EPISODE SUMMARY:
Regina steps up in an unexpected way to protect Emma; a celebration at Camelot turns deadly; Hook tries to bring Emma back to the light.
AIRED: October 4, 2015
RATING: 4
★★★★✩ Excellent!
THE NEW CURSE - After Emma stoned Sneezy, the Dwarves don't want to stay in Storybrooke as long as she's the Dark One. They go to the town line to see what the new curse does. Dopey is just about to cross the line when Mary Margaret, David and Regina race to stop them. Leroy tells them that they can handle Villains like the Snow Queen, Pan and the Trio of Terror, but Emma was one of them. She knows how they defeat Villains, even having beaten most of them herself. So how can the hope to stand a chance against her? Dopey crosses over the town line, still has his memories, but turns into a tree.
I can understand being upset that Emma did something so horrible to one of their own, but the Dwarves seem so cowardly in this moment. When I think of any of our heroes, the Dwarves included, I don't see them running away. Sure, the Dark One is a scary being, but it's also Emma. You'd think that they'd want to stay and try to get her back, not run away from her. I'm not sure how I feel about them wanting to leave town to get away from Emma. I can see both sides.
ENTERING CAMELOT AND MERLIN'S PRISON - Upon entering Camelot, our Heroes are greeted with fanfare. Arthur introduces them to his queen, Guinevere. He informs them that they've been waiting for their arrival for a decade or so. There's to be a ball thrown in their honor. Killian doesn't want to waste time on a dance and asks Arthur when they'll start their quest to find Merlin. They don't need to find Merlin, Arthur knows exactly where he is. Merlin is imprisoned in a tree and the one to free him is the Savior. When asked which of them is the Savior, Regina uses the dagger to stop Emma from speaking up and claims to be the Savior herself.
The Arthurian legends have always been among my favorite stories and I even when through a phase in high school, so I'm really looking forward to this story arc. I can't wait to see what characters show up and what roles they'll play. The fact that Merlin is trapped in a tree and only the Savior can free him is going to complicate things. They need to free him to save Emma. Now Regina is claiming to be the Savior. She's definitely powerful enough as the Evil Queen, but I guess we'll see if she can take on the role of the Savior.
REGINA AND BEING THE SAVIOR - We know that in Camelot, Regina claimed to be the Savior and she had a lot of doubts that she could fill that role. Now back in Storybrooke, with no memories of Camelot, Regina is stressed over the fact that she may not be able to be the Savior and protect the town. She's determined to do it, but has no real confidence in herself. At their meeting at the pier, Emma flat out tells Regina that she knows that she doesn't have it in her. Later, Regina voices her concerns to Robin and he tries to reassure her that everyone knows how far she's come, but she doesn't think that she really believe or trust in her. When Mary Margaret tries to get Regina to go to the hospital after being injured trying to save Robin from a creature, she sees it as Mary Margaret not believing that she can save him. When Regina goes to see Emma about the creature, Emma's revelation and admonishment spur Regina into stepping up and it's then that she proves herself. Regina has so much confidence when it comes to using her magic for evil, but when it comes to doing something good, saving someone, she has no confidence at all. Even with all the reassurances that they believe in her. It took actually taking action for her to believe that she could do it. So maybe it wasn't everyone else's belief that she needs, but her own belief in herself.
KING ARTHUR IN STORYBROOKE - King Arthur runs into Leroy and another Dwarf in town and demands to know where he is and how he got there. At the Sheriff's office, Arthur is informed about the curse and wants to know who would do such a thing. David admits that they weren't completely honest with him on the way to Camelot. Mary Margaret confesses that their daughter Emma is the Dark One and she's the one who cast the curse. They had thought that Merlin would be able to destroy the Darkness inside her. Arthur demands to know where the Dark One is and Mary Margaret tells him that Emma's also in Storybrooke. He wants to defeat her with the dagger, but Mary Margaret and David state that they don't want to destroy her, she's their daughter, besides she has the dagger. Robin enters the office and informs Arthur that some of his subjects were found in the forest. For a while there it looked like there might be a showdown between Arthur and our Heroes when he learned the truth about Emma being the Dark One. Robin showing up at the time that he did could have possibly stopped a manhunt from taking place. Although, I don't think it would have yielded any results against Emma. She's the Dark One. It wouldn't be easy to destroy her. Arthur's entrance into town was pretty impressive, though. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to kneel before a king?" Leroy looked like he wanted to do some damage to Arthur.
