Posts tagged: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon A Time S05E11 “Swan Song” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Netflix, new episodes every Wednesday
Writers: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz
Director: Gwyneth Horder-Payton

Essential Plot Points:

In The Fantasyland Flashbacks:

• Young Hook and his brother are sold into slavery by their dad, Brennan.
• Years later, with Hook now a seasoned pirate, Regina recruits him to kill her mum Cora. To test his suitability for the task she takes him to a tavern run by his father.
• She tells Hook he must kill Brennan.
• Brennan pleads with Hook that he is a changed man (love of a good woman, blah, blah, blah… wife died of plague… blah, blah, blah… did I mention you now have a cute step-brother?… blah, blah, blah…).
• Hook nearly has a change of heart but is incensed when he finds out his dad had called his step brother the same name as his real brother, Liam (and that Brennan is using he same trite fatherly wisdom spiel he used on Hook years before).
• Hook kills his dad.

In Storybrooke:

• The Dark Ones give the various Storybrookers the Mark Of Charon. This means that when the moon reaches its peek, the Dark Ones will take over their bodies while the souls of the Storybrookers will be consigned to the Underworld.
• Emma decides that she must use Excalibur to draw all the Darkness into her and then kill herself. So she asks Gold to give her the sword and he seems unusually compliant.
• But by a ridiculously simple ruse Hook nicks Excalibur off Emma.
• When Charon arrives to transport the Storybrookers’ souls to the Underworld Regina appeals to Hook’s better nature (it seems that the Darkness, like Cybermen in New Who, isn’t immune to a sob story) and Hook lets Emma kill him using Excalibur, which then dissolves.
• But Gold has a plan of his own; he’s magically tampered with Excalibur so that now all the power of Darkness is in him.
• Emma realises what’s happened when she hears the Dagger calling for her. Threatening to tell Belle what Gold’s done, Emma blackmails Gold into helping her with a new plan – to travel to the Underworld to rescue Hook’s soul. The usual suspects join her in the quest otherwise a bunch of actors on contract wouldn’t have much to do for a few episodes next spring.
• Somewhere along the way, Regina finds time to banish Zelena back to Oz.

Review

There’s little denying that “Swan Song” is an unashamed fan-pleaser. Hook sacrifices himself in a scene exquisitely crafted to have regular viewers welling up, killed by a sword stroke from the woman he loves. Then before their tears can dry and they grow angry enough to blast the show on internet forums for callously killing off one of their favourite characters, a now non-Dark Emma has worked out a plan to resurrect him. Next thing you know all the main cast members board a ferry for the Underworld and an almighty cliffhangers makes sure we’ll all be glued to the screen again next spring.

It is the stuff of fairytales, and after five years Once Upon A Time does it effortlessly. Okay, there’s still a slight sense of everything being a little rushed, which has an unfortunate impact on Gold’s storyline but it’s a credit to the writers that they pack so much in without the whole thing becoming a total mess. This is a show that’s no longer bothered with new fans, just keeping the ones it does have happy, which means it can rely on a well-honed dramatic shorthand. What might seem trite to the uninitiated is usually a clever piece of scripting sleight-of-hand to those in the know. After all, what the hell would any newcomer make of the flashbacks these, which simply cut into the main action with no pretence at any kind of establishing their context any more?

So, on the surface this is a key episode that delivers in terms of the grand gestures and big emotional set pieces. But that surface doesn’t take much scratching to see that there are cracks underneath.

What’s that noise? Oh just the sound of missed opportunities whizzing by. The revelation about Gold being the Dark One again initially feels like a cool move, but the show hardly makes the most of the twist. After Rumple was all “look how noble I am!” last episode, this sudden change of face (figuratively if not literally… yet) seems to be a betrayal of the character’s development. Then you start to wonder if we’re supposed to think that Belle dumping him last week was supposed to the trigger. Now that has great dramatic potential: he becomes the Dark One again in a hissyfit over getting dumped only for Belle to come to back to him because she believes he’s been selfless. Irony? In spades.

But absolutely none of that is explicit in the script. No big deal is made if it. In fact, new Dark Gold seems barely any different. No evil glints in the eye. No sardonic sneer. Is he actually sure he’s the Dark One? And what does he plan to do with all that power? Overcharge people for antiques?

It’s also a pity that more wasn’t made of Dark Hook. We had to endure Dark Swan sulking for half a season but when we finally get a Dark One who’s fun to watch he’s written out after two episodes. There was a lot more potential here from some sparks between Dark Hook and his old friends. Sadly the writers seemed to be in a hurry to send everybody to Hell.

There’s aren’t major problems; the episode hits the target at the crucial moment and is a great deal of fun. But you can’t help thinking that the show might occasionally benefit from a less hectic pace that would allow for some more gradual character development with rich multilayered dialogues rather than everything being delivered in the form of impassioned speeches.

