share a moment of happiness as Cora is able to finally love her daughter with the full capacity of her heart which we see on her face is a moment of sheer joy. And as Cora is dying and looking at her beautiful daughter and loving her in ways she never imagined and with a strength she’s never experienced, saying that she “would have been enough” means exactly that. For someone who went through life with an attitude of whatever she currently had not being “enough” to satisfy her in life, it makes sense that having a heart with the capacity to love would have been enough to satisfy her, to make her content with life, to accept the happiness she had in front of her.

Cora did give away a daughter when she had her heart, but I think those circumstances are a bit different. Living in the castle, Cora had the ability to care for a child and have a family on her time, in her terms. And I think that from day one had Cora had a heart, she would have looked at Regina very differently

We’ve all seen the look of complete joy on new parents faces when they watch the first milestones their children reach. They’re beaming with the first step, the first word, the first day of school, their first crush, etc. Being able to witness those milestones with a heart and that overwhelming sense of love would have created a much stronger bond between Regina and Cora. Feeling joy when your child feels joy would have changed how Cora viewed her hopes for Regina.

Without a heart Cora is emotionally detached and unable to understand Regina’s dreams, especially when it comes to her loving Daniel, the stable boy. Had Cora had a heart and been able to sympathize with Regina and understand where Regina was coming from on an emotional level, she may have been able to be happy for her.  She would have felt joy at Regina’s joy.

When I look at those final words, I see it as Regina being enough for Cora to love her in the way a mother should. I see it as Regina being enough for Cora to be happy and satisfied with her life instead of always trying to reach higher goals. That villain mentality of always wanting more prevented her from being able to see that she had “enough” true happiness in front of her.

From Regina’s perspective, I imagine that left a gaping wound inside. Hearing that you “would have been enough” is hard. Wondering if you would have, could have, or should have is one thing, but finding out that you absolutely would have been enough is hard to hear. Knowing that so many things in your life could have been different if it weren’t for one persons choices is a hard thing to hear. Regina could have developed some anger over the situation. I imagine meeting Robin Hood and being able to move on and finally be happy has helped with that. But Regina could be upset upon seeing her mother.

So what does this mean going into the Underworld in 5B? I think that Cora having a heart and having the full capacity to love will make a big difference in who she is now. I think we could see multiple changes with Cora. I think there is potential that she is completely different with her capacity to love. She’s probably a lot more emotional. But being in the Underworld takes thick skin. With a lot of villains, new rules, and consequences, it’s setup to be a very dark place.

Even though Cora is feeling the loss with Regina, she’s going to have to accept that this is her new reality. And I think her motto will probably kick in to a degree. Just because she has feelings now doesn’t mean she is going to stop being who she is completely. I imagine she’ll try to work her way up the ranks as best she can.

The writers have explained in several interviews that the Underworld isn’t hell, but an in-between place for people with unfinished business. If Cora’s unfinished business is with Regina, then you can imagine she would do her best to climb the ranks and be in the best position possible in the Underworld for when Regina gets there someday so she can make this as easy and painless for Regina as possible.

Several Once fans who are also fans of mythology have pointed out that Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, wife of Hades and Queen of the Underworld is also known as “Kore” or “Cora.” I’m not sure if that’s coincidence or not. Adam and Eddy deciding to name the character Cora in season one having no clue if they’d even be around five seasons for the Underworld is a stretch. But it could turn out to be important.

Zelena has also been filming with Hades in what some suspected was a romantic way. And who knows, maybe Hades has a thing for the Mills girls and when one leaves he goes after another. I don’t know at this point, but I think there’s definite potential for things to get interesting there.

As for Regina and Cora’s reunion, I’m hopeful that there will finally be some closure. We could see a much softer side to Cora. Having years to reflect with the ability to feel will cause Cora to realize that she made some mistakes and handled some things terribly. Hopefully she’ll be able to apologize to Regina and try and earn forgiveness so she can move on. And if Regina as any anger towards Cora for her final words, she can come to understand more fully what Cora meant and have some of those open wounds finally close.

Two other factors in this reunion are Robin and Henry that will be in the Underworld with Regina. Both of them getting to meet and interact with Cora could be a big deal as well, especially if Cora were to finally be able to tell Regina that she is happy for her and her choice in who to love. Then Cora will be able to finally move on from the Underworld and Regina will be able to have some closure.

The other factor that could throw a wrench in the reunion and Cora moving on is Mary Margaret being in the Underworld. Hopefully an apology can be made there and being able to see Regina happy will be enough for Cora to let go of her anger and move on. It is possible that being able to feel also increase her anger towards Mary Margaret and cause a lot of problems.

On the flipside, Regina also has to know that at some way Zelena will claw her way back to her daughter, and Cora might know something that can ease Zelena’s pain or anger over being abandoned. Regina’s interaction with Cora could be a starting point for Regina and Zelena to finally bury the hatchet.

If forgiveness is able to be achieved, I think that Cora could really turn out to be helpful to our heroes in navigating the Underworld and finding Hook as well. Obviously on Once things are never cut and dry and I’m sure there will be plenty of obstacles in the heroes way as they make their way to Hook, but Cora having achieved a higher position and had time to figure out how the Underworld works will be able to assist Regina so she can get out as quickly as possible.  

This seems to be the case in the 5B promo as Cora tells Regina “There are forces at play here beyond your understanding.” It appears that she’s helping Regina in the Underworld, or at the very least trying to warn her to get out. As for what those forces are, all of Greek Mythology at play it could be a million different things. Hopefully getting some information from Cora will give our heroes a fighting chance.

Ultimately there are a lot of things that make the reunion “interesting” as TVLine described. There are multiple things that could make it pleasant or unpleasant. Hopefully whether there is drama or anger, it ends with things being resolved and people being able to finally move on.

