Once Upon a Time: Dark Waters

First Aired October 30th, 2016.

Regina (played by Lana Parrilla) distracts the Evil Queen while Snow White/Mary Margaret (played by Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming/David (played by Josh Dallas) rescue Archie/Jiminy Cricket (played by Raphael Sbarge).

The Evil Queen continues trying to drive the family apart. First by revealing to Henry (played by Jared Gilmore) that Hook (played by Colin O’Donoghue) kept the magical scissors that can take Emma’s (played by Jennifer Morrison) powers. In flashbacks, Hook wakes up on the underwater ship Nautilis captured by Captain Nemo (played by Faran Tahir), who attempts to get Hook off his path of revenge by convincing him to join his crew. Nemo enlists Hook to get to a hidden treasure and nearly gets eaten by a kraken in the process. Hook finds Henry trying to get rid of the scissors in the harbor when Nemo’s ship appears and they’re captured. Angered, Henry lashes out at Hook and says he isn’t part of their family. Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold (played by Robert Carlyle) is also looking for the scissors to use them on Belle (played by Emilie de Ravin). Meanwhile, Emma tries to convince Aladdin (played by Deniz Akdeniz) that running away isn’t the answer and that he can still help people even if he’s not the Savior anymore.

If everything was as easy as rescuing Archie/Jiminy was, then the show wouldn’t be half as entertaining. The Evil Queen’s tactics to drive the family apart have not been very evil, it’s almost like she’s going easy on the heroes. Henry having resentment towards Hook is a great storyline on paper, but watching it play out didn’t resonate like it should have. Henry never has much screen time, and almost none with Hook, so there’s no history of any discord. In fact, any scenes they did have, they got along great (Henry even went to the Underworld to rescue Hook). The whole situation felt like a storyline that was invented for this episode for the purpose of adding further conflict. Nemo suddenly appearing to Hook wanting to help seemed random, but that’s usually the case until a deeper connection is revealed. The real mystery is what Gold is planning to cut off Belle if he gets his hands on those scissors.

Flashbacks reveal Nemo was after a key to the Mysterious Island (later revealed to be the Land of Untold Stories), where he and his crew could find refuge and urged Hook to join them. Hook learned Nemo’s first mate is his half-brother Liam (played by Nick Eversman), who was orphaned when he murdered their father in a rage. When Liam learned the truth, he tried to kill Hook, but Nemo intervened and was accidently stabbed.

After sending Henry off the Nautilis in a scuba suit, Hook is confronted by Liam, who is out for revenge. Liam got Nemo to the Land of Untold Stories before he died, but after they were brought to Storybrooke, Liam fears he died of his wound. Henry returns and distracts Liam, allowing Hook to knock him out; they reconcile and sink the scissors to the bottom of the ocean in a trunk. Aladdin tells Jasmine (played by Karen David) he’s ready to return to Agrabah to restore it, but she tells him the city vanished. Liam is brought to the hospital and says he couldn’t kill Hook in front of Henry for fear of repeating the cycle of revenge, but is thrilled when he is reunited with Nemo.

Aladdin wanted to try to make things right, but now he doesn’t get the chance. The hope of him reconciling with Jasmine is getting slimmer. Giving the Land of Untold Stories a different name to throw us off is pointless. We already know that’s where everyone this season has come from. Storylines like Hook killing his father often are just a one episode thing, but it’s great to see follow-up episodes to further explore these things. It also serves as reminders that Hook isn’t just simply a hero, he’s a flawed character and that’s what makes him so relatable to fans. Hook looks young, but he did spend decades in Neverland and didn’t age, so there is a long past that can come back to haunt him. After a brief period of fighting, Hook and Henry are good with each other and they’ll all be a big happy family. Of course, while Liam and Hook may have reconciled, it’s doubtful he’ll be coming around to visit the family on holidays.

The Evil Queen goes to Gold for an alliance, and seduces him after her latest plan to tear the family apart failed. She gives him the magical scissors to convince him to help her steal Snow White’s heart. The Evil Queen spent most of her time back in the Enchanted Forest trying to either kill Snow or get her heart and never came close. You would think after all this time she would have come up with a somewhat more original plan.

Quotes/Thoughts

“Careful who you cross, you’re thin on allies.” “You don’t need allies when you win, and as you can see: I’m doing just fine without you.”

Belle contemplates whether Gold could be a good father; the obvious answer is no, but she isn’t very smart when it comes to Gold.

“You’re daft if you think I’ll spend any longer in this underwater coffin than I have to.”

So far the villains don’t seem to have an endgame this season, unless you count the Evil Queen. But hers has been to kill Snow from the start.

If you enjoyed Manny’s review, you can find the rest of his work right HERE on Sci-Fi Bloggers. You can also follow him on Twitter @KN_Manny.

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