EXCALIBUR MISSING - In the forest, after his people are gathered together, Arthur and Guinevere are reunited. It's at that time that she notices that Excalibur is missing. Arthur didn't have it when he arrived in town. David assures him that if the sword is in Storybrooke, they'll be able to find it. Arthur is surprised that David knew about Excalibur and David replies by saying that in this realm, Arthur is a legend.
Well, Excalibur being missing is definitely not a good thing. That's a very powerful sword and in the wrong hands could do a lot of harm. So where could it be? I think it's kind of obvious from the start that Emma took it. She's the one who cast the curse and transported everyone to Storybrooke. She's the only one who had complete control when they returned. Although, it could be possible that the sword just happened to end up in some random location in town.
ROBIN AND THE FURY - While Robin is in the forest collecting wood for the people of Camelot, a creature swoops down, grabs him, and flies away with him. Regina and the others run after him, but the creature knocks her around pretty good. Mary Margaret wants her to go to the hospital to get checked out, but she goes to Gold's shop instead. Belle tells Regina that she found something about the creature. It's a Fury, a demon sent from the Underworld to collect the unpaid price of magic. Regina concludes that someone used magic in Camelot and didn't pay the price. Belle adds that the Fury doesn't come for just any price, it comes when the price of magic is a life. The Fury is there to drag Robin to the Underworld. To save him, someone would need to give their life in his place. When the moon reaches its zenith, the Fury takes Robin to the lake where the boat to the Underworld comes through the portal. Mary Margaret, David, Arthur and Leroy run to where the Fury is waiting, but are knocked back by the creature. Regina arrives and tells the Fury to take her life instead and the Fury turns on her and starts taking her life. The others grab Regina's hands and their combined life force overwhelms the Fury, causing it to explode. Robin wakes up and tells Regina that it looks like she found a few believers.
It's during this part of the episode that we learn that something terrible happened in Camelot and magic was used that wasn't paid for. Robin was taken because he was the one dying, he was the one the magic was used to heal, basically taking him away from the Underworld. The Fury was a really awesome creature that truly looked mythical. It was probably one of my favorite creatures so far that they've shown in the show. I really liked how all of them banded together to save not only Robin but Regina as well. I never thought that Leroy of all people would tell Regina that after what she did, he knows that she'll be the one to save the town.
EMMA, KILLIAN, AND TRUE LOVE'S KISS - Killian goes to Gold's shop to ask Belle about why True Love's Kiss didn't work for her and Gold. Belle tells him that it did work the first time, it woke the man behind the Beast. But he got scared of a life without power and chose it over love. In that moment, the Darkness forever regained its grip on him. She warns Killian that it's easier to hate a Dark One than it is to love one. Killian summons Emma and she teleports him to her house, stating that she's been looking for him too and that just because she's the Dark One now doesn't mean that they can't still be together. Killian kisses Emma, hoping that True Love's Kiss will work, but it doesn't. She tells him that it didn't work because there's nothing to fix, this is who she is now. At Granny's later that day, Belle asks Killian how it went. He tells her that Emma didn't even flinch. "It's not over. I spent over a century trying to find a way to kill the bloody crocodile. I can spend at least that long trying to save the woman I love."
I've been loving all the moments where Killian has been trying to find a way to save Emma. His desperation and heartbreak at the Kiss not working really gave me the feels. I love seeing this side of Killian. It makes me really hope that he can find a way to save her.
PERCIVAL'S REVENGE - Percival presented Regina with a gift from King Arthur, a necklace for her to wear to the ball. But it turns out that the necklace is magic that allows him to see everything that she sees. He sees a conversation between Regina, David and Mary Margaret while they are teaching her to dance. He knows that she's not the Savior but the Evil Queen. At the dance, Percival asks to dance with Regina. He tells her a story of his childhood in the Enchanted Forest and how she's responsible for the destruction of his village and the people he loved. He hasn't told anyone who she really is because Arthur would have stopped him from killing her. Percival drew his sword, but Robin tackled him to the ground to stop him from killing Regina. David grabs a knight's sword and kills Percival before he can kill Robin. But Robin was still fatally wounded in the struggle.
Regina's past almost bit her in the butt. Well, it kind of did, with Robin being hurt so severely. And the way that David came swooping in and saving the day was impressive. We don't get to see him work with a sword very often, so it was nice to see such skill. But the big question is whether they'll be able to save Robin.