While they were able to eventually mend fences and build their relationship and love again, it took time and Regina losing him for her to decide that she loved him enough to want to change and be a better person.

With Zelena, she’s reached the same selfish conclusion. Deciding to become a parent should be a selfless decision, not a selfish one, and Zelena is still worried about herself first and foremost. I think Regina understands that better than anyone else and that creates quite the ironic situation as Robin and Regina try to be team baby and work out what’s best for the child.

Zelena has been given what seems like a simple decision this season. Change and become a better person so that she can be trusted to have visitation with her child, or be locked away forever in the hospital. She’s tried multiple times to manipulate and get around that. At one point she declined the offer to team up with Dark Swan, giving a glimmer of hope that she might change. But once free, she didn’t go running to the hospital, she found a dreamcatcher and made a plan to out Emma. Then she tried to take advantage of the heroes being marked for death and was sent back to Oz in a tornado as a result.

Zelena vowed she’d be back, and we know she will be. But what happens from here?

On one hand, it seems like an easy task to write Zelena out. In the fantastical world that is Once Upon a Time, anything could happen that could off a person easily. The fact that she is Baby Hood’s mother will mean that people are more likely to try and save her. But if she comes back from Oz with a vengeance and is out to destroy everyone, and it’s everyone versus her, what option do the heroes have but to defeat her?

On the other hand, Zelena’s fanbase is growing and growing fast. Rebecca Mader is unbelievably nice and loves to socialize with fans on Twitter and Instagram. She attends cons constantly and is such a fun, bubbly person for fans to interact with. Her fanbase was big the first time around and its even bigger now and continually growing. The writers have said the fan reaction when they kill someone off is so strong they worry about doing it, and their window of opportunity with Zelena is rapidly decreasing.

But it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which she stays on the show with a strong presence. As a villain, she’s a lot like Rumple. She doesn’t give up and she goes in the same circle where you think she’s going to redeem herself, yet when she sees an easy out, she takes it. It’s hard not to blame her when her future is a cold cell with limited visitation to her child.

If, hypothetically, she were to redeem herself for her child, she wouldn’t be a member of “Team Hero.” Much like Rumple when he decided to be a hero this season, he didn’t immediately meet up with the other heroes at Granny’s to see how he could help, he focused on himself and his own goals. With Zelena hating Regina, I can’t see her teaming up to help her with anything. Even in a hypothetical universe where those two eventually mend fences, that seems like it would be years down the road, not anytime soon.

There’s no point having someone as a series regular that blends into the background and doesn’t have much to do as we saw with Michael Socha. They’re not going to pay her as a series regular to pop up every now and then for visitation and then disappear for eight episodes.

And even if she were hypothetically to join the heroes table, she would fill the exact same role as Regina, the sassy hero. That would defeat the purpose of her being there.

I imagine when she returns from Oz she’ll be livid and come in guns blazing to get her baby, which will not sit well with Robin or Regina. But killing her off unless she’s trying to murder everyone seems extreme.

Ever since Zelena was made a regular I go in a cycle with myself. On one hand, I want her to be redeemed and get to be a part of her child’s life, but I don’t want her to fade into the background. But her being a villain and going in a circle with no character development isn’t beneficial to anyone either. She becomes this thorn in the side character that no one can get rid of and fills the same role as Rumple.

I’m excited to see what Adam and Eddy have planned. Zelena has really grown on me since she’s returned and part of me is really rooting for her to figure out her life and be able to be a part of her child’s life in a positive way. (And I don’t consider teaching her to be wicked a positive way.)

I hope there is a happy medium in the future. I want to see character development, but I don’t want to lose her as a character or have her fade into the background. I want her presence as a character to be an important one. I don’t want to look back on the show and remember her as a plot device or a surrogate so that Regina could have another baby. I want her to have a purpose and not just a purpose for the sake of other characters, but her own purpose in existing in this crazy Once universe.

In a perfect world, something threatening Baby Hood would force Zelena and Regina to have to work together and realize that they are stronger together. As Rumple told Ingrid and her sisters, “The sisterly bond, worth its weight in gold.” I think if they really could develop a bond and see how strong a sisterly bond could be, they could begin to have a positive relationship and work together to raise Baby Hood in the best environment possible.

Once is always a tossup, but I’ve got my fingers crossed for a positive outcome, especially for Baby Hood. She deserves to grow up in a happy, healthy, loving environment. Regardless of the circumstances of her conception, she deserves a loving home and a happy life.

They had no time to ask around or get a feel for who would be up for adopting three children. They had no time to sift through resumes or write adoption papers. They had a few hours to make an incredibly difficult decision in who should raise their children.

Not to mention the fact that light magic is about to be snuffed out forever and all of the Dark One's in history will basically be running the town. Who can you guarantee that your children will be safe with?

I'm going to guess that since the fairies have a lot of experience with magic, they probably have an awesome security system in place. While fairy dust and pixie dust may no longer work, we never got clarification on magical objects, which I assume are still in play as one could use the objects for good or evil. So I'd assume they've got some magical objects lying around.

In season 3 we learned about the dark fairy and saw the dark fairy wand, which if memory serves me right is still in Blue's possession. Who's to say the fairies don't have a stash of dark fairy dust? If anyone has a secret stash of dark magic, it’s definitely Blue. That automatically gives the kids a better chance.

And if you happen to be a Dark One taking over a town, the last place you're going to hang out is a convent.

But delving in a little deeper, if we look at Blue's history, most of the people she helped as the Blue Fairy were children. In fact, I think all but one of the people she responded to were children. She clearly has a soft spot for kids and looks out for them.

With all the fairies to help, you can guarantee there will be plenty of love and nurturing to go around.