The Good:

• Emma’s finally not sulky Dark Emma with a Norman Bates’s mother haircut any more! Hurrah!
• Dark Hook was still a lot of fun, even if he’s gone way too soon.
• Hook’s self-sacrifice was very moving and a fitting conclusion.

• Although we haven’t always been kind to Zelena in the past, she gets two great scenes here. The idea that she wants to redecorate the mayor’s office in green is very amusing, especially when she realises that her three main choices of shade (“Kelly? Hunter? Pistachio?”) would all make great baby names. Allegedly.

• Later, the sequence when Regina forces Zelena to return to Oz boasts some great FX work.

• It was almost nostalgic to see Regina as the Evil Queen again, even if the mannered way she exited her coach made it look like she was going to slap her thigh at any moment.

The Bad:

• Gold’s reversion to Darkness has almost zero dramatic impact.
• Neither of the big emotional speeches – Brennan’s to Killian and Regina’s the Hook – are particularly powerful or convincing.

• Has Robin had a line in this half season that hadn’t included the words “daughter”, “child” or “baby”?
• The Hook flashback is a tad dull, and not a little contrived. Getting someone to kill their own dad is a long way from getting them to kill somebody else’s mum; there were were more relevant tests Regina could have concocted.
• It’s a shame the decision to resurrect Hook came so soon after his noble death; it lessened the impact and reinforces the idea that death is little more than a minor mishap on this show.

And The Random:

• The title card features the Dark Ones gathering in the forest.

• Merlin’s “withered, old knob”? Zelena, wash your mouth old.

• Hang on… so Dark Hook doesn’t use guyliner? That’s ironic. Or maybe just lighting.

Review by Dave Golder

• Read our other Once Upon A Time Season Five reviews
• Once Upon a Time panel with Victoria Smurfit and Merrin Dungey at MCM Birmingham Comic Con
• INTERVIEW Once Upon A Time’s Merrin Dungey and Victoria Smurfit MCM Birmingham

Once Upon A Time S05E10 “Broken Heart” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Netflix, new episodes every Wednesday
Writers: Dana Horgan & Tze Chun
Director: Romeo Tirone

Essential Plot Points:

In Camelot:

• Hook is reborn as Dark Hook and he’s pissed with Emma.
• Emma may have control of him through Excalibur but he’s the one who emotionally manipulates her; he uses his wiles to get his hook on Excalibur, kill Merlin and instigate a curse that will return him to Storybrooke where he can wreak revenge on Gold…
• …But his Dark One predecessors have bigger plans in mind.
• So Emma hijacks the curse, robbing everyone of their memories of their time in Camelot, so that no one knows Hook is a Dark One.

In Storybrooke:

• Hook challenges Gold to a duel. Amazingly Gold wins but doesn’t kill Hook.
• Hook only needed some of Gold’s blood, though, so he could open a portal to the underworld and allow a boat load of Dark Ones to invade Storybrooke.
• Nobody trusts Emma. Then she asks Henry for help in a quest that will return everybody’s memories. Hurrah! She’s no longer acting alone. Everybody trusts Emma.
• Regina uses access to Hood and Zelena’s baby daughter as emotional blackmail to try to make Zelena a better woman.

Review:

What every story needs is a good hook, but Once Upon A Time benefits from a bad Hook. While Emma/Killian ’shippers might have issues with this latest obstacle to their relationship, everyone else can enjoy Colin O’Donoghue having a whale of a time as Hook is let off the leash. While Dark Swan may have been a bit a damp squib, in one episode Dark Hook makes up for all that, with some deliciously casual evil, pithy insults and general bad-assery. Sure he’s been evil before, but this feels like a new kind of evil as he channels both the Hook of yore and the Dark Ones.

Emma’s left reeling in his wake, looking like a labrador that’s not being allowed any leftovers from Christmas dinner. She does have some sweet moments of rebonding with Henry, though; while this little subplot suffers from the usual Once Upon A Time affliction of “redemption is only ever one nice act away” it is great to see the old Emma emerging from behind the Jean Paul Gaultier Hell’s Angel costume; and Jennifer Morrison is managing the transformation with a pleasing subtlety.

It’s a strong episode for Gold too. You have to cheer him on when he refuses Emma’s offer of squid ink to cheat in his due with Hook and announces that he wants to fight with honour. The actual fight is a bit of a letdown – too short, too unimpressive, rubbish resolution with the pirate standing in just the right spot to be hit on the head by a convenient prop – but that’s nothing compared to what follows: Belle dumps Gold. Where the hell did that come from? Unless it transpires she was being controlled by someone (a pissed-off Hook, perhaps?) this must rate as the either the most unconvincing reason to split up ever, to the most selfish.