HENRY AND VIOLET - At the dance, Mary Margaret notices Henry's interest in one of the girls from Camelot. David goes over and gives him some advice. He should go over and introduce himself. The fact that he's from a different world will work in his favor. When Henry meets her, she's bored since they have balls all the time. So Henry pulls out his iPod, telling her it's a gift from the Savior for saving everyone who was trapped in an alternate universe. She inquires if he's a knight and he tells her that he's something better - a writer. Henry gives her one of the earbuds and plays her "Only You" by Yazoo. She introduces herself as Violet. In Storybrooke, they have no memory of meeting, but they hit it off just as well. He meets her again at the jukebox at Granny's. He plays her the same song and she comments that she feels like she's heard the song before and introduces herself again.
This is the first time that Henry's shown any interest in a girl (unless I'm forgetting something). Although I don't think we've ever seen any his age before on the show. It's just really cute how they meet and bond over his song. I'm hoping that it somehow works out for them.
ROBIN FATALLY WOUNDED - Regina can't heal Robin because he was wounded with a sword that was enchanted to kill her. She looks to Emma. Everyone is against it and Emma is hesitant, not knowing what will happen if she uses her magic. Regina states that she could use the dagger to make her do it, but she's asking instead. "Please. Save him." Emma agrees to try, but Rumpelstiltskin warns her that she needs to take a price for the magic. Those are the rules. There has to be a price. Emma states that she'll pay it, but Regina is the one who asked for the magic so she has to pay for it. Emma heals Robin anyway, thinking that because she's the Savior, it could be different.
You'd think that with all her experience, Regina would realize that a price was required for the magic she wanted. But her desperation to save Robin wasn't allowing her to think clearly. Then there's Emma. She wants to help Regina freely, but being the Dark One doesn't work that way. A deal must be struck and a price paid. Robin is healed and recovering, but Emma did pay a price. Not for the magic, but for using it. As she leaves the group, Rumpelstiltskin states that she liked the power. "Tasty, isn't it? The Darkness." If she didn't enjoy it, the kiss she had laid on Killian would have stopped her hand from changing. But it didn't. So Emma paid a price for freely helping her friends. I'm happy that Robin was saved, but I also think that more caution should have been used.
THE ONE WHO DIDN'T PAY THE PRICE OF MAGIC - After Regina learns about the Fury, she goes to Emma's house. When she tells Emma that she won't sacrifice another life to save Robin, Emma asks vehemently that NOW she's going to be heroic, NOW a life is precious to her? Regina still believes that there is still good in her. Emma states that Regina of all people knows that there are no good or bad versions of ourselves, there's just her. Regina thinks that Emma called the Fury and demands that she call it off. But the price is not Emma's to pay. She did not call the Fury. Regina asks who's price it is. "Yours. You are the one who did not pay the price of magic in Camelot. You want to save Robin Hood, you want to earn the belief of the Savior, then step up and do what needs to be done!"
I think that what Emma said to her and her own desperation to save Robin is what made it possible for her to do what she did to save Robin. The interaction between Regina and Emma was really intense. I actually kind of liked how Emma put Regina in her place and then slammed the door in her face.
GUINEVERE'S DOUBTS - As Arthur is removing Percival's crest from the Round Table, Guinevere shares her worries with him about our Heroes. Percival is dead and who knows what other trouble they will bring to the kingdom. Arthur states that they are there to destroy the Dark One. It won't be easy, but helping them could be the only way to get his hands on the dagger. They will lose everything they worked to build if they don't make Excalibur whole.
This conversation between Arthur and Guinevere would lead us to believe that they are not on our Heroes side. They only want the dagger and it seems like they may do anything to get it. They are desperate to make Excalibur whole. To keep the people from learning the truth. They seem to be power hungry. I don't feel like they are worried about losing the kingdom, so much as the power they hold over the kingdom. We'll see what happens next where this is all concerned.
DOING WHAT NO OTHER DARK ONE COULD - Rumpelstiltskin appears to Emma again after so long because there's more work to be done, something bigger than the two of them. As long as Dark Ones existed, there's been one thing that has always held them back. Family. Friends. Opposing Magic. Love. No matter how hard they tried, they could never escape the reach of the Light. But Emma can change that, it's why she brought Excalibur to Storybrooke. She can make the sword whole and extinguish the Light. But if she wants the sword, she'll have to pay the price.
This last scene of the episode is quite ominous. Will Emma really use Excalibur to destroy the Light? Is she really that far gone? I thought it was kind of funny that she thought that she could actually draw the sword from the stone herself. Only a Hero can draw the sword and live to tell the tale. And right now, she's not a Hero. So how is she going to get the sword? When Rumpelstiltskin talks about magic that can undo their most evil deeds, I loved that it showed Regina un-stoning Sneezy. I really like seeing the Heroic side of her.
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