Once Upon a Time Reveals Emma's Dark, Dark Plan: Were You Surprised? 

The following contains spoilers from this Sunday’s opening hour of

has shed light on Dark Emma’s plan — including why she had to return everyone to Storybrooke with a mind-wipe.

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In recent weeks, there have been hints and indications — no more so than when Emma fended off the eeeeevil counsel of former DO Nimue — that the onetime Savior hoped to use her Darkness for good, to protect her loved ones.

Well, in this Sunday’s first episode, “Birth,” Emma was finally moved to tell (mostly) all to Hook: that she plans to transfer the Darkness from herself into a new vessel, Zelena, whose pregnancy she accelerated. (In short: It’s a girl!) Once that is done, she will use Excalibur to strike down Zelena and vanquish the Darkness once and for all — a drastic, dark plan that all of her loved ones opposed.

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details — namely, as Hook eventually learned via dreamcatcher, that the wound he suffered during battle in Camelot against Arthur was a mortal one, seeing as it came from Excalibur. But rather than let Hook die, a desperate Emma tethered him to the sword, effectively turning them

In Storybrooke, Hook was incensed to learn of the fate Emma thrust upon him. “So much for our future, Swan,” he growled, alluding to the house they stood in, which he had planned to one day share with his love. And at episode’s end, he plotted with Zelena to “take care of” Emma….

But wait, there’s much more! Namely, a whole second episode. Click here for a rundown of all the double dip’s biggest twists and turns.

I’m watching the 2nd hour & I’m confused. So far it has nothing to do with the 1st hour. It seems like they are going into a spin-off. I think I dislike the Merida story more than Elsa’s.

Maybe they should have switched the first and second hour episodes.

It feels like they could have with some editing. These two episodes weren’t even vaguely connected.

I agree! It was difficult to keep up with the “2 years earlier” / back & forth. Plus, who cares about Merida and Mulan when there is so much more going on with Swan, Hook, and all our favorites in Storybrooke. Let’s get back to the MAIN story!

I think that’s why they paired these two. Not many people would have watched the Mulan/Merida/Ruby episode if they weren’t already tuned in.

I don’t mind Merida’s story – at least it’s not eating up the entire first half of the season like Frozen’s did. Granted, I skipped the Merida adventure with Belle….

Yep. Awful for continuity. Why is Merida even part of this season? She has nothing to do with anything!

I wonder why Killian hasn’t gotten the same side effects (voices, seeing people, turning shiny gold-green), unless Emma somehow managed to take away all that. It was a cool twist though. And it was great to see Dr Whale again.

And I’m excited to see Mulan and Ruby in this second hour, though it seems like they won’t be interacting much of the main cast. Kind of a filler.

I assume the memories spell and something else that kept his name vanished from the sword and him it seems.

Emma’s never gone gold-green either. Maybe because she’s still has some light magic left.

She has the white hair, but that’s true! Probably light savior-y magic in her.

My guess would be that Emma’s side effects are a direct result of being tethered to the dagger alongside the previous dark ones where as Hook was the first dark one to be tethered to the sword.

He was tethered to the sword, not the dagger. He’s the first dark one from the sword

Emma’s physical transformation (white hair, dark clothes, severe make up) didn’t happen until she went full on dark — which I guess was when she turned Hook dark? Since he didn’t know about his DO status and hasn’t really done anything dark that I can recall, maybe his transformation is still pending. Now that I think about it, though, how could they make Hook look different? No guyliner? Regular clothes? Please no white/blonde hair!

And we were doing so well up until this point…what a flimsy half-baked justification and a lame use of the dark one magic. Dark Swan hasn’t been as much fun as I was expecting; she’s certainly not as entertaining as Rumple. Oh Once…

I was hoping that she became dark because he died and she gave him her heart (which as we know isn’t completely darkened right away) and that doing something with the full Excalibur would fix all that. And why is hook “darker” than Emma seems now? She seemed almost like she was acting dark this episode. In the Storybrooke part she seemed to be genuinely smiling??