As for Regina using Zelena’s own baby as a weapon in a war for her salvation… well, you can’t fault the sentiments behind it, but once again, the show tries to convince us that someone can have such a complete change of heart in the space of one brief scene. Fiction has to use dramatic contraction, sure; writers have been using major events to hurry up emotional development since Shakespeare’s time. But sometimes Once Upon A Time dumps too much work on too few scenes and the results can be a little trite. Luckily Lana Parilla is a decent enough actress to (almost) pull it off and somehow makes the scene more about Regina than Zelena.

Then again, less time spent on the redemption of a character you don’t really care whether they’re redeemed or not (Zelena) means there’s more screen time for Dark Hook. Hurrah! And the episode ends with a great cliffhanger that has you checking that this isn’t the mid-season finale… it isn’t, so you have to worry about there being worse to come next week!

The Good:

• Hook’s impression of Rumple.
• Hook generally having far more fun as a Dark One than Emma did.
• Loads more Dark Ones!
• Distinct lack of Arthur – always a good thing.

• “Why must Dark Ones dress like mugs?” And head-Rumple’s consequent appreciation of the leather look.
• “You’re here because you still have feelings for me.” “Oh Swan, of course I still have feelings for you. Anger. Hatred. Disappointment.”

• “Careful dearie. That’s the oldest heart in all the realms. Let’s cut it open and count the rings.”

The Bad:

• Belle dumping Rumple– a lousy reason, lousy timing, and simply made Belle come across as selfish. Some fans have suggested, Belle was actually under Hook’s control and he made her leave Rumple to hurt him, but that seems pretty low-rent, petty stuff for a Dark One. If this were the case, you’d have thought Belle would have been more cruel and more hurtful. Instead this odd little scene just feels weird.
• Dark Swan in the Camelot section is insufferably gullible and wet.
• Henry doesn’t seem to need much convincing to go from “I don’t trust you” to “Here’s your magic back.”
• Similarly, Regina’s emotional blackmail to try to make a decent woman out of Zelena – while a sweet one in theory – felt like it needed more than one scene to give it some emotional weight.
• The Gold/Hook sword fight is a bit dull.
• The details about how the curse is supposed to work before Emma hijacks it are worryingly vague.

And The Random:

• This week’s title card features Hook’s ship. The same title card was used for season two’s “The Crocodile” and the season three’s “Good Form”.

• And one day she’ll grow to adulthood (sorry, couldn’t resist).
• In the US this episode has the lowest overnight viewing figures ever for the series.

Review by Dave Golder

• Read our other Once Upon A Time Season Five reviews
• Once Upon a Time panel with Victoria Smurfit and Merrin Dungey at MCM Birmingham Comic Con
• INTERVIEW Once Upon A Time’s Merrin Dungey and Victoria Smurfit MCM Birmingham

Once Upon A Time S05E09 “The Bear King” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Netflix, new episodes every Wednesday
Writer: Andrew Chambliss
Director: Geofrey Hildrew

Essential Plot Points:

• The witch from Brave makes an ultimatum to Merida: return the magical helm she gave to Fergus otherwise she’ll curse the whole town.
• Arthur is also searching for the helm.
• The race is on between Arthur and Merida

After the bombshell about Dark Hook that dropped last episode, the season takes a short break from Darkness-related relationship woes to concentrate on this side-story featuring the best thing about this show this year – Merida.

Merida is about to be crowned Queen after gaining the approval of the clans a few episodes previously. The ceremony is interrupted by the witch, who demands the magical helm she gave to Fergus (as seen in a flashback) be returned or else she’ll turn the entire kingdom into bears. 

Merida, discovering the helm is longer in the castle, sets out to track down the magical item. She has a good idea of its location, as she witnessed the knight who killed killed Fergus take the helm.

To help her in her her quest she’s joined by old friend, Mulan. Yet Mulan isn’t how Merida remembered her; she now works purely for profit rather than for honour. Despite the surprising change in character, Merida offers payment in exchange for helping her track down her father’s killer.

Merida isn’t the only person tracking the 
 magical helm. After their sudden exit from the battle in the forrest last episode, Arthur and Zelena realise they’re going to need help defeating both the Dark One and Merlin. Arthur remembers Fergus’s magical helm and they decide to find it.



In the flashbacks we learn that Fergus was given the helm when he approached the witch for magical assistance for defeating an imminent army of attackers. Whoever wears the helm can force men to follow him into battle. The witch warns she will require payback at some point.

Merida wants to accompany her father into battle, proud of the way he can inspire hi men, but Fergus hires Mulan to distract Merida with a training session. Realising what has happened Merida races to the battlefield only to arrive just as her father is killed by a helmeted knight.