Another layer to this sticky situation is the fact that Snow and Charming were occupied and Regina and Robin had to decide not just for themselves, but for baby Neal. Even more complicated, Robin was in the Enchanted Forest and doesn’t know the townspeople all that well and for Regina the townspeople are just starting to warm up to Regina. No one owes Regina any favors, and all of Regina’s friends are also marked for death. Regina isn’t close with anybody else. Whoever she chooses, it’s going to be a bit awkward.

What is really interesting is envisioning the scene where Regina has to humble herself and knock on the door of the convent and ask Blue to raise the children. It blows my mind just to think about it. She could have let Robin do the talking, but that seems less likely given that Robin doesn’t really know Blue. So I think it’s a really serious thing for Regina to do and while so subtle, is further evidence of her becoming a hero. She put her differences aside to give these children their best shot and that’s really admirable.

The other interesting thing was that David and Mary Margaret were in total agreement with Regina and Robin’s decision to leave the children with the fairies. I don’t think the Charming’s have a problem with the fairies, but unlike Regina and Robin, they do have friends. They have a lot of friends and the fairies may not have been their first choice by a long shot. The fact that they trust not only the fairies, but Regina’s judgment in choosing them to raise their child is another great show of how far Regina has come, and how much her relationships have grown.

Now moving forward, we never saw the children after Hooks death. I’m not sure they picked them up from the convent. If they did, they had to go straight back so the heroes could go to the Underworld. So Regina potentially had to ask Blue to take care of her children twice.

(Not to mention the fairies all believe they just became co-mothers and suddenly that is taken away and then handed right back. That’s one heck of an emotional day in the convent.)

I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up with how packed 5B already is, but I think there’s potential for us to see Tink or Nova for a quick cameo. I would love a reunion scene with the kids, the fairies, and their parents. It could be 10 seconds long and they could all hug while the score plays. Amy A. and Rose would only have to shoot for a few minutes. It’s probably not likely, but even a quick scene with Blue would be great. Seeing all the parents get to thank the fairies would be great. Even seeing a few extras in nun clothing handing off the babies for a reunion with their parents would be great. Give me something writers!

It has been a pet peeve of mine that we rarely see the children. Obviously they need to be kept safe against all the danger that constantly seems to be threatening Storybrooke, but the fact that they just disappear for eight episodes straight drives me bonkers. Deciding for someone else to raise your child is a huge deal and not something to be taken lightly. So I hope we see more where that came from. I hope there’s a reunion and I hope we get to see the fairies a little bit more because of it.

I also love that Hook is the only one she entrusts her secret with. This is already incredibly difficult for everyone else and they are already doing everything possible to save her. Telling them she’s battling a demon in her head is very unsettling and raise their worry and panic. (And as much as I love Snow and Charming, when they get panicked about something, they’re not exactly known for making calm, rational decisions.)

I love that Hook keeps her secret as her family grows concerned about what’s ailing her. Trust is such a big issue for Emma in her life and knowing that she can always trust and rely on Hook is very important to her, and I think will prove important in Dark Swan’s motivations and how the arc comes to an end.

The scene where Henry takes Hook and Emma to the barn is really adorable. Watching Hook get excited over Henry’s crush is so cute. Seeing the three of them in a family dynamic is really nice. Hook is really embracing this step fatherly role and I hope we get to see that relationship continue to grow.

Emma confiding in Hook once again about what is going on in her head is really beautiful. Many have pointed out how Emma’s journey as the dark one is a metaphor for mental health illness and I can definitely see and relate to that. It’s so difficult to confess what is going on in your head when you feel like it’s crazy, irrational, or that people won’t understand. Thankfully, Hook has the experience of being a villain to know how tempting the darkness is, and sailing on the Jolly Roger was what helped distract him and make him feel better. (For many of us it’s Once that distracts us and makes us feel better. It comes full circle and I love that)

Hook attempts to do the same for Emma by taking her horseback riding, but first they have to earn the horses trust. After the horse panics, Emma loses faith. Hook doesn’t give up on Emma and tries to get her to get on the horse.

The following critical conversation happens:

Emma: This is pointless, I’m the Dark One, what is this going to do?

Hook: This isn’t about the bloody horse Emma, this is about you putting your faith in me, in our future.

Emma: You still think we can get back there to Storybrooke and some white picket fence life?

Hook: Yes. I’ll never stop fighting for us, all you have to do is trust me.

I think multiple things in those few sentences are going to come back around. First, it comes back to trust and how important that is for Emma and her trust in Hook will come full circle I’m sure.

Second, the words “white picket fence life” just came out of Emma’s life. Before Henry found her and brought her to Storybrooke in season one, she lived alone, in an apartment in Boston. She was haunted by the past, by Neal abandoning her. She was completely alone, she didn’t allow herself to grow close to anyone for fear that she would be hurt again. She worked hard, and apparently nonstop as we see her working on her birthday in the pilot. She has no family, no one she’s close to.

When she first comes to Storybrooke her bonding with Henry is slow. Her bonding with everyone is slow. Everything she thought she knew was turned upside down. With all her trips to fairytale land, and reading the storybook and hearing about everyone fighting for their happy ending, she’s surely had some time to think and wonder to herself what things make up her happy ending.

The words “white picket fence life” coming out of her mouth are a show of just how far she’s come. The white picket fence life is representative of family, of settling down, of having kids and growing old with your significant other and watching your grandkids play from the porch swing. It’s cliché, but it’s a representation of everything that Emma has never had her entire life. The thought of not having to chase monsters and just settling into a quiet life is what is on Emma’s mind. Who would have thought season one Emma would come so far?

I also love that Hook knows what a “white picket fence life” is and firmly believes they can get there. I’m pretty sure Hook wouldn’t care what kind of house (or ship) they lived in or where in the universe it was as long as it was with Emma. I’m sure he’d live under a bridge with her if it meant being with her.

Emma is so focused on everyone else having happiness before herself as the savior that I love that she admits to something that could be potential happiness for herself as well. That’s a big step for her.