It’s the Emma and Hook show and I’m bored . Where’s the surprise here ? Emma told us she became Dark to save Hook . This ain’t Sophie’s Choice and JMo ain’t Meryl Streep. She’s Mumble -Mouth Swan .

the mumble mouth joke must be darn high-larious in your head since you trot it out every OUAT article. any new material?

gingersnaps – and her non surprise stupid twist, if you are bored then dont watch. Understand storytelling. dont like it – then dont watch and dont bash.

LOL. I never watch OUAT on Sunday and this recap tells me I can skip The Emma and Hook show this week . A&E pretty much spoiled the whole thing in their interviews this week .

But there’s gonna be some ripe satire to read this week .

she writes just like that vile merisger person on the EW boards. coincidence lol?

Never visit EW. Which should tell you that there are more of us than you want to admit .

You shouldn’t be so sensitive. Not everyone is going to be enamored with The Emma and Hook Show . And the smart thing to do is to stop hitting the reply button . You don’t have to defend your precious Emma and Hook .

I agree. Not everyone is a Hook or Capt Swan fan. If this show goes on for many more seasons I can see the ratings collapse. Hook was much better as a villain seeking revenge than a man whose only role is to ‘Swan’ around Emma like a lovesick schoolboy/

What is going on I’m so confused! Every week is more confusing then the next. The first couple of seasons were great that’s it. Too many flashbacks every two minutes I can’t keep up if it’s present time, two weeks ago, long time ago, last month etc etc. And Mulan?? Omg I hated her character, who’s next Peter pan???

I have NO idea what’s going on either. It’s too confusing. They go back and forth between places so quickly, I don’t know where they are half the time. The first hour was lame.

Love, love Merida!! She is so fantastic! It’s great that Mulan and Ruby helped her. I liked the three ladies kicking butt.

I’m so sorry…but this hour just didn’t make sense, especially in light of established mythology. Rumple already tried to save Neal by tethering them together, and it didn’t make Neal a Dark One Junior. Basically it boils down to Emma is dark because Arthur is a dick, and that even light magic, ala Merlin, can be corrupted and controlled into evil. So much for a show about hope and happy endings! Ans so much for Merlin being the greatest sorcerer at all. Apparently, Zelena, as the opposite of a product of true love, wears that crown! Can we just bring back Blue and the Dwarves already! I miss the light hearted fun this show used to be!

I’d imagine it’s because since Rumple was tethered to the dagger, no one else could be. Now that we have the Excalibur portion of it, that’s how Emma could use it to tether Hook to it

Well, Rumple tried to tether Neal to himself whereas Emma tethered Hook to Excalibur, which is the reforged Holy Grail. It’s not exactly the same situation so it gives the creates a bit more leeway when it comes to establishing rules.

You both make a good point…but still. Excalibur was supposed to the the “light” part, so together w/ the dagger, it was yin-yang. But then they tethered Merlin to it, which kind of negated the whole light thing. There is NO WAY “pure light” would EVER let himself be controlled by a wad like that, nor be a part of hostage taking and blackmail, even for a little while.The last 6 seasons have been about how love and light are the only weapons more powerful than darkness, and they kind of negated all of that tonight. The Sorcerer turned out to be just another man behind a curtain, easily defeated by the Wicked Witch!

Excalibur was created from the Holy Grail, which is the source of Merlin’s and the Dark One’s magic. Why does it matter who is holding the dagger or sword? That’s never been a requirement. Besides, Arthur might be a sniveling loser, but he is still Merlin’s chosen.

And I thought it was lame that Zelena used that spell to bind him to the sword, BUT she did use Merlin’s spell to do it.

And I never got the impression that Excalibur is good or evil. After all, it can destroy either light or dark magic. Nimue made her choice to use her power for revenge that created the darkness. Merlin is probably capable of becoming dark, but he wouldn’t make that choice. Anyone can be capable of both, like Regina. Same rules should apply to the sword.

Excalibur was never stated as being the light part. The sword itself was said to have the power to cut away both the darkness or the light. In anyone’s hands, it can either be used for good or evil. It wasn’t yin-yang at all. The only reason that the dagger is “dark” is because Merlin chose that portion of the two shards to tether Nimue to.

Correctamundo. (Though yes, it’s been awfully confusing.)