In the present Arthur and Zelena catch up with Merida and Mulan. Arthur informs Merida of the true nature of the helm and Merida is crushed by the revelation her father used magic to force men to fight. Zelena uses a tracking spell on Mulan’s bow (it had been given to her by her father) and they disappear. 

Mulan and Merida follow Arthur and Zelena to the lake where Merida had once sought her father’s advice about being a leader. They discover the helm beneath the lake. Merida realises that when she sought after her father’s advice, her words inspired him to throw the helm into the lake; he didn’t use magic to inspire his men, just good leadership.

We also discover that Arthur was the knight who killed Fergus. This leads to a fight between Merida and Arthur. Merida is on the verge of losing when the clans turn up and save her. Her bravery has inspired her troops too!

Merida and the clans return home victorious. Merida’s coronation begins again, and like before it is also interrupted by the witch. Merida refuses to give the helm to her, claiming it was too powerful to exist. The witch takes this news surprisingly well, and this was apparently her plan since Fergus first approached her: a test of character. Merida is rewarded with magical ale that can allows the user to speak to the dead.

Review:

Just as the previous episode highlighted the relationship between Emma and Hook, this episode shows just how close Merida was to her father. The whole episode is immensely touching, seeing a younger Merida idealise her father and fight to keep him safe, and likewise seeing Fergus sacrifice the helm so he doesn’t become a hypocrite to his daughter.

Emotionally it all builds to a final conversation between adult Merida and the decreased Fergus that could bring a tear to even the driest eyes. 

We also gain more insight to how great a character Merida actually is: she’s become so well-developed and gained real depth. Everything she’s done this season has developed beautifully and naturally from her movie counterpart. Seeing her unsure of herself, questioning whether or not she can lead an army – especially when she thinks her father has used magic to make others fight for him – makes her a far more interesting character than a hero who simply steps up to the mark when called.

Merida continues to be one of the strongest female character Disney has ever produced, and she makes a great double-act with one of the others: Mulan – was a great choice. We see how alike they are, despite being from completely different cultures. Both characters’ fighting ability is doubted because of their sex and both rise up to fight for their honour. The we get Ruby thrown in the mix as well, giving Mulan relationship tips after admitting that – having eaten her own boyfriend – she’s probably not best-placed to give advice.

The only real downside to this episode is the inclusion of an artificial deadline in the revenge sub-plot with Arthur and Zelena. They feel a little forced into the plot, even more so when it’s revealed that Arthur was the man who killed her father.

Nevertheless it was a very strong episode. Viewers aren’t going to mind a week away from the main action when the detours takes them on such an enjoyable episode as this.

The Good:

• The whole relationship between Merida and Fergus was beautifully done, and provided great motivation for the characters.
• The Merida and Mulan team-up was amazingly.

The Bad:

• How did Arthur know that Fergus had a magical helm?
• While having Merida and Mulan reject society’s view of women is a great feature, the writers aren’t exactly subtle in hammering the message home.
• The coincidence of both Merida and Arthur searching for the helm at the same time feels very forced.

And The Random:

• The title shows Merida riding her horse through the woods.
• It’s the first episode of the series to consist entirely of flashbacks.

Review by Sam Halford

• Read our other Once Upon A Time Season Five reviews
• Once Upon a Time panel with Victoria Smurfit and Merrin Dungey at MCM Birmingham Comic Con
• INTERVIEW Once Upon A Time’s Merrin Dungey and Victoria Smurfit MCM Birmingham

Once Upon A Time S05E08 “Birth” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Netflix, new episodes every Wednesday
Writer: David H Goodman, Jerome Schwartz
Director: Eagle Egilsson

Essential Plot Points:

• Arthur demands the dagger and the flame in exchange for Emma’s family.
• Emma battles with letting go of the Darkness.
• Zelena goes into labour. Clues suggest Emma is after her baby.
• Emma must make a huge decision to save Hook’s life.

Review:

In the previous episode Arthur was being built up as competent and newly powerful villain. Unfortunately this doesn’t last long into this episode. Within the first five minutes he’s captured by David, Hook and Robin. He even has a chance to kill Hook but wastes time making quips instead of actually stabbing him. This gives Emma enough time to jump in with her recently-reforged Excalibur. She was probably waiting for just such a chance to show it off.

In Camelot the situation looks far more promising for Arthur. He has Emma’s family hostage and uses Merlin to deliver to her the ultimatum: the dagger and the flame in exchange for their lives. Yet he still finds a way to mess that up. If you had control of the most powerful wizard in the world you’d probably use force him to use his powers rather than just threatening to do so all the time.