Even though the present with Dark Swan is frustrating, the white picket fence was a detail she added to her house. In a weird way she built the dream she wanted and that is evidence of her clear remembrance of this conversation.

Third, Hook’s line “I’ll never stop fighting for us, all you have to do is trust me” is also one that Emma definitely remembers as she pretty much said “all you have to do is trust me” on the Jolly Roger too. I’m sure those words are ones Emma has thought long and hard about. I’m sure she’s counting on Hook fighting for her and I don’t think either will stop fighting for their love.

After their horse ride, Hook asks Emma what she doesn’t see and she notes that Rumple is gone. Emma trusting Hook with her burden is amazing.

At the very end of the episode we see that Dark Swan still has the rose, further proof that she remembers that conversation and that it means a great deal to her.

I wish I had the time to do a full meta on that episode because there was just so much goodness and wonderful parallels and foreshadowing. I think the interaction will definitely prove critical in through the end of this arc and I’m so excited to see it.

5x05 “Dreamcatcher”

This episode started off on a very confusing note. We know that Hook was able to help Emma chase the Rumple in her head away and everyone has been so hell bent on Emma not using dark magic, that the episode opening with her using dark magic is confusing. I felt like I was missing something.

This episode focused a lot on Henry and his devastating heartbreak over his first crush. We learn that Emma had actually taken Violet’s heart and forced her to break Henry’s heart so that she could have the tear of someone who was heartbroken to free Merlin from the tree.

I’ve wondered many times what I was missing. Was there really not any other way to free Merlin than to break Henry’s heart? Did something happen before Emma used the dreamcatcher? I’m not sure, but I do know two things:

1) When it comes to love being used as a weapon, mothers have the sharpest sword. Children love their parents unconditionally-as children. As they grow older and no longer depend on their parent, they make their own choices about their relationship with their parent. Mothers on the other hand have a special bond to their children. They carry them for nine months and raise them through thick and thin. A mother is supposed to be that one person who has a permanent connection to you, so your mother should be the last person that would ever betray you. This makes a betrayal by a mother that much more difficult to endure.

It’s going to be really hard to repair that relationship, even though Emma had a good reason for what she was doing. It may take time, but I think that it will all be able to be repaired when everyone’s memories are restored and everything is sorted out.

2) I love Jennifer Morrison, you’ve all heard me rave about her on multiple occasions and how amazingly talented she is. I do have to confess though, that I don’t always completely buy some of the motherly moments as much as I want to. I love Emma and Henry and the bond they have. But there have been a few moments between the two where I haven’t gotten everything I wanted to out of a scene.

But when Emma took Violets heart, there was no doubt about it in Jennifer’s acting. It was heartbreaking. You could tell it absolutely killed her inside to do that to her child. What I saw was a mother who was hurting beyond belief inside at what she was doing. And in her head, she was probably panicking about losing to the darkness and the pain she would inflict as the Dark One would probably be worse, and deadlier than the pain of this one heartbreak. I hope so much for the two of them that they can come out stronger because of this!

This episode also showed us a scene of Dark Swan crying in a shed filled with dreamcatchers full of stolen memories. As Dark Swan cries I feel even more that Emma is doing this for the people she loves and not to hurt them. She is clearly torn apart over everything that has happened and whatever it is she has to do. 

5x06 “The Bear and the Bow”

There wasn’t a lot of Hook and Emma interaction in this episode either, but we were shown more of Dark Swan. She was so desperate to get the sword from the stone that she commanded Merida to kill Belle. I’m choosing to see that as her faith in the fact that Gold wouldn’t let anything happen to Belle. I’m assuming that’s what the viewers were supposed to take away from that and factor into Emma not actually being as evil as she’s making herself out to be.

At the end of this episode we see Gold pull the sword from the stone. I know this upset a lot of people who thought that Killian would based on spoilers. Personally I wasn’t bothered by it, his name ends up on the sword somehow and that’s what counts.

Gold says he’s going to defeat Emma because he’s a hero now. I think it’s super ridiculous that he thinks he can be a hero after one night when it has taken Regina and Hook years to redeem themselves and neither is all the way there yet. So I’m not terribly worried that Gold will actually succeed.

5x07 “Nimue”

The big scene for Hook and Emma this episode is Hook telling Emma goodbye as she sets off on a crucial journey with Merlin. Hook takes a chain off his neck that holds his ring. (And I’m now just realizing his necklaces have multiple chains. I think I’m a little too distracted by his chest sometimes you guys.) Emma backs up and says “Whoa whoa whoa,” although she is smiling and half laughing as she says it. Part of her is giddy and she knows it, we all know it.

Hook assures her he’s not proposing, and explains that he’s a survivor and that ring is why, he’s had it for many years and it’s the reason he’s alive, or it could be. I’m sure there is a lot more story where that came from, and it may tie into meeting his father in the winter finale. I’m really excited to find out.

Emma assures Hook that she is immortal now. Hook says, “The dark one is immortal, Emma isn’t. Bring her home to me. Or at the very least it’s a reminder that you’ve got a piercing eyed smoldering pirate here that loves you.” This is the first time Hook has ever said he loves her directly to her face. Her reaction is giddy yet again as she kisses him and tells him she loves him too.

When Emma is faced with the possibility that she might kill Merlin, we see her clutch that ring for comfort and assurance. I can only imagine how special that ring is going to continue to be for her and how symbolic it is going to be in their relationship.

An absolutely crucial moment in Emma’s journey was the scene where she almost killed Merlin and snapped at Nimue saying. “I am not nothing! I was never nothing! The power you have I don’t need!” That right there is perfect, beautiful evidence of just how far Emma has come from being a lost orphan who never thought she or anyone else could love her to truly believing in herself. What an outstanding moment.

