Once Upon a Fangirl...: The Dark Swan

After the shocking events of the season 4 finale now that Emma is the Dark One & Rumple is back to an ordinary man, we're now back with season 5 as we along with finally seeing the story of King Arthur & the kingdom of Camelot. Arthur (played by Liam Garrigan) discovers that half of Excalibur is missing after he takes it out of the stone & starts a quest to find it before he becomes king. And wouldn't you know it, the other half is part of the Dark One's dagger as we see directly after the season 4 finale as Emma's family & friends try to find a way to get to her with a little help from the not quite dead Apprentice via a deus ex machina wand & Zelena (who tries & fails to go back to Oz & only cares about her baby now). It turns out Emma's in Camelot as she's guided by the voice inside her head in the form of Rumple while trying to find Merlin to get rid of her curse & comes across Princess Merida (played by Amy Manson) while she's on her own quest to save her brothers. As everyone manages to reunite via a sending Granny's into a tornado, a cliffhanger reveals everyone back in Storybrooke 6 weeks later as it turns out Emma has cursed them (AGAIN), has fully embraced her dark side & now has the dagger that she originally gave to Regina for safekeeping.
This episode was an amazing way to kick-start this season for many reasons. Not only was it refreshing to FINALLY see Emma be given more development during her personal turmoil with her new powers & trying to avoiding succumbing to the darkness, but it was also fun to see more action from the rest of the main characters as they think of a solution to get to Emma despite their differing opinions (leading to some funny moments). Each one plays their own part & I loved seeing their strengths (and weaknesses courtesy of Hook's ineptitude) play out, with the actors (especially Lana) were clearly having fun with this new set-up. Speaking of, I loved seeing the new actors come mold into their roles, especially Amy Manson's headstrong Merida, who's easily a dead-ringer for her animated counterpart with her long red & curly wig & Scottish brogue (leading to a hilarious pot-hot from Rumple). And the best part is, none of the new cast members overshadow the main ones we know & love like in other seasons (as much as I loved the Frozen arc, I'd be lying if I didn't say it bothered me when they completely took over), giving them more development than we've seen in a while.
Another part I absolutely enjoyed was seeing more of the mythology of the Dark One & seeing a bit of it's connection to the King Arthur tale via the dagger & Excalibur without messing up the established continuity. That & seeing other small references here & there to either the original King Arthur tale or Disney were very nice touches, including The Sword & the Stone playing at the beginning & Belle's little subplot including the iconic rose as a timer for Rumple while she's gone (about bloody time it appeared)! However, despite all that, the special mention for me has to go to the cliffhanger. It's without a doubt the best one I've seen in the show yet thanks to the gorgeous new costume designs, Jennifer Morrison's deliciously creepy acting, the tone & new set-up with seeing the last 6 weeks leading up to Emma's inevitable corruption. It was the cherry on the top for such a wonderful episode making up for some of the mistakes in the past when it comes to setting up new story arcs.
If I had a few problems, it would be the use of yet ANOTHER memory wiping curse (seriously, it's gotten so repetitive after 5 seasons, Zelena staying for good (seriously, I was rooting for her to get away from everyone so she could be happy!), Hook being stupid & annoying as always (along with using Henry)! Seriously though, those are just small nit-picks compared to the rest of the episode!
However, with wonderful acting, fun writing, fantastic visuals, a top-notch cliffhanger & a great new set-up, this is without a doubt one of my favourite premieres yet!

Nice way to start acknowledging the Disney movie despite them doing their own version of King Arthur!

Wow, she REALLY looks like Jennifer!

Well, wouldn't a LOST reference!

Hmm, very mysterious (and HOT!!!) man who seems to know a lot! And let me guess, he's Merlin!

Hmm, curious over why Emma shouldn't pull out Excalibur!

Well, Arthur looks...handsome! Not that Bradley James wasn't in the BBC series!

Nice to see you again Lancelot (GOD, I've missed him so much!)

Did we really need a brief source of conflict given that EVERYBODY knows Arthur is the true king?

Well, that was an epic fail!

Wait...what?!

Very nice transition shot & avoiding a side-plot involving a mystery surrounding where the missing part of Excalibur is when it was painfully obvious!

Wait, where did Henry come from?! Last I remember he was in the shop when Rumple was put in his coma!

Haha! 'It's not like she was taken by a unicorn. She got sucked up by a vortex of evil!' Nice to know Regina still has her sass even during a life-altering crisis!

Stop it, Hook! You're wasting your breath!

Pretty sad Emma doesn't have the scaly skin like past Dark Ones...

So the only way they could show Rumple outside of his coma was to make him the voice inside Emma's head...really? Still a cool idea though! Just shows what was going on through Rumple's head for all those years!

A freaking Gorgon was the Dark One?! Now THAT is badass!

Wait, I thought he died in the last episode! Well, at least it was nice of him to give everyone a deus ex machina wand before passing for good!

So Regina can't use it because she's 'gone soft?!' Well, I guess it makes sense now given all the development despite her brief lapses! By the way, am I the only one who noticed Rumple in the background left on the floor?! Which reminds me, how the hell did Belle drag him in there?!

Well, that was quick using a Darth Vadar chokehold despite saying literally a few minutes ago that she wouldn't use Dark Magic...

AWW! Bless her...kinda funny given that literally the day before she was still mad at him over the AU situation!

FINALLY! It's about bloody time the rose was in the show!

UGH, I still can't believe they promoted Zelena to a regular (although I LOVE Bex) even if her snarky moments are funny!

HAHA! 'I said DON'T USE MAGIC!' 'I didn't, dearie. You did! Congratulations on your first magical transportation.' 'You tricked me...' 'Of course I did, I'm a Dark One!'

Hmm, interesting to see something from a Pixar movie for once!

Thank you Robin for calling Zelena out over the rape by fraud (yep, she actually did that!) Rather unusual though that she seems to care about the baby rather than using it as a weapon to tear Robin & Regina apart...

Well, well, well! Didn't expect to this archery wielding red-head lass!

How nice of you Hook trying to use Henry's power for your own benefit! Too bad he broke the quill (AKA the right thing to do unlike what he convinces Henry to do!)

Wait, I thought the clans all agreed with the decree to abolish the marriage law in the movie & let them control their own fate...bit weird going back on character development (and why did they have to kill Fergus off?!)!

'Dark Ones don't need sleep!' Well, that explains why Rumple randomly stayed in his basement practicing magic at night without showing signs of fatigue!

Well, at least Merida isn't as naive as she seemed!

So not only was Henry born at 8:15, his birthday is also 15th August (the password Regina put in 1x12 was 0815!)?!

So after 5 bloody seasons, we finally learn the Severe Nurse's name is Nurse Ratchet?! Why didn't they just say in the first place?! And interesting distraction tactic rather than the Wookie prisoner gag in the season 4 finale...

Wait, Hook just happened to have the potion to enchant his hook to rip Zelena's heart out since season 2?! Really?!

Thank you Zelena (NEVER thought I'd say that!)

EWW!!!

Thank you Regina for calling Hook out on his stupidity! And regardless of whether he was doing something to get to Emma, that didn't help whatsoever!

Thank you Mary Margaret for talking some sense into everyone over what really matters!

Funny that he could tell Regina was Zelena just from kissing her...bit stupid he couldn't during her Marian disguise!

Is it weird I'm actually rooting for Zelena to get what she wants just so she can be out of everyone's hair? Seriously, she'd be ruling Oz with her child by her side & no one would have to see her again! Everyone wins!

'You see there's one thing that our family does sis, and that's exploit pain'...badass line & all, but come on! You'd never be bothered by your crazy sister again!