Emma places a trap inside the amber box to restrain Zelena when she opens it. This leads to a magical fight between Emma and Merlin, that looks suspiciously like someone on the production team scribbled “can it be a bit like the Harry/Voldemort fight in Deadly Hallows?” in the margins of the script. Merlin easily defeats her (which is odd considering the scene with Nimue last week) and this would probably be the most opportune moment for Arthur to order Merlin to kill Emma, his biggest obstacle, instead of (slowly) killing his mother. Emma begs for Merlin to fight against it, which surprisingly works. This gives Hook time to uncuff his well, hook, and give Arthur a right… hook.

Back in Storybrooke, Zelena is given a monumental shock when she finds herself nine months pregnant after just three months and ready to go into labour. They realise dark magic is involved and Belle discovers that Emma needs the cries of a newborn to destroy light magic. However, in a twist Emma kidnaps Zelena instead along with Hook. It’s revealed that Emma plans to transfer the darkness into Zelena and kill her to destroy the darkness forever.

Fortunately Regina comes to rescue them, giving Hook and Zelena time to escape. Although Hook can’t leave without answers. He finds the squid ink that was previously used to trap Rumple and freezes Emma in place. Just as he does this Zelena finds the dreamcatcher and shows Hook his memories from Camelot. In a twist Hook was unable to be healed from the cut he got from Excalibur when he punched Arthur, so Emma transfers Merlin’s powers to him in order to save his life, creating a new Dark one.

There’s many things to like about this episode, but the best is the relationship between Hook and Emma. They begin to plan their future together as Hook sees a house they could live in; this both gives Emma strength but also worries her about giving up the Darkness. It’s a great insight into the romance between them and makes the whole relationship feel far more real. It’s interesting to see that Emma didn’t want to give up the darkness, but not for the reasons we’d expect, showcasing how much of a strong character she really is. While in the present Hook tries desperately to connect with Emma and help her, it’s only at the end we discover that Hook needed to be kept in the dark.

The only problem with this set-up is that they’ve made it clear in the past that Hook used to be a very dark and violent person. The clear implication is that when he becomes the Dark One he’ll be overcome by temptation. Yet it also seems obvious that they’re setting up his relationship with Emma as a kinda “life raft” to pull Hook back from being completely lost. If this is what happens then all well and good, but if we’ve seen it coming then surely a huge proportion of the rest of the audience will too. It’s the obvious route to go down.

Since Emma is no longer the villain, another problem inherent in this season is that it doesn’t have any memorable villains (unless Dark Hook turns out to be a great addition). Arthur has proved time and time again that he’s an awful adversary; that’s nothing against Liam Garrigan, who is as good as he can be in the role, but unfortunately Arthur hasn’t been given anything interesting to do. Ultimately it appears that Arthur will almost instantly be forgotten about after the season ends unless the writers can find something for him to do other than being obstacle.

Another minor problem is that there were a few unexplained situations this episode. Hook left Mr Gold’s shop with the snow globe that Rumple was inspecting, which was explained in a scene that was cut out. Emma performed a light show for Regina, but we’re never told what that actually did, and Zelena randomly stumbled upon Emma’s Dreamcatcher despite the fact that Regina already removed it. It’s also not something Emma would leave lying around anywat..

Bonus points, though, for David Ander’s scene, that was all kinds of fun.

The Good:

• We see why Hook and Emma work so well together.
• Great twist with Hook, and Emma’s motivation the whole time.
• Zelena reminds us once again why she must never be trusted.
• Dark Hook promises to be an interesting development.

The Bad:

• Arthur has fallen back down the ladder of competent villains; everything he did was wrong and having Merlin under your control should have led to an easy victory.
• Having Emma’s soul corrupt because she turned Hook into The Dark One doesn’t make a lot of sense. With Nimue it worked because she had murdered and thus convinced that murder was an acceptable act, whereas Emma’s actions were done to save a life.

The Random:

• The title card features a figure rising out of the Vault of the Dark One.

• David Anders had his hair dyed blonde because of his role on the show iZombies. So when Dr Whale enters with blonde hair the other characters can’t help but notice the difference.

• When Hook leaves the pawn shop he’s carrying the snow globe that Rumple was inspecting earlier; however the reasoning behind was cut out of the show.
• The Dreamcatcher that Zelena uses to show Hook his memories was already taken home by Regina in an earlier episode.
• “Birth” and “The Bear King” were filmed at the same time.
• During the scene where Jenifer Morrison and Colin O’Donoghue are lying in a meadow blue screen had to be used. Both actors are lying in a small patch of flowers and the blue-screen was used to make the meadow look a lot larger. The blue screen crew member had to drill in between Colin’s legs as he lay perfectly still. Which made him, understandably, very nervous.

