Sunday, October 4, 2015

Once Upon a Time 5.02: "The Price"

“It is far easier to hate a Dark One, than it is to love one.”
- Belle

Say hello to the new Dark One, ladies and gentlemen! Emma Swan is in the house and she is having all kinds of fun. The town has a new curse thanks to her and it turns anyone who crosses the town line into a tree (sorry Dopey). And in addition, it’s brought a bunch of people from Camelot along with it. Arthur is rather annoyed about the situation, especially when he learns that the Storybrooke gang wasn’t truthful about Emma’s identity. He wants to destroy her. Clearly Snow and Charming won’t allow that. Even if they were willing to, Emma has the dagger.

Speaking of Emma, Henry summons his mom for a little chat. She says that it wasn’t Henry’s fault (whatever happened that led her to go full-on dark). I have a feeling like his father before him, Henry will be the Dark One’s weak spot. Regina doesn’t want Henry anywhere near his other mother which leads to a bit of verbal sparring between the two. Emma taunts Regina that the curse she cast doesn’t have a Savior failsafe and even if it did, there’s no Savior in town. Regina plans to change that but it won’t be easy. Emma warns that there’s a problem headed to town that only a Savior can solve. Not surprising, as the Camelot folks set up camp in the woods, Robin gets abducted by a weird screechy tree monster. Regina goes after it, trying to use fireballs to stop it but it only ends up taking off and leaving her injured. Regina mistakes Snow’s concern for her wellbeing with doubt in her ability to be the Savior. Come on, Regina. Have a little faith in your stepdaughter! While the royal family is dealing with abductions, Hook ends up getting whisked away to Emma’s new digs (pretty sweet). He’s hoping True Love’s Kiss will work with Emma (after talking to Belle) but it doesn’t. Emma definitely tries to get him to give in to his own dark urges but for once he has a bit of a spine and ducks out. He does spy a curiously locked door which makes me think Merlin’s inside.

Back six weeks in Camelot, Arthur introduces everyone to his wife, Guinevere. They tell the Storybrooke gang that they are hosting a ball in honor of their meeting. Regina isn’t too happy about this. She’d rather spend her time trying to free Merlin after claiming to be the Savior. While she and Robin are studying the tree in which Merlin is trapped, one of Arthur’s knights gives her a pendant to wear. That evening, Regina reveals to Snow and Charming that she isn’t going to the ball. Not because she needs to free Merlin but because she can’t dance. And as Charming teaches her, the knight spies on them and overhears Charming say that they will manage to convince everyone that Regina is indeed the Savior. Man, how many untrustworthy knights does Arthur have under his command?

Things are going decently at the ball at first. All the ladies look lovely in white (if a bit like hippies) and Regina is even dancing quite well. Oh and the best part of the whole thing is Henry ends up flirting with a girl named Violet. He even introduces her to his iPod. How adorable. Our little boy is all grown up! Regina is not happy to see her baby being wooed by someone else but doesn’t have time to fret over it because the knight who was spying on her (turns out it was Percival) knows she’s the Evil Queen and tries to kill her. Robin ends up taking the blow instead. Charming kills Percival but it’s up to Emma to save Robin’s life. As invisible Rumple explains, there’s a price to be paid for the use of magic like this. It seems Emma has a reason to be pissy with her family, especially after Regina admits to being the Evil Queen but doesn’t deny being the Savior. Guinevere is not pleased to have the newcomers in town, especially when they’ve killed one of Camelot’s own. But Arthur insists that they will need to help destroy the Dark One so he can reunite Excalibur with the missing piece.

Back in Storybrooke, Regina goes to rant an unconscious Rumple about it all somehow being his fault. Yes, blame the guy who can’t defend himself. It seems Belle has figured out what took Robin. It’s a Fury and it demands the ultimate price of magic; a life. Regina is clearly not happy about that and goes to confront Emma. Emma says that this isn’t her doing, it was Regina’s problem to begin with and if she wants to be the Savior she keeps saying she is, she needs to step up and take responsibility. There isn’t much time though because the Fury will take Robin to the Underworld when the moon reaches its zenith. Luckily, Regina (along with the Charmings, Grumpy and Arthur) save Robin and pay the price together. It seems Regina has convinced a few people to believe in her. She even returns Sneezy to being human rather than a statute. Oh and Henry and Violet have another adorable meet cute by the juke box playing the same song they were listening to at the ball. Good on you Henry for getting a little loving!

Things wouldn’t be Once Upon a Time if they didn’t end with a crazy cliffhanger. It turns out imaginary Rumple is back. He leads Emma down into the bowels of the new house to show her that she’s keeping Excalibur there, not Merlin. He tempts her to reunite the sword which would allow her to sever all ties to the good in her. Of course, it won’t work with her. She needs a hero. So who is she going to convince to be her pawn in this little venture? My guess is Hook is going to get some massive head games played on him. Bring it on!

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