Once Upon a Time: Season Five, Episode Three – “Siege Perilous”

First Aired October 11th, 2015.

In Camelot, Regina/the Evil Queen (played by Lana Parrilla) and Belle (played by Emilie De Ravin) work to change Merlin (played by Elliot Knight) from a tree to human form. Prince Charming/David (played by Josh Dallas) goes to find a magical ingredient they need and King Arthur (played by Liam Garrigan) goes along.

As they travel through a dark forest, David and Arthur talk about the similarities between their upbringings and families. They find the magical root but David must walk across a broken dock to reach it. Once David grabs it he’s attacked by ghostly knights that nearly drown him before Arthur saves him but the mushroom is lost in the scuffle. Arthur makes David a Knight of the Round Table for his actions and appoints him as the lead knight. During the ceremony, Snow White/Mary Margaret (played by Ginnifer Goodwin) finds Sir Lancelot (played by Sinqua Walls), who was believed to be dead and a traitor according to Arthur. Lancelot warns Mary Margaret that Arthur is evil and Camelot isn’t what it appears to be. Arthur later reveals to his wife Guinevere (played by Joanna Metrass) that he stole the mushroom from David.

David finally got to dust off his sword and have an actual storyline in an episode, there was a real twist. Although not as big a twist as the noble King Arthur turning out to be a villain, but if Once could make Bo Peep a warlord it’s not much of a stretch to make King Arthur a villain. Arthur’s constantly lied to heroes and clearly wants to stop Merlin from getting free because Merlin could stop him. Since the Dark One’s dagger is part of Excalibur the sword must be evil. The only question is what Arthur wants to do with it. Well, actually, we know what he wants and that’s absolute power (sound familiar?). This entire storyline plays out like a mystical spy thriller: the captured mentor (Merlin), the double agent (Arthur) and the framed hero (Lancelot). With David in the mix as a knight (keep your friends close and enemies closer) things should get very exciting.

In Storybrooke, Emma (played by Jennifer Morrison) steals a pickax from one of the dwarves, and Grumpy (played by Lee Argenberg) and the others want revenge. She tries to use it to free Excalibur but fails. The apparition of Rumpelstiltskin (played by Robert Carlyle) taunts her and says only one person can help. Emma lures Hook (played by Colin O’Donoghue) to his ship to talk and Emma tells him she wants to continue their relationship and believes being the Dark One has changed her for the better. Hook rejects Emma and sends her away because he can’t look past her evil nature. Arthur asks David for help finding a magic bean that was stolen which has the power to send him and his people back to Camelot. David takes an ordinary chalice from Belle and Gold/Rumple’s pawn shop and passes it off as magical to smoke out the thief. The culprit is Arthur’s squire Griff (played by Giacomo Baessato), who they capture after a brief chase. Griff denies stealing the bean but David finds the mushroom in Griff’s bag and Regina realizes they were searching for it in Camelot but nobody remembers why.

It’s cute that the dwarves thought they had a chance against Emma, I would have liked to see them try and horribly fail to take her out. Emma’s dark side being peeled back in layers really helps show the depth of her new character, like how she’s not just evil but it’s merged with her original personality. Her scenes with Hook brimmed with tension because, although she may truly love him, that love is now tainted with a hunger for power and misery. That being said, I do hope that eventually Emma goes full on Dark One and spreads her evil wings. David is really killing it in this episode. That trick with the chalice was a stroke of genius. I hope he didn’t get his fill of adventure and goes back to the sidelines next week. Sadly for Belle she continues to be defined as a character through her relationship with Gold and whatever is happening with him. As for the memory loss loop we’re still caught in that should be over soon, these people have removed memory spells so often it’s got to be like making coffee.

Arthur and Griff are revealed to have been working together to help generate trust between Arthur and the others. He convinces Griff to drink poison to ensure nobody learns what Arthur is up to by telling him his death will have been in service of Camelot. The magical rose that Belle used to monitor Gold/Rumple blooms which leads her to think he’s out of his coma. Emma is revealed to have woken him up using Hook’s sword (something that touched him while he was still human) and Emma tells Gold that she has a special job for him. Not only is Arthur evil but Camelot is some kind of crazy cult. Griff sucked down that poison (the Kool-Aid) like it was sugar water. Even though we already had the spectral Rumple lurking around I’m glad the present day Gold is awake. It would be an interesting dynamic watching the two of them clash assuming they can see each other anyway.

Quotes & Thoughts

“I can be a far greater nightmare than you could ever imagine.”

Arthur wants to make Storybrooke the new Camelot. I imagine that would involve everyone drinking the Arthur-is-Great Kool-Aid and following him around like lost puppies.

“What’s that then?” “It’s a picture from up inside Zelena.” “Whoa mate!” “No! No, it’s of the baby. They call it a sonogram.”

Dark Emma wants to make Gold/Rumple into a pure hero; he was a coward as a human and one of the worst villains ever. She’ll have an uphill battle to say the least.

 If you enjoyed Manny’s tale, 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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