Review by Sam Halford

• Read our other Once Upon A Time Season Five reviews
• Once Upon a Time panel with Victoria Smurfit and Merrin Dungey at MCM Birmingham Comic Con
• INTERVIEW Once Upon A Time’s Merrin Dungey and Victoria Smurfit MCM Birmingham

Once Upon A Time S05E07 “Nimue” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Netflix, new episodes every Wednesday
Writer: Jane Espenson
Director: Romeo Tirone

Essential Plot Points

• Merlin’s origins.
• Nimue is revealed
.
• How Excalibur, the Dark Ones and the Dagger came to be
.
• Arthur has Merlin under his control.
• Excalibur is forged back to its original glory.

Review:

In the previous episode review we expresses hesitation about bringing in an important character like Nimue so late in the season, and that her appearance could have been built up better through use of flashbacks. Well, this episode shows that the writers knew what they were doing. They were being subtle. We’re given so many answers to questions that have not only been around since the start of the season: How was Excalibur forged? How did Merlin’s love die? But most importantly, how DID the Dark Ones actually come about?

The origin of Merlin’s powers is one of convenience rather than through training but nevertheless still interesting. Merlin and an unnamed fellow escapee  (it’s rather unclear what they’re escaping) come across The Holy Grail while searching for water in the desert – as you do. The unnamed guy dies upon touching the cup which suggests that he wasn’t worthy; it’s similar to how Excalibur can only be removed by a hero. Merlin does what many may do in that situation and says, “Well, I’m going to die anyway, I may as well try to take a sip,” and is granted a drink. Thus Merlin’s power is born, first revealing itself when he turns the sandy dunes into a lustrous green meadow. Which if you think about it is probably the most powerful magic in the series, considering it would require a completely different climate and a new ecosystem.

The majority of this episode concentrates on Merlin’s past, but we’re also treated to a side-plot of Dark Emma (Camelot flashback Emma) and Merlin traveling to obtain the embers of Prometheus’s fire from the original Dark One (who semi-exists in Emma’s head). It’s suggested that this is the critical moment when Emma submits to the darkness inside of her. Merlin predicts that Emma will either overcome or fall to the power which will ultimately kill him, leading Emma to be terrified of her future actions. Watching Emma worry over how strong-willed she is makes for great character development; this isn’t a monster that she has to defeat or outsmart , she simply has to keep control of herself and not fall to temptation.

Before the age of Arthur, Merlin spent his days traveling from village to village healing people and training his young apprentice. That’s until he comes across a young woman whose future he cannot see: her name is Nimue. Nimue has escaped the pillage and burning of her village. It’s here that the first major problem of the episode lies. Merlin and Nimue fall in love but it’s so rushed that it doesn’t leave any chemistry between the characters. Merlin offers to sacrifice his immortally as he can’t bare the idea of marrying her and watching her die while he lives on. It’s nice gesture, but maybe train up your apprentice some more? Perhaps even offer him a drink from the cup so there’s someone to take your place? To be fair, Nimue does offer to drink from it but Merlin is insistent that no one should live forever and have that kind of power as it becomes more of a curse.

In order for Merlin to remove his powers they must travel to where Prometheus’s fire is kept in order to forge the Holy Grail from a cup to a sword. En route, however, they discover that someone else is searching for the Grail. Unfortunately it’s not Graham Chapman, but rather the dark rider who burnt down Nimue’s village, dressed exactly like The Dark One who imprisoned Merlin in the tree. It’s at this point that a lot of us can see the twist coming, but what’s great about this episode is despite being able to see it coming, the reveal is still thrilling.

After Merlin forges the grail into a sword, the dark rider shows up and kills Nimue. However, Nimue has already drunk from the grail when Merlin wasn’t looking thus granting her the same level of magic – and immortality. With her new-found powers she proceeds to murder The Dark Rider, thus corrupting her soul as Merlin warned her against.

This is the second major problem. It’s a great twist and makes a lot of sense for the story, but there was no indication that she could become a killer. The only hint that we get is when she pleads with Merlin to kill the man, but that’s only been a few momentss before. Previous to that she’d come across as fairly non-psychotic. You can’t help wishing the writers had spent  little bit more time foreshadowing he inner darkness.

Nimue’s soul is now corrupt. She breaks the sword in two and leaves Merlin. To prevent her from doing too much harm to others he turns the end piece of the sword into a dagger and tethers her soul to it. It’s a good origin to The Dark Ones and fits well with the series as a whole.

When Emma comes across Nimue at the spot where Excalibur was forged it doesn’t run so smoothly. She has to fight Nimue for control of her body before she kills Merlin. It’s an intense scene and we truly don’t know if Emma will win. Luckily she gains control and takes the amber from Nimue (which shouldn’t work because she’s a figment but we’ll go ahead and say, “magic”).

There is a second subplot with Hook, David, Mary-Margret, Regina and Zelena sneaking into Arthur’s castle to reclaim Excalibur. He’s been such an underwhelming villain this whole season, you’d expect our heroes to complete their task with ease, especially as Arthur’s first response is to create a hugely impractical potion weapon for his guards to carry around and spill all over the place. So it’s a bit of a surprise when Arthur wins the day, with the help of Zelena, who betrays the group once again. He manages to tether Merlin’s soul to the remains of Excalibur and have full control over the powerful wizard.