As for Dark Swan, we learned a lot about Dark One mythology this episode, and it’s all very important as we see that now Rumple, Nimue, and all of the previous Dark Ones are in Emma’s head and encouraging her to reunite the sword and the dagger to snuff out the light.

As I mentioned in my previous posts, I firmly believe that Emma is doing all of this for a purpose. She isn’t dark for selfish reasons and I continue to believe that is the case. I think the fact that she doesn’t have gold skin is really important, especially since we saw her skin start to turn gold when she used dark magic to save Robin Hood. If she embraced the darkness she should be gold like Rumple, Zoso, and Nimue.

I’m thinking that Hook chasing away the dark ones in her head is going to be crucial. I think she has a window of opportunity where they don’t know what’s going on to potentially trick them and play them in addition to everyone else.

If you’ve been following spoilers, you know that Hook’s name does eventually end up on Excalibur along with Emma’s name on the tip. And since it was difficult to avoid, you’ve probably seen this accidentally leaked photo floating around of Emma holding the sword over a seemingly unconscious Hook in Camelot:

I’ve wondered for a few weeks if it is possible that we have a decoy sword situation happening. When Emma reunited the dagger and Excalibur, neither her name or Hook’s name were on the sword. I think it’s possible that while she didn’t have the dark one’s in her head, she made a fake sword and a fake dagger to trick them in order to protect the real sword and dagger that are tethered to her and Hook. That way she tricks everyone into thinking she is the Dark One in order to succeed as well as tricking the Dark One’s into thinking she is fulfilling their plans.

Whatever happens is clearly drastic as Emma said it felt “damn good” to defy the darkness and make the right choice in getting the spark. I firmly believe she has good intentions behind what  she is doing.

In the upcoming sneak peek we see that Emma says everything she’s doing she is doing for Hook. I think that everything is going to come full circle here. I’m not sure how he ends up unconscious or why, but I can see how tethering the one person Emma has full trust in to Excalibur is a way of protecting him and/or saving him.

I also think that it says a lot about Emma that she is still moving forward with her plan despite the fact Hook basically said he didn’t love her on the Jolly Roger and isn’t willing to be in a relationship with the Dark One. That had to be heartbreaking for Emma and the fact that she is still fighting and doing everything for him even though he doesn’t love her is huge.

I think Hook and Emma are only going to come out of this stronger. They are in for one massive reunion. I mentioned the phrase “I love you” being so critical and important this season and I think it’s even bigger than that. I think it’s a true test of just how strong their love for each other is. I have no doubt their love will make it.

I know there is a lot of concern surrounding 5B, but I’m honestly not worried. These two have proven that they’re survivors and that they  and their love can make it through anything and I think that’s only going to be proven further and in epic proportions. I am so excited to see what Emma’s plans are this Sunday and to start to get to the bottom of this madness.

I will hopefully be back will a full meta for Sunday’s episodes next week if my hand cooperates. I’m so excited though I may just type it one handed, we’ll see. I’m off to ice it now, fingers crossed on my good hand.

But alas, she sets up this date in order to manipulate Hook. She knows him better than anyone else and knows what buzzwords are going to set him off in order to get what she wants.

What’s interesting about Dark Swan to, is Jennifer Morrison’s acting choices. Jennifer is one of Once’s best actors, that’s no secret. Her interviews are always so in depth, so detailed. When questioned about her character her answers are always deep and meticulous.  This season she shared a photo of one of her inspiration boards for Dark Swan. It is covered in different characters and rock stars and dark images.

I see that, and I hear that Emma is going dark, and I completely expect Jennifer to come out and sell it and blow us all away with her interpretation. I expect to fall in love with Dark Swan the same way I fall in love with the other villains. I expect to root for her on some level.

Yet, when I watch Dark Swan, I don’t buy it. Jennifer is too good at what she does for her not to have an intention behind every single sentence, line, word, facial expression, etc. Jennifer knows exactly what she’s doing, and exactly what she needs to get across.

As a fan of hers, this makes me believe more than anything that Emma is not just dark for the sake of being dark or punishing her family. I don’t feel like her darkness has a selfish motive. If this were about selfishness, Dark Swan would be more of a fun villain in the way that the worst of villains are. They’re terrible people but we love them anyway.Jennifer would be selling it like nobody’s business. 

In Dark Swan’s case, everyone is sad and disappointed. It seems so out of character for Dark Swan to be so incredibly selfish and as the date went on I became even more sure that Emma is doing this with a good intention.

At the beginning of the date her manipulation game is strong. She seems set on her motive. Hook is not easily bested. After Emma and Hook’s first meeting when she had him tied to a tree he told her he could count the number of people who had bested him on one hand. Hook is not falling for it and calls her out on it, acknowledging that she’s not the same Emma because the old Emma didn’t play games.

Emma changes her approach by trying to explain how she is better as the dark one. She says “I used to be scarred and judgmental and closed off. It took me forever to see the magic in this place. But now I see things clearly. I’m not scared anymore. Honestly, I am an open book if you’re willing to take that trust step.”

I find this very interesting. The adjectives she chose, “scarred,” “judgmental,” and “closed off” are all very interesting choices of how she perceived herself before becoming the Dark One. I don’t think anyone would argue that she was all of those things at times, but those things being what she sees as the worst in herself are very intriguing.

When she says the line “I’m not scared anymore” she starts to cry. Jennifer mentioned that being the dark one gives you freedom of inhibitions. I think regardless of Dark Swan’s motives, Emma can feel that freedom. That’s part of what Rumple loved so much about being the Dark One was the ability to let go of being a coward and be a powerful person.

While I don’t think Emma is in it for the power, I think that she can feel some of those traits she disliked in herself not being so bothersome anymore. But I think her saying that she isn’t scared is a bit of a lie. If she weren’t scared, she wouldn’t have gotten emotional over saying that she wasn’t. I think deep down she is scared. Whatever she has going on, she’s facing it alone. She could be carrying the weight of everyone’s lives on her shoulders. We don’t know, but I feel as though I can sense that in her emotions.

