‘Once Upon A Time’ Recap: ‘The Jolly Roger’ — Zelena Casts A Kiss Curse On Hook
This week’s episode takes us back in time nine months to reveal Captain Hook, Smee and the rest of his crew celebrating the end of a successful treasure hunt. But before Hook can finish his victory dance, he gets taken down in the alley by a woman who turns out to be Ariel (Joanna García Swisher)!
The famous mermaid-turned-maiden is searching for her beloved Prince Eric, who mysteriously went missing, and she’s convinced that Hook is the man to help her find him. Fast forward nine months, and we see Emma putting together a crib with her parents, Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming (Josh Dallas). Snow smartly points out that instead of putting together furniture, they should be focusing on the Wicked Witch’s (Rebecca Mader) next move since they haven’t seen her since her major showdown with her sister, Regina (Lana Parrilla). But it turns out Regina’s got them covered. She breezes in and reveals that she cast a spell that will protect Snow’s future baby from Zelena. Snow seems relieved but wonders why Zelena wants to get her hands on the baby in the first place. Regina suggests a possible (alarming) motive: “The number of spells involving baby parts would surprise you.” Yikes! A baby-saving spell is all well and good, but Emma says that they need to stop playing defense, and proposes that she and Regina team up and try to take down Zelena once and for all.Hook Is Hiding Something From Emma
Smee tries to convince Captain Hook to set sail to avoid another dangerous encounter with the Wicked Witch but Killian says he has no intention of leaving Storybooke.
Emma shows up and asks Hook to take care of Henry (Jared Gilmore) and she tells him about her and Regina’s plan to get rid of Zelena. Hook tells Emma that she should embrace her magic but she says she just wants to stop Zelena and then go back to normal and get Henry back to New York where he belongs. Hook tells Emma that she’ll never be able to go back to her old life, and it becomes clear that he’s hiding something about what happened to him over the last year.
Ariel Washes Up In Storybrooke
Snow and Charming are taking a stroll on the beach when Ariel washes up on the shore! She says she’s returned to Storybooke to try to find Prince Eric and they all set off to see if Hook can help her locate her lost love.
In another flashback, Ariel reveals her reason for attacking Hook — she thinks he’s the one who kidnapped Prince Eric. But he tells her she’s got the wrong pirate. Ariel tells him that Black Beard stole his ship, the Jolly Roger, and Hook seems determined to track it down.
Flash forward again to Storybrooke: Hook is babysitting Henry at Granny’s when Charming and Snow walk in with Ariel. She clearly doesn’t remember Hook because of the spell that made everyone forget the past year, and she asks him if he knows anything about where Eric might be. He lies and says no.
Meanwhile, Regina throws Emma right into the deep end during their magic lesson, putting her in the middle of a rickety bridge and telling her that she needs to rely on her instincts and “learn how to swim.” The bridge collapses and Emma is hanging on by a thread when she suddenly channels her magical powers, pulls the bridge back up and saves herself.
Hook Tries To Help Ariel Find Eric
Charming, Snow and Ariel head to Belle’s shop to look for something of Eric’s that they can use to cast a locator spell to find him. Hook tries to tell Charming that Eric is probably dead and that their search is pointless but it’s clear that he’s hiding something. Hook finds Eric’s cloak, which Ariel was wearing when he met her nine months earlier.
In another flashback, we learn that Black Beard knows where Prince Eric is. Ariel is convinced that Hook will help her because she believes he has become a good person. “People change,” she says. “Look at me, I have legs and I’m a human. I don’t think anybody saw that coming.” But Hook insists that he’s a pirate and he always will be.
In Storybrooke, the locator spell is cast and the gang follows Eric’s cloak — only to see it plunge into the water, suggesting that Eric is lying somewhere in a watery grave. Oh no!
Hook & Black Beard Have An Epic Sword Fight
In another flashback, we see Hook and his men board the Jolly Roger along with Ariel and he challenges Black Beard to a duel for his ship. They have an epic sword fight and just when Hook has Black Beard right where he wants him, the legendary pirate reveals that he has Eric stashed away on a desert island.
He tells Hook that he will take them to Eric if he surrenders the Jolly Roger to him. But Hook, in an effort to prove that he’s the better pirate, kills Black Beard, destroying any chance of uncovering Eric’s whereabouts. Ariel gives hook a piece of her mind and then morphs into a mermaid to go find Eric.
Zelena Casts A Curse On Hook
Back in Storybrooke, Hook’s conscience finally gets the best of him and he confesses the truth to Ariel. She slaps him and calls him a coward and a monster. He says he would give anything to make things right but Ariel says she can’t trust a man who no longer believes in love. She then makes him swear on the name of his true love (Emma). Once he utters Emma’s name, Ariel shockingly turns into Zelena and places a spell on him! Zelena reveals that she was pretending to be Ariel all along and says the real Ariel found Eric and they’ve been living happily ever after. “Dont’t you just love a good twist?” Zelena says, laughing cruelly. We sure do!
Zelena says that she cursed Hook’s kiss and that the next time his lips touch Emma’s, all of her magic will be taken away. Hook says that he’ll never kiss Emma so Zelena threatens to send the Dark One to kill Emma. Hook realizes that Zelena wouldn’t do that because she needs Emma’s powers. But Zelena’s still got him cornered. “Kiss Emma and remove her powers or everyone she loves dies,” she warns. She really is wicked, isn’t she!?
Hook goes to see Emma but he doesn’t tell her about the curse. Do you think he’s actually considering kissing her and draining her of her magical powers? Guess we’ll have to wait and see!
HollywoodLifers, what did you think about tonight’s episode? Do you think Hook should kiss Emma to save her and her loved ones or is there another way? Let us know! — Tierney McAfee
More ‘Once Upon A Time’ News:
- ‘Once Upon A Time’: Rumpelstiltskin Is Back & [Spoiler] Gets Killed
- ‘Once Upon A Time’ Recap: Rapunzel & Prince Charming Conquer Fears
- ‘Once Upon A Time In Wonderland’: Spinoff Officially Cancelled