The final scene shows present-day Dark Emma crafting the Excalibur to be whole again as Nimue cheers her on. There is a moment where Emma hesitates to take the sword, hinting that there is small part of her good self still left inside.

Overall this is a great episode. It explains a lot and the answers  it gives were worth waiting for. It develops characters and turns the situation from. “Well the heroes have pretty much won now,” to, “How do they get out of that?!”

The Good:

• Merlin’s origins and how he became trapped in the tree is brilliantly well-written and thoroughly entertaining.
• Emma’s struggle feels real, seeing her battle the darkness within her doesn’t feel forced or contrived.
• How Excalibur and The Dark one came about is very clever and links in with the other episodes. Though some of the twists are guessable, it’s the details about how they come about that leaves you guessing.
• The show turns around the win from the previous episode into an epic loss, also making King Arthur a better villain in the process.

The Bad:

• Why did the first guy die when he touched The Holy Grail? At first it was suggested that he wasn’t worthy but Nimue drank from it and she used it for revenge.
• Nimue’s sudden conversion to the Dark Side was very rushed, almost instant. In fact, the whole Merlin/Nimue romance felt very rushed. This is unfortunately what happens when you try to condense a lot of story into a single episode.
• Could Merlin not see that his soul would be tethered to the sword? Yeah he sees bit and pieces of the future – even alternate paths – but it feels like it’s a power dependant on what’s most dramatically pleasing.
• Arthur’s cauldron and potion makes for an incredibly impractical weapon on the fly.

And The Random:

• The title card features a bed of Middlemist flowers.
• Merlin’s apprentice wears a red cape similar to Arthur’s in The Sword In The Stone .
• Merlin states, “Not all wizards have long white beards,” which is a reference to the majority of wise, powerful wizards as depicted in TV and film, including Merlin in The Sword In The Stone.
• Nimue’s village was named Oxleigh.

• There’s a joke that Emma keeps quoting song lyrics to Hook because he’ll never get them. The lyrics she was quoting was, “Working My Way Back To You” by the Four Seasons.
• When Zelena tricks Mary-Margret she says, “No rest for the wicked”, a clear nod to The Wizard Of Oz.

Review by Sam Halford

• Read our other Once Upon A Time Season Five reviews

Once Upon A Time S05E05 “Dreamcatcher” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Netflix, new episodes every Wednesday
Writers: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz
Director: Romeo Tirone

Essential Plot Points

• Merlin is freed.
• Merida trains Rumpelstiltskin.
• Henry starts dating.
• Dark Emma and Henry bond.
• Regina discovers secrets of the past.

Review:

This episode wastes no time, opening by answering a question we’ve been pondering since the first episode of the season: how did Merlin get stuck inside that tree anyway? By a Dark One’s magic it turns out! Merlin’s love has been killed by said Dark One (off-screen) and he/she (they’re wearing a mask, so we don’t know) uses Merlin’s tear of sorrow to trap him inside a tree.

Okay, so Merlin could have just wiped his face dry a bit quicker rather than just letting the Dark One make off with his tear and save himself a lot of trouble. But he seem literally petrified by the situation; pretty much a plank of wood before he’s turned into a tree.

We learn all of this thanks to Emma’s nifty little dreamercatcher, which will continue to advance the plot all throughout this episode.

Last week we saw how King Arthur had turned David and Snow White into his willing slaves using the magic sand. At the start of this episode they’re within reaching distance of the dagger Arthur desires when Emma magically freezes them in one of the most anti-climactic moments of this season. Emma, y’see, knows that David and Snow are under Arthur’s spell and tells Regina. And bang goes any tension that particular plotline may have held. With that taken care of Emma and Regina begin their quest to free Merlin from the tree.

Meanwhile in the “real” world, Dark Emma frees Rumple and orders Merida to begin training him to be a hero. This becomes all the more difficult as Rumple’s limp has returned and he’s still basically a huge coward. Merida finds teaching him like screaming at a brick wall.

We also get a dual story of Henry romancing Violet in both the present day and the past. In the present he promises to locate her horse which has gone missing which wins him the affections of the young girl. In the past, however, it doesn’t go so well. Firstly he accidentally breaks a fence in her family’s stable when playing a sword (don’t play with medieval swords, kids) and is berated by her father who tells him he’s not fit to court his daughter.