Emma jumps back in to her manipulative plan to cover for those emotions and gets Hook to reveal that he held the cutlass to his head. After Emma jumps head first into her games Hook yells “More games! Enough Swan! All I wanted was your honesty and I am done humoring you.” Hook goes on to ask what she wants. She clearly needs something, hence the point of the game.

Emma responds that all she needs is his trust. I think her repeatedly asking Hook for his trust is genuine to a degree. I think back to when Rumple had Hook’s heart and forced Hook to go to the diner to tell Emma he had found a portal to Arendelle. As he was leaving he grabbed Emma’s arm with a shaky hand. It was a cry for help. I think there were definite moments throughout this date where Emma was crying out for trust in her own way.

I think that, for whatever reason, Emma has to keep up this Dark Swan charade. You can see glimpses of how it is breaking her heart. I think of Snow and Charming back in season one when King George threatened Charming’s life and Snow had to go and tell him that she didn’t love him. You could see how much it was breaking Snow’s heart to have to do it.

I think when Emma decided to take on the darkness, for whatever reason, she assumed she’d be able to get Hook on board. In 5x02 when she told Hook she wished she could tell him what happened in Camelot, it felt honest and genuine. When she asked for Hook’s trust there were moments of honestly seeping through.

I see Emma wanting someone in her corner so badly. She can’t say why she’s doing what she’s doing, there’s probably way too much at stake, but I felt some sincerity in her asking Hook to blindly trust her. She loves him, she wants to tell him, but she can’t.

Hook tells Emma he liked her the way she was. He says ‘I liked your walls. I liked being the one to break them down.” That is an insanely beautiful statement. Emma described herself pre-Dark One as “scarred, judgmental, and closed off.” Those are major insecurities she had about herself and here he is telling her that he loved those things about her. He loved her walls, he loved the mystery that she was. He loved peeling back the layers. He loved her as the futuristic woman in the Enchanted Forest, he loved her as the stubborn woman in New York who wouldn’t give him the time of day, he loved her as the bar wench, he loved her as the mother in Neverland, he loved her magic that made her who she was even when it was out of control. He loved her for exactly who she was. He peeled back the layers and he loved every single layer. He loved every version of Emma he got to see. He loved her on her bad days and on her good days. He loved her even when she insulted him and ignored him.

More importantly, he constantly fought for her. He fought to prove his love and devotion, he fought to save her, he fought to love her. He never gave up on her even when she gave up on herself. He loved the person underneath the layers that peeked out every now and then, and he never stopped fighting for that person because he truly loved that person.

It’s so heartbreaking to see that person mostly gone. But she slips through and gets emotional as Hook confesses that he liked who she was, her walls, and breaking them down. She clings to his jacket lapels, something she’d done frequently in the past. She says “The person you found inside is still me.” It felt like a plea, like despite the charade she’s having to put up, she is still that person and wants him to believe it so badly.

Realizing she’s not going to get that she says, “I have a question for you for once, do you love me? If you tell me you don’t love me I will let you go.” As I mentioned in the 5x01 meta, Hook saying “I love you” back to Emma is going to be a very big deal and he’s going to have to be very careful about how he says and approaches that with Emma being dark.

His response is exactly what is needed given the situation. He says, “I loved you.” After taking a few steps back he says, “I guess I’m either steering home or swimming home, tell me which.” We see Emma’s eyes feel with tears as he says that and backs away. She looks heartbroken. She’s trying to hide it, but somewhat failing as she responds “The ship is yours.”

I think that is both literal and figurative. The ship is representative of Hook’s home. He gave up his home by trading it for a bean to get to Emma. He truly changed for her and traded his home, signifying that she is his new home. Emma giving it back to him is signifying that she knows she isn’t his home anymore, and she’s giving his home back to him. She’s done with her game and knows she isn’t going to win him over as long as she’s dark.

I love that Hook doesn’t get discouraged and goes back to Robin looking for help to break into her secret closet. I love that he didn’t give up, it would have been so easy to after that heartbreak, but he believes in Emma and their love. He did not come this far to lose his happy ending. 

The end of the episode shows Emma using the sword to wake Gold. Since his heart is white, she intends to mold him into the hero that can pull the sword from the stone.

This I don’t really understand. Why not just get Henry do it? He’s a kid with far less faults than any of the adults, his heart is the heart of the truest believer, it’s probably as red as they come.

My hope is that it has to do with protecting her family and that’s why she’s choosing Gold and not just asking one of her family members to do it. There are a lot of paths to punishing people that are much easier than trying to mold someone into a hero to pull a sword from a stone to snuff the light out of something. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

Rumple made the comment “You crushed Hook’s heart even more firmly under your impractical boot heel.” I’m not entirely sure what he means by that. I’ve seen a lot of people theorizing that Emma crushed Hooks heart in order to cast the curse and then split her heart like Snow and Charming did. While I like the idea of that, I think that Emma has shown that she truly loves Henry, she is his mother, you would expect that she would love him more than anyone else. I also think that with all of the darkness inside of her, splitting a heart would put some of that darkness into the other person. Hook doesn’t appear to have dark intentions at all.

I also love that CS is a couple that aren’t storybook soulmates. They have fought against everything to be together. One of the things I love about them is that they weren’t fated for each other. They chose each other because they love each other. You could argue that having to fight so hard for their love makes it stronger, but it’s also a new love and a slow burn as Emma’s walls have slowly come down. I feel like them splitting a heart discards their fight to a degree. That theory just doesn’t sit well with me.

I believe it’s very possible that she crushed his heart, I just know that I believe she split hers to keep him alive. I feel like there has to be another element or explanation in play.