What once was a show I couldn’t wait to watch is as of tonight the stupidest show on TV….can’t keep up…dont understand..don’t want new characters or new series.want back regular show..no jumping back and forth…can’t understand plot or story anymore…I’m done…… changing channels…where is Emma.? Price Charming, Snow White, ? Old characters? No more confusion WHAT creepy writers dreamed up this mess

The second episode is a waste of time. It’s great they’re going further into the story of Merida’s father and his death, but it’s just a filler episode. They’re pulling away from the main plot. This 2-hour long special has just pissed me off with the cliff hanger they left. And the fact that Killian looks like he’s about to kill Emma has made me even more pissed off! Yes, he has just become what he hated most, buuuuttttttt, Emma did save his life. Although she went against his “final” wishes. Hopefully their love pulls them through. Guess we’ll have to wait and see…

Ok. So the first hour of TV was hard to follow and didn’t seem to add up and the entire first half of the season was so slow for that? I mean it’s a good twist but this Merida is painfully boring. It makes no sense and after the big reveal why have us watch this boring part of Merida? I mean I like Red and Mulan but there’s no need for 1 entire hour of this. I actually fast forwarded the first 20 minutes of it.

The second hour has made me realize that Once needs a POI-style year bar at the bottom of the screen

HA! Great comment. I kept thinking to my self the entire Merida episode “Okay so are they in Camelot time or before then???”

P.S: POI better return soon I can’t wait – and it better get renewed!!!

Wow – Emma and Hook. They have shared light and now darkness. Dark Ones!

I am increasingly confused by the moral positions of the writers of this show. Honestly they make very little sense. First they had that stupid thing last season where they said that killing someone in defense of someone else was murder, and now this? Hook’s actions make no logical sense given the facts. Yes, what Emma did was wrong. But she did it to save the life of the man she loved. He did far worse for the sake of revenge against Rumpel.

(Also, can someone explain to me why exactly Emma’s plan to end the darkness is wrong? Zelena is EVIL. She has done untold harm to the heroes. Killing her will undoubtedly save countless lives down the road. And don’t give me “Heroes don’t kill, that’s what separates them from the bad guys” on that issue I agree with what Buffy said in the comic book “No, not being bad is what separates us from the bad guys.”

We dont know what is going to happen next. And i do think Hook is going to choose Emma.

You’re right. We don’t know what happens next. And yes he probably will choose Emma. But that doesn’t make his actions now any less illogical. (About the only thing that would, would be for them to reveal that he’s actually working with Emma in her plan to transfer the darkness to Zelena. Which given how much of an idiot ball the writers seem to be currently holding, I could honestly see them doing.)

Yea but what Emma did was selfish. She was not even planning on telling Hook he was the dark one. Yes she cares about him, by he deserved to know.

Thanks for posting the damn spoiler IN THE ARTICLE TITLE. Googled OUAT to see verify there were two episodes, and the VERY TOP RESULT was this article, title and all giving away something I didn’t know yet because I haven’t had a chance to watch. Your little warning at the top of the article doesn’t help when it’s IN THE TITLE. Thanks.

Can someone explain to me wtf just happened? How did using Excaliber turn Hook to the dark one? I thought only the dagger could do that. Just want an answer. Someone please.

Arthur used his half of Excalibur to bind Merlin after Hook was injured when Arthur slashed his neck. Emma using dark magic transferred the binding to Hook the result was another dark one.

You’re explanation makes me laugh . Not because of anything you wrote but because the writers are ridiculous .

I thought the first hour of this 2 hour event was pretty close to awesome.

However I found the second hour “The Bear King” to be an almost total momentum killer. It was nice to see a few returning characters, but I really didn’t care about the overall plot. In fact I found it rather boring. Maybe it’s just because I really don’t care about Merida. At least not when her story completely halts the “A” Story (Dark Swan) for two weeks.

I am SO disappointed in the DarkSwan arc. I will never forgive them for making Emma’s big “evil” arc all about her boyfriend. I made the mistake of being excited for the big bad DarkSwan. Instead of a tale about Emma, I got junk. Not a happy viewer. Soon to be ex-viewer.

But everything about this show is about love, either love of family or true love. Regina went dark because the grief of her true love’s death. Rumple wanted to save his son. After all the chasing Hook has done to have this girl, it’s time she fought for him.