In the present he asks his mother, Dark Emma, for help reinstating Operation Mongoose. She agrees and this does lead to a sweet bonding moment between them that actually feels real. Regina and crew decide to take this opportunity to scoop around Emma’s house, which only requires a simple magic trick to enter – it’s surprisingly poor home security for a Dark One’s home. They discover that Emma has been keeping Excalibur realise that the dagger and Excalibur were once one sword. They also find that she’s been keeping Rumple captive but can’t find trace of him. Henry warns them that she’s on her way back but Hook finds the Dreamcatcher from earlier, just lying on the table: one of the most useful items she’s used recently, just lying in a box on her living room table. Emma needs better security and actual hiding places.

Merida’s training isn’t going so well, so she resorts to some extreme measures. Merida steals the chipped tea cup and threatens to break it if Rumple doesn’t start fighting, which does get a rise out of him and see some actual fighting spirit from mortal Rumple.

Switching to the past, Emma tells Regina the method of which Merlin was imprisoned and Regina works out that a potion to free Merlin from the tree, all that is required is a tear from heartbreak. Regina decides to put herself through utter emotional turmoil and uses the dreamcatcher to rewatch the moment in her past when her mother casually murdered her lover. Emma harvests one of the resulting tears.

Henry (still in Camelot) takes his chance to wine and dine Violet in Granny’s dinner, with heated up lasagne and Pepsi in wine glasses. This kid is classy and we like it. Unfortunately it doesn’t plan out so well.  When Henry admits that he’s trying to dare – or “court” – her , Violet up and friend-zones him.

Emma and Regina get to work crafting the potion by the Merlin tree adding Regina’s tear to the mix, but it doesn’t seem to do the trick. Emma tells her that her heartbreak wasn’t strong enough as now Regina has Robin she’s moved on and healed, which does make logical sense to give the show credit.

Luckily Henry arrives fresh from having his feelings rejected and forming a heartbroken tear. Just in time too, as Arthur and his knights arrive to stop them. Emma makes the potion just in time and Merlin is freed from his tree prison!

Merlin’s instantly a great addition to the cast. Not only does he radiate charm, but he also puts Arthur down with a single line. Go Merlin!

Present day Henry returns the horse and takes Violet to the festival the town has put on. He even gets the approval of Violet’s father (which is a bit of a change of character even with Henry having saved a horse, but it’s a nice scene so we’ll let it slide). However poor Henry is soon back to being heartbroken as Regina using the dreamcatcher to see into the past revealing that Emma stole Violet’s heart and made her reject Henry. Oh wow, that is cold.

The Good:

• Seeing Merida again is great! Even if we don’t (or at least not yet) get to visit her homeland.
• However we do get to see more of what grown-up Merida is like as a character, and she does stay very true to what made Merida a great character in Brave.
• Henry’s character gets a lot of attention in this episode and it expands him to great effect. Trying to better himself and be a hero is an admirable trait, it makes him a far more likable character, especially considering that in the first few seasons he was rather annoying.
• Dark Emma and Henry’s bonding mission actually comes across really well – it’s nice to see Emma try to keep Henry in her life even if we do learn the secrets of her motivation.
• Merlin is a fun character; unlike Arthur he leaves an impression from his first scene.
• Regina continues to be a strong heroine figure; she’s an all-round enjoyable character.
• Dark Emma is finally acting like The Dark One.

The Bad

• The sand spell on Snow and Charming that was built-up to be something major in the last episode was very easily dealt with at the start of the episode. Really anti-climactic.
• Like the sand, the dreamcatcher’s MO is left quite vague and it seems to be multipurpose as the writers require.
• In the previous episode King Arthur seemed to be the main villain, but in this episode he’s just in the background mostly.
• Yazoo’s “Only You” is a brilliant song that accompanies the romance scenes well, but that doesn’t mean they should keep playing the song at every opportunity.
• Merlin doesn’t have a Welsh accent after all (see previous episode’s Random section).
• Regina’s tear not working does make sense, but surely rewatching an old love die would be a stronger emotional heartbreak than getting your feelings rejected on a first date? Being rejected sucks, but surely that’s a better alternative to watching a loved one die. Even if you’ve moved on that’s still someone you cared about dying in front of you. Henry’s about what 14, 15? He’ll move on quickly, but Regina was left with some deep emotional scars.

The Random:

• The title card features a pumpkin (happy Halloween!)
• On a bench in the street is an Advert for Encom, the fictional computer company from Tron. Products and adverts for Encom have appeared before so keep an eye out for them!
• When Emma and Henry track down Violet’s horse they visit a pumpkin stand. The stand is called Peter’s Peter, a reference to the nursery rhyme Peter Peter the Pumpkin Eater.
• Henry had the movies Commando and Harold And Maude on his phone. He says that Harold And Maude must be more of a “date movie” which is true because seeing Commando as your first ever film with no idea what films are would probably terrify the poor girl.

Review by Sam Halford

• Read our other Once Upon A Time Season Five reviews