I still don’t know what to believe surrounding the curse. I’m not convinced Emma is the one that cast it. I’m not even convinced that it is a curse. It could be a spell or an enchantment of some kind. I don’t know what to believe.

Lancelot has warned that “Camelot is not what it seems.” I really believe him and I think that the Storybrooke residents are in for a surprise. I wouldn’t be surprised if Merlin isn’t trapped in the tree at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if Emma wasn’t the one who cast the curse. I don’t think a lot will surprise me at this point because I am so suspicious of anyone and everyone.

I also feel might be worth noting that in The Swan Princess, Derek runs on the motto “It’s not what it seems” while trying to find Odette who has been turned into a Swan. 

Spoiler warning for the rest of the meta.

I have seen the pictures going around of Hook and Rumple fighting on a ship, with Hook using whole Excalibur as his sword and his and Emma’s names on the sword. That blows my mind and I’m excited to see where that is all going and if/how the casting of Hook’s father could somehow play a role in it.

After Adam Croasdell tweeted that “abandonment is such a strong word,” I think that everyone is second guessing Hook’s past. Maybe his father didn’t abandon him like Hook thought. Maybe his father had a connection to Merlin or the Underworld. It’s hard to say at this point, but I love the possibilities.

I also think that everything we’ve seen so far added together with the picture of Excalibur is a great setup for a bigger love story with Hook and Emma. I mentioned this in the 5x01 meta and I still believe that is the direction the show is going in. Hook and Emma are going to come out of this stronger than ever before. Even though it’s painful right now, I think we are headed for some amazing things with these two this season.

I’m still holding strong to my belief that Dark Swan has a greater motive and took on the darkness with a good intention. I believe that Killian is a great man, and is more than capable of pulling the sword from the stone. I believe that this is all going to work out and make for some truly beautiful moments. I am so excited to see the payoff, it’s just going to be difficult to be patient in the meantime.

Hang in there everyone!

I have to admit, the first time I watched this scene, I could not hear it very well, and what I could hear did not sit well with me. Snow and Charming have the dagger and Snow holds it out to stop Emma. In my mind that seemed like the obvious choice. After all, no one is planning on Emma’s darkness being permanent. They just have to buy some time until they can get to Camelot and find Merlin. So putting someone in charge of commanding her not to do evil for a few days seems logical. An innocent persons life is at risk, why would the heroes not step in and save her?

The second time I watched the scene, it really clicked. It’s about trust. If Hook thought for one second Emma would have crushed the heart he probably would have stepped in. But he believes in her whole heartedly. (Totally didn’t intend that pun, but there you go.) He truly believes with all of his heart that she won’t hurt Merida.

But had her parents stepped in and stopped it, it would have shown Emma that they don’t trust her to make the right choices when it comes to the darkness. It would show that they don’t believe in her and it wouldn’t take long at all for Emma to stop believing in herself, especially with Rumple in her head trying to get her to see and do the worst in everything.

It has to be Emma’s choice, because she has to believe in herself. She has to believe that she can stop the darkness by herself or she’ll end up giving up on herself in the future.

We saw this back in 4A when Emma lost control of her magic and saw fear in her loved ones eyes. It was Elsa telling her she had to believe in herself that finally calmed Emma down and helped her get control of her magic.

In Oz, Glinda said, “Only you can shape your destiny, but you believe that you are evil, that is what you will become.” It is absolutely true, and so important that Emma believe in herself and believe that she can still be a hero. If people are constantly trying to stop her from doing bad things because they now see her as the dark one or a monster, that is how she will see herself, and eventually what she will become.

Hook knows that having someone that loves you is a huge part of staying in the light. Emma’s belief in him really inspires and encourages him to continue making the right choices. If Emma believes her family doesn’t trust her, then she doesn’t feel supported by them, she instead feels isolated by them because of the Dark One mantle.

Whether or not Emma wants these people there, they are all there. It’s just a matter of whether or not they become a support system, or they demonstrate a lack faith in her and isolate her into believing she is dark and helpless. They’re not going anywhere so it’s one of the two.

Hook understands this more than anyone because being alone is exactly what he’s been trying to avoid. He knows firsthand how Emma’s love, support and belief in him has kept him on his path. Regina has battled darkness, but it’s different for her because she’d given into being alone. She’d accepted that no one was ever going to love her and made it official by sterilizing herself. With Robin she has magic she can use to protect him. Hook doesn’t have that, he just has his life experience, which is very similar to Emma’s, which is crucial in relating to her and helping her understand and fight this darkness. He truly understands her better than anyone else.

The rest of the speech that Hook gave to Emma about heroes and villains coming together for her and because of her was beautiful, but not entirely accurate, which could come back to bite him. Regina’s there because she feels like she owes Emma and she hates owing anyone anything. They didn’t have a lot of time before the portal arrived so Robin, Neal, Roland, and Henry had to come by default. Zelena and Granny had to come by default. Leroy came because he didn’t want to miss out on the adventure, and the other dwarfs followed.

The point is that Snow, Charming, Hook, and Henry are really the only four people who are there solely for Emma. It probably won’t be long before Emma realizes that and can feel that, or before the Rumple in her head points that out.

So what does this mean going forward?

It means that if any of those core four slip up in anyway, no matter how minor, it’s going to trigger an emotional reaction in Emma. If she tries to ignore it, the shoulder devil in Rumple will be there to remind her. It will probably be similar to the Spell of Shattered Sight in that it will be very easy to instantly see the worst in people and have harsh reactions to everything.

It’s been pointed out that when Emma was hugging Hook and Henry and with her family, Rumple went away. While that’s really beautiful, that’s also problematic, especially at night. Rumple pointed out that Dark One’s don’t sleep, and that could prove to be a huge factor in Emma’s downfall. Sure Emma’s family and friends could take shifts watching her 24/7, but then that goes right back to Emma feeling like they don’t trust her, which will cause her to doubt herself and be her downfall to the darkness. So it’s very probable that Rumple will taunt her all through the night.  

