Once Upon a Time: A Pirate’s Life

First Aired October 13th, 2017

Flashbacks show Hook/Rogers (played by Colin O’Donoghue) giving Henry (played by Jared Gilmore) fighting lessons and offering Emma (played by Jennifer Morrison) a magical ‘message in a bottle’ to keep in contact when he leaves home. Years later an older Henry (played by Andrew J. West) uses it to call his family for help when Lady Tremaine/Victoria Belfrey (played by Gabrielle Anwar) captures him.

Hook and Regina/Roni (played by Lana Parrilla) arrive to save Henry but lie about where Emma is, Hook insists Henry not know what trouble Emma is in because she wanted him to live out his life. While trying to help Henry find Cinderella/Jacinda (played by Dania Ramirez) Hook runs into the older, overweight version of himself from the wish realm who knocks him out. Wish Hook than has Tremaine use her acquired fairy wand to make him look like the younger Hook so he can be with Emma in exchange for making Henry leave her realm.

In the present Rogers asks Henry for information about the Emma character from her book and Henry asks for help locating his supposed dead family’s graves. Jacinda struggles to find money to attend Lucy’s (played by Allison Fernandez) recital after Victoria makes the ticket prices too high. Meanwhile Victoria has Rumpelstiltskin/Gold/Weaver (played by Robert Carlyle) and Rogers to force Henry out of the neighborhood. Feeling guilty for her situation, Henry sets up Jacinda with a catering job at Lucy’s recital and works there as a bartender to help her see Lucy.

In previous seasons the flashbacks complimented the stories in the present but so far this season the flashbacks are carrying the episode. In the past we can check in with characters like Emma (who it’s insinuated to be in some kind of trouble, no shock there) and there’s lots of action. The reveal of a second Hook also makes you wonder if Rogers is really the good cop he comes across as. When compared to Jacinda’s frantic race to find a way to watch her daughter’s recital you can’t help but raise your eyebrows. The first season people in Storybrooke dealt with things like murder which kept up a running theme of suspense and intrigue.

While we learned about these character’s past there was new and exciting storylines to get invested in. Right now Victoria comes off as malevolent in the real world as Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada (heavily referenced in the premiere). Clearly nobody is getting their memories back anytime soon so until then can’t we get some juicier storylines?

In flashbacks Henry asks Regina about life in Storybrooke and he worries that Cinderella might not like him as much as he does. Wish Hook arrives with a forged letter to convince Henry that Cinderella left and doesn’t have any feelings for him. Emma unexpectedly arrives to comfort Henry and reveals she and Hook are expecting a baby. Feeling guilty Wish Hook goes to free Hook, but he attacks and stabs Wish Hook. He reveals he is searching for his daughter who was captured by a witch and needed true love to set her free and felt Emma was his best shot, and luckily she arrives in time to save him.

In the present Victoria orders Weaver and Rogers to frame Henry for theft to have him arrested. Rogers is forced to plant a bracelet on Henry but when Weaver goes to publicly arrest Henry he has nothing on him. Instead of being mad Weaver is actually impressed and stands up to Victoria when she berates him for his failure.

We were set up to believe Emma was in trouble but the biggest danger for her is morning sickness. While things are better than ever for Hook they couldn’t be worse for his counterpart, who nearly died a broken and defeated man. For a moment it seemed that Hook would try and save Wish Hook’s daughter (and would explain how he and not Emma was cursed) but clearly there’s another twist to that story. Meanwhile Victoria’s big scheme is to frame Henry for theft to get rid of him, Regina lied, cheated and killed to keep her original curse going and this was the best plan Victoria could come up with.

The Weaver character is also very underused which is a shame since because Rumple/Gold was a very complex character. Right now all we can hope for is that Weaver becomes a bigger presence and the flashbacks begin to include Rumple soon.

In the past, Emma encourages Henry to continue searching for Cinderella and his story before he comes home. Wish Hook and Henry don’t know how to proceed with their respective quests so Emma suggests they team up and Henry asks Regina to come along to find her own story. Rogers recounts being shot and found by a woman who kept him alive until an ambulance came, a warped version of how Emma saved him in the past. Rogers believes that he can’t find that girl because of Victoria and recruits Henry and Roni to help him investigate Victoria.

Now that Henry has teamed up with Wish Hook there is a whole new origin story to look forward to with that character. Plus it makes sense how he and Regina ended up with Henry caught in yet another curse. Hopefully Henry and his new detective club will put the pieces together fast; the quicker they reclaim their memories the quicker things will pick up.

Quotes/Thoughts

“You made the wrong choices but for the right reasons.”

Is it magic or just really good genes that are why Regina, Emma and Hook haven’t aged for what has to have been nearly two decades?

“Almost sounds like there’s enough for a book.” “Possibly two.”

Wish Hook and Lady Tremaine have a history; at this point I shouldn’t be surprised at how extensive these past connections are.

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