As Season 5 begins, let there be darkness…
Full spoilers for the episode follow.
Once Upon a Time has been teasing the arrival of the Dark Swan, and the Season 5 premiere delivered. It wasn’t immediately apparent we’d be seeing Emma make the jump to the dark side, and “The Dark Swan” did a lot to show how powerful the call of the Dark One’s power is. Seeing how the magic was practically a puppeteer controlling Emma gives greater depth to Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold. His behavior doesn’t look so black and white anymore. He wanted the power, sure, but think about how much more strength that gave it over him. The dark magic was almost enough to overpower Emma even though she tried to shun it.
We want to hear it.
Watching Emma try her best to resist the call of the Dark One for most of the episode was important. Given how influential it seemed, it’s not a stretch to believe Emma flipped a 180 over the course of six weeks. And also, it was smart to make Rumplestiltskin a manifestation of the Dark One. We get more Robert Carlyle while Mr. Gold is in a coma, and we get him in the side of the role that is both delightful and slightly ridiculous. It’s a delight to see him play the devil on Emma’s shoulder. Jennifer Morrison did a solid job of communicating Emma’s struggles, and the switch is already doing intriguing things for the character.
We want to hear it.
The focus happily remained on Emma and the regular cast. Hook and Regina both had fantastic scenes and emotional moments, and Zelena stole the show. The way Rebecca Mader chews on Zelena’s dialogue and infuses her lines with a crazed haughtiness is on point and makes Zelena likable despite all her horrible deeds. Snow White and Charming didn’t get a ton of action, but from what we saw, they actually seem like themselves again. But given how over-protective Snow seemed of the baby last season, I’m surprised she didn’t leave the kid behind in Storybrooke.
Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photo Gallery:
Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photos
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Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photos
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Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photos
Once Upon a Time: “The Dark Swan” Photos
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As for the guest stars, they fit into the story well. Merida is the first Pixar character to be folded into Once, and it’s more than fine to keep her appearance to a single episode. Amy Manson captured the spunk Merida displayed in Brave. However, she probably could have shot a few less arrows at Emma once it was established they weren’t effective. Get a clue, lady. Anyway. The way the Will O’ the Wisp brought Merida and Emma together felt natural, and since Merida has had experience with witches and curses, she was ideal for Emma’s first post-Dark One encounter.
We want to hear it.
Camelot worked, too. Fans have been speculating about the Dark One’s dagger being part of Excalibur, and they were right. The sword is made of lightness and darkness, and whatever happened in Camelot to turn Emma around probably has to do with the sword.
We want to hear it.
The one big but I have with the premiere ties into Camelot. After arrival to Camelot (not the best visual effect but not the worst), everyone was suddenly zapped back to Storybrooke with no memory of what had happened. Snow White commented on the situation with a disbelieving “Again,” but she took it better than I did. Why are we going the memory loss route? It’s happened again and again in the series, and it’s boring and there have to be other ways. I’m already cringing at what dramatic action someone will have to take in order to restore their memories this time. I hope I’m wrong.
We want to hear it.
Finally, because Regina has so many memorable lines, I want to start highlighting them. The best in this episode? “It’s not like she rode off on a unicorn.” And her calling Hook “Guyliner?” That’s never not going to be funny. In fact, humor was used well throughout. Nurse Ratched? The way Hook and Henry joked with each other? All amusing and/or adorable.
Once Upon a Time got right to the main event in the Season 5 premiere: Emma’s transformation into the Dark Swan. They could have dragged the will she/won’t she aspect out for several episodes but going this route means a more interesting take on the story and seeing more of Morrison playing the villain. Morrison delivered some of her best work on the show to date, and it’s terrific to see the plot focus on a member of the regular cast.
To find out what’s to come on Once Upon a Time, check out our list of 19 teases for Season 5.