Ultimately, we know that Emma gave into her darkness. Something, or maybe even a progression of things happened that caused her to give in. There are a few clues the episode gave that could be possible foreshadowing into what went wrong.

Jennifer Morrison tweeted that Emma as the Dark One, manifests what she wants wear. This is very important. In the premiere we saw Emma in a gray dress in Camelot, as the Dark Swan we saw her in black. If you follow spoilers you know that she spends a lot of time in a white dress in Camelot. I’m sure the last thing on Emma’s mind is wardrobe, I’m sure she could care less what she’s wearing and just manifests based on how she’s feeling.

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That makes the color palette simple. White is for when she is with her family, believes in herself, has faith, and is in control. Gray is for, as we saw in the premiere, when she is fighting the darkness and there is a mixture of light and dark urges in there, and black is for when she has fully given into the darkness. 

Lana tweeted, and we’ve seen through BTS pics that Regina is wearing a lot of red this season. Stepping into the leader/possible savior position, it makes sense that she would take on the color used to represent the savior in the past. Hook also appears to be wearing some red in Camelot, which is a good thing for his character and  how crucially he wants to save Emma. The Charmings have a more neutral/pastel palette which is honestly probably just representative of their nature and places them somewhere in the middle.

All of that taken into consideration, Emma’s clothes could be a really important factor to pay attention to. We only see her in gray in the premiere, so it’s not telling just yet, but I think it will be telling in the future.

Another interesting thing that could be important for the future is that Hook didn’t rush to tell Emma that he loved her back. He has said “I love you” in just about every way possible without actually saying the words. (Shout out Christina Perri) But saying he loved her would have put unnecessary pressure on their relationship given the circumstances. The more he fawns over her, the more pressure she has to be the person he knows she can be. That level of pressure means that every time she has even the slightest error in regards to their relationship, Rumple will be there to remind her of it and make her feel terrible about it.

We saw Emma in the decision scene use Gold as the example of how the Dark One destroys the people they love and how she didn’t want to do that to her family, to him. Emma wants more than anything not to hurt them, which is why she gave the dagger to Regina, so that if anything went wrong Regina would do what was necessary and destroy her. Her family means everything to her and she would rather be destroyed than hurt them.

At this point in the series, Henry is really the only person that has actually said the words “I love you” to Emma. It’s not something Emma hears every day, which makes it that much more important. The words have that much more weight and meaning which is why Hook was smart not to say them back.

However, those words could be extremely important in saving Emma in Storybrooke as the full dark one. Jennifer Morrison tweeted that the Dark Swan’s weakness is going to be her love for Hook and Henry. Those words could be essential in ridding her of the darkness.

We know that back in season one Regina told Belle that true loves kiss could break any curse. Belle then kissed Rumple and the darkness started to fade, at which point he realized what was happening and threw her in the dungeon. Regina and Belle both know from experience that true loves kiss can work, so they’d all be foolish not to try with either Hook or Henry.

The writers are going to have to offer an explanation. If true loves kiss was the answer, they would have had the darkness out of her by now. You could say that maybe true loves kiss just breaks the curse of the darkness being tethered to a specific person and set s the darkness free, which defeats the purpose of Emma taking on the Dark One mantle in the first place, but then Emma wouldn’t be allowed to kiss anyone, and that defeats the purpose of the love story.

What we might be looking at is a case of when Snow took the forgetting potion in season one and Charming tried true loves kiss but it didn’t work. Maybe you have to be in a completely vulnerable moment for it to happen. Belle caught Rumple off guard which is why he was vulnerable. Maybe what constitutes a “true loves” kiss is more technical than we thought.

However they go about it, I know one thing, the only way that makes sense to remove darkness is to counter it with light, and true love is as light as it gets. If Emma’s love for Hook and Henry is her Achilles heel, then we could really be looking at a bigger overall love story, and the words “I love you” finally being said back to Emma could play a huge role in that.

Interesting that love could be both her downfall, and what ultimately saves her.

The final critical piece of foreshadowing in the premiere was Hook pouring the potion on his hook that will allow him to remove a heart. There’s no way that won’t come back and be used later in the season.

It’s a bit of a ridiculous plot device. When Regina wanted Hook to take Cora’s heart back in the Enchanted Forest, she enchanted his hook, she never gave him a potion. If she had, the chances of it surviving on the Jolly Roger through curses, portals, the alternate universe, and in Blackbeards care is highly unlikely. I also seriously doubt he’s kept it in his pocket this entire time.

But I’ll play along, if the potion follows the same rules as when Regina enchanted his hook, then he can only use it to remove one heart. But we are working with the same writers that have broken a million rules before. What I’m getting at is Hook might be able to rip more than one heart, and there might be a way to remove Emma’s heart after all. If true love is what is keeping her heart in her chest, it makes sense that filling her heart with darkness would make it so it could be removed.

Hook said towards the end of last season “It’s my job, well I hope it’s my job to protect your heart, even when no one is physically trying to steal it.” That line could have been foreshadowing itself in an interesting way. Her family could make some courageous decision for the greater good instead of saving just Emma. But Hook could literally take her heart out.

By that same token Emma could notice her Achilles heel and rip her own heart out to make sure her evil plan succeeds, in the same way Cora did so she wouldn’t be weak. Or we could see Hook could rip his own heart out to stop feeling pain. Both could prevent a true loves kiss from working.

The possibilities are scary, but it makes sense and could really play out in a very interesting and ultimately rewarding way. I think love will play a big role in this season, it’s just a matter of how and when. I have my fingers crossed for a wonderful love story. The writers have said that the effects of this episode will be felt throughout the season and I really think that is true. This was a very important episode, especially for the premiere, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.