This episode was so freaking amazing. I didn’t care about the second half. I would have rather rewound the first portion and watched it again. It was so good. I hope Hook is a good Dark One, because the ONLY thing he is good at is loving Emma. That was a good twist. I thought she went dark to save his life, but I wouldn’t have guessed that.

I wonder what her family might have done, because she was still ticked off when she got back to Storybrooke.

I did rewatch the first hour instead of watching the second :)

Is anyone else a bit bothered by the fact that in Camelot, when Hook was dying the group (besides Emma) didn’t seem to care that much?

Yeah they were pretty much like, “Oh well, sucks for you.” I understand that Hook isn’t their priority, but a little more empathy would have been nice.

What goes around, comes around. Hook has left all of them to die in the past, some of them repeatedly. He has mocked a dying David in Neverland and just very recently was willing to stand by and leave Robin Hood to death repeatedly. There’s no need for anyone on this show to act like this dude deserves any better.

Um, he saved David in Neverland. Facts are stubborn things.

And context obviously doesn’t matter to Prince Killy stans. What else is new.

Ii think it’s demoralizing that I show that used to be about strong independent women, is now about a woman who can’t even get her own storyline without “dreamy-eyed” male taking it. It’s getting really old, really fast. I miss season 1 ouat.

But that strong independent woman had to let down her walls. She couldn’t even see obvious magic in front of her face until Henry made a sacrifice. Emma has had to grow her heart and open up to people. It’s not demoralizing to want or need a man. It takes courage to trust people.

Really liked the first episode -Colin just gets more handsome! But for the love of G-how many more times does Zelena get to escape and out of nowhere Regina wants to save here-please! Second hour was 100% boring filler and felt like watching a rerun.

I can’t tell you how many times during hour 1 they zoomed in on Colin and I thought (or may have said out loud), “GAH I love that face!”

It’s upsetting that Jmo’s big dark one storyline has become all about Hook. And I don’t know how this season is supposed to have a “season one” feel. The regulars are hardly getting any screen time unfortunately.

It’s no longer ONCE UPON A TIME. It’s The Emma and Hook Show .

First, I don’t think that’s the case. OUAT would have much better continuity of it *were* the Emma & Hook show. Then we’d be spared random filler like tonight’s second hour. Second, I’d actually prefer it to be the Emma & Hook show. They’re why I tune in. To each his own.

You know, we tweet A&E and ask them to create a spinoff called The Emma and Hook Show

Is no one bothered that they romanticized suicide? Just me, ok. I’ll be over here reading all the tweets of viewers triggered tonight.

Now I think Hook will be a villain in 2 weeks and Emma will try everything to stop what he’s doing and probably accidently kills him and hence all the hints of going to the Underworld revealed.

And it reminds me of an episode when Emma asked Merlin “Can there be a good Dark One”.

This episode was awful. Suicide to get someones attention, or manipulate them into talking to you? Yeah, thats not another notch on the abusive relationship check list for CS.

Boring, offensive, and downright stupid at times. I expect, with jut how many people are disgusted with this season, and the Capt Rapist Show, that tomorrows ratings will show a new series low.

Lowest premiere in the series, already lost 1+ million live viewers and projected to lost another 3/4 million before the season is over. And people are writing silly little articles like this?

It would take a miracle for this show to get a 6th season now. CS has absolutely destroyed what was once a great show.

Side note: no one cares about the rape baby or Hood. From start to finish, has any part of this season not sucked? Oh thats right, the SwanQueen episode brought in 200k+ viewers. The largest bump in viewers in the entire season.

Hour two: Filler, with the knowledge that their setting up secondary characters we haven’t seen in years, and who until now have never shared a scene, as the token LGBT pairing. Its almost like their purposely trying to be offensive.

Help. Merlin already had magic before he was tethered to the sword, so why hook has magic now? Being tethered to the sword means the same as drinking from the holy grail(so you get magic)? And why some kind of dark thing came out of merlin, if he is a “light sorcerer”? It is the spell?

The Grail gave Merlin magic. The sword was made from the grail and that is what’s giving Hook magic. I don’t necessarily see why Hook is automatically “dark” other than the fact that Emma’s corrupted magic was responsible for creating him.

I don’t think it is automatuc. It was a risk…. And one Hook was not willing to take being very clear that he had already given in to the darkness in himself before when magic and power were not part of the equation.

Didn’t see that coming AT ALL. I guessed Hook would die (or some fairy tale equivalent) and that Emma’s master plan was an effort to save his life, but turning him into a Dark One?! WHOA. Great twist! My only complaint (if you could even call it that) is the lack of hints that Hook has been “dark” all season long. I guess I need to rewatch those eps, but he hasn’t done anything suspicious that I can recall. The lack of foreshadowing certainly made the reveal tonight more exciting, but it could also be viewed as a convenient retcon, like Zelena impersonating Marian for the majority of last season. All in all I LOVE the DarkHook twist & I loved the whole 1st hour tonight. The 2nd hour that had nothing to do with anything? SUPER LAME, especially after such a revealing and exciting 1st ep.

I think the hints were in the “un-Hook” like behaviour, as in him telling Emma he didn’t love her and their kiss not working. They’re small, but they are there at the same time.

See i’m finding this way less confusing that 4B and all that author nonsense. I loved it. Exciting, romantic and heart-breaking everythong you could ask for. And we still don’t know everything yet!

This “twist” doesn’t make sense to me. Shouldn’t Hook have been showing signs of being the Dark One even though he didn’t know the truth? Why did he just become dark when he found out? Did I miss something?

I thought the same thing at first, but now I’m starting to think of it like Bruce Willis’ character in the Sixth Sense. He didn’t KNOW the truth about himself so therefore he went about business as usual not realizing that things were off. Of course, at the end of that movie they reveal all of the clues that were there all along. I don’t see such obvious clues where Hook’s darkness is concerned.

I’m still so completely blown away by hour 1 of Once Upon a Time tonight that I can’t focus at all on hour 2. Wow. I did not at all expect Killian to be revealed as the Dark One Nr 2. I was always a huge fan of Emma and Killian’s love story, since they climbed that beanstalk together. In time I’ve become an even bigger fan. Their story is so incredibly powerful, I lack the proper words to describe what an impact they have on me. Amazing job by Adam and Eddy and Jennifer and Colin. One of the best hours of TV I’ve ever enjoyed.

First you claimed that Emma had transfered the entity from herself to Hook. Then you wrote that she tethered Hook to Excalibur making them both “Dark Ones”. Are you contradicting yourself?

with all the underworld hints, i’m starting to feel like we are going to see the OUAT version of buffy sending angel to hell by stabbing him with the sword of the virtuous knight.

Regina forces Emma to save that bland Robin but she shouldn’t save Her love. There’s Your great Regina.

Wow. The first hour of Once was simply amazing! I have no words. I was completely surprised by the reveal and more than ever tethered to Emma and Killian’s story. It’s truly epic. I found myself thinking about hour 1 all throughout hour 2 to be honest. That first hour was just brilliant in every way. Killian and Emma being each other’s light and now sharing darkness makes them even more powerful than they already were. I’ll be forever grateful to Adam and Eddy for creating those two characters and their story.

I’m with you! When both of their names appeared side by side on the sword it was so bittersweet. Tethered together forever but in darkness. Gut-wrenching! And in next ep’s preview when Hook tells Emma, “I want to hurt you like you hurt me” — I can’t even. These two just rip my heart out but I can’t wait to see more.

hmmm…..with tonight’s references, now i’m also wondering if they are going to bring hook’s brother back for the underworld arc.

I personally loved the two episodes! Fantastic story telling with a great twist. Broke my heart to see Killian so devastated. I could see Emma doing it for love and him seeing it as a betrayal. I know their love will conquer all, but this twist was very well planned!

This may have been the last episode of OUAT I watched. The writing this season is plain terrible and the writers confusing their own timelines doesn’t help. The reason for Emma being the Dark One in Storybrooke was flimsy, half-baked and completely overhyped in the season premiere. Their attempts to keep Zelena relevant turn out to be gross “twists” 99,9% of the time and this week was not any different. And all of this happens while character who have shaped this show since the PIlot are pushed aside in favor of half a dozen guest stars (or more), the guy who plays Emma’s love interest and the Wicked Witch who sexually abused another character to become pregnant to begin with. But it’s a season about the core characters, y’all. It’s a show about hope! Unless you’re oen of those characters they don’t care about much anymore. Not feeling it, not tuning in next time.

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